Weekend Sermon -- Luke 6:39-40

     Thank you for stopping by the blog to read the Weekend Sermon.  It is the best part of my week when I have the privilege of sharing the Word of the Lord with others.  I hope that everyone is having a great week.
     I want to thank the Lord that the storms in my area weren't too bad.  We did have quite a bit of rain, but there were no flooding issues.  Please pray with me that the storms predicted for this weekend won't be too bad. Thank you for your prayers.
     This has been a very busy week at work.  I have also been working on some projects, and I hope to start on my new book project shortly.  As you may know, I am posting chapters of my book on the shortest books in the Bible here on the blog on Tuesdays.  That will resume this Tuesday.
     In prayer, please pray for those who had storm damage in the southern United States this week.  There was a lot of wind and hail damage in places.
     Also, please pray for an end to the Zika virus.  I heard a report on NPR that this virus is still causing many problems in some countries.
     Remember to pray for peace in Syria and Iraq.  These two nations need an end to warfare so badly.  Pray for those trying to flee the conflicts that they might find safety.
     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for the nations of Liberia and Vietnam.  Pray that many people in these two nations will hear about the good news of Jesus.
     During the course of the last few weeks, we have been in a series of messages focusing on the parables of Jesus.  For this week's message, I would like us to bring our attention to a short parable that Jesus told in Luke 6.
     Luke 6:39-40 states, "And he told them a parable, 'Can a blind person guide a blind person?  Will not both fall into a pit?  No disciple is superior to the teacher, but when fully trained, every disciple will be like the teacher.'"
     In this parable, Jesus is not speaking about physical blindness.  He is just using an example from the physical world to demonstrate a point about spiritual matters.  Of course it is true, if someone is not able to see, that person would not want to rely on someone else who can't see to guide them.  Both would more than likely not get where they wanted to go.
     In order for someone who can't see to get where they need to go, they need a guide who can see the way ahead clearly.  I know this is beside the point, but I think that the work that guide dogs perform is just amazing.  I've actually been able to see a guide dog work on several occasions. A woman who used to come into the grocery store where I shop had a guide dog.  That dog was able to help that woman go all around the store.  Also, a young lady in the church I attended many years ago had a guide dog who helped her to go to Sunday school and children's church.  That was the most well-trained dog I'd every seen.
     Clearly, we need to see the way before us clearly.  If we don't we will go off course.
     This principle is also true in the spiritual life.  The blind cannot lead the blind.  So, what was Jesus teaching us?
     First of all, Jesus was directly referring to the religious leaders of His day.  On many occasions, Jesus said that the religious leaders were blind guides leading the blind.  The religious leaders did not recognize the truth about who Jesus was, so they were unable to lead the people in the way that they needed to go.  Jesus also called them hypocrites.  They were unable to lead others because they themselves did not practice what they preached.  Jesus warned His followers not to follow these religious leaders.
     We need to be on guard as to what kind of spiritual teachers we are following.  If we follow those who are not teaching true and correct doctrine, we will be led astray and we will go off course in our spiritual lives.
     This is what Jesus is saying in verse 40.  We will only progress like those we let lead us.  If our leaders are spiritually blind, we will end up in the darkness as well.  In verse 40, Jesus is not saying that no student ever goes behind his teacher.  We see this happening all the time.  Many pupils in the arts and music become much more renowned than their teachers.  However, if they didn't get the fundamentals right in the first place, odds are, they won't achieve success.
     As followers of Jesus, we need to be aware of whose teachings we are following.  By this I am speaking about pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.  There are many people in this world today who are not teaching the orthodox teachings of the Christian faith.  They don't understand the truth themselves, so that cannot explain the truth to others.
     There are three ways we can be on guard against being led off course.  First of all, we must be students of the Bible.  The easiest way to be led off course is if you don't have a thorough understanding of the Bible.  I urge you to read and study God's Word thoroughly.  If you do this, you will recognize what is not Biblical as soon as you hear it.
     Also, we need to look to Jesus.  We need to read about what Jesus said and what He did.  We need to look to Him as the author and prefector of our faith.  By studying the teachings of Jesus and by communicating with Jesus in prayer, we will stay on the narrow path that leads to life.  Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to led us into all truth and to convict us of what is right and true and good.
    The third way we can be kept from being led off course by blind guides is to look at their fruit.  Jesus said that we will know them by their fruit.  A good tree does not produce bad fruit and a bad tree does not produce good fruit.  If you see a spiritual teacher whose life is filled with greed, excess and immoral behavior, don't listen to that person.  Find someone who is living out the teachings of Jesus in their life.
     The most important thing we can do is to follow Jesus and speak to Him each day.  If we have the desire deep within our hearts to know Him and to love Him, He will guide us as the Great Good Shepherd that He is.  He will keep us in the path of righteousness for His name's sake.
     Next week, we will continue with our series of messages on the parables of Jesus.  On Monday, I will post the verses.  Chapter 3 of the book will posted on Tuesday, and there will be review on Wednesday.  May God bless you all.  Amen.

Book Review -- "Lessons From Tara"

     Before I begin my book review, I would like to ask everyone if they would pray that the storms won't be bad in my area today.  Thank you.  Also, please pray for the people in Texas who had the terrible storms the other night.

     The book that I am reviewing today is "Lessons From Tara" written by David Rosenfelt.  Mr. Rosenfelt is a well-known mystery writer.  In this book, the author leaves the mystery writing behind and focuses on his own life and how dogs have played an important part in helping him to have a better life.
     The dog that the author writes the most about is Tara his golden retriever.  She was a a once in a lifetime dog that set the author and his wife on the course to being involved in dog rescue.  Mr. Rosenfelt and his wife started the Tara Foundation, and they helped rescue about 4,000 dogs.
     Tara is not the only dog featured in the book.  As a dog rescuer, the author has over 20 dogs he is caring for at any one time.  The author writes about many of these dogs and their humorous antics.
     I believe that any dog lover would enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it.  The author writes well and there are many good stories in the book.

Verses For the Week

Mark 1:15 -- "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news."

Galatians 6:9 -- "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Weekend Sermon -- "The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

     I am so glad to be able to post the Weekend Sermon this week.  I hope that all of you are doing well.  Thank you for reading the blog.

     This past week has been an active week for me.  I've been inspired to work even harder on poetry now that I've had work accepted again.  I am also getting ready to start two book projects.  I've been feeling pretty good, but I am not up to full speed yet.  My doctor said that it might take me several weeks to recover fully.

     In prayer this week, please remember to pray for those in London who were affected by the terrorist attack.  Pray for those who are injured that they might recover, and pray for those who mourn the loss of a loved one.  Pray for an end to terrorism around the world.

     Let us continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of the world.  I especially would like us all to pray for peace in Syria and Iraq as these two nations are facing such terrible troubles.

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for the nations of Laos and Saudi Arabia.  Pray that people in these two lands will hear about the love of Jesus.

     I would ask that you would pray that the storms forecast in my area won't be bad today.  These stormy days make me nervous.  Thank you for your prayers.

     Since the beginning of the year, we have been in a study focusing upon the parables of Jesus.  This week, we will turn our attention to the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  I find this to be one of the most interesting of Jesus' parables.

     In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray.  The Pharisee prayed thanking God that he was not like other sinful people including the tax collector near him.  The Pharisee then went on to tell God all of the good things that he did in order to gain God's approval.  

    The tax collector prayed in a different manner.  He would not even lift his eyes up to Heaven when he prayed.  He beat his chest and said, "God be merciful to me a sinner."  

    Jesus said that the tax collector went home justified and not the Pharisee.  Jesus went on to say, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." 

     I believe that there is much to learn from this important parable.  Let's first look at why Jesus told this parable.  It says in Luke 18:9, "He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else."

     In Jesus' day, the Pharisees thought that they were accepted by God because of how rigorously they kept the law.  Like the Pharisee in the parable, they thought they were superior to other people because they were good and did what was right.  The Pharisees, and other religious leaders, often looked down on certain types and classes of people.  Those who were sick were deemed to be excluded by God because the Pharisees thought that sickness was a sign of God's judgment.  They also viewed poverty as a sign of God's displeasure.

    The Pharisees also thought that others were sinners and unworthy.  Tax collectors were at the top of the unrighteous list because they were viewed to be unrighteous collaborators with Rome.

    There are a lot of religious people today who act just like the Pharisees did in Jesus' day.  Many feel that they are better than others because they go to church or they have had a certain type of religious experience.  They pride themselves on following all the commandments, and they often view other types of people as sinners who God does favor like He does them.

     Of course this is the wrong type of attitude for a follower of Jesus to have.  Jesus loved everyone and He said that whoever would come to Him, He would in no way cast them out.  Jesus went to the homes of tax collectors and sinners, and the religious leaders despised Him for it.  However, Jesus knew that everyone needed to know that God loved and cared about them.  He knew that everyone need to experience hope and forgiveness.

     So often, Christians come across as condemning others.  We get a reputation for what we are against instead of what we are for.  We condemn whole groups of people and then wonder why they don't want to come to church or why they have a negative opinion of Christianity.

     As believers in Jesus, we need to follow Jesus' example and love and not condemn.  We are not righteous in and of ourselves.  All that we have comes to us by the grace of the Lord Jesus.

     This leads me to another important thing that this parable is trying to teach.  Before we become a Christian, our salvation is not obtained by our good deeds, and after we have trusted in Jesus we are not kept by good deeds.

     The Bible is quite clear that we are saved by grace through faith, and works are not a part of it.  So many people are trusting in their good works to make themselves acceptable to God.  Several years ago, I was involved in evangelism ministry.  We would talk to people about their relationship with Jesus.  Usually, people would tell us that they thought they were right with God because they had done more good than bad.

    The Bible is clear.  No one is righteous in and of themselves.  It is only through the imputed righteousness of Jesus that we are made right with God.  We cannot earn salvation or God's favor.

     Many Christians are under the impression that the Lord will love them more or care about them more because of the way they live and the for the good deeds they do.  Jesus loves you for who you are not because of what you do.  We should do good and we should follow the teachings of Jesus, but we should be doing these things because of the fact that we love Jesus.  Our motivation should never be that we do good in order to gain favor with the Lord and get Him to do something for us.

     All that we have is by God's grace.  His unmerited favor is why we have salvation and all other things that pertain to life and Godliness.

     This parable further speaks to us by demonstrating to us that we all need to be aware that we need to ask for forgiveness.  God is merciful, and He will forgive us when we ask Him to.  The Bible says in I John that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

     Another important aspect of this parable is the fact that we need to be people of humility and not people who are filled with pride.  Those who lift themselves up will eventually fall.  Those who trust in the Lord and have a humble heart will be exalted.  Just as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "The meek shall inherit the earth."

     What excites me the most about this teaching of Jesus is that anyone can come to Jesus.  No one is excluded from God's love.  God created you, and He loves you.  He sent His Son the Lord Jesus to show us all how much that He loves us and wants us to come to Him.

     Maybe people in the church have made you feel excluded or unwanted.  I've been in your shoes, and the greatest thing that I can every tell you is that Jesus loves you.  No matter who you are,  Jesus loves you.  When I truly realized this, it made a great difference in my life.  When you realize how much Jesus cares about you, your life will be different too.

     Next week, we will continue with our parables of Jesus series.  On Monday, I will post the verses.  This Tuesday, I will not be posting a chapter from the book.  I need to make a revision on chapter 3, and then I will post it the following Tuesday.  On Wednesday, I will have a review.  May God bless you all.  Amen.

Book Review -- "Oscar: The Bionic Cat"

     Today's book is a book about an incredible cat and how astonishing advances in veterinary medicine made Oscar the cat's recovery possible.  "Oscar:  The Bionic Cat" by Kate Allan tells the story of Oscar the cat.  Oscar was in a terrible accident that caused both of his back legs to be seriously damaged.
     Kate Allan took Oscar to the local vet, but there wasn't really anything that he could do to save the cat's legs.  However, all hope was not lost for Oscar.  Oscar's vet knew about a veterinary surgeon named Noel Fitzpatrick who was performing groundbreaking surgeries in his clinic in Surrey.
     Oscar went to Fitzpatrick Referrals, and he was the first recipient of two integrated implants.  One was placed in the bone of each leg allowing Oscar to walk again.
     This book is very interesting.  I definitely recommend it.  I love to watch the program "Supervet" which shows various cases that Oscar's vet Noel Fitzpatrick handles.  He is able to do some remarkable things.
     The book does leave the reader hanging a bit as to the ultimate outcome for Oscar.  However, if you watch the first ever episode of "Supervet"  you will see Oscar and learn that he is still going strong with the continued support of Fitzpatrick's clinic.

Book -- "Lessons From the Bible's Shortest Books" -- Ch. 2 -- Haggai

Chapter Two – Haggai

     The next of the little books that we will turn our attention to is the prophetic book known as Haggai.  While Haggai actually contains two chapters, it is still a little book by Biblical standards.  Like the other little books that we will study, Haggai has an important message for us today.

     Let’s start with a little bit of historical background surrounding the events that are recorded in this book.  In 586 BC, the people of the nation of Judah were carried off into captivity by the Babylonians.  This was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah.  Readers can study more about this by reading the book of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah is one of the outstanding characters in the Old Testament, and there is much to learn from the way that he conducted his life. 

     Because the people had rebelled against God and decided to worship idols instead of the True and Living God, the Lord allowed the Babylonians to conquer Judah.  One of those taken into captivity was Daniel.  In spite of being a young man in a strange land, Daniel throughout his life remained faithful to the Lord.  Ezekiel the prophet was also taken away during the Babylonian invasion.  I urge you all to read and study Daniel and Ezekiel in the Old Testament.

     After a period of several years, the Babylonians were defeated by the Medo-Persian Empire.  During the reign of the Persian king Cyrus, the Jewish people were allowed to return to their own land in order to rebuild something of their former lives.  This is referred to in Biblical history as the Post-Exilic Period. 

     The historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah provide great information about the return of the people to the land of Israel.  Nehemiah was in charge of rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and Ezra helped to keep the people on the path of faithfully following the way of the Lord.

     One thing that I find especially interesting is the fact that the period of captivity in Babylon ended the people’s practice of following other gods.  Israel committed other sins, but the nation did not wholesale turn to the gods of the nations that surrounded them again.

     Part of Israel’s restoration was the rebuilding of the nation’s religious life.  When Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, they completely and utterly destroyed the Temple that Solomon built.  They carried away all the precious objects from the Temple back to their own kingdom.  When the people returned to Jerusalem, they set about to rebuild the Temple that had once stood so gloriously in the midst of the city.  The people were led by a man named Zerubbabel who was a member of the House of David. 

     A man by the name of Joshua served the high priest.  He was specifically consecrated by God to serve in this role.  The consecration of Joshua the High Priest is recorded in the book of Zechariah the prophet.

     As I mentioned, the people began to rebuild their lives in Jerusalem.  They cleared away all of the rubble and debris from the Temple Mount, but that is as far as things went.  The people became distracted from the work on the Temple, and they started building houses for themselves and pursuing their own business interests.  Into this situation, God raised up the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi to speak to the people.

     Just on a side note, Zechariah is an extremely interesting book to study.  In contains prophecies concerning the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, and there are prophecies in the book related to the Lord’s Second Coming.  Malachi is concerned with getting the people to remember that God loves them, and that God’s people should strive to give their best unto the Lord. 

     Back to Haggai.  We don’t know much about the personal history of Haggai.  He pretty much just shows up on the scene, although his presence and ministry is recorded in the book of Ezra.

     Haggai’s name means festive.  He began his prophetic ministry to the people in the second year of the reign of King Darius on the first day of the sixth month.  In this prophecy, we will see that the Lord had grown tired of people focusing on their own needs and concerns while they were neglecting the things of God such as rebuilding the Temple.

     In his short period of ministry, Haggai would bring a message of both rebuke and encouragement.  He sought to motivate the people to return to the work of the Lord. 

     In Haggai 1:3, the prophet begins His word to the people by stating, “Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses while this house remains in ruin?”  In verse 7 the Lord would command the people to go into the mountains to obtain the timbers needed to begin construction on the Lord’s House.

     Haggai preached to the people and Governor Zerubbabel for 23 days.  On the 24^th day of the month, the people began to work.  Haggai gave an encouraging word from the Lord in 1:11.  The Lord said to His people, “I am with you.”  This statement stirred the hearts of the leader and his people to rise up and build a new Temple for the honor and glory of God.

     There is much that we can learn and apply to our lives from Haggai chapter 1.  I believe that the first important message that we can learn from Haggai is that those of us who are followers of the Lord need to put Him first in our lives. The people of Haggai’s day had neglected God and doing the things that God wanted them to do.  They didn’t seem to have the time to repair the Temple, yet they found the time to repair their own homes and do the things that they wanted to do.  There is no place in the text that states that the people stopped believing in the Lord, they just couldn’t be bothered with following the commandments of the Lord or putting the things of the Lord first in their lives.

     Two passages from the New Testament come to mind when I think about the people of Haggai’s time.  I recall the passage from Revelation 2:4 that states, “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”  Jesus spoke these words to the people of the church at Ephesus.  The people at this church were living for the Lord, but they were not following Him with all of their hearts. 

    The second passage that comes to mind is from the words of Jesus recorded in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus said to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, and all of these other things would be added unto you. 

     So, how does all of this apply to us?  First of all, I believe the many of us our becoming more concerned about ourselves and we are neglecting the things of God.  I believe that this applies in two important areas, namely giving and fulfilling the Great Commission.

     Giving and the tithe are usually controversial subjects, but that doesn’t mean that we should shy away from them.  On the contrary, it is required of a minister to preach and proclaim the whole counsel of God.

     Because of the way that many media preachers constantly beg for money and lay a guilt trip on people, the concept of tithing has gotten something of a bad rap.  However, the tithe is most certainly Scriptural, and Jesus our Lord speaks about giving the tithe.

     Giving in the church has become very lax as far as the tithe is concerned.  Some polls have stated that the average level of giving among church members is around 2 to 3 percent.  This is a far cry from the tithe. 

     Let’s just look at a few of the Scriptures that teach about tithing.  The first mention of tithing is found in Genesis 14:20 when Abraham gave King Melchizedek 10 percent of the spoils after the defeat of the kings of the valley. 

     The principle of the tithe was codified in the Law of Moses.  We see this in Deuteronomy 14:22 and 26:12.

     One of the most startling verses about the tithe is found in Malachi 3:10.  God said that the people had robbed Him because they had not brought the tithe into the storehouse of the Temple.

     The Lord Jesus Himself spoke about the tithe.  Matthew 23 records the woes that Jesus pronounced upon the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day.  Jesus states in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.”  In other words, do acts of justice, mercy and kindness, and give the tithe.

     What does all this have to do with Haggai?  Well, we often focus on our own needs, and we don’t give unto the Lord what belongs to Him.  One way this is manifest is through giving.  When we keep back what should rightfully go to the Lord and use it for ourselves, we are acting in the same manner as those in Haggai’s time.

     We need to give to the Lord.  Now, I am not promising as the faith teachers do that if you give you’ll get something in return.  I don’t believe in that sort of thing.  What I am saying is that the giving of our resources is an important area of demonstration of our love for the Lord just like working on the Temple was in Haggai’s day.

     Now, a second area where I think that Haggai has application is regarding how we are fulfilling what we have been called by the Lord to do in the Great Commission.  Jesus has called us to go into the world and tell others of His message of love and forgiveness.  However, much of this world remains unreached.  Seventy percent of the people on earth right now are not Christians of any kind.

     Jesus spoke about the need for evangelization in John 4:35.  He said that the fields were white unto harvest, but the laborers were few.  In Matthew 28:19-20 and in Acts 1:8, Jesus instructs His followers to go unto the uttermost parts of the earth and make disciples.  Matthew 24:14 says, “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all, and then the end will come.”

     The majority of people sitting in church pews today have not had the experience of leading one soul to faith in Jesus Christ.  Here in the United States where I live, the number of Christians continues to decline.

     We need all Christians to follow the Great Commission of Jesus and spread His message around the world.  It will take our time, talent and resources in missions to see people come to the Lord.  Just as the exiles had the mission of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah and rebuilding the Temple, we have a mission of taking the Good News to the lost of this world. 

     On this point, I want to say a few words.  Putting the Lord first in our lives can also have a very personal meaning.  I believe that the Lord calls each of us to minister for Him in this world in some way.  It is up to us to follow the Lord’s will for our lives or to go our own way.  We can follow the Lord and be yielded to His will, or we can be like the prophet Jonah and attempt to go 180 degrees from the way the Lord has shown us to go.

     You can attempt to go your own way in your life, but you will never find true happiness and contentment unless you put Jesus first.  Until Jesus is the Lord of every aspect of your life, you cannot know true joy and peace.

     The prophet Haggai gave important words of encouragement to the people after he told them that God wanted them to get back to work.  Haggai 2:4 states, “Yet now be strong Zerubbabel, says the Lord, and be strong, Joshua son of Jehozidak, the high priest, and be strong, all of you people of the land says the Lord, and work, for I am with you says the Lord of hosts.”

     The Lord had assigned the people a task, and He would be with them to strengthen them in order to accomplish His will.  With the Lord on their side, the people were able to complete the work on the Temple.

     This same principle holds true in our time.  If the Lord Jesus gives you a task to complete or a commandment to follow, He will be with you and will provide the awareness of His presence as you go about His work in obedience. Also, if Jesus calls you to a specific ministry, He will help you do whatsoever it is that He has specifically called you to do.

     In a general sense, we as believers in Jesus can take comfort from these words of Jesus Himself.  Jesus said that He would never leave us and that He would never forsake us.  He said that He would be with us to the end of the age.

     The Lord is with us.  Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord leads us through the difficulties of this life, and He walks alongside of us to provide the comfort of His presence and of His still, small voice speaking into our hearts to let us know the true peace that only He can provide.

     I would like to speak to you for a few moments about how important the presence of the Lord has been in my life.  A few years ago, I faced four hard blows in my life right in a row.  First, my Mother suffered a debilitating stroke.  My Dad and I had to take care of her 24 hours a day for over five years until she passed away.  Four months after my Mom died, my Dad passed away.  About three months later, I faced a great financial setback from which I have yet to fully recover.  Then, on top of that, I had a series of health problems.

     Let me tell you, it was hard coping with all this hitting me one right after the other.  The only way that I was able to make it through these difficulties was due to the fact that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was with me. Through it all, He has been the rock down deep in my soul not letting me slip down to the very depths of depression. 

     If you are going through a bad time, please take comfort from the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Haggai.  Jesus is always with us.  One day, we will be with Him in person, and we will spend all of eternity with Him.  What a great day that will be.

     Now we turn to the third important lesson that we can learn from the book of Haggai.  When the people heard the word of the Lord through Haggai, they obeyed the word given to them.  This is an important component of the Christian life.  Jesus told His disciples that they would be considered His friends if they obeyed His commandments.  Friendship and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ requires living in obedience to the teachings and commandments of Jesus. 

     I personally do not understand how someone can be a Christian if they are not willing to be obedient to the Lord.  I know that it wouldn’t work for me. 

     There is a belief that is popular among many Christians that one can accept Jesus as Savior without accepting Jesus as the Lord of one’s life.  From the way that I read the Bible, being a Christian means following Jesus.  It means making Jesus Lord and obeying Him.  It means following wherever He leads.

     Much of what the Lord requires of us is recorded in the pages of the Bible.  However, as I mentioned, I believe that the Lord has a personal calling that He often places on our lives.  We will not find true happiness in life unless we follow what God has called us to do.

     There is one final thing that I want to focus on from Haggai.  The last section of the book deals with how God will use the leader Zerubabbel.  God made a promise to David that someone from the line of David would always and forever rule over the house of Israel.  Zerubbabel was part of this fulfillment, but he was not the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.   The ultimate fulfillment of this covenant is Jesus.

     One day, Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He will rule over all, and all of the world will know peace and goodness and righteousness.

      I find this passage from Haggai encouraging because it shows me that God always keeps His promises.  This is important because the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.  I can count on this because God has shown in history that He does whatsoever He says. 

     Jesus made two promises that I can have confidence in that He will keep.  Jesus said that He is the resurrection and the life.  My parents and most of my friends who believed in Jesus have died.  But, I do not have to grieve as those who have no hope.  Jesus will keep His word.  I know that my family and friends are alive right now with Jesus in Heaven.

     Jesus also promised that He has gone to prepare a place for us.  If we believe and trust in Him, one day, we will be with Him where He is.  I look forward to the day when I am with Jesus my Lord and reunited with my friends and loved ones who are in Christ.

     This ends our look at the teachings of the Lord from the book of Haggai.  Let us now turn our attention to the shortest of Paul’s epistles and see what we can learn from Philemon.

    

     

Verses For the Week

Revelation 21:4 -- "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Psalm 73:26 -- "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Weekend Sermon -- "Parable of the Rich Fool"

     Hello, and welcome to this week's posting of the Weekend Sermon.  I hope that you are doing very well today.
     I have mostly recovered from my illness.  However, I am having trouble with asthma.  I had severe asthma when I was younger, but it subsided greatly when I was about half way through college.  Of this I am grateful to the Lord.  For about the past three or four months, I've been having trouble with it again.  Please pray that this will be able to be controlled again.  Thank you.
     I have something that I want to thank the Lord for.  I had poetry accepted this week for publication in a literary journal published by the University of Arkansas.  I am very thankful that the Lord has allowed me to be a poet and a writer.
     In prayer this week, please continue to pray for those who have experienced natural disasters in their area.  About one week ago, I heard that there was a bad storm that hit Madagascar.  Please pray that this nation will recover from any problems that they might be having.
     Also, I read an article last week that hunger among children in Africa is increasing rapidly.  Please pray that the children will have their needs met, and that peace and justice can come to this world.  Pray for peace in Syria, Iraq and in all the war ravaged nations of this world.
     For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for those living in China and Tunisia.  Pray that many in these two countries will hear the good news about Jesus.
     Last week, we stepped away from our series on the parables of Jesus to focus on the the theme of holiness.  Today, we will return to our parables of Jesus series with a message on the Parable of the Rich Fool as it is often called.
     Let's set the stage for this parable.  Jesus was teaching one day when a man called out to Jesus asking Him to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with Him.  Jesus replied that He hadn't been appointed as the arbitrator between the two.  Jesus then went on to say in Luke 16:15, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."
    At this point, Jesus told the crowd a parable to illustrate what He was saying.  There was a rich man who had an abundant harvest.  He had such a big harvest that his barns couldn't contain it all.  The rich man decided to build bigger barns to hold all the harvest.  The rich man said that since he had so much stored up that he could eat, drink and be merry.
    God said to this man, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you, and the things that you have prepared, to whom will they belong?"  Jesus concluded in Luke 16;21, "Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
     This parable has a very clear meaning as far as I am concerned.  Some might find my interpretation of this parable to be controversial.  I don't know.  There at least four things that I think Jesus is teaching in this parable.
     First of all, this parable is an illustration of the fact that we are not to be greedy.  Greed is one of the sins that is most spoken about in the Bible.  The desire to obtain more and more at the expense of others is clearly condemned throughout Scripture and in our parable today.
     Greed is a form of selfishness.  The one who is greedy only cares about himself and what he can get.  The greedy one doesn't care if he hurts other people or the environment.  His thoughts certainly aren't fixed upon the things of God where true riches are found.
     Jesus clearly taught in the Sermon on the Mount that His followers can't serve God and money.  We are called by Jesus to lay up treasure in Heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt and where thieves do not break in or steal.  The treasure that is laid up on earth is fleeting and will soon pass away.
     The second point that I think Jesus is making is that there is a limit to wealth.  There comes a point when a person accumulates a certain amount and then anything else is considered excessive and sinful.  What is that point?  That is hard question.  This is the way that I understand it.  How many houses can a person have and live in?  How many cars can you drive?  How many boats can you sail the seas in?  How many luxuries do we really need?
     If all of us stop and think about questions like this, I don't think it is really too hard to find when enough is enough.  I don't think that the Lord is upset if we have a nice home and have some nice things in life.  However, just like anything else, it can go too far.
    I think that one way to gauge when wealth has become excessive is when our desire to keep and obtain it hurts others like it did in this parable.  This rich man would have had workers who harvested this grain.  They would have loved to have had a little of it to help feed their families.  There were multitudes of desperately poor people in Israel in Jesus' day who needed something to eat.  Instead of being concerned about them, the rich man was only concerned about himself.
     In our day and age, we might think of the parable in another way.  If you have enough to meet your needs and more and you are in a profession where people's lives are dependent on you, are you still charging them high rates or not seeing them because they can't pay.  I think that that is similar to what Jesus is saying in this parable.
     I believe that this principle applies on the national level as well.  Is it right for any nation to take from its poorest citizens to give to those who already have so much.  This is something for those like me who live in the United States to think about right now in light of the new budget details that have just been released.
     We as believers need to seek the Lord and ask Him to lead us into a sense of "enoughness".  We need to think about what Paul said when he was taking the collection for the church in Jerusalem.  In II Corinthians 8:13-14, Paul speaks about equality among the brethren.  It is a good passage to read and ponder its meaning.
     The third thing that I believe Jesus is teaching in this parable is that we should have a heart that is willing to give.  As I've said, there are many people in this world who have great need.  If we have been blessed by the Lord with more than enough, maybe we can all work to help others who have little or next to nothing.
     Finally, I believe that Jesus is trying to show us in this parable that our focus and our trust is to be on God alone.  Even when a person has great wealth, that is not something to be relied upon.  It may be gone tomorrow.  During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many people lost all of their fortune over night.  Some of them were so depressed that they took their own lives.
     Those who believe in Jesus need to trust in Him alone.  This life and its riches count for nothing.  Jesus counts for everything.  We need to follow Him and do His will in this world.  If we trust in Him, we will be with Him forever, and there is nothing greater than this in all the world.
     I haven't presented this message with the intention of putting anyone down.  I hope that you will study these things and let the Holy Spirit guide you as you seek His will.
     Next week, I will be posting the verses on Monday and the second installment of the book on Tuesday.  I will have a review of a dog book on Wednesday and the sermon will be posted on Friday.  May God bless you all.   Amen.

   

Book Review -- "Dog Diaries: Rolf"

     For today's review, I would like to review a dog book written for younger readers.  As I've said previously, I like to read almost any book that has a dog in it.  The book I'm reviewing today is part of the "Dog Diaries" series written by Kate Klimo.  I've reviewed another book in this series here on the blog last year.  The book this week features a dachshund named Rolf.
     This little dog faced some really hard times, but over the course of the story, he overcomes the obstacles placed in his way and becomes a therapy dog.  In his roll as a therapy dog, Rolf helps patients in a hospital and those living in a nursing home.
     Rolf will eventually begin working as a reading assistance dog at a school.  When Rolf is asked to help a little girl who has difficulty reading it will change their lives and the lives of the other humans connected with this pair as well.
     I highly recommend this book.  It is a good story, and there is a lot of helpful information in the back of the book about therapy dogs and the dachshund breed.

Book -- "Lessons From the Bible's Shortest Books" -- Intro and Chapter 1

Here is the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book I've completed

Introduction

     I can’t remember the last time I heard a message based on the book of Obadiah.  Haggai and Philemon are the basis of messages now and again, and II and III John may occasionally receive a passing reference.  Of all the little books in the Bible, Jude seems to receive the most attention.  If a minister really studies this book and puts some effort into it, he or she can get at least a month’s worth of material from Jude.  It’s too bad that more ministers don’t mine Jude’s depth of meaning.

     Obadiah, Haggai, Philemon, II John, III John and Jude are what I refer to as the Bible’s little books.  All of these books contain a single chapter except for Haggai which has two chapters. 

     Obadiah and Haggai are the smallest books of the Minor Prophets.  As a whole, the Minor Prophets are not studied as much as are the Major Prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.  The Minor Prophet that seems to receive the most attention is Jonah.  Amos and Hosea receive a fair amount of attention as well. 

     In the New Testament, Philemon is not ignored.  I’ve actually heard several messages preached from this one chapter book.  I don’t believe that I have ever heard a minister mention the fact though that Paul violates a command from the Old Testament in sending Onesimus back to his master.  We will study more about that later.

     While these little books may be shorter than many other books in the canon of Scripture, each one of them has a powerful and timely message for Christians living in the 21^st century.

     This book is my attempt to explore these little and often overlooked books of Holy Scripture and discern afresh what they can teach us today. The goal of this book is to explore a little about the general nature of each book and discuss what we know about that book’s authorship.  We will then examine what each book can teach us today. 

     It is my hope and prayer that the Lord will use my writing to bring honor and glory to His most Holy name.  By studying these little books with me, I pray that you would grow in your love for the Lord and for His Word.  May this then lead you to further study in the familiar and unfamiliar pages of the Bible.

Chapter One – Obadiah

     Obadiah has the distinction of being the shortest book in the Old Testament.  The entirety of the book centers around a single theme, and that theme is that the judgment of God is destined to come upon the nation of Edom and the Edomites.  Before we deal with the specifics of the book of Obadiah, let’s look at the authorship of the book and the time period when the book may have been written.

     There are several different people named Obadiah listed in the Bible.  Most of the people named Obadiah are mentioned in genealogies or lists of men who were tasked with different assignments. 

     The most prominent man named Obadiah mentioned in Scripture is the Obadiah whose story we read in I Kings 18.  This Obadiah was in charge of King Ahab’s household affairs.  Unlike the evil King Ahab, Obadiah was a man who feared the Lord, and he attempted to do all that the Lord required. 

     When Ahab and Jezebel sought to destroy all the prophets who remained faithful to the Lord, Obadiah defied the royal couple and hid the prophets in two separate groups in caves.  He brought them food and water until the threat from Ahab and Jezebel passed. 

     When the drought in Israel predicted by the great prophet Elijah was at its most intense, Ahab tasked Obadiah to find water for the royal horses.  While searching, Obadiah came upon Elijah.  Elijah told Obadiah that he wished to speak to the king.  Obadiah relayed the prophet’s message faithfully.

     While this Obadiah of Scripture was certainly an honorable man who served the Lord in a difficult situation, this Obadiah is not the author of the book of Obadiah.  The book of Obadiah speaks about events that occurred during the Babylonian conquest of Israel in and around 586 BC.  Therefore, the book must have been written subsequent to this event. 

     The Obadiah who wrote the book that bears his name does not seem to be mentioned anywhere else in the Word of God.  The book was most likely written by a prophet who was active in the ministry during the time surrounding the Babylonian Captivity.

     One thing that we can be certain of is that this Obadiah was a faithful servant of the Lord.  He received a vision from the Lord, and Obadiah faithfully recorded the message given to him by God.

     As we will see shortly, Obadiah’s prophecy relates in its entirety to the nation of Edom.  With this in mind, let us see what the Bible has to say to us about Edom. 

     First of all, Edom receives its name from a descendant of Esau.  Esau sold his birthright and was tricked out of Isaac’s blessing by Jacob.  Jacob’s name would be changed to Israel by the Lord, and Jacob’s sons would go on to give their names to the twelve tribes of Israel.

     On the other hand, Esau would go on to reconcile with his brother.  Esau’s descendants would become the Edomites, and they would rise to become a kingdom of their own.  Throughout their histories, Israel and Edom would be in conflict just as the two brothers were in conflict with one another. 

     The bad blood between Edom and Israel is exemplified during the time Moses was leading the people out of Egyptian bondage, through the desert and into the Promised Land.  The shortest route into the Promised Land would have been through the land of Edom. 

     Numbers 20 recounts the details of what happened when the Israelites encountered the Edomites.  Moses asked the ruler of Edom if his people could travel through Edom into the Promised Land.  The ruler of Edom flat out refused to allow it.  In fact, the Edomites came out against the children of Israel with their armed forces.  The Israelites turned aside and went along a different and longer route.

     During the time of the Kings, Edom and Israel would be at war.  Saul and David both fought battles with Edom.  David would bring the land under subjection, and Edom would remain a vassal of Judah when the Kingdom divided after the death of David’s son Solomon.

     Edom would become an independent nation again.  When Jehoram became king, Edom rebelled.  The king tried to put down the rebellion, but he was unsuccessful.  As II Kings 8:23 states, “To this day, Edom has been in rebellion against Judah.” At the time of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the Edomites would join with the Babylonians and participate in harassing the people of Israel.

     Eventually, Edom would cease to be a nation.  The region of Edom would become home to a people know as the Nabateans.  The Nabateans were traders and great architects.  Their capital city of Petra is a wonder, and it draws tourists to Jordan from around the world.

     With that information about the place of Edom in the Bible and in the historical record, let us delve into the book of Obadiah and see what God would have us learn today from this small book of prophecy.

     For our purposes of study, I want to divide the book of Obadiah into three sections with three lessons that we can learn.  First of all, verses 1-9 deal with the issue of pride and trusting in our own strength and resourcefulness.  Verses 10-14 teach us not to look with pleasure on someone else’s misfortune.  Lastly, verses 15-21 teach us that what we sow is what we will eventually reap.  Let’s look at these three lessons in more detail.

     Even though the nation of Edom was tiny, the people were filled with pride and boasting.  They felt as if their mountain kingdom was an impregnable fortress in spite of military defeats in the past.  Obadiah said they lived in the cliffs of and made their homes in the high places.  As people with military knowledge know, mountain terrain makes for extremely difficult fighting conditions.

     Obadiah prophesied that in spite of the Edomites mountainous fortress, they would be defeated and cease to be a nation.  Just as God said through Obadiah, Edom was defeated, and the Edomites are no more.

     Many of us have an attitude that is very similar to what was expressed by the people of Edom.  We are filled with pride and boasting.  We often place our trust and our confidence in life in everyone and everything except in the Almighty God.

     I found this happening in my own life at one time.  I had acquired some money from my investments as well as a small inheritance.  I thought I was set.  A great deal of my confidence was placed in my material possessions.  What happened?  A Great Recession happened.  In just a few short weeks, my stock holdings, which were largely in banks and financials, were nearly wiped out.  I went through one of the most depressed periods of my life.  I needed to find work, but I wasn’t able to find a job for a long, long time.  To top it all off, I was diagnosed with a chronic health condition.

     I was down and out and almost done.  I soon realized that all of my confidence had to be in the Lord Jesus.  Everything in this world is temporary and it is passing away.  Everything and everyone changes in this life except for Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

     The Lord Jesus saw me through the bad times, and I am slowly emerging from  a dark tunnel.  I learned not to rely on myself or anything in this world.  My confidence, help and sustenance is to be found in Jesus only.

     There are many ways of trusting in the self and in being lifted up with pride.  It can happen on both an individual and on a national level. 

     On an individual level, a prideful person may place their hope in wealth, fame, career or in their own abilities.  This is the basis of their life, and they think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. 

     In the Bible, pride is referred to as an abomination.  Proverbs 16:8 states that pride comes before destruction.  The Lord Jesus tells us in Mark 7 that pride is among a number of different evils that come from within the heart of a person and lead to a person’s corruption. In the epistle of I John, the apostle states in 2:16 that the pride of life is an aspect of  loving the world more than loving God.

     All individuals and nations mentioned in the Bible that were elevated with pride were eventually brought low.  Let me give you just two examples.

     In Daniel chapter 4, we read about the powerful Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar.  He thought that he was great, and he boasted of all that he had done and all that he possessed.  However, Nebuchadnezzar was brought to the place where he wandered around like a wild animal.

     As far as nations are concerned, look no farther than the Roman Empire.  This was once one of the mightiest empires on the face of the earth.  The Caesar’s of Rome declared themselves to be Lord and demanded to be worshipped as gods.  The Roman Empire is no more, and their might is now just a subject of study for historians.

     James 4:16 sums it up by saying that, “God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.”  As followers of the Lord Jesus, we must look to Him as our ultimate example of humility.  The Apostle Paul expresses the subject of humility extraordinarily well in Philippians 2:5-11 which states, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

     Now for our second lesson from the book of Obadiah.  The Lord said in Obadiah 12, “Do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of misfortune.”  The people of Edom rejoiced to see of people of Israel defeated by the Babylonians.  In fact, they joined with the Babylonians in the time of plunder.  God did not like this behavior one bit.

     As followers of the Lord, we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.(Romans 12:15)  Even when someone who has been mean to us or someone who betrayed us gets their comeuppance we should not gloat and receive some type of satisfaction from the news of  someone’s downfall and misfortune.

     Christ has called us to be people who express true love in imitation of the love expressed by Jesus.  In his great chapter on love found in I Corinthians 13, Paul says that true love is not arrogant or rude.  True love is not resentful of others, and does not rejoice in any type of wrongdoing. 

     When those who are our enemies have problems, we are to show them love.  Jesus says in the Sermon one the Mount that we are to “Love you enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

     And now for our third lesson from Obadiah.  Obadiah teaches the principle that you will reap whatever it is that you sow.  Obadiah 15 says, “For the day of the Lord is near upon all nations.  As you have done, it shall be done to you.  Your deeds shall return on your own heads.”

     This principle is so true in life.  But, I want to speak about this at the ultimate level.  If a person lives his life for the temporal things of this world that are passing away, he will ultimately achieve nothing.  Everything that is in this world is passing away. 

     Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we should lay up treasures in heaven and not lay up treasures for ourselves on this earth.  Jesus asked the questions “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his own soul?  What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” That which is eternal is what we should strive for.  Then we will reap an eternal reward.

     For a while, I had the wrong perspective.  With the assistance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, I want to focus my life in spreading the message of the love of Jesus.

     Jesus told a great story that shows the difference in the world’s thinking about success and an eternal perspective of what constitutes success. Jesus said that there was a rich man that had everything that money could buy.  He was successful in the terms of this world’s system.

     Lying outside the gate of this rich man was a poor man named Lazarus.  He was covered in sores, and the dogs who licked his sores were his only companions.  This world didn’t think much of him.  His life seemed like a waste.

     Both men died.  The rich man who laid up treasure for himself on earth went to Hades and eternal torment.  Lazarus, who was rich in the eternal things of God, went to Abraham’s Bosom.

     Build your life and eternity on the solid rock of Jesus.  In eternity, you will not suffer loss.

     There is probably much more that we could say and learn from Obadiah.  But, let us now move on to see what the little book of Haggai has to teach us.

Verses For the Week

I Corinthians 15:57 --"But thanks be to God!  He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Isaiah 41:13 -- "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."

P.S. -- I will be posting the introduction and the first chapter of my book tomorrow if all goes according to plan.

Weekend Sermon -- "Holiness"

     Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon this week.  I hope that all of you have had a good week so far.
     We had some of the worst storms in my area in years on Monday night.  One town about 50 miles to the north of where I live had major damage from a tornado.  A tornado touched down about 10 miles north of my house as well.  We had a lot of wind and hail, but I am thankful that nothing was damaged at my location.  What I am most thankful for is that no one was hurt in any of the storms.  I want to thank you for all of your prayers regarding this matter.
     Please pray for those who are recovering from these storms.  Also, there are many wildfires here in the Midwest.  Sadly, one person has died as a result of these fires.  Please pray that these terrible fires can be brought under control quickly.
     Let us continue to pray for peace in this troubled world.  The wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan go on.  Pray that these nations will know peace soon.  Pray for an end to terrorism and violence.
     For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for the nations of Gambia and Uzbekistan.  Pray that people in these two nations will hear the message of Jesus.
     For the last several weeks, we have been in a series of messages on the parables of Jesus.  For today's message, I want to take a one week pause from the parables and look into another subject.
     Over the past several days, I feel that the Lord has led me to post a message about the subject of holiness.  Of course, that is a big topic, and it would take more than one message to cover the many aspects of that topic.  In our message today, I want to talk a little about the holiness of God and his demand for holiness from us.
     It is very clear from the Bible that God is holy.  He is completely perfect and without sin.  Jesus said In Matthew 5:8 that the Father in Heaven was perfect.  We also see in the book of Revelation when God Almighty is worshiped on His throne, He is praised by the words "Holy, Holy, Holy,".  He is the thrice holy God signifying that He is completely and perfectly Holy.
     Our sins have separated us from this Holy God.  God is so Holy that He cannot even look upon sin.   With God being so Holy, how can we ever come into a right relationship with this Holy God.
     God the Father provided a way by sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus lived a holy and sinless life.  As the second Adam, Jesus succeeded in every area in which the first Adam failed.  Jesus did everything that was required of Him.
     Because Jesus lived a holy and sinless life, He was the spotless Lamb of God who could take away the sins of the world.  Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross.  He rose from the dead defeating death, hell and the grave.  Those who call upon the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith will receive His forgiveness, and Jesus will come and be Lord and Savior for anyone who calls upon His name.
     Now, the Bible is quite clear that Jesus provides those who trust in Him with something else.  Jesus provides access for us to the Father.  As I mentioned, we cannot approach the Holy One in our own righteousness.  However, when we come to faith in Jesus, His righteousness is imputed to us.  There are at least two passages that speak clearly to this.  Philippians 3:9 states, "Not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ the righteous  which comes from God on the basis of faith.  II Corinthians 5:21 states, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
     When we come to the Lord Jesus, He provides us with His righteousness.  Now, When the Father looks at us He sees us clothed in the righteousness of His Son.
     After we have come to know Jesus, the Bible says that the Lord has an expectation of us.  He expects us to live lives of holiness.  I Peter 1:16 says, "Be ye holy, for I am holy."  Hebrews 12:14 states, "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and be holy, without a life of holiness no one will see the Lord."
     This idea of seeing the Lord has two aspects.  Unless we receive the righteousness of Jesus, we will not see the Lord in the eternal sense.  If we continue to sin and do not live a life of holiness now, we will not have the proper relationship that we should have with the Lord.
    When we sin, we have a break in fellowship with the Lord.  We are not as close to Him as we should be, because we are not doing those things that He has asked us to do.  However, our relationship with the Lord can be restored.  As it says in I John, if we confess our sins to the Lord, He will forgive us.  We will be restored to fellowship with Him.
     Living a life of holiness as far as I understand it means to follow the path and teachings that Jesus has set before us.  When Jesus walked upon this earth, He demonstrated for us in word and deed the way that His followers should act in this world.  When we look to Him and faithfully follow Him, we are living a holy life that is pleasing to Him.
     The only way that any of us can live a life that is pleasing to the Lord is through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit dwells with each believer convicting that person of sin and showing that person the path of righteousness.  The Holy Spirit gives us divine power so that we can turn aside from the wrong and embrace that which is good and right.
     If you have never put your trust in Jesus and made Him your Lord and Savior, I pray that you will do that today.  If you are wandering from the path set out by Jesus, I pray that you will be made right with Him and follow Him in faithfulness once again.
     Next week, we will return to our series on the parables of Jesus.  On Monday, I will post the verses.  Starting Tuesday, if all goes according to plan, I will begin posting one chapter per week of the book I have written about what we can learn from the shortest books in the Bible.  On Wednesday, I hope to post a review of a good dog book. As I said, I will post the sermon on Friday.  May God bless you all.  Amen.

Book Review -- "Always By My Side"

     I have a good book to tell you about this week.  "Always By My Side" is a book about how dogs can help us to have a better life.  In this book, author Edward Grinnan shares with his readers the story of how the dogs in his life made a difference and taught him lessons about life.  Mr. Grinnan is the editor-in-chief of Guideposts magazine, so he also includes stories in the book from Guidepost contributors about what their dogs have meant to them.
     The dog that receives the most focus in the book is the author's dog Millie.  Millie is a golden retriever who demonstrated to the author the qualities of forgiveness, sensitivity and unconditional love.  Also in the book we learn of the author's relationship with other dogs including Rudy who helped introduce the author to his wife.  Rudy is a cool dog, and readers will certainly enjoy learning more about him and the author's other dogs including Sally and Marty.
     This is a well-written book that seemed to just fly by as I read it.  It was an inspirational book, but not in a heavy-handed way.  The author in this book tells a little bit about how he overcame an addiction to alcohol.  He has written about that in another book that I hope to locate and read in the coming months.  When I am able to do that, I will post about that book here on the blog as well.
     As I mentioned, the author is associated with Guideposts magazine.  Guideposts is a good magazine with many inspirational stories.  They also have a good website with good stories as well.
 
P.S.  Just to update everyone about the storms I asked you to pray about on Monday.  We did have some terrible weather.  There were some tornadoes in the area that caused damage.  Just north of where I live, they had damage from 70 mile per hour wind gusts.  We had quite a bit of wind down where I live, but I am thankful that there was no damage.  Thank you for your prayers regarding this matter.

Verses For the Week

     I would like to ask everyone if you would pray about something.  We are having very strong winds and are supposed to have bad storms in my area.  Please pray that we don't have any damage.  I appreciate your prayers.

Isaiah 60:1 -- "Arise shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you."

Matthew 14:27 -- "But Jesus immediately said to them:  'Take courage! It is I.  Don't be afraid."

Weekend Sermon -- "Parable of the Tenants"

    Thank you for reading the Weekend Sermon this week.  I hope that everyone is having a very good week.
     After having a long period of sickness, I am now feeling much better.  I've been able to go to work again, and I am slowly rebuilding my strength.  Thank you all for your prayers while I was ill.
     As you go to prayer this week, please remember to pray for those who were affected by the bad storms and tornadoes in the Midwest.  I know that there was a significant amount of damage to property, and there were fatalities.  Pray that people will be able to get there lives back together, and pray for comfort for those who mourn.
    Please pray for those in Haiti who are still trying to recover from the hurricane.  The church where I have been attending does a lot of missions work in Haiti, and those over there have said that there are still many people in need in that nation.
    Continue to pray for peace in this troubled world.  I especially think of Syria as that nation is really struggling.  Also remember to pray for peace in Iraq and anywhere else where there is conflict.
    For our prayer focus countries this week, let's pray for the people of Guinea-Bissau in Africa and for Turkey.  Pray that people in these two countries will here and respond to the message of the love of Jesus.
    As you are aware, we have been studying the parables of Jesus since the beginning of the year.  In today's message, I want to study the parable of the tenants found in Matthew 21:33-46.  I believe that there is a lot that we can learn from this parable.
    The basic story of the parable is this.  A man built up a vineyard by planting the vines and building a hedge around it and a tower for protection.  This man then rented out his vineyard to some tenants whose responsibility it was to tend and care for the vineyard and provide the owner his share of the produce at the appropriate time.
    The time came for the owner of the vineyard to collect his share, so he sent a servant to collect it from the tenants.  Instead of giving the servant what was due to the owner, the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty handed.  The owner then sent some other servants, and each time the tenants beat or killed the servants.
    Finally, the owner decided to send his son.  He thought that they would surely respect his son.  However, the tenants figured that if they killed the son and heir, the vineyard would be theirs.  They killed the owner's son.
    What would the owner do.  The Pharisees said it themselves.  The owner would punish and remove the wicked tenants and give the vineyard to others.
     What is the meaning of this parable, and what message does it have for us today?
     God was the one who was the founder of the nation of Israel.  He called Abraham our of Ur and said that He would make of Abraham and his descendants a great nation.  When the children of Israel were in bondage in the land of Egypt, God brought them out of captivity into their own land.
     God did have some requirements and things that expected from His people.  He expected that His chosen people would worship and honor Him.  He expected them to follow His law and commandments.  God wanted His people to be a light to the nations so that others would be drawn to the love and mercy of the Lord.
     Unfortunately, this is not what happened.  If you read and study the history books of the Old Testament, you will see that the people often turned from the True and Living God and worshiped idols and false gods.  They turned their back on the Lord, and they would not be obedient to His commandments.
     In spite of this, God wanted to bring His people to repentance.  He wanted them to turn to Him and serve Him in faithfulness.  With this in mind, God sent the prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah to warn the people that judgment would come if the people would not repent.
    Sometimes, the people would heed the word of the prophets and turn to the Lord for awhile.  However, there came a time when the people would not listen to anything that the prophets said.  The prophets like Jeremiah were beaten and mistreated.  Other prophets such as Isaiah and Zechariah were killed.
     Finally, when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son the Lord Jesus Christ into this world to be the full and final revelation.  If people would not listen to the Lord Jesus, they would listen to no one.
     The religious leaders and the majority of people in Jesus' day did not listen to Him.  They refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah.  Jesus was despised, rejected and crucified.  But, the Father vindicated all that Jesus did and said when Jesus rose in triumph from the grave.
     The people did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.  Because of this Jesus has now provided a way for all to come to salvation through Him.  Whoever comes to Jesus in repentance and faith whatever their ethnic background or race will be saved and be part of the Kingdom of God.  Jesus invites all people everywhere to come to Him, and whoever will come to Him, He will not cast out.  It doesn't matter what your age is or what your socio-economic class is, Jesus invites you to come to Him.  Whosoever will may come.
     This parable doesn't have the same dramatic pinpoint focus for us today as did when Jesus first told it.  The Pharisees and the religious leaders knew that Jesus was speaking this parable about them, and it made them so angry that they killed Him because of it.  However, there are some lessons we can draw from this parable.
     One lesson that I draw from this parable is that we have been given great blessings by the Lord Jesus, but He does have expectations of us.  We have received the great gift of salvation from the Lord.  Now the Lord asks us to be those who worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  He expects us to obey his commandments and live a life of holiness.  He calls on us to share the message of His love and grace with others.
     There are times when we as believers do not do those things that the Lord expects of us.  At those times, the Lord sends to us those who will give us a word calling us to repentance and amendment of life.  We have the choice to listen and be restored to fellowship with the Lord, or we can fail to heed the warning and continue in disobedience.  All those who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit dwelling within.  One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin.  When we hear the inner voice of the Spirit, we have the choice to heed that voice or to continue in doing wrong.  If we heed the voice of the Spirit, we will have true fellowship with Jesus.  If we fail to heed, we will find ourselves separated from the Lord.
     I think that the most important lesson that we can learn from this parable is that God loves us so much that He was willing to send His Son to die on the cross to save us from our sins.  Jesus by His death and resurrection has made salvation and hope available to all people everywhere.  All people everywhere are invited by Jesus to come to Him and experience His love and forgiveness.
    All those who turn to Jesus will be with Him for all of eternity.  He has gone to prepare a place for those who love Him so that where He is, we can be there too.
    If you have never turned your life over to Jesus Christ, I hope that you will decide to do that today.  The Bible says that if we turn to Jesus and confess our sins, He will forgive us.  If you ask Him, Jesus will be the Lord of your life.
    Next week, I am going to step away from the parables of Jesus and post a message about the holiness of God and how that relates to us.  This is a message that I feel the Lord has placed on my heart.  On Monday, I will post the verses, and there will be a review on Wednesday.  In a couple of weeks, I will start posting chapters of my book online.  May God bless you all. Amen.