Not that we loved Him

I have read 1 John countless times, but today the Lord made me stop and think at verse 10 of chapter 4.

~1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Never do I recall meditating on "not that we loved God". In all honesty, I cannot say that I ever hated the Lord. I have always had a thirst and love for Him, being that I was raised by a Godly mother, for which I am most thankful. On the flip side, I have disobeyed the Lord many a-times before, and unfortunately, still do. I have come to admit that repetitive disobedience is NOT love.

~John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

~John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Not that I loved God. How true, I never loved the Lord enough to do as He did. He sacrificed His only and begotten Son to be the atoning sacrifice for my sins; I, the recipient of such Grace, who so often disobeys and betrays the Word of God.

Actions really do speak louder than words, and the Lord, He proved His love by doing something that I don’t believe our human minds will ever fully comprehend what truly took place on the cross of Calvary.

But that’s just it, we may not have loved Him, but He loved us. John 3:16 – Herein is love.

Unclean

~Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.

In the book of Leviticus, the people of Israel are taught by the Lord God that certain things are unclean. It would be much too long to quote all the Scriptures on this. However, as written in the above-mentioned verse, there is a difference between holy and unholy and between clean and unclean.

If the people at the time were to touch or to eat any of the unholy things decreed by the Lord, they would automatically be unclean and had to stay in such condition until a certain period of time. Also, they were to go to the priest who would then tell them what to do (or what sacrifice to offer unto the Lord) that their sins may be forgiven. I know that is a lot more to this that I have not memorized, but I will admit that I have not studied the book of Leviticus, and yes, I will also admit, I find the book difficult to read. Yet, somehow, the Lord showed me a lesson from His book of Leviticus to convict me and to better my walk with Him.

Now God had chosen Israel that they may be a peculiar people and above any other nation.

~Deu 14:2 For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

We also, in this dispensation, have been called to be a peculiar people.

~Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Though we may be under Grace and not under the law (Amen) as were the Jews at the time of the Prophets, we also are commanded to keep ourselves CLEAN. What can be unclean for us? How about the movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the books we read. The devil is presently in charge of all these things; remember that He is (for now) the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). All these things we do, and much too often justify, they cannot possibly be good for our walk with the Lord. They are all but filth, and they will slowly but surely corrupt our thoughts. Those are the wiles of the devil that keep us from fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

Other things that are UNCLEAN for us are the obvious sins that are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament.

~Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

If we allow any of these things to rule over our flesh, or any other thing that can ultimately corrupt our thoughts, we are, can I say, unclean and certainly in disobedience towards God.

Now just like the Israelites went to their priest for their uncleanness, we also ought to go to our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14) for forgiveness of sins, and He will wash us from all unrighteousness and make us CLEAN.

~1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It really is that simple; all we have to go is get on our knees with an upright heart and ask the Lord Jesus to forgive usall our sins, and to bring into light the secret faults that we may be unaware of, yet are displeasing unto Him. But only Jesus Christ can CLEANSE us from our uncleanness. Only He can sanctify and purify our thoughts. He is OUR High Priest, but this time, there is NO SACRIFICE that we could offer Him that would EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH. He fulfilled that part and no one else could do it, since He is the only Holy One, the blamelss lamb of God. We have the simple task of just asking for His forgiveness.

~1 Peter 2:21-25 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Confused?

I know that finding God’s will for our life is something that most, if not all, Bible believers struggle with. We have this burning desire in our heart that almost consumes our every thought, yet, we are in a state of utter confusion, not knowing how to apply that desire into something concrete.

Unfortunately, we don’t see the road ahead and we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our eyes, however, are not completely blind as we have the living Word of God that can appease our soul and give us remembrance, that the Lord, He is our God, and it is He that goes before us.

The following verse is cheerful one:

Isaiah 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

That is what we can ask of the Lord; that He brings us by a way we know not, that He leads us in paths that we know not, that He makes darkness light before us and crooked things straight. Above all, we can ask our Heavenly Father that He forsake us not, a prayer that He has already answered.

Matthew 28:20 Lo, I am with you always.

Do not be discouraged, just sink into God’s Word and claim all His precious promises. The one thing that is impossible for the Lord is for Him to break His Word.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Verse in my heart

I know we all often wake up with a song in our heart, a hymn really, but this past week, it’s not a hymn, but a verse that has been sown in my heart, morning, noon, evening and night. I know the Lord planted this one for a reason and I do thank Him, because I am in desperate need of His encouragement.

That verse is Psalm 73:26

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psa 73:26)

Ok, this may have to do with the fact that since my car does not play cds, only tapes, I pulled out all my really old Christian tapes that I basically grew up listening to. Most of these tapes were given me by my grandmother. Anywho, on one of the tapes, there is a song that repeats "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever". Needless to say, it’s one of my favorites and I blast the music real loud when it plays.

Honestly, Psalm 73:26 is a great verse and I love having it played over and over again in my head.

Our flesh and our heart will OFTEN fail us, but God is the strength of our heart and our portion forever. AMEN! It is truly an encouraging verse to hide in our heart.

They know it's coming...

We know HE'S coming!!!

Hurricane chief foresees “mega-disaster"

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:25-28

King Jesus is on His way.

Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20

Off to China

Our beloved missionaries left the country very early this morning to find their way back solely in the hands of the Lord. They are plowing the work of mission field in China. We didn’t have a chance to spend too much time with them this summer, as they had to tour the country to visit other churches that support them.

However, it was a blessing for us, their home church, to see them one last time yesterday evening, and to cling on to every word that they had to speak. Please pray for them, and all the missionaries to China, as Christian persecution is REAL in that country. To learn more about Christian persecution in China, click on the link below to get information you will not get on CNN, or any other news network.

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/na.cgi?bc/bccn/0806/intchinese

***Speaking of missions, Pastor Larry and a large number of our church members, including my brother (Revelation 2:17), are off to Toledo, Ohio this week for a missionaries’ conference. Anybody could attend really, but it’s especially helpful for men who have a burdened heart for missionary work. I wish I could have attended, but I already used up my three-week vacation at work. That is alright though. I will use these few days to catch up on a lot of important things, especially tons of Bible reading! ***

Pre-tribulation rapture of the church; Part 1, what last trumpet?

Pen of Iron – Bible Studies

Posted by Revelation 2:17.

Hear His Voice

~Psalm 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

If our expectation truly is from God, then we ought to have an ear that is ready to hear, for an ear ready to hear is an ear ready to obey.

Our God is the great shepherd, Jesus Christ, who calls His sheep by their names and leads them into the way wherein the way is safe, if they listen to His voice.

~Psalm 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

~John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out…..John 3:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

You see, Jesus Christ calls us by our name and as the sheep of His pasture, we recognize His mighty voice, and ought to be ready to follow Him.

The enemy, however, will call us by our flesh. Honour, money, prestige and all lustful things that our eyes are set upon, that is how satan will lead us into his herd of wolves and tear us apart, away from sweet fellowship with our Abba Father. His way leads to death.

We need to set our heart’s desire on things above (Colossians 3:2) and fix our eyes on Jesus Christ for His way is the way to life (John 11:25). Remember, Jesus Christ calls you by your name, but the enemy, that old serpent called the devil, calls you by the flesh, just as He did lure Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:4-5).

Which voice will you hear?

The Barren Women Rejoice

Far above rubies

The eyes of the Lord

Pro 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

If we realized just how true this verse is, and it is, I think we would be a lot more conscientious with the way we go about our daily life.

Think about it, those are those eyes we read of in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire.

It is those very eyes that are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. As comforting as it is in knowing that our Saviour King sees the “good”, and even rewards us for it (Matthew 10:42), it’s terribly terrifying that those very eyes, which are as a flame of fire, also behold our evil; our foolish ways of acting, speaking, and even thinking. And if we know our God, we know just how much He despises evil.

Psalm 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

That ought to be enough to place the fear of the Lord in our heart, and to cause us to be more conscientious with our daily behaviour, which we so easily justify.

The eyes of the LORD are in every place….scary, isn’t it?

Secret Faults

The last two weeks have not been good for me, and I have no one to blame but myself; I let my guards down. I let all sorts of activities get in the way of my Bible reading and prayer time with my Lord. Jesus Christ wasn't on top of my list, and by the time I got home, I would be too "tired" for Him. An unworty execuse. Consequently, I have been acting foolishly for the past two weeks. I also feel very “weak” and I have this immense thirst to spend a big amount of time with the Lord.

Ironically, since the month of January, I had been doing very well in my walk with the Lord and it felt so great to be on such an high. Well, I can’t say that God’s Word hadn’t warned me.

1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

And I fell! I now understand David’s saying:

Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

I had not hid God’s Word in my heart and I slipped into sin, foolishness rather. But even the thought of foolishness is sin (Proverbs 24:9). I actually executed the thought into actions.

But God’s grace abounds.

Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.

It’s time for me to get up and sink into God’s Word and private prayer again with my Heavenly Father. I need to cleanse myself from all unrighteousness. I need to quench that thirst within me and read my Bible and pray and confess all before the Lord God. Now that I know what I ought to do, I think I’ll call it a night and execute something good, at last.

Psa 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

The Bright and Morning Star

~I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Revelation 22:16


He's the Lily of the valley, the bright and morning star, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

Back-to-Back Missionaries

This past Sunday our church had the privilege of meeting an American family from Alabama who are currently (Angie, check out my English) on deputation, raising support for their first mission trip to Rome, Italy. They were with us the entire day, and let me tell you, the preaching was awesome! It is an honour for our church to support them as best as we could. Lord willing, they should be heading to Italy this coming March. Pray for the Homans family (a.k.a. The Homans to the Romans).

Tonight, for the Wednesday night prayer service, we had yet another privilege. A missionary family to England, whom we already support, is currently on furlough, going from church to church, sharing what the Lord has done for them. I enjoyed meeting them. Pray for the Dickens family.

Can you tell we are a missionary church? After all, Montreal Bible Baptist Church is a fruit of missionary work thanks to Pastor Larry and Mrs. Judy. All praise goes to God the Father for whom nothing is impossible. Tonight, I am ever the more encouraged to keep on praying for all the missionaries around the world.

I have been tagged!

Yep, I have been tagged by Angie!

1. One book that changed your life:
This will not come as a shocker. The Holy Bible changed my life. God's Word showed me that I was born in sin, hence a sinner, on my way to death, hell and beyond, and that there was nothing I could do to change that, because the work had already been done. Jesus shed His blood on the cross of Calvary, cried it is finished, rose from the dead and won the victory for me. I accepted His free gift of grace, and I am now on my way to Heaven to spend eternity with my Saviour, Jesus Christ.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
"The Attributes of God" by A.W. Tozer. I highly recommend reading his book.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
King James Bible. Yes, it has to be a King James.

4. One book that made you laugh:
"The Origin of Species" by Charels Darwin. I didn't read it all, I just glanced over it quickly... I was rolling on the floor. Wish he had read His King James Bible.

5. One book that made you cry [or feel really sad]:
"Well with my Soul" by Rachael Phillips. I just recently read this one, a birthday gift, actually. It's very short. It's the behind-story of four great hymn writers. It's really Horatio Spafford's story that made cry a lot, and I do mean a lot. He's the writer behind the famous Hymn It is well with my soul.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
I can't come up with one. Just really glad we have the Bible.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
That's a good one!!! There are BILIONS of books that should have never been written. Please consult my anwer for question #4, for example. Oh, and all those agnostic, new age, astronomy, you name it junk books....even some "self-proclaimed christian" books that I see in christian bookstores at times make my stomach turn upside down. For instance, any of Joel Osteen's books, that dude is seriously messed up.

8. One book you’re currently reading:
"The Sure Word of Prophecy" by Peter Ruckman. Will start this one tonight and I can't hardly wait to dig my teeth into it.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
There are quite a few, but I will have to go with "Foxe's book of Martyrs". I know it's MUST read for all Christians, but every time I glance at it, I lack guts to actually pick it up. There's a book that will make anyone cry.

10. Now tag five people:
I believe everybody I know at this point has been tagged. But this was fun!

Carey's Departure

That's it folks, Carey is presently on her way back to Texas. It was nice having her with us, and I now wish her a safe trip back and God's guidance as she picks up her life again upon arrival back home. I really hope she enjoyed her one-week stay here in Montreal, and I now she will soon post all about her Canadian trip. Looking forward to that.

Visit Carey's journal