A Thought From Scripture.

What About the So-Called Lost Tomb of Jesus
Paul Maier, well-known religion scholar, wrote a book entitled A Skeleton in God’s Closet in 1994. It was about an archeologist who discovered a skeleton and a manuscript in the Holy Land and the possibility that it might be the remains of Jesus. Was it a hoax or was it the discovery that would shake Christianity down to its foundations? Little did he know or think that such a claim would be made in little over a decade and that he and other religion scholars would be called upon to respond.

What is being claimed and what are the theological implications?
Here is a verbatim quote from the official web site: "An incredible archaeological discovery in Israel changes history and shocks the world. Tombs with the names The Virgin Mary, Jesus of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene and Judah, their son, are found and an investigation begins."
As we will see later, there is no name "Virgin" Mary, just Mary. And no Jesus "of Nazareth". Just "Jesus." And no Mary "Magdalene", just Mary. Etc.
These are the claims being made.
Theological implications:
Resurrection:
Official web site says: "Our documentary does not address this issue."
However, the traditional Christian or biblical doctrine of a bodily resurrection of Jesus would seem to be challenged by their claims.
Ascension:
Official web site says: "If Jesus’ mortal remains have indeed been found, this would contradict the idea of a physical ascension. However, it says nothing against the possibility of a spiritual ascension."
Again, traditional Christian or biblical doctrine is contradicted by their claims.
Furthermore, there is nothing in Christian history about Jesus being married and having a son. They even try to identify this son of Jesus as the beloved disciple in the Gospel of John, claiming that was a code term used to protect the son of Jesus from his enemies.
The official web sites make cross references to the Da Vinci Code and also to late Gnostic texts, as did the Da Vinci Code with the Mary Magdalene theme. The same sort of "what if" thriller spy novel type of thinking is present here. It isn’t good archeology and it isn’t good historical analysis.
Implications.
1 Cor. 15:14, 17, 19 – "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
Rom. 1:4 – "was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.
What was actually discovered and when?
A tomb was discovered in Jerusalem during construction work in 1980. Work immediately stopped and archeologists were called in from the antiquities department. Ten ossuaries were removed and cataloged. The bones were reburied as is customary.
The inscriptions on the ossuaries have been known by scholars since 1980 and no one has thought anything unusual about this for 26 years.
The tomb was clearly from a wealthy, elite family and the stone work on the outer façade was well-done.
What about the names and statistics? What do they prove?
Ten ossuaries from the Talpiot Tomb.
Ossuaries are small bone boxes. Many Jews from around the time of Jesus practiced secondary burial. They buried someone and then after the flesh had decomposed, they removed the bones and placed them in a small bone box or ossuary.
One went missing; three were plain.
Six has inscriptions.
The six names – filmmakers’ claims on translations.
Mariamene e Mara – Miriamne, the teacher.
Yehuda bar Yeshua – Judah, son of Jesus
Matia – Matthew
Yeshua bar Yosef – Jesus, son of Joseph
Yose or Yosa – nickname of Joseph
Maria – Latinized for Miriam.
Statistics
We know the most common names based on the inscriptions of a few thousands ossuaries found from this era.
Top ten male names: (from Richard Bauckham)
Simon/Simeon
Joseph
Eleazar
Judah
John/Yohanan
Jesus
Hananiah
Jonathan
Matthew
Manaean/Menahem
Top female names:
Mary/Mariamne 21%
Salome
Shelamzion
Martha
The makers of this documentary had a statistician calculate the statistical probability of this collection of names being found in one family together.
They then use an analogy to a group of people in a football field to try to sell their statistics.
Put 1000 people in a football field. Have everyone stand. Then have everyone sit down who is not named Jesus.
Then have everyone sit down who does not have a son named Joseph.
Then have everyone sit down who does not have a wife named Mary.
Etc., etc.
The filmmakers are estimating that there is only a 1 in 600 chance that this is NOT the tomb of Jesus Christ. That is the worst case scenario they give.
Another likelihood, possibly involving their suggestion (will have to wait for the movie tonight) that the missing ossuary was James, Jesus' brother, the probability is 1 in 2,400,000.
Problems with these statistics.
These are very common names. Like finding graves here with Smiths, Jones, Williams and Johnsons in them. So what. And it is like their first names being Steve, George, Johnny, and Bill.
In 1926 a "Jesus, son of Joseph’ ossuary was found in the basement of what is now the Rockefeller Museum. It is now in the Israel Museum.
One news report tells of an ancient document of a business deal between a man named Jesus and another man named Jesus witnessed by another Jesus.
They are including names in the calculations which one cannot include. We have no historical record anywhere that there was a Matthew in the family of Jesus. You cannot.
They make much of "Jose" a shortened form of Joseph, about how rare it is. It is rare in the ossuaries, but not as rare among names. One of the brothers of Jesus bore that name, Mark 6:3. However, one of the sons of Mary the mother of James the younger bore that name too, according to Mark 15:40, and he was not Jesus’ brother. And it was a name of Barnabas, according to Acts 4:36.
For their theory to have a chance to work, Jose needs to be the brother of Jesus. Jose is a shortened form of Joseph. The Jesus in this tomb is the son of Joseph. So, it is certainly possible that the Jose in this tomb is the father of the Jesus in this tomb, not his brother.
Filmmakers say that Mariamne e Mara on one ossuary means Mary the teacher. They then go to 3rd and 4th century Gnostic sources and Da Vinci Code type theories saying that Mary Magdalene was known as a great teacher in the early church. Richard Bauckham, a great English NT scholar, suggests that Mara here "does not mean Master [teacher]. It is an abbreviated form of Martha. Probably the ossuary contained two women called Mary and Martha (Mariamne and Mara)."
Mariamene – That form of the name for Mary Magdalene comes from 300 years later from Gnostic writings, not from 1st century sources. More Da Vinci Code type theorizing.
Mary – Latinized form of the name. They are trying to make something of early church history in order to claim that this is Mary, the mother of Jesus, and what was supposedly going on in Jerusalem. It is all fiction just to spin their theory.
One person looked at the statistics and tried to be generous to the filmmakers but posed two alternatives:
This tomb could belong to 228 other Herodian Jerusalem citizens named Jesus son of Joseph, or
If Jesus was buried in Jerusalem in this tomb, it didn’t include 70% of his family and the New Testament forgot to tell us that Jesus was married, had a son, and that there was a Matthew and Martha in his family. Which is most likely?
While there are several coincidences with the family of Jesus due to very common names, there are several things which statistically go very strongly against the possibility of this being the family tomb of Jesus. There are 5 assumptions in the theory propounded in this documentary. One skeptic of this documentary calculated that the theory of this documentary had a 1 in 60 million chance of being true. He was a biased skeptic, I must admit. So he did adjust for it on several points but still came up with 1 in 15,000 chances.
Occam’s razor is the idea that the simplest explanation is likely the correct one. Some have suggested that the simplest way to explain the family lines in this tomb would exclude the family of Jesus for several reasons, which we have noted.
What about the DNA evidence? What does it prove?
The bones were removed and buried by Israeli custom.
DNA tests were done on human residue taken from the "Jesus son of Jose" ossuary and "Mariamne" ossuary.
They were only able to do mitochondrial DNA testing which is only able to test the mother line. Able to prove that these two individuals were not maternally related.
Makers of this documentary are suggesting that this Jesus and Mary, then, were married and that it was Mary Magdalene.
It is possible that these two were married. But they might not be. Might have been in-laws or another relationship.
What about other evidence? Does it support or conflict?
The ancestral home of Joseph was Bethlehem. Then they lived in Nazareth. Joseph likely died in Nazareth. Why would the family have a major tomb in Jerusalem?
We have no evidence or hint of Jesus being married and having a son.
Where was Mary, the mother of Jesus, buried?
One traditional location is another place in Jerusalem.
Much more likely, though, is Ephesus, according to Eusebius and other ancient church tradition, which has much more credibility, since Mary was committed to the care of the apostle John and John spent his last years in Ephesus.
The movie makers are going to try to tie the James ossuary to this tomb. James ossuary was found a few years ago. However, the man who produced it said it came from a different part of Jerusalem and the dirt on it matched soil from a different part of Jerusalem. Also, some ongoing intrigue related to the James ossuary which involves a trial in Israel and a former FBI agent, Gerald Richard, has brought to light some photographs of the James ossuary that may have been taken in the 1970s—before the so-called Lost Tomb of Jesus was even discovered!
Eusebius, an early church historian, tells us about where James was buried and of a stele erected over his tomb. It is not in the location where this tomb was found.
This Talpiot tomb was quite expensive. The family of Jesus was not wealthy. For them to afford this type of burial, it would have taken the support of the Jerusalem church community. What are the implications of that?
The church would have known where Jesus was buried. The early church would have gone to his grave to show him honor. But the church didn't go to any tomb for many centuries, because they didn’t know where his garden burial tomb was, which was used only temporarily until the resurrection.
If the early church and apostles knew where Jesus was buried, why would they have gone out and preached that he was resurrected and ascended and why would they have died for that message????
What do the scholars say?
You can find a scholar on whatever side of the issue to say whatever you want said. Most, though, are critical of this documentary even before it airs, because there is enough information available on the web so that they can dismiss it.
Some more liberally minded theologians are saying, "Maybe there is something to it, but it doesn’t harm our faith." Those who are saying this are those who didn’t really believe in a literal, bodily resurrection anyway.
Quotes from theologians, Bible scholars, archeologists, and historians.
Ben Witherington, NT historian of Jesus studies, "It is a story full of holes, conjectures, and problems. It will make good TV and involves a bad critical reading of history. Basically this is old news with a new interpretation. We have known about this tomb since it was discovered in 1980. There are all sorts of reasons to see this as much ado about nothing much."
Joe Zias, curator for anthropology and archeology at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem from 1972 to 1997 who personally numbered the Talpiot ossuaries said: "Simcha [Jacobovici, TV director] has no credibility whatsoever. He’s pimping off the Bible…He got this guy Cameron, who made ‘Titanic’ or something like that—what does this guy know about archeology? I am an archeologist, but if I were to write a book about brain surgery, you would say, ‘Who is this guy?'…Projects like this make a mockery of the archeological profession."
Amos Kloner, the first archeologist to examine the site back in 1980, said the TV documentary fails to hold up to archeological standards, but it makes for profitable television. He has called it nonsense. "They just want to get money for it."
Paul Maier, NT scholar and historian, professor at Western Michigan University, "Alas, this whole affair is just the latest in the long-running media attack on the historical Jesus, which – we thought – had culminated in that book of lies, The Da Vinci Code. But no: the caricatures of Christ continue. Please, lose no sleep over the Talpiot "discoveries".
How solid is the ground of our faith?
One positive aspect of this is that if you claim to find anyone else’s bones in a grave, there would only be a little excitement. But claim to find’s Christ’s bones, and the whole world gets excited. It shows that Jesus Christ commands attention even today and he makes claims like no other in the world.
The fact that even Jewish archeologists and scholars who took part in this discovery from 1980 yet they didn’t jump on the bandwagon and proclaim this a great find tells us something. We have nothing to worry about here.
The arguments for the resurrection and the evidence for the resurrection come from so many different angles that we stand on firm ground. Our faith is a reasonable faith.
1 Cor. 15:4-7 – "He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also."

Matthew 24 continued

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” [Mat. 24:42].

I will begin a study of this verse with the word “ye.” It refers to the audience that Yahshua (Jesus) had all of the way through this chapter. The ones to whom He was speaking was His apostles, the ones who were biologically alive when He was alive biologically in the 1st century AD.

It was to them that He said to “watch.” Now why in the world would He tell them to watch if the “coming” of the Lord was not to occur for 2,000 or more years?

It was interesting in my research to learn that the Greek word “gregoreuo” literally means “to stay awake.” The KJV translates the word by the words “be vigilant, wake and watch or be watchful.” Recall the parable of the ten virgins and they were to “watch,” i.e. they were to “keep awake” and be ready for the arrival of the bridegroom. We will study more on that when we get to chapter 25.

The word “therefore” comes from an original word that connects (conjunctionally), i.e. these three verses are connected and it means “accordingly.” As they saw the season of the “coming” of the Lord, they were to “watch accordingly,” i.e. the closer the time came, the more they were to be watchful. They knew when, they knew that it was in their generation in the 1st century AD, but they did not know the “day and hour.” If they understood Yahshua (Jesus) to be talking about something in the 21st century, they would have asked Him, “Why, Lord, must we watch? We will have been dead for 2,000 years. Why not say something that will be around and alert the people who are alive in the 21st century about watching, instead of telling us to watch?”

It is only by implication that the Greek word that is translated as “ye know” can be used, for its primary meaning is “to see.” Obviously any “seeing” would not be with the naked eye, but a perception of the “coming of their Lord.”

The “coming of the Lord” was for the purpose of destroying the unbelievers and those who were not “watching.” So, the apostles were admonished to “keep awake” and be “ever alert,” and “so much the more as (they saw) the day approaching"

Moms

Gentle Reader,
Here is a piece that my Daughter-in-law sent me, enjoy
Denis

Why God made Moms -- BRILLIANT Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions!!


Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.


How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.

2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring

3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.


What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.


Why did God give you your mother & not some other mom?

1. We're related

2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.


What kind of little girl was your mom?

1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.

2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3. They say she used to be nice.


What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1. His last name.

2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?

3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?


Why did your mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.

2. She got too old to do anything else with him.

3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.


Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.

2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.

3. I guess Mom is. But only because she has a lot more to do than dad.


What's the difference between moms & dads?

1. Moms work at work and work at home & dads just go to work at work.

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.

4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your mom do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time.

2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.


What would it take to make your mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

2. Diet, you know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.


If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head..

WHEN YOU STOP LAUGHING SEND IT ON TO OTHERS!

Matthew 24:

In Persian
Copied by Mas'ud ibn Ibrahim
1312

This, the first Persian manuscript to enter the Vatican Library, may well have been acquired by the Chaldean metropolitan Mar Yosef, who came from Malabar to Rome in 1568 to clear himself of the charge of Nestorianism. Written in the cursive "naskhi" script typical of the Middle East, it is one of the earliest surviving Persian manuscripts of any part of the Scriptures--none are known to be earlier than the fourteenth century. The rarity of the manuscript was quickly appreciated. The Persian scholar Giovanni Battista Vecchietti consulted it when he was in Rome in 1598 and foliated it. It was also read and copied by Tumagen, an Armenian from Aleppo who probably arrived in Rome in the train of Leonardo Abel after his mission to Syria in 1586. The page displayed here includes the opening of the text of the Gospel of Matthew.


“Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left” [Mat. 24:40].

The word “then” introduces to us again the time element. It was following immediately the events that come before in this chapter.

It also connects to the previous verse that speaks of Noah and the people who were destroyed in the flood.

The illustration here is the second illustration – Noah being the first – showing the suddenness of the “coming” of the Israelite Messiah in 66 AD to 70 AD to destroy the unbelieving Judahites.

This illustration is of workers in a field. The indication is that one was working correctly and the other one was either not working at all (which is the best probability), or working wrongly.

Yahshua (Jesus) used the illustration of only “two,” whereas in the illustration of Noah, he used the whole world.

One was taken and the other left. Many are desirous of using this verse to prove their rapture theory, but careful study will show that it backfires on them.

In Noah’s day, “he took them all away” to destruction, not to save them.

Likewise, in this illustration, “the one shall be taken” for destruction, not for salvation. Both were in the same field (i.e. both belonged to God). One was removed for destruction and the other was left in the field (kingdom).

The same thing can be seen in the following parable.

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn” [Mat. 13:24-30].

Before the “saved” were gathered together, “first” the tares (the disbelievers) were gathered together for the purpose of burning them – destroying them.

This verse in Matthew and some of the parables deal with “taking away” (after they had been gathered together) the unbelievers “being taken away” for destruction, not to rapture the good away first.

It has been my observation over 54 years that if people are going to read the bible, that they should pay much closer attention to what it truly says
Love,
Denis

Requiem for a heavyweight

Gentle Reader,

I interrupt my explanation of "the Jesus that the Apostle Paul preached", (see Dr Denis says... http://drcallahan.bravejournal.com) to bring you some sad news. While most of you know that my wife Marti has been bedfast for half a dozen years and her best friend and closest companion was her little Chihuahua ChiFawn PI.

Fawn as she was known to her friends, mostly birds and our Lhasa Apso, Patrick Tis Himself (Paddy) was an unusual dog.

She never left Marti’s side or her bed except to eat and drink and to play occasionally with one or two of our birds from time to time.

Certified as a service animal under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act which is governed but the U.S. Department of Justice. Fawn never demanded her "rights" under the law.



Dogs have souls, don’t they?

I remember bringing you home. You were so small and cuddly with your tiny paws and soft fur. You bounced around the room with eyes flashing and ears at attention. Once in a while you’d let out a little yelp just to let us know this was your "territory"!

There is a belief that Chihuahua’s have the ability to absorb the illness of their owners (whether that is true I cannot say, however when I was sick in bed with the loss of a lung Fawn crawled up on my chest and lay there until I was able to get up and get around).

But it was Marti who received most of Fawn’s attention. Fawn never left Marti’s side

When Marti was confined to bed Fawn was there, providing companionship, love, support and therapy when medical doctors gave up.

Last night or rather at 6:53 this morning after a sleepless night of sitting up with this little angel she finely look up at Marti and then me and then into the air as if to say ("Well boys, I’m ready to come home now! Some one else will have to take over my watch" Those who don’t believe in God or love need to see man’s best friend who ask for nothing than to be of service.

The Gift of Love

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.... 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly,b but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

So Gentle reader, let me leave you with these final thoughts



Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Fawn gave us, especially Marti, that unconditional love that we attribute to God. Perhaps that’s why dog spelled backwards is God.

Denis

Chi Fawn PI (R.I.P. 2/20/2007)

Matthew 24!

Matthew 24:34 is one of the most interesting and most often twisted passages in the entire bible. It will help us to understand the verse, by looking at many of the various translations of the verse, especially regarding the word “fulfilled” in the KJV. I do not have all of the translations at my disposal, but of the ones that I have, it might be an indication that the KJV might be the only translation that has the Greek word “genetai” translated by the word “fulfilled.” Let us look at the KJV first, then some of the other prominent translations.

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” [King James Version].

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished” [American Standard Version].

"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” [New American Standard Version].



“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place” [Revised Standard Version].



“Then at last this age will come to its close” [The Living Bible].



“Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” [New King James Version].



“Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died” [Today’s English Version].



“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” [New International Version].



To any honest thinking individual, how can there be any doubt? What do the words “fulfilled, accomplished, take place, will come to a close, will happen, have happened” mean? Cannot a second grade student tell us old people what the words mean? Is there anything in these words in any of the translations that mean anything other than that all of the things that were listed between Matthew 24:1-33 happened in the 1st century AD? They all took place before the contemporary people with Yahshua (Jesus) had died biologically. They were all accomplished. They will not happen again. The things of Matthew 24 are not for our generation in the 21st century, nor for any future generation of people. That age came to a close, as The Living Bible stated it. This verse forever nailed it down that all of the other verses taught the same thing, i.e. that by 70 AD, everything that Yahshua (Jesus) had said in chapter 23 and thus far in chapter 24, happened and were completed in the 1st century AD. But for further surprises to some people, it does not stop with verse 34, for the remainder of chapter 24 and chapter 25 still deal with the same coming of Yahshua (Jesus) to destroy the rebellious Judahites between 66 AD and 70 AD. How can such a simple saying of the Son of God be twisted so much by so many people? And why?



There is no need to discuss further the meaning of “pass away,” for one of the translations even put it plainer, “have died.” Seven of the eight translations that were quoted above says “this generation,” not “some generation.” Read the translation from Today’s English Version again.



“Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.”

The boulder

The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

Twelve or Sixteen Apostles?

A Thought From Scripture.

Jesus had twelve disciples, but we know a larger number of people, including some women (Mark 15:40; Luke 23:55), were associated with him in his work. Because Jesus was calling Israel back to its true faith in God, there had to be twelve designated apostles as a symbol of the fulness of the twelve tribes. But the membership in this group may have been a bit fluid, since we have as least fifteen names plus Matthias, who was enrolled after the Resurrection:
Simon (Bar-Johan, matt. 16;17, also called Peter)
Andrew, brother of Simon
James, son of Zebedee
John, son of Zebedee
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas (called the Twin, John 20;24)
Matthew
James, son of Alphaeus
Thaddaeus
Simon the Cananaean (or Zealot, Luke 6:15)
Judas Iscariot
Levi (Luke 5;27,usually equated with Matthew)
Nathanael of Cana
Judas, son of James (Luke 6:16; "not Iscariot," John 14:22)
Matthias (replacing Judas Iscariot, Acts 1;26

God's Valentine

Valentine from God...

God thinks you are wonderful~!

It may be difficult
for you to believe
that God knows your name...
but He does.

Written on His hand
Spoken by His mouth
Whispered by His lips.
Your name.

"I have written your name
on My hand" Isaiah 46:16

"It is not our love for God;
its God's love for us
in sending His Son
to be the Way
to take away our sins."
1 John 4:10

If you want
to touch God's heart,
use the name He loves to hear.
Call him "Father"
He thinks you're wonderful!

From God...

A letter from the Lord

--Patience, Child!"

Can you hear Me, My child? Can you hear Me calling your name? Listen!

Listen! Can you hear the longings of My heart ringing out through the

heavens for you?

I have not forgotten you or mislaid My plans for your life. There is no

need for you to rush around so frantically. Don't you know that you are

not an embarrassment to Me? What are you trying to make up for? Am I not

your sufficiency?

Be still in your heart and mind and know that I Am God.

You cannot get on the ship until it docks, yet at times you become so

frantic for fear of missing what I am doing that you miss Me in the

stillness and quiet of your soul. This is a time of calm - a time of

preparation of heart - a time of just knowing Me and walking with Me. I

am not in a panic. I am not a whirlwind.

My Church is in a twilight time--a time of semi-light, because it hasn't

reached full maturity yet. But do not despise its immaturity, for it is

at this time that it is being awakened into the new, and ushered into

that which is only just beginning to come into being. Do not be impatient,

dear child, for it is only now the dawning of a new era where there will

be the awakening of many souls.

I will fill you and will make you ready for this new season, but each season

of the past had to take its place in turn, for the world you live in must

revolve completely and I do not cut corners to serve man's impatient heart.

There is a fullness of time and My plans will come to pass in this fullness

of time.

I am your covering like a blanket. I will not leave you unprotected and

vulnerable to the things which must come upon the earth. My arm will be

around you; My voice calling you hither and guiding you which way to go.

Come and shelter under My wings and know that your name is on My lips. Hear

Me whisper your name tenderly. Come and rest in My arms and be still in My

love and tender care. I am the guardian of your soul. Feel My heartbeat for

you and My breath on your face. My voice is like that of calm seas and

summer breezes refreshing your soul.

The world does not need more busyness and knowledge - it needs to feel

My heart and then it will be healed and made whole. Lean against Me and

feel My heartbeat and only then will it become your heartbeat also, for it

cannot be taught, but only experienced. Then take this and hold others in

your arms so that they too will feel My heartbeat, and then they will know

that they too can run into My arms without fear. I am the only safe place--

the only place of peace and assurance. So be still My child and let your

heart be re-ignited to My love.

About loss

Gentle Readers,
What has happened to the attitude of loss in association with Christianity and ministry? I myself fled the call of God, for in my mind and heart it meant sacrifice, loss of independence and a submission to the purpose of God over every other thing. This is what I had understood from my years of hearing about the call of God.




From years in the church, from Sunday School to the thousands of messages preached, I understood to obey the call of God meant I would lose everything. And in answering the call I did over time, I offered every relationship and source of pride on the altar of sacrifice and as I suspected they did not survive the fire of God's trying. As a young aspiring minister, I learned what it was like to give my last dollar, to see God give me a twenty. I was reminded the other day of giving my favorite bible away, and the next day I was given a very nice and much more costly bible.




I remember these times of living on the edge of survival, where I was constantly challenge to give it all away... and see that what I ended up with was more than I gave. I don't say this to brag, please understand my purpose. How many times have I given away my last 10, 20, 100 and even 1,000? Then to see the Lord return it to me literally pressed down and running over? I see in my own life and the spirit of things in general, ... let me just personalize this, the idea of Loss has been lost.




The idea of sacrifice has evolved into feeding the cattle and breeding them to have more cows, justifying in our mind that we could be a better blessing with a herd of cattle rather than sacrificing what God is asking.




Reminds me of Saul, when rather than obedience... he saved some... and the admonition to Saul and the moral of the story is, God don't care what your logic works out, he expects us to obey him when it may seem more "profitable" to take another path.




Or Ananias and Sapphira, wanted recognition for an offering, rather than giving all. When the Spirit was asking for sacrifice, they wanted to give out of convinience.... and acting like they were giving it all. It may seem rather harsh for them to die... yet in this, it demonstrates, there are times when half way obedience is not going to cut it.




If we are not careful we will begin to be satisfied with "managing" our affairs while giving God a piece, rather than giving God all and letting him manage His Affairs, our affairs are Gods if we belong to him.




The idea of loss, is an easy thing to lose.




If I had a song file, I would insert here,
I will give you all,
I will give you all,
if all is what you ask of me,
I will not withhold,
and if my sacrifice is less,
than giving you my very best,
let me remember calvary cross and be willing to say yes
Moses refused the wealth and prestige of the world and allowed himself to participate in the suffering and scorn of his people.
When we have reached the place of the Rich Man.... in that we consider building bigger barns and speaking peace and rest to our souls... are we not ensnaring ourselves to a camel that cannot get through the eye of the needle. When Jesus spoke of this, it smote the very mindset of being a Jewish person. The disciples cried out, Can anyone be saved? And Jesus said... With me, All things are possible.




I am en devouring to re dig the wells of thought and consecration that started me on this road of ministry, that I may recapture the Spirit of Ministry that I believe I must have.




Counting those things but loss, that I might gain Christ.... Easier said than done...

What If?

What if God couldn't take the time to bless us today because we couldn't take the time to thank Him yesterday?

What if God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today?

What if we never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when God sent the rain?

What if God didn't walk with us today because we failed to recognize it as His day?

What if God took away his messge because we failed to listen to the messenger?

What if God didn't send His only begotten Son because He wanted us to be prepared to pay the price for sin?

What if the door tof the church was closed because we did not open the door of our heart?

What if God stopped loving a caring for us because we failed to love and care for others?

What if God would not hear us today because we would not listen to him yesterday?

What if God answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service?

What if God met our needs the way we give Him our lives?

God's Coffee

Gentle Reader,

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some
expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."


Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God

"Child Abuse"?

What Would Happen If Jesus Were Born In U.S. Today?

Infant Discovered In Barn, Child Protective Services Launch Probe

Nazareth Carpenter Being Held On Charges Involving Underage Mother

12/14/06 --" - Bethlehem, Judea - Authorities were today alerted by a concerned citizen who noticed a family living in a barn. Upon arrival, Family Protective Service personnel, accompanied by police, took into protective care an infant child named Jesus, who had been wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a feeding trough by his 14-year old mother, Mary of Nazareth.

During the confrontation, a man identified as Joseph, also of Nazareth, attempted to stop the social workers. Joseph, aided by several local shepherds and some unidentified foreigners, tried to forestall efforts to take the child, but were restrained by the police.

At one point Joseph became confrontational and delusional claiming the child was "God's child". An officer, who used a Tazer device on Joseph, stated,"The man became uncooperative. We feared for his own safety and that of the child so we used a non-lethal weapon and restrained him in handcuffs. This was the same man I detained earlier for attempting to take a donkey on a public highway. At that time he incredibly claimed a 'common right to his conveyance of choice on a public highway' explaining that his donkey only used the grassy portion and was nointerference to the faster vehicles.

He showed no identification, said he had no job and claimed to not have a social security number-laughing and uttering some non-sense that it was the 'mark of the beast'. He was cooperative at that time so I let him go with a highway warning and a charge of vagrancy. It's a trend with these types of people: We find that they start in minor trouble like traffic incidents and graduate to more acts of civil disobedience. Eventually they cross-over and break one of the many many laws of and for government. Still, I can't understand why he became uncooperative to the point that we had to use non-lethal force-after all we're just doing the job of the 'consent of the governed'. Don't these people understand that they must submit to authority that is in their best interests?"

Also being held for questioning are three foreigners who incredibly allege to be "wise men" from an eastern country. The INS and Homeland Security officials are seeking information about these who may be in the country illegally. A source with the INS states that they had no passports, but were in possession of gold and other possibly illegal substances. They resisted arrest saying that they had been warned by God to avoid officials in Jerusalem and to return quickly to their own country. The chemical substances in their possession will be tested. An officer at the scene said the suspicious enclosures for the chemical substances might constitute "drug paraphernalia". The agent for Homeland Security stated that he contacted the IRS under the suspicion that this gold might be linked to a foreign trust method of "under-reporting income".

An agent commented: "The presence of paraphernalia, chemical substances, gold, and foreign people without passports is certainly suspicious. Terrorists are known to fund terrorism activities through illegal drug trading. Or these could be part of an illegal-alien smuggling ring from Mexico. In either case the claim that these three are Kings is unsubstantiated as they are not diplomats registered with the Department of State."

The owner of the barn is also being held for questioning. The manager of Bethlehem Inn faces possible revocation of his license for violating health and safety regulations by allowing people to stay in the stable. Civil authorities are also investigating the zoning violations involved in maintaining livestock in a commercially-zoned district. The owner of the barn claimed he provided the lodging free hence the guests did not need to register.

He was noted to exclaim, "For heaven's sake, its Jesus! Can't we forego government intrusion into our lives for the Christ-child celebration?" Authorities were not amused and demanded his identification and his Inn lodging and restaurant board-of-health certification.

The location of the minor child will not be released, and the prospect for a quick resolution to this case is doubtful. Asked about when Jesus would be returned to his mother, a Child Protective Service spokesperson said, "The father is middle-aged and the mother definitely underage. This is suspicious behavior worthy of investigation." When asked who these people were and where they were from, the spokesman replied: "Both parents refuse to provide identification. Both claim no social security number and provided no marriage license.

The father claims a license from heaven as a common-law right. They have no birth certificate for the baby Jesus. In this sense they are deemed uncooperative by us and are probably members of some anti-government common-law movement group. I simply can't imagine why parents would not want to register the birth and citizenship of a baby such as Jesus!

In America everybody does this--it's for the welfare of the child. Why would they not want to register that baby Jesus as a UNITED STATES CITIZEN and hence leave his real citizenship in question? If they are not hiding something, what do they have to fear?

I tried to reason with the father. I asked the father the question as to why he never applied for baby Jesus' social security number explaining that Jesus could have earning's credit's and receive retirement benefits. The father uttered total non-sense about 'rendering unto Caesar', more religious 'mark-of-the-beast' dogma, and retirement in God's kingdom.

Frankly I'm flabbergasted by these types of people. It's a trend we wish to stop. They never volunteer and this we view as uncooperative behavior. They never apply for social security numbers, they never register the birth of their children, they refuse to register to vote for our two parties, they don't show us identification when we ask 'for their papers" kindly, they refuse to send their children to public education under a homeschool banner, they claim adherence to God's law and not man's, they claim government harassment as the reason they must be transients, and they protest filling-out voluntary-compliance government forms. Frankly, these types of anti-government people are always uncooperative. We are checking with officials in Nazareth to determine what the legal relationship is between father, mother and baby."

Joseph has admitted taking Mary from her home in Nazareth because of a census requirement. However, because she was obviously pregnant when they left, investigators are looking into other reasons for their departure. Joseph is being held without bond on charges of molestation, kidnapping, child endangerment, and statutory rape.

The local prosecutor had this to say: "I feel confident that this man is either suffering from a psychological problem or is hiding his uncooperative, anti-social and anti-government viewpoints under the disguise of religious dogma. Everybody is entitled to a viewpoint but the defining line is statutory criminal activity and possible terrorist threats. We will weigh the evidence collected and then decide the extent of the charges and whether to prosecute."

A spokesman for the court said this: "We always consider the welfare of people first. If this case is brought to trial we will judge it on the basis of social welfare for the child and criminal activity in violation of law for government. If brought to trial they will be allowed court-determined due process before a jury of their peers to present factual evidence on their behalf. Rest assured, they will NOT be permitted to express their view of the law to the jury-even though they claim to operate under God's law and not man's. This could 'unduly influence' the jury.

They will be appointed an attorney free of charge as attorneys are always for incompetents only. Rest assured that even though our incarceration rate is the highest in the world, the People still claim our courts and judges are the fairest in the world. We respect their religious viewpoints however, they will be judged and prosecuted to the full extent of our government statutory law and we will not allow their religious viewpoints to interfere with our government statutory law in the administration of our justice."

Mary was taken to the Bethlehem General Hospital where she is being examined by doctors. Charges may also be filed against her for endangerment. She will also undergo psychiatric evaluation because of her claim that she is a virgin and that the child is from God.

The director of the psychiatric wing said, "I don't profess to have the right to tell people what to believe, but when their beliefs adversely affect the safety and well-being of others - in this case her child - we must consider her a danger to others. The unidentified drugs at the scene didn't help her case, but I'm confidant that with the proper therapy regimen we can get her back on her feet."

A spokesperson for the governor's office said, "Who knows what was going through their heads? But regardless, their treatment of the child was inexcusable, and the involvement of these others frightening. There is much we don't know about this case, but for the sake of the child and the public, you can be assured that we will pursue this matter to the end."

"The Duke"

 

"the Quiet man"

Gentle Reader,

I just ran across this story and while I can't say it's true I won't say it isn't either. It points up a truth that is truer that true. Read, enjoy, and comment if you like. Be sure to read the comments that others have written and my response to them.

See you at the end.

THE POWER OF A LETTER

Most of you know John Wayne as an actor. You may not know what happened to him before he died. This is
that story! Robert Schuller's teenage daughter,
Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to have
her leg amputated. John Wayne is a big fan of Robert
Schuller. He heard Dr. Schuller say on one of his
programs that his daughter had been in an accident and
had to have her leg amputated. John Wayne wrote a
note to her saying: "Dear Cindy, Sorry to hear about
your accident. Hope you will be all right." Signed,
John Wayne.

The note was delivered to her and she decided she wanted to write John Wayne a note in reply. She wrote:

Dear Mr. Wayne, I got your note.
Thanks for writing to me. I like you very much. I am
going to be all right because Jesus is going to help
me. Mr. Wayne, do you know Jesus? I sure hope you
know Jesus, Mr. Wayne, because I cannot imagine Heaven being complete without John Wayne being there. I hope, if you don't know Jesus, that you will give your heart to Jesus right now. See you in Heaven. And she signed her name.

 She had just put that letter in an envelope, sealed it, and written across the front of it "John Wayne" when a visitor came into her room to see her. He said to her:

" What are you doing?" She said: "I just wrote a letter to John Wayne, but I don't know how to get it to him." He said: "That's funny, I am going to have dinner with John Wayne tonight at the Newport Club down at Newport Beach. Give it to me and
I will give it to him". She gave him the letter and he
put it in his coat pocket.

There were twelve of them that night sitting around the table for dinner. They were laughing and cutting up and the guy happened to reach in his pocket and felt that letter and remembered. John Wayne was seated at the end of the table and the guy took the letter out and said: "Hey, Duke, I was in Schuller's daughter's room today and she wrote you a letter and wanted me to give it to you. Here it is". They passed it down to John Wayne and he opened it.

They kept on laughing and cutting up and someone happened to look down at John Wayne.
He was crying. One of them said: "Hey, Duke, what is
the matter?" He said (and can't you hear him saying
it), " I want to read you this letter." He read the
letter. Then he began to weep. He folded it, put it
in his pocket, and he pointed to the man who delivered
it to him and said: "You go tell that little girl that
right now, in this restaurant, right here, John Wayne
gives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her in
heaven." Three weeks later John Wayne died. You never know how your witness to another will effect their eternity!

So there you have the story of "Duke" and what I like to call a defining moment! Each of us have at least one in which God becomes a wee bit more visible and steps into time as it were to touch you in a way that perhaps you can not explain, but can say "I know that there is a God in heaven, because He touched me"!

 Love you the most, until the next time Gentle Reader,

Denis

Gentle reader,
Late in his life, the great stage and screen actor, John Barrymore, was quoted as saying, "You can tell you're old when regrets take the place of your dreams."

I realize regret is commonly encountered by people in the world—especially in the second half of life. But it shouldn't be that way for God's people. It certainly doesn't have to be.

I was reminded of that in a powerful way by something I read the other day. It made a powerful impression on me and, here at the beginning of a brand new year, I sense a leading to share it with you today.

A Pointed Question

I recently came across a moving story shared by a Christian man who was well-into his 60s. His name is Jim.

Last December 30th, Jim's mother passed away and went to be with the Lord. She was 93. As Jim tells it, right up until the day she passed away, her mind was clear. Until just a few months earlier, she had been active—doing sit ups and push ups to stay in shape. She sounds like a phenomenal lady.

About a week before her passing, Jim was sitting with her in the hospital and decided to ask her a pointed question. The kind of question a wise man asks when he knows his opportunities for asking are few and precious.

"Mama, do you have any regrets?"

Now, I know that if someone asked me that question today, I would have to say, "You'd better get out your note pad. And make sure that pen has plenty of ink!"

I suspect that most of us could think of many words it would have been better to have left unsaid. And many forks in the road at which we made a poor choice.

How did Jim's mother answer that question as she looked back across 93 years of living? She said, "Yeah, Jimmy. I do."

Jim said he braced himself for her answer. Was there a broken relationship that never got mended? A fateful choice that altered the course of her life?

"What is it, Mama?"

She said, "Well, I made a commitment to the Lord to read through the Bible this year, and I'm not going to get to finish. I know that now."

Finished Business

Jim asked his mother how far she had gotten (fearing that if she had only read to the Psalms or to Isaiah, there wouldn't be enough time to help her keep her commitment.)

She said, "I lack First, Second, and Third John, Jude, and Revelation." She had only four tiny epistles and Revelation's 32 chapters standing between her and a holy promise kept.

Jim said, "Well, I think we can get through that." So he got out his Bible, settled into the bedside chair, and began to read. John's letters and Jude were finished in short order.

Then, over the next few days, they began to move through the book of Revelation. As they read, they talked about heaven; about the worship that will take place around God's throne; and about the Lamb that was worthy to open the seals.

Then one day, they came to these words:

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost...He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Revelation 22:17,21,22)

With those glorious closing words of Revelation, a final regret was eliminated.

Just a couple of mornings later, the nurse came in and asked Jim's mom if she would like some breakfast. She ate a little toast and took a sip of coffee. She put her head back on her pillow. Then the Master whom she loved and for whom she'd lived, called her home.

May you and I live with such God-honoring priorities. And when our races are finished, may we pass with such grace.

Your Year of No Regrets

I share this wonderful story for two reasons. First, I want to encourage you to enter this new year with a prayerful resolve to live this year, and the ones that follow, in such a way as to not allow regrets to replace your dreams.

Of course, the biggest source of regrets on earth involves relationships.

That's why we will be here for you in the coming months to help you strengthen your most important relationships. Karen and I will be using every medium at our disposal to help you make your marriage better and more fulfilling; to bring you keys for raising emotionally and spiritually healthy children; for succeeding in literally every area of your family life!

That brings me to the second reason I shared Jim's story...

Our Common Privilege

What a privilege Jim was given. To help someone he loved pass from this life without regrets. No unfinished business. No un-kept promises.

You and I have just as great a privilege, however. We have the opportunity to keep people from having one of the most devastating regrets of all — a shattered home.




Denis

MY FAITH? YOUR FAITH? THE FAITH

MY FAITH? YOUR FAITH? THE FAITH
By the late Pastor Bob Hanna

The word "Faith" has suffered untold distortion and misapplica-tion over
time. There are several proper definitions, but they have been shamefully
misinterpreted. One accurate definition is "The Faith," referring to that which is
believed. The apostle wrote; "He [Christ] gave some, apostles, and some,
prophets, and some, evangelists: and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith" (Eph. 4: 11-13).

"And so were the churches established in the faith" (Acts 16:5). Faith, in
these examples, is the common cause in which we believe. This definition is
ordinarily not the victim of misinterpreta- tion. The same can't be said, for
example, of Paul's declaration, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me"
(Galatians 2:20), Most modern translations erroneously render "His faith" to
read, "my Faith". This, of course, is impossible. Human faith has no power to
sustain one's spiritual preserva-tion.

Another false impression popularly held, is that faith can be humanly
generated which can attain one's personal desires. Such a one might be heard to say,
"The reason the Lord didn't answer my prayer is that I didn't have enough
faith." Our faith consists of believing and obeying God, not in producing desired
results. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:1-3).

Strangely, it appears that people can more easily place their faith in
matters of the secular world than in spiritual things. For ex-ample, when a person
is presented a personal check in payment for a service or a purchase, the
recipient is accepting it because he has faith that it will be honored by the bank.
Yet when that same person is offered salvation by grace through faith, he
resists.

God is looking for those with whom He can do the impossible - what a pity
that we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves. -- A. W. Tozer

Bury the past!

Gentle Reader,

In New Testament times capital punishment was sometimes carried out by tying a murder victim's body directly onto the perpetrator' s back. That way wherever he went he was literally weighed down by his crime, with no way to escape the stench of decomposing flesh. Eventually the bacteria-filled corpse infected him too and he died an agonizing death.

Some days Paul felt the weight of his old nature pressing in, reminding him of things from his past that he couldn't change or eradicate. And recognizing how past events can color the present, Paul describes himself as "a wretched man," and asks, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

The fact is you can't move ahead with "the old man" still clinging to you; you must bury him. Even death doesn't have the finality that burial does; part of coming to closure involves disposing of the body. Funerals are for the living; they give people an opportunity to accept that their loved one has gone and that the relationship as they knew it is over.

And as you embark on a new year isn't it time you stopped carrying the past around on your back-and on your mind? Paul says, "Present yourselves to God as those alive from death" (Romans 6:13 NASB).

In other words, refuse to let old memories negotiate a deal with you! Bury them, and do it today. You can't afford a secret love affair with a corpse! It's time for an epitaph, not a revival! There are things in life worth reviving, but not past sins that Jesus paid for and forgave long ago.

the Barnyard

Gentle readers,
Perhaps you can indentify with this little offering.
Denis

The Call of the Barnyard

A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them from below.

One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground that caught his eye. It was a barnyard with a flock of tame ducks who lived on the farm. They were waddling around on the ground, quacking merrily and eating corn that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally liked what he saw. "It sure would be nice to have some of that corn," he thought to himself. "And all this flying is very tiring. I'd like to just waddle around for a while."

So after thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp dive to the left, and headed for the barnyard. He landed among the tame ducks, and began to waddle around and quack merrily. He also started eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey south, but Wally didn't care. "I'll rejoin them when they come back north in a few months," he said to himself.

Several months went by and sure enough, Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up there. And Wally was tired of the barnyard. It was muddy and everywhere he waddled, nothing but duck doo. "It's time to leave," said Wally.

So Wally flapped his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some weight from all his corn-eating, and he hadn't exercised his wings much either. He finally got off the ground, but he was flying too low and slammed into the side of the barn. He fell to the ground with a thud and said to himself, "Oh, well, I'll just wait until they fly south in a few months. Then I'll rejoin them and become a wild duck again."

But when the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to lift himself out of the barnyard. He simply didn't have the strength. Every winter and every spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would call out to him. But his attempts to leave were all in vain.

Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had, after all, become a barnyard duck.

Sometimes we get tired of being wild ducks-followers of Jesus Christ. It's not always easy to be obedient to God and to discipline ourselves to hang in there for the long haul. When we are feeling that way, that's when Satan tempts us to "fall out of formation" and to join the barnyard ducks - the world.

But look what happened to Wally. He thought he would just "check it out" for awhile and then leave when he wanted to. But he couldn't do it. Sin is like that. Sin is a trap, and it has a way of changing us into people we don't even want to become. Eventually we lose touch with who we really are--the sons and daughters of the Most High. We become barnyard ducks.

God calling!

Gentle Reader, How do you know God is speaking to you?

You will hear God speaking to you in that still, small voice that prompts you in your spirit. But, how do you know it is God who is speaking to you? God has given us some direction as to how we can determine His voice from any others we may hear, either real or imagined. These confirmations will strengthen our faith and enable us to hear God more clearly as we grow in our faith.

How do you know God is speaking to you? - The Tests
The following tests will help you determine if God is speaking to you. These methods should be accompanied by continual prayer and in some cases fasting.

The first test is the confirmation of God's written Word - the Bible. Everything that God says will agree with His written Word. He will never tell you to sin or go against a teaching in His Word. This simple test can clarify many "messages." We must, however, be careful not to read the written Word with any preconceived ideas of what it is saying.

The second test is the confirmation of godly counsel. God has placed people in our lives to help us to hear His voice. These people may include pastors, teachers, parents, and godly friends. In most cases, they will confirm the voice of God to you and help you to see His plan. This is not to say that you should rely on them solely. These people are human and can have their own feelings and fears distort their objectivity. However, they can be a very valuable source of confirmation when you are uncertain of God's voice.

The third test is the confirmation through circumstances. Christians can carefully studying their situation for indications of God's will. Some Christians have called this the Gideon method or "putting out the fleece." When God told Gideon that he was to lead Israel into battle against their enemies, Gideon put a fleece out on the ground in order to receive a sign that God was really speaking to him. If you feel led to use this test, come to God with a humble attitude and not a spirit of testing Him. Pray for God to reveal His will and carefully watch the circumstances that relate to that decision.

It is wise to not use any of these methods exclusively when trying to receive confirmation of God's voice. Most Christian leaders would agree that a combination of all three methods of confirmation is the best way to verify that the message you have received is from God. Each method is to be done with prayer. God wants you to hear His voice and He will reveal it to you.

Finally, remember that prayer is a conversation. When you ask God to talk to you, be still and listen for His voice. If you expect Him to speak and you are listening for it, He will speak to you regularly.