Thrown in the Burn Pile

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:15-16)

In my earlier years, I made more than a few decisions which I later regretted. For instance, I decided to stop going to church when I got off to college. The first week I was there I went to church but then I succumbed to the temptation to sleep in on Sundays. I knew my parents would not be happy with this decision. So, I never went beyond telling them that I had gone to church that one Sunday. A few years earlier, my Dad had prevented me from buying a motor scooter. I was not able to override that decision but instead of accepting with a good attitude, I sulked about it for a long time. Several years later, after getting a different perspective I was finally able to express gratefulness to my Dad for his caution, concern and love for me.

There was no specific person who encouraged me to take the wrong perspective on these decisions. They were driven by my own desires and priorities. Ideally, as we grow in wisdom, we can begin to anticipate the fruit of different choices based on the experiences of others. In other words, we can learn to accept guidance, teachings or testimonies of others as ways to learn from the experience of others. The grapes or thorns of the results of their choices can help one recognize the way of the Wolf or the Shepherd.

Why did the Galatians or Corinthians turn away from Paul’s teaching and start following false teachers? Surely they would recognize and follow the Apostle Paul’s teachings. But, our natural tendency is to follow the desires of our lower, worldly nature. Paul’s encouragement to be filled with the Spirit, follow the way of Love and to deny one’s self was a call to a higher plane. It takes spiritual growth and maturity to begin to find that higher ground desirable. In contrast, false prophets and false ways are attractive because, in some way, they appeal to the worldly, sensual, prideful or self-centered parts of each us. But, there is good news. Anyone who has been sealed by the Holy Spirit has power from God to draw back, inspect the fruit and make a life-giving choice that will lead to right results. Every aspect and activity of our life should have the aim of building God’s Kingdom and seeking His right ways. In contrast, a false prophet or path calls us to throw some aspect of our future into the burn pile.

Project:
Let’s ask God to reveal any false path, idea or teacher we might be following.
Let’s ask God to show us whether we are moving toward higher ground or our lower nature.
Let’s ask God for grace to change our mind and direction wherever He reveals the need.

STOP -- The Bridge Is Out

Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel… (Philippians 1:12)

A way of escape from a future of unending pain and darkness has been revealed! But, there are many who don’t realize the horrible significance of their decisions and direction. It seems so hard to communicate the truth of the Good News of Jesus to others. What can we do?

This verse from Philippians tells us that God wants to use the circumstances of our life to broadcast the Good News of a way of escape from the Real Death. Our soul is designed and created to live forever. Real Death is for our soul to go on living outside the grace of God. God is the source of every good thing: sunshine, peace, cool water, joy, laughter, love and cool breezes. Without Him, we have unending darkness, thirst, bondage and suffering in a hell designed for Satan and his demons. Just shouting, “You Fool!” is enough to separate a person from God. But, when we hear, believe, accept and live the truth about Jesus reconciling us to God, then God fills us with His Spirit and makes our lives into flesh and blood letters.

What circumstance in this life is not worth offering to God if it will help save someone from UNENDING pain? I’m tempted to focus on my loss, my pain or my suffering rather than the needs of those around me. And, those needs are urgent. People are slipping, walking or even running toward destruction without understanding the incredible danger and the opportunity for rescue. God does not want us to fall into that terrible pit designed for demons. But, He will not, can not compromise with Sin. Through Jesus’ death for my Sin and by His resurrection, God has made a way for me to be adopted as His child, to be of His same substance by receiving His Spirit. Let’s offer the circumstances of each of our lives as living sacrifices to get this incredibly wonderful news out to those in such danger of slipping away into a dreadfully horrible eternity. Wouldn't you put up a sign to warn travelers if they were speeding toward a chasm when you know the bridge is out?

Project:
Pray for God’s perspective on your circumstances.
Look for creative ways to communicate the Good News.
Who can you warn and maybe save from destruction?

I Love Me

For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall form the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

This morning, when we were about to get up, my bride told me, “I love you.” My thoughts suddenly spun off into analysis. I'm sure such analytical spinouts sometimes stress her patience.

Husbands and wives can fall into the trap of demanding “love” from their spouse. "If you love me, you will give me sex when I want it." "If you love me, you will listen to me whenever I need to talk." "If you love me, you will keep the house orderly." "If you love me, you will tell me meaningful things about yourself." There is only one person in the world that we can control and change and it’s not our spouse. Instead of asking whether our spouse, child, or parent is expressing love, each of us ought to look to our own attitude. Is my own love of the love that Christ manifested? Or, is it an expression of self-centeredness, self-indulgence and self-love? Our culture is constantly blasting us with the values of sensual, selfish love. “Watch out for number one.” “Grab the Gusto.” “You deserve the best.” If we follow these messages, we will end up trying to change, control or cheat the other person and we will inevitably end up in a magnificent mess.

What does a person mean when they say, “I love you”? Christ’s life, death and resurrection is a manifestation of the pure love of God -- a love that has no reserve but totally gives. A love focused on the goal of what’s best for the other person. This genuine love does not demand reformation before it is given. But, once it is accepted, it leads to purity, peace and joy. When we love with God’s love, we are not only ready to die for that other person in theory; but, every day we actually do lay down our lives in practical ways. We do this by no longer demanding that the other person change and, instead, we start searching for ways to genuinely meet the highest needs of the other person. Our focus is not just their physical or emotional needs but also their spiritual needs.

“I love you.” This short sentence can mean I am ready, willing and am, even now, dying to myself for you. “I love you” can also be used to manipulate the other person. It might actually mean, “I love you but if you want me to keep on loving you then you better do what I want.”

“I love you.” Too many women have sacrificed their virginity to hear this short sentence. Too many men have sacrificed their greatest treasures, highest goals and best dreams to hear a pretty girl say this to him. The mouth can speak one message but a contradictory message may be spoken by attitudes and actions. This two-faced type of “I love you” is a fraud and actually means, “I love me.”

Project:
Let’s repent of our selfish attitudes.
Let’s ask God for more of His love.
Let’s sow to the Spirit -- the Spirit of Genuine Love.
Let's look for a way to give our best for someone else's best.
--

How to save society

How to save society

Crutches In the Wind

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3:24)

Do your homework. Practice piano. Get ready for bed. Brush your teeth. Say your prayers. When we were immature children, we needed parents and teachers to give us rules, orders and external motivation to do the right things -- things that were for our own good. As we grow in maturity, we are guided more and more by internal motivation and goals and we no longer are dependent on our parents to force us to study, say our prayers, or brush our teeth.

But, if our spiritual activities are based on rules then we may not be as mature in Christ as we should be. Do we go to church, visit the sick and give an offering because we have to or because we want to? Many religions “require” members in “good standing” to give a certain percentage or attend a certain number of meetings, or help with certain projects. This “spiritually” is false because it comes from external motivation. When we are filled with the Spirit of Christ, then we will be doing what God wants because we want to and no man is qualified to judge how the spirit leads us.

A person mature in the spirit and a spiritually immature person may be doing the same things but for very different reasons. We may be following a set of rules or disciplines because they seem to be helping us grow in righteousness. But, if they are not leading us to a deeper relationship with Christ then they are crutches which may be hiding our true need and weakness. Eventually, a storm will come that will blow away our crutches.

Project:
Evaluate your giving, prayers and other spiritual activities.
Are you doing them because of external rules and expectations or because of Christ’s love filling your heart and desires?
Let’s ask for more maturity and for more of Christ’s life, desires and love.

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

The Brink of Hell

Hell – did you ever want someone to go there.

I bought a van from a liar. He seemed like a nice guy. So, I believed the things he was telling me about the van he had refurbished. In the end, I bought the van and eventually discovered that almost everything he told me was a lie. I can remember driving down the road in that lemon and feeling the resentment rising in my heart. This went on for almost five years. Finally, one day as I was driving along feeling angry about this fellow a strange question occurred to me.

Well, do you want him to go to hell?

The question seemed to hang in the air. Hell? Did I want him to go to hell?

What does hell mean to us? How real is it?

What did the Son of God have to say about hell?

Scriptures
Matt 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Matt 22:13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

"But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases-- abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends-- the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He'll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering. Matt 24:48

A place with hypocrites -> another verse refers to them as the “Self-indulgent”.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matt 23:15

Matt 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, `Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
-- the message --
Then he will turn to the "goats,' the ones on his left, and say, "Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because--
I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

Lacking Jesus’ love, compassion and Spirit, we’re tempted to play religious games while our neighbor is thirsting and dying for truth.


A lot of you are going to assume that you'll sit down to God's salvation banquet just because you've been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives. Well, one day you're going to be banging on the door, wanting to get in, but you'll find the door locked and the Master saying, "Sorry, you're not on my guest list.'
"You'll protest, "But we've known you all our lives!' only to be interrupted with his abrupt, "Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.'
"That's when you'll find yourselves out in the cold, strangers to grace. You'll watch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets march into God's kingdom. You'll watch outsiders stream in from east, west, north, and south and sit down at the table of God's kingdom. And all the time you'll be outside looking in--and wondering what happened. (Luke 13:26+)

Being in Jesus presence is not enough. It does no good for us to hang around the church and go to the Bible classes unless we are actually changed. We must be filled with genuine death-to-self love. We must have Jesus Spirit living in us and empowering our lives.

In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, "Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I'm in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham said, "Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.'
"The rich man said, "Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won't end up here in this place of torment.'

Seeing and experiencing the reality of hell, the rich man had a new level of concern for his brothers. That’s one important reason to turn our minds to this subject. If we’re apathetic about our neighbor going to hell, then we don’t have Jesus’ type of love filling and guiding our thoughts.

"On the other hand, if you give one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck.
"If your hand or your foot gets in God's way, chop it off and throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You're better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell.
"Everyone's going through a refining fire sooner or later, but you'll be well-preserved, protected from the eternal flames. Be preservatives yourselves. Preserve the peace." (Mark 9:42+)

With heaven and hell are at stake, we are tempted to take too lightly the responsibility we have to new Christians, children and any one we can influence. It was a sense of the reality of hell combined with genuine love that drove men to give their lives in missionary service to seek and save the lost from such a dreadful future.

Matt 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Jesus tells us here that fear of God is justified. It is blasphemy for us to fear man more than God. Why do I, why do we fear men? May the Lord help us to overcome our fear of man.

A couple of Scriptures from the Old Testament
Is 66:24 For their worm will not die
And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."---
Is 14:11 `Your pomp and the music of your harps
Have been brought down to Sheol;
Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you
And worms are your covering.' ---

Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame.
"Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever. (Daniel 12:2)

Summary of attributes of hell

Outer darkness
Weeping
Gnashing of teeth
A place with the hypocrites (self-indulgent)
A place of everlasting punishment
Eternal fire created for the devil and his angels
Implied: Filled with demons
Place of disgrace and everlasting contempt
Some who ate and drank in Jesus’ presence
Paradise visible from hell?
There is a huge chasm between heaven and hell
It’s a Place of agony, regret and torment
Unquenchable fire
Implied: Unquenchable thirst
A bed of maggots and a covering of worms
Worms that do not die
Hell Destroys body and soul




A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (James 3:6+)

-- By nature, our tongue is ignited by hell

Matt 5:22 -- You Fool!! -> guilty enough to go to hell.
(it doesn’t take much)

Rom 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

-- The Good News!! No wonder we can have joy in the face of any earthly circumstance.

Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

– The key is Baptism into Christ Jesus and into His death leading to newness of life. Newness of life is what I seemed to lack after my baptism at age 11. It was another ten years before I was genuinely baptized into Jesus. Newness of life means taking our body away from Satan and giving it to God.

The Message: “So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering.,,2Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

-- Offering body (including tongue) as living sacrifice. & our mind to be transformed.

- By power of God’s Spirit living in me
Bite (or control) my tongue
Give blessing for cursing

Rom 8:12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Romans 8:12 (The message) So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it--yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us--an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him! That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times.

Led by the Spirit = sons of God.

– The Spirit helps us put to death the deeds of the body. By nature, we tend to be hypocrites. Putting a better image on ourselves and hiding dark thoughts. The Spirit empowers us (you and me) to put the Self-indulgence of a hypocrite to death.

Lk19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

– Our mission in life in the Spirit = seek and save the lost.

If hell is so bad and so real, we must rescue all we can.

– BUT, Do we have the resources? I know I feel weak and inadequate.

Lk 21:1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on."

Yes, we have the resources! God can use our poverty, our two cents of effort.

AND
– We want our friends, neighbors and even those we dislike to be saved from hell.
– We want Strangers in the jungles of Africa or in some unknown village in India to be saved.

WHAT CAN WE GIVE OR DO?

Earnest prayer for our relatives, friends, neighbors and enemies.

As I drove down the road in the van, thinking whether I wanted the liar who sold me the van to go to hell, I suddenly realized that I definitely did not want him to go to hell. Then the thought came to mind, “What could I do to help him.” I did not know his name or where he lived. Plus, it had been years since I last talked to him. Finally, I realized that I could pray for him and for God to work in his life to encourage him toward salvation. So, I began to pray for him every time I felt tempted to feel resentful. Within a few months, I lost any sense of bitterness or resentment. And, the van was damaged in an accident. God provided that we were able to get an almost new van to replace it. It seemed like I was chained to the lemon until I learned to pray for an enemy.

Missionary Attitude: Alan Bryan --> missionary to the hospital. He has influenced medical workers to come to Church.

How about Supporting your very own native missionary?
(You can provide half of full support for only $30/month)
( or full support for $60 month)

Tracts? (We're called to plant seeds. God will give the growth and the harvest.)

Anger Resolution Seminar
-- invite friends, co-workers and neighbors

Basic Life Principles Seminar
-- invite neighbors to learn Scripture principles for success.

Who can we pull back from the brink of hell?

Passionate Knock

If we are passionate about something or someone, we will not wait on circumstances. Passion will drive us to act in such a way that circumstances yield to our passion, prayer and drive. Often the greatest opportunities and treasures are reserved for those who have the passion to pray, be creative and act to overcome the obstacles. The locked gate will often yield to the persistent, passionate knock.

The fervent prayers recorded in Scripture reveal the great passions of men and women of faith who have earnestly sought after God and His kingdom. Without a passion, our lives are bland and mundane; with a passion, they can be dynamic and productive.

The reformer John Knox had a passion and vision to reach the nation of Scotland with the Gospel. Though persecuted by the Church of Rome and others, he continued to boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Word. He would frequently pray with fervency and power, “O God, give me Scotland, or I die!” God heard those cries and worked through John Knox to bring about a great awakening in that nation. What passions do we have that call for fervent praying, diligent seeking, and persistent knocking?

If we ask, seek, and knock, God will open up the right doors.

In this command, Jesus did not identify what the “door” represented. However, other Scripture verses explain the significance of a door. The first door that Jesus will open up is a greater understanding of Himself. He stated, “I am the door” (John 10:9). He will then open up a door of faith. (See Acts 14:27.) Through faith, He will open up great and effectual doors of opportunity. (See I Corinthians 16:9.) With these doors will come a further “door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3). It is God Who opens these doors, not us; and we are told in Revelation 3:8 that when God opens a door, no man can shut it.

In your journaling this week, it would be meaningful to record any significant prayers that you have not yet seen God answer. Think through the searching and knocking that you can do in order to appropriate what you asked God for. Your personal experiences related to this command will be a valuable spiritual heritage from which your family and others can gain insights and encouragement to ask, seek, and knock. -- from Daily Success


“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you …” (Matthew 7:7–8).

A Gift of Tattered Rags

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2)

We enjoy being with some people while we try to avoid others . There are people who have hurt us and our natural reaction is to break off communication. It's interesting how certain school age bullies and rough edged church members of the past come to my mind. Even though we try to “excommunicate” them from our lives, they live on in our memories like haunting spirits. If they are still physically in our lives, we may still be avoiding relating to them. Perhaps it is time to tell God that we forgive them. Maybe we should start loving those that we still can. Who of us is not guilty of being partial?

In fact, it is impossible for us, in our fallen condition, to fulfill the commandment to love our neighbor. There are some people that we can just not naturally love. And, even when we sacrifice for others, our gift can be tainted with self-love. Some people are great givers as long as the recipients of their gifts express gratitude. But, what happens when the giving has no noticeable return or is taken for granted? Is it time to stop giving?

We can not genuinely love our neighbor or even Jesus unless we have received God’s own spirit of love. My love is tiny and polluted but God has pure love like an ocean. He wants to give us His glorious Love so that we can sincerely love our neighbor and Him. His hands are full of gifts of love and wisdom that He is eager to give to all those who have recognized their own need and just ask. But, instead of accepting God’s wonderful gifts in order to give to others, we tend to offer our neighbor the tattered rags of our own human love and wisdom.

Project:
His glorious gifts are ready and waiting. Let’s just ask.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13)

A Box Called God

All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. (Acts 10:45)

God keeps breaking out of the boxes that I try to put Him in. Without realizing it, I had set many limits on what God could do in my life. When Caleb was diagnosed as being affected by Down’s syndrome, I didn’t believe it because, in my definition of God’s love, it wasn’t something God would do in our family. As another example, when we first realized God might be leading us to be open to having 10 or 20 children, it wasn’t reasonable. The idea was outside the box we had constructed for our life and what we would allow God to do in it.

There are many people who, by their life and the fruit of their life, proclaim, “Jesus is Lord”. Yet, they have not even come close to following the particular formula for salvation that I’ve been taught. In this verse, the circumcised believers were amazed because God had just blown up their definition of who could receive the Holy Spirit. Rather than embracing their box, they embraced a bigger God, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"

Who among us is not constantly trying to define the limits of God’s love, action and power? Some of us get upset if the order of the worship service is modified, the music changes style, or the prayer is not worded “correctly”. Others have limits on what God can do in their personal lives. How many of us have limits beyond which God can not go or we will become bitter and leave our fellowship or maybe give up our faith? It was difficult for the Jewish believers to accept that Gentiles and even a Roman soldier could be saved. What limits do we set up for those who can be defined as “brother in Christ”? God wants to break out of our boxes because they limit our faith and therefore limit His power in our lives and churches. After all, no matter how nicely it’s wrapped and decorated, we don’t actually want to worship and serve a box even if it is labeled "God’s Way" or even “God”.

Project:
-- Let’s offer ourselves to the One True God who created all things and loves us more than we dream or imagine.
-- Let’s ask Him to reveal where we have set false boundaries on His power, grace, and love.