Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Sep 10th Thus Saith The LORD – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Ezekiel 35 – 37 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – 1 Thessalonians 1 – 5; Psalms 46 – 50; Proverbs 10)

Read the “0910 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,” (Ezekiel 35:1)

“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:27)

Did you know that the phrase, “thus saith the LORD”, appears in 413 verses of the Bible. Do you believe what the Bible says? Then you should want to know every Word that God has spoken. Right? After all, man does not live by bread alone…

Eight years ago, I was candidating for a church. I was able to make it to their Men’s Bible Study and Breakfast. It was a good time of fellowship and Bible study. The Bible study also opened my eyes to something I needed to study and talk about. The person teaching was from a different church and was using a bible that was a little different than my King James. This morning we are going to take a look at the New King James Version.

There is a good book out called “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same” by Dr. Mickey Carter.

The title says it all and a pastor should protect his people from false teachings circulating in the world. Thomas Nelson – the publishers of the New King James – said that they’ve changed some of the old archaic words to make it easier to read. Really?

The word Repent has been omitted in 44 places.

The word Blood has been omitted in 23 places.

Even God has been omitted in 66 places.

How could they consider any or all of these words archaic, especially God? The truth of the matter is that the NIV is at the reading level of a 7th grader. The New King James is at a 6th grade reading level. And the King James Bible is at a 5th grade reading level.

One of their claims is that the NKJV is easier to read. Well let’s take a look…

Mar 15:16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

Praetorium is the judgment hall. You can understand that by looking at the other parallel verses…

Matthew 27:27 calls it the common hall.

John 18:28,33; and 19:9 call it the judgment hall.

These verses in the New King James translate them all as Praetorium.

So if you want to find out exactly what it is, you need to look it up: it is the hall of the governor’s court room, in other words: the judgment hall.

Do you know what Keveh is? It’s a place, a region in southeastern Anatolia, named Cilicia by the Greeks. In the NKJV the verse reads…

1Kings 10:28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.

This tells us that Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Keveh and he must have got a better deal from the Egyptians: he paid the current price in Keveh. Now, if you look at the King James Bible…

“And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.” (1Kings 10:28)

The King James Bible tells us that Solomon received horses, and linen yarn from Egypt, but had to pay for the linen yarn. So what does Keveh have to do with this? Maybe this…

The New King James Version was copyrighted in 1979. In order to copyright something, it must be an original work. Unless Thomas Nelson Publishers made enough changes to the King James Bible, they would not be able to copyright theirs. It’s all about the buck ($).

Let’s look at another changed word. Ezekiel 31:14 says in the NKJV…

(Ezekiel 31:14) The waters made it grow; Underground waters gave it height, With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out rivulets to all the trees of the field.

This paints a nice picture of sitting in the shade of a tree watching the rivers flow by. Peaceful. And watching the rivulets reaching to all the trees of the field. Very peaceful… but…

What are rivulets? The dictionary says it is a small brook or stream.

But what does that have to do with what the King James Bible says…

“To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.” (Ezekirl 31:14)

Oh my…

Which one is right? Peaceful and nice, or destruction and death? Things that are different are not the same.

How about Syrtis Sands? Acts 27:17 uses that in the NKJV…

“When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the SyrtisSands, they struck sail and so were driven.”

The Syrtis Sands are located near Lybia in the Mediterranean Sea.

But why would those on the ship fear that they would hit this sand?

The King James Bible explains…

“Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.” (Acts 27:17)

So, it was quicksand. That explains it. This is only a few of the problems with the New King James Version. If you want the whole Word of God then stick with your King James Bible. It is the preserved Word of God for English speaking people.

Peace.

Sep 3rd And Thou Becamest Mine: A Perfect God, A Perfect Salvation – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Ezekiel 14 – 16 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – 2 Corinthians 9 – 13; Psalms 11 – 15; Proverbs 3)

Read the “0903 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” (Ezekiel 16:1-8)

Good morning. How is your memory? Do you remember how and when you got saved? Do you remember being polluted in your own blood? Do you remember the sins of your youth?

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:12-21)

God saw us, sinners polluted in our own blood, and had compassion on us. He pulled us out of the muck and mire of sin, and made us clean. We have a perfect God who has given us a perfect salvation.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

And once you receive Jesus as your own personal Saviour, He is always with you and will never let you go. Jesus said…

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40)

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

Jesus Holds onto us. The Father holds on to us. The Holy Spirit…

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

Perfect God; perfect salvation. Your salvation cannot be lost.

“Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” (Ezekiel 16:8)

Peace.

Aug 27th Because Thou Hast Striven Against The LORD – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 49 – 50 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 13 – 16; Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 27)

Read the “0827 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD.” (Jeremiah 50:22-24)

Good morning. California is burning up. New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada are running out of water. There are numerous droughts across America, but that’s okay: there is a prediction of this being one of the worst winters in a while. There was a doubling of gas and diesel prices. That caused delivery problems: store shelves went unstocked: people had trouble finding items that they needed. The Covid 19 pestilence struck. People were out of work, businesses closed. This added to a lack of products on the shelf. Why has all this come upon us? Is it because of the homosexuals? No, I don’t think so. Could it be the murder of millions of babies? Probably not. However, that word, striven, in Jeremiah 50:24 means to grate. I’m sure that Homosexuality, abortion, and the many other sins done here in the United States are wearing God thin. (Not that we ever could wear God thin). Did you ever use a hand grater to grate cheese? With every stroke the wedge of cheese gets smaller and smaller. If your hand gets to close to the grater, you will cut yourself. But the LORD is just waiting…

“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (Genesis 15:16)

The Amorites in this verse are going to wax worse and worse. How much time does America have left before our iniquities are full? If you look at what’s happening here, you may come to the conclusion that it may not be much longer.

“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:6-21)

Jesus is coming back soon. Are you ready?

Peace.

Aug 24th God Remembers

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 37 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 1 – 4; Psalms 116 – 118; Proverbs 24)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – *1 Timothy 1:17*

Read the “0824 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – The Truth Sometimes Hurts

“Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.” (Jeremiah 38:7-13)

“Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 39:15-18)

In our reading today, the prophet Jeremiah was speaking the Word of the Lord pretty much to deaf ears. He was trying to get the people to do what God wanted them to do, but they were not listening. At the this particular point in Jeremiah’s ministry to the nation of Judah, God told him to tell the people of Judah to submit to the will of King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. At one point, had the people of God repented from their idolatry and wickedness, God would have spared them completely from the Babylonian army, but they did not listen to God then either. Now, the the judgment of God through the Babylonians was coming, and God was warning the people of Judah to submit to them, but He also promises that if they do that, He will be merciful to them, cause them to be treated well, and not allow the city of Jerusalem to be completely destroyed.

The people, however, are convinced that they know better, and that they should resist. Keep in mind, during this whole time the people are still living in rebellion against God, there has been no repentance on their part, and they are certainly not listening to God’s prophet Jeremiah. In fact, they get so upset with what Jeremiah is saying that they throw him in jail. This particular dungeon is so bad that there is no water, just a filthy mire for a floor that Jeremiah sinks into when they lower him down into it.

One of the eunuchs that was in the king’s house, an Ethiopian man named Ebedmelech, realizes that what they are doing to Jeremiah is wrong and he goes to the king to intercede on Jeremiah’s behalf, and the king then sends Ebedmelech with a small army to rescue him and pull him up out of the mire.

Fast forward now to chapter thirty-nine. Babylon has arrived, and judgment is falling on all who refused to listen to Jeremiah, but Jeremiah himself is treated well by the Babylonians and is actually given his choice about whether to stay in Jerusalem or go with the rest of the captives to Babylon. Either way, he would be a free man. Notice in vs. 15 – 18 that Ebedmelech also is promised by God that he will be treated well. God remembered the kindness that Ebedmelech showed Jeremiah when he was in the prison.

Jesus said something very similar in Matthew 25:

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:37-40)

Did you notice that one of the things that Jesus will reward (besides the cup of cold water pictured above) is visiting one of His brethren in prison. That’s exactly what Ebedmelech did. His visited Jeremiah and He interceded to the king on his behalf. And, God remembered him. God stated the same thing in Jeremiah 39 that He states in Matthew. He told Ebedmelech that what he did for Jeremiah was just the same as doing it for God.

Ebedmelech was not a prophet, He wasn’t even a Jew, but He demonstrated faith in God by what he did for Jeremiah, God’s man. Not everybody today is a preacher or teacher of the Word of God, but if they faithfully serve God in whatever capacity God has given them and equipped them for, they will also be remembered by God. God remembers.

Aug 20th Go Not After Other gOD;s – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 23 – 25 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 16 – 18; Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20)

Read the “0820 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.” (Jeremiah 25:4-6)

Good morning. I’m seeing more and more of these bumper stickers on cars. I want to get one. Then underneath it I’ll place another bumper sticker that says, “BUT…JOHN 14:6!” Which says…

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Because we live in the United States of America, the land of the free, you are free to worship whoever you like. You can worship the moon god, Allah; but Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. You can bow down to statues of Mary, saints, a fat bald guy, or some multi-armed figment of someone’s imagination; but Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. You can be a Mormon, and worship a Jesus who is satan’s brother, or for that matter you can even worship satan himself; but Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. You can worship plants, trees, and shrubbery; but Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. Why you are so free that you can even bow down before a mirror and worship yourself! But Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.

As Christians, we tolerate other religions, why is it that they do not tolerate us? Because Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The Bible tells us in Romans 12:1 to make your bodies a living sacrifice, so why blow yourself up? How about those statues you bow down to?

“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.” (Leviticus 26:1-9)

HMMmmmm…. could that be why we are having so many problems in America? Maybe we should put the Real God first, and stop worshiping everything but Him, including ourselves.

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and it’s amazing how much He has tolerated us.

Peace.

Aug 13th New Heavens And Earth – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 63 – 66 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – John 19 – 20; Psalms 61 – 65; Proverbs 13)

Read the “0813 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” (Isaiah 65:17-19)

Good morning. As time passes, it brings us closer to the LORD’s return. I sometimes wonder how much longer I have on this sin-cursed world. I’m 68 years old: if I live to be 100, that will be 32 more years, or the year 2054: if I live to be 70, that’s only 2 more years. No one will be weeping or crying there. All the bad thoughts that may pop into your head will be gone: you will not remember them. God’s description of the new Jerusalem is that He will create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. God Himself says that He will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in His people. Excited?

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:1-27)

Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? If not, then this is what you will see…

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

Not a pretty sight, but then neither is sin in God’s eyes. You need to ask Him to forgive your sins. He already took care of the hard part by being the sacrificial Lamb of God to die for your sins. The Word of God tells us that we are all sinners. As sinners we cannot save ourselves…

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

…we need a Saviour.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5:8-11)

The only thing that you can do is to pray and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and save you.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Then you will get to see the new Heaven and the new earth.

Peace.

Aug 6th Strengthen Ye The Weak Hands – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 33 – 36 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – John 5 – 6; Psalms 26 – 30; Proverbs 26)

Read the “0806 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:3-6)

“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (1Corinthians 14:3)

Good morning. Do you enjoy fellowship with other Christians? I hope so, because one day we will all be together in Heaven. Of course we will all be changed: if there is something in me that you dislike, it will either be gone, or your attitude adjusted to like it. But what about here on earth? We are all not anywhere close to being perfect, and yet Jesus came and died for all those imperfections. Why can’t we bring a little Heaven here to earth, and forgive those imperfections as Jesus did. We should strive to edify, exhort, and comfort each other. Would you consider helping the handicapped? Think of all these imperfections as disabilities. We should strengthen weak hands and feeble knees. Know and share what the Bible says about God taking care of us. “Vengeance is Mine.” saith the LORD. He will save you, He will repay: there is no need to fear. One day the blind will see, the deaf hear, the lame jump up and walk. Waters will break out and there will be streams in the desert. In the meanwhile, be forgiving. Cut everybody some slack (as the saying goes.): after all, there are others who are cutting you some slack too. And what if they are not?

“Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” (John 21:21-22)

Peace.

Jul 30th Are You Going To Heaven? – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 15 – 16; Psalms 141 – 145; Proverbs 30)

Read the “0730 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

Good morning. Are you going to Heaven? Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you can not.

“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

But there is a problem…

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

Our righteousness is no good. We would need our righteousness to exceed that of the Pharisees, which means the righteousness of the Pharisees is also no good…

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:19-20)

No one is justified by works of the law…

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

There is only one righteousness that would exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, and that’s the righteousness of God.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2Corinthians 5:21)

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:8-9)

When you receive Jesus as your Saviour, you get the righteousness of God. When God looks at you, He sees His Son. He sees the water turned to wine. He sees the woman with the issue of blood healed. He sees the blind given his sight, and the lepers cleansed, and the lame healed. He sees the vacant cross and the empty tomb. Our righteousness is as filthy rags, we need a Saviour: we need Jesus.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Receive Jesus as your Saviour, then you can answer yes to the question: “Are you going to Heaven?”

Peace.