There Is Joy in Christ Preached

 Needed in todays Chaos!   6/15,2025 

Monday, June 22, 2015

 "Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose".  (Philippians 2:2).  "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious oil upon the head coming down upon the beard" (Psalm 133:1).

 Hey Gang: Did you begin your day with your armor in place? Is your helmet down so Satan cannot tell you from Christ?  Our Scripture of the day suggests," Making your day complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose". 

 Before I get into Paul's joy principles found in Philippians, I want to share two quick ditty's that are filed in my human computer banks.  I recall an old country preacher that was asked to define ‘joy’.  After several moments of deep thought he responded, "It is like to ‘spin around like a top’".   Now I do not believe you would find that definition in the Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic Lexicon's, but it is a definition the kids remembered and I tend to think it is a pretty good definition.

 The second ditty is a verse that all should tuck away, but not too deep, in your heart and mind.  It is found in one of my favorite 66 books in the Bible - Nehemiah 8:10.  Nehemiah was dealing with very perilous times when he wrote the following antidote to the grunges:  "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10b).   I like the way David put it in Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him".  I believe he is saying here that we have a choice, we can have the "fear of the Lord which is our strength” or the ‘grunges’ which is Satan's forte. 

 With those two ditty's banging around in your head, let us now return to Paul's teaching to the Philippian people on how to live a very joy filled and effective life for Christ. Remember the first point: there is joy in knowing there are brothers and sister in Christ who are praying for us.  To that I say, Whoopee"!

 Paul's second point on joy reminds us that there is joy that Jesus Christ is preached. "What then?  Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice" (Philippians 1:18).   I could write a long dissertation on this point but will restrict it to one: we are all preachers.  I believe this was very bothersome to Paul. In Romans, in the midst of his sermon on how to bring folks to salvation, Paul asked this question, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how will they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14).  As I read the story of hell and the Lake of fire, I vowed once again to do all in my power to prevent even the vilest person from being sentenced to eternity in such agony.

 Soooo, good buddies, I close this epistle with that wonderful passage from Jesus where He (Yeshua) assured all who lay down their lives before Him will "Abide in Me, and I in you...I am the vine and you are the branches".  Can you say a loud Amen to that?  Do you want joy this day?  Not as the world gives for it is as the grass that fades but the joy that Jesus promises in these words, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that you joy may be made full". (John 15 read 1 thru 17).     

 Blessings,  Gramps

 

Now Hear This!!!!

Friday, June 5, 2015

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will made Jerusalem a heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces…” Zechariah 12:2-3

“I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there.” Joel 3:2

 I would challenge you to keep your antennas tuned into what is happening in the key center of the world "Israel".  It is reported, from many sources, that our President has given the green light for the European Union to make a resolution that Palestine be given statehood and a date be set for Israel to turn over the West Bank, Eastern Jerusalem, and that those areas will be vacated with in - the proposed time length being contemplated - one year and half.   

In other words, our President is so angry that Prime Minister Netanyahu won the election that he has decided Israel must be punished.  It is the sincere belief, of the writer of this epistle, that you had best button down the hatches if he does indeed vote in favor of giving away Covenant Land to Israel' s enemies (Read Joel 3:2).

The following message was attached to a release from a big wig in the Iranian government to Bibi Netanyahu:

 "Today the Arab press quoted an Iranian senior official saying that Iran has divine permission to eliminate Israel!  He said that even if an agreement is not reached on the nuclear issue, Iran has a holy mission that it will not give up   to destroy the State Of Israel.”  These statements are heard by representatives negotiating with Iran and they continue on as usual."   Written in 2015!
      

This is not the first time such a message has been broadcast to Israel and the world.  Iran's previous president made the same vow before the United Nations assembly several years ago, and it has been the centerfold of much of the rhetoric that continues to be spewed forth from the land of the ancient Persians. 

The Supreme Court decisions to be announced in June, the vote in the UN on Palestinian Statehood, and moving into the final quarter of the Shemitah Year all in June, one might expect that God may say enough and let us know how very angry He is with our Nation’s rejection of His Word in our world. 

The 31st verse of Hebrews has been ringing in my ears for many days: "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the arms of an angry God".  But also remember, none of this is not a surprise to God.  It has been written into His plan since ‘time’ began and it all works out to His glory in the end.    Jesus said, “I do not what you to be unaware of what is coming down.  Be not deceived.”  He also said make sure there is oil in your lamp and you have your full armor in place and finest of all His promise are twofold:  “I will never, never, never forsake you and one day soon all my children will be with me at the marriage Feast of the Lamb.”  (Hainley renditions)

Blessings, Gramps

Are You Up To Speed On what Is Happening?

 Tuesday, June 2, 2015

 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is, in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

 Hey Gang, read it again, and again, and again, until it is firmly entrenched on the inside of your think tank. After I completed writing the first blog of the "Lighten Up" series, the bride-of-my youth called me to listen to the weird and very loud sounds our clothes drier was making.  After close analysis, that took about one second, I knew our drier, that had been faithful all these years, had given up the ghost.  (If driers have a ghost).   A quick analysis by my mechanic son agreed with my diagnosis.

 Now, I want to make a confession to you, I have been going through the Bible once again and have spent a month or so in the prophets, major and minor, and have been blessed more than ever before.  Our world is being shaken, and we are told that in the latter or last days many hearts will fail from fear.  Why? because people are not filling their hearts and minds with the Word of God and spending time with Him in their prayer closets.  They do not have a clue what is in God's fringe package.

 My confession: I tend to get on a ‘pity party’ when the rubber-hit-the-road experiences come calling. And I believe God has pointed that out to me as I have traversed through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the Minor Prophets.   What He has been teaching me is – I/we have a choice to make: I can be in a dither each time the sky appears to be falling, like our worn out drier, which in this day and age is most of the time, or I/we can put our trust in the Lord and let Him handle the 'downers'.

 I have had a little ditty on my wall for many years. I am confident many of you have heard or read it .  I admit I failed to live up to the challenge contained within its words but also confess it has become more of a part of my life recently .I would strongly recommend you. place it on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror and rear view mirror of your car.

 It goes like this: "Good morning, I am God, Today, I will be handling all of your problems, Please remember that I do not need your help, so have a great day".   Now we might put that in more Biblical terms by quoting Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" .

   I am blessed with a wood furnace, not a heater, but a full- blown furnace that eats wood in these very cold days like my Belgian horses used to eat hay.   So, I have gone through the wood pile much faster this winter than anticipated.  Not only am I going to run out but I have been concerned about where I will get enough wood for next year.  In other words, I did as Paul said he did in Romans 7:15-16.

“I do that very things hate”, I worry!.   I tell you this to stoke your interest in another Gramps message where I will share what I believe is a fantastic miracle.

 Soooo, let me close this with a challenge: I am really concerned about the direction our leaders are taking our country.  But I have learned that all the grumbling in the world is not going to change the hearts of our President and those who make the rules. BUT God did give us the key to changing the direction we are currently on, read 2 Chronicles 7:14 where He gave us this challenge: "and My people, who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will her from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land".  A conditional covenant that God will implement the day the believers of our land take heed and obey.

 Blessings, Gramps

 

What An Awesome Blessings - Part 4

 May 29 2015

I didn't find a 2915 Memorial Day Message

"In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south" (Zechariah 14:4).

 Hey Gang:  It has been my joy to open the memory bank and re-live some of those neat experiences that I was able to enjoy in the land of the "apple of God's eye".    When asked what impacted on me the most?  My response, “It changed the Scriptures”.  Now when I read of Jesus teaching and feeding the five thousand, I have a bright and shiny picture of the place and see the thousands of people sitting on the hillside, while Jesus opened His heart to them - not only in spiritual food but in the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

 When I as training to become an air traffic controller, I had an old salt teacher who had been on the firing line for more than twenty years.  He was a seasoned pro that had literally grown up with the development of the air traffic control systems.  As I was nearing check out day he said to me, “One of these days you will not see these strips on the board that identify all you need to know about the aircraft, you will see the aircraft flying around in perfect sequence in your head.”  I was not sure what he meant when he said it.  A month or so later I was up to my armpits with traffic when his prediction came true - I actually saw the aircraft in my mind. 

 As I walked the land of Israel on my more than ten trips, I found that same principle to be true.  When I stood in Gordon's Calvary and looked into the tomb where many feel Jesus’ body was placed, it suddenly became bigger than life.  And when we stood on the Mount of Olives, wow, what a fiery sensation went through my heart and soul.

 Looking down across the Kidron Valley with the valley of Gehenna to my right and Gethsemane on the left and straight ahead thousands of tomb stones of people who want to be resurrected first and enter the Gate Beautiful (the Eastern Gate) with Him, is a sight to behold.  If you are born again and a child of His, this takes your breath away.  It is there that the stones will be removed and He will enter the gate and take back what has always been rightfully His.

   Are there controversies as to what is the right place or the right time?  Remember the rating system of the guides –“Yes, it might have happened that way, or perhaps it did happen that way or no, it could not have happened that way.”

 But you see, it really did not matter what the guide, said for my guide on those trips was that voice inside that said, "Listen to my voice not the voice of a guide who does not even know me as Lord".  Read that sentence again - It does not matter what the person across from you is trying to get you to believe, it is only what God said through His Son and through His Word that will determine if your name is written in His Book of Life and you will receive an invitation to the marriage feast of the Lamb.

 People ask, “Are you not scared to death to go over to that place where killing is common?”  After I remind them that forty people were killed in Chicago last week, I tell them, "Yes, I do have apprehension going over (and I emphasize going over) for when you step on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport there is a peace that surpasses all understanding that fills your heart of soul - but we do have to go through Chicago or New York to get there!  Besides what better place to launched into the heavenlies than from Mount Zion, or the Mount of Olives or any place else in Israel.

 I pray you enjoyed your trip through the Holy Land and you will recall some of these experiences when you come across them in your study of God's Word.

 Blessings, Gramps