A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary hospital. As she placed her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, “I’m so sorry. Your duck has passed away.”

The distressed owner wailed,” Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead,” he replied.

“How can you be so sure?” she protested. “I mean, you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few moments later with a Labrador retriever.

As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and led him out of the room.

A few minutes later, he returned with a cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100 percent certifiably a dead duck.”

Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..

The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!”

The vet shrugged. “I’m sorry, Miss. If you’d taken my word for it the first time, the bill would have been $20. But with the Lab report and the cat scan, it’s now $150.”

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In Luke 15:11-32, we read of a young man who asks for his inheritance from his father and then runs off to a far away country to waste it all. A famine hits, and the man finds himself living with pigs… longing to eat the food that they have. Realizing what he’s done, he runs home to a father who was waiting for him. He runs to his son and takes him in, then proceeds to throw a huge party for his son - a divine image of a loving father taking in a degenerate son…

We tell the story in Sunday Schools and Church services, telling of how God does the same for sinners. We make bumper stickers out of it and put it on shirts to make ourselves feel warm and fuzzy with the thought that we are telling people of God’s love with this beautiful story… But what’s so sad is that it’s in veign, because this story wasn’t directed at a lost world… it was directed at a lost church.

Let’s start from the beginning. The son asks his father for his inheritance. An inheritance is something that is left for someone upon an individual’s death. It is something that has been lovingly built up and established over time. An inheritance symbolizes hard work, tears, sweat, and blood. It is the essence of years of labor and toil. That is what the father had lovingly built for his sons. For the son to approach his father and ask for his inheritance was an incredibly rude and heartless request because it was meant to be left upon his father’s death, and in those days would have been the equivalent of asking your father to die. In essence, the son was saying “I want you dead so that I can have my inheritance.” Sure, the son may have loved his father… but he wanted that inheritance. He wanted what was rightfully his, and the wellbeing of his father wasn’t all that important. It was a request that was based solely on selfishness and self-centered gain.

Sadly enough, many church attenders today don’t even know the story in that context and don’t have a full understanding of the selfishness of the prodigal. But what’s worse is the fact that those same attendees witness it on a weekly basis during their own church service and call it ’salvation.’ Continue Reading »

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First, let me preface this short by admitting this is a thinly veiled request for prayer. Grace is 5 weeks old and has lived in the hospital for 5 weeks. While she was still in the womb, the hospital told her parents that they should just terminate the pregnancy as she would be challenged all her life. They sought counsel, came to Christ, and have since experienced the power of his presence. Grace was born, and her family has fought daily for her healing. What is the problem? Well, the short version is that the salvation which Jesus Christ purchased for her has not manifested, yet how can that happen if she is not yet able to accept that salvation, if there is no way of her exhibiting the fruits of faith which flow only from God’s elect- Is she one of God’s elect? If she is, I look forward to her growing up, I have claimed her as Christ’s, and look forward to raising her on the three C’s of redemption- Christ, Johnny Cash and Calvinism.

When we look at those who are either unsaved or unable to understand the Gospel, or in the case of sickness those to whom Christ’s full salvation is not yet manifest; what can we do, why should we think that our prayer for others will override something that involves God’s predestination or free will?

My assurance rests in the sum of God’s word; we can sanctify others. God doesn’t react to our prayers as if he must bend to our tears, but if one is genuinely saved as shown by the fruits of repentance, a holy walk, and communion with Christ, than that saints prayer emanates from God; my desire for Grace’s healing is nothing but God’s Spirit expressing his desires. The simple fact that my heart grieves over Grace’s sickness is a sign that it is God’s will for her to be saved, that she is set aside. If she were simply a vessel set for destruction, I would not feel this way.

Continue Reading »

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From www.provokeblog.org

——–

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist
threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved”.
Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or
even “A Bit Cross”. Londoners have not been “A Bit Cross” since the
blitz began in 1940 and tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have
been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to “A Bloody Nuisance”. The last
time the British issued “A Bloody Nuisance” warning level was during
the great fire of 1666.

Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised
its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide”. The only two higher levels
in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.” The rise was precipitated
by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively
paralyzing the country’s military capability.

It’s not only the English and French who are on a heightened level
of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and
Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels
remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”

The Germans also increased their alert state from “Disdainful
Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two
higher levels: “Invade a neighbor” and “Lose”.

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the
only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to
deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new
Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

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I had the opportunity to deliver the offering message at our church. This is the transcript of that message.

Mark 12:41-44

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

God does not call us to give equally. There are some of us who can give $10,000 every time the plate is passed around. There are some of us who can’t give $5. What God requires of us is not equal giving, but equal sacrifice. The Bible gives us a number; 10% of our first fruits, our income, before anything else is taken from it. But let’s take it a step further.

In this passage, possibly neither group that Jesus observed gave the required amount. We know the widow gave all she had; far more than the 10% required, but it may very well be possible that the rich people also gave more than they were required to give, even though they were giving out of abundance.

What was the difference? Continue Reading »

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On Friday nights, the men of our church get together to pray for our church and for revival. Lately, I have found myself desperate for Christ and have been praying for revival, both personally and corporately. This last Friday, I found myself praying one of those dangerous prayers… you know, the type where you basically say “God, you’re still the same, so why don’t we see you? What must happen?”

This is the response I got…

“My People live in public and die in private, victims of their own hypocrisy. They seek the pleasures of Christianity only to forsake its disciplines and die from famine due to the lack of seed. Nothing more than thistles, these people choke out the grounds of the promised land and warp it from my beautiful paradise of plenty into a barren wasteland of buzzards. The buzzards feed off of the dead, those unfortunate souls who wandered into my land of promise only to die from their spiritual starvation that was caused by the lack of food.
It has become a great deception, this land of mine. I am the author and finisher of faith, and I am not the author of confusion. Yet my promised land is shrouded in mystery and confusion. The land is meant to reflect my character, and MY people called by MY name have perverted it through inaction and inconsistency. The land meant to represent my truth and blessing is seen as a lie and a land of want.
Thus is my hatred of hypocrisy. The weeds must die so that the land can support life. I tire of the beggars who die in the land, thinking there should be more and not being able to find it. They only find weeds, plants that fill the land, but are useless and produce no fruit. The weeds must be dealt with so that the wanderers may eat. When my people forsake pleasure and embrace discipline, then will change happen in the land. When they learn to die in public and live in private, then will I have my church.. They must e able to die to everything of the flesh in view of others, and be enlivened through prayer when the crowds are gone. Only then will fruit grow, and only then will the promised land fulfill its true purpose.
Wilt though grow integrity?” Continue Reading »

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Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Deuteronomy 9:4

There are two things we must realize.

1. We can’t do IT ourselves.

It was God who drove out the enemies of the Israelites. The Israelites occupied the lands of peoples far greater in number and far more powerful than they were. They were out-manned and out-gunned. They did not have the advantage, barring God from the equation. God was Israel’s Champion; the only One who could defeat the enemies of Israel. God is the only one who can give His promise. We can’t make it happen.

2. We will never be good enough to earn IT.

It was not Israel’s righteousness that earned God’s promise. In fact, Moses called the people of Israel stubborn, not righteous. They were always complaining about the way Moses did things, They were always complaining about the food and the water. They wanted to go back to slavery. How could these people be good enough to get the promises of God? They got the promises of God because God promised it, not by their goodness. Our righteousness is like dirty rags to God. It’s like something so disgusting, we would go out of our way and rush to throw away - double and triple bagged to separate ourselves from it because it’s so bad. Our righteousness does not qualify us for God’s promise, because we would take credit. We cannot take credit for what God has done, and we cannot earn the promise of God by being good people or doing good works.

Yes, sometimes God gives conditions, but following these conditions is not based on your righteousness, it is based on your obedience. Righteousness is not what we do, it’s what God makes out of us. We can’t even be righteous without God.

What ever IT is - salvation, healing, revival, victory - we cannot do it ourselves. It is God who delivers us and does it for us, through us. He doesn’t do it because of ourselves. He does it in spite of ourselves. It is God who sovereignly chooses us and picks us up in our totally depraved state. We can’t do it. We can’t earn it.

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For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12-14

The Barna Group states some very startling statistics; 41% of adults believe Jesus sinned. 54% believe you can get to heaven by being a good person. 48% believe the Bible is accurate. 62% of unchurched people consider themselves to be Christians. 83% of adults say they’re Christian, but only 49% of those are committed to their faith.

Two-thirds of our nation say they attend a weekly service of some kind, yet they can’t believe simple fundamentals of the Christian faith such as the inerrancy of scripture or any of the other statistics reflected above.

Why is this? I think it’s because people don’t want the milk. Instead, they’re filling themselves on milkshakes and soda; half-truths and empty fillers. Maybe that’s why we don’t see the power of God like it was in the New Testament.

Continue Reading »

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Luke 4:25-27Â (NLT)Â Â Â Â Â Â Certainly there where many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijahs time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land. He was sent instead to a widow of Zarapeth a foreigner in the land of Sidon or think of the Prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Isreal who needed help.
Three thoughts on this Widow

a. Had no hope by her own admission was getting ready to eat her last meal with her son and wait to die.    Â

b. Without a Husband and a loss sense of hope for her son in that day and culture she would have had no sense of selfworth or identity.

c. This women had nothing going for her totally humbled by life’s circumstances. (Desperately needed a saviour and knew it)

Three Thoughts on NaamanÂ

a. Was a man who was highly admired even by the King. A man who had attained many victories by his own hands.

b. Had misdirected faith. It took a servant girl and his other servants to steer him in the right direction

c. His leprosy was just an outward manifestation of an interior sickness that was truly killing him ~ pride. (He needed help and didn’t admit.)

Jesus Spoke about these two to a group that were in a worse condition because unlike the Widow and Naaman they did not recognize their need and did not recognize One in their midst who could save them.

The state of the church today is not much different then the state of Israel then!

 John says it like this, He Came unto his own and his own recieved him not.

Man what about you? Do you recognize your need?

Have you become so prideful, maybe due to your religion or position that you no longer seek His help humbly?

Don’t miss your Hour of Visitation!

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