Little Sheep Ramblings & Ruminations
Soli Deo Gloria, S.D.G.
Patterns of Evidence reported on the textile finds at the archeological dig in the Cave of Sculls. A rare red dye required the collection of many insects to gather the excretion needed to create the liquid concentrate.
Running, rushing, busyness
It seems there’s never enough time;
So many jobs to finish,
So many things to do.
Family, friends, work and home
There just isn’t the time.
On Sunday morn I stop.
I hear the Pastor teach;
It seems I’ve forgot
Souls are lost we need to seek.
Someday indeed for them and me,
There will be no more time.
For you there’s no better time
To decide to believe,
Jesus Christ gave His life,
He died on a tree, was buried, and rose;
Christ ate and was seen by 500;
Then ascended to His Father’s House. So
Now I ask for you to reach out and receive
The precious gift God has given.
For me there’s no more time
To reach out to friends, relatives, loved ones,
to convince of the choice for eternity,
To encourage others toward the narrow path.
To pray for God’s opening blind eyes, deaf ears,
So lost ones would see, hear, and believe.
As meteors burn out, so time will expire.
Only the choices made while life remains
Will serve us in eternity.
But I pause and reflect
On this thing called time
For at present I’m sad
That there’s not expanse enough for me
To impress on all the consequence of a wrong choice.
For closely comes no more time.
But someday gladness will flow
As millions shout Hosannas
In honor of the worthy and holy God.
His people exalt to spend a million lifetimes and beyond
With Christ Jesus, my Bridegroom and Lord.
Never to be separated, never sent away,
I’ll see those from earth who loved Him, too.
When there’s no more time.
But today is the day for your choice to be made
For you and I have no guarantee
Of additional days, minutes, or hours.
Do you know Jesus?
Have you asked Him to pardon you?
Because He first loved you, He’ll cleanse you today,
no matter what.
Ask Him, now, before there’s no more time.
No more time. No more time.
Jesus has come, my Beloved,
No more tears; no more sighing,
Together forever, rejoicing in heaven.
Hallelujah, there’s no more time.
Hallelujah! To Be with Christ!
Maranatha,
The poem is a first for me; I know it’s not a masterpiece. But, I’m hoping you’ll check your standing with the Lord. Below are a series of verses that will guide you through knowing whether you are or aren’t on the narrow road that leads to Christ’s home in heaven.
All the below verses come from Paul’s book of Romans. Read through the series; pray over the passages; believe what God has said; confess your new found faith to someone else. I’d love to be one of those you tell of your trust in Jesus Christ. Thanks for reading today.
Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9 – that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Romans 10:13 – for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 5:1 – Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 8:1 – Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:38-39 – 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 that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Living in Idaho, I thought spring would come later in May; much to my surprise, the daffodils, tulips, and forsythia began to bloom in mid-March! The colors of light and joy appearing everywhere. Buds were on the trees and pushing forth leaves. Once again, the creation was awakening from its winter sleep.
All my neighbors had things sprouting leaves, but my trees and plants were still dormant. At one point, I wondered if my plants would ever revive. But the timing of sprouts varies from genus to genus. The axiom that “Patience is a virtue” springs to mind and so it was. My yard began to show signs of life a month late and is quickly catching up with the neighbors.
At this time of year, we have a few holy days (holidays) commemorating life and new beginnings: Easter and Passover. Last week we hosted a commemoration of Passover at our home our small group from church during which the bread, wine, Seder plate symbols were explained from Scripture.
It was a joyous time celebrating God’s love for His people and His provision of the Lamb to remove the sins of the world. In Genesis, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son, the promised heir, as a sign of obedience to follow God in everything.
When Abraham and Isaac arrived at the mountain, on the steep ascent, Isaac asked about the lamb offering. Abraham’s response was that God would provide, and as he was ready to slay Isaac, God revealed the substitute ram in the thicket, saving Isaac from certain death.
This history of the patriarchs was a precursor to what God was going to do with His Son who died on the cross in place of me and everyone who chooses to believe God’s Word. God tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God.”
Romans 6:23 tells us that there is a cost to sinning; the sentence is death. But God intervened and offered His sinless Son in our place. We no longer need to die spiritually and spend the future after physical death in hell. A way has been provided for us to spend our future with God the Father and His Son.
To receive this free gift, we must believe God and what He says about our sin, His remedy, and that He keeps His promises. Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are you saved through faith, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast…”
Believing God is exercising faith; faith is trusting God to be who He says He is. Hebrews 11:6. In this life, we do not have exhaustive knowledge of God, but what we do know, we believe because He is true and does not change.
First John tells us that God loves us. I don’t know about you but having someone love me when He knows all about me, sins and all, is stunning! The Father’s unconditional love gives me the desire to know Him more and to believe the Way He has provided.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no man can come to the Father but by Me.” But not everyone travels via Christ’s road which is narrow and leads to eternal life; the broad, smooth, and easy path is well traveled but it leads to eternal destruction.
Further, the apostle John set forth the logical argument for Jesus being truly man and God who could live a sinless life. This perfection fulfilled God’s requirement for a blemish free Lamb to be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind.
If you believe God’s word, and accept Jesus as your substitute for your sins, confess your sinfulness to God, request His salvation, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Good deeds will not save you only trust in Jesus will deliver you from an eternity separated from God.
Will you trust Him today? If you have made this decision, please contact me through the comments section. I would be glad to help you find the resources to assist you in the development of your new life with the Father and Jesus Christ.
Until Next Time,
Maranatha!
The title of this book harkens back to the letter to the Seven Churches of Revelation wherein The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Lord Jesus Christ proclaims His assessment of the Laodicean church.
The Head of the Church tells this local body that they are spiritually bankrupt, living in poverty; He calls them to wake up out of their daydream, leave their lethargy, and look at reality.
The Laodiceans think they are spiritually wealthy without any need for assistance due to their accumulated bounty, but in reality, they have become idolaters.
This church is fixated on materialism believing, their wealth or power will save them from destruction. Since those possessions could be no more than a wisp of their imagination, the slightest problem could cause their foundation to collapse.
Similarly, in the Introduction to The Letter to the American Church Eric Metaxas issues a call for the American church not to fail in its duty as the German church did in the 1930’s. His premise for writing to the American church is found in the Introduction, “So if God has chosen us for some task, we must do all we can to shoulder that task, and must know more than anything that unless we lean on Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways, we are guaranteed to fail.” (Page xi).
God’s purpose for the Church is to maintain a bright beacon which will guide the world to a path of safety in Jesus Christ. But if we don’t wake up, our light will go out, and our witness will disappear. Soon it could be as though we never had done anything for the cause of Christ’s Kingdom. If we fail to stand in the gap to hinder or prevent evil, we will be found to be aiding and abetting its spread.
Is there anything the American Church should be doing to stop the spread of evil?
First and foremost, we need to assess our own spiritual condition and repent from putting anything else in front of our Father God. How do we know if we put other things first?
We need to ask ourselves the following three questions:
1 What do we spend most of our time thinking about?
2 What do we invest our time in doing?
3 How serious are we about telling others of God’s precious gift of salvation?
Second, we need to ask ourselves, “how are we impacting our culture with the goodness of Jesus Christ?” Is my life a sweet smelling aroma to others or do I create a stench when I interact with others? Would people say that I know the Lord? If there is a crisis in a neighbor’s life, would I be someone they would call for help?
Third, how can we be salt and light to our nation? Or how do we live out what we believe? Are our actions consistent with what we believe? Do we follow through on promises? Do we love others as we love ourselves?
Finally, how do we act as the Watchmen on the wall to warn of the impending danger? Are we only concerned about ourselves? Do we not know we will be held accountable for not taking the opportunities to speak truth not just to the United States, or the Western culture, but to those whose culture is different from ours?
The national fabric is in tatters as an old standard battered and worn. It’s not much to look at compared to the former days of old. There is decay evident everywhere.
But what about the Church, why has it not kept the rot at bay? The disintegration began when Christians withdrew from the public square. Christians began to huddle because the truth was no longer popular.
The Scopes trial was won by the creationists. Although according to the headlines, it appeared the Christians had lost the day, and evolution had been proven as fact. As a result of fabricated evidence, Christians became the routine foils or villains in movies, and for the culture.
We lost credibility with our communities, we backed away from public office, and were content spending our time with other likeminded individuals.
The society had us where they wanted; we no longer were exercising any influence in the public square.
In 1954, Sen Lyndon Johnson sponsored an amendment banning nonprofits from commenting on “political” subjects. Somehow the church didn’t balk at this proposal but silently agreed to this loss of their freedom of speech.
When government decided the Scripture, prayer, or Bible reading were not to be present in school, the church silently agreed and continued on.
This process of withdrawal from the society continued through the 70’s to today. The church successfully swung at one of the symptoms of this degenerative slide. After 50 years, she achieved one small victory. But there is much critical work still to be done.
When child abuse of the living and unborn, went unpunished and even promoted in the government’s policies, the church did act. However, the response was directed to the symptom of a much deeper problem.
What is the root problem? We have abandoned the Lord as our God. We have placed other things in His rightful place. There is a lengthy list I could make, and I am just as guilty of these as anyone else. We seek entertainment, prestige, power, success, etc., etc. It boils down to the fact that we’ve chosen personal peace, affluence, and indifference over rejection by society for taking a stand for the truth, failing to be generous to missions and others around us who are in physical and spiritual need, and failing to fulfill our commission to make disciples.
Many years ago Francis Schaeffer asked How Shall We then Live? in a series on Western Culture. The question rings louder and truer today as a challenge to the church.
Another question to be asked has been part of the church’s hymnology for over a century: “Who is on the Lord’s side? Sometimes I wonder are we really on the Lord’s side or is this life for our sole comfort?
The lyrics to Frances Havergal’s poem call believers to remember the task involves conflict with the future outcome certain against evil. These words call us to His service:
“Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!”
In conclusion, as Mordecai said to Esther, “who knows if you have not come to the throne for such a time as this” (Esther 4:13-14). Who knows why the Lord has us here, but He has asked us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).
When He returns, let Him find us doing what He has asked.
Today’s verse of encouragement:
Joshua 1:7-9 “7Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Maranatha,
Soli Deo Gloria, S.D.G.
