Glad To Be of Service!

There is this myth that following Christ Jesus is all about denying oneself pleasure. "Thou shalt not have a good time". "If it feels good thou shalt not do it."

But the truth is that those who follow Christ do not give up one single good thing in life. They do not sacrifice one single pleasure. Ask me if there is anything I miss from before I committed my life to Jesus and I can quite honestly and truthfully tell you - "not a single thing".

There was a time I did take pleasure in sinful things - or at least what I thought was pleasure ... what everybody (mates, media, movies, etc.) TOLD me was pleasure. But the truth is that I found no real joy in it all. It's like scratching an itch. It feels good to scratch .... but you'd much prefer not to itch in the first place.

But now I find I have no pleasure whatsoever in sinful things. I have as much desire to sin as I would have swimming in a sewage pond. Neither holds ANY attraction for me whatsoever - I have no itch to scratch.

But let's be clear on what sin is, and what it is not. It is not sin to enjoy having a wife ... it is sin to enjoy having somebody else's wife. It is not a sin to drink alcohol (even though I personally choose not to - but that is just my personal choice and not a command from the Lord) but it is a sin to get drunk. It is not a sin to have stuff that belongs to you - it is a sin to have stuff that belongs to somebody else (without their permission). It is not a sin to have a good job - it is a sin not to do a good job of the one you have. The list goes on but you get the idea.

What most people lose sight of is that "pleasure" is not about what you do or don't do ... it is about HOW YOU FEEL about what you do and what you don't do. MY pleasure is to do the will of the Lord and to follow the word and command of Jesus. MY pleasure is to NOT sin. MY pleasure is to serve my Lord and my Saviour King, Jesus. THESE things are not burdensome to me, rather they bring me joy and pleasure.

Nor do they prevent me from enjoying the company of a beautiful and loving wife, enjoyment of the things I lawfully and legally have, the pleasure of  the good and wholesome food I prefer. I also drink and enjoy what I PREFER to drink, listen to and watch and read and enjoy the things I prefer to listen to and watch and read, etc. AND I can do it all without sinning.

To me being able to serve and be with the Lord IS having a good time. To disobey the Lord or to be separated from Him would be the most miserable and crushing experience I could think of. To me it "feels good" to NOT sin. In following Christ I have denied myself NOTHING - except that which I do not want any part of anyway. In truth I could look the Lord and Jesus in the eye and in all honesty say "I am truly GLAD to be of service ... to YOU!

With Love From Christ in IslandBard.

Provided it is done freely and without charge
"Glad To Be of Service!"" may be copied, used and distributed
(In its entirety only including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright  2014.

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa 

CIRCLES IN MY BIBLE - The Chinese Water Puzzle

OK I confess ... I'm a circler and an underliner. As I read my Bible I tend to underline or circle interesting or important passages to make them stand out for easier reference. As I'm reading I often come across fascinating little discoveries and out comes the pen. Consequently my Bible is full of circles and squiggly lines for me to ponder the implications of what lies within them.

I thought I might share a few of these rather intriguing little references with you now and then.

The latest circle to appear in my Bible popped up today in my daily reading as I pondered the words of Amos, a humble herdsman and keeper of sycamore fig trees chosen by the Lord to be one of His prophets. Amos wrote his prophecy during the reign of Uzziah king of Judah somewhere between 810 and 759BC (remember those dates).

Now for a little lesson in how much credence one should put on the "official" verson of history and science and the pronouncement of "experts".

This is the "official" version of the history of our knowledge of the "water Cycle". It is taken directly from the website:- http://www.unesco.org.uy/phi/libros/histwater/1history.html

"I) HISTORY:


understanding the water cycle


Only in the late seventeenth century did European scientists reach a clear understanding of the origin of water and its natural cycle. This cycle has three components: (a) the sea, and to a very small extent, vegetation (evaporation and evapotranspiration driven by solar energy); (b) the clouds (transfer, condensation, precipitation); and (c) continental surface water (springs, rivers, lakes) and groundwater which, with the exception of fossil water, run into the sea after a certain period of time.

The first book on scientific hydrology in the Western world was De l'origine des fontaines (On the origin of springs), written by Pierre Perrault and published in 1674 in Paris by Pierre Le Petit. Perrault created a water balance in a basin located in the upper section of the Seine River. In 1687 the Englishman Edmond Halley calculated the evaporation rate of the Mediterranean and then compared that figure with the contributions of the rivers flowing into the sea. To measure the evapotranspiration of plants the French mathematician de la Hire built three lysimeters in 1688.

Outside Europe, however, the Chinese had understood the water cycle 500 years before the birth of Christ, and in India, Kautilya, a minister of the Maurya dynasty (321-185 BC), had rain measured in pails placed in front of rural stores. In terms of public services, the first flood-warning system, set up by the Chinese in 1574 on the Yellow River, used horseback riders who travelled faster than the water. Owing nothing to the West, the Koreans started taking regular, systematic rainfall measurements in 1441 and have continued doing so ever since."

Therefore I thought the following words of Amos written some 760 to 810 years before Christ and some 260-300 years before the Chinese worthy of a circle:-

Amos 5:8  "Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name"

I also put another circle in that equally (if not more) ancient book of the OLD Testament, Job.

Job 36: 27-28 "He draws up (IE evaporates) the drops of water, which distil (IE. condenses) as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind"

If nobody back then knew about the water cycle who (other than the Lord Himself) told this humble herdsman and keeper of Sycamore fig trees?? And the equally ancient man from the land of UZ (thought to be somewhere in what is now the Arabian Desert)??  Just as intriguing is the question WHY does the "official" record not acknowledge that Amos and Job BOTH knew about the water cycle, and documented it before even the Chinese?? The "books" of Amos and Job have been part of the official Jewish records since at least 759 to 810 years before Christ. Surely you can't just conveniently ignore the FACT that they clearly RECORDED their knowledge of the water cycle 260-300 years BEFORE the Chinese supposedly were the first to discover it! After all if your aim really is to ACCURATELY record world history why would you?

Perhaps they found the question of WHO told Amos and Job about the water cycle a bit too uncomfortable to face?

More circles later ...

Extraordinary Indeed Diognetus

It is extraordinary for a Christian to remain a "normal" person because Christians are normal people EMPOWERED and intended by Christ to be .... Extraordinary!

To my mind this extract From The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (circa AD 130) should be required reading for all followers of Christ, new and old alike. It seems that somewhere along the nearly 2 millennia since Mathetes wrote to Diognetus many of today's Christians have forgotten their ..... manners!

("Mathetes" is not thought to be the writer's actual name but rather a title meaning disciple of the Apostles. This was a time of great persecution of church leaders and use of a non-de-plume was frequently employed to protect the identity of the writer.)

(An extract from ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.iii.ii.v.html )

"Chapter V.—The manners of the Christians.

For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

Chapter VI.—The relation of Christians to the world.

To sum up all in one word— what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number. God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it were unlawful for them to forsake."

NO SAFE PLACE .... EXCEPT ONE!

Throughout history Christians have been looking for a safe place to meet. A safe place to talk, worship, fellowship. Some sought it in monasteries and nunneries. Some in segregated communities and compounds Even on the internet I have seen people expressing the desire for a "safe place" to interact with other Christians.

The truth is there is no safe place on Earth for followers of Christ and few of those seeking one have understood that while we are told Satan has been confined TO this world (that is - Earth), the Bible tells us he is not confined ON the Earth. Rather that he "as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8)

Satan is the Prince of THIS world and there is no place he cannot be on it ..... except one. The only place Satan cannot be is ... in Christ. This is why Jesus could say: "These things I have spoken unto you, that IN ME ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

What then does this mean for us? Firstly it means we cannot make A VENUE a safe place for Christians. Make no mistake Satan has been here a long time already and we know he can masquerade as an angel of light. Masquerading as a good and devout Christian is something he has had a lot of practice at. Do not be deceived, he is among us in many guises, indistinguishable from anybody else - to the human eye. He roams as free here as anywhere on earth. Indeed the internet is probably among his most favorite playgrounds these days. But like elsewhere there is only one place he cannot be even on the Internet and that is, in Christ.

There is only ONE safe place for Christians to be no matter where in the world (and cyber world) they may find themselves, and that is to remain in the will and in the word of God - for that is where Christ is and will always be.

But what IS the will and word of God? It is what is WRITTEN in the Bible. It is what the words of the Bible themselves say and mean for the Lord means what HE has said and has said what HE means. No matter how learned or knowledgeable they may be no man's or woman's, or church's interpretation of the Bible is the word of God. The world's foremost authority on the Bible is the Bible itself. But so many want you to give more authority to what THEY say the Bible says, than what the Bible says for itself. But no man is an authority on the Bible, rather the Bible is an authority OVER all men.

Want to know about Revelation? The world's foremost authority on Revelation is the Apostle John - LISTEN to him. Want to understand the book of Daniel? The world's foremost authority on the prophecies of Daniel is ... Daniel - note carefully what HE says.

The foremost expert on the letters of Paul is Paul. On the book of Isaiah it's Isaiah, etc., etc.. Understand for WHO God wrote the Bible. He did not write it for theologians, or church leaderships, or commentators. He wrote it for ... YOU AND I.

The Bible itself there in YOUR hand is the fulfillment of a prophecy.

"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."  (Jeremiah 31:34)

If you want to make wherever and whenever you meet a safe place for Christians let every conversation remain in the word and will of God. Let God Himself teach you through HIS word. The Lord Himself has promised you He will. That is why He wrote it all down - for YOU!

Satan CANNOT preach and teach or allow to be preached and taught, the word of God truthfully and correctly for then he would serve Christ. He can only preach and teach falsely and do whatever he can to discourage or prevent people from turning to and invoking the actual word of God Himself. BUT the Lord has given YOU His word in writing in your very own hands. Pay careful attention, in the counsel of the Holy Spirit that dwells within you, whether or not any man's words agree with the actual words the Lord has WRITTEN down for you Himself and you will remain safe in the word and will of the Lord for that is where you will find yourself in Christ, a place Satan cannot enter. For God has written His word so that YOU will be able to read AND understand it for yourself and not be deceived.

There, and there alone, will you find the safe place for Christians that you seek. Let no man prevent you from invoking and declaring the authority of the WRITTEN word of God Himself. Rest assured it will soon reveal to you the true nature of all present.

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." (Malachi 3:16 KJV)

Provided it is done freely and without charge
"No Safe Place .... Except One!" may be copied, used and distributed
(in its entirety only including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright  2014.

#smallgiftsministries #ttpagoTLa