LIFTERS AND LEANERS

There are just two kinds of people on earth today,
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.
Not the rich and the poor, for to count a man’s wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.
Not the humble and proud, for, in life’s little span,
Who puts on airs is not counted a man.
Not the happy and sad, for the swift counting years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.
No, the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
Wherever you go you will find the world’s masses
Are always divided in just these two classes.
And oddly enough you will find, too, I ween,
There’s only one lifter to twenty who lean.
In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner who lets others bear
Your portion of labour and worry and care?
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox –

The Love of God - by Fredrick M. Lehman

Verse 1

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Chorus
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Verse 2

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Verse 3
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Do You Miss It?

Today my mind goes to all those dear friends and loved ones of mine that have allowed themselves to slip away from presence of God.

Through neglect or deception you have have lost the precious things that you once held dear.

Relationship...
Holiness...
Trust...
Peace...
Contentment...
Truth...

Do You Miss It?

The Church is still here. There are still people that are holding on to the name. There are still people that love the principles of biblical holiness; still people who love to pray; to worship; to serve.

Come on home.

I am praying for you today!

A Fiery Sermon...

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening.. The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire... Guessing the reason for his preachers visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday.' We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

Author Unknown...

Cracking Conventional Wisdom - Satan?

What does conventional wisdom say about Satan? It says that Satan is...

1. equal in power to God
2. able to stop God's purpose
3. able to defeat the church
4. able to control our actions
5. the king of a domain called hell

What is the real truth?

1. Satan is not an equal to God. God has no equal. He is the creator of all things and His power is unmatched. God does not even have to break a sweat to defeat the enemy. Satan is simply a fallen angel that was cast out of heaven by God and his fall was like lightening from heaven.

2. God's purpose will not be stopped. He will ultimately be worshiped. He will ultimately be proclaimed king. Satan will ultimately be defeated.

3. God will have the Church. The Church will not fail or be defeated. It is founded on Jesus Christ the solid rock.

4. The devil cannot "make" us do anything. We have to give him influence. If we submit ourselves unto God then we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.

5. Hell is not Satan's domain. He is not in charge of hell. He fears hell. He dreads hell. He will be a victim of its torture just as any unrepentant sinner.

We have nothing to fear from our enemy, Satan. If we stay in the church and stay submitted to God then we will be victorious.

Remember, if Satan COULD destroy you he WOULD.

I met the Master face to face

I had walked life's way with an easy tread,
Had followed where comfort and pleasures led,
Until one day in a quiet place
I met the Master face to face.

With station and rank and wealth for my goal,
Much thought for my body, but none for my soul,
I had entered to win in life's mad race,
When I met the Master face to face.

I met Him, and knew Him and blushed to see
That His eyes full of sorrow, were fixed on me;
And I faltered and fell at His feet that day,
While my castles melted and vanished away.

Melted and vanished and in their place
Naught else did I see but the Masters face.
And I cried aloud, "Oh, make me meet
To follow the steps of Thy wounded feet."

My thought is now for the souls of men,
I have lost my life to find it again,
E'er since one day in a quite place
I met the Master face to face.

Author: Unknown

Beware of theThree Types of Leaven

Matt 16:6
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mark 8:15
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

The leaven of the Pharisees - This leaven expands the philosophy that if you dot every i and cross every t on the outside that you are pleasing God.

This is the leaven of hypocrisy.

The leaven of the Sadducees - This leaven expands the philosophy of questioning and doubting traditionally held views. They refused to acknowledge Oral History or Oral Law.

This is the leaven of compromise.

The leaven of Herod - This leaven expanded the philosophy of tolerance. Herod had to walk a fine line between Roman paganism and Hebraic doctrine to remain in favor with the Roman government. This resulted in a hybrid and convoluted religious culture that embraced worldliness.

This is the leaven of appeasement.

God help us to remove all the leaven from our lives and preach it out of our churches.