Psalm 34:1 – I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
“The secret is not God making much of you, it’s you making much of Him” Pastor Dan Burgoyne
““You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore until you decide to be happy.” Nightbirde, a thirty year old singer who fought cancer for many years, but succumbed to it.
1 Thessalonians 5-16-18 “Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Do yourself a favor and listen to Pastor Dan Burgoyne’s 2:16 minute podcast. Bless yourself!
https://youtu.be/NkNtIFCkyrE
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJames 1:22-25 – Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Remembering when I worked with people who understood some English words, but really did not speak English. If they were asked to do something, they shook their heads yes. If asked if they understood, they said yes. They were asked if they had questions and they said no. Then they enthusiastically went off to do what they thought they were supposed to do, but really had nothing to do with what they were asked to do. They listened to their instructions, but did not follow them because they didn’t understand. That was frustrating but what was more frustrating was people who were fluent in English, said okay to their instructions, and then did not do them. My wife works with people who get their instructions and know what they are to do, then don’t do them because they would rather wander around chatting.
People act this way concerning the Word of God. They read, they understand the meaning, and then within a short time they forget who they are (a servant of the Lord Jesus) and then disobey what they are called to do. Maybe it’s a lack of focus, or maybe it a matter of who has control of one’s life. Sadly we take control of our life from God and choose our own will instead. Maybe we have something fun to do. Or something “important” to do. Maybe we just want to relax. Or worse, maybe we never yielded control to Him. But for those of us who consider ourselves His children, we ought to not be foolish, but wise about how we live our lives. Let us remember a simple but wise instruction “God said it, I believe it and that settles it. Perhaps let add “…that settles it so I will obey it.” Not sometimes, but all the time, to the honest best of our ability.
How silly, how sad, to be a person who looks in the mirror and then walks away forgetting who they are. We are children of God, let’s act like it. Not for His benefit, but for ours. Because if everyone knows we belong to God then we forget who we are and act contrary, we shame the name of the Lord. The non-believers will think that we must not love God as much as we say and so we ourselves belittle His name. So for the sake of the high name of our glorious Lord, and for our sake, let’s remember who we are and live in a way that causes people to praise the Lord rather than to scorn Him, and us. Praise God by how we live. Knowledge without living it out is useless. Reading the Word and knowing it is wonderful, but to not live it out is a shame. But living for Him brings joy and peace. It’s good to know who we are. Thank you Holy Spirit. Thank you God Almighty!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob with
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John 10:1-6 – “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them meant.
“Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.” We know that Jesus is our Shepherd. God spoke to the people using the example of shepherds because the people would understand. When the shepherd and sheep were out in the open the shepherds would use brush to surround the sheep to keep them for straying. However when they were in town they would put them in a common sheepfold that was built with stones. Multiple shepherds might use the sheepfold at the same time. The Israelites were aware of thieves and robbers who wanted to enter into the sheepfold to steal sheep. The was usually assisted by an accomplice. The thief would climb over the wall of the sheepfold. Once the thief was inside, he would kill a few sheep and throw the dead bodies over the wall to his partner. Those who came into the fold by jumping the fence did so for one reason, to steal, kill and destroy the sheep. They did not love the sheep, these thieves came to benefit only themselves. (V10)
“But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” The legitimate shepherd comes in through the door. The doorkeeper (guardian of the gate) recognizes the true shepherd and opens the door for Him. Then the Shepherd called out to the sheep, who recognized his voice and followed him out. Some shepherds said their sheep even recognized the name the shepherd had given them and responded to their names. (Revelation 2:17) A shepherd’s sheep know his voice and follow him.
“When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Note that the shepherds at the time that Jesus lived did not drive their sheep but led them and the sheep trusted and followed them. In the western world the sheep are driven, and often by sheepdogs. Our shepherd goes before us and leads us in the path He has already gone. He knows where he leads us and knows how to keep us safe on that path. Praise our good Shepherd!
“However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Really, people of the world will follow the one they have chosen. If the world and the enemy of God, then they will follow where he leads them. But those who love and serve the Lord will follow Him and be safe with Him for all eternity. All who love Jesus know and are led by Him.
“Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them meant.” The Jews who rejected Him never did understand what Jesus was teaching, but the humble heard Him and followed Him. The Jewish authorities were the same ruling families for generations. This parable was plain even to the fake shepherds of the Jews that Jesus was describing them as the bad players who only steal, kill and destroy the faith of those seeking God. But the ones who had a heart for God had a heart for Jesus. Today it is the same. Many reject Jesus and find the Bible flawed and foolish and there are many false leaders. But those who love and serve Him know that Jesus gave to all who would follow Him words of eternal life and security in it. And so we live eternally with Him. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 13:1 – Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Galatians 6:2 – Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
In Matthew 26:36-46 Jesus told Peter, James and John “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” His time of being mocked, beaten, tortured and killed on the cross for them and us was upon Him. Have your friends failed you? When His closest friends failed Him, Jesus gave us an example to do with friends who fail us. He continued to love them sacrificially. He died for them. The Apostle Paul wrote of love that it is patient, that it endures all things and that it never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) Jesus is our example. For those who call Him “Master” there are no “buts” He is our example. And if we find reasons for us to do otherwise, then how are we different from the Peter, James and John who failed Him at Gethsemane? Surely they were tired as three times in a row they did not obey the Lord but fell asleep rather than praying for Him. When our friends disappoint us, as we too often do also to them, let us follow the example of Jesus and sacrificially love them, unto the end. (1 Peter 2:21) 1 Peter 2:23 states that Jesus did not return hurt or insult but kept trusting and desiring to please the Father. And we likewise are called to trust the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and keep living us as He has commanded us to live. We are to love each other in the same manner, with the same strength and with the same passion as Jesus has loves us. (John 15:12) We will hurt each other, hopefully never intentionally. Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Jesus said in Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others their sin, your Father will not forgive your sins.” We are to forgive every time. No exceptions. How do we do this? We yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him make us a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17) The old self, the flesh, must die. (Romans 8:13) We understand to obey all the laws we must grow in the understanding that love is the answer to living out all of God’s commands. (Matthew 22:37-40) All of the laws of God are fulfilled by being filled with His love. (Matthew 22:40) And if we don’t have the love of God within, then we don’t belong to God. (1 John 4:7-8)
So family, don’t follow what the world has infiltrated into even the minds and hearts of those who call themselves by the name of the Lord. Forgive people. Love people. Don’t discard them but bear with them and help them. Will we be hurt? Yes. Will we be offended? Yes. Will we be “put upon?” Yes. And so we will grow to be like Jesus, our Savior, our Lord and Master, and our supreme example. Let us learn love and grow in it. Jesus loved us and came to earth to seek and save the lost. Let us do likewise and praise God as we do. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 9:35-41 – Jesus heard that they had put him out, and upon finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered by saying, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “I believe, Lord.” And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
“Jesus heard that they had put him out, and upon finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered by saying, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” Genesis 3:7-9 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
8 Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Jesus, upon finding out that the man had been excommunicated by the Jewish authorities searched for the man and found him. And Family and Friends that is how it always is. It is not us who seeks Jesus but Jesus who seeks us. When Adam and Eve sinned the Lord sought them out so that He could minister to them. When Jonah was angry with God and went some place to be alone, it is the Lord who went to him. It is the Lord who went to cave and to comfort Elijah. (1 Kings 19:9) Jesus said that we did not choose Him but rather He chose us. (John 15:16, Ephesians 1:4) For this man who was cured of congenital blindness, it was Jesus who chose to heal him. It was Jesus who after the man was excommunicated sought out the man to complete the miraculous for the man. The beginning of the miraculous was healing his physical eyes, but the second and greatest part of the man’s healings was to open his spiritual sight so that the man would believe in Jesus. And that is what Jesus has done for us. He opened our eyes and saved us. Oh thank you Jesus!
“Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “I believe, Lord.” And he worshiped Him.” The man wanted to see the Son of Man that He may believe in Him. So Jesus told him that he had seen the Him and was now looking at the Son of Man. The man immediately believed in Jesus and worshipped Him. Likely the man fell to His knees to acknowledge His newly discovered Savior. And dear Brothers and Sisters, that is what we must do every day. We should wake and start our day by giving the praise of thanksgiving to Him. Let us consider what He has done for us. In considering all He has done for us, let us consider what all He has done for us reveals to us about Him. Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who saves us from the sin nature we all inherited at birth. (Psalm 51:5) The greatest miracle that Jesus did for the man was to save his soul, just as the greatest miracle for us was to save our souls. Why? Because He loves us “For God so loved the world…” He loves us. He knows everything about us and still He loves us. It was so for the healed man just as it is for us. He indeed is good and He indeed loves us. Hallelujah!
“And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. 40 Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” Now this verse does not contradict John 3:17. For those who live in the dark might not ever realize that they live in darkness until light shines into their world. When someone comes to the Lord wherever they go and whoever they are with, the unbelieving will feel judged by them even though no judgmental word was ever mentioned. The righteousness of God that lives within those who love Jesus shines outward to the world and the unredeemed are convicted of their sins, whether they acknowledge it or not, because Jesus within shines without. We let our light shine so that the Light within us will be glorified. (Matthew 5:16) This man shone after his physical healing, how much more so must He have shone after His spiritual healing. Jesus sought us for a reason. Brothers and Sisters, let the joy of the Lord flow through us to others to bring praise to Him. Praise the Lord always! Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 9:24-33 – So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” 28 They spoke abusively to him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?” So they put him out.
“So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They had already questioned the man and now they called him to testify again. Why did they do that? Did they forget some line of questioning? Was there new evidence to be examined? V18 states that they had not believed in this miraculous healing of a man born blind until they had talked to his parents. Then, they knew they could not contest that he was born blind and they could see, by the use of their own senses that he could see now. So what is it the Jewish authorities were trying to squeeze out of the man’s testimony?
The authorities say to the man that they know Jesus was a sinner (they said that because Jesus had not kept with their oral tradition regarding the Sabbath.) The man may not have been a scholar in their eyes but he showed an ability to see through the attempts to defame Jesus and He would stick only to what He knew. The man knew that it was not his job to judge who was a sinner or not, that was supposed job of the authorities. The man said the simple facts, he was born blind and now he sees. The authorities could not prove these facts wrong. We need to stick to what we know and not be enticed into things we do not know. The man simply gave his testimony concerning what Jesus had done for him. It is the same for us. Many people have read the Bible, and many think they know the Truth but do not. No matter what others say we can confidently give our testimony of what Jesus has done for us. We can testify that we were blind but now we see. We were all born (Psalm 51:5) in sin (Romans 5:12) and spiritually blind to the truths of God, but now we see because of Jesus. Stick to what we know. Jesus saved us and opened our hearts and eyes to receive the truths of God, and He Himself is the Truth. That we know. That we say.
“So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again?” That they wanted to hear his testimony again the man was aware that the authorities already knew what he said had happened. He says, why do you want me to repeat it since you are not listening to what I have said. It is not that they did not listen, but they refused to believe. The mind of a person who has his own reasons to not believe is hard to change. Not that this man was trying to change their minds, but if they would not believe, then he surely thought “alright then, believe what you will, but I’m done.” We’ve all been there.
“You do not want to become His disciples too, do you? 28 They spoke abusively to him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.” The man already knew they did not want to become disciples of Jesus. This was definitely a poke at them, and an expression of boldness they did not expect. Who was this uneducated commoner to speak like that to them? Pride brings disaster and the disaster to these authorities was not recognizing their Messiah. (Proverbs 16:18)
The sharp arrow the man had released found its home in their pride and the result was anger. They rise up their banner which their heart and words bore no witness of. They claimed to be disciples of Moses, but if they had been, they would have followed Jesus whom Moses and the Prophets had foretold of.
“We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” Yes the Lord God had spoken to Moses. (Exodus 33:11) Again, if they were disciples of Moses they should have recognized where Jesus was from. Acts 3:22 speaks of the coming Messiah and instructs the Jews to listen to everything He says. Moses gave the Law, Jesus gave the full story. As is said, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Jesus was the Messiah they all were waiting for. (Deuteronomy 18:18)
“The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” The man whom the authorities looked down upon as ignorant and beneath them now speaks back to them again. He points out that according to what they knew, a man who was born blind had never before been healed but Jesus had healed him. That should tell them that this man was from God. A miracle this powerful must have originated from God.
“They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?” So they put him out.” Ah the ugly head of pride roars. The authorities ask who he, an uneducated man is to teach them. That refrain from pride still echoes in every part of our society. Sadly, had they been humble, had their hearts been soft and truly seeking their Messiah, they would have recognized that Jesus was He. But their pride and hard hearts blinded them. The man had his eyes opened, unfortunately the Jews refused the miracle of Jesus to give them sight and for all who did not repent, they would perish.
Let us remain humble and soft of heart and we shall receive the blessings that Father God gives to all who come to Him through Jesus Christ His Son. (Matthew 5:3-10) Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob with