"Preach the Word,

Genesis 8:1 "And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;"

”Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).



The Apostle Paul was preaching to the men of Athens on Mars Hill. He was explaining that their “unknown” god could in fact be known. That He is the God who created everything and had determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. Most importantly, all people everywhere should repent. A day of judgment is coming. To furish proof to man, God raised His Son from the dead. Paul admonishes the Athenians to serve the living God and not idols of stone.

In our everyday life we don’t see the dead being raised to life from the grave. Yet the Bible tells us this will happen to the dead on that “appointed day”. God raised Jesus from the dead as a firstfruit, a demonstration of assurance for us.

Let all rejoice in this Resurrection! Religious leaders and the Old Testament priests are dead, but our Savior is alive. Because of this we do not need to fear the troubles of the world around us. This present world will fade away and God will create the new heaven and new earth.

In closing, a phrase made famous by Abraham Lincoln which is always true, “This too, shall pass away.”

This month millions of people have made resolutions, but sadly most resolutions are abandoned within two weeks.  How can we make our resolutions our realities?  Philippians 3:12-14 gives insight about reaching these goals.

1. Fully Confess Your Shortcomings (v. 12a) - Paul confessed he had not yet "arrived."  He still needed to grow.  In what areas do you most need improvement?
2. Find Your Destiny (vv.12, 14) - Paul pressed n to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of him.  Do you have a driving agenda in life, given to you by Christ?
3. Forget the Past (v. 13) - When Paul said he was forgetting what lay behind him, he was referring to past accomplishments.  Don't rest on your past deeds or be hindered by failures.  Put it all behind you and under the blood of Christ.
4. Focus Your Aim (v. 13) - "One thing I do."  What does God want you to do in the coming year?
5. Forcibly Pursue Your Goal (v. 14) - Paul's imagery of "pressing on" is of a runner straining for the tape (Heb. 12:1-2).

May I encourage you to prayerfully set goals for the New Year, write them down, share them with someone, and devote the next 365 days to fulfilling them for the glory of God.

I stumbled across this tract from The Tract League and thought it would be a good post and reminder for all of us.

I always thought that what I did with my money and my time was my own business. Then I happened to read a passage in the Bible and realized I had forgotten about God.

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth... Deuteronomy 8:18

I studied some more and discovered that in the Old Testament, God used the 10% rule (commonly know as the tithe) to fund the work of service and worship. It was a law, and every follower of God was required to set aside 10% of all income for the work of the Lord. That 10% was so important to God that those who used it on themselves were actually stealing from God.

And all the tithe of the land , whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. Leviticus 27:30

When I searched the New Testament about giving I discovered that the rule of law was replaced by a rule of gratitude.

Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him... I Corinthians 16:2
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: For God loveth a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7

I discovered that in God's economy, He wants eveery believer to take part in advancing his kingdom.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

So I tried it, and discovered that giving time and money to the church was good for me - I was never happier than when I was involved in doing what I could to help the church. I learned that God delights to use my gifts to cause his kingdom to grow. I discovered that by giving both money and time, I received so much more than I ever gave. Then I found out why. I was on the receiving end of another one of God's great promises.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10

I received this in my email inbox and thought it was too good to keep to myself.

Notwithstanding this evident plan and purpose of a divine redemption which runs through the Scriptures, there are today many professedly Christian writers who treat the Israelitish religion as if it were a purely natural development. They diligently pick out every instance of a superstitious observance, or of a departure from the law, or of a disobedience to the divine commands, as if these represented the true religion of ancient Israel. They cut up the books and doctor the documents and change the text and wrest the meaning, to suit the perverted view of their own fancy. They seem to think that they know better what the Scriptures ought to have been than the prophets and apostles and even the Lord Himself! They tell us when revelations must have been made, and how and where they must have been given, and what their contents could have been, as if they knew more about such matters than God himself. Imagine a man's writing the history of the last eighteen hundred years and denying that the New Testament had been in existence during all that time, denying that the Christian church with all its saving doctrines and benevolent institutions and beneficent social system derived from the New Testament had been active and, in a sense, triumphant for at least fifteen hundred years, simply because he could select thousands of examples of superstitious customs, and hellish deeds, and impious words, and avowed agnostics, and heaven-defying atheists, that have disgraced the pages of history during this time!

Let us not grovel for the beetles and the earth worms of almost forgotten faiths which may perchance be discovered beneath the stones and sod of the Old Testament, while the violets and the lilies- of-the-valley of a sweet and lowly faith are in bloom on every page and every oracle revealed within the Word of God is jubilant with songs of everlasting joy. The true religion of Israel came down from God arrayed in the beautiful garments of righteousness and life. We cannot substitute for this heaven made apparel a robe of human manufacture, however fine it be.

(Robert Dick Wilson, Ph.D., D.D., "Is the Higher Criticism Scholarly?", Originally Published in 1922).

Genesis 4:9 "And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"

Who was the first man ever born? If you said Adam you're off just a bit...it was Cain (Adam's oldest son). Now who was the first murderer? Sadly, its Cain again. It didn't take mankind very long to start off on the wrong foot with killing of each other, did it?! This had nothing to do with a "broken home" or a "bad environment" as many like to blame for sin and violence. This was simply just selfishness and anger on his part. Think about it: the very first man that was ever born became a murderer. That says a load about the true nature of man, doesn't it?!?
As God did with Adam in the Garden of Eden, He asked Cain a rhetorical question. He said, "Where is Abel thy brother?" Did God really need that information? No-He knew exactly where Abel was at that moment. The one who needed to be "enlightened" was Cain. God asked him that question to pinpoint his sin-to help Cain see what he had done.
Many times, questions can be more piercing than accusations, and so it was with Cain. He responded to God with the famous line, "I know not: am I my brother's keeper?" Many times, we use this line in sarcasm to distance ourselves from responsibility. And that is exactly why Cain said what he did! Instead of acknowledging his guilt, he pled ignorance. And he lied-plain and simple-when he said, "I know not." He refused to come face to face with his sin.
Though most of us have never literally murdered anyone, we tend to do just what Cain did. We turn a blind eye to the sin in our lives and act as if it is not there. Though acting innocent before others may be convincing, we cannot plead ignorance before an all-knowing God. He knows the sins of our hearts; He sees what we think we have hidden.
Notice the second part of Cain's reply. Not only did he plead ignorance, but then he exaggerated God's demands to turn the focus away from his responsibility: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Was Cain put on this earth by God for the sole purpose of taking care of his brother? The answer is obviously no. But does that clear him from any responsibility for his brother? Again, the answer is no. Cain was trying to evade responsibility altogether.
Mankind today still does this. For instance, if someone is confronted about a sin in his life, he might respond, "So now I'm the biggest sinner in the world, huh? Who are you to say?" Is he truly the "biggest sinner in the world"? I would dare say no. But does that mean his "little" sin is not important to God? The truth is, Cain was responsible to God for his actions toward his brother. He did need to answer for his brother's welfare.
Pleading ignorance never works with God. It didn't work for Cain, and it doesn't work for any of us. Are you your "brother's keeper"? Well, like Cain, you do have responsibility before God for how you treat those around you. Don't shirk that responsibility by pleading ignorance. Face up to your responsibilities. Get right what you need to get right. Be honest with yourself and with God. You'll be the better for it, and so will those around you.