The Advocate: 1 John 2:1

"My little children, these things I write unto you, that you may sin not. And if any man (or woman) sin, and if any man (or woman) sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;" 1 John 2:1 KJV
First thing, we are Children in the Lord's eyes. If we expect to receive anything from the Father we must humble ourselves as children. Trust the Father that He knows best.
Second, John would not have told us not to sin if we could not do so. It is a lye that we sin hundreds of times a day without knowing. With the Lord's help only we can lead a sinless and blameless life before Him. Not with Holier-than-thou pride (for that is a sin) But being humble with the Lord's help and strength.
Third, IF we sin, We have an advocate.
Suppose we are going to court for a great offense. We are offered the service of the greatest lawyer in the world. He knows all the laws because He wrote them all. Wouldn't that be great?
Also suppose that the Lawyer turned out to be the Judge. That would really be great wouldn't it? But wait, the Lawyer/Judge says that He finds you guilty and the law demands imprisonment, retribution and then death. You jump up and say," Wait a minute! Who is the victim and can we settle out of court".
The Lawyer/Judge states that He is the victim. He is the one sinned against.
Then the Lawyer/Judge/Victim tells you that He has taken your sentence for you. (vs. 2 says that He was the propitiation for our sin. Meaning Payment) And that He is willing also to pay the legal fees.
On the local news there is a report of a woman that wants the State of Fla. to help with her legal fees. The courts are going to make her parents liquidate there home and savings to pay the legal fees. The cost of defense may be free to us but it is not cheap (read Bonhoffer's "Cost of Discipleship")
We have all been around enough to know that if something sounds to good to be true, then it usually is. Well there is one requirement the Lawyer/Judge/Victim/Payment demands. He demands that we become his adopted child and take His name and inheritance. Forsake that father (the Devil) and the mother (the World) that beats us and abandons us and receive Jesus our Father and our all.
To turn down this greatest of deals is to reject His payment and sacrifice and receive the debt that we owe, with no advocate. Just a very rejected Judge that will give justice.

Quote by Leslie Weatherhead for Our Nation Today

            “Who said that Jesus Christ was irrelevant in this hour of crisis? Who can really imagine that He was a pale, idyllic dreamer who said poetic things about lilies and birds, and need not be taken seriously?
            I must state my own conviction that, for lack of taking him seriously, we may be at this moment watching the whole setup of Western civilization break up and perish. Men will not heed the preacher who says these things. They shrug their shoulders and laugh uneasily, as the men of Babylon laughed, and of Egypt and Greece and Rome and Mexico, and the rest of the fourteen ancient civilizations whose ruins are still being dug out of the desert sands. But, if I may put it thus, God’s workshop floor is littered with the broken instruments that snapped in His hands and which He discarded because He could no longer use them. This is a solemn moment. We may be watching the whole of Western civilization, both Europe and in America, snap in God’s hands at the time when He wanted it most; but proud, boastful men, drunk with power, senseless with material success, blinded by the achievements of science, intoxicated by victory, and forgetful of the blood of the brave, forget God does not exist for nations, but that nations exist for God, that life is not given us to play with. We are not even here to be happy. life exists for God, and when any expression of it can no longer contribute toward His ends, it passes into the dust of the useless.
            What can we do? In this hour when so many churches in their present way of life are too dead to be Christ’s instrument, get into a group, or form one in your own home or church where you can meet, and thrash out these questions in the light of the Christian religion and the will of God.”

Leslie D. Weatherhead in “The Resurrection and the Life”, Abingdon-Cokesbury Pres., 1948, Pg 59

Bell Ringing Lesson

While ringing bells for the Salvation Army, I had been asking the children whose birthday we were celebrating this month. I had one little girl pipe up and say, "mine". We all laughed at her innocence, but I got to thinking about this. I thought that although we celebrate Christ's birthday in December, not knowing the exact day, it would be good for us to remember why He came. That is to give us a new birthday. All those who have been born again as taught in John Chapter 3, should take some time this season to celebrate our spiritual birthday. If we will lift up to Him the thankfulness He deserves, we offer Him the greatest of gifts that we can give Him.

Seeking the Kingdom

Our Pastor, Bro. Robert, has been teaching us on prayer. The other day he
mentioned Luke 12:32 and the three aspects of God seen in this one verse.
"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom."
1st God is a Shephard. Jesus the Good Shepard always cares for the sheep. See
the 23rd Psalms
2nd God is a Father. A real father always wants to bless His children.
3rd God is a King. Jesus is the King of Kings. And it is His pleasure to give it
to us. Not to give us control of it, but to set it up for us to live in.

In full control of His reign.
These are three really good marks of the Lord. Those who say He is venageful and
hatful just don't know Him like I do.And in knowing this I have no problem
seeking the Kingdom First (Luke 12:31)

The Man Nobody Knows by Bruce Barton

I have just read the book," The Man Nobody Knows" by Bruce Barton. Written in 1925.
Bruce saw as a young boy in Sunday school that the Jesus tought was not the Jesus he was interested in. He was pictured as a weak charactor that got pushed around. I can relate to this picture of Him. I felt the same way when I was young.
In this book Bruce pictures a real Man Jesus in the since that He was wholey a Human Man's Man.
The book relates to business types and focus's on Jesus' Human side. Which is not a bad thing. We hear a lot of His divine side, and forget He was Human also just like us. It provides some real hope to us unperfect ones. He discusses the rise of Jesus' poperlarity in Human achivement instead of Divine help. I'm not sure this is a bad thing. WE are to be lead by the Holy Spirit in all of our ways, which Bruce left this out. But the miricle of the Lord is that He can work through humankind.
I suggest everyone read this, those in leadership it is a must. But read it with the guidence of the Holy Spirit. Digest the good, vomit the bad. And learn of Him.

Unemployed Again

Once again I find myself unemployed. Dunbarton Corp in Dothan layed about 32 of us off because of lack of work. (So order some Slimfold doors and Redi-frame door frames) I left this time with my head high and trying to please the Lord. They informed us well in advance that they were going to do it. By seniority. When they called me in to give me the bad news, I told them that they were just doing their jobs and that I understood how hard it was. I have had to hire and fire many in my life. I asked them if I could pray with them and they consented. Afterwards I went to each Manager and supervisor that I had had and told them I appreciated the chance to work for them.
When asked what I would do from my co-workers , I replied that I would do what I had did when I took the job. Trust God. The company could knock God off His throne.
So here I am unemployed and trying to be lead by the Holy Spirit in my job hunt.
I know this sounds really weird to you unbelievers, but if you have a better way, let me know. I've tried it all on my own and it did not work.
That is the lesson that we as a nation will learn. No man or group can heal our land. Until we admit that we need God to pull us out of the mess we got ourselves into.
I pray for you Mr. President, but
You can not bring real change,
You can not bring real hope,
Only the Lord Jesus can.
Yes you made History, but it is not as big as the history Jesus Christ will make when He returns.

Being The New Testament Church Part 1: Intro & Belief

Our pastor has been teaching lately on , "Being A New Testament Church". Many groups have used this title in their Church name and I will not sit in judgement as to whether they are or are not a NTC. One thing we have seen is that you can not have a NTC with out New Testament people. We have been studying in Acts 2:41-47
After Peter had preached and many decided to follow Jesus, they followed a certain pattern for growth.
1. They believed
2. They Baptized
3. They devoted time to learning the Apostles teachings
4. They had close fellowship together
5. They ate together daily and had communion
6. They prayed together.

I will discuss these as I can in different post.
First they believed after hearing Peter's preaching.
They had heard that Jesus rose from the dead. No one questioned the fact of the matter. Some chose not to believe, but many chose to do so. Belief starts from Heaven, comes down to man and then goes out. To really believe, one must have a revelation from the Lord. Just like when Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, Peter answered correctly and Jesus told him that man did not teach him this but it came from God the Father. We will only get truth from the Bible or Preaching when the Lord reveals it to us. Then, like the early believers, we will not deny our faith for nothing. Not even to save our lives.

I will do baptisms next, after I have studied and prayed about it.

Note: The Main points in this post were made by my pastor, Robert Grice of Grace Harvest Church in Dothan, Al. USA