The Sunday Post May 19, 2019
“The Sunday Post” is a column comprised of articles of Faith, poetry and devotions…
Parable of the Devil & The Rich Man
A very wealthy man lived on a vast estate with many natural treasures. He possessed rivers and lakes. He owned untold acres of woodlands with trees a thousand years old. The mountains in view were his and so were the plains that stretched out before the hills. But the trees were perhaps his most prized possessions.
Now this man had a neighbor (who plays the part of the devil) who was just filled with jealousy and hatred for the rich man and all that he owned.
Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand. Proverbs 19:21
He spent his days and nights plotting what he could do to injure and hurt his wealthy neighbor.
Finally, he hit upon it. He would go out yonder under the cover of darkness and cut down one of the rich man’s magnificent trees. He went on the first moonless and cloud covered night with his ax, his saw, and his wedges. He worked feverishly through the dark night. His hands were soon blistered and bloody but he worked on. Finally, it began to get light and he heard the sound of a wagon with the voices of two men approaching.
Quickly he drove in his last wedge and the towering tree began to fall and he ran for all he was worth, but a gigantic branch caught and pierced him and pinned him to the ground.
Just then the wagon pulled up to this bloody scene and it was the man who owned the estate and another man the tree cutter did not recognize. The tree cutter, even in his pain, shook his fist at the owner and said: “I hate you with a perfect hatred and I have cut down one of your precious trees. WHAT do you think of that?”
The owner of the homestead said this man with me is my architect and we are here to look over the sight of a new mansion I intend to build. Our plans require that only one of my great trees need be cut in order to build my new home. And the tree you just lost your life in cutting is the one. Thank you for your services.”
You can be sure the devil has never cut one of God’s trees except it was by His design and by His permission. The devil is only a puppet really, and it is God who pulls the strings.
By Donald G. Barnhouse
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. “The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.1 Samuel 2:6-7
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither. 5 Mountains quake because of Him And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it. 6 Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are broken up by Him. Nahum 1:3-6
God whispers to you in your prosperity
God Speaks to you in your need
God shouts at you in your affliction
Whatever trials you are facing seek God and His wisdom and strength. Pray without ceasing! He is faithful!
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am part of the “Fellowship of the Unashamed.”
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.
The Author of this work is a Rwandan man in 1980 who was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ and was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the commitment “The Fellowship of the Unashamed” which was found in his room. Bob Moorehead had written this in his book “Words Aptly Spoken” c. 1995
Paul had said: I am not ashamed of the gospel . . . Romans 1:16
Did you know a lot of old sayings actually came from Scripture?…..
Did you know a lot of old sayings actually came from Scripture?
“The Skin of my teeth” – Who said that? answer: Job (Job 19:20)
“Red sky in the morning” – Who said that? Answer: Jesus (Matthew 16:3)
“A little Bird told me” – Who said that? Answer: Solomon (Ecclesiastes 10:20)
“A thorn in the flesh” – – Who said that? Answer: Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7)
Walter Cronkite always ended his news cast with the words, “And That’s the way it is, June 19, 1962.” An old time preacher by the name of Vance Havner said that he always felt like saying, “No Walter, that’s just the way it seems. It’s not the way it is.” God is on the throne and in control of every detail…
Careless seems the great avenger
Truth forever on the scaffold
Wrong forever on the throne
BUT—on that scaffold sways the future
and beyond the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadows
Keeping watch above His own.
Words Of Wisdom…
- We are making preparations for a place we are leaving and no preparations for a place we are going.
- If there is no fear in judgment, there is no joy in deliverance.
- No one who dodges the cross will ever wear the crown.
- We can’t become what we need to be, “if” we remain who we are.
- F.A.T. Christians = Faithful, Available, Teachable
- Where you sit in Heaven depends on where you stand down here.
- Nothing is successful that ends up in Hell.
- Backsliding: is not so much where you are going as when you left, Not so much doing what you ought NOT to do…. BUT NOT DOING what you should be doing.
- Human efforts will never produce fruits of the spirit, only the spirit produces fruit
- Don’t forget in the darkness what you have learned in the light. God remains the same, even in the dark.
All We Like Sheep is a book based on 12 years of research collecting information about sheep.
The title comes from Isaiah 53:6. If we are compared to sheep, we should understand their nature. Mary Glynn gathered information from people who raise sheep.
As she studied, she began to see how so many characteristics of sheep are similar to people. She was trying to understand her husband and three kids but she ended up understanding herself.
A glimpse inside -Sheep need full-time supervision because when they are on their backs they cannot write themselves! When sheep fold and roll over onto their spine, they do not have the ability to get up. All they’re kicking and bleating doesn’t help. While on their back they can’t follow the shepherd, even though they hear his voice. They become isolated from the flock and they are easy prey for their enemies. They suffer from being in this position. Sheep can’t help each other back on their feet. Only the shepherd can help!
The Beginning & The End
The Bible is all one story. The last part of the last Book in the Bible reads like the close to the first part of the first Book of the Bible.
The first Words in Genesis: 1:1
In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Almost the last words in Revelation: 21:1
I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The gathering together of the waters he called the sea. (Genesis 1:10)
And the sea is no more. (Rev. 21:1)
The darkness he called the night. (Genesis 1:5)
There shall be no night there. (Rev. 21:25)
In the day you eat thereof you shall surely die. (Gen. 2:17)
Death shall be no more. (Rev. 21:4)
Genesis 3:14 the sun appears for the first time.
There is no more sun nor moon for the Lamb is the light of it. Rev. 21:23 and Rev. 22:5
I will greatly multiply your pain. (Gen. 3:16)
Neither shall there be pain anymore. (Rev. 21:4)
Cursed is the ground for your sake. (Gen. 3:17)
There shall be no more curse. (Rev. 22:3)
Satan appears as the deceiver of mankind. (Gen. 3:1, 4)
Satan disappears forever. (Rev. 20:10)
Man is driven from the Tree of Life. (Gen. 3:22-24)
The Tree of Life reappears. (Rev. 22:2)
Man is driven from God’s presence. (Gen. 3:24)
We shall see His face. (Rev. 22:4)
Man’s primeval home was beside a river. (Genesis 2:10)
Man’s eternal home is also beside a river. (Rev. 21:1)
There is no devil in the first two chapters of Genesis
There is no devil in the last two chapters of Revelation!
(Source: Halley’s Bible Handbook)
Running…
In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief.
On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. So often when we run from God, we feel it is to escape his punishment. But what we are actually doing is eluding his rescue.
– Unknown
The Lord said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock”…..BUT you will have to open the door to let him in! Salvation is NOT found in a religion, a lodge or good works, but in a Person… The RISEN LORD JESUS CHRIST! Do not wait until tomorrow. No one is promised Tomorrow and eternity is long.
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one
Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 5:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
How To Go To Hell
Going to hell is actually quite simple, all you have to do is reject what Jesus did on the cross for you. You don’t even have to embrace sin, just reject Jesus. How hard is it to get into Heaven? Let’s look at the best example Jesus gave us. Jesus hung on the cross with two men, two guilty men I might add, Jesus had no sin, he was God in the flesh. “I and the father are one” John 10:30
One of the men started heckling Jesus, -If you’re really God save us.- The other man somehow got it and told him to shut up. -We are guilty, this man is not. We are getting what we deserve, this man is guilty of nothing– Maybe he saw Jesus preach, maybe he saw Jesus healing the sick, no one really knows. All we really know from scripture is that he wasn’t dumb because he decided not to reject Jesus. After rebuking the other man he spoke directly to Jesus and said; “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
So did Jesus say, OK, well, tell your family to give money to the church? No. Did Jesus say, OK, if you can get two people to repent before you die I’ll let you in? No. Did Jesus tell him to get baptized? That would be silly under current circumstances. Obviously, the man couldn’t go to church, he was hanging on a cross. There was no time to have any kind of ministry or serve God and there was no time for works. What’s Jesus saying here? Doing good works all your life will not get you into heaven. Remove the death of Christ from your good works, church donations, and acts of kindness and you go straight to hell.
One way to know if you are going to the right church is to see if the janitor is treated any differently than the pastor. If your church believes the janitor’s role is any less important than the pastor’s and they’re treated any differently, then (at the very least) you know you are not in a bible believing (or at least bible preaching) church. They are the same in God’s eyes. Just two members of the body. Remove the death of Christ and both go straight to hell.
I digress. The question was, how does one go to hell. It’s (again) simple. Just reject Jesus. If you accept Jesus, you are (ironically) leaving religion behind and are now simply accepting payment for something you could never earn on your own. Jeremiah 17:9-10 KJV – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jesus meant everyone there, the Pope, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and yes you. The only way in is Jesus, reject him and to hell you go.
Would you like to join the smart money and buy Jesus stock, then just tell Jesus this; “I am a sinner and I want the death of Christ applied to my sins. Remember me when you get to your kingdom.” That’s it. Then go tell someone. Matthew 10:33 “But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in Heaven.” That’s Jesus talking again.
Safety tip: If you ask Jesus to die for you he will. If you keep sinning after that Jesus just might take you home early. The only thing wrong with that is you are saying goodbye to any chance of earning rewards for actions you do for Christ while on this planet. So if you want to live a long life and embrace sin, you may not want to accept Jesus. PS: If you do decide to embrace sin you might want to stay away from Christians too, that might get you into trouble. It’s much easier for you in the long and short run to just stop rejecting Jesus right now.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you were the only one that ever lived, Jesus still would have gone to the cross for you”? The part they leave out is, if you were the only one that ever lived, Jesus would still have to go to the cross for you.
Closing: Why do we have to die. Well, we actually don’t. It’s our body’s that can’t get anywhere near God, you are actually OK in God’s eyes, assuming you haven’t rejected Jesus. Our bodies are sinful and corrupt and would die if we got anywhere near God. We die and are later given a new body that is not sinful and can be near God. I say you don’t have to die because some people won’t have to, and some people haven’t. One guy ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot. If you are alive when Jesus returns for the believers then you will ascend into the clouds without dying and you’ll get your new body then. Cool ah?. See you in Heaven.
– Brother Thomas, Robertson County, TN
Smokey Barn News (Advertisement)
Smokey Barn News (Advertisement)
We bring you ALL the News in and surrounding Robertson County, Tennessee.
