Luk 10.18
“And he [ Jesus] said unto them,
‘I beheld Satan, as lightning, fall from heaven.’”
“…as satan & Adam fell into sin…without any previous bias inclining him to corruption; so may…believers depart from the faith & fall so low as to account the blood of the covenant where ithc they were sanctified an unholy thing.”
– John Fletcher /Works II/
17 of 46 “…Pride & arrogancy…do I hate”(Pro 8.13).
Pro 14.3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of PRIDE: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
“…I plead for the most precious liberty in the world, heart liberty, for liberty from the most galling of all yokes, the yoke of heart corruption.”
– John Fletcher /Works II/
TEMPLE TALK
He went into the temple
Where you’d think one could look up
But his attitude was humble;
He saw dregs in his cup.
He asked God for mercy;
He beat upon his chest,
Called himself a sinner
(Not better than the rest).
He cast his eyes downward,
They sought the lowly ground,
But God who measures all things,
The simple, the profound,
Liked his honest spirit,
Heard his call and cry
Knew he meant his temple-talk,
Knew it more than “humble pie,”
And justified his soul;
He went back to his own place
With a calm in his heart
And heaven’s smile upon his face.
Friend, the next time you go to meeting,
The next time you’re in church
Avoid petty piousness,
Avoid the highest perch,
Look at God, worship Him
And see yourself contrasted,
As this man of old, did.
His grace has ever- lasted.
– eab, May 2000
June comes. Weddings come. May God bless every young man who is marrying & every young woman who is his bride. I heard of a Bible college instructor, prof. (whatever) who warned his class about married couples having too much sex. Sounded strange to my ears & I think it did to God’s also. Sure. Marriage is more than the marriage bed (bills, adjustments, a continued maturity) but it includes the wonderful God-made act of love. Enjoy each other. Enjoy this new stage in life. Enjoy God more as you two pray & grow closer to Him. God made married sex. (The Bible college guy is not who you think, & he was wrong.)
– 5/18/19
Eph 2.9
“Not of works,
lest any man should boast.”
H.e.a.v.e.n. — 6 letters
F.a.i.t.h. or w.o.r.k.s. – 5 letters
h.e.l.l. — 4 letters
Faith will result in heaven. Works will result in hell.
We, each, to-a-man, chose salvation of faith or a religion of works. – 5/18/19
“You [Formalist & Hypocrisy] come in by yourselves without his direction, & shall go out by yourselves without his mercy.”
– John Bunyan /Pilgrim’s Progress/
You & I never see faith; we (hopefully) see the effects of faith. Faith is important; in fact, it’s so important that without it we can’t please God (Heb 11.6).
You & I see works; we never see what prompted those works. Works can the result of a generous heart. Works can also be the result of carnality wanting to be noticed.
– 5/18/19
“…Say no more than you know the God above will say ‘Amen’ to…”
– John Bunyan /Pilgrim’s Progress/
