Saturday, July 31, 2010
Royal Family
How much do we really think about that? That we are royalty when we are christians? If you ever really delve into it with your mind, it's an amazing thought process! We not only come from a royal lineage, we come from the Creator of everything as well! We are His chidren!! He is our Father! Our Creator! Our life is in His hands, and He loves us! It's an amazing thought, I think anyway, when you think of it that way. That we are from royalty, our Father is not only the King, but the creator, and God!! It makes you not only proud, but it makes you feel stronger, too, which you should!! On both counts!! Put your chin up, keep your head up, walk straight, walk proud!! You are royalty! You are God's!!
Recipe of the day
Coca Strawberry Milkshake Recipes
Ingredients
1 spoon Cocoa
150ml Milk
50 g Strawberries
45 g Sugar
Directions
1. Mix everything in a bowl and put it in the blender.
2. After 5 mins pour it in a glass and drink.
3. Don't put too much cocoa and check if there r lumpy bits of strawberry.
Ingredients
1 spoon Cocoa
150ml Milk
50 g Strawberries
45 g Sugar
Directions
1. Mix everything in a bowl and put it in the blender.
2. After 5 mins pour it in a glass and drink.
3. Don't put too much cocoa and check if there r lumpy bits of strawberry.
Joke of the Day
An Amish boy and his father were visiting a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and back together again. The boy asked his father, "What is this, Father?" The father responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."
While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched small circles of lights w/numbers above the walls light up. They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction. The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24 year old woman stepped out.
The father said to his son, "Go get your Mother."
While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched small circles of lights w/numbers above the walls light up. They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction. The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24 year old woman stepped out.
The father said to his son, "Go get your Mother."
Mountain of the spring
There is a place down route 55 leaving Strasburg. About five miles on the left side of the road,on the mountain side. It's where we get our water. This journey takes place after Church, at Living Waters Fellowship in Winchester, VA. On that day we load up about thirty water jugs and head out.The drive to the church is beautiful. Out in the country, passing the birds singing their songs of the day. Seeing the apple and peach trees go through their bloom to ripen fruit. Going under the trees that shade the road. God is good. We get to our church and get the warm hugs from our brothers and sisters. And here the sermon from our pastor,which is always a good one. Then we head out to the spring. Down country roads winding and turning. We will stop and get a bite to eat at a country store along the way. They make our sub and we are off again. Down 55 passing over briges till we arrive at the foot of the mountain. We start driving up the side to reach the middle of our Lords awesome creation. Then we share the sub, waiting our turn to gather water, its not just our secret,people come all the way from DC to get water there,from all different walks of life. Its so peacefull there, the butterflies fluttering this time of year.The people gathering some kind of plant,Im guessing they eat it,then its our turn. We back up in, and start filling up,under the shade of the trees. We just want to stay there the rest of the day. But, we have babies at home, our doggies. So we journey back home doesn't have the same feeling, its like we leave something up there,we cant explain.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Are you dedicated?
Are you dedicated? REALLY dedicated to God? Do you wake up in the morning praising Him and asking Him what He wants you to do today? Do you offer your life as a living sacrifice for Him? Do you mean it? So often we like to 'say' pretty words, but do we mean them? Would you go to prison right now, if need be? Would you die right now if you had to? The answers should be yes!! Yes Lord, I'm ready, willing, and able to do WHATEVER it takes,WHATEVER You want!!! That's how we need to be ALL the time! There might come a day, in our time, when you might have to answer those questions, for real. There are people in other countries who are!! They give up their life, for what we take for granted, reading our bible, praying, worshipping God. Isn't it amazing how civilized our country is, yet would you REALLY go where God tells you to go, or REALLY do what God told you to do, even if it meant your life?? I hope your answer is yes. I know ours is! And, it is something to think about, because you just never know from one day to the next, what might happen, so, are you REALLY dedicated???
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I do not undertake to say
That literal answers come from Heaven,
But I know this--that when I pray
A comfort, a support is given
That helps me rise o'er earthly things
As larks soar up on airy wings.
In vain the wise philosopher
Points out to me my fabric's flaws,
In vain the scientists aver
That "all things are controlled by laws."
My life has taught me day by day
That it availeth much to pray.
I do not stop to reason out
The why and how. I do not care,
Since I know this, that when I doubt,
Life seems a blackness of despair,
The world a tomb; and when I trust,
Sweet blossoms spring up in the dust.
Since I know in the darkest hour,
If I lift up my soul in prayer,
Some sympathetic, loving Power
Sends hope and comfort to me there.
Since balm is sent to ease my pain,
What need to argue or explain?
Prayer has a sweet, refining grace,
It educates the soul and heart.
It lends a lustre to the face,
And by its elevating art
It gives the mind an inner sight
That brings it near the Infinite.
From our gross selves it helps us rise
To something which we yet may be.
And so I ask not to be wise,
If thus my faith is lost to me.
Faith, that with angel's voice and touch
Says, "Pray, for prayer availeth much."
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
That literal answers come from Heaven,
But I know this--that when I pray
A comfort, a support is given
That helps me rise o'er earthly things
As larks soar up on airy wings.
In vain the wise philosopher
Points out to me my fabric's flaws,
In vain the scientists aver
That "all things are controlled by laws."
My life has taught me day by day
That it availeth much to pray.
I do not stop to reason out
The why and how. I do not care,
Since I know this, that when I doubt,
Life seems a blackness of despair,
The world a tomb; and when I trust,
Sweet blossoms spring up in the dust.
Since I know in the darkest hour,
If I lift up my soul in prayer,
Some sympathetic, loving Power
Sends hope and comfort to me there.
Since balm is sent to ease my pain,
What need to argue or explain?
Prayer has a sweet, refining grace,
It educates the soul and heart.
It lends a lustre to the face,
And by its elevating art
It gives the mind an inner sight
That brings it near the Infinite.
From our gross selves it helps us rise
To something which we yet may be.
And so I ask not to be wise,
If thus my faith is lost to me.
Faith, that with angel's voice and touch
Says, "Pray, for prayer availeth much."
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
How many dogs?
How Many Dogs Does It Take to Change A Light Bulb?
Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?
Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.
Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!
Rottweiler: Make me.
Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please!
German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.
Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture.
Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb?
Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb.
Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there ...
Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?
Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle .
Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.
The Cat's Answer: Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is: How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?
Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?
Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.
Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!
Rottweiler: Make me.
Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please!
German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.
Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture.
Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb?
Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb.
Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there ...
Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?
Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle .
Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.
The Cat's Answer: Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is: How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?
10-Minute Chicken and Noodles
Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 10 min
Ingredients
1 small can chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups vegetable combination (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
2 cups uncooked noodles
2 cups cooked cubed chicken
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
1. In medium skillet mix broth, basil, pepper and vegetables. Over medium-high heat, heat to a
boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in uncooked noodles. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes or until the noodles are cooked.Add chicken and heat through.
Cooking Time: 10 min
Ingredients
1 small can chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups vegetable combination (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
2 cups uncooked noodles
2 cups cooked cubed chicken
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
1. In medium skillet mix broth, basil, pepper and vegetables. Over medium-high heat, heat to a
boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in uncooked noodles. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes or until the noodles are cooked.Add chicken and heat through.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
So Great a Salvation
So Great a Salvation
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
—Hebrews 2:3-4
The Hope Diamond, described as the most perfect blue diamond in the world, is one of the most highly prized gems on the planet, with an estimated value of $250 million dollars. It has an amazing history, having been originally in the possession of King Louis XIV. Catherine the Great had it for a time, as well as King George IV. Despite the diamond's enormous value, one of its more eccentric owners often strapped it to her dog's collar. Eventually the jewel came into the possession of diamond merchant Harry Winston, who donated it to the Smithsonian Institution. Amazingly, Winston sent the diamond to the Smithsonian through the U.S. mail, wrapped in a brown paper bag. (Can you imagine being the person who opened the mail that day?) Today the Hope Diamond sits on display behind bullet-proof glass at the National Museum of Natural History.
Something more valuable than the Hope Diamond also goes unappreciated sometimes. I am speaking of our personal salvation, the incredible gift that God gives to every person who puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ. It is the greatest thing God has given to each of us, yet we often take it for granted.
When the disciples were empowered by God to do miracles and cast out demons, they were excited over the fact that demons came out at their command. But Jesus told them, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). In effect, Jesus was telling them to get the big picture, to realize there is nothing more important than salvation.
That is why the Bible describes it as "so great a great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). And it becomes ours when we believe in Christ.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
—Hebrews 2:3-4
The Hope Diamond, described as the most perfect blue diamond in the world, is one of the most highly prized gems on the planet, with an estimated value of $250 million dollars. It has an amazing history, having been originally in the possession of King Louis XIV. Catherine the Great had it for a time, as well as King George IV. Despite the diamond's enormous value, one of its more eccentric owners often strapped it to her dog's collar. Eventually the jewel came into the possession of diamond merchant Harry Winston, who donated it to the Smithsonian Institution. Amazingly, Winston sent the diamond to the Smithsonian through the U.S. mail, wrapped in a brown paper bag. (Can you imagine being the person who opened the mail that day?) Today the Hope Diamond sits on display behind bullet-proof glass at the National Museum of Natural History.
Something more valuable than the Hope Diamond also goes unappreciated sometimes. I am speaking of our personal salvation, the incredible gift that God gives to every person who puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ. It is the greatest thing God has given to each of us, yet we often take it for granted.
When the disciples were empowered by God to do miracles and cast out demons, they were excited over the fact that demons came out at their command. But Jesus told them, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). In effect, Jesus was telling them to get the big picture, to realize there is nothing more important than salvation.
That is why the Bible describes it as "so great a great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). And it becomes ours when we believe in Christ.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Stone Unthrown
The Stone Unthrown
Sharon Jaynes
Today's Truth
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," (John 8:7 NIV).
Friend To Friend
"What are we going to do with this Jesus," the chief priest asked the group. "He is going about healing people left and right. Everywhere I go the buzz is about Jesus. It's Jesus this, and Jesus that. And the crowds are calling him the Messiah! Everyone knows that the Messiah will not come from Galilee. If we don't get rid of him, we are going to have an insurrection on our hands."
"And ever since the buzz about him multiplying a few loaves and fish to feed over 5,000 people has circulated, his followers have multiplied as well. He must be stopped."
"I have an idea," Lucius responded with a gleam in his eye. "I happen to know a certain married man who is sleeping with his mistress at this very moment. I happened to see him slink into her house last night."
And as the hard-hearted Pharisees gathered round, a spiteful plan to trick Jesus began to unfold.
The sun was just peeking through the securely locked shutters of Morah's bedroom window. The predawn stillness was broken only by the songs of early rising birds floating on the breeze. Morah was a tangle of sheets, arms and legs as the man she loved lay sleeping beside her.
"Oh, Zachariah," she whispered as her fingertips brushed a stray lock of hair from his closed eyes. "If only you weren't married. I know this is wrong, but I love you so. And I have to believe you when you say you love me as well. We are risking our very lives with these frequent trysts."
Morah's musings were suddenly interrupted by a banging on the door.
"Open up!" the gruff voice demanded.
"Who is there?" Morah cried as she scrambled to find her robe.
"Open up or we'll break the door down."
"What's all the commotion," Zachariah mumbled as he groggily sat up in bed. "What's going on?"
Before Morah could even think to answer, the angry mob of religious men broke through the simple lock and into the lovers' hideaway.
"What is the meaning of this," Zachariah barked. "What do you think you are doing?"
"What do you think you are doing, my friend?" the Pharisee countered. "That is the real question here."
"Morah, daughter of Omar, you are under arrest for adultery under the Law of Moses!" the moral police spat. "Get dressed and come with me."
The Pharisee tossed Morah her night robe, but failed to turn his head as she slipped her trembling frame from the cover of the sheets and into the thin cloak. He grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her to the door.
"Where are you taking me?" she cried.
"You'll find out soon enough," the Pharisee growled.
"What about Zachariah?" the youngest man of the group inquired.
"Just leave him," the Pharisee replied. "We don't need him."
"Why don't you go back to your wife where you belong," the Pharisee called over his shoulder as the group left the room. And with that, the conspiring mob continued their trek to the temple with the half-clad trembling woman in tow. Two men flanked the weeping woman on either side, dragging her through the early morning hustle and bustle of the city. The bait was hooked, and now it was time to reel in the catch.
Like mice following the Pied Piper, a curious stream of townsfolk joined the parade. Jesus was already teaching in the courtyard with a group gathered at his feet. As always, Jesus' message and miracles drew large crowds. A distant rumble interrupted his gentle teaching as the angry mob and curious crowd approached. They marched right into the inner circle of the classroom and thrust the woman at the Master's feet.
Morah's unbound hair fell around her bare shoulders and fluttered in the early morning breeze. Her shame-filled eyes stayed riveted on the earthen floor, refusing to meet Jesus' gaze. Then one of the men pulled her to her feet and displayed her for all to see.
"Teacher," the pious Pharisee began, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses commands us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?"
She didn't need to look at the man before her. She recognized his voice. It was Jesus.
Jesus didn't look at the woman's half-clad body as the others openly gawked. He looked into her soul.
Morah lifted her eyes and looked into the face of love. What do I detect in his gaze? she thought to herself. It wasn't contempt, disgust, or condemnation, but rather compassion, concern, and pure, unadulterated love. Somehow she knew that this was the look she had been searching for her entire life.
As Morah listened to the Pharisee's question, she understood Jesus' dilemma. If he set her free, the Pharisees would accuse him of ignoring the Law of Moses and deem him a heretic. If he sentenced her to death by stoning, then his teachings of grace and forgiveness would be negated.
The religious leaders already held the stones in their clenched fists, anticipating his reply. Their hearts were as hard as the rocks they held in their hands, but rather than give a quick answer, Jesus moved his gaze from the trembling woman and stooped to the ground. With his finger, the very hand of God-made-man, he began writing in the dirt. A frigid chill swept through the Pharisees pious robes. Suddenly they felt the rawness of naked exposure as Jesus' eyes looked up at each of them and without a word, uncloaked their sinful thoughts and desires. With one look from Jesus, they stood soul bare and more exposed than the half-dressed woman before them.
Everyone held their breath. The silence was deafening. The tension was palpable. Finally, Jesus rose and delivered the verdict.
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
Then Jesus squatted once again and continued to write.
One-by-one the Pharisees unclenched their fists, dropped the stones, and filtered through the crowd. The older men who had accumulated a longer list of sins turned to leave first, with the younger ones not far behind.
The remaining crowd listened closely as the drama continued to unfold. After the last of the Pharisees cleared the scene, Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she replied.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
The woman turned to leave - but not before picking up a discarded stone to take with her.
"To remember," she whispered.
Let's Pray
Dear Lord, this story of Your great mercy and grace takes my breath away. Just to think that the only person qualified to throw the stone was the very One who set her free. Help me to always remember that You have forgiven me of my sins. Help me to drop the stones I so quickly pick up to cast at others and extend to them the same grace You have extended to me.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
I hope your heart was stirred with the re-telling of this amazing story. We don't know the woman's name. I have simply called her Morah so we can paint a picture of a real woman with a real problem in our minds. Now let me ask a few questions...
When is the last time you held a rock of condemnation in your hand? Not a real rock, but a judgmental attitude?
When is the last time you acted like the Pharisees who were so quick to condemn?
Who do you want to be like, Jesus who showed grace and forgiveness, or the Pharisees who wanted to give her what she deserved?
Sharon Jaynes
Today's Truth
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," (John 8:7 NIV).
Friend To Friend
"What are we going to do with this Jesus," the chief priest asked the group. "He is going about healing people left and right. Everywhere I go the buzz is about Jesus. It's Jesus this, and Jesus that. And the crowds are calling him the Messiah! Everyone knows that the Messiah will not come from Galilee. If we don't get rid of him, we are going to have an insurrection on our hands."
"And ever since the buzz about him multiplying a few loaves and fish to feed over 5,000 people has circulated, his followers have multiplied as well. He must be stopped."
"I have an idea," Lucius responded with a gleam in his eye. "I happen to know a certain married man who is sleeping with his mistress at this very moment. I happened to see him slink into her house last night."
And as the hard-hearted Pharisees gathered round, a spiteful plan to trick Jesus began to unfold.
The sun was just peeking through the securely locked shutters of Morah's bedroom window. The predawn stillness was broken only by the songs of early rising birds floating on the breeze. Morah was a tangle of sheets, arms and legs as the man she loved lay sleeping beside her.
"Oh, Zachariah," she whispered as her fingertips brushed a stray lock of hair from his closed eyes. "If only you weren't married. I know this is wrong, but I love you so. And I have to believe you when you say you love me as well. We are risking our very lives with these frequent trysts."
Morah's musings were suddenly interrupted by a banging on the door.
"Open up!" the gruff voice demanded.
"Who is there?" Morah cried as she scrambled to find her robe.
"Open up or we'll break the door down."
"What's all the commotion," Zachariah mumbled as he groggily sat up in bed. "What's going on?"
Before Morah could even think to answer, the angry mob of religious men broke through the simple lock and into the lovers' hideaway.
"What is the meaning of this," Zachariah barked. "What do you think you are doing?"
"What do you think you are doing, my friend?" the Pharisee countered. "That is the real question here."
"Morah, daughter of Omar, you are under arrest for adultery under the Law of Moses!" the moral police spat. "Get dressed and come with me."
The Pharisee tossed Morah her night robe, but failed to turn his head as she slipped her trembling frame from the cover of the sheets and into the thin cloak. He grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her to the door.
"Where are you taking me?" she cried.
"You'll find out soon enough," the Pharisee growled.
"What about Zachariah?" the youngest man of the group inquired.
"Just leave him," the Pharisee replied. "We don't need him."
"Why don't you go back to your wife where you belong," the Pharisee called over his shoulder as the group left the room. And with that, the conspiring mob continued their trek to the temple with the half-clad trembling woman in tow. Two men flanked the weeping woman on either side, dragging her through the early morning hustle and bustle of the city. The bait was hooked, and now it was time to reel in the catch.
Like mice following the Pied Piper, a curious stream of townsfolk joined the parade. Jesus was already teaching in the courtyard with a group gathered at his feet. As always, Jesus' message and miracles drew large crowds. A distant rumble interrupted his gentle teaching as the angry mob and curious crowd approached. They marched right into the inner circle of the classroom and thrust the woman at the Master's feet.
Morah's unbound hair fell around her bare shoulders and fluttered in the early morning breeze. Her shame-filled eyes stayed riveted on the earthen floor, refusing to meet Jesus' gaze. Then one of the men pulled her to her feet and displayed her for all to see.
"Teacher," the pious Pharisee began, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses commands us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?"
She didn't need to look at the man before her. She recognized his voice. It was Jesus.
Jesus didn't look at the woman's half-clad body as the others openly gawked. He looked into her soul.
Morah lifted her eyes and looked into the face of love. What do I detect in his gaze? she thought to herself. It wasn't contempt, disgust, or condemnation, but rather compassion, concern, and pure, unadulterated love. Somehow she knew that this was the look she had been searching for her entire life.
As Morah listened to the Pharisee's question, she understood Jesus' dilemma. If he set her free, the Pharisees would accuse him of ignoring the Law of Moses and deem him a heretic. If he sentenced her to death by stoning, then his teachings of grace and forgiveness would be negated.
The religious leaders already held the stones in their clenched fists, anticipating his reply. Their hearts were as hard as the rocks they held in their hands, but rather than give a quick answer, Jesus moved his gaze from the trembling woman and stooped to the ground. With his finger, the very hand of God-made-man, he began writing in the dirt. A frigid chill swept through the Pharisees pious robes. Suddenly they felt the rawness of naked exposure as Jesus' eyes looked up at each of them and without a word, uncloaked their sinful thoughts and desires. With one look from Jesus, they stood soul bare and more exposed than the half-dressed woman before them.
Everyone held their breath. The silence was deafening. The tension was palpable. Finally, Jesus rose and delivered the verdict.
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
Then Jesus squatted once again and continued to write.
One-by-one the Pharisees unclenched their fists, dropped the stones, and filtered through the crowd. The older men who had accumulated a longer list of sins turned to leave first, with the younger ones not far behind.
The remaining crowd listened closely as the drama continued to unfold. After the last of the Pharisees cleared the scene, Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she replied.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
The woman turned to leave - but not before picking up a discarded stone to take with her.
"To remember," she whispered.
Let's Pray
Dear Lord, this story of Your great mercy and grace takes my breath away. Just to think that the only person qualified to throw the stone was the very One who set her free. Help me to always remember that You have forgiven me of my sins. Help me to drop the stones I so quickly pick up to cast at others and extend to them the same grace You have extended to me.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
I hope your heart was stirred with the re-telling of this amazing story. We don't know the woman's name. I have simply called her Morah so we can paint a picture of a real woman with a real problem in our minds. Now let me ask a few questions...
When is the last time you held a rock of condemnation in your hand? Not a real rock, but a judgmental attitude?
When is the last time you acted like the Pharisees who were so quick to condemn?
Who do you want to be like, Jesus who showed grace and forgiveness, or the Pharisees who wanted to give her what she deserved?
GodTube | Christian Videos
GodTube | Christian Videos
Now, if we could only get our dogs to do that!! ;-)
Now, if we could only get our dogs to do that!! ;-)
Recipe of the day
National Dish
Monk’s Black Beans is Cuban’s National dish. In the local restaurants, the cooks usually create a Cuban sandwich, which is made on long thin loaves of Cuban bread by stacking it really high with a large amount of thin sliced mouth watering roasted pork, Serrano, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard, then serve it along with Cuban’s national dish. If you ever decide to book a trip to Cuba, you should try this national dish, it’s a great dish that taste delicious and satisfying.
Recipe
monk’s black beans – (cuban national dish)
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients:
Water 10 c
Jar (4 oz) pimientos 1 (chopped)
Green pepper chopped 1 lg
Onion chopped 1 lg
Green pepper 1 lg
Olive oil 2/3 c
Salt 4 ts
Pepper 1/2 ts
Sugar 2 tb
Vinegar 2 tb
Garlic cloves crushed 4
Bay leaf 1
Oregano 1/4 ts
Cooking wine 2 tb
Olive oil 2 tb
Preparation:
Place the beans in the water in which they are to be cooked with 1 green pepper overnight before going to bed. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion, garlic and pepper. Empty 1 cup of beans in the skillet then crushed them well.
In a large pot add this mixture along with the chopped pimientos with the left over beans. Add the salt & pepper, bay leaf and sugar and bring mixture to a full boil. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add vinegar to taste, cooking wine and simmer for another hour or more.
If after coming to the boil, you find the soup too thin, continue to cook uncovered a little longer. If your soup seems to be too thick, add more water. Before serving add 2 tbs. of oil. Serve the Monk’s Black Beans over steamed white rice. Yeilds: about 8 servings per person.
Monk’s Black Beans is Cuban’s National dish. In the local restaurants, the cooks usually create a Cuban sandwich, which is made on long thin loaves of Cuban bread by stacking it really high with a large amount of thin sliced mouth watering roasted pork, Serrano, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard, then serve it along with Cuban’s national dish. If you ever decide to book a trip to Cuba, you should try this national dish, it’s a great dish that taste delicious and satisfying.
Recipe
monk’s black beans – (cuban national dish)
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients:
Water 10 c
Jar (4 oz) pimientos 1 (chopped)
Green pepper chopped 1 lg
Onion chopped 1 lg
Green pepper 1 lg
Olive oil 2/3 c
Salt 4 ts
Pepper 1/2 ts
Sugar 2 tb
Vinegar 2 tb
Garlic cloves crushed 4
Bay leaf 1
Oregano 1/4 ts
Cooking wine 2 tb
Olive oil 2 tb
Preparation:
Place the beans in the water in which they are to be cooked with 1 green pepper overnight before going to bed. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion, garlic and pepper. Empty 1 cup of beans in the skillet then crushed them well.
In a large pot add this mixture along with the chopped pimientos with the left over beans. Add the salt & pepper, bay leaf and sugar and bring mixture to a full boil. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add vinegar to taste, cooking wine and simmer for another hour or more.
If after coming to the boil, you find the soup too thin, continue to cook uncovered a little longer. If your soup seems to be too thick, add more water. Before serving add 2 tbs. of oil. Serve the Monk’s Black Beans over steamed white rice. Yeilds: about 8 servings per person.
Quote of the day
"When you have robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power. He is free again." Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Joke of the Day
There's a guy with a Doberman Pincer and a guy with a Chihuahua. The guy with the Doberman Pincer says to the guy with a Chihuahua, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."
The guy with the Doberman Pincer says, "Just follow my lead."
They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pincer puts on a pair of dark glasses, and he starts to walk in.
A guy at the door says, "Sorry, mac, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Doberman Pincer says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The guy at the door says, "A Doberman Pincer?" He says, "Yes, they're using them now, they're very good."
The guy at the door says, "Come on in."
The guy with the Chihuahua figures, "hey why not?," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.
The guy at the door says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The guy at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You mean they gave me a Chihuahua!?"
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."
The guy with the Doberman Pincer says, "Just follow my lead."
They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pincer puts on a pair of dark glasses, and he starts to walk in.
A guy at the door says, "Sorry, mac, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Doberman Pincer says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The guy at the door says, "A Doberman Pincer?" He says, "Yes, they're using them now, they're very good."
The guy at the door says, "Come on in."
The guy with the Chihuahua figures, "hey why not?," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.
The guy at the door says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The guy at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You mean they gave me a Chihuahua!?"
Prayer
You know, we really should 'watch' our prayers. Remember, it's God's will, not ours for our lives, and the lives of others. Maybe He has a different plan for us, or the person we're praying about. And, it's not only a better plan, but for a better purpose. Remember, God knows all, He knows what's best for us. You may want something, but God knows that it's not good for you. And, of course we get stubborn, and don't want to 'wait' on the Lord, and so we go out seeking to make ourselves happy, go against God's will, and then wonder how our lives get so messed up. This is one of the reasons. You have to be patient, trust that God loves you and knows what is best for you, and pray for His will, not yours!
"Watch and pray" (Matt. 26: 41).
We need to watch for prayers as well as for the answers to our prayers. It needs as much wisdom to pray rightly as it does faith to receive the answers to our prayers.
We met a friend the other day, who had been in years of darkness because God had failed to answer certain prayers, and the result had been a state bordering on infidelity.
A very few moments were sufficient to convince this friend that these prayers had been entirely unauthorized, and that God had never promised to answer such prayers, and they were for things which this friend should have accomplished himself, in the exercise of ordinary wisdom.
The result was deliverance from a cloud of unbelief which was almost wrecking a Christian life. There are some things about which we do not need to pray, as much as to take the light which God has already given.
Many persons are asking God to give them peculiar signs, tokens and supernatural intimations of His will. Our business is to use the light He has given, and then He will give whatever more we need.
"Watch and pray" (Matt. 26: 41).
We need to watch for prayers as well as for the answers to our prayers. It needs as much wisdom to pray rightly as it does faith to receive the answers to our prayers.
We met a friend the other day, who had been in years of darkness because God had failed to answer certain prayers, and the result had been a state bordering on infidelity.
A very few moments were sufficient to convince this friend that these prayers had been entirely unauthorized, and that God had never promised to answer such prayers, and they were for things which this friend should have accomplished himself, in the exercise of ordinary wisdom.
The result was deliverance from a cloud of unbelief which was almost wrecking a Christian life. There are some things about which we do not need to pray, as much as to take the light which God has already given.
Many persons are asking God to give them peculiar signs, tokens and supernatural intimations of His will. Our business is to use the light He has given, and then He will give whatever more we need.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Recipe of the day
12 large eggs
2 medium chorizo sausages, finely chopped
180ml whole milk
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
6 tbsp butter, melted
Method:
Take 6 individual gratin dishes or large oven-proof ramekins and butter them lightly. Divide the chorizo between them. Break 2 eggs into a cup and pour on top of the chorizo. Add 1 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp milk on top.
Place on a baking tray and set in an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes (or until the whites are set but the yolks remain soft). Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
2 medium chorizo sausages, finely chopped
180ml whole milk
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
6 tbsp butter, melted
Method:
Take 6 individual gratin dishes or large oven-proof ramekins and butter them lightly. Divide the chorizo between them. Break 2 eggs into a cup and pour on top of the chorizo. Add 1 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp milk on top.
Place on a baking tray and set in an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes (or until the whites are set but the yolks remain soft). Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Joke of the Day
If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.
Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.
If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.
If you're a female bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.
I wanna be a bear.
Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.
If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.
If you're a female bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.
I wanna be a bear.
Who calleth?
Who calleth?--Thy Father calleth,
Run, O Daughter, to wait on Him:
He Who chasteneth but for a season
Trims thy lamp that it burn not dim.
Who calleth?--Thy Master calleth,
Sit, Disciple, and learn of Him:
He Who teacheth wisdom of Angels
Makes thee wise as the Cherubim,
Who calleth?--Thy Monarch calleth,
Rise, O Subject, and follow Him:
He is stronger than Death or Devil,
Fear not thou if the foe be grim.
Who calleth?--Thy Lord God calleth.
Fall, O Creature, adoring Him:
He is jealous, thy God Almighty,
Count not dear to thee life or limb.
Who calleth?--Thy Bridegroom calleth,
Soar, O Bride, with the Seraphim:
He Who loves thee as no man loveth,
Bids thee give up thy heart to Him.
- Christina G. Rossetti
Run, O Daughter, to wait on Him:
He Who chasteneth but for a season
Trims thy lamp that it burn not dim.
Who calleth?--Thy Master calleth,
Sit, Disciple, and learn of Him:
He Who teacheth wisdom of Angels
Makes thee wise as the Cherubim,
Who calleth?--Thy Monarch calleth,
Rise, O Subject, and follow Him:
He is stronger than Death or Devil,
Fear not thou if the foe be grim.
Who calleth?--Thy Lord God calleth.
Fall, O Creature, adoring Him:
He is jealous, thy God Almighty,
Count not dear to thee life or limb.
Who calleth?--Thy Bridegroom calleth,
Soar, O Bride, with the Seraphim:
He Who loves thee as no man loveth,
Bids thee give up thy heart to Him.
- Christina G. Rossetti
Obedience
"I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them." (Eze. 36: 27).
The highest spiritual condition is one where life is spontaneous and flows without effort, like the deep floods of Ezekiel's river, where the struggles of the swimmer ceased, and he was borne by the current's resistless force.
So God leads us into spiritual conditions and habits which become the spontaneous impulses of our being, and we live and move in the fulness of the divine life.
But these spiritual habits are not the outcome of some transitory impulse, but are often slowly acquired and established. They begin, like every true habit, in a definite act of will, and they are confirmed by the repetition of that act until it becomes a habit. The first stages always involve effort and choice. We have to take a stand and hold it steadily, and after we have done so a certain time, it becomes second nature, and carries us by its own force.
The Holy Spirit is willing to form such habits in every direction of our Christian life, and if we will but obey Him in the first steppings of faith, we will soon become established in the attitude of obedience, and duty will be delight.
The highest spiritual condition is one where life is spontaneous and flows without effort, like the deep floods of Ezekiel's river, where the struggles of the swimmer ceased, and he was borne by the current's resistless force.
So God leads us into spiritual conditions and habits which become the spontaneous impulses of our being, and we live and move in the fulness of the divine life.
But these spiritual habits are not the outcome of some transitory impulse, but are often slowly acquired and established. They begin, like every true habit, in a definite act of will, and they are confirmed by the repetition of that act until it becomes a habit. The first stages always involve effort and choice. We have to take a stand and hold it steadily, and after we have done so a certain time, it becomes second nature, and carries us by its own force.
The Holy Spirit is willing to form such habits in every direction of our Christian life, and if we will but obey Him in the first steppings of faith, we will soon become established in the attitude of obedience, and duty will be delight.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thorns
We've all had them, thorns. Like Paul in the bible, he had one that he said God never took away from him. That he had to suffer with it. Most of us have had that same thing. I know I have. I have had a particular 'thorn' in my flesh for quite a while, and every time I start to think it's gone away, it digs in a little deeper. But, even though I get frustrated, angry, depressed, etc., over this particular 'thorn', I always come back to the realization that God is still with me, no matter what!! I cannot and will NOT let this 'thorn' or any other get to me!! It's just NOT going to happen! I struggle, just like everyone else with anger, depression, other issues when life gets me down, but I'm not as bad as I used to be. I used to tak days, even weeks, to come out of it, but thank God, literally, no more!! Now, maybe a couple of hours. I want to get to the point where it doesn't affect me at all.....My point in telling/sharing all of this with you, is that no matter what you're going through, no matter what 'thorns' you have to deal with, never give up on God, never stop believing and that you will come out of it okay!! Your 'thorn' may be there for the rest of your life, like with Paul, but so is God!! And He will help you deal with it!
Recipe of the day
Layered Fruit:
Creamy Lime Dressing
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Fruit
3 cups cut-up cantaloupe
1 quart strawberries, quartered
2 ripe medium mangoes, seed removed, peeled and cut up
2 cups blueberries
2 cups cut-up honeydew melon
Mint leaves, if desired
1. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed about 3 minutes or until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Set aside.
2. In 3-quart trifle bowl, layer cantaloupe and strawberries. Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the strawberries. Layer mangoes, blueberries and honeydew over cream cheese mixture. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture on top. Garnish with mint leaves.
3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.
Creamy Lime Dressing
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Fruit
3 cups cut-up cantaloupe
1 quart strawberries, quartered
2 ripe medium mangoes, seed removed, peeled and cut up
2 cups blueberries
2 cups cut-up honeydew melon
Mint leaves, if desired
1. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed about 3 minutes or until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Set aside.
2. In 3-quart trifle bowl, layer cantaloupe and strawberries. Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the strawberries. Layer mangoes, blueberries and honeydew over cream cheese mixture. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture on top. Garnish with mint leaves.
3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.
Quote of the day
The out-and-out Christian is a joyful Christian. The half-and-half Christian is the kind of Christian that a great many of you are~~~little acquainted with the Lord. Why should we live halfway up the hill and swathed in the mists, when we might have an unclouded sky and a radiant sun over our heads if we would climb higher and walk in the light of His face? Alexander McClaren
Joke of the Day
To Tell the weather, Go to your back door and look for the dog.
If the dog is at the door and he is wet, it's probably raining. But if the dog is standing there really soaking wet, it is probably raining really hard.
If the dog's fur looks like it's been rubbed the wrong way, it's probably windy.
If the dog has snow on his back, it's probably snowing.
Of course, to be able to tell the weather like this, you have to leave the dog outside all the time, especially if you expect bad weather.
Sincerely,
The CAT
If the dog is at the door and he is wet, it's probably raining. But if the dog is standing there really soaking wet, it is probably raining really hard.
If the dog's fur looks like it's been rubbed the wrong way, it's probably windy.
If the dog has snow on his back, it's probably snowing.
Of course, to be able to tell the weather like this, you have to leave the dog outside all the time, especially if you expect bad weather.
Sincerely,
The CAT
Monday, July 26, 2010
YouTube - Downhere - Here I Am
YouTube - Downhere - Here I Am
Everything we go thru has a purpose! Our lives are in God's hands! my fav song!!!
Everything we go thru has a purpose! Our lives are in God's hands! my fav song!!!
Praise Him all the time
I know it's hard, but we have to! Praise God through the bad times as well as the good. It's easy to love Him and praise Him when everything is going well in your life, but when things start going bad, we tend to let ourselves sink into depression and we start asking God why? That's NOT what we should be doing! Like Job, and David, and Paul, etc.,etc., throughout the bible, you will find, that no matter what, when people are going through things, they never blamed God, never gave up on God, and continued praising God! I, myself, have been through several, several bad things in my life, and those are the times I get closer with God. Sometimes He allows things to happen to us for just that reason. So we will look only to Him, draw closer to Him, and see that only He IS there! Other times it is to test our faith, so we can go on to something greater. But, no matter what you're going through, look up, draw God in closer and be thankful and praise, praise, praise Him!!
Recipe of the day
Peach Cobbler:
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 can (29 ounces) sliced peach, drained
1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Stir together Bisquick mix, milk and nutmeg in ungreased square baking dish, 8x8x2 inches. Stir in butter until blended. Stir together sugar and peaches; spoon over batter.
3. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until golden.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) Heat oven to 400ºF. Use 1/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar (2/3 cup butter and 1 cup sugar for double recipe). Bake 45 to 50 minutes.
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 can (29 ounces) sliced peach, drained
1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Stir together Bisquick mix, milk and nutmeg in ungreased square baking dish, 8x8x2 inches. Stir in butter until blended. Stir together sugar and peaches; spoon over batter.
3. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until golden.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft) Heat oven to 400ºF. Use 1/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar (2/3 cup butter and 1 cup sugar for double recipe). Bake 45 to 50 minutes.
Poem
Living for Christ, I die;--how strange, that I,
Thus dying, live,--and yet, thus living, die!
Living for Christ, I die;-yet wondrous thought,
In that same death a deathless life is wrought;--
Living, I die to Earth, to self, to sin;--
Oh, blessed death, in which such life I win!
Dying for Christ, I live!--death cannot be
A terror, then, to one from death set free'
Living for Christ, rich blessings I attain,
Yet, dying for Him, mine is greater gain
Life for my Lord, is death to sin and strife,
Yet death for Him is everlas'ing life!
Dying for Christ, I live!--and yet, not I,
But He lives in me, who did for me die.
I die to live,--He lives to die no more,
Who, in His death my own death-sentence bore
"To live is Christ," if Christ within me reign,
To die more blessed, since "to die is gain!"
- Mrs. J. C. Yule
Thus dying, live,--and yet, thus living, die!
Living for Christ, I die;-yet wondrous thought,
In that same death a deathless life is wrought;--
Living, I die to Earth, to self, to sin;--
Oh, blessed death, in which such life I win!
Dying for Christ, I live!--death cannot be
A terror, then, to one from death set free'
Living for Christ, rich blessings I attain,
Yet, dying for Him, mine is greater gain
Life for my Lord, is death to sin and strife,
Yet death for Him is everlas'ing life!
Dying for Christ, I live!--and yet, not I,
But He lives in me, who did for me die.
I die to live,--He lives to die no more,
Who, in His death my own death-sentence bore
"To live is Christ," if Christ within me reign,
To die more blessed, since "to die is gain!"
- Mrs. J. C. Yule
Quote of the day
Those who die in Jesus live a larger, fuller, nobler life, by the very cessation of care, change, strife, and struggle. Alexander McClaren
Joke of the Day
A mangy looking guy walks into a very classy restaurant and orders a steak. The waitress says: "I'm sorry, but I don't think you can pay for your meal." The guy admits, "You're right. I don't have any money, but if I show you something you haven't seen before, will you give me my supper?"
The waitress, both curious and compassionate, says, "Only if what you show me isn't risque."
"Deal!" says the guy and reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a hamster. He puts the hamster on the ground and it runs across the room, directly to a piano. The hamster then proceeds to climb up the piano, and starts playing Gershwin songs.
The waitress says, "You're right. I've never seen anything like that before. That hamster is truly good on the piano." The guy sits back and enjoys a fine steak supper with all the trimmings.
Shortly thereafter, he asks the waitress, "Can I have a piece of that fine blueberry pie I see on the dessert cart over there?" "Only if you got another miracle up your sleeve", says the waitress. The guy reaches into his coat again and pulls out a frog. He puts the frog on the table, and the frog starts to sing up a storm!
A stranger from a nearby table runs over to the guy and offers him $300 for the frog. The guy says "It's a deal." He takes the three hundred and gives the stranger the frog. The stranger runs out of the restaurant with dollar signs in his eyes and a big smile on his face.
The waitress says to the guy "Are you some kind of nut? You sold a singing frog for $300? It must have been worth millions!"
"No", says the guy. "The hamster is also a ventriloquist."
The waitress, both curious and compassionate, says, "Only if what you show me isn't risque."
"Deal!" says the guy and reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a hamster. He puts the hamster on the ground and it runs across the room, directly to a piano. The hamster then proceeds to climb up the piano, and starts playing Gershwin songs.
The waitress says, "You're right. I've never seen anything like that before. That hamster is truly good on the piano." The guy sits back and enjoys a fine steak supper with all the trimmings.
Shortly thereafter, he asks the waitress, "Can I have a piece of that fine blueberry pie I see on the dessert cart over there?" "Only if you got another miracle up your sleeve", says the waitress. The guy reaches into his coat again and pulls out a frog. He puts the frog on the table, and the frog starts to sing up a storm!
A stranger from a nearby table runs over to the guy and offers him $300 for the frog. The guy says "It's a deal." He takes the three hundred and gives the stranger the frog. The stranger runs out of the restaurant with dollar signs in his eyes and a big smile on his face.
The waitress says to the guy "Are you some kind of nut? You sold a singing frog for $300? It must have been worth millions!"
"No", says the guy. "The hamster is also a ventriloquist."
Leonard Ravenhill
Are we willing to drink His cup?
By Leonard Ravenhill
Luke chapter12, verses 49 and 50.
I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
I've been going to meetings for over seventy years all over the world-Pentecostal conferences, Methodist conferences, all kinds of conferences.
I heard the baptism of the Holy Spirit preached, I think, fifty different ways.
In seventy years, I've never heard anybody preach on this text where Jesus, speaking of Himself says: "I have a baptism..."
Charles Wesley gave us that lovely children's hymn.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.
Look upon the little child.
Some people never get past "gentle Jesus." But Jesus is associated with fire. The next time He comes, says 2 Thes. 1:7, He's coming with flaming angels-thousands of them!
Here He is saying to these disciples, "I am come to send fire on the earth..."
Again, the symbol of the church is fire. I was preaching last Sunday night in a big church with a big cross for Jesus and one for the thieves. I reminded them: "The cross is no symbol of Christianity. The symbol of Christianity is the tongue of fire that sat on the head of each of them."
Our God is a consuming fire.
Wesley has a wonderful hymn on this. He says,
See how a great a flame aspires, kindled by a spark of grace.
Jesus love the nations fires; sets the kingdoms all ablaze.
To bring fire on earth He came, kindled in some hearts it is.
Oh that all might catch the flame; all partake the glorious bliss.
When He first the work began, small and feeble was its flame.
Now the word doeth swiftly run; now it wins its widening way.
More and more it spreads and grows, ever mighty to prevail.
Sin's strongholds it now o'throws and shakes the trembling gates of hell.
Sons of God, your Savior praise; He the door hath opened wide.
He hath given the word of grace; Jesus' word is glorified.
Saw you not the cloud arise, little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies, hangs o'er all the thirsty land.
You see the idea: a spark begins and gradually it blossoms to go out through the whole world. Wesley wrote that in 1776, I think, and prophetically.
More and more it spreads and grows, ever mighty to prevail.
Usually with the expansion of a thing there is a weakening, but when the Church truly expands, there is a strengthening.
God never planned any failures for us.
...how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Now I want to bear this out from the gospel according to Matthew 20:17-22.
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask...
She asked a big thing. In the other gospels it says that they asked it-John and his brother asked. Here it says his mother asked. I guess there was a collusion in this. They had agreed together. They believed that Jesus was going to have a kingdom. They wanted to sit on the right hand and the left hand when He came into His kingdom.
But notice they came worshipping Him.
Yet in their worship there was begging.
It wasn't pure. They had an ulterior motive.
They were trying to bargain with Him.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? (v 22)
Now, in Luke 12:49 He said, "I am come to send fire on the earth." What hindered Him from giving them the fire at that moment?
A baptism.
A baptism of sorrow.
A baptism of anguish.
A baptism that we call Gethsemane.
You see, there is no place in the whole wide world where you can put the Upper Room before the Cross. The Cross comes before the Upper Room, but we try to turn that around.
Very often we're asking people to tarry in the Upper Room who have never knelt at the Cross. They get a false experience and it evaporates. We shun the Cross.
"I have a baptism to be baptized with. But I want you to receive a fire that will change that degraded will of yours.
It will endue you with power.
It will give you energy.
It will give you life."
He says, "I want to do that, but I am straitened. I wish it could be accomplished, but it cannot be done yet."
There are people who think that God is only around to help us. We have a great utility God, they think. You pray, and He does this! You pray, and He does that! You pray, and He sends you money. You pray, and He gets you out of a jam. He's not somebody you worship in speechless adoration, but He's a utility God! And some on TV are exploiting that to the maximum.
Let's go back to Matthew 20.
What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. (v 21,22)
So, He took them at their word.
"I want my sons to enter thy kingdom, sitting on thy right hand and on thy left." There is only one way to enter the kingdom: through death.
You know not what ye ask. Are ye able...? Yea, we can drink the cup.
All right, lady- I wonder if she was living when her son was brutally put to death? And James, the brother of John, was killed with the sword. (Acts 12:2)
It was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great,
a terrible butcher. A man who could be linked up with Pharaoh that
liquidated all the Israeli babies in Egypt-an ancient Hitler.
Jeremiah had more conflict than any other prophet of old. Immediately when he was raised up he was in conflict. He was in conflict when he was dying. What was the secret of his power? It is very obvious; he states it: "Thy fire burned within my heart. While I mused the fire burned." Do you know that forty one times he mentions fire? They put him in a pit, but it didn't burn the fire out of him.
There is a hymn with a verse that says:
Waters cannot quench it, floods can never drown
Substance cannot buy it, love's a priceless crown.
Oh, the wondrous story, mystery divine
I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine.
The fire is unquenchable.
The fire of hell is unquenchable.
The fire of the Holy Ghost is unquenchable.
I know there is a lot of opposition against the second blessing. I challenge you to find a man that has made history in God's kingdom who somewhere didn't have a second crisis after he was born again in the Spirit of God.
One of the Quakers said he found something in him that wouldn't keep peace. He wanted to get rid of the thing in him that was always troubling him.
William Booth said, "I found that I ebbed and flowed until one day the Holy Ghost came in his fullness." Then he wrote that marvelous battle hymn that today's church doesn't know.
The Salvation Army was a penniless organization that went into seventy countries in ninety years. Not seventy cities, but seventy countries! Men and women left their castles in England. Professors left their professions. Why? Because they could see that fire as clearly as Israel could see that pillar of fire at night. The Holy Ghost was there! And old William had them going down the streets at night marching and singing:
Thou Christ, the burning cleansing flame, send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim, send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host
Give us the promised Holy Ghost
We want another Pentecost.
I'm not sure we want it. We need it! You see, the thing between where you are now and this baptism of fire is a "cup."
Jesus said to her,
Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
He'd been baptized in the Jordan, but He wasn't talking about that. The man who introduced Him to the world said, "I baptize you with water." That baptism was external. When He comes He will do something internal. He'll baptize you-the literal Greek says-"with Holy Ghost fire", not "with the Holy Ghost and with fire." You can't separate them. God is a consuming fire.
He shall baptize you with Holy Ghost fire.
But you see, there is something between here and there.
The Church never had more equipment that she has now, but she
Never had less power!
Never less anointing.
Never less of the miraculous.
Never less from the omnipotent God.
As I've said before,
When did you last tip toe out of church Sunday morning
breathless, awed by the awesomeness of God's majesty?
God's glory? God's omnipotence?
"Ye know not what ye ask." I wonder how often God says that to us.
As I've said many times, and I say privately in my prayers, I don't want to get to the judgment seat with maybe trillions of eyes looking on me, seeing me come up for trial and have God say to me in that day, "Son, I had many things to tell you, but you couldn't bear them."
When are we going to get serious about being serious about revival?
Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
What's the cup?
Skip to chapter 26 of Matthew. Here's the baptism for you.
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matt 26:39-42)
What was the cup?
Well, I'll tell you one ingredient it had: It had betrayal in it.
The men who had sworn allegiance to Him, when it came to a crisis, quit.
Can He drink of the cup? What's in the cup?
I believe in that cup there was
Internal suffering,
Mental suffering, and
Spiritual suffering.
Do you want to drink the cup?
I am straightened, He says. I cannot do anything now. There is a baptism through which I have to go.
The Holy Ghost cannot come down until I go up.
I cannot go up until I have done the will of the Father.
And so He goes through the agony of Gethsemane. He goes through the lonesomeness. He drank of that cup.
I say it was internal because in Isaiah 53:11 it says He travailed. Isn't that internal? Deserted by others in the darkest hour, not only by men, but by God.
Can you drink of that cup?
Do you want to travail?
You see, what people are seeking today is a painless Pentecost.
There isn't such a thing.
What happened immediately after Pentecost? They prospered-yes? No! -- They went to jail! It wan't prosperity; it was prison, pain, privation, and persecution.
Jesus goes on to say in Matt 6:19,
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
There are a lot of wealthy Christians that will get to heaven bankrupt. And there are a lot of Christians who are almost bankrupt, living in poverty, who will be super-millionaires when they get into eternity.
We read elsewhere that if you're going to follow the Lord, it means division in the family. Your father and mother will hate you. Jesus came to the place where his brothers said, "He's insane."
People say, "I want to be like Jesus." Well, I doubt it.
Do you want to get kicked out of your family because you love God?
Do you want to be so true to God that a Thomas comes and doubts you?
That a Judas sells you?
Do you really want to be like Jesus?
Well then, why don't you practice it?
Why don't you have forty days and forty nights of fasting?
Forget all the paperwork. We make such rash vows when the temperature is running high in a meeting.
I say, the pain was internal.
He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. (Isa 53:11)
I'm sure it was not only internal, it was also mental pain. I'm sure it was bodily pain. It says in Isaiah 50:6, "I gave my back to the smiters." We don't do that. We fight back. We don't like somebody to carve us up, scorn us, ridicule us, humiliate us, misrepresent us. He got the whole works! Yet He never muttered once. When it came to the agony of the cross it says that men shot out the lip. "If God's Your Father, then let Him deliver You."
I say again, the perennial challenge to a Christian, is "Come down from the cross and save yourself." You made a decision in a missionary meeting: "I'm going to give more money to missions." Then something came up and you backed off.
"I'm going to spend more time with God." You didn't do it.
Before Elijah called down the fire, he rebuilt the old altar.
We don't want to go back to old altars, to old vows, to old commitments.
We always try to make new things.
God knows they'll be brought down in a few weeks!
Christianity has not been weighed in the balances and found wanting. It's being tried, found difficult, and rejected!
It's too tough. There's no part-time service. "Leave all and follow me."
I was going down the street in Oldham, which is nine miles outside of Manchester. I was in my early twenties. I pastored the largest church in town; in fact, the largest Holiness church in England. I was going down the street one day. As I passed a house, the lady opened the door,
"Hi! You're the pastor at the Tabernacle. I often come to your church. I sit on the back seat. I'm very poor. I can't give anything in the offering, but I want to do something for you. Would you come into my house and drink a cup of tea?"
Well, usually, of course, I want tea, so I said, "Yes." I went in, and boy! did that house smell. I got in there and she had finger nails clogged up with dirt. The kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes.
There was a plate with some old bacon covered with mold.
That fuzzy horrid looking stuff.
She reached into the kitchen sink to a stack of cups and picked one. You know, the tea had dried on the outside. Oh, mercy on us! It looked as though it had about a hundred bugs at the bottom: dried, dirty, rotten old tea leaves. In fact, some were moldy.
"Well, now" she said, "I'm going to get you a cup of tea."
I said, "All right."
She poured the tea into the cup. It was as black as my shoes, and I don't like black tea.
"Do you take cream?" "Yes." "Well, I have none."
"Do you take sugar?" "Yes." "I have none."
With that dirty hand shaking, I saw the black stuff that was supposed to be tea, cold as ice.
I hesitated. I felt like tipping it up. But I knew I was on trial.
She held the cup up, "Drink it!"
As she handed me that cup of dirty tea, my mind went 2000 miles away to a place called Gethsemane, 2000 years back. The Father gave a cup of all the dregs of impurity and wickedness. He didn't give it to Gabriel. He didn't give it to Michael the Archangel. He gave it to his Son!
This is what He's come to do. He's come to consume iniquity. He's going to do it in the Garden of Gethsemane-by Himself, when everybody has betrayed Him, when His nerves are down, and He can hear the enemy coming! He's thinking of all the years He's demonstrated His power, shown that He was the Son of God. He's walked on the water. He's raised the dead. He's cleansed the leper. He's healed insane people. And they didn't believe on Him!
So what's the difference today? Do we believe on Him?
Remember that there wasn't one of the twelve disciples that had a Bible. Not even the Apostle Paul had one. Don't boast too much about your Bible knowledge. It's going to face us at the Judgment Seat.
I don't have a big library, but I have a few nice books. I wonder sometimes, will these books rise up in judgment against me?
I say with all my heart, we're looking for a painless Pentecost.
We want to invest a dime and get a million dollars back.
Can you drink of the cup? "We are able," and so they drank, and were crucified.
Today it is considered sadistic if you even say that people have to take up their cross. "Don't tell young people about the cross-they'll be discouraged." Are you suggesting that Jesus wasn't smart? "If you're going to be my disciple, kiss the world goodbye." You see, when people are born again these days, they don't get separated from the world. Most likely their pastor is the most worldly guy around! But if you're going to get what He wants to give, if you're going to get the true baptism of the Spirit, you have to drink of that cup.
They said, "We are able." And He said, "You shall drink indeed of that cup, and be baptized of the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and my left is not mine to give. The Father is going to do that." Verse 24 says that when the other ten disciples were around listening they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
Now He rubs their noses in the dust. "You're looking to sit on My right hand and My left in My Kingdom." He could have said, "Are you prepared to go through Hell to get there?"...You can't show me a revival in history that hasn't been born of travail, pain, loneliness, and dark weary nights.
In Scotland, nine miles out of Glasgow, there's a great big house, a national memorial to David Livingstone. In it there is a model that shows the room where he died, where for years and years he prayed. It's like some of those houses in India that are made of bamboo and leaves woven in. And there he is, kneeling over a bed, if you can call it that-two bamboo rods with some leaves on it-and a candle flickering there. They said every night he would kneel at that bed and you would hear him crying with his hands raised, "God, when will the wound of this world's sin be healed?"
He fought the Portuguese slave traders. He did many, many marvelous things. Why? Because he had a Gethsemane of his own. His precious wife died and he buried her in the jungle. And the baby she bore died. He buried the child at the side of its mother. Another child he had died-he buried that one.
But the grief didn't change his zeal for God. It added fuel to the fire. "The devil's trying to rob me. The devil's trying to hinder me." And he worked with greater zeal. He prayed more than ever he had prayed. They said that night after night his voice would echo through the forest, "Oh God, when will the wound of this world's sin be healed?"
Dear God! all our pastors are concerned about is adding one or two members! Or getting another bus to bring the people in! I say again, there can be no revival without travail.
"...I want my son to sit on thy right hand..." Well, here's His answer.
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant (Matt 20:24-27)
Well, that's a switch, isn't it? They wanted to sit on his right hand. He said, "The way into My kingdom is:
If you want to go up, you must go down.
If you exalt yourself, I'll abase you.
Be abased, and I will exalt you.
Save you life, you'll lose it.
Lose you life, you'll save it." It's reverse logic.
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,but to minister, and to give his life... (verse 28)
Not to give His theology; not to declare, "I have a mandate from the Father to instruct you."
He gave them all He had.
He gave them the Sermon on the Mount.
He gave them evidence that He had dominion over sin, death, disease, and devils, and everything.
And yet, they were unbelieving!
"I'm straightened. I'm tied up. I can't do anything yet." That's what He said in Luke 12. "I have no release. I have a baptism to be baptized with. Before that word of John that startled you when he said, "When he comes, he'll baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire...", but he didn't do that. Not immediately. He said, "I have to go through the Father's will. The Father's will is Gethsemane. The Father's will is the Cross. The Father's will is that I go down into the depths, lead captivity captive, and give gifts unto men."
As I said, there are two great reasons we don't have revival.
We're content to live without it,
It's too costly.
We don't want God to disrupt our status quo.
The Christian life can only be lived one way, and that's God's way. And
God's way is that I leave all and follow Him.
God's way is that, in that hour when I think I am going to have joy or something, suddenly that cup turns into a cup of bitterness. When I think I've "arrived" at something, the Lord shutters that.
We think, "If I had the privileges of Mrs. So-and-so, I'd be a real saint."
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (vs 27-28)
I was reading a couple of pages in the Marechales life yesterday. I like to turn to that book. She was the oldest daughter of the founder of the Salvation Army. Even when she was 85 years of age she could preach up a storm.
"One night," she said, "I went to Brussels. I went to a large mansion loaded with antiques and costly things. It was beautiful. It was owned by a Christian. I noticed a sweet girl there, at about 9 o'clock each morning she would come out of the servant's quarters radiant. I said to her one day,
'My dearie, I want to ask you a question. I've noticed the last few mornings while having my breakfast, after coming out of your servant's quarters, you are so radiant!'
She replied, 'I begin at 5 o'clock in the morning.'
'5 o'clock?! To what time?'
'Well, breakfast is at 8. Usually I have the last fire going by about half past 7.'
'How do you do it?'
'I just kneel in front of it. I sweep all the ashes on one side. I put them in a bucket. I get some paper and some kindling wood.' (And boy, getting coal to catch fire is a job!) 'I go in that room and get that fire going. I go in the next, I go to the next. I go back and the first one's gone out, so I do it over again. But eventually I get to breakfast a minute or two before 8 o'clock. I've lit my 12 fires.'
'Don't you get impatient?'
'No.'
'Well, you say the fires have gone out?'
'Yes, they often go out.'
'Well, do you get up early for devotions?'
'No,' she said, 'Not very early.'
'Well, how do you maintain you spiritual life?'
She said, 'Every time I light a fire, I say, Jesus, while I'm kindling this fire, kindle a fire in me!'
Kindle a fire of Your love afresh in me this morning!
Kindle a fire of Your devotion in me!
Here's this precious little girl talking to one of the most powerful women in the world. A women who, at 21 years of age, went to Paris and turned the city upside-down preaching to all the prostitutes. The queen of the underworld was there. Men came from the Sorbone, the greatest intellectuals with their long beards and their pipes, and listened to her.
And yet the Marechale said that young lady taught me more
than most sermons I'd ever heard.
She had to light the fire, get bellows, blow the things up and try to get them going. She said, "At every fire place, I never missed one morning saying, 'Lord as I'm kindling this fire, kindle Your fire in me.'" The fire of love for Your will. The fire of love. The fire of joy. The fire of peace. The fire of compassion.
If this fire came back to the Church, we'd turn America upside-down in six months.
Ours is all theology. We get a starving man and give him a cookbook. Does it help him? He looks in the cookbook and sees there a dish with potatoes, beef, etc. What do you do? You tantalize him! You say, "Oh, I hope one day you can come to our place We're going to have this dish, this beef, this turkey, and something else." And yet the poor man is ravenously hungry! We give him a picture, but we don't give him the goods! At the average church on Sunday morning, they give you the menu, but they never give you the meal. They give an outline of theology: 'This is our precious doctrine." So, most people will be reciting doctrine in Hell.
As I've said before, if you say "where two or three are gathered in His name...," if the living Christ is in your meeting, how in God's name can you have a dead service?! It's totally impossible?
I remember talking once in Carnegie Hall with Miss Kuhlman. We were talking about the Church, as it is, and various other things. She said, "I talked with some young students the other day. They said,
'We go to a certain church. We have a wonderful pastor, and a marvelous choir, and he's a great teacher, but nothing ever happens. We come to see your meeting and there's a power of God there.'
I was in meetings there where billows of power went over the place!
All kinds of miracles were done.
'What does the pastor say?' He says, 'Well, of course, where two or three are gathered, He's in the midst...' Do you know what I said to them? 'Well, if He's in the midst, and you believe that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, why doesn't He do in the midst 'here' what He did in the midst 'there'?"
We try and bail God out! The pastor has been to a seminary (or as I say, a cemetery). Our pulpits are full of dead men preaching dead sermons to dead people. But there's going to come an awakening.
God Almighty doesn't care if He sends America bankruptcy. He doesn't care if we have to stand in bread lines. He doesn't care if our automobiles rust because we have no gasoline. That could happen very easily.
But again, you see, it is so "expensive." We have to more than believe in the Lord. We have to believe on the Lord. We have to more than have a blessing just because we feel better, we feel inflated, or we maybe get a gift or something.
You know, I've found that when someone gets a gift of the Spirit,
they're more proud after they get the gift than they were before.
They're proud of the gift!
The indwelling of the Holy Ghost, to me, is the most majestic thing this side of eternity.
The Holy Ghost produces holy people. Holy people live holy lives, producing holy fathers and mothers
So here's a question. Answer it for yourself.
Do you want to drink the cup that He drank of?
Between here and there is a Gethsemane, a cross.
There was a young man in 1904, in a town called Newcastle-Emlyn, Wales. He had about 35 people in the meeting. He put his big hands up and prayed "Bend us, Lord, and then break us." Bend us. Bend the Church. Break the Church.
One night in a crowded meeting, with more than 1200 people, suddenly God came upon him. The writer puts it very beautifully, I think, though terribly. That great preacher who had been captivating crowds and turning cities on fire had a public Gethsemane.
He suddenly crumbled to the ground, as though somebody had squashed him downwards. It wasn't a spectacle. It wasn't a demonstration. It was a personal visitation of the Holy Ghost. He writhed. He groaned. He travailed. Some men at the front said, "Let's go help him." And somebody else said, "Don't put a finger on him."
When he got up his face was transformed as though he needed a veil over it. From there he moved into a new sphere of power, a new sphere of authority.
We're not going to gather people together and cause them to repent. Only God can do that.
Read again Joel 2 today. We quote it so often "He's going to pour out his Spirit on all flesh..." But wait a minute! The price is tremendous: Lay all night between the altar and the doorpost. I'd love to see a couple dozen preachers who would get together and lay between the altar and the doorpost, two nights a week, for the next three weeks, with the Holy Ghost coming upon them. Not "speaking in tongues" in the sense that so many people think, but speaking with a tongue we've never heard: speaking of travailing.
What you've got in Romans 8 is beyond language.
It cannot be uttered.
It's God the Holy Ghost groaning through us.
It groaned in Jesus so that He travailed. Are you going to suggest that He didn't groan? Of course, He groaned at Gethsemane.
I believe that Jesus, right now, is groaning in heaven. If He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, don't you think he groans over the Church as it is today?
Poor, misbegotten thing that it is?
Powerless, lifeless, without authority?
Most of our people can't keep victory themselves, never mind cast out devils.
We can't pull down strongholds.
But I'm convinced that it is going to come. There's going to be a great turnaround. It won't be inside the denominations, as far as I'm concerned. Oh it's nice to read Hebrews 13:12, "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify...," that is, "purify, edify, release, transform." That He might do that, "he suffered without the gate." But the next verse says, "Let us go with him outside the camp." Let's be cut off from everything that is organized, manmade, and supervised.
People say, "Ravenhill is a radical. You shouldn't take any note of him. You know, he has no covering." Well, I didn't know that. Poor me! I've been going around the world for the last fifty years without a covering! I didn't know! But the Lord knew I had it, so He kept me. Who was John the Baptist's covering? People knew when John the Baptist came. He did no signs, no wonders, no miracles. But when he spoke, the words were like fire. They burned in the hearts of the people. If a thing doesn't burn in me, why, in God's name, should it burn in you?! I wouldn't listen to a preacher who didn't kindle something in my heart.
You see, I backed away from that rotten cup that woman had. Then forcibly she said, "Drink it." At that moment I remembered a man in a garden saying, "Father, this is the most degrading thing in the history of the world. If it's possible, please..." The Lord let Him do it. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him.
When it pleases the Lord to bruise you, what do you do? Ring for help? Phone for somebody? Call the church? Or do you get alone with Him Who alone is able to heal? With Him Who alone has the balm of Gilead?
You see, God isn't training Boy Scouts. He's training soldiers!
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Tim 2:4)
There's a smart advertisement that you see on television and other places. You see these smart boys, these cadets: "We're looking for a few choice men." Come and be one of the specials. That's exactly what God does. "I have chosen you and ordained you," so you don't need any other ordination.
Out of the twelve He chooses three: Peter, James, and John.
People say that you shouldn't be selective. God is selective.
He always was. He always will be.
Out of the three he chose one. God has a process of elimination. He doesn't ask you to drink a cup a week or a month after you're saved, but you gradually move into that area where you realize that this is what He's after.
He's after me going to the cross!
And not just to go to it, but to get on it!
"Oh, I'm glad He died for me." Have you died for Him? Isn't that a fair exchange?
I remember when I was little boy that they announced that an American was coming. He had just written a hymn that was, I think, one of the sweetest hymns ever written, and he played it for us that night.
Out of the ivory palaces and into a world of woe
Only his great eternal love made my Savior go.
Out of the ivory...angels bowed down, and seraphim bowed...and men spit on Him
He had all the glory of heaven, but He had no where to sleep at night... It would take eternity to unveil to us what it meant for Jesus to come. He drank:
A cup of separation from His Father,
A cup of separation from the glory in eternity,
A cup of separation from the worship
because it says in Hebrew that angels are commissioned to worship
Him; men didn't worship Him-they spit on Him!
He laid it all aside joyfully. He took up a cross to be battered and bloodied.
I love that hymn, My Faith Looks Up to Thee. It was written in the old North Church in Boston Common. (I preached there once, and I had them sing that hymn.) The second stanza says:
May thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire;
As thou hast died for me,
So may my love to thee,
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
Suppose God were as fickle in His attitude to you as you were to Him? What would happen? The little servant girl says, "I'm on my knees two and a half hours every morning. Every time I strike that match, I say, 'Lord, as I kindle this fire, kindle Your fire in my heart, the fire of Your Spirit, oh God!' I've been here for years. I must have lit hundreds and hundreds of fires."
She wasn't at the table serving meals with all the celebrities. She's up at the crack of dawn. She's carrying a heavy bucket of coal. She's cleaning up the dirt. It's a ritual most people wouldn't have. But she's turned it into a sacrament! She's turned the tables on the devil! When he says, "Well, you could be praying. You could do more than that."
She says, "I would bow there some days. I would just worship. I would see the flames go up and think of the sacrifice that has been made. No, don't pity me. I've got a wonderful job! They pay me to have my devotions! They pay me to sustain my prayer life!" I wish we had a lot more people like that.
Look out. He might bring you up this week and ask you drink of the cup "Can you share my baptism?"
"My baptism is a baptism of sorrow;
a baptism of desertion,
a baptism of pain,
a baptism of loneliness,
a baptism of darkness."
It's all combined.
Well, can you drink it? Or do we try to make some excuses? All He's asking for is obedience. Obedience is the key to everything.
This is serious business. Time is running out fast for all of us.
The greatest revival that swept America wasn't staged. It wasn't advertised. It wasn't financially backed. It didn't have broken down film stars and ex-footballers. It was in the ordinary course of a meeting, when Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God." There was nobody advertised. There was nobody projected.
Jesus says, "How can you receive blessing of God when you receive honor one of another?"
"He resisteth the proud and saveth such as are contrite and of a broken spirit."
There are many who say, "Come down from the cross and save yourself." If you see somebody else saving his neck, and you follow him, you will lose your blessing. You will lose your reward. You will lose your power.
Nobody stood by Jesus.
Maybe nobody will stand by you.
It's a lonely life, but it's a glorious life.
Copyright (C) 1996 by Leonard Ravenhill
By Leonard Ravenhill
Luke chapter12, verses 49 and 50.
I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
I've been going to meetings for over seventy years all over the world-Pentecostal conferences, Methodist conferences, all kinds of conferences.
I heard the baptism of the Holy Spirit preached, I think, fifty different ways.
In seventy years, I've never heard anybody preach on this text where Jesus, speaking of Himself says: "I have a baptism..."
Charles Wesley gave us that lovely children's hymn.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.
Look upon the little child.
Some people never get past "gentle Jesus." But Jesus is associated with fire. The next time He comes, says 2 Thes. 1:7, He's coming with flaming angels-thousands of them!
Here He is saying to these disciples, "I am come to send fire on the earth..."
Again, the symbol of the church is fire. I was preaching last Sunday night in a big church with a big cross for Jesus and one for the thieves. I reminded them: "The cross is no symbol of Christianity. The symbol of Christianity is the tongue of fire that sat on the head of each of them."
Our God is a consuming fire.
Wesley has a wonderful hymn on this. He says,
See how a great a flame aspires, kindled by a spark of grace.
Jesus love the nations fires; sets the kingdoms all ablaze.
To bring fire on earth He came, kindled in some hearts it is.
Oh that all might catch the flame; all partake the glorious bliss.
When He first the work began, small and feeble was its flame.
Now the word doeth swiftly run; now it wins its widening way.
More and more it spreads and grows, ever mighty to prevail.
Sin's strongholds it now o'throws and shakes the trembling gates of hell.
Sons of God, your Savior praise; He the door hath opened wide.
He hath given the word of grace; Jesus' word is glorified.
Saw you not the cloud arise, little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies, hangs o'er all the thirsty land.
You see the idea: a spark begins and gradually it blossoms to go out through the whole world. Wesley wrote that in 1776, I think, and prophetically.
More and more it spreads and grows, ever mighty to prevail.
Usually with the expansion of a thing there is a weakening, but when the Church truly expands, there is a strengthening.
God never planned any failures for us.
...how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Now I want to bear this out from the gospel according to Matthew 20:17-22.
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask...
She asked a big thing. In the other gospels it says that they asked it-John and his brother asked. Here it says his mother asked. I guess there was a collusion in this. They had agreed together. They believed that Jesus was going to have a kingdom. They wanted to sit on the right hand and the left hand when He came into His kingdom.
But notice they came worshipping Him.
Yet in their worship there was begging.
It wasn't pure. They had an ulterior motive.
They were trying to bargain with Him.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? (v 22)
Now, in Luke 12:49 He said, "I am come to send fire on the earth." What hindered Him from giving them the fire at that moment?
A baptism.
A baptism of sorrow.
A baptism of anguish.
A baptism that we call Gethsemane.
You see, there is no place in the whole wide world where you can put the Upper Room before the Cross. The Cross comes before the Upper Room, but we try to turn that around.
Very often we're asking people to tarry in the Upper Room who have never knelt at the Cross. They get a false experience and it evaporates. We shun the Cross.
"I have a baptism to be baptized with. But I want you to receive a fire that will change that degraded will of yours.
It will endue you with power.
It will give you energy.
It will give you life."
He says, "I want to do that, but I am straitened. I wish it could be accomplished, but it cannot be done yet."
There are people who think that God is only around to help us. We have a great utility God, they think. You pray, and He does this! You pray, and He does that! You pray, and He sends you money. You pray, and He gets you out of a jam. He's not somebody you worship in speechless adoration, but He's a utility God! And some on TV are exploiting that to the maximum.
Let's go back to Matthew 20.
What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. (v 21,22)
So, He took them at their word.
"I want my sons to enter thy kingdom, sitting on thy right hand and on thy left." There is only one way to enter the kingdom: through death.
You know not what ye ask. Are ye able...? Yea, we can drink the cup.
All right, lady- I wonder if she was living when her son was brutally put to death? And James, the brother of John, was killed with the sword. (Acts 12:2)
It was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great,
a terrible butcher. A man who could be linked up with Pharaoh that
liquidated all the Israeli babies in Egypt-an ancient Hitler.
Jeremiah had more conflict than any other prophet of old. Immediately when he was raised up he was in conflict. He was in conflict when he was dying. What was the secret of his power? It is very obvious; he states it: "Thy fire burned within my heart. While I mused the fire burned." Do you know that forty one times he mentions fire? They put him in a pit, but it didn't burn the fire out of him.
There is a hymn with a verse that says:
Waters cannot quench it, floods can never drown
Substance cannot buy it, love's a priceless crown.
Oh, the wondrous story, mystery divine
I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine.
The fire is unquenchable.
The fire of hell is unquenchable.
The fire of the Holy Ghost is unquenchable.
I know there is a lot of opposition against the second blessing. I challenge you to find a man that has made history in God's kingdom who somewhere didn't have a second crisis after he was born again in the Spirit of God.
One of the Quakers said he found something in him that wouldn't keep peace. He wanted to get rid of the thing in him that was always troubling him.
William Booth said, "I found that I ebbed and flowed until one day the Holy Ghost came in his fullness." Then he wrote that marvelous battle hymn that today's church doesn't know.
The Salvation Army was a penniless organization that went into seventy countries in ninety years. Not seventy cities, but seventy countries! Men and women left their castles in England. Professors left their professions. Why? Because they could see that fire as clearly as Israel could see that pillar of fire at night. The Holy Ghost was there! And old William had them going down the streets at night marching and singing:
Thou Christ, the burning cleansing flame, send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim, send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host
Give us the promised Holy Ghost
We want another Pentecost.
I'm not sure we want it. We need it! You see, the thing between where you are now and this baptism of fire is a "cup."
Jesus said to her,
Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
He'd been baptized in the Jordan, but He wasn't talking about that. The man who introduced Him to the world said, "I baptize you with water." That baptism was external. When He comes He will do something internal. He'll baptize you-the literal Greek says-"with Holy Ghost fire", not "with the Holy Ghost and with fire." You can't separate them. God is a consuming fire.
He shall baptize you with Holy Ghost fire.
But you see, there is something between here and there.
The Church never had more equipment that she has now, but she
Never had less power!
Never less anointing.
Never less of the miraculous.
Never less from the omnipotent God.
As I've said before,
When did you last tip toe out of church Sunday morning
breathless, awed by the awesomeness of God's majesty?
God's glory? God's omnipotence?
"Ye know not what ye ask." I wonder how often God says that to us.
As I've said many times, and I say privately in my prayers, I don't want to get to the judgment seat with maybe trillions of eyes looking on me, seeing me come up for trial and have God say to me in that day, "Son, I had many things to tell you, but you couldn't bear them."
When are we going to get serious about being serious about revival?
Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
What's the cup?
Skip to chapter 26 of Matthew. Here's the baptism for you.
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matt 26:39-42)
What was the cup?
Well, I'll tell you one ingredient it had: It had betrayal in it.
The men who had sworn allegiance to Him, when it came to a crisis, quit.
Can He drink of the cup? What's in the cup?
I believe in that cup there was
Internal suffering,
Mental suffering, and
Spiritual suffering.
Do you want to drink the cup?
I am straightened, He says. I cannot do anything now. There is a baptism through which I have to go.
The Holy Ghost cannot come down until I go up.
I cannot go up until I have done the will of the Father.
And so He goes through the agony of Gethsemane. He goes through the lonesomeness. He drank of that cup.
I say it was internal because in Isaiah 53:11 it says He travailed. Isn't that internal? Deserted by others in the darkest hour, not only by men, but by God.
Can you drink of that cup?
Do you want to travail?
You see, what people are seeking today is a painless Pentecost.
There isn't such a thing.
What happened immediately after Pentecost? They prospered-yes? No! -- They went to jail! It wan't prosperity; it was prison, pain, privation, and persecution.
Jesus goes on to say in Matt 6:19,
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
There are a lot of wealthy Christians that will get to heaven bankrupt. And there are a lot of Christians who are almost bankrupt, living in poverty, who will be super-millionaires when they get into eternity.
We read elsewhere that if you're going to follow the Lord, it means division in the family. Your father and mother will hate you. Jesus came to the place where his brothers said, "He's insane."
People say, "I want to be like Jesus." Well, I doubt it.
Do you want to get kicked out of your family because you love God?
Do you want to be so true to God that a Thomas comes and doubts you?
That a Judas sells you?
Do you really want to be like Jesus?
Well then, why don't you practice it?
Why don't you have forty days and forty nights of fasting?
Forget all the paperwork. We make such rash vows when the temperature is running high in a meeting.
I say, the pain was internal.
He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. (Isa 53:11)
I'm sure it was not only internal, it was also mental pain. I'm sure it was bodily pain. It says in Isaiah 50:6, "I gave my back to the smiters." We don't do that. We fight back. We don't like somebody to carve us up, scorn us, ridicule us, humiliate us, misrepresent us. He got the whole works! Yet He never muttered once. When it came to the agony of the cross it says that men shot out the lip. "If God's Your Father, then let Him deliver You."
I say again, the perennial challenge to a Christian, is "Come down from the cross and save yourself." You made a decision in a missionary meeting: "I'm going to give more money to missions." Then something came up and you backed off.
"I'm going to spend more time with God." You didn't do it.
Before Elijah called down the fire, he rebuilt the old altar.
We don't want to go back to old altars, to old vows, to old commitments.
We always try to make new things.
God knows they'll be brought down in a few weeks!
Christianity has not been weighed in the balances and found wanting. It's being tried, found difficult, and rejected!
It's too tough. There's no part-time service. "Leave all and follow me."
I was going down the street in Oldham, which is nine miles outside of Manchester. I was in my early twenties. I pastored the largest church in town; in fact, the largest Holiness church in England. I was going down the street one day. As I passed a house, the lady opened the door,
"Hi! You're the pastor at the Tabernacle. I often come to your church. I sit on the back seat. I'm very poor. I can't give anything in the offering, but I want to do something for you. Would you come into my house and drink a cup of tea?"
Well, usually, of course, I want tea, so I said, "Yes." I went in, and boy! did that house smell. I got in there and she had finger nails clogged up with dirt. The kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes.
There was a plate with some old bacon covered with mold.
That fuzzy horrid looking stuff.
She reached into the kitchen sink to a stack of cups and picked one. You know, the tea had dried on the outside. Oh, mercy on us! It looked as though it had about a hundred bugs at the bottom: dried, dirty, rotten old tea leaves. In fact, some were moldy.
"Well, now" she said, "I'm going to get you a cup of tea."
I said, "All right."
She poured the tea into the cup. It was as black as my shoes, and I don't like black tea.
"Do you take cream?" "Yes." "Well, I have none."
"Do you take sugar?" "Yes." "I have none."
With that dirty hand shaking, I saw the black stuff that was supposed to be tea, cold as ice.
I hesitated. I felt like tipping it up. But I knew I was on trial.
She held the cup up, "Drink it!"
As she handed me that cup of dirty tea, my mind went 2000 miles away to a place called Gethsemane, 2000 years back. The Father gave a cup of all the dregs of impurity and wickedness. He didn't give it to Gabriel. He didn't give it to Michael the Archangel. He gave it to his Son!
This is what He's come to do. He's come to consume iniquity. He's going to do it in the Garden of Gethsemane-by Himself, when everybody has betrayed Him, when His nerves are down, and He can hear the enemy coming! He's thinking of all the years He's demonstrated His power, shown that He was the Son of God. He's walked on the water. He's raised the dead. He's cleansed the leper. He's healed insane people. And they didn't believe on Him!
So what's the difference today? Do we believe on Him?
Remember that there wasn't one of the twelve disciples that had a Bible. Not even the Apostle Paul had one. Don't boast too much about your Bible knowledge. It's going to face us at the Judgment Seat.
I don't have a big library, but I have a few nice books. I wonder sometimes, will these books rise up in judgment against me?
I say with all my heart, we're looking for a painless Pentecost.
We want to invest a dime and get a million dollars back.
Can you drink of the cup? "We are able," and so they drank, and were crucified.
Today it is considered sadistic if you even say that people have to take up their cross. "Don't tell young people about the cross-they'll be discouraged." Are you suggesting that Jesus wasn't smart? "If you're going to be my disciple, kiss the world goodbye." You see, when people are born again these days, they don't get separated from the world. Most likely their pastor is the most worldly guy around! But if you're going to get what He wants to give, if you're going to get the true baptism of the Spirit, you have to drink of that cup.
They said, "We are able." And He said, "You shall drink indeed of that cup, and be baptized of the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and my left is not mine to give. The Father is going to do that." Verse 24 says that when the other ten disciples were around listening they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
Now He rubs their noses in the dust. "You're looking to sit on My right hand and My left in My Kingdom." He could have said, "Are you prepared to go through Hell to get there?"...You can't show me a revival in history that hasn't been born of travail, pain, loneliness, and dark weary nights.
In Scotland, nine miles out of Glasgow, there's a great big house, a national memorial to David Livingstone. In it there is a model that shows the room where he died, where for years and years he prayed. It's like some of those houses in India that are made of bamboo and leaves woven in. And there he is, kneeling over a bed, if you can call it that-two bamboo rods with some leaves on it-and a candle flickering there. They said every night he would kneel at that bed and you would hear him crying with his hands raised, "God, when will the wound of this world's sin be healed?"
He fought the Portuguese slave traders. He did many, many marvelous things. Why? Because he had a Gethsemane of his own. His precious wife died and he buried her in the jungle. And the baby she bore died. He buried the child at the side of its mother. Another child he had died-he buried that one.
But the grief didn't change his zeal for God. It added fuel to the fire. "The devil's trying to rob me. The devil's trying to hinder me." And he worked with greater zeal. He prayed more than ever he had prayed. They said that night after night his voice would echo through the forest, "Oh God, when will the wound of this world's sin be healed?"
Dear God! all our pastors are concerned about is adding one or two members! Or getting another bus to bring the people in! I say again, there can be no revival without travail.
"...I want my son to sit on thy right hand..." Well, here's His answer.
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant (Matt 20:24-27)
Well, that's a switch, isn't it? They wanted to sit on his right hand. He said, "The way into My kingdom is:
If you want to go up, you must go down.
If you exalt yourself, I'll abase you.
Be abased, and I will exalt you.
Save you life, you'll lose it.
Lose you life, you'll save it." It's reverse logic.
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,but to minister, and to give his life... (verse 28)
Not to give His theology; not to declare, "I have a mandate from the Father to instruct you."
He gave them all He had.
He gave them the Sermon on the Mount.
He gave them evidence that He had dominion over sin, death, disease, and devils, and everything.
And yet, they were unbelieving!
"I'm straightened. I'm tied up. I can't do anything yet." That's what He said in Luke 12. "I have no release. I have a baptism to be baptized with. Before that word of John that startled you when he said, "When he comes, he'll baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire...", but he didn't do that. Not immediately. He said, "I have to go through the Father's will. The Father's will is Gethsemane. The Father's will is the Cross. The Father's will is that I go down into the depths, lead captivity captive, and give gifts unto men."
As I said, there are two great reasons we don't have revival.
We're content to live without it,
It's too costly.
We don't want God to disrupt our status quo.
The Christian life can only be lived one way, and that's God's way. And
God's way is that I leave all and follow Him.
God's way is that, in that hour when I think I am going to have joy or something, suddenly that cup turns into a cup of bitterness. When I think I've "arrived" at something, the Lord shutters that.
We think, "If I had the privileges of Mrs. So-and-so, I'd be a real saint."
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (vs 27-28)
I was reading a couple of pages in the Marechales life yesterday. I like to turn to that book. She was the oldest daughter of the founder of the Salvation Army. Even when she was 85 years of age she could preach up a storm.
"One night," she said, "I went to Brussels. I went to a large mansion loaded with antiques and costly things. It was beautiful. It was owned by a Christian. I noticed a sweet girl there, at about 9 o'clock each morning she would come out of the servant's quarters radiant. I said to her one day,
'My dearie, I want to ask you a question. I've noticed the last few mornings while having my breakfast, after coming out of your servant's quarters, you are so radiant!'
She replied, 'I begin at 5 o'clock in the morning.'
'5 o'clock?! To what time?'
'Well, breakfast is at 8. Usually I have the last fire going by about half past 7.'
'How do you do it?'
'I just kneel in front of it. I sweep all the ashes on one side. I put them in a bucket. I get some paper and some kindling wood.' (And boy, getting coal to catch fire is a job!) 'I go in that room and get that fire going. I go in the next, I go to the next. I go back and the first one's gone out, so I do it over again. But eventually I get to breakfast a minute or two before 8 o'clock. I've lit my 12 fires.'
'Don't you get impatient?'
'No.'
'Well, you say the fires have gone out?'
'Yes, they often go out.'
'Well, do you get up early for devotions?'
'No,' she said, 'Not very early.'
'Well, how do you maintain you spiritual life?'
She said, 'Every time I light a fire, I say, Jesus, while I'm kindling this fire, kindle a fire in me!'
Kindle a fire of Your love afresh in me this morning!
Kindle a fire of Your devotion in me!
Here's this precious little girl talking to one of the most powerful women in the world. A women who, at 21 years of age, went to Paris and turned the city upside-down preaching to all the prostitutes. The queen of the underworld was there. Men came from the Sorbone, the greatest intellectuals with their long beards and their pipes, and listened to her.
And yet the Marechale said that young lady taught me more
than most sermons I'd ever heard.
She had to light the fire, get bellows, blow the things up and try to get them going. She said, "At every fire place, I never missed one morning saying, 'Lord as I'm kindling this fire, kindle Your fire in me.'" The fire of love for Your will. The fire of love. The fire of joy. The fire of peace. The fire of compassion.
If this fire came back to the Church, we'd turn America upside-down in six months.
Ours is all theology. We get a starving man and give him a cookbook. Does it help him? He looks in the cookbook and sees there a dish with potatoes, beef, etc. What do you do? You tantalize him! You say, "Oh, I hope one day you can come to our place We're going to have this dish, this beef, this turkey, and something else." And yet the poor man is ravenously hungry! We give him a picture, but we don't give him the goods! At the average church on Sunday morning, they give you the menu, but they never give you the meal. They give an outline of theology: 'This is our precious doctrine." So, most people will be reciting doctrine in Hell.
As I've said before, if you say "where two or three are gathered in His name...," if the living Christ is in your meeting, how in God's name can you have a dead service?! It's totally impossible?
I remember talking once in Carnegie Hall with Miss Kuhlman. We were talking about the Church, as it is, and various other things. She said, "I talked with some young students the other day. They said,
'We go to a certain church. We have a wonderful pastor, and a marvelous choir, and he's a great teacher, but nothing ever happens. We come to see your meeting and there's a power of God there.'
I was in meetings there where billows of power went over the place!
All kinds of miracles were done.
'What does the pastor say?' He says, 'Well, of course, where two or three are gathered, He's in the midst...' Do you know what I said to them? 'Well, if He's in the midst, and you believe that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, why doesn't He do in the midst 'here' what He did in the midst 'there'?"
We try and bail God out! The pastor has been to a seminary (or as I say, a cemetery). Our pulpits are full of dead men preaching dead sermons to dead people. But there's going to come an awakening.
God Almighty doesn't care if He sends America bankruptcy. He doesn't care if we have to stand in bread lines. He doesn't care if our automobiles rust because we have no gasoline. That could happen very easily.
But again, you see, it is so "expensive." We have to more than believe in the Lord. We have to believe on the Lord. We have to more than have a blessing just because we feel better, we feel inflated, or we maybe get a gift or something.
You know, I've found that when someone gets a gift of the Spirit,
they're more proud after they get the gift than they were before.
They're proud of the gift!
The indwelling of the Holy Ghost, to me, is the most majestic thing this side of eternity.
The Holy Ghost produces holy people. Holy people live holy lives, producing holy fathers and mothers
So here's a question. Answer it for yourself.
Do you want to drink the cup that He drank of?
Between here and there is a Gethsemane, a cross.
There was a young man in 1904, in a town called Newcastle-Emlyn, Wales. He had about 35 people in the meeting. He put his big hands up and prayed "Bend us, Lord, and then break us." Bend us. Bend the Church. Break the Church.
One night in a crowded meeting, with more than 1200 people, suddenly God came upon him. The writer puts it very beautifully, I think, though terribly. That great preacher who had been captivating crowds and turning cities on fire had a public Gethsemane.
He suddenly crumbled to the ground, as though somebody had squashed him downwards. It wasn't a spectacle. It wasn't a demonstration. It was a personal visitation of the Holy Ghost. He writhed. He groaned. He travailed. Some men at the front said, "Let's go help him." And somebody else said, "Don't put a finger on him."
When he got up his face was transformed as though he needed a veil over it. From there he moved into a new sphere of power, a new sphere of authority.
We're not going to gather people together and cause them to repent. Only God can do that.
Read again Joel 2 today. We quote it so often "He's going to pour out his Spirit on all flesh..." But wait a minute! The price is tremendous: Lay all night between the altar and the doorpost. I'd love to see a couple dozen preachers who would get together and lay between the altar and the doorpost, two nights a week, for the next three weeks, with the Holy Ghost coming upon them. Not "speaking in tongues" in the sense that so many people think, but speaking with a tongue we've never heard: speaking of travailing.
What you've got in Romans 8 is beyond language.
It cannot be uttered.
It's God the Holy Ghost groaning through us.
It groaned in Jesus so that He travailed. Are you going to suggest that He didn't groan? Of course, He groaned at Gethsemane.
I believe that Jesus, right now, is groaning in heaven. If He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, don't you think he groans over the Church as it is today?
Poor, misbegotten thing that it is?
Powerless, lifeless, without authority?
Most of our people can't keep victory themselves, never mind cast out devils.
We can't pull down strongholds.
But I'm convinced that it is going to come. There's going to be a great turnaround. It won't be inside the denominations, as far as I'm concerned. Oh it's nice to read Hebrews 13:12, "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify...," that is, "purify, edify, release, transform." That He might do that, "he suffered without the gate." But the next verse says, "Let us go with him outside the camp." Let's be cut off from everything that is organized, manmade, and supervised.
People say, "Ravenhill is a radical. You shouldn't take any note of him. You know, he has no covering." Well, I didn't know that. Poor me! I've been going around the world for the last fifty years without a covering! I didn't know! But the Lord knew I had it, so He kept me. Who was John the Baptist's covering? People knew when John the Baptist came. He did no signs, no wonders, no miracles. But when he spoke, the words were like fire. They burned in the hearts of the people. If a thing doesn't burn in me, why, in God's name, should it burn in you?! I wouldn't listen to a preacher who didn't kindle something in my heart.
You see, I backed away from that rotten cup that woman had. Then forcibly she said, "Drink it." At that moment I remembered a man in a garden saying, "Father, this is the most degrading thing in the history of the world. If it's possible, please..." The Lord let Him do it. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him.
When it pleases the Lord to bruise you, what do you do? Ring for help? Phone for somebody? Call the church? Or do you get alone with Him Who alone is able to heal? With Him Who alone has the balm of Gilead?
You see, God isn't training Boy Scouts. He's training soldiers!
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Tim 2:4)
There's a smart advertisement that you see on television and other places. You see these smart boys, these cadets: "We're looking for a few choice men." Come and be one of the specials. That's exactly what God does. "I have chosen you and ordained you," so you don't need any other ordination.
Out of the twelve He chooses three: Peter, James, and John.
People say that you shouldn't be selective. God is selective.
He always was. He always will be.
Out of the three he chose one. God has a process of elimination. He doesn't ask you to drink a cup a week or a month after you're saved, but you gradually move into that area where you realize that this is what He's after.
He's after me going to the cross!
And not just to go to it, but to get on it!
"Oh, I'm glad He died for me." Have you died for Him? Isn't that a fair exchange?
I remember when I was little boy that they announced that an American was coming. He had just written a hymn that was, I think, one of the sweetest hymns ever written, and he played it for us that night.
Out of the ivory palaces and into a world of woe
Only his great eternal love made my Savior go.
Out of the ivory...angels bowed down, and seraphim bowed...and men spit on Him
He had all the glory of heaven, but He had no where to sleep at night... It would take eternity to unveil to us what it meant for Jesus to come. He drank:
A cup of separation from His Father,
A cup of separation from the glory in eternity,
A cup of separation from the worship
because it says in Hebrew that angels are commissioned to worship
Him; men didn't worship Him-they spit on Him!
He laid it all aside joyfully. He took up a cross to be battered and bloodied.
I love that hymn, My Faith Looks Up to Thee. It was written in the old North Church in Boston Common. (I preached there once, and I had them sing that hymn.) The second stanza says:
May thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire;
As thou hast died for me,
So may my love to thee,
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
Suppose God were as fickle in His attitude to you as you were to Him? What would happen? The little servant girl says, "I'm on my knees two and a half hours every morning. Every time I strike that match, I say, 'Lord, as I kindle this fire, kindle Your fire in my heart, the fire of Your Spirit, oh God!' I've been here for years. I must have lit hundreds and hundreds of fires."
She wasn't at the table serving meals with all the celebrities. She's up at the crack of dawn. She's carrying a heavy bucket of coal. She's cleaning up the dirt. It's a ritual most people wouldn't have. But she's turned it into a sacrament! She's turned the tables on the devil! When he says, "Well, you could be praying. You could do more than that."
She says, "I would bow there some days. I would just worship. I would see the flames go up and think of the sacrifice that has been made. No, don't pity me. I've got a wonderful job! They pay me to have my devotions! They pay me to sustain my prayer life!" I wish we had a lot more people like that.
Look out. He might bring you up this week and ask you drink of the cup "Can you share my baptism?"
"My baptism is a baptism of sorrow;
a baptism of desertion,
a baptism of pain,
a baptism of loneliness,
a baptism of darkness."
It's all combined.
Well, can you drink it? Or do we try to make some excuses? All He's asking for is obedience. Obedience is the key to everything.
This is serious business. Time is running out fast for all of us.
The greatest revival that swept America wasn't staged. It wasn't advertised. It wasn't financially backed. It didn't have broken down film stars and ex-footballers. It was in the ordinary course of a meeting, when Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God." There was nobody advertised. There was nobody projected.
Jesus says, "How can you receive blessing of God when you receive honor one of another?"
"He resisteth the proud and saveth such as are contrite and of a broken spirit."
There are many who say, "Come down from the cross and save yourself." If you see somebody else saving his neck, and you follow him, you will lose your blessing. You will lose your reward. You will lose your power.
Nobody stood by Jesus.
Maybe nobody will stand by you.
It's a lonely life, but it's a glorious life.
Copyright (C) 1996 by Leonard Ravenhill
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Being an Outcast
You know, for a christian, this life can sometimes be overwhelming. You feel like an outsider, because you ARE an outsider! I know, for me, I have always felt 'different', a 'loner', an 'outcast'. When I was younger, I didn't understand that, spiritually. I do now. But, as a kid, and teen, it was hard for me. I got picked on alot for not doing what everybody else was doing, or for not being like everyone else, but I just didn't want to! I'm still that way. I know now that it's because I'm a christian that I am this way. I am set apart. I am different from everybody else. I'm supposed to be! I am cut from a different cloth, so to speak, because of Jesus Christ! I am not supposed to be of this world and I'm not going to fit in. If you are a christian, and you're trying to, stop it! It's not going to happen unless you forsake your christianity. I'm not saying we have to be as aliens, but what I'm saying is, if you feel different, or not like anyone or everyone else, it's okay! You will feel that way, because the world doesn't have what you have, and unless they make Jesus their Lord and Saviour, you're going to be different because you're meant to be different! You're part of God's family and 'world'. So, don't worry about fitting in with the people here, worry if you're a christian and you DO fit in! You will be in heaven one day,with your family, and it will be so much greater than here! That's what I'm looking forward to! I could care less if I remain an outcast for the rest of my existence here on this earth! I know that I belong in heaven and I'm NOT an outcast there!
Joke of the Day
Two snakes were slithering through a field. One snake turned to the other and asked, " Do you suppose we are poisonous snakes?"
" I don't know", replied the other, "Why?"
"Well", said the first, "I just bit my lip"
" I don't know", replied the other, "Why?"
"Well", said the first, "I just bit my lip"
Quote of the day
"Habits of thought are not less tyrannical than other habits, and a time comes when return is impossible, even to the strongest will." Alexander Vinet
Recipe of the day
creamy red potato salad:
Ingredients
* 4 pounds small red potatoes
* 1 onion, thinly sliced
* 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
* 1/3 cup whole-grain mustard
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
* Salt and pepper
Preparation
Place potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 30 minutes. Drain; slightly cool.
Cut potatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Add onion and celery. In a separate bowl, mix mustard with vinegar, mayonnaise, relish, salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes and gently stir to mix. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Ingredients
* 4 pounds small red potatoes
* 1 onion, thinly sliced
* 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
* 1/3 cup whole-grain mustard
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
* Salt and pepper
Preparation
Place potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 30 minutes. Drain; slightly cool.
Cut potatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Add onion and celery. In a separate bowl, mix mustard with vinegar, mayonnaise, relish, salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes and gently stir to mix. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Never Alone | GodTube
Never Alone | GodTube
funny video, but, it makes U think, do we really treat Jesus this way? I think alot of people do, they want to keep Him at a 'comfortable' distance, & only have Him when they need Him, it's sad....
funny video, but, it makes U think, do we really treat Jesus this way? I think alot of people do, they want to keep Him at a 'comfortable' distance, & only have Him when they need Him, it's sad....
So many in Need
You know, there isn't one day in my day to day life, where I don't see someone in need. These are the times I wish I was rich. Jesus commands us to help the needy, not hoard our money! I really have been thinking of ways to start some kind of charity. Yes, we have some here in my town, but it's not enough! I know it's in my heart, because God puts in our hearts specific things we are individually called to do. This is one of my callings, always has been. So, I'm researching, and trying to figure out ways to accomplish this task. I know me & my husband have already started our ministry website, but it's not enough for me. I want to eventually be able to house the homeless, feed the poor, and help people with their bills. These are the times we desperately need to be helping. If you have extra money, share it! Donate to a local charity or church, or individual that you know that's in need. It's not hard to find them. You will be rewarded greatly by God. He will be greatly pleased. And don't let the devil try & scare you from helping, as he has so many people with saying things like, 'well, how do you know they aren't buying booze with that money?", etc., well, the way I look at it is, if they are, that's NOT your problem, I mean yes, we should be careful, but sometimes people still 'get by us' that are scammers, but if they are, well you have still done a good thing & God will reward you. Let Him deal with it. Just don't keep from helping because you're scared to help. God will guide you to the right people, just ask Him.
Recipe of the day
Fennel sauerkraut w/potatoes
Ingredients:
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage links
* 10-ounce package shredded cabbage, preferably “angel hair” style
* 1 large bulb fennel, quartered, cored and thinly sliced, plus 3 tablespoons chopped feathery fronds
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 16-ounce package precooked diced red potatoes
* 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon brown or whole-grain mustard
Preparation:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, turning often, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 1/2-inch pieces. (The sausage will not be thoroughly cooked, but will continue cooking later.)
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add cabbage, sliced fennel, onion, garlic powder, fennel seed and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the cabbage has wilted slightly, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are heated through, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Add broth, vinegar and mustard and stir until the mustard is incorporated; bring to a simmer. Place the sausage on top of the cabbage mixture, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in chopped fennel fronds and serve.
Ingredients:
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage links
* 10-ounce package shredded cabbage, preferably “angel hair” style
* 1 large bulb fennel, quartered, cored and thinly sliced, plus 3 tablespoons chopped feathery fronds
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 16-ounce package precooked diced red potatoes
* 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon brown or whole-grain mustard
Preparation:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, turning often, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 1/2-inch pieces. (The sausage will not be thoroughly cooked, but will continue cooking later.)
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add cabbage, sliced fennel, onion, garlic powder, fennel seed and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the cabbage has wilted slightly, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are heated through, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Add broth, vinegar and mustard and stir until the mustard is incorporated; bring to a simmer. Place the sausage on top of the cabbage mixture, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in chopped fennel fronds and serve.
Quote of the day
And the common people heard Him gladly, for He taught them as one having authority. These sentences reveal the very heart of effective speaking.
by:Albert Jeremiah Beveridge
by:Albert Jeremiah Beveridge
Joke of the Day
A hunter raised his rifle and took careful aim at a large bear. When about to pull the trigger, the bear spoke in a soft soothing voice, "Isn't it better to talk than to shoot? What do you want? Let's negotiate the matter."
Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur coat."
"Good," said the bear, "that is a negotiable item. I only want a full stomach, so let us sit down and negotiate a compromise."
They sat down to negotiate and after a time the bear walked away, alone. The negotiations had been successful.
The bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat!
Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur coat."
"Good," said the bear, "that is a negotiable item. I only want a full stomach, so let us sit down and negotiate a compromise."
They sat down to negotiate and after a time the bear walked away, alone. The negotiations had been successful.
The bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Jesus Blood Never Fails Me - posted by Serving JC (InspiredFaith) - tangle.com
Jesus Blood Never Fails Me - posted by Serving JC (InspiredFaith) - tangle.com
Awesome modern day rendition of Jesus & how He took it all upon Himself & cleansed us!!
Awesome modern day rendition of Jesus & how He took it all upon Himself & cleansed us!!
The Serenade and other poems by AngelaLove Williams in Poetry
The Serenade and other poems by AngelaLove Williams in Poetry
Enter coupon code: BEACHREAD305 & get 15% off until aug 15th!!
Enter coupon code: BEACHREAD305 & get 15% off until aug 15th!!
New Online Ministry
As I've posted, we have a new website:
ourlordswill.weebly.com
We are doing an online ministry. We are posting weekly sermons, daily scriptures, prayers, & we're counseling the needy. Counseling for whomever needs it & needs someone to talk with, we're here:
ourlordswill@yahoo.com
This online ministry was something both me & my husband felt led of the Lord to start. It is for anyone, especially the ones who can't or don't go to church for whatever reason. Eventually, we want to be able to reach the community, by helping the poor. That's always been my desire. To help people pay their bills, give food, maybe even lodging, but we wanted to at least start this site first, because we both felt God telling us to. Please share the word, & let everyone know. We are NOT asking for anything from anyone, God will help us help people. But, we know there are alot of people who are on the internet, & they need prayer, or counseling, or just to hear God's word, & we are trying to do that. Pray for us, that this reaches whoever it needs to.
ourlordswill.weebly.com
We are doing an online ministry. We are posting weekly sermons, daily scriptures, prayers, & we're counseling the needy. Counseling for whomever needs it & needs someone to talk with, we're here:
ourlordswill@yahoo.com
This online ministry was something both me & my husband felt led of the Lord to start. It is for anyone, especially the ones who can't or don't go to church for whatever reason. Eventually, we want to be able to reach the community, by helping the poor. That's always been my desire. To help people pay their bills, give food, maybe even lodging, but we wanted to at least start this site first, because we both felt God telling us to. Please share the word, & let everyone know. We are NOT asking for anything from anyone, God will help us help people. But, we know there are alot of people who are on the internet, & they need prayer, or counseling, or just to hear God's word, & we are trying to do that. Pray for us, that this reaches whoever it needs to.
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