Church = ekklēsia = called out = BELIEVERS

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I suppose this is old news to a bunch of Christians who have spent a lot of time in Bible Study. I have to mention it just in case — because I was really surprised when I looked behind the word “church”, knowing what this word really meant startled me, that is probably what started me doing word studies.

To some the difference probably seems minor, even nit picky. I still remember learning about connotations of words in grammar school and have always felt that it was very important, I am not a politician, that is obvious, but I know how they twist meanings by choosing words carefully.

I know that there are many people that hear the word “church” and cringe, I guess I always picture a building, but I imagine that there are those that think of the almost corporate nature of religions in our country today.

G1577
ἐκκλησία
ekklēsia
Thayer Definition:
1) a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
1a) an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
1b) the assembly of the Israelites
1c) any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
1d) in a Christian sense
1d1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting
1d2) a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake
1d3) those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
1d4) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
1d5) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

Outside of when Jesus is addressing the 7 assemblies in Revelation, He only uses the word “ekklēsia” 3 times”

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My ekklēsia; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. “
(Matthew 16:18 )

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the ekklēsia; and if he refuses to listen even to the ekklēsia, let him be to you as a heathen and a tax collector. “
(Matthew 18:17)

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the ekklēsia. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.“
(Revelation 22:16 )

The word church is used 112 times in my NASB and not once are they referring to a building, the word is used to refer a specific group of believers or to believers in general.

The word “ekklēsia” according to the New American Standard Updated Edition Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible is made up of two Greek words ek which means “out” and kaleō which means “called”.

Believers are “called out” – believers are told to come out of the “world” and be separate.

“Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.
(2 Corinthians 6:17-18 NASB)

I am sorry to say, I think that people “fall away” from “churches” and think that they have fallen away from God.

Shame on you Frank Viola ~ What is a Lie?

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(Get Your Free Books! ~ Part 2)

Like my Grandma always told me, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”

But – if you read all the way to the bottom of this posting, you will find free download links for several of the things on Mr. Viola’s exclusive list!!!!

I have been telling myself for too many years, “well at least I learned my lesson” and another favorite, “I’ll never make that mistake again” In case you haven’t heard enough things wrong with growing old. . .you find yourself making the same old stupid mistakes you made when you were young.

This could be considered a rant, I think creating it may have acted as therapy, calming me. I guess when someone makes a fool out of me, makes me feel like I have been ripped off, due to my gullibility or even greed, I get riled. But this guy used his reputation with me, to talk me into helping him, rip off my friends and family. Some of which are brand new Christians. Arghgh

If you asked my kids when they were young I’m sure they would have said that my definition of a lie is too broad, heck, for all I know they might still say that. I have never been a church going man but I guess I have always felt that a lie starts somewhere in your heart, if you set out, specifically to mislead your neighbor, to get them to do something, that you are pretty sure they might not do, or probably won’t do unless you fudge the facts, then I say that you are “bearing false witness”.

Did Mr. Viola make it sound too good to be true?

“25 FREE Reasons to Buy My New Book NOW!”

My wife has been reading Frank Viola’s books for ten years and I have for seven, we have been subscribers to his blog for as long.

I’m an old man and not an impulse shopper, I thought I knew Mr. Viola’s work. I am, and always have been a reader. I am a member of Goodreads.com and Librarything.com both help publishers give away free books by new authors to avid readers to read and review, in order to get the conversation about these authors and their work started. Using book rate at the Post Office, I might be able to ship a package of 20 books for 3 bucks, do publishing houses get a better rate?

No, the offer sounded reasonable to me.

Why do I feel ripped off?

Mr. Viola did everything he could to make us think he was giving us something wonderful, His first email -

“But it gets better. Today through May 7th, if you purchase a copy (or copies) of my new book, I will give you 25 FREE books & audios by 19 different authors. God’s Favorite Place is my most creative work and the 25 FREE gifts are immensely valuable.

Yours in His bonds, fv Psalm 115:1″

On the pitch webpage he lets us know that this offer is so wonderful, that he expects that his readers will put their salvation on the line to cheat and steal the prize – for shame -

“Caution: Some people advised me to require that you send me a receipt proving
that you bought the book. But I want to make this easy for you –
therefore, I am trusting your honor and integrity here. The publisher
and I choose to take you at your word. As you know, lying about this can be damaging to your transformation! So buy the book FIRST, then send the email stating that you bought it.”

The second email from Mr. Viola: FViola: I’m Sorry to Say This: I Feel Terrible -

May 3rd, 2013
Dear Friend, Before I share what's on my heart,
I want to make sure you saw the email from Wednesday noting
that my new book is out and I'm giving away 25 FREE but VALUABL
bonuses by 19 different authors to those who buy the book soon.

Do you feel as slimy as I do reading this? – paragraphs later he finally shares “what is on his heart” -

What I Feel Terrible About
I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but some people have asked, "Frank, I won't 
be able to buy the book and get the resources until after May 8th. Can you put it
off for one more day?"
I hate saying "no" to anyone. But this one is beyond my control, as the publishers
make this decision for their author products. Convincing some of them to be part
 of this 1-week give away was like pulling 10 Mack trucks with the breaks on!
Some flat-out said no. Others reluctantly agreed to one-week only. So unfortunately,
we can't extend the offer. I feel terrible about this.

Note that the first time he mentions the free offer he calls them “books” and he calls them books several times -

BOOK, n. [Like the Latin liber, book signifies primarily bark and beech, the tree being probably named from its bark.]

A general name of every literary composition which is printed; but appropriately, a printed composition bound; a volume. The name is given also to any number of written sheets when bound or sewed together, and to a volume of blank paper, intended for any species of writing, as for memorandums, for accounts, or receipts. (Webster’s)

He knows that e-books aren’t considered “books”, he even leads us to believe during his pitch, that e-books don’t count towards his ratings:

“You can order a Kindle or Nook and still qualify for the free
gifts, but we encourage you to get a paperback copy also. This will help
the book’s rankings. If you only read eBooks, you can get a
paperback copy for a friend or loved one. It makes a great Mother’s Day
gift.”

On his “Answers to Questions area” it would appear someone asked him straight out if there would be shipping and handling, now my definition of lying may be broad but here was a perfect opportunity to come clean, obviously the people who asked about S&H thought they were receiving paper books, an honest person would feel duty bound to explain that they were just PDFs that you will need to download.

Why do we think e-books aren’t the same as real books?

Because they aren’t – maybe that is why Amazon charges so little for e-books – For us, the big obvious thing was – we don’t have an e-reader, so we are stuck looking at the PDFs on a laptop, kinda hard to cuddle up to a laptop, second we are on a fixed income and pay for internet bandwidth on a “pay-as-you-go” basis, so we are picky about downloads.

What did we get when we sent in our email…?

We got an instant auto reply with a weblink to a page with links to download the files, most just simple PDF files that Mr. Viola is hosting on his web server. Some of the links send you to other snake oil salesmen, where you need to jump through more hoops.

The email we received starts by saying “Thank you for buying Frank’s new book and honoring our good faith agreement” , now, when we re-read it, it kinda feels like a slap in the face.

When we started looking through the list of downloads my wife’s first reaction was that she wasn’t sure she wants read what Mr. Viola has to say anymore. If you can’t trust his sales ethics, how do you trust what he has to say in his books?

Following is his list of the “Bonus Gifts”. We have added to the list what we actually found each gift to be. (While we were going through the list, deciding whether to download each, we wondered if we even wanted to read anything by people associated with Viola?)

3 conference messages that I delivered on the same subject that have never been released. – We didn’t waste the bandwidth even looking at this.
Beyond Evangelical – This was a 80 page PDF – I think it is a collection of Viola’s old blog posts – does not seem to be formatted as an e-book, just 8.5×11
Epic Jesus – Little e-book shaped PDF pamphlet by Viola, just 24 pages including advertisements – a long blog post?
The Deeper Christian Life by Andrew Murray – written in 1895, no copyright, free everywhere – download free (choose a format) or AUDIO VERSION
Moving Beyond the Shallows by Andrew Farley and me – This was like a 3 page thing, we saw it free somewhere, but I can’t find it today, try Googling it.
Nudge by Leonard Sweet – This WAS a free e-book download from a publisher that is advertising more free e-books, I signed up for the newsletter and was offered a free book by another guy within 24 hours BUT I WE MISSED OUT, ON THIS…IT HAD EXPIRED ON MAY 5TH, rather than May 7th as advertised.
Raised with Christ by Adrian Warnock - This 274 pg PDF is in an e-book format – for sale at Amazon in paperback, hardback and Kindle
Grace Walk by Steve McVey – This too was a free e-book download from a publisher that is advertising more free e-books – we just skipped it cause we don’t have a reader.
No Other Foundation by DeVern Fromke – – 203 page PDF book – We did find this free on Google but don’t know if we should share the link, sorry.
Father is Looking For . . . by DeVern Fromke – – 111 page PDF book – Again we found this free on Google but don’t know if we should share the link, sorry.
Why God Intervenes by DeVern Fromke – 95 page PDF book, I don’t know how this might look in an e-book reader
Larger Window by DeVern Fromke – 224 page PDF book, I don’t know how this might look in an e-book reader
Disarming the Darkness by Pete Briscoe – ? audio mp3 CD, sends you to a website asking for name, street address, email and phone number, another sales pitch that doesn’t tell you what you will get for sure, if it is a link to download we cant afford the bandwidth.
Wrecked by Jeff Goins – This 176 pg PDF is in an e-book format – FREE in Nook format at Barnes & Noble (act fast I have no idea for how long)
A Simple Guide to Hearing God by Felicity Dale – Weird 44pg PDF w/ embedded video – Many places to get FREE – this was just the first hit.
Sacred Pauses by April Yamasaki- We skipped this one due to bandwidth – for sale at Barnes & Noble in paperback and Nook format
Love is by Bob Christopher- This 110 pg PDF is in an e-book format – I only see this at Amazon in Kindle – no where else.
Bone of His Bone: Going Beyond the Imitation of Christ – by F. J Huegel – This 56 pg PDF is available, along with all this WWI Chaplin’s works, all over the internet – This link goes to a reputable looking site with a bunch of Christian resources. FREE
The Wealth, Walk, and Warfare of the Christian by Ruth Paxson – This 183 pg book was written in 1939 and is available to download in quite a few places on the internet – This website explains copyrights and seems to have hundreds of items available – FREE
This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him! by Jon Zens – – 80 page 8.5×11 PDF book- We did find this free on Google but don’t know if we should share the link, sorry.
Christ in 3-D by Milt Rodriguez – This little 20 pg PDF is in an e-book format – I only see this at Amazon in Kindle – no where else.
The Power of Weakness by Keith Giles – This 101 pg PDF is in an e-book format – I only see this at Amazon in Kindle and Lulu as a paperback.
Bethany by Michael Sweet (song) – Mp3 download
The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hanna W. Smith – written in 1875 no copyright free everywhere – download free at Google books (choose a format) or almost ready as AUDIO VERSION
50% discount for Sermons.com – THE FRANK VIOLA WE READ 7 YEARS AGO DIDN’T BELIEVE IN SERMONS ????

My wife suggested returning the book to Barnes & Noble, They may take it back, it hasn’t been even leafed through, I don’t know.

I told her, I had already thought of that, but then I felt like I would be the thief.

Ancient Works and their Oldest Manuscripts

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Just finished watching Lesson 6 of The Truth Project. It’s on history. We really are enjoying this series—again! Del Tackett does an excellent job showing the power of those that control and/or manipulate written and even oral history.

He gave a simple example, “I didn’t break the lamp, mommy!” If the child can convince his mother that he didn’t break the lamp, when in fact he had, the boy will be effective in controlling and changing the present…no punishment for him!

“If I can change your historical context—I can change the way you view the present.

That is the power of historical revisionism.”—Dell Tackett

Historical revisionism is nothing new, it is has been around since the beginning. Genesis 3:1 records the first lie—revision of history, “Did God really say…?

Here is another example he used of re-writing history. In the textbook, Triumph of the American Nation, by Lewis Paul Todd and Merle Curti. written in 1986. On page 34, the Mayflower Compact is depicted like this:

“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten. Having undertaken a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick[...]

The actual Mayflower Compact, as it is in it’s original form reads slightly but significantly differently. I have bolded the portions that were left out of the textbook version.

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.

It is my opinion that there are forces at work constantly, erasing and eradicating any and all references to America’s Christian foundation. There are so many examples of this revision of our history, it is prevalent everywhere, not just in school textbooks, to me even the term apologetics comes from a place of defense.

Yet none of us doubt that Plato existed, nor do we doubt that we are reading what he wrote. That can be said of many if not all of the ancient writings, except the Bible. If it’s the Bible we’re talking about, then we have to accept that there should be doubt, that the texts we have are not as valid! The following is a list of ancient works and the oldest manuscripts available and how many copies of them we have. This begs the question, Why are we lead to believe that we cannot trust the scriptures?

Homers Iliad – 500 years after originally written — 643 copies

Julius Ceasars’s Gallic Wars – 1,000 years after originally written — 10 copies

Pliny’s History – 750 years after originally written — 7 copies

Thucydide’s History – 1,300 years after originally written — 8 copies

Herodutus’ History – 1,300 years after originally written — 8 copies

New Testament – 25 years after originals written — 24,000 copies, 5,000 in Greek, 19,000 other languages

Why the attack on God’s word? It’s the cosmic battle that has been raging since the beginning, the Truth claims of God V the lies of Satan. That is why you will find throughout the Bible—God’s admonishment—Remember!

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. Isaiah 46:9-11

Christians and the marriage controversy

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Does this whole controversy on the definition of marriage really affect Christians?

I found myself cheering the callers on a talk radio program recently. There is really only one program I hear very often anymore, that is Dennis Prager, I have mentioned him before. The reason I still listen to Dennis is he can find entertaining things to talk about, in other words he doesn’t drone about politics all the time. Normally if a discussion on this particular debate comes up, I would be changing the station, for some reason it caught my ear. Maybe the frustration, and I thought, fear in Dennis’ voice, he could not comprehend the logic of his callers. The point the callers were trying to get across to this seemingly intelligent, religious man who earns a living debating the heaviest topics? “marriage happens in a persons church and if you want a civil union go to the justice of the peace”.

Who cares what the Government says about marriage???

Is marriage part of religion???

Is the Government in the business of religion??

Dennis said, as if it made all the difference in the world, that the president of France has a girlfriend and is not married, So What. Who cares that this man hasn’t gone to a government office to have a magic wand waved over him.

The problem is, that even though Dennis believes he is Jewish, he doesn’t fear God, he is too wrapped up in the Government, I was going to say he doesn’t believe in God, but devil worshipers believe in God, they just choose to worship the enemy.

To one who believes in God, does the Government’s definition of marriage matter? When the Government decides to give a civil union to lady gaga and her donkey how does it affect you?

Where do you go to talk to your God? I go to the court house to talk to lawyers and politicians

I think that a church marriage may not be legally binding, WHO CARES??

How the heck did Government get involved in marriage in the first place? At what point did our grandfathers, who had fought for freedom from a tax on tea ,say yes to the idea of going down to a courthouse and paying the government for permission to marry?????

We need the ACLU to help separate church and state. Where were they in the 1860′s when the Government got on this trip?

Law = Nomos = Torah = Pentateuch = Book of Moses

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The wife & I have been reading through the Bible chronologically, we are behind, but happy that our method is working so good. I got us hung up on Nehemiah Chapter 8 for 2 days.

I have been wrestling with a concept in my head for awhile and its importance and the answer is becoming clearer. Its importance was illuminated by Nehemiah 8:1-12 , the reading of the scroll of the “LAW” of Moses by Ezra in the temple.

The key for me being –

“And they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading. “(Nehemiah 8:8 ASV)

When the people heard and understood they wept at first, but then —

“And all the people go to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great joy, because they have understood concerning the words that they made known to them.”(Nehemiah 8:12 YLT)

What has been bothering me for a year is the term “law” that all Christians hear and read constantly, it is a word that most of us feel pretty negatively about, I think we see it pretty much as the opposite of “freedom”, a word we have been trained to revere. I have heard and read a bunch of theologians struggling to try and explain away “the law” I guess in an effort to fill pews. I’m not positive how we got here, stuck with this ugly word for such a big concept.

In Nehemiah, they are rediscovering the law at the new second temple – it is ridiculous, to me, to think that they are talking about the Levitical law, they are talking about “The Torah”, “the scroll of Moses”, that includes the 5 books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy .

I have been reading how, to biblical translators it is obvious that the gospels were originally written in Hebrew, that Jesus and the apostles obviously spoke Hebrew, Josephus in Antiquities 20.21.2 tells us they certainly didn’t speak Greek.

So, I guess when Matthew wrote down in Hebrew what Jesus said in Hebrew, he wrote “I did not come to destroy the TORAH – in other words, the first 5 books of the Bible.

Below, Matt 5:17, in King James with Strongs numbers, we have G3551 the Greek word Nomos – translated “law”

And in King James with Strongs numbers in Nehemiah 8:8 we have H8451 the Hebrew word Torah – translated “law”

Below, in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the old testament, in Nehemiah 8:3, we have H8451 the Hebrew word Torah translated as G3551 the Greek word Nomos – “law”.

I have read that when Plato used the word nomos in 380 BC, sometimes he meant custom or convention. It appears that the term nomos was being debated by the Greek philosophers, I can’t tell that they knew exactly what all, the word meant. In the 200’s BC the Torah portion of the Septuagint was translated, the remaining books of the Bible, in the 100’s BC. The Rabbis of the time chose nomos as the Greek word closest to “torah” ???

Philo and Josephus are said to have ascribed divine inspiration to the Septuagint translators.

Thayer’s Greek Definitions says:

G3551
νόμος
nomos

1) anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command
1a) of any law whatsoever
1a1) a law or rule producing a state approved of God
1a1a) by the observance of which is approved of God
1a2) a precept or injunction
1a3) the rule of action prescribed by reason
1b) of the Mosaic law, and referring, acc. to the context. either to the volume of the law or to its contents
1c) the Christian religion: the law demanding faith, the moral instruction given by Christ, especially the precept concerning love
1d) the name of the more important part (the Pentateuch), is put for the entire collection of the sacred books of the OT

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number:

from a primary nemo( to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals )

To me, the root word in Greek, “nemo” sounds more like feeding-teaching-filling than a law.

Below Malachi uses the Hebrew word – chôq – H2706, usually translated as statutes or ordinances, that seems closer to “law” to me.

And, one of the last things said in the old testament is– God differentiating between the Torah and the statutes:

I will re-translate the ending of the Bible that Jesus used in His Ministry, where His Father says,

“Remember the Books of Moses, My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Jehovah. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
(Malachi 4:4-6)

Our Father says “Remember” – then why are the theologians trying to “nail the law to the cross”?

If we let the theologians do away with the books of Moses, we do away with God the Creator – it is very important to “remember” that God created all of us and everything that we see, touch and feel, that God, has every right to Command us. I guess if the theologians get rid of Genesis and the Creator they can get rid of His pesky Commandments in Exodus too. . .

Get Your Free Books!

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Frank Viola has a new book out “God’s Favorite Place on Earth”. He is making a great offer to anyone who buys his book (About $15 at Barnes & Noble or online). He is giving away 25 bonus gifts most of them books! His website is too overloaded and there are only four more days to buy the book, and get in on this great deal.

Don’t worry you don’t have to go to his website to get the deal just send him an email at GodsFavoritePlace@gmail.com. We copied all the info from his website below.

Here is the website address in case it starts working again: Frank’s Blog http://frankviola.org/godsfavoriteplace/

25 FREE Reasons to Buy My New Book NOW! Makes a GREAT Mother’s Day Gift Too

Today, I’m launching my new book, God’s Favorite Place on Earth. To celebrate, I’m giving away 25 FREE bonuses to everyone who buys a copy (or copies) of the book this week – May 1^st to May 7^th.

I’m confident that this book will inspire, educate, challenge,
encourage, and bless you. I wept through writing it and many early
readers said they wept while reading it.

Feel free to buy more than one copy as a gift for your friends or for Mother’s Day.

The chapter on how Mary anointed Jesus before His death was especially moving to many.

There’s no need for me to tell you about the book here. I’ve already created a special landing page that contains a full description, 47 endorsements, a video trailer, and a Sampler.

If you buy 1 or more copies of God’s Favorite Place on Earth THIS WEEK from any of the retailers below, I will give you these FREE bonuses.

3 conference messages that I delivered on the same subject that have never been released.

My book Beyond Evangelical

My book Epic Jesus

The Deeper Christian Life

by Andrew Murray

Moving Beyond the Shallows by Andrew Farley and me

Nudge by Leonard Sweet

Raised with Christ

by Adrian Warnock

Grace Walk

by Steve McVey

No Other Foundation

by DeVern Fromke

Father is Looking For . . . by DeVern Fromke

Why God Intervenes

by DeVern Fromke

Larger Window

by DeVern Fromke

Disarming the Darkness

by Pete Briscoe

Wrecked

by Jeff Goins

A Simple Guide to Hearing God

by Felicity Dale

Sacred Pauses

by April Yamasaki

Love is

by Bob Christopher

Bone of His Bone: Going Beyond the Imitation of Christ

The Wealth, Walk, and Warfare of the Christian

by Ruth Paxson

This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him!

by Jon Zens

Christ in 3-D

by Milt Rodriguez

The Power of Weakness

by Keith Giles

Bethany

by Michael Sweet (song)

The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hanna W. Smith

50% discount for Sermons.com – hundreds of messages by Leonard Sweet & Others.

Again: My offer of 25 FREE gifts is only valid through May 7th, 2013.
On May 8th, the offer goes away FOREVER. To get these free bonuses, you
must take these three simple steps:

1. Purchase God’s Favorite Place from your favorite retailer. Choose any below:

Amazon * ChristianBook * Family Christian * Barnes and Noble * Books a Million

Family Christian Local Store * LifeWay Local Store

Those are the only two local stores that are carrying the book this week.

2. AFTER you’ve purchased the book, send an email to GodsFavoritePlace@gmail.com and in the subject line, say where you purchased the book.

Caution: Some people advised me to require that you send me a receipt proving
that you bought the book. But I want to make this easy for you –
therefore, I am trusting your honor and integrity here. The publisher
and I choose to take you at your word. As you know, lying about this can be damaging to your transformation! So buy the book FIRST, then send the email stating that you bought it.

If you bought it before May 1^st for some reason, please buy another copy for someone else to claim your free gifts. Don’t cheat the program.

3. Spread the Word. Please tell all your friends about the
book and the 25 free bonuses that will last until May 7th. Talk about it
on your blog, your Facebook page, Twitter, Email, etc. Click the “Like”
and “Tweet” buttons below.

Click
here to see ready-made Tweets you can copy and paste for Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn, and a quote-photo for Pinterest as well as a
template to copy and paste for your blog.

That’s it!

Once we get your email saying that you bought the book, you will receive the link to the God’s Favorite Place Bonus Page where you will get access to the 25 free gifts.

Again, this offer goes away forevah and evah on May 8th, 2013.

So don’t miss out!

Answers to Your Questions – From the Blog Manager

1. Some people are writing to the wrong email address for some
reason. The email address to write to is specified in this post in clear
terms. If you don’t get a response that same day, check your spam
folder. If you don’t see a response there, write to the email address
again.

2. There is no shipping that you have to pay for the 25 items. It is free in every way.

3. You may order Frank’s book from any country and qualify for the
gifts. One or two of the gifts might apply to USA customers only, but
you will have to check with the particular website that has the
particular gift. The rest (23-24 bonuses) apply to all countries.

4. FrankViola.net works. It had heavy traffic yesterday so it was offline for a short period.

5. You can order a Kindle or Nook and still qualify for the free
gifts, but we encourage you to get a paperback copy also. This will help
the book’s rankings. If you only read eBooks, you can get a
paperback copy for a friend or loved one. It makes a great Mother’s Day
gift.

6. If you live out of the USA and can’t find the book, you can order from Amazon.com.

7. I would like to ask on behalf of Frank’s hard work and generosity,
that you tell all your friends and family about the book and encourage
them to get a copy or more by May 7. The offer ends May 8th. As I
am writing this, the book is in the top 20 of all books sold on Amazon
and many of us would like to see it surpass the top 10. Here is the Amazon link.

Frank is unable to tend to any more questions about the technical
side of this offer as he has meetings with people all week. So I’ve
answered them here. I’m closing comments on this page. Everything that’s
necessary should be answered on this page.

Thank you,

Jared

The Intolerance of Jesus ~ Part 7 ~ Conclusion

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This post is the last of a series of blog posts I’ve been doing on George H. Morrison’s piece, “The Intolerance of Jesus”.

To read the rest of the series–

Part One–The Intolerance of Jesus
Pat Two–Intolerance Must be Knowledgeable
Part Three–Christ Died Because of His Intolerance
Part Four–Sharing the Allegiance
Part Five–Child of Glowing Faith
Part Six–Intolerance in His Perfect Understanding

Christ’s Intolerance Is Based on His Love

Lastly, the intolerance of Jesus is very signally the intolerance of love. Love beareth all things—all things except one, and that is the harm or hurt of the beloved. Here is a little child out in the streets, ragged and shoeless in the raw March weather. Let it stay out till midnight, no one complains at home. Let it use the foulest of language, no one corrects it. Poor little waif, in whom all things are tolerated, and tolerated just because no one loves it! What kind of mother has that little child? What kind of father has that little child? You know them in the street, swollen and coarse, reeking with all the vileness of the city. They tolerate everything because they do not love; when love steps in, that toleration ceases. Now we all know that when our Saviour came, He came at the bidding and in the power of love; love wonderful, love that endured the worst, love that went up to Calvary to die. And just because that love was so intense, and burned with the ardour of the heart of God, things that had been tolerable once were found to be intolerable now. That is the secret of the Gospel’s sternness and of its passionate protest against sin. That is why age after age it clears the issues, and says, “He that is not with me is against me.” The love that beareth all things cannot bear that hurt or harm should rest on the beloved. Christ is intolerant because He loves. — George H. Morrison 1866-1928 — The Intolerance of Jesus

In today’s world, the words love and intolerance are not interchangeable. And yet without intolerance of evil we cannot truly love our husbands, wives, children, neighbors…let alone God. If we do not hate sin we are against Jesus. In Proverbs God says, “Do not hold back discipline from the child[...]And rescue his soul from Hell! Paul tells us, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” I just read Kevin DeYoung’s article at Gospel Coalition, Advice for Raising Godly Children.

A parent that has once obtained and knows how to preserve authority will do more by a look of displeasure, than another by the most passionate words and even blows. It holds universally in families and schools, and even the greater bodies of men, the army and navy, that those who keep the strictest discipline give the fewest strokes. There is not a more disgusting sight than the impotent rage of a parent who has no authority.

I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did. This was just one days daily devotion from one of Morrison’s Devotional Sermons. You can get his devotional sermons online, just by typing his name and devotional into a Google search, and you will find several places to get them. I used my e-Sword and have added him to several other authors I have for devotionals and commentary.

The Intolerance of Jesus Part ~ 6

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This post is part six of a series of blog posts I’m doing on George H. Morrison’s piece, “The Intolerance of Jesus”.

To read the rest of the series–

Part One–The Intolerance of Jesus
Pat Two–Intolerance Must be Knowledgeable
Part Three–Christ Died Because of His Intolerance
Part Four–Intolerance of Sharing the Allegiance
Part Five–Child of Glowing Faith

Christ’s Intolerance Was Found in His Perfect Understanding

Then once again the intolerance of Jesus is the intolerance of perfect understanding. It was because He knew so fully, and sympathised so deeply, that there were certain things He could not bear. One great complaint we make against intolerance is that it does not sympathetically understand us. It is harsh in judgment, and fails in comprehension, and has no conception of what things mean for us. We have all met with intolerance like that, but remember there is another kind. Take the case of drunkenness, for instance; there are many people very tolerant of drunkenness. They talk about it lightly, make a jest of it; they are none of your rigid, longfaced Pharisees. But sometimes you meet a man, sometimes a woman, to whom such jesting talk is quite intolerable, and it is intolerable not because they know so little; it is intolerable because they know so much. The curse has crossed the threshold of their home, and laid its fatal grip on someone who was dear. They have seen the wreck and ruin of it, and all its daily misery, and the drying up of every wellspring of the heart. So in their grief they grow terribly intolerant, and it is not because they do not understand; they are intolerant because they understand so well. Never forget that it is so with Christ. He is intolerant because He comprehends. He knows what sin is; He knows how sweet it is; He knows its havoc, its loneliness, its dust and ashes. And therefore is He stern, uncompromising, and says to us, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” There are men who are intolerant because of ignorance; Christ is intolerant because He knows. — George H. Morrison 1866-1928 — The Intolerance of Jesus

We live in a very difficult age. Some would say maybe even the “end times”. Jesus told us that the signs of the times would point to His return. There is a line in the song “Chicago”…”the town that Billy Sunday could not shut down.” Billy Sunday was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball’s National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Sunday was a strong supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. Our generation seems to be in short supply of preachers with the kind of fire that is needed to fight against the evils that are destroying our marriages, families, churches and ultimately this country. I personally don’t believe morality can be legislated, we only need look to the past to see how prohibition worked out. But, what we could really use is some Holy fire, set in our hearts, individually and collectively. Love is characterized today in many ways…it is my belief that real love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth…” 1 Corinthians 13:6 We have lost our zeal for holiness in an effort to embrace the sinner, and while that is needed, we need to be careful not to embrace the sin as well.

If…

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Such a small word. But, the power of that word—if—to manipulate, not only the present, but also reach far into the future, is often underestimated. A vivid example of a “what if” scenario is, what if the captain of the Titanic had heeded the ice warning? How many of those kinds of “what if’s” do you have in your life? Do they ever haunt you? It is one of my biggest struggles, the “what if” of the past.

Today’s Daily Devotion by Hoekstra, was a real help for me, as I struggle through once again the feelings of condemnation for wrong choices I made years ago.

Pressing on to Know the Lord
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)
We have noted that humility is one of the relational realities that God wants to develop in our lives so we can live daily by the grace of God. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Here we see evidence of the godly humility that had developed in the Apostle Paul through the years. “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended.” When these words were written, Paul had been walking with the Lord for 25 to 30 years. Yet, he admits that he had not “fully arrived.” He confesses that he did not know the Lord so completely that his entire life was a demonstration of resurrection living. Consequently, he had one great goal that directed his life and service: “one thing I do.” His all-consuming passion was to get to know the Lord more and more: “that I may know Him” (Philippians 3:10).
One of the significant issues that keeps believers in Christ from knowing the Lord better is their past. Many Christians focus their attention on their past. Failures of the past plague them with condemnation. Wrongs done to them in the past tempt them to self-pity or bitterness. Past successes give false assurance that things must go well today. Past blessings distract them from seeking the Lord’s fresh work in their lives now. Paul gives us all a wonderful example of how to deal with the past: “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” Things of the past need not dominate our present. God’s grace can cover past failures and pains. Today, we need to look forward to the next work of grace that He wants to bring forth as we walk on with Him.
God wants us to move forward, looking upward. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The goal is to get to know the Lord better. We are to press toward that goal, exerting all of the spiritual strength and energy that God’s grace supplies. This is our reply to God’s heavenly call to seek Him, to know Him. Along the way, we will partake of the prize that comes with that goal. The prize is every blessing that results from getting to know Him better. Let’s press on to know the Lord! – Bob Hoekstra – Living Christ Ministries

I have bouts of feeling very much controlled by my emotions. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am a “passionate” person. Well being passionate has a price—for me that is usually being consumed by very passionate and emotional feelings. I was once told that God made me passionate, emotional and empathetic, and I should embrace that part of my personality. As I’ve aged I’ve been able to usually allow God to control what I say or how I demonstrate the turmoil that is going on inside of me. Because of my emotions, I feel that the Father has given me a glimpse of the passion He feels towards us, and I am extremely blessed by that.

The Intolerance of Jesus Part ~ 5

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This post is part five of a series of blog posts I’m doing on George H. Morrison’s piece, “The Intolerance of Jesus”.

To read the rest of the series–

Part One–The Intolerance of Jesus
Pat Two–Intolerance Must be Knowledgeable
Part Three–Christ Died Because of His Intolerance
Part Four–Intolerance of Sharing the Allegiance

Previously in this sermon by Morrison, he has been talking about the actions of Jesus being intolerant…he continues now with the nature of intolerance and why it is worthy of Christ.

Such, then, are one or two instances of the intolerance of Jesus Christ, and now I want to examine its true nature, that we may see how worthy it was of Christ.

The Intolerance of Christ Is the Child of Glowing Faith

The first thing I note in the intolerance of Jesus is that it is the child of glowing faith. The intolerance of Christ is little else than the other side of His perfect trust in God. When one is a stranger to you, bound by no ties of love, you are little affected by what is said about him. The talk may be true, or it may not be true, but it is none of your business, and you do not know. But the moment a man becomes a hero to you, that moment you grow intolerant of liberties. If you believe in a woman, your heart is aflame with anger should anyone sully her name even with a breath. A French poet tells us that when he was a youth he was a passionate worshipper of Victor Hugo. He believed in Hugo with all

his heart and soul; he thought there had never been a poet like him. And he says that even in a dark cellar underground, where nobody possibly could have overheard him, he could not bear to whisper to himself that a single verse of Hugo’s poetry was bad. That is the fine intolerance of faith in ardent and eager and devoted natures. That is the faith which Jesus Christ was filled with, in God and His righteousness and providential order. And with a faith like that there can be no compromise; no light and shallow acceptance of alternatives. Under the sway of such a glowing trust a certain intolerance is quite inevitable. It is easy to be infinitely tolerant, if all that Christ lived for means but little to you. An age that can tolerate every kind of creed is always an age whose faith is burning low. And just because Christ’s faith burned with a perfect light, and flashed its radiance full on the heart of God, you find in Him, in all His God ward life, a steady and magnificent intolerance. — George H. Morrison 1866-1928 — The Intolerance of Jesus

God Speed by Edmund Blair Leighton (1852 – 1922)

Morrison was speaking to an audience in the last half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. We look back on those days as the Victorian era of the church. And yet he seems to be admonishing his listeners that their “tolerance” was a sign that their “faith was burning low!” What will be said of our generation? Pray with me that we will recognize that we are in a battle, that we would “grow intolerant” when anyone would sully the name of Christ, putting on the full armor of God, being prepared to “destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..” 2 Corinthians 10:5