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Feeding the Flock...
Extra gleanings for the precious flock God has given me...
We are sorry, but due to computer problems we will have to postpone any new postings to this page. Thank you for reading, we hope to be back soon! ~ Pastor Jossund 4/1/10Never AlonePsalms 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.There is never a time when I am alone. There is no place where I am out of range of His concern. I can be sure of His love even when those close to me desert me. It is unthinkable for one's parents to abandon their child, and yet if it were to become a reality, the Lord's promise would be equally real. I am so grateful for the faithfulness of the Lord. It doesn't change. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Psalms 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. The text promises the Lord will take me up, when I am forsaken. What does it mean to "take me up"? God will care and provide for me like a father, and the Lord will nurture and comfort me as a mother. So often we miss the fact that God was caring for us through the love of our parents. If our parents are not present any longer, God will continue to meet our needs. Our parents were channels of God's love and care toward us, not the Source. When a channel is removed we must go to the Source. God will always be faithful. We can always turn to Him. 3/30/10What it Means to be SavedRomans 11:33-36 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.Do you remember your conversion? Do you relive that moment often? Do you remember the newness of it all? How little you really knew about the Lord? Salvation is so important we should never get far from it in out mind. Some think that there is the first step of salvation, and then many other steps to follow in the Christian life. But I think that is to minimize salvation very much. Salvation is not the first step of many. Salvation is a gift from God, and everyday it is our privilege to reach our hands of faith into the Divine gift and discover something fresh and new about His grace. Salvation is the Christian life. There is no deeper Christian life that goes beyond Salvation. Salvation is the inexhaustible riches of His grace. Salvation is the door through which all but universal grace is channeled. It is true that God causes the sun to shine on everyone, and His rain falls on the just and the unjust. It is true that this world was created beautiful and good for man and he was to have dominion and to rule. God is good, not just to His children, but to everyone. Notwithstanding, God has promised specific mercy and grace to His children. This is the fullness of our salvation. Do not think you will ever receive a greater blessing of God than your salvation, for none exists. It is the ultimate. Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 3/29/10R.I.P.Luke 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. This is an amazing verse. Once again the scribes and Pharisees are the target of the Lord's words. They are called hypocrites. Christ often used this word in rebuking these men. It means they presented well, they looked good, but there was no substance on the inside. It is here we see one consistent thread throughout much of Christ's Words. Our Lord was never soft on sin, but He always showed compassion on the sinner. The issue Christ had more than any other with these Pharisees was not so much they were sinners, but their hypocrisy in maintaining their sin didn't exist. Gods issue so often with us is not that we sin, as much as it is we will not acknowledge our sin before Him.Christ continues to point out the reality of their hearts. He said they were as unmarked graves. Graves without a marker and men walk over them without noticing. For all their effort, they have no real effect on those around them. An unmarked grave has no name, no dates, and no epitaph. In any spiritual work it is easy to slide into a grave. We lose our name (testimony), and when asked when it happened we cannot really remember (no dates), and when we quit on God we lose our opportunity to leave any legacy (no epitaph) in the Work of God. It is not how we start for God, but how we finish. I love the epitaph on a S.S. Titanic crew members grave... EACH MAN STOOD AT HIS POSTWHILE ALL THE WEAKER ONESWENT BY, AND SHOWED ONCEMORE TO ALL THE WORLDHOW ENGLISHMEN SHOULD DIE.May we be found Faithful to the end, and show the world how a Christian should die!3/27/10Earthly WordsJohn 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. Luke 6:45 for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. What do you talk about? If you were to record your words for 24 hours, what would be the 10 most used words ? It would probably surprise us what we talk about most. It is a battle enough to not talk about the bad things, to not gossip, or to not focus on the problems, let alone the battle to talk about things that are good! John 3:31 says he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: That is an amazing observation. John uses that truth as a contrast to exalt Jesus Christ as the One Who is above all. But don't miss the weight of of John's statement. We speak those things that we know. We are defined by them. There is a process by which we are to weigh our words; a filter through which we ought to run our thoughts. Php 4:8, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Dont just assume that because you know something about a subject, you should sound off. May our wisdom be Wisdom from above, and may our words be influenced by His Words. 3/26/10The Power of the Gospel1Co 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own powerThere is such power displayed at the cross that we often miss its significance as a man will view the stars and not fathom the grandeur of the sight. We grow numb to the amazing. We sing of God's amazing grace, but when was the last time it moved you to tears? When was it you really allowed the truth of your salvation to cause you to shout for joy? We yawn our way through a sermon on Gods power, and we doze our way through a Gospel message. Why? In part, it is because we see ourselves as onlookers and not partakers. It is one thing to see the heights from the window of an airplane. It is another to step out and trust everything to a small pack on your back. The passenger is technically experiencing something exciting as the planes takes off down the runway, and for some that is as much as they can handle. But the man who releases the seat belt, opens the door, and jumps from the airplane knows a joy that will never grow old. So it is with faith. We can trust Him to land us at our final destination with relatively little faith. This was the only plane that goes to Heaven. But when you hear that still small voice saying step out and follow me, we sit back and say that's not for me. We stop living on the inside. Yeah, we know where we are going, but there is no joy in the journey. I dont have to wait for Heaven; I can see great things today. It takes faith, it takes courage, but If the power of God could bring Christ out of the grave, and if His power is great enough to bring me to heaven when I die, is not His power great enough to accomplish His Will today in my life. I dont have to be an onlooker, I can be a partaker. 3/25/10What did you say?Psalms 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. There is an example through out Scripture that God's people praise Him. Notice just a few of the verses.Psa 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psa 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psa 109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.The Temple was a place of praising and glorifying God. And yet in the New Testament there was a change. The Temple as we knew it ceased to be the place to worship Jehovah.Joh 4:23 - 24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.Our Body has become the temple of the Holy Ghost.1Co 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.We are to speak of Gods glory in His temple. DO you find yourself talking to yourself about how good God is, or how hard life is? DO you murmur and complain, or praise and glorify the Lord in your heart? May our prayer be... Psa 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. 3/24/10The Danger of Accepting Absolutes (3)Psa 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.Here is the bottom line. God gave us the Bible as the absolute standard of truth. This is a claim the Bible makes of itself. You and I are free to accept or reject the validity of this claim. If I reject the Bible's claim of absolute truth, I can still choose to believe some of it. But the standard of truth is now my thoughts and feelings. This is the epitome of spiritual pride. There is a danger in accepting the absolutes of the Word of God; if you accept one truth as an absolute because it is in the Word of God, you must accept all absolutes found in Scriptures. If you believe the Bible is right when it says God is love, then so it is when it speaks of the judgment of God. If Heaven is real, so is Hell. If God cares for the sparrows, then He cares how I dress, talk, and conduct myself. If God created the world, then He wants me to be faithful in church. The standard for truth is the Bible. Be careful you never lose a solid faith in the very words of God! Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.3/23/10The Danger of Accepting Absolutes (2)Psa 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.I believe in Heaven, as does nearly 92% of the population. I do not believe in Heaven because I want there to be a Heaven. I do not believe in heaven because I have been there in an "out-of-body" experience. I don't believe there is a Heaven because God owes me for all the good I've done. No, my belief in Heaven is based simply on the Word of God. I find lots of things that I want to believe in the Bible. I want to believe God loves me, will take care of me, will protect me, and has a plan for my future. I feel good believing these things. But, that being said, I do see things in the Bible I don't really want to believe. Hell is an awful subject. Holiness seems too hard to attain. Then you have man's depravity; I know there are bad men out there, but I know me and I'm a great guy (just ask me Ill tell you all about it). LOL If I do not want to accept the difficult truths of Scripture, I reject the Bible as being absolute truth. When I choose some truths over the others, I make my self the standard of truth instead of the Scriptures. Children can get away with believing in Santa, and the Easter bunny, but it doesn't have any bearing on reality. Although I may want to believe in fairytales, we understand that just believing something doesn't make it real. There must be a higher standard for truth than my beliefs! God has called me to preach the Bible. I cannot pick and choose what truths I will preach, because then I would be preaching the "gospel according the Ben Jossund". We must teach and preach the whole truth.3/22/10The Danger of Accepting AbsolutesPsa 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.In a recent interview published in Newsweek magazine, August 14, Billy Graham implied that men might be saved without faith in Jesus Christ. When asked whether he believes heaven will be closed to Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or secular people, Graham replied: "Those are decisions only the Lord will make. It would be foolish for me to speculate on who will be there and who won't ... I don't want to speculate about all that. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his Son for the whole world, and I think he loves everybody regardless of what label they have." (Pilgrim's Progress, Newsweek, Aug. 14, 2006). I am not a Billy Graham basher. I praise the Lord for every soul that will be in Heaven regardless of who leads them to the Lord. But where are we at when the most popular preacher in America makes a statement such as this? He sadly sold out the truth. It is not speculation to say all who do not trust Christ will not be in Heaven. He claimed Gods love is an absolute, but ignored the equally absolute justice of a Holy God. Billy Graham isnt the only one who picks and chooses his absolutes. Our churches are overrun with this problem. Christians everywhere will affirm that God loves them, but deny the absolute command of God to be holy. Everyone wants to maintain the absolute of heaven, but not of judgment. Folks, we cannot have it both ways! Either truth is absolute or its not. If you take one truth as absolute you must take them all equally.Thanks for checking back. We are taking a week off from 3/16 3/21. Thanks for your faithfulness. We will resume the devotionals next Monday.May God Bless You!Pastor & Mrs. J3/15/10What is Meant by Modesty (2)Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.The Bible clearly teaches that you are not to attract the attention of others to the beauty of the outside, but instead attract God's attention by adorning yourselves with a meek and quiet spirit. This is biblical modesty. (1Peter 3:3-4) To dress or to act in such a way that draws attention to yourself is to miss the purpose for which you were created. Immodest dress and actions can only be traced back to pride. Whether it is due to rebellion or ignorance, pride causes us to want the attention of others. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) The desire to be modest is indicative of a humble heart. The humble heart knows God deserves all the glory, and will act and dress accordingly. It is the proud heart that contends that they can continue dressing or acting any way that makes them feel good. God is not pleased with this lifestyle. Pride goes before the fall; God will see to it. On the other hand, blessings and honor are promised to those who humble themselves, giving God all the glory. Modest dress comes from a modest heart. When this preacher insists on modesty, it is because he wants our young men and women to be able to experience the depths of God's grace in their lives. 3/14/10What is Meant by ModestyRev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Modesty is defined as a freedom from vanity. It also implies that one does not seek to attract the attention of others. It is not my intent to give an exhaustive explanation of the word modesty, but I do intend to make clear the intent and spirit of the word, and to point out that biblical modesty is the foundation for a blessed Christian life.I have come to the realization that modesty cannot be achieved by following a list of requirements for personal dress. In the Christian school, we would go over the dress code every year tweaking and restating the rules so they would be clear. I found that to further clarify the dress code was necessary, but it is not an effective means to biblical modesty. If you were to follow every rule concerning your dress, it is still possible to fall short of the meaning of the word modesty. Modest dress never hides an immodest heart. A modest heart is a heart dedicated to glorifying God. I believe that being modest is a major key to being blessed of God. Modesty is a practical extension of the foundational truth of creation. Probably everyone who reads this understands that God created the world, and more specifically, us, for a purpose. We were created for the express purpose to bring praise and glory to God. (Rev 4:11) Not only were we created for this purpose, but we are commanded to fulfill this obligation as a duty to God. We are expressly forbidden to take glory that rightfully belongs to God. I am created to give God glory in all things. Biblical modesty is defined as a life structured to bring glory to God and not to attract it for one's self.
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