Unconditional Love

Scripture

“The mountains and hills may crumble, but My love for you will never end; I will keep forever My promise of peace.” So says the LORD who loves you.

~Isaiah 54:10, GNT

Quote

The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.

~Henry Nouwen

As fallen sinners, we are programmed to think that love must be earned. We fail to understand that we are too depraved to earn God’s love. God loves us because that is who He is and what He does. It has nothing to do with your performance or pedigree. We are like Jospeh’s brothers: we are jealous, mistrusting, deeply insecure, disobedient, selfish and when we do something good, it is for the wrong reason. Joseph’s brothers deserved to be hung: they lied to their father and betrayed their brother. Twenty years later, when their wicked plot is uncovered, they bow before Joseph and beg for their lives. They were not truly repentant, they were trying to save their necks. Joseph loved them and forgave them but only because of his superior character. As Jacob knew all alone, Joseph was a better man than his brothers.

God loves you because He chose to love you. He decided before the foundation of the world to love you. This is an unalterable fact that you cannot change. As Junior Hill says, “Jesus loves you and there is nothing you can do about it.” He has already made up His mind to love you and His love is greater than your foul ups. This is the most liberating news on the planet.

Jesus didn’t love Israel because they were good or better than others: the Jews by nature or stiff necked and rebellious. They may be the most obstinate and obnoxious people on the face of earth but God loves them and that is not going to change even though they murdered His Son. The point is: if God can love a Jew, he can love anyone. It is about GRACE not race.

• Bumper Sticker of the Day: My Mother had morning sickness after I was born. {Rodney Dangerfield}
• VBS day four 208. Papa John’s pizza today.
• Thank God for the rain. I had to drive to the South yesterday and I noticed that those South of Danville got a good rain just as we did. This one is going to make some corn. For the first time: we have corn, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes during VBS. Now, if we can get to the corn before the coons do, that is the question.

The Jewish Dilemma

Scripture

“Who would have believed what we now report? Who could have seen the LORD’s hand in this?

~Isaiah 53:1, GNT

Quote

Jesus was treated the way we [all humankind] deserve so that we [all who repent and believe] can be treated the way Jesus deserves.

~Tim Keller

There is no question in my mind that Isaiah’s prophecies of the suffering servant refer both to the nation of Israel in general and the Messiah in particular. The prevailing rabbinic interpretation of Isaiah 53 ascribes the “servant” to the nation of Israel who silently endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of its Gentile oppressors. The unbelief expressed in the two exclamations…Who would believed what we now report? Who could have seen the LORD’s hand in this?–refers to Gentile shock over the coming Jewish triumph and world domination. God will crush all Gentile rulers and the Jews will rule the word through their messianic king. In other words: Gentiles are the bad guys and Jews are the good guys. We are the oppressors and they are the victims.

There is one tiny problem with their wishful thinking: there are no good guys. Both Jew and Gentile stand condemned before holy God. The Jews have suffered oppression in part due to their rebellious nature and their defiance of God. Isaiah made in clear in 53:8 that the sacrifice would be a person of purity. We know that Jesus was this person and He fulfilled all the Jewish demands of an acceptable sacrifice. The idea that the Jewish nation can save itself by its own merit is ridiculous. The trial and the execution of Jesus is proof that the Jews are as depraved as everyone else. Annas and Caiaphas orchestrated the entire thing and both were far more concerned with power and wealth than with justice.

The Jews have one hope and its JESUS. We have one hope and its JESUS. We are all in the same boat and to withstand the coming judgment, that boat [Our Ark] must be Jesus. We are all at the mercy of a holy God who shows no partiality: if He did, He wouldn’t be holy.

• Bumper Sticker of the day: Rich people stay rich because they live like they are poor. Poor people stay poor because they live like they are rich.
• PTL we got an inch and one half of rain last night around 7:00 pm: THANK YOU JESUS!
• VBS going great. Evangelism emphasis today, so pray. We had 206 on Monday, 212 on Tuesday and 222 on Wednesday. I think we have enrolled 287. You can see pics on my Facebook page. I’m not sure they are on the church page. Holly has posted hundreds.
• The Gator Train is powered by the old gator Tom gave us. I guess we could call it Thomas the Train.

The Amen

Scripture

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

~2 Corinthians 1:20, NIV

Quote

The Old Testament is a book of prophecies and promises but a part from Christ, these promises are worthless.

~Ya’akov

Paul said in Ephesians 1:4, “Every spiritual blessing comes through Christ.” You cannot name one exception. Forgiveness, peace, purpose, privilege of prayer, justification…you name it, they all come through Christ. This is why so many Jews hate Jesus. Although Jews have been privileged as the chosen people, it gives them no advantage unless they repent of their sins and turn to Christ, which they refuse to do. Jews cannot secure the spiritual blessings of God without coming to Christ and neither can anyone else.

Paul went on to say...He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight He has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Did you notice all those possessive pronouns? His children, His will, His glorious grace, His blood, His Son, His good pleasure, His plan, . It is God’s plan {He set it forth} to gather all things, in heaven and earth, in HIM [Jesus]. Christ rejecting Zionism has no future. Israel has no future a part from Christ. God has one door–Jesus. He has one way–Jesus. He has one plan–Jesus. Get with the plan!

• Good crowd at church last night: I was pleasantly surprised. Thank You Jesus.
• Revised schedule for Sunday: Donuts and biscuits at 9:30, and worship at 10:15. No Deacons meeting, No LCBS and no PM services.
• Election June 5,12: Pastor Search Team. Business meeting June 12 after am worship.

VBS June 12-17

VBS June 3-7

VBS June 3-7

Ignorance

Scripture

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.”

~Acts 17:30, NIV

Quote

People don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

I don’t normally quote Nietzsche but I did major in Philosophy at ASU and I do agree with some of the things he said even though I do not admire him as a person. If you are fearful of the truth: you need to stop reading now. This blog may make you uncomfortable.

In this months IMPRIMIS, Heather Mac Donald, who has degrees from Harvard, Cambridge and Stanford, wrote an interesting article about the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement which holds to the false premise that “racist police” are the greatest threat to young black men today. The movement has triggered violence against policemen and sent the crime rate soaring. FBI director James Comey said, “The Furguson effect has sent a ‘chilly wind’ through law enforcement and has attributed to a sharp rise in homicides and the targeting of cops.” Obama had the audacity to rebuke the director for his comments but the fact remains: violent crime is up by almost 20%. Baltimore’s per capita homicides rate last year was the highest in history. It was Milwaukee deadliest year in a decade with a 72% increase. Cleveland homicide rate increased 90%.

Every year, approximately 6,000 blacks are murdered. This number is higher than white and Hispanic combined and blacks make up only 13% of the U.S. population but who is doing the shooting? It is not the police, nor is it white civilians, it is blacks killing blacks. Black youths age 14-17 commit homicides at ten times the rate of whites and Hispanics combined. The police killed 987 civilians in 2015, half of them were white and only 27% were black. [To read Mac Donald’s full article, go to HILLSDALE.EDU and then look for the IMPRIMIS, April, 2016]

The facts above are the tip of the iceberg. Guess who is backing the Black Lives Matter [unless you are an unborn black baby] campaign? If you guessed the elite Jews, you would be right. The ACLU is the primary sponsor. Hasia Dinner, an American historian on American Jewish History wrote, “Jewish support for black causes was a way for Jews to broaden their own rights without becoming conspicuous by advocating their group interests.” The Jews want to be seen as victims, not perpetrators.  What does the ACLU, NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Congress for Racial Equality, Anti Defamation League and the National Urban league have in common. They were all founded and funded by the elite [wealthy] Jews in America. Seventy-five percent of the NAACP’s revenues come from Jews and for the first 64 years of it’s existence, the NAACP did not have a black leader; it was lead by a Jew.

One other tidbit: did you know that Martin Luther King, Jr. had a speech writer? It was a Jew by the name of Stanley Levison. What does all this mean? I will tell you tomorrow, Lord willing.

No extra: I got in late, very late.

Where Are The Sinners?

Scripture

Don’t put me, your servant, on trial; no one is innocent in Your sight.

~Psalms 143:3, GNT

Quote

The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact.

~Malcolm Muggeridge

As I was visiting a few days ago, I inserted a disc into my CD player and listened to a message on forgiveness. The message was delivered by one of the most revered men of our time; it was filled with truth but the messenger never, not even once, confessed any personal guilt or failure. Normally, when I hear this man preach, I feel better but this sermon was disturbing. My track record on forgiveness is a struggle at best. I can relate to David’s prayer…Don’t put me, your servant, on trial; no one is innocent in Your sight.

This aggravated my mind which lead to a lot of thought on this subject. Why is it so hard for us to confess our guilt? This is a universal problem which is seen even in the greatest Apostles. I am studying the book of ACTS currently but this is something I noticed a few years ago. The Apostles lay the death of Jesus at the feet of the JRL [Jewish Religious Leaders] but they never acknowledged their own personal guilt in relationship to Jesus death [Acts 2:23, 36, 3:15, 4:10, 5:30 & 10:39]. Since they all ran like cowards, I know there had to be some guilt. I am sure their guilt was understood, I just wish it had been clearly stated. All of this is recorded for a reason, spiritual leaders should make their desperate need for grace clear so that all understand.

Our depraved lying nature is also revealed in the JRL who said in Matthew 27:25, “Let His blood be on us and our children,” and then in Acts 5:28 “And now, you want to make us responsible for His [Jesus] death.” Wow! What a shift. First they want responsibility and then they pretend they had nothing to do with Jesus death. We are all responsible folks, no exceptions. It was not only the corrupt and ruthless Sanhedrin, the indifferent Pilot, the cruel Roman soldiers but it was our fear, cowardice, jealously, envy, selfish ambition, love for the world and a thousand other sins that put Jesus to death. We are all guilty!

Recently I was in a meeting at another church and a member of that congregation and I were talking about their pastor and this is what she said, “I love my pastor because he is the first preacher I have ever known who confesses publicly that he is a sinner.”

When many of our illustrations from the pulpit feature us and all have a happy ending, with us shinning like the stars of heaven, something is wrong. I know the truth, all men are depraved, and that includes preachers. You can save your act for someone else, I’m not buying it. Be real, it’s a big deal both with God and others.

• I knew I was leaving someone out yesterday: Steve Hardy will be transferred from PMC to HH today for an arteriogram.
• I actually got to talk with Gary Garner yesterday and have prayer. I really don’t know what to report other than we “Need a Miracle.” I know this, the man has suffered a lot and I want what’s best for him. I don’t pretend to know what that is but our Heavenly Father does.
• I don’t think Robert Pope went to Lake Shore Rehab in Birmingham yesterday. 

Christmas Wars

Scripture

“Where is the newborn King of the Jews?  We saw His star as it rose and we have come to worship Him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

~Matthew 2:2-3, NLT

Quote

Christmas has always been a disturbing time for Christ haters.

~Ya’akov

I grew up just North of Athens, Alabama. What little shopping we did was in Athens. In the 50’s and 60′ half of the merchants on the square were Jews. Ben Jaffe’s for one but there were others. At Christmas time they would have signs in the show windows saying happy X-mas. Of course these Jewish merchants did not complain about the profits they made during the Christmas season.

Christ-haters have been around for as long as I can remember but these days, it seems like the intensity is much greater and their numbers seem to be growing. My conclusion is that we are getting close to the end and Christ-haters are coming out of the wood work. The left-wing, Christ-hating liberals want to have the holidays but they want Christ removed. They want to celebrate  the winter solace. God forgive but all liberals are stupid. Who in their right mind [Other than deer hunters, God bless them] wants to celebrate winter? Are all liberals idiots or all idiots liberals? Obama and cooperate America are is full step with this tree-hugging, baby-killing, left-wing, Christ-hating agenda. Show me a person who is more concerned about a spotted owl than they are a precious baby and I will show you a tree-hugging, left-wing, Christ hating liberal. Sorry folks, but no one who loves Jesus advocated the whole slaughter of the unborn. There is a major spiritual problem with that view.

Is there any hope? I believe so. I do not believe that Christ will ever be left without a visible presence in this world. The church may not appear triumphant but there is no way the name of Christ will be erased from the center of history. Christmas is under attack but this assault is coming from the Herod’s of this world. These Christ-haters want to be their own king. God, in His grace and mercy gives them a lot of liberty in the present but in the future, their choices will become fewer and fewer. In the end, they will have no choice, just the consequences of making the wrong choice.

• Our Nephew Heath is to have surgery this morning at HWC. I’ll be riding to Huntsville with Joe David.
• Hannah Marie Garnett’s grandfather’s COLS is today at 1:00. Visitation from 11:-1:00. I don’t have a name but here is a picture of Hannah with Grandpa at her wedding.

• I am doing as little as possible but I am trying to fulfill my duties and major responsibilities. I tried the office yesterday but had to give it up around 10:00. I am good for 50 steps or 2 hours sitting. I do hope that Dr. Ward does something Thursday night. Joe David and I will be gone for the entire morning and Mandy has some church business that she has to take care of in town. If you need us, call our cell.
• We will have the GATHERING tomorrow night which will be our last before the CHRISTMAS BREAK. Tyler is out of town on work so if David has to work late, we will be having a songless service.
• Very few people are upset about Obama’s insane immigration plan. I asked one man to contact his congressmen the other day and he said, “It’s too late.” It is not too late but if we do not have a tax payer revolt in the next few weeks, it may be very well too late. I don’t think you folks understand what it is going to be like when it is “Too late.”If  You have a computer: email Mo Brooks, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby today and once a week until we see congress do something. Mo will respond: I haven’t gotten anything back from Shelby. I wonder if he is still alive. They have changed their Facebook policy. You can see what they post, but you are not allowed to post but you can email them. Just say: I oppose the immigration of Muslims–close the borders. We are helping needy people, we are enabling our mortal enemy to accomplish his mission of global domination.

In Absolute Control

SCRIPTURE

 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

~Matthew 26:2, NLT

QUOTE

Some people probably think of the Resurrection as a desperate last moment expedient to save the Hero from a situation which had got out of the Author’s control. {Nothing could be further from the truth}

~C.S. Lewis

In Matthew 26:2, Jesus tells His disciples that he will be crucified on Passover, but read the next three verses…At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.” Jesus said, “I will be crucified on Passover” and the Jews said, “not on Passover.”

The Jews tried their best to discredit Jesus in public but He baffled and amazed them with His answers. They were left is shock, wonder and awe but it did not melt their cold hearts. Jesus popularity was growing whereas the Jewish religion establishment were getting more unpopular by the day. Jesus came into their stronghold, cleansed the temple, destroying their money making scheme, threatening their power and their way of life. They were very concerned about losing face with the public so they were planning to avoid any arrest or execution on Passover. Jesus turned things around so fast, it left their heads spinning. The Jewish religious leaders thought they were taking Jesus life when all the while, He was laying it down. They were tripping over their own feet and so Jesus gave them some help. Remember, He was condemned by His own testimony. They would never have pulled it off without His help.

The irony is: the Jewish leaders thought they were in control and Jesus the victim but in reality, Jesus was always in complete control and the Jewish religious leaders were the victims. Unrepentant Jews have been victims for the last 2,000 years and it is because they rejected the Messiah. “Lord, open the eyes of the Jewish people, let them see Jesus as the Christ. We need their help in getting the gospel to the world.”

• Who would have dreamed: Sports Illustrated, John Parker Wilson, WHNT, WAFF, and the United States Marines were at the Danville/Falkville game last night. Big Mama and I got cold and left after the awards were given to Kane. It was a wild game, no defense. I remember one punt. It was 24-20 when we left.
• REVIVAL beginning Sunday with Wade Morris. Only five services and they will soon pass–make a commitment not to miss a single service. Your presence is vitally important.
• We do have a baptism lined up for Sunday our third week in a row. I love closing the service with a baptism.
• Tonight, we get an extra hour of sleep–hallelujah!

Defiance

SCRIPTURE

“But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”

~Numbers 15:30-31, NLT

QUOTE

Free will is one of two things: compliance or defiance.

~Anonymous

 

I am rather certain that you have never heard of Christopher Hitchens: ethnically, he was a Jew but in religion, he was an atheist. Being a Christ hater, it does seem rather odd that he didn’t change his first name.  He wrote a book entitled: God Is Not Great. Atheist are such hypocrites; why spend your life fighting something that doesn’t exist. Of course, you and I know that God does exist and that He is infinitely great. Hitchens’ book is pushed by the FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION. I could tell you about this group but why don’t you Google it and read for yourself.

In my daily bible study, I do one chapter in the Old Testament and one in the New. Yesterday I was in Numbers 15 and Matthew 23; I was amazed at the connection. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah.” The Jews, going back to the ancient Israelites had a propensity to defiance, this is what made them so hard to govern. Nothing has actually changed, it was the Jews who showed contempt for Jesus and it was the Jew who plotted and cheered His death. It was the Jews who chased Paul from city to city as predicted by Jesus in Matthew 23. We must balance this truth with the fact that there has always been a faithful and believing remnant among the Jews. That remnant exist today and the migration of Jews to the Holy Land is, in my opinion, a part of the remnant. They haven’t acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah yet but they will. I think the wealthy Jews in America who support FREEDOM FROM RELGION FOUNDATION, AMERICA CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, AMERICA ATHEIST SOCIETY and all of these Christ hating organizations are going to be judged with the Pharisees because of their contempt for God, His word and His Son.

Look at what James said about the rich Jews: Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. Check it out, James was addressing the Jewish community, he never reached out to the Gentiles. He could have said, Look here, you rich Jews, because that is who he had in mind.

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed by Slick Willy. She is the first Jew to sit on the court. She is a member of the ACLU and co-founder of WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROJECT an arm of the ACLU. She supports the killing of the unborn and is a good or bad example of the rich Jew in America. She has done nothing to help God fearing, freedom loving, tax paying Americans. She did help women get the right to kill their babies.
• Sorry, Will’s pie chart got me stirred up.
• Joe David visited the hospitals today: Dian Taylor was doing better, thank you for praying.
• REVIVAL begins Sunday, it has been on the books for more than a year. This is not a weekend to take off and get away; it is a time to COME TOGETHER. Every member is important and every member will be missed. If you are taken away providentially, pray for the revival every day.
• Beautiful day yesterday and we should have another today: Gregg is coming out this morning and we are going to try to get the drain problem solved in the FORTE. We are going to be minus three shrubs by about 9:00 am I hope. If you want to save them, you better show up about 8:00.
• DHS boys last game of the Season tonight: wow, did the season go by in a hurry or what.

 

Sovereign Aura

SCRIPTURE

Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple.

~John 2:15, NLT

QUOTE

No doctrine in hated more than the absolute sovereignty of Christ. The fact that “The LORD Reigns” is indisputable, and it is this fact that arouses the utmost opposition in the unrenewed human heart.

~Charles Spurgeon

I love John 2 which contains two great stories: Jesus turning the water into wine and His holy fit in the temple. I have a question about Him driving out the livestock, merchants, and bankers: why didn’t anyone attempt to stop HIM? The temple system was corrupt and the Jewish religious leaders were profiting daily at the expense of the poor. They employed their own police basically to keep Gentiles out. Jews and Gentiles have one thing in common: the rich take advantage of the poor [not as a general rule, there are exceptions]. Jesus was probably angry about the abuse of the Temple and the injustice toward the common man. Any way, no one attempts to stop Jesus and He drives out both beast and man.

I have an answer to the question and it excites me just to think about it. No one stopped Jesus because Jesus cannot be stopped. They would never have arrested, tried, convicted and crucified HIM without HIS cooperation. In His earthy sojourn, everything was timing and it was not HIS time to be the sacrifice. Jesus emanated an aura of authority beyond anything we can comprehend. This sovereign aura was paralyzing to His enemies. They had never seen anyone like Jesus. He had no fear because He had no sin.

If you are like me, you would love seeing this story enacted. The good news is, we will see this Sovereign Aura when Christ returns. No one is going to oppose HIM. We are living in a TIME when He allows opposition but when He returns it will be similar to the cleansing of the temple. No one will stand against HIM.

• June and I saw Gary a little after 4:00 and he seemed fine but a couple of hours later he suddenly got worse with chills and labored breathing. He was taken by ambulance to DGH and they were putting him on the ventilator when we left at 11:30. They said he was stable but in critical condition. I ask you to pray.
• If Jason’s class doesn’t mind: come to the choir room for LCBS. We will have plenty of room there and it is a no record book Sunday.
• Coffee, biscuits and donuts at 9:00, LCBS at 9:15 and worship at 10:15.
• Joe David is preaching today.
• Ted Cruz says, “No more career politicians.” I’m glad someone is finally seeing the light. The Tea Party needs to run a candidate against Shelby and Aderholt. It is time to flush the toilet.
• The White House secretary said yesterday, “The GOP has 17 candidates charging ahead: the demo’s have 1 candidate with 17 charges.” [in the pic below, is Bill crying or laughing?]

What Were They Thinking?

SCRIPTURE

As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

~Acts 7:59-60, NLT

QUOTE

If everyone is thinking a like; then someone is thinking.

~General George Patton

Steven’s prayer is similar to the one Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing.” Once again the Sanhedrin is acting like anything but a high council. Perhaps Gamaliel was not present. I am sure they had excommunicated Nicodemus and Joseph by now. This is not good PR for a court that is trying to distance themselves from the crucifixion of Jesus which they now deny any involvement in [Acts 5:36]. Stephen could have prayed the same prayer, the Jewish religious leaders are stilling acting in ignorance.

Fast forward 2,000 years and the Jews are still rejecting Jesus in mass. Their spiritual ignorance has nothing to do with aptitude. The Jews make up less than 1% of the world’s population and they have won 15% of the Nobel Prizes. They excel in medicine, science and economics. I can not prove it but I would wager they control more than 15% of the world’s wealth. They are not intellectually inferior but when it comes to Jesus and Christianity, they have an unbelievable bias and blindness. Stephen said in Acts 7:7, “In the end, they will come out [slavery and darkness] and worship Christ.”

I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet but I am telling you simply what I see in scripture over and over. The Jews in mass are going to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah and they are going to be a huge factor in evangelizing the world. I think this great spiritual awakening could happen any day. God has strategically placed them all over the globe. Once they turn to Christ we will have a million Apostle Paul’s.

“But preacher, no one agrees with you: all of the books on prophecy say something else.” So! I do my own thinking. I could be wrong or they could be wrong–only time will tell. As Willard says, “If I agree with you for the sake of agreeing with you, that would make us both wrong.”

• TODAY is a big day; I do hope you have prayed a lot. The LORD convicted me for not exercising faith so I have changed my goal from $30,000 to $50,000. Understand the money is not nearly as important as the miracle. We need the miracle much more than the money. I am praying for God to do something that no one can explain. I am praying for the awe and shock that we find in Acts 5, and where the place is shaken in Acts 4.
• Prayer meeting at 8:15–Deacon lead but open to anyone who wants to pray with us.
• Slight change in tonight’s schedule: visitation and AWANA at 5:30 with worship at 6:15.
• Great LCBS lesson: perfect timing.