Inspiration part 2//Salvation is of the Lord

In the book of Acts chapter 4 and verse 12 the Apostle Peter, who by the way never saw the city of Rome, stood up on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem and proclaimed these words, “ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” NKJV.
Jonah, after he spent three days and nights in hell…it must have seemed like hell to him; cried out, “Salvation is of the Lord” He was in the belly of a great fish that God had created just for one purpose and what seemed like hell to Jonah was actually God’s plan of salvation for him. He cried out to God from inside that fishes belly and God heard him. You can cry out to God from your own personal hell and He will hear you.
When the weeds of sin like kelp or rockweed or whatever those weeds that Jonah had wrapped around his head were, (it is all there in chapter 2) and you feel like you are choking of life, you can cry out to God just like Jonah did. Psalm 3:8 says “Salvation belongs to the Lord.” Psalm 68:20 puts it this way, “God is the GOD OF SALVATION.” Not Mohammed, not Hare Krishna, not Buddha, nor all those gods of the Hindu’s
or any other god’s but salvation is only found in Jesus Christ who is the Son of the Living God, bar none.
You have to come to Jesus. Again an old song rings in my heart and it simply says, “You’d better come to Jesus and get saved.” Another song from a few years ago went like this…”if I were you, I’d give Jesus my heart, if I were you I’d make a new start. I’d do it today, I wouldn’t delay, If I were you…I’d give Jesus my heart.” The Bible says in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” This is my inspiration; He is my inspiration.
He is salvation!

Inspiration…a blog
Usually I get an inspiration when I start a new blog or a new series on a particular subject, for instance the series on the eagle and I don’t usually have any problem with thoughts and direction to go in. Another example is the bridges series, grace as well. Sometimes it might be something someone said that sparks an inspiration and I depend on the Lord to supply the rest. So as I was thinking about this entry, this word “inspiration” came to me and immediately I knew that He was my inspiration. He has been all along.
There’s an old song we used to sing called “He’s everything to me. “There I go again quoting an old song (think I was old or something) WHATEVER . The next line says “from sin He sets me free” Even though we still sin He has set me free from the penalty of sin. We need to be in a constant mind set of repentance and even though we still sin, we do not practice sin. And when we do fail in certain areas, we have an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the Righteous. He becomes our righteousness. The Bible says so.
He is my inspiration. The Word of God in Exodus 20:2 says “You shall have no other gods before Me.” And what it really means is “you shall have no other gods” That’s my translation…no other gods…no idols. I think of these stupid tv shows…American Idol; Canadian Idol. Jesus is the only God that a Christian knows…that is not my quote; that is a quote from that great Scottish evangelist of the early part of the twentieth century, Oswald Chambers. He is my inspiration…He is my all in all. He is God. I recently received a brand new book from a well known Gospel singer…it was a gift and in its pages the author emphatically states that Jesus is not God. Paul, that great apostle of the Christian faith wrote a letter to the church at Philippi and said in Philippians 2:5-8 (New International Version)5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
In Colossians, he states (reading from ch. 1 verses 15 through 18,
“Colossians 1:13-18 (New International Version)
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[a] the forgiveness of sins.
The Supremacy of Christ
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Sure sounds like God to me…There are no other gods. You might say “are you Jesus only?” No, but I believe in “only Jesus”. What other inspiration do you need today? My inspiration for this day and for every tomorrow is Jesus.
When we were in France and I was afforded an opportunity to speak, I spoke on Emmanuel; God is with us…if you do not completely understand the Godhead and man’s different doctrines, all you really need to know is that He is Emmanuel…HE IS WITH US!

One more river to cross: bridges //last in series:
Several years ago, 16 to be precise, when there were just the four of us, we took a driving vacation in our old ‘87 Grand Marquis down the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. of A. and arrived in Virginia, our destination. On the way we decided to drive down the Delmarva peninsula and cross the Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel. If you’ve never driven it you are missing a unique experience. We started our crossing in Virginia from the peninsula side by entering a tunnel under the bay and then after driving some miles came out of the tunnel somewhere in the middle of the Bay onto a bridge. Then back under the Bay again via another tunnel until we arrived on the other side where we proceeded on to Virginia Beach. It was a great drive. Both a tourist attraction and a travel convenience, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connects Virginia's Eastern Shore with the Virginia mainland at Virginia Beach near Norfolk. The bridge-tunnel uses a combination of bridges and tunnels over and under two widely separated shipping channels, using four artificial islands built in the bay as portals. The CBBT complex carries U.S. Route 13, the main north-south highway on Virginia's Eastern Shore, and, as part of the East Coast's longstanding Ocean Highway, provides the only direct link between Virginia's Eastern Shore and South Hampton Roads regions, as well as an alternate route to link the Northeast and points in between with Norfolk and the Carolinas.
That is likened to our lives as we travel life’s highways and bridges, tunnels, etc. Sometimes we can see all of our surroundings even when we are in the middle of the ocean, the Bay but then there is a tunnel and you cannot see where you are but you have to trust the tunnel builders that you will eventually come out and get your head above water as it were, and once again you will experience the sun shining in your life. Sometimes it seems that the water is going to drown you but suddenly there is this bridge and you rise above the storm and before you know it you have reached the other side. Wouldn’t it be tragic if you stopped in the tunnel and stayed there? You gotta keep driving. Don’t stop in the tunnel; in fact it is not permitted. Miss Davis used to say “keep on keeping on” Trust the bridge builder, trust the tunnel maker, trust in Jesus, He will take you through, praise God!

Bridge series// When the bridge is out:
We’ve all heard the story of the man who jumps in front of cars waving frantically to try and stop drivers from crossing the approaching bridge and they pass him by thinking he has lost his marbles, only to find too late and much to their own horror that the bridge is out.
My mind goes back a few short months ago to Minneapolis to that horrific bridge collapse and what an awful feeling those drivers must have had as they realized they were falling.
When the bridge is out where do you turn? Which direction do you go? I liken the bridge to prayer and the Bible talks much about prayer and our faithfulness in prayer.
The Bible says if I regard iniquity in my heart that He won’t hear me. And that is when the bridge is out. That bridge of communication between my Lord and I. It is true that the Bible says in 1 John 1:9 “IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The key is confession but it must be from the heart and we must mean it which means I must be sincere if I expect God to forgive me and I must “go and sin no more.” These are the words of Jesus Himself as He spoke them to a woman one day. Some religious people brought her to Jesus and threw her down at His feet to see if He would condemn her. By the way, religious people are still doing that.
Every time some self righteous “Christian” throws up a past sin in a person’s face they are condemning that person to death. Every time a gossiping tongue talks about some weak brother or sister in a derogatory manner they are condemning that person to death. But when the sinner confesses and forsakes his sin, then he will find the bridge has been rebuilt.
Let us let God have His way in our lives and rebuild that all important bridge called prayer.

More bridges/ no turning back…
There’s another bridge in the city where I live that bridges a gap and it is called the Reversing Falls bridge. It is across a narrow gorge where the river meets the bay and when the tide comes in it forces the river back up stream with its awesome power. There’s a picture in the previous blog. One morning early this week as my brother and I were driving alongside the river at the point where it enters the bay I couldn’t help but notice how smooth the waters were. The tide had reached a point called “slack tide” when it stops coming in and the river and the bay level off. Made me think of that song again that I quoted yesterday…”He came down to my level” And that is what Jesus did for us. There is a floodtide of iniquity against us and it stops our progress, but when we allow Jesus to take control of our lives its as if the tide against us goes out and there the Spirit has control and the river has a free flow in and through us. Jesus is that river of life and He is the bridge as well and if you have never allowed Him in your life and you are bound by sin you need to let Him come in and bridge the gap so that you can be saved from sin.
You will discover a freedom like the river does when the tide goes out. “That’s what He came down for” John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”
Remember burdens are lifted at Calvary. There is another song that I love that says "there are too many miles behind me
And it talks about the rivers my feet have walked through." It reminds me of bridges and in this Christian walk there are many bridges to cross, many pitfalls too. This song says there’s too many treasures awaiting over yonder, there’s just
too much to gain to lose. That’s how I feel; too much to gain to lose. Another song says so many lives depend on what I do, give me the strength dear Lord, I’m going on with You.
Have you felt sometimes like turning back and crossing the bridge in the wrong direction? King David must have felt that way sometimes; look at what he said in Psalm 55 “ 4 My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah 8 I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.”
Sometimes the road is a rough ride and we are tempted to give up and even turn back to the old life, maybe temptation to sin is strong or maybe your friends have failed you or perhaps it’s a family problem… one more song quote(maybe this should be a series on songs, not bridges). Here goes the last song quote…”give up and give it over to Jesus,(repeat two times) and He’ll make a way for you." …Remember “Too many treasures are waiting over yonder…there’s too much to gain to lose”. Amen.

A Bridge over troubled waters:

Bridging the gap: in our assembly the pastor has instituted a Bible study/prayer time that he calls “in the gap”; it is a great way to spend an hour on Wed. morning.
This is a series on “Bridges” and we know that is what a bridge does…it “bridges” or stands in …the gap. Now that the little lesson is over on word descriptions, I’ll get down to business. There is a song that the Gaither vocal band sings that I love to listen to that says “He came down to my level when I couldn’t get up to His, With a strong arm He lifted me up to show me what living is” That is just what Jesus did on the cross for anyone who will believe on Him. There was a great gap between God and Man and it was impossible for man to cross that gap. So God looked for a man because it would require a man to die on the cross, to bear your sin and mine. There is a similar situation found in Ezekiel ch. 22 verses 29,30 “The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it but I found no one.”
The Man who would go to the cross had to be perfect in order to bear your sin and mine and that was an impossibility, so God became a man, put on flesh just like your flesh and mine, was tempted in His flesh to do evil just like we are tempted, yet He was without sin. You say “yes but you said He was God, therefore He could easily be perfect and not sin.”
The Bible says in Philippines ch. 2 verses 5-8 “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of a man. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
What does all this mean in regards to His being able to suffer and die and take all of my sins and your sins? After all He was God wasn’t He? True, but He laid aside all of His privileges as God when He became Man. He endured the cross, He despised the shame but He did it to bridge the gap between God and man. He laid aside His Deity to become one of us. In the first epistle of John; one of his letters to the church, he declares in ch. 2 and verse 1 “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” An advocate is like a lawyer, i.e. one who will stand up for you, one who will bridge the gap, if you please. Verse two goes on further by saying that “He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the whole world.” He earned the right to be an Advocate by firstly becoming the “propitiation” the substitute when He bridged the gap on the cross. Back in Philippians ch. 2 where I left off, in verse 9 it says “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every other name. Verses 10 & 11 carry on with these words, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
There is an old secular song that was popular a few years ago that said “like a bridge over troubled waters, I will lay me down” and that is precisely what Jesus did on the cross for each and every man, woman and child on the face of this earth … He became a bridge over troubled waters…a bridge between God and man.

Knowing His voice - recognizing His voice, hearing His voice

We all have a “voice”. In one of my “earlier lives” (just kidding), I used to teach English. One of the topics we used to teach was “voice”. Not the voice that we would normally think of but that of the written voice - whether or not we realize it, we each have a very distinctive way of putting words together, written words, as Wikipedia states, “Writer's voice is a literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author.” An author’s voice or individual writing style is so distinctive that often it is possible to recognize the writer without their identifying themselves.

Just heard this morning of a report that a person was convicted of murder even though there was a suicide note left by the victim on his computer. It was able to be proven that the victim did not write the note and, more than that, proven that one of his roommates had written it –all from comparing the two people’s way of writing, of written expression, of their “voice”.

That made me think of the expression we hear so often, “hearing God’s voice.” In John 10, part of verse 4, “ and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.”

Voice in the strict sense of the English language (grammar) does not have to mean audible sound, but can also mean written expression, one’s particular writing style. Most of us have not heard God’s audible voice but we do, with the help of the Holy Spirit, recognize His voice.

Over the past year and a bit, as brother Randall and I have been writing blog entries, and some friends and others we do not know, have been commenting, it has made me realize that for the most part, I would be able to recognize the authors of the comments without their names being attached. Also I’m sure our readers can distinguish Randall’s entries (so thoughtful and interesting) from mine, even without our authorship attached.

In fact, after seeing my friends’ writings over the past months, and them mine, I think it would be hard for us to fool each other in who is the author. After a short time of reading any person’s writings, I think we would be able to recognize their, even unsigned, writings.

If we can recognize each other’s “voice” (written expression), it would not be very hard to believe that we can recognize His voice. We “hear” each other, when we read each other’s writings.

We receive blessings and encouragements from each other’s writings, each other’s voice - how much more we can also receive blessings from “hearing” His voice.

In my earlier years, I could never really understand the phrase that I had heard that the “Word of God is His love letters to us.” But about 20 years ago I was away from the area for a year and at first, I got lots of letters from my parents and friends. But as the time went on, the letters became fewer. I found myself, when I was a little homesick, getting out the old letters and rereading them. It didn’t matter that I knew what was in them; they made me feel connected and less lonely. One day suddenly I realized what God’s Word is to me - truly His love letters to me. It’s funny how that works, how we, all of a sudden, get it!

What a blessing it is to hear His voice. Most of the tenth chapter of John’s gospel talks about His sheep, hearing His voice, and being led by His voice. Very comforting part of His love letters to us, vs. 3, “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out”; vs. 4, “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” and again in verse 27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

What a blessing it is to recognize His voice and follow Him. As we read His Word, we “hear His voice.” I pray that I will always recognize His “voice”; it is as easy as my recognizing the “voice” of my friends . . . in their writings.

Submitted by Naida

This is a series on bridges…when we were standing on the observation deck of the Statue of Liberty with a couple of our friends this past September we counted five bridges that we could see from that great vantage point. Of course we had the help of a New Yorker who graciously (as graciously as a New Yorker can be) pointed these bridges out to us and named all five. We thanked him and then out came the digitals.

By name they are George Washington bridge, Manhattan bridge, Brooklyn bridge, Williamsburg bridge, and the Verrazano Narrows bridge which really is not all that narrow ( I’m speaking of the narrows, not the bridge.) There are many more in the city but these you can see from the Statue.

Bridges as we know enable us to cross over places and obstacles that we could otherwise not cross, like New York harbor area bridges do. (Of course there are tunnels and boats, ferries and so the list goes on) but I think you get my point, I’m talking about bridges but not physical man made structures.
Here are some dangers and pitfalls that we need to cross over.

The world, the flesh and the devil(you’ll notice lower case letters for the devil, ) He is definitely a …lower case.
While we are in this flesh and are walking on this planet
the flesh will be our greatest enemy or a least that is how I see it. The flesh is my greatest obstacle. The reason for my saying that is first of all from my own experience. I have my biggest trouble with me. I’ve said this before, I know. The world and the devil are external and I have the power of God available to me to overcome the world and I have the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony to overcome Satan, but my flesh I pamper and like a spoiled child, it gets away with too, too much. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Praise His name!
Paul, that great apostle of our faith gives us a list of the works of the flesh in Galations 5:19 “…adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, verse 20…idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, …verse 21…envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in. time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This is read from the NKJV. The following is how the NRSV describes these works of the flesh: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, verse 21; envy, drunkenness, carousing and things like these. I am telling you, as I warned you before those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” These are all obstacles in our journey that we must cross. Notice that along with adultery, etc. and murders, etc. is selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions….things that we pamper the flesh with maybe? Sin is sin.
It’s not just the things that are specifically listed but he says that those who do things like these (sinful, destructful acts) and practice these things. These are works of the flesh, not the works of the devil…you see what I mean by my biggest problem being me? Oh yes, the devil will jump in and fan the flames, so to speak…he’ll be in the flames one day, praise God! How about you? Are you any different than I am? But thanks be to God we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Paul says in Romans chapter 12 starting at verse 1, “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable sacrifice.” The NRSV says in that last phrase, “which is your spiritual worship…it’s our worship, our sacrificial worship…presenting our bodies(and that includes our minds) it is what true worship is, not just singing His praises, that is all part of it ..it is offering myself as (not a dead sacrifice...praise be…) but a living… every day 24/7 burnt offering, burning with the fire of the Holy Ghost…a sacrifice!
The old hymn asks “is your all on the altar of sacrifice? I have to renew my thought life, we have to renew our thought life if we are going to be the church of the living God. So at this unmerciful hour when I can’t sleep, I am renewing my mind by thinking good thoughts like it says in Philippians ch. 4 verses 8&9, “Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be anything praiseworthy…meditate on these things, verse 9,
Now my flesh wants to think on things that are not true maybe or things that are not pure or lovely or of good report but Paul says…The things which you learned and received and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” This is a bridge for me to cross over the obstacle of my fleshly living.
The bridge is called “renewing my mind” Sometimes I have to will to think on these things because of the weakness of my flesh. Jesus said in His Word “if you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed”

That is the key to crossing this bridge named "renewing my mind"