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October 14, 2017 Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jl 4:12-21Thus says the LORD:Let the nations bestir themselves and come upto the Valley of Jehoshaphat;For there will I sit in judgmentupon all the neighboring nations. Apply the sickle,for the harvest is ripe;Come and tread,for the wine press is full;The vats overflow,for great is their malice.Crowd upon crowdin the valley of decision;For near is the day of the LORDin the valley of decision.Sun and moon are darkened,and the stars withhold their brightness.The LORD roars from Zion,and from Jerusalem raises his voice;The heavens and the earth quake,but...

I think that when we approach for Holy Communion is a thermometer of our faith. Once we said that the thermometer of our faith is prayer, and now I say that the thermometer is whether our heart leaps at the sight of Communion. Prayer is love for God, and Holy Communion is also love for the Lord, but it is also something much higher, incomparably higher; after all, through Holy Communion we receive divine power into ourselves. They say, “May Holy Communion be to thee unto health!” Yes, of course—only we receive into ourselves not something magical, but the Lord...

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth...

Proverb 13 (NKJV) Wisdom Loves Righteousness 01 A wise son heeds his father's instruction, 00 But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. 02 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, 00 But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. 03 He who guards his mouth preserves his life, 00 But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. 04 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; 00 But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. 05 A righteous man hates lying, 00 But a wicked man is...

My children be not dismayed with the array of things that beset the worldly for you ARE My Kingdom Come and now you shall walk in My attributes as never before. As Enoch now you shall be with Me, as Elisha when you call I shall come for you dressing you fresh in the Mantle of My Resurrection Power to take back the land from the evil one for I AM coming soon for you and NOW is your time to ( (( SHINE )) ) 2 Kings 2:14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from...

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God’s Word is inspired. Second Timothy 3:16 speaks of the inspiration of Scripture. "Inspired" is the translation of a Greek word that literally means "God-breathed." Every word of Scripture is from the mouth of God. Theologians speak of inspiration as the mysterious process by which God worked through the authors of Scripture to produce inerrant and divinely authoritative writings. Inspiration is a mystery because Scripture doesn't...

“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Union with Christ means participation in His death, burial, and resurrection. Believers are united with Christ not only in His life, but also in His death. When believers come to faith in Christ, they symbolically share in His death, dying to sin in order to live to God (Rom. 6:10-11). That reality has profound implications. Having died to the old life of...

October 13, 2017 Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jl 1:13-15; 2:1-2Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!wail, O ministers of the altar!Come, spend the night in sackcloth,O ministers of my God!The house of your God is deprivedof offering and libation.Proclaim a fast,call an assembly;Gather the elders,all who dwell in the land,Into the house of the LORD, your God,and cry to the LORD! Alas, the day!for near is the day of the LORD,and it comes as ruin from the Almighty. Blow the trumpet in Zion,sound the alarm on my holy mountain!Let all who dwell in the...

A Sermon from Isaiah 66 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a...

Proverb 12 (NKJV) The House of the Righteous Shall Stand 01 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, 00 But he who hates correction is stupid. 02 A good man obtains favor from the LORD, 00 But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. 03 A man is not established by wickedness, 00 But the root of the righteous cannot be moved. 04 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, 00 But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. 05 The thoughts of the righteous are right, 00 But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful....

"Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3, emphasis added). Scripture contains everything you need to know for godly living. For many years I've watched with deep concern as a significant number of Christians have drifted from a thoughtful, biblical, God- centered theology to one that is increasingly mystical, non- biblical, and man-centered. One of the most disturbing indicators of this trend is the proliferation of extrabiblical revelations that certain people are claiming to receive directly from God. Such claims are alarming because they dilute the uniqueness and centrality of the Bible...

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3). Believers are united with Christ. A person who believes Christians are free to continue sinning betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of what a Christian is. Christians are not merely guilty sinners declared righteous by God because Christ has satisfied the demands of God’s righteousness on their behalf. That truth, which theologians call justification, is indeed an essential one. But there is much more to salvation than justification. Believers are also placed into union with Jesus Christ....

October 12, 2017 Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Mal 3:13-20bYou have defied me in word, says the LORD,yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?"You have said, "It is vain to serve God,and what do we profit by keeping his command,And going about in penitential dressin awe of the LORD of hosts?Rather must we call the proud blessed;for indeed evildoers prosper,and even tempt God with impunity."Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another,and the LORD listened attentively;And a record book was written before himof those who fear the LORD and trust...

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Heb. 1:1-2). Scripture is the storehouse of divine revelation. For decades liberal theologians have misrepresented the Bible as merely a collection of man's religious thoughts and aspirations. But Scripture is much more than that. It is in fact divine revelation—God's self disclosure through His Spirit to the human authors. Man could never know God's identity, attributes, perspectives, or commands if God hadn't revealed them to him. Nor could man know...

“How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2). In Christ, believers are dead to sin. As a pastor, I frequently encounter people who profess to be believers, yet are living in all kinds of vile sins. The incongruity of people claiming to be believers while living in constant, unrepentant sin was not lost on the apostle Paul. In Romans 6:1 he asked the rhetorical question, “Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?” In verse 2 he answered his own question by exclaiming “May it never be!”—the strongest, most emphatic negation in the...

Proverb 11:13 Today's commentary comes from Crysral Mary Lindsey, "The Outback Ozzie Writer". Crystal is an award winning author from the "Land Down Under" She writes Christian, Romance, and Historical books, along with her blog posts that offer inspirational uplifting messages. Check out her site, you may be pleasantly surprised by her writings. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Proverb 11 (NKJV) The Folly of Wickedness01 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, 00 But a just weight is His delight. 02 When pride comes, then comes shame; 00 But with the humble is...

October 11, 2017 Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jon 4:1-11Jonah was greatly displeasedand became angry that God did not carry out the evilhe threatened against Nineveh.He prayed, "I beseech you, LORD,is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?This is why I fled at first to Tarshish.I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God,slow to anger, rich in clemency, loath to punish.And now, LORD, please take my life from me;for it is better for me to die than to live."But the LORD asked, "Have you reason to...

Cardinal Reinhard Marx says "Liturgiam authenticam", the rules for translation the Vatican issued in 2001, was a “dead end”. But thanks to a recent decision by the pope the bishops now have greater freedomCatholic bishops in the German-speaking countries of Europe have been at odds with the Vatican for years over a controversial and never-implemented translation of the Missal, the Latin prototype for the celebration of the Roman Catholic liturgy. Germany’s bishops never even mentioned the disputed translation last month in the final report of the national episcopal conference’s autumn plenary. Instead, they thanked Pope Francis at length for his...

Proverb 10 (NKJV) The Son Effect Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth.  Proverbs 5:7 Wisdom is something that should passionately be spoken to our sons. It is something they should hear from us with a sense of urgency and importance that should ring from what we say to them. If we do not speak with this kind of passion we may have our children go the way that the son in laws of Lot went. We read in Genesis of this sad event in Genesis 19:14, " Lot...

How, then, do we receive assurance? The Scripture declares that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. This inner testimony of the Holy Spirit is as vital as it is complex. It can be subjected to severe distortions, being confused with subjectivism and self-delusion. The Spirit gives His testimony with the Word and through the Word, never against the Word or without the Word. Since it is possible to have false assurance of salvation, it is all the more urgent that we seek the Spirit’s testimony in and through the Word. False...