So, we went to my friend's house for a play date today. My son asked the lady of the house for a bag of popcorn.
She put the popcorn in the microwave, but hit stop instead of start.
After a few, my son came back to her to ask if the popcorn was ready.
She checked the microwave and said, exasperatedly, "I'm retarded!"
My son, who was 4, got excited and exclaimed, "So am I!!"
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Almond Flour Pancakes recipe
1 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
2 eggs
1 TBS honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup yogurt
1 TBS butter, melted
1 TBS coconut oil, melted
about 1/4 cup milk
In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, honey, vanilla, yogurt, butter, and coconut oil together.
Now, mix the flour mixture with the egg mixture, slowly adding in the milk until it reaches a good "pancake mix" consistency.
Drop the batter into a greased skillet and cook on medium about 3 to 4 minutes per side, flipping as needed.
You can add berries to this recipe if you want more flavor.
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
2 eggs
1 TBS honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup yogurt
1 TBS butter, melted
1 TBS coconut oil, melted
about 1/4 cup milk
In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, honey, vanilla, yogurt, butter, and coconut oil together.
Now, mix the flour mixture with the egg mixture, slowly adding in the milk until it reaches a good "pancake mix" consistency.
Drop the batter into a greased skillet and cook on medium about 3 to 4 minutes per side, flipping as needed.
You can add berries to this recipe if you want more flavor.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Believer's Heritage- Dave Spurgeon
This is his story told in his words.
It was still dark outside at 6am on October 30, 1990, when a large number of men with M-16 rifles quietly and cautiously surrounded my house. I was awakened suddenly by a loud, and repeated smashing sound. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window to see what was going on. As I opened the curtains, I saw that there were cops everywhere, and a number of them had their weapons pointed at me. They shouted, "Freeze; keep your hands in he air; this is the Police!" This was the beginning of a series of events that would literally change my life from that of a bike gang member and criminal to that of a Christian.
I was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, in 1953. My father went to Ohio to seek work and eventually moved the family to Lucas County, outside of Toledo. My dad worked very hard, and mom cared for things at home. We went to church every week, but I do not recall ever being told that salvation came by way of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When I was sixteen, I was glad to get my driver's license and break out of the country to see the "bright lights" of the city. That's when the rebellion in my life really began to show. I argued frequently with my dad about things like hair length and my lack of motivation to work a regular job. I soon started drinking for the "buzz" that took away the cares of the world. I was a very irresponsible teenager.
I joined the U. S. Army in 1971 in an attempt to be free, and to prove myself to my dad. I became a weapons specialist like he was in World Wr II and then I went to airborne school, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes to prove I was tough. I partied, though, hanging out with the "cool" crowd, drinking and smoking pot, thinking I was having a good time. I am happy to be able to say I received and Honorable Discharge in August of 1974. I traveled around the country for the next six months, enjoying not having anyone telling me what to do.
I returned home to Ohio after that, and in February of '75, one of my greatest dreams came true. I became the proud owner of my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I quickly became obsessed with learning about Harleys. Early one morning in April, after drinking for several hours, I left a bar stone cold drunk and headed home. I was going about 85mph when I hit something in the road and laid the bike down, totaling it, but receiving no serious injuries myself. The local Harley dealer allowed me to use his shop to repair my bike. I learned to "wrench" by rebuilding it, and eventually earned a reputation as a custom builder.
When not at the shop, I hung out with other bikers. We drank, fist-fought, and rode our Harleys. In October of 1975, after much persuasion from a good friend, I joined by first motorcycle club. It was a small, local club, based on bikin' and brotherhood. In the spring of 1978, I met some members of a national club in Daytona Beach, Florida. After hanging out with them for well over a year, and proving I was "rotten" enough, I was accepted as a member. I became the chapter president of their Toledo chapter.
There were dark sides to the lifestyle of a bike club member, including many funerals. The death of one of my best friends is a prime example. Very early one winter morning, a club brother and I left a bar in my Camaro with a couple of girls who needed a ride home. Our newest ember, Ralph, was following on his Harley. When I stopped at a traffic light to let the girls out of the car, Ralph roared past us, heading on toward the clubhouse. We lost sight of him as he entered the alley behind it. Rounding the corner, I saw he had gone down. Ralph was unconscious, lying in the middle of the alley. Rushing to his side and realizing that he wasn't breathing, I attempted to straighten him out in order to do CPR. When I removed my arm from underneath him, it was glistening in the dim light of the street lamp, covered with his blood. Ralph had been gunned down by what turned out to be a rival gang member. I realized I would have been the first one into the alley had I not stopped at the light. As chapter, boss, I was the target. I'm the one that should have been killed that night.
After nine years of riding in clubs, I became a national officer. I was in my mid-thirties and was at the point where I had anything I ever wanted: power, gold, guns, plenty of money, and three beautiful custom Harley Davidson motorcycles. I even had a vintage Corvette. By 1990, I was also very dissatisfied with my life, but had no clue what to do about it. To evade this reality, I drank and got high more than ever. It was a lifestyle in which few grew old anyway, and many of my closest friends had been killed or were serving time. Whiskey and cocaine became my friends. We used to call cocaine "the devil's dandruff". How true it was.
Then on that October morning in Dayton, Ohio, as I stood at my bedroom window with my hands in the air, I realized that the sound that had awakened me was that of a battering ram removing my front door from it's hinges. Police officers from the FBI, ATF, and the DEA rushed into my house wearing helmets, body armor, and carrying M-16 rifles. They ran up my stairs crouching behind bulletproof shields. They handcuffed me and led me downstairs while other officers tore my house apart.
They found guns everywhere, including a sub-machine gun. They also found a bag containing about five ounces of cocaine. I was arrested and charged with possession of firearms, including an automatic weapon, to facilitate the distribution of said illegal controlled substance. I was held without bond and originally facing thirty years for the machine gun, five for the other guns, and two years for the dope.
One day in my cell, I observed another man from a similar background, reading a Bible. He invited me to attend a church service with him, so I went. It was being conducted by a preacher from Charity Baptist Church in Beavercreek. During this service he preached about a place called Hell. I thought I was a fearless man, his message got my attention! I was reminded that morning that Hell was a real place of torment, and that I was headed there without Jesus Christ.
Essentially, he was telling me I had much bigger problems that going to prison! I didn't like the message, but I'm glad that preacher had the guts to tell me the truth. As a streetwise hustler and con artist in my own right, I was not about to be flimflammed by some religious guy, but his sincerity caused me to return to another service a week later. That preacher gave me a Bible and as I read, it confirmed what he had told me. I had bigger problems that thirty-seven years in prison.
In my cell, I longed for peace in my soul and continued to read the Bible. I was reading it one morning and had a small radio playing when the time and date came over the air: 5am, November 30, 1990. Tears filled my eyes as I realized it had been ten years to the day since Ralph had been gunned down in that alley. My influence had caused him to leave his job and his family to join the motorcycle club. He was dead, and, according to the Bible, in Hell because he had followed me. That morning I surrendered my sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. I asked Him to come into my heart and take control of my life. He saved my soul that morning and I have never regretted it. Jesus Christ gave me the peace I had longed for so badly. I was still in jail without bond and still going to prison, but as of that moment, Iw as a free man. I was free from the bondage of sin that had held me tightly for so many years. With more peace than I had ever had in my life, I wrote a letter to my parents telling them of my conversion.The preacher, Tom Gresham, from Charity Baptist Church, came to visit me regularly after that. He gave me verses to read and set up a study program to help me learn the Bible.
Not many days later, my attorney presented me with a plea bargain. The U. S. Attorney was willing to drop the automatic weapon charge if I would plead to the other gun and drug charges. That would bring my max down to seven years in federal prison, instead of thirty-seven . I took that deal, to be sure. The following week I was granted an unprecedented third bond hearing. The attorney told me that I didn't have a chance, but somehow I believed I did. Mr. Gresham had told me people of his church were praying for me, and though I did not fully comprehend that, I knew something was different now. Against all odds, a federal judge granted me a bond on December 21, 1990. Federal Marshals told my attorney that I was the first person in the history of that Federal territory to make bond after being "no-bonded" twice for drug and weapons charges. I give all the glory to the Lord. I went to church the following Sunday to thank those strangers for praying for me, and I was received with such kindness and love that I kept going back. A week later, I was baptized as a public declaration of my faith.
When my sentence date finally arrived eleven months later, I was prepared to be sent away to a federal penitentiary for seven years. I was thankful for everything the Lord had done for me. He had given me a new family in Christ, and most important of all, He had saved my soul from ever having to worry about going to Hell. In U. S. District Court, before the Honorable Walter H. Rice, with approximately seventy members of Charity Baptist Church present, I stood to answer for my past life. I was a new man in Christ, but the old man's deeds still had to be answered for. Judge Rice stated that he had received almost one hundred letters on my behalf and that I had the most exemplary pre-sentence investigation report he had seen in twenty-two years on the bench. Judge Rice stated, "You do not look like the same man that appeared in front of me one year ago." Then he asked me to explain for the record what had happened to me "on the inside" to account for that change. That gave me the opportunity to testify of my salvation by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." After acknowledging that the change in my life was so extraordinary and substantially atypical that the people who dealt with and drafter the Congressional sentencing guidelines could not have possible contemplated it, Judge Rice separated my two charges.He sentenced me to five years probation on the drug charge, which included six months' house arrest and 1,000 hours of community service, to wit, telling others how I got off dope, off liquor, and out of the gang lifestyle. Judge Rice essentially sentenced me to tell others about Jesus Christ. "The gun charge," Judge Rice said, "would possibly be dealt with at a later time." This type of sentencing procedure had never been seen before in the United States 6th District. Again, all the glory belongs to the Lord.
I am thankful for all who prayed for me, and I thank the Lord for giving me a second chance. Most people in the life I chose died in their sins without salvation. I was extremely blessed that someone came and brought me the Gospel of Christ. I learned that, "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And that famous verse, "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" (John 3:16). God sent His Son to die so that I might live. In Romans chapter 10, I read, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" Verse 13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." I called upon the Lord with an honest heart and He saved me! Do not risk waiting as I did. I had no guarantee that I would live long enough to repent. Neither do you. If you are not saved, please accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You will never regret it.
_David Charles Spurgeon
For more about Bro. Spurgeon, you can get a copy of his book Bikin' And Brotherhood. If you were saved by his testimony, or if you'd like to get in contact with him, you can write to him at:
Charity Baptist Church
1600 Brownleigh Road
Dayton, Ohio 45429
It was still dark outside at 6am on October 30, 1990, when a large number of men with M-16 rifles quietly and cautiously surrounded my house. I was awakened suddenly by a loud, and repeated smashing sound. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window to see what was going on. As I opened the curtains, I saw that there were cops everywhere, and a number of them had their weapons pointed at me. They shouted, "Freeze; keep your hands in he air; this is the Police!" This was the beginning of a series of events that would literally change my life from that of a bike gang member and criminal to that of a Christian.
I was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, in 1953. My father went to Ohio to seek work and eventually moved the family to Lucas County, outside of Toledo. My dad worked very hard, and mom cared for things at home. We went to church every week, but I do not recall ever being told that salvation came by way of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When I was sixteen, I was glad to get my driver's license and break out of the country to see the "bright lights" of the city. That's when the rebellion in my life really began to show. I argued frequently with my dad about things like hair length and my lack of motivation to work a regular job. I soon started drinking for the "buzz" that took away the cares of the world. I was a very irresponsible teenager.
I joined the U. S. Army in 1971 in an attempt to be free, and to prove myself to my dad. I became a weapons specialist like he was in World Wr II and then I went to airborne school, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes to prove I was tough. I partied, though, hanging out with the "cool" crowd, drinking and smoking pot, thinking I was having a good time. I am happy to be able to say I received and Honorable Discharge in August of 1974. I traveled around the country for the next six months, enjoying not having anyone telling me what to do.
I returned home to Ohio after that, and in February of '75, one of my greatest dreams came true. I became the proud owner of my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I quickly became obsessed with learning about Harleys. Early one morning in April, after drinking for several hours, I left a bar stone cold drunk and headed home. I was going about 85mph when I hit something in the road and laid the bike down, totaling it, but receiving no serious injuries myself. The local Harley dealer allowed me to use his shop to repair my bike. I learned to "wrench" by rebuilding it, and eventually earned a reputation as a custom builder.
When not at the shop, I hung out with other bikers. We drank, fist-fought, and rode our Harleys. In October of 1975, after much persuasion from a good friend, I joined by first motorcycle club. It was a small, local club, based on bikin' and brotherhood. In the spring of 1978, I met some members of a national club in Daytona Beach, Florida. After hanging out with them for well over a year, and proving I was "rotten" enough, I was accepted as a member. I became the chapter president of their Toledo chapter.
There were dark sides to the lifestyle of a bike club member, including many funerals. The death of one of my best friends is a prime example. Very early one winter morning, a club brother and I left a bar in my Camaro with a couple of girls who needed a ride home. Our newest ember, Ralph, was following on his Harley. When I stopped at a traffic light to let the girls out of the car, Ralph roared past us, heading on toward the clubhouse. We lost sight of him as he entered the alley behind it. Rounding the corner, I saw he had gone down. Ralph was unconscious, lying in the middle of the alley. Rushing to his side and realizing that he wasn't breathing, I attempted to straighten him out in order to do CPR. When I removed my arm from underneath him, it was glistening in the dim light of the street lamp, covered with his blood. Ralph had been gunned down by what turned out to be a rival gang member. I realized I would have been the first one into the alley had I not stopped at the light. As chapter, boss, I was the target. I'm the one that should have been killed that night.
After nine years of riding in clubs, I became a national officer. I was in my mid-thirties and was at the point where I had anything I ever wanted: power, gold, guns, plenty of money, and three beautiful custom Harley Davidson motorcycles. I even had a vintage Corvette. By 1990, I was also very dissatisfied with my life, but had no clue what to do about it. To evade this reality, I drank and got high more than ever. It was a lifestyle in which few grew old anyway, and many of my closest friends had been killed or were serving time. Whiskey and cocaine became my friends. We used to call cocaine "the devil's dandruff". How true it was.
Then on that October morning in Dayton, Ohio, as I stood at my bedroom window with my hands in the air, I realized that the sound that had awakened me was that of a battering ram removing my front door from it's hinges. Police officers from the FBI, ATF, and the DEA rushed into my house wearing helmets, body armor, and carrying M-16 rifles. They ran up my stairs crouching behind bulletproof shields. They handcuffed me and led me downstairs while other officers tore my house apart.
They found guns everywhere, including a sub-machine gun. They also found a bag containing about five ounces of cocaine. I was arrested and charged with possession of firearms, including an automatic weapon, to facilitate the distribution of said illegal controlled substance. I was held without bond and originally facing thirty years for the machine gun, five for the other guns, and two years for the dope.
One day in my cell, I observed another man from a similar background, reading a Bible. He invited me to attend a church service with him, so I went. It was being conducted by a preacher from Charity Baptist Church in Beavercreek. During this service he preached about a place called Hell. I thought I was a fearless man, his message got my attention! I was reminded that morning that Hell was a real place of torment, and that I was headed there without Jesus Christ.
Essentially, he was telling me I had much bigger problems that going to prison! I didn't like the message, but I'm glad that preacher had the guts to tell me the truth. As a streetwise hustler and con artist in my own right, I was not about to be flimflammed by some religious guy, but his sincerity caused me to return to another service a week later. That preacher gave me a Bible and as I read, it confirmed what he had told me. I had bigger problems that thirty-seven years in prison.
In my cell, I longed for peace in my soul and continued to read the Bible. I was reading it one morning and had a small radio playing when the time and date came over the air: 5am, November 30, 1990. Tears filled my eyes as I realized it had been ten years to the day since Ralph had been gunned down in that alley. My influence had caused him to leave his job and his family to join the motorcycle club. He was dead, and, according to the Bible, in Hell because he had followed me. That morning I surrendered my sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. I asked Him to come into my heart and take control of my life. He saved my soul that morning and I have never regretted it. Jesus Christ gave me the peace I had longed for so badly. I was still in jail without bond and still going to prison, but as of that moment, Iw as a free man. I was free from the bondage of sin that had held me tightly for so many years. With more peace than I had ever had in my life, I wrote a letter to my parents telling them of my conversion.The preacher, Tom Gresham, from Charity Baptist Church, came to visit me regularly after that. He gave me verses to read and set up a study program to help me learn the Bible.
Not many days later, my attorney presented me with a plea bargain. The U. S. Attorney was willing to drop the automatic weapon charge if I would plead to the other gun and drug charges. That would bring my max down to seven years in federal prison, instead of thirty-seven . I took that deal, to be sure. The following week I was granted an unprecedented third bond hearing. The attorney told me that I didn't have a chance, but somehow I believed I did. Mr. Gresham had told me people of his church were praying for me, and though I did not fully comprehend that, I knew something was different now. Against all odds, a federal judge granted me a bond on December 21, 1990. Federal Marshals told my attorney that I was the first person in the history of that Federal territory to make bond after being "no-bonded" twice for drug and weapons charges. I give all the glory to the Lord. I went to church the following Sunday to thank those strangers for praying for me, and I was received with such kindness and love that I kept going back. A week later, I was baptized as a public declaration of my faith.
When my sentence date finally arrived eleven months later, I was prepared to be sent away to a federal penitentiary for seven years. I was thankful for everything the Lord had done for me. He had given me a new family in Christ, and most important of all, He had saved my soul from ever having to worry about going to Hell. In U. S. District Court, before the Honorable Walter H. Rice, with approximately seventy members of Charity Baptist Church present, I stood to answer for my past life. I was a new man in Christ, but the old man's deeds still had to be answered for. Judge Rice stated that he had received almost one hundred letters on my behalf and that I had the most exemplary pre-sentence investigation report he had seen in twenty-two years on the bench. Judge Rice stated, "You do not look like the same man that appeared in front of me one year ago." Then he asked me to explain for the record what had happened to me "on the inside" to account for that change. That gave me the opportunity to testify of my salvation by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." After acknowledging that the change in my life was so extraordinary and substantially atypical that the people who dealt with and drafter the Congressional sentencing guidelines could not have possible contemplated it, Judge Rice separated my two charges.He sentenced me to five years probation on the drug charge, which included six months' house arrest and 1,000 hours of community service, to wit, telling others how I got off dope, off liquor, and out of the gang lifestyle. Judge Rice essentially sentenced me to tell others about Jesus Christ. "The gun charge," Judge Rice said, "would possibly be dealt with at a later time." This type of sentencing procedure had never been seen before in the United States 6th District. Again, all the glory belongs to the Lord.
I am thankful for all who prayed for me, and I thank the Lord for giving me a second chance. Most people in the life I chose died in their sins without salvation. I was extremely blessed that someone came and brought me the Gospel of Christ. I learned that, "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And that famous verse, "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" (John 3:16). God sent His Son to die so that I might live. In Romans chapter 10, I read, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" Verse 13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." I called upon the Lord with an honest heart and He saved me! Do not risk waiting as I did. I had no guarantee that I would live long enough to repent. Neither do you. If you are not saved, please accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You will never regret it.
_David Charles Spurgeon
For more about Bro. Spurgeon, you can get a copy of his book Bikin' And Brotherhood. If you were saved by his testimony, or if you'd like to get in contact with him, you can write to him at:
Charity Baptist Church
1600 Brownleigh Road
Dayton, Ohio 45429
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Wheat Belly (book review)
Who doesn't like bread?
In our modern American diet, wheat is one of the staples that is in almost every meal. We have breads, cakes, muffins, pastas, cereals, and more in almost every sitting.
But, there are many out there with something called gluten intolerance. They get very sick when they eat bread. Others, can have a sensitivity to it which they aren't even aware of!
Why?
In William Davis book Wheat Belly you will find out that the wheat used to make all of the wonderful things we eat today is not the same wheat from ages past. It answers the question why so many people now-a-days get sick from something that many generations and cultures enjoyed without problem.
If you've ever wondered about these things, I suggest you give this book a read.
In our modern American diet, wheat is one of the staples that is in almost every meal. We have breads, cakes, muffins, pastas, cereals, and more in almost every sitting.
But, there are many out there with something called gluten intolerance. They get very sick when they eat bread. Others, can have a sensitivity to it which they aren't even aware of!
Why?
In William Davis book Wheat Belly you will find out that the wheat used to make all of the wonderful things we eat today is not the same wheat from ages past. It answers the question why so many people now-a-days get sick from something that many generations and cultures enjoyed without problem.
If you've ever wondered about these things, I suggest you give this book a read.
Friday, February 3, 2017
The Bible (poem)
What could we do without the Book
That God gave us to read?
No more than any farmer
Who hadn't any seed!
No other tells us of our Lord,
The God of grace and love,
Who made the whole creation,
This world and those above.
What could we do were we without
The Gospels or the Acts?
No more than could a barrister
Who didn't know his facts!
Were we without the letters of
John, Peter, James and Paul,
We'd be like some poor cricketer
Without a bat or ball.
If Genesis is humbug,
We must cast into the flames
The Gospels, Acts and Hebrews,
Galatians, Romans, James.
If we should try to live our lives
Without the Book of Psalms,
Our souls would lack the music
Which comforts, cheers and charms.
We couldn't know that God will be
The Judge of all mankind,
By the mere dictates of Reason,
Or the workings of the mind.
We shouldn't know God gave His Son,
To agonise and die,
To save and teach us sinful men
To trust Him utterly.
We shouldn't know Christ rose again—
The proof He was the Lord—
And then ascended up above
To execute His Word.
We ne'er had deemed He'd be the Friend
Of publicans and sinners,
Of prodigals and harlots, not
Of hypocrites nor trimmers.
That ne'er would He to any child
Deny a Saviour's blessing,
And ne'er would turn a soul away,
Who came his sins confessing.
That He Who healed the sick, the lame,
The blind, the deaf, the dumb,
And raised the dead, by touch or word,
Would beg us all to come
To Him, that we might be forgiven
And made the heirs of God,
Divorced from fear of death and hell,
Warriors of the Lord.
We ne'er had dreamed Salvation is
A gift, and not a wage,
To be received just as you are,
Without the sacred page.
The Bible is a gallery
Of pictures full of life,
A cinematographic show
Of real historic strife.
It warns against temptations
And Satan's savoury messes;
It paints the devil's portrait
In all his fancy dresses.
It's like a cordite rifle
With a telescopic sight,
Preventing those of single eye
From missing, day or night.
It is of heaven's narrow way
The ordnance survey map,
Revealing hell's paved broadway
And every gin and trap.
It gives the words of prophets,
Who courageously denounced
The sins of priests, and princes, and
The Judgment day announced.
It castigates the evil, and
It never screens the good;
It declares that every mortal needs
The Saviour's cleansing blood.
'Tis a history of the godly,
A hymn book for the saint,
A comfort to the dying,
A cordial to the faint.
It prophesies the Coming
Of the Saviour in His might,
To judge the world's inhabitants,
And darkness turn to light.
Be sure, in their originals,
Each word came straight from God;
"Yea! every jot and tittle's true,"
Said Jesus Christ the Lord.
Would you be brave and noble?
Read it every day,
Not as a duty merely,
Nor in a slipshod way.
Divorce yourself from humbug,
And cant and lollipops;
Don't live on milk and water,
Nor sentimental slops.
Don't be like Jackie Horner,
Who when he got a pie,
Picked out a plum or two, and said
"See what a boy am I!"
It's God's own patent medicine,
Take it as it stands;
Treat it as His aide-de-camp,
Bringing Christ's commands.
Mind! you must obey it,
Otherwise you'll be
Branded, as a hypocrite,
Through eternity.
Read it in the morning,
Meditate and pray,
Trust the Lord to keep you
"Straight" throughout the day.
-C. T. Studd
That God gave us to read?
No more than any farmer
Who hadn't any seed!
No other tells us of our Lord,
The God of grace and love,
Who made the whole creation,
This world and those above.
What could we do were we without
The Gospels or the Acts?
No more than could a barrister
Who didn't know his facts!
Were we without the letters of
John, Peter, James and Paul,
We'd be like some poor cricketer
Without a bat or ball.
If Genesis is humbug,
We must cast into the flames
The Gospels, Acts and Hebrews,
Galatians, Romans, James.
If we should try to live our lives
Without the Book of Psalms,
Our souls would lack the music
Which comforts, cheers and charms.
We couldn't know that God will be
The Judge of all mankind,
By the mere dictates of Reason,
Or the workings of the mind.
We shouldn't know God gave His Son,
To agonise and die,
To save and teach us sinful men
To trust Him utterly.
We shouldn't know Christ rose again—
The proof He was the Lord—
And then ascended up above
To execute His Word.
We ne'er had deemed He'd be the Friend
Of publicans and sinners,
Of prodigals and harlots, not
Of hypocrites nor trimmers.
That ne'er would He to any child
Deny a Saviour's blessing,
And ne'er would turn a soul away,
Who came his sins confessing.
That He Who healed the sick, the lame,
The blind, the deaf, the dumb,
And raised the dead, by touch or word,
Would beg us all to come
To Him, that we might be forgiven
And made the heirs of God,
Divorced from fear of death and hell,
Warriors of the Lord.
We ne'er had dreamed Salvation is
A gift, and not a wage,
To be received just as you are,
Without the sacred page.
The Bible is a gallery
Of pictures full of life,
A cinematographic show
Of real historic strife.
It warns against temptations
And Satan's savoury messes;
It paints the devil's portrait
In all his fancy dresses.
It's like a cordite rifle
With a telescopic sight,
Preventing those of single eye
From missing, day or night.
It is of heaven's narrow way
The ordnance survey map,
Revealing hell's paved broadway
And every gin and trap.
It gives the words of prophets,
Who courageously denounced
The sins of priests, and princes, and
The Judgment day announced.
It castigates the evil, and
It never screens the good;
It declares that every mortal needs
The Saviour's cleansing blood.
'Tis a history of the godly,
A hymn book for the saint,
A comfort to the dying,
A cordial to the faint.
It prophesies the Coming
Of the Saviour in His might,
To judge the world's inhabitants,
And darkness turn to light.
Be sure, in their originals,
Each word came straight from God;
"Yea! every jot and tittle's true,"
Said Jesus Christ the Lord.
Would you be brave and noble?
Read it every day,
Not as a duty merely,
Nor in a slipshod way.
Divorce yourself from humbug,
And cant and lollipops;
Don't live on milk and water,
Nor sentimental slops.
Don't be like Jackie Horner,
Who when he got a pie,
Picked out a plum or two, and said
"See what a boy am I!"
It's God's own patent medicine,
Take it as it stands;
Treat it as His aide-de-camp,
Bringing Christ's commands.
Mind! you must obey it,
Otherwise you'll be
Branded, as a hypocrite,
Through eternity.
Read it in the morning,
Meditate and pray,
Trust the Lord to keep you
"Straight" throughout the day.
-C. T. Studd
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Calvary
We all know the songs about Calvary. Many of us grew up singing about the place where Jesus was crucified. But, did you ever realize that the word "Calvary" is only used once in the Bible?
Luke 23:33- And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Only in the book of Luke is the hill referred to as Calvary. In the other gospels it is Golgotha, the place of the skull. Have you ever wondered why that is?
Luke, the Physician, is the author of the book of Luke. He is writing the events of Christ's life long after Christ has died and rose again. And, he is writing his account to a Gentile man named Theophilus.
Luke 1:1-4- Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke presents Christ as the Son of Man. The genealogy given goes all the way back to Adam- the first man, and a Gentile.
Luke was the traveling companion of Paul. His ministry was mainly to the Gentiles. He is known as the author of Luke and Acts, both of which are addressed to the above mentioned Theophilus. So, it is understandable that he would use the Latin word for Golgotha- Calvary.
So, what is the signifigance of Calvary?
Calvary impacts history like no other event. It's grasp reaches from the temple in Jerusalem to the throne in Heaven to the souls on the earth. It shows the depths of God's love and the extent of His hatred of sin. It fulfills the law, satisfied justice demands, and is the personification of mercy. It's the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. Calvary grants eternal life, ensures eternal death, and makes certain eternal judgment. It's act defeats sin's nature and frees the captive soul.
Only one other word that is so beautiful, so powerful, and so eternal- Jesus!
Calvary may be used only once in the Bible, but there is no doubt that it has been spoken countless times from the lips of millions throughout the New Testament era. And, I'm certain it will be spoken countless more times for all eternity!
Luke 23:33- And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Only in the book of Luke is the hill referred to as Calvary. In the other gospels it is Golgotha, the place of the skull. Have you ever wondered why that is?
Luke, the Physician, is the author of the book of Luke. He is writing the events of Christ's life long after Christ has died and rose again. And, he is writing his account to a Gentile man named Theophilus.
Luke 1:1-4- Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke presents Christ as the Son of Man. The genealogy given goes all the way back to Adam- the first man, and a Gentile.
Luke was the traveling companion of Paul. His ministry was mainly to the Gentiles. He is known as the author of Luke and Acts, both of which are addressed to the above mentioned Theophilus. So, it is understandable that he would use the Latin word for Golgotha- Calvary.
So, what is the signifigance of Calvary?
Calvary impacts history like no other event. It's grasp reaches from the temple in Jerusalem to the throne in Heaven to the souls on the earth. It shows the depths of God's love and the extent of His hatred of sin. It fulfills the law, satisfied justice demands, and is the personification of mercy. It's the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. Calvary grants eternal life, ensures eternal death, and makes certain eternal judgment. It's act defeats sin's nature and frees the captive soul.
Only one other word that is so beautiful, so powerful, and so eternal- Jesus!
Calvary may be used only once in the Bible, but there is no doubt that it has been spoken countless times from the lips of millions throughout the New Testament era. And, I'm certain it will be spoken countless more times for all eternity!
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