It is not for a sign we are watching—
For wonders above and below,
The pouring of vials and judgment,
The sounding of trumpets of woe;
It is not for a Day we are looking,
Not even the time yet to be
When the earth shall be filled with God's glory
As the waters cover the sea.
It is not for a King we are longing
To make the world-kingdoms His own;
It is not for a Judge Who shall summon
The nations of earth to His throne.
Not for these, though we know they are coming;
For they are but adjuncts of Him
Before Whom all glory is clouded,
Beside Whom all splendor grows dim.
We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master, and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith and its end;
We watch for our Saviour and Bridegroom,
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing
For JESUS, and JESUS ALONE.
—Annie Johnson Flint
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Monday, March 2, 2020
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Give Me Liberty
Many people think of Patrick Henry and his famous speech during the Revolutionary War that had a part in it "Give me liberty or give me death".
As an American, it was grounded into me from a young age that we are born with certain inalienable rights which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
But, what I was brought up believing liberty was and what people today think of liberty is vastly different. To me, liberty is a right to freedom, but to many people today liberty seems to be a form of censorship.
Galatians 2:4- And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
You have the freedom to decide your lifestyle, but others must lose their freedom to think ill of it. You have the freedom to choose to murder your unborn child regardless of what caused the pregnancy, but others must lose their freedom to question the child's right to life. You have the freedom to "protect" your child the way we see fit, but you lose the freedom to say which way you think is best to protect your child. And, so much more.
I Corinthians 10:29- Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
Sadly, today liberty is actually the loss of personal freedom for the furthering of an ideology or agenda. My liberty is removed to make someone else feel better about themselves. My freedoms are dissolved to make me accept what another can barely accept of them self!
Christ died to give us liberty from sin, not liberty to sin!
Galatians 5:1- Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Today's Christians either go too easy with the whole "live and let live" or they go too hard with the "do everything I say the Bible says to do"! There is a balance. We have a liberty in Christ to grow as an individual. What may be a stumbling block for one person won't be for another.
Galatians 5:13- For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
So, one Christian doesn't eat pork. Another is vegan. And, yet another is an omnivore!
One Christian celebrates Christmas. Another sees it as bowing before a pagan religion.
The Bible gives us liberty to celebrate or not, to eat or not, so long as we can do it to the glory of God. No where does the Bible say it's wrong to observe Christ's birth. No where does the Bible tell you that as a New Testament Christian you cannot drink coffee.
But, there are Christians out there who will put so many rules and restrictions on you and twist he Scriptures until you cannot hear the voice of the Spirit over their regulation shouting!
II Peter 2:18-20- For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
Did you ever think that God deals with us as individuals? Perhaps God is more concerned with someone's covetousness rather than their dietary decisions. Maybe God can use the person at the holiday party as a witness more than the one who holes up during the festivities and shouts about the history of why it's wrong.
Until you can see the persons heart, you have no right to lay burdens upon another. Nor, do you have the right to deny their freedoms in Christ!
Romans 14:4- Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
The world is slipping into debauchery and Christians are stubbornly proclaiming each one his own standard of the Christian life instead of winning these poor lost souls.
So, before you cause a new Christian to stumble or regulate a sinner into hell, perhaps you should think about what to tell the Lord when you stand before him and give an account of how you allowed some lost sheep to die in his sins while you were distracted with straightening up the saints!
I Corinthians 3:13- Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
And, before you justify your sinful choices and expect everyone to absolve you of the consequences of your actions, maybe you should think about how your decisions affect others.
Romans 14:7- For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
We all have liberty in Christ to preach the gospel to the dying nations. Let's not forget what Christ left us here to do!
Isaiah 61:1-3- The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
As an American, it was grounded into me from a young age that we are born with certain inalienable rights which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
But, what I was brought up believing liberty was and what people today think of liberty is vastly different. To me, liberty is a right to freedom, but to many people today liberty seems to be a form of censorship.
Galatians 2:4- And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
You have the freedom to decide your lifestyle, but others must lose their freedom to think ill of it. You have the freedom to choose to murder your unborn child regardless of what caused the pregnancy, but others must lose their freedom to question the child's right to life. You have the freedom to "protect" your child the way we see fit, but you lose the freedom to say which way you think is best to protect your child. And, so much more.
I Corinthians 10:29- Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
Sadly, today liberty is actually the loss of personal freedom for the furthering of an ideology or agenda. My liberty is removed to make someone else feel better about themselves. My freedoms are dissolved to make me accept what another can barely accept of them self!
Christ died to give us liberty from sin, not liberty to sin!
Galatians 5:1- Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Today's Christians either go too easy with the whole "live and let live" or they go too hard with the "do everything I say the Bible says to do"! There is a balance. We have a liberty in Christ to grow as an individual. What may be a stumbling block for one person won't be for another.
Galatians 5:13- For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
So, one Christian doesn't eat pork. Another is vegan. And, yet another is an omnivore!
One Christian celebrates Christmas. Another sees it as bowing before a pagan religion.
The Bible gives us liberty to celebrate or not, to eat or not, so long as we can do it to the glory of God. No where does the Bible say it's wrong to observe Christ's birth. No where does the Bible tell you that as a New Testament Christian you cannot drink coffee.
But, there are Christians out there who will put so many rules and restrictions on you and twist he Scriptures until you cannot hear the voice of the Spirit over their regulation shouting!
II Peter 2:18-20- For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
Did you ever think that God deals with us as individuals? Perhaps God is more concerned with someone's covetousness rather than their dietary decisions. Maybe God can use the person at the holiday party as a witness more than the one who holes up during the festivities and shouts about the history of why it's wrong.
Until you can see the persons heart, you have no right to lay burdens upon another. Nor, do you have the right to deny their freedoms in Christ!
Romans 14:4- Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
The world is slipping into debauchery and Christians are stubbornly proclaiming each one his own standard of the Christian life instead of winning these poor lost souls.
So, before you cause a new Christian to stumble or regulate a sinner into hell, perhaps you should think about what to tell the Lord when you stand before him and give an account of how you allowed some lost sheep to die in his sins while you were distracted with straightening up the saints!
I Corinthians 3:13- Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
And, before you justify your sinful choices and expect everyone to absolve you of the consequences of your actions, maybe you should think about how your decisions affect others.
Romans 14:7- For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
We all have liberty in Christ to preach the gospel to the dying nations. Let's not forget what Christ left us here to do!
Isaiah 61:1-3- The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Destined For A Fall (poem)
There was a people long ago
Who had great riches, wealth untold;
They built a city with a wall,
A kingdom they thought would never fall.
How they labored unceasingly
To lay up treasure increasingly;
They gave no thought to what lay beyond,
That their kingdom would someday be gone.
But one by one the stones came down;
The city was leveled to the ground,
No more fortune to be found,
No one left to wear a crown.
The mighty kingdom fell at last;
Its beauty's gone, its pleasure's past;
All was lost they sought to gain,
Their lives were wasted, their labor vain.
You can build a kingdom with a mighty wall,
But like the kingdom long ago, it is destined for a fall,
Unless Christ the Lord becomes your King
And ruler of everything.
—Perry Boardman
Who had great riches, wealth untold;
They built a city with a wall,
A kingdom they thought would never fall.
How they labored unceasingly
To lay up treasure increasingly;
They gave no thought to what lay beyond,
That their kingdom would someday be gone.
But one by one the stones came down;
The city was leveled to the ground,
No more fortune to be found,
No one left to wear a crown.
The mighty kingdom fell at last;
Its beauty's gone, its pleasure's past;
All was lost they sought to gain,
Their lives were wasted, their labor vain.
You can build a kingdom with a mighty wall,
But like the kingdom long ago, it is destined for a fall,
Unless Christ the Lord becomes your King
And ruler of everything.
—Perry Boardman
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Monday, February 3, 2020
Cajun Pizza
4 - 5 cups flour
2 TBS yeast
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
3 TBS honey
1 tsp salt
16 oz Alfredo sauce
1 lb. Louisiana crawfish
1/2 pound andouille sausage
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup diced heirloom tomatoes
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
For the dough:
Mix flour and yeast together.
Warm milk, water, salt, and honey in a saucepan on the stove. It should be warm enough to pull your finger out quickly, but not hot enough to scald you (about 105*).
Add warmed milk to flour, along with the olive oil, and mix into a dough.
Let set and rise 10 minutes.
Roll out and place on your lightly floured pizza pans, or cookie sheets.
For toppings:
Spread your alfredo sauce across your pizza dough.
Chop or slice your andouille sausage into smaller pieces and spread across the top of the pizza dough over the alfredo sauce. Do the same with the crawfish tails, spreading them across the pizza dough. (They should be cooked, not raw. Generally the ones you buy in a package from the store are already cooked.)
Now, chop up your basil leaves and mix with the spinach leaves, mushrooms, garlic, and heirloom tomatoes. Spread this across the pizza dough over the crawfish and andouille.
Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Once all the ingredients have been layered onto the pizza, place in oven at 425* for 8-12 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
Enjoy!
2 TBS yeast
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
3 TBS honey
1 tsp salt
16 oz Alfredo sauce
1 lb. Louisiana crawfish
1/2 pound andouille sausage
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup diced heirloom tomatoes
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
For the dough:
Mix flour and yeast together.
Warm milk, water, salt, and honey in a saucepan on the stove. It should be warm enough to pull your finger out quickly, but not hot enough to scald you (about 105*).
Add warmed milk to flour, along with the olive oil, and mix into a dough.
Let set and rise 10 minutes.
Roll out and place on your lightly floured pizza pans, or cookie sheets.
For toppings:
Spread your alfredo sauce across your pizza dough.
Chop or slice your andouille sausage into smaller pieces and spread across the top of the pizza dough over the alfredo sauce. Do the same with the crawfish tails, spreading them across the pizza dough. (They should be cooked, not raw. Generally the ones you buy in a package from the store are already cooked.)
Now, chop up your basil leaves and mix with the spinach leaves, mushrooms, garlic, and heirloom tomatoes. Spread this across the pizza dough over the crawfish and andouille.
Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Once all the ingredients have been layered onto the pizza, place in oven at 425* for 8-12 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
Enjoy!
Sunday, February 2, 2020
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