Isaiah 55:1-13

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you
The sure mercies of David.
Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the LORD your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you."
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
"For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

2 Timothy 1:6-14

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Romans 8:28 - ff

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

'For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

What is the meaning of this parable? Of whom is Jesus referring? Obviously all of the ten virgins are already Christians. This is evident as they already are all called "virgins", are all carrying lamps, and are all watching for the return of the bridegroom (Jesus). Also because the five unwise virgins call unto the bridegroom saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!".

What a terrible situation to be in. To have the bridegroom return and to not be ready and watching and waiting. To be shut out of the wedding feast. And to have the bridegroom declare unto you - 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'

What does this mean to us as Christians? We need to be ready. We need to be watching. We need to be living 100% true, 100% committed, 100% repentant, 100% obedient lives. We need to spend regular time in prayer with God, and regular time in His word. And we need to live all the time, day and night, as if we are expecting the immenent return of our Lord. He may come today, or tomorrow. He may return in this very hour.

Will you be found watching and waiting, ready and prepared for His return?

He may not even return in your lifetime, but the hour of death might come upon you without warning, and you may find yourself with the books closed and prepared to stand in judgment. Our lives are like a vapor.

James 4:14
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a
little time and then vanishes away.

Are you living a life of discipleship like you mean it? Are you living a life of submission and obedience to God's Word and God's Will?

Revelation 22: 10b - 17

for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Are you Hot, Cold, or Lukewarm in Your Service to God?

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,

‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”

Revelation 3:14-22 (New King James Version)

Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12 (New King James Version)

Psalm 32:1-2

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Psalm 32:1-2 (New King James Version)

Psalm 118 (v19 - ff, excerpts)

Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD,
Through which the righteous shall enter.

I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD's doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Psalms 118 (excerpts, v19 - ff)

O God, You are my God!

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
Psalms 63:1 (NKJV)

Study to show THYSELF Approved!

I was reading the bible the other day and read in Second Timothy, where it says:

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:15 (King James Version)

The New King James says to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God".

An important reminder that we all need to spend regular time in careful and diligent study of God's Word for our own edification, learning, and comparing the reality of our own selves and lives to what God's Will is as revealed in His Word.

A preacher told the story in a bible study class the other day of a new preacher who wanted to save everyone in the town in which he had begun his work as an evangelist, preacher and teacher. Eventually after long and hard labor, and some level of discouragement, he decided he needed to focus just on the souls within his local congregation, and just doing all he could to see that as many of them made it to heaven as possible. After another long period of time he gradually grew discouraged in that effort to some degree. He then decided that what he absolutely needed to do was focus on his own immediate family and ensuring that he did everything possible and worked as hard as possible to make sure that they all made it to heaven. And finally when even that proved to be discouraging, he finally decided that what he needed to do was focus on himself, and trying to make sure that in the end, that he made it to heaven.

I think that in the end if we all focus on ourselves first, get the planks out of our own eyes, repair and repent from the wrongs that we do in our lives, and make our own hearts and lives right with God, we may be properly equipped to help our families, local congregations, and those round and about us in the world.

We need to spend time in study, prayer, and worship before God. We need to examine ourselves with a high degree of careful and critical review against the commandments, judgments, precepts, and wisdom of God's perfect Word. In the end what matters is that we ourselves do not hear those words "Depart from me, I never knew you" in the day of judgment.

In James 3:1-2, it says:
"My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things..."

and in James 1:21-27 it says:
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Online??!! Christian (Huh!)

It's sad to say, but true. The "Online" Christian has been spending very little time online lately as work and family and church and sleep and life events have consumed what little time I have had. I have meant to get back to this time and again, but everytime I think I will, something else comes along and devours my time.

I am going to try to do better - but bear with me as I work to post more regularly.

- OC