NCarolinian

When Lloyd Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, attended college, he lived in a boarding house. A retired, wheelchair-bound music professor resided on the first floor. Each morning Douglas would stick his head in the door of the teacher's apartment and ask the same question, 'Well, what's the good news?' The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of the wheelchair , and say, 'That's Middle C! It was Middle C yesterday; it will be Middle C tomorrow; it will be a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat. The piano across the hall is out of tune, but, my friend, that is Middle C.' You and I need a Middle C. Yahweh is my Middle C. [Excerpt from Traveling Light , by Max Lucado]

Repent... metanoeō ...[met-an-o-eh'-o]...to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction) Forgive... aphiēmi ...[af-ee'-ay-mee]...to send forth, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up. Many have come to the altar and sought forgiveness. Many have been forgiven. However, many of those same individuals who asked and received forgiveness did not repent . How do I know? Their lifestyles did not change. Lifestyle is chained to our heart, mind, and attitude and so is repentance. Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) says,  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he... There is repentance and forgiveness in Salvation. I changed my mind, heart, and attitude about my thoughts, actions, and words when I encountered Jesus. Then when I confessed with my mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and believed that God raised Him from the dead - I was forgiven ( Romans 10:9 ). The whole package is commonly calle...

What I affectionately call The Checklist is a Biblical study of a schedule of events that is to begin with the Tribulation Period in history-future. The Checklist also includes signs of the times leading up to that starting point. The Checklist is a means of reminding myself and others to continue The Watch -  "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' " (Mark 13:35-37) Matthew puts it a little more succinctly -  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him . (Matthew 24:44) Some may say,  "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." (2 Peter 3:4) - to which I reply, "Wait for i...

I encourage you brothers and sisters in Christ to fulfill your role in the Great Commission - "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) For me this verse is loaded with encouraging, juicy tidbits . So, I would like to pass them on to you. For instance, right out of the gate Jesus took the time to actually come to them and love, encourage, teach, and instruct the disciples - "Then Jesus came to them and said,..." .  Then it gets even better, the Lord started off His highly encouraging Commission with the  Why for the rest of His instruction - "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."  This statement was and...

The saga of Balaam and Balak is a prophetic tale of the gentile church. Balaam is a gentile. He is a spiritual man; in fact he's a God-fearer; that is he absolutely believes in and pays attention to the God of Israel. He hears from the God of Israel and knows the God of Israel. Yet he cannot bring himself to dismiss his long heritage of gentile traditions and customs that are so at odds with the Torah and other Scriptural commands of Yehoveh. Balaam is an amazing model of the gentile dominated Church. Do you see it? The mainstream institutional Church says that Israel no longer has a glorious future, instead that glorious future now belongs to the gentile Church. The most ubiquitous and accepted Church doctrines say that God has abandoned Israel, rejected His people for all time, cursed them and blessed we gentile Believers in their stead. And the Church is so horribly wrong on this. Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is utter self-destructive foolishness to think that we can do a...

Pride has increased over the years in humanity to the point where boasting about something doesn't mean we need to be right, just seen - vanity. To some being right is the point of the boast. To other people if they are right, great, but they just want the spotlight - if for just a moment.  I have only heard and read one thing that is worth boasting about - salvation through Jesus Christ. Of course there are many other benefits to boast about after deciding to follow Christ that are still because of Him, but the first is the actual acceptance of His sacrificial, redemptive gift of life by grace through faith. Paul was inspired to write, in particular, something on this topic twice - once in his first letter to the church in Corinth and second in his second letter to the same church. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:31) But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (2 Corinthians 10:17) Act...

Of all the emotions I could rattle off to begin describing God like - joy, happiness, wonder, closeness, patience, appreciation, and hope - there is one that comes to my mind first. Love. 1 John 4:8 identifies God as love and goes even a step further and tells us that - " Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  The Holy Spirit reminds me to emulate this loving existence through the penmanship of Paul. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.......And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ( 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 13 ) However, there is another emotion that is often a...

Authority - it is a position for the disagreeable to blame and the rest of us to trust. When something is wrong in the world many point the finger at the Authority Figures of the World. For the trusting souls the authority on a matter is someone who can supply truth, advice, fix something, and/or heal something or someone. When things have gone wrong in our society many times we say " The Authorities  are working to resolve the situation." Authority has power and responsibility that carry with it a weight behind it's purpose which declares it possesses a Seal of Approval from a Higher Power. This is my own definition I managed as I viewed Jesus in His role of authority. Authority in the original Greek is the word exousia (ex-oo-see'-ah) meaning privilege, that is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: - authority, jurisdiction, l...

Daniel's Visit from Gabriel I can understand a healthy study of the Holy angels of Scripture. I should, I have sensed their presence in my life and have even written a book about them - Angels:  More Than Messengers .  However, it baffles me sometimes to see the sheer amount of fascination with angels as opposed to the Creator who created them. John, while he was on the Isle of Patmos, experienced this challenge. Twice John had to be instructed by the visiting angel not to worship him but God alone ( Revelation 19:10 and 22:9 ). But it is not only John. I have witnessed non-Christians and Christians alike who over-emphasize the glorification of these beings in their life instead of God. "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen." ( Romans 1:25 )  Contact with these beings should only be one direction - them to us. Prayer is a sacred, powerful form of communication f...

Temptation and persecution, they are a sure thing especially if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ. Matthew 4:3 mentions the devil by one of his many names - "tempter" . Christ was tempted. With a fallen angel that does nothing but go around stealing, killing, and destroying God's people and creation - Christians will be tempted too. Christians will also be persecuted because Jesus said,  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. ( John 15:20 ) Studying the Temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13 there was something that jumped out at me today that spurred this warning. In this account, having just been filled full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus approaches His 40-day fast in the desert with the enemy of our soul as company. It was not a social call. For our sake Jesus was lead there to be tempted ( v.1 ). Jesus overcame every obstacle the devil threw at Him with The Written Word of God, which was really the Word of God Himself in flesh - Jesus. So, Jesus was b...

It really is interesting how after the umpteenth time that I read the Scriptures a fresh idea jumps right off the pages and hits me square in the brain and spirit. Reading all four Gospels the other day I noticed that as soon as Jesus stepped on the scene with the starting of His ministry many people flocked to Him for healing. His heart of compassion was absolutely incredible! However, what really stood out to me was the sheer amount of demon-possessed individuals that were either brought to Him for healing or that Jesus encountered and healed on His journey. Matthew, Mark, and Luke made sure that I got this image. Mark and Luke retell some of the same accounts as Matthew. Luke, being a physician, describes the events in a little more detail for us who desire more specifics. So, with these three harmonizing on this subject I concluded this was a confirmation of a great study. References that can be looked at for this topic are - Matthew 4:24, 8:16, 8:28-33, 9:32-33, 12:22, 15:21-2...

Samuel Butler said, "Self-preservation is the first law of nature." I add, it is a personal mechanism used to protect one's chances of advancing in life. Society calls it survival-of-the-fittest . This mentality and strategy places the burden squarely on the one seeking the preservation and leaves no room for God and His self-sacrificing strategy of life. There are times in the life of Jesus that He taught about self-sacrifice. Then Jesus went on to be the perfect example of what He taught. Meanwhile, He saw self-preservation reveal itself many times until His last breath. For example... A teacher of the Law and a disciple approached Jesus on the cost of following Him ( Matthew 8:18-22 ). To the both of these men Jesus explained  in other words  that they were waiting for what seemed to be that just right moment to follow Him. What was needed was a self-sacrificial decision to follow Jesus no matter the family situation, travel accommodations, or housing arrangements...

What’s The Meaning Of This? At first glance, having a 1000 year interlude between the Age of Man and Eternity doesn’t make sense. But on reflection, I think that it may be natural man’s last, best, chance to prove himself to God. Through out history we’ve had the evil workings of the devil to contend against, but all during the Millennium the devil will be imprisoned [ Rev.20:2 ]. Without him to tempt them can man behave in a manner pleasing to God? We’ve also had the bad influence of unbelievers, but at the beginning of the Millennium all unbelievers will be taken away [ Matt. 25:41-46 ]. Will that make it possible for man to please God? For the last 2000 years the Lord has been absent from the planet. When He returns to become their King [ Eze. 43:6-7 ] will His presence among them enable man to please Him? Sadly, the answer to all these questions is a resounding no. Even with Satan bound, no more unbelievers, and the in person rule of the Lord Himself, there’s still enough sin in th...

The orchestrations of God are specific for His Glory. Christians serve and are friends with a specific God. Some examples of God being specific with His children are - Abram's departure from home Ananias used to heal Paul Philip enlightens the eunuch Cornelius and Peter receive preparatory words Abram's Departure From Home In Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord tells Abram - (1) leave your country, (2) leave your people, (3) leave your father's household, and (4) go to the land I will show you. Thankfully, the Lord gives Abram the why right behind this direction. God says, (1) I will make you into a great nation, (2) I will bless you, (3) I will make your name great, (4) you will be a blessing, (5) I will bless those who bless you, (6) I will curse those who curse you, and (7) all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Notice God does the work, He does the "making into a great nation", the "blessing", the "making the name great", the ...

I have to be honest with myself and with you - just as Islam has the notion of desiring chaos to reign in the world SO THAT their Messiah or Mahadi will arrive on the scene, I desire to do what I can, even though I know it makes no difference, to speed the coming of My Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ! Like I stated, I realize Christ's return for His church, body, bride, or true believers is Not Dependent on anything I or anybody else does. We all know this thought as the teaching of Imminency - an impending action likely to occur at any moment. However, there is still part of me that wants to help fulfill Mark 13:10 and/or Matthew 24:14 . And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.  Matthew 24:14 For the sake of Christ and the extension of His Kingdom, I have shared The Good News abroad in the world, abroad in the United States, and locally. The note of interest here is that the majority of tho...