The Good News

The Good News

A friend of ours was talking with Helen and me last night and was asking how we can know that one religion is the best one, or is the right one.  He then said that for a community to live in an orderly fashion, it's just logical that people should not take other peoples' stuff or their wives, or kill each other, and that they should tell the truth, and give honor where it is due.  So how do we know which religion is right, since they "all" point us in a direction to do what's right?

Well, OK, since a religion is primarily a code of behavior, or a code of conduct, then anyone of them (maybe not some crazy ones) can setup a code that enables people to live orderly lives.  This is what governments attempt to do with laws.

But that is not the gospel; that is not the good news.  The good news is Jesus Christ: all He is, all He has done, all He is doing, all He has revealed to us, all He has freed us from, and all He enables us to do.

Jesus revealed to us what the Lord God is like, since He is God come as a Man.  [If you want to know what God is like, look closely at Jesus Christ.]  Jesus showed us that the Lord God wants to treat us as His own kids, to be to us a loving Father, to draw us to Himself, with only our best interests in mind.

Jesus made it possible for us to come into, and enjoy, Father's presence.  He setup the family as a model.  We see this as we read the first four books in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which describe Jesus explicitly.  In fact, the whole Bible reveals the goodness of God and His desire to develop a loving relationship with each of us.

Alas, I'm afraid many Christians see "Christianity" as just a good code of conduct, which hopefully will enable them to get along well with their neighbors and coworkers.  The afterlife is just a big unknown that we don't want to talk about.  Alas.  And God is scary!

No!  Father God is not scary!  Ask Him to reveal Himself to you and come to you, and to reveal His goodness, His mercy, His grace, His joy, His peace, His love!  Ask!

Larry Carroll

The Parable of the Fig Tree And The Purpose of the Fig Tree

The Parable of the Fig Tree
The Purpose of the Fig Tree

In Matthew 21 we read:
18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.
19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

In Mark 11 we read:
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.
13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
...
20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

There is a lot written on this account in the commentaries, since it is quite surprising, and to some people quite troubling. Why was this tree "cursed"? The fig tree is one of the things that symbolizes the Jewish nation, not just here, but elsewhere. And that's what people see here. OK, I understand that.

However, I see something else, in addition to the usual lesson.

Here is what came to me this morning:

Jesus cursed the fig tree, yes, but He didn't say, "Die", or anything like it. He just said, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again -or- Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." Same thing.

Here's my thought: If something alive loses its purpose for living, why should it continue to live?

So the fig tree died immediately. Having beautiful, showy leaves is not a good enough purpose for a fig tree to live. It must bear fruit. Let me repeat; it must bear fruit.

The same is true for people. People, individuals, need a reason or a purpose to live. They need significance. They need to "bear fruit."

Do you have a purpose? Yes, you do. Do you know what it is? Hey, the enemy is lying to so many and telling them they have no purpose, no value, no reason to live. It's a lie! Is this lie being spoken to you? Reject it!

OK, here are two reasons to live that Jesus gave us in Mark chapter 12. This is for everyone!
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

So, start here!

Larry Carroll

He Still Speaks Today

The Lord God still speaks - to me, and to us.  Most recently He spoke to me through the scriptures, confirming what Pastor John James shared with us Sunday, 30 June 2019.

I was thinking about all of the wonderful blessings the LORD showers on us, on Helen and me, as is written in Psalm 103.  "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits;"  verse 2.  No, I don't want to forget them.

The thought came to me, "Why should the blessings all flow in one direction only?"  His blessings express His great love for us, and I'm really, REALLY, glad to receive them, but I'd like to express my love and my gratitude back to Him.  He truly is altogether lovely!

Oh yes, I know, He doesn't need anything from me.  In Psalm 50 verse 12 He says, "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness."  Yes, praise and worship is good and right, and I love it.  But what can I do to express my love back to Him, other than that?

Then I was reminded of Matthew 25:31-46.

I'll summarize it with what is written in verse 40:
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Thank you, LORD, for still speaking to us.

Hallelujah!

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Here is the full context of verse 40 just mentioned:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”   (New King James Version)

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At this point, I really want to encourage you all to get familiar with the scriptures, that is, the Bible.  Pick a version that is easy for you to read.  Just read a little at a time.  Start in the four books called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which are called the Gospels.  Gospel means "Good News".  And what is written in the Gospels about Jesus and His love for us is truly good news!

Larry Carroll

Never Give Up

Last week I saw a video on YouTube in which a professor from the Army War College in Carlisle, PA explained General Robert E. Lee's reason for invading the North.  The target was Harrisburg, PA.  The goal was to deliver a stunning defeat to the Union and destroy their will to win.

To destroy the Union's will to win was the only hope the Confederates had to win a negotiated settlement and survive, since the Union, the North, had so much more in resources than the Confederacy had.

And, to destroy our will to win is our enemy's strategy, too.  The LORD God has given us, individually and collectively, so much more in resources than Satan has.  Satan cannot win!  It's impossible - except if we give up.

See Galatians 6:9 which reads:
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up, or lose heart."

Rejoice!

We Will Not Be Lost In The Crowd

2019 April 15

Today I was reading through Matthew and finished the great Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5, 6, and 7.  Then I came to the start of chapter 8 and read this: Great multitudes followed Him. (Matthew 8:1)  Oh, I would, too.  I'm sure it was amazing!

But, alas, very few could get close to Him - while He was here on earth.

And this is the picture many (maybe most) have of a great multitude in heaven praising Him and worshiping Him around His Throne.  In that picture most of us see ourselves as so far back that we're just lost in the crowd.  Yes, this is a picture suggested in Revelation 5 verses 11 and 12.

11. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
12. saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Again, amazing!  But this picture is incomplete, IF we see it as though we can't get close to Him in heaven.

Hey, it's better than that NOW, because He went away and sent "The Comforter", the Holy Spirit, to live in each of us!  So we are never alone, if we have opened ourselves up to allow the Holy Spirit to come in. Therefore, we can personally and intimately commune with Him NOW.  We can let our requests be made known to Him and receive His embrace NOW.  We can also receive personal guidance and direction in how to live.  This is true NOW.  And it will be even better then.

It can't be better now than when we are in heaven!

How will it be possible to be intimate with our precious Jesus, yet part of a great multitude praising Him?  Well, Luke 18 verse 27 says, "What is impossible with man/people is possible with God."  He will make a way.  In fact, He is doing it NOW!

We will not be lost in the crowd in heaven.  Hallelujah!

Larry Carroll

Enhance, Amplify, Augment, Boost, Elevate, Enlarge, Heighten, Increase, Magnify, etc

In Matthew 6 we read:
1. When you do a charitable deed..., verses 2&3
2. When you pray..., verses 5,6&7
3. When you fast..., verses 16&17

"Surely" one can do charitable deeds without praying. And "surely" one can pray without fasting. BUT, fasting enhances our prayers, and praying enhances our charitable deeds.

What? These enhancements make the action more effective, and dare I say, likely much more anointed.

Oh, you don't really need these enhancements. (Don't quote me on that.) But life is much better, and your service to others is much better, when it is enhanced (etc.), and frankly, this enhancement, this anointing, could mean the difference between success and failure.

See Matthew chapter 6 for instructions on prayer and fasting.

Larry
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P.S. Another enhancement to our lives is mentioned in First Corinthians 14. In verse 4 it says that the person that prays in tongues, (a.k.a., in the spirit) builds himself or herself up. So there is benefit here. You don't have to, but it's better if you do.

See First Corinthians chapter 14 for instructions on using this grace called "praying in tongues".

Hey, God is for you! This life is not supposed to be hard, if your gaze is fixed on Jesus!

God Is Good

God is good.

How do I know? Well, there are several places in the Bible that declare it to be so.

Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 119:68 You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.
Psalm 136:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Lamentations 3:22-23 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

These are all wonderful, but the PRIMARY REASON is this: Jesus came down and showed us what God is like. In John 14 verse 9 Jesus said to Philip, "He that has seen me has seen the Father." Jesus is the express image, the exact representation of God in all respects. And Jesus was good!

While on earth "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." as it says in Acts 10 verse 38. And then finally Jesus paid for our sin so that we are spared the penalty.

He is still good, since Hebrews 13 verse 8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

That's how I know that God is good.

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Hey, I never thought of this until yesterday, but God has been good from eternity past, which means He was good during Old Testament times, too. Many people think somehow He was kinda angry before Christ came to earth. Then? Did He change? No, God did not and does not change.

Larry Carroll

Ready For Battle?

Psalm 78:9-11

A sad account:

9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

Why?

10 They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,

11 And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.

What about me, Jesus? When might my day of battle be? (Answer: Every day in some ways)

I must be ready and willing. More than that, I must be eager. How can I be eager? By remembering Your previous victories, Jesus, and expecting further victories, since You, Jesus, are the same, yesterday, and today, and forever.

Hallelujah!

Larry Carroll

Mentoring - Sort Of

Is there a near synonym that implies a light form of mentoring?  Mentoring without really paying attention to it?  I am looking for that word.

About 35 years ago, a group of men decided to have a breakfast meeting in which each of these men would ask their individual mentors to come and speak.  I was asked.

I was not prepared to say anything, because I did not see myself as a mentor to the man who claimed me as his mentor.  So I told them basically, "I have nothing to say here."

More recently a guy started calling me one of his mentors.  Why?  All we did was eat together and talk a little, and I visited him in the hospital.  We still chat on the phone occasionally.

But now I see what it is: people are watching us.  People talk about kids watching and copying their parents.  It looks like adults do the same thing with someone they respect.  Oh, I guess these two guys felt loved, too.

You can be an example to others, right?  Well, you are doing it, even if you don't realize it.

Larry Carroll

Why?

There are exceptions to this, but there are many people who are not interested in a given subject if they see no use for it in "real" life.

One way people express this is, "When am I ever going to need to know this?" Or, "When am I ever going to use this?"

I've been there - in my junior year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute taking Advanced Calculus, which is beyond third semester Calculus. And, in fact, as far as I know, I have never used anything in this subject in the 55 years since I took it.

I believe many people view the Bible in the same way, saying, "When am I ever going to need to know this?"

Another way the Bible is disregarded is, "I already know all I need to know about it!" And, therefore, I can ignore it. My grandmother said that was how my grandfather felt about the Bible, and he was a preacher's kid. Alas. (But maybe she was wrong about him.)

Why should I read the Bible?

Well, OK, what use is it to read the Bible? This: that the Lord God reveals Himself either little by little or very profoundly as we read the Bible. This is NOT an academic exercise! (Anyone agree here?) Oh, OK, except for students in religious schools.

Knowing that the Lord God reveals Himself in the reading, the enemy of your soul wants to distract you from this effort, and He's very good at it. I know, I get distracted a lot.

Where to start? How to proceed? Ask the Lord to help, and maybe ask a friend to help, too. I will say this; start by reading about Jesus in the first four books of the New Testament, called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Yes, there will be many references to parts of the Old Testament there that either you'll just have to pass over or else write down as a question for someone else, but these books still reveal Jesus as the great Lover of all. They reveal what He was like, and that reveals what Father God is like, since Jesus on earth was the exact image of His Father in every respect.

You will also benefit from reading the Psalms. But my advice is to start with the books about Jesus. Of course, you can read whatever part you want to, and I trust that eventually you will read it all.

Larry Carroll
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P.S.
Now let me go off on a tangent. How else does the Lord Jesus reveal Himself to us? Well, the Bible is the baseline, but there are four ways listed in John chapter 5. They all must agree, or at least not disagree.

Here in John chapter 5, Jesus is telling a crowd who or what reveals Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

1. First, at that time there was John the Baptist. John's purpose in life was to reveal Jesus as the Son of God to the crowds. We have people in our lives that fulfill that same role, revealing Jesus as Lord. So, look for these people!

2. Second, Jesus said the works that He does reveal who He is, which is still true today. So, watch! See what He is doing! And find out what He has done over the centuries.

3. Third, Jesus said God the Father also reveals who Jesus is, speaking directly to our spirit, that is, to our inner being. So with this, you just know something. How do you know? You just know. But it has to agree with the Bible, which is also known as the Word of God. So, listen to the voice within! It should give you peace. If it does not, then ask if it does or does not agree with Scripture. And talk about it to a friend.

4. Fourth, the Bible, also known as the Scriptures, reveals Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. So, read it! Start here!

There is a passage in Scripture which says, "And you will seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you..." (Jeremiah 29 verses 13 and 14.) You will find Him, because He wants you to find Him. He is for you! He wants to relate to you in a good way!

His name is Jesus, or Yeshua, in Hebrew.

Hallelujah!

We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight.

II Corinthians 5 verse 7
We walk by faith, not by sight.

We should walk by faith in what the Lord God says, not by our circumstances.  Our circumstances are true, but what the Lord God is saying is "more true".  Yes, what He says is overriding truth, the ultimate truth.

Now here is an example where Peter walked by faith, and not by sight.
Perhaps you have heard someone say, "Do you know anyone other than Jesus that has walked on water?"  This is a well meaning attempt to point out the uniqueness of Jesus and differentiate Him from everyone else.  And, yes, He is unique.  He is (still) fully God and fully Man.

However, to that question, I would have to answer, "Well, yes, I do know someone else.  Peter the apostle walked on water, according to Matthew 14 verse 29."

"Well, he attempted to walk on water."  No, he succeeded in walking on water because he heard Jesus say "Come", as verse 29 says.  And hearing Jesus say something makes all the difference.

Here is Matthew 14 verses 28-30:
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”  (And Jesus did save him.)

OK, so Peter really did walk on water.  But understand this - he did it at the command of Jesus, even though Peter requested the command. (In this case it seems like Jesus' command was much like an authorization to proceed.)

Jesus' commands enable us.  His commands are good, and First John 5 verse 3 says that they are not burdensome or grievous.  And Jesus' commands are sometimes (often?) the doorway to new adventures.  So, listen!

This is a profound lesson for us today.  (No, not that anyone should attempt to copy Peter on the water.)

What we have here is:
1. Jesus commanded Peter to come (after Peter requested it.)
2. Peter succeeded in walking on water - only as he kept his eyes on Jesus (faith), and not on the waves (his circumstances).  But when his attention turned to the waves (his circumstances), he slipped away.

We can rejoice with Peter that Jesus then saved him from his circumstances.  And that was good, but only second best, don't you think?

The lesson here is this: I must only act either on what I have truly heard the Lord tell me, or on what are clear principles in scripture since this is also what the Lord God is telling us.  And when I hear it, I should go for it!

So, walk by faith.  It's exciting!  The enemy will try to use circumstances to distract us from fixing our eyes on Jesus.  But you can defeat the enemy by keeping your eyes on the LORD, on Jesus.

Hallelujah!

Larry Carroll