Author: Bill

Another excerpt from “Hard to Believe” by Pastor John MacArthur, p.149.  “In Matthew 11: 14, Jesus stated, “And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.” In the Old Testament, Malachi 4: 5 said that before the Messiah came to set up His kingdom on earth, Elijah would come as a forerunner. In Matthew, Jesus wasn’t saying John was actually Elijah, but one like Elijah. John 1 bears this out, when the priests and Levites asked John if he were the Christ, and he said he wasn’t. Then in John 1: 21, they asked, “‘ What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’” We know Jesus’ meaning in Matthew is that someone in the person and character of Elijah had come: a powerful, rugged, Elijah-like individual who was announcing the kingdom. So, according to Jesus, John the Baptist was the greatest mortal who ever lived, yet amazingly Matthew 11:11 says, “He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This is a great truth. Greatness isn’t being like John the Baptist, because his was a greatness of function as herald for Christ. True greatness is not in our function, but in our relationship to God that places us in His kingdom.” How about that? According to The Lord, We are positionally greater than anyone who has ever lived because we are in relationship with the creator or all things. And it all comes from faith in Christ Who makes us right with the Father. You can have a personal audience with God the Father at any time. No appointments required. Use your access well.  Love Mel

From Bill –The following is a direct quotation from John MacArthurs book Hard to Believe p. 142. “John the Baptist came from a common, humble family without any noteworthy education or social grace, and without any previous accomplishments to his credit. And yet our Lord said he was the greatest human being who ever lived up to that time. Matthew 11:11: “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus even emphasized the fact by starting with “Assuredly,” which means “truly,” or “a fact beyond dispute.” Jesus offered no qualification or opinion here, just a statement of fact: “John is the greatest human being ever.” John was greater than Adam or Abraham. He was greater than Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; greater than Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon. John’s personal character marked his greatness. He was a man who could recognize, acknowledge, and overcome his limitations, which is always a hallmark of greatness. Every person is either a victim of his situation or a victor over it. Everybody has challenges, weaknesses, failings, infirmities, and problems. The question is whether or not you can overcome them. The great ones fight through, and John did that. He was a man of humility who recognized his shortcomings. The great are the ones who see their failings and work to overcome, not the ones who fancy themselves to be without weakness. And as long as you admit no weakness, you will never grow to your full strength. This was a rare gift in the ancient world.” Let us strive to acknowledge and overcome our weaknesses and flaws to the glory of God, just like John the Baptist did.  Love Mel

From Bill— How do we develop the eulogy virtues or the Christ-like virtues. I read a great book called “Chop Wood Carry Water”. In it the author tells of a young man seeking to learn the art of Samurai archery from a master. For the first several years his job, to his sadness, was only to chop wood and carry water at the masters house. When the day finally came to try archery he was told to stand a few feet away from the target and practice the draw for hours on end. There was no great revelation from the master. He decided to quit and told the master he was frustrated at never learning to shoot the bow and arrow as the Samurai could. The master finally placed him far away from the target. The young boy, to his happy surprise, drew the powerful bow back easily and aimed with muscle imbedded precision. He found that he had great strength and great skill borne of chopping wood and carrying water and practicing process. The message? Are you saddened by events in life? Do you believe that pain, suffering and boredom are a curse? Perhaps not, if your goal is to become like The Master, ask if during those experiences you developed eulogy traits like Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, meekness, self control. If so, you have been blessed, not cursed. It is in the valley that we look up. “It was good that I was afflicted…”.  Love Mel

Eccl 2:26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. —What can we conquer? There are some problems that we encounter in life that are easily conquered, & others that are impossible in our strength! One of those that fall into The impossible is Death! It is the number one thing conquered by Christ & this one thing is where our HOPE is! For hope for eternity is really the most important thing. Anything else is a fake! & ultimately a lonely place to be at the end of this life! There are many who have tried it all in this life, only to come to the end still searching for “what this life is really all about”! For ALL is VANITY! —Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers flow to the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers flow, there they keep on flowing. —Life can become wearisome if we focus on the wrong things! The most important is focusing on God, alone! Eccl 12:13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God & keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.  Love Mel

From Bill & Mel —God gives us what Winkler calls “divine dynamite” to blow through the strongholds the devil places in our minds. —EPHESIANS 6: 12 “For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” — So we MUST stand on His promises. “The way to stand on a promise is to announce it over your life or your situation. This is called a declaration. In this case you may declare, “Because I share in the inheritance of Abraham, I declare that I am blessed to be a blessing.” Since the promise also includes your offspring, you should speak it over your children too: “I declare that my children are blessed so that they too can meet the needs of others.” Let me make it clear. If tormenting yourself with guilt or memories or fear helps you, then do it. But on the other hand, since you know that such torment gets you nowhere, If a thought pattern troubles you – forget it & treat it as an attack of the evil one. God gives instructions to put on the full armor. If He wants you to do something He will tell you. If a thought pattern makes you feel bad – forget it!!!! That’s IT – FORGET IT! Even if there is truth in the attack, FORGET IT! Replace IT with another thought! This is part of renewing the mind! We can’t think on two things at the same time! Why not choose to think positive! As a little child, Look for the good! Play some beautiful music! Music can chase the demons away! Our praise brings God’s power! Remember the walls of Jericho came falling down when they played music & praised God! Believe what God says. That is what matters! Love Mel