VIOCTORY OVER SIN---- HERE'S HOW!

 Unleavened Bread Feast

The Battle with Sin!

THE WAR AGAINST SIN                                            The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a good time to talk about sin, and the victory over it.      If you have been a Christian for some time you will certainly know that sin does not stop coming your way after you become a child of God. Satan and his demon helpers do not run off into the dust just because you have Jesus as your personal Savior.       We are given an example in the New Testament of sin still being actively alive in the lives of the disciples of the Lord. It is perhaps one of the greatest examples, for it concerns the life of one of the most important men ever used by the Lord, not only  in His work of spreading the Gospel, but in writing the very New Testament Scriptures themselves. It is the life of the mighty apostle PAUL!      From what he tells us in plain words, you and I can take encouragement: "Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is evil? Of course not! The law is not sinful, but it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin took advantage of this law and aroused all kinds f   of forbidden desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.... "But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my doom? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commandment for its own evil purposes. "The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. "It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin." (From Romans 7 - The New Living Translation)      We see that Paul's bottom line, foundational attitude of mind was that he really did desire to serve the law of God, which he said was good, for it showed him what sin was; yet still in his nature was this leaning towards doing what was not good. You can sense he was in a battle, a fight, and sometimes he lost the fight to sin. But his basic mind-set was to do what was right. He could certainly see that he was wretched in comparison to the holy and good law of God. He could have felt it was hopeless and given up the fight against sin, but he could see there was victory through Christ Jesus.      This section of Scripture should make it very clear to you that it is not possible to "earn through works" our way to eternal life in God's Kingdom. Paul in Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. One sin puts us under death, and it makes no difference if we have rung up a thousand "good works" - one sin still requires the penalty of death.      I think most of us can understand this by taking the example of "driving a car." You may obey a thousand times all the road laws out there, but when the policeman pulls you over for one infraction of the road laws, he ain't going to ask you how many times you've obeyed the road laws. He's just there to give you a penalty for that one breaking of the law, he just caught you in.      So it is no wonder at all that the New Testament teaches that YOU ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH in the sacrifice of Christ. He paid your fine for breaking the road law, so to speak.      But can you just decide to set your mind to not bother trying to observe all the road laws, because you have someone to pay the fine? I do not think the police would say you can have that attitude towards all the road laws. So it should not surprise us God thinks the same way as the police, about his laws either.       If you read what Paul wrote again in Romans 7 (and a modern version really brings out the clearness of it), you should be able to see Paul had no attitude of just deciding to break the law at will. He tried to observe the good, holy, law of God; it was his weakness of the flesh that pulled him towards sinning. But he said he had victory through Christ.       Paul did not go into the details of how this victory worked, for it would be the apostle John that was going  to be inspired to tell us the details of how the victory works. WINNING THE FIGHT 1 John 1 and 2 1 "The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen.  (This one verse in the New Testament blows to a million pieces the teaching by some that Jesus did not exist from the beginning, or only came into existence when in the womb of Mary - Keith Hunt) "We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father  and with his Son, Jesus Christ. "We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete. "This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.  "If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 2 "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, 'I belong to God,' but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God's word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did" (1 John chapter 1 and first part of chapter 2, from The New Living Translation).      To have an attitude of just not caring about obeying the commandments of God, is fully and completely blown out of the water by what we have just read. It should be as clear as the sun in a cloudless sky, that anyone coming to you and telling you the law of the Lord has been "done away with" and you do not need to take note of it any more, is simply a bold-faced LIAR!! Such a false teaching as the law of God has been abolished by New Testament "grace" is a teaching of such magnitude that it would have to be classified under the end times "doctrine of demons" the apostle Paul said would be around in the latter times, which really have been from the days of the first apostles. Jude in the first century said that many had already come who were turning the grace of God into a license to sin at pleasure (Jude 4). He had to tell his readers to "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints" (verse 3). The true way of salvation for many had slipped away within the very life time of the first apostles. How far do you suppose it has slipped away today?      God is light and no darkness is in Him at all. If we say we walk in the light but really live in spiritual darkness, not even understanding the "common salvation" that Jude exhorted his readers to get back to, then we are indeed in darkness, and we just fool ourselves that we have fellowship with the Father and with Christ.       If on the other hand, we are living in the basic light of truth, and certainly the way to salvation is one of the very foundational truths of God, then we are in the light of God.      At this point I need to say that as shocking as it is to hear, there are tens of millions, nay over a BILLION people on earth who call themselves "Christian" and who have not the foggiest light of truth as to the way of salvation; they have no idea of what is the truth behind Paul's words: "For by grace as you saved, through faith, and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).      I have given you the full and clear truth of these verses, in a study called, "Saved by Grace." You need to make sure you understand the bedrock of the Bible. One of the most important truths is on your salvation by grace through faith. Many theological "scholars" with DR in front of their name, or PhD after their name, cannot, do not, understand the simple truth of being saved by grace. But it is simple, and I make it simple for you to understand in that study of mine; why even a young child can understand it. That study will compliment and amplify the truth of this study you are reading. It is one of the most important studies I've ever written - of course it is, for it concerns YOUR salvation.      If we are living in the light of the truth of God then we can have the cleansing blood of Jesus applied to our lives, day by day, month by month, year by year. That is what John is telling us in chapter one. The blood of Christ cleanses us from sin! Walking in the light of truth with the Father, qualifies us to receive the blood of Christ to wash away our sins, on a present basis. "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.  "If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."      Pretty clear words are they not? John pulls no punches. He's just flat up straight out. Just tells it as it is. Paul did not fool himself; we have seen he told us he was a wretched sinner at times. He didn't want to be, his inner being did not want to sin, he loved the law of God, and his inner being served it; yet he fell short at times, and sinned. To say that under the New Testament of being saved by grace (and the truth is it was this way under the Old Testament also) we do not have sin in us, we are refusing to accept the truth of the matter.       What must we do? We are to CONFESS our sins, confess we are sinners to our God!      Do you remember the story Jesus gave in the Gospels about the Pharisee and the publican going up to pray? The Pharisee said he was thankful that he was not like the sinners out there, and boasted about his self-righteousness. The publican, well he just looked down and said, "Forgive me Father, a sinner I am." Jesus said the publican would be justified, forgiven, at one with God, before the self-righteous Pharisee.      When we confess, as Paul did, that we are sinners, when we have the attitude of knowing we fall very short at times, from the perfectness and holiness of the Father, then we can be forgiven and cleansed from every wrong through Christ.      If our attitude is that we are not sinners, we make God out to be a liar, for God knows we are really just like the apostle Paul of Romans 7, and our heart is far from having God's word in us. We are then in REALLY BAD shape, spiritually speaking!      So how does it work? John went on to tell us: 2 "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world."      Like Paul, we do not desire to sin, our attitude of mind is to love the law of the Lord, we know with Paul that it is holy, just, and good. Looking at and meditating on each of the Ten Commandment, we realize that if all nations were obeying each of those commandments, we would have a world that is FAR DIFFERENT than it is today. I do not have to use space and time to tell you how different the world would be if everyone, in all nations, were obeying the Ten Commandments. You can soon figure that out for yourself.  The problem usually comes when you get to the FOURTH commandment - the Sabbath commandment. People today just do not want to observe the fourth commandment. They feel it is unimportant, that you can leave it or take it, or they figure any one day in seven is good enough, and maybe just a few hours of "worship" on that day is also just good enough. But the fourth commandment is the longest worded commandment of the ten. And it is pretty clear in what it says: the SEVENTH day is the holy Sabbath rest day, not any other day, only the seventh day of the week has been sanctified and made holy by God, right from the beginning in Genesis chapter two. That fourth commandment as you find in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, has NEVER been "done away with" or "changed" to some other day of the week. The arguments from some "minister" theology fellows that the law has been done away with, is usually because they do not want to obey the specifics of this fourth commandment. If they did they would have to tell their congregation, and they would soon find themselves out of a job, and out of favor with the masses of people who go under the title of "Christian."       As a child growing up [in the 1940s and 1950s] in a Church of England school, I was taught we should obey the Ten Commandments and I had to learn them by memory as in Ex. 20, KJV, full version, every word. Not one person ever told me that Sunday was not the 7th day of the week; so I grew up believing it was. All the towns closed down, no pro sports was done. I fully believed we were all observing the 7th day as in the fourth Commandment. Britain at that time still claimed to be a religious nation under God.      It was easy to see as I read the four Gospels, Jesus observed the Sabbath commandment, and taught how it should be observed.      The early Church of God has a minister conference over the subject of physical circumcision [Acts 15]. If the weekly Sabbath was ever going to be changed to the first day, or any day a person wanted, you can bet there would have been a minister conference over the matter. There never was. To the Jews there were FOUR very important points in their religion—— 1. The Temple 2. Priesthood and sacrifices  3. Physical circumcision 4. The weekly Sabbath. They had over 600 laws governing the weekly Sabbath; most Jesus thew aside. But the point is there is no way the day of the weekly Sabbath could be changed without a ministerial conference as it was for physical circumcision.      Jesus, in telling us the signs to look for when He would return [Matthew 24], told about His disciples having to flee from persecution, and went on to say, His people should pray the fleeing would not be in the winter or on the Sabbath day. Even if you believe Matt. 24 was for 70 A.D. you still see the weekly Sabbath was in force till then, after all the epistles of Paul had been written, whom some claim he did away with the weekly Sabbath [Col. 2:16] and yet told the Romans they could pick any day [Rom. 14]. Atheists laugh at Christians who have Paul contradicting himself, and contradicting Jesus in Matthew 24.        As a child of the Father we want to live, our mind is set to live a life that is holy and sinless. Yet sin is still with us, all around us, and our fleshly nature, together with the influence of Satan and his workers, pulls us into sin at times. Remember the account of what Paul told us about himself in Romans 7.       The Father not only sent Jesus to live a perfect life, to take our sins upon Himself at His death on the stake, and so to reconcile us to the Father, have all our sins up to our baptism, washed away in the blood of Christ's sacrifice for us, but we still continue to live on after our baptism, and as we do live on we find ourselves being in the company of the apostle Paul in Romans 7.       Now Jesus was RAISED from the dead, and He did return to the Father to sit at His right hand, as clearly stated in many New Testament Scriptures. But He's not just there to give moral support to the Father, and have a wonderful time with Him, while he waits for the Father to say he can return to earth. Jesus, has a very important job to do, now today. He is an interceding High Priest on behalf of His brothers and sisters here on earth, in the flesh, and who are still sinning at times, in thought, word, and deed.      Jesus PLEADS for us! He knows what it is like to be human. It is written that He was tempted like we are, when He was in the flesh, but unlike us, He did not sin, no not once. And because of his earthly life and sinless life, He is more than qualified to be an interceding high priest, on our behalf when we sin from time to time.      This is the wonderful news John is telling us. And because Jesus was God in the flesh - Immanuel - God with us, His life and sacrifice is continually able to take every sin, by every person, who will ever live. His blood through death on the cross, His life as our interceding High Priest (much of the book of Hebrews is all about Christ's office as High Priest in heaven) is forever able to secure our forgiveness of sins, providing as we have seen, that we acknowledge, as Paul did, that we are sinners, in need of victory through Christ. With our day to day attitude of mind, a humble repentant mind, and with Jesus as a faithful pleading High Priest on our behalf, we are continually under the grace and mercy of God the Father.       Each day we can come before the Father, confess we are a sinner, ask the Father for forgiveness where we have fallen short of the mark of holy perfectness, and with Christ pleading for us, though our sins may be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; they are washed away through the blood and life of Jesus our Savior. So it is then that we are saved not only by the DEATH of Christ but also by His LIFE! "FOR IF, WHEN WE WERE ENEMIES, WE WERE RECONCILED TO GOD BY THE DEATH OF HIS SON, MUCH MORE BEING RECONCILED, WE SHALL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE!!" (Romans 5:10).      The question may arise: "Well how can we know that we know we are in Christ, and so can have this great confidence of what you have said Keith?"      John answers: "And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, 'I belong to God,' but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God's word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did" (1 John chapter 2 - The New Living Translation).      There it is, simple and straightforward, easy to understand, simple as even for a child. You can know you are in Christ, within the favor of God, by having an attitude of mind that WANTS to keep the commandments of God; you now desire to live by every word of God, as Jesus taught (Mat.4:4) and you follow in the footsteps of Jesus. You look into the Gospels to see how Jesus lived and you now have a mind-set to follow in His steps. Your mind actually has the mind of Christ within it (Philippians 2:5), you now yield your will to Jesus. Your mind now says along with Jesus, "Father, not my will be done, but Your will be done." And of course with that mind-set you do most of the time conform to the thinking, and the doing, of the way and life of God. The times you fall short and sin, you confess your sin, you admit your sin, and Jesus pleads on your behalf, and you can be forgiven, you can continue to be under the grace of God. GREAT CONFIDENCE       I've heard many a preacher tell his congregation, proclaim to his congregation: "And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life ... that you may know you have life" (1 John 5:11-13).      Often some very important words are left out of this passage by many preachers. If they are read they are seldom given emphasis. Now the important words are: "These things I have written to you that believe on the name of the Son of God."      John WROTE words to expound HOW people can have full assurance that they had eternal life dwelling in them. You have to read all the words that John wrote, that is all the FIVE chapters of this first letter of John.      Are you scared as to what you may find in those 5 chapters? Do you find yourself not really wanting to "go there" as they say? Is it because deep down in your soul you know there are areas of your life you need to change. Is it because John just may convict you of sin, or that you need to take a deeper study course on understanding what God says is sin and is righteousness?      I hope none of those thought will enter your mind. I pray you will be able to start on verse one of chapter one and read through all verses of all five chapters in John's first epistle.      We have already seen chapter one and the first part of chapter two. But read those verses again. Hummmm, yes, John upholds the putting aside of sin and the keeping of the commandments of God (oh, by the way, sin is defined in chapter 3, but we'll get there), and the walking in the walk that Jesus walked. Annnddd, the Gospels show Jesus never observed the first day of the week as the Sabbath, nor did He observe Christmas, Easter, Lent, Halloween, or January 1st. and other days set by men as the centuries past. You will find He observed all the ten commandments, including the fourth one as written, and He observed the Festivals that belong to God (which are found in Leviticus 23).      We cannot be a true Christian if we have hate towards anyone, and we are to not love the lust, and the pride of the world. We are to realize there are many anti-christ deceivers out there. Oh, they come in the name of Christ, they tell you that Christ is the Christ, but their Christian theology is full of falsehoods and deceptions. It is the Spirit of anointing that will guide you and lead you into truth and away from all the anti-christs. John finishes chapter two by saying that everyone who practices righteousness (one definition of is Psalm 119:172) is a child of God.      Chapter three. We find the definition of what sin IS (add James 2:10-12) and all who claim to be children of God must practice as a way of life the righteousness of God. their mind-set is to love to serve the law and way of life that God has set down. They have the attitude of the apostle Paul in Romans 7. You should read 1 John 3"1-10 in the Amplified Bible, it will bring out the Greek tenses and make very plain to you what John was teaching here.      John goes back then to talk about "hate" which begins in the heart. He talks about people who have some earthy "goods" but who will not give to others, they can hardly be called the sons of God. He that has the humble mind to obey the commandments of God, will abide in Him and He in them by the Spirit given to them.      Chapter 4. John goes back to the many false prophets out there even in his day, so in our day, wow, it has to be bad, and so it is for Jesus said in the last days of the end of this age, falsehood would be so strong that IF it was possible even the very elect would be deceived (Mat.24:24). We are admonished by John to "try the spirits" - and we do that by doing what those at Berea did, when Paul and Silas came teaching in their town, they "searched the Scriptures daily" to see if what they heard squared with the Word of God (Acts 17).      We are to love God is the theme of the remaining passages of chapter four and into chapter five. John does not leave us in doubt as to what is the love of God. He tells us what it is in chapter 5 and verses 2-3. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. FOR this IS the LOVE of God, that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: and His commandments are not grievous."      So now we have had a brief overview of what John wrote, and through the acid test of what he wrote he said his readers could KNOW that they had eternal life. It's the whole CONTEXT of John in this epistle that gives you the key of the knowledge that you need to know eternal life dwells in you.      We can take heart, good comfort, during this Great Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yes sin is at the door, yes we are still flesh, with the pulls of the flesh, yes we are still sinners and we fall short many times. But with the love of God in us, with the mind of Christ in us, we continue to set our heart and mind to serve the way, the walk, the commandments of God. Yes, we confess our sins, we acknowledge we are sinners, and Jesus our Savior will plead for us on our behalf to the Father. And the Father will continue to show us His wonderful grace and forgiveness.       We then continue to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Christ Jesus.      The day will come friends, brethren, when we shall be delivered from this physical body of sin and death, when we shall see Jesus in His glory and we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. And we shall be free from even the temptation to sin. What a day, what GLORY that will be, what a VICTORY that will be through Jesus Christ. AMEN AND AMEN!!                             ................... Keith Hunt - the first holy day of the Unleavened Bread feast, April 2009.

5 PASSOVER/UNLEAVENED BREAD QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

 

Passover/UB Questions- Answers

Five of the most often asked Questions

PASSOVER AND UNLEAVENED BREAD FEAST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. One of the most frequent questions is: What leavened products do I clean out of the house? People can get confused and some very nit-picky. The simple answer is; this is the Feast of unleavened BREAD, not unleavened Wine, Grape juice, 7 Up, Potato chips, and such like. The old English milk shakes (before the Big M came there) were puffy and light, but it's not the days of un-Puffy English milk shakes, it's the days putting out puffy leavened flour products. The Israelites left Egypt without hanging around to bake bread that PUFFED UP, from leaven agents. The symbolic type used in the New Testament is that "leaven" typifies sin (1 Corinthians 5). Hence for this New Testament feast of God we just remove FLOUR baked foods that are specifically made with leaven agents of some kind to PUFF it up. The most popular leaven agents in the Western world are "yeast" and "baking soda." Just put our flour products that are made to "puff up" and buy flour products that are made without a puffing up agent. Some unleavened bread can be one inch, two inches etc. thick, but they are still unleavened because no puffing up agent like yeast was used to make that flour product. And raw yeast and baking soda are not "puffed up" of and by themselves. You do not have to throw them out. It is the principle of "eggs" - they can be used to leaven, puff up, but of themselves they are not puffed up, you do not have to throw out your eggs. I think the egg example should clear up that uncertain question about yeast and baking soda. And remember the heart of doing this during this Spring Feast of the Eternal, is the MOST IMPORTANT thing. Some can make the "physical" side of this Feast more important than the spiritual heart side. They get the cart before the horse. Yes we do having certain physical rites in the Christian Church of God; water baptism, the symbols of the bread and wine in the Passover service, but partaking of those symbols means nothing if the heart and mind is not in touch and in tune with the Father and Christ. If you are a family, especially with small children, make the looking for and removing of leaven flour products a "fun time" - hide and seek type fun, and maybe a reward for helping find and clear out leaven flour products from the house. Maybe you would want to deliberately hide some leaven flour products so you can have the young children make a game out of it, as you of course explain the symbolic meaning behind it all. 2. Do we throw out the bottle of wine even if we have only used a small portion for the Passover service? For a single person, a couple, or a family, put out your small cups a wine/grape juice, say on the 13th, and also the unleavened bread to be eaten in the service. Now, if you buy or bake unleavened bread, do you throw it all out after you take a portion to set it aside for the evening Passover service? No, we do not! So then the same for the wine or grape juice. In a church service setting the elders will make sure there is usually more glasses of the fruit of the vine, and also unleavened bread, than the people who will be attending. As that fruit of the vine and unleavened bread has been sanctified for the Passover service, then what is left of both should be discarded. As the apostle Paul would say, "In my judgment, and I do have the Spirit of the Lord." 3. How do I observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread with a husband or wife that does not follow my faith? Let me be very clear on this. You DO NOT try and force your religious faith on your mate. Some unconverted or "different" faith mates will comply with your wishes that no leaven flour products enter the house for the 7 day Feast of UB (unleavened bread). But if they do not, you should do nothing to "twist the arm of" them to comply with your wishes. We are called to peace, to be peaceable people. God looks on the heart. He can see the situation. He understands the situation. You are called to be peaceable. Your focus is that you do want you can, which will be that you will eat only unleavened flour products for those 7 days of the UB feast. You have no power (and do not try - you are called to be peaceable) over others that do not see things in the way God has revealed them to you. 4. What about adult children living in your house, who do not follow your faith? Your house is always your house. You have the right to have household laws that reflect your faith. If you have adult children who (for whatever reason) desire to live in your house, you need to make it clear to them there are certain basic rules your house lives under. Christian parents should not allow their adult single children, living "at home" to bring their boy or girl friend in for the night and sleep with them (which also means having sex with them). You have the right to lay down that rule, if they want to live in your home. So for the UB feast, you let them (nicely of course) there will be no UB flour products allowed in the house for those 7 days. Then you need to relax, this feast is to be enjoyed, not held as some kind of "witch-hunt" and "spy" time. If your adult son or daughter sneaks a leaven flour dough-nut into your home and into their room in a nap-sack ... well you may not know it, so don't, don't turn this Feast of the Lord into a "spy-and-search" and "I'm watching you, and I'll catch you" Feast. God will know your heart and a spy attitude will obliterate your spiritual observing of this Feast. 5. What about friends and relatives not of your faith coming to visit during the UB Feast? Be kind, be polite, be peaceable, as much as lies within you. Lovingly explain to them (if they do not know) how you physically live with flour products during this 7 day Feast of UB. You may be surprised how many will want to know more, and be quite open for you to explain. Nations today in the Western world are very diverse in culture and religion, hence there is quite an open understanding and acceptance of various religious practices and faiths. The above are the most common 5 questions that I have heard and been asked Keith Hunt

FOODS FOR ISRAEL DURING 40 YEARS WANDERING

 

The Foods for Israel

During the 40 years in the Wilderness

ISRAEL'S FOOD IN THE WILDERNESS Some have the idea that all Israel had to eat for their wandering in the wilderness for 40 years under Moses, was "manna" - bread type substance, and water (from rocks) - both a miracle from God, but just the bare bread and water type jail sentence, for being so faithless and rebellious. That idea is just not true at all! I've just re-watched "The Ten Commandments" with old one from the 1950s with Charlton Heston as Moses. The scene where Israel was leaving Egypt was RIGHT ON as far as the various things they left with. Take note next time you watch that movie. Besides all the gold, silver, jewels, cloth, and many other fancy things, you will notice they left with HERDS and FLOCK, BIRDS, much LIVESTOCK! And so it is written: "And Pharaoh rose up in the night ... And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise up, and get you forth from among my people ... ALSO take your FLOCKS and your HERDS..." (Exodus 11:30-32). There it is, but many read right over it, because we have become so used to hearing how God fed Israel with manna for 40 years. But the manna was the flour cereal for bread and cakes, the "grain" part of their diet we could say (Exodus 16). Yes God did provide them with water, sometimes like a miracle, as many see in Exodus 17. Israel was to build a "tabernacle" or "sanctuary" (Exodus 25:8). It was not just to have as an ornament, tagging along with them, just kinda doing nothing except a dwelling place for God. We read about the tabernacle from Exodus 25 through to 27. Then the Priesthood is established as we begin to read chapter 28. Look at verses 4-6. We see no shortage of robes, braided coats, girdles, gold, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen. Not only did they have to have the materials for all this, but the craft- persons to make it as God instructed. Now under chapter 29 and the consecration of the priests, read the first verses. Ah, a young BULLOCK, two RAMS, were to be taken. UNLEAVENED BREAD, CAKES, with OIL, FROM WHEATEN FLOUR.   SO they still had flour with them at this point in time. Notice verse 38-41, two LAMBS were to be offered EVERY DAY! Notice Exodus 35:20-29. Israel was not short of not only jewelry (which yes they got from the Egyptians when leaving Egypt), but they also had blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat's hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins. They had spice and oil. Not destitute in material things for sure. Now you can read Leviticus, the first five or so chapters. All that was needed for the various sacrifices, yes in the wilderness, offerings from the CATTLE, of the HERD, and of the FLOCK! This was all done under Aaron, who is mentioned in verse 5 of chapter one. The "consecration" of Aaron and his sons is in chapter 8, and note verses, 9,18,21,28, just for a few. Purification after childbirth is in chapter 12 of Leviticus. If a LAMB was not able to be brought, then two young PIGEONS could be brought. Israel had to have BIRDS among them during the 40 years in the wilderness. You can read about the all the offerings for daily, Sabbath, and Festival in Numbers 28 through 28. Note these verses in chapter 28; verses 3-4, 11-15, 19, 27. In chapter 29; verses 2, 8, 13, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 36. STOP AND THINK! For all those herds, cattle, flocks, you need FOOD! Yes, animals have to eat also to live. Did God work fantastic miracles to feed all those animals the Israelites had? Of course He could have done. But we are not told if He did! A more likely method for providing all that the Israelites needed in a balanced diet for themselves to stay healthy, and for all their flocks, is what we find in one verse, hidden away (not really) ... well missed by most people reading the books of Moses (if there are any Christians reading the books of Moses any more) is found in Deuteronomy 2:6. "You shall BUY meat (food) of them for money, that you may eat; and you shall buy WATER of them for money, that you may drink." Here Israel was to go through the land given to Esau, mount Seir, as we see from the previous verses. There it is! Israel was able to buy foods and water from various people along their 40 year journey in the wilderness. ISRAEL'S COMPLAINING So what about Israel complaining about not have meat to eat, and we have the famous "quail" story of Exodus 16. Pretty simple to answer. They obvious wanted flesh meat at every meal, once a week just was not pleasing to them, they wanted it all the time, they lusted after it, they were way overboard in what they wanted to consume as far as flesh meat was concerned. Other things? Yes, they did want some of the pleasant foods of Egypt, we see that in Numbers 11:5, "We remember the fish ... the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and the garlic." Then we have the verse that has led many to believe they only had "manna" to eat for 40 years, "But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes" (verse 6). We need to remember when studying the Bible what saying or words are coming from whom. If Satan would say, "There is no sin, I'm not responsible for sin." Would that make it so? No, not at all. So the record of the people of Israel saying there was nothing but manna to eat, did not make it so! Yes, Israel may not have enjoyed the "foods and fruits from afar" as they had done in Egypt, but they had more than just manna and water. We have seen Israel did have other foods to eat and did have meat flesh from their herds and flocks and cattle. The truth of the matter is that Israel did COME INTO CONTACT WITH other peoples during their 40 years wandering, and they had opportunity to buy from them different foods and grain, for themselves and their cattle. They were not a bunch of dusty desert wanderers living only on bread and water. ..................... Keith Hunt (Written on the first holy day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, April 2009)

PASSOVER SEASON AND GOD'S FORGIVENESS AND GRACE

THE  PASSOVER  AND  GOD'S  FORGIVENESS  AND  GRACE

From  the  book  "Nelson's  complete  book  of  Stories,  Illustrations,  and  Quotes"

GOD'S  FORGIVENESS  and  GRACE  

Someone Once Said:

 

It is indeed amazing that in as fundamentally irreligious a culture as ours, the sense of guilt should be so widespread and deeply-rooted as it is.—Erich Fromm, psychologist

When I bring my sins to the Lord Jesus He casts them into the depths of the sea—forgiven and forgotten. He also puts up a sign, "No Fishing Allowed!"—Corrie ten Boom. 1

1. Corrie ten Boom, Not Good if Detached (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1957), 19. 

The word "grace" is a kind of shorthand for the whole sum of unmerited blessings which come to men through Jesus Christ.—Alexander Maclaren

……

Regrets

The frustrating thing about time is that is always moves forward. There is no "R" on the stickshift, no reverse in the gears. Time never moves backward, not an inch, not a step, never. The hands of the clock always move clockwise, and the pages of the calendar are torn off in only one direction. Therefore a deed once done can never be undone. A word once spoken can never be unsaid. An opportunity missed can not be reclaimed in exactly the same way. As a result, all of us live with certain regrets.

Only the blood of Christ can remove them from our hearts and send them as far from us as the East is from the West. 2

2. From a sermon by the author.

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Erased

There is a story that one night Martin Luther went to sleep troubled about his sin. In a dream he saw an angel standing by a blackboard, and at the top of the board was Luther's name. The angel, chalk in hand, was listing all of Luther's sins, and the list filled the blackboard. Luther shuddered in despair, feeling that his sins were so many that he could never be forgiven. But suddenly in his dream he saw a pierced hand writing above the list these words: "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." As Luther gazed in amazement, the blood flowed from the wounded hand and washed the record clean.1

1. W. Hershel Ford, Simple Sermons for Saints and Sinners (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1954), 9.

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What I Envy Most...

The well-known secular humanist and novelist in England, Marghanita Laski, said just before she died in 1988, "What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me."

……

Rosalind's List

Rosalind Goforth was a well-known missionary to China who, along with her husband Jonathan, enjoyed an illustrious career and ministry. But for many years, even having labored for the Lord in China, Rosalind often felt oppressed by a burden of sin. She felt guilty and dirty, nursing an inward sense of spiritual failure. Finally one evening when all was quiet, she settled at her desk with Bible and concordance, determined to find out God's attitude toward the failures, the faults, the sins of his children. She put these words at the top of the page: What God Does With Our Sins. Then as she searched through the Scriptures, she compiled this list of seventeen truths:

1.  He lays them on his Son—Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:6

2.  Christ takes them away. John 1.29

3.  They are removed an immeasurable distance—as far as East is from West. Psalm 123:12

4.  When sought for, they are not found. Jeremiah 50:20

5.  The Lord forgives them. Ephesians 1:7

6.  He cleanses them ALL away by the blood of his son. 1 John 1:7

7.  He cleanses them as white as snow or wool. Isaiah 1:18; Psalm 51:7

8.  He abundantly pardons them. Isaiah 55:7

9.  He tramples them under foot. Micah 7:19 (RV)

10. He remembers them no more. Hebrews 10:17

11. He casts them behind his back. Isaiah 38:17

12. He casts-them into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

13. He will not impute us with sins. Romans 4:8

14. He covers them. Romans 4:7

15. He blots them out. Isaiah 43:25

16. He blots them out as a thick cloud. Isaiah 44:22   

17. He blots out even the proof against us, nailing it to His Son's Cross. Colossians 2:14. 1

……

Rain, Wind, Blood

Frank I. Stanton wrote:

The rain beat on my window pane;

I said, Come in, O rain, O rain;

Come in out of the dark, deep night,

And wash my soul and make it white.

But the rain replied,

For the soul that died,

There is only One, the Crucified.

The wind beat on my window pane,

I said, Come in, O wind, O wind;

Come in out of the wild stormy night

And waft my soul to realms of light.

But the wind replied,

For the soul that died,

There is only One, the Crucified.

To those two verses, D. E. E. Barton of Montgomery, Alabama, added another:

The blood beat on my window pane;

I said, Come in, O blood, O blood;

The blood came in from Calvary's night,

And washed my soul and made it white.

And the blood replied,

For the soul that died,

I am thine own, the Crucified. 2

1 Rosalind Goforth, Climbing (Wheaton, IL: Sword Book Club, 1940), 90.

2 Robert G. Lee, Heart to Heart (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1977), 66.

……

Portrait in White

God paints in many colors,

but he never paints so

gorgeously as when he paints

in white.

—G. K. CHESTERTON

……

A Father's Letter

In November 1991, Jerry Jenkins wrote a bizarre true story about a man awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call. He was groggy. The girl on the other end was weeping. "Daddy," she said, "I'm pregnant."

Though stunned beyond belief, he forgave her and prayed with her. The next day he and his wife wrote her two letters of counsel and love.

Three days later the man received another phone call. His daughter was shocked by the letters. She was not the one who had called earlier. . . . Apparently some other girl had dialed a wrong number.

"These letters are my treasure," the daughter later said, "real love letters written by a godly father who never imagined he would have to write them to his own daughter."

Here are a few excerpts:

Part of me seemed to die last night. Not because of what it means to me as much as what it means to you. You were free to make all kinds of choices. Now you are shut up to a few, and none of them to your liking. But God will see you—and us—through.

Though I weep inside, I can't condemn you, because I sin too. Your transgression here is no worse than mine. It's just different. Even if my heart did not shout out to love and defend and protect you—as it does— the New Testament tells me I can't take forgiveness myself and withhold it from others.

We think of sin as acts. But sin is a package, an attitude that expresses itself in different ways and to different degrees. But it all comes from the same sin package you inherited through us. Christ is the only difference.

God forgives this sin as well as others—really forgives and cleanses. David was a man of God when he went into his experience with Bathsheba and in the grace of God he came out a man of God. And his sin included murder!

Satan has no doubt tried to tell you that this affects your standing before God. It doesn't, but it will affect your relationship till you bring the whole matter to Him. There will be a coolness, a separation, an estrangement, until you open the problem by confessing and asking forgiveness.

I will not reproach you or [your boyfriend]. I will not even dare to look down at you in my innermost heart, but it is not because the issue doesn't matter. The responsibility is his no less than yours. This is not an ideal basis for marriage. You want a husband who takes you by choice. But if you face the issue and God so leads, He could build a solid marriage. We stand ready to do whatever we can.

We're praying much. We love you more than I can say. And respect you, too, as always. Saturday I was very downcast. I tried to sing as I worked outside, and then, increasingly, I seemed to see a calm and loving face I knew was Jesus. It was no vision—I didn't see details— but it was a strong reminder that He is with us and waiting for us to remember this. He loves us and will help us through, especially you. It's great to know Jesus is walking with you.

While we can't say that God causes failures, He does permit them, and I think it's clear He uses them to build character and beauty that we'd never have without them. Remember, God's love is in even this, maybe especially in this.

We're glad that in a measure; at least, we can help the daughter we love so much. This is a day of testing, but hold our ground we must. God will give us the victory. That's wonderful. We're looking forward to your being at home. Love, Dad. 1

OH  MY….. SHED  A  FEW  TEARS  I  DID  READING  THIS….. THAT  IS  TRUE  LOVE  FROM  PARENTS  TO  A  DAUGHTER  -  IT  CONTAINS  THE  TRUTH  OF  THE  BIBLE  - Keith Hunt

1. Jerry B.Jenkins, "Treasure By Mistake," Moody Magazine, September 1991, 6.

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Fished from the Trash

In his book, How To Be Born Again, Billy Graham refers to a story that Corrie ten Boom used to tell of a little girl who broke one of her mother's treasured demitasse cups. The little girl came to her mother sobbing, "Oh, mama, I'm so sorry I broke your beautiful cup."

The mother replied, "I know you're sorry, and I forgive you. Now don't cry any more." The mother then swept up the pieces of the broken cup and placed them in the trash can. But the little girl enjoyed the guilty feeling. She went to the trash can, picked out the pieces of the cup, brought them to her mother and sobbed, "Mother, I'm so sorry I broke your pretty cup."

This time her mother spoke firmly to her. "Take those pieces and put them back in the trash can and don't be silly enough to take them out again. I told you I forgave you so don't cry any more, and don't pick up the broken pieces any more." 2

2. Billy Graham, How To Be Born Again (Waco: Word Books, 1977), 129.

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What to Do with Guilt

Many people deal with guilt by drowning it. Some drown it in alcohol and drug abuse. Marijuana use among teenagers increased 37% between 1994 and 1995. The use of LSD and other hallucinogens was up 54%. And the use of cocaine increased by 166%. Over fourteen million Americans are in 12-step programs. Why are Americans drinking and drugging themselves to death? We're trying to escape ourselves and drown the pangs of our own guilt. Marlon Brando was once young, trim., and handsome. A million girls dreamed of having him. But now he weighs over four hundred pounds, and he told someone, "I'm sorry for all the harm I've done and for all the troubles I've brought to others in my life. I've never been a good parent or a good husband. I've been too busy with my own life to have time for others. Now I'm a guilty old man who's ashamed of the kind of life I've led. There's nothing left for me except eating."

Other people deal with guilt by denying it. As our society has become increasingly secular, it has lost respect for the authority of the Word of God, and that has led to a dangerous and destructive moral and spiritual chain reaction. If there is no authoritative Word of God, then there are no moral absolutes. If there are no moral absolutes, there are no ultimate standards of right and wrong. If there are no ultimate standards of right and wrong, then we can base our rules and standards on societal consensus. If we base our rules on societal consensus, then we can adjust them to our own shape and size. We can adjust them downward. We can live any way we want to, and there is no such thing as genuine guilt before God. Guilt is just a nagging relic of Puritanism, a Victorian antique, a psychosis to be denied.

Some people deal with guilt by deflecting it. They blame other people for their failures and faults and shortcoming. They blame their parents or their environments. This technique goes all the way back to the garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.

But sooner or later, all these techniques fail, and we find we can't escape the consequences of our own sinfulness and guilt. Jeremiah 2:22 says, "'Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is before me,' declares the Sovereign Lord."

Guilt is the corrosion of the soul. How can we get rid of it? We can't drown it, deny it, or deflect it. We can only dissolve it in the blood of Jesus Christ. 1

1. From a sermon by the author

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FROM  SWINDOLL'S  "ULTIMATE  BOOK  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  QUOTES"

FORGIVENESS

A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine showed an exasperated father saying to his prodigal son, "This is the fourth time we've killed the fatted calf." God does that over and over in our lifetime.

—Bruce Larson, Setting Men Free

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Beginning Anew (Also titled in some poetry books "A New Leaf")

He came to my desk with quivering lip;

The lesson was done ... 

"Have you a new leaf for me, dear Teacher?

I have spoiled this one!" 

I took his leaf, all soiled and blotted, 

And gave him a new one, all unspotted;

Then into his tired heart I smiled: 

"Do better now, my child!"

I went to the throne with trembling heart;

The day was done. 

"Have you a new day for me, dear Master?

I have spoiled this one!" 

He took my day, all soiled and blotted, 

And gave me a new one, all unspotted;

Then into my tired heart He smiled: 

"Do better now, my child!"

—Kathleen Wheeler, quoted in John R. Rice, Poems That Preach

……

John D. Rockefeller built the great Standard Oil empire. Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man who demanded high performance from his company executives. One day, one of those executives made a two million dollar mistake.

Word of the man's enormous error quickly spread throughout the executive offices, and the other men began to make themselves scarce. Afraid of Rockefeller's reaction, they didn't even want to cross his path.

One man didn't have any choice, however, since he had an appointment with the boss. So he straightened his shoulders and tightened his belt and walked into Rockefeller's office.

As he approached the oil monarch's desk, Rockefeller looked up from the piece of paper on which he was writing.

"I guess you've heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend made," he said abruptly.

"Yes," the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to explode.

"Well, I've been sitting here listing all of our friend's good qualities on this sheet of paper, and I've discovered that in the past he has made us many more times the amount he lost for us today by his one mistake. His good points far outweigh this one human error. So I think we ought to forgive him, don't

you?"

--Dale Galloway, You Can Win with Love

……

We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.

—William Arthur Ward, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist

……

Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me.

—Archibald Hart, quoted in James Dobson, Love Must Be Tough

……

There's a great ministry in our generation. It's called Prison Fellowship, directed by Chuck Colson. After his time behind bars, he realized the awful lifestyle that's facing the criminal who now is out, pardoned, and trying to get his or her life back together. I found these words in one of Colson's pieces of hterature: "Nothing is more Christian than forgiveness ... demonstrating trust in one who has fallen."

……

It is a wonderful thing to see a prodigal return and to applaud it. I know a pastor who went through the horrors of public discipline of a brother in their church and it was dreadful. In fact, it made the news. Many of us heard about the discipline of this well-known Christian who had shipwrecked. And that brother walked away from God for several years. Finally he turned around and came back. He wrote a letter of apology ultimately. He said, "You were right. I was in sin. You put your finger on it. I rebelled and I rejected. But I want you to know, I see the wrong of my actions and I've come back."

You know what the church did? They had a party—-this same church that had disciplined him. They bought him a sport coat and a new pair of shoes. They put a gold ring on his finger. And they served him prime rib. It was an evening of praise as this brother was brought back into fellowship. And that also made the news. There's not enough of that kind of news.

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Once president Lincoln was asked how he was going to treat the rebellious Southerners when they had finally been defeated and returned to the Union of the United States. The questioner expected that Lincoln would take a dire vengeance, but he answered, I will treat them as if they had never been away."

—William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke

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GRACE

THE BIBLE IS A PHOTO ALBUM FILLED WITH THE PICTURES OF GOD'S GRACE.  One striking example is found in the pages of 2 Samuel. The setting is the palace of King David. Gold and bronze fixtures gleam from the walls. Lofty, wooden ceilings crown each spacious room. In the banquet room, David and his children gather for an evening meal. Absalom, tanned and handsome, is there, as is David's beautiful daughter Tamar. The call to dinner is given, and the king scans the room to see if all are present. One figure, though, is absent.

Clump, scraaape, clump, scraaape. The sound coming down the hall echoes into the chamber. Clump, scraaape, clump, scraaape. Finally, the person appears at the door and slowly shuffles to his seat. It is the lame Mephiboshefh seated in grace at David's table. And the tablecloth covers his feet. Now the feast can begin.

……

Grace in a Barren Place

I was that Mephibosheth Crippled by my twisted pride and hiding from you in a barren place where You could not find me where You would not give me what I deserved. But somehow You found me and I don't understand why but You give me what I do not deserve. You not only spared my desolate life but

You made it bountiful And here at Your table I will thank You, my King.

---Julie Martin

……

Humpty Dumpty had an unsolvable problem. We have a problem too, but our shas a solution.

Jesus Christ came to our wall, 

Jesus Christ died for our fall; 

So that regardless of death and in spite of sin, 

Through grace, He might put us together again.

……

Several years ago my family and I were enjoying an evening at a restaurant. We looked over in the corner and saw a couple from our church. We waved at 'em and they winked back in our direction. And just before they left they came by our table, shook hands and said "Hi." When our meal was over, I got up and walked to the cash register and said, "I didn't get a check for our meal." They said, "Oh, well, you don't have to worry about it because someone else paid for it." I asked, "Who paid for it?" They said, "Well, we don't know who they are, but they were the couple that walked over and said 'Hello' to you." I was astonished, but said, "Well, why don't I take care of the tip?" "No, that was all taken care of too." It was paid in full. I had the hardest time accepting that. I wanted to go home and call them up and say, "Hey, why don't I split it halfway with you?"….. It's difficult to accept something absolutely free. We think there's a gimmick or we think there's something we must do to pay our way.

God's grace says, "I've picked up the tab. I'll take care of everything inside and out. Accept it. Believe it. It's a declared fact."

……

"Do this and live!" the Law demands, 

But gives me neither feet nor hands. 

A better word God's grace does bring, 

It bids me fly and gives me wings.

—Kenneth Wuest, Romans in the Greek New Testament

……

He Giveth More

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, 

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;

To added affliction He addeth His mercy, 

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, 

Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure;

His power no boundary known unto men; 

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

—Annie Johnson Flint, quoted in John R. Rice, Poems That Preach

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FROM  THE  BOOK  "750  ENGAGING  ILLUSTRATIONS"

GRACE

According to the Chicago Tribune, in the summer of 1994, Marcio da Silva, a love-struck Brazilian artist, was distraught over the breakup of a four-year relationship with his girlfriend, Katia de Nascimento. He tried to win back her love by a gesture of great devotion. He walked on his knees-for nine miles. With pieces of car tires tied to his kneecaps, the twenty-one-year-old man shuffled along for fourteen hours before he reached her home in Santos, Brazil. He was cheered on by motorists and passersby, but when he reached the end of his marathon of love thoroughly exhausted, the nineteen-year-old woman of his dreams was not impressed. She had intentionally left her home to avoid seeing him.

Some people try similar acts of devotion to impress God and earn salvation. Like Katia de Nascimento, God is not impressed. The only thing that brings the forgiveness of sin is faith in Jesus Christ, not sacrificial deeds.

……

Pilot William Langewiesche writes in Atlantic Monthly:

In clouds or on black nights, when they cannot see outside, pilots keep their Wings level by watching an artificial horizon on the instrument panel. The artificial horizon is a gyroscopically steadied line, which stays level with the earth's surface.

Langewiesche says that pilots sometimes become confused about what the instruments are telling them. He says:

As turbulence tilts the airplane to the left, the pilots, tilting with it, notice the artificial horizon line dropping to the right. Reacting instinctively to the indication of motion, they sometimes try to raise the line as if it were a wing. The result of such a reversal is murderous. Pilots steer to the left just when 'they should steer to the right, and then in confusion they steer harder. While cruising calmly inside clouds, I have had student pilots suddenly try to flip the airplane upside down.

The same kind of disorientation can happen when we seek God's acceptance. When we see how far short we fall of God's will, we can try harder and harder to be good, hoping that if we become almost perfect, God will accept us. But that's precisely the opposite of what we need to do. Instead we, should trust in God's grace.

……

Lillie Baltrip is a good bus driver. In fact, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of June 17,1988, the Houston school district nominated her for a safe-driving award. Her colleagues even trusted her to drive a busload of them to an awards ceremony for safe drivers. Unfortunately, on the way to the ceremony, Lillie turned a corner too sharply and flipped the bus over, sending herself and sixteen others to the hospital for minor emergency treatment.

Did Lillie, accident free for the whole year, get her award anyway? No. Award committees rarely operate on the principle of grace. How fortunate we are that even when we don't maintain a spotless life-record, our final reward depends on God's grace, not on our performance!

……

FROM  THE  BOOK  "1001  QUOTES,  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  HUMOROUS  STORIES"

GRACE

David Seamands ends his book Healing Grace with this story:

For more than six hundred years the Hapsburgs exercised political power in Europe. When Emperor Franz-Josef I of Austria died in 1916, his was the last of the extravagant imperial funerals.

A processional of dignitaries and elegantly dressed court personages escorted the coffin, draped in the black-and-gold imperial colors. To the accompaniment of a military band's somber dirges and by the light of torches, the cortege descended the stairs of the Capuchin Monastery in Vienna. At the bottom was a great iron door leading to the Hapsburg family crypt. Behind the door was the Cardinal-Archbishop of Vienna.

The officer in charge followed the prescribed ceremony, established centuries before. "Open!" he cried.

"Who goes there?" responded the Cardinal.

"We bear the remains of his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, Franz-Josef I, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Defender of the Faith, Prince of Bohemia-Moravia, Grand Duke of Lombard, Venezia, Styrgia . . ." The officer continued to list the Emperors thirty-seven titles.

"We know him not," replied the Cardinal. "Who goes there?"

The officer spoke again, this time using a much-abbreviated and less-ostentatious title reserved for times of expediency.

"We know him not," the Cardinal said again. "Who goes there?"

The officer tried a third time, stripping the emperor of all but the humblest of titles: "We bear the body of Franz-Josef, our brother, a sinner like us all!"

At that, the doors swung open, and Franz-Josef was admitted.

In death, all are reduced to the same level. Neither wealth nor fame can open the way of salvation, but only God's grace, given to those who will humbly acknowledge their need.

(Humility, Power)

……

Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out, and your dog would go in.

Mark Twain (Favor, Works)

Those who would avoid the despair of sinfulness by staying far from God find they have also missed the forgiving grace of God.

Charles E. Wolfe (Sin, Forgiveness)

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Repentance, Discipline)

Remember the great need you have of the grace and assistance of God. You should never lose sight of him—not for a moment.

Andrew Murray (God, Vision)

Saving grace makes a man as willing to leave his lusts as a slave is walling to leave his galley, or a prisoner his dungeon, or a thief his bolts, or a beggar his rags.

Thomas Brooks (Repentance, Change)

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