Him Will My Father Honour

By Jeff Clarke on 2/15/10 7:46am
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Him will My Father honorHim will My Father honorJohn Bevere recently wrote a book called Honor's Reward.  He stated that to begin his research, he went down to his local Barnes & Noble and asked two employees to help him find the books on honor.  Searching the computer at the kiosk, he found that there was not a single book on the subject, other than an old military book.

Honor is an essential component of the Christian mind, of the Christian way, and the Christian walk:

Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

 

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A Living Hope

By Jeff Clarke on 10/22/09 6:10am
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A hope about to be made livingA hope about to be made livingIn 1 Pet. 1:3, Peter says that Christ "has begotten us again into a lively hope." 

Begotten again?  Yeah, you betcha.  One day we were born into the earth, sky, the realm of oxygen, carbon, gold, and nitrogen.  Another day, we were begotten into a living hope.

Jesus came preaching the Kingdom.  He walked past a fisherman and said, "I am going to restore David's kingdom now.  I need a second-in-command.  Are you in?"  Peter walked away from his nets.  I think I could have shown that much faith, you?  :- )

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Spiritual Intoxication

By Jeff Clarke on 10/21/09 9:51pm
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Writing drunk . . .Writing drunk . . .The Bible is deep. 

Forget about "mastering" the New Testament; forget about mastering a particular book of it.  Forget about "mastering" Peter's explanation of a "living hope" (?) in 1 Peter 1:3-9. 

Let's see if we can comprehend the first phrase in Peter's seven-verse sermon:

Blessed be the Father ...

Yep.  Inside 3-4 words, Peter has lost me already.  Do you get that?  Really get why he talks like that?  I don't. 

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The End of the Commandment

By Jeff Clarke on 9/29/09 5:04am
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Temple of HerodTemple of HerodThey used to have a cooler way to say "A biochem degree is my goal."  They'd say, "The end of my studies is a mastery of biochemisty."  They wouldn't ask, "Hey, I see that Iraq has enriched uranium.  What's their goal?"  They'd ask, "Why have they enriched uranium?  To what end?"

The word "goal" causes us to visualize a target and a moving projectile.  The convention "To what end?" causes us to visualize a series of #1-2-3-4 steps that we take, and a final, impactful #5 result-step that occurs because of our actions. 

I like the "end" construction.

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Vindication, Psalm 26

By Jeff Clarke on 6/11/09 8:41am
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Psalm 26: 1 NASB: Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity,
And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

VINDICATE from Hebrew shaphat: pronounce sentence on me (favorably), prove me correct, support me, justify me.

Psalm 26 was probably written when Saul and his men were chasing him around the wilderness, seeking to murder him, and slandering him to everybody who would listen while they were at it. Vindication might not mean as much to us if we weren't standing in a courtroom. Or reading an audit from the IRS. Or running from an angry lynch mob, as the young David also was.

But there are times when vindication will be the most important thing in our lives...

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Sir, We Would See Jesus - f1

By Jeff Clarke on 5/7/09 7:04am
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John 12:20-26:

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Is Major League Baseball Spiritual?

By Jeff Clarke on 2/16/09 2:36am
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Everything is spiritual.  Or, we should say rather, everything can be spiritual.  :- )  If we proceed beyond the Wonder bread of "values" (that is, our preferences) to the hearty loaf of "morals" (that is, what we believe to be right), we will find that our principles apply in every realm of life. As you probably know, I write on several sports blogs.  At seattlesportsinsider.com, you can find a blogroll of them, if you're interested in both Christianity and sports.  Here's one take on the way that Christianity speaks to the big business of sports. ....................  

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Blessed of My Father, e1

By Jeff Clarke on 2/11/09 3:52pm
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Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:



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What's a Blessing Worth?, e2

By Jeff Clarke on 2/11/09 1:02pm
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So how many spiritual people, much less irreligious people, really grasp what a "blessing" would be worth?  :- )  If a Transcendent Creator existed, and commanded that your life be prospered, what would the cash value of such a "contract" be?

Deu 30:19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

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What Blessedness Meant in the Bible, e3

By Jeff Clarke on 2/11/09 5:40am
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Jesus, in the Gospels, opened His conversation with us by offering BLESSINGS.

How many people have pulled open a hotel drawer, so to speak, and flipped open the New Testament, looking for the red letters that mark Christ's words?  They have always seen this:

Mat 5:1  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

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