Word of the Day: Ambassador

 

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Excerpts:

Ambassadour - ...A person sent in a publick manner from one sovereign power to another, and supposed to represent the power from which he is sent... [excerpt from Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language]

Joshua 9:3-6 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.

An ambassador from any country is always conscious of the fact that he has a tremendous responsibility because he is the representative by whom his country is going to be judged. And to us is given the privilege and responsibility of being the representatives of the Son of God in this world. We stand for him, people judge him by what they see in us, and they are perfectly entitled to do so because we are the ones through whom and in whom he is glorified. Do we, I wonder, always realize this?

- Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Evening Song - Stepping In the Light

Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. 

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

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Texas Memories - The Bright Chicken Snacks

Pyracantha berries - loved by the chickens we used to have.

Worth Repeating - Is It Your Christian Duty to Vote?

 

Is It Your Christian Duty to Vote?

This was an article that I wasn't sure I wanted to write this year (2016). There has been so much said by so many that I hesitated to add my thoughts as it seemed like there was too much already. The thing that made me reconsider is all the drama I've seen and heard about how it is supposedly a duty before God for American Christians to vote. The misuse of scripture in some instances has been very bothersome. Added to this is the overwhelming pressure that various Christian people and groups are putting on others to try to force them to vote for the person they deem to be "the right one." In the hopes of helping a few people get a little peace about this, I decided to venture forth into a topic that is generally odious to me, in short, politics. So, here we go.

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American Christians have been told for years that it is their "duty to vote." The preachers, pastors, and evangelists have stomped up and down this country in and out of election years, telling people that if they don't vote for  the "right" candidate (meaning the one of that man's choice) or for a specific issue then it will be their fault when this country goes to the devil. Prohibition was passed largely based on this type of pulpit politics, and after some years and total failure, it was repealed and, strangely enough, we are not all drunkards now. (Yeah, the nation is a mess, but you can't honestly blame all of this on alcohol.)

The false "responsibility" to "influence America for God" has been shouted long and loud from the pulpits in the U.S.A., until a lot of Christians can no longer believe anything else. To them, voting is our "duty" to our nation, our pastor, and God (often in that order). Because of this, the suggestion of another option - in this case, not voting at all - is heresy or treason to some and gross irresponsibility to others.

But, if it is our duty before God to vote in government elections, why didn't He clearly say so in New Testament teaching? Where is the command? We are told to do and not do a lot of things, but the command to vote is absent, and voting certainly existed in the Roman Empire at that time.

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Evening Song - Power In the Blood

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 

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Tennessee Memories - Autumn Wanes

Not Man's Opinion, But God's Word

Not Man's Opinion,

But God's Word

Not my opinions may I speak;

If so, my witness will be weak.

Not what in human books I find,

Or the conclusions of men's minds,

But what my God has deigned to give,

The teaching whereby we may live;

The Book of Heaven, the Sacred Page,

The Rock of Faith in every age!

That only must my message be

If I shall bless humanity.

I am not left to seek, forsooth,

In learning's page to find the Truth,

But here it is beneath my hand

The Word which shall forever stand.

Unalterable, enduring, sure

Flows the Divine Fount fresh and pure.

William Olney

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.