Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
China Berry
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
My friend, Theresa (pictured above with my mom), went to be with the Lord in July. She was only in her early 40s and it has been hard to deal with. It has been very hard for her family. But, there is one thing for which I am extremely thankful, and that is the knowledge that she is with the Lord.
You see, it hasn’t been so many years since Theresa discovered that, though she’d been “in church” (Independent Baptist) all her life, she was not really born again. She was not trusting the Lord only for her salvation. She was trusting in the fact that she was “active in church”, that she was doing so many “right” things. That is, until the Lord literally knocked her props out from under her.
It happened along these lines: Her family went through some difficult situations over the course of some years. Much of the trouble was associated with “church life”, as it were. Eventually, her husband decided to take his family “out of church” entirely, at least for awhile. I know a lot of people would denounce this as a “bad decision” and sure to produce “bad results”. As it turned out, it was exactly what the Lord had planned for Theresa at that time. He knew it would take that to get her attention.
Because she was trusting in all her activities in the church environment to prove to herself and to others that she was “saved”, it took the removal of all those things to shake her up and make her unsure of her salvation. Had she continued “in church” as she knew it, she might have never had those false props knocked out from under her. When she was no longer playing the piano, working in the nursery or with the children, attending services and helping out in various other ministries (real or invented), she no longer had anything to rest upon as proof of her salvation.
Well, during this time of upheaval in her spiritual life, the Lord led her to read my dad’s web page on the Gospel of John. As she read through it, she came to some point where she disagreed with his comments. She called her husband’s attention to it and asked him, “Do you believe that?” Her husband read it, and as it was a simple restating what John had written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, her husband said that, yes, that was true and he believed it. She said simply, “I don’t.”
This began a teaching time in which her husband took her through the Gospel of John himself and taught her what the Bible clearly says we must believe to be saved. Anything she didn’t understand or felt she didn’t believe they went over carefully and he explained those things to her, reasoning from the word of God. Finally, she came to the point where she realized that she believed the Gospel, and she marked her true salvation from that time.
I have a tremendous respect for Theresa about this. She was brave in being willing to admit that she was wrong and to put her trust in Christ. And yet, it was not a public show made for men’s eyes, but a quiet and true decision that she made in the privacy of her own home. Humanly speaking, it is hard for a person to humble herself and admit that she was never born again after she has worked as a Sunday School teacher, done good works, been “faithful in church”, been baptized, become a “member in good standing”, and generally been thought to be a “good, godly person”. It’s likely there will be some family and friends who won’t believe it and will deny that this person had not already been saved. It takes courage and humility to face this. And, sadly, there are many people who, though raised in “a Christian home” and spending their entire life “going to church”, are not really saved.
For my own part, I could tell the difference in Theresa. While I had presumed that she was saved before, there had always been this strange thing between us that I couldn’t account for nor understand. I call it a wall, partly because it felt like something I couldn’t get through. Also, though she was friendly and helpful, I always felt as if she thought she was competing with me for some reason. I couldn’t understand it at the time, but in retrospect it makes a lot of sense. You see, because she was trusting her works for her salvation – or, rather for the proof of it – she was undoubtedly comparing herself with others to establish her position with God in her own mind. In other words, she was thinking, though probably unconsciously, “I’m better than that person, so I know I’m saved.”
2 Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
2 Corinthians 10:17-18 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
After Theresa became a true believer, that wall, that tension of competition, was gone between us! If you have never experienced such a thing, you can’t imagine how real it can be. She was literally a different person, a new creature in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
We became such good friends that I counted her among those who “spoke my language”. (You know…those friends whom you can talk to without having to stop and explain everything. When you tell them a thought or a feeling you had, they “get it” right away without seeming puzzled.) She also was a great blessing to me because of the great love she grew to have for God’s word. Though I didn’t always agree with her, I knew that she was striving diligently to compare herself with God’s word, rather than with other people. She was also a tremendous blessing in my life during a health crisis that I went through shortly after she was saved.
Having told her story here, I expect that you can understand how thankful I am to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is with the Lord. How merciful and kind our Father was to allow her to live long enough to realize she was not saved, to understand and believe the gospel, and to have an opportunity to pass that on to her children.
What about you? If you are reading this today then the Lord has allowed you to live to this day for a reason. If you are trusting in your good works – your church attendance; your activity in the choir, nursery, visitation, youth ministry, etc. – to establish your salvation, you are not trusting the right things. Those things never could and never will save anyone. It is the Lord Jesus Christ alone who will and can save.
Titus 3:4-7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
What are you trusting for your own salvation? Do you think that only people who are “in church” or who are doing “_____________” can be saved? Do think that only people who keep Moses’ Law can be saved? If you stopped “going to church” how would you know you are saved? Would you know because you have believed, or would you stand in doubt? Are you proving your salvation to yourself and others through you works, rather than resting in the finished work of Christ? My desire is not to compel saved people to doubt their salvation. My hope is to help someone who is trusting in their works to realize this and turn to Jesus Christ before it is too late. Life is short. There is not time to be mistaken on this subject.
If you have any doubt please go and read this page on the Gospel of John.
If you are already saved then you are alive still this day because God has some work for you to do. Are you going about your Father’s business?
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
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Also please see: Faith Is Rest
In honor of my next-in-age-to-me, the-one-I-grew-up-with brother’s birthday. :-)
Some things my brother would have said when he was half asleep.
A boy question and a mom answer.
“Gesundheit” and other unmentionables. Very appropriate to my brother.
The lovely smell of Home.
I shouldn’t have said… My brother never did this, only because he never thought of it.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
A week ago our family here had an interesting discussion about prophetic things and the amazing events that are going on in the world even now. My dad read some very thought provoking letters from a friend of his. Among other things, the brother was admonishing Christians to live above the fear and trembling and chaos that is developing, knowing that for us this is merely an observation seat. We are not in the seat of condemnation.
In the course of our discussion, and it may have been mentioned in one of the letters, we touched upon the fact that so many Christians are looking for the wrong things right now. They are watching for catastrophe, persecutions, troubles, famine, war, etc. – anything and everything except Jesus Christ! Our joy, our hope, our desire should always and foremost be the Lord Jesus Christ. While the events and labor pains of the world around us may be interesting, shocking and fearful; we should always and ever be looking for one thing alone – God’s Son from heaven.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
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The Lord Himself
It is not for a sign we are watching...
For wonders above and below
The pouring of vials of judgment,
The sounding of trumpets of woe;
It is not for a Day we are looking
Not even the time yet to be
When the earth shall be filled with God's glory
As the waters cover the sea;
It is not for a King we are longing
To make the world-kingdoms His own;
It is not for a Judge who shall summon
The nations of earth to His throne.
Not for these, though we know they are coming;
For they are but adjuncts of Him,
Before whom all glory is clouded,
Beside whom all splendor grows dim.
We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith and its end;
We watch for our Saviour and Bridegroom,
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing;
For Jesus, and Jesus alone.
Annie Johnson Flint
Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Psalms 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Fresh olives are available to people living in parts of Europe, the Middle East, the southern USA and probably other places. If you are in the southern US where olive trees are used in landscaping watch for them and ask the owners if you can have the olives when they are ripe. They'll probably be happy to have them removed so they won’t litter the ground. Keep a record of where you get your olives so that you can go back to the trees that have the best olives. Some are decidedly better than others! In some places you can plant your own trees, but be sure to find out about local regulations, as in some places planting is now banned due to the allergy problems.
Sorry to say, I don’t know the source for all of these recipes. My dad has cured his own olives on numerous occasions and has canned them to make them last longer (see photo). Some batches have been very good while others were more than some of us could tolerate (usually bitter). My dad always used a salt brine method for curing. He may have used vinegar on them when canning.
Method 1
Collect the olives as ripe as possible. Slash or stamp each olive with the side of a knife or board to make an opening, then soak in cold water in earthenware or glass containers for 10 days, changing the water daily. Soak in a brine solution for 24 hours, then wash off the brine and soak for 24 hours in vinegar. Drain. Store in jars in olive oil. This method will preserve olives indefinitely. (If sourer olives are preferred, add a little vinegar to the oil).
Method 2
Choose red to dark red olives, slash them on one side with a very sharp stainless knife to reduce bruising. Place the olives in any non-metallic container. Make a solution of 1/4 cup salt dissolved in 1 quart water (you will need to increase this for large amounts of olives), and pour enough over the olives to immerse them. Make sure the olives are completely submerged in the solution. Store in a cool place, changing the solution once a week, for three weeks. Any scum that forms on the surface is harmless, just rinse the container and the olives in fresh water if some forms.
Taste one of the largest at the end of three weeks. If only slightly bitter (should still be a bit tangy), pour off the brine and rinse the olives. If still quite bitter, re-brine for another week.
Marinade for Olives (use same container)
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 tbs salt dissolved in 2 cups water
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 lemon wedges
2 cloves garlic
Pour marinade over the olives and float enough olive oil to form a layer 1/4 inch on top. The olives will be ready to eat after sitting in the marinade for a few days. Store in a cool place or in fridge. (Warning: if kept too long, the lemon and vinegar flavors will predominate, so eat within a month after ready.)
“Dry” Salting Method
Place washed olives in a wicker basket or a plastic container with holes. Cover with medium-coarse salt. Set basket in sun and protect with a cheesecloth cover. Twice a day for a week, toss olives to redistribute them, until the bitter fluid is drawn from them. Bring olives in at night to prevent mold.
Water Method
Cover washed olives with a solution of salt water - 1 cup salt to each quart water - in a crock or glass jar. Place a weight, such as a small plate or washed rock, to keep olives submerged. Olives may remain in this brine for months. Marinate in Olive Marinade before serving.
[editors note: not slashing the olives can result in a strong flavor.]
Strongly Salted Olives
Wash and dry the olives. Place in a container in layers, alternating with dry rock or sea salt, using about 300 grams of salt per kilo of olives. Cover and leave for six months. The salt will extract liquid from the olives, leaving them shriveled. Before eating the olives, rinse in plain water, or soak for a few hours. These olives have a much stronger taste than the first ones.
The Lonely Olive Mill
Matthew 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
Gethsemane - oil-press, the name of an olive-yard at the foot of the Mount of Olives...
There’s a peaceful vale in a sunny land
Where the hills keep guard around,
And the soft breeze stirs the olive trees
And the grass that clothes the ground.
And in the hush and solitude
Where even the birds are still,
There stands untended and alone
An ancient olive mill.
Through the long bright day the mill wheel turns
And the fruit is crushed by the stone,
And quietly drips the fragrant oil
In silence and alone.
But somewhere out in the circling hills,
Unseen, unheard, unknown,
The Master of the olive mill
Is mindful of his own.
So many hours the wheel must turn,
And stone on stone must grind,
And then he will come to his olive mill,
His need of oil to find.
He knows how heavy the weight must be,
How long to let it lie,
Ere he can gather the precious oil
And throw the refuse by.
O child of God, are you being crushed
`Neath trial, pain or woe?
No eye to pity, no ear to hear,
No voice to whisper low?
Alone in your Gethsemane,
Christ watches with you there.
He will not suffer one ounce of weight
More than your strength can bear.
He chasteneth but to purify;
He crusheth but to raise;
In love he worketh his blessed will
To his glory’s endless praise.
In our affliction, afflicted still
He leaveth us not alone;
He will not forget, he will not forsake,
He is mindful of his own.
Annie Johnson Flint
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Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
