God says that if we sin, (as we ALL do) that we are dead, “in them.” The truth is that we are born this way, like a lamb that dies. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…” (Eph. Chapter2). God cannot associate with sin, so like the mother lamb that does not recognize the orphan, we were alone without hope of a future. Until…Jesus. Jesus came and died so that we might wear His fleece, so to speak. When John the Baptist, “saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29). So what then?
It is my understanding that in some countries where sheep are raised, an interesting practice takes place. If a lamb’s mother dies, no other ewe will accept it and raise it. Each mother knows its own lamb by smell and will only take care of that particular one. What to do? What happens is that the shepherd puts the fleece from a lamb that has recently died, like a coat, over the orphan lamb. It is then introduced to the ewe that had lost its lamb. Presto! The mother recognizes the smell of its own lamb and raises the orphan. Don’t you love a happy ending? There is one for all of us, if we wear the fleece. What?
God says that if we sin, (as we ALL do) that we are dead, “in them.” The truth is that we are born this way, like a lamb that dies. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…” (Eph. Chapter2). God cannot associate with sin, so like the mother lamb that does not recognize the orphan, we were alone without hope of a future. Until…Jesus. Jesus came and died so that we might wear His fleece, so to speak. When John the Baptist, “saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29). So what then? Feelings Are Where the Body and Mind
Connect Over the years, I have been amazed at the number of people who have fainted at weddings. I once caught a stricken groom; holding him up was like trying to support 200 pounds of water in my arms. Our son fell into the choir loft at his sister’s wedding --just couldn’t take it, I guess. At my own eighth grade graduation I was chosen to give the class speech --I was so scared that I wet my pants. Fortunately, my suit coat seemed to cover for me. Too bad they didn’t have those automatic drying machines in the restrooms back then. At any rate, I was certainly glad to get home that night. I’m sure everyone wondered why I was so avoidant! Even after fifty-five years of giving Sunday sermons; I’m still nervous enough to entirely upset my digestive system. You’d think that after that much time without catching a tomato in the face I would develop some degree of comfort --but, no, it hasn’t happened. Doing sermons to a camera for this coronavirus hasn’t helped! At my first sermon at the Coryland Church my knees wobbled so bad, I thought I would fall down. I remember thinking, “I’m going to fall down; should I keep on with the sermon?” Fortunately, there was the pulpit to hang onto --as well as hide behind Feelings are the way in which we have come to talk about the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is the point where our bodies and minds connect. Depending upon what our minds tell us about life circumstances, our bodies will respond by raising or lowering blood pressure, raising or lowering heart rate, tightening or loosening muscles, secreting stomach acids, releasing adrenaline into our systems, changing skin conductivity, and so on. We really never know exactly what they’re going to do next. It’s a little like Forrest Gump who said, “My momma told me, life is like a box of chocolates --ya never know what you’re gonna get.” “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1-4, New International Version. Following the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples in many situations showing He is fully God and fully man. With each of the appearances, Jesus gave instructions in how to be witnesses of the Gospel for Him. After forty days Jesus ascended into heaven, this was after He had finished telling the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received power from on high.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” It is now ten days since Jesus ascended into heaven. Jews from all over the known world were coming together to celebrate Pentecost, where the Mosaic Law required them to gather, in Jerusalem. The temple courts were filled with worshippers, including the disciples, for they came daily to the temple to pray. Most likely, the disciples were in one of the houses along the wall of the court yard of the temple. James 2:19
[19] You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (ESV) Faith always has an object. We have faith IN something, not ABOUT something. For instance, you will probably place your faith in the laws of physics which gives you confidence that you can walk across the room without your feet coming off the ground. The law of gravity is a law of physics that you have faith in. If one is to have the saving faith that transforms them and gives them a new life in Christ Jesus, they must have their faith IN God. In this verse James is describing someone who has faith ABOUT God. They believe that God is one. That is something that they have faith about. But they have not placed their faith IN that God. James is unimpressed. He says, even demons believe God is one! Hi All, Hope you all enjoyed the weekend.
I see some places are going green now that is good. I would like to see us get back to a normal life. I don’t know about you all but I feel it’s going to take us years to bounce back from this. I guess we all just need to have faith it will all work out. The firehall would like to thank all who bought chicken. Have a great weekend and week. Welcome back to hometown news. Hopefully. I hope you and yours are doing okay and surviving the best and only way you know how. On this Memorial Day holiday I thank God for all the service men and women who have sacrificed their lives over the centuries in more ways than one to allow us the freedoms we have. PLEASE – NEVER FORGET!
During these pandemic times, now more than ever, Ron and I have tried a little harder to eat better, get more exercise and to use our time and talents to help those that need a hand up. I keep hearing my mom Lucille say “Remember – what goes around comes around.” Anyway – I’ve become very conscious to the fresh fruit and vegetables I’ve been buying, and I understand we can’t grow bananas anywhere close in this country, but why grapes from Chili? Why peppers and cucumbers from Mexico? And I love this ad: “Fresh asparagus! From Peru!” Really??? So tell me, just how FRESH can this stuff be? Thanks for letting me vent a bit. ![]() by Joe Carreon [email protected] CANTON — Borough Council met on Monday, May 18, after not meeting in April due to the Corona Virus emergency. Visitor comments Mike Schultz from North Center Street thanked the borough for allowing the students who work at the pool get some working time in with other projects. Schultz also asked council to clarify information about an alleged business in town that is run out of a garage. John Raub gave the code enforcement report. The second part of his report was directed to council member Chris Schrader. Raub accused Schrader of interfering with code investigations. The first case was an accumulation of garbage that was in violation of ordinance. The second case was a deck that was built without a permit as well as without consent from the landowner. It also included a business being run out of a garage. by Rachel Heitzenrater
[email protected] BRADFORD — Commissioners spoke about tyranny and the rights of Bradford County people during their online zoom/Facebook live meeting on Thursday, May 14. On the agenda, Daryl Miller and Doug McLinko approved a new resolution to the Bill of Rights, stating that they “commit to the obvious” concerning the resolution and reiterated that they have a civil responsibility to Bradford County and its residents. “I will proudly make that motion to approve,” said McLinko. “I will proudly second,” said Daryl. James 2:14
[14] What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? (ESV) We assume that faith is always good, don’t we? I have heard people say, “Well, as long as you have faith, that’s all that matters.” A good question to ask when someone claims that all we need is some kind of faith is, “Faith in what?” Faith is irrelevant if it does not have an object. We have faith in something or someone. In the context of this verse James is referring to saving faith in God. The object of faith is God. James goes further than just question the object of a person’s faith. Here he questions also the genuineness of their faith in God. James is concerned about those who have false confidence. They may think that they are right with God, and even claim to have faith, but that faith is false. There used to be places in Asia, (maybe still) where young men would catch song birds and put them in homemade wooden cages. The idea would be to sell the bird to someone in order for them to have the privilege of setting it free. I’m sure that it brings a feeling of satisfaction when you open the cage door and the bird escapes. I bet however, that the joy in the bird is far greater!
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