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| I know many of you may not remember the days when things were slower but I do and I miss those days. I miss the days of my favorite "clean" shows on TV like 'Fury, Rifleman, Mighty Mouse, and Happy Days just to name a few. I miss the days when "gay" meant happy and "good buddy" was proper CB radio jargen. I miss the days when everyone respected Sunday's and department stores were closed. I miss the days of growing up and actually playing outside with sticks and such. I miss the days of not having cell phones and cable TV. I miss the days when children could roam their neighborhoods without fear of being kidnapped or shot in a drive by shooting. I miss the days of innocence when affection was not perceived as some sick perversion. I miss the days when gas was 27 cents a gallon and sodas came in a 12 oz glass bottle. I miss the days of having time to just do nothing or spend doing what I enjoy instead of what I have to. I miss the days of just sitting around with my cousins wittling on a piece of wood and drinking a huge glass of sweat tea. I miss the days when baseball cards were for collecting cause you liked baseball and you liked the cool sounbd they made when clipped to you bike wheel. How about you? Does anyone else know what I am talking about?
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| I know have thought about what it really means to celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Christ but do we really understand what took place between the Cross and the Throne? Do we understand the battles that Jesus fought on our behalf so that we might spend eternity with Him in heaven? Have you ever asked yourself, "Where was Jesus for the three days He was dead?" The bible tells us in Ephesians 4:7-10 that Jesus descended to the lower parts of the earth before He ascended. Where did He go? In Luke 16:19-31 we see that Jesus tells the of a rich man and a man named Lazarus. They both died and the rich man looked up from hell and he saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. I would put before you that there were two chambers in hell...one for the unrepentent dead and the upper chamber for the righteous dead. This place for the righteous dead was also called "paradise." Until the resurrection of Jesus, no one ascended to heaven to be with the Father because the sacrifice had not been paid. In the Old Testament, when the high priest offered up a blood sacrifice, it was not enough just to kill a lamb...but the blood had to be applied...it had to be poured upon the mercy seat for the forgiveness of sin. The same thing happened when Jesus died on the cross. Before we could be fully forgiven...He not only had to die, but He had to ascend into heaven and apply His blood upon the mercy seat of God. If you remember in Eph 4 it says that Jesus took captive those in captivity. In 1 Pet 3:19 it says that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison. 1 Pet 4:5-6 says the gospel was preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged. Notice it did not say saved but judged. Jesus proclaimed to the unrighteous dead, during His three days in the tomb, He proclaimed to them that He was Who He said He was and because of their rejection, they would spend eternity in hell. Jesus, after the three days in Abraham's bosom, took with him those that had died when He ascended into heaven. John 20 tells of the account when Mary first sees Jesus outside the tomb and He tells her not to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father. In other words, He was now going to the Father to apply His blood to the mercy seat. Once that was done, that first Easter morning, He returned that night and appeared to the disciples and told them to touch Him. What happened between that morning and that evening? Jesus had his purified resurrected body when Mary saw Him and she could not touch Him because He was getting ready to pay the final price for our sin. After He had done that, He returned and now the disciples could touch Him because the blood had been applied and He now had is resurrected fleshly body. I know for some of you this is new and requires some research and thought processing. If you would like the full message that I preached on this, please visit my webpage at www.pastordude.com/sermons and look for the message entitled "From the Cross to the Throne." I would love to hear from you. God Bless You all as you celebrate the Resurrected Lord!
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I have been walking with the Lord for over 21 years now and have been a pastor now at Trinity Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, Texas for almost 10 years. I probably have over 35 bibles in my home office and I have to say I use them all. They range from KJV, NIV, NLT, NASB, RSV, ESV, and so on. I personally like the NIV the best for everyday reading and preaching but I also am partial to the KJV for most of my study. I also like the NLT for it’s easy reading in today’s more modern English. Why am I even mentioning this? I was recently approached by one of my members about the KJV vs. the NIV and how someone had been filling her mind with a bunch of stuff about the differences. I have to admit, I used to be what I term a “KJV Thumper.” What I mean by that is I used to be one of those people that was a “King James” only bible person and was arrogantly rude about arguing the validity of scripture with those who weren’t. I am thankful to say that I have since matured in my walk since then and I don’t get involved in such vain arguments as that. We have enough people outside of the body of Christ trying to divide us and tear us down that we surely don’t need that kind of derision inside the church family. As a matter of fact, the bible says in 2 Tim 2:23-25 that the Lord’s servant should avoid such arguments because they lead to foolish quarrels. If you can agree with me that Jesus is the Son of God, was born of a virgin, raised up as a carpenter’s son, was crucified for the sins of the world, was dead three days and then rose again, and the only way to get to heaven is by receiving the atoning gift of the blood of Jesus, I am pretty sure we can get along together and even do the work of the ministry. But please, don’t try to argue with me which version of the bible is the “authorized” version because I don’t have time for those type of quarrels that tear down the body of Christ. I would rather join together with you, no matter what version you choose to read, and storm the gates of hell to rescue those who are dying in their sins and are destined to burn for all of eternity.
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The exciting thing about God’s Word, the Bible, is that it gives us life. Every day, every time we read His Word we will receive life. As a pastor I have had many people over the years talk to me about the fact that they are bored when they read the Bible. That it never speaks to them. Let me give you a few tips so that you can receive the Life that God wants to give you through His Word.
First: Read systematically. It is important to read through a book or through the Bible systematically. Don’t just let the pages open and close your eyes and point your finger to get a verse of the day. Mark where you stop reading and begin there the next time you read.
Second: Read daily. This will give you life!
Third: Read a new version. If you have been a follower of Christ for many years and have read your Bible many times, maybe even highlighting and underlining, you may tend to just read the parts that you have marked or skip through sections thinking you know it and have read it before. By reading a different version it will come to life once again.
Fourth: Don’t make reading a certain amount per day your goal. In other words, many people want to read a chapter a day or for a certain period of time each day. Instead, ask the Lord to speak to you as you read and when He causes a verse to jump out at you, to speak to your heart, stop. Ponder that. You are not racing through the Bible; you want to connect with God.
Fifth: I would encourage you to read a book of the Bible that the Sunday message was taken from. Many times the Lord will speak to your heart on Sunday and if you will read the passages that the message was built on He will confirm what He spoke to you and will take you much further in it.
Sixth: Have fun. Reading the Bible is an incredible adventure for Christ followers. Not only do we learn more about Him, but we are given instruction for success in every area of our lives. This is truly the greatest adventure in the world.
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