The Ministry Years: – 6th Miracle-  Grieved for the hardness of their hearts –  theunfetteredpreacher 

grieved for the hardness of their hearts.

Jesus was Grieved, hurt, saddened.  Why?   The hardness of their hearts, their unbelief.  They simply misunderstood the meaning and reasons for the Commandments, the Laws, of God.

Jesus, was in the Synagogue on the Sabbath,  a man was there with a withered hand.   The religious were waiting to see if Jesus would work, (heal), on the Sabbath.   Jesus asked?

Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to do evil?  To save life?  Or to destroy it?”

Throughout history, man has grieved God, with our actions, our unbelief, our disobedience, and or, our misunderstanding of His will and ways.

Genesis 6:6
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”   (The Flood)

Psalm 95:10
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:”   (In the Desert)

Hebrews 3:10
Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.”

Hebrews 3:17
But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

We err in our hearts…

We do not know His ways…

We always have to improve the Word of God.  Like Eve, expand on it, not just eat, but “we cannot even touch it or we will die.”

If we don’t add to it, we make it a Ritual,  a Custom, a Doctrine.  I believe that is why we see Jesus using different ways to cure the sick, feed the hungry, share the truth.

We (mankind), love to go a step too far.   God told us this, so let us do that also.  Man added an  Extra 600+ laws, beyond Gods.

This one was simple.

Mark 2:27
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Man was made on the sixth day,  the first thing man needed to learn was how to rest, trust and Rely on God.

We are still in the learning process.  Doing good or that which is right, is always pleasing to God.

Mark 3:1-5

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? 

But they held their peace.
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. 

And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Matthew 12:9-13

And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Luke 6:6-10

And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Merry Christmas, once again:  theunfetteredpreacher 

I send this out, once again.  

Asking the best, the Lord has for my friends.  

The star shown above, to forecast His Love.

My prayer is that you accept Him.

Merry Christmas,  Don’t miss Him.

Coloring within the lines:  theunfetteredpreacher 

Remember when you first understood and accomplished, coloring within the lines. How proud, we were, to master this skill.

It was a sure sign of growing up.  We showed our work to any and all.

Adults today, are reminding themselves of this simple pleasure, with adult coloring books.  (We tend to hide them now).  

It is a pleasure to remind ourselves, that we are able to do something well.   Even a small thing, that we have had mastered, for many years.

In many areas of our lives, we live, walk and work between the lines.  We know what is expected, what needs to be accomplished, and how to get the job done.

So that is what we do.    We stay within our, acceptable boundaries of life.  

We all do it, we want life to be clean, orderly, predictable.   

When Jesus is Lord of our life, we can no longer stay between the lines.

Life gets to be unpredictable, our steps are now ordered by the Lord.   We are at times, brought face to face with the dregs of society. (He shows us ourselves, and we must deal with it).

When we begin to stay within the lines as Christians,  we lose our way.  

My writing, the last few months, has been, writing between the lines.  

I have not  received any Biblical Revelation, grown any closer to the Lord, or expressed any original thought.  

There has been no urgency, no overwhelming desire to draw anyone else closer to the Lord.

I haven’t been feeding myself, so all I have had to give, is old manna.   (Manna, needs to be new, gathered fresh, every morning, or it rots).

Am I able to blame it on company, for disrupting my study and prayer time?   Our Pastor leaving? Or the pain in my physical body?   Maybe a combination of all the above?  I can try? 

Sadly,…  All,….   Just Excuses. 

I need to get back in the Word.  Close the gap, that has widened between the Lord and I.  He hasn’t moved…  Guess who did?

I am a firm believer that the Lord speaks to those who will listen and obey, everyday.

I may not hear His voice, but I can know His will by reading and obeying His Word. 

The only difference between, the great men of faith and us, is:  When the Lord spoke, the great men, listened, considered and acted.

Us?  Not so much…  Our first thoughts are, “God, doesn’t do that anymore.”

Mary said:  What, How?”  Then more importantly:   “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.

Do you wish to be a great man or woman of God.  It’s OK, to wonder, What or How, as long as the result is. “According to Thy Word.”

Will you quit living between the lines, and say “YES LORD”.

Then you will have Manna, for others to receive.   All we can do is feed ourselves, and pray that others, will be encouraged to learn to feed themselves.

We are a chosen generation , a royal priesthood, a holy nation,  a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”  (1 Peter 2:9)

Get into the light, Praise The Lord, walk, live, draw, color, write, speak….OUTSIDE THE LINES.

THEN:…. Watch the Lord, break forth in your life.   Amen.

A Bedroom Community?  theunfetteredpreacher

For a small town, we seem to be gaining a lot of Mattress Stores…

Are people spending more time in bed?   Or just sleeping better since the election?

Why write?  Does anyone read?   theunfetteredpreacher 

In January of 2016, I studied 1 John and the 12 reasons he gave for writing.   My list is much shorter.

that your joy may be full

I truly want people to experience fulness of joy, not happiness, not excitement but true heartfelt joy, that comes from knowing the Savior, in a real and personal way.

that ye sin not”

That our lives would line up with His Word, and we would Walk in His ways.   We will never not sin, but we can live, forgiven and blameless in the Beloved. 

that ye may know that ye have eternal life,

The realization that we do have Eternal Life, right now.  Without Jesus the Eternity we look to, is less then desired.   Separation from our Creator, our families, our loved ones and desires.

The Eternal Life we can know, when we have Jesus, is a time of no tears or fears…  When we have the desires of our hearts.   Our trials and troubles are washed away by His blood.

That ye may believe on the name of the Son of God

The sum of my writing.   That you might believe on the name of the Son of God.

I am inadequate, my words, my prayers, my desires.  All lacking.   If you will not believe Moses, you will not believe, the one raised from the dead.

I write in the hope that something will touch your  heart, mind, a chord within your Spirit.

That something will draw you close…  The Holy Spirit is in charge.  

It is always your choice. 

Today, is the day.  Tomorrow may be too late. 

Piano:  It Came Upon A Midnight Clear:  theunfetteredpreacher 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/odmld6z8iio180k/Piano.%20It%20Came%20Upon%20a%20Midnight%20%20clear.mp4?dl=0

Piano

Piano:  Mary, did you know?   theunfetteredpreacher 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4n3vngwxiu4qwao/20161217_110837.mp4?dl=0

Piano, another try….  did it work?

The Blood of Jesus:   theunfetteredpreacher 

The Blood of Bulls and goats:

Hebrews 10:4
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Throughout the Old Testament, man had to give up something meaningful, important, something that cost them.  

They had to sacrifice the best of their flock, from the time of the Passover, (to save their firstborn), to the yearly sacrifices to cleanse from sin.

So they, find themselves sanctified, set apart from the rest of the world, in the service of God, for a time.

That their sin, would be forgiven.

They had to keep making this sacrifice, giving of the best of their flock, to stay in right standing with God.

Seems crazy to the modern man, ridiculous, meaningless, even stupid.  To give up the best of what they had, to please an invisible God.

Why?  Sin.    What is SIN?   

There is no such thing as sin, if it feels good, do it, if it tastes good, eat it, if you like it, do it again.

I have my own standards, we don’t need a Fictional God, to tell me, right from wrong. 

Momma taught us, instilled in us morality, the Golden rule, and integrity….

Don’t you dare judge me….  

Really?  Look around you, how’s that working? 

If you believe in a higher power or not, can you not recognize the Decay, Destruction, and Danger that lies ahead?

The Police are now targets, the criminals, victims.  Illegal aliens,  and felons,  encouraged to vote, when our laws forbid it.

People, paid to riot, to change their votes, to disrupt, to overthrow the will of the people.

Every man doing what is right in his own eyes.  

Stop!  

This invisible, fictional character, (this God character), that, those of us, who believe, know as Jesus.  Is real. 

He was sent down by the Father above, to save the World from sin.  

That which is displeaseing to Him.  That, which we know in our hearts is wrong.  

It really is simple,  you see the glory of His creation, and deny the Creator. 

God has given every one of us, a measure of faith, to believe, if we would.  

Whosoever will.  Is the key. It is our choice…

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

The blood of bulls and goats,  hard to understand why the Lord went there in the first place.

But, a man, willing to die for me, that should make me stop and consider, WHY?

Why does the man fight for his country, his family, his wife?  Only love.

John 3:16-17

King James Version (KJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

It was the Love of the Father, that sent the Son.

Ephesians 2:13

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

It was the blood of the Son, that brought us close to the Father.

Hebrews 10:19
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,”

It’s is the blood of the Son, that allows us to boldly, come to the Father, to stand before Him, Forgivin, Blameless, finding Mercy and Grace in our time of need.

Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

It is the blood of the Son, our Testimony, and our love for Him, that gives us the victory.

Must we give up something dear to us to purchase this standing? 

Yes.  We must give ourselves, all of ourselves to Him.

.

Election got you down?   theunfetteredpreacher 

             (Picture off FB)

If in 4 years, the Donald hasn’t put the Ship of State, back on coarse.  We on the right will throw him out.  GROW UP !   Get a decent candidate next time.