I Have a Problem

Source: Ray Comfort's facebook page.

“FATHER, I HAVE a problem. It’s weighing heavy on me. It’s all I can think about, night and day. Before I bring it to you in prayer, I suppose I should pray for those who are less fortunate than me—those in this world who have hardly enough food for this day, and for those who don’t have a roof over their heads at night. I also pray for families who have lost loved ones in sudden death, for parents whose children have leukemia, for the many people who are dying of brain tumors, for the hundreds of thousands who are laid waste with other terrible cancers, for people whose bodies have been suddenly shattered in car wrecks, for those who are lying in hospitals with agonizing burns over their bodies, whose faces have been burned beyond recognition. I pray for people with emphysema, whose eyes fill with terror as they struggle for every breath merely to live, for those who are tormented beyond words by irrational fears, for the elderly who are wracked with the pains of aging, whose only ‘escape’ is death.

“I pray for people who are watching their loved ones fade before their eyes through the grief of Alzheimer’s disease, for the many thousands who are suffering the agony of AIDS, for those who are in such despair that they are contemplating suicide, for people who are tormented by the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction. I pray for children who have been abandoned by their parents, for those who are sexually abused, for wives held in quiet despair, beaten and abused by cruel drunken husbands, for people whose minds have been destroyed by mental disorders, for those who have lost everything in floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. I pray for the blind, who never see the faces of the ones they love or the beauty of a sunrise, for those whose bodies are deformed by painful arthritis, for the many whose lives will be taken from them today by murderers, for those wasting away on their deathbeds in hospitals.

“Most of all, I cry out for the millions who don’t know the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ . . . for those who in a moment of time will be swept into hell by the cold hand of death, and find to their utter horror the unspeakable vengeance of eternal fire. They will be eternally damned to everlasting punishment. O God, I pray for them.

“Strange. I can’t seem to remember what my problem was. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

When Lust Conceives

John Gill -
Then when lust hath conceived…
A proposal of pleasure or profit being made, agreeable to lust, or the principle of corrupt nature, sinful man is pleased with it; and instead of resisting and rejecting the motion made, he admits of it, and receives it, and cherishes it in his mind; he dallies and plays with it; he dwells upon it in his thoughts, and hides it under his tongue, and in his heart, as a sweet morsel, and forsakes it not, but contrives ways and means how to bring it about; and this is lust's conceiving. The figure is used in (Psalms 7:14) on which Kimchi, a Jewish commentator, has this note; ``he (the psalmist) compares the thoughts of the heart (Nwyrhl) , "to a conception", and when they go out in word, this is "travail", and in work or act, this is "bringing forth".''

Matthew Henry -

As holiness consists of two parts-forsaking that which is evil and cleaving to that which is good, so these two things, reversed, are the two parts of sin. The heart is carried from that which is good, and enticed to cleave to that which is evil.

"Their sin lies at their own door, and therefore their blood will lie upon their own heads."

Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; that is, sin being allowed to excite desires in us, it will soon ripen those desires into consent, and then it is said to have conceived.

Robertson's Word Pictures -
Then (eita). The next step. The lust (h epiqumia). Note article, the lust (verse 2 Peter 14) which one has. When it hath conceived (sullabousa). Second aorist active participle of sullambanw, old word to grasp together, in hostile sense (Acts 26:21), in friendly sense of help (Philippians 4:3), in technical sense of a woman taking a man's seed in conception (Luke 1:24), here also of lust (as a woman), "having conceived." The will yields to lust and conception takes place. Beareth sin (tiktei amartian). Present active indicative of tiktw to bring forth as a mother or fruit from seed, old verb, often in N.T., here only in James. Sin is the union of the will with lust. See Psalms 7:14 for this same metaphor. The sin (h amartia). The article refers to amartia just mentioned.

Things You Never Hear in Church

(Seen on facebook)

1. Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew.
2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.
3. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf. 
4. I've decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists. 
5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class. 
6. Forget the denominational minimum salary, let's pay our pastor so he/she can live like we do. 
7. I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before! 
8. Since we're all here, let's start the service early. 
9. Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas. 
10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign! 
11. I couldn't find space to park outside. Praise God!!

The Lord is My Shepherd — That’s Relationship!

You may have seen this gem before in a chain email or on the internet. It's been around long enough you might even find a copy tucked inside an old family Bible. The author is unknown.

The Lord is my Shepherd
— that’s RELATIONSHIP!
I shall not want
— that’s SUPPLY!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
— that’s REST!
He leadeth me beside still waters
— that’s REFRESHMENT!
He restoreth my soul
— that’s HEALING!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
— that’s GUIDANCE!
For His name sake
— that’s PURPOSE!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
— that’s PROTECTION!
For thou art with me
— that’s FAITHFULNESS!
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
— that’s COMFORT!
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
— that’s HOPE!
Thou anointest my head with oil
— that’s CONSECRATION!
My cup runneth over
— that’s ABUNDANCE!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
— that’s BLESSING!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
— that’s SECURITY!
Forever
— that’s ETERNITY!