Contemplations

John the Baptist Prepares the Way John the Baptist preached in the Desert, "Repent, for heaven is near." He baptized when people repented; They came from all over to hear. The prophet Isaiah spoke of Him as: "The voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, With straight paths" was Isaiah's alert. John's clothes were made of camel's hair; By our standards he would have looked funny. A leather belt was around his waist. And his food was locusts and honey. People came to him from Judea, The Jordan area and Jerusalem. There at the Jordan River, They repented and were baptized by him. . John saw Pharisees and Sadducees coming, To where people got their spiritual bath, He yelled, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you of the coming wrath?” “Do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones, God can raise up children, so don’t even bother.” “Bear fruit in keeping with re

A NEW ATTITUDE “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company. . .a church. . .a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude. . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” - Charles Swindoll Prov. 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Prov. 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. I

  LUSTFUL AND PERVERSE THOUGHTS Job 31: “I made a covenant with my eyes      not to look lustfully at a young woman. 2  For what is our lot   from God above,      our heritage from the Almighty on high? 3  Is it not ruin   for the wicked,      disaster   for those who do wrong? 4  Does he not see my ways      and count my every step? 5  “If I have walked with falsehood      or my foot has hurried after deceit— 6  let God weigh me   in honest scales      and he will know that I am blameless— 7  if my steps have turned from the path,      if my heart has been led by my eyes,      or if my hands   have been defiled, 8  then may others eat what I have sown,      and may my crops be uprooted. 9  “If my heart has been enticed   by a woman,      or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10  then may my wife grind   another man’s grain,      and may other men sleep with her. 11  For that would have been wicked,      a sin to be judged. 12  It is a fire   that burn

SEX EDUCATION FROM THE BIBLE     Some of the following verses are from the Old Testament.  Many say the Old Testament no longer applies to today. Wrong. Matthew 5:17-19, NIV says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."       Yes, some of these laws are no longer practiced, especially the ceremonial laws like sacrificing on an altar. Jesus also changed laws about priests and baptism. He became the high priest when he was crucified. No other priest is necessary. John the Baptist bap