Sticks And Stones

 James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,and set on fire by hell.

"Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words shall never hurt me."

"Sticks and Stones" is an English language children's rhyme. The rhyme persuades the child victim of name-calling to ignore the taunt, to refrain from physical retaliation, and to remain calm and good-natured.

It is reported to have appeared in The Christian Recorder of March 1862, a publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where it is presented as an "old adage" in this form: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me.

1 Peter 3:9-11 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it

Anyone that has been a victim of bullying as I was, knows this saying is not true. Words cut like a double edged sword through your soul. As children, we learned to act as if the harsh words didn’t faze us. We became adept at denying or ignoring our hurt feelings on the outside, becoming emotionally crippled on the inside.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Our words can be filled with love, joy, happiness and blessing or they can be filled with sarcasm, unbelief, all kinds of negativity, and even hate. Words can curse and words can bless. Words can encourage and bring life. Words can discourage and bring death.

The words that you hear linger with you. Biting, stinging, hurtful words we speak to our wife, husband, or children as they leave the house in the morning can rob them all through the day.  Loving and tender words of encouragement can linger too, and keep them encouraged all through the day and bring them to victory.

Ephesians 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

The same thing is true spiritually. Words, spoken words, written words, even words set to music are more powerful than we may realize. And what you hear will linger and creep into your spirit. If you are surrounding yourself with words of doubt, fear, defeat, and failure, you’re believing will start moving in that direction. So will your life spiritually and carnally.

Romans 10:17 says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If I will keep hearing what God’s Word says, if I will keep reading what God’s Word says, faith is promised: Faith comes. Listen to me. Satan didn’t use some magic spell. He didn’t tie Eve to a tree and force her to eat of that tree. Man fell because of WORDS! Satan did not deny God or his power. He used words of untruthful speech to sway their thoughts.

What are we speaking ? Are we speaking our words from a well-spring of wisdom; the Bible? Are we speaking words of contention that bring destruction and a snare to our soul?

What are we giving our ears to? The Bible says if we give our ears to God’s Word faith comes. I can tell you when faith comes, victory comes. If you listen to the world doubt comes, and when doubt comes defeat comes.

Satan at no time took away Eve’s power of choice and he hasn’t taken away ours. We can choose to hear the Lord's word and be a help, and speak words of encouragement to our brothers and sisters. Or we can choose to listen to the world and give the things of the world precedence over the things of God and the lost who are watching us. We cannot choose if we live by words or not, but we can choose what words we will live by.

Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

What will you do with your words? Will you lift others up with loving and caring speech? Or will you  respond with hateful words, or words of gossip?

Matthew 12:36  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.

May You Be Blessed With Peace and Understanding

May The 4th Be With You

Genesis 1:14-19 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

I admit this was a stretch at first just so I would be able to use that title. I prayed that the Father would show me the words to say about the number four. In my study he showed me some pretty amazing things concerning the number four and how it is entwined in scripture. As is all numbers, so I will spend a few posts on the amazing glory that numbers have in creation and redemption.

Three signifies Divine perfection. Now the number four is made up of three and one (3+1=4), and it denotes, therefore, and marks that which follows the revelation of God, namely, His creative works. He is known by the things that are seen. Hence the written revelation commences with the words, "In-the-beginning God CREATED." Creation is therefore the next thing—the fourth thing, and the number four always has reference to all that is created. It is emphatically the number of Creation.
It is the number of things that have a beginning, of things that are made, of material things, and matter itself. It is the number of material completeness.

The fourth day saw the material creation finished (for on the fifth and sixth days it was only the furnishing and peopling of the earth with living creatures). The sun, moon, and stars completed the work, and they were to give light upon the earth which had been created, and to rule over the day and over the night (Gen 1:14-19).

Four is the number of:  the great elements, regions of the earth, divisions of the day, seasons of the year, and the lunar phases.

In Genesis 2:10, 11, the one river of Paradise was parted, and became into four heads, and "the fourth river is Euphrates." Here, as so often elsewhere, the four is made up of 3 + 1. For three of these rivers are now unnamed, while one is still known by its original name "Euphrates."

In the next chapter (Gen 3:22-24) the cherubim are first mentioned. These are four, and they have to do with creation always. They are first seen here, guarding (Gen 2:15), the Tree of Life, and thus preserving the blessed hope of immortality for creation. They are next seen in connection with atonement, showing the only ground on which creation could hope for the end of its groaning. They are seen on the veil and on the mercy-seat, binding up the hope of creation with Him who is called "the Hope of Israel." So that there is no hope for a groaning creation apart from atonement, or apart from Christ. In the Apocalypse the same four cherubim are called "the living creatures" (Rev 4). These announce the Coming One; these sing of creation and of Him who created all things, and for whose pleasure they were created (Rev 4:11). Whenever they speak it is in connection with the earth. These call forth and announce the judgments or plagues (Rev 6) which issue on the ejection of the Usurper from the earth, and the destruction of them which destroy the earth, and in the exaltation and enthronement of Him when all the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of our Lord and His anointed, and when the LORD God omnipotent reigneth. Wow Right!

Hence it was that these four cherubic forms were placed in the Signs of the Zodiac, and so placed that they divide it into four equal parts, thus uniting in one the twelve signs which set forth the blessed hope of a groaning creation, which waits for the Promised Seed of the woman to come and crush the serpent's head and bring in universal blessing. The fact, therefore, of the living creatures being four (and no other number) marks them as connected with Creation, and as a symbolical representation that its hope of deliverance from the curse is bound up with the blood-shedding of the coming Redeemer.

I strongly suggest reading a book called The Witness Of The Stars by E.W.Bullinger. It shows how even before we were created the message of redemption was placed in the names and alignment of the stars.

The fourth book of the Bible is Numbers. In Hebrew it is called B'Midbar, the Wilderness. The gematria of B'Midbar is 248 (4x62). It relates to the earth, which is a wilderness compared with Heaven; and to our pilgrimage through it. It tells of Meribah and striving (20:13), and records the history of the murmurings, rebellions, and wanderings.

The fourth book of the Psalms is the Book of the Wilderness. The first Psalm is the "Prayer of Moses, the man of God,"—the man of the wilderness. All the illustrations and metaphors, are drawn from the earth, and this fourth book sets forth Jehovah's counsels and purposes in relation to the earth. (See Psalms 90-106.) In the First Book of the Psalms (1-41), the fourth Psalm has to do with earth. It tells how there is nothing satisfying in it; that apart from God there can be no real prosperity in the earth.

We may note also the fourth Psalms of the other Books of the Psalms:—Psalm 45 (the fourth of the second book), Psalm 76 (the fourth of the third book), Psalm 93 (the fourth of the fourth book), and Psalm 110 (the fourth of the fifth book). All these tell of Dominion in the earth, and they speak of the coming reign of earth's rightful King and Lord.

The Fourth Commandment is the first that refers to the earth.

The fourth clause of the Lord's Prayer is the first that mentions the earth.

I could go on and on, there is so much more correlation with the completeness of creation and the number four, but I would be writing all day. I will gladly point you in the direction of where to study this and answer any questions you have.

When you see creation and the scriptures by the numbers your eyes are fully opened to the magnificent design that went into everything the Father has done.

Wait till you see how the numbers 1,3,and 7 fit into His great design of creation.

May You Be Blessed With Peace and Understanding

Grace: Undeserved Love, Forgiveness, Life

Ephesians 2:4 – 9
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Grace is a terribly misunderstood word and defining it sufficiently is difficult. One of the best definitions for it would be God's unmerited favor.  A.W. Tozer said, “Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines him to bestow benefits on the undeserving.”It's the absolute undeserving, unmerited, and unearned gift offered to humanity.

In a previous post I stated that parenting was God's humility training plan. But it's also and somewhat more of a way for us to try and show grace to our children. We should correct them not necessarily with a punishment that fits their disobedience, but instead with Grace.

Imagine if you will standing in a funeral home as the casket of a young man comes in. His mother, a widow behind him crying. He is her only son, and her only support. Then suddenly the mourners are interrupted by a man who hurries forward, “here let me deal with the dead, I can bring him back to life.”“All this man needs is education,” explains the man while boldly approaching the casket. And from his books of science and philosophy he attempts to teach the young man in the coffin. But in vain he watches for the flush of life to return; there is no response. Education has failed.

Another man approaches the scene, confidently proclaiming that he can bring the young man back to life, and so he begins, “Now young man, make up your mind that you are going to live. Exert your will, and choose to live – the choice is yours. You can get up if you only will”. But there is no response as the previously confident man looks upon the lifeless face of the young man. Free choice and will-power has failed.

Then another man came toward the crowd, calmly and with a sense of peace about him. For a few moments no one moves. Then the man speaks, “My friends, do you not know that what this man needs is religion? Through the knowledge of our doctrine he will be revived”. And he sat down by the coffin’s side. “Now I will reveal to the young man the precepts of the law, for if he will keep them faithfully he will live again”. “But” inquires one of the bystanders, “how can a corpse observe the laws since he cannot even hear your words? Until he is first alive, all your precepts will avail nothing”. Sorrowfully the man walks away, Religion has failed.

Then from the crowd steps the figure of One who walks with perfect confidence and composure to a scene of certain failure. A sudden hush falls on the expectant throng as he stands for a moment beside the coffin. Then He speaks, his voice calm but authoritative. “Young man, I say unto thee, arise!”
Eagerly the people draw close. Who is this? What power is there behind his simple words? What manner of man is this? But then their questions are suddenly answered. The eyelids quiver, the flush returns to the cheek; the heart throbs once more, and the young man rises to his feet.

What had happened? Jesus imparted Life. The man was dead and it was Life that he needed. This is the one great essential. Education will not do; nor will free choice or human rights; not even religion, however sincere it may be, will ever make the grade. None of the things we regard as being of value is equal to the task of restoring life.

ONLY GOD'S GRACE BEGETS LIFE!

How often do we think about grace? Consider your own life. We need not even look very far or at great and mystifying examples. For instance, how many of us parked our cars at home each day and thought of God’s grace that brought us home safely. To the majority of us grace is only a concept. An abstract idea that the pastor uses to explain certain principles from the pulpit. We understand grace, but do we know grace. Do we know him personally?

The Russian Czar, Alexander, used to love to disguise himself and mingle with his people to hear what they have to say. One night he visited the army camp and listened to some soldiers. While passing a tent he saw a young soldier sitting at a table with his head on his arm, sound asleep. The Czar tiptoed to the back of the chair and looked over his shoulder. There on the table before him he saw a loaded revolver. Beside the revolver was a sheet of paper with a long list of gambling debts.
After seeing the total the Czar noted a sentence below the figures saying, “who can pay so much?” Suddenly the czar understood the situation. The young officer had gambled away all he had and was about to take his own life for fear of not being able to meet his debts. Then the czar took up the pen and below the young soldiers question wrote the words “I, Alexander, Czar of Russia”. Quietly he turned away and went home. The next morning the young officer woke up and immediately took hold of the revolver when suddenly he saw writing on his letter that he had not put there. He read the words of the Czar and in amazement he dropped the revolver. At that moment a messenger came to his tent with a bag of money from the Czar. The young soldier’s debt was paid and his life was spared.

Friends, we too, have accumulated a large amount of debt. A debt so great that none of us would ever be able to pay the price. But there is good news, we don’t have to. See, just as Noah received his righteousness as a gift through grace and the young soldier his life through a gift, so too do we receive the gift of God’s grace that paid our debt for us in order that our lives might be spared.


The well-known preacher, A. T. Pierson, once said, “However poor a preacher, I can preach the gospel better than Gabriel can, because Gabriel cannot say what I can say, “I am a sinner saved by grace.”

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

May You Be Blessed With Peace and Understanding