The quote

“Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence”

by Mencius reminds me of the GOLDEN RULE.

We find the GOLDEN RULE in Matthew 7:12 in the Bible:

“SO IN EVERYTHING, DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU, FOR THIS SUMS UP THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.”

Just now I am reading two books:

I am reading the book THE MODERN FAMILY SURVIVAL GUIDE by Nigel Latta.

I am also reading the book ROMANS (The Communicator’s Commentary) by D. Stuart Briscoe.

I WON THE BOOK IN A COMPETITION

OP SHOP OPEN

Once I was not interested in second-hand shops. I rather avoided them. But now I am looking for them.

At the present time I am reading a book on ROMANS by D. Stuart Briscoe. The series is called THE COMMUNICATOR’S COMMENTARY and the General Editor is Lloyd J. Ogilvie. The book has been a blessing already, and I have only started reading it! (Word Books, Publisher Waco,Texas)

$16- is written in the book. It seems to me that that was the original cost of the book.

That book was bought in a second-hand store, and I am not sure what the buyer paid for it. It was not very much.

I believe I have said it before and I am saying it again: “The books I love best in my library were bought second-hand.”

 MAKING A DIFFERENCE was on my mind, when all of a sudden I became aware that “MAKE A DIFFERENCE  Reduce Re-use Recycle” was written on the shopping bag which was sitting right in front of me.

Type “Make a difference” into the SEARCH box on this blog and you find four posts dealing with the subject of MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

We are told “Make a difference in your community.” We are asked “Want to make a difference in your community?”

“MAKE A DIFFERENCE”

Let me tell you about the people all over the world who make a difference for good in the world.

Those people are praying like Murray McCheyne: “Lord, make me as holy as it is possible for a child of Thine to be.”

They pray that they may be –

1. HOLY IN BODY (Romans 12:1)

2. HOLY IN PRAYER (First Timothy 2:8)

3. HOLY IN WORSHIP (First Peter 2:5)

4. HOLY IN CITIZENSHIP (First Peter 2:9)

5. HOLY IN HEART (First Thessalonians 3:13)

I also belong to those people.

Holy (HAGIOS) means that which is sacred, set apart, consecrated.

D. L. Moody said:

“NEXT TO THE MIGHT OF GOD, THE SERENE BEAUTY OF A HOLY LIFE IS THE MOST POWERFUL INFLUENCE FOR GOOD IN THE WORLD.”

“NEVER GIVE UP HOPE.”

“‘Never give up hope’ in what?” That was the question I asked myself, when I read “Never give up hope” on the back cover of the little booklet called “WHANAU PACK, Tools for families and parents with teenagers, published by the NORTHLAND DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD.

The BIBLE tells us about a man who did not give up hope in the resurrection of the dead and who did not give up hope in what God has promised.

HOPE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

Here are some promises concerning the resurrection:

“NEVER GIVE UP HOPE”

“For the Lord himself

Intr.:

will come down from heaven,

1.  with a loud command,

2.  with the voice of the archangel and

3.  with the trumpet call of God,

End:

and the dead in Christ will rise first.” –

First Thessalonians 4:16

Second Corinthians 4:14; Acts 24:15; John 11:25 and John 6:40.

HOPE IN WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED

And here are some messianic prophecies relating to the Lord Jesus Christ and their fulfillment:

1. The Lord was given gall and vinegar.

Prophecy: Psalm 96:21 – Fulfillment: John 19:29

2. The Lord prays for his enemies.

Prophecy: Psalm 109:4 – Fulfillment: Luke 23:34

3. The side of the Lord is pierced.

Prophecy: Zechariah 12:10 – Fulfillment: John 19:34

4. The Lord is buried with the rich.

Prophecy: Isaiah 53:9 – Fulfillment: Matthew:27:57-60

There are more of course!

The man was the apostle Paul and he was even on trial before king Agrippa because of his hope in what God has promised and he was also on trial before the Sanhedrin because of his hope in the resurrection of the dead.

Acts 23:6; Acts 26:6

THE CROSS AT DOUBTLESS BAY CHRISTIAN CENTRE

Doubtless Bay Christian Centre, 7 Mill Bay Rd, MANGONUI.

In the Athens marketplace many years ago:

In the book of ACTS in chapter 17 we read that “Paul was preaching the good news about JESUS and the resurrection” “in the marketplace day by day”.

In the Kaitaia marketplace TODAY:

What a joy it was this morning to see a team from the Doubtless Bay Christian Centre preaching the good news about JESUS and the resurrection in the marketplace. 

“Upon Edom I toss my Sandal,” says David – the David who wrote Psalm 23.

Have you ever wondered what that means?

Shoes

I found the meaning in the book STRANGE SCRIPTURES THAT PERPLEX THE WESTERN MIND by Barbara Bowen.

David says that actually twice, namely in Psalm 60:8 and Psalm 108:9, and he is talking there also about Moab and Philistia.

In the light of customs and conditions in Bible Lands, what is the meaning of “Upon Edom I toss my sandal?”

The shoe in the Bible days was considered unclean. Shoes were never worn in houses. They were left at a place near the door called mastaby. Shoes were spoken of in terms of great disrespect. Everything that was low and filthy was associated with shoes.

When David says, “Upon Edom I toss my sandal,” he says that Edom is like the place near the door, where the shoes are left, the mastaby. He degraded Edom to the highest degree.

Knowing this helps us to understand the following verses in the Bible better:

Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15; Amos 2:6; Amos 8:6; Isaiah 20:2 and Acts 7:33.