Poppy’s Brief Rules for Bible Study…

I was going through my morning routine after my time with Jesus earlier, checking emails and browsing down through my Facebook News Feed; enjoying some of the posts, stories and anecdotes of my friends, when I came across one friend’s posting of an “Encouragement for the Day”. It was some brief rules for Bible Study.

Anyway, it took my mind back more than 35 years to when I first started actively ministering in a little church in Oxford, Ohio, under the guidance of a precious old black woman, Pastor Lenora Jenkins. She treated me like her own son. And the mark this woman of God left on my life and ministry is deep and indelible! I really miss her these days as we draw down closer to the end.

“Mom” Jenkins had some seemingly pretty simple rules about young preachers and pulpit ministry that have stood the test of time. It was some time later after having spent time with her, hearing her teach, and just sitting with her at times while she would pour out her soul in wisdom and understanding, that I began to “flesh out” the bare bones of her simple rules. In a nutshell she taught us…

1. Read your self FULL…
2. Pray your self HOT….then,
3. Let loose and LET GOD!

It sounded SO easy! And I guess it really is when you get right down to it. But when she explained it to us it began to open our eyes and understanding greatly.

Read/Study yourself FULL!
She taught us the Library was one of the greatest institutions on planet earth! All that knowledge right there at our fingertips, just waiting to be explored! She said, “Study till you think it’s going to come out your ears”! And, “Get your nose in the Book of all books”! We read it over and over, and memorized great volumes of scripture. And her advice to us was when you got on the track of something special and particular, “Write it all down, with an eye out for the ‘Life Application’”. In that manner you can begin to practice the Word by applying it daily until it becomes a part of you!

Pray yourself HOT!
Pray until God begins to speak to you about what you’ve studied. Pray for the spirit of Revelation to come into your mind giving you Wisdom and Understanding in the Word.

Ask the Lord to help you cultivate a Sensitivity to the Spirit, and His “Kairos” timing, so that the Word you deliver is timely and “in season”. Few things are more frustrating than having delivered a Word, out of its correct timing. It can bring hurt, when the intent was to heal!

Let loose, and Let God!
When opportunity presents to Preach/Share…Let God have His way! Loose yourself saint of God from old “religious” strictures of who is a saint, and who is a preacher! We are ALL called to witness, to give an answer for the Hope that is in us! Every saint of God has a ministry! Ministry is merely the outflow of a healthy spiritual life. At every opportunity that presents itself, “Cry aloud, spare not…Lift up your voice like a trumpet”! Let holy boldness envelop you as you deliver your heart of what God has given.

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The Post-American World

About a week ago I sent out an email to my List of Blog recipients, with a picture of Barack Obama holding this book in his hand. The inference was, by the original sender, and thus by me as well as I passed it on without research, was that it had some sinister, leftist, socialistic, Muslim agenda…making the title sound all the more ominous.

That is not the case….of the book at least.

I was very politely brought up short by a dear friend who suggested I take a closer look at the book and its author. A book, is obviously, not evil just because that’s how you perceive the person holding it.

It was an easy trap to catch me, I confess, as unfortunately that is exactly how I perceive the man who currently occupies the White House. However it is not an accurate reflection of the book or its author as far as I can tell.

I have included an excerpt of Wikipedia’s entry about the book and its author:

“The Post-American World is a non-fiction book by Indian American journalist Fareed Zakaria. It was published in hardcover and audiobook formats in early May 2008 and became available in paperback in early May 2009; the Updated and Expanded Release 2.0 followed in 2011.

In the book, Zakaria argues that, thanks to the actions of the United States in spreading liberal democracy across the world, other countries are now competing with the US in terms of economic, industrial, and cultural power. While the US continues to dominate in terms of political-military power, other countries such as China and India are becoming global players in many fields.

The book peaked at #2 on The New York Times non-fiction hardcover best-seller list and at #47 on the USA Today Top 150 Best-Selling Books list. Reviewers commented that Zakaria’s writing was intelligent and sharp, yet accessible to general audiences. A few reviewers also wrote that the book was similar to an extended essay with journalistic style writing.

Background

At the time of publication author Fareed Zakaria was a 48 year old married man living in New York and working as an editor for Newsweek International. Zakaria had immigrated to the United States from India during his university career. He graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in political science in 1993 after earning a B.A. from Yale University. He worked as the managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine before accepting the editor position at Newsweek. Labeled a liberal hawk,[1] Zakaria’s political views have shifted from supporting Reagan’s pro-democracy agenda to Clinton’s pro-market stances and to the point where Zakaria felt that the US was “unstoppable”.[2] In subsequent years, he watched as other countries set records for the tallest building, largest factory, largest refinery, and richest person. Meanwhile, he watched the US get bogged down in Iraq. In 2003, his book The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, in which he examines the necessary conditions for liberal democracy to survive, was published. While he initially supported US intervention in Iraq, Zakaria criticized the Bush Administration’s methods of nation-building and for trying to force Iraq into a liberal democracy without the preconditions of economic liberalisation and rule-of-law.[2] Over the next few years, Zakaria developed his theory on shifting global power as he contributed or wrote articles profiling emerging national powers and participating in economic forums and organizations.[3][4]

Synopsis

The content is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter introduces the thesis of the book: that a ‘post-American’ world order is emerging in which the United States of America will continue to be the most powerful nation but its relative power will be diminished. He believes that there have been three power shifts in the last 500 years: a shift of power to the West during the Renaissance, a shift of power to the US making it a superpower, and now a shift to several surging countries, especially China and India, and to non-governmental organizations. Zakaria believes that international organizations are not adapting well to emerging challenges and that there is too much focus on problems arising from potential market failures or general crises (e.g. terrorism) at the expense of focus on problems stemming from success (e.g. development causing environmental degradation, or rising demand creating high commodity prices).

The second and third chapters examine factors that led to the current power balance. Power shifted to the West because it fostered trade with foreign peoples and developed superior labour productivity per capita. Power shifted to the US because of its strong democracy and capitalist market. Zakaria argues that the success of the US in promoting free market capitalism and globalization has led to power being dispersed to several other countries. Economies have been surging for decades, in part due to large new players entering the global market place. He compares this era’s economic growth to the economic surges of the 1890s and the 1950s which also saw new players become global powers. At the same time, Zakaria sees attitudes in the US becoming insular and distrustful of foreigners.

The world is moving from anger to indifference, from anti-Americanism to post-Americanism. The fact that new powers are more strongly asserting their interests is the reality of the post-American world. It also raises the political conundrum of how to achieve international objectives in a world of many actors, state and nonstate.

The fourth chapter focuses on China. Its strategy of small, gradual reforms have allowed it to quietly modernize. It has become the second most powerful nation, but still unlikely to match the US for decades to come. China’s strengths include a philosophy that reflects Confucian ideals of practicality, ethics and rationalism. Its non-combative foreign policy is more appealing, most notably in Africa, over interventionist Western-style policy that demands reforms in other countries. China’s weakness, though, is a fear of social unrest.

The fifth chapter focuses on India. Contrasted to China, India has a bottom-up democratic political system constantly subject to social unrest but which only results in few politicians losing an election. Its political system is characterized by strong regionalism — often placing high priority on regional interests rather than national. Zakaria lists India’s advantages: independent courts that enforce contracts, private property rights, rule of law, an established private sector, and many business savvy English-speaking people.

The sixth chapter compares the American rise to superpower status and its use of power. He draws parallels between the British Empire in the 1890s and starting the Boer War with the US in the 2000s and starting the Iraq War. The difference between them is that the British had unsurpassed political power but lost its economic dominance, whereas the US, in the 2000s, had huge economic power but faltering political influence. Zakaria defends the US from indicators that suggest American decline but warns that internal partisan politics, domestic ideological attack groups, special interest power, and a sensationalistic media are weakening the federal government’s ability to adapt to new global realities.

The final chapter outlines how the US has used its power and provides six guidelines for the US to follow in the ‘post-American world’ envisioned by Zakaria.

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The “Miraculous” VS. Blessings and Favor

I’m going to drop some good stuff on you in this post, and I want to make sure the credits get put in the right place. First, ALL the glory goes to Jesus! After that I want to honor the man I call Pastor, Rev. J. A. Gillis of My Father’s House in New Carlisle, Ohio. More than any other man whose ministry I’ve served under, he has pointed me to the extreme richness and depths of the Word of God. In a world inundated with pop psychology, pop culture, and immature adolescent fumblings that masquerade as Biblical hermeneutics, Pastor Gillis’ voice rises like a clarion call leading us back to fresh, sweet paths of spiritual insight found in the Word of God.

If I accomplish nothing more than activating within you the reader a bold, robust spirit of what I like to call “Cerebral Christianity”, (that’s thinking, my friend) then we as God’s people could progress past the “hype” and hoopla into a rock-solid, bedrock foundation of God’s Word and fulfillment of His Purpose in us! Amen! Let it be so, dear God!

The truth is, living from miracle to miracle, of necessity means living from crisis to crisis. These crises are generally the result of living OUTSIDE of the regular positive flow of God’s blessing, favor and provision! Right?! Wouldn’t it just be easier to discipline ourselves to following the clear mandates of God’s Word? Deuteronomy 28 says His blessings will pursue and overtake us wherever we are!!

You cannot outrun God’s blessings if you’ll obey Him!

We’re not teaching, as some would accuse, a salvation of works; but as it is in Truth, of faithful obedience to His Word. Acts 5:32 says, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him“. The Word brings Faith, which fosters in us Obedience…the evidence of Obedience is in our Doings!

Consider this…..If we who claim to be God’s children, would begin to live according to the commandments of God, thus releasing the positive flow of God’s blessings and provision to us WE WOULD NOT NEED the miraculous to rescue us and bail us out all the time! THAT situation would mean that we could focus the miraculous flow of the Spirit into providing “proofs” of His power and mercy to unbelievers! Which would be more in line with what He (Jesus) taught in the first place.

Wrap your brain around this thought. While an unbeliever may grudgingly admit God did something miraculous for you, he/she may still actually be in doubt. But if you pray with authority, and HE receives a miracle from God for himself…he cannot doubt it and may very possibly turn from his unbelief to follow your Christ! And THAT my friend is what the miracle working power of God is all about!

Mark 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

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Visit our teaching blog » Meat in Due Season

Perched on Patmos

In this hour in which we live, there’s a lot being said and posited about current events and their implications for the people of God. Whether they be geo-political, socio-economic things, natural disasters, or man-made conflagrations of one sort or another; the airwaves and news commentators and other social media are absolutely buzzing and humming with all manner of conjecture.

To all of the people of God I would offer this simple insight to assuage some of the anguish and quell the fear that I see and hear evidence of in so many quarters among us.

Let me say, if you as a child of God give place to, and allow yourself to succumb to fear of that which is most definitely coming upon the earth, then in fact that which you greatly fear will almost certainly be that which takes you away. For “fear” is the devil’s faith! Just as faith stirs the heart of, and empowers the hand of God to move in our lives. So fear does with the evil ones.

The solution I offer today is always and ever a matter of FOCUS!

The devil could not whip Jesus, even with death at Calvary. The reason is Jesus’ focus was not on nails, and thorns, a spear, or even the gross shame and humiliation of his nakedness. But His focus was on “…the joy that was set before him…” (Heb 12:2). And Paul admonishes us in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Let me offer you an example that I feel is especially pertinent to the hour in which we live. When the Apostle John was on Patmos, he saw many things by revelation. He was a wise and discerning Elder with many years of experience from which to draw conclusions and inferences about the things he saw from that lonely perch on Patmos.

But look at the two very pronounced and differing perspectives of his vision. In Rev. 17:3 when in the lonely, wilderness valley…he saw Babylon and all its accompanying horrors. But in Rev. 1:10-18 and again in Rev. 21:10 when he got caught up in the Spirit….he saw the risen, glorified Christ, and the Bride, the Lamb’s wife! Resplendent! Magnificient! Glorious in their apparel, AND victorious!

I ask you today; What are YOU seeing? What is YOUR focus?

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Visit our teaching blog » Meat in Due Season

Sabbatical

As I’ve done with my Teaching blog, Meat in Due Season, I am taking a sabbatical from my blogging activities until Cathy and I can get settled from this moving transition back to Alabama.

We will finally be in our house this week…and it is a beautiful place. We are at the same time very excited and very weary! Any of you that have moved can relate, I’m sure.

Please take this opportunity to browse through our Archives; there’s a lot of good material there for your inspiration and enjoyment.

Hopefully, we won’t be off-line long. Just long enough to get batteries recharged and fresh inspiration flowing. We’re following Jesus with a sure step into some open doors locally; making new contacts, and meeting new friends! Please keep Cathy and I in your prayers. And as always, thank you for taking the time to read here. We love and appreciate you all.

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Quotes and Comments 5

More Quotes and Comments for your reading and inspiration. JSWilloughby

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Life resembles flowers. Fragrance is often found in the crushing.
~ Ken Gurley


Before we can begin to see ‘the Cross’ as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.
~ John Stott


The preaching of the Gospel was intended and designed to set up the demonstration of God’s Spirit among us! It was NEVER meant to be an end, in and of itself.
~ JSWilloughby


God would never permit evil if He could not bring good out of evil.
~ Augustine


Self-righteousness is either a cover for unresolved shame, or a cloak for hidden sin of the present. It is a malignant evil among God’s people.
~ JSWilloughby


Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.
~ Mark Twain


Stand to be seen,
Speak to be heard,
Sit down to be appreciated.
~ Harry Scism


When Jesus carried the cross to Calvary… He was carrying your past to your future, your failures to His forgiveness, and your hurts to His healing. The cross was more than just splinters and wood.
~ Nathaniel J. Gillis


There is a fine line between the God-glorifying pursuit of excellence and a neurotic infatuation with perfection .
~ Mark Johnston


The road to malignant perfectionism starts with chronic indecision.
~ Terry Teachout


Most people seek after what they do not possess and are thus enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.” ~ Anwar El-Sadat


“When we make a choice today we are deciding who we will be tomorrow.”
~ AW Tozer


History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived; but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.
~ Maya Angelou


The first thing you’ll want to do when you realize you’ve gotten yourself into a hole is…STOP digging!
~ Will Rogers


To be gifted is easy, to be sifted is not.
~ Nathaniel J. Gillis


A war cry is not always loud and violent. Some of them are as subtle as a tearful whisper and as silent as an unspoken prayer.
~ Nathaniel J. Gillis


While the Priests were in the temple praying for the Messiah, He was riding by their door on a donkey. He comes in unexpected ways. Dont miss Him.
~ T.F. Tenney


Isn’t it strange that princes and kings, And clowns that caper in sawdust rings; And common people like you and me, Are builders for eternity.

Each is given a bag of tools, A book of life, a book of rules; And each must build ere life is flown, A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
~ R. L. Sharpe


Our gifts are not from God to us, but from God through us to the world
~ J. Elsheimer


God loves you as if you were the only one to love!
~ Augustine


Ignorance is NOT bliss! Ignorance is bondage! “…ye shall KNOW the truth, and the truth shall make you free..” John 8:32
~ JSWilloughby


The trouble with ignorance is it picks up confidence as it goes along.
~ Chris Leach


Humiliation and Humility are NOT the same! Humiliation comes from wounded, broken Pride. Humility comes from a wounded, broken Savior!
~ JSWilloughby


“Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.”
~ Oswald Chambers


Don’t make the mistake of missing the mark because you missed the point.
~ Joel Urshan


Serving not only creates humility, but it also assists you to find purpose in the house of the Lord. Get involved.
~ T.D. Jakes


Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
~ Elie Wiesel


Live life loud! Dream something dangerous! Pursue something passionate! Believe something big!
~ Author Unknown


A mind conscious of innocence laughs at the lies of rumor.
~ T.F. Tenney


We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
~ Plato


God can use ANYONE…but His standards change for NO ONE. That goes for pulpit and pew!
~ Author Unknown


Honor is a sign of respect. Beware of people who cannot celebrate what God is doing in you.
~ Tommy Tenney


3 traits of modern leader: Realistic optimism, Subservience to purpose, Finding order in chaos.
~ Author Unknown


Most people don’t have a spirit that needs to be cast out, they have a habit that needs to be cut out.
~ Author Unknown


I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.
~ Anne Lamott


Grace is when His perfect peace covers your imperfect pieces.
~ Nathaniel J.Gillis


The irrationality of a thing is no argument against its existence, rather a condition of it.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche


Much of our Pain and Problems are birthed out of our Pride…you cannot humiliate a humble man. It’s like water off a duck’s back.
~ JSWilloughby


Music is the laughter of worship…
~ Unknown


There’s always a little truth behind every, “just kidding”….
• a little knowledge behind every, “I don’t know”….
• a little emotion behind every, “I don’t care”….
• and a little pain behind every, “It’s okay”.
~ O.D. Hobbs


The burden of suffering seems to be a tombstone hung around our necks. Yet in reality it is simply the weight necessary to hold the diver down while he is searching for pearls.
~ Julius Richter


Love……give it away. Splash it over. Empty your pockets. Shake the basket. And tomorrow you’ll have more than ever.
~ Darda Lyn


Don’t let your mind wander. It’s too small to be out by itself.
~ Author Unknown


“To the question of why? There is no answer, there never has been an answer, there never will be an answer, and THAT’S the answer. Trust God!”
~ J. H. Osborne


A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.
~ George Santayana


In America, from the beginning, economic liberty, political justice, and shared friendship with God have been understood as compatible , even essentially linked, human goods.
~ Alan Keyes


“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.”
~ Thoreau


“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)


“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
~ Ernest Hemingway


“No faith is as precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity.”
~ Charles Spurgeon


A cheerful giver does not count the cost of what he gives. His heart is set on pleasing and cheering the person to whom the gift is given.
~ Dame Julian of Norwich 1342-1416

Job’s Repentance

Job’s Repentance
By Richard Whitman

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. What did this man learn from his life – from the pain and suffering, the wise and unwise counsel, from all the unanswered questions – 288 of them to be exact, including 78 questions from God?

Even after his health and wealth were restored, he never knew that God and Satan were bartering over his soul in heavenly places. He never knew that his story was going to be chronicled in the most important book in history and read for thousands of years by millions of people, that it would be pored over and picked apart by generations of scholars, that it would continue to be debated in the classroom and literary halls of history, that indeed whole volumes of books about him would stand in seminary libraries, and songs and plays would be written and performed about his life.

All he knew was that things were going along swimmingly for a while, and then suddenly everything got really bad, and then it got good again. Did he ever get his questions answered? No, but he did see God, and apparently that was enough. “My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you,” declared Job after facing God’s 78 questions. “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

What did Job do to repent of?

“I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3).

• He spoke too soon.
• He tried to answer questions he had no business answering.
• He tried to explain his life.
• He tried to put tab A of his theology into slot B of his experience, and it didn’t fit.
• He tried to make sense of his life instead of learning to live it, regardless of what was happening to him.

I wonder if a similar repentance is in order today from people who often speak to soon. We have rushed to fill the void where only wonder should be – wonder, and doubt, and suffering, and ambiguity, and worship. We have knelt too freely at the cultural shrines of easy answers rather than live a courageous asking, seeking, knocking life – open, honest, and needy before the Lord and before the world.

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Visit our teaching blog » Meat in Due Season