The Sword of the LORD

“LET US THEREFORE FEAR, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them [the Israelites] : but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it .” (Hebrews 4:1, 2).   It is clearly taught throughout scripture that our ability to enter into God’s rest does not depend on our personal strength, performance or willpower, but on our faith.   The Israelites mentioned in the above verse had everything they needed to enter into God’s rest with the exception of one key ingredient: faith.     When our children were young, my wife would make homemade whole wheat bread for the family almost every week.   She would mix all of the ingredients together (including the yeast), distribute the fresh dough into loaf pans, and then set the pans with towels over them on top of the furnace floor registers to rise.   A...

AS JESUS JOURNEYED from Judea to Galilee, He passed through Samaria.  As He traveled through that country, He came to the city of Sychar, which was part of the parcel of land given by the patriarch Jacob to His son Joseph.  In this location was Jacob’s well, which still exists to this day.  The group stopped at the well, and Jesus sat down to rest from the journey while His disciples went into the town to buy provisions.    As Jesus sat there on the well, there came a Samaritan woman to draw water from the well.  Jesus, looking at her, said, “Give Me to drink.” (John 4:7).   The woman, surprised that a Jew would speak to her, said, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” (John 4:9).   Jesus’ response transcended the simple conversation that they were having, and went straight to the spiritual level.  He said, “If thou knewest the gift of God, a...

We are living in extremely perilous times.   Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear can recognize that America is in serious civil and moral decline.   The foundation of faith, family, and freedom that for so long has been the bedrock of this nation has little by little been eroding until today we find ourselves in a very precarious position.   America’s enemies, both foreign and domestic, are beginning to join forces against us to bring about our destruction.   The jackals are at the door.   China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, ISIS, the Taliban, and many others are all a threat to us from the outside.   Those forces with in our nation that promote anarchy, lawlessness, socialism, and racial conflict are also working to undermine the truths that America has long stood for.   Those truths have always been self-evident to us, but they are being challenged, ridiculed, and denied by an ever increasing number of people.   Life, liberty, and the pursu...