Three Laws

James 2:12 KJV

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

Verses 1-13 could almost be taken as an attack against the rich. James reminds these believers, who had been playing favoritism toward those who appeared to be wealthy (based upon the clothing they wore). A couple of things have to be kept in mind:

This is not giving permission[1] to come to worship the Lord without taking care to be at your best.

In those days a person displayed his status by the clothing that he wore. He showed off if you will, he made those who were his lessers know that he was the better by wearing clothing that only the most wealthy could wear. Any Christian, regardless of financial station ought to consider it an obligation to be clean and presentable when coming before the Lord.

The rich here seem to be more than merely those who have money and possessions but those who, because of their status also have political influence.

James reminds his readers in verse seven that it is these rich people, whom they were elevating, that blaspheme the name of Christ.

James ends this train of thought by bringing his reader to the courtroom of grace. We, who are believers, are judged differently than others. Commenting on this verse John Gill writes,

·       "Heathens will be judged by the law of nature

·       Jews by the law of Moses, and"

·       Believers by the law of liberty[2]

We have this rule to live by; "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"[3]  and only the law of liberty to judge us. Let us then be more interested in the souls of men and women for eternity than in the status of them in this temporary life.

---

[1] Some act as if it is command.

[2] Gill’s third point was, “…those who live under the Gospel dispensation, according to the Gospel of Christ.” I abbreviated it for my purpose here.

[3] And before that, to “Love the Lord thy God with thy heart and soul and mind.”

Good Virtue and True Ambition

Jeremiah 45:5 KJV

And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

Baruch, though a faithful man and associate of Jeremiah, had this downfall; his ambition.

Born of a family of higher stature in Jerusalem, his grandfather had been governor under Josiah, he seems to have aspired to a high position in life, either in the political or spiritual realm. But it just was not going to happen. Barnes writes of this chapter, "This address tells Baruch to give up his ambitious hopes, and be content with escaping with life only. Like the prophecy of the 70 years of exile, it would become a prediction of good only after real troubles had been undergone and pride was quelled."

It is impossible to say what will be the future. Unless some major turn takes place I believe America is in for "real troubles" too. These are days to remind ourselves that good virtue and true ambition leads us to seek a close relationship with the Lord and not great things for ourselves. God can and may use any one of us to do great things for Him. But that is His choosing. Ours is to be faithful and to labor to enter into that rest which is fellowship with Him.

The Cure of Covetousness

Hebrews 13:5 KJV

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

There is both a positive and a negative exhortation in the early part of this verse:

• Negatively, be without covetousness
• Positively, be content with such as ye have

Contentment is the cure for and the polar opposite of covetousness.

But the passage goes further and gives the reason why we ought to be content and no covet. It is because we have the promise of God's unfailing presence. 

• I can be content in whatsoever state I am in because I know that God's presence is with me. 
• I can live without fear because I know that God will not forsake me and 
• I can have courage because I know that God will not fail me. 

If, on the other hand, I am covetous and lack contentment, it indicates that I am dissatisfied with the company of God or that I am disconnected with His company.

• The cure for coveteousness is contentment
• The key to contentment is connection with Christ

The Race of Life

Hebrews 12:1 KJV

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

I didn't get saved until 1977, almost a full year after I graduated from High School. But even before I was saved I had a spiritual (though misguided) inclination toward spiritual things. It was likely in the Spring of 1975 when my Junior year English class began to work on writing various styles of poetry. One of them I wrote seems to have some credence in the Word of God:

THE RACE OF LIFE

Starting the race, and full of grace,

The runners leave the blocks.

Full of vigor at the pull of the trigger,

They are soon racing the clocks.

The first corner's there, like a whip they tear,

Around its final bend.

They know it is good for with it they could,

Reach a lifelong end.

Using their lead to make people take heed,

They begin the straightaway.

Effort's the key; it's no cup of tea,

To put up with all the dismay.

They're in the last bend; it seems there's no end,

To its curving, twisting lanes.

But when it's all done, and they see they have won,

They realize it was worth the pain."

By Marvin McKenzie Spring 1975

More Important than the Promises

Hebrews 11:39 KJV

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

Though the adventures and exploits of those in the Hebrews Hall of Faith are 

• Fascinating
• Inspiring and 
• Spiritually enriching

there is a point to them beyond what was accomplished by faith. The point is that none of them have, to date, received their promises. 

In every case, though some portions of the promises have been fulfilled, the ultimate fulfillment has not yet happened. They have not obtained their promises. 

What they have obtained is a good report. 

• Their reputations live on
• Their influence continues though in some cases they have left this land of the living five thousand years ago
• They continue to teach to inspire to lead to give example and it is because they lived by faith

In some cases we do not know their names. They still inspire because we know that, through the years, there have always been those people who tirelessly and quietly walked on by faith. We don't need their names. We have their examples. We have the evidence of what happens when someone whose name will never make the history books lives nonetheless by faith. 

And we know that, though our names may never be recorded in history, as we walk by faith, God is keeping record and we too set an example for those who follow. 

A Matter of Fact

Jeremiah 39:1-2 KJV

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.

And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

The matter of fact nature of this passage is striking. After years of Jeremiah's preaching:After attacks on his person

• After charges against his character 
• After periods of imprisonment and even
• After Jeremiah's own bout with depression 

What he had preached would happen, did. 

Nobody had ever believed him. He was considered: 

• Radical
• Traitorous to Israel and a 
• Stirrer of sedition

It was impossible for them to think that, even if he was right, it was beneficial to do as he advised. Even if they did lose, shouldn't they put up a good fight first? The king even entertained his message for a time. (I think he likely wished he had the courage to heed it. But he did not and calamity ensued.) 

• The Chaldeans took the city
• The Kings children were killed before his eyes
• The Kings eyes were poked out and
• The city was leveled 

Just as God had said. 

We too wrestle with God's Word in many respects. We know it to be true. We want to hear from God. But we want to hear good things. When the message is contrary to our own logic something in us tells us we ought to take heed to it. But we often do not. “Surely we can get by on reason and a little faith behind it.” 

It didn't work for Jerusalem. 

It will not work for us. 

Only the Bible is true. Only God's Word is correct. If we heed it we head toward blessing. If we do not, we forsake it to our destruction. 

Put Away the Old for the New

Hebrews 10:9 KJV

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

I am reminded of the words of John the Baptist when he said "I must decrease but He must increase".  In order for the one to be established, lifted up and made all that it is meant to be, the other must be cast aside. It is not enough to merely make it second place. It must be removed completely. Thus John the Baptist was not only retired but removed from the earth. 

A monstrous error is happening in modern Christianity with a fascination in Judaism. Otherwise sound believers are allowing themselves to be swept into the current of old Jewish thought. Christians who should be 

• Faithfully attending
• Financially supporting and 
• Actively serving 

in local Baptist churches are yoking up with so called Messianic Jewish assemblies. These are neither churches, nor genuinely Christian. They are an attempt to meld the first covenant with the second and it is opposed to Biblical teaching. The first (Old Testament Judaism) is to be cast aside so that the second (New Testament local Baptist churches) may be established. Even Jews who convert to Christ are scripturally expected to leave Judaism for the New Testament Church. Need we be reminded that the context of the New Testament instructs those first century Christians, whether Jew or Gentile, to bond together in a local church?

It is true that there is much to learn doctrinally and historically from the Jewish traditions and teachings. It is true that New Testament Christians ought to love and desire to reach Jewish friends and neighbors. But Judaism has been set aside for New Testament Christianity and that is conducted within a local church.  

The Blood Sprinkled Book

Hebrews 9:15-19 KJV

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

Hebrews 9:22-24 KJV

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

The Apostle explains here that both the Old Testament and the New Testament have this in common; both are sprinkled with blood. The Old Testament which was a figure or type of things to come, was sprinkled with the blood of calves and goats. The New Testament, which is not the figure but the true, is sprinkled rather with the blood of Jesus Christ. It is His death burial and resurrection that gives the New Testament its authority.

That is to say that the gospel; the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, separates what is taught in the New Testament from every religion other than it (including Judaism). Nothing like the death, burial and resurrection exists in any system of faith other than Christianity. It establishes it, not as theory but fact. It puts teeth to its message. It places the stamp of authenticity upon it.

• People may prefer the faith of their culture
• People may drift toward what they know and are comfortable with
• People may fight for hat they have been taught by their family

But these are only the opinions of men. The New Testament (as opposed to what men have made of Christianity outside of the New Testament teaching) is an entirely different matter. The New Testament is sprinkled with the blood of the only One who has died, was buried and raised again with the promise of eternal life for all who believe and receive Him.

The Preservation of the Book

Jeremiah 36:32 KJV

Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.

This chapter is an account of the writing of the book of Jeremiah, its attempted destruction at the hands of the king of Jerusalem, and its preservation through the Word of God through copies.

The final portion of the chapter deals with the preservation of the book

The king intended to destroy God’s Word.

It is a miracle that God’s Word has survived given the hatred mankind has had for it. No other book has been so attacked, as has been the Bible. Yet the Bible still survives. In my opinion the Bible faces its greatest opponent today:

• Those who have it and do not read it and
• Those who twist it and rewrite it

Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemoriah interceded for the Bible

Vs 25

While some have sought to destroy it God has always had an army that:

• Loved His Word
• Prayed for the Word and
• Sought to protect the Word

Jeremiah was instructed to reprint the Bible

Vs 27-28

He could not have done tat without supernatural help. God’s Word is so important that He provides supernatural help even today to be sure His Word is preserved.

This book is God’s book! He has seen to it that it would be preserved and that:

• You and I might hear what He plans to do
• That we might turn from our sins and
• That we might be forgiven

Liberty in Captivity

Jeremiah 33:7-9 KJV

And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

There is a kind of captivity that makes for true liberty and joy. But there is a kind of liberty that tends only to misery and despair. Genuine liberty can only be known through obedience (or submission) to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

• To belong to the Lord is to be free indeed. To be free of the Lord is to be enslaved by the Devil. 
• To be yielded to righteousness yields joy and praise and honor and good. To be yielded to unrighteousness brings only the fruits of shame and sorrow and disrepute in the world. 
• To be bought of the Lord is to be set free eternally. To be the possession of the world the flesh and the devil is to be destined to hellish bonds forever.

If God Permit

Hebrews 6:3 KJV

And this will we do, if God permit.

John Gill's commentary has some great insights into this chapter and things a preacher would do well to consider; "It is, or at least should be, the determination of a Gospel minister, to preach Christ, and the great truths of the Gospel; and wheresoever God has called him to it, though there may be many adversaries, and though he may be reproached, calumniated, and deserted: resolution in preaching the Gospel, and adhering to it, is very commendable in a minister…"

The preacher should not shirk even from those responsibilities that bring to him reproach and desertion. His calling is to the truth and not to success.

Concerning the phrase, "if God permits" Albert Barnes Commentary says, "This is not to be interpreted as if God was “unwilling” that they should make such advances, or as if it were “doubtful” whether he would allow it if they made an honest effort, and their lives were spared; but it is a phrase used to denote their “dependence” on him."

Gill writes, "God's permission is much to be observed in the ministry of the word, in giving gifts to men, in placing them out here and there, where they shall exercise them, in directing them to subjects, and in making their ministry useful and successful: and it may be observed in general, that nothing can be done, or come to pass, good or bad, but what God permits or wills to be done…"

Never let it leave our hearts that we depend upon God.

Nothing Too Hard

Jeremiah 32:27 KJV

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

God is a master of the object lesson. This chapter contains instructions for Jeremiah to purchase property in the promised land even though Jeremiah is the one preaching that Babylon was about to conquer the land and carry them away captive. The point God was making is that, though they would be carried away, God promised they would return. Jeremiah bought the land on the assurance that nothing is too hard for God.

And he had proof

Israel had once before been totally removed from the land. For four hundred years the Jews had lived in Egypt, many of these years as slaves. Yet in God's time they were delivered and returned to their promised land.

I think we could use a good dose of "nothing too hard for God" theology today. Things are, just as the Bible says they will do, turning from bad to worse. It is the false prophet who preaches prosperity, success and good times. His only purpose is to get as much of the good life as he can and he is happy leading you astray if only you will support him in his purpose. Things are not going to get better until they get much worse. Bad enough that anyone will wonder if God could ever turn it around.

But nothing is too hard for God

• Just as he led Israel out of Egypt
• Just as he delivered Judah from Babylon

So God will one day in the future return to defeat Satan, establish His kingdom and wipe away all tears from our eyes.

• No false promises
• No pie in the sky preaching
• No rose colored glasses hiding the truth from people

But this real assurance; there is nothing too hard for God. Trust Him and follow Him.

Hand or Heart

Hebrews 8:9-10 KJV

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

The book of Hebrews is primarily written as a contrast between the Old and New Testaments showing the new to be so much better. Those contrasts appear multiple times and in a number of varied arguments. Note the contrast in these two verses between the hand and the heart. God said He took Israel by the hand to lead them out of Egypt but in the New Testament (or covenant) He writes His law upon the heart. 

A person concerned for the wellbeing of a child will often take him by the hand to guide him past danger. It does not necessarily mean that the person or the child love each other. Once the danger is past, they go their own ways, perhaps to never meet again. But people who are connected at the heart share more than one passing moment of relationship. They connect time and time again and, even in those times of separation, they still share a bond.

Israel was led by the hand out of Egypt but they soon turned away from God. Worse yet, when they turned away the Bible says God "regarded them not". The New Testament connection is different in that, though we still sin, God is "merciful to their unrighteousness" and remembers their iniquities no more.

Here and There

Hebrews 7:8 KJV

And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

The point being made is the contrast between the priesthood of Melchisedec and that of the Levites, demonstrating the superiority of Melchisedec over Levitical; Melchisedec being a type of (if not a pre-incarnate appearance of) Christ.

That thing that struck me this morning was the contrast of receiving tithes "here" and "there". It would not be a huge stretch to make "there" a reference to heaven as Melchisedec is said to be without ending. And here gives us a thought worth pondering; when we tithe, it may appear to be received of men "here", but it is in fact received of the Lord "there".

Our tithe travels much farther than:

• From our wallet to the offering plate
• From the ushers to the accounting room
• From the accounting room to the bank
• From the bank to pay bills

On a worldly plane that may in fact happen, but in the world of the Spirit the tithe is collected and received up by Christ. We truly lay up treasures in heaven when we faithfully, cheerfully and bountifully tithe.

Perfection Perfected

Hebrews 5:9 KJV

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Now here is a striking thought; Jesus was "made" perfect.

• The One who is without beginning or ending
• The One by whom all things consist
• The One who spake and it was so

The holy, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent One who became flesh and dwelt among us, was made perfect. Jesus Christ, who is our standard and the measure alongside of which all else is to be compared; the very picture of perfection. He who was never made was made perfect.

Robert Hawker writes, "...we must, of course, accept the terms, as referring wholly to his character of Mediator. The perfection of the Godhead can never be said to be made." 

Perfection submitted itself to being made perfect for the sake of the souls of men. He who knew no sin became sin for us "that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 

• What grace!
• What condescension!
• What love!

The Ingredient of Faith

Hebrews 4:2 KJV

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

The Jews who left Egypt:

• Were born into a spiritual family
• Were spared the death of the first born
• Were saved at the crossing of the Red Sea
• Were aware of the Promises of God's Word
• Were witnesses of the messages preached by Moses

But it was fruitless for them because it was all missing the ingredient of faith.

Churches today are filled, I fear, with members in the same stead:

• They are professors of Christ
• They are participants of spiritual routine
• They are “practicers” of religious exercise but

they lack faith; they do not believe and trust God. They do what they do because of some family obligation or personal habit or perhaps some kind of internal desperation, but they do it all in the power of self or as one washed along in the current of those around them. Faith is a mystery they have not attained to. They haven't discovered that missing ingredient and that makes the religion they practice tasteless compared to those around them. Though doing the very same things as believers with faith they are different beings.

• Some of them hold on to their religious practice, hoping it will see them through
• Some quit it all finding it to be empty, frustrating and exhausting but

A few find the missing ingredient of faith- trusting God- and are transformed.

Not All

Hebrews 3:16 KJV

For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

Not everyone who left Egypt sinned in unbelief at Kadesh Barnea.

• Joshua didn't sin there
• Caleb didn't sin there
• Moses didn't sin there and I presume
• Aaron did sin there

Neither did God hold the youth of Israel responsible for unbelief at this time.

Two things strike my attention:

How few there were who, in a time of crisis, a make or break situation, trusted God.

There is a monstrous warning here, especially to the religious. We do not know how sound is our faith until it be tried in an overwhelming manner. It is easy to speak about faith and boast about faith in the times of smooth waters. But faith is proven in troubled seas.

That not all provoked God in sin and unbelief.

There is a wonderful hope here. God Himself wants us to see that He saw that not all provoked Him. Though the world turns against God; though family and friends and the dearest people you know turn out in a time of trouble to provoke God, we do not have to follow them. We can, though outnumbered and overwhelmed, stay true to God.

The Sanctifier and the Sanctified

Hebrews 2:11 KJV

For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

• He that sanctifieth -Christ and
• They who are sanctified-believers

are all of one. 

Of this phrase, Gill writes,

• They are of one body, Christ is the head, and they are members
• They are of one covenant, Christ is the surety, Mediator, and messenger of it, and they share in all its blessings and promises
• They are of one man, Adam, Christ is a Son of Adam, though not by ordinary generation, they descend from him in the common way
• They are all of one nature, of one blood; Christ has taken part of the same flesh and blood with them.  

It is humbling to realize that, as sinful as we are, Christ became one with us: the sanctifier, equal with God but identified with man.

These Last Days

Hebrews 1:2 KJV

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Gill notes the distinction between "times past" and "these last days" and says that the first is a reference to anything pre-messianic while the latter is anything post-messianic.

Interestingly, Gill says the Jews claimed the world's duration would be six thousand years:

• Two thousand years before the Law
• Two thousand years with the Law
• Two thousand years in the Messianic age

That about wraps up all of history to date and offers another evidence (though not Biblical) of the lateness of the hour.

Gill offers as proof that Jesus is the true Messiah that,

"after Jesus, the true Messiah was come, an end was put to both these: (the Jewish civil state and the second Temple in Jerusalem) from whence it may be observed, that the Messiah must be come; that the Mosaic economy, and Jewish worship, will never be restored again; that the Gospel revelation being made in the last days, ought to be regarded the more, it being the last revelation God will ever make."

What a thought that, as Hebrews 1:1-2 puts it, after all the ways God has revealed Himself, the Gospel, the coming of Christ and His death, burial and resurrection is the last revelation God will ever make.

There is, I think, one more revelation to come; that of Christ to establish His Kingdom on earth. But that final revelation will not be a Gospel (good news) to most of those who witness it. His final revelation will be as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, as a judge and executioner of the verdict upon those guilty of sin and never made clean in the blood of the Lamb.

A Most Honorable Title

Philemon 1:1 KJV

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Paul used a number of titles by which to describe himself:

• An apostle
• A minister
• A father in the faith
• A nursing mother
• A soldier of Christ
• A servant of the Lord

But there is likely no title that is more moving and proper for Paul than the one he uses here;

Prisoner of Jesus Christ

He had been apprehended of Christ on the road to Damascus and had seen himself as belonging to Christ ever since. Paul's life had been completely dominated by Christ so that, regardless of the consequences, Paul:

• Did as Christ pleased
• Went where Christ pleased and
• Spoke what Christ pleased

Paul said that he died daily and that the life he now lived was by the faith of the Son of God.

It was as Christ's prisoner he had traveled the world preaching Christ. It was as Christ's prisoner he had returned to Jerusalem even though he was warned not to go. It was as Christ's prisoner he was captured in Jerusalem and subsequently taken to Rome. There, as a literal prisoner Paul accomplished what was his most enduring work; the production of so many of the books of our New Testament Bible.

Good Works

Titus 3:1 KJV

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

Titus 3:8 KJV

This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

Titus 3:14 KJV

And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

It would be pretty difficult to miss the "good works" theme that runs throughout this chapter

• Be ready vs 1
• Be careful vs 8
• Maintain vs 14

Young Men Likewise...

Titus 2:6 KJV

Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

We have reached a day (perhaps it has ever been the same) when the faith of the saints is regarded as an old person's idea. Youth, vigor, energy; these are the gods of the young. They seem to find little time for more sober minded endeavors.

But this must not stop the preacher from exhorting them toward it. Those things that demonstrate

• Uncorruptness
• Gravity
• Sincerity
• Sound speech

These are the things that will provide for the greatest good 

• For the long haul
• For the community in which they live and 
• For their eternal benefit

A Personal Testimony on a Prophet's Promise

Jeremiah 31:16 KJV

Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

Back in April of 1984 my wife and I moved to the city of Astoria, Oregon to plant a new Independent Baptist Church there. We had spoken to two families living there who were praying for a pastor to come plant a church. When we arrived, April 8, 2014, we met two other families who also joined in the work. But things were very difficult at the first:

• We had no regular support
• I was not able to find a suitable job
• Buildings to rent were expensive and owners were unwilling to rent to a new church anyway
• The first two of the four families got disenchanted and quit by summer

The building we did eventually rent was an abandoned filling station just on the outskirts of town. When the rains came the floors indoors flooded, when spring came flying ants swarmed inside. It was a disaster and I was discouraged. 

Someone had given me a daily calendar with a Bible verse for each day. One Sunday morning I got to the building early to clean before the services and found that someone had shot out a plate glass window in the room we used as the auditorium. Besides what I knew was going to be an expensive repair, I knew I would also have to prop up the few people who did attend our services from their own discouragement at being victimized in this way. I was disheartened but kept with my routine for the day, which included tearing off yesterday's calendar to see what the verse was for that day. 

It was Jeremiah 31:16.

I needed that promise that particular day and immediately went to my knees asking God to honor this promise on our behalf. I cut the verse from the calendar and laminated it (Actually I just covered it in clear Scotch Tape) and put it in my wallet.

• That morning a family from Portland visited and took my wife and me to dinner at one of the nicer restaurants in Astoria. I thanked the Lord for such a quick blessing and told Him that made a great "down payment" on the promise. 
• Two years later God gave us a building of our own. I accepted that as a piece of the promise. 
• Another two years after that the building was paid for in an unexpected way. I took that as God's answer to the promise.

I have kept that little verse, covered in tape, in my wallet and God has kept answering that promise again and again. I cannot say that everything that has ever happened since the day I put that promise from the Bible in my wallet has been good. We have endured grief and sometimes terrible pain. But God has rewarded us over and over.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.