Sound Doctrine

2 Timothy 4: 1 - 3
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

John 16:13
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.

Luke 24:45
Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

1 Timothy 4:16
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

Titus 2:1
You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

John 17:17
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

~ THE FREEDOM ONLY TRUTH GIVES ~
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32 ).
We surround ourselves with what we desire to believe (we tune to either FOX or NBC for a reason). We even teach what we wish to believe. But is it the truth ? To be sure, there is truth, as certainly as there are lies. The truth comes to us through learning, by reproval, rebuking, exhorting, perseverance, teaching and so much more. Truth comes through the Holy Spirit, by guiding, understanding, openness to the scripture. As Timothy says, "pay close attention to yourself", in what you understand to be true and what you teach others to be true. Believe and teach sound doctrine from His Holy Word, and likewise lead others. This is the work of an evangelist and our ministry to others. Todays FootPrint, is to consider this ... if the "The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him", how closely are we alligned with what the world believes, and how closely are we alligned with the truth ? The Holy Spirit will guide you if you open your mind to Him.

~Chris

Polished like Lapis Lazuli - Sapphire

Exodus 24:9 - 10
Then Moss went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.

Lamentations 4:7 (New American standard)
Her consecrated ones were purer than snow,
They were whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than corals,
Their polishing was like lapis lazuli.
Lamentations 4:7 (King James)
Her Nazarites were purer than snow,
they were whiter than milk,
they were more ruddy in body than rubies,
their polishing was of saphire;

Judges 13: 3
Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. "Now therefore be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. "For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel, from the hands of the Philistines."

Acts 24: 2
And after Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor,....
Acts 24: 5
.... "For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

Matthew 2: 23
"He shall be called a Nazarene."

Matthew 17: 2
And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

~ THE WAY OF THE NAZARENE ~
They were the consecrated ones of old,
They were the ruddy ones mourned over in Lamentations,
They were great judges (Samson),
They were polished as saphire (clear as the sky itself),
They were fearless under pressure (Paul),
They were thorns in the side of an unbelieving world,
They were as pure as white hot light,
They were leaders of men,
They were deliverers of Israel,
They were the Nazarenes and,
The way of the Nazarene is the way of Christ.

~Chris

"All In" living

Luke 1: 38
And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me acording to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Ester 4: 16
"Go assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish."

Genesis 38: 25 - 26
It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "I am with child by the man to whom these things belong." And she said, "Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords, and staff are these ?" And Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah."

Daniel 6: 16
Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions' den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you."

Matthew 14: 8
And having been prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist"

Mark 14: 36
And He was saying, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt."

Hebrews 12: 4
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

~TOTALLY COMMITTED LIVES, PUT ON THE LINE FOR US~
Mary, all in - (obedience to Gods will) - through which came our savior.
Ester, all in - (saved her people) - through which came our savior.
Tamar, all in - (carried on her deceased husbands name) - through which came our savior.
Daniel, all in - (kept God's people true to Him in exile) - through which came our savior.
John, all in - (prepared the way) - through which came our savior.
Jesus, all in - (our savior, for us) - through which comes our salvation.
Us, ?? - (spreading the good news) - through which our savior is proclaimed to the world.

We are called as Christian people to resist sin even to the point of our very blood being shed. As we set this FootPrint down are we "all in" for Him ?
~Chris

Cultivating the Garden

Genesis 2: 8
And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden....

Song of Solomon 4: 16
"Awake, O north wind,
And come, wind of the south;
Make my garden breath out fragrance,
Let its spices be wafted abroad.
May my beloved come into his garden
And eat its choice fruits!"

Matthew 13: 24 - 25
He presented another parable to them, saying, " The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. "But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away...

Luke 22: 44
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to His disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow.

John 19: 41
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden;

~ OUR PLACE IN THE GARDEN ~
A place of nurturing,
A place prayer,
A place of comfort,
that requires great care.
Through patient toil
removing the weeds
working with the soil
all while on our knees.

Dare we sleep instead of doing the work in the garden. Todays FootPrint is to give thanks for the garden in our life and to work the soil of it. Through the work of the master gardener, Jesus, we will eat of the tree of life and the goodness of it, that God has waiting for us.~Chris

The Forgiven Ones

Can He forgive the man whose watchingalways counting those to blamefor not heeding what he saw,until the hour of his own shame ?
Isaiah 58: 6 -
Is this not the fast which I chose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And break every yoke ?
"Is it not to divide your bread
with the hungry,
And bring the homeless poor
into the house;
When you see the naked, to
cover him;
And not to hide yourself from
your own flesh ?
"Then your light will break out
like the dawn.
And your recovery will speedily
spring forth;
And your righteousness will
go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be
your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the
Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say,
'Here I am.'
If you remove the yoke from
your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and
speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the
hungry,
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in
darkness,
And your gloom will become
like midday,
"And the Lord will continually
guide you,
And satisfy your desire in
scorched places,
And give strength to your
bones;
And you will be like a watered
garden,
And like a spring of water
whose waters do not fail.

Romans 14: 12 - 13
So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another any more, but rather determine this -- not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

Ephesians 4: 32
And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

~ A NEW HEART AND A FRESH START ~
A forgiven heart is a heart that can get back in the race. Todays FootPrint is forgiveness, because it is as we forgive, that we ourselves are also forgiven.
~Chris

Marriage - Two into One

John 2: 1 - 2
And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there; and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding.

Hebrews 13: 4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled;

1 Thessalonians 4: 7- 8
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but to sanctification. Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Revelation 19: 7
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."

Psalms 46: 10
"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

~ MARRIAGE, SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW ~
Jesus began His ministry with a marriage, and our eternity begins with a marriage feast. Marriage is divinely structured by God for our societal benefit. Marriage is ordained by God because it is a ministry to the family. Marriage is a reflection of God, in our relationship with Jesus, who gave all He had for our sake. God changes not (Malachi 3:6), let marriage therefore be held in honor unchanged, something as old as time itself, and something as new as a young couple made ready at the alter before our Lord.
~ Chris

Touching the Flame

Malachi 3: 3
And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.

Deuteronomy 4: 35 - 36
"To you it was shone that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. "Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire...

Isaiah 10: 17
And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame.

Acts 2: 3
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

1 Thessalonians 5:19
Do not quench the Spirit;

Habakkuk 2:13
Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing ?

Matthew 17: 2
And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

Revelation 21: 23
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

~ SHINE LIKE THE SON ~
The glory of God illuminates the truth for our life, and lights our way. The lamp, the light in our life, is to be put on the lampstand (Mat 4:21). Todays FootPrint, is to find the flame that is the passion of our faith in Him, grab hold of it, and pass the tourch to others. May we be refined and purified in the process.
~ Chris