Greyson Gambrell

The LORD Is Good and Does Good

The LORD is good and does good
God defines good
His will, His way, His word
He is “I Am”
He is good
LORD let me be good like You
Let me wrap You ‘round me
Righteous sheets of white, clean, goodness
 
Taste and see that the LORD He is good
“God, You taste good!”

Faith Wings
 
Faith is like Jesus walking on water.
It shouldn’t have held Him up, but it did.
 
LORD, let my faith grow
More and more.
 
Like a fledgling in the nest.
Let me test my wings.
Let me brave the air.
And be borne by courage and upheld by You.
 
Let me stretch my wings and fly with pinions of faith.
 
And soar the heavens as I was meant to.
And soar to the heavens to love You.

Redemption

I heard about a guy named Appleseed.

He went around planting apple trees.

I don’t know his reasons why,

But I think he’s my kind of guy.

I think I’ll pause and take a cue;

“Hey Christian, this could be you.”

I’ve read some of God’s Word,

But there are some who haven’t heard.

LORD, let me sow some seeds of grace,

Then see your tree, and touch Your face.

You Matter

I’ve been thinking, praying, and seeking the Lord lately.  Not just about this current situation in the world, but also about me and my situation.  I’ve just finished reading through the book of Jeremiah in the Bible.  One thing that struck me is that after Jeremiah had warned Judah about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and Judah by the king of Babylon, God also gave the message to Jeremiah that they should repent.  Before you tune out, please listen to all I have to say.  I would like to say that this is a message to me.  In fact, true repentance of a nation or of the world is made of individuals.  God was willing to relent of His judgement if Judah would repent.  God is consistent on this message.  God is good, and finds no pleasure in our punishment, but what He really wants is for us to submit and obey Him.  When we do, we find His love, not wrath.

Jeremiah 26:3 (NASB95)

            3          ‘Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.’

Ezekiel 33:11 (NASB95)

            11       “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’

            From beginning to end, Jesus’ message was to repent, and believe in the Gospel.  Early in His ministry He preached this:

Mark 1:14–15 (NASB95)

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

            14       Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

            15       and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

After He was resurrected, He said this:

Luke 24:45–47 (NASB95)

            45       Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

            46       and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,

            47       and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

I want to take heed to this and address sin in my life.  It’s a struggle, but I can struggle harder than I have been. 

            We all fall short, but the Good News is that if we repent and believe in the Good News, we can have eternal life, and this gives hope beyond anything that can come along.  The Good News is this:  that Jesus was, and is, and always will be the Son of God.  He came in the flesh and lived a perfect life, and because of this He was able to become a sin sacrifice for us.  He took our sins and died on the cross, but He arose from the dead after three days.  If you repent and believe in Him and this Good News you will be forgiven and have eternal life.

            By the way, repentance does not just mean to be sorrowful, but to change your mind to agree with God that if you have sin to stop and correct it with God’s help.  Also, repentance is not just negative.  The law of God is summed up that we should love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; and love our neighbor as our self.  Love is not negative, but the way Jesus has instructed us about, and He also gave us an example of.

            I don’t know all of God’s mind about His reasons for this disease and following effects, but I do know God has always wanted us to repent.  And I know that He wants us to believe in Jesus His Son.  I am taking this to be a shot across the bow.  We have a choice before us.  The right choice is to make a positive change.

Love is the Top

Hey y’all. Just wanted to give an update on my life. I’m teaching Sunday school and working at a cabinet shop. Trying to prepare for whatever God has in store for me. I started reading through the Bible a while back and am still at it to read through all the books. It was a Bible I bought and want to read the whole Bible in that specific Bible. It is NIV and I prefer NASB because it is more literal in translation, but both are excellent translations. I’m taking care of my uncle, and trying to improve as a Christian. I have a long way to go, but I also realize God has brought me a long way also. God bless y’all and keep me in your prayers.

The Word

Pray

Intro-How we know someone

The Book

  John 1:1–4 (NASB95)

The Deity of Jesus Christ

          1        In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

          2        He was in the beginning with God.

          3        All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

          4        In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

–God’s being is not just associated with the Word, but it says the “Word was God.”

–Now we know that this Word became flesh, and this means Christ was born as Jesus.  But, we should not overlook this is showing the nature of Christ before birth as the Word.

  Revelation 19:11–13 (NASB95)

The Coming of Christ

          11      And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

          12      His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

          13      He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

–Our Bibles are the Word of God.  We call them Scriptures, and they were revealed to us by prophets, but they are God breathed to mankind.  God used the agent of men moved by the Holy Spirit to give us His Word, but they are to be viewed and revered as if He thundered His voice directly to mankind.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB95)

          16      All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

          17      so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:20–21 (NASB95)

          20      But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,

          21      for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

–The Shema gives us an idea how important the Word is.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NASB95)

“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

          7        “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

          8        “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

          9        “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

–Every Christian has a relationship with the Word of God.

They at least believe the Gospel.  And I can think of no instance of a Christian where they believe the Gospel and don’t believe in the Word of God. 

–The Word is nourishment for a new Christian

1 Peter 2:2 (NASB95)

          2        like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

–The Word is not just for new Christians but is as vital as food for all Christians

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NASB95)

          3        “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

–This was a forty year lesson of wandering through the wilderness to drive home the message that all Christians live by everything that proceeds from the mouth of God. 

What is special about the Word of God?

1.  God’s Word is living

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)

          12      For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

–God’s word is living.  The words on a page do not live, but in the course of history prophecies come true out of the pages, and the Word has the effect and outcome of salvation and eternal life in the lives of those who believe and obey the Word.

It is daily instruction how to walk through life.  Living because you put it into action

Psalm 40:7–8 (NASB95)

          7        Then I said, “Behold, I come;

In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

          8        I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your Law is within my heart.”

–David spoke this ~900-1000 years before Christ

— The Scripture told of His appearance Jesus Christ the baby.  He appeared in truth right off the pages

2.  The Word is truth

John 17:17 (NIV)

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

This is in a prayer of Jesus to the Father.  Notice He does not say true.  We all can say a true statement, but Jesus says the Word is truth itself.  To say the grass is green is to say something true, but the essence of the Word is that is of a higher order The Truth with a capital T.

3. The Word is everlasting

Isaiah 40:8 (NASB95)

          8        The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

4. The Word is pure

Psalm 12:6 (NASB95)

          6        The words of the Lord are pure words;

As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

5.  The Word of God is set above all things next to God’s name itself.

Psalm 138:2 (ESV)

          ²         I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.

6. The Word is guides our lives

Psalm 119:105 (NASB95)

‍ן

Nun.

          105    Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.

7. The Word is Life

John 5:24 (NASB95)

          24      “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

So how do we know that it is truly the Word of God?

Some ways: Prophecy comes true, historically accurate, consistent

John 15:26 (NASB95)

          26      “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,

–The Spirit of God testifies to your soul that God’s Word is indeed from God.  This is by faith, but your soul simply knows that it is the truth.

John 10:1–5 (NASB95)

Parable of the Good Shepherd

          1        “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

          2        “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

          3        “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

          4        “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

          5        “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

–2 ways The Holy Spirit testifies to authenticity and we as Christ’s sheep know His voice.

Closing Remarks

If Jesus Christ is the Word, and Christians head is Christ, the Word is essential to our being.  The birth of a Christian is by belief in God’s Word—the Gospel, and to grow and mature it is essential as food for the body.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NASB95)

          3        “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

–Finally, there is one secret to reading the Bible that I know.  One must believe it.  Otherwise it is so many words to that person.  And belief is a loaded word.  If you believe a parachute will save you if pushed off a plane, you will pull the drop cord.  Believing without action is like someone who believed that the parachute would save him but never pulled the drop cord and hit the ground.

–I urge you to hear the Word of God and practice it and grow by it.  Make it part of your life. 

Romans 10:17 (NASB95)

          17      So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Hear it and believe!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009   The Way, a Choice I am writing this because I believe God told me that I should share my testimony. I wanted to express to you some way that I think we should repent. I shared that in an earlier blog. I realize one thing though—that the wayward nature of mankind and his pride rejects penitence. It is through God’s forgiveness and His forbearance that we come to repent. Without a sense of His love and Grace we could only be forced to our knees without a change to our heart. I had in the past a heart of stone. I knew scripture—so I thought—and went to church and I truly believed that Jesus died for my sins, but I was without true understanding. I didn’t understand Truth, Grace, and Love. These are words, but true understanding requires more that being able to read mere letters. I am only now coming to have a sight and a feeling for the being of these characteristics of God. Let me share my story. I am a man of secrets and to reveal these things is hard for me because it is personal and leaves me vulnerable because it opens my heart and soul to you. There are a lot of things I will leave out, but this story bears my soul, and I want you to know it may be therapeutic to me, but really I share my own story to give you an example of God’s Truth, Grace, and Love. First I was given an illustration of the Way. Matt 7 records the words of Jesus Christ: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. “Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy fn that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Jesus describes two and only two ways. One easy wide that leads to destruction. This is the way to Hell. The other way is narrow and hard and few there are that find it. This leads to everlasting life and paradise—New Jerusalem. Here is an illustration I believe from the Holy Ghost. There was a man on a road at a fork. He saw another man at this fork and inquired about which one led to his destination. The signs on both forks declared that they head toward the destination. Now, the man at the forks told the traveler, “Take this trail that I made. I made the trail and made a bridge over the river, and it will take you—if you stay on the trail—to your destination.” The man said, “the trail is not well paved as this other, and I see a new shiny bridge on this well marked road up ahead. Not only that, I see others on this road but not on your trail.” The man had an urge to listen to the man, however, and asked, “How do I know the truth, which way?” The man showed him a book, a journal, and said, “This book shows how I made the trail, how I made the bridge, how I found out the other bridge was out. This book tells you what you need to know.” The traveler thought and responded, “How do I know it is the truth, there are many books and this other way is well travelled?” Right then a voice said, “This is my son, hear him.” It was a voice from heaven, supernatural and he felt a yearning in his heart to listen to the man, but he doubted that he heard anything. The man at the fork told him plainly, “you must believe me.” The man thought, in my soul I know somehow this man is the Truth. If I go down this road I will cross safely this river, but if I don’t believe this man I will go the other way, and even though I see many on the other wide paved road, I believe this man, and his book, that they are headed to destruction. I don’t really know if I heard that voice, and if I did where did it come from? And I don’t understand how I know this Truth. I feel as though a Spirit from the Author of this book and the One that spoke lets me know. The man believed the other man’s witness and took him at his word. So he believed and travelled down that Way. As he got to the bridge he had doubts, but he thought of the man’s words and it strengthened him. He crossed the bridge, believing the man and his bridge, trusting him. As he got to the other side he looked down in the river and saw faces of those who had been on the well paved road and they had drown in the river because the bridge was out the other way. He mourned for them, but he could not save them, he realized that the man at the forks told them of the trail like him, but they did not believe him. It hurt the man and then in awe he wondered at the fact that somehow he believed, he was thankful. He was thankful that he wanted to go down, and would have gone down the other road, but undeservedly the man at the fork lead him to choose another way. As he left to his destination he arrived tired because the way was hard but ever so grateful. He talked to one sitting down resting and reclined at a restaurant and hotel, and told him of his story, and the man, and the bridge, and his choice. The people listening around him said, “we know you chose the trail because you are here.” As he wondered at this, the other man said, “do you know that man was a spirit-man. True he has a body, but he died just as he finished the bridge. Now he humbly tells others about the Way and his Word.” “How can I ever thank him, he truly saved my life,” the resting traveler spoke. “I believe I have some wisdom,” the other man replied. “By choosing the Way you have and are pleasing Him. He did not die for nothing.” What is His Name? “Jesus. Come meet the Father.” Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the father except by Him I think I’ll wait on my testimony; there is no way to top Jesus’ testimony. And after all it is just a story how I met a man at the fork of a road. Thank you and praise you Jesus. Amen.