But By Every Word

Psalm 19:17-19

2007-03-21T18:12:00.000-06:00

The law of the Lord is perfect,
restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
The precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true,
they are righteous altogether.

Taking Up Our Cross And Following Him

2007-03-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

"And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life, shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of Him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.' " (Luke 9:23-25 NASB)

What does it mean to take up our cross and follow Him? It means living by kingdom principles.

According to Pastor Rob and others it looks like this:

1. Giving when I feel like keeping.
2. Praying for others when I need to be prayed for.
3. Feeding others when my own soul is hungry.
4. Living truth before others when I can't see the result.
5. Hurting with another when my own hurt cannot be spoken.
6. Keeping my word when it's not convenient.
7. Being faithful when my flesh wants to run away.
8. Seeking to understand rather than to be understood.
9. Loving while being hated.
10. Taking heed to my own inner life when instructing and encouraging others.
11. Giving advice for other's benefit not my own.
12. Keeping quiet when speaking up would hurt another seemingly to my benefit.
13. Giving grace, love and patience in the face of another's weakness and failure.
14. Listening when I just want to cover my ears.

Why I believe the Bible

2006-10-27T10:13:00.000-06:00

The Bible is a compilation of sixty-six (66) books written by at least forty (40) authors over a period of about fifteen hundred (1500) years. It was written in three (3) languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) on three (3) different continents. Yet it is unique in its unity/continuity.

The Bible is filled with hundreds of extremely detailed prophecies (a large number of which have been historically fulfilled) concerning:

the future of specific nations
the future of specific cities
the future of specific families and individuals
the future of mankind

There are over three hundred (300) prophecies concerning the coming of Messiah/Savior including:

the town of His birth
His family of origin
His virgin birth
how He would die and the details surrounding His crucifixion
His entry into Jerusalem on a donkey
betrayal by His friend
His silence when accused
being beaten and spit upon
the rejection of Him as Messiah
His resurrection after three days
His ascension into heaven

There are more than one thousand (1,000) copies and fragments of the NT in Syria, Armenian, Coptic, Europic, Gothic. There are more than four thousand (4,000) Greek manuscripts containing all or portions of the NT. There are about eight thousand (8,000) copies of the Latin Vulgate. NO other documents of antiquity are as well attested as the New Testament. (Not Socrates, nor Shakespeare, even.)

If all the existing manuscripts did not exist, the entire NT could be reconstructed via thousands of quotations throughout the writings of the early Christians...with the exception of ten to twenty verses. These writings circulated during the time that there were thousands of people living who had seen Christ, witnessed or heard about the miracles He did, and witnessed His crucifixion, none of them refuted the writings as fairy tales or myths.

There is secular historical evidence. (Josephus, Tacitus, Thallus, Mara Bar-Seraphon, Plegon, Lucian, Pliny the Younger) The Encyclopedia Britannica says, "These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries."

There is archaeological evidence for its accuracy with more evidence being discovered regularly. No archaeological evidence has contradicted a Biblical reference.

Scientific discoveries have proven many things mentioned in the Bible. Dinosaurs, the inability to number the stars, the uniqueness of each star, that the earth hangs on nothing, how the wind moves and that it has weight, that life is in the blood, reproductive integrity, the hydrologic cycle, that the earth is round in shape, for instance.

The early Christians, including the Apostles, died rather than recant their testimony that Jesus died, was buried and was resurrected, then ascended into heaven.

115 AD, P. Cornelius Tacitus, in book 15, chapter 44 of The Annals:

“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”

The power the Bible has had in my own life.

"Trinity"

2006-10-11T13:11:00.000-06:00

I believe Jesus is God come to the earth in human form to pay the price that His justice demands for sin. How can I believe this?

Trinity is not a word the Bible uses; it is man's word for a concept that is clearly taught in the Bible. The Father is called God; the Son, Jesus Christ, is called God; and the Holy Spirit is called God. (Do your own research.) The very first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, uses a plural form of God when it states "In the beginning God...". The Hebrew word used is Elohim which is plural.

When man is created Genesis says, "Let us make man in our image."

John 1 says, " In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

I have no problem with the concept of three in one because this kind of trinity is all around us.

Time - past, present, future - three in one which cannot exist any other way.

Elements - gas, liquid, solid - three in one. Can they they exist any other way?

Man - body, soul, spirit - three in one. Near death reports tell us that they do exist outside one another...as in Jesus seated at the Father's right hand.

Egg - shell, albumin, yolk. Not an egg any other way.

Need I go on?

I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - three in one. The evidence I see convinces me of what I cannot see.

The Existence of God

2006-10-06T09:53:00.000-06:00

I believe God exists. I believe because of the evidence I can see.

The human body is, for me, evidence of the existence of God. For me to believe our bodies just evolved to be the complex machines they are takes more faith than to believe they were designed. That a woman's breast redesigns itself into a milk factory complete with straw and then back to "regular" breast tissue when the milk is no longer needed is mind-blowing. DNA, six feet (!) of info tightly coiled into a double helix in every one of our body's 100,000,000,000,000 cells...the language of life...Someone designed that language and put it where it is. If you can't explain where that information came from, how can you explain life? Everything about our bodies is amazing, startling, incredible, when one stops to think about it. Of course, we rarely stop to think about it unless something goes terribly wrong. Yet everyday our bodies exhibit the wonders, the marvels of life. Bones, muscles, skin. Eyes, ears, tongue. Arms, legs, fingers, toes. Heart, lungs, stomach. Every cell doing its thing, day in and day out, contributing to the amazing whole. With no direction from a designer? I don't think so!

The earth itself. Hanging in space in the exact location, at the exact tilt, at the exact speed, etc. that sustains life. Just the right combination of elements in the right formulation that sustains life. Hmm, Who knew what elements to design and what beings to design to go with them? Finely tuned, exactly coordinated processes that keep our planet going day in and day out. Physical laws govern the universe. Someone designed those laws and put those laws in place.

John O'Keefe, an honored astronomer and pioneer in space research had this to say in an article entitled "The Theological Impact of the New Cosmology", "We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cossetted, cherished group of creatures; our Darwinian claim to have done it all ourselves is as ridiculous and as charming as a baby's brave efforts to stand on its own feet and refuse his mother's hand. If the universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in."

I could go on...the brain, mind and consciousness, intelligence, will, biology, biochemistry, cosmology, astronomy...

For me, the evidence is all there. What I can see is evidence for what I can't see...God.

Blind faith?

2006-10-01T15:48:00.000-06:00

Blind faith?

No, never blind faith...

True faith is never blind. True faith is based on evidence.

We exercise faith every day.

I don't know how my car works, exactly, but I have faith that when I put the key in the ignition and turn it my car is going to start. When it doesn't, I am surprised. Why do I think it's going to start? Because I have experienced it starting day after day.

When I drive my car onto the freeway...or down the street...I have faith that the cars zooming toward me are going to stay on the other side of the line. If one of them doesn't, I am surprised (and maybe injured or dead). Why am I so certain that they are going to stay on the other side that I take my life into my own hands and head down the street? Because I have experienced them staying on the other side day after day.

When I go to work I have faith that I will receive a paycheck for the work that I have done. I am surprised if the check bounces. Week after week it doesn't bounce so I deposit it and write my own checks to people who have faith that I am going to pay my bills with checks that don't bounce.

I could go on and on and on ad nauseum about the faith we each exercise daily...sitting down on a chair and trusting it will hold my weight, opening a candy bar and biting into it trusting that it isn't poisoned, going to sleep at night trusting that I will awaken in the morning...but the point is, true faith is NOT blind. True faith is based on evidence.

Hebrews 11:1 (NAS) "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

The Greek word translated "conviction" in this verse is elegchos. It's a legal term that has to do with the truthfulness of the evidence on which one is charged and convicted.

What are the most important things I have faith in? That God exists...that He manifests Himself in three ways, God the Father; God, the Son; God, the Holy Spirit...that the Bible is His Word to mankind, including me...that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh come to this earth to pay the penalty for the sin of mankind, including mine...that God, the Father was satisfied with the payment of the shed blood of God, the Son, Jesus Christ...that when the Son returned to the Father He sent the Holy Spirit to live in every believer...that God, the Holy Spirit leads mankind, including me, into all truth...that He enables mankind, including me, to walk in the statutes of God, that He strengthens me in my inner being, that He is the guarantee of my future inheritance with God...that the Son will return for His bride, the church...that there is a day of judgment coming....

More later on the evidence for my faith in these things....

Pride/Humility

2006-09-18T21:36:00.000-06:00

Sunday's sermon was one that was probably as hard to give as it was to listen to...if one listened with the heart.

The topic was pride and humility.

At lunch we were discussing the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah and the fact that "everyone" thinks God destroyed them because of homosexuality. Yet Ezekiel 16:49, 50 says, "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but yet she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore, I removed them when I saw it."

My son said, "Well, isn't pride the ultimate cause of all sin?"

I have been thinking about the sins I commit...and I think he's right.

Prov. 16:5-7 - "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; assuredly he will not be unpunished. By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil. When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

Oh, Lord, help me to humble myself before you. Examine my heart and try my thoughts and show me if there is any wicked way in me caused by pride. Grant me a heart of godly sorrow that will lead me to true repentance, forgive me in Jesus' name and fill me with your Spirit that I might not sin against you.

Submission to God

2006-09-13T21:28:00.000-06:00

I will not submit to Islam.

I will not be intimidated.

And I will not be silent.

My life belongs to God and God alone.

He is just and the judge of all.

I submit fully to Him.

New Life

2006-09-06T16:45:00.000-06:00

I was a "dead person walking" when I walked into that little church the morning of October 6, 1974. The Lord spoke to me that morning, drawing me to Himself. I responded to His call…and died. Oh, I didn't realize it just then but that's what happened.

I confessed my sin and trusted God when He said the blood of Jesus, His death on the cross, paid for my sin. I received Christ as my Savior that morning. I was born again, made a new person, a new creation in Christ, one that had never existed before. He was faithful and just and all my sin was forgiven, I was white as snow.

You know what God did that very morning? He put me in Christ, so that when Christ died on the cross, I died. When He was buried, I was buried. When He was raised from the dead, I was raised to newness of life. The old me had died and a brand new creation in Christ was born…the new me. The old me, the "dead person walking", the one in whom sin reigned, the one who was a slave to sin, the one whose acts were acts of unrighteousness, was dead. I was brand new…dead to sin and alive to righteousness…created in the image of God in righteousness and holiness of the truth…created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

He took me out of the kingdom of darkness and put me into the kingdom of His beloved Son; He adopted me and gave me the right to be called His child, the right to come boldly before His throne of grace and receive mercy and to pray in Jesus' name; He reconciled me to Himself and made me an ambassador of Christ with the ministry of reconciliation; He made me a priest unto our God.

Oh, and I was sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit whom God had promised.

I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I lived, yet not I but Christ lived in me and the life I now lived as I walked out into that beautiful sunshine I lived by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Imagine! For me!What joy! Unspeakable and full of glory!

I walked out to begin working out my own salvation…with fear and trembling…to learn that it is God Who is at work in me both willing and doing His good pleasure. And I learned that from others who had gone before me, teaching me the reality of God's word both by their words and deeds and by the way they were merciful to me as I grew in the true knowledge of God.They taught me that He is faithful and true, that I can trust Him with all that I am because all that I am not, He is…and that all that He is, He is for me and in me and through me.

They taught me that everything good in me is Christ in me, my hope of glory.They taught me that God made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for me that I might be made the righteousness of God in Him.They taught me that because I had peace with God I have the peace of God that enables me to be still and know that He is God when everything in me, that is , in my flesh, wants to tremble with anxiety and fear.Because of these things, and because they also taught me that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, that He is faithful and just to forgive, that He grows us up into the image of Christ, I've never had to be afraid to see myself in the mirror of His word, never had to argue with Him, never had to hide.

Just as they taught me, I can be like Joseph. Without being frightened by any fear, without self-pity or murmuring, I can, instead, walk in quiet and joyful submission to all that He is.

They taught me to love the Lord with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul and with all my strength and to love my neighbor as myself, whether they are brethren or the lost. They taught me to love my enemies. They taught me to love my brethren in Christ as the Lord has loved me.They taught me to love God's word more than my necessary food.

In the way they dealt with my loved one's battle with alcohol they taught me that mercy triumphs over judgment.The time I spent learning from them was short, less than 2 years, but it was the most important, the most influential time of my life. Those months grounded me, established me, and planted my heart firmly in the word of God. They set a solid foundation in my life and I've never forgotten what they taught me in word and by example. Thank you!

Our Father continues to lavish His extravagant grace upon me, continues to conform me to the image of His Son, continues to fill me with an ever-deepening joy and continues to lead me in triumph in Christ. Thank you!

I am their joy, their crown of exultation in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming. Thank you!

Rejoicing in their life of service to/for Him, with deeply felt thanksgiving, I thank our God and Father upon every remembrance of them.

Ralph M. Licciardi Memorial 2006

2006-09-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

RALPH M. LICCIARDI

7/29/1971 - 9/11/2001

Husband

Father

Son

Brother

Co-Worker

American

Italian

Catholic

Electrician

Drummer

Pizza Man

Knicks and Jets Fan

Exceptional Handball Player

Doritos

Diet Pepsi

Big Macs

Chicken McNuggets

Spaghettios

Dumb and Dumber

Trusted to Troubleshoot Car/Computer

Ralph Licciardi was an innocent victim and, though not a perfect man,was an every day kind of hero. The kind of hero who worked hard every day to see that his dreams came true. The kind who went to work every day to support his wife, Jennifer, and sons, Ralph and Michael. He was the kind of hero who played with his boys when he got home from work; who said "I love you" to his wife on a regular and frequent basis. The kind of hero who maintained a loving relationship with his parents, his brother and his sister and their families; spending every Sunday together "feasting" at his parent's home. He was the kind of hero who was a trusted and faithful friend. Ralph Licciardi was the kind of every day hero whose compassion for others could always be counted on to move him to make this earth a better place for his having been here.

"He was a handsome son-of-a-gun...and very much a family oriented person."

"We weren't just brothers, we were best friends."

"Like most brothers, we laughed a lot...fought a lot. But in the end, we were always there for each other."

"He was simple, sincere, truthful and kind."

"I admired his childlike simplicity, his integrity and most of all his kind and forgiving temper."

"He lived a life that was outwardly simple but inwardly rich."

"Anyone who ever worked with Ralph will attest to how kind, generous and unpretentious he was."

"Always smiling and joking, a real pleasure to be in his company."

"A talented hard worker."

"Questions? Ask Ralph!"

"Ralph's memory will be with us forever, and forever will he make us smile."

The Bible and Me

2006-08-15T15:57:00.000-06:00

The place God holds in my daily life will determine my attitude toward His word...my attitude toward His word reveals the place He holds in my daily life.

Psalm 119:33-38 "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes, and I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding that I may observe Thy law, and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to Thy testimonies and not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity and revive me in Thy ways. Establish Thy word to Thy servant, as that wich produces reverence for Thee."

Do I Believe Deeply Enough to Listen?

2006-08-13T14:07:00.000-06:00

Do we believe He means what He says?

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." Heb. 1:1,2"

"While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, 'this is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!' " Matt. 17:5

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." Heb. 2:1-4

"For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye witnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well-pleased' - and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 2 Pet. 1:16-21

"But the Lord said to Moses, 'Because you have not believed me, to treat Me as Holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Num. 20:12

"Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does." Jam. 1:16-21

If we truly believe, we will listen to Him. If we truly listen and pay attention, we will obey Him. If we truly believe - if we have a sober awareness of WHO He is - we will treat Him as holy before our own eyes, in our own hearts, and in turn, before the eyes of those among whom we walk and talk and post.

Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?

2006-08-12T12:38:00.000-06:00

Jesus said He came:

To fulfill the Law and the Prophets - Mt. 5:17
To serve and to give His life a ransom for many - Mt. 20:28
To preach the kingdom of God - Mk. 4:43
To cast fire upon the earth - Mk. 12:49
To seek and to save that which was lost - Lk. 19:10
Not to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him - Jn 3:17
That those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind - Jn. 9:39
That they might have life and have it abundantly - Jn. 10:10
That everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness - Jn. 12:46
To save the world - Jn. 12:47
To bear witness to the truth - Jn. 18:37

2006-08-07T12:37:00.000-06:00

Will be back later to post.......