"Holy Father, keep through Your own name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one, as we." Jesus praying to His Holy Father

"This is the only place in the Gospel where we find our Lord addressing the Father by this epithet. There is doubtless some good reason for it. It may be that there is a fitness in asking the "Holy" Father to keep the disciples holy and free from the dominion of evil. "As Thou art holy, so keep these My disciples holy." -JC Ryle














(The so-called holy father)









It's amazing to me, how the Church can allow any man to be called "the holy father". Sure, they justify it in many ways, and even make light of it, but when you get right down to what people are saying about the pope, when they call him "holy father" is blasphemous.

When the Lord spoke to Peter, and told him to go see Cornelius, "Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
But Peter took him up, saying, 'Stand up; I myself also am a man' (Acts 10:25-26).

I'm not saying we are not to honor others in authority, we are to do that. But to bow and kiss another man's ring, while adressing him as "holy father" is simply, and clearly, wrong. We are to bow only to God the Father, and His Christ, the Lord Jesus.

I truly believe if any man knows Christ, and trusts Christ, and loves Him, then he would do as Peter did, when another man, or woman, comes to bow before him. He would say, "Don't do that, worship the Lord, for He alone is worthy."
Even powerful beings like angels dare not allow any bowing before them. How much more us humans, who are sinful, and toatlly dependant on God's mercy and grace need not bow before any man, nor allow one to bow before us.

"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:24

" ... Christ's death was to be the source of spiritual life to the world. From His Cross and passions was to spring up a mighty harvest of benefit to all mankind. His death, like a grain of seed-corn, was to be the root of blessings and mercies to countless millions of immortal souls. In short, the great principle of the Gospel was once more exhibited,-- that Christ's vicarious death (not His life, or miracles, or teaching, but His death) was to bring forth fruit to the praise of God, and to provide redemption for a lost world.

... Truths such as these should sink deeply into our hearts, and stir up self-inquiry. It is as true of Christians as it is of Christ,--there can be no life without death, there can be no sweet without bitter, there can be no crown without a cross. Without Christ's death there would have been no life for the world." JC Ryle

Jesus also said here: "He that hates his life shall keep it." The wide and broad teachings throughout the Body of Christ will have nothing of this. They say we need to love this life. We need to love ourselves, and then we can love God, and our neighbor. This is a teaching that sounds right, but in the end it is spiritually killing us.

But if we kill our selves, and depise our lives here, then we will live indeed, and life will be precious, because we will see that Christ is what life is all about, not life itself being what life is all about.

"I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound". -St. Paul of Tarsus

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord". Job said these incredible words. Incredible, because he had just lost everything, even his children.
These same words have been hid in my heart as of late as well. Though I don't know the pain and suffering Job had, I am on the short end at this particular time.

Though the Lord has blessed me, and my two business partners over the past ten years, and he has "given" us much, I now must deal with His "taking" away. I wonder if it's more difficult to be content when we have a lot, or when we have little.
Perhaps it's the same amount of struggle to be content whether we have abundance, or have great need. It probably was this way for Paul. But I'm not Paul. He was a great servant of the Lord, and understood contentment like no one else.
Yet, I believe I can learn to be content as well. Maybe not as content as Paul, but content just the same.

I think the key is to "want to be content for God's glory, and not just for contentment's sake; not just for peace of mind.

I think this is what Paul learned, when he learned how to be content in want, and plenty. And whether he was "full" or "hungry".

I took these photos the other day when I and my partner John were installing new aluminum gutters and spouts on six new homes, which is what we do. Business in the past has been very good, and we were quite blessed financially. But this past year has been bad. The river has dried up. And we are barely holding on. The future is uncertain for us. But God is faithful to his children, to care for them. So we will continue to trust Him, and hopefully grow in His grace. And learn to be content in our want, as we did in our time of plenty.
To God be all the glory. Amen.