How does your garden grow ?Or Are you still alive?

[Rick and Lori(Roth) Sheehan]

The characteristic of death is decay,that of life is ,growth.The regenerate man,being alive in Christ,will therefore grow.St Paul compared the growth to that of a child from baby hood and milk to maturity and meat.(1 cor 3:1-2,Heb.5:12-14Matt 13:3-9, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.KJVAn often painful experience, one which separates us from family and friends ,is their inability to grow,so that it becomes difficult to talk to people we love but have long since outgrown.The conservative ,fearful of the present and the future, looks backward only . The revolutionist is also past bound : his vision is one of destruction for the past and the present and a static unchanging utopia for the future.Neither is capable of growth,and victory then goes to those who destroy the most .Man in the state of grace is more conservative than the political conservatives : he has a surer grasp on the past and the present because he accesses it in terms of the word of God.He is also more radical than the revolutionist because he has a principle of growth in him which requires continual change and progress in terms of the word of God.When men hope for social reform by some means other than the grace of God in the salvation of individual men , they are declaring that evil is in the environment rather than in men.The state of grace reveals itself in a man by a delight in the word of God and a readiness to grow therein , and the ability to endure the hot sun of adversity and grow stronger in the faith .The Word of God that finds "good ground " , or regenerate heart, brings forth fruit:there is growth and production( Matt 13:1-23). Because growth is a characteristic of life , it is a characteristic of a state of grace.Rousas Rusdoony _---Revolt Against Maturity Pgs. 176-177Ps 1:1-31 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.KJVPs 119:1616 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.KJVJer 6:1010 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.KJVPs 119:4747 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.KJVPs 119:174-176174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight.175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.KJV

[Rick and Lori(Roth) Sheehan]

Hi John
thanks for the response

I am certainly open to dialog on this subject ,.."there will always be a remnant"...I see an undermining of Gods Word comming from within the church, Paul warned us in Romans about the doctrine that comes in along side , like Gods Word is absolute, but i am going to just love for the sake of unity, sounds good its a false belief that bears putrid fruit ,and leads to death,...

or how about this :
"People today who leave the Church because they are dissatisfied for one reason or another and loose their focus on Jesus are in danger of being swallowed up by the World (Sea). Today many fit this category and are called un-churched or Christians in a self imposed exile."

sounds" good" but it really does not make any sense.need I break it down? Don't get me wrong ,i am not trying to find fault, God's Word is absolute ,if they are dissatisfied because "the Church" is teaching pagan doctrines" how about come out from among the and be ye seperate, or your fellowships do more harm than good...God magnified his Word above His name...I think sometimes they are in danger of being swallowed up in the church....How do we stand approved before God?not by going to church,we are the church.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend! I am still searching ...

I would like to submit a link and an exerpt to add to the dialog:

http://levendwater.org/books/sign_of_the_times/page0001.htm

I N D E X
13
The Apostasy (1 Tim. 4:1).
Having considered the terms used by the apostle to indicate the different `times', namely, `the after seasons', `the
days at the extreme verge' and the `perilous' character of these closing days we now retrace our steps in order to
discover the characteristics of the apostasy prophesied, so that being warned by the faithful Word and so knowing
the times, we may, like the children of Issachar know what we ought to do. The first item that calls for attention is
the word `now' (Greek de) with which 1 Timothy 4 opens. In English `now' indicates either the present time, and
would translate the Greek nun, or it is used without reference to time, `to form a connection between a preceding
and a subsequent proposition, or to introduce an inference or an explanation of that which precedes'. This would be
the translation of the Greek connective de, `always implying antithesis, however concealed'. The antithesis of
1 Timothy 4:1 is the Mystery of Godliness of 1 Timothy 3:16; and inasmuch as this great revelation is `a pillar and
ground of truth and confessedly great', the departure from the truth of which the Spirit expressly warns us, must be
in essence a departure in the first instance from this great and fundamental revelation.
Aphistemi `to stand away' is used sometimes of mere physical departure, as in Luke 2:37, but in the epistles it is
employed in a spiritual sense. It is found three times in 1 and 2 Timothy as follows:
A
1 Tim. 4:1 Some shall depart from the faith.
B
1 Tim. 6:5 From such withdraw thyself.
A
2 Tim. 2:19
Depart from iniquity.
Now the final contrast with `the mystery of godliness' (1 Tim. 3:16), is `the mystery of iniquity' (2 Thess. 2:7),
and the balance of 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 2:19 in the use of the word aphistemi anticipates that fact. This
word aphistemi gives us the substantive apostasy, a word, however, which does not occur in the A.V.. Instead we
have the following:
Apostasia `forsake Moses' (Acts 21:21); `a falling away' (2 Thess. 2:3).
Apostasion `divorcement' (Matt. 5:31 ; 19:7; Mk. 10:4).
The English reader cannot hope to sense the many references to this word in the two epistles to Timothy by
reason of the fact that there is no apparent relation between apostasy and the many other variants of istemi `to stand'
which occur, but without overwhelming the reader we would indicate the way in which this root word ramifies
through these two epistles, but for simplicity we will not load the text with the actual Greek words.
The bishop, in 1 Timothy 3:4,5, and 6 must `rule' house and children, some without discipline may `wax wanton'
(1 Tim. 5:11); and may become proud `knowing' nothing (1 Tim. 6:4). From such the believer is called upon to
`withdraw' (1 Tim. 6:5). On the surface there is nothing to show that each one of these words is a compound of the
word `to stand' and so related to the word `apostasy' or `departure' of 1 Timothy 4:1.
In the second epistle there is found another illuminative collection of compounds of the same root word. The
unashamed workman will study `to show' himself approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15), he will `resist' profane and vain
babblings (2 Tim. 2:16); remembering all the time that the foundation of God `standeth' and demands that the
believer `depart from' iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19). In chapter 3:1, the words `shall come' are literally `have taken their
stand', and in verse 8 we have the example of Jannes and Jambres who `withstood' Moses. In chapter 4 we have `be
instant', `is at hand', `withstood', and notwithstanding the Lord `stood with me' (2 Tim. 4:2,6,15 and 17), all of which
have departure from the truth, or standing for the truth as the theme. This aspect of the study, however, has a limited
appeal and we leave it to those who can pursue it to advantage while we take up the more obvious development of
the subject.
It is the consistent testimony of all Scripture that as the end of the ages draws near, so the darkness will deepen.
There is no warrant for the idea that by the gradual process of education and betterment that mankind or
Christendom will mount upwards and so usher in the Golden Age. In the Gospels we have the question: `When the
Son of Man cometh, shall He find the faith in the earth?', and the implied answer is `No'. It will be as the days of
Noah. The same is taught both by Peter and by Paul. Peter warns his readers that in the last days will come
scoffers, and as we have already seen, Paul testifies the same departure from the truth within the administration
entrusted to him. And this leads us to the really solemn thought, it is not possible for an unbeliever `to depart' from

[John Richeson]

[John Richeson]

I have a more optimistic outlook about the "church". I think it is growing and changing dynamically in ways we never dreamed possible in the past.

For example, the power of the Internet has revolutionized outreach, even to obscure communist areas and deep rooted Muslim cultures. (It seems they have a hard time surpressing the Internet.) I was reading about how some Muslims are turning to the lord Jesus Christ in droves and never looking back. If Jesus were alive today I am sure he would be using some of these far reaching tools. Wait a minute....he is using them I suppose.

Thanks for the blog Rick and/or Lori. I hope some more conversation ensues.Have a great weekend.

PS - both you ladies have your white dresses on in your profile pictures. I thought i was seeing double there for a minute without my glasses.

[Rick and Lori(Roth) Sheehan]

I see the church in apostasy

[Cindy Kuchmy Kelley]

It's the "New Dynamic Church", right?