Devotion

What Is The Purpose Of Your Sacrifices?

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Prophet’s Possible Perspective

I really cannot begin to imagine how angered the Holy One is by all the sin and hypocrisy that is seen on the streets of our cities. Surely they are very similar to Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of their destruction. How much further will the Holy One let us go?

O rulers of Judah, religious and political; you must hear the Word of the LORD. You are in the same shape as Sodom, you are an odorous scent to the name of the LORD our God. How it grieves my heart to see such pretense in the sacrifices that are made. The blood of all those innocent animals; and for what, when it comes from an evil heart, which is given to rebellious, wicked, evil, idolatrous living.

For what purpose is a sacrifice if it is given in hypocrisy? A sacrifice is given to one you love, and at a cost to the giver, out of a deep devotion, trust, commitment, and for the glory of the One to whom it is given. Our people have become so extravagantly wealthy that they no longer know what sacrifice is. They continue to slay the lambs, bulls, goats and such, but they know nothing of God, His Word, or His way for their lives.

The Holy One is sick of these empty sacrifices which mean absolutely nothing to the giver of them. Offerings of sacrifice without a right heart with GOD is an abomination to Him. This is what is totally detestable to Him.

We have these feast days, and they have meaning and purpose only when the hearts of the one’s remembering them, are given completely to the HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL.

Our men who are supposed to pray to God for mercy on God’s people, and plead for the people to honor, obey, trust, depend, and look only to God; the priests; are no different than the political leaders. They take the peoples “Sacrifices”, and make a mockery of what it is, because of unrighteousness in their hearts and lives. When they offer praise God will hide His eyes, and when they offer a prayer, God will not hear. Their hands are bloody.

What does the Holy One want of those who are His? To be washed and made clean. To put away pretense, especially in their sacrifices. Cease your evil actions. Do good things for no other reason than to glorify the Holy One. Seek and do that which is just. Help those who are less fortunate than yourself – orphans, and widows; see that they are defended, protected, and cared for. This is right in the eyes of the LORD. The godly religion is the way – we must minister to the orphans and widows in their need, and keep ourselves from the evil practices of those around us.

“Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.  To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.  When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?  Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.  And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;  Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.“ Isaiah 1:10-17 (KJV)

From September 09, 2008.

The True King Shall Reign

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The True King Shall Reign
1 Kings 1:1-53
1.  There Are Some Who will Presume to be Kings (vv. 1-10; 2 Sam 15:10-12).
2.  There Are People Who are Loyal to the True King, and His Dynasty (vv. 11-27)
3.  The King is Made King by a Decree of the King, Anointed by God, and His Servants (vv. 28-40).
4.  The Presumed King and His Devoted will Tremble at the News of the True King (vv. 41-49)
5.  The True King Will Show Mercy – He Has Shown, Does show, and Will Show Mercy (vv. 50-53).
6.  Jesus Christ is the True King Who is Coming Again.

The Judgment Coming

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Judgment is in fact already here.  Judgment has come.  As Christians we must learn to live righteously in a godless nation, godless generation, and within a lukewarm church.

For the nation of Judah it seems that the North was the direction from which judgment would come. I think it interesting to note a Psalm that directs our attention to the North without naming the North. It is Psalm 75, and it says, “Do not lift up your horn on high; do not speak with a stiff neck.’ For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” (vv.5-7). You notice the silence concerning North? Does Judgment come from the North? In the case of Israel and Judah it does.

Hear what the LORD spoke to Jeremiah:

“And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, ‘What seest thou?’ And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.  Then the LORD said unto me, ‘Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.'”  Jeremiah 1:13-16 (KJV)

The judgment of which Jeremiah warned was coming on all the inhabitants of the land. It seems that the noble people, those of notable birth, or those who have great wealth sometimes think, “Oh, that won’t happen to us” or “We can become a part of the upper society people, and we can just fit in”, but the prophet’s message from the LORD is judgment on “all the inhabitants of the land”. Judgment is not a pleasant thing to talk about, but when the LORD calls you and gives you a message to proclaim, and tells you not to withhold a word, then you better obey.

Every preacher, and especially pastors would love to spend all their preaching, preaching of the goodness, love, grace, mercy of God. We would be thrilled just to always be preaching about the good we see in our fellow human beings, because there are good things done, there are good lives lived, and people saving physical lives; and encouraging others. The preacher, the pastor is not the man of God he should be, if he preaches not that we are sinners; condemned, dying and that our only hope of salvation is through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. To preach the cross of Jesus you must tell why He died on the cross, that means talking about our darkness of sin. We must tell why the Father had to judge His own perfect, sinless Son, turn His back on Him; and why Jesus went through that horrible three hours of total darkness while He was stretched between heaven and hell. We must preach that God made Him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

The judgment coming on Judah was coming from the north. It was in fact, coming from God. It was the plan of Jeremiah’s father, his family, and Jeremiah that he would be a priest in Jerusalem. That was a ministry that was much respected in Jeremiah’s day, and that of his family. Jeremiah even had plans of marriage, but that was not to come about. We will see that in a later word from God to the prophet. Prophets of God do not choose to be prophets; they are called by God to be prophets. That is the prophet Jeremiah. Prophets who call themselves serve themselves, lead others astray, and despise God’s prophets.

The judgment coming to Jerusalem was like all the kingdoms of the north were coming to set up quarters, homes, or shop right in the gates of the city. They would be encamping all around. The people of Judah would no longer be free. Not only is this against the city of Jerusalem but all the cities of Judah. This would include Bethlehem and Bethel.

The coming of these people of the kingdoms of the north was God’s utterance against their forsaking the LORD. There were those who were worshipping the LORD, but few and far between. Those who were worshipping were probably remaining silent. The priests who were praising God in their hearts and worshipping him, must have been silent concerning the condition of the hearts and lives of the people; thus were allowing them to continue to live in their sin and rebellion. Therefore, they were not the priests of God that they should have been. Take the offering the people bring no matter the true condition of their heart, or that they had been to the temple of Baal, and participated in those rituals. They will be okay as long as they are faithful to the temple of God. LIES, LIES, LIES. God is not glorified except with total devotion, commitment, and worship to Him and to Him alone.

Even though a man and/or woman may attend worship on Sunday morning, evening, Wednesday evening, and anytime the church house door is open, but they live for themselves the other days of the week, the rest of the time, and glorify not God with their life and living; they worship not, and love not the LORD with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. They have, in fact, forsaken the Lord, and “worship the works of their own hands”.

I want no man, woman, boy or girl to be without hope.   I do, however, want you to have meaningful hope.  Hope that will come to pass.  Meaningful hope endures the times we face.  Meaningful  hope looks to the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ; and His promise of returning to earth to reclaim.  That is the Christian’s hope.  We look forward to seeing Jesus the Christ, Son of the Living GOD.

Spurgeon: “Thou hatest wickedness”

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The following is from “Morning and Evening” devotions by Charles H. Spurgeon.  The morning reading for May 29.

Psalm 45:7
Thou hatest wickedness.

“Be ye angry, and sin not.” There can hardly be goodness in a man if he be not angry at sin; he who loves truth must hate every false way. How our Lord Jesus hated it when the temptation came! Thrice it assailed Him in different forms, but ever He met it with, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” He hated it in others; none the less fervently because He showed His hate oftener in tears of pity than in words of rebuke; yet what language could be more stern, more Elijah-like, than the words, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer.” He hated wickedness, so much that He bled to wound it to the heart; He died that it might die; He was buried that He might bury it in His tomb; and He rose that He might for ever trample it beneath His feet. Christ is in the Gospel, and that Gospel is opposed to wickedness in every shape. Wickedness arrays itself in fair garments, and imitates the language of holiness; but the precepts of Jesus, like His famous scourge of small cords, chase it out of the temple, and will not tolerate it in the Church. So, too, in the heart where Jesus reigns, what war there is between Christ and Belial! And when our Redeemer shall come to be our Judge, those thundering words, “Depart, ye cursed” which are, indeed, but a prolongation of His life-teaching concerning sin, shall manifest His abhorrence of iniquity. As warm as is His love to sinners, so hot is His hatred of sin; as perfect as is His righteousness, so complete shall be the destruction of every form of wickedness. O thou glorious champion of right, and destroyer of wrong, for this cause hath God, even Thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.

My prayer is that God will use these words to convict us to hate sin as He hates sin.

-posted by Tim A. Blankenship

Charles H. Spurgeon 081411

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The following is the evening reading from C. H. Spurgeons MORNING AND EVENING devotional readings for August 13.  It is about God’s memory.

Evening …

Genesis 9:15
‘And I will remember My covenant.’

Mark the form of the promise. God does not say, “And when ye shall look upon the bow, and ye shall remember My covenant, then I will not destroy the earth,” but it is gloriously put, not upon our memory, which is fickle and frail, but upon God’s memory, which is infinite and immutable. “The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant.” Oh! it is not my remembering God, it is God’s remembering me which is the ground of my safety; it is not my laying hold of His covenant, but His covenant’s laying hold on me. Glory be to God! the whole of the bulwarks of salvation are secured by divine power, and even the minor towers, which we may imagine might have been left to man, are guarded by almighty strength. Even the remembrance of the covenant is not left to our memories, for we might forget, but our Lord cannot forget the saints whom He has graven on the palms of His hands. It is with us as with Israel in Egypt; the blood was upon the lintel and the two side-posts, but the Lord did not say, “When you see the blood I will pass over you,” but “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” My looking to Jesus brings me joy and peace, but it is God’s looking to Jesus which secures my salvation and that of all His elect, since it is impossible for our God to look at Christ, our bleeding Surety, and then to be angry with us for sins already punished in Him. No, it is not left with us even to be saved by remembering the covenant. There is no linsey-wolsey here-not a single thread of the creature mars the fabric. It is not of man, neither by man, but of the Lord alone. We should remember the covenant, and we shall do it, through divine grace; but the hinge of our safety does not hang there-it is God’s remembering us, not our remembering Him; and hence the covenant is an everlasting covenant.

I pray it is a blessing to your heart and life today

-Tim A. Blankenship

Morning Devotion from C. H. Spurgeon

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I read the morning devotion for June 10 by Charles Spurgeon this morning, and it touched my heart.  I want to share with the few who come here.

Romans 14:8
We live unto the Lord.

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, He might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are His children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from His lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is-they are here that they may “live unto the Lord,” and may bring others to know His love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the “salt of the earth,” to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for Him, and as “workers together with Him.” Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to “the praise of the glory of His grace.” Meanwhile we long to be with Him, and daily sing-

“My heart is with Him on His throne,
And ill can brook delay;
Each moment listening for the voice,
‘Rise up, and come away.'”

I pray the Lord uses this to draw you nearer to Him.

T.A.

The Secret Place

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You may remember, when you were young, having a place you could go to be away from others; family, friends, etc., and have time alone.  Maybe you went there when you were angry at someone; like Mom or Dad.  This was a place only you knew about; at least you thought so.  Let me tell you about a place for all ages of folks.  A place you can go to be alone with God.  It is a place of protection, encouragement, and many other blessings.  A place for receiving His message.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” Psalm 91:1 (KJV).

This is the place the follower of Jesus Christ lives. We never want or desire to live apart from the presence of the LORD. It is a genuine, real place. When you are with Him He speaks with you. He comforts you. He encourages you. At the times it is necessary He will correct you. Oh what a place it is; to dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

Here is one of the most wonderful promises of God’s Word.  It is wonderful because there is nothing so glorious as being in the “Secret place of the Most High” God.  You might be asking, “Just where is that secret place?”.  It is quite frankly not hard to find.  God is near you.  That secret place is in His presence.

To dwell in that secret place is to live in His presence.  You live in His presence by being in His Word; reading it, studying, praying, praising, and glorifying Him in word, song, praise and worship, and in the very acts of your life: with your acts living out the words that you speak.

The “Most High” is the One who is our creator.  He is our Sustainer.  He is our hope, our tower of strength, our sword, and our shield.  He could also be called our Exceeding Great Reward.

“Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty” is a place of protection; a place of shelter; not to keep us from the storms of life, but to take us through them.  Dwell in that secret place and you shall “Abide under the shadow of the Almighty”.

-Tim A. Blankenship

He Goes Before You…

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“…Go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you” Mark 16:7

Have you ever done something wrong, and you felt ashamed about it?  I really believe the answer to that question is, that all of us have.  We feel there is no way of recovering that friendship that was lost.  There is no way of restoring the personal credibility which was thrown away because of a word that was spoken; or words that were spoken.  There is no way they will ever trust me again.

You know?  Those thoughts are all lies.  Especially when it comes to the Lord Jesus.  You see Jesus had warned the disciples that they would flee from Him (Mark 14:27-28), but Peter had said, “If I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in any wise.” (Mark 14:29, 31).

When it had happened; just as Jesus had said (Mark 14:66-72), Peter went and, “he wept” (v. 72).  He was grieved for his denying  His Savior.  He probably felt as though there was no going back, there was no hope.  However, when Jesus has risen from the grave, the angel says, “Go… tell His disciples and Peter…”.  Jesus was still including Peter in the group.  He will with you and I as well.

Isn’t it wonderful and marvelous to know that even when we have fallen, Jesus is there to pick us up and set us back in His way.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Becoming A Hero Of The Faith

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Caleb is a hero of the Scriptures.  He is heroic in faith.  He is a champion of the Lord.  Wouldn’t it be great to be known by others as a champion of the LORD.  Let’s look at a time in Caleb’s life.  At this point they have reached a destination and battles have been fought and won, and some lost.

“Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel“  Joshua 14:14 (KJV).

Caleb was one of two who when they had returned from spying out the Promised Land, before they would enter it, who had the faith to enter after seeing that there was a hard war to be fought (READ Numbers chapter 13).  Because of his faith he and Joshua were the only people over the age of 20, at the time of the rebellion, that was allowed to enter and dwell in the Promised Land.

Now, we see Caleb being rewarded once again.  In verse 12 we find Caleb saying, “Give me this mountain”, and he said it knowing there were “Giants” in that mountain.  He thrived in the struggle.  His further statement was, “If so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.”

O, how the one’s who follow Jesus Christ need this heart of faith.  To not be hindered by the barriers, and some of those are self imposed.  To not be loaded down with the baggage of fear and doubt.  How was it that Caleb could go and conquer?

“Because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel”.  Let’s be sure we wholly follow the Lord Jesus, Son of God, King of kings, and LORD of lords.  Through faith in Jesus Christ we can take that mountain that looks daunting at the moment.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Eat Heartily

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Today we look into the Prophets of the Old Testament.  These men were truly men of God who stood firm against the evil of their day; which was not unlike our own day.  We look into the prophet Jeremiah.

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”  Jeremiah 15:16 (KJV).

The Word of God seems to have  been precious/dear to all those prophets of the Old Testament.  They all mention it in one way or another, and they endeavor to live by it and be pleasing to the LORD God.  There were times that the Word of God was not being proclaimed, nor was what they had preached being heard and practiced.  At those times were the times when God was being silent.

The prophet Jeremiah had a heart for God and His Word.  The Word was not lost except to the people, because they had not, nor would not hear it.  God brought Jeremiah to His Word.  Jeremiah devoured the Word, and found it to be “…the joy and rejoicing of mine heart”.  The Word of God is dear to those whose hearts are with the God of the Word.

Do you enjoy God’s silence?  I do not.  Is God really ever silent when we have His written word by our side, in our hand, and before our eyes?  Only if we do not hear it and apply it to our lives.  Let’s endeavor to be as Jeremiah.  When we “Find” the Word; let’s eat it heartily, then joy and rejoice in it.

When God is silent is the time for personal heart searching, praying, crying out to Him; and He will hear.

-Tim A. Blankenship

The Body, And The Blood

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“Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?”  John 6:67 (NKJV)

For those who do not want to accept the fact of the deity of Jesus Christ; the fact that Jesus Himself said that He and His Father are one; the fact that He said, “He that has seen Me has seen the Father”, and so much more; leaving is what you have done and invented your own Jesus.

Jesus had given many hard and heavy truths concerning Himself in chapter six.  One of the last one’s mentioned is that, “…no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father” (v. 65).  Then, we are told that, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more”.  What disciples were these?  It most certainly was not the twelve.  It was the twelve He asked the above question.  They were still with Him.

The “disciples” who left were partly those who had followed Jesus because they saw Him doing miracles.  They were following Jesus because they supposed, most likely, that they would receive something from Him.  Maybe a place on His administrative board when He set up His kingdom.  Maybe they followed Him just out of curiosity, or for the power they thought they might achieve.  Even today, in business, and more and more so within the Christian community we hear things like, “You need to get near those who are the movers and shakers if yo want to become a mover and shaker”.  If there was ever a man who was a mover and a shaker it was Jesus Christ.  When things didn’t sound right to those followers they just left.

Jesus had talked to them about “eating My flesh” and “drink His blood”, and some of that may have not been understood.  It was something that demanded whole-hearted commitment.  You could not be selfish, prideful or arrogant.  When they heard Him talking and teaching; and had seen His miracles it was easy to follow Him, but now, now that He made these claims, what were they to think?

The twelve faithful disciples sat ever diligent, listening, learning, and Jesus questions them, “Do you also want to go away?”  To which the disciples responded; Peter speaking first, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (vv. 68-69).

If the other disciples would have held that belief they would have continued to walk with Jesus.  Oh, how we need to follow Jesus simply for who He is.  He is worthy of our love, devotion, commitment, and worship.  Yes!  I said worship.  Deity – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – is worthy of our worship.  If you have taken of the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus then, you know who He is and you worship, praise and glorify Him.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Heart To Go

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Prophet’s Possible Perspective

Awesome is the cleansing power of the LORD God. The coal taken from the altar by the angel was a fierce burning heat, purging my unclean lips of their filth.

The presence of the glory of the LORD is truly something wonderful. He came to me and asked me a question. Here are His words –

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” Isaiah 6:8-10 (KJV)

One thing I know from God’s calling on my life and that is that He truly loves this people of His. He is gracious, loving, forgiving, and full of mercy. He has placed a burden on my heart for this rebellious and stubborn people. There is judgment that is coming because this people has grown so complacent, and apathetic.

When the LORD asked the question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” I immediately responded, “I will go. Send me.” I have seen the chaos of my peoples lives. There are few who are following the LORD, and they are not the elite among us. There is a family scattered here and there whose heart’s are given to the worship of the LORD of hosts. They can make very little impact with the immoral leadership of our nation. People usually follow the moral direction of their leadership.

We are a prosperous nation. There is much wealth among us, and no one sees any danger on the horizon, but it is coming whether they see it or not. That is the reason I have answered God’s call to go and preach to this people, even with the caveats He has given me concerning their reactions to His Word.

They will keep on hearing, but not understand; keep on seeing, but not perceive. Their hearts will be made dull. Their ears made heavy with the preaching of the Word, and simply because it is continually rejected. O, that my people would hear and obey. Do they not know that the more they hear and reject the more they will grow lethargic to God and His Word. They hear themselves into disobedience and rebellion. They have grown cold and God just seems to be a convenience, rather than the person of devotion and worship He is truly worthy of.

It is sad that I am to be the instrument of God that will cause the truth of God’s Word to be hidden from their hearts and minds. It is only because their hearts have grown hard. When people continue to turn a deaf ear to the Word of God and His way for their lives they will not hear and obey when judgment is imminent, and that is the way of the ministry to which I have been called. There will be little to no repentance. Call on the name of the LORD while you have the heart for it. Do not delay.

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near…” Isaiah 55:6 (KJV)

-Tim A. Blankenship