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Introduction To God’s Magnificent Sevens

Introduction To God’s Magnificent Sevens One thing that has intrigued me the last few years in my Bible studying especially is all the sevens that I and others have found in the Bible. Of course, we all know the mainstream ones people talk about, such as Jesus’ seven I Ams in the Gospel of John; Jesus’ seven sayings from the cross; the seven churches, seals, trumpets and vials in the book of Revelation. Even though the word seven and sevens occur 54 times in Revelation, there are countless more, such as a word or phrase occurring seven times in that book (or a multiple of seven, which has the same symbolic meaning), seven people or groups in view, a passage having seven things happening in it, a sevenfold list given, seven names or types of statements, a sevenfold approach to the whole book. We can also find all of these and so many more in the Bible as a whole. Sevens (or a multiple of that number) means completion or perfection in the Bible. Often it is used to show a complete range ...
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Shirley Goodnest And Marcy

Shirley Goodnest And Marcy A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her. Mrs. Goodnest said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed. The next school day, Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor boy he knew. She did this for the whole week. As the boys walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally he said to Timmy, “Have you noticed that lady following us...
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The Necklace

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the source I got this story from. The Necklace There is no usefulness except in the Lordship of Jesus. Do not feel sorry for those who permit Him to be Lord in their lives; they are enjoying billion-dollar diamonds while you play with tawdry ten-cent store tinsel. Joy unspeakable and full of glory is ours when He is truly Lord of our lives. The story is told of an evangelist, of another generation, who lived in Chicago. He and his wife had only one daughter. At the time of the experience, which I am about to relate, this little girl was almost 10 years of age. She was beautiful and had long, blond, curly hair. For several years, since she had been large enough, she had met her dad at the door when he came in from his office and/or special meetings. She would have his house shoes and bath robe in the living room, along with a cold coke or lemonade. When he was comfortably seated, she would crawl into his lap and smother him with hugs and kisses saying, ...
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The Fifth Sparrow

This is an illustration I read years ago. It shows how the Lord values each one of us. When you are feeling worthless or of little value, remember to Him you are like this fifth sparrow! The Fifth Sparrow Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. I ran across a short story that illustrates well the truth of these verses. It’s about a poor Spanish boy who became a devoted Christian. A man asked how he had become converted, and the boy replied, “It was all because of the odd sparrow.” When the man asked what he meant, the boy explained, “A gentleman gave me a New Testament. I read in one Gospel that two sparrows are sold for a farthing. I read in another Gospel that five sparrows are sold for t...
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All My Blogs

  I wanted to try something new, so I created two new blogs. One new blog, called  The Substance Of Things Hoped For (Faith-based Stories and Illustration) , was created for a place for me to be able to quickly repost all the stories and illustrations that Angela Trenholm (my webpartner) had on her family site (Trenholms Of Kelowna).  EarnestlyContending.com  (our domain and the central hub for all our personal sites) got repeatedly hacked a little over two years ago and we lost all the content and had to rebuild from scratch. It is a lot of work trying to repost articles, stories, songs, etc. that were posted from approximately 21 years ago onwards, but I am making a valiant effort. Doing it in a blog format also gives me the opportunity to easily add new content. The second blog is for posting Daily Devotionals once again - devotionals and poems. I had done that for several years back in 2004 onwards, but eventually it became too much work to keep doing that projec...
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To Sacrifice A Son - An Allegory

To Sacrifice a Son - An Allegory by Dennis E. Hensley There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it. A switchman sat in a shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights. He stepped onto the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was about to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was no...
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Make It Better

Make It Better His name was Isaac, and he lived over 300 years ago in London, England. He was a very smart young man. By the time he was five years old, he had learned Latin; by the age of nine years old, he had learned Greek; by twelve years of age, Isaac had mastered French and Hebrew. He was gifted musically and showed great potential. As a teen, he became dissatisfied with the music in his home church. Keep in mind that this was 300 years ago in England. His family attended the very formal Church of England where almost all of the music consisted of high church anthems. Isaac felt like they should sing songs about Christ and the cross. He thought that salvation and redemption should also be emphasized in the music. One day, he complained to his father, a deacon in the church, about the dead, dry, starchy service that they had just sat through. His dad rebuked him by saying, "Son, that's the way we have always sung, and if you think you can do a better job, then do it. Why ...
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