All I Know 1 Cor. 2:2

Paul, considered one of the most educated, well studied, knowledgeable men In Jewish history made the statement to the Corinthian church, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2
Here is a man that had the ability to reason with the greatest minds of his time at Mars Hill; To persuade Kings with the eloquence and clarity of his message; To turn the world upside down and yet he determined to know one thing. All his talent and knowledge were put to one task and that was to know Jesus the Christ and His crucifixion.
This should be the endeavor of all Christians that we would take the fullness of our teaching, the prowess of our talents and the culmination of our understanding and put it to one task, To know Christ Jesus. To teach and preach Christ's crucifixion. We should be humble in our flesh knowing that there is no earthly endeavor greater than this simple task.
I say simple and yet it is not so simple for to know Christ is to know the eternal question, "Why am I here?" To know the the crucifixion is to know the answer to the question, "What is my purpose on earth?"
 While each of us were entrusted with a different set of talents and abilities we should all put them to the task of knowing this Jesus Christ that so over turned the life of Paul.
The revelation of who Jesus Christ was was revealed to him in one moment on a dusty road outside of Damascus.
"And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." With the revelation of the deity of Jesus Christ, Paul went forward in an effort to give this same revelation throughout the world. 

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd

Daily Reading. Matthew 4:4

It seems like we have had three holidays this season. Starting with Christmas then the New Year celebrations and now finally we're closing in on our sister's wedding! Needless to say the energy is flowing out but is steadily being replaced by the Joy of the Lord which is my strength.

At the close of last year my pastor, Myles Young, gave us a challenge to read the Bible through in 90 days. So beginning Jan. 1st I have been diligently working away at that endeavor and would like to challenge all my Blog friends to join me in this enriching process.

Why 90 days you might ask. The reason is because a study shows that if a person reads the Bible quicker they will more readily complete it. So rather than trying to slosh through in 12 months He has set a goal for each member to read it in just 3 months. This might seem like it would take hours each day but using a reading plan or 14 chapters a day allows you to spend only 15-20 minutes a day and make your 90 day mark.

A great resource for daily reading plans, regardless of which plan you intend to use this year, is www.biblegateway.com. They have a number of daily devotional setups and numerous other resources you may use when searching the word of Truth.

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

God Bless
J. P. Ladd

The End 1Chronicles 16:35

Thousands of years ago the Mayans, a South American society, developed a calender that recorded the measure of days. This type of calender is referred to as a Long Count Calender, because it doesn't record one year at a time but thousands of years through an ingenious form of linear mathematics that allows one to continuously add dates. Ultimately though, as is so often with finite measurements, this calender had to come to an end and it just so happens that this calender recorded time up to December 21, 2012, today.

Because of this many people have been talking about and thinking about the end of the world. Were the Mayans predicting the end to come today? Was there a prophetic anomaly that we didn't know of? Why end this year? The answers to these questions may never be fully known but the obvious answer would be, it had to end some day so, why not today.
 Many people have chuckled over the idea of the world ending today while others have frantically prepared themselves for the end. Although the question arises how one should prepare for the end of the world? But this conversation has brought to the forefront an important subject that we as Christians should be talking about. The Day of the Lord.
Matthew 24 records Jesus speaking of the Day of the Lord and how terrible and frightening it will be and that man should prepare himself for that day with soberness. But he also taught us that,
"of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Mark 13:32
So spending our lives trying to predict the exact day Christ will return is a fruitless endeavor. It is important though to understand that the Lord is returning and to be continually sober minded watching the sky for the coming of the Lord and striving to live a life that will be pleasing to our soon coming King. I think one of my favorite selections from the Bible on the subject comes from 1 Chronicles chapter sixteen:

 "And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise." 1Chronicles 16:35

The Lord is returning of that have no worry. When? I hazard no guess but, reading and studying the prophetic work in the Bible referring to the Day of the Lord and the events that surround it have helped to enlighten me that the return will be very soon and that I must put my full attention to the work of Christ and the Chruch while I am still here.
 I look forward to that day when I can be in His presence to "give thanks to [His] holy name, and glory in [His] praise." But, until then I am hard at work preparing for His coming and spreading the good news of salvation from that great and terrible day to every soul I come in contact with! Like the wise bridesmaids the Church should have a full vessel, full of saved souls that will burn brightly for the Lord. I encourage you to help save a soul for "and he that winneth souls is wise." Prov 11:30

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd

One Body Eph. 4:4

As part of my studies recently I have followed the historical progress that culminated in the converging of several Oneness organizations to create the UPCI fellowship over 67 years ago. The spirit of liberty and a personal hunger to join forces into one church body, unified together as the apostles in one mind to help grow the kingdom of God on earth, prevailed in the hearts of these early ministers and laymen. Yes there were disagreements on how to run a singular group. And still more concerns on the laws and precepts to govern them as a group. But ultimately, in the spirit of humility, they concluded that beyond adhering to the form of salvation laid out in the word (Acts 2:38) that the Spirit would establish the precepts.

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" Ephesians 4:4

Lately we have had a surge of personal sentiment that has torn asunder the church fellowship and while thinking about these things another great civil war was brought to mind. The American Civil War was fought when two groups, failing to agree on personal convictions, clashed. It was in this dark hour that Abraham Lincoln gave a moving speech we know today as the Gettysburg Address. I have copied and altered these words slightly to reflect upon the current condition of our fellowship and hope that it might inspire some. and that we would all learn a lesson from our forefathers, both spiritual and national.

"Threescore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new fellowship, conceived in the Spirit, and dedicated to the proposition that one God created all men equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that fellowship, or any fellowship so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great spiritual battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of our prayers, for those who have given their lives, that that fellowship might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this memory. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this fellowship, under God, shall have a new birth of Spirit, and that government of the people, by the Spirit, for the Kingdom, shall not perish from the earth.

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd

Promises- John 14:18 the comforter

On days like today you hope to have the perfect words that will bring comfort and peace, but I don't think there are any perfect words. The most we can do is pray for those going through this tragedy and love those close to us like never before.

    John 14:18
    I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

We are praying for the families and friends affected in Connecticut tonight. May God be with you all and peace from the Comforter.We cannot politicize this, though there are many who will. We should however turn an introspective eye inward to consider the effects our rampant Godlessness is having upon this nation. The answers do not lie in relying upon more government or psychological interventions. These would be tantamount to putting a band-aid on a breaking dam and have proven to be woefully insufficient in times past. We must instead turn from our wicked anti-theistic path and humble ourselves and seek intervention from a higher power. I pray, rather than pointing fingers in every direction, the nation joins hands tonight and finds it in themselves to pray for each other.

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd

2Corinthians 8:5

Poverty. Affliction. Trial. I have begun and erased this post three times already because the issues are so applicable and sensitive for to this generation. Yes we live with great blessing but seem to always totter on the edge of failure. No matter how hard we work we seem to be losing money rather than gaining.
This is not a new phenomenon the Bible records the Macedonian Churches going through this same affliction in 2Chronicles chapter 8. Paul describes the situation as not only affliction but "A great trial of affliction"; not only poverty but "deep poverty". He painted this picture in hopes to convey that even in the midst of great trials the grace of God brings joy and an abundance of riches that can be passed on.
The Macedonian churches did not sit and bemoan their situations or gather and decry the unjustness of Christs burden upon them. On the contrary He shows that their great affliction brought forth "the abundance of their joy' and their deep poverty "abounded unto their riches of liberality."
Even in trial these people found a way to be joyful and give like they had never given before. How is this possible? How did they give so much, emotionally and physically, even when they had so little? The answer is in the fifth verse.

"And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God."

They didn't begin by giving large offerings to support the ministry. They began by giving their will to the will of God. They didn't have any riches so they gave of their time and bodies and talents. These were saints that decided "Even if I lose all my earthly possessions I will still trust the Lord." They were like Job as he went through the same process.
Financial uncertainty is no new thing. The enemy knows that a man is concerned with providing for those he loves and so the devvil attacks our ability to provide first. The goal is to steal our joy. But while we are at our deepest moment of poverty if we will still decide to give what we have to God and the Ministry. Our time, our talents, our abilities and our joy like Job and the Macedonians, then God will be faithful to give us and abundance of blessings so that we may further His will on earth.

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd

The Head of the Church John 3:16

Every religion will try to convince you of the importance of their deity or prophet. Muslims proclaim the supremacy of Muhammad's prophecies, Mormon's base their theology on the works of John Smith, Buddhists will laud the teachings of Buddha as the cornerstone upon which theology is founded, and on and on. Each religion espousing their leadership as superior to all others. But we must hold each life up to the light of truth and ask ourselves: Which leader truly reflects what it means to be a leader?

 The first thing we must understand about leadership is that a true leader must be completely selfless. Leadership and selfishness are not compatible in any way, shape or form. A leader must be willing to sacrifice all for the betterment of those that follow him. With this understanding we see that only one leader has made the ultimate sacrifice not only because He laid down His life for His followers but because He did so with a goal in mind.

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

 Jesus is the cornerstone upon which Christianity is founded. And as such laid down His own life not for His gain but so that those that followed Him would be covered. From the beginning man has been unable through our sinful nature to enter into the presence and life of God but seeing this shortcoming He descended from heaven clothed in the flesh of Jesus and laid down His life as the ultimate sacrifice that as a sinless offering suffering the shame and pain of a sinners death took upon himself the debt of sin and paid it off for all who followed. This gift is given to all as Acts chapter 2 illustrates and it is by this token act of selflessness that Christ Jesus is crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
No other theological leader in history has made this sacrifice for man simply because no other leader could profess the sinless nature of deism as Christ had. And as such Christ Jesus is the first leader of theology and all religious teaching must mirror or image itself after the life and teachings of Christ and if they do not then they are heretical by nature.

God Bless,
J.P. Ladd