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PASTOR KEN FRALEY NOW WITH THE LORD

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ken fraley

 

 

 

 

 

 

“At approximately 9:30 a.m., EST today, My dad took his final steps into heaven. Please remember my family in your prayers. -Andrea-

Sandy Fraley Stockton

“Dad’s funeral will be Saturday Oct. 5th at First Baptist in Milford, Ohio at 10:30 am – visitation starting at 9:30. We will also have a memorial open house in Palm Bay, Florida … details to be determined. William Childs Hospice House was an amazing blessing to our family. I’m so glad my sister was here with us at just the right time, and Debbie & Chuck are here from IL at the right time. God’s hand has been very present through this difficult time. My Aunt & Uncle made it in today and we’re glad to have them here. Special thanks to my in-laws Sharon & Dale for their amazing generosity and thoughtfulness and Mother &Father-in-law for coming every day and for her making those special cinnamon rolls. God’s blessings to everyone who brought food, sent cards, called and texted or FBd. Thank you Dixie for being such a great friend! We are blessed.”

Pastor Ken Fraley was one of my precious friends. Our families spent many wonderful hour in fellowship over the years. I met Brother Fraley at Midwestern Baptist College 47 years ago. Our last time together was a Branson Missouri…He and Gena have two wonderful daughters; Andrea, and Sandy. Brother Fraley will be missed. Thankfully, those of us who know Jesus as Savior, will be reunited. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.  We love you.

 

ALBERT BARNS ON PREACHING

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arrors target

Posted By Ken Blue

Many preachers have no objective for the sermons they preach, other than to preach the sermon. They have no thought-out purpose, thus they expect little or no results. They are seldom disappointed. This article, written by Albert Barns, deals with the skill and preciseness that every pastor should learn to perfect as he asks the question, “Why am I selecting this subject, and what results do I expect from it?”

“Men who preach should endeavor to understand the nature of the mind and of the moral feelings, as really as he who would inflict a deadly wound should endeavor to understand enough about anatomy to know where the heart is, or he who administers medicine should endeavor to know what is adapted to remove certain diseases. And he who has no belief in the efficacy of truth to produce any effect, resembles one who should suppose that all knowledge of the human system was needless to him who wished and who should cut at random– to perform a surgical operations piously leaving it with God to direct the knife; or he who should go into a hospital of patients, and administer medicines indiscriminately-devoutly saying, that all healing must come from God, and that the use of medicine was only to show its own weakness! Thus many men seem to preach. Yet, for aught that appears, truth is just as wisely adapted to save the soul, as medicine is to heal the sick; and why, then, should not a preacher be as careful to study the nature of truths and its adaptedness to a particular end, as a student of the healing art is to understand the adaptedness of medicine to cure disease? The true way of preaching is, to feel that truth is adapted to the end in view; to select that which is best fitted for that end; to preach as if the whole result depended on getting that truth before the mind and into the heart, and then to leave the whole result with God–as a physicians with right feelings, will exert all his skill to save his patient, and then commit the whole question of life and health to God. He will be more likely to praise God intelligently who believes that he has wisely adapted a plan to the end in view, than he who believes that God works only at random.”-Barns Notes

 

NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

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How the Word of God exposes man.

camouflage snake

 

 

 

 

 

By Ken Blue

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:11-12.

The context is revealing that there is nothing in our life that is hidden from the all-knowing eye of God. The Word of God is the instrument He uses to lay open all our thoughts and intents. Man may not be aware of these himself, but the Word of God exposes all to the individual. Heb. 4:13.

The Word of God is “quick,” or alive.

No other book on earth is like the Word of God! Men discover that not only is it alive, it is life giving. It speaks to the inner man in a multitude of ways. It pleads, it warns, it comforts, it convicts, it leads, and it guides. Of all the books ever written, it is the only one that has life, and imparts life.

The Word of God is powerful.

It has power to revive the spiritually dead. It has power to save, and to sanctify. It makes the week strong. It fills the hopeless with hope. It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces. It can take the heart of stone and reduce it to powder or clay. Therefore, it has the power to convict, to convert, and condemn.

The Word of God is piercing, and there is no limit to its reach.

Not only must the priest kill and skin the sacrifice, it must also be dismembered. A sharp knife was required to separate the joints of the bones. Thus, the priest was getting deeper inside the slain animal with each cut. Just so, the Word of God does more that skin us. It pierces to the very joints that hold us together. No wonder Isaiah could say, “…Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Isaiah 6:5. Many souls have cried those words as they read or heard the Word of God. It dismembers us, and who can stand under its all piercing eye?

The Word of God is a discerner of our thoughts and the intents of the heart.

Many times these are hidden from our own eyes. But, the Word of God goes even deeper and reveals these to us. You may ask, how much deeper can it Go? The priest’s knife had the ability to divide the very bones and reveal the marrow. That is where the blood was made. The skeleton hid the marrow, but with the priest’s knife God lays wide the bones, and exposes the deepest, innermost part of the animal. This is what the Word of God does. It exposes those secret part of our life, and lays bare the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Now we can understand why lost men hate the Book, and why backslidden Christians ignore it. They cannot hide from its all seeing eyes. Oh, how it ought to make us tremble, as we contemplate the truth that the outward man, and the deepest recesses of our soul are naked before Him.

 

 

THE FOOLISH RICH FARMER

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JNS.RoadSalt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Ken Blue

 

The farm of a rich man,

Yielded him his reward.

His barns were filled with grain,

But he forgot the Lord.

 

This year was unusual;

His land brought forth tenfold.

The fields produced a harvest,

His barns could not hold.

 

He tore down the old barns,

Large ones will solve my plight.

It didn’t occurred to him,

His soul would leave that night.

 

As you plan to retire,

To take your rest, and ease.

Tonight could be the night,

Then who will possess these?

 

Each man is a poor man,

No matter what his hoard.

His soul’s in poverty,

Who dies without the Lord.  

 

LET’S STUDY REVELATION #46

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REVELON BOOK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continue our studies in Revelation. We are discussing which nations comprise the beast. Commentators vary somewhat as to who these ancient kings are.

Dake says they are:

1.    Egypt

2.    Assyria

3.    Babylon

4.    Medo-Persia

5.    Greece

6.    The old Roman Empire

7.    The 10 kingdoms that are yet to be formed inside the Roman Empire.

The heads on the dragon are seven world empires that precede the coming of the Antichrist. Chapter 17 gives us more insight to these seven Gentiles powers. John says, “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space” (Revelation 17:10). The next verse (Revelation 17:11) says that there will be an eighth king.

We believe the five Gentile powers which had fallen are:

1.    Egypt

2.    Assyria

3.    Babylon

4.    Medo-Persia

5.    Greece

Now we know the red dragon represents Satan as a bloodthirsty murderer. The seven heads symbolize seven Gentile powers used by him to persecute Israel. The ten horns symbolize ten future leaders who will make up the seventh head.

These ten horns are ten kings and comprise the seventh head, which will form an alliance in the future with Israel and between each other. They will comprise the fourth kingdom seen in Daniel’s vision.  Daniel 7:7 says, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”

Daniel goes on to say in Daniel 7:19-20,  “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;  And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.”

These ten rule for a short time with the Antichrist, in the Day of the Lord.  Revelation 17:12 says, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.” There can be no doubt that the seven heads on the dragon are seven Gentile kingdoms which comprise the whole beast. This beast has and will continue to persecute Israel to the end.

        “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” (v. 4).  “The tail” of the dragon is associated with his last acts in heaven. This, no doubt, happens at the same time he is cast out in verse 7. As he is evicted, he draws a third part of his angels with him. He has been unable to stop two witnesses and in his desperation casts a third of his host to the earth to fight against them. Remember, the events in these chapters begin at the three and one-half year point in the Tribulation.

Although the attempt to destroy Israel from Genesis 3:15 continues, Satan intensifies his efforts during these last three and one-half years.  Notice what Jesus says about those awful days. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

Israel will receive her long awaited King of kings and experience the New Birth spoken of by Jesus in John 3. The labor pains are evident. Thus, Satan stands ready to destroy the new nation before it can come to birth.

Here it states that the “man child” (v. 5) was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. The promise to the Jewish assembly of Thyatira will be revisited here. Revelation 2:26-27, “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” There will be those who will rule the nations with Christ. They, too, will rule with a rod of iron.

Dake believes the Man Child consists of the sealed 144,000. This may be so. It is evident that a remnant of national Israel will come to birth and will be God’s Son. “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” (Exodus 4:22).  Israel must be born again and become a New Nation! (See John 3:5-8; Isaiah 66:6.) This was offered by Jesus to Israel at His first advent. That is what the earthly ministry of John, Jesus and the Twelve was all about. It had nothing to do with the founding of the church of this dispensation.

In Acts 2, Jesus was caught up to heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. However, we also find the 144,000 caught up to heaven in chapter 14 of Revelation. In Revelation 7, they are sealed for protection. In chapter 14 they are seen on MountZion in heaven! One need not ask how they got there. They were caught up to God, and to His throne. This happened somewhere just prior to the Second Advent. In relation to the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, 2,000 years have elapsed between verses 5 and 6.