JeffHarpole.com

It was said of a reckless son that he had dodged tragedy on multiple occasions; that he was “living on borrowed time.”  The cliché’ came to mind when I read of the Power of God’s Mercy regarding the Children of Israel. How many times they failed and God recovered them is beyond the telling.  If truth be told, we all are living on Mercy’s Time. Of course not everyone embraces this truth. The religious, self-righteous, pious people who believe themselves above failure; they trust in themselves more than God’s covering. If a man thinks he stands, Take Heed… he will fall.…

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Mark 12:1  And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. The parable of Jesus is descriptive and shines light on both the Old Testament Temple and Jewish nation as a whole.  In the O.T. the Temple was rebuilt, but still suffered the influence of false gods and idols.  It wasn’t until Nehemiah rebuilt the walls around the Temple that worship regained its integrity.  The…

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Upon hearing the Gospel, the Ethiopian Eunuch asked Philip the question, “What hinders me from being baptized?”  This was the opening step that led to the New Birth experience for a man of position and authority, but notice that his query came before his conversion and it entailed a “What?”  The answer of course was that nothing was in his way.  There was no reason or thing that kept him from being baptized.  For the seeker and sinner, there are many “things” that get in the way of salvation.  Before we come to obey Acts 2:38, life is in the…

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What I write to you is layered with meaning. From the fall in the Garden to this day, we all have been separated from God and from one another.  We’ve also struggled with our internal thoughts.  We began separated from God; one another, and self, meaning that we do not see ourselves correctly. Repentance is the path back to God. The love of Christ then brings us into fellowship with one another, but it is that last portion of self that is the most conflicting. The struggle of that final separation is revealed in marriage and homes. The inner man/woman must be…

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Proverbs 18:22  Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. Yesterday, twenty-two years ago I found a good thing.  I’ve blinked my eye and the time raced by.  She is the love of my life and I stand on the foundation that our marriage has built. From the start we were ministering to people; preaching revivals, youth camps, conventions; conducting seminars; leading churches, but the existence of our ministry came from the strength of our marriage.  If we were in dispute, our ministry suffered.  If we were in unity, our message was effective.  The basis of…

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Exodus 33:7  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. In the text we know that the first tabernacle was not placed in the middle of the people; it was “afar off from the camp.”  To seek God, they had to leave their dwelling and make the journey. Though everyone was invited, Moses did not make it convenient.  Prayer,…

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1 Pet 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:   To be sure, the enemy of your soul will do whatever he can to bring destruction to your life. We know that The Battlefield is the mind and there are no limits to which the enemy will go to replace our faith with doubt. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:”  John 10:10 Every step we make toward God is a step away from the grip…

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When Jesus said in Matt. 7, “Judge not that ye be not judged,” He was talking about condemning others. In this case, “Judge” comes from the Greek word “krino” which means to condemn, punish, or avenge.  The Bible also uses the word “Judge” when it speaks of making a determination.  This “Judge” comes from the Greek word “diakrino” which means to separate thoroughly; to withdraw from, or discern and make a determination.  In respect to these two definitions, we are commanded first not to condemn one another, lest we be condemned.  However, we are to judge or decide on the matters of…

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In regards to Vision….Out-Reach is certainly part of the mission that makes up the purpose of the Church. To see the lost saved and to teach the Gospel is a Primary, but Reaching in or “In-Reach” must also be present within the church.  We have been brought together as brothers and sisters by the Blood of Jesus Christ.  We are suppose to be the Family of God and to that end there are particular measures that we are expected to take. The Lord sees this church as His body and He is extremely concerned about how we treat each other. Consider…

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For those of you still preparing for Y2K, Twitter is a way to express a thought through a smartphone or another device.  Twitter claims 974 million accounts: 247 million are active. Facebook boasts of 1.23 billion active accounts. This says nothing of the billions of emails, Snapchat, and other forms of communication. In short, a lot of people are talking. We’ve always been talking; it’s what we do, only now we have a forum to express our every thought. The danger, of course, is that there are no filters. While there is some variance, Pew Research shows that people check their social…

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