Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you
Travail in birth - until Christ be formed in you.
Painful, life is painful and you won't find any one that will tell you different. No one escapes the pain, not a single person. Some deal with the pain a lot better than others, but it doesn't mean their pain is any less. We learn from a very young age that there is pain- emotional pain involved in life. Growing up isn't easy, ask most kids and they'll tell you right off that it's not easy. Learning to behave is a trial of successes and errors. We make a mistake and we learn from the mistakes, sometimes it takes making several of the exact same mistakes before we really realize that we need to learn something. Unfortunately sometimes people never learn and keep making mistakes over and over again, the same ones even. We often learn by the degree of punishment we receive. A stern no might deter a child from touching something they aren't supposed to touch, and a stern no plus a hand tap might further deter them. A stern no and a firm spanking on the behind will get the point across even more. We all hope as parents that our children will learn from our verbal reprimands first, and even our time outs and other non-touch punishments but that's not always the case. Misbehavior and punishments go hand in hand. Mistakes and punishments go hand in hand. We all understand this as part of our growing and learning process. It's no different for our spiritual rebirth. We will suffer much as we go through our spirit birthing, and that birthing will continue until we are fully Christ's. The rebirthing process starts but won't be complete until our Savior returns.
Too many people believe the rebirthing into our new lives is instantaneous. Too many are under the impression that when they are born again they are born into this new creature that automatically abhors the old creature and all that old creatures sin filled ways. And Satan is eager for people to believe it isn't a life long process so he'll hang back and things will be amazing. You'll feel this sense of newness in your life, things will change in many ways. Then inevitably one, two months, six months, a year, maybe even two to five years later suddenly things won't seem quite the same any longer and that sense of closeness to Christ will have worn off and problems will seem insurmountable. The old man inside will be struggling to rear its ugly head and the fight is on, and all the while that impression you had of how it was supposed to be will have been obliterated and you'll begin to question everything. You'll lose faith and crash all the while wondering what happened to that new man you'd become so long ago.
The truth of the matter is- after choosing to accept Christ as our Savior we do BEGIN a new life. That new life is a LIFE LONG process of choosing Christ as our Savior no matter what we go through. Daily choosing Christ, and yes, sometimes choosing Christ moment by moment. We cannot afford to believe being a Christian is taking the smooth easy road in life, it's a life of suffering we are called to and we can find joy in that suffering because we know we are living for eternal life not for the life we have now here on earth.
Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you
Travail in birth. Such a metaphor. One we NEED to take to heart. All who are Christ's will experience this painful process… Paul did and Paul knew those he was guiding to Christ would go through it as well.
Remember this from yesterday--
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Suffering.
We suffer. We think we shouldn't have to suffer when we are plainly told we will suffer. We need to think ahead of time how we should handle our suffering. And even as I say that I realize that everyone has different suffering to endure, not all suffering is on the same level. In all suffering though we HAVE to keep our Savior first and foremost, don't we? From the smallest amount of suffering to the greatest suffering our Savior must come first. We cannot lose our faith as it is tried to the uttermost. We have to hang on to our hope, hang on to the promises given to us. We might not have anything even remotely close to a good life here and now, in fact we might have one of the worst lives ever and still we need to keep our hope in Christ and the promise we are given through Him.
If we could just get it through our minds some how and into our hearts that this life is temporary to eternity how much better off would we be?
No, I'm not saying that we don't want to have a good life here and now, it would be strange not to want good things instead of hard things, instead of bad things for ourselves and for others. The reality is though that we are fighting a battle, a war with Satan and he will NOT let things go easy for us, or if he does choose to let them go easy for us it's with deceptive purposes knowing that easy life can just as well lead us down his path and not God's.
Please Lord, please help us to understand your truth, help us to be Yours fully. Please Lord this life is so incredibly hard in so many ways and even while it's hard we know others have it immensely harder. Save us Lord, we cannot save ourselves without Your love, Your sacrifice, Your amazing grace! Please Lord, give us understanding, give us compassion, help us as we grow and travail as we seek to be more and more like You.
In Your love!
Amen.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Spiritual Rebirth
Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you
Travail in birth UNTIL Christ be formed in you.
This is an amazing verse. People love to believe that when they accept Christ as their Savior that life from there on in will be wonderful but the truth is Satan begins to attack us and He does so in ways that we don't even imagine. Some people believe that they can recognize all of Satan's ways, they look at the blatant outrageous acts and point the finger of identification at Satan. People forget to look at the small things and notice the evil one in them, yet it will be with the small things that he will gain most of his victims.
When a woman travails in birth it is a very PAINFUL process. Paul knew this, most people do know that giving birth is an extremely painful thing to do. Paul is telling those who look to him that He is going through the painful process of Spiritual birth with them until Christ is formed in them. The PAINFUL process of travailing in birth and that birth resulting in Christ being formed in them.
We NEED Christ formed in us, don't we? Seriously. We look to Christ and in looking to Him we long to be like Him, don't we? The more we are like Him the better, He is love!
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Walk in love as Christ has loved us.
Forbear one another.
Forgive one another as Christ forgave us.
Christ suffered in the flesh- we need to suffer in the flesh-when we suffer in the flesh we are ceasing from sin.
But tell people to suffer in the flesh today and they jump all over you because if you think it's appropriate to suffer in the flesh then you must not believe grace is by faith and not of works- you're working to be saved. They are WRONG!
When Christ suffered was He saved by his suffering?
Christ was saved by the Father, not by His suffering and yet He did suffer.
Christ was sinless, Christ did not break a single law of God's, a law He created with the Father before He took on flesh and was begotten as the Son.
Christ suffered for not breaking the laws.
Remember Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness? Did Christ suffer when He chose to obey God rather than listen to Satan and fall to His tempting ways? Yes. People don't want to think about that though. They think because He was God on earth that He was kept from suffering in the small ways, or in all the ways we suffered but He suffered tremendously.
So should we suffer?
Do we suffer?
What should we suffer?
Some people believe in purposely, physically inflicting pain upon themselves as if this was what was meant. It's not.
We are being reborn and this is happening while we've been born physically already. This is a spiritual rebirth and unlike a physical birth this isn't something that happens after nine months of gestation and a long hard labor. This spiritual birth is a progressive birthing, a gestation time that is undetermined.
It's hard for us to comprehend that we can be spiritually gestating, but we are, we truly are and the completion of that birthing results in our having Christ formed in us. This gestation isn't us spiritually in a warm, wet womb protected from so much and allowed to form oblivious to our surroundings. We are aware, and certainly NOT in a protected state at least not physically protected but our Savior protects our eternity.
More on this tomorrow by the grace of our Lord and Savior, all through His love!
Amen.
Travail in birth UNTIL Christ be formed in you.
This is an amazing verse. People love to believe that when they accept Christ as their Savior that life from there on in will be wonderful but the truth is Satan begins to attack us and He does so in ways that we don't even imagine. Some people believe that they can recognize all of Satan's ways, they look at the blatant outrageous acts and point the finger of identification at Satan. People forget to look at the small things and notice the evil one in them, yet it will be with the small things that he will gain most of his victims.
When a woman travails in birth it is a very PAINFUL process. Paul knew this, most people do know that giving birth is an extremely painful thing to do. Paul is telling those who look to him that He is going through the painful process of Spiritual birth with them until Christ is formed in them. The PAINFUL process of travailing in birth and that birth resulting in Christ being formed in them.
We NEED Christ formed in us, don't we? Seriously. We look to Christ and in looking to Him we long to be like Him, don't we? The more we are like Him the better, He is love!
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin
Walk in love as Christ has loved us.
Forbear one another.
Forgive one another as Christ forgave us.
Christ suffered in the flesh- we need to suffer in the flesh-when we suffer in the flesh we are ceasing from sin.
But tell people to suffer in the flesh today and they jump all over you because if you think it's appropriate to suffer in the flesh then you must not believe grace is by faith and not of works- you're working to be saved. They are WRONG!
When Christ suffered was He saved by his suffering?
Christ was saved by the Father, not by His suffering and yet He did suffer.
Christ was sinless, Christ did not break a single law of God's, a law He created with the Father before He took on flesh and was begotten as the Son.
Christ suffered for not breaking the laws.
Remember Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness? Did Christ suffer when He chose to obey God rather than listen to Satan and fall to His tempting ways? Yes. People don't want to think about that though. They think because He was God on earth that He was kept from suffering in the small ways, or in all the ways we suffered but He suffered tremendously.
So should we suffer?
Do we suffer?
What should we suffer?
Some people believe in purposely, physically inflicting pain upon themselves as if this was what was meant. It's not.
We are being reborn and this is happening while we've been born physically already. This is a spiritual rebirth and unlike a physical birth this isn't something that happens after nine months of gestation and a long hard labor. This spiritual birth is a progressive birthing, a gestation time that is undetermined.
It's hard for us to comprehend that we can be spiritually gestating, but we are, we truly are and the completion of that birthing results in our having Christ formed in us. This gestation isn't us spiritually in a warm, wet womb protected from so much and allowed to form oblivious to our surroundings. We are aware, and certainly NOT in a protected state at least not physically protected but our Savior protects our eternity.
More on this tomorrow by the grace of our Lord and Savior, all through His love!
Amen.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Order our steps in THY word!
Psa 119:113 I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
Psa 119:124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
Psa 119:125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
sa 119:126 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
Psa 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
Psa 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Psa 119:132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Psa 119:151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
The entrance of God's words give light.
The entrance of God's words give understanding.
When we read of light in the Bible it often does refer to gaining understanding. We need to desire light over darkness. We need to comprehend the truth. We can be told the truth all day long and lack understanding. Without comprehension of what we read we might as well be reading drivel, truthfully. People can pat themselves on the backs all day long if they want to because they read their Bible, but if they do not comprehend the truth in God's words what does it matter? We can recite the Bible over and over and yet if we don't find the love of the truth in the word of God what good does it do us? Seriously, without comprehension we could read the whole Bible a million times and it will mean nothing. God's love is in the Bible, His pure love, His amazing love.
David longs for understanding and knows that the ENTRANCE of God's words give us light, give us understanding. The entrance-
Let's look up the meaning of this word- entrance.
H6608
1. opening, unfolding, entrance, doorway
- Origin: from H6605
- TWOT entry: 1854b
- Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
- Strong's: From H6605; opening (figuratively) that is disclosure: - entrance.
Total KJV Occurrences: 1
• entrance, 1
Psa_119:130
Disclosure- Opening- Unfolding- Doorway.
The disclosure of God's words.
The opening of God's words.
The unfolding of God's words.
The doorway of God's words.
The entrance of God's words.
We need the disclosure of God's words.
We need the opening of God's words.
We need the unfolding of God's words.
We need the doorway of God's words.
We NEED to understand God's words.
With that understanding comes the knowledge of God's Love.
David LOVES God's law.
David LOVES God's words.
David VALUES God's words more than GOLD!
Do we value God's words more than money?
Do we value God's words more than our possessions?
How important is God's Word to us?! How important is the comprehension of God's words to us? Do we feel as if a day should NOT go by without delving in to the amazing word of God available to readily to us? Do we TREASURE the words of God we do read? Do the words of God give us a heart understanding, a deeper, deeper love of God?
These are questions we need to ask ourselves. These are important words.
By the grace of God may we find this amazing LOVE. We are so incredibly blessed to have access to the love of God found in His words.
Psa 119:132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Psa 119:151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
We like David must pray- Look up on us, be merciful to us as you were to those that LOVE THY NAME!
ORDER our steps in THY WORD!
Order our steps! We need to have the blessing of God - having HIM ORDER our steps! Having HIM guide our way, our LIVES. We need GOD to help us, to NOT let ANY sin have dominion over us! This is through GOD, it must be through God and we need to realize it IS by God. ALL glory, praise and honor to GOD!
Please God, please be NEAR to us LORD.
ALL THY COMMANDMENTS ARE TRUTH!
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
We have to HIDE these words in our hearts and when God is in our hearts, when God is ordering our steps, when sin is not having dominion over us we are in God's love, His pure, pure love, in His truth!
Please Lord please….
In Your love!
Amen.
Psa 119:124 Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
Psa 119:125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
sa 119:126 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
Psa 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
Psa 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Psa 119:132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Psa 119:151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
The entrance of God's words give light.
The entrance of God's words give understanding.
When we read of light in the Bible it often does refer to gaining understanding. We need to desire light over darkness. We need to comprehend the truth. We can be told the truth all day long and lack understanding. Without comprehension of what we read we might as well be reading drivel, truthfully. People can pat themselves on the backs all day long if they want to because they read their Bible, but if they do not comprehend the truth in God's words what does it matter? We can recite the Bible over and over and yet if we don't find the love of the truth in the word of God what good does it do us? Seriously, without comprehension we could read the whole Bible a million times and it will mean nothing. God's love is in the Bible, His pure love, His amazing love.
David longs for understanding and knows that the ENTRANCE of God's words give us light, give us understanding. The entrance-
Let's look up the meaning of this word- entrance.
H6608
1. opening, unfolding, entrance, doorway
- Origin: from H6605
- TWOT entry: 1854b
- Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
- Strong's: From H6605; opening (figuratively) that is disclosure: - entrance.
Total KJV Occurrences: 1
• entrance, 1
Psa_119:130
Disclosure- Opening- Unfolding- Doorway.
The disclosure of God's words.
The opening of God's words.
The unfolding of God's words.
The doorway of God's words.
The entrance of God's words.
We need the disclosure of God's words.
We need the opening of God's words.
We need the unfolding of God's words.
We need the doorway of God's words.
We NEED to understand God's words.
With that understanding comes the knowledge of God's Love.
David LOVES God's law.
David LOVES God's words.
David VALUES God's words more than GOLD!
Do we value God's words more than money?
Do we value God's words more than our possessions?
How important is God's Word to us?! How important is the comprehension of God's words to us? Do we feel as if a day should NOT go by without delving in to the amazing word of God available to readily to us? Do we TREASURE the words of God we do read? Do the words of God give us a heart understanding, a deeper, deeper love of God?
These are questions we need to ask ourselves. These are important words.
By the grace of God may we find this amazing LOVE. We are so incredibly blessed to have access to the love of God found in His words.
Psa 119:132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
Psa 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Psa 119:151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
We like David must pray- Look up on us, be merciful to us as you were to those that LOVE THY NAME!
ORDER our steps in THY WORD!
Order our steps! We need to have the blessing of God - having HIM ORDER our steps! Having HIM guide our way, our LIVES. We need GOD to help us, to NOT let ANY sin have dominion over us! This is through GOD, it must be through God and we need to realize it IS by God. ALL glory, praise and honor to GOD!
Please God, please be NEAR to us LORD.
ALL THY COMMANDMENTS ARE TRUTH!
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
We have to HIDE these words in our hearts and when God is in our hearts, when God is ordering our steps, when sin is not having dominion over us we are in God's love, His pure, pure love, in His truth!
Please Lord please….
In Your love!
Amen.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
His Hands Made Us
Psa 119:73 Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
God made Adam-
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And David makes this claim- 'Thy hands have made me and fashioned me'
God has formed us, yes, US, each one of us. We don't want to believe this, in fact most people refuse to believe this. People will bring up those deformed at birth and ask - did God form them too? If so, why did He form them wrong? We can't know the answer to that question, God knows though and that is enough, it has to be enough because --
Deu 29:29 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God…'
We cannot know the wisdom behind His workings. God created each one of us and man would have us believe otherwise. Man, who has taken pieces out of the bodies God has formed and manipulated them to form children in wombs otherwise barren- believe that it is they who are the author of life, they are the creators of life, they are the ones who have formed that baby in the womb- not God. They couldn't be more wrong. They DID NOT create that egg, they DID NOT create that seed. God allowed them the knowledge of joining them together but it is GOD who forms the child from those manipulated elements. All too often there are MANY manipulated elements that are supposed to take and NEVER do. God forms man- God formed the first man and God will form the very last man.
Deu 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
Deu 32:18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
Job 33:6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay.
Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isa 43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Psa 119:73 Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
The God who formed us, the God who created us, the God who willed us into being can give us understanding. We need understanding if we are to learn of God's commandments. God's wondrous commandments, His law of the purest love upon which we all are called to live. Our natural self will not want understanding, it will not want to learn of God's commandments. Satan doesn't want us to have understanding of God's commandments. Satan knows that when we truly understand God's commandments that we'll understand the amazing love He has for us and that is the last thing the evil one wants us to understand. God can give us understanding, we, like David, must desire that understanding, we must ask for that understanding. We MUST ask knowing that it is God who formed us, God who created us and only God who can open our hearts. We must choose God in spite of all the sensual fleshy ways our natural man would have us focus on ourselves and NOT God.
Psa 119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
Psa 119:91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
No one alive today, no one who lived in the past has ever seen the earth destroyed, they've never seen the sun destroyed, they've never seen the sun not set, the sun not rise, the moon not show its many phases, the seasons never change, the ocean lose it's ebb and flow, the majestic mountains fall to nothing, the stars no longer guiding. All these things, all these undeniable and set forces were created to be that way and only arrogant man has decided they just came into existence by pure chance. God created all these things and they serve God! Yet man would have them be gods, foolish, foolish man.
Psa 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Can you even begin to imagine meditating upon God's law all day? We're lucky if we can even think of God's law for a moment in a day let alone meditate upon it ALL day. The love of God's law is amazing. When we realize that it is by the law of God that we live, that we breathe, that we love how can we help but recognize the law in all we do? We've stripped the law of God's love away from our lives and put it on a pedestal or in a trash heap- either place has it's dangers because when we take the law of God out of our lives and make it inaccessible we've lost all the true meaning of God's law. When we consign the law to a trash heap and believe it no longer matters we've taken God out of life and substituted a false god for the true. God's law is love, God is love.
We lose the love of God that Jesus came to reveal to us in the flesh when we set the law aside- either making it too high to reach or too low to bother with.
Please God, you who fashioned us in the womb, you who knew us before we were born, help us to understand and learn Your amazing commandments. Help us to find the love in them that guides us every single day of our lives. You are revealed in Your law, Jesus lived Your law perfectly, let us not set aside something so incredibly important to our Savior- He did not come to destroy the law.
Open our hearts and our minds to You Lord, let the Holy Spirit come down and comfort us, teach us, help us in all ways.
All through Your grace!
Amen.
God made Adam-
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And David makes this claim- 'Thy hands have made me and fashioned me'
God has formed us, yes, US, each one of us. We don't want to believe this, in fact most people refuse to believe this. People will bring up those deformed at birth and ask - did God form them too? If so, why did He form them wrong? We can't know the answer to that question, God knows though and that is enough, it has to be enough because --
Deu 29:29 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God…'
We cannot know the wisdom behind His workings. God created each one of us and man would have us believe otherwise. Man, who has taken pieces out of the bodies God has formed and manipulated them to form children in wombs otherwise barren- believe that it is they who are the author of life, they are the creators of life, they are the ones who have formed that baby in the womb- not God. They couldn't be more wrong. They DID NOT create that egg, they DID NOT create that seed. God allowed them the knowledge of joining them together but it is GOD who forms the child from those manipulated elements. All too often there are MANY manipulated elements that are supposed to take and NEVER do. God forms man- God formed the first man and God will form the very last man.
Deu 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
Deu 32:18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
Job 33:6 Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay.
Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Isa 43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Psa 119:73 Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
The God who formed us, the God who created us, the God who willed us into being can give us understanding. We need understanding if we are to learn of God's commandments. God's wondrous commandments, His law of the purest love upon which we all are called to live. Our natural self will not want understanding, it will not want to learn of God's commandments. Satan doesn't want us to have understanding of God's commandments. Satan knows that when we truly understand God's commandments that we'll understand the amazing love He has for us and that is the last thing the evil one wants us to understand. God can give us understanding, we, like David, must desire that understanding, we must ask for that understanding. We MUST ask knowing that it is God who formed us, God who created us and only God who can open our hearts. We must choose God in spite of all the sensual fleshy ways our natural man would have us focus on ourselves and NOT God.
Psa 119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
Psa 119:91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
No one alive today, no one who lived in the past has ever seen the earth destroyed, they've never seen the sun destroyed, they've never seen the sun not set, the sun not rise, the moon not show its many phases, the seasons never change, the ocean lose it's ebb and flow, the majestic mountains fall to nothing, the stars no longer guiding. All these things, all these undeniable and set forces were created to be that way and only arrogant man has decided they just came into existence by pure chance. God created all these things and they serve God! Yet man would have them be gods, foolish, foolish man.
Psa 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Can you even begin to imagine meditating upon God's law all day? We're lucky if we can even think of God's law for a moment in a day let alone meditate upon it ALL day. The love of God's law is amazing. When we realize that it is by the law of God that we live, that we breathe, that we love how can we help but recognize the law in all we do? We've stripped the law of God's love away from our lives and put it on a pedestal or in a trash heap- either place has it's dangers because when we take the law of God out of our lives and make it inaccessible we've lost all the true meaning of God's law. When we consign the law to a trash heap and believe it no longer matters we've taken God out of life and substituted a false god for the true. God's law is love, God is love.
We lose the love of God that Jesus came to reveal to us in the flesh when we set the law aside- either making it too high to reach or too low to bother with.
Please God, you who fashioned us in the womb, you who knew us before we were born, help us to understand and learn Your amazing commandments. Help us to find the love in them that guides us every single day of our lives. You are revealed in Your law, Jesus lived Your law perfectly, let us not set aside something so incredibly important to our Savior- He did not come to destroy the law.
Open our hearts and our minds to You Lord, let the Holy Spirit come down and comfort us, teach us, help us in all ways.
All through Your grace!
Amen.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Man brought death into the world, not God.
Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
KJV-
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Young's Literal Translation-
Mat 5:21 `Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment;
Mat 5:22 but I--I say to you, that every one who is angry at his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, and whoever may say to his brother, Empty fellow! shall be in danger of the sanhedrim, and whoever may say, Rebel! shall be in danger of the gehenna of the fire.
Mat 5:23 `If, therefore, thou mayest bring thy gift to the altar, and there mayest remember that thy brother hath anything against thee,
Mat 5:24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go--first be reconciled to thy brother, and then having come bring thy gift.
International Standard Version-
Mat 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, 'You must not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will be subject to punishment.'
Mat 5:22 But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to punishment. And whoever says to his brother 'Raka!' will be subject to the Council. And whoever says 'You fool!' will be subject to hell fire.
Mat 5:23 "So if you are presenting your gift at the altar and remember there that your brother has something against you,
Mat 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and first go and be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.
Did Jesus negate this commandment- Thou shalt not kill - ? NO.
People everywhere generally agree this is an acceptable commandment. How do you dispute it, really? Everyone knows murder is inherently wrong- right?
Purposely taking away life.
Recently we had to put our beloved cat to sleep and I'd never had to do anything like that before, and it was so heartbreaking. Did we murder our cat? This is a question that has reared its ugly little head and not for me alone, but for other members of my family. We purposely ended our cat's life. One moment he was alive and the next he was dead all because of our actions. We console ourselves over and over again with the fact it was done purely out of mercy for the cat, he had no real quality of life left and was having numerous problems as he was wasting away to nothing. It was merciful, truly merciful and it would have been selfish of us to keep him alive in the condition he was in. Was it murder though? No. We did not senselessly take the life of our precious cat.
In the above Jesus talks about how it is not only a sin to murder but it's a sin to be angry WITHOUT cause. It's a sin to be filled with rage, and to slander others, just as sinful as murder. Seriously. We've spent so much time labeling sins and degrees of sinning that we tend to overlook the very real fact that the wages of any sin- is death. Outrageous, you cry?! Unfair, you scream?! A tiny sin shouldn't warrant death, only the gravest of sins should to that. You know whose thinking that is? Man's, not God's. Man loves to excuse sin rather than confess and repent of it. Mankind loves to deem sin acceptable so they no longer have to feel the weight of their sin. That little white lie you told a few days ago, well it warrants death whether you want to face that fact or not. We can jail every single murderer we come across - we can condemn every single murderer- but we dare not choose to be deceived into thinking that our non-murderous sins are going to warrant us eternal life and the freedom that affords. While a murderer might be locked up in a cell and become labeled as being a sinner for life, we need to examine our own lives closely because we are ALL labeled sinners. We are all jailed in Satan's prison and condemned to eternal death, to be wiped out of existence forever. Only Jesus can pardon us and set us free, only Jesus can save us and remove the label 'sinner' from us.
Murder will forever be wrong and never be acceptable even is it's sanctioned by the highest court. Taking another person's life, ripping from them that which God gave to them is no one's right. Some people love to point out that God sanctioned a lot of murder, that He's a murderous hypocrite of a God. How often throughout the old testament was God fine with having His people take the lives of many? He ordered His people to destroy the godless-- those ONLY He could ever know would never be His, something WE have no way of knowing.
Never did a single person die under God's command out of murder. Never! People can try all they want to convince me otherwise, but I won't believe them. Murder goes against everything God stands for, everything. Yes, people were allowed to die but it was their own eternal decision that allowed for that result.
If we want to get technical - couldn't those people who claim God is a murderer say that every single death is a murder by God? I know my sister has had a really hard time dealing with the death of her husband and I know she's blamed God and become angry at Him on many occasion, even though she truly does understand that all death is a result of the sin brought into this world by Satan, not God. God created man to live forever- every single human being was to live forever and ever and ever- it was man who chose to sin- it was man who chose to accept the penalty of death for that sin. God NEVER wanted man to experience death. All death is a result of that sin, and NOT GOD. We are BLESSED to have God who has created a way for us NOT to have to experience the second death, the permanent death.
Man brought death into the world.
Jesus brought life into the world.
Studying our God's loving commandments, His amazing, wondrous laws we know that none of them will ever be done away with, not a single one, murder included.
By the grace of God may we keep ALL our God's commandments.
May we realize that commandments encompass much more than just our actions- but our thoughts as well. If we are guilty we must confess and we must repent, choosing by the grace of God to sin no more.
All through His amazing LOVE!
Amen.
KJV-
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Young's Literal Translation-
Mat 5:21 `Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment;
Mat 5:22 but I--I say to you, that every one who is angry at his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, and whoever may say to his brother, Empty fellow! shall be in danger of the sanhedrim, and whoever may say, Rebel! shall be in danger of the gehenna of the fire.
Mat 5:23 `If, therefore, thou mayest bring thy gift to the altar, and there mayest remember that thy brother hath anything against thee,
Mat 5:24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go--first be reconciled to thy brother, and then having come bring thy gift.
International Standard Version-
Mat 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, 'You must not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will be subject to punishment.'
Mat 5:22 But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to punishment. And whoever says to his brother 'Raka!' will be subject to the Council. And whoever says 'You fool!' will be subject to hell fire.
Mat 5:23 "So if you are presenting your gift at the altar and remember there that your brother has something against you,
Mat 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and first go and be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.
Did Jesus negate this commandment- Thou shalt not kill - ? NO.
People everywhere generally agree this is an acceptable commandment. How do you dispute it, really? Everyone knows murder is inherently wrong- right?
Purposely taking away life.
Recently we had to put our beloved cat to sleep and I'd never had to do anything like that before, and it was so heartbreaking. Did we murder our cat? This is a question that has reared its ugly little head and not for me alone, but for other members of my family. We purposely ended our cat's life. One moment he was alive and the next he was dead all because of our actions. We console ourselves over and over again with the fact it was done purely out of mercy for the cat, he had no real quality of life left and was having numerous problems as he was wasting away to nothing. It was merciful, truly merciful and it would have been selfish of us to keep him alive in the condition he was in. Was it murder though? No. We did not senselessly take the life of our precious cat.
In the above Jesus talks about how it is not only a sin to murder but it's a sin to be angry WITHOUT cause. It's a sin to be filled with rage, and to slander others, just as sinful as murder. Seriously. We've spent so much time labeling sins and degrees of sinning that we tend to overlook the very real fact that the wages of any sin- is death. Outrageous, you cry?! Unfair, you scream?! A tiny sin shouldn't warrant death, only the gravest of sins should to that. You know whose thinking that is? Man's, not God's. Man loves to excuse sin rather than confess and repent of it. Mankind loves to deem sin acceptable so they no longer have to feel the weight of their sin. That little white lie you told a few days ago, well it warrants death whether you want to face that fact or not. We can jail every single murderer we come across - we can condemn every single murderer- but we dare not choose to be deceived into thinking that our non-murderous sins are going to warrant us eternal life and the freedom that affords. While a murderer might be locked up in a cell and become labeled as being a sinner for life, we need to examine our own lives closely because we are ALL labeled sinners. We are all jailed in Satan's prison and condemned to eternal death, to be wiped out of existence forever. Only Jesus can pardon us and set us free, only Jesus can save us and remove the label 'sinner' from us.
Murder will forever be wrong and never be acceptable even is it's sanctioned by the highest court. Taking another person's life, ripping from them that which God gave to them is no one's right. Some people love to point out that God sanctioned a lot of murder, that He's a murderous hypocrite of a God. How often throughout the old testament was God fine with having His people take the lives of many? He ordered His people to destroy the godless-- those ONLY He could ever know would never be His, something WE have no way of knowing.
Never did a single person die under God's command out of murder. Never! People can try all they want to convince me otherwise, but I won't believe them. Murder goes against everything God stands for, everything. Yes, people were allowed to die but it was their own eternal decision that allowed for that result.
If we want to get technical - couldn't those people who claim God is a murderer say that every single death is a murder by God? I know my sister has had a really hard time dealing with the death of her husband and I know she's blamed God and become angry at Him on many occasion, even though she truly does understand that all death is a result of the sin brought into this world by Satan, not God. God created man to live forever- every single human being was to live forever and ever and ever- it was man who chose to sin- it was man who chose to accept the penalty of death for that sin. God NEVER wanted man to experience death. All death is a result of that sin, and NOT GOD. We are BLESSED to have God who has created a way for us NOT to have to experience the second death, the permanent death.
Man brought death into the world.
Jesus brought life into the world.
Studying our God's loving commandments, His amazing, wondrous laws we know that none of them will ever be done away with, not a single one, murder included.
By the grace of God may we keep ALL our God's commandments.
May we realize that commandments encompass much more than just our actions- but our thoughts as well. If we are guilty we must confess and we must repent, choosing by the grace of God to sin no more.
All through His amazing LOVE!
Amen.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Grace that would come
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you
*
Prophets inquired.
Prophets searched diligently.
Prophets knew of the grace that would come.
*
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Zec 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
Zec 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Act 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
Act 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Act 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
*
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
*
We've talked about this before- how in reality from Genesis to Revelation the Bible is a book of prophecy. Too many people believe that there are only small sections of prophecy in the Bible, they don't realize the entire book is filled with prophecy. Yes, there is wonderful history in the Bible, and a lot of that history involves prophetic messages.
Grace is promised to us. A reward is promised to us. Through faith we will receive this promise and we have to realize that almost ALL of the prophets, almost all of the holy men of God, those beloved of God have NOT received the promised reward. We want to believe they have, but in truth almost all of the beloved of God are dust, they went to their sleep and their breath of life returned to God. All of them will receive their reward when Christ returns- just as we will- THIS is TRUTH.
*
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
PREACHED the GOSPEL unto you with the Holy Ghost- SENT down from heaven- Which things angels desire to look into.
Angels desire to look into these things! We are so incredibly blessed. We've been given the gospel of the kingdom and the promise of the Holy Spirit. We are so blessed.
*
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
We need to gird up the loins of our minds.
When a loin is girded it is protected.
We have to protect our minds.
We have to be sober.
We have to HOPE to the end for GRACE that is given to us when Jesus Christ is revealed to us.
Oh, please Lord, please help us to gird up the loins of our minds as we live in such a time that minds everywhere are kept unprotected.
Please Lord bless us, help us! We need You so desperately, we need the HOPE we can only find in You. We need the FAITH You provide! Please Lord, help us, bless us as we look forward towards YOU -revealed at YOUR second coming.
Thank you for Your amazing love, love that is everlasting.
In You Lord always.
Amen.
*
Prophets inquired.
Prophets searched diligently.
Prophets knew of the grace that would come.
*
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Zec 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
Zec 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Act 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
Act 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Act 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
*
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
*
We've talked about this before- how in reality from Genesis to Revelation the Bible is a book of prophecy. Too many people believe that there are only small sections of prophecy in the Bible, they don't realize the entire book is filled with prophecy. Yes, there is wonderful history in the Bible, and a lot of that history involves prophetic messages.
Grace is promised to us. A reward is promised to us. Through faith we will receive this promise and we have to realize that almost ALL of the prophets, almost all of the holy men of God, those beloved of God have NOT received the promised reward. We want to believe they have, but in truth almost all of the beloved of God are dust, they went to their sleep and their breath of life returned to God. All of them will receive their reward when Christ returns- just as we will- THIS is TRUTH.
*
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
PREACHED the GOSPEL unto you with the Holy Ghost- SENT down from heaven- Which things angels desire to look into.
Angels desire to look into these things! We are so incredibly blessed. We've been given the gospel of the kingdom and the promise of the Holy Spirit. We are so blessed.
*
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
We need to gird up the loins of our minds.
When a loin is girded it is protected.
We have to protect our minds.
We have to be sober.
We have to HOPE to the end for GRACE that is given to us when Jesus Christ is revealed to us.
Oh, please Lord, please help us to gird up the loins of our minds as we live in such a time that minds everywhere are kept unprotected.
Please Lord bless us, help us! We need You so desperately, we need the HOPE we can only find in You. We need the FAITH You provide! Please Lord, help us, bless us as we look forward towards YOU -revealed at YOUR second coming.
Thank you for Your amazing love, love that is everlasting.
In You Lord always.
Amen.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Believing in the unseen is our Salvation.
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We are KEPT by the POWER of GOD- through FAITH-unto salvation that will be revealed at Christ's second coming.
Whose power keeps us? GOD's!
How are we kept by God's power? Through FAITH!
What does being kept by God's power through faith bring- SALVATION.
We are NOT kept by our own power!
We have to BELIEVE and yet so many find it incredibly hard to believe, to have faith. They find it hard to believe in something they can't see. They find it hard to hope.
People call other people fools for believing in the unseen. They want to have that tangible proof so they aren't considered to be among the foolish. Yet we are called to have FAITH. We are called to believe in the unseen.
By faith we are to believe in God.
We are not to consider the things we see, the things we touch, the things we hear, the things we taste, the things we smell…gods. People worship the sun- something they see. People worship the moon- something they see. People worship other people- something they can see, touch, hear, and yes, taste and smell. People will worship just about anything as long as it is something they adore. People will worship- the act of worship more than God. Seriously, they will! They'll get all caught up in the motions of worship and lose sight of God's love.
God alone- our UNSEEN God- He alone is to be worshipped, He alone is the ONE we need to have FAITH in. That great leap of believing in the unseen, of having hope in the unseen is FAITH.
*******
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations
In HEAVINESS through MANIFOLD TEMPTATIONS! This is the story of our lives is it not-- TEMPTATION!
And it is extreme heaviness of our spirit when we face temptation after temptation, seemingly endless temptations. We all know what it is like don't we? We who understand what sin is by seeing our sin in the light of God's law of love, can see clearly the sin in our world, in our lives and in the temptation to sin- it is so alive, so real, and so awful.
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
The TRIAL of our FAITH! Yes, there is a TRIAL of our FAITH! Faith isn't something simple, our faith is tried as we are tempted and it's tried often and always. And yes, our FAITH is more precious than gold.
We who are found faithful will be ready for our Savior when He returns!
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory
We LOVE Him even though we can't see Him.
We have FAITH and we rejoice with JOY UNSPEAKABLE!
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
The end of our believing in the unseen is our SALVATION!
*******
All by the grace of God!
In His love!
Amen.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We are KEPT by the POWER of GOD- through FAITH-unto salvation that will be revealed at Christ's second coming.
Whose power keeps us? GOD's!
How are we kept by God's power? Through FAITH!
What does being kept by God's power through faith bring- SALVATION.
We are NOT kept by our own power!
We have to BELIEVE and yet so many find it incredibly hard to believe, to have faith. They find it hard to believe in something they can't see. They find it hard to hope.
People call other people fools for believing in the unseen. They want to have that tangible proof so they aren't considered to be among the foolish. Yet we are called to have FAITH. We are called to believe in the unseen.
By faith we are to believe in God.
We are not to consider the things we see, the things we touch, the things we hear, the things we taste, the things we smell…gods. People worship the sun- something they see. People worship the moon- something they see. People worship other people- something they can see, touch, hear, and yes, taste and smell. People will worship just about anything as long as it is something they adore. People will worship- the act of worship more than God. Seriously, they will! They'll get all caught up in the motions of worship and lose sight of God's love.
God alone- our UNSEEN God- He alone is to be worshipped, He alone is the ONE we need to have FAITH in. That great leap of believing in the unseen, of having hope in the unseen is FAITH.
*******
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations
In HEAVINESS through MANIFOLD TEMPTATIONS! This is the story of our lives is it not-- TEMPTATION!
And it is extreme heaviness of our spirit when we face temptation after temptation, seemingly endless temptations. We all know what it is like don't we? We who understand what sin is by seeing our sin in the light of God's law of love, can see clearly the sin in our world, in our lives and in the temptation to sin- it is so alive, so real, and so awful.
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
The TRIAL of our FAITH! Yes, there is a TRIAL of our FAITH! Faith isn't something simple, our faith is tried as we are tempted and it's tried often and always. And yes, our FAITH is more precious than gold.
We who are found faithful will be ready for our Savior when He returns!
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory
We LOVE Him even though we can't see Him.
We have FAITH and we rejoice with JOY UNSPEAKABLE!
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
The end of our believing in the unseen is our SALVATION!
*******
All by the grace of God!
In His love!
Amen.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Open my eyes!
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Wondrous things.
When we think of wondrous things rarely do we think of finding anything wondrous in the law, right? Seriously, how often do people equate wondrous things with the law? In my limited experience, not often.
When we talk of having our eye opened what are we REALLY asking for? Understanding, comprehension, the ability to learn, to know all that we need to know.
People think it's as simple as reading- comprehending, but how often do we read something without fully understanding what it is saying?
Why would David want his eyes opened to understand a law that was plain to understand? A lot of Do's and Don't's, right. Do this, don't do that, what's so hard to understand? Yet David wanted to have his understanding opened even further, David wanted to behold all that the law had to reveal. He wanted to understand the AMAZING things the law was saying. He wanted to understand more than the simple do's and don't's. Why? Because there is so much more to understand.
If we, by the grace of God, by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit are blessed with full comprehension of God's law what a miracle that is. Understanding the wonder of the law, understanding the love of the law.
If we can find even one of the ten great commandments that is no longer valid then we are ripping apart the fabric of God's love. We've already talked about how Jesus kept the law perfectly not transgressing in a single point and this gave Him the right to be our Savior, to save us from our sins, to save us from our transgressions against the law of God. Without that law of God's to keep there is no sin.
Remember, Adam and Eve were commanded NOT to eat of that one tree. They broke that command and the result was sin.
The law of God is wondrous and we NEED our understanding open so we can see this wonder, so we can see the amazing love in the law. We aren't to make up our own laws and call them good, yet many people do that, they create their own versions of God's law and they believe as long as they live up to their own set standards everything will be just fine. The very unfortunate thing about creating our own standards is we base them on our sinful nature, not God's pure perfect nature.
We have to understand that we are CREATURES! I'll say it time and time again, over and over and over because it is so true and it's as if we turn our minds from God a few moments from now after reading this and we quickly forget- WE ARE CREATURES! We were CREATED. We will FOREVER be created beings, owing our very existence to our Creator. Just as we are to honor our mother and father- those who have given us life by their joining - two becoming one so that we could be created, we are to honor our heavenly Father who gave life to us all by giving life to our first parents. Life givers- life from created beings, there is an honor due to those who create life- though nowadays you would scarcely know it. We so easily get abortions - scraping newly created life from our bodies as if that life that was created meant absolutely nothing at all. The fact you yourself are alive and able to create life is the only miracle you need to fully comprehend in order to realize how truly amazing it is to be able to create life. People just don't want to understand, Satan has blinded them into believing they are their own person in need of NO god, in fact they themselves have become gods because they now know what good and evil are. In being gods themselves they have the right to deny life, to destroy life. Too many people are completely caught up in believing they have the RIGHT to be their own gods. They live their lives under that assumption and have NO need of God or His laws.
Once again I'm going to refer to the book- 'Mere Christianity', the book starts out explaining HOW it is that there is a natural law in existence and it leads into how there had to be a Creator of what we call a natural law. It's so worth reading if you haven't read it yet.
More tomorrow on the commandments of God. May our eyes be opened just as David prayed that His eyes be opened, may we pray the same and by the grace of God may it be so that we behold wondrous things out of His law!
All to the glory of God!
Amen.
Wondrous things.
When we think of wondrous things rarely do we think of finding anything wondrous in the law, right? Seriously, how often do people equate wondrous things with the law? In my limited experience, not often.
When we talk of having our eye opened what are we REALLY asking for? Understanding, comprehension, the ability to learn, to know all that we need to know.
People think it's as simple as reading- comprehending, but how often do we read something without fully understanding what it is saying?
Why would David want his eyes opened to understand a law that was plain to understand? A lot of Do's and Don't's, right. Do this, don't do that, what's so hard to understand? Yet David wanted to have his understanding opened even further, David wanted to behold all that the law had to reveal. He wanted to understand the AMAZING things the law was saying. He wanted to understand more than the simple do's and don't's. Why? Because there is so much more to understand.
If we, by the grace of God, by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit are blessed with full comprehension of God's law what a miracle that is. Understanding the wonder of the law, understanding the love of the law.
If we can find even one of the ten great commandments that is no longer valid then we are ripping apart the fabric of God's love. We've already talked about how Jesus kept the law perfectly not transgressing in a single point and this gave Him the right to be our Savior, to save us from our sins, to save us from our transgressions against the law of God. Without that law of God's to keep there is no sin.
Remember, Adam and Eve were commanded NOT to eat of that one tree. They broke that command and the result was sin.
The law of God is wondrous and we NEED our understanding open so we can see this wonder, so we can see the amazing love in the law. We aren't to make up our own laws and call them good, yet many people do that, they create their own versions of God's law and they believe as long as they live up to their own set standards everything will be just fine. The very unfortunate thing about creating our own standards is we base them on our sinful nature, not God's pure perfect nature.
We have to understand that we are CREATURES! I'll say it time and time again, over and over and over because it is so true and it's as if we turn our minds from God a few moments from now after reading this and we quickly forget- WE ARE CREATURES! We were CREATED. We will FOREVER be created beings, owing our very existence to our Creator. Just as we are to honor our mother and father- those who have given us life by their joining - two becoming one so that we could be created, we are to honor our heavenly Father who gave life to us all by giving life to our first parents. Life givers- life from created beings, there is an honor due to those who create life- though nowadays you would scarcely know it. We so easily get abortions - scraping newly created life from our bodies as if that life that was created meant absolutely nothing at all. The fact you yourself are alive and able to create life is the only miracle you need to fully comprehend in order to realize how truly amazing it is to be able to create life. People just don't want to understand, Satan has blinded them into believing they are their own person in need of NO god, in fact they themselves have become gods because they now know what good and evil are. In being gods themselves they have the right to deny life, to destroy life. Too many people are completely caught up in believing they have the RIGHT to be their own gods. They live their lives under that assumption and have NO need of God or His laws.
Once again I'm going to refer to the book- 'Mere Christianity', the book starts out explaining HOW it is that there is a natural law in existence and it leads into how there had to be a Creator of what we call a natural law. It's so worth reading if you haven't read it yet.
More tomorrow on the commandments of God. May our eyes be opened just as David prayed that His eyes be opened, may we pray the same and by the grace of God may it be so that we behold wondrous things out of His law!
All to the glory of God!
Amen.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Hide God's Word in Your Heart
Psa 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
We are COMMANDED to keep God's precepts.
Psa 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
Psa 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
We will NOT be ashamed when we have RESPECT unto ALL God's COMMANDMENTS.
Psa 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
There is RIGHTEOUSNESS in God's judgments.
Psa 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
We MUST keep God's statutes.
Psa 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
How do we cleanse our ways? Yes, this verse says 'young man' but in truth don’t we ALL need to cleanse our ways?
We cleanse our ways by TAKING HEED to God's word.
Psa 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Seeking God with our whole heart, not half heartedly, but with our whole heart. By NOT wandering from God's commandments!
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Hiding God's word in our HEARTS keeps us from SINNING against God.
Psa 119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
*******
So many people want to be God's but they do not want to listen to God at all. They want to make up a fantasy God, someone they can worship on their own terms, not God's terms. It's true, all too true and people give that fantasy God of theirs just enough of the real God's attributes that they convince themselves He's the real thing. In truth Satan loves when we worship gods of our own creation. He loves when we piece our own God together using bits and pieces of what we deem acceptable. As long as we don't take it too far everything is okay we assume, when that is far from the truth. Yes, the God of our own making might not want us to steal, but he's okay with a little harmless taking where we are quick to assume that the other person won't mind at all- besides everyone does it don't they? And our god might not mind if we covet a little bit because hey, everyone does that too it's in our natures and why should we repent of our nature it's not our fault we were born this way, right? And think about it, a touch of lying isn't so wrong, right? Harmless stuff that hurts no one that is perfectly fine, in fact it might be quite helpful for us and for others to sometimes lie to them, for them, about them. We tell ourselves God understands, and we have to believe it don’t we or how else could we live with our corrupt lives? When we hold our lives up to the light of God's righteousness, when we allow ourselves to believe in God, the REAL God, we truly see how unrighteous we are and how much we need to repent. We see the filth of our sins in the light and purity of God's righteousness and we can't help but be appalled with ourselves. We'd much rather make up a god who accepts our sinning than believe in a God who calls us to account for our sins as plentiful as they are, as horrific as they are. When we understand our sinning we are called to - GO and SIN NO MORE. And the problem with that is we want to sin more so we try to hide from God's commandments, we try to lessen those commandments, to bend them, to mold them, to shape them into something we like and when we do that we are sinning grievously.
We have to HIDE God's words in our HEARTS, not change God's words!
We have to believe that by keeping God's words in our hearts that we are protected by God, because we ARE!
When we sin we need to repent.
When we sin we need to feel the remorse for that sin, not an acceptance.
When we sin we need to understand the gravity of the sin NOT ignore it, NOT accept it, NOT try to make it something it isn't.
Sin is the transgression of the law. GOD'S LAW!
Sin is worthy of death.
We are worthy of death.
Jesus Christ our Savior did NOT transgress God's law! This is where Jesus is WORTHY of life everlasting.
To say Jesus was sinless is to say that Jesus kept God's law perfectly.
Why do people forget that? Why do they ignore that part? Why? Because they do NOT want to believe there even is a law to keep. They'd rather believe there no longer exists a law as if Jesus did away with it by keeping it perfectly. As if that law were the sword in the stone and He alone could pull it out leaving a sword there no longer. God's law remains and will remain until heaven and earth are GONE! If God's law remains then we live in the light of that law and that light reveals our sinfulness.
Before ANYONE begins to believe I think that our keeping the law perfectly will save us, I don't. I believe only our Savior was capable of keeping the law perfectly. We however through Him, by His grace, by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS can keep the law. By clinging to HIM and allowing the Holy Spirit to live within us, we can live as He lived. Only HE saves us! We have to stand in the light of the law and do so without any excuses for our failings. We need to let our filthiness be revealed so that we can REPENT, so that we can ask for forgiveness, so that we can cling to Christ our Savior! If we for even a moment believe we are clean of sin by some act of our own we are heaping filth upon ourselves. Only Christ can clean us, but we must stand in all our filthiness before God and NOT hide as sin often makes us want to do.
Remember Adam and Eve after sinning, their first act was to hide from God. We cannot HIDE from God! We cannot put up a false God in place of God because when we do that we are lost, completely lost.
Let's NOT create a false god whose commandments are changeable as the wind blowing every which way. Let's NOT hide from the truth. Let's NOT throw away God's Commandments.
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Let us HIDE God's word in our hearts so that we might NOT sin against Him!
All through His grace, all through His righteousness, all through His amazing LOVE!
Amen.
We are COMMANDED to keep God's precepts.
Psa 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
Psa 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
We will NOT be ashamed when we have RESPECT unto ALL God's COMMANDMENTS.
Psa 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
There is RIGHTEOUSNESS in God's judgments.
Psa 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
We MUST keep God's statutes.
Psa 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
How do we cleanse our ways? Yes, this verse says 'young man' but in truth don’t we ALL need to cleanse our ways?
We cleanse our ways by TAKING HEED to God's word.
Psa 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Seeking God with our whole heart, not half heartedly, but with our whole heart. By NOT wandering from God's commandments!
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Hiding God's word in our HEARTS keeps us from SINNING against God.
Psa 119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
*******
So many people want to be God's but they do not want to listen to God at all. They want to make up a fantasy God, someone they can worship on their own terms, not God's terms. It's true, all too true and people give that fantasy God of theirs just enough of the real God's attributes that they convince themselves He's the real thing. In truth Satan loves when we worship gods of our own creation. He loves when we piece our own God together using bits and pieces of what we deem acceptable. As long as we don't take it too far everything is okay we assume, when that is far from the truth. Yes, the God of our own making might not want us to steal, but he's okay with a little harmless taking where we are quick to assume that the other person won't mind at all- besides everyone does it don't they? And our god might not mind if we covet a little bit because hey, everyone does that too it's in our natures and why should we repent of our nature it's not our fault we were born this way, right? And think about it, a touch of lying isn't so wrong, right? Harmless stuff that hurts no one that is perfectly fine, in fact it might be quite helpful for us and for others to sometimes lie to them, for them, about them. We tell ourselves God understands, and we have to believe it don’t we or how else could we live with our corrupt lives? When we hold our lives up to the light of God's righteousness, when we allow ourselves to believe in God, the REAL God, we truly see how unrighteous we are and how much we need to repent. We see the filth of our sins in the light and purity of God's righteousness and we can't help but be appalled with ourselves. We'd much rather make up a god who accepts our sinning than believe in a God who calls us to account for our sins as plentiful as they are, as horrific as they are. When we understand our sinning we are called to - GO and SIN NO MORE. And the problem with that is we want to sin more so we try to hide from God's commandments, we try to lessen those commandments, to bend them, to mold them, to shape them into something we like and when we do that we are sinning grievously.
We have to HIDE God's words in our HEARTS, not change God's words!
We have to believe that by keeping God's words in our hearts that we are protected by God, because we ARE!
When we sin we need to repent.
When we sin we need to feel the remorse for that sin, not an acceptance.
When we sin we need to understand the gravity of the sin NOT ignore it, NOT accept it, NOT try to make it something it isn't.
Sin is the transgression of the law. GOD'S LAW!
Sin is worthy of death.
We are worthy of death.
Jesus Christ our Savior did NOT transgress God's law! This is where Jesus is WORTHY of life everlasting.
To say Jesus was sinless is to say that Jesus kept God's law perfectly.
Why do people forget that? Why do they ignore that part? Why? Because they do NOT want to believe there even is a law to keep. They'd rather believe there no longer exists a law as if Jesus did away with it by keeping it perfectly. As if that law were the sword in the stone and He alone could pull it out leaving a sword there no longer. God's law remains and will remain until heaven and earth are GONE! If God's law remains then we live in the light of that law and that light reveals our sinfulness.
Before ANYONE begins to believe I think that our keeping the law perfectly will save us, I don't. I believe only our Savior was capable of keeping the law perfectly. We however through Him, by His grace, by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS can keep the law. By clinging to HIM and allowing the Holy Spirit to live within us, we can live as He lived. Only HE saves us! We have to stand in the light of the law and do so without any excuses for our failings. We need to let our filthiness be revealed so that we can REPENT, so that we can ask for forgiveness, so that we can cling to Christ our Savior! If we for even a moment believe we are clean of sin by some act of our own we are heaping filth upon ourselves. Only Christ can clean us, but we must stand in all our filthiness before God and NOT hide as sin often makes us want to do.
Remember Adam and Eve after sinning, their first act was to hide from God. We cannot HIDE from God! We cannot put up a false God in place of God because when we do that we are lost, completely lost.
Let's NOT create a false god whose commandments are changeable as the wind blowing every which way. Let's NOT hide from the truth. Let's NOT throw away God's Commandments.
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Let us HIDE God's word in our hearts so that we might NOT sin against Him!
All through His grace, all through His righteousness, all through His amazing LOVE!
Amen.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Honor thy father and mother...
Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Honor thy father and thy mother. Let's read some more verses on mothers and fathers--
Exo 21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
To death!
Exo 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
To death!
Amazing, truly amazing. Talk about having RESPECT for your parents. Why do you think this is so important? We live in a day when respecting- when honoring your parents seems to be optional, not truly required. Millions, yes, I said millions because it's true- millions of children disobey their parents, they don't honor their parents, not really. Talking back to them, lying to them, outright disobeying them, cursing at them, mouthing off in so many ways, this it the norm, not the exception. Even little children are commonly seen and known to be disrespectful of their parents- I'm talking 2-3 year olds that are allowed to get away with beginning their rebellious ways that develop into 4-5 year olds that only continue to behave horribly and so on. You know what I'm talking about. We even see if portrayed in comedies on televison and in the movies where they highlight children with defiant attitudes, mouthy children who act as if they are the parent not the child at all and those movies applaud those children, they are the stars of the shows. All this glorifies disobeying God's command!
Why is this so important, because God is our HEAVENLY FATHER! He is our FATHER! If we have no respect, no honor for our earthly parents is it possible at all to truly have honor and respect for our Heavenly Father? It's not. Our God may allow us to go through severe trials and tribulations and we are to do so without dishonoring Him. I'm talking SEVERE trials, horrific trials and so those people who have horrific parents are STILL required to honor them and respect them- this is a trial they are called to bear. Is it easy? Do I say this lightly? NO! And NO! Children who are called to endure parents completely undeserving of respect and honor face an amazing trial of their faith.
Let's read more verses on mothers and fathers--
Lev 19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
Pro 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother
Pro 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Pro 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Pro 23:24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
Pro 23:25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Pro 28:24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
Mat 15:4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Mat 15:5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
Mat 15:6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
Eph 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Col 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
*******
Now let me ask a question we've been asking of every commandment we've studied so far- should there ever be a time when this commandment should no longer matter? Should this commandment ever be done away with? NO, and NO!
Why would there ever come a time when it would be okay to dishonor your parents? At what point in history would this be applicable? Did Christ's coming and fulfilling the law do away with this? Never! We've already studied and know that Christ did not do away with any of the ten commandments of God, not a single one. Our Savior was able to keep - to fulfill- all the laws perfectly revealing that they are all just and good, that they are all written and given through LOVE.
By the grace of God may we - through the LOVE of God keep all the commandments fully in Him. May we HONOR, truly HONOR our Father and Mother as God would have us honor them. May we fully honor God our Heavenly Father in all ways. Please Lord, bless us! Help us! Keep us! Forgive us! Love us!
Amen.
Honor thy father and thy mother. Let's read some more verses on mothers and fathers--
Exo 21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
To death!
Exo 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
To death!
Amazing, truly amazing. Talk about having RESPECT for your parents. Why do you think this is so important? We live in a day when respecting- when honoring your parents seems to be optional, not truly required. Millions, yes, I said millions because it's true- millions of children disobey their parents, they don't honor their parents, not really. Talking back to them, lying to them, outright disobeying them, cursing at them, mouthing off in so many ways, this it the norm, not the exception. Even little children are commonly seen and known to be disrespectful of their parents- I'm talking 2-3 year olds that are allowed to get away with beginning their rebellious ways that develop into 4-5 year olds that only continue to behave horribly and so on. You know what I'm talking about. We even see if portrayed in comedies on televison and in the movies where they highlight children with defiant attitudes, mouthy children who act as if they are the parent not the child at all and those movies applaud those children, they are the stars of the shows. All this glorifies disobeying God's command!
Why is this so important, because God is our HEAVENLY FATHER! He is our FATHER! If we have no respect, no honor for our earthly parents is it possible at all to truly have honor and respect for our Heavenly Father? It's not. Our God may allow us to go through severe trials and tribulations and we are to do so without dishonoring Him. I'm talking SEVERE trials, horrific trials and so those people who have horrific parents are STILL required to honor them and respect them- this is a trial they are called to bear. Is it easy? Do I say this lightly? NO! And NO! Children who are called to endure parents completely undeserving of respect and honor face an amazing trial of their faith.
Let's read more verses on mothers and fathers--
Lev 19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
Pro 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother
Pro 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Pro 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Pro 23:24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
Pro 23:25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Pro 28:24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
Mat 15:4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Mat 15:5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
Mat 15:6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
Eph 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Col 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
*******
Now let me ask a question we've been asking of every commandment we've studied so far- should there ever be a time when this commandment should no longer matter? Should this commandment ever be done away with? NO, and NO!
Why would there ever come a time when it would be okay to dishonor your parents? At what point in history would this be applicable? Did Christ's coming and fulfilling the law do away with this? Never! We've already studied and know that Christ did not do away with any of the ten commandments of God, not a single one. Our Savior was able to keep - to fulfill- all the laws perfectly revealing that they are all just and good, that they are all written and given through LOVE.
By the grace of God may we - through the LOVE of God keep all the commandments fully in Him. May we HONOR, truly HONOR our Father and Mother as God would have us honor them. May we fully honor God our Heavenly Father in all ways. Please Lord, bless us! Help us! Keep us! Forgive us! Love us!
Amen.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Without Love No Law of God Can Be Kept
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Do you feel more freedom when you have laws or less freedom?
Children often cannot wait to escape the laws their parents have set for them because in their youth they believe the laws are in place to restrict their freedom. People living under unfair laws feel the same way. But people living under laws designed for their protection feel incredibly more free than if those laws never existed. How free would you feel if you lived where it was the law that you could kill anyone you wanted to kill? How free would you feel if you lived where it was perfectly fine, in fact, the law to take things that didn't belong to you? Would you feel a sense of freedom in your marriage if it were the law to have martial relations with anyone you desired and not just your spouse? Living in the supposed land of the free we have many, many laws we follow- we agree to follow those laws by living here. If all those laws were gone what takes their place? We've heard of living in the lawless west- in a time before the western part of the United States was civilized. The lawless west where you could go and take your chances on finding cheap land and build a homestead, but in truth you knew that once you set out for that land you were facing a lot of danger and fear. Living where there are no laws is scary, very scary. Living in parts of the world where the laws differ from your own laws can be scary too. Living in a place where you are NOT guaranteed a speedy trial can have you in perfect innocence sitting behind bars for years and years before you can even present your case for innocence. Living in a place with unfamiliar laws you run the risk of breaking those laws until you learn what they are. It's a wise decision when visiting any other country to learn their laws- at least in a general manner, because you could find yourself in jail for something that is perfectly fine to do in your own country. Laws are designed for many reasons, but if we really stop and think about it, a lot of our laws are designed to protect our freedom, not hinder it and keep us from things we've agreed are acceptable.
A law of liberty.
A law of freedom.
This law is NOT a law that takes away all other laws so you are free to break those old laws at will.
Jesus kept ALL the laws.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The great commandment- Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul and with ALL thy mind.
The second greatest commandment- Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.
Did Jesus tell the man that asked which is the great commandment that there was a NEW commandment and all the old commandments are gone? No.
People will argue that Jesus said we have to follow HIS commandments as He followed His Father's- meaning we don't have to follow the Father's commandments. Yet how do those people account for this--
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
And this--
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Till heaven and earth pass- perish, go away- till heaven and earth disappear not one dot of an I or cross of a t will be taken away from the law.
Has heaven and earth perished? No. Obviously, no.
Jesus fulfilled the law- Jesus kept the law perfectly!
Just because one person fulfills the requirements of something doesn't make those requirements disappear for everyone else! Everyone has to fulfill the SAME requirements. Think of all the tests and such that people have to take and how everyone who passes the test must meet the requirements of passing. Just because the smart person in the class passed the test doesn't mean he passed it for everyone. Just because my great great grandmother passed a test years and years ago doesn't mean she passed it for me and everyone else. Every person who takes the bar exam has to pass it for himself, not for anyone else.
Jesus passed the test- Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law perfectly and that is something WE cannot do. Jesus didn't pass the test then throw the test out- He passed the test and then told us that THROUGH Him we can pass the test too. It is through Him we are able to fulfill the same law, the same commandments that He fulfilled- His Father's commandments. How we do this is by LOVING. Jesus wanted us to realize that the commandments He fulfilled were fulfilled by LOVE and the commandment He gives to us is to LOVE, and out of that love we will be able to fulfill all the law.
Love God.
Love our fellow man as if we were loving ourselves- how we want to be loved.
Jesus said PLAINLY He did NOT come to destroy the law. He had to say it plainly because so many believe that's exactly what He did. He wiped the Ten Commandments off the face of the earth and replaced them with the love commandments.
Don't you see, sin is the breaking of the law.
Jesus didn't sin.
Jesus didn't break the law.
Jesus was able to live His entire life fulfilling the law, meeting the requirements of the law, something we have never been able to do and never can do without Him, it is through Him we are able to keep the law- through HIS righteousness.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
The perfect law of liberty is loving as Jesus loved, showing mercy to all. If we show no mercy we receive no mercy. Remember the Lord teaching the apostles how to pray… in that prayer guideline we find this--
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And this…
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
This was sorely lacking in the keepers of the law before our Savior came, in some cases completely lacking. They'd kept the law but destroyed the love that belonged in that law. All too often people will be steadfast in their beliefs, so steadfast that they forget that without love all their beliefs mean NOTHING. They can keep all ten great commandments perfectly and without love they've broken every single one. The law was a law of liberty- a law that brings us freedom in life- all through LOVE. God gave the ten commandments originally out of love and that's NEVER changed! God did NOT free the Hebrews from the Egyptians only to want to put them back into a form of bondage to Him! God wanted to give them a freedom they'd never known before. And man so degraded by sin turned God's perfect law into something loveless. By the time Jesus came the Hebrews were so entrenched in their loveless law keeping they felt threatened by the true revelation of the law being fulfilled in Jesus Christ through love.
Jesus didn't come to destroy the law but He came to keep the law in perfect love and this perfect law of love brings a liberty unlike anything offered elsewhere.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
We look into the perfect law of liberty and know it's a perfect law of love. Jesus' command that we love revealed His love in the law.
We are free in the law knowing how love penetrates each and every word of the law from the first to the last. If we tell people they are still accountable to keep the laws of God and forget to tell them of the love found in those laws we are missing the most important aspect of those laws. People do not want to be bound to loveless laws, they need to see the richness of the love deeply embedded in God's commandments to us. They want to understand that it is out of a pure love unlike anything we possess that we should keep God's laws. There are scores and scores of people who keep laws to the letter and yet have broken them all by stripping the love from those laws. Jesus commands we love for without love no law can be kept, not a single one!
By His grace, through HIS amazing LOVE may we love His law!
All through Him!
Amen.
Do you feel more freedom when you have laws or less freedom?
Children often cannot wait to escape the laws their parents have set for them because in their youth they believe the laws are in place to restrict their freedom. People living under unfair laws feel the same way. But people living under laws designed for their protection feel incredibly more free than if those laws never existed. How free would you feel if you lived where it was the law that you could kill anyone you wanted to kill? How free would you feel if you lived where it was perfectly fine, in fact, the law to take things that didn't belong to you? Would you feel a sense of freedom in your marriage if it were the law to have martial relations with anyone you desired and not just your spouse? Living in the supposed land of the free we have many, many laws we follow- we agree to follow those laws by living here. If all those laws were gone what takes their place? We've heard of living in the lawless west- in a time before the western part of the United States was civilized. The lawless west where you could go and take your chances on finding cheap land and build a homestead, but in truth you knew that once you set out for that land you were facing a lot of danger and fear. Living where there are no laws is scary, very scary. Living in parts of the world where the laws differ from your own laws can be scary too. Living in a place where you are NOT guaranteed a speedy trial can have you in perfect innocence sitting behind bars for years and years before you can even present your case for innocence. Living in a place with unfamiliar laws you run the risk of breaking those laws until you learn what they are. It's a wise decision when visiting any other country to learn their laws- at least in a general manner, because you could find yourself in jail for something that is perfectly fine to do in your own country. Laws are designed for many reasons, but if we really stop and think about it, a lot of our laws are designed to protect our freedom, not hinder it and keep us from things we've agreed are acceptable.
A law of liberty.
A law of freedom.
This law is NOT a law that takes away all other laws so you are free to break those old laws at will.
Jesus kept ALL the laws.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The great commandment- Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul and with ALL thy mind.
The second greatest commandment- Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.
Did Jesus tell the man that asked which is the great commandment that there was a NEW commandment and all the old commandments are gone? No.
People will argue that Jesus said we have to follow HIS commandments as He followed His Father's- meaning we don't have to follow the Father's commandments. Yet how do those people account for this--
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
And this--
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Till heaven and earth pass- perish, go away- till heaven and earth disappear not one dot of an I or cross of a t will be taken away from the law.
Has heaven and earth perished? No. Obviously, no.
Jesus fulfilled the law- Jesus kept the law perfectly!
Just because one person fulfills the requirements of something doesn't make those requirements disappear for everyone else! Everyone has to fulfill the SAME requirements. Think of all the tests and such that people have to take and how everyone who passes the test must meet the requirements of passing. Just because the smart person in the class passed the test doesn't mean he passed it for everyone. Just because my great great grandmother passed a test years and years ago doesn't mean she passed it for me and everyone else. Every person who takes the bar exam has to pass it for himself, not for anyone else.
Jesus passed the test- Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law perfectly and that is something WE cannot do. Jesus didn't pass the test then throw the test out- He passed the test and then told us that THROUGH Him we can pass the test too. It is through Him we are able to fulfill the same law, the same commandments that He fulfilled- His Father's commandments. How we do this is by LOVING. Jesus wanted us to realize that the commandments He fulfilled were fulfilled by LOVE and the commandment He gives to us is to LOVE, and out of that love we will be able to fulfill all the law.
Love God.
Love our fellow man as if we were loving ourselves- how we want to be loved.
Jesus said PLAINLY He did NOT come to destroy the law. He had to say it plainly because so many believe that's exactly what He did. He wiped the Ten Commandments off the face of the earth and replaced them with the love commandments.
Don't you see, sin is the breaking of the law.
Jesus didn't sin.
Jesus didn't break the law.
Jesus was able to live His entire life fulfilling the law, meeting the requirements of the law, something we have never been able to do and never can do without Him, it is through Him we are able to keep the law- through HIS righteousness.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
The perfect law of liberty is loving as Jesus loved, showing mercy to all. If we show no mercy we receive no mercy. Remember the Lord teaching the apostles how to pray… in that prayer guideline we find this--
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And this…
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
This was sorely lacking in the keepers of the law before our Savior came, in some cases completely lacking. They'd kept the law but destroyed the love that belonged in that law. All too often people will be steadfast in their beliefs, so steadfast that they forget that without love all their beliefs mean NOTHING. They can keep all ten great commandments perfectly and without love they've broken every single one. The law was a law of liberty- a law that brings us freedom in life- all through LOVE. God gave the ten commandments originally out of love and that's NEVER changed! God did NOT free the Hebrews from the Egyptians only to want to put them back into a form of bondage to Him! God wanted to give them a freedom they'd never known before. And man so degraded by sin turned God's perfect law into something loveless. By the time Jesus came the Hebrews were so entrenched in their loveless law keeping they felt threatened by the true revelation of the law being fulfilled in Jesus Christ through love.
Jesus didn't come to destroy the law but He came to keep the law in perfect love and this perfect law of love brings a liberty unlike anything offered elsewhere.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
We look into the perfect law of liberty and know it's a perfect law of love. Jesus' command that we love revealed His love in the law.
We are free in the law knowing how love penetrates each and every word of the law from the first to the last. If we tell people they are still accountable to keep the laws of God and forget to tell them of the love found in those laws we are missing the most important aspect of those laws. People do not want to be bound to loveless laws, they need to see the richness of the love deeply embedded in God's commandments to us. They want to understand that it is out of a pure love unlike anything we possess that we should keep God's laws. There are scores and scores of people who keep laws to the letter and yet have broken them all by stripping the love from those laws. Jesus commands we love for without love no law can be kept, not a single one!
By His grace, through HIS amazing LOVE may we love His law!
All through Him!
Amen.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Perfect Law of Love
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The fourth commandment of God.
Did Jesus keep the Sabbath all 33 years He lived on earth?
Yes.
Did Jesus tell anyone that the Sabbath day would be changed from the seventh to the first day of the week?
No.
Did Jesus tell anyone to celebrate His resurrection by changing the Sabbath day from the seventh day to the first day of the week?
No.
Did Jesus institute any celebrations?
Yes.
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
DO THIS- in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
THIS DO- in remembrance of me.
As OFTEN as ye eat this…and drink this… ye show the Lord's death till He come.
This decree by our Savior had NOTHING to do with keeping the Sabbath.
As often as we take bread, give thanks, brake the bread we are to remember our Savior's body given for us.
As often as we take the cup, we are to remember our Savior's blood which was shed for us.
Feasibly this could be much more often than once a week, once a quarter, once year. Who put the restriction on how often we are to remember our Savior living and dying for us? Who? Certainly not God. The apostles broke bread wherever they went and did NOT restrict themselves to any ONE day. Some believe this is so because the first day is mentioned on once occasion, but we know for a fact they broke bread often.
Let's read this passage-
Act 20:7 And upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Act 20:8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
Act 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
Act 20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
Act 20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
Act 20:12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.
On the first day of the week the disciples gathered and broke bread with Paul who was going to leave the next day. Now Paul gave a speech with last until midnight. A young man fell from a window and Paul embraced him, and he lived. Then Paul did what… he BROKE bread again! So tell me if they broke bread TWICE in one or two days… is this placing a restriction upon the breaking of bread? NO. The whole idea behind getting together with others and breaking bread and doing so in what we call a communion, or partaking of the Lord's Supper was to do so in REMEMBRANCE of our SAVIOR'S LIFE and DEATH. Now ask yourself a very serious question- how often do you thing Jesus wanted us to remember His life and death? Once a week? Once a month? Once a quarter? Once a year? Seriously! Ask yourself that question right now! How often do you think Jesus wanted to be remembered? I'll tell you the answer…
EVERY DAY!
Jesus did NOT institute a practice with restrictions on how often we would celebrate living for Him, remembering all He'd done for us! This institution in NO WAY did away with the Sabbath day, not in any way, shape, or form! If anything the fact is pointed out that Paul did not begin his journey on the Sabbath day- but began it on the first day of the week. From sundown to sundown the days were counted back then. So that Saturday evening began the first day of the week and it continued until sundown the next day and by that time Paul was gone having left at the break of day- when the sun rose. Paul began his journey NOT on the Sabbath day but on the first day of the week. The Sabbath wasn't for long journeying- and Paul would not begin such a journey on the day He considered the Sabbath.
Try as people might they cannot find anywhere in the Bible stating that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first day- people have offered thousands of dollars for someone to prove the change and they can't because it's not there.
So if God did not institute a change in His law, who did? Who would think to change God's times and laws?
Dan 7:19 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;
Dan 7:20 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.
Dan 7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Dan 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Dan 7:25 AND HE SHALL SPEAK GREAT WORDS AGAINST THE MOST HIGH AND SHALL WEAR OUT THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH AND THINK TO CHANGE TIMES AND LAWS and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
We've studied this in our prophecy studies in the recent past and know that this power would be the Papacy power (If you want more information on that please don't hesitate to read past blogs on prophecy it's truly enlightening!).
Read a few of these excerpts from various websites-
"The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." "The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ." -Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. (The Pope can modify divine law.) Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary.
"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day, that is Saturday. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church." Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
"Have you not any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed. p. 174
"The Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday." The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the 10 Commandments?"
"I answer yes".
"Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, the 1st day?"
"I answer yes".
"Did Christ change the day?"
"I answer no!" Faithfully yours, "J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
Which is the Sabbath day?
Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemity from Saturday to Sunday."
Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1946 ed.), p.50. Geiermann received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X on his labors, January 25, 1910.
This isn't some widely kept secret- it's out there, it's known to those who want to know the truth.
Some say it doesn't matter which day is kept as long as you keep one out of the seven.
Well answer me this.. If that were true then why did God after instituting this law have His people gather twice as much manna on the sixth day and none on the seventh? Seriously? Why?
God was teaching His people that it DOES matter! They couldn't go out and gather double manna on any other day. If they gathered double manna on any other day it went bad- it became rotten, but on the seventh day it remained fresh. This is by the divine hand of God! This was God teaching the importance of His law and the day it's kept.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
A memorial of CREATION!
Who created all things?
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
For by JESUS were ALL things created.
The Son of God before He even became the Son of God taking on human flesh was right there in the beginning WITH God when all things were created.
The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation- of our Creator. The Sabbath even holds the distinction of being the seal of God. Seriously. What makes up a seal? The Name, the title, the territory, this is what makes it official. The fourth commandment has all three of those things.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The LORD made heaven and earth, the sea --
Name (LORD), and title (Creator), heaven, earth, and sea (Territory).
AMAZING!
This most amazing fourth commandment will NEVER be done away with, never. There will never come a time when this will be something obsolete, never. As long as we exist we will forever be the creatures and God our Creator- way too many people have forgotten this fact! There will NEVER come a time that we won't have to remember our CREATOR, never! There will NEVER come a time when we will not have to obey this commandment, NEVER!
Isa 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Every month and every Sabbath we will worship before the LORD!
Why every month as well as every Sabbath?
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The tree of life- we will eat from the tree every month!
Why every Sabbath?
Because forever will our Creator be worthy of our worship on the seventh day when He finished creation.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Our creation will perpetually be recalled, never forgotten, never! The Sabbath was made for us! It was a GIFT to us! Yet way too many just view is as a restriction, a duty, a chore. This beautiful gift will protect us.
At Bible study tonight we were discussing the image of the beast and how those who are not saved will worship the image of the beast. When we worship on God's true day of worship we are being given a protection from this sort of false worship. We are truly, truly blessed beyond anything we can fully comprehend. Is it any wonder God made the Sabbath for us? He wanted to protect us! He was giving us an amazing gift, so incredibly amazing and yet the majority of people would much rather ignore this gift or change this gift as if it weren't perfectly given to us by God in His immutable law!
By the grace and will of God may we forever keep His Sabbath day holy, following His law of love. Protect us with thy love, with thy law. Forgive us please Lord for all the sins we commit. Wash us Lord, make us whiter than snow in YOUR righteousness!
All in Your love!
Amen.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The fourth commandment of God.
Did Jesus keep the Sabbath all 33 years He lived on earth?
Yes.
Did Jesus tell anyone that the Sabbath day would be changed from the seventh to the first day of the week?
No.
Did Jesus tell anyone to celebrate His resurrection by changing the Sabbath day from the seventh day to the first day of the week?
No.
Did Jesus institute any celebrations?
Yes.
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
DO THIS- in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
THIS DO- in remembrance of me.
As OFTEN as ye eat this…and drink this… ye show the Lord's death till He come.
This decree by our Savior had NOTHING to do with keeping the Sabbath.
As often as we take bread, give thanks, brake the bread we are to remember our Savior's body given for us.
As often as we take the cup, we are to remember our Savior's blood which was shed for us.
Feasibly this could be much more often than once a week, once a quarter, once year. Who put the restriction on how often we are to remember our Savior living and dying for us? Who? Certainly not God. The apostles broke bread wherever they went and did NOT restrict themselves to any ONE day. Some believe this is so because the first day is mentioned on once occasion, but we know for a fact they broke bread often.
Let's read this passage-
Act 20:7 And upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Act 20:8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
Act 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
Act 20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
Act 20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
Act 20:12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.
On the first day of the week the disciples gathered and broke bread with Paul who was going to leave the next day. Now Paul gave a speech with last until midnight. A young man fell from a window and Paul embraced him, and he lived. Then Paul did what… he BROKE bread again! So tell me if they broke bread TWICE in one or two days… is this placing a restriction upon the breaking of bread? NO. The whole idea behind getting together with others and breaking bread and doing so in what we call a communion, or partaking of the Lord's Supper was to do so in REMEMBRANCE of our SAVIOR'S LIFE and DEATH. Now ask yourself a very serious question- how often do you thing Jesus wanted us to remember His life and death? Once a week? Once a month? Once a quarter? Once a year? Seriously! Ask yourself that question right now! How often do you think Jesus wanted to be remembered? I'll tell you the answer…
EVERY DAY!
Jesus did NOT institute a practice with restrictions on how often we would celebrate living for Him, remembering all He'd done for us! This institution in NO WAY did away with the Sabbath day, not in any way, shape, or form! If anything the fact is pointed out that Paul did not begin his journey on the Sabbath day- but began it on the first day of the week. From sundown to sundown the days were counted back then. So that Saturday evening began the first day of the week and it continued until sundown the next day and by that time Paul was gone having left at the break of day- when the sun rose. Paul began his journey NOT on the Sabbath day but on the first day of the week. The Sabbath wasn't for long journeying- and Paul would not begin such a journey on the day He considered the Sabbath.
Try as people might they cannot find anywhere in the Bible stating that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first day- people have offered thousands of dollars for someone to prove the change and they can't because it's not there.
So if God did not institute a change in His law, who did? Who would think to change God's times and laws?
Dan 7:19 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;
Dan 7:20 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.
Dan 7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Dan 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Dan 7:25 AND HE SHALL SPEAK GREAT WORDS AGAINST THE MOST HIGH AND SHALL WEAR OUT THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH AND THINK TO CHANGE TIMES AND LAWS and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
We've studied this in our prophecy studies in the recent past and know that this power would be the Papacy power (If you want more information on that please don't hesitate to read past blogs on prophecy it's truly enlightening!).
Read a few of these excerpts from various websites-
"The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." "The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ." -Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. (The Pope can modify divine law.) Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary.
"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day, that is Saturday. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church." Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
"Have you not any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed. p. 174
"The Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday." The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the 10 Commandments?"
"I answer yes".
"Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, the 1st day?"
"I answer yes".
"Did Christ change the day?"
"I answer no!" Faithfully yours, "J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
Which is the Sabbath day?
Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemity from Saturday to Sunday."
Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1946 ed.), p.50. Geiermann received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X on his labors, January 25, 1910.
This isn't some widely kept secret- it's out there, it's known to those who want to know the truth.
Some say it doesn't matter which day is kept as long as you keep one out of the seven.
Well answer me this.. If that were true then why did God after instituting this law have His people gather twice as much manna on the sixth day and none on the seventh? Seriously? Why?
God was teaching His people that it DOES matter! They couldn't go out and gather double manna on any other day. If they gathered double manna on any other day it went bad- it became rotten, but on the seventh day it remained fresh. This is by the divine hand of God! This was God teaching the importance of His law and the day it's kept.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
A memorial of CREATION!
Who created all things?
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
For by JESUS were ALL things created.
The Son of God before He even became the Son of God taking on human flesh was right there in the beginning WITH God when all things were created.
The Sabbath is a memorial of Creation- of our Creator. The Sabbath even holds the distinction of being the seal of God. Seriously. What makes up a seal? The Name, the title, the territory, this is what makes it official. The fourth commandment has all three of those things.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The LORD made heaven and earth, the sea --
Name (LORD), and title (Creator), heaven, earth, and sea (Territory).
AMAZING!
This most amazing fourth commandment will NEVER be done away with, never. There will never come a time when this will be something obsolete, never. As long as we exist we will forever be the creatures and God our Creator- way too many people have forgotten this fact! There will NEVER come a time that we won't have to remember our CREATOR, never! There will NEVER come a time when we will not have to obey this commandment, NEVER!
Isa 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Every month and every Sabbath we will worship before the LORD!
Why every month as well as every Sabbath?
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The tree of life- we will eat from the tree every month!
Why every Sabbath?
Because forever will our Creator be worthy of our worship on the seventh day when He finished creation.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Our creation will perpetually be recalled, never forgotten, never! The Sabbath was made for us! It was a GIFT to us! Yet way too many just view is as a restriction, a duty, a chore. This beautiful gift will protect us.
At Bible study tonight we were discussing the image of the beast and how those who are not saved will worship the image of the beast. When we worship on God's true day of worship we are being given a protection from this sort of false worship. We are truly, truly blessed beyond anything we can fully comprehend. Is it any wonder God made the Sabbath for us? He wanted to protect us! He was giving us an amazing gift, so incredibly amazing and yet the majority of people would much rather ignore this gift or change this gift as if it weren't perfectly given to us by God in His immutable law!
By the grace and will of God may we forever keep His Sabbath day holy, following His law of love. Protect us with thy love, with thy law. Forgive us please Lord for all the sins we commit. Wash us Lord, make us whiter than snow in YOUR righteousness!
All in Your love!
Amen.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Do Not Misuse God's Name
Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exo 20:7 Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name. (CEV-Contemporary English Version)
God's name.
What's in a name?
NAME-
A primitive word (perhaps rather from H7760 through the idea of definite and conspicuous position; compare H8064); an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character: - + base, [in-] fame [-ous], name (-d), renown, report.
A MARK, or MEMORIAL of INDIVIDUALITY.
HONOR, AUTHORITY, CHARACTER.
A name represents a person- it is a MARK a MEMORIAL of INDIVIDUALITY.
When I say your name you want it said with respect, don't you? Seriously. When you say a person's name with derision you're dishonoring them. They ARE their name. We are our names. When we MISUSE someone's name we are in essence misusing that person. We are doing wrong against them. I cannot say your name and curse as I say it without it being offensive to you. Maybe you're thinking about now that people nowadays say derogatory things all the time but in a playful affectionate manner meaning no harm, and you know what, that is just another sign of our times. The LACK of RESPECT we have for each other is astounding, literally astounding! You might now say that it's not done out of a lack of respect, not at all, it's all in fun but you know what…when we can use a derogatory term and make it term of affection we are warping things, we are distorting things and as that is done there is a part of us that recognizes the offensive meaning and that part of us even subconsciously knows that the word being used is normally used disrespectfully.
People often believe that we take the Lord's name in vain just when we swear using it, but they don't believe it's in vain just to say His name in exasperation, or even during moments of pleasure. Watch television for a few nights and try to count the number of times God's name is said, and not said in prayer with reverence, with respect- it's horrendous! Watch a few movies and it's the same thing. Even movies that would otherwise would be wonderful are sullied by this shamefully accepted abuse of our Lord's name.
Is it WRONG of God to want our respect? NO! It goes hand in hand with God wanting us to have NO other gods before Him. It goes hand in hand with God not wanting us to worship idols. God should be first always in all things and when we MISUSE God's name we are NOT putting Him first, we are not respecting Him at all. When we misuse God's name we are dishonoring God Himself. Everything is in our names.
Why have people come to accept the callous misuse of God's name? Because of Satan. Satan loves when people dishonor God and stops at nothing to make it acceptable to do so. People barely blink an eye when God's name is misused it's a sad, sad world we live in. A sad, evil world we exist in and Satan would have us all believe the commandments of God are completely obsolete.
Should there ever come a time when it is okay to misuse God's name? Ever? NO!
This is one of God's ten commandments and it will NEVER be gone, never. Why do people think these commandments are breakable? Why do people think these commandments are something to set aside? Why do people believe that Jesus no longer wants us to keep these commandments? Can you ever imagine Jesus using His Father's name in vain, misusing His Father's name? No. He never would, never and we must never do so.
God forgive us please, forgive us for misusing Your name.
In Your love, through Your righteousness, by Your grace, forgiveness, and mercy always.
Amen.
Exo 20:7 Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name. (CEV-Contemporary English Version)
God's name.
What's in a name?
NAME-
A primitive word (perhaps rather from H7760 through the idea of definite and conspicuous position; compare H8064); an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character: - + base, [in-] fame [-ous], name (-d), renown, report.
A MARK, or MEMORIAL of INDIVIDUALITY.
HONOR, AUTHORITY, CHARACTER.
A name represents a person- it is a MARK a MEMORIAL of INDIVIDUALITY.
When I say your name you want it said with respect, don't you? Seriously. When you say a person's name with derision you're dishonoring them. They ARE their name. We are our names. When we MISUSE someone's name we are in essence misusing that person. We are doing wrong against them. I cannot say your name and curse as I say it without it being offensive to you. Maybe you're thinking about now that people nowadays say derogatory things all the time but in a playful affectionate manner meaning no harm, and you know what, that is just another sign of our times. The LACK of RESPECT we have for each other is astounding, literally astounding! You might now say that it's not done out of a lack of respect, not at all, it's all in fun but you know what…when we can use a derogatory term and make it term of affection we are warping things, we are distorting things and as that is done there is a part of us that recognizes the offensive meaning and that part of us even subconsciously knows that the word being used is normally used disrespectfully.
People often believe that we take the Lord's name in vain just when we swear using it, but they don't believe it's in vain just to say His name in exasperation, or even during moments of pleasure. Watch television for a few nights and try to count the number of times God's name is said, and not said in prayer with reverence, with respect- it's horrendous! Watch a few movies and it's the same thing. Even movies that would otherwise would be wonderful are sullied by this shamefully accepted abuse of our Lord's name.
Is it WRONG of God to want our respect? NO! It goes hand in hand with God wanting us to have NO other gods before Him. It goes hand in hand with God not wanting us to worship idols. God should be first always in all things and when we MISUSE God's name we are NOT putting Him first, we are not respecting Him at all. When we misuse God's name we are dishonoring God Himself. Everything is in our names.
Why have people come to accept the callous misuse of God's name? Because of Satan. Satan loves when people dishonor God and stops at nothing to make it acceptable to do so. People barely blink an eye when God's name is misused it's a sad, sad world we live in. A sad, evil world we exist in and Satan would have us all believe the commandments of God are completely obsolete.
Should there ever come a time when it is okay to misuse God's name? Ever? NO!
This is one of God's ten commandments and it will NEVER be gone, never. Why do people think these commandments are breakable? Why do people think these commandments are something to set aside? Why do people believe that Jesus no longer wants us to keep these commandments? Can you ever imagine Jesus using His Father's name in vain, misusing His Father's name? No. He never would, never and we must never do so.
God forgive us please, forgive us for misusing Your name.
In Your love, through Your righteousness, by Your grace, forgiveness, and mercy always.
Amen.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
No graven images
Yesterday we studied the first commandment. We saw clearly that at the very point where man first sinned, God was countering that move. Where man decided they wanted to listen to another and not believe in God- God said we shall have NO other gods before Him, NONE. Is this commandment as important today as it was the day God uttered it and wrote it upon the stone tablets? Is this commandment as important today as it was when God came in the flesh as Jesus, our Savior who lived His entire life obeying this commandment? The answer to these questions is a resounding, YES. Never has there been a time, not even a single moment when this commandment was unimportant. Never will there ever be a time when it becomes unimportant and IF anyone thinks that this commandment will ever be done away with then they have no truth in them, none. God. Our Creator. God our Heavenly Father. God our Savior. God who we owe our very lives to, our very existence comes from God and NO other, NO OTHER. It is crucial for us to recognize that this GREAT commandment is forever, it is enduring, it … as God… was, is, and ever will be.
The second commandment--
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Psa 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
Psa 115:2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
Make NO images.
Make NO likenesses.
Bow down to NO images, NO likenesses.
Serve NO images, NO likenesses.
Idols of silver and gold.
Works of men's hands.
They have mouths- but DO NOT speak.
They have eyes- but DO NOT see.
They have ears- but DO NOT ear.
They have noses- but DO NOT smell.
They have hands- but DO NOT touch.
They have feet- but DO NOT walk.
ANYONE who makes an idol is like that idol.
We are not to make images, we are not to make anything and worship it any way! Why? Because NOTHING we could ever make and worship is God. Nothing we can make is ALIVE. Nothing we make can think of its own accord and speak from those thoughts. Nothing we can make can see, ear, smell, touch, walk… of its own accord. Yes, we can make mechanical things that do our bidding, we can program things we make to simulate living things, but they are NOT alive. They are in essence- dead things.
People who make these things are in essence dead too. If we do NOT worship God we will NOT have eternal life. If we worship dead idols it is the dead worshipping the dead, the lifeless worshipping the lifeless.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
If you make idols, if you don't make them but you trust in them, you are like those idols you are dead.
How can this commandment EVER change?
How can this commandment EVER be unimportant?
How can this commandment EVER be tossed aside, done away with?
Why would it be changed, why would it become unimportant, why would it be tossed aside or down away with, ever?
When would there ever come a time it would be okay to worship lifeless objects? When? Why would we want to? Why would people rather worship something they've made with their own hands- knowing its limitations, rather than worship a living God?
People PRETEND their dead gods live, they make themselves believe their dead gods have powers when they have none. They give these dead gods attributes of our living God but those dead, lifeless, powerless gods are nothing but abominations to God.
We are NOT to bow down or serve dead, lifeless, powerless idols. We are NOT to bow down and worship any thing or any one else- living or dead. We are to worship God only, we are to bow down and serve God only. He is our Creator and none other is.
When people decide to worship things as if they are themselves god, they are putting things on the same level as God. We are to worship God because He created all things, not worship the things He created. He never told us to worship created things, never. Yet so many people try to convince others that they worship the nature God created, or they worship nature that exists and they can touch, see, feel, smell because it is real. People come up with many, many reasons why they are better off worshipping people who have lived seemingly good lives and died. We are not to worship any, not the Apostles, not Moses, not David, not Abraham. God alone deserves our worship, our bowing down- our subservience, our service.
By the grace of God may we NEVER bow down or serve lifeless idols, never! If we want to live, we must serve a LIVING God! We must serve the CREATOR!
In His love!
Amen.
The second commandment--
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Psa 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
Psa 115:2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
Make NO images.
Make NO likenesses.
Bow down to NO images, NO likenesses.
Serve NO images, NO likenesses.
Idols of silver and gold.
Works of men's hands.
They have mouths- but DO NOT speak.
They have eyes- but DO NOT see.
They have ears- but DO NOT ear.
They have noses- but DO NOT smell.
They have hands- but DO NOT touch.
They have feet- but DO NOT walk.
ANYONE who makes an idol is like that idol.
We are not to make images, we are not to make anything and worship it any way! Why? Because NOTHING we could ever make and worship is God. Nothing we can make is ALIVE. Nothing we make can think of its own accord and speak from those thoughts. Nothing we can make can see, ear, smell, touch, walk… of its own accord. Yes, we can make mechanical things that do our bidding, we can program things we make to simulate living things, but they are NOT alive. They are in essence- dead things.
People who make these things are in essence dead too. If we do NOT worship God we will NOT have eternal life. If we worship dead idols it is the dead worshipping the dead, the lifeless worshipping the lifeless.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
If you make idols, if you don't make them but you trust in them, you are like those idols you are dead.
How can this commandment EVER change?
How can this commandment EVER be unimportant?
How can this commandment EVER be tossed aside, done away with?
Why would it be changed, why would it become unimportant, why would it be tossed aside or down away with, ever?
When would there ever come a time it would be okay to worship lifeless objects? When? Why would we want to? Why would people rather worship something they've made with their own hands- knowing its limitations, rather than worship a living God?
People PRETEND their dead gods live, they make themselves believe their dead gods have powers when they have none. They give these dead gods attributes of our living God but those dead, lifeless, powerless gods are nothing but abominations to God.
We are NOT to bow down or serve dead, lifeless, powerless idols. We are NOT to bow down and worship any thing or any one else- living or dead. We are to worship God only, we are to bow down and serve God only. He is our Creator and none other is.
When people decide to worship things as if they are themselves god, they are putting things on the same level as God. We are to worship God because He created all things, not worship the things He created. He never told us to worship created things, never. Yet so many people try to convince others that they worship the nature God created, or they worship nature that exists and they can touch, see, feel, smell because it is real. People come up with many, many reasons why they are better off worshipping people who have lived seemingly good lives and died. We are not to worship any, not the Apostles, not Moses, not David, not Abraham. God alone deserves our worship, our bowing down- our subservience, our service.
By the grace of God may we NEVER bow down or serve lifeless idols, never! If we want to live, we must serve a LIVING God! We must serve the CREATOR!
In His love!
Amen.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Choose God First
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Is this a selfish commandment on God's part? Why does God want us to have NO other gods before Him? We have to think about this because this IS one of those commandments people have tossed aside as if it doesn't matter at all. In fact, people have put so many idols in front of themselves that God on that list is way down near the bottom. Then again you will have people who have God up near the top, but still NOT first. These people think they're close enough to earn points but there is NO close enough. You either put God first or you are breaking this commandment there is not other way. Now why SHOULD we put God first, just because He tells us to? Isn't that enough? Do we need any other reason to follow a commandment from our Creator? If we TRULY believe He is our Creator. If we truly believe He is our Heavenly Father, then do we need anything other than His word in order to follow His commands? Is it Satan's desire that we believe we need more? He did tell Eve this…
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Satan says- God says you should eat of every tree of the garden.
Eve says- Every tree but the tree in the middle of the garden, we can't touch it or eat of it or we'll die.
Satan says- You won't die.
Obviously Satan is telling Eve that God is a LIAR. In fact Satan embellishes that.
Satan says- God knows that if you do eat of that tree your eyes are going to be opened up, your understanding is going to be like His. You'll understand all the things that God understands. You'll know what good things are and what evil things are. You don't know what evil is, God is keeping that from you. God doesn't want you to be like He is. God doesn't want you to know about evil because then you'd know good. See you can't tell what's really good unless you know what's really bad.
Okay, so Satan didn't say all those things but can't we read between the lines a little bit and understand that Satan's purpose for getting Eve to take a bite from that forbidden fruit was all just to get them to sin, to disobey God's command, to NOT listen to their Creator.
Was God supposed to explain the reason for His command to Adam and Eve? Was He supposed to sit down and tell them all about good and evil and why it's a good idea not to have their understanding opened? We want to say- yeah, He should have done that and then they wouldn't have sinned. See, we have all the answers, all the excuses and if one isn't good enough we can think up many more.
The truth is… God, our Creator gave us a command and we broke it. God, our Creator told us to do ONE thing, listen to Him and we chose not to listen to Him. We chose to disobey. We chose to listen to another before God.
Did you read that… We chose to listen to another BEFORE God. We listened to Satan BEFORE God. Our first sin was choosing another over God, choosing to listen to Satan over God. So is it any wonder at all that God's FIRST commandment is…
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
He's saying LISTEN, You chose to follow another, now if you want to follow me you cannot choose to follow any others over me, I must come first in your life. You can't have any other gods before me, I must be first. You left me once, now if you want me back in your life you will have to choose me and stay with me. Satan in the disguise of many evils will try to get you to choose others all of them controlled by Him, and you cannot choose them over me. You will be tempted, you will be tried. You are living with the propensity towards sinning unlike my first humans, so you will have to put all your hope, all your trust in Me and NO other. Look to Me. Make Me first so that I can restore you to Me in all purity. You will NOT be able to do this alone, but find your HOPE in Me!
There is SO much in this commandment that we need to consider, so incredibly much beyond the eight words.
More tomorrow…all by the grace of God. May we CHOOSE Him to be first, may we CHOOSE Him to be our HOPE always, trusting in no other but Him.
In His amazing LOVE.
Amen.
Is this a selfish commandment on God's part? Why does God want us to have NO other gods before Him? We have to think about this because this IS one of those commandments people have tossed aside as if it doesn't matter at all. In fact, people have put so many idols in front of themselves that God on that list is way down near the bottom. Then again you will have people who have God up near the top, but still NOT first. These people think they're close enough to earn points but there is NO close enough. You either put God first or you are breaking this commandment there is not other way. Now why SHOULD we put God first, just because He tells us to? Isn't that enough? Do we need any other reason to follow a commandment from our Creator? If we TRULY believe He is our Creator. If we truly believe He is our Heavenly Father, then do we need anything other than His word in order to follow His commands? Is it Satan's desire that we believe we need more? He did tell Eve this…
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Satan says- God says you should eat of every tree of the garden.
Eve says- Every tree but the tree in the middle of the garden, we can't touch it or eat of it or we'll die.
Satan says- You won't die.
Obviously Satan is telling Eve that God is a LIAR. In fact Satan embellishes that.
Satan says- God knows that if you do eat of that tree your eyes are going to be opened up, your understanding is going to be like His. You'll understand all the things that God understands. You'll know what good things are and what evil things are. You don't know what evil is, God is keeping that from you. God doesn't want you to be like He is. God doesn't want you to know about evil because then you'd know good. See you can't tell what's really good unless you know what's really bad.
Okay, so Satan didn't say all those things but can't we read between the lines a little bit and understand that Satan's purpose for getting Eve to take a bite from that forbidden fruit was all just to get them to sin, to disobey God's command, to NOT listen to their Creator.
Was God supposed to explain the reason for His command to Adam and Eve? Was He supposed to sit down and tell them all about good and evil and why it's a good idea not to have their understanding opened? We want to say- yeah, He should have done that and then they wouldn't have sinned. See, we have all the answers, all the excuses and if one isn't good enough we can think up many more.
The truth is… God, our Creator gave us a command and we broke it. God, our Creator told us to do ONE thing, listen to Him and we chose not to listen to Him. We chose to disobey. We chose to listen to another before God.
Did you read that… We chose to listen to another BEFORE God. We listened to Satan BEFORE God. Our first sin was choosing another over God, choosing to listen to Satan over God. So is it any wonder at all that God's FIRST commandment is…
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
He's saying LISTEN, You chose to follow another, now if you want to follow me you cannot choose to follow any others over me, I must come first in your life. You can't have any other gods before me, I must be first. You left me once, now if you want me back in your life you will have to choose me and stay with me. Satan in the disguise of many evils will try to get you to choose others all of them controlled by Him, and you cannot choose them over me. You will be tempted, you will be tried. You are living with the propensity towards sinning unlike my first humans, so you will have to put all your hope, all your trust in Me and NO other. Look to Me. Make Me first so that I can restore you to Me in all purity. You will NOT be able to do this alone, but find your HOPE in Me!
There is SO much in this commandment that we need to consider, so incredibly much beyond the eight words.
More tomorrow…all by the grace of God. May we CHOOSE Him to be first, may we CHOOSE Him to be our HOPE always, trusting in no other but Him.
In His amazing LOVE.
Amen.
Monday, November 14, 2011
God is Love
Psa 111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
Psa 111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Commandments.
A general commands an army.
A president commands a country.
We command our households.
Very few people, if any, truly live without any rules it's just not feasible.
From the time we are young we are given rules. In fact at the youngest of age we are not allowed to eat our fill or we'd eat until we were sick to our stomach. We are taught not to touch things that might injure us even when we want to because we're just too young to comprehend that we are in any danger. As we grow the understanding of what danger is becomes something we learn and yet stop for a moment and imagine a life where a parent didn't stop their child from doing things but let them do whatever they desire. How long do you really think that child would live? I'm not talking a parent neglecting their child, they'd feed, bath, clothe their child but outside of that they'd let the child do as the child pleased. So tell me how long do you think the child would live before that child did something to hurt themselves?
A parent protects their child sometimes even a neglectful parent will protect the child so that they are kept from harming themselves. Abusive parents even keep their children alive, mostly, and before anyone thinks I'm standing up for abusive parents I'm not, I think they are the lowest of the low and Jesus said this…
Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
The point I'm trying to make here is that as a rule, most parents protect their children in thousands of ways they themselves aren't even aware of, they do it because it's the right thing to do. Keep a baby warm, keep a child well fed, keep harmful things out of reach, and so on.
We don't call them commands because that sounds too stringent and overbearing, in fact we think it very archaic when we hear the words… 'I command you.' If someone said that to you, 'I command you…' you'd probably laugh at them because it's so preposterous. Yet we are giving commands and getting them all the time. We grow up following the commands of our parents or disobeying those commandments and when we follow them everything usually goes well for us, and when we disobey things go bad for us, we are punished. We understand this concept- we grow up with it, most everyone grows up with it and yet when it comes to our Creator giving us commands we somehow want to look at them as being more restrictive and binding, more geared towards punishing us before we even do something wrong. People have taken those commandments and torn them apart. They've separated the ten commandments of God and saved the ones they agree are generally good all around, and they've tossed aside the ones they find silly and not really applicable to people in the real world.
Our Creator did not leave us unattended. Our Creator did not neglect us. Our Creator is not an abuser. Our Creator gave us every single command we'd ever need to follow in order to live our lives safely. We just have forgotten, or never really knew the truth of the matter. Those commands were given to children from their Heavenly Father- all ten of them.
Psa 111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
Psa 111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Read them, go on, go to Exodus 20 and read those ten commandments from our LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER. Read them and think about the love God has for us, think about the love Jesus has for us as you read them and take your time, find the LOVE in those commands because they are ALL about love, and love is protecting, caring, kind, giving…you know what love is…God is love.
1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
By the grace of God…more tomorrow!
In His amazing LOVE!
Amen.
Psa 111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Commandments.
A general commands an army.
A president commands a country.
We command our households.
Very few people, if any, truly live without any rules it's just not feasible.
From the time we are young we are given rules. In fact at the youngest of age we are not allowed to eat our fill or we'd eat until we were sick to our stomach. We are taught not to touch things that might injure us even when we want to because we're just too young to comprehend that we are in any danger. As we grow the understanding of what danger is becomes something we learn and yet stop for a moment and imagine a life where a parent didn't stop their child from doing things but let them do whatever they desire. How long do you really think that child would live? I'm not talking a parent neglecting their child, they'd feed, bath, clothe their child but outside of that they'd let the child do as the child pleased. So tell me how long do you think the child would live before that child did something to hurt themselves?
A parent protects their child sometimes even a neglectful parent will protect the child so that they are kept from harming themselves. Abusive parents even keep their children alive, mostly, and before anyone thinks I'm standing up for abusive parents I'm not, I think they are the lowest of the low and Jesus said this…
Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
The point I'm trying to make here is that as a rule, most parents protect their children in thousands of ways they themselves aren't even aware of, they do it because it's the right thing to do. Keep a baby warm, keep a child well fed, keep harmful things out of reach, and so on.
We don't call them commands because that sounds too stringent and overbearing, in fact we think it very archaic when we hear the words… 'I command you.' If someone said that to you, 'I command you…' you'd probably laugh at them because it's so preposterous. Yet we are giving commands and getting them all the time. We grow up following the commands of our parents or disobeying those commandments and when we follow them everything usually goes well for us, and when we disobey things go bad for us, we are punished. We understand this concept- we grow up with it, most everyone grows up with it and yet when it comes to our Creator giving us commands we somehow want to look at them as being more restrictive and binding, more geared towards punishing us before we even do something wrong. People have taken those commandments and torn them apart. They've separated the ten commandments of God and saved the ones they agree are generally good all around, and they've tossed aside the ones they find silly and not really applicable to people in the real world.
Our Creator did not leave us unattended. Our Creator did not neglect us. Our Creator is not an abuser. Our Creator gave us every single command we'd ever need to follow in order to live our lives safely. We just have forgotten, or never really knew the truth of the matter. Those commands were given to children from their Heavenly Father- all ten of them.
Psa 111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
Psa 111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
Read them, go on, go to Exodus 20 and read those ten commandments from our LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER. Read them and think about the love God has for us, think about the love Jesus has for us as you read them and take your time, find the LOVE in those commands because they are ALL about love, and love is protecting, caring, kind, giving…you know what love is…God is love.
1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
By the grace of God…more tomorrow!
In His amazing LOVE!
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)