Secrets from the foundation of the world

Mat 13:35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

All worlds were made by two Gods.  It's not something I say lightly, not something I say to cause a stir.  We are so caught up in the ONE God belief we can't reconcile it in our brains that there were TWO Gods who created the world.  This is one of the many secrets kept from the foundation of the world and yet revealed by our Savior.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

The WORD was GOD.

The SAME was in the beginning WITH GOD.

God with God.

One God plus another God equals two Gods.

Yet we are so intent on believing in only ONE God that many man made theories have been created to keep this foremost in the minds of Christianity, as well as other religions.

Why is it important to realize that God (before being declared to be Jesus, God's Son) was with God (the declared Father)?  What harm is there in believing in only a single God? If we holdfast to the belief in a single God we do away with the God-hood of the Savior and make Him something lesser than God the Father.  Being equal with God means being equal in all ways, lesser in none.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Php_2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God

God with God. Fully God with fully God. Everlasting to everlasting.  If we make our Savior a lessor God in anyway, in the tiniest of ways then we void His sacrifice. 

They were and are and always will be TWO Gods in agreement, complete perfect agreement. 

Yes, secrets kept from the foundation of the world were revealed by our Savior to us in many ways. 

Some might argue that it wasn't a secret that there was more than one God in the beginning because Bible does use a plural for God. Yet, I personally believe the clarification was given to us by our Savior. The Holy Spirit enlightening us to all truth, His truth.

Please, Father keep us in ALL Your truth, all through the grace and mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Amen.

Eternity Secured.

Tortured.

Cruel mockings.

Scourgings.

Bonds, imprisonments.

Stoned.

Sawn asunder.

Tempted.

Slain with the sword.

Wandering in animal skins.

Destitute.

Afflicted.

Tormented.

Wandering in- deserts, mountains, dens and caves.

These were ALL what men and women of GOD endured!

This was the life, and the end of life they were called to endure.  Yet we DARE to believe that if we have God's favor we should have an easy life, pain and worry free.  We believe we should be kept safe from all evil doers. We believe that our Savior won't allow horrific things to happen to us. We say things like, 'God will take care of me.' And when we say that we are believing that it means bad things will not be allowed to happen to us. We believe we won't end up homeless, that no one will be able to harm us, that others won't torment us or cruelly mock us.

God taking care of us really and truly means that we will be secure in eternal life, not this temporary life.

NOT that God doesn't take care of us and keep us here and now, He can and does. However we HAVE to realize that it is our eternal life that is truly God's plan. Jesus died so we could HAVE access to eternal life, not so we could have an easy going, pain free, worry free, stress free, hunger free, evil  in all its forms free- life. We must trust that NO matter what we are called to endure, from the worst of things we can imagine, to the small annoyances- that  God will NOT allow us to endure anything that would keep us from eternal life in Him as long as we have faith to believe in the Son of God and His sacrifice for us, in His righteousness.

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of 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.

This is truth!

This is reality!

While we cry tears of pain, tears of sadness, tears of frustration and anguish we can do so while still being assured that this all is only temporary to eternity, an eternity that is free from evil and all it's results.  

All those men and women of God did NOT receive the promise given to them. 

They WILL not receive the promise either- not until we are all perfected together.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

In a moment.

In the twinkling of an eye.

At the LAST TRUMP.

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

This is our HOPE. This should be our desire. This must be what we think of ALWAYS not sporadically. Truly this life however long it is for us here and now is a temporary existence. For ALL things- mental, emotional, physical no matter the torture we endure invisibly or visibly it is TEMPORARY to the eternity to come and this was the message our Savior came to give us and sealed it's surety with His death, a blood sacrifice, an atonement.

We may be- Tortured.

We may endure- Cruel mockings.

We may face- Scourgings.

We may feel the weight of -Bonds, imprisonments.

We can be killed by being - Stoned.

We may be- Sawn asunder.

We are often- Tempted.

We may endure being - Slain with the sword.

We might find ourselves - Wandering in animal skins.

We could be- Destitute.

We are constantly - Afflicted.

We know being- Tormented.

We might have to start - Wandering in- deserts, mountains, dens and caves.

Whatever our fate, wherever we fall in the above, whether it is between the cracks in another category altogether, we ALL face eternity- either eternity as nothingness outside of Christ and His love, or eternity with everything in Christ and His love.

Every single man and women of God before us whether it is going all the way back to Abraham and Sarah, on down to the Apostles Peter, John… Paul  and beyond has the same fate as we do.  Abraham sleeps in the grave, David sleeps in the grave, Paul sleeps in his grave.  I'm not saying you're going to go to their graves and find remains- after all this time the remain are but dust returned to dust.  All that made the human beings who existed as Abraham, David, and Paul physically has disappeared. Mentally, emotionally all that made them human is in death's sleep.  The breath of life, the breath that sparked life in them returned to God but that breath was NOT the human being they were- it was not them physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.  We all know that a person can be void of all brain activity yet still breathe with help.  A person can be kept alive this way for a long time.  All that made the person who they were has already begun the long sleep of nothingness. When that breath is taken away fully there is no longer life.

Is it any wonder our Bibles explain death as a sleep?

Deu_31:16  And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt SLEEP WITH THY FATHERS; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

2Sa_7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt SLEEP WITH THEY FATHERS, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

1Ki_1:21  Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall SLEEP WITH HIS FATHERS, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

Why say such things if they aren't true.  We all know sleep is a state of unconsciousness - for the most part dreamless.  Death too is a state of unconsciousness.  All that we are is kept reserved in God. He alone who called the world into being has the power to give back to us our flesh and blood and He will at that last trump.  The human being that Abraham, that David, that Paul once were with flesh and blood will be called forth into existence and that breath given back to God will once more be given to them and they will know consciousness once more- death's sleep will be over for them. 

There will be no fantastical shock of how much has taken place since they last lived because they are immediately called to meet the Lord in the air and to go to heaven with Him.  They are raised to incorruption, to immortality and the receive the PROMISE all at the same time those who are alive receive the promise.

Can't find peace now? Then grasp ahold of the sword and endure all you are called to endure until the promise can be fulfilled! We are not promised peace--

Mat_10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Eph 6:17  ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

All by HIS grace through the SPIRIT, please FATHER in HEAVEN! We would be YOURS!

I'm a pilgrim, are you?

TEMPORARY TO ETERNITY- that is what our current living conditions are right now. The spiritual life we nurture is eternal in Christ, the physical life we have is truly very, very temporary to eternity. There is a 'grand scheme of things' and that grand scheme is our heavenly home. We are PILGRIMS here upon earth. Abraham who lived until he was 175 years old when he died and he was but a pilgrim!  

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 

Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 

Heb 11:11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 

Heb 11:12  Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 

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.

Do you confess that you are a stranger and pilgrim upon earth?

Will you die in faith, having NOT received the promises? Do you see the promises no matter how far away they are? Are you persuaded of the reality of those promises? Do you embrace the promises we have by faith?  Ask yourself these questions, please. 

The promises are NOT for this world, for this life, but for eternity.  Jesus did NOT come preaching prosperity to all who would follow Him. Jesus told it like it was, to follow Him was to bear a cross, to live on that cross because you are taking up that cross DAILY, not once a year upon a pagan holiday.That cross bears the death of Christ, an innocent Savior, our God who came to give up His life upon earth so we could have eternity with Him.  That cross calls us to sacrifice DAILY, not once in a while, not when it is easy for us to sacrifice-  the very nature of sacrifice is that it isn't something easy and pleasant. We are so darn busy indulging ourselves in many, many ways that a life of sacrifice seems all but impossible. To deny ourselves is something foreign, something we do only of we have to, when we are forced to by circumstances, but to willingly deprive ourselves of anything available to us whether it's a soft chair to rest in, or warm food, or a favorite perfume, a cherished few moments of solitude, to willing deny ourselves any of those things and so much more, is an alien concept to us. Grab everything while we can, we say, because who knows what might happen.

Sacrifice. Not because you don't have a choice and are forced to give up those things by circumstance but because you choose to deny self it's every whim.  And NO I'm not advocating martyring yourself so you can pat yourself on the back and tell yourself what a great sacrificing individual you are. I'm not telling you to destitute yourselves either.  Daily sacrifices of self can be made in many ways.  The point being we have to LIVE realizing that this LIFE, this existence we've eked out for ourselves however wonderful or not so wonderful is NOTHING but a temporary existence. And it is true that HOW we live now, the CHOICES we make now in this life determine whether or not we will share in eternity with our Savior.  

Choosing to love Christ, to accept Him as our Savior is a reality only when we choose to live for Him here and now as well. He never expected anyone to believe on Him and then go and live their lives as if He doesn't exist in reality, as a very real part of their lives. Accepting Him meant and means accepting a new way of life, living for the everlasting gospel which is the truth of Christ preparing a place for us in Heaven. Is eternity with Christ your home, the home you are look for, the promise no matter how far off that you are waiting on?  

Please Father God, please keep us in You in all things, don't let us ever live without You guiding our lives. We are truly pilgrims and strangers here and now, and we hope to find our home with You!

All in YOUR amazing love, through the sacrifice and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forever! 

So many truths to learn...

10        Messiah would be called Immanuel.        

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mat 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

11        Messiah would spend a season in Egypt.        

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Mat 2:14  When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

Mat 2:15  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

12        A massacre of children would happen at Messiah's birthplace.

Jer 31:15  Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

Mat 2:16  Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Mat 2:17  Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

Mat 2:18  In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

13        A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah        

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

Isa 40:5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Luk 3:3  And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

Luk 3:4  As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Luk 3:5  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

Luk 3:6  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

14        Messiah would be rejected by his own people.

Psa 69:8  I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Joh 7:5  For neither did his brethren believe in him.

15        Messiah would be a prophet.

Deu 18:15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken

Act 3:20  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Act 3:21  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

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.

16        Messiah would be preceded by Elijah.        

Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Mat 11:13  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

Mat 11:14  And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

17        Messiah would be declared the Son of God.        

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Mat 3:16  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Mat 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

18        Messiah would be called a Nazarene.        

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots

Mat 2:23  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

19        Messiah would bring light to Galilee.        

Isa 9:1  Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

Isa 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Mat 4:13  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

Mat 4:14  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

Mat 4:15  The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

20        Messiah would speak in parables.        

Psa 78:2  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Psa 78:3  Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Psa 78:4  We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Mat 13:15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Mat 13:35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Truths.

We must learn them.

Please, Lord, please help us to learn of You through the scriptures you taught from! Please, keep us in you!

Jesus wants us to know of Him

Prophecies of Jesus- 

6        Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob.        

Num 24:17  I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

Mat 1:2  Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren

7        Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah.        

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.

Luk 3:33  Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda

Heb 7:14  For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

8        Messiah would be heir to King David's throne.        

2Sa 7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

2Sa 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Luk 1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Rom 1:3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh

9        Messiah's throne will be anointed and eternal.        

Psa 45:6  Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

Psa 45:7  Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.         

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.

Heb 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Heb 1:9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Heb 1:11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

Heb 1:12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

*******

Jesus explained how He was prophesized of. Jesus explained how all He had to suffer through was predicted. Our Savior told His followers about every single prophecy made concerning Him and He did it for a reason.  No other had come before Him and no other since Him has fulfilled all of those prophecies.  He and He alone is the fulfillment.   We need to know this because it is truth.

We need to understand that our Savior expounded on His being prophesized because it was something we'd need to know. Yes, I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. 

Our Savior wants us to know of Him, all we can know of Him. We need to study of Him, not presume we know all there is to know of Him.

Please, to this end, Lord help us to learn of YOU.

Please Father, please bless my mother tomorrow as she undergoes surgery. Help Her, please Lord, help her.

By Your grace and love always!

A plan from the beginning...

A few prophecies from the Scriptures the Savior expounded upon -

1. The Messiah would be born of a woman.        

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Mat 1:20  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law

God was talking to Satan after Adam and Eve sinned. God told him that a hatred would be put between the seed of Satan and the seed of the woman, the seed of the woman would bruise Satan's head (a fatal blow) and the seed of Satan would bruise the seed of the woman's heel.  (Jesus was murdered, but three days later God raised Him from the tomb.)

Do we comprehend that from the beginning there was a plan?  There was.

2. Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.        

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2

Mat 2:1  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem

Luk 2:4-6  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)  To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

A ruler whose goings forth have been from everlasting- this is truth. Our Savior is from everlasting to everlasting.  We talked about this just last week, truly our Savior has always been and He was sent here, He chose to suffer, to die for us.  The Old Testament predicted it, because it was a plan- the plan of salvation.  It came to pass.

More tomorrow…. All by the GRACE of our God.

In His amazing LOVE.

For our learning

Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Our learning. We have much to learn, don't we?  Will there ever be a time when we can say we know it all, that we've learned enough of the Bible that there is no more to learn from it?  I don't think that is possible, not for me anyway.  Each day by the grace of God I try to study a little bit, some days a lot, others very little or not at all but thank God that hasn't happened too often. What prompts a lot of studying over a little bit, I don't know. I suppose that all I'm really trying to do here, is what I perceive from my studying, God's will. I desire to be led of the Spirit, and hope and pray that through CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS to belong to the Savior, to be known of Him.  Often I'll repeat things I've said before but it's not intentional to the point I've run out of things to study. Rather it's I need to impress these things upon my own heart more and more.  These studies are not for any one person, but for myself and any who may find them even a little bit interesting, informative, helpful in any way towards believing in the Way, the Truth, and the Life- Jesus Chrsit our Lord and Savior.  There's a good chance these studies are very confusing to those who try and read them, I don't know.  I have to leave all that in God's hands and just do what I'm led to do, praying it is His will.

Here in Roman's 15:4 we are told the 'thing were written aforetime were written for our learning'.  Those aforetimes are the Old Testament writings, the only Scriptures the Apostles knew.  We tend to forget that they didn't have the great wealth of spiritual knowledge we find in the New Testament, they were pen men of it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

All the scriptures they had were the Old Testament and it is these that Paul speaks of here. The Old Testament was written for OUR learning- through PATIENCE and COMFORT of the scriptures we might have HOPE.

This tells us that we cannot ignore the Old Testament of believe in any way that it was done away with. 

Jesus said this--

Luk 24:25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

Luk 24:26  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

Luk 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luk 24:28  And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

Luk 24:29  But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

Luk 24:30  And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

Luk 24:31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

Luk 24:32  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Jesus expounded on the scriptures- the OLD TESTAMENT. Truly we must seek to learn all of God's word from the Old and New Testaments not daring to neglect either of them for the other.

Tomorrow we will read more on the prophecies of our Savior, all by the grace of our God, the forgiveness of our Lord, and through the help of the Holy Spirit.

In their love always!

Amen

Uncreated

Php 2:5-8  'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. '

Christ Jesus, equal with God. 

Satan wanted to be equal with God. Satan strives for this--

Isa_14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Satan wanted a God position.  He was created. God and Jesus Christ were not created.  Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting.  Some might argue He was created when He took on flesh, but I will argue right back that the uncreated God who divested Himself of His God-spirit form and took on flesh, is still the same uncreated One alive within the womb as the uncreated One in a miraculous unknown manner.  Did He retain all His memories of divinity as an infant, as a child, as a youth, as a teenager, as an adult?  I can't say. We do know that  at 12 He knew who His declared Father in Heaven was and that His declared Father had a 'business'. 

Luk_2:49  And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

He wasn't talking about the carpentry business either, which His stepfather, Joseph was involved in. He was in the temple talking with those learned men there.  So we know that Jesus knew that He had a declared Father in heaven who had a hand in His miraculous transformation from God-spirit to God-flesh,  that Father-God becoming His Father at that moment of declaration.  When they were creating the world they were God with God, both God's equal in all ways, both God's distinctly-separately- agreeing as one in purpose. When undertaking the plan of Humanity they had the foresight to plan for a worst case scenario and that was when it was 'planned' that should Satan bring sin to Humanity then and only then would One God become the declared Father, while the Other God would take on the role of the Son being born into human flesh, flesh that was created mingled with uncreated spirit- God, an entirely new and different being altogether, a unique being was born.

Truly -

Php 2:5-8 '... Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant (((or Slave)))), and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'

As that new creation- God-Man, Jesus could have chosen not to humble Himself further than He had in taking on flesh. He could have divested Himself of the flesh rather than suffer death, the death of the cross, but instead He stayed true to the plan, He stayed obedient to the will of His Father and His own will.

We cannot let ourselves forget the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  He wasn't just another human being giving up his life for a fellow human being, he was GOD-HUMAN. He willing renounced His own powers using ONLY those of His declared Father. Every healing, every miracle, every word spoken was in accord to the will of His Father, and HE knew that His will was the same because He and His Father were One in agreement on everything, even the plan that death would be a reality for the Son.

And you and I, well we are told this…

Php 2:5-8  'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. '

LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS.

We have to become obedient unto the death of our own will, choosing rather to align our will with that of the Father and the Son. We must have the same mind about us, a determined mind, a faithful  mind believing come what may in a God who loves us and a God who died for us, a God whose righteousness must be ours because we have none of our own. We must become obedient in our surrender to God in all things, knowing through HIS power, HIS mercy, HIS grace alone that this will be possible. 

All in HIS LOVE!  Keep us in YOU FATHER, through the SON.

Amen!

Jesus in flesh faced the same temptations we face

Mat_4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them

The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, but not just that, he showed them the glory of those kingdoms.  What do you imagine he showed to Jesus? What was the glory he believed would entice God in Flesh, the declared Son of God, the One he knew had a part in his own creation, the creation of the world he claimed as his?  We can't forget that satan knew Jesus in heaven, He knew him as his creator, he knew Him as God with God.  He knew Him in His spirit form. Satan also knew that when He brought sin into the new world created by Jesus, that God the Father and God who was to become the declared Son told Adam and Eve that an enmity would be put between Satan and mankind.

Gen_3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Satan knew that the One who could bruise his head- killing him- was before Him as God in the flesh. He KNEW the prediction that while he would hurt the One before him, the One before him would destroy him.  He needed to go by all He knew of God in the flesh, God now subject to temptation because He was flesh.  He knew of God's love for the world He'd created so he offered them back to Him.

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

He was telling Jesus, God in the flesh, that He needn't be bruised at all, that He could have what He wanted, the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. 

Again, what did he show to Jesus, what was the glory that would entice God in the flesh to be tempted to give up His purpose for taking on that flesh?

What did Jesus die for?  You and I, right? But Satan was tempting Him with THINGS, with all the glories of the kingdom, all the things any human would find tempting and even Jesus would find tempting, but He would NOT yield His mind to the temptations before Him not even when they were everything He could want as a human being, yet lacked everything He wanted as God. He wanted the end to sin, an end to the thing that separated Him from His Human creations.

Mat_4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them

Jesus was shown everything the world had to offer any human being and He through His Father's power resisted the temptations that we face.  He felt the temptation it was REAL or else there wasn't a single point in satan tempting Him, not one. He knew the temptation, the force of the temptation, and none of us can ever say that our temptations are greater than His ever were.  Our temptations may be more complex because of our technology but they all have the same root causes every single one.

Are we choosing the world over Jesus because of the temptations we succumb to, the temptations we fight against?  Temptations are REAL, temptations are STRONG, temptations are going to come at us all the time with the SOLE objective to separate us from Jesus.

We choose- the world and all the glories of it, or Jesus.

By the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, may be choose JESUS. Please Father, keep us from EVIL, all in YOUR GRACE, YOUR LOVE.

Amen.

The World or Jesus?

The world or Jesus?

2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica

Loved this present world.

Do you love this present world?

Do you love the pleasures of this world more than the sacrifices needed to belong to Christ?

People don't like to believe they need to make any sacrifices, that Christ doesn't ask us to make sacrifices at all, that it would be wrong of Him to ask that of us. People want to believe that everything they do shy of outright civil law breaking is acceptable.  These are untruths we tell ourselves so we can get away with all sorts of things- loving this present world.

We are told we have to love this world by virtually everyone. If we profess a dislike for this world in any REAL way we are told we are psychologically damaged.  We are quickly told all the wonderful things about this world- family, friends, beauty, etc. We are told we need to love this world because God made it.  This present world is awful!  And yes, many will agree to that too, all the while loving it. Is it confusing?  Of course it is, Satan loves to cause confusion. Satan wants us to say we hate this world, while our actions prove our love for it. Satan could careless about what we say as long as our heart is his.

Do you love this present world?

Do you want the pleasures of this world over the sacrifices of a contrite heart, and a broken spirit?

Psa_51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Again, people want to shout out that God doesn't want us to have broken spirits, or broken and contrite hearts. They'll say that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted,  and I can't dispute that but I can say this--

Jesus said- Mat_5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said- Mat_16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

DENY himself.

TAKE up his cross.

We are NOT to indulge ourselves and live our lives seeking ease over all. Yet we have been raised to believe this is our right- to live to please ourselves.

We need to make sure we do NOT love this present world as Demas did, choosing to leave God and God's truth, God's ways to indulge in his love of the world.

Please LORD, please help us NOT to choose the world over You! Keep us from EVIL, Father in Heaven, please, keep us from evil!

Sleep

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

*******

Who sleeps in Jesus?

What does it mean to sleep in Jesus?

We know this isn't the ordinary sleep for just a verse later we are told this--

'That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.' 

So those who are asleep are not alive.  Again a verse later--

'..and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain…'

The sleeping in Jesus are those who have died in Christ secure in the knowledge they will rise again to immortality when their Savior returns and calls them forth from their graves.

Yes, I keep on with this and I'm going to continue on with this because our Savior preached the gospel of His kingdom for 3 years and gave His apostles, His disciples the command to continue to preach of this gospel of the kingdom. They never stopped. They shared the news endlessly. 

Today in my particular world I know of no one personally who does not know the message of Jesus' salvation, the message of His kingdom.  I don't live in a world where the message has been kept secret. The message is has been spread widely and people have chosen to heed it or ignore it.  I have no way of knowing who in the entire world might read these blogs, but if even one person seeks the truth of our Savior, the whole truth not just the bits that serve their idea of a proper religion, I will have been blessed.

By the grace of God the truth must be told.

The truth is death is a SLEEP.

The truth is heaven is NOT filled with our loved ones.

The truth is Christ will call forth the dead from the graves upon His return.

We need to know this truth, our Savior did not die in vain.  Our Savior came to bring the good news of a future promise of a life with Him. If people already died and went on to heaven after death in the 4000 years prior to Christ's why would our Savior need to have come at all? This was said…

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

Clearly Paul was making a point that David was dead and buried, and not living up in heaven.

There are many facts to the truth, but Satan loves to twist things to suit his purposes.  It suits his purpose to get as many people as he can to believe his lies so they are duped when it comes to Christ's truth.   When Satan impersonates Christ's return it will be to deceive people to get them to believe lies and follow him in his disguise. And these people will be among those who hear the beloved Savior tell them to get away from Him, that He never knew them.  Please Savior do NOT let us be among them! Keep us in YOUR TRUTH in ALL TRUTH even when that truth destroys beloved fables we believed to be true.

All by YOUR grace and LOVE!

Always!

In Jesus' name!

A good conscience

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck

Faith and a good conscience.  What is a good conscience?

Do you have a clear conscience? We know what that question means. If your conscience is clear that means you have nothing to feel guilty about, right?

If we have FAITH in our Savior's ability to save us through His forgiveness, through His sacrifice, through His righteousness  then we have to realize that through Him we are guiltless.  Through our Savior our conscience can be good.

If we look to ourselves for salvation we are truly wrecking our faith and we cannot have a good conscience if we are looking to ourselves for salvation. 

When we put away our good conscience we are also putting away the truth that we need to live with Christ in us and according to His will. We are NOT stupid! We know right from wrong in many things. When we choose purposefully to do wrong, we are choosing to turn from a good conscience, and covering ourselves in guilt. 

We get enough guilt by not purposely striving to commit sin, our sins of ignorance are more than enough for us.  We are told right from wrong and told not to do wrong. 

Truthfully it is only by our SAVIOR we can have a good conscience but we can make a terrible mess of our faith when we stop even thinking about needing a good conscience. 

Have we gone to Christ and sought forgiveness for ALL our sins, every single sin? We need to! We need to do this DAILY, and several times of day if need be. We cannot depend upon ourselves! We need to know this, this needs to be a reality for us as we live day to day, saying things maybe we shouldn't say, disparaging someone we know better than to do, we simply need to recognize the sins not COVER them up as Satan would have us do. Not make excuses for our sins! We need to lay prostrate before our God and beg His forgiveness because we are creatures prone to sin and prone to wanting to hide from our sins, to talk them away, to explain them away and we cannot do that! Please LORD, help us not leave a single sin unconfessed, unrepented of.

All by YOUR amazing LOVE, YOUR forgiveness!  

Please God

1Th 4:1  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

Isn't this what we want? To know how to walk and to please God, so we can abound more and more in Him?

1Th 4:2  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

1Th 4:3  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication

The Will of God--this is how we are made holy in HIM.

Seek NO other God, not a single one.

1Th 4:4  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

Possess ourselves in being made holy in honor.

1Th 4:5  Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God

Not letting our lusts rule us, and they will, they will rule us if we do not yield ourselves to God and His will.

1Th 4:6  That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

Defraud NO ONE in ANY MATTER!

1Th 4:7  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

1Th 4:8  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

1Th 4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

1Th 4:10  And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

1Th 4:11  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you

STUDY to be quiet.

Study to be humble, unassuming, study to become what God wills.

We must STUDY this- it won't come to us without studying and yet we imagine it should. We imagine that God should allow us to just go on as we are without us having to study to do His will.  Being God's is a true walk- a true way of life.  And this walk with God must be first in our lives, not second to our will and ways.

All by GOD'S Grace is this even possible, all through the HOLY SPIRIT is this possible, of our own accord we fail miserable all the while Satan would have us everything is just fine. We must be on guard unendingly praying and seeking the Lord and His will.

Please Father, keep us from EVIL, every aspect of evil.

All in YOUR love.