The Lord is Not Slack Concerning His Promise.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

Truly it is a short work that the Lord is making upon earth.

We NEED to remember that our HEAVENLY FATHER is NOT a human being! God's time is not our time. We have a CREATOR, and our Creator is so incredible wondrous that for us to try and bring God down to our level is preposterous. What I mean is, the mere thought of ETERNITY to us is something unfathomable. We put a timetable on everything around us- right or wrong in our methods we do this and we even date the earth scientifically, and we date all sorts of things. We've even come up with a time for the Sun itself to burn out- the date is so far in the future no one here and now is concerned at all, none of us will be here in five billion years, right? We are more focused on burning up our own planet, or rather letting global warming destroy it bit by bit. The thing is, so many want to take God out of everything that those who do bring God into their lives are still tempted to put them on their own time. It's so easy to forget this--

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

ONE DAY… you know what a single day is, a rather short period of time in the scheme of things. Our years are 365 days. But to the Lord ONE THOUSAND YEARS - if we take our count for a year that's- 365,000 days- is but a SINGLE DAY to the LORD!  How incredible is this? Putting this into a tiny bit of perspective- if a person lives to the age of 72, they've lived approximately 26,280 days. 

When we really comprehend to the best of our finite ability that one day is as a thousand years, and  a thousand years as one day with the LORD, then we have to believe that the LORD is NOT slack concerning His promise to redeem us.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

The Lord IS making a short work on upon the earth.

In the face of eternity- our idea of time is lost.

We long for the Lord to return, we long for the Lord's will to be done in all things.  And while it may not seem short to us whose life spans are truly short, the Lord is making a short work of things and HE WILL return, make NO mistake about it, none!

You can't take prophecy and follow it through the years and then suddenly say the rest of the prophecy doesn’t matter and won't come to pass. You are being delusional if you think that is the way of things. The sad thing is, too many people aren't aware of histories prophecies that have come to pass over the last six thousand years. Too many people don't WANT to learn either. When you are face to face with the truth, it can be very frightening because it will rock your whole world and cause you to comprehend things that you never have before.

May God help us to seek TRUTH, all of HIS TRUTH and realize the times we are living in, knowing that one day every single prophecy will have been fulfilled and those who are the LORD'S will live on into eternity with our Father God, our Redeemer Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!

All in the name of our SAVIOR, now and FOREVER!   

Evil Influence.

Who controls us? Are we influenced by others, by principalities and powers unseen?  Surely most reading this (I kid myself that there are many reading this) believe that it's crazy to think we can be influenced by UNSEEN POWERS.

People can easily understand the influence of others around them. How many people have ended up in jail because they 'followed' their peers into illegal activities just because they felt the influence to do something that left to their own devices they'd never dream of doing?  On the other hand there are those who have been influenced to do good things they wouldn't have done otherwise, following the people they are around. Yet to believe there are UNSEEN powers surrounding us that do have real influence over us is stuff of crazy people talk, right? That old saying- 'The devil made me do it.' Is something people say but don't really mean.

We truly believe that those who may be aware of unseen influences are mentally disabled, and I'm not going to say none of them are, I have no way of knowing. I do know that IF you believe in JESUS CHRIST then you have to believe in EVIL SPIRITS. Jesus cast out a lot of evil spirits affecting the lives of people in many different ways. Some were totally incapacitated by the evil spirits, others were sick with chronic illness, still others were rendered lame, blind and so on and so forth. The control those evil spirits had over some of the people Jesus cast the spirits out of was horrific. Forcing those they inhabit to commit vile acts of abuse on people and on themselves, terrorizing people, these were just some of the things the evil spirit controlled people did. If we believe JESUS then we know evil spirits exist and have influence over people.

Not everyone is taken over by evil spirits, I think the majority of people are simply influenced just enough by the outside influence to keep them from truly accepting Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. That's all Satan really wants, people who are not in truth, Christ's. He could care less if a person spouts Christ day in and day out if they aren't truly Christ's at all. Read the following….

'Whenever a person’s inner man heeds the dictates of the outer man, he loses contact with God and is rendered dead spiritually. “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” by “following the desires of body and mind” (Eph. 2.1-3).'  The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Before accepting Christ as our Savior, as a REAL part of our life, a person walks according to the world. A person walks according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in the children that are NOT Christ's. In our past we ALL had our conversations along the lines of our flesh lusts, our desires of our flesh and minds. By nature we were the CHILDREN of WRATH.

Walking according to the world. Walking according to the spirit of disobedience.

These are realities that we need to face, not ignore, not pretend do not exist.

When we follow the desires of our bodies and minds, over the desires of the spirit with God guiding us then we are following the spirits of disobedience.

May we REALIZE just how REAL and influential the evil spirits can be in our lives and as we are allowed to recognize this, may it lead us to seek a much closer walk with Christ, with the Holy Spirit, with God the Heavenly Father. We are lost without Christ, completely and utterly lost. May we NOT be deceived! May we be KEPT from EVIL as Jesus prayed to the Father for us!

All through the LOVE of our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!!!! Now and forever!!!!!!!

Jesus asks, "Do you want me to save you?"

Jesus and I stand before God and the weight of all the guilt of sin is upon me. I have NOTHING at all to offer to God to atone for my sins, there is NOT a single thing of WORTH that I could give Him. I stand there and as I'm prepared to be judged guilty, as I'm prepared to admit my worthlessness and accept my eternal and everlasting separation from my Creator- Jesus stops me.

Jesus takes me by the upper arms, His fingers tightening on my flesh ever so slightly as He peers deeply into my eyes with a compassionate gaze like no other has ever possessed, and He says, 'No.' He says and shakes His head gently, continuing. "You don't have to die the eternal death. You don't have to remain separated from the Heavenly Father. I can save you. Do  you want me to save you? Do you?"

Do I want to be saved? Do I want to be united to my Heavenly Father once more? Do I want to live life eternal? I nod slowly and stammer, "But I…I'm not worthy…I'm guilty, I did it, I'm a sinner, such an awful sinner." 

Pulling me into Him, Jesus embraces me gently and whispers into my ear, "You are worth everything to me. I know you've sinned, I know you sin. I know you are guilty, but let me do this for you. Let me take your sins- all of them as mine, please. Let me have your guilt, give it all to me, I want to do this for You. I was born to do this for You, I love you."

My heart breaks for the love, such love that I don't deserve that is being offered to me. Jesus wants to pay the price for me. Jesus wants to take my place, Jesus is begging me to take my place! How can He love me so much when I've done so much against all He stands for!? As I stand there in a complete turmoil of emotion, He holds me tighter.

"Please," He entreats me. "Let me do what you cannot do. Let me save you. I know your righteousness is like filthy rags, I know this. I know the depths of your darkness, let me be the light for you."

 I pull back slightly in protest, "But I'm awful! What if you do this and I keep sinning?! I'm so weak!"

Now Jesus pulls back, holding me at arm's length, looking at me once again with love so clearly etched in His gaze. "You are weak, I am strong. All I ask is for you to take up this cross I'm going to die upon, take it up every day and let me save you every day. Every single day seek me, find me, follow me, remember what I am doing for you and remember it always. Can you do that?"

Tears streaming down my face in spite of my trying to hold them back, I nod and He pulls me to Him once more, all the love He has for me poured out in that embrace. After several moments He gently releases me and turns to the Father God and stands right in front of me.

"I'll die for her, let me die for her. Let me take all her punishment, let me take the eternal separation, let me take all her guilt upon me, just….save her eternally…please, Father, save her." And the Heavenly Father nods, agreeing to the sacrifice, agreeing to the substitute for me, for my death. He agrees to let His only begotten Son die for me, taking on all my sins. 

The relief on Jesus' face as He turns to me and smiles is so vivid, the love, the happiness. He really wants to save me-- a horrible, horrible sinner.  As I try to choke out the words thank you, my gratitude beyond comprehension, I watch as He is led towards the cross where He has offered to die in my place.

I should be on that cross! I should be dying! But He's going there for me! FOR ME!

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 Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

'Now our sinful humanity has been judged completely because it was judged in the sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus. In Him, holy humanity has won its victory. Whatever judgment should come upon the body, soul and spirit of sinners has been poured upon Him. He is our representative. By FAITH we are joined to Him. His death is reckoned as OUR death, and His judgment as OUR judgment. Our spirit, soul and body have altogether been judged and penalized in Him. It would not be any different had we been punished in person. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8.1). This is what He has accomplished for us and such is now our standing before God. “For he who has died is freed from sin” (Rom. 6.7 ). Positionally we ALREADY have died in the Lord Jesus; it only awaits the Holy Spirit to translate this fact into our experience. The cross is where the sinner—spirit, soul and body—is altogether judged. It is through the death and resurrection of the Lord that the Holy Spirit of God is able to impart God’s nature to us. THE CROSS BEARS THE SINNER'S JUDGMENT, PROCLAIMS THE SINNER'S WORTHLESSNESS, CRUCIFIES THE SINNER, AND RELEASES THE LIFE OF THE LORD JESUS. Henceforth anyone who accepts the cross shall be born anew by the Holy Spirit and receive the life of the Lord Jesus. ' From The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee Volume 1 Pt 1 - 4 - Salvation Pg 60,61

Luk 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

If we would follow JESUS, truly follow JESUS we have to LIVE JESUS DAILY.

Seriously, to deny ourselves is to proclaim Jesus. We TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY and that means each and every single day we recognize that upon the CROSS our Savior died IN OUR PLACE.

All in HIS LOVE! Now and forever!

Would that ALL would choose to be Christ's.

How great is our sorrow. Seriously. This world is filled with sorrow on so many levels. If you've never felt sorrow then you can't comprehend what I'm talking about at all.

Sorrow.  Dictionary Definition-  deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved

There are not too many people in this world that can actually say they've never felt sorrow. When we feel sorrow our heart is very, very heavy. To have a continual sorrow is very disheartening to say the least. Paul talks about the continual sorrow he feels for his people- the Israelites. His sorrow is so deep because he knows this--

Rom 9:27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved

A remnant will be saved. That doesn't say - ALL the children of Israel will be saved, even though their numbers are as the SAND of the SEA. We cannot count the number of grains of sand in the sea it is impossible. Imagine a few of something too numerous to count, too numerous for us, not God. Still, one hundred from millions, trillions, is a drop of water in an ocean. I'm not saying one hundred is the number, I'm just giving an example. So few from so many, no wonder Paul was continual sorrowful.

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

This is truth. In the grand scheme of things when we think of time- a thousand years is as one day with the Lord. The work is being cut short.

Read the following and from it there is so much to consider. So much our finite minds cannot comprehend fully. Without Christ our Savior, we are ALL lost. Would that ALL could be saved, that all would be willing to be saved.  All by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

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Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 

Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 

Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 

Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 

Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 

Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 

Rom 9:9  For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. 

Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 

Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 

Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 

Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 

Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 

Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 

Rom 9:24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 

Rom 9:25  As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 

Rom 9:26  And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 

Rom 9:27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

Only You Can Separate Yourself From God.

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

NOTHING can separate us from Christ Jesus our LORD, nothing can separate us from the LOVE of GOD.

Do you believe this? You should.  The ONLY thing that CAN separate us… I know, it sounds contradictory because I just said NOTHING can separate us, but I was wrong. I should have said, NOTHING other than ourselves can separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus our Lord. We CAN separate ourselves from the love of God. We can't stop His loving us and wanting to redeem us, wanting to claim us as His, but we can choose to stop loving God. We can choose to invite God to hate the sin in us, and us. God hates sin, and if we are advocate for sin then we are inviting God to hate us. We may have a propensity for sinning, but that NEVER means we have to advocate for sin. We never have to accept sin, we never have to desire to sin.  We can either seek forgiveness, and repent - choosing to desire to obey our God who is LOVE, or we can choose to seek NOT to choose God. We can separate ourselves from God. Don't EVER think you can't separate yourself from God because you can. One of Satan's many evil deceptions is the false belief that we can't separate ourselves from God once we are born anew to Him. Some people truly believe that once they accepted Christ that sealed the deal and nothing will change that, not a single thing. They can sin all they want, but they won't lose their salvation. God does NOT work that way! We have to know that we can choose at any moment of our life to leave God's love. God forbid that we ever choose to leave the love of God.

Nothing externally can separate us from God's love, not a single thing. PRAISE GOD!

Truly, all things work together for good, even if we can't comprehend how. Faith.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Do you KNOW that ALL things work together for good if you LOVE GOD, if you are called according to HIS PURPOSE?

Seriously, do you know it, and what I mean is do you experience the knowing of this truth? It's easy to read something and comprehend it without ever experiencing the truth of that same thing. Do you experience the truth of knowing that ALL things work together for good? When you are experiencing the horrors of this world, do you comprehend that somehow, some way it will work for your ultimate good? When we are suffering no matter the type of suffering it isn't easy to believe any of it will be for our good. The pain, the horrible agony of deep sickness, the struggle of dark emotional living, the awful throes of watching loved ones suffer viciously, all of this and so much more that the darkness of Satan's evil brings with it- can it truly, somehow we can't comprehend in the slightest - work for our good? By faith- it is TRUTH, it CAN and it WILL work for our good.  Only by faith- SIGHT UNSEEN- can we have the hope of this truth. We can CLING to this when everything else falls totally apart.

Often we quote from the book of Job because of all He endured and remained faithful. Maybe we need to be reminded of this often because he lived by FAITH in God.

If you love God, that doesn't mean your life will be pain, and suffering free. Some who love God suffer terribly. God's blessing does not mean you won't feel pain. We just don't understand the ultimate reason for that pain.

Too many pray for suffering to end and then stop believing in God with suffering doesn't end and only increases. They may be asking for the ending of suffering for another and believe their request is selfless and deserving, and when God still doesn't answer their prayer they find it very easy to stop believing in praying, to stop believing in God altogether.  People say, and I've heard them say it, that a God who permits the awful suffering of innocent children, animals, elderly- isn't a God they want to believe in. They refuse to believe there is a BIGGER picture where ALL suffering will one day end completely. They refuse to consider the whys and wherefores, and just stop any chance of believing with their own supposed superior thinking. They won't be made a fool of by believing, but ultimately those who don't want to be considered fools either by others or to themselves, will one day prayerfully realize that as they lay upon their death beds looking back on their lives, that God does exist and God does love them, and God sent His Son to save them from all sin, offering them life eternal without any of the horrors that exist in our world today.

Please, Lord, please help us to LIVE in Your truth, experiencing Your truth, knowing the REALITY of Your truth in our lives as a living, breathing, entity of love!

All in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ our LORD, now and forever! 

God Tries Our Hearts.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

God KNOWS our hearts.

God KNOWS the mind of the Holy Spirit.
The HOLY SPIRIT makes intercession for the saints- according to the will of God.

Our hearts, our minds are known. Nothing can be hidden from God. We are naked before Him in the most vulnerable of ways. If we stand naked in our flesh we are not even then anywhere near as vulnerable as we are with our minds completely exposed, with our hearts laid bare before God.

1Ch 28:9  And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. 

The LORD SEARCHES ALL HEARTS.

The LORD UNDERSTANDS ALL IMAGINATIONS of the THOUGHTS.

IF we SEEK Him- He will find us.

If we FORSAKE Him- He will cast us off forever.

1Ch 29:17  I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. 

God TRIES our hearts.

God has pleasure in uprightness.

Uprightness-

Act 24:16  And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. 

2Co 1:12  For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

1Th 2:10  Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe

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God has pleasure in - our having a good conscience- without any offence towards God, and men

God has pleasure in- sincerity, not in the wisdom of the flesh- by His grace.

God has pleasure in our behaving ourselves- justly, unblameably, holily.

We KNOW what it means to be upright, we aren't stupid. And ONLY by the grace of God can we be upright, only by His grace can we please Him.

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Psa 7:9  Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

The righteous God TRIES our hearts and reins. God will KNOW whether we are wicked or righteous. We want the wicked acts that that wicked do to come to an end, don’t we? If we long to be among the righteous we have to realize that God will try our hearts.

Psa 44:21  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 

God KNOWS the very secrets of our hearts!

Pro 17:3  The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. 

Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 

Act 1:24  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men…

Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us

1Th 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 

Truly we would should LONG to please God, more than men. God needs to be first. God who TRIES our heart.

More on this tomorrow, by the grace of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord!

The Spirit Helps Our Infirmities.

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

The Holy Spirit helps our infirmities-

Infirmities-- 'Define infirmity: the quality or state of being infirm; the condition of being feeble : frailty; disease, malady'

The Holy Spirits helps our- feeble conditions, our frailties, our diseases.  Left on our own accord without any hope, without a Savior, without a Holy Spirit, without God- our condition could most assuredly lead us to despair quickly.  Sure, there are a lot of atheists and such, who seem to lead good lives here and now and why wouldn't they? Why would Satan have to beleaguer them if they belong to him? Tested and tried, our God wants us to recognize our need of Him, our need of a hope beyond this world, beyond all our infirmities of every sort. How can we truly believe that all the heartache and pain, all the horrors of this world are supposed to be the way of humanity. For thousands of years we've tried to bring world-wide peace, but it never really takes, why? The simple answer is because ultimately mankind is so incredibly selfish that there are not enough people who aren't selfish to bring the sacrifice it takes to work towards real world peace. We will never have world peace, mankind without the truth found in Jesus Christ will never as a whole be unselfish. 

Luk_12:51  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division

Joh_14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Joh_16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Until we live with our Savior in a world without sin, there will be no world peace, none. There may be overtures towards this, there may be strides made, but ultimately true world peace cannot exist without our Savior, and frankly, there are way too many people who choose not to serve our Savior, not to believe. 

The Holy Spirit will help our infirmities as individuals, as we choose to belong to our Savior.

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

We know we ought to pray, just not always what to pray for. We often pray amiss because we are praying from a selfish frame of mind, a mind that wants its will to be done, and not God's. God's will isn't always in line with the things we want to be done, the things we want to do, the things we desire. We may think they are, but we aren't privileged to know the end from the beginning. We do NOT know what fires, what tribulations, what agonies we need to go through in order to refine us. Just as we do not know what we need to go through, we can't possibly know what others need to endure. We pray for so much, but ultimately we need to pray God's will be done. The Holy Spirit will make intercession for us with GROANINGS that can't even be uttered, we need to let the Holy Spirit make intercession for us, we need to yield to the Holy Spirit.

All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR, NOW and FOREVER!!!!!!! All in HIS LOVE!

Free From Bondage.

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 

Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 

The bondage of corruption- how well we know what this is. We are all familiar with being bound to decay, to death. We know all too well our life without hope. Without hope we are truly in bondage all through our lives. We have death to look forward to as we walk this life, but with hope we have life eternal. There is liberty in being a child of God.  All of creation was lost, without the hope of salvation, completely and utterly lost.  And now, we wait for the redemption of our bodies, for our adoption to be finalized. Truly we are saved by HOPE in our Savior and His promises.  And hope that is seen isn't hope.  If you are hoping for a puppy, and you get that puppy, you no longer hope for that puppy. We wait for our redemption, and that redemption will be realized when our Savior returns.  If this is our true belief then we will WAIT PATIENTLY for it to be realized.

Waiting patiently, playing the long game is another name for choosing to wait a long time for something. But waiting for salvation isn't a game at all, it is truth, it is reality. We have to live this hope, it needs to be a reality to us in all we do.

We may have been in bondage, but our hope, the hope that our Savior gives to us frees us from all bondage to the things of this world. Our hope in Christ, our adoption by the Heavenly Father is real.

Let us LIVE IN HOPE, LIVE IN CHRIST all through the Holy Spirit, all through LOVE.

In Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever, let this be our reality!

Sufferings Now, Glory Later.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

Sometimes we talk about our various sufferings and how they were 'worth' it, or the opposite, how they weren’t 'worth it'.

Childbirth is a good example. Who hasn't heard the whole - all that pain was worth it when that baby was put in its mother's arms? How many mothers will back that up? The majority I wager. I’m sure there are some mothers out there who don't agree with the pain being worth it and they may be among those who go on to never have another child again. 

We also hear a lot of 'hero' stories where various people have suffered through accidents, injuries, birth defects, tragedies and so much more only to recover from those and go on to actually benefit from the suffering they went through. Of course hero stories are not the majority, right? If they were the majority they wouldn't really stand out as heroes so much because their triumph over tragedy would be the norm.

Suffering is the word we use to convey unpleasantness of many varying degrees, but true suffering usually comes into play with the more severe types of unpleasantness. We may say we suffered through that boring movie… but that isn't severe, right? We may also say we suffered through the nightmare of abduction and abuse…which is extremely severe. When we read- 'the sufferings of this present time', I personally believe this includes all suffering that a person experiences during their lives, sever sufferings. I can't say your suffering is less than mine because I was abused and you weren't. Your suffering could be emotional trauma of living with debilitating fears, or maybe each day for you is a mental struggle just to exist- you are suffering. One person's suffering may bring them to despair, while another's may give them reason to rise above. As belonging to Christ, we have the hope that He has promised us.

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

Suffering compared with glory.  Any suffering we may experience now cannot be compared to the eventual revelation of glory in us, the glory of Christ in us.

The suffering, and make NO mistake, there will be a lot of suffering we experience in our lives but no matter the degree of suffering we do have the hope of future glory which can never be taken from us. As long as we are in our right minds and can comprehend in truth the glory of our Savior, we have His hope to sustain us in our deepest depths of suffering.

Some may believe their entire life is one of suffering and in some ways it's true isn't it? Those with chronic illnesses of any sort never stop suffering from those illnesses. People with chronic pain live with that pain endlessly, but prayerfully with some relief through medication. Even those who aren't suffering through illnesses of any kind or pain, can suffer just by living in this sin-filled world and all its endless amount of tragedies, horrors, sicknesses that they witness others suffering.

Where we can- we must strive to alleviate any suffering we encounter. We must do our best to love others in truth which means in our actions. In loving others if we witness their suffering, may our Lord and Savior enable us to help them even in the smallest way possible. And may our hope be in the future revealing of the glory that will be us.

All through Jesus Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR, now and forever!!!!!!! 

Born of the Spirit.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Yesterday we talked about our spirit. We have to have a spirit that is ours and not the Holy Spirit, because it is our spirit that can comprehend God's spirit. Remember this--

Joh_4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We must worship God in spirit AND in truth.

1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 

1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 

What man KNOWETH the things of a man save the SPIRIT of MAN which is in him.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

Now read this from the book- The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee-

'Prior to regeneration the spirit is separated from God’s life; only afterwards does the life of God and of the Holy Spirit dwell in our spirits.

 They then have been quickened to be instruments of the Holy Spirit. Our aim in studying the significance of the spirit is to enable us to realize that we as human beings possess an independent spirit. This spirit is not man’s mind, his will or his emotion; on the contrary, it includes the functions of conscience, intuition and communion. It is here in the spirit that God regenerates us, teaches us, and leads us into His rest. But sad to say, due to long years of bondage to the soul many Christians know very little of their spirit. We ought to tremble before God, asking Him to teach us through experience what is spiritual and what is soulish. Before the believer is born again his spirit becomes so sunken and surrounded by his soul that it is impossible for him to distinguish whether something is emanating from the soul or from the spirit. The functions of the latter have become mixed up with those of the former. Furthermore, the spirit has lost its primary function— towards God; for it is dead to God. It thus would appear that it has become an accessory to the soul. And as the mind, emotion and volition grow stronger, the functions of the spirit become so eclipsed as to render them almost unknown. That is why there must be the work of dividing between soul and spirit after a believer is regenerated.'

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Truly, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we ARE the children of God.  If we ARE children, then we are HEIRS, heirs of God- joint-heirs WITH Christ- IF we suffer with Him we will be glorified with Him. 

Upon our new birth in Christ our spirit is regenerated- it is truly being BORN of the spirit. Our spirit is awakened to the Holy Spirit. This is TRUTH!  Our spirit with God's Spirit, our spirit with the Holy Spirit, our spirit with the Savior, Jesus Christ. Please, Lord, please help us to be Your children! Help us to be joint-heirs with Christ! Help us to be wholly Yours. Teach us through Your Spirit with our spirit, opening our hearts and minds to Your truth! Help us live Your truth and only Your truth, all through YOUR LOVE. All in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our being joint heirs with You!

The Spirit with Our Spirit.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

The Spirit bears witness WITH our spirit.

We have a spirit that isn't the Holy Spirit in us. The spirit given to us by God enabling us to live and also to communicate with Him. At the same time, if we do not choose to communicate with God, our spirit can communicate with evil spirits as well.

We've talked about this before- the fact that evil spirits are real, not fictional things created by writers to entertain people. That ouija board, those tarot cards, the medium, or psychic if you prefer, are all channels for the evil spirits to work. Now if you happen to visit fortune tellers and such, and dabble with contacting the dead and knowing the future and you consider yourself a God-fearing, Jesus loving person, then you are deceived. No one likes to hear that they've been deceived, in fact most people will reject it outright. They'll tell you they are very good people, very loving of others and God. They'll talk  about their walk with God and their good deeds they do for the needy, the poor, the downtrodden. They will mention their volunteer work and they will talk about the many friends they have that would vouch for them as being the best of the best, the kindest, the most generous people. And you know what? They really could be a lot of what they say, but that does not mean they are not deceived. Deception by nature is something people do NOT want to admit to unless they are forced to face being deceived.  NO ONE likes being deceived. When you discover that someone has deceived you how do you feel? Betrayed, angry, stupid, and many other negative emotions.

We detest being deceived and rightly so. Why would we admit to being deceived against something that calls for faith to believe? If we don't have to admit to being deceived and no one can prove beyond using faith that we are deceived, then it's likely we will not admit to it. How many people hold fast to their beliefs shutting out anything contradictory to them even when people can take the word of God and reveal Biblical facts? I pray I'm not one of those people!

People think witches, seers, evil spirits and the like are fictional. We had witch trials, there was a time when people believed in witches and then persecuted them- the Bible even says this--

Exo_22:18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

In fact there were a lot of laws- social laws that were created to be followed at a time when following any laws, knowing God's ways were all new to people. These laws continued on but when our Savior came and revealed the LOVE of the MORAL LAWS and FORGIVENESS, things did change.

No longer putting people to death, but rather promoting forgiveness. The death people would find would be of their own accord. If the witches, and all who were called out as being Satan's by their beliefs and actions, their non-repenting, ungodly nature do not choose Jesus Christ as their Savior they will face the second death from which there is no resurrection, there is no existence. The witches are still NOT suffered to live, but the change is in when they will not live and that is in eternity.

These witches and the like alive today are consorting with evil spirits, their spirit is aligned with evil spirits- evil spirits exist. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified togethe

The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit- WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD.

More on this tomorrow, by the GRACE and WILL of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!!!! Now and forever!

You Need A High Priest.

Do you need a High Priest? What would a High Priest do for you?

Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus…

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 

Jesus - a merciful and faithful high priest.

Heb 7:24  But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 

Heb 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 

Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 

Heb 7:27  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 

Heb 7:28  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. 

We need a High Priest.

Jesus, our merciful High Priest is able to save us to the uttermost.

Jesus, our High Priest lives to make intercession for us.

We need a High Priest if we long to be saved, if we long to have an intercessor.

An intercessor- a person who intercedes. We need an intercessor don’t we? Someone to intercede between God and us, someone to reconcile us to God. Sin separates us from God. The ceremonial law was set up to offer reconciliation, a sacrifice would be offered in order to make reconciliation. Jesus offered His holy self, His sin-less self as our sacrifice. Jesus became our High Priest to intercede for us.

The law was broken when man sinned. The law of God we broken. Sin is the transgression of the law- and the first pair of humans sinned, breaking the law of God. That law is - to love the Lord our God, and to love our fellow man- the moral law- the ten commandments that reveal what it means to love God and mankind. When Adam and Eve sinned, they chose to put themselves before God. They needed an intercessor and we who were in the loins of Adam inheriting the nature of sin through Him needed and need an intercessor.

The question was- do you need a High Priest? The answer is, YES.

The question was- what would a High Priest do for you? The answer is, intercede for you, save you to the uttermost.

Do you need to be saved?

Do you need an intercessor?

Beyond any doubt whatsoever the answer to those questions is, YES! Undeniably, YES!

All by His grace, may we bow before our great High Priest submitting ourselves wholly to Him!

All in HIS LOVE, now and forever!  In Christ!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

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Gen_14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

Psa 110:4  The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 

Gen 14:17  And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. 

Gen 14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 

Gen 14:19  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 

Gen 14:20  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. 

Gen 14:21  And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 

Gen 14:22  And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 

Gen 14:23  That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 

Gen 14:24  Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion

Heb 7:1  For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 

Heb 7:2  To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 

Heb 7:3  Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. 

Heb 7:4  Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. 

Heb 7:5  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 

Heb 7:6  But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 

Heb 7:7  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. 

Heb 7:8  And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 

Heb 7:9  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 

Heb 7:10  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. 

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 

Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. 

Heb 7:13  For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. 

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

Heb 7:15  And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, 

Heb 7:16  Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. 

Heb 7:17  For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 

Heb 7:18  For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 

Heb 7:19  For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. 

Heb 7:20  And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: 

Heb 7:21  (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) 

Heb 7:22  By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. 

Heb 7:23  And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: 

Heb 7:24  But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 

Heb 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 

Heb 7:26  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 

Heb 7:27  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 

Heb 7:28  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.