Truth or Lies- You Need to Decide Which You'll Believe.

 God would have us know His truth. He won't force feed truth to us. He's given us His word and has left it up to us to read, to study, to live its truth. Some of these truths are more complex than others, but there is nothing we can't comprehend that our Lord won't help us to know if we need to know it. To discard hard truths because they are just too confusing to us, without a diligent effort to study to know truth, is something we are accountable for. This study here has been and continues to be a long one. Why is it important? Because we need to comprehend what happens after we die- and to understand what happens we need to know Biblical facts. 1. The dead know nothing-they sleep death's sleep. 2. When Christ returns the dead in Christ will rise. 3. The dead who are not in Christ will live again after 1000 years (during that time the Dead in Christ will have become immortal and live in heaven with Christ). 4. After the 1000 years the dead not in Christ will rise and these are the unjust. 5. At their resurrection they will receive their sentence, then their punishment, and their ultimate second death which is when they are in existence no more in any form, never to be again.  All these are just bullet points that can be backed by extensive Biblical proofs if someone is willing to study. In knowing all this we cannot be deceived by Satan to believe in the immortality of the soul, that there is immediate life after death, that most people go to heaven, that we need not be concerned with facing any real punishment. When we consent to believe in immediately life after death we are in league with Satan who told our first parents they would not die if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Once we consent knowingly to believe that there is no true death where we no longer know anything at all, we aren't guiltless, we are liable and accountable to perpetuating lies. You see, our Savior needn't have died for us if we never die. Our Savior died so we could live again one day in the mansions He is preparing. He died knowing He would one day return for us, not so we could just live in heaven right after we die our first death. The Bible is so clear on this,God tells us that Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, none of those well-known Biblical figures are in heaven right now, none have received the promise as of yet and won't, not without all those who are going to be God's, and this takes place when our Savior returns!  So many people choose to turn a blind eye to this, thinking it just doesn't matter. They are deceived! 

God help us to keep studying for truth and only truth no matter how much it destroys our cherished beliefs!

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

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Resurrection of the Just and Unjust

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(EXCERPT)

The unjust will be resurrected, some object to this truth. The article we've been studying is vindicating the truth of the resurrection of the unjust- scripturally, logically. Pray for enlightenment through our Savior, by the Holy Spirit.

A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Unjust By J.H. Waggoner 

CONTINUING STUDY….Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

*******  (Note- the following excerpt shows so clearly that people can pervert scripture to mean what they desire it to mean without taking all scripture into consideration. People used by Satan will twist any Bible verse they can to meet their own ends which mean the everlasting destruction of any and all who fall under their delusions. Pray that you may perceive only truth, study deeply, let the Holy Spirit guide you in your search for nothing but God's truth, God's will, God's love. All through our Savior, Jesus Christ.)

Isa. 26:13, 14: "O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." 

There are at least two evident reasons why the claim put forth on this text is not warranted. It is not certain that it refers to the resurrection or non-resurrection of the dead at all; but that it only states that the "lords" who had dominion over them should not rise to exercise dominion over them any more. And, were it proved or admitted that it refers to the subject in question, it is yet far from appearing that it is already fulfilled. The same prophet, speaking of the destiny of the wicked, says: "The inhabitants of the earth are burned." Chap. 24:6. This is as definite, and the same in tense, as the text in question; but it remains to be fulfilled. See verses 1-5. The text says, "Thou hast visited and destroyed them." Chap. 24:22, says they shall be gathered as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and "visited after many days." Their visitation and destruction will be in the great day of wrath.

Many texts speak of the destruction of the wicked as already past, if we remove them from the page of prophecy and make history of them; but by so doing, they are perverted, and put in direct conflict with the plainest statements of the New Testament. If we take them as they are, as prophecies, they will harmonize with the words of the Saviour and his apostles, and with all the Scriptures on the subject of "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Isa. 43:16, 17: "Thus saith the Lord, . . . which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched as tow." 

Were the passages in John 5; Acts 24, etc., no more intimately related to the subject than this, we should no more be surprised that our opponents should set them aside as figurative or irrelevant. The chariot, the horse, the army, the power, lie down together, they shall not rise; therefore there will be no resurrection of the unjust! (((Lies!))))

Words cannot express our astonishment that such a text as this should be quoted as a plain, literal denial of the resurrection of evil-doers, and John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:5, 6, and others, should be set aside as "figurative," as having no bearing on the subject of the resurrection! 

The power of an army, and the army itself, as an army, may be destroyed without destroying half the individuals composing it. Were they all cut off, so that the army could never again appear, they might all be raised "to the judgment of the great day" without conflicting with that fact. I pray that I may never be found advocating a doctrine which needs to be sustained by such a use of the Scriptures.

Jer. 51:39: "In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, saith the Lord." Does this text forbid the idea, so plainly revealed in the Bible, of the "wicked suffering the second death?" or coming "forth from the graves to the resurrection of damnation," and to utter destruction? Does it even seem to contradict the plain testimonies of the word of God in favor of the resurrection of the unjust? If it does, I have not the ability to perceive it.

Hos. 8:14: "They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall and never rise up again." Do the words "fall" and "rise up" refer to death and the resurrection? It certainly does not appear in the text or context. Or if the words do so refer, may it not refer to the second death in the lake of fire, from which there is no rising? And this is quoted to prove that the evildoers will not come forth from the graves, to a resurrection to judgment and the second death, by the very ones who affirm that John 5:28, 29, do not refer to the resurrection at all! Strange consistency, indeed! And these are the "positive proofs" on that side of the question. (((Such delusion, God preserve us from all untruth!))))

To be continued…

I Cry Out! Forgive Me!

 Eph 4:29  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 

 

Does corrupt communication come from my mouth? What denotes corrupt communication? Perhaps it is anything that can't be used to edify a person, ministering grace to the hearers. If this is true, then I suppose a lot of what I speak is corrupt communication, doing no one any good.  The tongue is a wicked thing, the Bible tells us so and I believe we all comprehend the truth of the matter. Who has not been hurt by the tongue at some point in their lives? Who hasn't been whipped bloody by the tongue? Who hasn't been stabbed through the heart, with the tongue? Is it any wonder we aren't to let corrupt communication come out of our mouths? That we need to be mindful of our words? Vain babblings, murmuring, gossiping, these are all indicative of ungodliness. We make excuses for them, I make excuses for them because it has become a way of life to complain, to despair, to seek sympathy, to want to hear soothing words, to receive pity, to cry out woe is me. How much easier it is to spout worst fears while hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, and yet in such behavior where is faith, where is hope?

The fiery furnace is burning so hot all around my life and it is exposing my many, many faults! The fire is burning away any pretense I've covered myself in and is revealing the horrors of my sins daily.

My outward man is clothed in filthy robes of unrighteousness and the fires are burning away the layers upon layers of fine robes I've donned to disguise the filth upon my flesh.  

Corrupt communication- If you have nothing nice to say… say nothing at all. My mother's words, and I believe a lot of mother's have tried to teach these words to their children. Nothing nice to say… say nothing at all…. No corrupt communication is to come out of our mouths. When our mothers were trying to teach us to only speak nicely, they weren't trying to limit our speaking of our sadness, our worries, our pains,  they were telling us not to hurt anyone with our words, not to say anything about anyone that we couldn't say in their presence, not to be evil in our speaking.  But such wickedness has come from my mouth, I've hurt many with my wicked tongue. The words of corruption flow forth from me so naturally it's as if I'm trying to turn the tide when I attempt to keep from spewing forth vain babbling, murmurings, corruption, wickedness, gossip, and so on and so forth.  

I CRY OUT…    KEEP THE DOOR TO MY LIPS, LORD!  I can't seem to keep it myself at all.  

You've revealed my corrupt communication to me by burning away the many layers of finely spun silky justifications I've made to excuse it, that which I've tried to hide my sins in, and now they're exposed and I fall at Your feet….

Forgive me, please, forgive me, FORGIVE ME! I cry out! FORGIVE ME!

(Excerpt)

EXPOSITION OF MATTHEW XXIV  24  (((Written in 1890 - remember that when reading- 131 years have passed since this was written. History does matter.))))

VERSE 12: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." 

It is evident that both the abounding of iniquity and the waxing cold of the love of many, are fulfilled in the professed church of Jesus Christ. Men must first experience the love of God and of heavenly things before that love can grow cold.

Hence, common, unconverted sinners are not here referred to as apostatizing. And, again, the prevalence of iniquity in the unconverted world alone, should stimulate the church to greater

diligence and more godliness, instead of being a cause of apostasy. Hence, the iniquity here mentioned is in the very heart of the professed church, diffusing its chilling influence through the whole body. As the result, the love of many has grown cold. With this agree the words of the apostle:–

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady,  high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5. 

Here is a catalogue of eighteen sins, all resting upon those who have a form of godliness. These are not infidels and common worldly sinners, for they have not a form of godliness; but they are men and women professing to be followers of Jesus Christ. And although they make a profession of piety as high as heaven, these very sins lie at their doors. And by reason of their example, and their chilling influence, many are led from the humble path to heaven, and their love waxes cold.'  (End Excerpt)

Broken Life

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 

Earthen vessels. Fragile vessels with so many working parts in us. Amazing earthen vessels designed miraculously in so many incredible ways. The blessing of long life is overlooked, and maybe with good reason- that good reason being not everyone has a 'good' long life. How many people currently fill homes for the elderly- those who can no longer function on their own without help?

'Approximately 47 million seniors live in the United States. We base this number on a 2017 census.gov estimate that about 325,600,000 people reside in the US and a 2014 estimate that about 14.5% of Americans are age 65 and older.'

'Only three percent of senior citizens live in nursing homes. The 2010 US census found that 3.1 percent of seniors were nursing home residents. Rather than move to a nursing home or assisted living, many seniors choose in-home care support.'  From <https://www.seniorliving.org/research/>

1,410,000 people 3% of 47 million, live in nursing homes almost 10 years ago- the number has probably significantly gone up. As well as a lot of elderly probably have in-home care, or live with relatives to help them.

Getting old isn't a good thing for a lot of people, it's something that takes courage, fortitude, stamina, endurance. Another interest fact is this--

'Most seniors have more than one chronic health care issue. Recently the National Council on Aging found that 75 percent of seniors have at least one chronic health condition, and that most have two or more. Conditions range from mild arthritis to advanced Alzheimer’s disease.'

Chronic health care issues- most senior have these.

We are FRAGILE earthen vessels, some more fragile than others. We weren't originally designed to be this way and we know this. We strive constantly for answers to the many, many health issues that plague old and young. Sometimes we make great strides against one particular ailment, we eradicate certain diseases with a vaccine, we lessen symptoms of various illnesses. We make a lot of things tolerable with certain drugs. We are forever invested in health care because we want to- if possible- get rid of every disease, every sickness, every deformity, every condition that keeps us from being healthy earthen vessels.

Since mankind's decision to leave the presence of God, we've become broken, run down, mere shadows of what we were intended to be. We recognize mostly in retrospect when we were at our peaks in health and yes, even beauty. Some healthy people could be covered from head to toe in an outer skin full of wrinkles and old age spots- which do nothing to detract from their inner workings health wise, but the beauty factor of youth has gone. Again, we know many, many elderly people do lots to try and stop the hands of time from revealing themselves upon them. There are a lot of surgery options for the rich, there are a lot of non-surgical creams and such for the rich and lesser effective creams and such for the not so rich. We use make up and medicines to hide what time is doing to us. Some, but not most people, are not blessed with the genetics that leave them with an elderly youthful appearance.

We are shadows of what we were meant to be even at what we consider our peak in health and beauty. 

We long for good health constantly especially once those chronic conditions enter our lives. We long for something we know will elude us, even though in our wildest dreams we hope for cures for the chronic conditions.

We live knowing that we will die- we just don’t know what we are going to die from. Disease, accident, simply wearing out our fragile earthen vessel, we just don't know. Death is a curse upon us, surrounding us, reminding us over and over that one day our turn for death will come. And death is not desired by the majority, and for those who do desire death it's because they are mentally, emotionally damaged to that point. They could be living a nightmare of pain day after day with the hope of death for the release from the agonies of living. A person desiring death is a person who isn't healthy in some way. They could be living a life of constant abuse which most certainly damages mental and emotional well-being. Not all our ailments are physical that's for sure!

What a dismal picture I've drawn up with all this talk- it's depressing to dwell upon the fragility of our earthen vessels but we need to. We need to recognize where our hope must lie, and it's NOT with ourselves! We may fantasize about one day living in a future society where there is no death from things like cancer, heart disease, lung disease and so on and so forth- but that future would be extremely far off, and will remain a fantasy for everyone living today. Personally, the only future guaranteed to us is the one proven to be a reality through prophecy- the Bible reality, the Biblical future outline for mankind.

So many predictions have come true, nothing will stop them all from coming to pass.

I long for the day the Stone cut without hands is hurled from the heaven to destroy all the kingdoms of this world ushering in the return of the King, Jesus Christ who will call us from this earth to meet Him in the air- changing our vile, vile bodies- altering these earthen vessels completely into the immortal, incorruptible forms we long for.

I know this day is going to come, I haven't a doubt! Nothing can stop it from happening, not a single thing. If something could stop it, then something could have stopped all the other prophecies from coming to pass. No, Nebuchadnezzar did not want his kingdom to fall and neither did all the rest that did so- one after the other.

What a glorious day to look for, what a wondrous HOPE to have right now. We may suffer exceedingly, but there is HOPE for the day of no more suffering! No more death! No more sin and all its horrific consequences.

Truly we are…

2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 

2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 

2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 

2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 

2Co 4:12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you. 

2Co 4:13  We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; 

2Co 4:14  Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Jesus, Our Ladder

Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 

Jacob was in fear, in complete awe, overwhelmed with the reality of the majesty of the place where He was.  The House of God- the Gate of Heaven. His spiritual eyes were opened, he was allowed to see beyond the temporal realm, the tangible existence. The vision given to him left him in complete and utter astonishment, shock flowed through him, he'd been gifted with insight into Heaven and the house of God.

A ladder.

Jacob dreamed but it wasn't an ordinary dream at all. This dream was based in reality.

Gen 28:12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 

Gen 28:13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 

Gen 28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 

Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 

Gen 28:16  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 

From heaven the LORD called to Jacob and renewed the same promise He gave to Abraham and Isaac. The LORD told Jacob He was with him.

The LORD was in this place Jacob said, and he didn't even know it.

How often is the LORD with us and we aren't fully comprehending of that fact? Can we push the LORD away from us? Yes. Can we park GOD at the door to our personal dens of iniquity carefully setting Him aside and hiding Him behind a closed and locked, often times barred door? Yes. On the other hand, we can cry out in the depths of despair at our own sinfulness and the LORD will answer. The supernatural super hero able to break through any and all things that would try and stand between Him and a truly repentant sinner.

Jacob was a supplanter, a deceiver… He obeyed the voice of his mother who instructed him to take the blessing of a dying Isaac who favored the oldest son over the younger. Jacob could have said no to his mother's scheming plan to steal away Esau's blessing. He didn't say no, he didn't gently remind his mother that deception was not a good thing, stealing was not a good thing, that they needed to repent of her plan. The wheels were in motion and Jacob did all that his mother instructed in order to fool the semi-senile, surely all but completely blind, Isaac. The truth that Isaac hadn't aged gracefully- keeping his senses clear to the end of his life- but was caught up in the intense deterioration that can occur in extreme old age was a fact. That he could be fooled by fur placed on arms and the scent of clothes was understandable. Jacob had to be all but trembling in fear of being caught as he wore the furry arm bands and brought the stew to his father. Yes, Jacob was caught up in deception to obtain something that didn't belong to him.

After completing the deception he was told to leave, his brother's anger against him was so great that the fear of his being murdered was very real. Told to leave the only home he'd ever known, thrust out on the heels of his deception, Jacob was being sent off to a new life one without his mother as his defender, or his father, or most gratefully at this point, his brother.

On his way to his uncle's, Jacob fell asleep that first night with stones for pillows and he dreamed the dream already discussed.

Running away after stealing what belonged to his brother, Jacob was given a dream and the blessing of Isaac was shown to be very real, even placed upon a deceiver.

The LORD was with Jacob. Jacob witnessed the truth of a ladder, a way from one realm to another. Jacob saw the way made for heaven and earth to unite and what a blessing it was for him to know that God allowed that way to be made for mankind.  The occupants of heaven- angels- would descend and ascend on that ladder, going to the aid of those in need where God sent them.

Jesus is that way, Jesus is the ladder, without Him and the sacrifice He was going to make, there wouldn't have existed a ladder in a dream for Jacob. Heaven and earth are united through the Savior. This is truth. There is but ONE ladder and that is Christ.

Joh 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. 

Let us see heaven open and know that Jesus has made the way possible for us to receive the heavenly blessing, the hope that in all He will be with us. The angels of God will help us in our need, sustaining us in Christ through all things. There is hope. Heaven is our hope, heaven is what our Lord took on flesh and dwelt among us, suffering and dying so we could have that hope of being united with Him in all His glory! Our treasures surely are in heaven, let us keep them there, let us know they await us - salvation through the LORD JESUS CHRIST NOW AND FOREVER!!!!!!! 

Amen.

Heaven and Earth United Through Christ Jesus

Gen 28:12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 

Gen 28:13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 

Gen 28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 

Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 

Gen 28:16  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 

Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 

A ladder set up on the earth, the top of the ladder reached to heaven. On the ladder angels of God went up and down between earth and heaven.

Joh 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. 

The Ladder-Jesus Christ our Lord.

A ladder enables a person to get to a place they otherwise would not be able to get to, right? The only reason we use a ladder is because without one we couldn't get to where we need to be. The other day I went up and down a ladder in my house as I hung up Christmas cards in strings upon my walls. I had to climb the ladder so I could reach the hook to place the string of cards. Without that ladder I never would have been able to reach the hook, it would be impossible. I could think about it all day long and still would never be able to do what I needed to do without a ladder.

It's safe to assume the majority of people have used  a ladder a time or two during their lives. Some people use them every single day as their job or living arrangements dictate. Ladders are extremely useful and most buildings in existence would not be built without a ladder. When a young child climbs their first ladder a parent is usually right there behind them, even if the ladder is just a step or two leading to a toddler slide.

Ladders need to be sturdy in order to work as they should. A ladder needs to be dependable or else we risk falling and injury. Often people will have other people hold a ladder to give it extra stability as they climb.

Ladders can be frightening as well because even the most secure ladder in the world will not keep our feet from slipping. Some people have hooks on a belt around their waist they use to alternately hook themselves into the rungs of the ladder as they climb so should their foot slip, or hand miss its mark throwing them off balance they won't fall to the ground below which could be hundreds of feet on some towers and such.

The fact there exists a spiritual ladder one that reaches to heaven where God resides and to earth below is truly an amazing analogy. That we read in the New testament that the ladder is none other than the Lord, Jesus Christ is amazing.  Jesus bridges the gap between what is otherwise impossible to reach. There is no other way to reach heaven than through Jesus Christ.

Joh 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. 

Jesus touches the earth and anchors there, stretching all the way to God in heaven above. Angels of God through Jesus - first through the hope of the promise of Jesus to bridge the gap, secondly through the reality of Jesus' death and resurrection when the gap was fixed permanently- Jesus has been the way to God, to bridge the great gulf that exists between man and God. Angels help mankind at God's command, ministering to us as needed towards our eternal life.

Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 

Jacob was in fear, in complete awe, overwhelmed with the reality of the majesty of the place where He was.  The House of God- the Gate of Heaven. His spiritual eyes were opened, he was allowed to see beyond the temporal realm, the tangible existence. The vision given to him left him in complete and utter astonishment, shock flowed through him, he'd been gifted with insight into Heaven and the house of God.

More on all this tomorrow by the grace and will of God! All through HIS LOVE!

I Yield.

Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 

What sort of world would this look like if everyone followed the advice from that verse?  NOTHING being done through STRIFE, NOTHING being done through VAINGLORY. EVERYTHING being done with lowliness of mind, humble, EVERYONE esteeming EVERYONE ELSE better than themselves.

I'm not talking with that bitterness and grudging admittance that someone is better than you while you secretly want to be the one who is better. I'm talking a true, humble, loving comprehension that loving others and considering their worth so valuable that no matter the circumstance they are worth more than you, and worth sacrificing yourself for, that's the kind of esteeming others better than ourselves I'm talking about.

Isn't that what CHRIST JESUS did?

The worth of Christ is so far beyond full comprehension yet He did NOT consider Himself before He considered others. If anyone had a right to consider themselves better than another it would have been Jesus. Yet He spent His ministry here on earth humble, lowly of mind, putting on no airs whatsoever, hobnobbing with the rough rabble and least esteemed in the eyes of others. He did not seek any fame or fortune. He had a tremendous following of over five thousand people (remember this was a much different time no twitter, instagram, facebook, or social media of any kind - uhm, no electricity). He had this huge following and most of them left Him when He revealed that He wasn't there to be made their earthly king, that He wasn't going to raise up an army to fight against the Romans ruling over them. He did not want earthly fame at all!

Jesus wanted people to recognize that hope is found in the truth of the love of God. He wanted people to know that THIS EARTH, THIS LIFE they were now living was NOT all there was to life. Jesus came to tell people of the eternal life that could be theirs once they made it through this temporary life.  Jesus did not tell them it was automatically theirs. That every single human being would make it to the eternal life offered. Remember Jesus said this --

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Jesus came preaching the good news of eternal life, the kingdom of heaven, but He outright told people that not everyone who would say to Him that they followed Him and did things in His name would enter into heaven. Jesus is going to tell these people that He never knew them, to get away from Him because they truly work in sin. These people THINK they are His, but they are not.  How many of these self-deceived people along with the blatant haters of Jesus Christ, will not make it into Heaven?

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

FEW will find it.

Mat_24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Deceive everyone… but the very elect.

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 

Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 

Mat 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 

Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 

Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 

Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. 

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 

Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. 

This kind of brings it right to the point doesn't it?

What priority does God place in our life? Where does Jesus fit into our lives?

We can't imagine forsaking much of anything in our life because we've spent a lifetime accumulating things. We have put so much before Jesus in our lives. I sit surrounded by my earthly treasures, in particular right at this moment I am literally surrounded by most of my Christmas treasures that I store away each year only to bring out the next. Gold (not real but in color), silver, bright and glittering treasures sparkling all around me I can see the sunlight shining on my walls covered in shiny cards and ribbon. Can I imagine forsaking all of this.

Right about now you're saying HOLD UP, STOP, you're not REALLY thinking we need to forsake all that stuff- our family too, are you?

I guess not. But I am asking you as well as myself, to CONSIDER exactly what has the highest priority in our lives. If we were ASKED to leave is all for Christ, would we?  Or are we among the people who tell ourselves that Christ would never ask us to do such a thing, not really, He understands that we can't leave our families and such.

Jesus does NOT want us to leave all and follow Him in the exact same way He told that rich young man. Jesus does want us to follow His teaching first in our lives and that means what?  ESTEEMING ALL OTHERS BEFORE OURSELVES.  If in that esteeming we are called out to a ministry of serving that calls for us to sacrifice earthly ties - then we must do that. Where does God rate in your life? What priority does He have?  If I told you that God wanted you to give 100 dollars to the next homeless person you see, you wouldn't believe me first of all- but even if you had an inkling that maybe God did want you to do that, could you? How near and dear is that 100 dollars to your heart, to your sense of well-being, to your comfort and thought of surviving by supplying your own needs by paying your bills with that money, or buying food and necessities with that money?

This is truth-

Mat_16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mar_8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Luk_9:25  For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

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. 

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 

Mat 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Mat 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 

Php 2:4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 

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: 

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 

Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 

Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

God first.

Others second.

Ourselves last.

All through the power of the Holy Spirit.

All through the hope of Jesus Christ.

All through our Heavenly Father's will, and His good pleasure.

I yield. I surrender all.

The Earthly and the Heavenly Things.

Jesus tells us we must be born again of water and Spirit. Jesus tells us outright that our original birth is not enough- we need a spiritual birth. Unlike our birth- which we had absolutely no say so in, we do have a say so in our spiritual birth.

Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews.  As a ruler of the Jews we have to understand this man knew the laws and ways of the Jews inside and out. Unlike the majority of his fellow rulers of the Jews, Nicodemus' heart was right with God. Because his heart was right with God he desired to know more of Jesus. Going to him at night, when others were less likely to witness the visit, Nicodemus didn't want to be one of the blind and deaf Pharisee. He didn't want to write Jesus off as a crackpot, not when he knew that his forefathers had done that very thing to prophet after prophet in the scriptures. This particular Pharisee ruler wanted to seek truth and that meant going to the source. He told Jesus he knows that he is a teacher from God because of all the miracles He was doing- none but God could do such miracles. As soon as Jesus heard that Nicodemus believed that He was from God, Jesus knew that he was seeking truth and had his heart open to receive that truth.

Jesus went on to tell Nicodemus that people had to be born again of water and Spirit. This threw Nicodemus for a little loop, crazy talk from one that most of his fellow Pharisees thought was a lunatic? Jesus told him outright NOT to marvel at what was being said. He even accused Nicodemus of being a Master of Israel and not knowing these things was the surprise. He looked Nicodemus in the eyes and said-

Joh 3:11… We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 

Joh 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 

Nicodemus wanted to know more from the man he believed was sent by God, the miracle performing man, yet Jesus outright tells him that he was finding it hard hearing earthly things, hearing heavenly things would really throw him for a loop.

We need to remember for a moment that Nicodemus could have left at any moment. He didn't need to stay there and listen to things that might be considered insulting, he didn't need to listen to Jesus, and yet he was compelled to do so even after being told that he should know these things already and that his finding it hard to believe the simple things would make it even harder to understand the heavenly things that he was there seeking.

Why are we studying this stuff about Nicodemus and Jesus?

Because we need to live our lives in Jesus Christ our hope, and we need a newness of life, we need to be born of the water and the Spirit if we are to survive this prison planet.

Jesus tells Nicodemus of the heavenly- of Himself. He came from heaven and just like Moses lifted up the serpent…

This is something Nicodemus was intimately familiar with- Moses. He knew Moses inside and out- every word ever written by Moses Nicodemus had read time and time again. When Jesus mentioned Moses lifting up the serpent, Nicodemus knew all about the raised serpent and its purpose. A plague of fiery serpents was killing off the people following Moses in the wilderness, a lot of people. The people witnessing person after person dying knew something had to be done so they said this to Moses--

Num 21:7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 

They sinned and were in need of salvation.

Moses was told by God to make a brass serpent on a pole and when the bitten people looked on it, they would live.

Bitten by a serpent, knowing the bite is deadly and yet all they needed to do was look on the brass serpent there on a pole so they could live. Their faith in obeying the word of God healed them. They looked to the raised up brass serpent because they were told in doing so they would live.

Jesus used this example to predict the His own death.  Just as the serpent was raised up - He too would be raised up for all to see and look to so they could live. At the time Nicodemus had no real knowledge of Jesus' impending crucifixion. These words were cryptic to him and yet he wanted to comprehend. Nicodemus already wanted to be born again of the spirit, he wanted truth from God.

More on this tomorrow by the grace of our Lord, by the will of God. May we too forever be seekers of truth. May we be born of the Spirit always. May we look to the raised up and crucified Christ for our salvation, our hope of new life so we may live in Him always.

*******

Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 

Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 

Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 

Joh 3:9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 

Joh 3:10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 

Joh 3:11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 

Joh 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

We Are All Prisoners.

Newness of life.

We quite literally go from having a very real eternal death sentence over us to having a very real eternal life offered to us. New life.

Having seen several shows on television, and reading about the true life stories that some of those show themes are taken from, I have heard about people being exonerated after years of incarceration. What joy to have their good names cleared at last. How they react to such newfound freedom varies. Some embrace it with that new zeal for living, others holdfast to desiring revenge for the wrong done to them.

Then you have criminals who have been justly locked up for many years obtaining their freedom, but without exoneration. Their crimes hang over their lives forever, following them wherever they go (unless they can buy a new identity and move to a place no one knows them etc.)  These criminals too can embrace their freedom from prison with joy or anger.

I know I'm minimalizing what they can experience, there is truly a wide range of emotions they'll go through in either scenario given above. Some may go through several emotions- happiness, anger, sadness and so on.

WE ALL ARE PRISONERS.

We, as guilty prisoners in life, condemned to eternal death by the weight of our sins will remain imprisoned with that death sentence to come if we do not accept the salvation offered to us by the Author of our lives.

The prison for all people is earth.  Think about it for a long, long moment. This is a prison planet. Truly it is a prison planet in so many, many ways and it has been disguised as being a planet of freedom. We are born inside this prison planet and while we are allowed a semblance of what true freedom may be like, all around us are reminders of our incarceration.

In fact just moments ago as I paused for a short necessary break and came back to resume my writing, I took a moment to check my social media page and right there was a post from an Animal Rescue site I belong to and on it a picture of a beautiful owl. The story wasn't beautiful though. The brief caption read- 'glue traps are inhumane'  it went on to tell how awful glue traps are for animals- their suffering before death and such. This beautiful owl was brought to the clinic with a glue trap stuck to its feathers in such a way it could not fly. It took the clinic a long, long time to get the trap off the owl and they are hoping for an eventual full recovery- some of the primary flight feathers were involved. My heart broke, the tears started as the horror of such things as glue traps exist at all!  It's this awful, awful prison world we live on that allows such things! Things such as that torture trap -even for the rodents and pests deemed nuisances that those the traps were made for, that they even exist is horrific! One of millions of clues to the type of planet we belong to. Prison planet earth, and we are all a part of it, no one escapes.

Because we are born with the propensity towards sinning- no one escapes from that either- we are on this prison planet. We all have been offered a pardon from this planet, a very special pardon- a full exoneration that we can claim. The thing is, while we may accept the pardon with full exoneration, we will not be freed from living our physical lives here on the prison planet. Notice I said, physical lives. We are given a newness of life, and that newness is our being allowed to be born again only this time our birth isn't into eventual sin, but into spiritual living.  The promised pardon and exoneration is ours, the knowledge that we are freed from our death sentence is ours. We must choose to live in a new spiritual life focused on our Redeemer, our Creator, our Hope. Our trust must be kept in HIM and the promise we've been given. While we continue to suffer this prison planet, we walk in newness of life. The weight of eternal death is no longer ours.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

All things are newly spiritual in Christ. We are raised from hopelessness, to hope. Our walk in the newness of life is one of hope. We have an advocate, we have someone fighting on our behalf.

The prisoners on this planet who choose to remain imprisoned even after they are offered freedom- live under a death sentence and they are controlled by the warden running this planet- Satan. We are surrounded by the unredeemed prisoners and as such, our lives will be far from easy. We must holdfast to the newness of life we are given- a newness we renew every single day of our new spiritual life.

More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of our LORD, our SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!

What Part of Us Should Die Daily?

What part of us should die daily?

1Co 15:31 … I die daily.

Death to Selfishness. Death to Self-serving.

Denying ourselves- what part of us are we denying in order to take up the cross of Christ and follow Him?

Luk 9:23  …let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

What is this cross we must take?  How are we to follow Christ to be worthy of Him?

Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 

The commandments of God are summed up like this by Jesus- God with us-

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

Loving God with ALL our heart.

Loving God with ALL our soul.

Loving God with ALL our mind.

Do we? Look into your heart and lay it bare right now. Open your heart before God and search for a moment, what is in there? Who is in your heart, what is in your heart? We put other people in our hearts- but aren't we supposed to? We are told the second commandment of ranking is loving others as we would be loved. To love they have to be in our heart, don't they? The answer is truthfully yes and no.  Let me try to explain.

God must be first in our heart- we must love HIM with ALL of our heart and that leaves what left over? Nothing. It is ONLY when we do love God with ALL our heart are we able to love others WITH that very same love, God's love.

We surrender our all to God and out of that surrender He will enable us to live as He wills. We won't be loving with our own imperfect love that is riddled with flaws, but we will love with God's love and HIS love is perfect. God's love can love what we deem most unlovable. God's love will continue to love through many, many betrayals- we as human beings have turned our backs on God time and time again, yet He still loves us.

God's love has provided hope.

God's love will in truth destroy utterly into non-existence those who cannot love. It is that love which knows all the people who choose not to love would never be content if forced to live in that love offered. No forced love, no forced will, no forced hope, God allows each of us to choose- daily.

There is no one-time only choice and you are forever held to that choice regardless of all circumstances.

The initial choice is allowing the life-long commitment to be possible. As soon as you choose to allow God to have all your heart, soul and mind you are choosing to love Him. The forgiveness you find through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, allows us to love.

Because you do not stop thinking, breathing, functioning as you've always done up to that point, you will be prone to temptations that will want to draw you away from God, not towards Him. Daily a renewed commitment must be made. You don't simply stop after baptism, you don't stop after the newness wears away. Every day RECOMMIT your life to God. EVERY DAY. Wake up and choose every day to exalt God above all other things in your life no matter what they are- and love Him with all your heart, mind and soul. Seek forgiveness as soon as you recognize any other entering your heart before Him. Put God before all, and love others with HIS love.

Rom_5:5  …the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

I asked above-

What part of us should die daily?

1Co 15:31 … I die daily.

Death to Selfishness. Death to Self-serving.

Denying ourselves- what part of us are we denying in order to take up the cross of Christ and follow Him?

Luk 9:23  …let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

What is this cross we must take?  How are we to follow Christ to be worthy of Him?

What part of us should die every single day? Our life outside of God. Truly all we do should be to His glory and not our own in any way. That cross we must take up is the knowledge we are choosing a path less traveled, a path that will have us making choices the world will not want us to make. In fact the self-serving part of us is going to fight against putting God first in every way it can. 

Can you put another person before all your own wants and needs? Yes, I said needs. Or do you think or say things like, I need to do this before I can help you with that. My need is just as great as yours. I need to take care of me first. Again I ask, can you put another person before ALL your own wants and needs?  If called to do so, could another person come before your preferred way of life? And by preferred way of life I mean- doing the things that make you most comfortable, most content, most at ease. Will you choose others before your own ideas of how you want your day to unfold?

We must allow God's way to unfold for us and follow HIM wherever He leads us and that will mean taking up a CROSS and that CROSS will kill our self serving and by the grace of God make us God serving first, and from that serving others!

Please LORD, we would be YOURS! Please! Put to death all the self-serving inside of us that would take over and kill You in Your rightful place in our hearts! All in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

I am A Sinner.

Not a single righteous person is saved.  Jesus only saves sinners. You will forever be a sinner saved, not a righteous saved.  If you get it twisted around that you need to be righteous to be saved, you've forgotten where you've come from. A lot of people try to escape from their past. They'll go to great lengths to put on pretenses that esteem them much higher in their family history than truly exists. We cannot forget where we've come from as Christ followers, there is a grave danger in such forgetfulness. As long as we remember we are SINNERS-SAVED, we can never forget that Jesus is constantly seeking the sinners to save. Is this license to sin constantly, knowingly, willfully? NO! I don't think many of us have a problem with sinning, it will come very naturally. Maybe not in the blatant way of a past coveted sin, but in the tiny ways of a short temper, a sharp word, a nasty thought, a selfish action. There are a myriad ways we sin in our lives and we will never get to a place where we should believe we are sinless and in no need of forgiveness from our Lord and Savior. As long as we are separated from Him, as long as the gulf between Jesus' return and our current life here on earth exists, we will need to seek forgiveness. Our need of a physician in this awful world is constant. May we continuously seek our great Physician, may we forever repent of our sinful ways as they are made known to us- seeking constant spiritual healing from the spiritual wounds that are inflicted upon us over and over again. 

All through Christ Jesus our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever, may we be HIS!

Mar_2:17  …They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

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. 

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.