Excerpts from Notebook 1983
Excerpts from 1983
Proverbs {1:22} How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Proverbs {1:29} For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD
Job {21:7} Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
Job {21:14} Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
Ps. {50:16} But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or [that] thou shouldest take my covenant in thy
mouth?
{50:17} Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
Prov. {2:1} My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; {2:2} So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; {2:3} Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; {2:4} If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures; {2:5} Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
***
What do we cry out for in our lives? When we have troubles what to we ache and long for to solve those troubles? More money, understanding? Do we wish the problems and those causing them away from our lives taking their problems with them? How often do you cry out for understanding? For knowledge? And how often during this heartfelt longing to you cry out and all the while believe that there is no understanding? That there is nothing that can help? Do we often give up before we even utter the first cry? We want simple answers, instant answers and if for one moment someone told you that the only answer is to wait the first response to that is- I don't want to wait, I want my answer now! I'm hurting, I'm troubled, I'm upset now! All I see is despair and more pain during that waiting, nothing more.
With our defeatist attitudes, with the belief that there is no real answer and that suffering is our lot in life, are we really searching for understanding and knowledge as if we were seeking a treasure? Seriously, are we? If someone told you that you could find a treasure and here is a map and instructions, you'd most likely (assuming you trust the person) do all you could do to find that treasure. Treasure hunters go to great length to get their treasures, they don't just pop up on their own waving their arms saying here I am come and get me. Those digging for treasure, those seraching for treasures often find themselves in situations that are unthinkable and yet they delve into them because they're hoping for that great reward.
God may not fix your problems if all you're doing is crying out for an instant fix, but if your heart is sincere and you are seeking Him as you would a treasure you will find a reward. Knowing God is the greatest treasure of all.
Prov. {2:1} My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; {2:2} So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding; {2:3} Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; {2:4} If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures; {2:5} Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
How do we seek God, to know Him? We have a book from God and this book contains many answers to our problems yet do we open it with awe at what we may find within? Do we read each word as God speaking to us, instructing us? God's word should mean so much to us and yet how often do you find yourself delving into it seeking knowledge and understanding? Most believe it a book of antiquity, meant to be read but not believed. Meant to be known but not made a real force in our lives.
Reading the Bible will not save you. Jesus alone can save. Reading the Bible is a privlege, an honor we have received from God.
We must really study for knowledge and understanding as we cry out for *things* to solve our problems. If we knew the answers were there to be found wouldn't we put our all into finding them? If someone told you they had the answers you'd pester them until they gave them to you. If there were an envelope before you containing answers you'd rip it open to read them. The truth is we live in this world and the answer is- we are not of this world. The answers we seek might not be for our lives right now. We might not be shown how to get rich quick, or how to comprehend a partner we're having trouble understanding, or find help with a child who is seeming to go astray. We will find answers, we will find knowledge and understanding of the fear of God and that is knowledge of the eternal, everlasting knowledge.
Matt. {6:33} But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. {6:34} Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.
True you might go hungry, homeless, feel helpless while seeking the kingdom of God first, but the kingdom of God is everlasting, our problems here and now are not.
**
May the Lord Bless and keep us, guide us into all knowledge and give us all the understanding we need to be closer and closer to Him so that we may know Him and He know us. By the righteousness of Christ our Lord and Savior, by His mercy and His grace we pray.
Amen.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Lord is Faithful
2 Thess. {3:1} Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the
Lord may have [free] course, and be glorified, even as [it is]
with you: {3:2} And that we may be delivered from
unreasonable and wicked men: for all [men] have not faith.
{3:3} But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and
keep [you] from evil. {3:4} And we have confidence in the
Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things
which we command you. {3:5} And the Lord direct your
hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for
Christ.
*******
Pray for us- that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified.
Pray- that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. For all men have not faith.
The Lord is faithful.
The Lord- will stablish you and keep you from evil.
We have confidence in the Lord touching you. That ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God.
And into the patient waiting for Christ.
*******
Such a prayer, such a entreaty. We need to believe that the word of the Lord will have free course and be glorified. We need to believe that we will be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, knowing that not all have faith in Jesus. The Lord will keep us from evil, we just need to follow His ways, we need to do and continue to do the things the Lord has commanded we do. The Lord will direct our hearts into the love of God. We have to be patient.
People call out and say they've had a miracle conversion, they've been born again and it's miraculous and yet the same people a year from then will have returned to their old ways, the conversion forgotten. How do we keep our conversion real? How do we determine to live for Christ? The world with all its evil presses down upon us telling us we can't follow God, we are evil, too evil. Our own thoughts condemn us and we yield to them rather than to God. Self.
It all comes down to self.
We have the power of choice and that choice is us or God. I should probably say Satan or God, and yet when we follow ourselves we are under the delusions of Satan and most of us don't even realize it and guess what? That's how he likes it.
Self or God.
We have to determine to follow God, we have to choose to follow God, we have to relinquish the part of us that wants to be in control, the part that says we know best, or that God doesn't understand our particular situation, that if God knew what He was asking, He would take pity on us and spare us having to ever commit to anything that would bring us undue hardship.
I don't know about you, but I think of having to give up any of my family and I just can't imagine doing so. I can only hope and pray that if and when the time comes that I have to choose between God and any of those I love that it's such a clear cut choice that there is no room for doubting what is being asked of me.
God's path isn't the worldly path of self-indulgence. Time and again we are given example after example of how difficult a road it is to follow Christ and yet for some reason we believe that it shouldn't have to be that hard for us. We should be able to just live our lives to the best of our ability with our creature comforts met and follow God as well. I'm not saying that's impossible, but I'm truly thinking that when we are given the Word of God which makes it clear the path truly is very narrow and few are going to find it we can't delude ourselves into believing that for some reason we are allowed to traverse the broad path and still be headed in the right direction.
Self-denial. How many of us know what that is? How many of us shun self-denial? How many of us believe self-denial is punishment?
Matthew {10:37} He that loveth father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. {10:38} And
he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not
worthy of me. {10:39} He that findeth his life shall lose it:
and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Apart from God we are mere shells of what we can be. If only we'd realize this and make it reality to ourselves. We aren't to seek self-awareness, self-understanding, self-contentment, we are to take our eyes off ourselves and that is the hardest thing we will ever learn to do in our entire lives and it is only possible through the love of Jesus Christ. Loving Jesus and following Him to the exclusion of all else is our calling. God's will be done.
While we live in this world we are not to be of this world.
We are to be God's children.
May God help us to choose Him over ourselves and all that entails.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior, all power and glory to Him now and forever!
Amen.
Lord may have [free] course, and be glorified, even as [it is]
with you: {3:2} And that we may be delivered from
unreasonable and wicked men: for all [men] have not faith.
{3:3} But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and
keep [you] from evil. {3:4} And we have confidence in the
Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things
which we command you. {3:5} And the Lord direct your
hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for
Christ.
*******
Pray for us- that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified.
Pray- that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. For all men have not faith.
The Lord is faithful.
The Lord- will stablish you and keep you from evil.
We have confidence in the Lord touching you. That ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God.
And into the patient waiting for Christ.
*******
Such a prayer, such a entreaty. We need to believe that the word of the Lord will have free course and be glorified. We need to believe that we will be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, knowing that not all have faith in Jesus. The Lord will keep us from evil, we just need to follow His ways, we need to do and continue to do the things the Lord has commanded we do. The Lord will direct our hearts into the love of God. We have to be patient.
People call out and say they've had a miracle conversion, they've been born again and it's miraculous and yet the same people a year from then will have returned to their old ways, the conversion forgotten. How do we keep our conversion real? How do we determine to live for Christ? The world with all its evil presses down upon us telling us we can't follow God, we are evil, too evil. Our own thoughts condemn us and we yield to them rather than to God. Self.
It all comes down to self.
We have the power of choice and that choice is us or God. I should probably say Satan or God, and yet when we follow ourselves we are under the delusions of Satan and most of us don't even realize it and guess what? That's how he likes it.
Self or God.
We have to determine to follow God, we have to choose to follow God, we have to relinquish the part of us that wants to be in control, the part that says we know best, or that God doesn't understand our particular situation, that if God knew what He was asking, He would take pity on us and spare us having to ever commit to anything that would bring us undue hardship.
I don't know about you, but I think of having to give up any of my family and I just can't imagine doing so. I can only hope and pray that if and when the time comes that I have to choose between God and any of those I love that it's such a clear cut choice that there is no room for doubting what is being asked of me.
God's path isn't the worldly path of self-indulgence. Time and again we are given example after example of how difficult a road it is to follow Christ and yet for some reason we believe that it shouldn't have to be that hard for us. We should be able to just live our lives to the best of our ability with our creature comforts met and follow God as well. I'm not saying that's impossible, but I'm truly thinking that when we are given the Word of God which makes it clear the path truly is very narrow and few are going to find it we can't delude ourselves into believing that for some reason we are allowed to traverse the broad path and still be headed in the right direction.
Self-denial. How many of us know what that is? How many of us shun self-denial? How many of us believe self-denial is punishment?
Matthew {10:37} He that loveth father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. {10:38} And
he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not
worthy of me. {10:39} He that findeth his life shall lose it:
and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Apart from God we are mere shells of what we can be. If only we'd realize this and make it reality to ourselves. We aren't to seek self-awareness, self-understanding, self-contentment, we are to take our eyes off ourselves and that is the hardest thing we will ever learn to do in our entire lives and it is only possible through the love of Jesus Christ. Loving Jesus and following Him to the exclusion of all else is our calling. God's will be done.
While we live in this world we are not to be of this world.
We are to be God's children.
May God help us to choose Him over ourselves and all that entails.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior, all power and glory to Him now and forever!
Amen.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Through A Glass Darkly
1 Cor. {13:1} Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. {13:2} And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. {13:3} And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. {13:4} Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, {13:5} Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil; {13:6} Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; {13:7} Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. {13:8} Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. {13:9} For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 13:10} But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. {13:11} When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. {13:12} For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. {13:13} And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
For now we see through a glass darkly.
Have you ever gone up to a dirty window and tried to peer through it? It's not easy is it? You search for a clean spot, things through the dirt are murky and you're not even sure what you're seeing in there a lot of things are like shadows at best.
Right now this is how life is for us.
We try to understand, we try to make the best of what this life has to offer us. Life is seldom what we think it should be and moments of it that do live up to that ideal are short lived and very few and far between. While we're trying to make the best of our lives living in some sort of contented state we are often thrown for a loop. There are ups and downs and inbetweens and none of them come with a guarantee that they'll last very long. We love when the downs are short-lived and the up long-lived, and it's nice when the inbetweens are set at a comfortable pace as well. Life however doesn't always give us what we want. Sometimes those downs last for a long, long time and sometimes those ups are very short and the span inbetween very short. Some people seem to live with that as a way of life. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter really because no matter how we live this life is just temporary. But that grand scheme of things can seem incredibly long until it become all that matters.
We need to remember that we see through a glass darkly.
When the glass is finally cleared we'll see that there are things that remain from the life we lived as we only saw darkly. Those things that will be more fully realized are - faith, hope, charity.
We are allowed glimpses of the life to come and they are all found through love and no other way.
Trying to understand is something natural to us, but knowing that right now we only see part of what life will really be like is a must. We can only understand so far, so much and then we need to live by pure faith, with hope, and love as the key to it all.
One day we'll be known and we'll know.
May God help us all to know and be known in love.
By the pure grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior we need to grasp hold of hope and love and understand that we can't understand it all no matter how we crave to do so. There is a leap of faith we must possess. By His Mercy!
Amen.
thinketh no evil; {13:6} Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; {13:7} Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. {13:8} Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. {13:9} For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 13:10} But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. {13:11} When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. {13:12} For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. {13:13} And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
For now we see through a glass darkly.
Have you ever gone up to a dirty window and tried to peer through it? It's not easy is it? You search for a clean spot, things through the dirt are murky and you're not even sure what you're seeing in there a lot of things are like shadows at best.
Right now this is how life is for us.
We try to understand, we try to make the best of what this life has to offer us. Life is seldom what we think it should be and moments of it that do live up to that ideal are short lived and very few and far between. While we're trying to make the best of our lives living in some sort of contented state we are often thrown for a loop. There are ups and downs and inbetweens and none of them come with a guarantee that they'll last very long. We love when the downs are short-lived and the up long-lived, and it's nice when the inbetweens are set at a comfortable pace as well. Life however doesn't always give us what we want. Sometimes those downs last for a long, long time and sometimes those ups are very short and the span inbetween very short. Some people seem to live with that as a way of life. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter really because no matter how we live this life is just temporary. But that grand scheme of things can seem incredibly long until it become all that matters.
We need to remember that we see through a glass darkly.
When the glass is finally cleared we'll see that there are things that remain from the life we lived as we only saw darkly. Those things that will be more fully realized are - faith, hope, charity.
We are allowed glimpses of the life to come and they are all found through love and no other way.
Trying to understand is something natural to us, but knowing that right now we only see part of what life will really be like is a must. We can only understand so far, so much and then we need to live by pure faith, with hope, and love as the key to it all.
One day we'll be known and we'll know.
May God help us all to know and be known in love.
By the pure grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Savior we need to grasp hold of hope and love and understand that we can't understand it all no matter how we crave to do so. There is a leap of faith we must possess. By His Mercy!
Amen.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Excerpts from Notebooks - Nov. 10, 1983 Cont.
11/10/83
Luke 5:39
'No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, the old is better.'
MTM:
The carnal nature, the old wine is often considered better, for no one immediately likes to be told his life could be better than what it is.
First we must consider the new whether it be wine or life and then taste it and see for ourselves. Once we've tasted it with an open mind, emphasizing that point then we can make a decision. If in our mind we say over and over again we won't like something even before we've tried it chance are we won't like it once we've tried it. An open mind is essential to trying new things. We must realize there is 50-50 chance of liking or not liking something new. Not a 90-10 percentage the 90 being not liking it.
With that open mind once we take the steps to trying the new we will honestly be able to decide for the old or new. Though we're reluctant to break away from the old which we are used to maybe not satisfied with but used to. We can discover the more satisfying and be happy in changing and once again having a new thing becomes comfortingly old.
(4/15/09 - Update
I suppose this might old true if you're living a life you enjoy. You'd rather not change if things are going well. However if you've an unsatisfactory life you mostly welcome a change for the better.
This verse holds true in many ways.
If you're enjoying the wine you're drinking there is no reason to change.
There are things in all our lives we enjoy to the point we don't want to try other things. We have our favorite brands of things. And yes we might try other brands when situations become difficult such as they raise the price of a favorite brand, and if we're lucky we find a new brand that can satisfy us. Once in awhile we might even find a new brand we like even more than the old but having never tried the new one until circumstances urged us that way we hadn't a clue we'd like it more.
The old adage of a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush, meaning being happy with what you have and not with what you might possibly have holds true here as well. People might not want to try new because they have the old.
There is a danger in getting comfortable with much of anything you know. We get comfortable and then we risk losing that comfort. Not that we must go about living unhappily because life at best offers us temporary comfort, but living here in our sin-filled earth we have a perfect opportunity to realize that there is only one source of true, real comfort.
We are told to look to heaven as our hope, to put our treasures in heaven, not here. There's a reason for that.
At best the joys we have here are temporary and EVERY single one of them is subject to changing, to disappearing. There isn't a single earthly contentment we have that can't change to be otherwise, not one. If we have money we can lose it, if we have the love of our life it can find another or die on us, if we have good health we can die suddenly. We cannot count on even tomorrow being available to us. You have a home, well nowadays it's very apparent that not even that is secure. You own a home then taxes rise up horribly, the house burns down. You have possession you cherish and then a robber comes and steals or destroys them. There isn't any earthly joy you can know you'll have forever- not one. We can't even count on our own mental health- with various diseases and such that can alter that in a heartbeat.
No, we don't want to look at these things. We want to believe we can hold onto enough contentment in life that in the end of it no matter how we meet our death we can say we lived a good life.
We are to look to the new, which is Christ. We are to place our hope on things eternal. We live now but this life isn't the end for us. Death isn't our end. Our hope is in life everlasting. The new life in Christ is much better than our old life will ever be. We don't think it because we can't grasp hold of it but must believe it by faith. We are satisfied with the old wine when the new will be much, much more satisfying if we only believe and taste of it.
May God help us all to believe in the new life to come and find out comfort in the hope of that new life and not life here and now.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
Luke 5:39
'No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, the old is better.'
MTM:
The carnal nature, the old wine is often considered better, for no one immediately likes to be told his life could be better than what it is.
First we must consider the new whether it be wine or life and then taste it and see for ourselves. Once we've tasted it with an open mind, emphasizing that point then we can make a decision. If in our mind we say over and over again we won't like something even before we've tried it chance are we won't like it once we've tried it. An open mind is essential to trying new things. We must realize there is 50-50 chance of liking or not liking something new. Not a 90-10 percentage the 90 being not liking it.
With that open mind once we take the steps to trying the new we will honestly be able to decide for the old or new. Though we're reluctant to break away from the old which we are used to maybe not satisfied with but used to. We can discover the more satisfying and be happy in changing and once again having a new thing becomes comfortingly old.
(4/15/09 - Update
I suppose this might old true if you're living a life you enjoy. You'd rather not change if things are going well. However if you've an unsatisfactory life you mostly welcome a change for the better.
This verse holds true in many ways.
If you're enjoying the wine you're drinking there is no reason to change.
There are things in all our lives we enjoy to the point we don't want to try other things. We have our favorite brands of things. And yes we might try other brands when situations become difficult such as they raise the price of a favorite brand, and if we're lucky we find a new brand that can satisfy us. Once in awhile we might even find a new brand we like even more than the old but having never tried the new one until circumstances urged us that way we hadn't a clue we'd like it more.
The old adage of a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush, meaning being happy with what you have and not with what you might possibly have holds true here as well. People might not want to try new because they have the old.
There is a danger in getting comfortable with much of anything you know. We get comfortable and then we risk losing that comfort. Not that we must go about living unhappily because life at best offers us temporary comfort, but living here in our sin-filled earth we have a perfect opportunity to realize that there is only one source of true, real comfort.
We are told to look to heaven as our hope, to put our treasures in heaven, not here. There's a reason for that.
At best the joys we have here are temporary and EVERY single one of them is subject to changing, to disappearing. There isn't a single earthly contentment we have that can't change to be otherwise, not one. If we have money we can lose it, if we have the love of our life it can find another or die on us, if we have good health we can die suddenly. We cannot count on even tomorrow being available to us. You have a home, well nowadays it's very apparent that not even that is secure. You own a home then taxes rise up horribly, the house burns down. You have possession you cherish and then a robber comes and steals or destroys them. There isn't any earthly joy you can know you'll have forever- not one. We can't even count on our own mental health- with various diseases and such that can alter that in a heartbeat.
No, we don't want to look at these things. We want to believe we can hold onto enough contentment in life that in the end of it no matter how we meet our death we can say we lived a good life.
We are to look to the new, which is Christ. We are to place our hope on things eternal. We live now but this life isn't the end for us. Death isn't our end. Our hope is in life everlasting. The new life in Christ is much better than our old life will ever be. We don't think it because we can't grasp hold of it but must believe it by faith. We are satisfied with the old wine when the new will be much, much more satisfying if we only believe and taste of it.
May God help us all to believe in the new life to come and find out comfort in the hope of that new life and not life here and now.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Excerpts from Notebooks - Nov. 10, 1983
11/10/83
Luke {5:8} 'When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'
MTM (Means to Me):
How often we hear the cries- get away from me, leave me alone, just go away. In my own life I often experienced saying those thing. When I was hurt, confused, depressed I wished the whole world would disappear. Looking back I see I really was the one who wanted to disappear, or be noticed. In not being paid attention I longed for it, but my words were otherwise. When I was hurt and cried out 'Go away!' I really wanted someone to come to me. Today I hear other children and adults cry our 'Leave me be!' and I wonder are they being like Simon Peter telling Jesus to leave, yet really wanting Him more than ever?
Simon felt his unworthiness of Jesus' love, but the words- 'Depart from me' are really saying, 'I'm not worthy but please stay.' Jesus I'm sure saw through that and knew Simon really wanted Him. Luke {5:10} reads- 'And so [was] also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men' Fear not, I know you really don't want me to go from you so I won't, come with me. Oh, sometimes more often I wish to see through the cries of 'Depart from me' and recognize them as pleas to stay.
(4/14/09 - Update
Feeling the weight of our own unworthiness can be crushing. We know that against the purity of Christ we are nothing but sinful dirty creatures. Satan would have us fall down into despair over our own unrighteousness, fall down and never get up again. Jesus know in the light of His presence we must fall down and He wants us to reach up and grab hold of Him, relying solely on Him for any hope and worthiness. While we may cry out for Jesus to depart, that we're too sinful to be around Him, we really want Him closer than ever just as Simon Peter did and Jesus will pull us closer to Him, He won't leave us, He won't depart from us. He'll cover us with His righteousness.
All praise and glory to God, to our Lord and Savior now and forever! Amen.)
Luke {5:8} 'When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'
MTM (Means to Me):
How often we hear the cries- get away from me, leave me alone, just go away. In my own life I often experienced saying those thing. When I was hurt, confused, depressed I wished the whole world would disappear. Looking back I see I really was the one who wanted to disappear, or be noticed. In not being paid attention I longed for it, but my words were otherwise. When I was hurt and cried out 'Go away!' I really wanted someone to come to me. Today I hear other children and adults cry our 'Leave me be!' and I wonder are they being like Simon Peter telling Jesus to leave, yet really wanting Him more than ever?
Simon felt his unworthiness of Jesus' love, but the words- 'Depart from me' are really saying, 'I'm not worthy but please stay.' Jesus I'm sure saw through that and knew Simon really wanted Him. Luke {5:10} reads- 'And so [was] also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men' Fear not, I know you really don't want me to go from you so I won't, come with me. Oh, sometimes more often I wish to see through the cries of 'Depart from me' and recognize them as pleas to stay.
(4/14/09 - Update
Feeling the weight of our own unworthiness can be crushing. We know that against the purity of Christ we are nothing but sinful dirty creatures. Satan would have us fall down into despair over our own unrighteousness, fall down and never get up again. Jesus know in the light of His presence we must fall down and He wants us to reach up and grab hold of Him, relying solely on Him for any hope and worthiness. While we may cry out for Jesus to depart, that we're too sinful to be around Him, we really want Him closer than ever just as Simon Peter did and Jesus will pull us closer to Him, He won't leave us, He won't depart from us. He'll cover us with His righteousness.
All praise and glory to God, to our Lord and Savior now and forever! Amen.)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Excerpts from Notebooks - July 1983
Mark 1:25 'And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of Him.'
Jesus knew that evil spirit possession is real. He told the evil spirit to come out of the man. If spirit possession was real enough then it is more than likely real now. Jesus, not man, has the necessary power to remove unclean spirits. We can use Jesus' power, if we are connected right to Him.
Mark 1:31 'And, He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up by the hand and immediately the fever left her and she ministered unto them.'
Jesus could easily have said 'fever be gone', or some such thing yet He knew the contact of love is important. Jesus took her by the hand. Picture it, His hand in hers, the strength, the gentleness, the power, and the love in that hand merging into the sick woman's giving her the healing she needed. The lifting her up so tenderly with compassion, can you imagine the awe, the wonderment and sense of gratitude the woman must have felt!
She ministered unto them and probably so happily that her face radiated a glow of love, and all Jesus needed to do was take her hand and lift her, He didn't say a word, it was His touch that healed her.
(Casting out evil spirits, healings, Jesus came into His own and the healings were many. He came and did what no other had ever done. There may have been magicians of sorts, those good at tending the sick, but none were ever like Jesus, none. When He performed the miracles one after the other, healing countless number of people it was for a reason. It was proof undeniably so of His divinity. The Pharisees and all others could say whatever they wanted to say but truthfully they could not explain away the healings could they? Not really. Their hands were tied, they were limited because the word of Jesus spread and spread, people were coming from all around wanting to be healed, wanting to hear Jesus speak. They knew He was special, they knew He was different.
While the apostles, the disciples, the followers of Jesus continued on after Jesus died and was raised to life again, none were ever like Him, they were shadows of what He was and that too was as it should be. Gradually over time the healings, the casting out of devils, all of that seemed to fade away and become mostly mythical.
Today we have healings and what are called exorcisms but they exist on the realm of the skeptical. Were people skeptical in Jesus' day? Yes, very much so. But there isn't a whole village of people being healed now. There isn't anyone going about casting out devils with a word- in fact today if there is casting out it's a dramatic process much like those depicted in various movies without the sensationalized gore.
We want to believe in miracles, but we can't expect them, true Godly miracles, now in the end days. Why? Because we know in the last days devils will be working miracles.
Rev. {16:14}' For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world.'
Rev. {19:20} 'And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast'
Matt. {24:23} 'Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not. {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.'
There is a big danger in counting on miracles today. With Jesus coming again soon, very soon, the greatest miracle we should be looking for is the miracle of His arrival and the changing of our bodies from corruptible to incorruptible. Not the miracles of healing, not the casting out of devils. We need only look for Christ. Satan is ready to deceive all. He has his plans set, his agenda made. He will work in such away that only the very elect of God will not be deceived. Such knowledge we can all have and we must all use. We must not trust our own eyes or ears, but rely on the knowledge God has given us in His Holy Word. The whole world will marvel at the miracle Satan will perform and it will be those who refuse to be deceived who will be saved.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ now and forever! May we have our eyes ever upon Him! Amen.)
Jesus knew that evil spirit possession is real. He told the evil spirit to come out of the man. If spirit possession was real enough then it is more than likely real now. Jesus, not man, has the necessary power to remove unclean spirits. We can use Jesus' power, if we are connected right to Him.
Mark 1:31 'And, He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up by the hand and immediately the fever left her and she ministered unto them.'
Jesus could easily have said 'fever be gone', or some such thing yet He knew the contact of love is important. Jesus took her by the hand. Picture it, His hand in hers, the strength, the gentleness, the power, and the love in that hand merging into the sick woman's giving her the healing she needed. The lifting her up so tenderly with compassion, can you imagine the awe, the wonderment and sense of gratitude the woman must have felt!
She ministered unto them and probably so happily that her face radiated a glow of love, and all Jesus needed to do was take her hand and lift her, He didn't say a word, it was His touch that healed her.
(Casting out evil spirits, healings, Jesus came into His own and the healings were many. He came and did what no other had ever done. There may have been magicians of sorts, those good at tending the sick, but none were ever like Jesus, none. When He performed the miracles one after the other, healing countless number of people it was for a reason. It was proof undeniably so of His divinity. The Pharisees and all others could say whatever they wanted to say but truthfully they could not explain away the healings could they? Not really. Their hands were tied, they were limited because the word of Jesus spread and spread, people were coming from all around wanting to be healed, wanting to hear Jesus speak. They knew He was special, they knew He was different.
While the apostles, the disciples, the followers of Jesus continued on after Jesus died and was raised to life again, none were ever like Him, they were shadows of what He was and that too was as it should be. Gradually over time the healings, the casting out of devils, all of that seemed to fade away and become mostly mythical.
Today we have healings and what are called exorcisms but they exist on the realm of the skeptical. Were people skeptical in Jesus' day? Yes, very much so. But there isn't a whole village of people being healed now. There isn't anyone going about casting out devils with a word- in fact today if there is casting out it's a dramatic process much like those depicted in various movies without the sensationalized gore.
We want to believe in miracles, but we can't expect them, true Godly miracles, now in the end days. Why? Because we know in the last days devils will be working miracles.
Rev. {16:14}' For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world.'
Rev. {19:20} 'And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast'
Matt. {24:23} 'Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not. {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.'
There is a big danger in counting on miracles today. With Jesus coming again soon, very soon, the greatest miracle we should be looking for is the miracle of His arrival and the changing of our bodies from corruptible to incorruptible. Not the miracles of healing, not the casting out of devils. We need only look for Christ. Satan is ready to deceive all. He has his plans set, his agenda made. He will work in such away that only the very elect of God will not be deceived. Such knowledge we can all have and we must all use. We must not trust our own eyes or ears, but rely on the knowledge God has given us in His Holy Word. The whole world will marvel at the miracle Satan will perform and it will be those who refuse to be deceived who will be saved.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ now and forever! May we have our eyes ever upon Him! Amen.)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Excerpts from Notebooks - July 10, 1983
7/10/83
(Excerpts from--)
Practice the Presence of God - By Brother Lawrence Fleming
'We should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him.'
'When he had failed in his duty he only confessed his fault saying to God, I shall never do otherwise if You leave me to myself it is You who must hinder my failing and mend what is amiss…After this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.'
(Thinking about that- the Presence of God, I believe we rely way too much on feelings. I don't feel it- I don't feel right - I feel this way, I feel that way. It's all about our feelings isn't it?
Sometimes being around someone that doesn't seem to rely on feelings but exists more in the neutral manner of acceptance that life is just this way and so be it, makes it hard to understand. The tendency to want to pick at the whys and wherefores, to distrust that there can be an acceptance of things that really there is unhappiness, non-contentment there. We are so hyped up about our feelings that to live in such a way makes us *boring or *odd.
We are promoting being in touch with our feelings more and more. On the popular websites Myspace and Facebook they both have places for people to express their current feelings. This is supposed to promote interaction with others. If you see a friend is sad it encourages others to uplift them. If you are happy it encourages the sharing of that happiness.
The other day I was at my mother's house helping her out with a few computer things and she wanted me to set up her Myspace so it was book-marked for easy access. While I was doing that she saw where others were writing about their various feelings and happenings - and asked where she could put hers in. I showed her and asked her what she wanted me to put in for her right then and she said 'I don't know.' So that's what I put in there. She obviously wasn't exceptionally caught up in recognizing an emotion she might be feeling at the moment. And you know what, that's not so bad. Some might think it is, they might instantly be concerned that she's not in touch with herself. But rather than that, I'm choosing to believe it's her not being caught up in how she feels.
When we do Practice the Presence of God in our lives we have to separate it from how we might be feeling or it'll become dependent upon that feeling. When we depend on our feelings to Practice the Presence of God then we can be sure that there are going to be headed our way a lot of negative feelings that will make us not believe we can Practice the Presence of God.
This from that book- 'We should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him.'
Is true. And it's a conversing that needs to go beyond feeling 'right' with God. It has to be a knowledge of God's presence as being with us no matter what. We don't have to wait to feel a thing, we can believe and have faith beyond the feelings we'd like to have.
And this-
'When he had failed in his duty he only confessed his fault saying to God, I shall never do otherwise if You leave me to myself it is You who must hinder my failing and mend what is amiss…After this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.'
Is this acceptable? It has to be doesn't it? We get so caught up in our faults, our failures, and it does seem overwhelming, as if we'll never cease to fail. If we count on ourselves for success it's just as well we fail in order that we know we can't find success on our own, of our own accord. We HAVE to have God with us, we have to rely on God to mend whatever is amiss inside us. We have to surrender ourselves to God for that mending. If we get caught up in worrying over our inability to succeed we will never let God work in us, we'll constantly be waiting for the power on our own to succeed. We'll take pride in that success and attribute it to ourselves. Much better to remember always that it is God working in us to fix our failings.
The part about, 'After this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.' Is that trust? It must be. To worry over something after confessing it and entrusting our need to God is pointless. It only shows a lack of faith in God truly hearing and helping us.
It seems to be in our nature to worry over things, to feel uneasiness about things, but we truly have to give to God and trust beyond our understanding. We might not understand one whit how things might be healed, helped, or changed but we aren't called to understand, we are called to trust, to believe. To realize our place as creatures and God's place as Creator.)
(Please note- information taken from my old notebooks may be altered by me to take what I think is pertinent from among all that is written. All additional writing which will be my current thoughts on past writings will be in parentheses. Thank you.)
By the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus now and forever! Amen.
(Excerpts from--)
Practice the Presence of God - By Brother Lawrence Fleming
'We should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him.'
'When he had failed in his duty he only confessed his fault saying to God, I shall never do otherwise if You leave me to myself it is You who must hinder my failing and mend what is amiss…After this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.'
(Thinking about that- the Presence of God, I believe we rely way too much on feelings. I don't feel it- I don't feel right - I feel this way, I feel that way. It's all about our feelings isn't it?
Sometimes being around someone that doesn't seem to rely on feelings but exists more in the neutral manner of acceptance that life is just this way and so be it, makes it hard to understand. The tendency to want to pick at the whys and wherefores, to distrust that there can be an acceptance of things that really there is unhappiness, non-contentment there. We are so hyped up about our feelings that to live in such a way makes us *boring or *odd.
We are promoting being in touch with our feelings more and more. On the popular websites Myspace and Facebook they both have places for people to express their current feelings. This is supposed to promote interaction with others. If you see a friend is sad it encourages others to uplift them. If you are happy it encourages the sharing of that happiness.
The other day I was at my mother's house helping her out with a few computer things and she wanted me to set up her Myspace so it was book-marked for easy access. While I was doing that she saw where others were writing about their various feelings and happenings - and asked where she could put hers in. I showed her and asked her what she wanted me to put in for her right then and she said 'I don't know.' So that's what I put in there. She obviously wasn't exceptionally caught up in recognizing an emotion she might be feeling at the moment. And you know what, that's not so bad. Some might think it is, they might instantly be concerned that she's not in touch with herself. But rather than that, I'm choosing to believe it's her not being caught up in how she feels.
When we do Practice the Presence of God in our lives we have to separate it from how we might be feeling or it'll become dependent upon that feeling. When we depend on our feelings to Practice the Presence of God then we can be sure that there are going to be headed our way a lot of negative feelings that will make us not believe we can Practice the Presence of God.
This from that book- 'We should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him.'
Is true. And it's a conversing that needs to go beyond feeling 'right' with God. It has to be a knowledge of God's presence as being with us no matter what. We don't have to wait to feel a thing, we can believe and have faith beyond the feelings we'd like to have.
And this-
'When he had failed in his duty he only confessed his fault saying to God, I shall never do otherwise if You leave me to myself it is You who must hinder my failing and mend what is amiss…After this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.'
Is this acceptable? It has to be doesn't it? We get so caught up in our faults, our failures, and it does seem overwhelming, as if we'll never cease to fail. If we count on ourselves for success it's just as well we fail in order that we know we can't find success on our own, of our own accord. We HAVE to have God with us, we have to rely on God to mend whatever is amiss inside us. We have to surrender ourselves to God for that mending. If we get caught up in worrying over our inability to succeed we will never let God work in us, we'll constantly be waiting for the power on our own to succeed. We'll take pride in that success and attribute it to ourselves. Much better to remember always that it is God working in us to fix our failings.
The part about, 'After this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.' Is that trust? It must be. To worry over something after confessing it and entrusting our need to God is pointless. It only shows a lack of faith in God truly hearing and helping us.
It seems to be in our nature to worry over things, to feel uneasiness about things, but we truly have to give to God and trust beyond our understanding. We might not understand one whit how things might be healed, helped, or changed but we aren't called to understand, we are called to trust, to believe. To realize our place as creatures and God's place as Creator.)
(Please note- information taken from my old notebooks may be altered by me to take what I think is pertinent from among all that is written. All additional writing which will be my current thoughts on past writings will be in parentheses. Thank you.)
By the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus now and forever! Amen.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
July 18 1983 - Excerpts of My Old Notebook
July 18, 1983
Luke {5:24} But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to
forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
The Son of man has power here on earth to forgive sins.
Here on earth.
On earth Christ has the power to forgive the sins of those on earth.
He has the power!!!!!
It is His will to forgive sins, or else why would He have the power to do so? Why have the power and not exercise it?
He wants to forgive our sins, He wanted to heal by forgiving us.
He wants us to know we are sick, sin-filled and especially that He is willing to heal us from the sickness.
You get sick and you call a doctor for help, advice, medicine or you talk to someone, a friend, and ask their advice. Or a friend may turn it around and ask you what you are doing to get better.
The point is, when you are sick you want to get better so you look for ways to get better.
We are all sin sick and we need to look for ways to get better, to stop sinning.
So what if the doctor tells you it's an incurable disease? Maybe he tells you that there is medicine that may help you, that you have to take the medicine whenever you have an attack. It will seem as if you'll never get better, but on the plus side you'll live a lot longer, maybe a normal lifespan if you keep taking the medicine.
Now you may try other doctors, other medicines, or rely on you own advice or a friend's, but this one pill alone will help you, more than you'll really realize.
The pill for the sin-sick which is all of us, is Jesus. If we confess to Him every time we sin we'll be helped quite a bit. We'll never stop sinning, having attacks, but we'll always have the medicine about to help us, Jesus.
We choose our doctors and we choose whether to take the prescribed medicine.
In this sickness we have God as our doctor and Jesus is the medicine.
(Sin really isn't an incurable disease- there is One who has overcome the sickness and it is through that One we may be inoculated. Only there is just one way He can inoculate us. We have to stay in His presence. We have to stay with Him, live with Him all the time not just off and on when we feel like being with Him, but always no matter what we are going through. As long as we live and until Jesus returns to take us home with Him we need to remain close to Him or we will never be saved, never be inoculated fully.
If your life depended upon being with another person always day in and day out, 24/7, would you want that person with you? If the alternative is death I'm almost certain you would.
People just don't realize that we are all under a very real death sentence. A death sentence that kills the spirit as well as the flesh.
Matt. {10:28} And fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Do you see?
Death is the destiny of us all. Life in Jesus is also the destiny of all who desire such life in Christ.
We hope to one day be with Jesus forever, we need to let that desire be manifested in our lives right now, living with Him as a reality to us and not some figment called upon in desperation. He needs to shape our daily lives now. Truly who would desire to live with Jesus forever if they don't even want to be with Him now? )
(Please note- information taken from my old notebooks may be altered by me to take what I think is pertinent from among all that is written. All additional writing which will be my current thoughts on past writings will be in parentheses. Thank you.)
All Glory, Praise and Honor to Our Lord on High! By His Mercy and Grace now and forever!
Amen.
Luke {5:24} But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to
forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
The Son of man has power here on earth to forgive sins.
Here on earth.
On earth Christ has the power to forgive the sins of those on earth.
He has the power!!!!!
It is His will to forgive sins, or else why would He have the power to do so? Why have the power and not exercise it?
He wants to forgive our sins, He wanted to heal by forgiving us.
He wants us to know we are sick, sin-filled and especially that He is willing to heal us from the sickness.
You get sick and you call a doctor for help, advice, medicine or you talk to someone, a friend, and ask their advice. Or a friend may turn it around and ask you what you are doing to get better.
The point is, when you are sick you want to get better so you look for ways to get better.
We are all sin sick and we need to look for ways to get better, to stop sinning.
So what if the doctor tells you it's an incurable disease? Maybe he tells you that there is medicine that may help you, that you have to take the medicine whenever you have an attack. It will seem as if you'll never get better, but on the plus side you'll live a lot longer, maybe a normal lifespan if you keep taking the medicine.
Now you may try other doctors, other medicines, or rely on you own advice or a friend's, but this one pill alone will help you, more than you'll really realize.
The pill for the sin-sick which is all of us, is Jesus. If we confess to Him every time we sin we'll be helped quite a bit. We'll never stop sinning, having attacks, but we'll always have the medicine about to help us, Jesus.
We choose our doctors and we choose whether to take the prescribed medicine.
In this sickness we have God as our doctor and Jesus is the medicine.
(Sin really isn't an incurable disease- there is One who has overcome the sickness and it is through that One we may be inoculated. Only there is just one way He can inoculate us. We have to stay in His presence. We have to stay with Him, live with Him all the time not just off and on when we feel like being with Him, but always no matter what we are going through. As long as we live and until Jesus returns to take us home with Him we need to remain close to Him or we will never be saved, never be inoculated fully.
If your life depended upon being with another person always day in and day out, 24/7, would you want that person with you? If the alternative is death I'm almost certain you would.
People just don't realize that we are all under a very real death sentence. A death sentence that kills the spirit as well as the flesh.
Matt. {10:28} And fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Do you see?
Death is the destiny of us all. Life in Jesus is also the destiny of all who desire such life in Christ.
We hope to one day be with Jesus forever, we need to let that desire be manifested in our lives right now, living with Him as a reality to us and not some figment called upon in desperation. He needs to shape our daily lives now. Truly who would desire to live with Jesus forever if they don't even want to be with Him now? )
(Please note- information taken from my old notebooks may be altered by me to take what I think is pertinent from among all that is written. All additional writing which will be my current thoughts on past writings will be in parentheses. Thank you.)
All Glory, Praise and Honor to Our Lord on High! By His Mercy and Grace now and forever!
Amen.
Friday, April 10, 2009
More Excerpts from Old Notebooks
Notebook #2
(Please note- information taken from my old notebooks may be altered by me to take what I think is pertinent from among all that is written. All additional writing which will be my current thoughts on past writings will be in parantheses. Thank you.)
July 5, 1983
People teach that their religion is the only way to be saved, however a pearl of wisdom comes from one writer and holds true.
'Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom light is never brought by human instrumentality yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written love of God, they have heard his voice speaking to them in nature and have done the things that the laws required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.'
The Desire of Ages p638 E.G. White
( I find this thought very comforting. We live in a world where you hear over and over that all people have already been given a chance to know Jesus. We live in the age of technology that has allowed information to speed to people around the world in mere seconds. Still there are remote villages, there are tiny cities, there are many who are too poor to own their own computer. No matter what the circumstances there will be situations where not every single person will be set down and talk from the Bible.
This is why that passage really touches my heart as being true.
The voice of God in their daily lives is alive and well. The Holy Spirit is touching their hearts, their minds and they are God's children. These uneducated people like all people the world over will have an opportunity to live their lives as God would accept. It's a natural love that flows from the Holy Spirit and to me this is a great comfort. )
'The written testimonies," it is explained in Mrs. White published works, 'are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart inspiration already revealed. Man's duty to God and to his fellow man has been distinctly specified in God's word, yet but few of you are obedient to the light given. Additional truth is not brought out, but God has through the testimonies simplified the great truths already given.'
Testimonies for the Church Vol 2 p 605 E.G. White
(I used to belong to the SDA Church, in fact when I wrote things at that time I was active in the church. However I left the SDA Church when I realized that they left the truth as originally given to them. I was not going to be found counted among the apostatized so I left the church, but I haven't left the beliefs found true.
Ellen White to me was just as she proclaimed to others- A messenger from God, infallible and as she writes above, any writings she does is not adding truth to God's word because you can't add anything to the Word of God. All she's done is simplified great truths. And while I'm not the prolific writer Ellen White was, nor will I ever be one proclaimed a prophet or such, I like to think that anyone, even me, who takes the Word of God and relates what it is saying to them is also doing the same thing as she did. )
From - The Art of Learning to Love Yourself by Gail G. Osborne. Page 83.
'The wise are content with contentment studded with the occasional peaks of happiness.'
(So true. If we would all live by such a statement how much more content we'd be. If we stopped looking for that ~high~ of excitement as a telltale sign we are living life as it should be lived we'd all be so much better off. But when someone asks what you're doing this weekend and you answer nothing little alarm bells sound that say that's boring! In truth it's just as wonderful as others doing ~things~ , those who have a busy schedules planned for the weekend. We can't think in terms of life being boring or exciting, if we get caught in that trap we will never be content.
Yes, I like the saying above. The wise are content with contentment studded with the occasional peaks of happiness.
To me that mean the occasional peaks of excitement and yes, something that can be called happiness.
If I asked you if you were happy and you couldn't say yes, there is nothing in the world wrong with that. We shouldn't be geared towards thinking we need to be happy all the time- we don't. We need to be alright within our lives with being at peace, being content with our day to day life without being made to feel we need to be constantly seeking the next high of happiness to be truly enjoying life.)
July 8, 1983 Sabbath
1 Peter {5:10} But the God of all grace, who hath called us
unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have
suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen,
settle [you. ]{5:11} To him [be] glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen.
Praise God, Praise God for His blessings on us He lay.
Praise God for all His love.
Praise Him for He'll stay.
God will not fail as we often do.
Praise His love again and again.
Strength, love, treasured gifts on us He gives freely.
Believe is all He asks, believe and with Him always be!
Hebrews {13:5} [Let
your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be]
content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Genesis {28:15} 'And, behold, I
[am] with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] whither
thou goest,...'
Deut. {31:6} Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be
afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he [it is] that doth go
with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Deut. {31:8} And the LORD, he [it
is] that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not
fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Isa. {41:10} Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not
dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of
my righteousness.
(Praise God!)
(Please note- information taken from my old notebooks may be altered by me to take what I think is pertinent from among all that is written. All additional writing which will be my current thoughts on past writings will be in parantheses. Thank you.)
July 5, 1983
People teach that their religion is the only way to be saved, however a pearl of wisdom comes from one writer and holds true.
'Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom light is never brought by human instrumentality yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written love of God, they have heard his voice speaking to them in nature and have done the things that the laws required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.'
The Desire of Ages p638 E.G. White
( I find this thought very comforting. We live in a world where you hear over and over that all people have already been given a chance to know Jesus. We live in the age of technology that has allowed information to speed to people around the world in mere seconds. Still there are remote villages, there are tiny cities, there are many who are too poor to own their own computer. No matter what the circumstances there will be situations where not every single person will be set down and talk from the Bible.
This is why that passage really touches my heart as being true.
The voice of God in their daily lives is alive and well. The Holy Spirit is touching their hearts, their minds and they are God's children. These uneducated people like all people the world over will have an opportunity to live their lives as God would accept. It's a natural love that flows from the Holy Spirit and to me this is a great comfort. )
'The written testimonies," it is explained in Mrs. White published works, 'are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart inspiration already revealed. Man's duty to God and to his fellow man has been distinctly specified in God's word, yet but few of you are obedient to the light given. Additional truth is not brought out, but God has through the testimonies simplified the great truths already given.'
Testimonies for the Church Vol 2 p 605 E.G. White
(I used to belong to the SDA Church, in fact when I wrote things at that time I was active in the church. However I left the SDA Church when I realized that they left the truth as originally given to them. I was not going to be found counted among the apostatized so I left the church, but I haven't left the beliefs found true.
Ellen White to me was just as she proclaimed to others- A messenger from God, infallible and as she writes above, any writings she does is not adding truth to God's word because you can't add anything to the Word of God. All she's done is simplified great truths. And while I'm not the prolific writer Ellen White was, nor will I ever be one proclaimed a prophet or such, I like to think that anyone, even me, who takes the Word of God and relates what it is saying to them is also doing the same thing as she did. )
From - The Art of Learning to Love Yourself by Gail G. Osborne. Page 83.
'The wise are content with contentment studded with the occasional peaks of happiness.'
(So true. If we would all live by such a statement how much more content we'd be. If we stopped looking for that ~high~ of excitement as a telltale sign we are living life as it should be lived we'd all be so much better off. But when someone asks what you're doing this weekend and you answer nothing little alarm bells sound that say that's boring! In truth it's just as wonderful as others doing ~things~ , those who have a busy schedules planned for the weekend. We can't think in terms of life being boring or exciting, if we get caught in that trap we will never be content.
Yes, I like the saying above. The wise are content with contentment studded with the occasional peaks of happiness.
To me that mean the occasional peaks of excitement and yes, something that can be called happiness.
If I asked you if you were happy and you couldn't say yes, there is nothing in the world wrong with that. We shouldn't be geared towards thinking we need to be happy all the time- we don't. We need to be alright within our lives with being at peace, being content with our day to day life without being made to feel we need to be constantly seeking the next high of happiness to be truly enjoying life.)
July 8, 1983 Sabbath
1 Peter {5:10} But the God of all grace, who hath called us
unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have
suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen,
settle [you. ]{5:11} To him [be] glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen.
Praise God, Praise God for His blessings on us He lay.
Praise God for all His love.
Praise Him for He'll stay.
God will not fail as we often do.
Praise His love again and again.
Strength, love, treasured gifts on us He gives freely.
Believe is all He asks, believe and with Him always be!
Hebrews {13:5} [Let
your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be]
content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Genesis {28:15} 'And, behold, I
[am] with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] whither
thou goest,...'
Deut. {31:6} Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be
afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he [it is] that doth go
with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Deut. {31:8} And the LORD, he [it
is] that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not
fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Isa. {41:10} Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not
dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of
my righteousness.
(Praise God!)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Excerpts from Notebooks - Prophecy Fulfilled
From Notebook One -
The following is something I wrote many years ago now, but it still holds true today. At the end of this article I will put a couple of website addresses you can use to look up more information.
Thank you.
*******
Prophecy Fulfilled!
How exciting! Prophecy fulfilled in our day! As recently as 1980 Biblical prophecy was fulfilled.
Are you surprised by this? I was, my sister was and my friends were as we studied our Bibles, history and the Spirit of Prophecy.
The prophecy is found in Luke 21:24, 'And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.'
Some have said that this prophecy is irrelevant. I say any prophecy is relevant. How can we presume to judge the importance of Scripture, prophetic or not prophetic? I say all Scripture is supremely important because it is God's word to us, His people.
People through ages have taken Scripture and picked it apart. They have placed importance on one aspect of the Bible while forgetting the other aspects.
The Sabbath commandment has largely been forgotten by the majority of people around the world. We as Seventh-day Adventist realize this importance of keeping all the commandments in their original Biblically founded truth.
Yet as we place so much importance on the forgotten fourth commandment have we become guilty of lessening the other nine?
What has this to do with fulfilled prophecy?
As always God's word is all important, 'Precept upon precept' Isaiah 28:10. Let's look at the first commandment. 'And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Ex. 20:1-3.
This tells us we are to have no other gods before God, yet how many people are following their pastors (ministers, preachers, priests) believing what they say without studying for themselves? How many pastors are gods for their parishioners?
When you go to church and hear a pastor say something is true or untrue do you believe what he says without question?
It would be wonderful to think that all pastors will be saved, but as we know not all lay people will be in the kingdom the same is true for pastors, they are not infallible.
It was a pastor who said that the prophecy in Luke 21:24 was unimportant. What will your pastor or superior, if you are a pastor, say to you after you read this article?
As an individual accountable to God for your every action please take the time to study in-depth for yourselves this prophecy and its obvious fulfillment.
*
Of the three chapters Jesus gives us on the future signs to observe- Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, only Luke 21 has a prophecy that deals especially with time.
'Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.' Luke 21:24
Let's look at a few facts.
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. Since then for nineteen centuries Jerusalem was controlled by Gentiles- trodden down of the Gentiles. The Romans and different Christian nations during the Crusades, the Turks, the British, and the Jordanians until the Six-Day War in 1967.
You can look up these facts in your library it is all history.
In 1967 Israeli armies recaptured the old city of Jerusalem but the Capital remained in Tel Aviv. In 1980, the Knesset declared Old Jerusalem to be the Capital of Israel.
Many of you may already know these facts, but may not realize the importance of them. This fulfilled prophecy has great importance in connection with our church (with all Christians).
The study is much to detailed for me to go into in this small letter (article). There is a study available by the Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Arkansas. It is a manuscript 57 pages typed, with exhibits of photo copied material. It is not just one man's opinion with a lot of hearsay, It is a thoroughly documented, fact-filled manuscript worth the $2.00 plus $1.00 postage. The Foundation are not making a profit by selling the manuscript at what it costs to assemble and mail, but that is not what they believe God would have them do. God's truth must be available to everyone. (Note- The Foundation isn't currently selling anything due to the failing health of its founder Elder Grotheer. However a lot of information can be found online at the various sites listed below. Remember this article was written many years ago.)
I realize this sounds like a sales pitch but it truly isn't meant to be.
The information in this manuscript is many times more valuable that I can say. It opened my closed eyes to some facts I had no way of realizing. Facts I can look up for myself. I haven't and will not rely on the word of any one man. I will look at the facts and study the Bible. With prayer and a sincere desire to know the truth, God will show any sincere seeker the truth of what they read. I urge each of you to obtain a manuscript and with a mind dedicated to know God's truth read it if only to show others the errors it contains- if you can find any.
I may have over done it a bit and that may turn a few people off. I pray that is not the case. It is our hope only that God will open the eyes of the blind to His truth, that He will reveal His love to all who truly desire to know Him.
Manuscript available at [Address].
Note everything in parenthesis has been added by me recently in the year 2009.
Website addresses-
http://sites.google.com/site/whostosaywereright2/Home
http://www.adventistalert.com/
http://www.adventistlaymen.com/index.html
Contact Info-
dorhugs@comcast.net
The following is something I wrote many years ago now, but it still holds true today. At the end of this article I will put a couple of website addresses you can use to look up more information.
Thank you.
*******
Prophecy Fulfilled!
How exciting! Prophecy fulfilled in our day! As recently as 1980 Biblical prophecy was fulfilled.
Are you surprised by this? I was, my sister was and my friends were as we studied our Bibles, history and the Spirit of Prophecy.
The prophecy is found in Luke 21:24, 'And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.'
Some have said that this prophecy is irrelevant. I say any prophecy is relevant. How can we presume to judge the importance of Scripture, prophetic or not prophetic? I say all Scripture is supremely important because it is God's word to us, His people.
People through ages have taken Scripture and picked it apart. They have placed importance on one aspect of the Bible while forgetting the other aspects.
The Sabbath commandment has largely been forgotten by the majority of people around the world. We as Seventh-day Adventist realize this importance of keeping all the commandments in their original Biblically founded truth.
Yet as we place so much importance on the forgotten fourth commandment have we become guilty of lessening the other nine?
What has this to do with fulfilled prophecy?
As always God's word is all important, 'Precept upon precept' Isaiah 28:10. Let's look at the first commandment. 'And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Ex. 20:1-3.
This tells us we are to have no other gods before God, yet how many people are following their pastors (ministers, preachers, priests) believing what they say without studying for themselves? How many pastors are gods for their parishioners?
When you go to church and hear a pastor say something is true or untrue do you believe what he says without question?
It would be wonderful to think that all pastors will be saved, but as we know not all lay people will be in the kingdom the same is true for pastors, they are not infallible.
It was a pastor who said that the prophecy in Luke 21:24 was unimportant. What will your pastor or superior, if you are a pastor, say to you after you read this article?
As an individual accountable to God for your every action please take the time to study in-depth for yourselves this prophecy and its obvious fulfillment.
*
Of the three chapters Jesus gives us on the future signs to observe- Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, only Luke 21 has a prophecy that deals especially with time.
'Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.' Luke 21:24
Let's look at a few facts.
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. Since then for nineteen centuries Jerusalem was controlled by Gentiles- trodden down of the Gentiles. The Romans and different Christian nations during the Crusades, the Turks, the British, and the Jordanians until the Six-Day War in 1967.
You can look up these facts in your library it is all history.
In 1967 Israeli armies recaptured the old city of Jerusalem but the Capital remained in Tel Aviv. In 1980, the Knesset declared Old Jerusalem to be the Capital of Israel.
Many of you may already know these facts, but may not realize the importance of them. This fulfilled prophecy has great importance in connection with our church (with all Christians).
The study is much to detailed for me to go into in this small letter (article). There is a study available by the Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Arkansas. It is a manuscript 57 pages typed, with exhibits of photo copied material. It is not just one man's opinion with a lot of hearsay, It is a thoroughly documented, fact-filled manuscript worth the $2.00 plus $1.00 postage. The Foundation are not making a profit by selling the manuscript at what it costs to assemble and mail, but that is not what they believe God would have them do. God's truth must be available to everyone. (Note- The Foundation isn't currently selling anything due to the failing health of its founder Elder Grotheer. However a lot of information can be found online at the various sites listed below. Remember this article was written many years ago.)
I realize this sounds like a sales pitch but it truly isn't meant to be.
The information in this manuscript is many times more valuable that I can say. It opened my closed eyes to some facts I had no way of realizing. Facts I can look up for myself. I haven't and will not rely on the word of any one man. I will look at the facts and study the Bible. With prayer and a sincere desire to know the truth, God will show any sincere seeker the truth of what they read. I urge each of you to obtain a manuscript and with a mind dedicated to know God's truth read it if only to show others the errors it contains- if you can find any.
I may have over done it a bit and that may turn a few people off. I pray that is not the case. It is our hope only that God will open the eyes of the blind to His truth, that He will reveal His love to all who truly desire to know Him.
Manuscript available at [Address].
Note everything in parenthesis has been added by me recently in the year 2009.
Website addresses-
http://sites.google.com/site/whostosaywereright2/Home
http://www.adventistalert.com/
http://www.adventistlaymen.com/index.html
Contact Info-
dorhugs@comcast.net
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Great Expectations
Prophecies of Jesus--
*******
Heralded by the messenger of the Lord (John the Baptist) (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3)
Isa.{40:3} The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. {40:4} Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain: {40:5} And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the
LORD hath spoken it.
Mal.{3:1} Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Matt. {3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in
the wilderness of Judaea, {3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. {3:3} For this is he that
was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of
one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.
*******
Would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35)
Isa. {35:5} Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
{35:6} Then shall the lame [man] leap as an hart, and the
tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert.
Matt. {9:35} And Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and
every disease among the people.
*******
Would preach good news (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21)
Isa. {61:1} The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because
the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to [them that are] bound.
Luke {4:14} And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into
Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the
region round about. {4:15} And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified of all.
{4:16} And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
{4:17} And there was delivered unto him the book of the
prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he
found the place where it was written, {4:18} The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, {4:19} To preach the acceptable year of the
Lord. {4:20} And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again
to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him. {4:21} And he
began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in
your ears.
*******
Would minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-16)
Isa. {9:1} Nevertheless the dimness [shall] not [be] such as
[was] in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward
did more grievously afflict [her by] the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Matt. {4:12} Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into
prison, he departed into Galilee; {4:13} And leaving
Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon
the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
{4:14} That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying, {4:15} The land of Zabulon, and
the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; {4:16} The people which
sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death light is sprung up. {4:17} From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
*******
Would cleanse the Temple (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 21:12-13)
Mal. {3:1} Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Matt. {21:12} And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast
out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of
them that sold doves, {21:13} And said unto them, It is
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye
have made it a den of thieves.
*******
No, the people of Israel, God's chosen people did not want Jesus to come meekly, lowly, in such a way they couldn't hold Him up as king and revere Him. The idea of Him as their Messiah just didn't fit with the reality. They still look for their Messiah and they look for Him as one who will be stately, kingly in all ways. There is so much hype over expectations. Holding fast to expectations as if the expectations hold a greater satisfaction than the reality.
It's something we all can understand though isn't it? We've all had our hopes up for one thing or another and then had them dashed more by the reality of the thing hoped for than the thing not happening. Meaning sometimes the hope brings more excitement and we are loathed to give up that hope for something less than the expectation. Then again sometimes we have to declare things were better than what we ever dreamed they'd be. The reality exceeds the expectation. I've heard people say they don't get their hopes up because they don't want to face that disappointment. They do away with the hope while mostly secretly harboring the hope still but trying to keep it tempered so the let down isn't too great.
One thing we have to agree upon is situations occur that lend themselves towards expectation and they occur fairly regular. Some situations are of greater anticipation than others. We have great expectations for our weddings, our first child, various parties, graduations, new jobs, holidays, lovers. Sometime young women dream of their wedding day from a young age on up until adulthood. Boys with dreams of owning a new car, a house. These dreams and expectations are normal and yes... most of them happen to us all.
When you have hope in a Messiah this is something amazing, something totally different than that wedding, that job, that car. Having hope in an idea that has yet to be realized, an idea that is unique, well it is easy to understand why it could be wrapped up in layer after layer of idealism until the realization of it far surpasses the reality.
The people of Israel rejected Jesus, He fell far short of their expectations. They didn't want a common born man, a mere carpenter's son, a man they'd known as normal to be suddenly special-- let alone be God's Only Son, their Messiah. They believed He was manufacturing situations to suit Himself to make his commoness into something special.
Today they still await their Messiah, while we who believe Jesus fulfilled that role await Jesus' second coming.
There is no danger for us who look to Jesus to return though, no danger of 'missing' Him, of rejecting Him. When Jesus comes again it will be like this--
Rev. {1:7} Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so,
Amen
2 Thess. {2:8} And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming
1 Thess. {4:16} For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: {4:17} Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord
No, He will not come quietly, He will not return secretly, He will not come up from obscurity. He will come with clouds EVERY eye shall see him. The BRIGHTNESS of his coming will be deadly. The DEAD in Christ shall rise! We which are alive shall be CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds- to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR!
Praise and glory to God our Heavenly Father, all mercy and grace through Jesus Christ our Savior. May we be among those waiting and ready when Christ returns, knowing that He will do so in such an amazing way that there is NO question at all that our Savior has returned for us. While others might be looking for Him to rise up quietly on earth to bring a following to Him again, the Bible tells us differently and we have to hold fast to the Word of God.
Thank you Lord, all glory unto you!
Amen.
*******
Heralded by the messenger of the Lord (John the Baptist) (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3)
Isa.{40:3} The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. {40:4} Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain: {40:5} And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the
LORD hath spoken it.
Mal.{3:1} Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Matt. {3:1} In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in
the wilderness of Judaea, {3:2} And saying, Repent ye: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand. {3:3} For this is he that
was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of
one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.
*******
Would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35)
Isa. {35:5} Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
{35:6} Then shall the lame [man] leap as an hart, and the
tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert.
Matt. {9:35} And Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and
every disease among the people.
*******
Would preach good news (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21)
Isa. {61:1} The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because
the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to [them that are] bound.
Luke {4:14} And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into
Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the
region round about. {4:15} And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified of all.
{4:16} And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
{4:17} And there was delivered unto him the book of the
prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he
found the place where it was written, {4:18} The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, {4:19} To preach the acceptable year of the
Lord. {4:20} And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again
to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him. {4:21} And he
began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in
your ears.
*******
Would minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-16)
Isa. {9:1} Nevertheless the dimness [shall] not [be] such as
[was] in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward
did more grievously afflict [her by] the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Matt. {4:12} Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into
prison, he departed into Galilee; {4:13} And leaving
Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon
the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
{4:14} That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying, {4:15} The land of Zabulon, and
the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; {4:16} The people which
sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death light is sprung up. {4:17} From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
*******
Would cleanse the Temple (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 21:12-13)
Mal. {3:1} Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the LORD of hosts.
Matt. {21:12} And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast
out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of
them that sold doves, {21:13} And said unto them, It is
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye
have made it a den of thieves.
*******
No, the people of Israel, God's chosen people did not want Jesus to come meekly, lowly, in such a way they couldn't hold Him up as king and revere Him. The idea of Him as their Messiah just didn't fit with the reality. They still look for their Messiah and they look for Him as one who will be stately, kingly in all ways. There is so much hype over expectations. Holding fast to expectations as if the expectations hold a greater satisfaction than the reality.
It's something we all can understand though isn't it? We've all had our hopes up for one thing or another and then had them dashed more by the reality of the thing hoped for than the thing not happening. Meaning sometimes the hope brings more excitement and we are loathed to give up that hope for something less than the expectation. Then again sometimes we have to declare things were better than what we ever dreamed they'd be. The reality exceeds the expectation. I've heard people say they don't get their hopes up because they don't want to face that disappointment. They do away with the hope while mostly secretly harboring the hope still but trying to keep it tempered so the let down isn't too great.
One thing we have to agree upon is situations occur that lend themselves towards expectation and they occur fairly regular. Some situations are of greater anticipation than others. We have great expectations for our weddings, our first child, various parties, graduations, new jobs, holidays, lovers. Sometime young women dream of their wedding day from a young age on up until adulthood. Boys with dreams of owning a new car, a house. These dreams and expectations are normal and yes... most of them happen to us all.
When you have hope in a Messiah this is something amazing, something totally different than that wedding, that job, that car. Having hope in an idea that has yet to be realized, an idea that is unique, well it is easy to understand why it could be wrapped up in layer after layer of idealism until the realization of it far surpasses the reality.
The people of Israel rejected Jesus, He fell far short of their expectations. They didn't want a common born man, a mere carpenter's son, a man they'd known as normal to be suddenly special-- let alone be God's Only Son, their Messiah. They believed He was manufacturing situations to suit Himself to make his commoness into something special.
Today they still await their Messiah, while we who believe Jesus fulfilled that role await Jesus' second coming.
There is no danger for us who look to Jesus to return though, no danger of 'missing' Him, of rejecting Him. When Jesus comes again it will be like this--
Rev. {1:7} Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so,
Amen
2 Thess. {2:8} And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming
1 Thess. {4:16} For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: {4:17} Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord
No, He will not come quietly, He will not return secretly, He will not come up from obscurity. He will come with clouds EVERY eye shall see him. The BRIGHTNESS of his coming will be deadly. The DEAD in Christ shall rise! We which are alive shall be CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds- to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR!
Praise and glory to God our Heavenly Father, all mercy and grace through Jesus Christ our Savior. May we be among those waiting and ready when Christ returns, knowing that He will do so in such an amazing way that there is NO question at all that our Savior has returned for us. While others might be looking for Him to rise up quietly on earth to bring a following to Him again, the Bible tells us differently and we have to hold fast to the Word of God.
Thank you Lord, all glory unto you!
Amen.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Messiah would be cut off- but not for himself.
Dan. {9:26} And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself
The Messiah would be cut off- but not for himself.
This was foretold many years before Christ came. Jesus was cut off... Jesus' life was cut short and why? Not for himself, but us, for all others.
I looked it up- the predictions of Christ in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New Testament and I want to go through them one by one.
Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23)
Isa. {7:14} Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel.
Matt. {1:21} And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins. {1:22} Now all this was done,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, {1:23} Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
(A sign from the Lord himself. Could there be a greater sign? The Lord God created man who better to create a child in the womb of a virgin? God is a creator, the Creator. All that is create has been so by the Lord. We live in a world we tend to take for granted, a world we say just is, but the very ground we walk upon was created. The air we breathe was created. The sun, the moon, the stars were created. We are surrounded by God's majesty and we have the audacity to proclaim it has all just become in a mystery by itself that there is no God. Things just are. We just are. We believe we always have been and yet that isn't true. We measure things in a time frame that has no real basis because we didn't even creat time. Yes, we say the words scientifically and yet all things scientific are formulated by man with limited knowledge trying to put pieces together, to make them fit in a way that doesn't call for faith. It's ludicrous and yet accepted. Those who don't accept it are told they are dense, told they are ignorant, told they don't have the brains to comprehend. People call God mere fantasy and fairy tale, and cling to their own suppositions.
How can man look to the sky and not believe? And yet, so many don't believe.
How can people look into the face of a newborn babe, a life created, a miracle, and not believe?
'A virgin shall be with child.'
'...a sign, behold a virgin shall conceieve.'
God, our creator, created life within a virgin womb. Truly a sign of His majesty. God would be with us and He chose the vessel of a human to do so, taking on humanity, to become like us those created. The Uncreated One became Created in Jesus.
God is love, such amazing love, love beyond our comprehension.
May the Lord open our hearts to His amazing love, His sacrifice.
When the world insists to believe is to be deceived, may we continue to believe knowing those with delusions are those who won't believe.
*******
A descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18; Matthew 1:1; Galatians 3:16)
Gen. {12:1} Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s
house, unto a land that I will shew thee: {12:2} And I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make
thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: {12:3} And I
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Gen. {22:18} And
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Matt. {1:1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham.
Gal. {3:16} Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ
*******
Of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:23, 33; Hebrews 7:14)
Gen. {49:10} The sceptre shall not
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the
people [be.]
Luke {3:23} And Jesus himself began to be about thirty
years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,
which was [the son] of Heli.
Luke {3:33} Which was [the son] of Aminadab, which was [the
son] of Aram, which was [the son] of Esrom, which was
[the son] of Phares, which was [the son] of Juda.
Heb. {7:14} For [it is]
evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe
Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
*******
Of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Matthew 1:1)
2 Sam. {7:12} And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt
sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee,
which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom. {7:13} He shall build an house for my name,
and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
{7:14} I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he
commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and
with the stripes of the children of men: {7:15} But my
mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took [it] from
Saul, whom I put away before thee. {7:16} And thine house
and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee:
thy throne shall be established for ever.
Matt. {1:1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham.
*******
Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7)
Micah {5:2} But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of
Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is]
to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of
old, from everlasting.
Matt. {2:1} Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem
Luke {2:4} And Joseph
also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into
Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David:) {2:5}
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
child. {2:6} And so it was, that, while they were there, the
days were accomplished that she should be delivered. {2:7}
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there
was no room for them in the inn.
*******
Taken to Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15)
Hos. {11:1} When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and
called my son out of Egypt.
Matt. {2:14} When he arose, he took
the young child and his mother by night, and departed into
Egypt: {2:15} And was there until the death of Herod: that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
*******
Herod´s killing of the infants (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16-18)
Jeremiah {31:15} Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in
Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rahel weeping
for her children refused to be comforted for her children,
because they [were] not.
Matt. {2:16} Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of
the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and
slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the
coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to
the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
{2:17} Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy
the prophet, saying, {2:18} In Rama was there a voice
heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be
comforted, because they are not.
*******
Anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16-17)
Isaiah {11:2} And
the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD
{3:16} And Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting
upon him: {3:17} And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
*******
Praise the Lord!
More to come...
By the mercy and grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Messiah would be cut off- but not for himself.
This was foretold many years before Christ came. Jesus was cut off... Jesus' life was cut short and why? Not for himself, but us, for all others.
I looked it up- the predictions of Christ in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New Testament and I want to go through them one by one.
Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23)
Isa. {7:14} Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel.
Matt. {1:21} And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins. {1:22} Now all this was done,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, {1:23} Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
(A sign from the Lord himself. Could there be a greater sign? The Lord God created man who better to create a child in the womb of a virgin? God is a creator, the Creator. All that is create has been so by the Lord. We live in a world we tend to take for granted, a world we say just is, but the very ground we walk upon was created. The air we breathe was created. The sun, the moon, the stars were created. We are surrounded by God's majesty and we have the audacity to proclaim it has all just become in a mystery by itself that there is no God. Things just are. We just are. We believe we always have been and yet that isn't true. We measure things in a time frame that has no real basis because we didn't even creat time. Yes, we say the words scientifically and yet all things scientific are formulated by man with limited knowledge trying to put pieces together, to make them fit in a way that doesn't call for faith. It's ludicrous and yet accepted. Those who don't accept it are told they are dense, told they are ignorant, told they don't have the brains to comprehend. People call God mere fantasy and fairy tale, and cling to their own suppositions.
How can man look to the sky and not believe? And yet, so many don't believe.
How can people look into the face of a newborn babe, a life created, a miracle, and not believe?
'A virgin shall be with child.'
'...a sign, behold a virgin shall conceieve.'
God, our creator, created life within a virgin womb. Truly a sign of His majesty. God would be with us and He chose the vessel of a human to do so, taking on humanity, to become like us those created. The Uncreated One became Created in Jesus.
God is love, such amazing love, love beyond our comprehension.
May the Lord open our hearts to His amazing love, His sacrifice.
When the world insists to believe is to be deceived, may we continue to believe knowing those with delusions are those who won't believe.
*******
A descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18; Matthew 1:1; Galatians 3:16)
Gen. {12:1} Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s
house, unto a land that I will shew thee: {12:2} And I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make
thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: {12:3} And I
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Gen. {22:18} And
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Matt. {1:1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham.
Gal. {3:16} Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ
*******
Of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:23, 33; Hebrews 7:14)
Gen. {49:10} The sceptre shall not
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the
people [be.]
Luke {3:23} And Jesus himself began to be about thirty
years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,
which was [the son] of Heli.
Luke {3:33} Which was [the son] of Aminadab, which was [the
son] of Aram, which was [the son] of Esrom, which was
[the son] of Phares, which was [the son] of Juda.
Heb. {7:14} For [it is]
evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe
Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
*******
Of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Matthew 1:1)
2 Sam. {7:12} And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt
sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee,
which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom. {7:13} He shall build an house for my name,
and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
{7:14} I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he
commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and
with the stripes of the children of men: {7:15} But my
mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took [it] from
Saul, whom I put away before thee. {7:16} And thine house
and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee:
thy throne shall be established for ever.
Matt. {1:1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham.
*******
Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7)
Micah {5:2} But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of
Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is]
to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of
old, from everlasting.
Matt. {2:1} Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem
Luke {2:4} And Joseph
also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into
Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David:) {2:5}
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with
child. {2:6} And so it was, that, while they were there, the
days were accomplished that she should be delivered. {2:7}
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there
was no room for them in the inn.
*******
Taken to Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15)
Hos. {11:1} When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and
called my son out of Egypt.
Matt. {2:14} When he arose, he took
the young child and his mother by night, and departed into
Egypt: {2:15} And was there until the death of Herod: that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
*******
Herod´s killing of the infants (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16-18)
Jeremiah {31:15} Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in
Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rahel weeping
for her children refused to be comforted for her children,
because they [were] not.
Matt. {2:16} Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of
the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and
slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the
coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to
the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
{2:17} Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy
the prophet, saying, {2:18} In Rama was there a voice
heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be
comforted, because they are not.
*******
Anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16-17)
Isaiah {11:2} And
the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD
{3:16} And Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting
upon him: {3:17} And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
*******
Praise the Lord!
More to come...
By the mercy and grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Monday, April 6, 2009
He had compassion on her
God of wonders!
Luke
{7:11} And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. {7:12} Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
{7:13} And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
{7:14} And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare [him] stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
{7:15} And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
{7:16} And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
{7:17} And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.
When the Lord saw her he had compassion on her.
Weep not.
The Lord was moved by the grief of the mother who had lost her only son.
Jesus understood the love of a mother, he understood the heartache a mother felt when she lost her son. Jesus' mother would lose her son. The pain of grief, the overwhelming agony of loss, it can be all consuming and Jesus' heart was torn by the grief he was witnessing. He could have walked by. The woman didn't go to him, the woman didn't beg him, the woman was lost to her pain. When Jesus saw her he had compassion on her. He went to her, he told her to weep not.
Upon hearing those words what do we suppose the woman thought?
Weep not.
But the pain was so intense. The grief so raw.
Do you suppose she looked up with her tear-filled eyes and saw His compassion and something in her instantly believed Him, believed that she should no longer weep, believed that when he said to 'weep not' that she could trust Him, that she should stop the tears, that He would take care of her pain?
I like to think it happened just like that. She turned her gaze up to Him and she believed, she knew, there was something in His eyes, His voice that told her here was someone to believe, someone she could trust even though she'd never met Him before.
That gaze probably lasted all of a few long moments and the Jesus was moving to the bier.
He went to where the woman's son was laid out in his burial shroud. He saw the dead man there upon the bier that was carrying him off to his grave where he'd be buried. Dead. The young man was dead and Jesus moved over to where the dead boy lay and touched the moving bier and all the men carrying him stopped. Jesus then spoke to the dead man, not to those carrying him. He spoke to the dead. He said, 'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.'
Arise.
Jesus said...
'I say unto thee, arise.'
Arise.
Jesus' power flowed through His words bringing life to the dead. Jesus commanded the dead man to rise.
The dead had no choice but to listen, none. Jesus' word brought life and the compassion He felt for the mother was realized in the act He performed on her son. Life. Sorrows abated. Death defeated.
God of wonders!
What person who has ever lost a loved one to death wouldn't do all they could to bring the loved one back. Their heart is aching, their grief raw, the loss overwhelming and it could all be wiped away, all of it.
Miracles of miracles! The impossible wrought by the compassion of the Lord.
Death has no power over the Lord, none.
Death cannot win over Him.
Death, something none of us can defeat. Death that none have power over, none save the Lord. There isn't a single other entity that can bring the dead to life. I'm not talking cpr type dead to life, the dead who are way past the possibility of being brought back to life, the dead who are cold skin and long past revival. Jesus has the power of the creator and bringing life to the dead is another form of creation.
There is no other God before God, none!
Jesus, our Lord.
Jesus, our Savior.
The wonders of God. So amazing!
Our Creator, our Redeemer!
The compassion Jesus has towards that woman's pain, that woman's loss. He has the same compassion towards us all. He promises to ease our pain, promises to bring life to those we love, to us and what does He ask for in return? Our love. And how, how can we not love someone that embodies all love is?
God is love.
Praise and glory to God, now and forever.
All mercy, all grace, flows from God.
Please Lord, have compassion upon us all by your grace.
Amen.
Luke
{7:11} And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. {7:12} Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
{7:13} And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
{7:14} And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare [him] stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
{7:15} And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
{7:16} And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
{7:17} And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.
When the Lord saw her he had compassion on her.
Weep not.
The Lord was moved by the grief of the mother who had lost her only son.
Jesus understood the love of a mother, he understood the heartache a mother felt when she lost her son. Jesus' mother would lose her son. The pain of grief, the overwhelming agony of loss, it can be all consuming and Jesus' heart was torn by the grief he was witnessing. He could have walked by. The woman didn't go to him, the woman didn't beg him, the woman was lost to her pain. When Jesus saw her he had compassion on her. He went to her, he told her to weep not.
Upon hearing those words what do we suppose the woman thought?
Weep not.
But the pain was so intense. The grief so raw.
Do you suppose she looked up with her tear-filled eyes and saw His compassion and something in her instantly believed Him, believed that she should no longer weep, believed that when he said to 'weep not' that she could trust Him, that she should stop the tears, that He would take care of her pain?
I like to think it happened just like that. She turned her gaze up to Him and she believed, she knew, there was something in His eyes, His voice that told her here was someone to believe, someone she could trust even though she'd never met Him before.
That gaze probably lasted all of a few long moments and the Jesus was moving to the bier.
He went to where the woman's son was laid out in his burial shroud. He saw the dead man there upon the bier that was carrying him off to his grave where he'd be buried. Dead. The young man was dead and Jesus moved over to where the dead boy lay and touched the moving bier and all the men carrying him stopped. Jesus then spoke to the dead man, not to those carrying him. He spoke to the dead. He said, 'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.'
Arise.
Jesus said...
'I say unto thee, arise.'
Arise.
Jesus' power flowed through His words bringing life to the dead. Jesus commanded the dead man to rise.
The dead had no choice but to listen, none. Jesus' word brought life and the compassion He felt for the mother was realized in the act He performed on her son. Life. Sorrows abated. Death defeated.
God of wonders!
What person who has ever lost a loved one to death wouldn't do all they could to bring the loved one back. Their heart is aching, their grief raw, the loss overwhelming and it could all be wiped away, all of it.
Miracles of miracles! The impossible wrought by the compassion of the Lord.
Death has no power over the Lord, none.
Death cannot win over Him.
Death, something none of us can defeat. Death that none have power over, none save the Lord. There isn't a single other entity that can bring the dead to life. I'm not talking cpr type dead to life, the dead who are way past the possibility of being brought back to life, the dead who are cold skin and long past revival. Jesus has the power of the creator and bringing life to the dead is another form of creation.
There is no other God before God, none!
Jesus, our Lord.
Jesus, our Savior.
The wonders of God. So amazing!
Our Creator, our Redeemer!
The compassion Jesus has towards that woman's pain, that woman's loss. He has the same compassion towards us all. He promises to ease our pain, promises to bring life to those we love, to us and what does He ask for in return? Our love. And how, how can we not love someone that embodies all love is?
God is love.
Praise and glory to God, now and forever.
All mercy, all grace, flows from God.
Please Lord, have compassion upon us all by your grace.
Amen.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Revelation of the mystery
Romans
{16:25} Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began
{16:26} But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith
{16:27} To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
According to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began.
The mystery revealed.
The secret revealed.
The preaching of Jesus Christ.
Until the Messiah came, there was the looking for the Messiah. The mystery of His coming was unrevealed. The prophets spoke of His coming and men envisioned it as men do. We tend to add our own interpretation of things to the unknown, it's all we have to do right? Use our imaginations to envision situations presented to us. Sometimes the things we imagine come to pass just as we picture them, but most times they don't. We get things wrong, we skew them and then we either try to save face by changing our tune and calling our former beliefs still true and the actual facts wrong, or we accept them. It's harder to accept when we are wrong about something so vital to our future. It's hard to admit that we could have facts so confused. Yes, sometimes it's hard for us to break down our own self importance and we condemn ourselves because we can't admit we could be so amazingly wrong.
The future holds many things and the one thing we have to look to above all else, is Jesus. Without envisioning it all we have to cling to the hope in him. We have to cling to salvation through Him.
The mystery was revealed, the secret unfolded and Jesus Christ, the Son of God appeared, the Messiah came to bring salvation to all who would believe in him.
Jesus alone has the power to establish us according to His words.
The obedience of faith.
And yes... to God only wise be the glory through Jesus Christ forever.
By His grace and His mercy.
Amen.
{16:25} Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began
{16:26} But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith
{16:27} To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
According to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began.
The mystery revealed.
The secret revealed.
The preaching of Jesus Christ.
Until the Messiah came, there was the looking for the Messiah. The mystery of His coming was unrevealed. The prophets spoke of His coming and men envisioned it as men do. We tend to add our own interpretation of things to the unknown, it's all we have to do right? Use our imaginations to envision situations presented to us. Sometimes the things we imagine come to pass just as we picture them, but most times they don't. We get things wrong, we skew them and then we either try to save face by changing our tune and calling our former beliefs still true and the actual facts wrong, or we accept them. It's harder to accept when we are wrong about something so vital to our future. It's hard to admit that we could have facts so confused. Yes, sometimes it's hard for us to break down our own self importance and we condemn ourselves because we can't admit we could be so amazingly wrong.
The future holds many things and the one thing we have to look to above all else, is Jesus. Without envisioning it all we have to cling to the hope in him. We have to cling to salvation through Him.
The mystery was revealed, the secret unfolded and Jesus Christ, the Son of God appeared, the Messiah came to bring salvation to all who would believe in him.
Jesus alone has the power to establish us according to His words.
The obedience of faith.
And yes... to God only wise be the glory through Jesus Christ forever.
By His grace and His mercy.
Amen.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Ourselves being our biggest obstacle.
All puffed up with our selfish desires to put ourselves first and foremost in all things we are quick to see where we are offended by others. We note right off when others aren't being considerate of our needs, of our right to have things just so. We feel put upon when we do give to others only to be given no gratitude for all we do for them. We feel sorry for ourselves and we're quick to tell others when we've been slighted so they can feed into our selfishness by commisserating with us. We don't want to hear that we might be at fault we only want others to agree that we've been slighted and therefore deserving of pity or at least recognition that in some way we are the downtrodden not the one doing the downtrodding. When we see the subservient ones, when we hear of one allowing themselves to be badly used we shudder and wonder why they're not standing up for their rights, standing up for themselves against such abuse. We don't consider that it might not be abuse in the sense we believe. We are just so warped in our thinking by all these 'rights' people have that we are blinded to the truth. We don't want to be told that love is being selfless, not when the world is telling us to think of ourselves first and not let anyone step on our feelings in any way.
People want to know how they as Christians should be and all the while they cling to the bumper sticker saying that shouts, Christians aren't perfect just forgiven. Yes, that's the sort of Christian I am. That gives me the license to do as I'm inclined by my warped nature rather than hold myself accountable for my actions. Instead of repenting and by the grace of God putting off the old man and taking on the new, I can keep the old man and just keep asking for forgiveness without true repentance. This what people want.
Then we get the hounding from the devil that we don't even want to acknowledge as being hounding because it's thoughts we are thinking, so it makes it even worse when we hound ourselves with the thought that it's all too hard, too much, impossible for us to attain and well, just not going to happen. The despair quickly sets in and rather than cling tighter to Christ we loosen our hold letting it slip away as we condemn ourselves by saying it's just too hard, we're too weak. We don't realize that it is that very weakness we are proclaiming that brings the realization home that we need to be closer to Christ than ever, clinging to His love, His salvation, love and salvation we can never produce on our own.
The Bible tells us...
Romans 12:9-12:21
Let love be without dissimulation. ((dissimulation meaning- not being feigned, not pretended, not hidden, not diguised))
Abhor that which is evil.
Cleave to that which is good.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.
In honour preferring one another.
Not slothful in business.
Fervent in spirit.
Serving the Lord.
Rejoicing in hope.
Patient in tribulation.
Continuing instant in prayer.
Distributing to the necessity of saints.
Given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you.
Bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice.
And weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another.
Mind not high things.
But condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves.
But rather give place unto wrath.
For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him.
If he thirst, give him drink.
For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We justify our anger, our upset, our wrath by feeling put upon and pointing our fingers at those who have caused this in us, not realizing that they don't cause it at all. Our reactions are not determined by anyone's behavior. We determine our own reactions and if they are less than charitable it's not because anyone else has caused them to be so but rather our own failings have. Instead of pointing our finger and making excuses we need to ask for forgiveness for our responses no matter how much the world tries to convince us that we are justified in our anger, our upset, our vengence.
Please Lord, we would be Yours.
We know how unworthy we are and how Satan would have us ever despair of being truly Yours.
We cling to You Lord! We cling to You! You're our only hope!
By Your grace Lord, by Your mercy!
Save us!
Help us!
Ourselves being our biggest obstacle.
Help us!
By Your Love, Your Grace and Mercy, we cling to You Lord!
By Your Will now and forever!
Amen.
People want to know how they as Christians should be and all the while they cling to the bumper sticker saying that shouts, Christians aren't perfect just forgiven. Yes, that's the sort of Christian I am. That gives me the license to do as I'm inclined by my warped nature rather than hold myself accountable for my actions. Instead of repenting and by the grace of God putting off the old man and taking on the new, I can keep the old man and just keep asking for forgiveness without true repentance. This what people want.
Then we get the hounding from the devil that we don't even want to acknowledge as being hounding because it's thoughts we are thinking, so it makes it even worse when we hound ourselves with the thought that it's all too hard, too much, impossible for us to attain and well, just not going to happen. The despair quickly sets in and rather than cling tighter to Christ we loosen our hold letting it slip away as we condemn ourselves by saying it's just too hard, we're too weak. We don't realize that it is that very weakness we are proclaiming that brings the realization home that we need to be closer to Christ than ever, clinging to His love, His salvation, love and salvation we can never produce on our own.
The Bible tells us...
Romans 12:9-12:21
Let love be without dissimulation. ((dissimulation meaning- not being feigned, not pretended, not hidden, not diguised))
Abhor that which is evil.
Cleave to that which is good.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love.
In honour preferring one another.
Not slothful in business.
Fervent in spirit.
Serving the Lord.
Rejoicing in hope.
Patient in tribulation.
Continuing instant in prayer.
Distributing to the necessity of saints.
Given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you.
Bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice.
And weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another.
Mind not high things.
But condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves.
But rather give place unto wrath.
For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him.
If he thirst, give him drink.
For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We justify our anger, our upset, our wrath by feeling put upon and pointing our fingers at those who have caused this in us, not realizing that they don't cause it at all. Our reactions are not determined by anyone's behavior. We determine our own reactions and if they are less than charitable it's not because anyone else has caused them to be so but rather our own failings have. Instead of pointing our finger and making excuses we need to ask for forgiveness for our responses no matter how much the world tries to convince us that we are justified in our anger, our upset, our vengence.
Please Lord, we would be Yours.
We know how unworthy we are and how Satan would have us ever despair of being truly Yours.
We cling to You Lord! We cling to You! You're our only hope!
By Your grace Lord, by Your mercy!
Save us!
Help us!
Ourselves being our biggest obstacle.
Help us!
By Your Love, Your Grace and Mercy, we cling to You Lord!
By Your Will now and forever!
Amen.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Wake Up! Wake Up!
Romans
{13:11} And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed.
{13:12} The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
{13:13} Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. {13:14} But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Knowing the time.
That now it is high time.
High time to awake out of sleep.
For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Salvation is close, always close, just hope away. No one can wait. No one is safe in waiting. If we wait for a certain time it could be too late. Thinking that salvation is nearer than when we believed. Thinking that the time is now, high time to wake up from our slumbers that keep us from salvation, is a bit frightening and a bit worrisome.
We're like children who are playing grown ups and getting all mixed up in our grownup things, we have momma's fun make up to wear, daddy's suit coat and we're prancing around playing our game not wanting our real momma or daddy to come home to spoil our fun. We watch the clock and we get a call that tells us that they'll be home soon but we still don't know exactly when. Are we wise? If we are wise we'd quickly put up those things we were playing with and prepare for their homecoming. If we're not wise we'll keep playing and take the risk of facing the wrath of our parents when they find us having toyed with their belongings.
We are told to prepare. We are told to accept. We are told today is the day of salvation and yet the devil fools us into believing that we have time to accept later because now is the time to play, have fun, not think of anything beyond our carnal existence and making it as pleasurable as we can.
Hope and faith grasp hold of the eternal, of the unseen, while the principalities and powers in high places keep us focused on now, and our immediate future, at most a few years, maybe several of them with the intention of keeping us earth bound, devil bound.
Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
If you're hearing the call to wake up out of sleep you need to obey it. You need to push aside the foul dreams that cloud your sleep and try to trap you there in your slumbering. Salvation is now. You may not have tomorrow. Salvation is now. Developing our spiritual life now is necessary if we are to live eternally. Spiritual things with spiritual things.
Romans
{13:12} The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
{13:13} Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. {13:14} But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
The night is far spent. The day is at hand.
Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness.
Let us put on the armour of light.
We are covered in the works of darkness aren't we? We cling to them. We use them as security, they're the familiar things we've lived with for so long. We can cast them off, we don't have to keep them upon us. In fact we need to cast them off and we need to put on the armour of light. Christ's armour, Christ's ways.
Let us walk honestly as in the day.
Not in rioting and drunkeness, not in chambering and wantoness, not in strife and enyving.
All that -- the rioting, drunkeness, chambering, wantoness, strife and envying are works of darkness.
We need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for our flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.
We need stop making provisions for our flesh. Stop making excuses to keep the dark ways in our lives.
We need to walk in Christ now and forever.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord, and of our Savior we can live, only by the mercy and grace of our Lord.
Let us determine to grow closer to Christ.
Now is the day of Salvation!
The hour is at hand, it is high time to wake out of our sleep.
Wake up! Wake up!
In Christ's love.
Amen.
{13:11} And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed.
{13:12} The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
{13:13} Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. {13:14} But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Knowing the time.
That now it is high time.
High time to awake out of sleep.
For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Salvation is close, always close, just hope away. No one can wait. No one is safe in waiting. If we wait for a certain time it could be too late. Thinking that salvation is nearer than when we believed. Thinking that the time is now, high time to wake up from our slumbers that keep us from salvation, is a bit frightening and a bit worrisome.
We're like children who are playing grown ups and getting all mixed up in our grownup things, we have momma's fun make up to wear, daddy's suit coat and we're prancing around playing our game not wanting our real momma or daddy to come home to spoil our fun. We watch the clock and we get a call that tells us that they'll be home soon but we still don't know exactly when. Are we wise? If we are wise we'd quickly put up those things we were playing with and prepare for their homecoming. If we're not wise we'll keep playing and take the risk of facing the wrath of our parents when they find us having toyed with their belongings.
We are told to prepare. We are told to accept. We are told today is the day of salvation and yet the devil fools us into believing that we have time to accept later because now is the time to play, have fun, not think of anything beyond our carnal existence and making it as pleasurable as we can.
Hope and faith grasp hold of the eternal, of the unseen, while the principalities and powers in high places keep us focused on now, and our immediate future, at most a few years, maybe several of them with the intention of keeping us earth bound, devil bound.
Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
If you're hearing the call to wake up out of sleep you need to obey it. You need to push aside the foul dreams that cloud your sleep and try to trap you there in your slumbering. Salvation is now. You may not have tomorrow. Salvation is now. Developing our spiritual life now is necessary if we are to live eternally. Spiritual things with spiritual things.
Romans
{13:12} The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
{13:13} Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. {13:14} But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
The night is far spent. The day is at hand.
Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness.
Let us put on the armour of light.
We are covered in the works of darkness aren't we? We cling to them. We use them as security, they're the familiar things we've lived with for so long. We can cast them off, we don't have to keep them upon us. In fact we need to cast them off and we need to put on the armour of light. Christ's armour, Christ's ways.
Let us walk honestly as in the day.
Not in rioting and drunkeness, not in chambering and wantoness, not in strife and enyving.
All that -- the rioting, drunkeness, chambering, wantoness, strife and envying are works of darkness.
We need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for our flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.
We need stop making provisions for our flesh. Stop making excuses to keep the dark ways in our lives.
We need to walk in Christ now and forever.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord, and of our Savior we can live, only by the mercy and grace of our Lord.
Let us determine to grow closer to Christ.
Now is the day of Salvation!
The hour is at hand, it is high time to wake out of our sleep.
Wake up! Wake up!
In Christ's love.
Amen.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
...The Sciptures Might Have Hope
Romans {15:4} For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Hope is something we need.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Hope, we can get hope through the patience and comfort of the scriptures.
Things written aforetimes were written for our learning.
When this was said the writer was speaking of the Old Testament writings.
A lot of times people today tend to lean towards the New Testament. I can understand it. The Old Testament writings speak of the Messiah to come, the New Testament has the words of Jesus in them, the words of God's Son as a man on earth. There are whole groups that use only the New Testament doing away with the Old. Yet we are told that through patience and comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.
Ps. {31:24} Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
Ps. {33:22} Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
We need hope.
Heb. {11:6} But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Faith is hope.
Romans {15:4} For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
We get hope through the scriptures. We can't keep ourselves from the scriptures and expect to keep hopeful. Cut off the source of hope and what is left?
Once again it just hits home how many people have died for the Word of God.
We take if for granted, we so take if for granted. What people hide and sneak to read, what people risk their lives for just to hear, we have at our fingertips and neglect so. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves really. Deeply ashamed. We wonder why our hope slips away and our lives seem to have a hopeless to them, meaningless because of our inability to keep close to God, and yet we neglect the one thing that can give us hope and keep us close to God- His word.
May the Lord help us, may the Lord show us mercy! Mercy Lord. Forgive us our neglect. Help us, Lord. Help us.
By the mercy and grace of Our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
Hope is something we need.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Hope, we can get hope through the patience and comfort of the scriptures.
Things written aforetimes were written for our learning.
When this was said the writer was speaking of the Old Testament writings.
A lot of times people today tend to lean towards the New Testament. I can understand it. The Old Testament writings speak of the Messiah to come, the New Testament has the words of Jesus in them, the words of God's Son as a man on earth. There are whole groups that use only the New Testament doing away with the Old. Yet we are told that through patience and comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.
Ps. {31:24} Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
Ps. {33:22} Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
We need hope.
Heb. {11:6} But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Faith is hope.
Romans {15:4} For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
We get hope through the scriptures. We can't keep ourselves from the scriptures and expect to keep hopeful. Cut off the source of hope and what is left?
Once again it just hits home how many people have died for the Word of God.
We take if for granted, we so take if for granted. What people hide and sneak to read, what people risk their lives for just to hear, we have at our fingertips and neglect so. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves really. Deeply ashamed. We wonder why our hope slips away and our lives seem to have a hopeless to them, meaningless because of our inability to keep close to God, and yet we neglect the one thing that can give us hope and keep us close to God- His word.
May the Lord help us, may the Lord show us mercy! Mercy Lord. Forgive us our neglect. Help us, Lord. Help us.
By the mercy and grace of Our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Spiritual Birth
Romans
{11:33} O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
{11:34} For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
{11:35} Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
{11:36} For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
{12:1} I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
{12:2} And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Titus
{3:5} Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
{3:6} Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour
{3:7} That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
{3:8} [This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Renewing of our minds.
Renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Washing of regeneration.
We are saved.
Made new.
Revived.
Reborn.
renew (rî-n¡´, -ny¡´) verb
renewed, renewing, renews verb, transitive
1. To make new or as if new again; restore: renewed the antique chair.
2. To take up again; resume: renew an old friendship; renewed the argument.
3. To repeat so as to reaffirm: renew a promise.
4. To regain or restore the physical or mental vigor of; revive: I renewed my spirits in the country air.
5. a. To arrange for the extension of: renew a contract; renew a magazine subscription. b. To arrange to extend the loan of: renewed the library books before they were overdue.
6. To replenish: renewed the water in the humidifier.
7. To bring into being again; reestablish.
verb, intransitive
1. To become new again.
2. To start over.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
regeneration (rî-jèn´e-râ´shen) noun
1. The act or process of regenerating or the state of being regenerated.
2. Spiritual or moral revival or rebirth.
3. Biology. Regrowth of lost or destroyed parts or organs.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
Renewing of our minds.
Renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Washing of regeneration.
We are saved.
Made new.
Revived.
Reborn.
By the mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we are reborn.
1 Peter
{1:23} Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
{1:24} For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away
{1:25} But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
{2:1} Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings
{2:2} As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
{2:3} If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Born again by the Word of God.
The Gospel preached.
John
{3:1} There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews
{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.
{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. {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? {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.
{3:6} That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
{3:7} Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
{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.
{3:9} Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
{3:10} Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
{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.
{3:12} If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?
{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.
Born of water and of the Spirit.
That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The wind bloweth where it listest...
...and thou hearest the sound thereof.
But canst not tell whence it cometh
and whither it goeth.
So is EVERYONE that is born of the Spirit.
We have no clue where the wind comes from. People can say all sorts of things about the wind--
Simply put, wind is the motion of air molecules. Two concepts are central to understanding what causes wind: air and air pressure.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=where-does-wind-come-from
Here scientists explain all about molecules and air pressure, they talk about this, that, and the old other thing as well. We can take it further and go on to asking what is air.
What is air made of?
The air is made up of atoms, mostly those of nitrogen and oxygen.
http://education.jlab.org/qa/air_01.html
So we know air is made up of atoms and an atom is?
What is an atom?
An atom a fundamental piece of matter. (Matter is anything that can be touched physically.) Everything in the universe (except energy) is made of matter, and, so, everything in the universe is made of atoms.
An atom itself is made up of three tiny kinds of particles called subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and the neutrons make up the center of the atom called the nucleus and the electrons fly around above the nucleus in a small cloud. The electrons carry a negative charge and the protons carry a positive charge. In a normal (neutral) atom the number of protons and the number of electrons are equal. Often, but not always, the number of neutrons is the same, too.
http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/Propulsion/1-what-is-an-atom.html
Wow, right? Unless you're into all this science jargon it's not really what it's all about. What I mean is, we can take it down to the lowest form, the tiniest bit and still we come back to the word what is that. It's an never ending question, because where there is something there is the question what is the something and there will never be nothing because then there is no reason to ask the question- what is that?
Inevitably we are faced with the realization that what is has been created by something we have no clue about. Yes, you can go with your theories all you want about the cosmic recipe just banging together just right and poof we are here. But I can't believe that, because there would be constant poofing all over the place and we know that just doesn't happen.
So when we talk about wind and where it comes from and Jesus says we don't know where it comes from or where it's going, it's true. It exists, we can feel it- some days more than others - and we don't know really where it is coming from. Our weather men can tell us that it's coming from the north east due to a system of low pressure and such, but in reality where did it begin? Where will it end? These answers cannot be given to us. We don't know. But we know it is.
Being born of the Spirit is like that.
We don't know where the Spirit is, we can't see the Spirit, but we know the Spirit exists.
John
{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.
Those born of the Spirit are born and we know they are born but we don't know how, we don't know the mysteries of the Spirit.
They are born of the Spirit. ~We~ are born of the Spirit. All those who are God's must be born again of the Spirit. We cannot walk after the flesh, we cannot hold to our carnal natures, there is something beyond the flesh, beyond the carnal and that is the Spirit. Flesh, blood, and Spirit.
If we are born again, our spirit is awakened to the Holy Spirit. Things of the Spirit become our concern, not things of the flesh.
Spiritual matters.
Spiritual awakenings.
Spiritual living.
Born in the Spirit.
The Spirit within us must be brought to life, it must be born. It lives within each of us, it exists and it must be born. We all have the capability of the Spirit within us living, all of us. Being born again brings the spiritual life in us to life, it wakes up the slumbering spirit within us.
To have the Spiritual side in us born means living in the Spirit, growing in the Spirit. Feeding our spirit, nurturing our spirit, so that it grows.
The word of God alone has this power.
Is it no wonder people die to read God's word? They know that within His word is eternal life through Jesus Christ their Savior.
We need to feed our spirit.
If the spirit born within us isn't fed, it will languish and possibly die.
If you don't know if you have the spirit, if you don't know how to get the spirit, you have to have faith and hope, you have to believe you are given the spirit when you accept the sacrifice of Jesus as your Savior. And in believing you must renew your minds with the Word of God. Don't stop feeding the Spirit no matter how you feel. Feelings don't matter they are temporal. We can know we are saved and the knowing comes through faith.
May God bless and keep us, forgiving us of our failings, or our sins. We need the Holy Spirit within us, we need the love of God in us. By the mercy and grace of Jesus, now and forever!
Amen.
{11:33} O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
{11:34} For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
{11:35} Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
{11:36} For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
{12:1} I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
{12:2} And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Titus
{3:5} Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
{3:6} Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour
{3:7} That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
{3:8} [This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Renewing of our minds.
Renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Washing of regeneration.
We are saved.
Made new.
Revived.
Reborn.
renew (rî-n¡´, -ny¡´) verb
renewed, renewing, renews verb, transitive
1. To make new or as if new again; restore: renewed the antique chair.
2. To take up again; resume: renew an old friendship; renewed the argument.
3. To repeat so as to reaffirm: renew a promise.
4. To regain or restore the physical or mental vigor of; revive: I renewed my spirits in the country air.
5. a. To arrange for the extension of: renew a contract; renew a magazine subscription. b. To arrange to extend the loan of: renewed the library books before they were overdue.
6. To replenish: renewed the water in the humidifier.
7. To bring into being again; reestablish.
verb, intransitive
1. To become new again.
2. To start over.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
regeneration (rî-jèn´e-râ´shen) noun
1. The act or process of regenerating or the state of being regenerated.
2. Spiritual or moral revival or rebirth.
3. Biology. Regrowth of lost or destroyed parts or organs.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
Renewing of our minds.
Renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Washing of regeneration.
We are saved.
Made new.
Revived.
Reborn.
By the mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we are reborn.
1 Peter
{1:23} Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
{1:24} For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away
{1:25} But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
{2:1} Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings
{2:2} As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
{2:3} If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Born again by the Word of God.
The Gospel preached.
John
{3:1} There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews
{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.
{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. {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? {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.
{3:6} That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
{3:7} Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
{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.
{3:9} Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
{3:10} Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
{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.
{3:12} If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?
{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.
Born of water and of the Spirit.
That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The wind bloweth where it listest...
...and thou hearest the sound thereof.
But canst not tell whence it cometh
and whither it goeth.
So is EVERYONE that is born of the Spirit.
We have no clue where the wind comes from. People can say all sorts of things about the wind--
Simply put, wind is the motion of air molecules. Two concepts are central to understanding what causes wind: air and air pressure.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=where-does-wind-come-from
Here scientists explain all about molecules and air pressure, they talk about this, that, and the old other thing as well. We can take it further and go on to asking what is air.
What is air made of?
The air is made up of atoms, mostly those of nitrogen and oxygen.
http://education.jlab.org/qa/air_01.html
So we know air is made up of atoms and an atom is?
What is an atom?
An atom a fundamental piece of matter. (Matter is anything that can be touched physically.) Everything in the universe (except energy) is made of matter, and, so, everything in the universe is made of atoms.
An atom itself is made up of three tiny kinds of particles called subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and the neutrons make up the center of the atom called the nucleus and the electrons fly around above the nucleus in a small cloud. The electrons carry a negative charge and the protons carry a positive charge. In a normal (neutral) atom the number of protons and the number of electrons are equal. Often, but not always, the number of neutrons is the same, too.
http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/Propulsion/1-what-is-an-atom.html
Wow, right? Unless you're into all this science jargon it's not really what it's all about. What I mean is, we can take it down to the lowest form, the tiniest bit and still we come back to the word what is that. It's an never ending question, because where there is something there is the question what is the something and there will never be nothing because then there is no reason to ask the question- what is that?
Inevitably we are faced with the realization that what is has been created by something we have no clue about. Yes, you can go with your theories all you want about the cosmic recipe just banging together just right and poof we are here. But I can't believe that, because there would be constant poofing all over the place and we know that just doesn't happen.
So when we talk about wind and where it comes from and Jesus says we don't know where it comes from or where it's going, it's true. It exists, we can feel it- some days more than others - and we don't know really where it is coming from. Our weather men can tell us that it's coming from the north east due to a system of low pressure and such, but in reality where did it begin? Where will it end? These answers cannot be given to us. We don't know. But we know it is.
Being born of the Spirit is like that.
We don't know where the Spirit is, we can't see the Spirit, but we know the Spirit exists.
John
{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.
Those born of the Spirit are born and we know they are born but we don't know how, we don't know the mysteries of the Spirit.
They are born of the Spirit. ~We~ are born of the Spirit. All those who are God's must be born again of the Spirit. We cannot walk after the flesh, we cannot hold to our carnal natures, there is something beyond the flesh, beyond the carnal and that is the Spirit. Flesh, blood, and Spirit.
If we are born again, our spirit is awakened to the Holy Spirit. Things of the Spirit become our concern, not things of the flesh.
Spiritual matters.
Spiritual awakenings.
Spiritual living.
Born in the Spirit.
The Spirit within us must be brought to life, it must be born. It lives within each of us, it exists and it must be born. We all have the capability of the Spirit within us living, all of us. Being born again brings the spiritual life in us to life, it wakes up the slumbering spirit within us.
To have the Spiritual side in us born means living in the Spirit, growing in the Spirit. Feeding our spirit, nurturing our spirit, so that it grows.
The word of God alone has this power.
Is it no wonder people die to read God's word? They know that within His word is eternal life through Jesus Christ their Savior.
We need to feed our spirit.
If the spirit born within us isn't fed, it will languish and possibly die.
If you don't know if you have the spirit, if you don't know how to get the spirit, you have to have faith and hope, you have to believe you are given the spirit when you accept the sacrifice of Jesus as your Savior. And in believing you must renew your minds with the Word of God. Don't stop feeding the Spirit no matter how you feel. Feelings don't matter they are temporal. We can know we are saved and the knowing comes through faith.
May God bless and keep us, forgiving us of our failings, or our sins. We need the Holy Spirit within us, we need the love of God in us. By the mercy and grace of Jesus, now and forever!
Amen.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Have mercy upon all.
Romans
{11:25} For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
{11:26} And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob
{11:27} For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
{11:28} As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
{11:29} For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.
{11:30} For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief
{11:31} Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
{11:32} For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
***
We know the times of the Gentiles was fulfilled in 1980 when Jerusalem became the captial of Israel. This says-- 'that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.'
Israel was to be blinded in part from the time of Jesus until 1980, a long, long time. What was it all about? God gave His chosen many, many chances to be His people fully. They rejected Him over and over. Their ultimate rejection of God happened when Christ came and they rejected the Son of God. From then on the Word was given over to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were given a chance to come to God. God would not have any lost to Him. All that would come to Him He wants them to come.
He doesn't want the Gentiles thinking that He has forsaken Israel, His chosen. He hasn't forsaken them. Their eyes were allowed to see once more after 1980 when the Times of the Gentiles was fulfilled.
Perhaps that is where Messianic Judaism comes into true opportunity for God's chosen.
That passage reads- 'And so Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.'
When the blind are made to see the truth enters in and has saving power to those that will hear it, seeking understanding of the truth.
No, God wasn't willing that any should be lost but all have a way to come to Him. Jews, Gentiles, none are forsaken a way has been made for all.
Yes, time is growing shorter and shorter and soon it will be-
Rev. {22:11} He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. {22:12} And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be
Even so, come Lord Jesus, by Your mercy and grace come and find us Yours.
Amen.Romans
{11:25} For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
{11:26} And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob
{11:27} For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
{11:28} As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
{11:29} For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.
{11:30} For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief
{11:31} Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
{11:32} For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
***
We know the times of the Gentiles was fulfilled in 1980 when Jerusalem became the captial of Israel. This says-- 'that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.'
Israel was to be blinded in part from the time of Jesus until 1980, a long, long time. What was it all about? God gave His chosen many, many chances to be His people fully. They rejected Him over and over. Their ultimate rejection of God happened when Christ came and they rejected the Son of God. From then on the Word was given over to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were given a chance to come to God. God would not have any lost to Him. All that would come to Him He wants them to come.
He doesn't want the Gentiles thinking that He has forsaken Israel, His chosen. He hasn't forsaken them. Their eyes were allowed to see once more after 1980 when the Times of the Gentiles was fulfilled.
Perhaps that is where Messianic Judaism comes into true opportunity for God's chosen.
That passage reads- 'And so Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.'
When the blind are made to see the truth enters in and has saving power to those that will hear it, seeking understanding of the truth.
No, God wasn't willing that any should be lost but all have a way to come to Him. Jews, Gentiles, none are forsaken a way has been made for all.
Yes, time is growing shorter and shorter and soon it will be-
Rev. {22:11} He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. {22:12} And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be
Even so, come Lord Jesus, by Your mercy and grace come and find us Yours.
Amen.
{11:25} For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
{11:26} And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob
{11:27} For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
{11:28} As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
{11:29} For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.
{11:30} For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief
{11:31} Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
{11:32} For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
***
We know the times of the Gentiles was fulfilled in 1980 when Jerusalem became the captial of Israel. This says-- 'that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.'
Israel was to be blinded in part from the time of Jesus until 1980, a long, long time. What was it all about? God gave His chosen many, many chances to be His people fully. They rejected Him over and over. Their ultimate rejection of God happened when Christ came and they rejected the Son of God. From then on the Word was given over to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were given a chance to come to God. God would not have any lost to Him. All that would come to Him He wants them to come.
He doesn't want the Gentiles thinking that He has forsaken Israel, His chosen. He hasn't forsaken them. Their eyes were allowed to see once more after 1980 when the Times of the Gentiles was fulfilled.
Perhaps that is where Messianic Judaism comes into true opportunity for God's chosen.
That passage reads- 'And so Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.'
When the blind are made to see the truth enters in and has saving power to those that will hear it, seeking understanding of the truth.
No, God wasn't willing that any should be lost but all have a way to come to Him. Jews, Gentiles, none are forsaken a way has been made for all.
Yes, time is growing shorter and shorter and soon it will be-
Rev. {22:11} He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. {22:12} And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be
Even so, come Lord Jesus, by Your mercy and grace come and find us Yours.
Amen.Romans
{11:25} For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
{11:26} And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob
{11:27} For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
{11:28} As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
{11:29} For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.
{11:30} For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief
{11:31} Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
{11:32} For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
***
We know the times of the Gentiles was fulfilled in 1980 when Jerusalem became the captial of Israel. This says-- 'that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.'
Israel was to be blinded in part from the time of Jesus until 1980, a long, long time. What was it all about? God gave His chosen many, many chances to be His people fully. They rejected Him over and over. Their ultimate rejection of God happened when Christ came and they rejected the Son of God. From then on the Word was given over to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were given a chance to come to God. God would not have any lost to Him. All that would come to Him He wants them to come.
He doesn't want the Gentiles thinking that He has forsaken Israel, His chosen. He hasn't forsaken them. Their eyes were allowed to see once more after 1980 when the Times of the Gentiles was fulfilled.
Perhaps that is where Messianic Judaism comes into true opportunity for God's chosen.
That passage reads- 'And so Israel shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.'
When the blind are made to see the truth enters in and has saving power to those that will hear it, seeking understanding of the truth.
No, God wasn't willing that any should be lost but all have a way to come to Him. Jews, Gentiles, none are forsaken a way has been made for all.
Yes, time is growing shorter and shorter and soon it will be-
Rev. {22:11} He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. {22:12} And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be
Even so, come Lord Jesus, by Your mercy and grace come and find us Yours.
Amen.
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