Continuing the study on Eternal Verities (Eternal Truths) -
I'm going to copy parts of a thought paper and we're going to delve into more about what I was talking about yesterday, the Godhead and eternal truths. I'll interject it with my own thoughts and probably end up breaking it up into digestable pieces, meaning give it bit by bit so it's not overwhelming and gives us time to think about what's being presented. If you're reading this you'll have access to the internet and as such it's easy to check various facts such as the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words. Don't hesitate to take time to check things for yourself. We are accountable for what we can do and that means seeking the knowledge where we can. In our time we live in something called the 'Information Age' and it is. Information is right at our fingertips and we have to avail ourselves of it.
May God bless us as we seek to understand more fully His will, His way, the truths that we need to know and believe as this world becomes more and more deceptive.
******* RECAP -
1998 Jan -- XXXI -- 1(98) WWN
The Eternal Verities - Part 1 -- THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
However, had there been no God, there would have been no Incarnation; and if no Incarnation, there would have been no atonement; and if no atonement, no Intercessor. Thus the "eternal verities" - the Godhead, the Incarnation, and the Atonement - are inseparably linked as a chain connecting and reconnecting earth with Heaven, and Heaven with earth.
As we study the Godhead, we shall note various verses of Scripture and seek to exegetically analyze them. Having done so, we shall draw certain conclusions, and where there is apparent mystery in reconciling the revelation, we shall leave it as a mystery until other texts which we will consider illuminates that mystery. It will be a progressive study with the sole objective to comprehend truth as far as a mortal can.
Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}
This text reveals the following data: 1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was
paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
*******
Now follow closely the conclusions which this data permits one to draw:
1) The Holy Spirit existed prior to Bethlehem as the "Eternal Spirit." (See also Heb.9:14)
2) Jesus "had a beginning at Bethlehem." (Note the name designation of "Jesus," the God-man, begins at Bethlehem)
3) With God as a "given" factor, you have Two Beings - God and the Eternal Spirit - before Bethlehem, and Three Beings - God, the Eternal Spirit, and Jesus - after.
One further factor to the "mystery" - He who had a beginning at Bethlehem as a unique Being, Jesus, of Him it could be prophesied that His "goings forth [were] from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2).
My thoughts--
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Can there be any doubt whatsoever about the eternal Spirit - the Holy Spirit existing prior to Bethlehem? There was a Spirit that moved over the face of the waters --Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit and God the Father existed and we know Jesus was there at the beginning and by Him were all things made. Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Yet it was decided that God would take on flesh and when that happened the result was the birth of Jesus- Emmanuel Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Jesus wasn't born before Bethlehem. The God in the flesh was not born until that baby came forth and then Jesus- God lived with us. He truly was a new creation - created by God.
Truly the mystery that we are delving into something that has to leave us in complete awe. We can't relate things the same way we do to ourselves if we do we are trying to bring God down to our level. God the Father, God the Spirit, God the Son - to say they are just one Being would be wrong when it is so obvious they are not. They are one in their beliefs. And the mystery of their all knowing, all being, is bound up in the wondrous fact that they are Gods. Their ways are not our ways.
Rom 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!
Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
May God continue to bless us and keep us as we study as we are able and find the understanding He would have us understand. Yes, His ways are past our finding out, but He will teach us all we need to know. Comprehending the majesty of our amazing God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son is something we need to do so we are not deceived because Satan would deceive us all in any way that He can, mixing truth with just enough error to lead people to Him and away from God, away from Salvation.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by His righteousness, by His love, His forgiveness now and forever in Him.
Amen.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Eternal Verities 2A
For today's study I'm going to copy parts of a thought paper and we're going to delve into more about what I was talking about yesterday, the Godhead and eternal truths. I'll interject it with my own thoughts and probably end up breaking it up into digestable pieces, meaning give it bit by bit so it's not overwhelming and gives us time to think about what's being presented. If you're reading this you'll have access to the internet and as such it's easy to check various facts such as the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words. Don't hesitate to take time to check things for yourself. We are accountable for what we can do and that means seeking the knowledge where we can. In our time we live in something called the 'Information Age' and it is. Information is right at our fingertips and we have to avail ourselves of it.
May God bless us as we seek to understand more fully His will, His way, the truths that we need to know and believe as this world becomes more and more deceptive.
***
3/14/10
1998 Jan -- XXXI -- 1(98) WWN
The Eternal Verities - Part 1 -- THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
3/15/10
Yesterday we talked a bit about the 'great divide in time' being the birth of Christ. Almost universally we use this time reference most people without nitpicking at it at all, but accepting it at our great time divider. Life before our Savior's birth and life after our Savior's birth. Amazing and wonderful.
Let's continue with the thought paper.
'THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
However, had there been no God, there would have been no Incarnation; and if no Incarnation, there would have been no atonement; and if no atonement, no Intercessor. Thus the "eternal verities" - the Godhead, the Incarnation, and the Atonement - are inseparably linked as a chain connecting and reconnecting earth with Heaven, and Heaven with earth.'
*******
My thoughts- there really is no arguing with this at all. The truth of it is undeniable. Without a God there is no God to become incarnate-
Dictionary Def- 1. a. Invested with bodily nature and form: an incarnate spirit. b. Embodied in human form
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
A God had to become incarnate, a spirit form of a God chose to embody a human form. Without a God there could have been no incarnation, without the incarnation, no atonement. We need atonement to be made one with God again because we began estranged to Him through sinning. The only thing that can bring us back to that - at - one - ment is the Intercessor- the incarnate God in human form - Jesus Christ our Savior.
*******
Let's continue with the thought paper.
As we study the Godhead, we shall note various verses of Scripture and seek to exegetically analyze them. Having done so, we shall draw certain conclusions, and where there is apparent mystery in reconciling the revelation, we shall leave it as a mystery until other texts which we will consider illuminates that mystery. It will be a progressive study with the sole objective to comprehend truth as far as a mortal can.
Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}
This text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
*******
My thoughts-
Let's really get what this is saying to us. An exegetical study is what?
exegesis (èk´se-jê´sîs) noun
plural exegeses (-sêz)
Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
As it's been explained to me, exegesis is letting a text speak for itself- letting the analysis say what it will without reading anything EXTRA into a test that isn't there. When we deal with language translations it becomes necessary to revert to the original language and render from that the meaning, the grammar, the form all of it is different as it is translated. It'd be foolhardy for us to believe that every translation is exact because it isn't and where we have the know-how to find out the literal translations and recognize where things have been supplied and such we should do so- not just believe it doesn't matter. We are accountable for our knowledge, for our ability to study and learn. I'm not a scholar in Hebrew, nor Greek but I recognize others who are and I do have the ability to use the Internet to help me compare what they are saying to true translations in different languages. So as the author of the thought paper says- we need to study to understand as much as we are able and leave the mysteries to God until things unfold so we have understanding.
'Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}'
The KJV does say 'also that holy thing' but as explained satisfactorily- the word 'thing' is a supplied word, the word 'thing' does not actually exist in the Greek text. Holy being an adjective needs an object to modify as adjectives do, however the choice of the object to modify could be something other than 'thing' it could be 'one' or 'spirit'. The Writings spoken of here aren't something I'm going to be too concerned with, wanting to use the Bible and the Bible only. Those who believe in the Writings can use it as a reinforcement of the truth, but those who don't wish to really don't have to as the Bible speaks for itself. The reason we are seeking understanding of this supplied word is because the idea of God before being incarnate as a 'thing' doesn't necessarily sit well. Holy 'One', Holy 'Spirit' these are more likely words for the God who took on flesh and Jesus was a God with God in the beginning. A God who became the 'Son of God'.
'This text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
'
The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, the power of the Highest overshadowed Her. Mary knew no man and therefore understood that she could no be with child without a man. The promise of the Holy Spirit fulfilling the role in a miraculous manner and the power of the Highest would overshadow Mary was the role a man would normally play but this was NO normal conception. The Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus of this there is no doubt. Mary was the maternal relation, the Holy Spirit the paternal relation. Those who try to explain that the Holy Spirit didn't exist before Bethlehem would have trouble explaining this verse.
Luke 1:32-
Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David
Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
We know it was the angel Gabriel - Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Twice Gabriel did say the child born of Mary 'shall be called', 'shall be called' the shall be is indicative of future tense not present. When a woman gets pregnant people ask what are you going to name the baby, very seldom if ever do they say what is the baby's name as if it's a given. Of course nowadays with ultrasounds and the ability to know the baby's sex prior to birth does have people naming the child before birth yet sometimes there is that little tidbit of doubt where the ultrasound could be wrong and people will pick out names for both sexes- just in case. God incarnate was to be called the Son of God. It's plain fact that Mary wasn't told that the child in her womb *is* the Son of God, but rather *shall be called* the Son of God. A minute distinction but one that must be noted. Spirit would take on flesh. The Spirit form of who would become the Son of God existed before conception.
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
God was manifest in the flesh.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
I'm going to stop here for now and we'll recap tomorrow before continuing. These truths are important to realize and while they might seem simple and obvious and something that doesn't bear repeating or reviewing, they do. The pre-exisitence of Jesus was in spirit form. God is spirit so it could be nothing else. God took on flesh, yet it wasn't God the Father who took on flesh, it was God taking on flesh to become known as the Son of God. The Holy Spirit was to come over Mary, the power of the Highest overshadow her and the result was the conception and ultimate birth of the Son of God. Such an amazing mysterious act, eternal spirit taking on flesh in a miracle.
More tomorrow.
May God continue to bless us as we study His Word, as we speak to understand more fully His truths. Please, open our hearts and minds to all that is You now and forever. By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Amen.
May God bless us as we seek to understand more fully His will, His way, the truths that we need to know and believe as this world becomes more and more deceptive.
***
3/14/10
1998 Jan -- XXXI -- 1(98) WWN
The Eternal Verities - Part 1 -- THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
3/15/10
Yesterday we talked a bit about the 'great divide in time' being the birth of Christ. Almost universally we use this time reference most people without nitpicking at it at all, but accepting it at our great time divider. Life before our Savior's birth and life after our Savior's birth. Amazing and wonderful.
Let's continue with the thought paper.
'THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
However, had there been no God, there would have been no Incarnation; and if no Incarnation, there would have been no atonement; and if no atonement, no Intercessor. Thus the "eternal verities" - the Godhead, the Incarnation, and the Atonement - are inseparably linked as a chain connecting and reconnecting earth with Heaven, and Heaven with earth.'
*******
My thoughts- there really is no arguing with this at all. The truth of it is undeniable. Without a God there is no God to become incarnate-
Dictionary Def- 1. a. Invested with bodily nature and form: an incarnate spirit. b. Embodied in human form
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
A God had to become incarnate, a spirit form of a God chose to embody a human form. Without a God there could have been no incarnation, without the incarnation, no atonement. We need atonement to be made one with God again because we began estranged to Him through sinning. The only thing that can bring us back to that - at - one - ment is the Intercessor- the incarnate God in human form - Jesus Christ our Savior.
*******
Let's continue with the thought paper.
As we study the Godhead, we shall note various verses of Scripture and seek to exegetically analyze them. Having done so, we shall draw certain conclusions, and where there is apparent mystery in reconciling the revelation, we shall leave it as a mystery until other texts which we will consider illuminates that mystery. It will be a progressive study with the sole objective to comprehend truth as far as a mortal can.
Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}
This text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
*******
My thoughts-
Let's really get what this is saying to us. An exegetical study is what?
exegesis (èk´se-jê´sîs) noun
plural exegeses (-sêz)
Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
As it's been explained to me, exegesis is letting a text speak for itself- letting the analysis say what it will without reading anything EXTRA into a test that isn't there. When we deal with language translations it becomes necessary to revert to the original language and render from that the meaning, the grammar, the form all of it is different as it is translated. It'd be foolhardy for us to believe that every translation is exact because it isn't and where we have the know-how to find out the literal translations and recognize where things have been supplied and such we should do so- not just believe it doesn't matter. We are accountable for our knowledge, for our ability to study and learn. I'm not a scholar in Hebrew, nor Greek but I recognize others who are and I do have the ability to use the Internet to help me compare what they are saying to true translations in different languages. So as the author of the thought paper says- we need to study to understand as much as we are able and leave the mysteries to God until things unfold so we have understanding.
'Luke 1:35 The angel [Gabriel] answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective, and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}'
The KJV does say 'also that holy thing' but as explained satisfactorily- the word 'thing' is a supplied word, the word 'thing' does not actually exist in the Greek text. Holy being an adjective needs an object to modify as adjectives do, however the choice of the object to modify could be something other than 'thing' it could be 'one' or 'spirit'. The Writings spoken of here aren't something I'm going to be too concerned with, wanting to use the Bible and the Bible only. Those who believe in the Writings can use it as a reinforcement of the truth, but those who don't wish to really don't have to as the Bible speaks for itself. The reason we are seeking understanding of this supplied word is because the idea of God before being incarnate as a 'thing' doesn't necessarily sit well. Holy 'One', Holy 'Spirit' these are more likely words for the God who took on flesh and Jesus was a God with God in the beginning. A God who became the 'Son of God'.
'This text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men," the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary "shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact. In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is" the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3) There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit, and now would become "flesh."
'
The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, the power of the Highest overshadowed Her. Mary knew no man and therefore understood that she could no be with child without a man. The promise of the Holy Spirit fulfilling the role in a miraculous manner and the power of the Highest would overshadow Mary was the role a man would normally play but this was NO normal conception. The Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus of this there is no doubt. Mary was the maternal relation, the Holy Spirit the paternal relation. Those who try to explain that the Holy Spirit didn't exist before Bethlehem would have trouble explaining this verse.
Luke 1:32-
Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David
Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
We know it was the angel Gabriel - Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Twice Gabriel did say the child born of Mary 'shall be called', 'shall be called' the shall be is indicative of future tense not present. When a woman gets pregnant people ask what are you going to name the baby, very seldom if ever do they say what is the baby's name as if it's a given. Of course nowadays with ultrasounds and the ability to know the baby's sex prior to birth does have people naming the child before birth yet sometimes there is that little tidbit of doubt where the ultrasound could be wrong and people will pick out names for both sexes- just in case. God incarnate was to be called the Son of God. It's plain fact that Mary wasn't told that the child in her womb *is* the Son of God, but rather *shall be called* the Son of God. A minute distinction but one that must be noted. Spirit would take on flesh. The Spirit form of who would become the Son of God existed before conception.
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
God was manifest in the flesh.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
I'm going to stop here for now and we'll recap tomorrow before continuing. These truths are important to realize and while they might seem simple and obvious and something that doesn't bear repeating or reviewing, they do. The pre-exisitence of Jesus was in spirit form. God is spirit so it could be nothing else. God took on flesh, yet it wasn't God the Father who took on flesh, it was God taking on flesh to become known as the Son of God. The Holy Spirit was to come over Mary, the power of the Highest overshadow her and the result was the conception and ultimate birth of the Son of God. Such an amazing mysterious act, eternal spirit taking on flesh in a miracle.
More tomorrow.
May God continue to bless us as we study His Word, as we speak to understand more fully His truths. Please, open our hearts and minds to all that is You now and forever. By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Amen.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Eternal Verities 1A
For today's study I'm going to copy a thought paper and we're going to delve into more about the what I was talking about yesterday, the Godhead and eternal truths. I'll intersperse it with my own thoughts and probably end up breaking it up into digestable pieces, meaning give it bit by bit so it's not overwhelming and gives us time to think about what's being presented. If you're reading this you'll have access to the internet and as such it's easy to check various facts such as the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words. Don't hesitate to take time to check things for yourself. We are accountable for what we can do and that means seeking the knowledge where we can. In our time we live in something called the 'Information Age' and it is. Information is right at our fingertips and we have to avail ourselves of it.
May God bless us as we seek to understand more fully His will, His way, the truths that we need to know and believe as this world becomes more and more deceptive.
*******
1998 Jan -- XXXI -- 1(98) WWN
The Eternal Verities - Part 1 -- THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
(((My thoughts- It's so true isn't it? BC and AD. It's no mistake that time has been divided this way.
*Before Christ (abbreviated as BC or B.C.) are designations used to label years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The calendar era to which they refer is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, with AD denoting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting years before the start of this epoch.
*Anno Domini (abbreviated as AD or A.D., sometimes found in the irregular form Anno Domine) The term Anno Domini is Medieval Latin, translated as In the year of (the/Our) Lord.[1][2]:782 It is sometimes specified more fully as Anno Domini Nostri Iesu (Jesu) Christi ("In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ").
*The Gregorian calendar, and the year numbering system associated with it, is the calendar system with the most widespread use in the world today. For decades, it has been the unofficial global standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal Union. It is also a basis of scholarly dating - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
Jesus' birth, the incarnation divided time- no other birth in all of history has had such impact, NONE. We are reminded daily of living in the years after the birth of Christ. Everytime we write a date we are aware on some level of this. Talk about having a reminder to all of Jesus. The next time you have to write the date, or have reason to note the year you are actually noting the number of years since Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Son of man, the Son of God was born. Amazing.
Because I want to keep these studies very compact and something for us to leave thinking about and contemplating I'm really going to break up the study into small parts, very small parts because it's just easier to digest that way. So let's consider this one bite in our study and we'll take another bite tomorrow. For now let's savor the knowledge that most of us knew but don't often think about. AD and BC the Incarnation, the birth of the Son of God dividing our timeline.
May God bless us as we study, may the Lord enlighten us as we so need to be enlightened. By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Savior in His love forever.
Amen.
May God bless us as we seek to understand more fully His will, His way, the truths that we need to know and believe as this world becomes more and more deceptive.
*******
1998 Jan -- XXXI -- 1(98) WWN
The Eternal Verities - Part 1 -- THE GODHEAD -- The great divide between two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of time, was the Incarnation.
(((My thoughts- It's so true isn't it? BC and AD. It's no mistake that time has been divided this way.
*Before Christ (abbreviated as BC or B.C.) are designations used to label years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The calendar era to which they refer is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, with AD denoting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting years before the start of this epoch.
*Anno Domini (abbreviated as AD or A.D., sometimes found in the irregular form Anno Domine) The term Anno Domini is Medieval Latin, translated as In the year of (the/Our) Lord.[1][2]:782 It is sometimes specified more fully as Anno Domini Nostri Iesu (Jesu) Christi ("In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ").
*The Gregorian calendar, and the year numbering system associated with it, is the calendar system with the most widespread use in the world today. For decades, it has been the unofficial global standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal Union. It is also a basis of scholarly dating - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
Jesus' birth, the incarnation divided time- no other birth in all of history has had such impact, NONE. We are reminded daily of living in the years after the birth of Christ. Everytime we write a date we are aware on some level of this. Talk about having a reminder to all of Jesus. The next time you have to write the date, or have reason to note the year you are actually noting the number of years since Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Son of man, the Son of God was born. Amazing.
Because I want to keep these studies very compact and something for us to leave thinking about and contemplating I'm really going to break up the study into small parts, very small parts because it's just easier to digest that way. So let's consider this one bite in our study and we'll take another bite tomorrow. For now let's savor the knowledge that most of us knew but don't often think about. AD and BC the Incarnation, the birth of the Son of God dividing our timeline.
May God bless us as we study, may the Lord enlighten us as we so need to be enlightened. By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Savior in His love forever.
Amen.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Deep Things of God
We say God created heaven and earth and imply that He did it alone. We don't imply that Jesus was there with Him though we know Biblically He was in the beginning with God and all things were created by Him. Joh 1:1 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.'
When we talk of worshipping our Creator with think singular and yet it's a falsehood- a Biblical falsehood. There were TWO in the beginning. By TWO all things were created. God said - Gen 1:26 'And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...'
'Let us' Us. We don't use the word 'us' when we're talking singular. 'Us' implies more than one.
Dictionary- us (ùs) pronoun
The objective case of we
God- (Encyclopedia)
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, God is conceived primarily in terms of transcendence, personality, and unity. The Hebrew Scriptures present God as creator, and the created world is a product of God's will. Human beings are made in God's image. Thus, the Hebrew understanding of God is anthropomorphic (humanoid). God's primary attributes are righteousness, justice, mercy, truth, and faithfulness.
Christianity began as a Jewish sect, incorporating the Hebrew God and Jewish Scriptures. Jesus Christ was probably considered a prophet of God, but by the end of the 1st century, Christians viewed him as a divine being (see Christology). Although Christian theology speaks of the three "persons" of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, these are not persons in the literal sense, but three manifestations of one God.
Encarta® 98 Desk Encyclopedia
*
That bit up there on God where it says Christian theology speaks of the 'three 'persons' of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- these are not persons in the literal sense, but three MANIFESTATIONS of ONE GOD'. It's not true! We are so caught up in the ONE God that deeper thought into the whole Trinitarian issue seems wrong, yet when is the studying to know the truth ever wrong? Three manifestations of ONE God? That denies them the right to their individual Godhood. It does. They say' God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and then they cap it off by saying stuff like 'NOT persons in the literal sense, but manifestations of ONE God'. Even as people we can have one common belief, one common goal but that does not strip us of our literal individual selves- yet we want to strip God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit of their literal individuality. We want to call them One God, three in One as if they are a mixture so combined they can never and have never and will never be separate Gods but one spirit-being posing as three manifestations - different manifestations for different situations. If they weren't separate literally why have an 'us' at all in the beginning when creation was underway? Jeremiah has this to say-
Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
Jer 10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Jer 10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Notice... 'the gods' plural that have not made the heaven and earth, even they shall perish. There are gods - plural that made the heaven and earth, but there are many more false gods who had no hand whatsoever in creation. If we do not agree that literal God the Father and literal God who become Jesus our Lord and Savior who eventually took on flesh becoming God with us Immanual, created all things but rather believe that ONE literal God created all things we are worshipping a false belief of God and it's so deceptive it's frightening.
To strip the Godhood from any of the three by rolling them up into one God, is wrong. They are one in purpose, one in belief, one in the unity of their ideals, their thoughts, their desires this is undeniable. But when Jesus said- John 10:30 'I and my Father are one.' And this- John 10:38 'But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.' Did He mean they were literally One Being? No, He couldn't have or how else could He also say this- Mark 15:34 'And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' How could He be forsaken by Himself if He were literally One God with God, and not literally another being of His own, another God being, not one lesser than God at all. He was equal with God in all ways even though He'd taken on the flesh of humanity and chose to live in a state where He could be tempted and feel the fullness of the tempting power of Satan towards humanity. Php 2:5 'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God' He was God with us and He was always a separate being, a separate God from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
It takes a lot of thinking to really comprehend all this and understand there is a danger in believing the 'Trinity' as it was formulated by the Roman Catholic Church long, long ago and heldfast to by Protestantism because we can't deny God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, and if you say you're not because the way you understand it all just incorporates them all into one in the same way they meant us to understand it all- ask yourself if this is really true-- 'Although Christian theology speaks of the three "persons" of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, these are not persons in the literal sense, but three manifestations of one God.', and is that how you truly believe? Do you truly believe in ONE God, if so then you deny Jesus as God, you deny the Holy Spirit as God in their own right.
This is a whole lot to take in and a whole lot to think about and truthfully a whole lot more I need to understand. I will be studying this and praying for enlightment so that I may know only the truth. I don't want to get caught up in deception just because it's something held common as a belief by most people. The counterfiet mimics the truth so closely it's hardly discernible and I pray for understanding, for wisdom. May God bless us all as we continue to study and do more than surface study but delve deeply into the deep things of God.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever through His righteousness and not our own, through His perfect forgiveness and His cleansing blood.
Amen.
When we talk of worshipping our Creator with think singular and yet it's a falsehood- a Biblical falsehood. There were TWO in the beginning. By TWO all things were created. God said - Gen 1:26 'And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...'
'Let us' Us. We don't use the word 'us' when we're talking singular. 'Us' implies more than one.
Dictionary- us (ùs) pronoun
The objective case of we
God- (Encyclopedia)
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, God is conceived primarily in terms of transcendence, personality, and unity. The Hebrew Scriptures present God as creator, and the created world is a product of God's will. Human beings are made in God's image. Thus, the Hebrew understanding of God is anthropomorphic (humanoid). God's primary attributes are righteousness, justice, mercy, truth, and faithfulness.
Christianity began as a Jewish sect, incorporating the Hebrew God and Jewish Scriptures. Jesus Christ was probably considered a prophet of God, but by the end of the 1st century, Christians viewed him as a divine being (see Christology). Although Christian theology speaks of the three "persons" of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, these are not persons in the literal sense, but three manifestations of one God.
Encarta® 98 Desk Encyclopedia
*
That bit up there on God where it says Christian theology speaks of the 'three 'persons' of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- these are not persons in the literal sense, but three MANIFESTATIONS of ONE GOD'. It's not true! We are so caught up in the ONE God that deeper thought into the whole Trinitarian issue seems wrong, yet when is the studying to know the truth ever wrong? Three manifestations of ONE God? That denies them the right to their individual Godhood. It does. They say' God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and then they cap it off by saying stuff like 'NOT persons in the literal sense, but manifestations of ONE God'. Even as people we can have one common belief, one common goal but that does not strip us of our literal individual selves- yet we want to strip God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit of their literal individuality. We want to call them One God, three in One as if they are a mixture so combined they can never and have never and will never be separate Gods but one spirit-being posing as three manifestations - different manifestations for different situations. If they weren't separate literally why have an 'us' at all in the beginning when creation was underway? Jeremiah has this to say-
Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
Jer 10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Jer 10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Notice... 'the gods' plural that have not made the heaven and earth, even they shall perish. There are gods - plural that made the heaven and earth, but there are many more false gods who had no hand whatsoever in creation. If we do not agree that literal God the Father and literal God who become Jesus our Lord and Savior who eventually took on flesh becoming God with us Immanual, created all things but rather believe that ONE literal God created all things we are worshipping a false belief of God and it's so deceptive it's frightening.
To strip the Godhood from any of the three by rolling them up into one God, is wrong. They are one in purpose, one in belief, one in the unity of their ideals, their thoughts, their desires this is undeniable. But when Jesus said- John 10:30 'I and my Father are one.' And this- John 10:38 'But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.' Did He mean they were literally One Being? No, He couldn't have or how else could He also say this- Mark 15:34 'And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' How could He be forsaken by Himself if He were literally One God with God, and not literally another being of His own, another God being, not one lesser than God at all. He was equal with God in all ways even though He'd taken on the flesh of humanity and chose to live in a state where He could be tempted and feel the fullness of the tempting power of Satan towards humanity. Php 2:5 'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God' He was God with us and He was always a separate being, a separate God from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
It takes a lot of thinking to really comprehend all this and understand there is a danger in believing the 'Trinity' as it was formulated by the Roman Catholic Church long, long ago and heldfast to by Protestantism because we can't deny God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, and if you say you're not because the way you understand it all just incorporates them all into one in the same way they meant us to understand it all- ask yourself if this is really true-- 'Although Christian theology speaks of the three "persons" of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, these are not persons in the literal sense, but three manifestations of one God.', and is that how you truly believe? Do you truly believe in ONE God, if so then you deny Jesus as God, you deny the Holy Spirit as God in their own right.
This is a whole lot to take in and a whole lot to think about and truthfully a whole lot more I need to understand. I will be studying this and praying for enlightment so that I may know only the truth. I don't want to get caught up in deception just because it's something held common as a belief by most people. The counterfiet mimics the truth so closely it's hardly discernible and I pray for understanding, for wisdom. May God bless us all as we continue to study and do more than surface study but delve deeply into the deep things of God.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever through His righteousness and not our own, through His perfect forgiveness and His cleansing blood.
Amen.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Our belief is a dead belief unless...
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Faith- believing without works is dead.
The work of God is believing on Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Belief is manifested by our life, and our life is made up our the actions we perform. Your life is what you do. Everyone's lives differ, one from the next even when people have similar living situations. Every action we make is revealing who we are. Bizarre actions we sometimes commit leave us saying- that wasn't like me, I wouldn't normally do something like that, and yet the actions reveal us. Our day to day life reveals who we are. When we believe in God our lives need to reflect that belief. Devils believe and tremble. It's not enough for us to believe and have it end there. Our lives are transformed by that believe. It is the work of God to believe on Jesus, and in believing have our lives reflect the belief.
Rom 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
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Jas 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Faith wrought WITH his works.
Abraham believe God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.
Abraham only offered Isaac because He believed in God. If he hadn't believed in God he would never have followed what God asked of Him. Abraham's actions reflected his belief in God. Our actions have to reflect our belief in God or our belief is a dead belief as useless to us as it is to the devils that believe and tremble.
May God help our belief be realized in our lives fully. Our hope is in Christ, the love of Christ. By His grace and His mercy, in His righteousness alone.
Amen.
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Faith- believing without works is dead.
The work of God is believing on Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Belief is manifested by our life, and our life is made up our the actions we perform. Your life is what you do. Everyone's lives differ, one from the next even when people have similar living situations. Every action we make is revealing who we are. Bizarre actions we sometimes commit leave us saying- that wasn't like me, I wouldn't normally do something like that, and yet the actions reveal us. Our day to day life reveals who we are. When we believe in God our lives need to reflect that belief. Devils believe and tremble. It's not enough for us to believe and have it end there. Our lives are transformed by that believe. It is the work of God to believe on Jesus, and in believing have our lives reflect the belief.
Rom 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
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Jas 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Faith wrought WITH his works.
Abraham believe God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.
Abraham only offered Isaac because He believed in God. If he hadn't believed in God he would never have followed what God asked of Him. Abraham's actions reflected his belief in God. Our actions have to reflect our belief in God or our belief is a dead belief as useless to us as it is to the devils that believe and tremble.
May God help our belief be realized in our lives fully. Our hope is in Christ, the love of Christ. By His grace and His mercy, in His righteousness alone.
Amen.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stir you up by putting you in remembrance
2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
2Pe 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
2Pe 1:13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
2Pe 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
2Pe 1:15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Faith
Virtue
Knowledge
Temperance
Patience
Godliness
Brotherly Kindness
Charity
We need these things in our lives constantly, always and if we don't have them then we are blind, we can't see the future, we've forgotten that we've been saved from our old sins.
Take stock of yourself, it's something we ALL have to do. When we stop caring if we believe, when believing in God, in our Savior becomes something we've tucked away in the back of our minds and lives, we are in danger. It's not enough to believe without caring, without loving. The Bible tells us this-
Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Devils believe. They know the truth and it scares them. We have to know the truth and in knowing believe, have faith in that truth. We have to have virture, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity. When we stop short of believing that we should have these things in our lives we begin to slip away from Christ. We become blind and we don't focus on a future life with Him in heaven. We forget that He came to save us from our sins so that we may live with Him in a world that is beyond our imagination without pain of any kind, without sadness, without angst, without all that troubles a person. Every day we are faced with problems, old ones, new ones, problems we anticipate will come our way. We don't live without knowing that there are hardships to face, we are quick to think on them. We need to be quick to think on God and God's way.
Peter is adamant about putting us in remembrance.
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Even though we know we need to remember always so we're established in present truth. We can't think on these things enough. We can't talk about them enough. We can't write about them enough. We need to have these thoughts before us at all times.
May God bless and keep us now and always in remembrance of Him and His love for us in the hope of living with Christ our Lord and Savior forever.
By His grace, by His mercy.
In His love.
Amen.
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
2Pe 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
2Pe 1:13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
2Pe 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
2Pe 1:15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Faith
Virtue
Knowledge
Temperance
Patience
Godliness
Brotherly Kindness
Charity
We need these things in our lives constantly, always and if we don't have them then we are blind, we can't see the future, we've forgotten that we've been saved from our old sins.
Take stock of yourself, it's something we ALL have to do. When we stop caring if we believe, when believing in God, in our Savior becomes something we've tucked away in the back of our minds and lives, we are in danger. It's not enough to believe without caring, without loving. The Bible tells us this-
Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Devils believe. They know the truth and it scares them. We have to know the truth and in knowing believe, have faith in that truth. We have to have virture, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity. When we stop short of believing that we should have these things in our lives we begin to slip away from Christ. We become blind and we don't focus on a future life with Him in heaven. We forget that He came to save us from our sins so that we may live with Him in a world that is beyond our imagination without pain of any kind, without sadness, without angst, without all that troubles a person. Every day we are faced with problems, old ones, new ones, problems we anticipate will come our way. We don't live without knowing that there are hardships to face, we are quick to think on them. We need to be quick to think on God and God's way.
Peter is adamant about putting us in remembrance.
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Even though we know we need to remember always so we're established in present truth. We can't think on these things enough. We can't talk about them enough. We can't write about them enough. We need to have these thoughts before us at all times.
May God bless and keep us now and always in remembrance of Him and His love for us in the hope of living with Christ our Lord and Savior forever.
By His grace, by His mercy.
In His love.
Amen.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
In my flesh dwelleth no good thing
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This was said approximately 2000 years or so ago and it's still very revelant to us all today. In our flesh dwells nothing good. Our flesh is weak and corrupted by years of sin. Only Christ overcame the flesh and it's through Christ we overcome. Does this mean we get some magical power that does away with our flesh desires? No. Many, many men and women of God get caught up in the trap of begin supposedly able to overcome their sins and they feel good when that happens. It might last for one, two, ten years but more often than not there are set backs and slips into that same sin and it becomes depressing to succumb to something you thought you'd overcome. The key there are the words - you'd overcome. We get to this place where we believe we are doing the necessary overcoming and we begin to rely on ourselves for that overcoming.
I've never been in a 12 step program but what I know of it from tv and whatnot I think a person is taught to take one day at a time and the famous serenity prayer is recited-
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
The first part of that is known more widely than the rest but read the rest...
Living one day at a time.
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as HE did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that HE will make all things right
if I SURRENDER to HIS will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Now while I agree with most of this prayer the bit about being reasonably happy in this life is a fallacy. We can't even expect that as much as we might want to.
We do have to surrender to God's will. We do have to trust that God will make all things right. We can't believe in ourselves or our own goodness, we have to trust in God fully. When we start to believe we are good in and of ourselves we start to get caught in a trap of Satan's making. We need to have Christ before us always. We need to fall at His feet in surrender. It's not pitiful to surrender, to admit our weakness in the face of God's strength. Yes, we to believe this--
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
And to understand this--
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
And believe this--
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
We have to thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that we can serve the law of God, we can. Trusting in Him fully that HE overcame the flesh and we through Him will overcome. Our hope is in Him and Him alone.
May God help us to place our trust fully in Christ now and forever. Life will give to us through Satan any and all challenges to snare us and we have to trust solely in Christ, not even in ourselves.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Savior, may we hold fast to Him now and forever, trusting in His ability to overcome the flesh.
In Him always.
Amen.
This was said approximately 2000 years or so ago and it's still very revelant to us all today. In our flesh dwells nothing good. Our flesh is weak and corrupted by years of sin. Only Christ overcame the flesh and it's through Christ we overcome. Does this mean we get some magical power that does away with our flesh desires? No. Many, many men and women of God get caught up in the trap of begin supposedly able to overcome their sins and they feel good when that happens. It might last for one, two, ten years but more often than not there are set backs and slips into that same sin and it becomes depressing to succumb to something you thought you'd overcome. The key there are the words - you'd overcome. We get to this place where we believe we are doing the necessary overcoming and we begin to rely on ourselves for that overcoming.
I've never been in a 12 step program but what I know of it from tv and whatnot I think a person is taught to take one day at a time and the famous serenity prayer is recited-
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
The first part of that is known more widely than the rest but read the rest...
Living one day at a time.
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as HE did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that HE will make all things right
if I SURRENDER to HIS will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Now while I agree with most of this prayer the bit about being reasonably happy in this life is a fallacy. We can't even expect that as much as we might want to.
We do have to surrender to God's will. We do have to trust that God will make all things right. We can't believe in ourselves or our own goodness, we have to trust in God fully. When we start to believe we are good in and of ourselves we start to get caught in a trap of Satan's making. We need to have Christ before us always. We need to fall at His feet in surrender. It's not pitiful to surrender, to admit our weakness in the face of God's strength. Yes, we to believe this--
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
And to understand this--
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
And believe this--
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
We have to thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that we can serve the law of God, we can. Trusting in Him fully that HE overcame the flesh and we through Him will overcome. Our hope is in Him and Him alone.
May God help us to place our trust fully in Christ now and forever. Life will give to us through Satan any and all challenges to snare us and we have to trust solely in Christ, not even in ourselves.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Savior, may we hold fast to Him now and forever, trusting in His ability to overcome the flesh.
In Him always.
Amen.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God
Deu 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments...
We aren't raised to worship. We aren't. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that most of us aren't raised to worship God. I must had God because we are raised to worship at the alter of self-serving. Worship as I was growing up meant getting dressed in my Sunday best and going off to Sunday school for an hour and then to Sunday service for another hour and then once I returned home off came the Sunday best and it was put away until the next week. Two hours with a little extra for travel thrown in, so let's round it off to three hours and then worshipping God was all over. The rest of the day wasn't a normal day though, not really. It was the day to get in all the fun we could because the next day was a school day and everyone knew that school interfered with having fun. At worst, the rest of the day meant cramming in the free time fun and possibly a few hours of homework study before school came all too fast the next day. We were taught to compartmentalize God into that two hours and into before dinner prayers, and a quick learned by rote night time prayer. God was in our lives just put into little time slots.
A day of restful worship of God wasn't always a day of restful worship but rather a few hours of rest in worship and then back into the grind of things. Even my father used that day for yard working and my mother for preparing nice meals- work. A day of worship didn't mean a full day of worship and so the reality of God setting aside an entire 24 hour period seems almost ludicrous. 24 hours spent worshipping God? But how? What happens after the two hours of worship with others (if that is what one does in light of all the knowledge out there)?
Why am I dwelling on this one commandment when Deuteronomy 8:11 says - 'Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments...'
I think I'm dwelling on the fourth commandment because it's the only one prefaced with the word- REMEMBER.
We do forget the Lord our God. We do it all the time. We compartmentalize Him and His place in our lives. If you have 24 hours in which to worship Him it's very hard to forget Him during that time whether or not you are worshipping Him *rightly* so to speak.
Set aside the Sabbath day- sundown Friday to sundown Saturday and use it only for the glory of God. You'll realize quickly how much of your life is centered around yourself and your own devices and not God. How do you worship for 24 hours? It's easy to worship ourselves all the time we just have to sit back and do whatever it is we want to do for whatever reason we want to do it. Yes, we have to work, but after work is over it's play time, or free time, even if it's just to rest for ourselves, take a nap, read a book, take a long hot bath. We've perfected the art of self-worship. Is it different for those raised to worship God for a full day? Or do they tend to fall into the same trap in a different way? Do they get bogged down into a lifeless routine?
There is danger of forgetting God in many, many ways. People live their entire lives without thinking of God or caring to remember anything He might have had to say let only keeping His commandments.
There is a danger in forgetting God, in forgetting His commandments, His ways. If we forget God we will be forgotten by Him. It's a sad, sad situation that we will be in because the pain and heartache of this world is all we truly have here mingled with a few ups that lull us into believing that it's a good enough life that we don't need God in it to mess things up. A life devoted to God is a life of extra hardship but it's reward far outweighs anything even remotely satisfying to us on earth now.
May God bless us and help us to learn to worship Him as He commands, a worship that is filled with rewards for us if only we'd truly see it that way. Let us not forget the LORD our God.
By the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever.
Amen.
We aren't raised to worship. We aren't. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that most of us aren't raised to worship God. I must had God because we are raised to worship at the alter of self-serving. Worship as I was growing up meant getting dressed in my Sunday best and going off to Sunday school for an hour and then to Sunday service for another hour and then once I returned home off came the Sunday best and it was put away until the next week. Two hours with a little extra for travel thrown in, so let's round it off to three hours and then worshipping God was all over. The rest of the day wasn't a normal day though, not really. It was the day to get in all the fun we could because the next day was a school day and everyone knew that school interfered with having fun. At worst, the rest of the day meant cramming in the free time fun and possibly a few hours of homework study before school came all too fast the next day. We were taught to compartmentalize God into that two hours and into before dinner prayers, and a quick learned by rote night time prayer. God was in our lives just put into little time slots.
A day of restful worship of God wasn't always a day of restful worship but rather a few hours of rest in worship and then back into the grind of things. Even my father used that day for yard working and my mother for preparing nice meals- work. A day of worship didn't mean a full day of worship and so the reality of God setting aside an entire 24 hour period seems almost ludicrous. 24 hours spent worshipping God? But how? What happens after the two hours of worship with others (if that is what one does in light of all the knowledge out there)?
Why am I dwelling on this one commandment when Deuteronomy 8:11 says - 'Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments...'
I think I'm dwelling on the fourth commandment because it's the only one prefaced with the word- REMEMBER.
We do forget the Lord our God. We do it all the time. We compartmentalize Him and His place in our lives. If you have 24 hours in which to worship Him it's very hard to forget Him during that time whether or not you are worshipping Him *rightly* so to speak.
Set aside the Sabbath day- sundown Friday to sundown Saturday and use it only for the glory of God. You'll realize quickly how much of your life is centered around yourself and your own devices and not God. How do you worship for 24 hours? It's easy to worship ourselves all the time we just have to sit back and do whatever it is we want to do for whatever reason we want to do it. Yes, we have to work, but after work is over it's play time, or free time, even if it's just to rest for ourselves, take a nap, read a book, take a long hot bath. We've perfected the art of self-worship. Is it different for those raised to worship God for a full day? Or do they tend to fall into the same trap in a different way? Do they get bogged down into a lifeless routine?
There is danger of forgetting God in many, many ways. People live their entire lives without thinking of God or caring to remember anything He might have had to say let only keeping His commandments.
There is a danger in forgetting God, in forgetting His commandments, His ways. If we forget God we will be forgotten by Him. It's a sad, sad situation that we will be in because the pain and heartache of this world is all we truly have here mingled with a few ups that lull us into believing that it's a good enough life that we don't need God in it to mess things up. A life devoted to God is a life of extra hardship but it's reward far outweighs anything even remotely satisfying to us on earth now.
May God bless us and help us to learn to worship Him as He commands, a worship that is filled with rewards for us if only we'd truly see it that way. Let us not forget the LORD our God.
By the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever.
Amen.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Angels Among Us
The other day we talked about angels, Jesus didn't take on their nature. To us angels are somewhat fantasy because they aren't something we see and touch, something we interact with day in and day out on a knowing basis. Yes, they are all around us, helping us, God's angels at least. In the little daily Bible reading booklet I have that same day was a little bit about angels.
God created angels-
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Angels give God worship-
Neh 9:6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Angels minister to those who are God's-
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Angels rejoice-
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Luk 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Angels are a mystery to us. There are stories about them, movies on them. Just recently I watched a movie called 'Legion' and in the movie the main characters were angels. Apparently ((((and don't read further if you don't want it spoiled for you))) God decided that humanity wasn't worth saving any more and the angel Michael disagreed with Him and came to earth to save mankind. Another angel came to stop Michael and have mankind end with the death of a child. There was a huge fight, in fact most of the movie was about the fighting, in the end Michael was killed and evil seemed to be prevailing but then just when you thought all was lost, Michael returns- God having brought Him back to life. The other angel that killed Michael said he wouldn't have spared his life, like Michael was sparing his, and Michael said that's why God spared Him. The whole point being that compassion and love is the main thing, self-sacrifice is very important, all important. These angels were warring on the movie screen and it makes you wonder what they must think about how they are depicited by man. This wasn't the first movie about angels - there is a whole series- the Prophecy movies- that deal with angels as well. There are many movies with angels in them and a lot of people believe they are more fiction than fact and maybe the movie theme is but the reality of angels is fact.
We can't see them as a rule, even when they interact with us we don't know they are angels. That they exist is a wonderful marvel of God's. Angels aren't subject to death like we are. The very angels that witness the creation of Adam and Eve are alive today witnesses the birth of babies. Angels are wonderful mysteries and we are blessed when they minister to us. Thank God for His mercy and love, thank God for allowing the angels to live among us. We thank each other for the kindnesses we do, and we can thank God for His ministering angels. While we cannot worship any but God, giving thanks isn't worshipping and we can thank the angels who by God's grace live and act in our lives unseen. One day I hope and pray we can know all that the angels did for us and thank them in person and by the grace and mercy of our Lord, through His loving kindness we shall. By the forgiveness of our Lord, our Savior we will live in harmony with God, with His Son, with the Holy Spirit, with all the beings created by Him, hopefully one day very soon.
In the love of Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
God created angels-
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Angels give God worship-
Neh 9:6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Angels minister to those who are God's-
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Angels rejoice-
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Luk 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Angels are a mystery to us. There are stories about them, movies on them. Just recently I watched a movie called 'Legion' and in the movie the main characters were angels. Apparently ((((and don't read further if you don't want it spoiled for you))) God decided that humanity wasn't worth saving any more and the angel Michael disagreed with Him and came to earth to save mankind. Another angel came to stop Michael and have mankind end with the death of a child. There was a huge fight, in fact most of the movie was about the fighting, in the end Michael was killed and evil seemed to be prevailing but then just when you thought all was lost, Michael returns- God having brought Him back to life. The other angel that killed Michael said he wouldn't have spared his life, like Michael was sparing his, and Michael said that's why God spared Him. The whole point being that compassion and love is the main thing, self-sacrifice is very important, all important. These angels were warring on the movie screen and it makes you wonder what they must think about how they are depicited by man. This wasn't the first movie about angels - there is a whole series- the Prophecy movies- that deal with angels as well. There are many movies with angels in them and a lot of people believe they are more fiction than fact and maybe the movie theme is but the reality of angels is fact.
We can't see them as a rule, even when they interact with us we don't know they are angels. That they exist is a wonderful marvel of God's. Angels aren't subject to death like we are. The very angels that witness the creation of Adam and Eve are alive today witnesses the birth of babies. Angels are wonderful mysteries and we are blessed when they minister to us. Thank God for His mercy and love, thank God for allowing the angels to live among us. We thank each other for the kindnesses we do, and we can thank God for His ministering angels. While we cannot worship any but God, giving thanks isn't worshipping and we can thank the angels who by God's grace live and act in our lives unseen. One day I hope and pray we can know all that the angels did for us and thank them in person and by the grace and mercy of our Lord, through His loving kindness we shall. By the forgiveness of our Lord, our Savior we will live in harmony with God, with His Son, with the Holy Spirit, with all the beings created by Him, hopefully one day very soon.
In the love of Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
He took not on him the nature of angels
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The nature of angels- spirit.
Psa 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Jesus did not take on the nature of a spirit. Jesus took on the nature of the seed of Abraham which was human nature. Some want to believe Jesus didn't really take on the nature of a human being, that He didn't face any of the temptations we do, not really. He some how had this special ability to resist that we in no way can possibily ever possess. Were we born like Him? No. We in no way can even think for a flicker of a heartbeat that we were born of God as He was born of God without a human father. But Jesus took on humanity, He took on the flesh and the Bible is clear when it tells us that ... 'he himself hath suffered being tempted'. If Jesus had some special ability that enabled Him to resist temptation then He wouldn't have suffered. He suffered though. He suffered through the temptations that came His way and He relied upon His Father to keep Him and His Father did. Jesus had to surrender Himself fully to the Father as a human being, the nature that was prone to sin had to be surrendered to God the Father because God the Son chose to give up His eternal spirit self and merge it with flesh forever.
Jesus wanted to be made like us. Jesus wanted to know what it meant to be a human being born into a sin-filled world. Jesus wanted to save us, to be merciful and to be our high priest forever with God. Jesus wanted to reconcile us to to God and the only way He could to that was to die for our sins. We have a Creator that stepped down from a very lofty height and chose to become created in flesh. In the womb of Mary He was formed slowly, cell by cell, bit by bit just as all babies are formed. He wasn't instantly in Mary's belly ready to be birthed. She had to carry Him for nine months as He grew within her. He literally took on flesh in a miraculous way without human seed. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, the Holy Spirit formed the spirit seed of God that united with Mary's human egg, human and God united to form the Son of God in flesh. The Spirit of God that was Jesus along with the Spirit Father God in the beginning created heaven and earth and the Spirit of God that took on flesh became Jesus, Son of God forever in flesh. The mystery of it all is something we live with and by faith we believe. Jesus overcame so we could overcome through His righteousness. He came and saved us, doing for us what we can never do for ourselves. When we are tempted we must cling to Jesus. When we fall we must cling to the forgiveness He offers us and live in His righteousness.
Jesus wasn't an angel. Jesus was uniquely God and human combined. Jesus set aside His divinity to overcome the weakness of the flesh in humanity and prevailed though Satan threw everything imaginable at Him to tempt Him to sin. Praise God for the victory of Christ our only hope. The love of God is beyond our full comprehension but we understand enough to know we must believe in that love. We are blessed so very blessed.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The nature of angels- spirit.
Psa 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Jesus did not take on the nature of a spirit. Jesus took on the nature of the seed of Abraham which was human nature. Some want to believe Jesus didn't really take on the nature of a human being, that He didn't face any of the temptations we do, not really. He some how had this special ability to resist that we in no way can possibily ever possess. Were we born like Him? No. We in no way can even think for a flicker of a heartbeat that we were born of God as He was born of God without a human father. But Jesus took on humanity, He took on the flesh and the Bible is clear when it tells us that ... 'he himself hath suffered being tempted'. If Jesus had some special ability that enabled Him to resist temptation then He wouldn't have suffered. He suffered though. He suffered through the temptations that came His way and He relied upon His Father to keep Him and His Father did. Jesus had to surrender Himself fully to the Father as a human being, the nature that was prone to sin had to be surrendered to God the Father because God the Son chose to give up His eternal spirit self and merge it with flesh forever.
Jesus wanted to be made like us. Jesus wanted to know what it meant to be a human being born into a sin-filled world. Jesus wanted to save us, to be merciful and to be our high priest forever with God. Jesus wanted to reconcile us to to God and the only way He could to that was to die for our sins. We have a Creator that stepped down from a very lofty height and chose to become created in flesh. In the womb of Mary He was formed slowly, cell by cell, bit by bit just as all babies are formed. He wasn't instantly in Mary's belly ready to be birthed. She had to carry Him for nine months as He grew within her. He literally took on flesh in a miraculous way without human seed. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, the Holy Spirit formed the spirit seed of God that united with Mary's human egg, human and God united to form the Son of God in flesh. The Spirit of God that was Jesus along with the Spirit Father God in the beginning created heaven and earth and the Spirit of God that took on flesh became Jesus, Son of God forever in flesh. The mystery of it all is something we live with and by faith we believe. Jesus overcame so we could overcome through His righteousness. He came and saved us, doing for us what we can never do for ourselves. When we are tempted we must cling to Jesus. When we fall we must cling to the forgiveness He offers us and live in His righteousness.
Jesus wasn't an angel. Jesus was uniquely God and human combined. Jesus set aside His divinity to overcome the weakness of the flesh in humanity and prevailed though Satan threw everything imaginable at Him to tempt Him to sin. Praise God for the victory of Christ our only hope. The love of God is beyond our full comprehension but we understand enough to know we must believe in that love. We are blessed so very blessed.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Ye do err...
Mat 22:29 '...Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.'
How many of us can say we know the scriptures and the power of God? Seriously? I know very few scriptures compared to the many that make up the Bible, and even the Old Testament on it's own. We are to know the word of God but how many of us study to know the word? The power of God, do you know the power of God? These are good questions and questions we need to ask ourselves. Jesus told those He was speaking to that they erred because they didn't know the scriptures nor the power of God. We can err a lot when we rely on things other than the scripture and when we reduce God to the power of a human being. We do that all too often. We take God's power from Him imagining things that are impossible to Him. We speak of a miracle and equate it to God's power, but many slice and dice it until it was only accomplished through scientific means. Stripping away the power of God from the act of a miracle. With medical miracles we can see doctors scratching their heads not quite understanding things, but then chalking it up not to God but to just one of those quirks in life that happen. Quirks. Miracles are quirks. I'm not saying I know the power of God, but I do know the Bible tells me this...
Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
With man there are many impossibilities, things that defy logic and reason and men won't even pretend to be able to do because they know they are impossible. With God nothing is impossible but this doesn't mean God will do something senselessly just to prove He can do the impossible. So many in Jesus' time didn't comprehend that God could allow His Son to become a human being, to be born of a woman into a common mostly unremarkable early life. People were looking for a Messiah, a Promised One but they didn't want the Messiah to be someone like Jesus they wanted a kingly man full of self-importance ready and willing to wrest into submission all who would not follow God. Miracle after miracle was performed by Jesus and that was great but they wanted more, they wanted to be herald into a new age where the Jewish people were no longer oppressed in any way. They wanted self-importance for themselves and their race as the promised of God. They were blinded because self was in the way. They had their ideas of how things should be. A messiah should arrive and bring glory to them not help the poor and forgive sinners. They couldn't understand the workings of God, not His power nor the scriptures. We need to know the scriptures and the power of God if we're not to err.
I'm sure some in those days could quote the scriptures backwards and forewards knowing them word for word and yet still they lost the real knowledge the scriptures were to impart to them. We have that danger today as well. We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to all the truth in the scriptures as we seek to know the scriptures- God's word to us.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
You do err, not knowing the scriptures.
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power.
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Please Lord help us to know the scriptures as You would have us know them so that we do not err. Please Lord help us to know the power of God so that we don't err. We need You Lord, we need the Holy Spirit to open our hearts, our minds, to You and all you would have us know. We can't believe that we can ignore your Holy Word, Your Word given to us by Your inspiration, and hope to know You, and Your power. Please help us as we study- help us understand fully Your inspired word which is... profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
By the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Amen.
How many of us can say we know the scriptures and the power of God? Seriously? I know very few scriptures compared to the many that make up the Bible, and even the Old Testament on it's own. We are to know the word of God but how many of us study to know the word? The power of God, do you know the power of God? These are good questions and questions we need to ask ourselves. Jesus told those He was speaking to that they erred because they didn't know the scriptures nor the power of God. We can err a lot when we rely on things other than the scripture and when we reduce God to the power of a human being. We do that all too often. We take God's power from Him imagining things that are impossible to Him. We speak of a miracle and equate it to God's power, but many slice and dice it until it was only accomplished through scientific means. Stripping away the power of God from the act of a miracle. With medical miracles we can see doctors scratching their heads not quite understanding things, but then chalking it up not to God but to just one of those quirks in life that happen. Quirks. Miracles are quirks. I'm not saying I know the power of God, but I do know the Bible tells me this...
Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
With man there are many impossibilities, things that defy logic and reason and men won't even pretend to be able to do because they know they are impossible. With God nothing is impossible but this doesn't mean God will do something senselessly just to prove He can do the impossible. So many in Jesus' time didn't comprehend that God could allow His Son to become a human being, to be born of a woman into a common mostly unremarkable early life. People were looking for a Messiah, a Promised One but they didn't want the Messiah to be someone like Jesus they wanted a kingly man full of self-importance ready and willing to wrest into submission all who would not follow God. Miracle after miracle was performed by Jesus and that was great but they wanted more, they wanted to be herald into a new age where the Jewish people were no longer oppressed in any way. They wanted self-importance for themselves and their race as the promised of God. They were blinded because self was in the way. They had their ideas of how things should be. A messiah should arrive and bring glory to them not help the poor and forgive sinners. They couldn't understand the workings of God, not His power nor the scriptures. We need to know the scriptures and the power of God if we're not to err.
I'm sure some in those days could quote the scriptures backwards and forewards knowing them word for word and yet still they lost the real knowledge the scriptures were to impart to them. We have that danger today as well. We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to all the truth in the scriptures as we seek to know the scriptures- God's word to us.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
You do err, not knowing the scriptures.
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power.
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Please Lord help us to know the scriptures as You would have us know them so that we do not err. Please Lord help us to know the power of God so that we don't err. We need You Lord, we need the Holy Spirit to open our hearts, our minds, to You and all you would have us know. We can't believe that we can ignore your Holy Word, Your Word given to us by Your inspiration, and hope to know You, and Your power. Please help us as we study- help us understand fully Your inspired word which is... profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
By the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Amen.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Strangers- No Halos, No Wings
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Love thy neighbor as thyself.
If you hunger, you wish to be fed.
If you thirst, you wish to drink.
If you lack clothing, you wish to be clothed.
If you're sick, you wish to be nurtured.
If you lack a place to live, you wish to have a home.
If you are imprisoned, you wish to know outside someone cares.
If you are the stranger don't you wish to be helped?
What do we do to help others? What do we do? People are in need all around us. Who do we help?
A stranger came to my door yesterday and I feared him and just wanted him to leave, leery of him and his being around my house. My first thought was that maybe he was one of those thieves who case the house before they do anything. Later that day it hit me, he was a stranger and I didn't welcome Him. I told myself that it was the way things are, society is different now. How can I trust strangers that come to my door not to hurt me, or want to hurt me? Today another stranger came to the door and my son answered it, it was a man selling meat out of his truck. My son told him we weren't interested, and we're really not because who wants meat from an unknown source? But immediately I told him and my daughter about the stranger the day before and now today and how we are supposed to help strangers, they could be angels even. And my daughter said, but yesterday that guy looked like he was trouble, and I said how are strangers supposed to look? Are they supposed to have a halo, wings, look nice? This all has me really thinking about things and I believe God wants me to learn something here, I only hope and pray that I do learn. I need to get over my fear, I need to help strangers. I need to do as God would have me to do. I need Him to teach me, help me because I am so weak. I don't want to be among those who don't help strangers, who don't love my neighbors. I need to do more some how, some way. I want to be among the sheep on God's right hand. May God help me.
By the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.
In His love.
Amen.
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Love thy neighbor as thyself.
If you hunger, you wish to be fed.
If you thirst, you wish to drink.
If you lack clothing, you wish to be clothed.
If you're sick, you wish to be nurtured.
If you lack a place to live, you wish to have a home.
If you are imprisoned, you wish to know outside someone cares.
If you are the stranger don't you wish to be helped?
What do we do to help others? What do we do? People are in need all around us. Who do we help?
A stranger came to my door yesterday and I feared him and just wanted him to leave, leery of him and his being around my house. My first thought was that maybe he was one of those thieves who case the house before they do anything. Later that day it hit me, he was a stranger and I didn't welcome Him. I told myself that it was the way things are, society is different now. How can I trust strangers that come to my door not to hurt me, or want to hurt me? Today another stranger came to the door and my son answered it, it was a man selling meat out of his truck. My son told him we weren't interested, and we're really not because who wants meat from an unknown source? But immediately I told him and my daughter about the stranger the day before and now today and how we are supposed to help strangers, they could be angels even. And my daughter said, but yesterday that guy looked like he was trouble, and I said how are strangers supposed to look? Are they supposed to have a halo, wings, look nice? This all has me really thinking about things and I believe God wants me to learn something here, I only hope and pray that I do learn. I need to get over my fear, I need to help strangers. I need to do as God would have me to do. I need Him to teach me, help me because I am so weak. I don't want to be among those who don't help strangers, who don't love my neighbors. I need to do more some how, some way. I want to be among the sheep on God's right hand. May God help me.
By the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.
In His love.
Amen.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Who Shall Separate Us From the Love of Christ
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we believe in God, truly believe we have to believe God will NEVER leave us, and that NOTHING can ever separate us from the love of Christ, NOTHING.
Tribulation- Great affliction, trial, or distress; suffering: the tribulations of the persecuted.
Distress- To cause strain, anxiety, or suffering to. To constrain or overcome by harassment.
Persecution- To oppress or harass with ill-treatment. To annoy persistently; bother.
Famine- Severe hunger; starvation
Nakedness- Having no clothing on the body; nude.
Peril- Imminent danger. b. Exposure to the risk of harm or loss. Something that endangers or involves risk.
Sword- An instrument of death or destruction
Reading through this list of things that could possibly come our way reveals how horrible it can be to live a life in Christ and STILL NOT be separated from Christ's love. Yet why do we get it in our heads that if we love God we won't suffer, or shouldn't suffer. That if God loves us then we won't have to go through any pain, horrific pain. Read that list again:
Tribulation- suffering. Distress- anxiety, suffering, harassment. Persecution- oppressed, annoyed, bothered. Famine- starvation. Nakedness- no clothes. Peril- danger, harm, loss, risk. Sword- death, destruction.
We don't believe any of that should happen to us if we love God, that we have the right to question God's love for us if we are called to go through severe suffering. We can let all that or any bit of it separate us from Christ, that's what Satan wants and any who try to convince you that Satan is just a made us boogy man, I say that you can't believe in God and not believe in Satan, the Bible is clear on the matter of His existence- the father of lies, the prince of this world, the dragon- he is very real and while you might think that the common person isn't of interest to Him that would be a mistake. Every human being is of interest to him. He would have each and every one of us on His side and separated from God and he will do everything he can to separate us, he will use EVERYTHING at his disposal. I've had some tell me that Satan is just an illusion and people use the idea of him to get away with their own evil. He's not an illusion. He is among the principalities, the powers, the creatures that will try to separate us from the love of Christ.
We have to cling to Christ through it all. We have to realize that life is like a rubber raft trip down a river. You're going to have calm traveling but you're also going to encounter amazing rapids such that threaten to toss you from the raft and separate you from it so that you drown. Christ is that raft and we have to cling to Him at all times. We have to hold on to Him in the calm and in the raging river. We are on that 'white water rafting trip' for life. We will only reach the shore when Christ returns or the sleep of death claims us and we sleep in Christ until He returns. It's a lifetime trip without any separation from that raft. If we think we can reach land and tie up the raft and go off exploring we are wrong. When we leave the raft we leave our protection, our source of eternal life. People think they can leave the raft, they believe they can go off without Christ in their lives and still have eternal life in Him. As long as we love God and have faith and hope in Him we can survive anything in Him without being separated from Him. When we lose hope and lose faith in Christ we are in danger of separating ourselves from Christ. Christ doesn't leave us when we go through trials and tribulations, we leave Him, we question Him, our faith crumbles.
I don't know when the next tribulation will hit me, but I know it will. It might be something outrageous or it could be something small and unassuming yet still a trial that will come trying to separate me from Christ, but I pray that my faith and hope remain by the grace of Christ, through the Holy Spirit.
Read this again...
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May this be our belief, our heart felt belief that nothing separates us Christ's love, nothing! By the grace of God, through His righteousness, His love now and forever, by His forgiveness.
Amen.
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we believe in God, truly believe we have to believe God will NEVER leave us, and that NOTHING can ever separate us from the love of Christ, NOTHING.
Tribulation- Great affliction, trial, or distress; suffering: the tribulations of the persecuted.
Distress- To cause strain, anxiety, or suffering to. To constrain or overcome by harassment.
Persecution- To oppress or harass with ill-treatment. To annoy persistently; bother.
Famine- Severe hunger; starvation
Nakedness- Having no clothing on the body; nude.
Peril- Imminent danger. b. Exposure to the risk of harm or loss. Something that endangers or involves risk.
Sword- An instrument of death or destruction
Reading through this list of things that could possibly come our way reveals how horrible it can be to live a life in Christ and STILL NOT be separated from Christ's love. Yet why do we get it in our heads that if we love God we won't suffer, or shouldn't suffer. That if God loves us then we won't have to go through any pain, horrific pain. Read that list again:
Tribulation- suffering. Distress- anxiety, suffering, harassment. Persecution- oppressed, annoyed, bothered. Famine- starvation. Nakedness- no clothes. Peril- danger, harm, loss, risk. Sword- death, destruction.
We don't believe any of that should happen to us if we love God, that we have the right to question God's love for us if we are called to go through severe suffering. We can let all that or any bit of it separate us from Christ, that's what Satan wants and any who try to convince you that Satan is just a made us boogy man, I say that you can't believe in God and not believe in Satan, the Bible is clear on the matter of His existence- the father of lies, the prince of this world, the dragon- he is very real and while you might think that the common person isn't of interest to Him that would be a mistake. Every human being is of interest to him. He would have each and every one of us on His side and separated from God and he will do everything he can to separate us, he will use EVERYTHING at his disposal. I've had some tell me that Satan is just an illusion and people use the idea of him to get away with their own evil. He's not an illusion. He is among the principalities, the powers, the creatures that will try to separate us from the love of Christ.
We have to cling to Christ through it all. We have to realize that life is like a rubber raft trip down a river. You're going to have calm traveling but you're also going to encounter amazing rapids such that threaten to toss you from the raft and separate you from it so that you drown. Christ is that raft and we have to cling to Him at all times. We have to hold on to Him in the calm and in the raging river. We are on that 'white water rafting trip' for life. We will only reach the shore when Christ returns or the sleep of death claims us and we sleep in Christ until He returns. It's a lifetime trip without any separation from that raft. If we think we can reach land and tie up the raft and go off exploring we are wrong. When we leave the raft we leave our protection, our source of eternal life. People think they can leave the raft, they believe they can go off without Christ in their lives and still have eternal life in Him. As long as we love God and have faith and hope in Him we can survive anything in Him without being separated from Him. When we lose hope and lose faith in Christ we are in danger of separating ourselves from Christ. Christ doesn't leave us when we go through trials and tribulations, we leave Him, we question Him, our faith crumbles.
I don't know when the next tribulation will hit me, but I know it will. It might be something outrageous or it could be something small and unassuming yet still a trial that will come trying to separate me from Christ, but I pray that my faith and hope remain by the grace of Christ, through the Holy Spirit.
Read this again...
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May this be our belief, our heart felt belief that nothing separates us Christ's love, nothing! By the grace of God, through His righteousness, His love now and forever, by His forgiveness.
Amen.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Keep Us from Evil
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Do we believe this? Surely our unique suffering is worse than people imagine. Suffering is unique isn't it? Seriously. Not all pain is the same for everyone. A woman who gives birth and travails in that most horrible of pains doesn't do so the same as the next woman. Some tolerate pain more so than others. Pain is unique to us. we can sympathize with others in pain because we know what it is to have our own pain. Even the pain of a head ache gives us the experience of pain we need to understand. 'The suffering of this present time....are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.' I ask again, do we believe this? The pain some feel is so great, the suffering so intense and yet they can't compare with the glory to come. What does that mean exactly? When you compare something you are weighing them against each other aren't you? The suffering and the glory. Does this statement indicate that the glory will far outweigh the suffering? Perhaps like it is for a lot of women who give birth the pain is horrific and then it's over and there is a new life to account for all the pain. Many women forget the pain easily enough as they adore the child in their arms. Many would say that it was all worth it and they go through it again, and again, and again.
'The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'
The glory revealed in us. There will be glory, the glory of Christ revealed in us. We will suffer though. We will suffer through the pains of this life here on earth living in a world that is no longer meant for God's children. We can't fool ourselves into believing things are right on this world. We can't be lulled into believing life is what you make it because here on this earth corrupted by Satan, ruled by Satan- the Prince of this World, we only have so much control. We have the control to choose to live in Christ yet doing that won't take us out of the world.
Jesus even prayed that specifically- remember this...
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
We have to live in the world, this world that isn't right for us.
Joh 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
The world hates us. Does the world hate you? I don't feel like it hates me, is this because I'm too much like the world and not enough like Christ? Satan has many devices he uses to snare us. I don't live in a country where believing in Jesus Christ means I risk my very life. I don't live among people who hate me because I believe in Jesus. There are a lot of people who do, more people than we realize. We can read about it now just by going to an internet search engine and putting in there Christian persecution. We can read about it in newspapers, magazines, it's out there for us to know about yet even knowing it doesn't seem really, real. Does the world hate you? Perhaps the hate comes in other ways. Perhaps your being hated isn't outright hatred for Christ but rather life giving you one hardship after another to deal with, wearing you down as dripping water can wear away a stone. One drop is okay but sometimes a torrent of water hits us threatening to drown us. The world hates us, the world hates us because we are not of the world and we need to remember that when the hatred comes at us in ways we wouldn't suspect. Even the hatred within. Satan will use outside influence and he will also try to whisper into our thoughts to discourage us as only he knows how.
We have hope though, Jesus has prayed to the Father for us. 'Keep them from evil.'
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
We must pray and trust the Holy Spirit to help our infirmities. We must hope. We are living in this world that is not ours and yet we are Christ's and we will be kept by Him. Some how all that happens, all the suffering, all the hatred, will work together for our good if we love God. God's purpose is that we love Jesus Christ whom He sent. Love and believe on the Lord our Savior.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus, through His righteousness and His righteousness alone, in His almighty love.
Amen.
Do we believe this? Surely our unique suffering is worse than people imagine. Suffering is unique isn't it? Seriously. Not all pain is the same for everyone. A woman who gives birth and travails in that most horrible of pains doesn't do so the same as the next woman. Some tolerate pain more so than others. Pain is unique to us. we can sympathize with others in pain because we know what it is to have our own pain. Even the pain of a head ache gives us the experience of pain we need to understand. 'The suffering of this present time....are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.' I ask again, do we believe this? The pain some feel is so great, the suffering so intense and yet they can't compare with the glory to come. What does that mean exactly? When you compare something you are weighing them against each other aren't you? The suffering and the glory. Does this statement indicate that the glory will far outweigh the suffering? Perhaps like it is for a lot of women who give birth the pain is horrific and then it's over and there is a new life to account for all the pain. Many women forget the pain easily enough as they adore the child in their arms. Many would say that it was all worth it and they go through it again, and again, and again.
'The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'
The glory revealed in us. There will be glory, the glory of Christ revealed in us. We will suffer though. We will suffer through the pains of this life here on earth living in a world that is no longer meant for God's children. We can't fool ourselves into believing things are right on this world. We can't be lulled into believing life is what you make it because here on this earth corrupted by Satan, ruled by Satan- the Prince of this World, we only have so much control. We have the control to choose to live in Christ yet doing that won't take us out of the world.
Jesus even prayed that specifically- remember this...
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
We have to live in the world, this world that isn't right for us.
Joh 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
The world hates us. Does the world hate you? I don't feel like it hates me, is this because I'm too much like the world and not enough like Christ? Satan has many devices he uses to snare us. I don't live in a country where believing in Jesus Christ means I risk my very life. I don't live among people who hate me because I believe in Jesus. There are a lot of people who do, more people than we realize. We can read about it now just by going to an internet search engine and putting in there Christian persecution. We can read about it in newspapers, magazines, it's out there for us to know about yet even knowing it doesn't seem really, real. Does the world hate you? Perhaps the hate comes in other ways. Perhaps your being hated isn't outright hatred for Christ but rather life giving you one hardship after another to deal with, wearing you down as dripping water can wear away a stone. One drop is okay but sometimes a torrent of water hits us threatening to drown us. The world hates us, the world hates us because we are not of the world and we need to remember that when the hatred comes at us in ways we wouldn't suspect. Even the hatred within. Satan will use outside influence and he will also try to whisper into our thoughts to discourage us as only he knows how.
We have hope though, Jesus has prayed to the Father for us. 'Keep them from evil.'
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
We must pray and trust the Holy Spirit to help our infirmities. We must hope. We are living in this world that is not ours and yet we are Christ's and we will be kept by Him. Some how all that happens, all the suffering, all the hatred, will work together for our good if we love God. God's purpose is that we love Jesus Christ whom He sent. Love and believe on the Lord our Savior.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus, through His righteousness and His righteousness alone, in His almighty love.
Amen.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Desperate for Love
Gen 29:17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
Gen 29:30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years
Gen 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren
Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
Gen 29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
Gen 29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
Gen 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
Gen 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
Gen 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
Gen 30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
Gen 30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
Gen 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Gen 33:2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
Gen 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Gen 49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
Gen 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
*******
To live and not be loved enough by the one you want to be loved by is painful. Leah spent years trying to gain favor of Jacob and never did, not over that of Rachel. Rachel even sold the favors of Jacob for a night for mandrakes from one of Leah's sons. Can you even imagine? Seriously. In the end, Jacob was buried next to Leah, not Rachel. Does that mean he did love her? I've no doubt he had affection for her, but the great love he had for Rachel far surpassed that he had for Leah. What lessons do we learn from this? What lessons should we learn from this? Are we Rachel's or Leah's? No, we're not usually in marriages with two women and one man, but the point of it all. How many people are in relationships with someone and that someone ends up wanting another? We live in a society that doesn't allow for more than one wife or husband so what happens is divorce. Divorce is very prevalent. No, it's not usually the same situation as Jacob's, Rachel's and Leah's. Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, he never loved her to begin with. It was probably a good thing that he favored her as much as he did. Still, life often puts us into situations we don't enjoy but have to endure. Leah was never given a chance to find a man who loved her and had to live a life unloved by a counterpart. Yes, a lot of people go through life without finding a counterpart but it's not easy when we were made to have counterparts. The Lord said it's not good for man to be alone.
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him
It's not good to be alone. Yet, Paul says this...
1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
Which was alone, unmarried.
That wasn't a commandment, but a suggestion rather. It's easier to worship God with a whole heart if you're not worried by a loved one's walk with Christ.
No matter which situation we are called to, the bottom line is to live for God no matter what walk we are called to undertake. Are you caught up in a marriage where you are like Leah in some respects, left feeling unloved? Are you the one loved more than another? Are you alone? Have you been left? We can get caught up in the cares of this life and that's what Satan wants to happen. Satan would have us so caught up in our lives here and now that we lose sight of God and the hope of a new life in Christ at His return. We have to determine to set our treasures in heaven. If we keep our treasures here on earth that's where our hearts are going to be. Treasures come in many shapes and sizes. Treasures can be people, animals, objects, situations. Anything that would take our minds off Christ is a danger and we have to recognize that. We can live trying to have lives that make us happy in a worldly way, but that will only always give us temporary happiness, short-lived and wanting something better, something more. We have to live for Christ and the happiness we can find in that amazing love knowing that life here and now is not what it should be for us. We are strangers here, this is not our world anymore than it was Jesus' world.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ now and forever, in His love and in His righteousness.
Amen.
Gen 29:30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years
Gen 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren
Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
Gen 29:33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
Gen 29:34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
Gen 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
Gen 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
Gen 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
Gen 30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
Gen 30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
Gen 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Gen 33:2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
Gen 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Gen 49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
Gen 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
*******
To live and not be loved enough by the one you want to be loved by is painful. Leah spent years trying to gain favor of Jacob and never did, not over that of Rachel. Rachel even sold the favors of Jacob for a night for mandrakes from one of Leah's sons. Can you even imagine? Seriously. In the end, Jacob was buried next to Leah, not Rachel. Does that mean he did love her? I've no doubt he had affection for her, but the great love he had for Rachel far surpassed that he had for Leah. What lessons do we learn from this? What lessons should we learn from this? Are we Rachel's or Leah's? No, we're not usually in marriages with two women and one man, but the point of it all. How many people are in relationships with someone and that someone ends up wanting another? We live in a society that doesn't allow for more than one wife or husband so what happens is divorce. Divorce is very prevalent. No, it's not usually the same situation as Jacob's, Rachel's and Leah's. Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, he never loved her to begin with. It was probably a good thing that he favored her as much as he did. Still, life often puts us into situations we don't enjoy but have to endure. Leah was never given a chance to find a man who loved her and had to live a life unloved by a counterpart. Yes, a lot of people go through life without finding a counterpart but it's not easy when we were made to have counterparts. The Lord said it's not good for man to be alone.
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him
It's not good to be alone. Yet, Paul says this...
1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
Which was alone, unmarried.
That wasn't a commandment, but a suggestion rather. It's easier to worship God with a whole heart if you're not worried by a loved one's walk with Christ.
No matter which situation we are called to, the bottom line is to live for God no matter what walk we are called to undertake. Are you caught up in a marriage where you are like Leah in some respects, left feeling unloved? Are you the one loved more than another? Are you alone? Have you been left? We can get caught up in the cares of this life and that's what Satan wants to happen. Satan would have us so caught up in our lives here and now that we lose sight of God and the hope of a new life in Christ at His return. We have to determine to set our treasures in heaven. If we keep our treasures here on earth that's where our hearts are going to be. Treasures come in many shapes and sizes. Treasures can be people, animals, objects, situations. Anything that would take our minds off Christ is a danger and we have to recognize that. We can live trying to have lives that make us happy in a worldly way, but that will only always give us temporary happiness, short-lived and wanting something better, something more. We have to live for Christ and the happiness we can find in that amazing love knowing that life here and now is not what it should be for us. We are strangers here, this is not our world anymore than it was Jesus' world.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ now and forever, in His love and in His righteousness.
Amen.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Throughout History
Mar 13:8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
Throughout history nations have risen against nations.
Throughout history kingdoms have risen against kingdoms.
Throughout history earthquakes have occurred in different places.
Throughout history there have been famines.
Throughout history there have been troubles.
So how do we know?
Mar 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
Again history is filled with such delivering. Even today people are delivered before courts for their faith and sentenced to death. Perhaps not in the United States and other so call free countries, but in many countries around the world people are even now being delivered to their fates before the leadership.
Mar 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
This has been done hasn't it? There isn't a remote area in our world that has been left untouched by missionaries bringing the gospel to people. No, not all will accept the gospel, the majority won't, but the gospel will be made known. Just because something is published doesn't mean it will be accepted.
We see signs as they have seen signs throughout history.
Luk 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.
Undisputed fact- Jerusalem the Holy City didn't become the capital of Israel until 1980.
Israel enshrined the status of the "complete and united" Jerusalem—west and east—as its capital, in the 1980 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel.
Source- "Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1980-07-30. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1980_1989/Basic%20Law-%20Jerusalem-%20Capital%20of%20Israel. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
Jerusalem was trodden down of the Gentiles, controlled by Gentiles for years and returned to Israel's control 'complete and united' in 1980.
1980
We were given a sign that people can't twist and in some cases rightly so by saying it's been this way throughout history. Throughout history Jerusalem wasn't in Israel's control, but rather in the Gentiles. What does this say to us all?
For the last 30 years we've been living closer to the time of Jesus' second coming than ever before.
So while the various natural disasters occur all around us and people continue to murmur about the signs of the times and others scoff, we have to remember one thing- no matter what happens that cause people to wake up to their mortality - whether it's a disaster, or just every day life- it will forever be just if we take from the tragedies of life a warning to open our eyes and hearts to the only truth in life which is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who became man and defeated sin and death, dying Himself to save us from our sins so that we might have life eternal in Him when He returns. We can find solace in Christ alone. No one welcomes tragedies, large or small, but life is filled with them. May our hearts and eyes be opened to the love of Christ, the love of God, the love of the Holy Spirit now and forever.
Amen.
Throughout history nations have risen against nations.
Throughout history kingdoms have risen against kingdoms.
Throughout history earthquakes have occurred in different places.
Throughout history there have been famines.
Throughout history there have been troubles.
So how do we know?
Mar 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
Again history is filled with such delivering. Even today people are delivered before courts for their faith and sentenced to death. Perhaps not in the United States and other so call free countries, but in many countries around the world people are even now being delivered to their fates before the leadership.
Mar 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
This has been done hasn't it? There isn't a remote area in our world that has been left untouched by missionaries bringing the gospel to people. No, not all will accept the gospel, the majority won't, but the gospel will be made known. Just because something is published doesn't mean it will be accepted.
We see signs as they have seen signs throughout history.
Luk 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.
Undisputed fact- Jerusalem the Holy City didn't become the capital of Israel until 1980.
Israel enshrined the status of the "complete and united" Jerusalem—west and east—as its capital, in the 1980 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel.
Source- "Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1980-07-30. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1980_1989/Basic%20Law-%20Jerusalem-%20Capital%20of%20Israel. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
Jerusalem was trodden down of the Gentiles, controlled by Gentiles for years and returned to Israel's control 'complete and united' in 1980.
1980
We were given a sign that people can't twist and in some cases rightly so by saying it's been this way throughout history. Throughout history Jerusalem wasn't in Israel's control, but rather in the Gentiles. What does this say to us all?
For the last 30 years we've been living closer to the time of Jesus' second coming than ever before.
So while the various natural disasters occur all around us and people continue to murmur about the signs of the times and others scoff, we have to remember one thing- no matter what happens that cause people to wake up to their mortality - whether it's a disaster, or just every day life- it will forever be just if we take from the tragedies of life a warning to open our eyes and hearts to the only truth in life which is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who became man and defeated sin and death, dying Himself to save us from our sins so that we might have life eternal in Him when He returns. We can find solace in Christ alone. No one welcomes tragedies, large or small, but life is filled with them. May our hearts and eyes be opened to the love of Christ, the love of God, the love of the Holy Spirit now and forever.
Amen.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
'He makes, we are made.'
'He makes, we are made.' The Problem of Pain - C.S. Lewis
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ('He makes')
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ('we are made.')
'He is original, we are derivative.' The Problem of Pain- C.S. Lewis
derivative (Copied or adapted from others)
Gen 1:27 '...in the image of God created he him...' Adapted from another- adapted from God's image.
'But at the same time, and for the same reason, the intimacy between God and even the meanest creature is closer than any that creatures can attain with one another.' The Problem of Pain- C.S. Lewis
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Means to me:
The intimacy of Creator and creature will forever be more intimate than any intimacy between a creature and creature. No creature knows of themselves as the creator of the creature knows them. All creators know their creations so much more intimately than any other could. The process of the creation alone brings something no one can imitate. Another could take apart an original creation and know how to put it back together but it's not the same at all as the creator in making the creation, it can't be. So while we as creatures believe we know one another because we are a creature, we even say who better to understand than one of our own kind, but I say God better understands, the Creator better understands us than we can possibly imagine. As strange as it might seem, as often as we question God's judgment and ability to understand, as often as we rail against Him accusing Him of not being able to understand us, we are fools because the Creator understands us better than we can ever understand ourselves.
God is Spirit and He made us spirit bound by flesh. The flesh part of us we understand- the baser nature we mostly understand I should say. We can empathize with each others pleasures and pains if we've felt them ourselves even minutely. The spirit within us is God's connection to us. Our Creator created within us a part He alone can fully commune with. When we turn away from God we reject the spirit. When we turn to another creature hoping they can fill that spirit need in us, they fall far short...far, far short.
Forever, as C.S. Lewis writes- 'The intimacy between God and even the meanest creature is closer than any that creatures can attain with one another.' While we foolishly keep believing we will find a completeness in a relationship with another human being it will never attain the closeness we can attain in a relationship with God. We might think for a short period in time we have that perhaps in a marriage, but we don't, not really. No other person can fully understand us as God can, none no matter how hard they try and they have tried and keep on trying. We've thousands of books on the subject, we have a whole professional field all about trying to understand each other- psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, these fields delve into the human being in various ways and ultimately it is all about trying to understand what makes us tick emotionally, mentally, socially. The quest to understand each other is something that will never end and while there isn't anything wrong with trying, it's knowing that we can never understand the way God does that matters most. It's giving our Creator His due as our Creator. He wasn't a child playing with a lump of clay who holds up the squished ball of goo and says, 'Look what I made!', and that child has no more concept of what they've really made than the person looking at it. Oh they might say it's Daddy, and believe it is in their niavity but that child doesn't even know what makes up the clay they've used to squish into a vaguely human shape. God not only knows the composition of the clay, He created the clay to use to make man. That child playing with clay didn't create the clay, he didn't even create the dirt or the water used to make the clay. God is the Creator fully, in all ways.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
We are mere children toying with clay as we try to understand all there is to understand especially in the spiritual realm of our being. We can't create spirit, even if we can take clay and form an image and as some are trying to do- give it life artificial or not. We cannot create a spirit even if we can regrow animal parts in experiments and hope to regrow human parts from stem cells and such. We cannot create a spirit even if we put a sperm cell and an egg cell together and create a growing human baby. God alone, our Creator alone has the knowledge to create us as He does and to understand us as He alone can.
What God does is tells us to love one another as we love ourselves, meaning how we would be loved by others, only then do we really love someone- loving them as we would be loved, not as we are loved by others.
God is trying to teach us an important lesson here, very important. While we will never have the closeness with each other that He can have with us if we allow, we can love-- something that is unique from God-love. We can love each other and treat each other with love even when we don't understand or even like each other. Loving someone is a unique gift we have to offer. God allows us to love under the most horrific of circumstances. If you love someone who hates you they can't stop your love. They can never stop you from loving them. They can try even through torture, but they can't force you to ever stop loving them. Some might say they can't stop you from hating them either and that is true, but hating isn't of God. Hating hurts the hater even more than the one they hate. Love never hurts the one doing the loving- and I'm not saying love doesn't hurt, but if it's a love stemming from the love of God in us, it won't hurt us even if the one we love hurts us. The song, 'Love Hurts', is true to a point. Selfish love hurts. When we lose those we love we feel the pain of their loss, but most times people would never have traded the love they had with that person even knowing the pain it will ultimately bring. Yes, we hear people say as relationships end, 'I wish I never knew you!' And yet that sort of love isn't God's love. That love is wrapped up in a self-serving way. Yes, easy for me to say all this, but it's true. We are soooooo self-centered that all that matters to us is our own pain the heck with trying to understand anything beyond our own feelings. I hurt and that's that, nothing can change that so there. Pure selfishness. I know of where I speak, I've been caught up in that same hurt hundreds of times in my life. I know the pain in myself, I've seen it in others. It's a real pain, loving someone you open yourself up to being rejected by that person whether its a friendship relationship or more. Rejection hurts a lot and why, because who ever wants to be rejected? Even Christ felt the pain of rejection, though His was beyond ours so far that it's incomprehensible. He felt the rejection of the love He had to bring to people, He sorrowed over their loss because He didn't want to lose them eternally. He sorrowed with a Creator's sorrow. Our creature sorrow is just a tiny fraction of such love. We don't want to lose those we love by rejection or any other way, it pains us, the loss, the emptiness that loss results in, in our lives. Through it all we can continue to love, or we can choose to hate. Which would God have us do? Love. Loving someone and always wishing the best for them as you would wish for yourself is truly a gift from God. May God grant us the ability to truly love as He would have us love.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Love God
Love Man
Love.
To love you must believe. You must have someone or something to believe in to love that someone or something. Does anyone love nothing? Isn't that impossible? Loving means having something to love. If you have something to love you believe that something exists. No wonder we are told this--
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Once we believe, we can love.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, all glory and honor, all praise to our Creator the maker of heaven and earth and all that is in them. Thank you Lord for Your love. Help us to love as You would have us love. Help our unbelief, increase our faith all through the Comforter You've sent to dwell with us, in us. Through Your righteousness and none of our own, now and forever in Christ Jesus.
Amen
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ('He makes')
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ('we are made.')
'He is original, we are derivative.' The Problem of Pain- C.S. Lewis
derivative (Copied or adapted from others)
Gen 1:27 '...in the image of God created he him...' Adapted from another- adapted from God's image.
'But at the same time, and for the same reason, the intimacy between God and even the meanest creature is closer than any that creatures can attain with one another.' The Problem of Pain- C.S. Lewis
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Means to me:
The intimacy of Creator and creature will forever be more intimate than any intimacy between a creature and creature. No creature knows of themselves as the creator of the creature knows them. All creators know their creations so much more intimately than any other could. The process of the creation alone brings something no one can imitate. Another could take apart an original creation and know how to put it back together but it's not the same at all as the creator in making the creation, it can't be. So while we as creatures believe we know one another because we are a creature, we even say who better to understand than one of our own kind, but I say God better understands, the Creator better understands us than we can possibly imagine. As strange as it might seem, as often as we question God's judgment and ability to understand, as often as we rail against Him accusing Him of not being able to understand us, we are fools because the Creator understands us better than we can ever understand ourselves.
God is Spirit and He made us spirit bound by flesh. The flesh part of us we understand- the baser nature we mostly understand I should say. We can empathize with each others pleasures and pains if we've felt them ourselves even minutely. The spirit within us is God's connection to us. Our Creator created within us a part He alone can fully commune with. When we turn away from God we reject the spirit. When we turn to another creature hoping they can fill that spirit need in us, they fall far short...far, far short.
Forever, as C.S. Lewis writes- 'The intimacy between God and even the meanest creature is closer than any that creatures can attain with one another.' While we foolishly keep believing we will find a completeness in a relationship with another human being it will never attain the closeness we can attain in a relationship with God. We might think for a short period in time we have that perhaps in a marriage, but we don't, not really. No other person can fully understand us as God can, none no matter how hard they try and they have tried and keep on trying. We've thousands of books on the subject, we have a whole professional field all about trying to understand each other- psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, these fields delve into the human being in various ways and ultimately it is all about trying to understand what makes us tick emotionally, mentally, socially. The quest to understand each other is something that will never end and while there isn't anything wrong with trying, it's knowing that we can never understand the way God does that matters most. It's giving our Creator His due as our Creator. He wasn't a child playing with a lump of clay who holds up the squished ball of goo and says, 'Look what I made!', and that child has no more concept of what they've really made than the person looking at it. Oh they might say it's Daddy, and believe it is in their niavity but that child doesn't even know what makes up the clay they've used to squish into a vaguely human shape. God not only knows the composition of the clay, He created the clay to use to make man. That child playing with clay didn't create the clay, he didn't even create the dirt or the water used to make the clay. God is the Creator fully, in all ways.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
We are mere children toying with clay as we try to understand all there is to understand especially in the spiritual realm of our being. We can't create spirit, even if we can take clay and form an image and as some are trying to do- give it life artificial or not. We cannot create a spirit even if we can regrow animal parts in experiments and hope to regrow human parts from stem cells and such. We cannot create a spirit even if we put a sperm cell and an egg cell together and create a growing human baby. God alone, our Creator alone has the knowledge to create us as He does and to understand us as He alone can.
What God does is tells us to love one another as we love ourselves, meaning how we would be loved by others, only then do we really love someone- loving them as we would be loved, not as we are loved by others.
God is trying to teach us an important lesson here, very important. While we will never have the closeness with each other that He can have with us if we allow, we can love-- something that is unique from God-love. We can love each other and treat each other with love even when we don't understand or even like each other. Loving someone is a unique gift we have to offer. God allows us to love under the most horrific of circumstances. If you love someone who hates you they can't stop your love. They can never stop you from loving them. They can try even through torture, but they can't force you to ever stop loving them. Some might say they can't stop you from hating them either and that is true, but hating isn't of God. Hating hurts the hater even more than the one they hate. Love never hurts the one doing the loving- and I'm not saying love doesn't hurt, but if it's a love stemming from the love of God in us, it won't hurt us even if the one we love hurts us. The song, 'Love Hurts', is true to a point. Selfish love hurts. When we lose those we love we feel the pain of their loss, but most times people would never have traded the love they had with that person even knowing the pain it will ultimately bring. Yes, we hear people say as relationships end, 'I wish I never knew you!' And yet that sort of love isn't God's love. That love is wrapped up in a self-serving way. Yes, easy for me to say all this, but it's true. We are soooooo self-centered that all that matters to us is our own pain the heck with trying to understand anything beyond our own feelings. I hurt and that's that, nothing can change that so there. Pure selfishness. I know of where I speak, I've been caught up in that same hurt hundreds of times in my life. I know the pain in myself, I've seen it in others. It's a real pain, loving someone you open yourself up to being rejected by that person whether its a friendship relationship or more. Rejection hurts a lot and why, because who ever wants to be rejected? Even Christ felt the pain of rejection, though His was beyond ours so far that it's incomprehensible. He felt the rejection of the love He had to bring to people, He sorrowed over their loss because He didn't want to lose them eternally. He sorrowed with a Creator's sorrow. Our creature sorrow is just a tiny fraction of such love. We don't want to lose those we love by rejection or any other way, it pains us, the loss, the emptiness that loss results in, in our lives. Through it all we can continue to love, or we can choose to hate. Which would God have us do? Love. Loving someone and always wishing the best for them as you would wish for yourself is truly a gift from God. May God grant us the ability to truly love as He would have us love.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Love God
Love Man
Love.
To love you must believe. You must have someone or something to believe in to love that someone or something. Does anyone love nothing? Isn't that impossible? Loving means having something to love. If you have something to love you believe that something exists. No wonder we are told this--
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Once we believe, we can love.
By the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, all glory and honor, all praise to our Creator the maker of heaven and earth and all that is in them. Thank you Lord for Your love. Help us to love as You would have us love. Help our unbelief, increase our faith all through the Comforter You've sent to dwell with us, in us. Through Your righteousness and none of our own, now and forever in Christ Jesus.
Amen
Friday, February 26, 2010
Light of Life
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
In Jesus was life.
The life was the light of men.
The light shines in darkness.
Jesus shines in darkness.
The life shines in darkness.
Darkness comprehended it not.
Darkness doesn't comprehend Jesus.
If Jesus is light, what is dark?
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil- evil = darkness.
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus is the light of life, evil is the darkness of death. Right? It stands to reason doesn't it? Jesus represents all that is pure and good and He is the light of life. Evil represents all that is bad and is the darkness of death. But hold on... I'm talking of the second death, not the first. The first death is the result of the first sin when God told Adam and Eve if they ate of the Tree of Life they would surely die. The second death is the permanent death without hope of a resurrection in Jesus. The first death is a sleep until Christ returns and the dead in Christ shall rise to life eternal in Him. Those that aren't among the dead in Christ or those alive in Christ when He returns will face the second death- death eternal and that is the evil, the darkness of death whereas Jesus is the Light of Life. All evil will be punished and the ultimate punishment is death eternal.
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Darkness brings with it the loss of sight- figuratively and spiritually. Walking in Christ we walk in the light, spiritually illuminated. We aren't spiritually blind.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Abiding in darkness, being blinded by the dark without any illumination, without any hope, unless we believe on Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we will abide in darkness and that path leads to eternal death.
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Having spiritual light we are turned from spiritual darkness, with light we are turned from the power of Satan and turned to the power of God. The light brings with it Jesus and forgiveness from our sins. By faith we believe we will inherit eternal life along with all those made holy by faith in Jesus Christ to forgive.
Rom 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.
Rom 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.
Rom 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.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Cast off the works of darkness- rioting, drunkeness, chambering, wantoness, strife, envying.
The armour of Light- the Lord Jesus Christ!
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Light shines out of darkness. Our dark hearts can be lightened with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!
2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Light and darkness do not commune together. Light overcomes darkness. Righteousness and unrighteousness do not commune together.
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light
To be illuminated is to admit being unilluminated at one time. We come out of darkness and into the light and we must walk at those in the light, not as those in the dark.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Unfruitful works of darkness. All too often we believe that the dark ways are the only ways to get much in life. It's been revealed time and time again the evil corruption among the wealthy. Jesus even said it would be easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than a rich man to get to heaven and why is that... because oftentimes the riches are so overpowering that obtaining the riches by any means is all that matters more. Treasures on earth are all that matter to a lot of people and as long as treasures on earth mean more than treasures in heaven people will covet wealth and not care what unfruitful works of darkness they must do to get that wealth. If we are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness that ultimately yield eternal death and no eternal treasure at all, we must reprove them, be against them. The light of Christ shines down upon the darkness reproving the darkness, the works of the darkness. May God help us seek fellowship in the Light of Christ and not in the works of darkness.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Not flesh and blood. Not human.
Principalities (positions of authority)
Powers (exercising authority, control)
Rulers of darkness (rules, governs)
-- of this world.
Spiritual wickedness in high places.
Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence
There is a prince of this world and it's not Jesus. The prince of this world is evil and a ruler of darkness. And truly we wrestle with the prince of this world who would have us with him in eternal death and not with Jesus and eternal life. By whatever means he can use he will use to snare us. We wrestle. It's a fight and We have to cling to all that is Christ because He has defeated the prince of this world and he only has the power to save us from the prince of this world the ruler of darkness.
*
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
Thank you Father!!! Thank you for delivering us from the power of darkness by the grace and mercy, the forgiveness in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! Thank you for giving us an inheritance with the saints in light!
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Please God, let us watch and be sober, children of the Light.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul
All praise to God, all praise to Jesus Christ! Praise God! Help us abstain from fleshly lusts which war against our souls. Keep us out of the darkness and keep us in Your marvelous light!
1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
God is light. In God there is no darkness at all!
1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Please God keep us in the light, keep us loving our brothers so we can abide in the light forever! We don't want to stumble in the darkness, we don't want to be blinded so that we don't even know we are walking in the dark. Please Lord, the Light of Life, be with us always! By Your amazing mercy, by your amazing grace, in Your love, Your righteousness, keep us in You light always!
Amen.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
In Jesus was life.
The life was the light of men.
The light shines in darkness.
Jesus shines in darkness.
The life shines in darkness.
Darkness comprehended it not.
Darkness doesn't comprehend Jesus.
If Jesus is light, what is dark?
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil- evil = darkness.
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus is the light of life, evil is the darkness of death. Right? It stands to reason doesn't it? Jesus represents all that is pure and good and He is the light of life. Evil represents all that is bad and is the darkness of death. But hold on... I'm talking of the second death, not the first. The first death is the result of the first sin when God told Adam and Eve if they ate of the Tree of Life they would surely die. The second death is the permanent death without hope of a resurrection in Jesus. The first death is a sleep until Christ returns and the dead in Christ shall rise to life eternal in Him. Those that aren't among the dead in Christ or those alive in Christ when He returns will face the second death- death eternal and that is the evil, the darkness of death whereas Jesus is the Light of Life. All evil will be punished and the ultimate punishment is death eternal.
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Darkness brings with it the loss of sight- figuratively and spiritually. Walking in Christ we walk in the light, spiritually illuminated. We aren't spiritually blind.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Abiding in darkness, being blinded by the dark without any illumination, without any hope, unless we believe on Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we will abide in darkness and that path leads to eternal death.
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Having spiritual light we are turned from spiritual darkness, with light we are turned from the power of Satan and turned to the power of God. The light brings with it Jesus and forgiveness from our sins. By faith we believe we will inherit eternal life along with all those made holy by faith in Jesus Christ to forgive.
Rom 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.
Rom 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.
Rom 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.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Cast off the works of darkness- rioting, drunkeness, chambering, wantoness, strife, envying.
The armour of Light- the Lord Jesus Christ!
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Light shines out of darkness. Our dark hearts can be lightened with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!
2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Light and darkness do not commune together. Light overcomes darkness. Righteousness and unrighteousness do not commune together.
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light
To be illuminated is to admit being unilluminated at one time. We come out of darkness and into the light and we must walk at those in the light, not as those in the dark.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Unfruitful works of darkness. All too often we believe that the dark ways are the only ways to get much in life. It's been revealed time and time again the evil corruption among the wealthy. Jesus even said it would be easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than a rich man to get to heaven and why is that... because oftentimes the riches are so overpowering that obtaining the riches by any means is all that matters more. Treasures on earth are all that matter to a lot of people and as long as treasures on earth mean more than treasures in heaven people will covet wealth and not care what unfruitful works of darkness they must do to get that wealth. If we are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness that ultimately yield eternal death and no eternal treasure at all, we must reprove them, be against them. The light of Christ shines down upon the darkness reproving the darkness, the works of the darkness. May God help us seek fellowship in the Light of Christ and not in the works of darkness.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Not flesh and blood. Not human.
Principalities (positions of authority)
Powers (exercising authority, control)
Rulers of darkness (rules, governs)
-- of this world.
Spiritual wickedness in high places.
Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence
There is a prince of this world and it's not Jesus. The prince of this world is evil and a ruler of darkness. And truly we wrestle with the prince of this world who would have us with him in eternal death and not with Jesus and eternal life. By whatever means he can use he will use to snare us. We wrestle. It's a fight and We have to cling to all that is Christ because He has defeated the prince of this world and he only has the power to save us from the prince of this world the ruler of darkness.
*
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
Thank you Father!!! Thank you for delivering us from the power of darkness by the grace and mercy, the forgiveness in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! Thank you for giving us an inheritance with the saints in light!
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Please God, let us watch and be sober, children of the Light.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul
All praise to God, all praise to Jesus Christ! Praise God! Help us abstain from fleshly lusts which war against our souls. Keep us out of the darkness and keep us in Your marvelous light!
1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
God is light. In God there is no darkness at all!
1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Please God keep us in the light, keep us loving our brothers so we can abide in the light forever! We don't want to stumble in the darkness, we don't want to be blinded so that we don't even know we are walking in the dark. Please Lord, the Light of Life, be with us always! By Your amazing mercy, by your amazing grace, in Your love, Your righteousness, keep us in You light always!
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)