Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him: Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (DRB)
Joh 3:8 The Spirit breatheth where he will and thou hearest his voice: but thou knowest not whence he cometh and whither he goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. (DRB)
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by the word of God who liveth and remaineth for ever
1Jn 3:9 Whosoever is born of God committeth not sin: for his seed abideth in him. And he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1Jn 4:7 Dearly beloved, let us love one another: for charity is of God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
1Jn 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. And every one that loveth him who begot, loveth him also who is born of him
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory which overcameth the world: Our faith.
1Jn 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not: but the generation of God preserveth him and the wicked one toucheth him not.
*******
Born Again. Born of water and of the Spirit. Born of the spirit is spirit. Born of the Spirit. Born again. Born of God. Is born of God.
Birth. Most of us know what that means. New life. The birth of anything is new life coming into being, right? Some of us have experienced giving birth, others have watched a birthing, we all were at one time birthed from our own mothers. We all had our own beginnings, our new life. We were a new life created, a new life born into the world. It doesn't matter if we were wanted or not, I'm not going to say that you were a new life that was hoped for because often that's not the case. You could have been a new life abandoned to strangers, or a new life abused by unloving care givers. The only true fact for us all is that we were all once a new life, we were all at one time born and took our first breath of air, giving our first cry. Helpless at birth if left to our own devices we would die quickly. Dependent upon caregivers for many years, the first few being the most dependent- knowing that in some poor, third world countries and such that children at 3, 4, and 5 years are already out there on the streets begging food and such, if they weren't cared for in some manner for the first couple years of their lives they would have died. This is our human birth, our human new life, born of the flesh. We have no control over being born. We can't stop ourselves from being born in any way. There isn't a single thing we as the unborn can prevent being born consciously or unconciously, the only thing that could prevent us from being born is our mother, or outside forces beyond the control of our mother whether health or injury by another. We have no power over our own birthing, over becoming a new life.
How does all this relate to being born again, born of God, born of the Spirit, born of water and of the Spirit? It's a new life anything newly born is a new life. If all that was meant was a continuing of living there would be no need to be born again, to put it that way in so many instances.
Nicodemus asked the question we all would have asked- What do you mean, born again? We can't go into our mother a second time to be born.
So true. This being born again had to be an entirely different sort of birth. This new birth wouldn't be out of our control. This new birth would be an acknowledgement of a new parentage and that parentage wouldn't be from an earthly source such as we know parents. Our new parents would be God, would be the Spirit of God. When you are adopted and given new parents in the flesh, you enter into a new relationship with those new parents- it wouldn't be the same as the relationship you experienced with your old parents, foster parents, orphanage care givers as substitute parents, other guardians as parents- this would be a new relationship. When we are born again of the Spirit, born of God, we are given new parentage, a new relationship.
If left to our own without ever being born again to God through the Spirit, we never enter a new life, a new relationship with God. Is it any wonder that we MUST be born again to God in order to be counted as His? We have to as knowing adults or mature children understand that we are acknowledging the need of a new life with God as our Father. We have control over this new birth, it's not thrust upon us without our consent. No one will be able to say they were forced to be born again unto God. Sure, they could be forced to go through the motions of being born again, but unless they are of their own free will with an open mind and heart unto Jesus voluntarily accepting of the new birth it won't mean anything.
Our new birth through Christ is amazing and often times people who first enter this new life being born of the Spirit feel a certain amount of excitement. Then after the new birth and the new life continues on and we begin to grow we have to realize that this new life, with our new parentage isn't something we'll ever grow up and away from. You see we are trained in our modern world that when we grow up we move off and start our own lives- often to the neglect of our parents, and often by their encouragement. It's not a wrong thing to want our children to mature and become able to care for themselves, provide for themselves and their family they'll have as they continue with the unending way of life- procreating. However, the *ideal* family does not mean never having contact again, in fact it means a continued care of family, of children looking after older parents and so on- something that has been lost a lot to modernism. A life is a continued process of aging and maturing endlessly until death. A new life born in Christ, born of God, born of the Spirit must be a life that is nurtured endlessly until death. The newness might wear off, but the way of the new life in Christ is outlined for us.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
A mature human beings of the flesh we have daily needs. A maturing spiritual beings in Christ we have daily needs. We tend to forget this because as fleshy beings the pangs in our belly tells us of our need for food, and the dry mouth tells us we thirst. Spiritually it is a lot easier to ignore the pangs of hunger for the Word of God. We haven't been taught to recognize that sort of hunger, but rather taught to explain it away.
A new life in Christ is necessary for us all, and a continuing maturing life in Christ is essential if we are to keep the spiritual life alive. A spiritual life can die just as a fleshly life can die. And just as we can become ill in the flesh, we can become ill in the Spirit.
May God grant us all recognition of our spiritual hunger and thrist that can only be sated in Him through the love and grace, the mercy of Jesus Christ. May we learn to feed our Spiritual self and nuture it in Christ through the Spirit so that we don't become Spiritually ill. Please Lord, bless and keep us now and forever in You, in a real, living-breathing relationship not by our worthiness, but by the worthiness of Your Son who died for us.
Amen.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
No Night There...
Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
The Holy City Jerusalem- the heavenly Holy City descending down to earth, what a marvelous sight, what a marvelous city! And there we are, the redeemed after a thousand years in heaven returning to earth in such grandeur. There is no night there- no need of a candle, or even....get this...no need of the sun light! Now we can understand on some level that okay, we'll have permanent day perhaps and that means permanent sunlight to us in one respect yet we are told here that we won't need sunlight. No night, no candle, no sunlight- the Lord God will give us light.
No, we won't be wandering about with infrared vision such as we imagine it- we will have the light given to us by God and that's all the light we'll need in this new existence on earth in that Holy City that has no night.
Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Lord God giveth them light.
The light is Christ! The Lamb of God! We are given this light even here on earth we don't have to dwell in darkness in a figurative sense. We can be filled with the Light of Christ's love and forgiveness and it doesn't matter what our circumstances are at all whatsoever.
Easy to say when things are going smooth, but who has a life like that? I don't know anyone that doesn't struggle in one way or another, or have worries that can consume them if they let them.
Christ told us this...
Luk 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
We have to be careful that we don't let our worries overcharge our hearts. Satan might not get us with drunkeness or surfeiting
(sur·feit·ed, sur·feit·ing, sur·feits verb, transitive to feed or supply to excess, satiety, or disgust.)
...but many times our hearts are overcharged with the cares of life aren't they? We get wrapped up in the life we have here and now to the exclusion of God and the life everlasting that awaits us.
Having the light of Jesus' love in us now is as essential as it will be to have the light of the Lamb illuminating us in the New Jerusalem, the Holy City come down from Heaven.
May God remind us often as the cares of this life overwhelm us that all these cares are temporary even if they have effects that result in death or destitution here on earth now. We must live for Christ and that living is focused on laying up treasures in heaven and trusting in God completely- not for an easy life, but for a life that will allow us to live for Him no matter what.
By the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever, all glory, praise, and honor to Him!
Amen.
The Holy City Jerusalem- the heavenly Holy City descending down to earth, what a marvelous sight, what a marvelous city! And there we are, the redeemed after a thousand years in heaven returning to earth in such grandeur. There is no night there- no need of a candle, or even....get this...no need of the sun light! Now we can understand on some level that okay, we'll have permanent day perhaps and that means permanent sunlight to us in one respect yet we are told here that we won't need sunlight. No night, no candle, no sunlight- the Lord God will give us light.
No, we won't be wandering about with infrared vision such as we imagine it- we will have the light given to us by God and that's all the light we'll need in this new existence on earth in that Holy City that has no night.
Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Lord God giveth them light.
The light is Christ! The Lamb of God! We are given this light even here on earth we don't have to dwell in darkness in a figurative sense. We can be filled with the Light of Christ's love and forgiveness and it doesn't matter what our circumstances are at all whatsoever.
Easy to say when things are going smooth, but who has a life like that? I don't know anyone that doesn't struggle in one way or another, or have worries that can consume them if they let them.
Christ told us this...
Luk 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
We have to be careful that we don't let our worries overcharge our hearts. Satan might not get us with drunkeness or surfeiting
(sur·feit·ed, sur·feit·ing, sur·feits verb, transitive to feed or supply to excess, satiety, or disgust.)
...but many times our hearts are overcharged with the cares of life aren't they? We get wrapped up in the life we have here and now to the exclusion of God and the life everlasting that awaits us.
Having the light of Jesus' love in us now is as essential as it will be to have the light of the Lamb illuminating us in the New Jerusalem, the Holy City come down from Heaven.
May God remind us often as the cares of this life overwhelm us that all these cares are temporary even if they have effects that result in death or destitution here on earth now. We must live for Christ and that living is focused on laying up treasures in heaven and trusting in God completely- not for an easy life, but for a life that will allow us to live for Him no matter what.
By the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever, all glory, praise, and honor to Him!
Amen.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
No More Curse
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse...
The curse-
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse...
Pro 3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse...
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
Life without being cursed, we don't know what that is like at all whatsoever. Only Adam and Eve would have that memory and they are long dead. We've lived under the curse brought on by sinning- disobeying God- and we can only imagine what life would be like without sin. Jesus lived without sinning surrounded and fully tempted to sin by all the depravity Satan could throw His way. Jesus overcame by the will of God and died to offer us His grace so that we too might one day know what it will be like to live without sin, without the curse hanging over us.
What hope there is to be found in that truth, the truth of God's pure love knowing that one day there will be no more curse.
May God bless and keep us always in Him by His unending all loving mercy in Christ our Savior and Lord forever.
Amen.
The curse-
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse...
Pro 3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse...
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
Life without being cursed, we don't know what that is like at all whatsoever. Only Adam and Eve would have that memory and they are long dead. We've lived under the curse brought on by sinning- disobeying God- and we can only imagine what life would be like without sin. Jesus lived without sinning surrounded and fully tempted to sin by all the depravity Satan could throw His way. Jesus overcame by the will of God and died to offer us His grace so that we too might one day know what it will be like to live without sin, without the curse hanging over us.
What hope there is to be found in that truth, the truth of God's pure love knowing that one day there will be no more curse.
May God bless and keep us always in Him by His unending all loving mercy in Christ our Savior and Lord forever.
Amen.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Written in the Lamb's Book of Life
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
*
a·bom·i·na·tion (e-bòm´e-nâ¹shen) noun
1. Abhorrence; disgust.
2. A cause of abhorrence or disgust.
*
ab·hor·rence (àb-hôr¹ens, -hòr¹-) noun
1. One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent.
2. A feeling of repugnance or loathing.
Working something disgusting, something loathsome, repellent... repugnant. What's more loathsome than sin?
Sin...
Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.
Working abomination, defiling -
1. To make filthy or dirty; pollute: defile a river with sewage.
2. To debase the pureness or excellence of; corrupt: a country landscape that was defiled by urban sprawl.
3. To profane or sully (a good name, for example).
4. To make unclean or unfit for ceremonial use; desecrate: defile a temple.
5. To violate the chastity of.
Lying-
1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.
ANYTHING that defiles, works abomination, or lies will not enter God's Holy City.
We tend to immediately shake our heads and say no way, we wouldn't defile anything, we wouldn't work any abominations, and we wouldn't lie. We're not among the evil. These are all good things, realizing that we're not those who will be kept out of God's glorious Holy City. There is one more prerequisite though, our name has to be written in the book of life.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We are told when we are born again we will see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
When we are born again it's logical to assume we are written into the Lamb's Book of Life. No, this isn't advocating 'once saved always saved' because you can have your name taken out of the Book of Life.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Our names can be blotted out.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ may we have our names written in the Book of Life and never blotted out. By His righteousness, by His love may we find life everlasting.
Amen.
*
a·bom·i·na·tion (e-bòm´e-nâ¹shen) noun
1. Abhorrence; disgust.
2. A cause of abhorrence or disgust.
*
ab·hor·rence (àb-hôr¹ens, -hòr¹-) noun
1. One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent.
2. A feeling of repugnance or loathing.
Working something disgusting, something loathsome, repellent... repugnant. What's more loathsome than sin?
Sin...
Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.
Working abomination, defiling -
1. To make filthy or dirty; pollute: defile a river with sewage.
2. To debase the pureness or excellence of; corrupt: a country landscape that was defiled by urban sprawl.
3. To profane or sully (a good name, for example).
4. To make unclean or unfit for ceremonial use; desecrate: defile a temple.
5. To violate the chastity of.
Lying-
1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.
ANYTHING that defiles, works abomination, or lies will not enter God's Holy City.
We tend to immediately shake our heads and say no way, we wouldn't defile anything, we wouldn't work any abominations, and we wouldn't lie. We're not among the evil. These are all good things, realizing that we're not those who will be kept out of God's glorious Holy City. There is one more prerequisite though, our name has to be written in the book of life.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We are told when we are born again we will see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
When we are born again it's logical to assume we are written into the Lamb's Book of Life. No, this isn't advocating 'once saved always saved' because you can have your name taken out of the Book of Life.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Our names can be blotted out.
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ may we have our names written in the Book of Life and never blotted out. By His righteousness, by His love may we find life everlasting.
Amen.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Victory...Even Our Faith
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Believe.
God is love, this is true and we are told that the greatest thing is love. Without love having faith would mean nothing. It's because love exists in God that we can have faith in Him, believe in that love, the all consuming, all meaningful love that brings life everlasting.
Believing means nothing in and of itself, it's the belief in love- in God that matters.
If we ever hope to overcome life and all its agonies great and small, all its imperfections, all its sin induced pain it's not through anything of this world we overcome with- but through God. We have to be born of God and hope in the overcoming that is fully realized in the inheritance that awaits us in Christ. We need to be God's and we can be God's through belief in His love manifested in His Gift to the world, His Son Jesus Christ.
If we choose not to believe in the love of God and accept His Gift- we are condemned. You don't have to be a worldly evil person to be evil in God's eyes. You could be sweet and never harm a fly and still reject the Son of God, the love of God. You could be an amazing atheist someone who is outstanding and peaceful in all ways and yet without the belief in God, in His Son, it means nothing. If you have this wonderful life and attribute it to just being good in and of yourself you are claiming you have no Creator deserving of your love, you have no redeemer deserving of your love. Men love darkness because their deeds are evil. The light does away with the darkness and men who want darkness can't abide the light. Embracing the Light means illuminating the evil in us which reveals our need for a Savior. We need God and Satan would have us believe we have no need of God that we can live well enough in our temporary lives without God. Darkness and light war with each other and the Light will forever and ultimately expel the darkness.
By the grace and mercy of God may we be found welcoming the Light into our lives revealing the darkness, the evils within us, and by that grace and mercy may we find salvation and inherit all that entails in Christ, the fulness of His love forever in us.
Amen.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Believe.
God is love, this is true and we are told that the greatest thing is love. Without love having faith would mean nothing. It's because love exists in God that we can have faith in Him, believe in that love, the all consuming, all meaningful love that brings life everlasting.
Believing means nothing in and of itself, it's the belief in love- in God that matters.
If we ever hope to overcome life and all its agonies great and small, all its imperfections, all its sin induced pain it's not through anything of this world we overcome with- but through God. We have to be born of God and hope in the overcoming that is fully realized in the inheritance that awaits us in Christ. We need to be God's and we can be God's through belief in His love manifested in His Gift to the world, His Son Jesus Christ.
If we choose not to believe in the love of God and accept His Gift- we are condemned. You don't have to be a worldly evil person to be evil in God's eyes. You could be sweet and never harm a fly and still reject the Son of God, the love of God. You could be an amazing atheist someone who is outstanding and peaceful in all ways and yet without the belief in God, in His Son, it means nothing. If you have this wonderful life and attribute it to just being good in and of yourself you are claiming you have no Creator deserving of your love, you have no redeemer deserving of your love. Men love darkness because their deeds are evil. The light does away with the darkness and men who want darkness can't abide the light. Embracing the Light means illuminating the evil in us which reveals our need for a Savior. We need God and Satan would have us believe we have no need of God that we can live well enough in our temporary lives without God. Darkness and light war with each other and the Light will forever and ultimately expel the darkness.
By the grace and mercy of God may we be found welcoming the Light into our lives revealing the darkness, the evils within us, and by that grace and mercy may we find salvation and inherit all that entails in Christ, the fulness of His love forever in us.
Amen.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Blessed are they which are....
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Granted to be arrayed in fine linen- a bride, what bride doesn't want to be arrayed in fine linen? A fine gown, a bridal gown the fancier the better right? In most cases a bride with a traditional wedding ceremony puts great store in finding the perfect wedding gown. All eyes feast upon the bride's gown, she's the crowning jewel in the wedding- prepared for the groom.
Read this excerpt from a web page -
'The bride and bridegroom would be elaborately clothed. They would act and be treated like a king and a queen, even being adorned with crowns.
Song of Solomon. 3:11--- "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and gaze on King Solomon with the crown with which his mother has crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of his gladness of heart."
Isaiah 61:10---For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Jeremiah 2:32--- "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?"
The bride imagery in Ezekiel is also indicative of the preparation and adornment of the bride:
Ezekiel 16:8-14--- "Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord GOD. "Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with embroidered cloth, and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord GOD.
(KJV- Eze 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
Eze 16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Eze 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
Eze 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD)
(From- http://ldolphin.org/risk/ult.shtml)
The clothing we need for our bridal attire is Christ's Righteousness.
'...for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.'
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
We can't rely on our own clothing. There isn't a single piece of clothing we can ever manufacture and wear that is pure.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away
We can't rely on our own righteousness- we have NONE.
We have to have total dependence upon Christ's righteousness so we can be clothed in fine linen- His bride when He returns for us.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ may we claim the righteousness of Christ's as our clothing, stripping off our filthy rags and letting Him clothe us in His fine linen, a bride ready for Him.
Amen.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Granted to be arrayed in fine linen- a bride, what bride doesn't want to be arrayed in fine linen? A fine gown, a bridal gown the fancier the better right? In most cases a bride with a traditional wedding ceremony puts great store in finding the perfect wedding gown. All eyes feast upon the bride's gown, she's the crowning jewel in the wedding- prepared for the groom.
Read this excerpt from a web page -
'The bride and bridegroom would be elaborately clothed. They would act and be treated like a king and a queen, even being adorned with crowns.
Song of Solomon. 3:11--- "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and gaze on King Solomon with the crown with which his mother has crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of his gladness of heart."
Isaiah 61:10---For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Jeremiah 2:32--- "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?"
The bride imagery in Ezekiel is also indicative of the preparation and adornment of the bride:
Ezekiel 16:8-14--- "Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord GOD. "Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with embroidered cloth, and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace around your neck. I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord GOD.
(KJV- Eze 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
Eze 16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Eze 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
Eze 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD)
(From- http://ldolphin.org/risk/ult.shtml)
The clothing we need for our bridal attire is Christ's Righteousness.
'...for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.'
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
We can't rely on our own clothing. There isn't a single piece of clothing we can ever manufacture and wear that is pure.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away
We can't rely on our own righteousness- we have NONE.
We have to have total dependence upon Christ's righteousness so we can be clothed in fine linen- His bride when He returns for us.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ may we claim the righteousness of Christ's as our clothing, stripping off our filthy rags and letting Him clothe us in His fine linen, a bride ready for Him.
Amen.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Come Out of Sinning
Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
*******
Babylon (bàb´e-len, -lòn´) noun
1. A city or place of great luxury, sensuality, and often vice and corruption.
*
In John's day Babylon as a wild city was long gone. The memory of it's abhorrent behavior lived on as part of the history of the Jewish people. The Jewish people had at one point in their past, 500 or so BC been taken captive by the King of Babylon. In their history they knew this and that includes John.
The imagery provoked by Babylon is one of corruption, one of being the anti-God. Babylon even in our dictionary has this to say-
A city or place of great luxury, sensuality, and often vice and corruption.
When John was given his vision of hearing an angel saying- Babylon the great is fallen is fallen is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every four spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk the wine of the wrath of her fornication; John knew that Babylon history as did all Jews. John also knew this is a future vision- future to the end of days and Babylon is no longer in existence as a super powerful sin-city. There are a lot of various suppositions and just looking at this without pulling in all those theories isn't ANYTHING that takes us into sin figurative of living in Babylon? Living a life of sin and following any that promote that sinning way creates the need for us to come out of Babylon- come out of the sinning ways. I'm not trying to belittle the deeper meanings of the prophecy at all- but it needs to be said that if you are caught up in sin you need to come out of that sin and God wants us out of the sinning ways so we do find forgiveness with Christ Jesus and aren't overcome by the plagues.
We are ordered to come out of Babylon...come out, that's an action that needs to be taken and we are all called to do so. If we choose to keep on sinning and living in a life surrounded by purposeful sin we are guilty of not heeding the warning to come out and not partake of the sins. We can then expect the plagues, the punishment of God to fall upon us. Not something pleasant to look forward to and NO sin pleasure now, no matter what it is will ever be worth the end result. The price paid for choosing self-indulgence over choosing to love God will be something none will want to pay yet it's not a reality to people. Just as in history the prophecies weren't reality until they came to pass and today people have been lulled into a deep sleep unwilling to wake to see that Biblical prophecies have proven true throughtout our history. It's the past, it's ancient history and therefore nothing we should bother over. Wrong. The prophecies go all the way until the end of days when Jesus returns and ultimately when all the sinners are destroyed and sin completely wiped away. We've not come to that day- we are still living in the days of unfulfilled prophecies and we have to ask ourselves a question- if prophecies of old have come to pass, what will stop the prophecies of the future from coming to pass?
The answer... nothing. Nothing can stop it and it's up to us to decide where we wish to be found in when that prophecy comes to pass.
May God help us all to come out of Babylon, come out of our sinning ways and cling to Him asking for our Savior to save us by His merciful grace and overwhelming love.
Amen.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
*******
Babylon (bàb´e-len, -lòn´) noun
1. A city or place of great luxury, sensuality, and often vice and corruption.
*
In John's day Babylon as a wild city was long gone. The memory of it's abhorrent behavior lived on as part of the history of the Jewish people. The Jewish people had at one point in their past, 500 or so BC been taken captive by the King of Babylon. In their history they knew this and that includes John.
The imagery provoked by Babylon is one of corruption, one of being the anti-God. Babylon even in our dictionary has this to say-
A city or place of great luxury, sensuality, and often vice and corruption.
When John was given his vision of hearing an angel saying- Babylon the great is fallen is fallen is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every four spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk the wine of the wrath of her fornication; John knew that Babylon history as did all Jews. John also knew this is a future vision- future to the end of days and Babylon is no longer in existence as a super powerful sin-city. There are a lot of various suppositions and just looking at this without pulling in all those theories isn't ANYTHING that takes us into sin figurative of living in Babylon? Living a life of sin and following any that promote that sinning way creates the need for us to come out of Babylon- come out of the sinning ways. I'm not trying to belittle the deeper meanings of the prophecy at all- but it needs to be said that if you are caught up in sin you need to come out of that sin and God wants us out of the sinning ways so we do find forgiveness with Christ Jesus and aren't overcome by the plagues.
We are ordered to come out of Babylon...come out, that's an action that needs to be taken and we are all called to do so. If we choose to keep on sinning and living in a life surrounded by purposeful sin we are guilty of not heeding the warning to come out and not partake of the sins. We can then expect the plagues, the punishment of God to fall upon us. Not something pleasant to look forward to and NO sin pleasure now, no matter what it is will ever be worth the end result. The price paid for choosing self-indulgence over choosing to love God will be something none will want to pay yet it's not a reality to people. Just as in history the prophecies weren't reality until they came to pass and today people have been lulled into a deep sleep unwilling to wake to see that Biblical prophecies have proven true throughtout our history. It's the past, it's ancient history and therefore nothing we should bother over. Wrong. The prophecies go all the way until the end of days when Jesus returns and ultimately when all the sinners are destroyed and sin completely wiped away. We've not come to that day- we are still living in the days of unfulfilled prophecies and we have to ask ourselves a question- if prophecies of old have come to pass, what will stop the prophecies of the future from coming to pass?
The answer... nothing. Nothing can stop it and it's up to us to decide where we wish to be found in when that prophecy comes to pass.
May God help us all to come out of Babylon, come out of our sinning ways and cling to Him asking for our Savior to save us by His merciful grace and overwhelming love.
Amen.
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