Psa 133:1 ...Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psa 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
Psa 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Is it disagreeable to be meek?
Is it disagreeable to be longsuffering, to be forbearing?
Many would argue that meekness, longsuffering, and forbearing are undesireable traits because in our society the meek get trampled on, the longsuffering are taken advantage of, the forbearing are fools. God knows that the the world views His ways of love as being subservient and subservience as being some how degrading and lessening the value of a person. Servants are considered lower class, servants are to be ignored and put in their place by those who are above them- this is how society views servants and some would say they do so instinctively but there is nothing instinctive about treating a fellow human being as someone contemptible. In our society women in the role of serving their husbands is considered wrong. Letting a husband rule over the wife is considered old fashioned and unfair.
Meekness
Longsuffering
Forbearing
These are all the things Jesus was and that Jesus wants for His followers. It is by following the example of our Savior that there can be a unity of peace. It's not a bad thing at all to be meek or to suffer long and forbear all things, it's really, really not. We need to believe this and by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit live our lives as Jesus did not caring what man may think of our ways, as long as they are the ways of our Lord.
Amen.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Night is Far Spent
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.
Put on the armor of light.
The night is far spent....
The day is at hand...
Cast off the works of darkness...
Works of darkness- rioting, drunkeness, wantoness, strife, envying, lusts of the flesh. We know what the works of darkness are and if we know what the works of darkness are then we know what the armor of light is. The armor of light is what we are left with when we are no longer consumed by the works of darkness. When you're caught up in drunkeness you're not dealing with reality you're escaping from life. When you're embracing rioting you've lost patience and violence is what you're condoning. Covered in strife, in envying, letting your base desires overcome any maturity you may possess, you are not covered in the armor of light. We need to live without the angst, without the darkness ruling us. There are movies and books without number pitting evil against good and it's anyone's guess any more which win. So many revel in the thought of evil sneakily winning even when it appears good may have conquered...that last bit where you question whether good really wins is the surprise ending. Evil against good and sometimes promoting evil- making it appear good- is a big thing as well. Disguising evil under a cloak of goodness is so popular. Things aren't that bad, evil isn't that bad, we make excuses for evil. Do we cast off the works of darkness? Do we cast off the works of evil? Do we know what evil is any longer? We're so busy turning evil into good, or disguising it and pretending the armor we wear is of light that we don't realize how much darkness we are covered in.
Let us walk honestly.
Put on the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
May God help us really see ourselves for what we are. May the Holy Spirit convict us of the darkness in our lives so that we may know to cast it off with His help and may the armor of light be upon us fully- May we have Christ our Lord and Savior in us now and forever! Please Lord let us recognize the evil we've disguised as light for what it really is, we want to be found in Your light by Your mercy and Your grace, through Your love!
Amen.
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.
Put on the armor of light.
The night is far spent....
The day is at hand...
Cast off the works of darkness...
Works of darkness- rioting, drunkeness, wantoness, strife, envying, lusts of the flesh. We know what the works of darkness are and if we know what the works of darkness are then we know what the armor of light is. The armor of light is what we are left with when we are no longer consumed by the works of darkness. When you're caught up in drunkeness you're not dealing with reality you're escaping from life. When you're embracing rioting you've lost patience and violence is what you're condoning. Covered in strife, in envying, letting your base desires overcome any maturity you may possess, you are not covered in the armor of light. We need to live without the angst, without the darkness ruling us. There are movies and books without number pitting evil against good and it's anyone's guess any more which win. So many revel in the thought of evil sneakily winning even when it appears good may have conquered...that last bit where you question whether good really wins is the surprise ending. Evil against good and sometimes promoting evil- making it appear good- is a big thing as well. Disguising evil under a cloak of goodness is so popular. Things aren't that bad, evil isn't that bad, we make excuses for evil. Do we cast off the works of darkness? Do we cast off the works of evil? Do we know what evil is any longer? We're so busy turning evil into good, or disguising it and pretending the armor we wear is of light that we don't realize how much darkness we are covered in.
Let us walk honestly.
Put on the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
May God help us really see ourselves for what we are. May the Holy Spirit convict us of the darkness in our lives so that we may know to cast it off with His help and may the armor of light be upon us fully- May we have Christ our Lord and Savior in us now and forever! Please Lord let us recognize the evil we've disguised as light for what it really is, we want to be found in Your light by Your mercy and Your grace, through Your love!
Amen.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
For David is not ascended into the heavens
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Act 2:35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
'The LORD said unto my Lord'
Who was to sit at God's right hand?
Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God
Act 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens
David, King David, David who had been dead for many, many, many years was NOT IN HEAVEN according to this verse. Yet people insist upon believing the dead go directly to heaven. Some argue well...since Jesus died people go to heaven right when they died. Those people are wrong. Jesus was dead and risen when this verse was spoken. 'David is not ascended into the heavens.'
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Dead and buried, not risen. Yet Christ a descendant of David's did die and was raised from the grave. Christ's flesh saw no corruption. David prophesized of Christ. David foresaw that One would come who would sit at the right hand of God. Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our Messiah was to sit at the right hand of God in heaven.
The Scriptures do not support immediate transition from death to life, if it did the fact Jesus rose from the dead would be so much more less powerful. If all people transition immediately as their breath of life is taken and their heart stops beating the fact that our Lord did the same only waited a few days to have His physical form raised with Him is the important factor here. Conquering death and keeping His physical form is that really what His sacrifice was for? So we could keep our physical forms after death? Think about it. If a transition from death to life is automatic then having the forgiveness of our Lord, accepting a new life in our Savior just makes us assured of a quick and easy transition straight from death to spirit life in Christ. But wait... for thousands of years before Christ people died, their breaths returned to God who gave it, and they look forward to the coming Messiah but Christ hadn't come yet, Christ hadn't lived in the flesh of a man and died, only to raise up in that uncorrupted flesh after death. David, a beloved of God...
1Ki 2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
David, a beloved of God slept with his fathers.
Death is a sleep not instantaneous transitioning from life to new life as a knowledgable spirit form flying about to heaven. It's important to realize this on many levels because Satan would diminish Christ and His amazing sacrifice, His miraculous life after death, in any way He can. By believing their is instant life after death we believe Satan's first lie to Eve... 'thou shalt not surely die'. We need to believe that when we die, when our loved ones die, we are all sleeping in death and the next thing we will know will be our resurrection to new life in Christ- our bodies will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible in a twinkling of an eye as we are raised from death to meet Christ in the air. This is new life in Christ, not some disembodied spirit knowing all that takes place. We will be raised as Christ was raised, we will be raised by Christ at His triumphant return to once and for all do away with death's sleeping hold over those that are His.
Some argue that Christ told the thief on the cross he'd be with him in heaven that day... well, Christ wasn't in heaven that day was He? He was in the grave in death's sleep. Christ did tell the thief THAT day, that he would be in heaven with Him. Just like I could tell you today that I'll be in heaven with Christ- does it mean that I'll be there right then, that day, or is the fact I'm telling you 'today' the point, not the fact that today I'll be there. A simple comma can change the meaning of a group of words so much.
Satan will stop at nothing to deceive people and this is one of his greatest deceptions- immediate life upon death. He uses it all the time to deceive the most loving people into believe their loved ones can talk with them, communicate with them in some way. Harmless you have been led to believe, but it's far from harmless to be deceived.
The people that hear Christ say to them- 'I never knew you, depart from me'
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
The people that hear those words from Christ will be shocked because they've been deceived into believing they really are following Christ, that they are doing the will of the Father, but it's not the will of the Father to follow deception- to close our hearts and minds to truth so that we may comfort ourselves in false beliefs holding fast to them because they are familair to us and the thought of giving them up appalls us. People want to believe it's harmless to hold fast to beliefs because God knows and understands. What God knows and understands is that those who truly love Him will walk in His truths and not cling to cherished fantasies, traditions of lies, allowing themselves to however sincerely be deceived by Satan. Once light shines upon a path we are accountable to walk in that light not turn it off and pretend we never saw light there. Satan has many great deceptions and he'll use them in every way he can to deceive as many as he can especially as His time grows shorter and shorter. May our prayer be that God opens our hearts and minds to ALL truth and that we through the power of the Holy Spirit accept that truth and walk in that truth no matter how difficult it may be.
By the grace!
By the mercy!
By the LOVE of our Savior!
In HIS righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
Act 2:35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
'The LORD said unto my Lord'
Who was to sit at God's right hand?
Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God
Act 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens
David, King David, David who had been dead for many, many, many years was NOT IN HEAVEN according to this verse. Yet people insist upon believing the dead go directly to heaven. Some argue well...since Jesus died people go to heaven right when they died. Those people are wrong. Jesus was dead and risen when this verse was spoken. 'David is not ascended into the heavens.'
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Dead and buried, not risen. Yet Christ a descendant of David's did die and was raised from the grave. Christ's flesh saw no corruption. David prophesized of Christ. David foresaw that One would come who would sit at the right hand of God. Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our Messiah was to sit at the right hand of God in heaven.
The Scriptures do not support immediate transition from death to life, if it did the fact Jesus rose from the dead would be so much more less powerful. If all people transition immediately as their breath of life is taken and their heart stops beating the fact that our Lord did the same only waited a few days to have His physical form raised with Him is the important factor here. Conquering death and keeping His physical form is that really what His sacrifice was for? So we could keep our physical forms after death? Think about it. If a transition from death to life is automatic then having the forgiveness of our Lord, accepting a new life in our Savior just makes us assured of a quick and easy transition straight from death to spirit life in Christ. But wait... for thousands of years before Christ people died, their breaths returned to God who gave it, and they look forward to the coming Messiah but Christ hadn't come yet, Christ hadn't lived in the flesh of a man and died, only to raise up in that uncorrupted flesh after death. David, a beloved of God...
1Ki 2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
David, a beloved of God slept with his fathers.
Death is a sleep not instantaneous transitioning from life to new life as a knowledgable spirit form flying about to heaven. It's important to realize this on many levels because Satan would diminish Christ and His amazing sacrifice, His miraculous life after death, in any way He can. By believing their is instant life after death we believe Satan's first lie to Eve... 'thou shalt not surely die'. We need to believe that when we die, when our loved ones die, we are all sleeping in death and the next thing we will know will be our resurrection to new life in Christ- our bodies will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible in a twinkling of an eye as we are raised from death to meet Christ in the air. This is new life in Christ, not some disembodied spirit knowing all that takes place. We will be raised as Christ was raised, we will be raised by Christ at His triumphant return to once and for all do away with death's sleeping hold over those that are His.
Some argue that Christ told the thief on the cross he'd be with him in heaven that day... well, Christ wasn't in heaven that day was He? He was in the grave in death's sleep. Christ did tell the thief THAT day, that he would be in heaven with Him. Just like I could tell you today that I'll be in heaven with Christ- does it mean that I'll be there right then, that day, or is the fact I'm telling you 'today' the point, not the fact that today I'll be there. A simple comma can change the meaning of a group of words so much.
Satan will stop at nothing to deceive people and this is one of his greatest deceptions- immediate life upon death. He uses it all the time to deceive the most loving people into believe their loved ones can talk with them, communicate with them in some way. Harmless you have been led to believe, but it's far from harmless to be deceived.
The people that hear Christ say to them- 'I never knew you, depart from me'
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
The people that hear those words from Christ will be shocked because they've been deceived into believing they really are following Christ, that they are doing the will of the Father, but it's not the will of the Father to follow deception- to close our hearts and minds to truth so that we may comfort ourselves in false beliefs holding fast to them because they are familair to us and the thought of giving them up appalls us. People want to believe it's harmless to hold fast to beliefs because God knows and understands. What God knows and understands is that those who truly love Him will walk in His truths and not cling to cherished fantasies, traditions of lies, allowing themselves to however sincerely be deceived by Satan. Once light shines upon a path we are accountable to walk in that light not turn it off and pretend we never saw light there. Satan has many great deceptions and he'll use them in every way he can to deceive as many as he can especially as His time grows shorter and shorter. May our prayer be that God opens our hearts and minds to ALL truth and that we through the power of the Holy Spirit accept that truth and walk in that truth no matter how difficult it may be.
By the grace!
By the mercy!
By the LOVE of our Savior!
In HIS righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psa 130:1 'Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
Psa 130:2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Psa 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psa 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
Psa 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Psa 130:6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.'
No one could stand if our sins were marked by the Lord and never forgiven...no one could stand, not a single person who lives or ever lived. Yes, God has His beloved, His chosen yet even they would not be able to stand if the Lord did not forgive their sins. The chosen of God didn't have a free pass over life's temptations. Putting the chosen on pedestals isn't what God would want. God wants us to understand that He is a forgiving God, a loving God, a God that is exacting in that He will never condone sin, but He will forgive our weakness, our failings, our sins. God wants us to trust Him, not to trust in ourselves. God wants us to acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives, as our Creator, our Redeemer. Every breath we breathe is because God allows us to do so. We are not our own. Even when we show the greatest weakness and overcome that weakness we can't claim victory- it's God's victory. God has to really live in us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Christ in us- the HOPE of glory!
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
GREATER is HE that is in you!
1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
LET that therefore abide in you--- which ye have heard from the beginning.
If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you...
ye shall continue IN THE SON and IN THE FATHER!
Phm 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
Every good thing which is IN YOU IN CHRIST JESUS!
Psa 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psa 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
There is forgiveness with God, and God will be revered for He and He alone offers forgiveness of our sins not marking them to hold them against us but forgiving us as we repent and ask for forgiveness letting the blood of Christ cover our sins and finally blotting them out altogether.
By the grace and mercy of God let us be found fully in Him and He in us as we claim His righteousness, His forgiveness, His love and don't rely on ourselves. Everything in God! All praise and honor, all glory to God now and forever!!!
Amen.
Psa 130:2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Psa 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psa 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
Psa 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Psa 130:6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.'
No one could stand if our sins were marked by the Lord and never forgiven...no one could stand, not a single person who lives or ever lived. Yes, God has His beloved, His chosen yet even they would not be able to stand if the Lord did not forgive their sins. The chosen of God didn't have a free pass over life's temptations. Putting the chosen on pedestals isn't what God would want. God wants us to understand that He is a forgiving God, a loving God, a God that is exacting in that He will never condone sin, but He will forgive our weakness, our failings, our sins. God wants us to trust Him, not to trust in ourselves. God wants us to acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives, as our Creator, our Redeemer. Every breath we breathe is because God allows us to do so. We are not our own. Even when we show the greatest weakness and overcome that weakness we can't claim victory- it's God's victory. God has to really live in us.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
Christ in us- the HOPE of glory!
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
GREATER is HE that is in you!
1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
LET that therefore abide in you--- which ye have heard from the beginning.
If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you...
ye shall continue IN THE SON and IN THE FATHER!
Phm 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
Every good thing which is IN YOU IN CHRIST JESUS!
Psa 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psa 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
There is forgiveness with God, and God will be revered for He and He alone offers forgiveness of our sins not marking them to hold them against us but forgiving us as we repent and ask for forgiveness letting the blood of Christ cover our sins and finally blotting them out altogether.
By the grace and mercy of God let us be found fully in Him and He in us as we claim His righteousness, His forgiveness, His love and don't rely on ourselves. Everything in God! All praise and honor, all glory to God now and forever!!!
Amen.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Jesus is with me always- even to the end of the world
Mat 28:20 '...and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.'
Heb 13:5 '...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'
Tonight at Bible Study we were talking about how the Word of God has been profound in our lives. Those two verses above have meaning to me in a profound way because they bring to mind the day of my Baptism by immersion. Are you painfully shy? Do you know of anyone who you'd consider painfully shy? Well I was (still am to some degree) painfully shy. The thought of being baptized in front of the entire church, entering the baptismal pool with all eyes upon me, was terrifying. I desperately wanted to be baptized but the terror was very real. The contradiction being that God should take away that fear- or what sort of Christian was I, right? What kind of faith did I have if I was going to let the terror of my shyness overwhelm me. Believe me I was all too aware of my short comings in the faith area and yet I was aware also of the fact Satan likes to assail God's people with doubt and confusion. With the war going on within I did pray and pray hard and as I was praying a still small voice whispered in my thoughts- 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I am with you always even unto the end of the world.' I immediately felt at peace and praised God. I can't say I wasn't at all nervous as the day drew on and my baptism neared but I've never forgotten that special whisper of peace, never. The words came from God's Word, from two verses in the Bible.
Jesus is with me always- even to the end of the world and He will never leave me or forsake me, never.
All praise and glory to our Lord and Savior now and forever!
Amen.
Heb 13:5 '...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'
Tonight at Bible Study we were talking about how the Word of God has been profound in our lives. Those two verses above have meaning to me in a profound way because they bring to mind the day of my Baptism by immersion. Are you painfully shy? Do you know of anyone who you'd consider painfully shy? Well I was (still am to some degree) painfully shy. The thought of being baptized in front of the entire church, entering the baptismal pool with all eyes upon me, was terrifying. I desperately wanted to be baptized but the terror was very real. The contradiction being that God should take away that fear- or what sort of Christian was I, right? What kind of faith did I have if I was going to let the terror of my shyness overwhelm me. Believe me I was all too aware of my short comings in the faith area and yet I was aware also of the fact Satan likes to assail God's people with doubt and confusion. With the war going on within I did pray and pray hard and as I was praying a still small voice whispered in my thoughts- 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I am with you always even unto the end of the world.' I immediately felt at peace and praised God. I can't say I wasn't at all nervous as the day drew on and my baptism neared but I've never forgotten that special whisper of peace, never. The words came from God's Word, from two verses in the Bible.
Jesus is with me always- even to the end of the world and He will never leave me or forsake me, never.
All praise and glory to our Lord and Savior now and forever!
Amen.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Awake to Righteousness
1Co 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not...
Awake to righteousness and sin not.
We believe we awake to righteousness and yet we sin. People like to spout they will sin always, they will never cease from sin. Is there a difference between unrighteousness and sin? Awake to righteousness and sin not. When we are awake to righteousness we are enlightened as to what is right and good. When we are awake to what is right and good we see our sins more clearly. As we see our sins we need to...sin not.
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Striving against sin.
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous
That ye sin not.
1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
This answers the earlier question about a difference between unrighteousness and sin. ALL unrighteousness IS sin.
Awake to righteousness and sin not.
If any man sin... we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We do sin but to excuse sin is not allowed. We cannot accept sin as being a normal part of life. We cannot become complacent in our sinning. We have to AWAKE to righteousness and sin not. We have to strive against sin. Jesus Christ is the only true Righteous One, our Advocate with the Father, we need to go to Him always as our Advocate even as we strive against sin- even as we continue to allow ourselves to be awakened and don't prefer the darkness. Awake we can see our unrighteousness, asleep we cannot see our sin so that we can sin not. Don't condone sin, recognize the evil it is and never forget the evil of sin. Awake to righteousness.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we AWAKE to righteousness preferring light to darkness, preferring truth to lies, preferring righteousness to unrighteousnes, preferring not sinning to sinning, all through our Savior!
Amen.
Awake to righteousness and sin not.
We believe we awake to righteousness and yet we sin. People like to spout they will sin always, they will never cease from sin. Is there a difference between unrighteousness and sin? Awake to righteousness and sin not. When we are awake to righteousness we are enlightened as to what is right and good. When we are awake to what is right and good we see our sins more clearly. As we see our sins we need to...sin not.
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Striving against sin.
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous
That ye sin not.
1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
This answers the earlier question about a difference between unrighteousness and sin. ALL unrighteousness IS sin.
Awake to righteousness and sin not.
If any man sin... we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We do sin but to excuse sin is not allowed. We cannot accept sin as being a normal part of life. We cannot become complacent in our sinning. We have to AWAKE to righteousness and sin not. We have to strive against sin. Jesus Christ is the only true Righteous One, our Advocate with the Father, we need to go to Him always as our Advocate even as we strive against sin- even as we continue to allow ourselves to be awakened and don't prefer the darkness. Awake we can see our unrighteousness, asleep we cannot see our sin so that we can sin not. Don't condone sin, recognize the evil it is and never forget the evil of sin. Awake to righteousness.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we AWAKE to righteousness preferring light to darkness, preferring truth to lies, preferring righteousness to unrighteousnes, preferring not sinning to sinning, all through our Savior!
Amen.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Last Trump
Psa 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
No memory of God in death.
No giving of thanks to God in death.
How can it be if upon dying a new life is entered upon? What sort of life would it be?
David, a beloved of God knew that in death he would not remember God, He would not think of God.
David knew that once in the grave there is no longer a chance to thank the Lord.
All communication with God ceases upon death regardless of the lies that have been told since the beginning by Satan- 'thou shalt not surely die' Gen. 3:4 The great deceiving lie and Satan has used it since that time long, long ago to keep people questioning God, to keep people in confusion about life and how it should be lived here and now. Like Eve who knew instantly that death wasn't given for biting into the fruit, people believe they have a second chance. As soon as the fruit was bitten the slow progress towards eventual death had begun in Eve even if she didn't understand.
No memory of God in death.
No giving thanks to God in death.
Death is a sleep no chance to earn salvation after death claims you for the grave.
Too many would have a person believe in chances after death- a mysterious realm where you can walk the earth invisible making things right. Or you can go somewhere and suffer until you are made right with God. Or nothing you do on earth matters and upon death you instantly go to that white light of everlasting joy and happiness.
Not true.
For every person who has had their brain deprived of oxygen and they've claimed to see a light and loved ones, there are many, many more that will attest to seeing absolutely nothing. To many people who have seemingly floated free of their bodies and listened as they were feverishly worked on to be brought back to life, the claim of many more worked on just the same has no such act of the brain in a twilight sleep of delusion.
Satan has many, many ways of deceiving us-- yes, even using our own senses to do so and telling us to rely on our senses over the true and sure word of God.
No memory of God in death.
No giving of thanks to God in death.
Death is a sleep until Christ's return and then we are called from our graves to be with Him.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The dead in Christ shall rise first.
Such comfort, such hope.
Be not deceived.
1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
1Co 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
1Co 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
1Co 15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
1Co 15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
1Co 15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
1Co 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
1Co 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
At the last trump... the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Praise the Lord! Praise our all merciful God! All thanks and glory unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever! May we be changed to incorruption when He returns, when that last trump sounds!
In the mercy and by the grace of our Savior!
Amen.
No memory of God in death.
No giving of thanks to God in death.
How can it be if upon dying a new life is entered upon? What sort of life would it be?
David, a beloved of God knew that in death he would not remember God, He would not think of God.
David knew that once in the grave there is no longer a chance to thank the Lord.
All communication with God ceases upon death regardless of the lies that have been told since the beginning by Satan- 'thou shalt not surely die' Gen. 3:4 The great deceiving lie and Satan has used it since that time long, long ago to keep people questioning God, to keep people in confusion about life and how it should be lived here and now. Like Eve who knew instantly that death wasn't given for biting into the fruit, people believe they have a second chance. As soon as the fruit was bitten the slow progress towards eventual death had begun in Eve even if she didn't understand.
No memory of God in death.
No giving thanks to God in death.
Death is a sleep no chance to earn salvation after death claims you for the grave.
Too many would have a person believe in chances after death- a mysterious realm where you can walk the earth invisible making things right. Or you can go somewhere and suffer until you are made right with God. Or nothing you do on earth matters and upon death you instantly go to that white light of everlasting joy and happiness.
Not true.
For every person who has had their brain deprived of oxygen and they've claimed to see a light and loved ones, there are many, many more that will attest to seeing absolutely nothing. To many people who have seemingly floated free of their bodies and listened as they were feverishly worked on to be brought back to life, the claim of many more worked on just the same has no such act of the brain in a twilight sleep of delusion.
Satan has many, many ways of deceiving us-- yes, even using our own senses to do so and telling us to rely on our senses over the true and sure word of God.
No memory of God in death.
No giving of thanks to God in death.
Death is a sleep until Christ's return and then we are called from our graves to be with Him.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The dead in Christ shall rise first.
Such comfort, such hope.
Be not deceived.
1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
1Co 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
1Co 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
1Co 15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
1Co 15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
1Co 15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
1Co 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
1Co 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
At the last trump... the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Praise the Lord! Praise our all merciful God! All thanks and glory unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever! May we be changed to incorruption when He returns, when that last trump sounds!
In the mercy and by the grace of our Savior!
Amen.
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