Heb 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Heb 3:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Heb 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Tempting God. Tempting God is really disbelieving in God, isn't it?
When we tempt a person to do something it's the same as daring them to do it. Come on, we tell them, show me you can do this or that, I bet you can't do it so you have to show me you can. We try to get them to PROVE themselves. When something is proven to get someone to believe it in, the faith is gone.
We ask friends and family to trust us based on their knowledge of our love and care for them, trust that we will do nothing to hurt them. Time and again that trust is abused and people have learned not to trust, not to have faith in each other.
God isn't human and He called for people to trust in Him. People wanted proof. People wanted God to prove Himself to them rather than to prove themselves to God.
Heb 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Heb 3:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Heb 3:10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness- when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
We can't make the same mistakes. Individually in our lives we can't tempt God, we can't ask God to prove Himself. To tempt God, to prove God is to grieve God. Having no faith in God will cost people so much- it will cost them eternal life.
What is an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God? Lack of faith. Unbelief- no faith.
I've mentioned my favorite verse before and I'll use it again only this time including the whole passage-
Mar 9:14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
Mar 9:15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
Mar 9:16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
Mar 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
Mar 9:18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Mar 9:19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Mar 9:20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
Mar 9:21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
Mar 9:22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mar 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
Mar 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
Here is a desperate father who only wants his son healed, a son that had been afflicted since he was a child with a spirit that made him deaf, dumb, feel pain, foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth, all as he wastes away. How desperate this poor father was to have his son healed. He brought him to the disciples of Jesus, men that had power given to them by Jesus to heal and cast out evil spirits, yet the disciples could not help him. How devastating that had to be to the father. Then the master of the disciples arrives and this is his last hope to have his son healed. He tells the Lord about his son and Jesus answers by saying this--
'O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?'
Faithless!
Jesus said- IF THOU CANST BELIEVE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH.
The opposite is true isn't it? Nothing is possible to them that do not believe.
Our only hope is faith in our Savior. Our hope lies in NOT tempting God, in not asking God to prove Himself but rather believing without the proof. We have to believe, we can't be faithless! If we doubt our belief we have to pray as that father who desperately wanted his son to be healed-- with tears-- LORD, I BELIEVE HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF.
Can you imagine the anguish, the desperate hope? Anyone who has faced having a loved one in pain, anyone who can comprehend the situation if they haven't experienced it, can put themselves in that father's position. A lot of people pray and tell God they'd do anything if only they'd help that loved one. This father told Jesus face to face, he believed and then said HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF. Why? Why did he add that last bit? Help though mine unbelief? Because the least little bit of doubt might have been enough to stop Jesus from healing his son and that man understood and wanted nothing, not even the possibility of the slightest disbelief in himself to keep his son from being healed. The helplessness we have in saving ourselves is in this too, isn't it? Think about it. We have to believe! We can't tempt God, we can't ask Him to prove Himself, we must have faith.
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Exhort one another daily…lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Sin is soooooo incredibly deceitful. More on that tomorrow though.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord may we have faith in Him, may we not tempt Him in any way. By His love now and forever!
Amen.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Forgiveness or Excuses?
Excerpt from Weight of Glory - "On Forgiveness" C.S. Lewis (Capitalization and paragraph separation -my emphasis)
'I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to EXCUSE me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing.
Forgiveness says--
"Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before. "
But excusing says--
"I see that you couldn't help it or didn't mean it; you weren't really to blame."
If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive.
In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites.
Of course, in dozens of cases, either between God and man, or between one man and another, there may be a mixture of the two. Part of what seemed at first to be the sins turns out to be really nobody's fault and is excused; the bit that is left over is forgiven.
…. But the trouble is that what we call "asking God's forgiveness" very often really consists in asking God to ACCEPT our excuses.
What leads us into this mistake is the fact that there usually is some amount of excuse, some
"extenuating circumstances."
We are so very anxious to point these out to God (and to ourselves) that we are apt to FORGET the really important thing; that is, the bit left over, the bit which the excuses don't cover, the bit which is INEXCUSABLE but NOT, thank God, UNFORGIVEABLE . And if we forget this, we shall go away IMAGINING that we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves with our OWN EXCUSES. They may be very bad excuses; we are all too easily satisfied about ourselves. '
*******
Imagining we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves with our own excuses.
Come on, admit it there is truth in what Mr. Lewis is saying here, a lot of truth.
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Do you imagine those who believe their evil is good- truly imagine it evil? People are deceived all the time. There is so much sin today that is acceptable to mankind that is unacceptable to God and has been since forever. We've drawn a sin cloak around our lives that hides the sins in our lives so that we can feel good about ourselves and not worry that we might be sinning. We EXCUSE our sins. We make excuses all the time. If only *this* wasn't like *this* then I wouldn't do *this*. If only I lived in a monastery I wouldn't have all these temptations around me. If only Soandso didn't do this or that, I wouldn't do this and that. It's horrible but we do it all the time and we've begun to do it on a subconscious level too. We tell ourselves- God understands. Haven't you done that before? Truthfully, haven't you thought those words before? Why do we do this? We do it because we believe if we don't then we'll NEVER have any hope of being God's. We call it giving ourselves hope. Am I excusing it? NO! I'm naming it. It's a FALSE hope, but we grasp onto it and hold it tightly in this tornado of sin whirling about our lives. Wouldn't it be better if we let go of false hope and released ourselves into the reality of the sin in our lives and TRUST in our LORD to save us. We have to stop trusting in ourselves to save ourselves. Our hope can't be in our goodness, but in HIS. We have to truly start looking at the sin in our lives as the deadly poison it is. Only when we stop making excuses will we be able to seek true forgiveness. Lay it all on the table as the saying goes. Put it all out there without any excuses and seek to repent and ask for the only path to true life we have- forgiveness from our Savior. Our Savior seeing us covered in vile, poisonous, deadly sins and choosing to give us forgiveness because we know only HE can save us, His blood covers our sins. We don't cover our sins, He covers them in His blood. We need the poison covered by the anti-venom of Christ's holy blood.
It's not easy to take stock in our lives. It's not easy at all. Not easy but a necessity.
May God help us all. We live in a world where satan and all his helpers are more than willing to give us delusions of ourselves. Please Lord, help us remove the blinders to the sin in our lives. Help us precious Savior to keep from excusing the sin in our lives. We throw ourselves at your merciful feet. Bless us Lord, please…bless us.
By Your Grace!
Amen.
'I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to EXCUSE me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing.
Forgiveness says--
"Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before. "
But excusing says--
"I see that you couldn't help it or didn't mean it; you weren't really to blame."
If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive.
In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites.
Of course, in dozens of cases, either between God and man, or between one man and another, there may be a mixture of the two. Part of what seemed at first to be the sins turns out to be really nobody's fault and is excused; the bit that is left over is forgiven.
…. But the trouble is that what we call "asking God's forgiveness" very often really consists in asking God to ACCEPT our excuses.
What leads us into this mistake is the fact that there usually is some amount of excuse, some
"extenuating circumstances."
We are so very anxious to point these out to God (and to ourselves) that we are apt to FORGET the really important thing; that is, the bit left over, the bit which the excuses don't cover, the bit which is INEXCUSABLE but NOT, thank God, UNFORGIVEABLE . And if we forget this, we shall go away IMAGINING that we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves with our OWN EXCUSES. They may be very bad excuses; we are all too easily satisfied about ourselves. '
*******
Imagining we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves with our own excuses.
Come on, admit it there is truth in what Mr. Lewis is saying here, a lot of truth.
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Do you imagine those who believe their evil is good- truly imagine it evil? People are deceived all the time. There is so much sin today that is acceptable to mankind that is unacceptable to God and has been since forever. We've drawn a sin cloak around our lives that hides the sins in our lives so that we can feel good about ourselves and not worry that we might be sinning. We EXCUSE our sins. We make excuses all the time. If only *this* wasn't like *this* then I wouldn't do *this*. If only I lived in a monastery I wouldn't have all these temptations around me. If only Soandso didn't do this or that, I wouldn't do this and that. It's horrible but we do it all the time and we've begun to do it on a subconscious level too. We tell ourselves- God understands. Haven't you done that before? Truthfully, haven't you thought those words before? Why do we do this? We do it because we believe if we don't then we'll NEVER have any hope of being God's. We call it giving ourselves hope. Am I excusing it? NO! I'm naming it. It's a FALSE hope, but we grasp onto it and hold it tightly in this tornado of sin whirling about our lives. Wouldn't it be better if we let go of false hope and released ourselves into the reality of the sin in our lives and TRUST in our LORD to save us. We have to stop trusting in ourselves to save ourselves. Our hope can't be in our goodness, but in HIS. We have to truly start looking at the sin in our lives as the deadly poison it is. Only when we stop making excuses will we be able to seek true forgiveness. Lay it all on the table as the saying goes. Put it all out there without any excuses and seek to repent and ask for the only path to true life we have- forgiveness from our Savior. Our Savior seeing us covered in vile, poisonous, deadly sins and choosing to give us forgiveness because we know only HE can save us, His blood covers our sins. We don't cover our sins, He covers them in His blood. We need the poison covered by the anti-venom of Christ's holy blood.
It's not easy to take stock in our lives. It's not easy at all. Not easy but a necessity.
May God help us all. We live in a world where satan and all his helpers are more than willing to give us delusions of ourselves. Please Lord, help us remove the blinders to the sin in our lives. Help us precious Savior to keep from excusing the sin in our lives. We throw ourselves at your merciful feet. Bless us Lord, please…bless us.
By Your Grace!
Amen.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Partakers of the heavenly callng
Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Partakers of the heavenly calling--- US.
We are partakers of the heavenly calling. You and I are partakers if we choose to seek eternal life and not be of this world. The heavenly calling is salvation though Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We need to consider the APOSTLE and HIGH PRIEST of our profession- Christ Jesus.
Consider.
Consider
CONSIDER, v.t. [L., to consider, to view attentively, to sit by; to sit. See Sit. The literal sense is, to sit by or close, or to set the mind or the eye to; hence, to view or examine with attention.]
1. To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on.
We have to fix our mind on our Savior.
We have to carefully examine our Savior.
We have to think on our Savior.
We have to ponder our Savior.
We have to meditate on our Savior.
All those things will have us considering our Savior. We can't just give him a cursory examination from time to time. We can't box Him into five minutes here, a half hour there, an hour whenever. We have to have Him a part of ALL we do, not just some of what we do. We can't set our Savior aside or tell Him to close His eyes and turn around for a bit when we want to do something sinful. When we sit down to watch our favorite tv show He needs to be on our mind- not put in a corner while we get our laughs in.
Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Heb 3:2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
Our Savior- who was faithful to HIM that appointed HIM. Faithful to His Father. Isn't that beautiful? He was faithful to His Father in all that He did.
Another who was faithful was Moses. But our Savior was MORE worthy of glory than the faithful Moses. When people have leaders and those leaders lead well they tend to revere them, they tend to give them honor and respect for being such great leaders. Moses was a great leader, by the power of God he set free God's people and led them to the promised land- being used of God to reveal the ways of God to man- God's laws, the Sanctuary service and much more. It's no surprise that Moses is consider a great man, a faithful man. But as great as Moses was, Jesus was much, much greater. To say that there is a man more worthy than Moses to those who hold Moses to be their greatest leader is saying a lot!
We have in our more modern history some great leaders- Washington, Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. -- these are men that have impacted history and we've set them us as being worthy of remembrance. If was say this man is greater than Lincoln ever was, that's saying a lot. If someone comes along and people say he's greater than Martin Luther King Jr. instantly we understand that this newcomer has to be amazing.
Our Lord and Savior is worthy of more honor than Moses- worth more immeasurably.
Heb 3:3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
God built ALL THINGS. You cannot be greater than that, you can't. You cannot be more worthy.
Heb 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
We are of Christ's house, He is Son over His house, He is ruler over us, caretaker over us, as any head of household Christ reigns over us IF WE LET HIM! We are in His house willingly, not as underage children forced to live in a household good or bad. We aren't kept in Christ by force. We are not hostages to Him. People come and go all the time, but it's best to remain in HIM- HOLD FAST in Him. The Bible tells us to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the HOPE firm unto the end. Christ is our hope, our ONLY hope.
I was talking with someone the other day who suffers with chronic pain and they mentioned how death would be preferable to the pain (no they aren't suicidal). The subject of death and the life after death had come up and so on. We talked for a bit and what we fail to realize a lot of time is the fact that our lives here are so temporary, so short. Even if we live till 100 it's short compared to eternity. All the pain we feel now can consume us, can ruin us. This temporary life can ruin us and WILL ruin us if satan has his way. Satan stops at NOTHING to ruin us- if it's not one thing it's another, if it's not with bad things he'll use good things- yes, satan uses good things as well as bad to entrap us. Our only hope is in Christ, remaining firmly in Christ with all our confidence and hope in Him.
We are Christ's house-- IF we hold fast.
IF.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord we will Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope in CHRIST! Firm unto the end.
Amen.
Partakers of the heavenly calling--- US.
We are partakers of the heavenly calling. You and I are partakers if we choose to seek eternal life and not be of this world. The heavenly calling is salvation though Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We need to consider the APOSTLE and HIGH PRIEST of our profession- Christ Jesus.
Consider.
Consider
CONSIDER, v.t. [L., to consider, to view attentively, to sit by; to sit. See Sit. The literal sense is, to sit by or close, or to set the mind or the eye to; hence, to view or examine with attention.]
1. To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on.
We have to fix our mind on our Savior.
We have to carefully examine our Savior.
We have to think on our Savior.
We have to ponder our Savior.
We have to meditate on our Savior.
All those things will have us considering our Savior. We can't just give him a cursory examination from time to time. We can't box Him into five minutes here, a half hour there, an hour whenever. We have to have Him a part of ALL we do, not just some of what we do. We can't set our Savior aside or tell Him to close His eyes and turn around for a bit when we want to do something sinful. When we sit down to watch our favorite tv show He needs to be on our mind- not put in a corner while we get our laughs in.
Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Heb 3:2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
Our Savior- who was faithful to HIM that appointed HIM. Faithful to His Father. Isn't that beautiful? He was faithful to His Father in all that He did.
Another who was faithful was Moses. But our Savior was MORE worthy of glory than the faithful Moses. When people have leaders and those leaders lead well they tend to revere them, they tend to give them honor and respect for being such great leaders. Moses was a great leader, by the power of God he set free God's people and led them to the promised land- being used of God to reveal the ways of God to man- God's laws, the Sanctuary service and much more. It's no surprise that Moses is consider a great man, a faithful man. But as great as Moses was, Jesus was much, much greater. To say that there is a man more worthy than Moses to those who hold Moses to be their greatest leader is saying a lot!
We have in our more modern history some great leaders- Washington, Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. -- these are men that have impacted history and we've set them us as being worthy of remembrance. If was say this man is greater than Lincoln ever was, that's saying a lot. If someone comes along and people say he's greater than Martin Luther King Jr. instantly we understand that this newcomer has to be amazing.
Our Lord and Savior is worthy of more honor than Moses- worth more immeasurably.
Heb 3:3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
God built ALL THINGS. You cannot be greater than that, you can't. You cannot be more worthy.
Heb 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
We are of Christ's house, He is Son over His house, He is ruler over us, caretaker over us, as any head of household Christ reigns over us IF WE LET HIM! We are in His house willingly, not as underage children forced to live in a household good or bad. We aren't kept in Christ by force. We are not hostages to Him. People come and go all the time, but it's best to remain in HIM- HOLD FAST in Him. The Bible tells us to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the HOPE firm unto the end. Christ is our hope, our ONLY hope.
I was talking with someone the other day who suffers with chronic pain and they mentioned how death would be preferable to the pain (no they aren't suicidal). The subject of death and the life after death had come up and so on. We talked for a bit and what we fail to realize a lot of time is the fact that our lives here are so temporary, so short. Even if we live till 100 it's short compared to eternity. All the pain we feel now can consume us, can ruin us. This temporary life can ruin us and WILL ruin us if satan has his way. Satan stops at NOTHING to ruin us- if it's not one thing it's another, if it's not with bad things he'll use good things- yes, satan uses good things as well as bad to entrap us. Our only hope is in Christ, remaining firmly in Christ with all our confidence and hope in Him.
We are Christ's house-- IF we hold fast.
IF.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord we will Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope in CHRIST! Firm unto the end.
Amen.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Our Preserver!
Psa 40:11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
Continually preserve me. We need continual preservation, don't we? If someone could preserve you - keep you for God wouldn't you jump at the chance to be preserved? We need our LORD's lovingkindness and His truth to preserve us. We CAN'T preserve ourselves. Yes, I'm stressing this point, we CAN'T preserve ourselves. God's beloved men and women of the past ages didn't preserve themselves, their faith in God to preserve them is what endeared them to God. They believed in Him, they trust in Him, and they kept God first and foremost in their lives. Did they always do that? No, perhaps not, they- like us- lived in a world of sin and they had their temptations to face and their failures to trust, but they sought forgiveness from the only source of forgiveness- God. They understood the errors of their ways and repented, seeking to reestablish that connection with God. We don't want God to withhold His tender mercies from us. We need His tender mercies. We need God's lovingkindness and for His truth to preserve us. Without God's truth, without His lovingkindness we cannot prevail, we will not be preserved. When something isn't preserved it decays. We paint on preserver over wood for our patios, for pool decks, for garden rails, for fences and we do that or buy them pre-preserved so they'll last as long as possible, so nature's elements won't decay them. Throughout the years we take measures to keep the wood preserved by reapplying the necessary preserver- even if it's constant fresh coats of paint. We don't want the things we own to decay faster than they have to and we don't want our relationship with God to decay, do we? We need to be preserved by Him. Only He can preserve us. We can't go out and buy preservation for eternal life. There are no relationship preserver cans stocked on our stores shelves, we can't slather on spiritual preserver as we can put paint on a fence rail. We can go to our great Preserver and ask Him to continually preserve us with His lovingkindness and His truth by His tender mercy.
Listen to this next verse--
Psa 40:12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
Can you relate to that verse? Seriously, can you? I know I can. We need to be preserved because evil will compass about us. Our cherished sins will take hold of us so that the weight of them will drag us done, keeping us from even looking upwards. How many sins? One? Two? Can you look at your life and pick out the sins? Can you number your sins? Or are they more than the hair on your head? For anyone who is bald you know can remember having a head filled with hair as a youth, yes? Could you count the numbers of hair you had on your head then? Can we who have a head filled with hair now count them? It's feasible right? But what would possess someone to do so? The analogy here is the reality that sins in our lives can be so incredibly numerous they weigh us down, they hold onto us refusing to allow us to look up even, causing our hearts to fail and yes, really fail. When hearts ache in spiritual pain it's a real thing, a real spiritual agony in our lives. Have you known spiritual agony? Who is the ONLY one that can help us when spiritual oppression covers us, when evils surround us, when we are beset on every side by satan and his followers- human or angels? The LORD is the only help we have and we only need the LORD, not a thousand different remedies. There is only ONE cure, ONE remedy, ONE help and it's so incredibly powerful it can defeat innumerable sin attacks. Like any remedy we have to take it. Remedies don't just come to us out of nowhere and force themselves upon us. We have to take them. Some might argue and say they can remember being forced to take medicine as a child, or even as an adult who isn't entirely lucid. That may all be true, but the sin remedy is NEVER forced upon us, NEVER! We have to willingly take this remedy and take it often and always.
We have to pray...
Psa 40:13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
This reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses-
Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Lord deliver me! Lord make haste to help me! Lord I believe, help mine unbelief!
Praise God He hears us! Praise God He love us! Praise God! All glory and honor to our Creator, to our Redeemer, to our Preserver!
In His love, His grace, His righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
Continually preserve me. We need continual preservation, don't we? If someone could preserve you - keep you for God wouldn't you jump at the chance to be preserved? We need our LORD's lovingkindness and His truth to preserve us. We CAN'T preserve ourselves. Yes, I'm stressing this point, we CAN'T preserve ourselves. God's beloved men and women of the past ages didn't preserve themselves, their faith in God to preserve them is what endeared them to God. They believed in Him, they trust in Him, and they kept God first and foremost in their lives. Did they always do that? No, perhaps not, they- like us- lived in a world of sin and they had their temptations to face and their failures to trust, but they sought forgiveness from the only source of forgiveness- God. They understood the errors of their ways and repented, seeking to reestablish that connection with God. We don't want God to withhold His tender mercies from us. We need His tender mercies. We need God's lovingkindness and for His truth to preserve us. Without God's truth, without His lovingkindness we cannot prevail, we will not be preserved. When something isn't preserved it decays. We paint on preserver over wood for our patios, for pool decks, for garden rails, for fences and we do that or buy them pre-preserved so they'll last as long as possible, so nature's elements won't decay them. Throughout the years we take measures to keep the wood preserved by reapplying the necessary preserver- even if it's constant fresh coats of paint. We don't want the things we own to decay faster than they have to and we don't want our relationship with God to decay, do we? We need to be preserved by Him. Only He can preserve us. We can't go out and buy preservation for eternal life. There are no relationship preserver cans stocked on our stores shelves, we can't slather on spiritual preserver as we can put paint on a fence rail. We can go to our great Preserver and ask Him to continually preserve us with His lovingkindness and His truth by His tender mercy.
Listen to this next verse--
Psa 40:12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
Can you relate to that verse? Seriously, can you? I know I can. We need to be preserved because evil will compass about us. Our cherished sins will take hold of us so that the weight of them will drag us done, keeping us from even looking upwards. How many sins? One? Two? Can you look at your life and pick out the sins? Can you number your sins? Or are they more than the hair on your head? For anyone who is bald you know can remember having a head filled with hair as a youth, yes? Could you count the numbers of hair you had on your head then? Can we who have a head filled with hair now count them? It's feasible right? But what would possess someone to do so? The analogy here is the reality that sins in our lives can be so incredibly numerous they weigh us down, they hold onto us refusing to allow us to look up even, causing our hearts to fail and yes, really fail. When hearts ache in spiritual pain it's a real thing, a real spiritual agony in our lives. Have you known spiritual agony? Who is the ONLY one that can help us when spiritual oppression covers us, when evils surround us, when we are beset on every side by satan and his followers- human or angels? The LORD is the only help we have and we only need the LORD, not a thousand different remedies. There is only ONE cure, ONE remedy, ONE help and it's so incredibly powerful it can defeat innumerable sin attacks. Like any remedy we have to take it. Remedies don't just come to us out of nowhere and force themselves upon us. We have to take them. Some might argue and say they can remember being forced to take medicine as a child, or even as an adult who isn't entirely lucid. That may all be true, but the sin remedy is NEVER forced upon us, NEVER! We have to willingly take this remedy and take it often and always.
We have to pray...
Psa 40:13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
This reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses-
Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Lord deliver me! Lord make haste to help me! Lord I believe, help mine unbelief!
Praise God He hears us! Praise God He love us! Praise God! All glory and honor to our Creator, to our Redeemer, to our Preserver!
In His love, His grace, His righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Jesus Suffered- Being Tempted
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The nature of angels- spiritual and yet able to appear human. Appear being the key word there- for as much as angels can appear as men to mankind when necessary that will NEVER give them true flesh and blood, never give them humanity.
Jesus didn't choose an angel's form to come to us.
Jesus didn't choose to keep His spirit form that could disappear at will. He didn't choose a spirit form that had powers to do things humans can't. However, while He didn't choose to keep His spirit form but rather took on humanity in its flesh filled with blood- His relationship with the Father enabled Him to do things sinning humans who have separated themselves from God by sin cannot do. Jesus relied on the power of God and did the following supernatural acts...
Joh 6:19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
(Walked on water)
Luk 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way
(Was able to disappear as He was being led away.)
Mat 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
(Transfigured)
So, while Jesus was connected to the Father- One with Him in a way that we cannot be until His return and sin no longer separates us from our God- He was able to claim the power of His Father which He used to perform miracles and to do miraculous acts. He did NOT take on the nature of angels, He took on OUR nature.
Why is it important to differentiate between this fact- that Jesus did not take on the nature of angels but of humans? Because angels were made a little superior to us. Angels were NOT made in God's image. Angels do not possess flesh and blood. Angels already decided their fate- 1/3 of them chose to follow Satan, 2/3 chose to remain with God and there is NO chance for them to repent any more, no chance for them to find salvation because that part of their existence has been decided. These beings who do not die at the end of a set number of years, these beings have no flesh to fast corruption over time, these beings do not age - growing old and dying, decaying through the ravages of time. These beings- these angels face a choice having free will to disobey God and once that choice was made that was that. Can they be blotted out of existence? Yes. And the evil angels will face their ultimate punishment of no longer existing when sin is done away with once and for all. Jesus did NOT take on the nature of the created angels. Jesus took on our humanity because it was us He was to sacrifice Himself for.
Heb 2:17… Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
That HE might be a MERCIFUL and FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST in things pertaining to God.
To MAKE a RECONCILIATION for the SINS of the PEOPLE.
Made like his BRETHERN! Made like you and me so He could understand only the way one being us could understand.
Because HE HIMSELF SUFFERED BEING TEMPTED
He is able to SUCCOUR THEM that ARE TEMPTED
He faced temptation. REAL temptation. He wasn't place in some protective wrapping, encased in a sin repelling suit. There was NOTHING artificial about Jesus' humanity. Like I mentioned before, the ONLY thing Jesus had that we don't is being ONE with the Father, without sin separating Him from Him. It wasn't until Jesus took on the sins of humanity that He was separated from His Father and cried out in anguish- 'Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'
Yes, I've spoken of this before and yes, just recently, but it warrants repeating again and again. Jesus SUFFERED being tempted. He SUFFERED.
Have you ever suffered being tempted to sin? What does that suffering mean? It means there is a war inside you, a desire to give into the temptation. You only suffer because you DO NOT give into the temptation. If you'd just give in, you'd no longer suffer the fight- but you might suffer with remorse. Jesus NEVER suffered the remorse of giving into a temptation and sinning. He suffered the temptation! The very, very real temptation. Again, people don't like to believe in our Savior's humanity, the part of our Savior that was human enough to even suffer a being tempted. Jesus? Tempted? NO, no way, not my Jesus. Yes! Your Jesus! He felt our desires, He felt our ambitions, He felt all of that because if He did not, then He DID NOT suffer being tempted as we are and He is NOT able to succor US who are tempted. If HE wasn't tempted like WE are tempted He couldn't fully understand on the level of being human what it means to be tempted. Because He didn't sin, because He never broke the bond, the at-one-ment with His Father He was and is worthy to save us. Even with the full force of temptation facing Him, the worst of the worst of temptations in His own right, as each of our temptations are different from one another's, He never gave into the temptation. He suffered though, and if you don't want to believe that our GOD Jesus suffered with temptation then His suffering was in vain to you. You can keep your delusions if you like, but one day the delusions will be wiped away and only truth will remain and that truth tells us that Jesus suffered being tempted… and is now able, because of all He went through, to succor us- help us.
What a marvelous Gift we were given, a priceless Gift.
As we face temptation whether it's in the next minute, the next hour, the next day, or next week - we need to cling to our Savior, praying to Him, seeking that connection with Him, going to His word, pleading HIS righteousness, His power to save and by His grace resist that temptation- even if it means resisting unto blood. We've taken sin and trivialized it way too much so that it's seemingly lost it's power of destruction, of causing death. We've sugar-coated sin, especially our pet temptations and pampered sins that really aren't so bad because they aren't like those disgusting sins. Sin is sin is sin. Temptation is something our Savior faced and He knew we'd face it too. Only by His grace can we overcome through HIM, not of ourselves. But we need to … Resist the devil!
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We need to… resist unto blood!
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
By the grace of God we are SAVED! May we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, resist the devil even if it means resisting unto blood. May we see sin for what it is and not trivialize it away. Let the horrors of sin be faced, may all sin be seen for what it is and be repented of, resisted. Let us cling to our Savior, our Lord now and forever!
Amen.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
The nature of angels- spiritual and yet able to appear human. Appear being the key word there- for as much as angels can appear as men to mankind when necessary that will NEVER give them true flesh and blood, never give them humanity.
Jesus didn't choose an angel's form to come to us.
Jesus didn't choose to keep His spirit form that could disappear at will. He didn't choose a spirit form that had powers to do things humans can't. However, while He didn't choose to keep His spirit form but rather took on humanity in its flesh filled with blood- His relationship with the Father enabled Him to do things sinning humans who have separated themselves from God by sin cannot do. Jesus relied on the power of God and did the following supernatural acts...
Joh 6:19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
(Walked on water)
Luk 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way
(Was able to disappear as He was being led away.)
Mat 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
(Transfigured)
So, while Jesus was connected to the Father- One with Him in a way that we cannot be until His return and sin no longer separates us from our God- He was able to claim the power of His Father which He used to perform miracles and to do miraculous acts. He did NOT take on the nature of angels, He took on OUR nature.
Why is it important to differentiate between this fact- that Jesus did not take on the nature of angels but of humans? Because angels were made a little superior to us. Angels were NOT made in God's image. Angels do not possess flesh and blood. Angels already decided their fate- 1/3 of them chose to follow Satan, 2/3 chose to remain with God and there is NO chance for them to repent any more, no chance for them to find salvation because that part of their existence has been decided. These beings who do not die at the end of a set number of years, these beings have no flesh to fast corruption over time, these beings do not age - growing old and dying, decaying through the ravages of time. These beings- these angels face a choice having free will to disobey God and once that choice was made that was that. Can they be blotted out of existence? Yes. And the evil angels will face their ultimate punishment of no longer existing when sin is done away with once and for all. Jesus did NOT take on the nature of the created angels. Jesus took on our humanity because it was us He was to sacrifice Himself for.
Heb 2:17… Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
That HE might be a MERCIFUL and FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST in things pertaining to God.
To MAKE a RECONCILIATION for the SINS of the PEOPLE.
Made like his BRETHERN! Made like you and me so He could understand only the way one being us could understand.
Because HE HIMSELF SUFFERED BEING TEMPTED
He is able to SUCCOUR THEM that ARE TEMPTED
He faced temptation. REAL temptation. He wasn't place in some protective wrapping, encased in a sin repelling suit. There was NOTHING artificial about Jesus' humanity. Like I mentioned before, the ONLY thing Jesus had that we don't is being ONE with the Father, without sin separating Him from Him. It wasn't until Jesus took on the sins of humanity that He was separated from His Father and cried out in anguish- 'Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'
Yes, I've spoken of this before and yes, just recently, but it warrants repeating again and again. Jesus SUFFERED being tempted. He SUFFERED.
Have you ever suffered being tempted to sin? What does that suffering mean? It means there is a war inside you, a desire to give into the temptation. You only suffer because you DO NOT give into the temptation. If you'd just give in, you'd no longer suffer the fight- but you might suffer with remorse. Jesus NEVER suffered the remorse of giving into a temptation and sinning. He suffered the temptation! The very, very real temptation. Again, people don't like to believe in our Savior's humanity, the part of our Savior that was human enough to even suffer a being tempted. Jesus? Tempted? NO, no way, not my Jesus. Yes! Your Jesus! He felt our desires, He felt our ambitions, He felt all of that because if He did not, then He DID NOT suffer being tempted as we are and He is NOT able to succor US who are tempted. If HE wasn't tempted like WE are tempted He couldn't fully understand on the level of being human what it means to be tempted. Because He didn't sin, because He never broke the bond, the at-one-ment with His Father He was and is worthy to save us. Even with the full force of temptation facing Him, the worst of the worst of temptations in His own right, as each of our temptations are different from one another's, He never gave into the temptation. He suffered though, and if you don't want to believe that our GOD Jesus suffered with temptation then His suffering was in vain to you. You can keep your delusions if you like, but one day the delusions will be wiped away and only truth will remain and that truth tells us that Jesus suffered being tempted… and is now able, because of all He went through, to succor us- help us.
What a marvelous Gift we were given, a priceless Gift.
As we face temptation whether it's in the next minute, the next hour, the next day, or next week - we need to cling to our Savior, praying to Him, seeking that connection with Him, going to His word, pleading HIS righteousness, His power to save and by His grace resist that temptation- even if it means resisting unto blood. We've taken sin and trivialized it way too much so that it's seemingly lost it's power of destruction, of causing death. We've sugar-coated sin, especially our pet temptations and pampered sins that really aren't so bad because they aren't like those disgusting sins. Sin is sin is sin. Temptation is something our Savior faced and He knew we'd face it too. Only by His grace can we overcome through HIM, not of ourselves. But we need to … Resist the devil!
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We need to… resist unto blood!
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
By the grace of God we are SAVED! May we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, resist the devil even if it means resisting unto blood. May we see sin for what it is and not trivialize it away. Let the horrors of sin be faced, may all sin be seen for what it is and be repented of, resisted. Let us cling to our Savior, our Lord now and forever!
Amen.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Our Brother
Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren
Sanctified
SANC'TIFIED, pp.
1. Made holy; consecrated; set apart for sacred services.
2. Affectedly holy.
He that makes holy and those who are made holy by Him are all of one. That thought is amazing really. There is no special criteria to meet except we be made holy. No snickering and thinking- 'Is that all.' Seriously. We aren't to make ourselves holy but be made holy. We can't make ourselves holy- there is nothing in us to do that. We have no power to make anything holy, we have no holiness of our own- none. HE that sanctifieth- we can be sanctified and by God's will and His grace, through His love we will be made holy and be one with the One who makes us holy. Imagine, our God- imagine, our Savior-imagine, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier not being ashamed to call us brothers.
Brothers. Related to Christ by HIS choice. It's amazing that we have such a wonderful Savior who doesn't want to rule over us with an iron fist, who doesn't want to punish us arbitrarily.
Listen to these words...
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
We are partakers of Jesus' death and His life saving blood. We are a part of His plan of salvation. Jesus gave His life, Jesus gave His flesh, Jesus gave His blood and through that sacrifice we find life. We are partakers of the life of Christ. We are part of that life, that continued life, the life that is eternal, the life that rose from the grave and ascended to heaven, the life that is related to ours- brothers, relatives, partakers together. The amazing realization that we part take of Christ's life today, right now, right this moment, is something that is too overwhelming to fully comprehend. We have to comprehend it though, we have to make it REAL. We have to have a living, viable life with Christ as a REAL person- yes, I said person!!! Yes, He is a God, God the Son. He is also a human being and we tend to take him out of that realm completely and only think of Him on His throne in heaven. Jesus was real flesh and blood, He had bones, muscles, He had hair, eyes, hands, feet, fingers, toes-- He was human! He was a divine human, yes, there is no doubt about that at all. He was divine but He became one of us, for us. That miracle, that blessing in undeniably beyond anything we can understand. By His grace we will be with Him one day, thanking Him in person, face to face, falling to our knees before Him, our God, our Brother, our Holy Brother.
In His love!
Amen.
Sanctified
SANC'TIFIED, pp.
1. Made holy; consecrated; set apart for sacred services.
2. Affectedly holy.
He that makes holy and those who are made holy by Him are all of one. That thought is amazing really. There is no special criteria to meet except we be made holy. No snickering and thinking- 'Is that all.' Seriously. We aren't to make ourselves holy but be made holy. We can't make ourselves holy- there is nothing in us to do that. We have no power to make anything holy, we have no holiness of our own- none. HE that sanctifieth- we can be sanctified and by God's will and His grace, through His love we will be made holy and be one with the One who makes us holy. Imagine, our God- imagine, our Savior-imagine, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier not being ashamed to call us brothers.
Brothers. Related to Christ by HIS choice. It's amazing that we have such a wonderful Savior who doesn't want to rule over us with an iron fist, who doesn't want to punish us arbitrarily.
Listen to these words...
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Heb 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
We are partakers of Jesus' death and His life saving blood. We are a part of His plan of salvation. Jesus gave His life, Jesus gave His flesh, Jesus gave His blood and through that sacrifice we find life. We are partakers of the life of Christ. We are part of that life, that continued life, the life that is eternal, the life that rose from the grave and ascended to heaven, the life that is related to ours- brothers, relatives, partakers together. The amazing realization that we part take of Christ's life today, right now, right this moment, is something that is too overwhelming to fully comprehend. We have to comprehend it though, we have to make it REAL. We have to have a living, viable life with Christ as a REAL person- yes, I said person!!! Yes, He is a God, God the Son. He is also a human being and we tend to take him out of that realm completely and only think of Him on His throne in heaven. Jesus was real flesh and blood, He had bones, muscles, He had hair, eyes, hands, feet, fingers, toes-- He was human! He was a divine human, yes, there is no doubt about that at all. He was divine but He became one of us, for us. That miracle, that blessing in undeniably beyond anything we can understand. By His grace we will be with Him one day, thanking Him in person, face to face, falling to our knees before Him, our God, our Brother, our Holy Brother.
In His love!
Amen.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Captain of Our Salvation
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
What does that mean exactly? Perfect through sufferings.
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Act 1:3 to whom also he did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the reign of God.
Pe 2:19 for this is gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;
1Pe 2:20 for what renown is it , if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure it ? but if, doing good and suffering for it , ye do endure, this is gracious with God,
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
1Pe 2:22 who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,
1Pe 2:23 who being reviled--was not reviling again, suffering--was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange at the fiery suffering among you that is coming to try you, as if a strange thing were happening to you,
1Pe 4:13 but, according as ye have fellowship with the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice ye, that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice--exulting;
1Pe 4:19 so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.
Suffering.
Suffering
SUF'FERING, ppr. Bearing; undergoing pain, inconvenience or damage; permitting; allowing.
SUF'FERING, n. The bearing of pain, inconvenience or loss; pain endured; distress, loss or injury incurred; as sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs.
Pain, sorrow, damage…
Christ suffered. Christ who relived the suffering of so many. Christ who took away the pain many suffered with for years. Christ who healed, who helped, who forgave so many during His ministry was called to suffer.
I have a question… the Son of God, pure from sin lived in a world filled with sin and pain, and suffering. Could it be that He suffered more than we can fully comprehend? He did say this…
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Could it be that it wasn't until He was to cry out these words-- Mat 27:46 and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
…that He didn't feel the full effect of the suffering, when He was alone on the cross. Yes, He felt the pain of the physical abuse, abuse that He suffered without deserving it at all whatsoever, but the mental , emotional anguish of feeling abandoned had to be beyond our comprehension, why? Because we are not alone- ever. We have not been abandoned even at our lowest point. We have access to our forgiving Father, our longsuffering Father, our Savior, no matter what we go through. Christ was alone. He had to bear the pain, the suffering alone to give to us salvation. We are called to suffer, Christ being our example.
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
People think this is horrible, that we are called to suffer. But if you live in this world, you suffer. There is no way you can live here and live in Christ's love without suffering. This world is filled with so much suffering that our suffering can even come from watching others suffer. If we are heartless, if we give ourselves over to Satan we will have a lack of compassion, we won't suffer as much. Compassion won't be as prominent in our lives. Have you ever wondered how some people can abuse others, how they can purposely cause them pain, and even enjoy it? Have you ever witnessed the suffering of another without your heart aching for their pain? Maybe you can answer yes to those questions, I don't know, but if the answer is yes then falling on your knees and begging God to give you a heart that truly loves your fellowman is in order. Satan has twisted us, Satan has warped us into self-centered people whose main purpose is self- even when we help others He's twisted it into being a selfish act. Take some time to notice the selfishness in other- not to condemn them NO WAY, but sometimes when we see something in another it can be a reflection for us. We can see ourselves in them. We need to recognize how selfish we are in so many ways, even little ways. Our greatest example, the greatest light we need to look to is our SAVIOR, in His light we can see our failings and cling to His light, not ours. We need to be bathed fully in HIS light, having NONE of our own. HE is the LIGHT! We are to be illuminated by Him, any light we have to show to others is HIS light, not our light. When our light shines before others it's to glorify GOD, not to bring us glory. When we suffer, even if it's pain from witnessing the suffering of others we are following in the example of our Lord and Savior. It's when we no longer suffer that we really should wonder about our walk with Christ. I'm not saying we can't have any joy in our lives. We can praise and glorify our Lord and Savior and we can even find the Peace that passes understanding in Christ, but in this world of sin, reeking of thousands of years of sin ruled by the prince of darkness, suffering will be ours. We may count it JOY when we suffer, but that joy is in the knowledge that we have a Savior whose suffering brought us salvation. There is hope and joy in the world to come, in living with our Lord and Savior. Our joy needs to be in Christ. If we find joy in ourselves without Christ we are deceiving ourselves, or being deceived. Our joy, our hope, our faith, our love, our light is all IN CHRIST!
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of OUR salvation perfect through sufferings.
Sin brings suffering.
Joy in suffering is knowing sin has been defeated by our Lord, by our Savior!
May God bless and keep us always IN HIM! May we suffer as He suffered and count it all joy knowing salvation is found in Him, that beyond ALL suffering lives our Savior and life everlasting in HIM!
By His Grace!
Amen.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
What does that mean exactly? Perfect through sufferings.
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Act 1:3 to whom also he did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the reign of God.
Pe 2:19 for this is gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;
1Pe 2:20 for what renown is it , if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure it ? but if, doing good and suffering for it , ye do endure, this is gracious with God,
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
1Pe 2:22 who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,
1Pe 2:23 who being reviled--was not reviling again, suffering--was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange at the fiery suffering among you that is coming to try you, as if a strange thing were happening to you,
1Pe 4:13 but, according as ye have fellowship with the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice ye, that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice--exulting;
1Pe 4:19 so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.
Suffering.
Suffering
SUF'FERING, ppr. Bearing; undergoing pain, inconvenience or damage; permitting; allowing.
SUF'FERING, n. The bearing of pain, inconvenience or loss; pain endured; distress, loss or injury incurred; as sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs.
Pain, sorrow, damage…
Christ suffered. Christ who relived the suffering of so many. Christ who took away the pain many suffered with for years. Christ who healed, who helped, who forgave so many during His ministry was called to suffer.
I have a question… the Son of God, pure from sin lived in a world filled with sin and pain, and suffering. Could it be that He suffered more than we can fully comprehend? He did say this…
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Could it be that it wasn't until He was to cry out these words-- Mat 27:46 and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
…that He didn't feel the full effect of the suffering, when He was alone on the cross. Yes, He felt the pain of the physical abuse, abuse that He suffered without deserving it at all whatsoever, but the mental , emotional anguish of feeling abandoned had to be beyond our comprehension, why? Because we are not alone- ever. We have not been abandoned even at our lowest point. We have access to our forgiving Father, our longsuffering Father, our Savior, no matter what we go through. Christ was alone. He had to bear the pain, the suffering alone to give to us salvation. We are called to suffer, Christ being our example.
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
People think this is horrible, that we are called to suffer. But if you live in this world, you suffer. There is no way you can live here and live in Christ's love without suffering. This world is filled with so much suffering that our suffering can even come from watching others suffer. If we are heartless, if we give ourselves over to Satan we will have a lack of compassion, we won't suffer as much. Compassion won't be as prominent in our lives. Have you ever wondered how some people can abuse others, how they can purposely cause them pain, and even enjoy it? Have you ever witnessed the suffering of another without your heart aching for their pain? Maybe you can answer yes to those questions, I don't know, but if the answer is yes then falling on your knees and begging God to give you a heart that truly loves your fellowman is in order. Satan has twisted us, Satan has warped us into self-centered people whose main purpose is self- even when we help others He's twisted it into being a selfish act. Take some time to notice the selfishness in other- not to condemn them NO WAY, but sometimes when we see something in another it can be a reflection for us. We can see ourselves in them. We need to recognize how selfish we are in so many ways, even little ways. Our greatest example, the greatest light we need to look to is our SAVIOR, in His light we can see our failings and cling to His light, not ours. We need to be bathed fully in HIS light, having NONE of our own. HE is the LIGHT! We are to be illuminated by Him, any light we have to show to others is HIS light, not our light. When our light shines before others it's to glorify GOD, not to bring us glory. When we suffer, even if it's pain from witnessing the suffering of others we are following in the example of our Lord and Savior. It's when we no longer suffer that we really should wonder about our walk with Christ. I'm not saying we can't have any joy in our lives. We can praise and glorify our Lord and Savior and we can even find the Peace that passes understanding in Christ, but in this world of sin, reeking of thousands of years of sin ruled by the prince of darkness, suffering will be ours. We may count it JOY when we suffer, but that joy is in the knowledge that we have a Savior whose suffering brought us salvation. There is hope and joy in the world to come, in living with our Lord and Savior. Our joy needs to be in Christ. If we find joy in ourselves without Christ we are deceiving ourselves, or being deceived. Our joy, our hope, our faith, our love, our light is all IN CHRIST!
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of OUR salvation perfect through sufferings.
Sin brings suffering.
Joy in suffering is knowing sin has been defeated by our Lord, by our Savior!
May God bless and keep us always IN HIM! May we suffer as He suffered and count it all joy knowing salvation is found in Him, that beyond ALL suffering lives our Savior and life everlasting in HIM!
By His Grace!
Amen.
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