Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Eternal inheritance. An inheritance for eternity. We are NOT all going to have eternity. People have this delusion embedded in their minds that they will live forever in some manner. Death to so many doesn't mean death. Judgment doesn't mean really judging. Pronounced found wanting, pronounced filthy still, pronounced unjust, none of it is real to people. When they do begin to imagine eternity and themselves less than just, less than holy they do so using humor, making light of not being saved. Our world is so caught up in fantasy because reality is so exacting. We'd rather form beliefs that are not Biblical than hold fast to Biblical truths because they fit better with our sin-filled lives. We would much rather believe in an eternity as a so called lost soul, than believe that we don't have an eternity at all, that we are simply taken out of existence. So much has gone into convincing people that they will live on right after death that almost the whole world is caught up in the deception.
The truth- some will have eternity, but most will not.
We DO have an eternal inheritance- they which are CALLED might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Eternal inheritance - it really does exist but ONLY through Christ. The blood has been shed, the blood needs to cover our sins. The blood of Christ does not automatically cover our sins. The blood of Christ is not like rain falling from the sky over any and all without thought. The precious blood of our Savior has been spilt for those who ask for forgiveness, for those who repent, for those who believe they are saved by Christ and Christ alone and no other.
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
For the remission of sins.
Our Savior offers us an eternal inheritance. Our Savior DIED to give us this eternal inheritance...
Heb 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
Heb 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
People are advised to create wills. A will reveals our wishes after we are dead. A will has NO meaning as long as the person is alive. The person has to die before that will can have any meaning.
The testator has to die for the testament to have meaning. We understand this concept and it's the same with the promise of Christ. The Will of Christ was that we should have eternal life in Him, through Him. The only way we could have eternal life was if our sins were blotted out. The only way our sins could be blotted out were if Christ's blood covered them. The only way for Christ's blood to cover our sins was for that blood to be shed. As long as Christ lived His blood could not cover us. Our Savior had to die for His will to go into affect. Our Savior did die and we are His heirs. We can receive the promise of our inheritance.
Christ's will is for us to have eternal life.
Christ died and the will was in affect.
Christ rose from the dead which DID not null and void the will.
Christ became mediator of that will.
The will became active after the death of the will's owner.
Today we would be shocked if a person was dead, buried, and their will was read and the beneficiaries received their inheritance, and then the person rose from the dead. Imagine it, I know we can with all the movies we've been exposed to on this sort of fantastical stuff. The dead person comes back to life and realizes that all their possessions have been distributed as they wanted. The dead person comes back to life and can see that their wishes have been carried out according to their plan. We as being merely human would inject a plotline of that person reestablishing their lives and people most likely returning their possessions to them etc. Christ wasn't merely human though. And Christ, after He rose from the dead still had things to do. Christ couldn't remain here on earth and have those things done. The earth was filled with sin and that wasn't why He died. Christ died to do away with sin. For all this to be accomplished Christ's life after death was very important, His ministry was to carry on in the Heavenly Sanctuary. He left earth and went to the Heavenly Sanctuary to continue with His plan of salvation and a BIG part of that plan is being a mediator between us and God. He chose to be a mediator of His own will. He didn't rise from the dead and begin a life here, His will was and is still in affect and He left earth to be a mediator for us, a High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
He is the author and finisher of our faith.
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.
May God continue to bless us as we study more and more of our Heavenly Mediator and the plan of salvation. May our eyes be opened, may our hearts be created new by Him, may His grace be all in all to us through His love, by His righteousness. Please Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.
You are our all in all now and forever!
Amen!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Living God
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh
When the high priests of the earthly sanctuary entered the holy place they didn't enter without the blood sacrifice.
Lev 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Blood of Bulls-
Lev 1:3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Blood of Goats-
Lev 1:10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
Sprinkling Blood-
Lev 1:11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
Ashes of an Heifer-
Num 19:9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
Sanctifieth to the Purifying of the Flesh-
Num 19:20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
This is the old covenant service, the sacrificial services. Once Christ offered Himself the perfect Sacrifice there was no animal living, no sacrifice that could be made that would equal or even come close to the spilt blood of our Savior, the perfect Sacrifice that ALL other sacrifices were pointing to. All of those sacrifices were to be without blemish- why? To signify purity. Christ was without sin- signifying His purity. The symbolic met the True. The True doing away with the symbolic.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Through the Eternal Spirit the blood of Christ was shed once- for all.
It can't be easy for a group of people with their whole lives centered around a way of life to change. They lost sight of the reason for their way of life.
They lost sight of what their services were all pointing towards.
The service became the reality rather than remaining a service of types- a service of examples of things in Heaven.
God's chosen people had been led out of captivity and reminded of the promise of a Messiah-
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
These people knew of the promise. They knew that there was a Messiah to come. This belief was woven throughout their history. Even today those who don't believe Jesus to be the Messiah are still looking for the Messiah to come. God's chosen, God's deliverer, God's Son.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Luk 7:18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.
Luk 7:19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luk 7:20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luk 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
Luk 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
Luk 7:23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
They were looking for a Messiah.
Those for whom the services of the sanctuary were the all in all, and not all pointing to the coming Messiah did not see, could not see the truth before their very eyes, they were blinded.
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus said it best…
Mat 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Mat 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
Mat 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Mat 23:18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
Mat 23:19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Mat 23:20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
Mat 23:21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
Mat 23:22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Mat 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Mat 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mat 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Mat 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Serve a living God!
Conscience purged from works that are meaningless, works that are dead, works that are no longer in effect. Conscience purged from looking towards the coming Messiah, and living knowing that the Messiah has come and even now lives in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
People today sometimes choose to continue on in dead works. People today will continue with their formalities making them mean more than the Messiah Himself. Nothing is as important as serving the living God, knowing our Savior has come, has died for us, and even now lives for us and will come again to do away with death and sin once and for all.
We need to believe!
We need to live knowing our Savior is alive this very moment and forever more. Our Savior lives for us! This needs to be our reality. Our eyes need to be open to the reality of our Savior as much as the eyes of those living before the Messiah's ministry needed to have their eyes opened to His being brought to life. We serve a living God, not a ghostly spirit, but flesh and blood - immortal flesh and blood as we know Jesus was given eternal life having sacrificed Himself in death and being brought to life. His mortal body was given immortality, His corruptible body put on incorruption. He ascended to His Father and was granted life everlasting so that we too could have eternal life through Him. Our Savior, our High Priest in heavenly places not made with hands.
May God bless us and keep us in Him now and forever, for eternity with our eternal Savior. By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Messiah, our Redeemer. In His righteousness we live and we learn, we love.
Amen.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh
When the high priests of the earthly sanctuary entered the holy place they didn't enter without the blood sacrifice.
Lev 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
Blood of Bulls-
Lev 1:3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Blood of Goats-
Lev 1:10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
Sprinkling Blood-
Lev 1:11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
Ashes of an Heifer-
Num 19:9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
Sanctifieth to the Purifying of the Flesh-
Num 19:20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
This is the old covenant service, the sacrificial services. Once Christ offered Himself the perfect Sacrifice there was no animal living, no sacrifice that could be made that would equal or even come close to the spilt blood of our Savior, the perfect Sacrifice that ALL other sacrifices were pointing to. All of those sacrifices were to be without blemish- why? To signify purity. Christ was without sin- signifying His purity. The symbolic met the True. The True doing away with the symbolic.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Through the Eternal Spirit the blood of Christ was shed once- for all.
It can't be easy for a group of people with their whole lives centered around a way of life to change. They lost sight of the reason for their way of life.
They lost sight of what their services were all pointing towards.
The service became the reality rather than remaining a service of types- a service of examples of things in Heaven.
God's chosen people had been led out of captivity and reminded of the promise of a Messiah-
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
These people knew of the promise. They knew that there was a Messiah to come. This belief was woven throughout their history. Even today those who don't believe Jesus to be the Messiah are still looking for the Messiah to come. God's chosen, God's deliverer, God's Son.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Luk 7:18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.
Luk 7:19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luk 7:20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Luk 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
Luk 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
Luk 7:23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
They were looking for a Messiah.
Those for whom the services of the sanctuary were the all in all, and not all pointing to the coming Messiah did not see, could not see the truth before their very eyes, they were blinded.
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus said it best…
Mat 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Mat 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
Mat 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Mat 23:18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
Mat 23:19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Mat 23:20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
Mat 23:21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
Mat 23:22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Mat 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Mat 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mat 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Mat 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Serve a living God!
Conscience purged from works that are meaningless, works that are dead, works that are no longer in effect. Conscience purged from looking towards the coming Messiah, and living knowing that the Messiah has come and even now lives in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
People today sometimes choose to continue on in dead works. People today will continue with their formalities making them mean more than the Messiah Himself. Nothing is as important as serving the living God, knowing our Savior has come, has died for us, and even now lives for us and will come again to do away with death and sin once and for all.
We need to believe!
We need to live knowing our Savior is alive this very moment and forever more. Our Savior lives for us! This needs to be our reality. Our eyes need to be open to the reality of our Savior as much as the eyes of those living before the Messiah's ministry needed to have their eyes opened to His being brought to life. We serve a living God, not a ghostly spirit, but flesh and blood - immortal flesh and blood as we know Jesus was given eternal life having sacrificed Himself in death and being brought to life. His mortal body was given immortality, His corruptible body put on incorruption. He ascended to His Father and was granted life everlasting so that we too could have eternal life through Him. Our Savior, our High Priest in heavenly places not made with hands.
May God bless us and keep us in Him now and forever, for eternity with our eternal Savior. By the grace and mercy of our Lord, our Messiah, our Redeemer. In His righteousness we live and we learn, we love.
Amen.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Dark Places
Why am I interested in this? Well, last night I was reading and came across this in the book of Psalms and it particularly struck me.
Psa 74:1 Maschil of Asaph.
Maschil - the definition of Maschil is...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Instructing, occurs in the title of thirteen Psalms (32, 42, 44, etc.). It denotes a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety, a didactic song. In Psalm 47:7 it is rendered, Authorized Version, "with understanding;" Revised Version, marg., "in a skilful psalm."
Pasted from
… a song enforcing a lesson of wisdom or piety.
Didactic- means-
DIDACTIC, DIDACTICAL, a. [Gr., to teach.] Adapted to teach; preceptive; containing doctrines, precepts, principles or rules; intended to instruct; as a didactic poem or essay.
In Psa. 74:1 we have a teaching psalm of Asaph… who is Asaph--
Who was Asaph?
We can read about Asaph in two books of the *Old Testament, Chronicles and Nehemiah. From them we learn 4 things about Asaph:
· his father was Berechiah (1 Chronicles 6:39)
· he was a music leader (1 Chronicles 15:17 ... this verse also calls Heman and Ethan music leaders)
· he was a *seer (2 Chronicles 29:30) ... a *seer can "see what will happen", it is another word for "*prophet"
· he lived at the same time as King David (Nehemiah 12:46)
The Psalm in its entirety at the end.
*
Psa 74:9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
We see not our signs.
There is no more any prophet.
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
Psa 74:10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
How long shall the adversary reproach?
Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever?
(1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: )
Psa 74:12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Salvation!
Psa 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Have respect unto the covenant.
For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
This verse had me in tears.
This is the truth of this earth… the DARK PLACES are FULL of the HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY.
There is such cruelty in our world! For all that we are supposed to be civilized, living in an enlightened age, it only seems our cruelties have become even more cruel with our technological advancements.
There are SO many dark places on this earth. They could be right next door in a neighbor's house. They could be in the doctor's office you go to. They could fill many seats in our congress, our senate, even our churches have become habitations of cruelty in so many ways. There is heartache and pain enough to fill the earth with endless sorrow. The torturing that goes on unabated in places we consider less civilized, and we don't lift a finger to stop. The legalized torture that goes on in societies governed by dictating men living in dark places. Cruelty! It breaks my heart! You can pick up most newspapers and find inside them samplings of how cruel this world is. Turn on the news and you'll hear such cruel things, horrible things. We can't shut our minds off to all this. It's so easy to turn a blind eye to the suffering because it pains us and we don't want to feel pain, we don't want our heart to ache, we don't want our tears to fall. God knows our pain, He knows the cruelty in this world.
O God HOW LONG shall we suffer under the adversary?!
We see not signs.
There is no more any prophet.
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
NO more prophets… so many that claim to be prophets of God and yet they have no light in them, they prophesize towards their own glory, they spread the poison that Satan feeds to them and disguise it as being God's. They are angels of darkness pretending to be angels of light.
Please dear GOD it is my deep prayer, my earnest cry, my entreaty… Have respect unto the covenant, the covenant that is between you and man and made possible by the sacrifice of Your Son, the better covenant.
Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Your Son, a High Priest ordained by You is the mediator of the new covenant. It is the blood He spilled that He offers for us sinners, to save us. Please Lord God, have respect unto this new, better covenant between mankind and You. We don't deserve Your love, we are the worst of sinners filled with corruption, the earth where we dwell, the earth you created and placed us upon is filled with dark places, so much so that they threaten to overwhelm any places of light. We don't know how long Lord, that is in Your all wise discretion but please Lord, please save us. The pain of cruelty in this world knows no bounds, it's run rampant, the adversary- Your adversary, our adversary roars loudly seeking to devour all of us. Please Lord, please have mercy upon us and come soon!
By Your Grace, Lord! By YOUR GRACE and MERCY!
Save us!
Psalm in its entirety--
Psa 74:1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
Psa 74:2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Psa 74:3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Psa 74:4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
Psa 74:5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
Psa 74:6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
Psa 74:7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
Psa 74:8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
Psa 74:9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
Psa 74:10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
Psa 74:11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
Psa 74:12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Psa 74:13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Psa 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Psa 74:15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
Psa 74:16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Psa 74:17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
Psa 74:18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Psa 74:19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
Psa 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Psa 74:21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Psa 74:22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
Psa 74:23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
Psa 74:1 Maschil of Asaph.
Maschil - the definition of Maschil is...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Instructing, occurs in the title of thirteen Psalms (32, 42, 44, etc.). It denotes a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety, a didactic song. In Psalm 47:7 it is rendered, Authorized Version, "with understanding;" Revised Version, marg., "in a skilful psalm."
Pasted from
… a song enforcing a lesson of wisdom or piety.
Didactic- means-
DIDACTIC, DIDACTICAL, a. [Gr., to teach.] Adapted to teach; preceptive; containing doctrines, precepts, principles or rules; intended to instruct; as a didactic poem or essay.
In Psa. 74:1 we have a teaching psalm of Asaph… who is Asaph--
Who was Asaph?
We can read about Asaph in two books of the *Old Testament, Chronicles and Nehemiah. From them we learn 4 things about Asaph:
· his father was Berechiah (1 Chronicles 6:39)
· he was a music leader (1 Chronicles 15:17 ... this verse also calls Heman and Ethan music leaders)
· he was a *seer (2 Chronicles 29:30) ... a *seer can "see what will happen", it is another word for "*prophet"
· he lived at the same time as King David (Nehemiah 12:46)
The Psalm in its entirety at the end.
*
Psa 74:9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
We see not our signs.
There is no more any prophet.
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
Psa 74:10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
How long shall the adversary reproach?
Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever?
(1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: )
Psa 74:12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Salvation!
Psa 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Have respect unto the covenant.
For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
This verse had me in tears.
This is the truth of this earth… the DARK PLACES are FULL of the HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY.
There is such cruelty in our world! For all that we are supposed to be civilized, living in an enlightened age, it only seems our cruelties have become even more cruel with our technological advancements.
There are SO many dark places on this earth. They could be right next door in a neighbor's house. They could be in the doctor's office you go to. They could fill many seats in our congress, our senate, even our churches have become habitations of cruelty in so many ways. There is heartache and pain enough to fill the earth with endless sorrow. The torturing that goes on unabated in places we consider less civilized, and we don't lift a finger to stop. The legalized torture that goes on in societies governed by dictating men living in dark places. Cruelty! It breaks my heart! You can pick up most newspapers and find inside them samplings of how cruel this world is. Turn on the news and you'll hear such cruel things, horrible things. We can't shut our minds off to all this. It's so easy to turn a blind eye to the suffering because it pains us and we don't want to feel pain, we don't want our heart to ache, we don't want our tears to fall. God knows our pain, He knows the cruelty in this world.
O God HOW LONG shall we suffer under the adversary?!
We see not signs.
There is no more any prophet.
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
NO more prophets… so many that claim to be prophets of God and yet they have no light in them, they prophesize towards their own glory, they spread the poison that Satan feeds to them and disguise it as being God's. They are angels of darkness pretending to be angels of light.
Please dear GOD it is my deep prayer, my earnest cry, my entreaty… Have respect unto the covenant, the covenant that is between you and man and made possible by the sacrifice of Your Son, the better covenant.
Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Your Son, a High Priest ordained by You is the mediator of the new covenant. It is the blood He spilled that He offers for us sinners, to save us. Please Lord God, have respect unto this new, better covenant between mankind and You. We don't deserve Your love, we are the worst of sinners filled with corruption, the earth where we dwell, the earth you created and placed us upon is filled with dark places, so much so that they threaten to overwhelm any places of light. We don't know how long Lord, that is in Your all wise discretion but please Lord, please save us. The pain of cruelty in this world knows no bounds, it's run rampant, the adversary- Your adversary, our adversary roars loudly seeking to devour all of us. Please Lord, please have mercy upon us and come soon!
By Your Grace, Lord! By YOUR GRACE and MERCY!
Save us!
Psalm in its entirety--
Psa 74:1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
Psa 74:2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Psa 74:3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Psa 74:4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
Psa 74:5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
Psa 74:6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
Psa 74:7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
Psa 74:8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
Psa 74:9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
Psa 74:10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
Psa 74:11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
Psa 74:12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Psa 74:13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Psa 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Psa 74:15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
Psa 74:16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Psa 74:17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
Psa 74:18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Psa 74:19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
Psa 74:20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
Psa 74:21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Psa 74:22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
Psa 74:23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
God's or Not God's
God's or not God's.
There are two choices, that's it.
It is true to say- if you are not for God you are against Him because there is NO neutral ground.
People imagine there is a neutral ground called 'Independence' where they can stand without having to choose between God and Satan. All who choose independence are really choosing Satan.
Choosing God means worshipping God, it means serving God, it means God guiding our lives. Choosing God means He is just that OUR GOD.
If people say they have NO God, that they worship no God at all, they are mistaken because the god they are choosing to worship is themselves. Believing they are in need of NO God, that there is No God, the choice is made -- they believe they are-- self-ruling, self-governing, self-sustaining, self-existing. And if a person believes all that they are their own god worshipping at the altar of self.
God or not God's.
Can a person say they are God's and not be God's?
Yes. Many will think they are God's and not be God's.
What makes us truly God's? Jesus says...
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Those aren't MY words! I didn't say that! I didn't make it up!
We are God's IF we love God, aren't we?
Can we hate God and be His?
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me
Pro 8:36 '... all they that hate me love death. '
Joh 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Can we hate God and be God's?
How? How is it possible?
We are told if we love our Savior we will keep His commandments.
What commandments are Jesus' commandments?
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Where are these commandments from?
Thou shalt not murder- thou shalt do no murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Honor they father and mother.
Are these NEW and strange commandments introduced by the promised Messiah? No. Look what the man answered Jesus…
Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
All these things have I KEPT from my YOUTH up.
Jesus' ministry only lasted 3 years before His death. This MAN wants eternal life and is telling Jesus that he's kept the commandments which Jesus says if he keeps he will have eternal life. These commandments are the TEN COMMANDMENTS- written by God Himself on two tables of stone and put in the ark of the covenant between God and His people.
Jesus told this man if he would be perfect he would LAY HIS TREASURES UP IN HEAVEN, and He would be following Jesus. He would be loving God, worshipping God truly, not in a false way that so many even today worship God. Following God, loving God, learning and loving at the feet of Jesus, treasuring the words He speaks and laying those treasures up in heaven, not TREASURING ANYTHING here on earth.
So here we have Jesus Himself telling us what we need to do to have eternal life and even saying-
If ye love me, keep my commandments. Joh 14:15
The ten commandments ARE Jesus' commandments. We can't separate them and say the ten commandments were God's, and the new commandments Jesus gives are Jesus' and we have to follow Jesus not God. It's ludicrous to ever think that way, to ever think that that God's ten commandments were NOT Jesus' commandments as well. Jesus is GOD with us. Jesus lived His whole life as a human on earth before His death and resurrection following His Father, doing His Father's will, keeping His Father's commandments, doing NOTHING without the Father.
Joh 8:18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Joh 8:19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Jesus and His Father agreed on all points! Jesus didn't come to destroy the ten commandments of God.
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
We need to realize this following-
The ten commandments given by the finger of God- were the ONLY commandments written with His own finger!
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exo 25:16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exo 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
The Ten Commandments-
Exo 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
(1) Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(2) Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
(3) Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(4) Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
(5) Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
(6) Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
(7) Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
(8) Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
(9) Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
(10) Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Which of these commandments is irrelevant?
Which of these commandments is out dated?
Which of these commandments is too restrictive?
Which of these commandments is too grievous for us to bear?
Which of these commandments did Jesus do away with, pointedly telling us it was NO longer to be kept that the law from everlasting to everlasting was a mistake?
Jesus summed up the ten commandments for us-
Loving God
Loving our fellow man
The first four commandments of the ten are the result of loving God.
The last six commandments of the ten are the result of loving our fellow man.
Tell me which of these commandments, any of them or all of them, that are no longer binding? WHY would God give us commandments- words of the covenant between God and man- and then turn around and tell us that they are no good? Why would He change His mind and tell us to no longer worship Him, no longer honor Him above all, no longer worry about taking His name in vain, no longer keep His sanctified, His holy day of rest, no longer worry about killing anyone or committing adultery, and who cares about stealing any longer, or lying…go ahead and lie now and go ahead and covet… go ahead and want other's things to the point of hating them because they have them and you don't. Yes, all those things are now okay because that old law, those old commandments are outdated and have been replaced. People will look at you like you're crazy if you say those things. Surely God doesn't want us to steal and kill or worship other gods. But those same people will quickly say- sure God doesn't care if you worship Him on the Sabbath anymore, worshipping Him all the time is better anyway, right? God doesn’t really mind if we take His name in vain, He understands it's just the slang we've grown up listening to and it doesn't mean a thing against Him.
Craziness is what it is. All or nothing. NOT ONE JOT or ONE TITTLE- not ONE dot above an ' i ' or a cross of a 't' is to be done away with!
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS! These are Jesus' words! The law is good and will not pass, none of it! The ten commandments- the covenant written in stone by God Himself- the law placed into the ark of the covenant and now written upon our hearts will be in affect until God and man are permanently reunited when the earth is made new and sin is no longer, death is done away with forever. This is when the covenant between God and man will be completely fulfilled, permanently kept never more to ever in any way, shape, or form to be broken.
So, are we God's or not God's?
Do we really want to be God's or just pretend?
By the grace and mercy of our Savior may we be forgiven of our sinning, of our failing to keep the covenant in Him, through Him. Please Lord, have mercy on us! Save us! Look down upon us and have mercy! We cry mercy Lord! Only You can forgive us, only You can save us, there is no good thing in us the only good is in You and You alone. By the righteousness of our Savior may we be Yours now and forever! May we lay our treasures truly in Heaven with You Lord. Teach us! Help us! Love us! Know us Lord!
By Your will, by Your grace, by Your love now and forever!
Amen.
There are two choices, that's it.
It is true to say- if you are not for God you are against Him because there is NO neutral ground.
People imagine there is a neutral ground called 'Independence' where they can stand without having to choose between God and Satan. All who choose independence are really choosing Satan.
Choosing God means worshipping God, it means serving God, it means God guiding our lives. Choosing God means He is just that OUR GOD.
If people say they have NO God, that they worship no God at all, they are mistaken because the god they are choosing to worship is themselves. Believing they are in need of NO God, that there is No God, the choice is made -- they believe they are-- self-ruling, self-governing, self-sustaining, self-existing. And if a person believes all that they are their own god worshipping at the altar of self.
God or not God's.
Can a person say they are God's and not be God's?
Yes. Many will think they are God's and not be God's.
What makes us truly God's? Jesus says...
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Those aren't MY words! I didn't say that! I didn't make it up!
We are God's IF we love God, aren't we?
Can we hate God and be His?
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me
Pro 8:36 '... all they that hate me love death. '
Joh 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Can we hate God and be God's?
How? How is it possible?
We are told if we love our Savior we will keep His commandments.
What commandments are Jesus' commandments?
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Where are these commandments from?
Thou shalt not murder- thou shalt do no murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Honor they father and mother.
Are these NEW and strange commandments introduced by the promised Messiah? No. Look what the man answered Jesus…
Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
All these things have I KEPT from my YOUTH up.
Jesus' ministry only lasted 3 years before His death. This MAN wants eternal life and is telling Jesus that he's kept the commandments which Jesus says if he keeps he will have eternal life. These commandments are the TEN COMMANDMENTS- written by God Himself on two tables of stone and put in the ark of the covenant between God and His people.
Jesus told this man if he would be perfect he would LAY HIS TREASURES UP IN HEAVEN, and He would be following Jesus. He would be loving God, worshipping God truly, not in a false way that so many even today worship God. Following God, loving God, learning and loving at the feet of Jesus, treasuring the words He speaks and laying those treasures up in heaven, not TREASURING ANYTHING here on earth.
So here we have Jesus Himself telling us what we need to do to have eternal life and even saying-
If ye love me, keep my commandments. Joh 14:15
The ten commandments ARE Jesus' commandments. We can't separate them and say the ten commandments were God's, and the new commandments Jesus gives are Jesus' and we have to follow Jesus not God. It's ludicrous to ever think that way, to ever think that that God's ten commandments were NOT Jesus' commandments as well. Jesus is GOD with us. Jesus lived His whole life as a human on earth before His death and resurrection following His Father, doing His Father's will, keeping His Father's commandments, doing NOTHING without the Father.
Joh 8:18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Joh 8:19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Jesus and His Father agreed on all points! Jesus didn't come to destroy the ten commandments of God.
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
We need to realize this following-
The ten commandments given by the finger of God- were the ONLY commandments written with His own finger!
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exo 25:16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exo 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
The Ten Commandments-
Exo 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
(1) Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(2) Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
(3) Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(4) Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
(5) Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
(6) Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
(7) Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
(8) Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
(9) Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
(10) Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Which of these commandments is irrelevant?
Which of these commandments is out dated?
Which of these commandments is too restrictive?
Which of these commandments is too grievous for us to bear?
Which of these commandments did Jesus do away with, pointedly telling us it was NO longer to be kept that the law from everlasting to everlasting was a mistake?
Jesus summed up the ten commandments for us-
Loving God
Loving our fellow man
The first four commandments of the ten are the result of loving God.
The last six commandments of the ten are the result of loving our fellow man.
Tell me which of these commandments, any of them or all of them, that are no longer binding? WHY would God give us commandments- words of the covenant between God and man- and then turn around and tell us that they are no good? Why would He change His mind and tell us to no longer worship Him, no longer honor Him above all, no longer worry about taking His name in vain, no longer keep His sanctified, His holy day of rest, no longer worry about killing anyone or committing adultery, and who cares about stealing any longer, or lying…go ahead and lie now and go ahead and covet… go ahead and want other's things to the point of hating them because they have them and you don't. Yes, all those things are now okay because that old law, those old commandments are outdated and have been replaced. People will look at you like you're crazy if you say those things. Surely God doesn't want us to steal and kill or worship other gods. But those same people will quickly say- sure God doesn't care if you worship Him on the Sabbath anymore, worshipping Him all the time is better anyway, right? God doesn’t really mind if we take His name in vain, He understands it's just the slang we've grown up listening to and it doesn't mean a thing against Him.
Craziness is what it is. All or nothing. NOT ONE JOT or ONE TITTLE- not ONE dot above an ' i ' or a cross of a 't' is to be done away with!
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS! These are Jesus' words! The law is good and will not pass, none of it! The ten commandments- the covenant written in stone by God Himself- the law placed into the ark of the covenant and now written upon our hearts will be in affect until God and man are permanently reunited when the earth is made new and sin is no longer, death is done away with forever. This is when the covenant between God and man will be completely fulfilled, permanently kept never more to ever in any way, shape, or form to be broken.
So, are we God's or not God's?
Do we really want to be God's or just pretend?
By the grace and mercy of our Savior may we be forgiven of our sinning, of our failing to keep the covenant in Him, through Him. Please Lord, have mercy on us! Save us! Look down upon us and have mercy! We cry mercy Lord! Only You can forgive us, only You can save us, there is no good thing in us the only good is in You and You alone. By the righteousness of our Savior may we be Yours now and forever! May we lay our treasures truly in Heaven with You Lord. Teach us! Help us! Love us! Know us Lord!
By Your will, by Your grace, by Your love now and forever!
Amen.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Good things to come
Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building
Christ being come an high priest of good things to come.
A high priest of what???
Of good things to come.
Future tense- to come. It doesn't read- 'Christ being come an high priest of good things right now'. Yes, some choose to interpret it to mean things right now but the way I read it, it means what it says. 'Christ being come an high priest of good things to come.'
This strikes me as being very relevant at the moment in a personal way. The Holy Spirit has been guiding me in a striking way to consider the 'things to come' , of not being caught up in the things of right now. We get so bogged down in our lives the future seems like a dream- reality in having the dream but the substance of the dream- of our inevitable future is all nonsensical.
Getting bogged down in the here and now it becomes hard to believe there is a future beyond tomorrow, next week, next year, ten years, thirty years, fifty years from now. Some can't even imagine a future for next year let alone fifty years, and most people don't want to truly consider their future beyond their life span.
Are we promised good things on earth now? Are we?
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Does that sound like a promise of riches?
Does that sound like a promise of good health?
Does that sound like a promise of any worldly treasure?
In the world ye shall have tribulation.
YE SHALL HAVE TRIBULATION.
Tribulation-
G2347
thlipsis
thlip'-sis
From G2346; pressure (literally or figuratively): - afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.
Ye shall have pressure, affliction, anguish, burdens, persecutions, tribulations, trouble.
So if we are told that in the world we will have all this tribulation why do we scratch our heads and ponder the reason why the tribulation exists in our lives? Why do we wonder- why me? Why this? Why now?
The ONLY peace we will ever have in a form of endless peace, peace everlasting, peace not affected by anything at all whatsoever is if we have Christ's peace.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Christ's peace.
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
What peace does the world give to us?
The peace of having no financial hardships.
The peace of having good health.
The peace of having trusting companionship.
The peace of job security.
The peace of a loving family.
These are all things we want to have right now to keep us feeling peaceful. Worldly peace- peace the world gives.. We aren't left with this peace from Christ, we are left with HIS peace which is NOT like peace we'll find in the world. We aren't to be troubled, or to be afraid- two things we almost inevitably are when we lack worldly peace. We instantly get caught up in worrying when we lack the peace we want to have in the world- worldly peace. Our health starts to fail- we worry. Our financial security is taken away- we worry. The love of our life decides they want to be the love of someone else's life- we are very troubled, very worried. Our lives are filled with tribulations. Is it any wonder our Savior said- 'my peace I give unto you NOT as the world giveth? Is there any wonder He made the distinction between the two?
He did. It wasn't me who did it, I'm not saying this stuff, I'm not making it up, Christ Himself said these words….
Peace I leave with you
my peace I give unto you
not as the world giveth,
give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled
neither let it be afraid.
Our hearts are troubled when we count on having peace in our worldly existence. When we count on our lives going the way we imagine they should we will be sorely disappointed.
Jesus wants us to have HIS peace. The peace that He offers to us. The peace that as High Priest in heaven He has become for us. Christ being come a high priest of good things to come. Does this have other applications, yes, but me, for right now this has this particular meaning.
The good is to COME, we aren't promised a good worldly life, how can we be, this isn't our world and it wasn't Christ's world. The kingdom of God we pray to come is the world we live for now in this world.
2Co 6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
2Co 6:5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
2Co 6:6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
2Co 6:7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
2Co 6:8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
2Co 6:9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
2Co 6:10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done.
Christ being come an high priest of good things to come.
A high priest of what???
Of good things to come.
Future tense- to come. It doesn't read- 'Christ being come an high priest of good things right now'. Yes, some choose to interpret it to mean things right now but the way I read it, it means what it says. 'Christ being come an high priest of good things to come.'
This strikes me as being very relevant at the moment in a personal way. The Holy Spirit has been guiding me in a striking way to consider the 'things to come' , of not being caught up in the things of right now. We get so bogged down in our lives the future seems like a dream- reality in having the dream but the substance of the dream- of our inevitable future is all nonsensical.
Getting bogged down in the here and now it becomes hard to believe there is a future beyond tomorrow, next week, next year, ten years, thirty years, fifty years from now. Some can't even imagine a future for next year let alone fifty years, and most people don't want to truly consider their future beyond their life span.
Are we promised good things on earth now? Are we?
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Does that sound like a promise of riches?
Does that sound like a promise of good health?
Does that sound like a promise of any worldly treasure?
In the world ye shall have tribulation.
YE SHALL HAVE TRIBULATION.
Tribulation-
G2347
thlipsis
thlip'-sis
From G2346; pressure (literally or figuratively): - afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble.
Ye shall have pressure, affliction, anguish, burdens, persecutions, tribulations, trouble.
So if we are told that in the world we will have all this tribulation why do we scratch our heads and ponder the reason why the tribulation exists in our lives? Why do we wonder- why me? Why this? Why now?
The ONLY peace we will ever have in a form of endless peace, peace everlasting, peace not affected by anything at all whatsoever is if we have Christ's peace.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Christ's peace.
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
What peace does the world give to us?
The peace of having no financial hardships.
The peace of having good health.
The peace of having trusting companionship.
The peace of job security.
The peace of a loving family.
These are all things we want to have right now to keep us feeling peaceful. Worldly peace- peace the world gives.. We aren't left with this peace from Christ, we are left with HIS peace which is NOT like peace we'll find in the world. We aren't to be troubled, or to be afraid- two things we almost inevitably are when we lack worldly peace. We instantly get caught up in worrying when we lack the peace we want to have in the world- worldly peace. Our health starts to fail- we worry. Our financial security is taken away- we worry. The love of our life decides they want to be the love of someone else's life- we are very troubled, very worried. Our lives are filled with tribulations. Is it any wonder our Savior said- 'my peace I give unto you NOT as the world giveth? Is there any wonder He made the distinction between the two?
He did. It wasn't me who did it, I'm not saying this stuff, I'm not making it up, Christ Himself said these words….
Peace I leave with you
my peace I give unto you
not as the world giveth,
give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled
neither let it be afraid.
Our hearts are troubled when we count on having peace in our worldly existence. When we count on our lives going the way we imagine they should we will be sorely disappointed.
Jesus wants us to have HIS peace. The peace that He offers to us. The peace that as High Priest in heaven He has become for us. Christ being come a high priest of good things to come. Does this have other applications, yes, but me, for right now this has this particular meaning.
The good is to COME, we aren't promised a good worldly life, how can we be, this isn't our world and it wasn't Christ's world. The kingdom of God we pray to come is the world we live for now in this world.
2Co 6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
2Co 6:5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
2Co 6:6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
2Co 6:7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
2Co 6:8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
2Co 6:9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
2Co 6:10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Pain of this world
Ecc 3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
There is NO denying that this world offers us pain after pain after pain, heartache, agony, anguish, despair. I won't deny it. I won't tell anyone to follow Jesus and there will be no pain. I won't try and spread the word of the gospel, the plan of salvation, the love of our Lord and tell people life will be happiness and sunshine, that nothing bad will happen to them ever again. To tell people that is to lie to them. I will never preach loving God, following God, choosing to live with God in your life will make things better in a worldly way.
I wrote about it yesterday and it bears repeating, writing about it over and over again… we can't live for this world! We can't live for this world's pleasure, this world's good things, this world's happiness. We can't live for a life of ease, or even for a life of barely surviving. We just can't live for this world, bad or good. If our life is horrific… and believe me I barely know what that's like outside of hearing about the horrors of third world countries, or if our life is one of average ease- of which I know something about, or even if our lives are filled with riches untold we CAN'T live for this world.
We want to live for this world. We see the good things it has to offer and we want to live for them. We want to live even when our lives are filled with horror… just look at those who go through life in severe poverty, degraded by those around them and most of them do not choose to take their lives, they want to live. People who are starving and live in families of starving people- want to live. People who are in pain, severe pain still mostly choose to live. I'm not saying EVERYONE chooses life, but the majority of people no matter their circumstances want to live and those in bad situations want to live and hope things will get better.
We've been raised by the world around us to want to live for things of this world. We can't live for this world, if we do we will forever be disappointed. Sure we'll be happy on occasion but life's pain will be overwhelming.
I know I'm harping on this stuff, I'm just going through something right now that keeps this forefront in my mind.
We are NOT OF THIS WORLD!
Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
What treasures have you laid up in heaven?
What treasures have you banked in heaven?
When's the last time you stored up anything in heaven?
What treasures can we put in heaven?
What treasures can't rust?
What treasures can't become moth eaten?
What treasures can't be stolen?
All earthly treasures can be taken from us, every single treasure can be stolen.
We need to take this seriously, we need to believe these words and take them to heart.
We NEED to STOP living for this world.
Jesus wants us to put our hearts with Him, in heaven, in hope and there we will find life everlasting- a life eventually of no more pain, no more heartache, no more hunger, no more agonies, no more disappointments.
May God bless us all and help us to put our treasures in heaven, knowing that only in heaven can our treasures be safe.
By the grace of our Savior, through the love and righteousness of our Lord may we live now and forever in Him.
Amen.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
There is NO denying that this world offers us pain after pain after pain, heartache, agony, anguish, despair. I won't deny it. I won't tell anyone to follow Jesus and there will be no pain. I won't try and spread the word of the gospel, the plan of salvation, the love of our Lord and tell people life will be happiness and sunshine, that nothing bad will happen to them ever again. To tell people that is to lie to them. I will never preach loving God, following God, choosing to live with God in your life will make things better in a worldly way.
I wrote about it yesterday and it bears repeating, writing about it over and over again… we can't live for this world! We can't live for this world's pleasure, this world's good things, this world's happiness. We can't live for a life of ease, or even for a life of barely surviving. We just can't live for this world, bad or good. If our life is horrific… and believe me I barely know what that's like outside of hearing about the horrors of third world countries, or if our life is one of average ease- of which I know something about, or even if our lives are filled with riches untold we CAN'T live for this world.
We want to live for this world. We see the good things it has to offer and we want to live for them. We want to live even when our lives are filled with horror… just look at those who go through life in severe poverty, degraded by those around them and most of them do not choose to take their lives, they want to live. People who are starving and live in families of starving people- want to live. People who are in pain, severe pain still mostly choose to live. I'm not saying EVERYONE chooses life, but the majority of people no matter their circumstances want to live and those in bad situations want to live and hope things will get better.
We've been raised by the world around us to want to live for things of this world. We can't live for this world, if we do we will forever be disappointed. Sure we'll be happy on occasion but life's pain will be overwhelming.
I know I'm harping on this stuff, I'm just going through something right now that keeps this forefront in my mind.
We are NOT OF THIS WORLD!
Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
What treasures have you laid up in heaven?
What treasures have you banked in heaven?
When's the last time you stored up anything in heaven?
What treasures can we put in heaven?
What treasures can't rust?
What treasures can't become moth eaten?
What treasures can't be stolen?
All earthly treasures can be taken from us, every single treasure can be stolen.
We need to take this seriously, we need to believe these words and take them to heart.
We NEED to STOP living for this world.
Jesus wants us to put our hearts with Him, in heaven, in hope and there we will find life everlasting- a life eventually of no more pain, no more heartache, no more hunger, no more agonies, no more disappointments.
May God bless us all and help us to put our treasures in heaven, knowing that only in heaven can our treasures be safe.
By the grace of our Savior, through the love and righteousness of our Lord may we live now and forever in Him.
Amen.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Satan
Satan.
What do you think of when you hear that name? Does it conjure up visions of some evil mythical figure? Do you have the image of an every day guy in a business suit sporting a creepy smile? Maybe the name of Satan brings up the picture of a horned and hoofed creature carrying a pitchfork. Do you ever picture an angel when you hear the name Satan? Seriously. Do you? Maybe you do, who am I to know.
What I do know is this... Satan as a REAL, live entity in our lives- is missing.
Time and time again I've come face to face with the realization that Satan is just not considered a real driving force in our lives.
Maybe if we took a picture of Him, however we view Him, and enlarged it to at least human life-size and stuck it on a wall in our house so that we saw this image every day, maybe then he'd become more real. We could see him and know that he is alive! We could see that picture and know it belongs to something REAL.
No. I don't want a picture of Satan in my house, I don't want a life-size image of Satan on any wall I have, but I do want to live with the realization that Satan is alive as much as I am alive. Satan is alive as much as Jesus is alive. Satan is alive as much as God is alive.
I don't want to tout Satan for anyone, I don't want to champion Satan this isn't at all what it's about, not one bit. But another trick of the great deceiver is getting people to NOT believe he exists, that he really does influences them.
GOD or SATAN!
ONE or the OTHER!
You don't live one minute, not one second without one or the other being your choice.
We are CREATURES.
We are CREATED beings.
We either choose to have faith in our Creator and the hope He gives us through the righteousness of His Son, through His son's sacrifice, or we turn from our Creator and the Creator's enemy takes control over us. We can't live without our Creator… there is only death without Him and our lives are only living death without Him.
We need the living water.
We need the bread of life.
Satan can never give us living water.
Satan can never give us the bread of life.
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
We need life and life is only found in Christ- real life, endless life, life everlasting, life eternal, life.
May God help us to realize we have an enemy, may God help EVERYONE realize they have an enemy that would do anything He can to keep them from life eternal, life everlasting.
In His grace!
Amen.
What do you think of when you hear that name? Does it conjure up visions of some evil mythical figure? Do you have the image of an every day guy in a business suit sporting a creepy smile? Maybe the name of Satan brings up the picture of a horned and hoofed creature carrying a pitchfork. Do you ever picture an angel when you hear the name Satan? Seriously. Do you? Maybe you do, who am I to know.
What I do know is this... Satan as a REAL, live entity in our lives- is missing.
Time and time again I've come face to face with the realization that Satan is just not considered a real driving force in our lives.
Maybe if we took a picture of Him, however we view Him, and enlarged it to at least human life-size and stuck it on a wall in our house so that we saw this image every day, maybe then he'd become more real. We could see him and know that he is alive! We could see that picture and know it belongs to something REAL.
No. I don't want a picture of Satan in my house, I don't want a life-size image of Satan on any wall I have, but I do want to live with the realization that Satan is alive as much as I am alive. Satan is alive as much as Jesus is alive. Satan is alive as much as God is alive.
I don't want to tout Satan for anyone, I don't want to champion Satan this isn't at all what it's about, not one bit. But another trick of the great deceiver is getting people to NOT believe he exists, that he really does influences them.
GOD or SATAN!
ONE or the OTHER!
You don't live one minute, not one second without one or the other being your choice.
We are CREATURES.
We are CREATED beings.
We either choose to have faith in our Creator and the hope He gives us through the righteousness of His Son, through His son's sacrifice, or we turn from our Creator and the Creator's enemy takes control over us. We can't live without our Creator… there is only death without Him and our lives are only living death without Him.
We need the living water.
We need the bread of life.
Satan can never give us living water.
Satan can never give us the bread of life.
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
We need life and life is only found in Christ- real life, endless life, life everlasting, life eternal, life.
May God help us to realize we have an enemy, may God help EVERYONE realize they have an enemy that would do anything He can to keep them from life eternal, life everlasting.
In His grace!
Amen.
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