Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
A parable- a story with a meaning. Dict-PAR'ABLE, v.t. To represent by fiction or fable.
This parable is used to illustrate to us that we must PRAY ALWAYS and not FAINT.
Here we have a city judge who doesn’t have any respect to God or his fellow man.
We also have a widow with an adversary and she went to this judge and wanted his help against her adversary. The ungodly judge wouldn't help her. Just imagine it- the judge was most likely a very arrogant, self-serving man who believed in nothing but himself. He didn't hold other men in high esteem, he was a judge, he was the one who should be held in high esteem. He didn't reverence God at all, he didn't fear God at all whatsoever- he got where he was of his own accord- in his thinking. He was all about himself and no one else. He had no real sympathy for the widow and he wasn't going to help her, why should he, he didn't want to so he wouldn't. However, the widow wouldn't stop seeking help from the judge. The widow became a 'pest' to the judge. Just imagine her there day after day seeking an audience with him, pleading for help. When he wouldn't grant her an audience it's not hard to envision the widow waiting for the judge whenever he would go out. She was a constant presence in his life and soon the judge grew very tired of her pestering so what does he do? He avenges her, he takes care of her problem, he deals with her adversary just so he doesn't have to put up with her annoying him. The judge didn't help because he cared for the widow. The judge didn't act out of the kindness of his heart. The judge didn't help out because he knew God would want him to do so. The judge served himself by helping the widow- because the widow was very persistent in her search for justice. Would the judge have helped her if she wasn't persistent? NO, absolutely not! That's the point here, this is the point the parable is making for us.
We have to continually come before our Father, acknowledging our need to be connected with Him, acknowledging His Lordship over us, acknowledging Him as our Creator, as our Redeemer. We must constantly bring ourselves to God, our spiritual self must meet with the Holy Spirit if we hope to ever be avenged of our adversary, Satan. We must cry night and day to our God! And God bears LONG with us, He does! God bears long with our constant need for redemption, with our constant need to be born again, with our needing to die daily. God bears very, very long with us in our fallen state, and through the sacrifice of His Son we are made new. Our LOVING, heavenly Father who cares for us more than we can even begin to imagine is more than willing to avenge us and He will do so, He will.
Like that widow dealing with an uncaring judge- she was avenged- not speedily but she was avenged.
We will be avenged we just have to hold fast, we just have to continuously PRAY and NOT FAINT. Only then will the Son of Man find faith on earth- holding fast NO matter what, NO matter how long, knowing our LOVING God will avenge us.
We must not spiritually faint- something Satan would have us do as often as possible.
Maybe physically you've never fainted in your life - you would know right? It's easy to know when you faint physically. We need to be more aware of our spiritual fainting. There are way too many who are unconscious spiritually. The world is filled with people in spiritual comas. We can't let ourselves faint or we too risk falling into a spiritual coma. We have to always pray it's the only way to keep from fainting, the only way. When we physically faint we are completely unaware of our physical surroundings, there is just nothingness to us. When we spiritually faint we become completely unaware of our spiritual surroundings, there exists no spiritual realm. When we pray we are an active part of the spiritual realm we exist in, a realm way too many believe doesn't even exist. That spiritual connection keeps us awake, keeps us from fainting and we need to grasp it and not let go.
Pray… right now, pray.
Holy heavenly Father God please, we lay ourselves at your feet seeking your tender mercy, pleading for forgiveness offered to us by Your Son's great sacrifice. Help us not to faint but to come to You in prayer always! Help us to remain faithful to you until the very end. Please let Your will be done in our lives, just like Your will is done in heaven. Help us to forgive those who sin against us. Give us all we need right now today Lord so that we may be spiritually well fed by You. Help us Lord, not to be led into the despair that temptation to sin brings. Deliver us Lord! Deliver us from ALL evil! By Your love!.
Amen.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Not to faint
Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Men ought always to pray and not to faint.
Not to faint.
What does it mean not to faint?
G1573
ekkakeō
ek-kak-eh'-o
From G1537 and G2556; to be (bad or) weak, that is, (by implication) to fail (in heart): - faint, be weary.
Men out always to pray and not to …be bad, be weak, to fail in heart, be weary.
It's EXTREMELY easy for us to be bad, to be weak, to fail in our hearts, to be weary. It almost seems like our natural tendency is one leading more towards pessimism than optimism and that's very explainable isn't it? Our nature isn't one that tends towards good things, towards optimistic things. When we 'faint', when we find ourselves losing heart, when we become weary and feel very weak what happens? We lose sight of the hope that is in our Savior. Can you lose heart and still have hope? Do the two go together? Can you be pessimistic and optimistic at the same time? Don't they cancel each other out if that happens? People like to call it being realistic when they are neither pessimistic or optimistic. But truthfully isn't there a lean more in the pessimistic direction when that happens?
Fainting- for all of us fainting is a real possibility especially when we lose sight of our Savior and it's easy to lose sight of our Savior if we stop praying. If you are praying ALWAYS you are seeking the source of hope beyond all the horror this world has for us.
Always--
G3842 every when, that is, at all times: - always (-s), ever (-more).
Praying at ALL times. If we are forever connected to God we won't faint. God is then our strength and we are not our own source of strength. We are no longer our own hope. When we realize that by reaching out, that by connecting with the source of our hope we won't faint shouldn't we understand just how important it is to have that heavenly connection always?
The disciples wanted to know how they should pray. Shouldn't they have known how to pray? They were all Jews, all of them raised in the faith of the Jews. All raised to believe in God, to pray to God, to make supplication to God. So why did they ask Jesus about how they should pray?
Luk 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Teach them… but they knew how to pray. They wanted to know how they should pray in light of the fulfillment of the Messiah having come.
Jesus taught them...
Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Pray to the Father in heaven.
Holy is His name.
His kingdom come.
His will be done in heaven and earth.
Give us our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive.
Lead us not into temptation.
Deliver us from evil.
Jesus said to pray this way. This was the base line of EVERY prayer. These are the basic elements necessary when we pray. Acknowledging who we pray to and that He is Holy. Praying for a future in His kingdom- a future not of this world as it is. Praying for HIS will to be done, not ours. Asking for sustenance Spiritual and physical. Asking to be forgiven- knowing we have to forgive. Asking to be kept from temptation and delivered from evil.
This prayer establishes so much and if we are to pray always we need to pray the way Jesus would have us pray first and foremost. We make supplication to our Lord and we make it often in praying always and if we are praying always we will NOT faint! It's when we stop praying that we faint.
More tomorrow by the grace of God!
In His love, in His mercy.
Amen.
Men ought always to pray and not to faint.
Not to faint.
What does it mean not to faint?
G1573
ekkakeō
ek-kak-eh'-o
From G1537 and G2556; to be (bad or) weak, that is, (by implication) to fail (in heart): - faint, be weary.
Men out always to pray and not to …be bad, be weak, to fail in heart, be weary.
It's EXTREMELY easy for us to be bad, to be weak, to fail in our hearts, to be weary. It almost seems like our natural tendency is one leading more towards pessimism than optimism and that's very explainable isn't it? Our nature isn't one that tends towards good things, towards optimistic things. When we 'faint', when we find ourselves losing heart, when we become weary and feel very weak what happens? We lose sight of the hope that is in our Savior. Can you lose heart and still have hope? Do the two go together? Can you be pessimistic and optimistic at the same time? Don't they cancel each other out if that happens? People like to call it being realistic when they are neither pessimistic or optimistic. But truthfully isn't there a lean more in the pessimistic direction when that happens?
Fainting- for all of us fainting is a real possibility especially when we lose sight of our Savior and it's easy to lose sight of our Savior if we stop praying. If you are praying ALWAYS you are seeking the source of hope beyond all the horror this world has for us.
Always--
G3842 every when, that is, at all times: - always (-s), ever (-more).
Praying at ALL times. If we are forever connected to God we won't faint. God is then our strength and we are not our own source of strength. We are no longer our own hope. When we realize that by reaching out, that by connecting with the source of our hope we won't faint shouldn't we understand just how important it is to have that heavenly connection always?
The disciples wanted to know how they should pray. Shouldn't they have known how to pray? They were all Jews, all of them raised in the faith of the Jews. All raised to believe in God, to pray to God, to make supplication to God. So why did they ask Jesus about how they should pray?
Luk 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Teach them… but they knew how to pray. They wanted to know how they should pray in light of the fulfillment of the Messiah having come.
Jesus taught them...
Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Pray to the Father in heaven.
Holy is His name.
His kingdom come.
His will be done in heaven and earth.
Give us our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive.
Lead us not into temptation.
Deliver us from evil.
Jesus said to pray this way. This was the base line of EVERY prayer. These are the basic elements necessary when we pray. Acknowledging who we pray to and that He is Holy. Praying for a future in His kingdom- a future not of this world as it is. Praying for HIS will to be done, not ours. Asking for sustenance Spiritual and physical. Asking to be forgiven- knowing we have to forgive. Asking to be kept from temptation and delivered from evil.
This prayer establishes so much and if we are to pray always we need to pray the way Jesus would have us pray first and foremost. We make supplication to our Lord and we make it often in praying always and if we are praying always we will NOT faint! It's when we stop praying that we faint.
More tomorrow by the grace of God!
In His love, in His mercy.
Amen.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Living in a state of expectation.
Living in a state of expectation.
Watching and praying.
Watching is indicative of expectation isn't it? Especially the instruction to watch for a reason.
We aren't told to watch as if we are watching the sunset and noting it's beauty. We are told to watch because we don't know when our Savior is going to return. We are told to watch in order to be LOOKING for Christ when He returns. How many people today do you suppose are actively looking for Christ to come?
The question was- actively. Not how many are looking for Christ to come.
You'll get a lot of people saying they're looking, they're waiting, but what they are really doing is acknowledging that He will return, not actively LOOKING for His return. You can acknowledge something will happen without watching for it, can't you. I acknowledge there will be a football superbowl this coming year- this is a fact. Now if I were an avid football fan I might have it marked on my calendar, I might be counting down the days till it gets here, I might be making preparations for the party I'm going to have that day. I can also acknowledge that it will rain this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm avidly watching for that rain to take place. We can acknowledge all sorts of things but it doesn't mean we are WATCHING for them. I can just imagine in the day of Christ's coming people acknowledging they knew He would come, they knew it. But Christ will know they weren't WATCHING even though they acknowledged He would return.
So we have to ask the question are WE actively watching for Christ to return? Or are we acknowledging He will return but making no concerted effort to watch for His return? Are we SLEEPING??????? Remember the 10 virgins waiting for the Bridegroom? ALL of them slept! BUT some prepared for that event. Some were ready, they were prepared, they planned ahead of time. We are to watch but the danger of sleep is upon us all and we MUST be prepared, we must have the knowledge of our Lord's return and our salvation wrought through Him embedded into our lives fully. If we acknowledge our Savior will return and then fall asleep- are we prepared? Have we lived with the expectation of the return of our Savior as a REAL driving force in our daily life, and because of that we know that we must be ready- actively be prepared for Him?
Sleep if you want to! Sleep and don't prepare, that's your choice. Live with the knowledge of your Savior as an abstract thought, believing that you need to do know more and you WILL be caught without extra oil. You will be told that Christ doesn't know you. You will be told you are not wearing the wedding garment provided by Christ but trying to attending the wedding in your own clothing- your own righteousness.
We need to LIVE with EXPECTATION, glorious EXPECTATION! Not just live with acknowledgement.
The KING is COMING! The KING is COMING! This is real, and it is as real today as it was in the days of the Apostles and we need to live with this expectation as a reality, not as something that *might* happen someday and if we're lucky the sooner the better.
So many are waiting for signs before they really grasp the reality. They are saying- well this needs to happen and that needs to happen so there's no way Christ is coming anytime soon- like tomorrow. They say, don't tell me to believe Christ could come tomorrow, because it's not true. It is true that we are given signs to watch for. It is true that we need to watch for these signs. But what isn't true is that we should rely on our very fallible judgment to determine when we should *really* start watching for Christ's return. We know things are supposed to happen first but we also know God does things in His time, in His way and not our time, not our way. We are to be ready ALWAYS. If you are among those who are waiting for such and such to take place before you really get serious about our LORD'S return then you could be among those who die LONG before such and such takes place and you will have died before ever getting serious, without ever truly believing and LIVING in, and for Christ your Savior!
We have to live in a state of expectation, watching.
We must not confusing a state of acknowledgment with a state of active watching, active hoping, active praying.
May the Holy Spirit guide us to all understanding by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior. May we live in EXPECTATION, a real, pure expectation of our Savior's return!
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mar 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mar 13:34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Mar 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Mar 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Mar 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Act 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
1Co 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Col 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
In His most amazing love!
Amen.
Watching and praying.
Watching is indicative of expectation isn't it? Especially the instruction to watch for a reason.
We aren't told to watch as if we are watching the sunset and noting it's beauty. We are told to watch because we don't know when our Savior is going to return. We are told to watch in order to be LOOKING for Christ when He returns. How many people today do you suppose are actively looking for Christ to come?
The question was- actively. Not how many are looking for Christ to come.
You'll get a lot of people saying they're looking, they're waiting, but what they are really doing is acknowledging that He will return, not actively LOOKING for His return. You can acknowledge something will happen without watching for it, can't you. I acknowledge there will be a football superbowl this coming year- this is a fact. Now if I were an avid football fan I might have it marked on my calendar, I might be counting down the days till it gets here, I might be making preparations for the party I'm going to have that day. I can also acknowledge that it will rain this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm avidly watching for that rain to take place. We can acknowledge all sorts of things but it doesn't mean we are WATCHING for them. I can just imagine in the day of Christ's coming people acknowledging they knew He would come, they knew it. But Christ will know they weren't WATCHING even though they acknowledged He would return.
So we have to ask the question are WE actively watching for Christ to return? Or are we acknowledging He will return but making no concerted effort to watch for His return? Are we SLEEPING??????? Remember the 10 virgins waiting for the Bridegroom? ALL of them slept! BUT some prepared for that event. Some were ready, they were prepared, they planned ahead of time. We are to watch but the danger of sleep is upon us all and we MUST be prepared, we must have the knowledge of our Lord's return and our salvation wrought through Him embedded into our lives fully. If we acknowledge our Savior will return and then fall asleep- are we prepared? Have we lived with the expectation of the return of our Savior as a REAL driving force in our daily life, and because of that we know that we must be ready- actively be prepared for Him?
Sleep if you want to! Sleep and don't prepare, that's your choice. Live with the knowledge of your Savior as an abstract thought, believing that you need to do know more and you WILL be caught without extra oil. You will be told that Christ doesn't know you. You will be told you are not wearing the wedding garment provided by Christ but trying to attending the wedding in your own clothing- your own righteousness.
We need to LIVE with EXPECTATION, glorious EXPECTATION! Not just live with acknowledgement.
The KING is COMING! The KING is COMING! This is real, and it is as real today as it was in the days of the Apostles and we need to live with this expectation as a reality, not as something that *might* happen someday and if we're lucky the sooner the better.
So many are waiting for signs before they really grasp the reality. They are saying- well this needs to happen and that needs to happen so there's no way Christ is coming anytime soon- like tomorrow. They say, don't tell me to believe Christ could come tomorrow, because it's not true. It is true that we are given signs to watch for. It is true that we need to watch for these signs. But what isn't true is that we should rely on our very fallible judgment to determine when we should *really* start watching for Christ's return. We know things are supposed to happen first but we also know God does things in His time, in His way and not our time, not our way. We are to be ready ALWAYS. If you are among those who are waiting for such and such to take place before you really get serious about our LORD'S return then you could be among those who die LONG before such and such takes place and you will have died before ever getting serious, without ever truly believing and LIVING in, and for Christ your Savior!
We have to live in a state of expectation, watching.
We must not confusing a state of acknowledgment with a state of active watching, active hoping, active praying.
May the Holy Spirit guide us to all understanding by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior. May we live in EXPECTATION, a real, pure expectation of our Savior's return!
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mar 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mar 13:34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Mar 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Mar 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Mar 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Act 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
1Co 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Col 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
In His most amazing love!
Amen.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Are you ready for the Bridegroom?
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready
(LITV) Let us rejoice and let us exult, and we will give glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb came, and His wife prepared herself.
Made HERSELF ready.
Prepared HERSELF.
Regardless of what ANYONE says- the part we play in our salvation matters.
This thought may instantly have many up in arms as they cry out- we can't save ourselves! And I agree, we can't save ourselves at all whatsoever in any way.
The part we have comes into play at all only because salvation IS made available to us. Without salvation being made available to us we have NO part to play. We can't produce our own salvation.
We have the choice to accept the salvation made available to us through our Savior.
We have the choice to make ourselves ready, to prepare ourselves for the Bridegroom. We have to act. We have to prepare. We can't sit back and expect to be ready. We can't get ready one moment and believe that we are then ready forever, any more than we could prepare as a child to be married and expect all those preparations to last until we are actually of age. The child's gown would not fit the adult, the child's shoes would not fit the feet of the adult, any flowers picked would have long since dried up.
Preparations for an impending marriage whether one year away, two, ten, twenty, fifty years in the future-- take time.
As Christ's bride we have to prepare for the Bridegroom. We have to be ready to meet the Bridegroom. If you knew your marriage was going to be tomorrow you'd want to be ready for it, wouldn't you? My sister planned a nice wedding in less than 3 weeks and boy was she busy, busy, busy getting ready for that wedding. In preparing for the wedding to our Savior we need to be busy, busy, busy, don't we? We are talking about our eternal marriage.
If you were going to be married in a few weeks you can bet that you'd be thinking about that upcoming wedding night and day. We too easily lose sight of our impending marriage, letting our everyday life supersede that glorious future event. We stop preparing, we stop even thinking about being ready. We say we love our Lord but we don't act as if we do, we don't prepare or think about being prepared because we are TOO caught up in trying to NOT do anything for fear we will be trying to work towards our salvation. The Devil has us so confused that he sits back and laughs as we run in circles of his devising.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready
We need to be ready.
We need to constantly be thinking about our future marriage.
Are you ready for the Bridegroom?
Being ready doesn't mean YOU perfect your life according to some misguided notions of perfection. Being ready means ACCEPTING what the Lord has done for you, fully accepting what the Lord has done and choosing to LIVE for Him. Our Savior needs to be a REALITY to us. The love we have for our Savior needs to be REAL to us, a REAL love, a REAL knowledge, a REAL choice, a REAL marriage we are going to.
By His grace and mercy may we be prepared for Him, by Him, out of His love.
Amen.
(LITV) Let us rejoice and let us exult, and we will give glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb came, and His wife prepared herself.
Made HERSELF ready.
Prepared HERSELF.
Regardless of what ANYONE says- the part we play in our salvation matters.
This thought may instantly have many up in arms as they cry out- we can't save ourselves! And I agree, we can't save ourselves at all whatsoever in any way.
The part we have comes into play at all only because salvation IS made available to us. Without salvation being made available to us we have NO part to play. We can't produce our own salvation.
We have the choice to accept the salvation made available to us through our Savior.
We have the choice to make ourselves ready, to prepare ourselves for the Bridegroom. We have to act. We have to prepare. We can't sit back and expect to be ready. We can't get ready one moment and believe that we are then ready forever, any more than we could prepare as a child to be married and expect all those preparations to last until we are actually of age. The child's gown would not fit the adult, the child's shoes would not fit the feet of the adult, any flowers picked would have long since dried up.
Preparations for an impending marriage whether one year away, two, ten, twenty, fifty years in the future-- take time.
As Christ's bride we have to prepare for the Bridegroom. We have to be ready to meet the Bridegroom. If you knew your marriage was going to be tomorrow you'd want to be ready for it, wouldn't you? My sister planned a nice wedding in less than 3 weeks and boy was she busy, busy, busy getting ready for that wedding. In preparing for the wedding to our Savior we need to be busy, busy, busy, don't we? We are talking about our eternal marriage.
If you were going to be married in a few weeks you can bet that you'd be thinking about that upcoming wedding night and day. We too easily lose sight of our impending marriage, letting our everyday life supersede that glorious future event. We stop preparing, we stop even thinking about being ready. We say we love our Lord but we don't act as if we do, we don't prepare or think about being prepared because we are TOO caught up in trying to NOT do anything for fear we will be trying to work towards our salvation. The Devil has us so confused that he sits back and laughs as we run in circles of his devising.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready
We need to be ready.
We need to constantly be thinking about our future marriage.
Are you ready for the Bridegroom?
Being ready doesn't mean YOU perfect your life according to some misguided notions of perfection. Being ready means ACCEPTING what the Lord has done for you, fully accepting what the Lord has done and choosing to LIVE for Him. Our Savior needs to be a REALITY to us. The love we have for our Savior needs to be REAL to us, a REAL love, a REAL knowledge, a REAL choice, a REAL marriage we are going to.
By His grace and mercy may we be prepared for Him, by Him, out of His love.
Amen.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Holy Cleansing
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Pure water.
We cannot enter into the kingdom of God if we are impure. We must be cleansed. Baptism- being immersed in water from head to toe, totally submerged we are completely covered in water. Baptism signifies the washing away of our old lives, the lives we lived before we came to know Jesus. Baptism signifies that we want our old lives to die so that we can rise anew into a life with Christ as our Savior. Repenting of our unsaved life, repenting of the sins that have covered us we are seeking to be cleansed when we are baptized. Baptism is an outward, public symbol of our desire to be God's. Except we are born of the water… except we are baptized… we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
The realization of our filthy state, the realization of our need for cleansing is a must. You cannot enter the kingdom of God filthy it's not possible. You cannot enter the kingdom of God unclean. The kingdom of God is pure and holy and all that is clean and anything unclean is immediately rejected. Is it any wonder we have to symbolically show our willingness to be cleansed?
John the Baptist went about baptizing many - baptizing the one who was pure and in need of NO cleansing. Jesus was our example in all things and Jesus was immersed in water- symbolizing cleansing, symbolizing becoming pure. He allowed this act which began His ministry so that we would realize its importance.
Priests were to be clean. Purification acts of cleansing were necessary. These acts didn't clean the heart but they symbolically represented the NEED to be clean. We need to be born of the water, we need to be clean, we need to recognize our NEED to be clean, and in recognizing the need to be clean we must understand that we are dirty.
Baptism alone isn't enough, the symbolic cleansing isn't enough, we must be born of the Spirit as well.
Only the Holy Spirit can truly cleanse the spirit within us. We could wash our outwards selves until our flesh is raw. We could bathe endlessly. We could submit to a purification of the likes contaminated scientists undergo, or wash our entire bodies as a performing surgeon washes his hands and arms, we could go to any lengths to clean our bodies of every contaminant but we cannot cleanse our spirit. You could even clean the inside of your body with fasts and such, but you cannot TOUCH your spirit to clean it. Only the Holy Spirit can cleanse the spirit. We can symbolically show our willingness to be clean for our Savior, which reveals our willingness to have the Holy Spirit cleanse our spirit self. Being born of the Spirit is as necessary as being born of the water to enter the kingdom of God.
Purity is heavenly- pure water.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The water of life the purest water. We will partake of this purest of waters one day when we inherit the kingdom of God.
Pure. Clean. Cleansed. Spotless. WE are made pure by our Savior. We are washed clean in His blood.
Is it any wonder we are to partake of the SYMBOLIC act of eating and drinking of Christ's body and blood? Christ is pure, Christ is the only one who could cleanse us by HIS sacrifice. As baptism is symbolic of cleansing our bodies, our eternal cleansing is symbolically shown through the bread and wine taken into our bodies. The Holy Spirit with both cleansing acts is the power of God acting within us, transforming us in ways we could NEVER clean ourselves, never. We cannot save ourselves but submit to being saved by our LORD, choose to be saved by our LORD.
Born of the water, born of the Spirit only then do we have hope of entering the kingdom of God.
All glory, all praise, all honor to our King and Savior!
Amen.
Pure water.
We cannot enter into the kingdom of God if we are impure. We must be cleansed. Baptism- being immersed in water from head to toe, totally submerged we are completely covered in water. Baptism signifies the washing away of our old lives, the lives we lived before we came to know Jesus. Baptism signifies that we want our old lives to die so that we can rise anew into a life with Christ as our Savior. Repenting of our unsaved life, repenting of the sins that have covered us we are seeking to be cleansed when we are baptized. Baptism is an outward, public symbol of our desire to be God's. Except we are born of the water… except we are baptized… we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
The realization of our filthy state, the realization of our need for cleansing is a must. You cannot enter the kingdom of God filthy it's not possible. You cannot enter the kingdom of God unclean. The kingdom of God is pure and holy and all that is clean and anything unclean is immediately rejected. Is it any wonder we have to symbolically show our willingness to be cleansed?
John the Baptist went about baptizing many - baptizing the one who was pure and in need of NO cleansing. Jesus was our example in all things and Jesus was immersed in water- symbolizing cleansing, symbolizing becoming pure. He allowed this act which began His ministry so that we would realize its importance.
Priests were to be clean. Purification acts of cleansing were necessary. These acts didn't clean the heart but they symbolically represented the NEED to be clean. We need to be born of the water, we need to be clean, we need to recognize our NEED to be clean, and in recognizing the need to be clean we must understand that we are dirty.
Baptism alone isn't enough, the symbolic cleansing isn't enough, we must be born of the Spirit as well.
Only the Holy Spirit can truly cleanse the spirit within us. We could wash our outwards selves until our flesh is raw. We could bathe endlessly. We could submit to a purification of the likes contaminated scientists undergo, or wash our entire bodies as a performing surgeon washes his hands and arms, we could go to any lengths to clean our bodies of every contaminant but we cannot cleanse our spirit. You could even clean the inside of your body with fasts and such, but you cannot TOUCH your spirit to clean it. Only the Holy Spirit can cleanse the spirit. We can symbolically show our willingness to be clean for our Savior, which reveals our willingness to have the Holy Spirit cleanse our spirit self. Being born of the Spirit is as necessary as being born of the water to enter the kingdom of God.
Purity is heavenly- pure water.
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The water of life the purest water. We will partake of this purest of waters one day when we inherit the kingdom of God.
Pure. Clean. Cleansed. Spotless. WE are made pure by our Savior. We are washed clean in His blood.
Is it any wonder we are to partake of the SYMBOLIC act of eating and drinking of Christ's body and blood? Christ is pure, Christ is the only one who could cleanse us by HIS sacrifice. As baptism is symbolic of cleansing our bodies, our eternal cleansing is symbolically shown through the bread and wine taken into our bodies. The Holy Spirit with both cleansing acts is the power of God acting within us, transforming us in ways we could NEVER clean ourselves, never. We cannot save ourselves but submit to being saved by our LORD, choose to be saved by our LORD.
Born of the water, born of the Spirit only then do we have hope of entering the kingdom of God.
All glory, all praise, all honor to our King and Savior!
Amen.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Win Christ!
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
*******
Count ALL things loss but for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
All things are DUNG, other then then knowledge of our Savior.
Not some things. Not just a few things. BUT all things mean NOTHING other than the knowledge of Christ.
We could have everything this world calls good. We could have everything our worldly heart desires. We could have just ONE cherished possession, or perhaps a few. Maybe we want to hold on to just one earthly treasure in the form of heirloom, or a priceless personal gift that would mean nothing to anyone but you. All is counted loss but the knowledge of our Savior.
We need to realize just how little everything in our lives means outside of having the knowledge of our Lord. Does this include people? What good does it do to cling to a loved one if there is no knowledge of Christ? Seriously. It sounds horrifically callous but it's the truth. Christ is ALL things, knowledge of Christ is ALL, leaving no room for anything else to enter in. Am I saying we shouldn't CARE and LOVE others? NO, no, no! But I am saying knowledge of our Savior MUST come before anything else or all our loving, all our caring will mean nothing at all.
We want to be naturally loving, naturally like Jesus, and when we fail to be Christ-like in our lives we chastise ourselves and start to believe that we will never be as Christ would have us be. It WON'T come naturally! It WON'T come easy because our natural self WARS against our Spiritual self. Our natural self clings to THINGS other than the knowledge of our Savior. Our natural self is an excellent excuse maker, an amazing conscience soother, a marvelous deal broker- our natural self wars with our spirit self and all this takes place within us. Our natural self will mock our spirit self with a determination to get our spirit self to just give up. It's horrible to imagine this, let alone believe it. We don't want to be a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde- that's a fictional character in a fictional book and nothing more. We hate to believe that we possess split personalities- and in the medical sense we don't but in the spiritual realm we ALL possess split personalities, ALL humans but our Savior have these split personalities but few want to believe it's a reality. This is crazy people talk, and I can understand how some might believe that to be true. Split personalities, heh, that's nonsense. But it's not nonsense, it wasn't nonsense to the Apostle Paul.
Read this and tell me there isn't a split SPIRITUAL personality situation going on here-
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
We all have bodies of death, every single one of us. We all are in this spiritual fight. If we don't care about our spiritual life- if we don't care about worshipping and honoring our Creator - this war within is seemingly won by the carnal side and often that carnal side will subdue the spiritual side and all will appear normal. No more spiritual fighting, no more spiritual angst, no more spiritual upsets, no more spiritual warring- this carnal victor is more than willing to help you enjoy it's victory over the spiritual.
Going back to counting ALL loss but the knowledge of our Savior, it's the truth. Yet our carnal side will have us believe that our spiritual side matters little and the earthly life that surrounds us now means everything. If you want to believe that you should NATURALLY be able to count all loss but your Savior it's not going to happen. It's a fight! It's a war! You're in a battle for your spiritual life! You have to choose DAILY, choose often during the day, choose always to be Christ's to seek knowledge of Him. You have to ask God to show you always when and where the battle lines are being drawn so you know when and where the fight is. When we recognize our battles we can recognize the need to fight with the armor of God, fight with our Savior as our King, submit to our Lord. Wouldn't you much rather be at war taking part in the spiritual battle than having surrendered to the carnal nature? The chaos we feel inside ourselves is to be embraced as the knowledge of the war. We have to stop trying to be naturally good, thinking that we should be naturally good and then flailing about when we are naturally bad. We have to seek the kingdom of God, we have to seek all knowledge, an excellent knowledge of our Savior and we have to do this ACTIVELY, not half-heartedly or passively when the mood strikes. This is our duty, to know God, to love God. When the naturally bad stuff creeps up as it will we have to fall to our knees seeking forgiveness, repenting of our bad acts even bad thoughts. We have to run to Christ not run from Christ thinking we are too evil to go before Him. Satan will DO everything He can to get us to run from Christ, to look to ourselves for our salvation, for our hope but our HOPE is NOT in us at all… PRAISE GOD! Our hope is in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Let us WIN Christ! Let us count all around us as dung but the knowledge of Christ. Let Christ matter MOST. Please Lord… by YOUR GRACE!
Amen.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
*******
Count ALL things loss but for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
All things are DUNG, other then then knowledge of our Savior.
Not some things. Not just a few things. BUT all things mean NOTHING other than the knowledge of Christ.
We could have everything this world calls good. We could have everything our worldly heart desires. We could have just ONE cherished possession, or perhaps a few. Maybe we want to hold on to just one earthly treasure in the form of heirloom, or a priceless personal gift that would mean nothing to anyone but you. All is counted loss but the knowledge of our Savior.
We need to realize just how little everything in our lives means outside of having the knowledge of our Lord. Does this include people? What good does it do to cling to a loved one if there is no knowledge of Christ? Seriously. It sounds horrifically callous but it's the truth. Christ is ALL things, knowledge of Christ is ALL, leaving no room for anything else to enter in. Am I saying we shouldn't CARE and LOVE others? NO, no, no! But I am saying knowledge of our Savior MUST come before anything else or all our loving, all our caring will mean nothing at all.
We want to be naturally loving, naturally like Jesus, and when we fail to be Christ-like in our lives we chastise ourselves and start to believe that we will never be as Christ would have us be. It WON'T come naturally! It WON'T come easy because our natural self WARS against our Spiritual self. Our natural self clings to THINGS other than the knowledge of our Savior. Our natural self is an excellent excuse maker, an amazing conscience soother, a marvelous deal broker- our natural self wars with our spirit self and all this takes place within us. Our natural self will mock our spirit self with a determination to get our spirit self to just give up. It's horrible to imagine this, let alone believe it. We don't want to be a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde- that's a fictional character in a fictional book and nothing more. We hate to believe that we possess split personalities- and in the medical sense we don't but in the spiritual realm we ALL possess split personalities, ALL humans but our Savior have these split personalities but few want to believe it's a reality. This is crazy people talk, and I can understand how some might believe that to be true. Split personalities, heh, that's nonsense. But it's not nonsense, it wasn't nonsense to the Apostle Paul.
Read this and tell me there isn't a split SPIRITUAL personality situation going on here-
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
We all have bodies of death, every single one of us. We all are in this spiritual fight. If we don't care about our spiritual life- if we don't care about worshipping and honoring our Creator - this war within is seemingly won by the carnal side and often that carnal side will subdue the spiritual side and all will appear normal. No more spiritual fighting, no more spiritual angst, no more spiritual upsets, no more spiritual warring- this carnal victor is more than willing to help you enjoy it's victory over the spiritual.
Going back to counting ALL loss but the knowledge of our Savior, it's the truth. Yet our carnal side will have us believe that our spiritual side matters little and the earthly life that surrounds us now means everything. If you want to believe that you should NATURALLY be able to count all loss but your Savior it's not going to happen. It's a fight! It's a war! You're in a battle for your spiritual life! You have to choose DAILY, choose often during the day, choose always to be Christ's to seek knowledge of Him. You have to ask God to show you always when and where the battle lines are being drawn so you know when and where the fight is. When we recognize our battles we can recognize the need to fight with the armor of God, fight with our Savior as our King, submit to our Lord. Wouldn't you much rather be at war taking part in the spiritual battle than having surrendered to the carnal nature? The chaos we feel inside ourselves is to be embraced as the knowledge of the war. We have to stop trying to be naturally good, thinking that we should be naturally good and then flailing about when we are naturally bad. We have to seek the kingdom of God, we have to seek all knowledge, an excellent knowledge of our Savior and we have to do this ACTIVELY, not half-heartedly or passively when the mood strikes. This is our duty, to know God, to love God. When the naturally bad stuff creeps up as it will we have to fall to our knees seeking forgiveness, repenting of our bad acts even bad thoughts. We have to run to Christ not run from Christ thinking we are too evil to go before Him. Satan will DO everything He can to get us to run from Christ, to look to ourselves for our salvation, for our hope but our HOPE is NOT in us at all… PRAISE GOD! Our hope is in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Let us WIN Christ! Let us count all around us as dung but the knowledge of Christ. Let Christ matter MOST. Please Lord… by YOUR GRACE!
Amen.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Celebrating and Sinning
Job 1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Some say the Book of Job was written long before its place in the Bible, in fact they say the Book of Job has no date of origin- others have speculated that the book was actually the first book written. I'm not even going to play scholar, I will not try to date the book. However, I have to agree with this statement--
'Job's sacrifices were according to the patriarchal pattern, with Job acting as the priest for his household.'
Job's seven sons and three daughters were feasting-
Job 1:4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
The feasted at least for seven days- seven days, every one his day. Job knew of this feasting they were undertaking and he was worried their feasting had them sinning. So as the patriarch of the family he rose up early AFTER their feasting days were over and sent for them, needing to sanctify them. To do this Job needed to offer a burnt offering sacrifice for each of them to rid them of any feasting sins they may have committed during that time. Job says - 'It MAY be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' Job didn't know for certain that His sons were sinning and cursing God but He wasn't about to let that stop Him from making sacrifices for them. Job wanted his family right with God. Regardless of whether or not they were going to stop sinning, Job wanted to keep His family on the right track. It says- 'Thus did Job continually.' Job's children would party and Job would pray and offer sacrifices for them to keep them sanctified before God.
During our days of feasting- our celebrating - how easy is it to get caught up in things ungodly especially when you add alcohol and drugs to the mix. As soon as you add those elements you strip away the natural inhibitions we possess and we are no longer in our right minds- right?
Eli to Hannah-
1Sa 1:14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
Hannah wasn't drunk, but the point being drunk people act much differently than those who aren't influenced by alcohol. Depending upon the severity of the drunkenness the actions match that severity. We all know, we've all seen it, watched it in movies, or even experienced it in friends and family members, or perhaps even in ourselves. The advisement of Eli to Hannah to put away her wine, was an advisement against her supposed drunkenness.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
David wanted to get Uriah drunk enough to let go of his inhibition to abstain from being with his wife as a matter of honor, so that Uriah would be with Bathsheba and the child she carried could be called his- not David's conceived through adultery. It didn't work. Uriah was able to keep to his conviction even though David and made him drunk. The hope however had been to lessen Uriah's conviction through alcohol- the knowledge that getting drunk has bad connotations is a given.
1Ki 16:8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
1Ki 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
1Ki 16:10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
Drinking himself drunk- because Elah drank himself drunk it made it very easy to kill him.
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord
Be NOT drunk with wine- wherein is excess. That excess being profligacy which means- 'A profligate or very vicious course of life; a state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice.' A state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice, these are far from good things. But getting drunk does that- moral principles are abandoned, actions are made that would NEVER be made without the drunkenness.
Gen 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
Gen 19:33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
Two daughters made their father drunk, so drunk that he wasn't even aware of what was going on when they seduced him! Without the drunkenness there would have been no seducing going on whatsoever.
Lev 10:9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
Lev 10:11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
Do NOT drink wine nor strong drink- this is a admonition to the Levite priests. When you are drunk you are undiscerning and you don't care about what is holy and unholy, clean and unclean. You lose your sense of purpose, you lose your ability to recognize right from wrong and you surely can't teach others if you are drunk.
We know this don't we? The Bible speaks of it and we know it as well. There was a time in our country we tried to prohibit alcohol consumption because of the evils associated with it, yet that didn't last. People will drink and they will drink to get drunk for many, many reasons. Some do it just because they call it a 'good time', 'loosening up', 'relaxing'. Some do it to give themselves an excuse to forget about life's hardships, allowing the drug that alcohol is to numb them temporarily.
There are many reasons why people drink and what happens when they drink is something they don't concern themselves with.
So, going back to Job- it was logical for Job to want to have his children sinless before God, to have them forgiven of their sins, to sanctify them. Job didn't know for sure that the feasting had them sinning but it was a good bet that it did. The dangers of alcohol go far beyond the worldly dangers and into the spiritual dangers. Alcohol endangers spiritual lives- alcohol can turn an otherwise innocently festive experience into one that is not quite so innocent. Sin-- cursing God in the heart-- and truly sin IS a cursing of God in the heart, it's breaking God's commands of love.
Job knew as we too should know- that feasting - celebrating- getting drunk or even not getting drunk but allowing the festivities themselves lead us to ungodly behavior- is something we need to ask forgiveness for if we get caught up in it. Prayerfully we won't get entrapped by any behavior that would lead us away from God. Prayerfully we will fall to our knees and plead for forgiveness claiming the offering of God's only Son as our Sacrifice, if we do find ourselves trapped.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, may we NOT be caught up in the feasting, festivities, and celebrations and lose sight of our God, our Savior, our Lord, our King! Please God hear this prayer!
Amen.
Some say the Book of Job was written long before its place in the Bible, in fact they say the Book of Job has no date of origin- others have speculated that the book was actually the first book written. I'm not even going to play scholar, I will not try to date the book. However, I have to agree with this statement--
'Job's sacrifices were according to the patriarchal pattern, with Job acting as the priest for his household.'
Job's seven sons and three daughters were feasting-
Job 1:4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
The feasted at least for seven days- seven days, every one his day. Job knew of this feasting they were undertaking and he was worried their feasting had them sinning. So as the patriarch of the family he rose up early AFTER their feasting days were over and sent for them, needing to sanctify them. To do this Job needed to offer a burnt offering sacrifice for each of them to rid them of any feasting sins they may have committed during that time. Job says - 'It MAY be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' Job didn't know for certain that His sons were sinning and cursing God but He wasn't about to let that stop Him from making sacrifices for them. Job wanted his family right with God. Regardless of whether or not they were going to stop sinning, Job wanted to keep His family on the right track. It says- 'Thus did Job continually.' Job's children would party and Job would pray and offer sacrifices for them to keep them sanctified before God.
During our days of feasting- our celebrating - how easy is it to get caught up in things ungodly especially when you add alcohol and drugs to the mix. As soon as you add those elements you strip away the natural inhibitions we possess and we are no longer in our right minds- right?
Eli to Hannah-
1Sa 1:14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
Hannah wasn't drunk, but the point being drunk people act much differently than those who aren't influenced by alcohol. Depending upon the severity of the drunkenness the actions match that severity. We all know, we've all seen it, watched it in movies, or even experienced it in friends and family members, or perhaps even in ourselves. The advisement of Eli to Hannah to put away her wine, was an advisement against her supposed drunkenness.
2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
David wanted to get Uriah drunk enough to let go of his inhibition to abstain from being with his wife as a matter of honor, so that Uriah would be with Bathsheba and the child she carried could be called his- not David's conceived through adultery. It didn't work. Uriah was able to keep to his conviction even though David and made him drunk. The hope however had been to lessen Uriah's conviction through alcohol- the knowledge that getting drunk has bad connotations is a given.
1Ki 16:8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
1Ki 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
1Ki 16:10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
Drinking himself drunk- because Elah drank himself drunk it made it very easy to kill him.
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord
Be NOT drunk with wine- wherein is excess. That excess being profligacy which means- 'A profligate or very vicious course of life; a state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice.' A state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice, these are far from good things. But getting drunk does that- moral principles are abandoned, actions are made that would NEVER be made without the drunkenness.
Gen 19:31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Gen 19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
Gen 19:33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
Two daughters made their father drunk, so drunk that he wasn't even aware of what was going on when they seduced him! Without the drunkenness there would have been no seducing going on whatsoever.
Lev 10:9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
Lev 10:11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
Do NOT drink wine nor strong drink- this is a admonition to the Levite priests. When you are drunk you are undiscerning and you don't care about what is holy and unholy, clean and unclean. You lose your sense of purpose, you lose your ability to recognize right from wrong and you surely can't teach others if you are drunk.
We know this don't we? The Bible speaks of it and we know it as well. There was a time in our country we tried to prohibit alcohol consumption because of the evils associated with it, yet that didn't last. People will drink and they will drink to get drunk for many, many reasons. Some do it just because they call it a 'good time', 'loosening up', 'relaxing'. Some do it to give themselves an excuse to forget about life's hardships, allowing the drug that alcohol is to numb them temporarily.
There are many reasons why people drink and what happens when they drink is something they don't concern themselves with.
So, going back to Job- it was logical for Job to want to have his children sinless before God, to have them forgiven of their sins, to sanctify them. Job didn't know for sure that the feasting had them sinning but it was a good bet that it did. The dangers of alcohol go far beyond the worldly dangers and into the spiritual dangers. Alcohol endangers spiritual lives- alcohol can turn an otherwise innocently festive experience into one that is not quite so innocent. Sin-- cursing God in the heart-- and truly sin IS a cursing of God in the heart, it's breaking God's commands of love.
Job knew as we too should know- that feasting - celebrating- getting drunk or even not getting drunk but allowing the festivities themselves lead us to ungodly behavior- is something we need to ask forgiveness for if we get caught up in it. Prayerfully we won't get entrapped by any behavior that would lead us away from God. Prayerfully we will fall to our knees and plead for forgiveness claiming the offering of God's only Son as our Sacrifice, if we do find ourselves trapped.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, may we NOT be caught up in the feasting, festivities, and celebrations and lose sight of our God, our Savior, our Lord, our King! Please God hear this prayer!
Amen.
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