Lev 14:25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot
The lamb of the trespass offering.
The blood of the trespass offering.
To be cleansed.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
A lamb was ONLY ever brought to be slain as an offering to God for CLEANSING. The blood of the slain lamb was used for cleansing. Every single time a blood offering was made it was made as sacrifice for something man had done in sin. Blood is NOT shed in sacrifice without a reason.
1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot
We are NOT redeemed by anything other than the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST! Christ the LAMB of GOD!
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
We are clothed in FILTHY RAGS- OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES are filthy rags. Is it any wonder we must be WASHED in the blood of the Lamb? Only the blood of the Lamb can redeem us. Only the blood of the Lamb has any cleansing power. There is not a single thing on earth that can cleanse us, that can take away the stains of sin that lays upon us thickly. Not one million good deeds for a single deed of evil will cleanse us from that stain of evil. We try to cleanse ourselves all too often. We try to redeem ourselves. We are constantly trying to make up for the wrong we've committed. We try to justify our evil acts in all sorts of ways and unfortunately Satan is all too eager to tell us we are justified, that there was good reason for our evil actions. We were provoked into committing evil. We were done evil and that warrants our justification to return evil for evil. We have RIGHTS we are born with those rights which allow us to justify ourselves. We are all about our individual rights. If we sin it is only because we are too weak to do otherwise, and it's not our fault we were made weak. It's not our fault we were born with a propensity towards sin. It's NOT our fault we are filthy so because it's not our fault we are NOT accountable. WRONG! We are accountable! We might not be Eve who sinned first, or Adam who sinned second - but we just like them are given a CHOICE. We are given a choice and that choice is whether or not we will choose to WASH our robes in the blood of the Lamb. It is our choice whether or not we will accept the sacrifice made for our filthy sinfilled state. We do not have to accept it, it's our choice. Adam and Eve were originally clothed in righteousness- the righteousness given them by God and it was their choice to disobey and that righteousness God clothed them with, they stained with sinned, with disobedience. The only way the filthy righteousness is made clean is by the Lamb's blood. We choose.
Rev 7:14 ...These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Zec 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
Rev 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Mat 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Mat 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow
Mar 9:3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
Luk 9:29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
We are purchased with Jesus Christ's blood, His amazing, His precious, precious blood.
Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psa 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psa 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Psa 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
AMEN.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Psalms 104:35
Psa 104:35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.
If something is no more- then it doesn't exist, right?
Psa 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Psa 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 68:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
Psa 68:2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
Psa 73:27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Isa 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
Hos 13:3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
Let the wicked be no more.
Why do so many people believe they will have eternal life after death, a second chance to redeem themselves after death? Why do people cling to the hope of some sort of purgatory where they'll be able to suffer enough to be saved? Why don't people believe God's word?
Very few people live today with the fear of God in them, a real fear of His wrath. They say God is love so don't fear any wrath, that's all old timey stuff to scare you- that ol' fire and brimstone preaching that is long outdated and no longer applicable. Who wants to hear about hell and damnation when they could be hearing about love, love, love? We want the Pollyanna preaching, not the ministers of fury trying to put the fear of God deep inside you. Speaking of Pollyanna, that whole movie was about being happy and spreading cheerfulness with very little left for anything like fear inducing preaching.
People take the soft side of our Savior and want to sell that as His being more compassionate than the old testament God, but it's not true! Nothing that went on during the old testament times occurred without our Savior as God with God, knowing about it, not one thing and it all met with His approval. God being a consuming fire is a reality, not something that was done away with over time. Jesus did not come to change God's ways, but to reveal the Father to us fully. The Father's long suffering and compassion were truly displayed by His Begotten Son, His sorrow over the wicked, unrepentant sinner was revealed. The wrath over presumptuous sin was clearly evident as Jesus rid the temple of buyers and sellers, cheaters, thieves. Jesus' words to us about the wicked and their end are so incredibly relevant but we want to forget He said stuff like this--
Mat 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
The wicked are NOT acceptable.
The unrepentant are NOT acceptable.
The evil man is NOT acceptable.
The evil and the just will both have good things happen to them in this world now, but at the end of the world when our Savior returns the evil, the unrepentant wicked will NOT inherit the kingdom of God! We need to realize this! We need to understand that the love of God is amazing, it's powerful, it's beyond our imagination, but so too is His wrath. None will be saved that choose NOT to be saved. None will be saved that choose to disobey God. None will be saved that defy all that our God calls on us to be in Him, through Him.
We are to LOVE those who hurt us and do wickedness towards us- but that doesn't mean our loving them will alter their wicked ways. If we for one moment believe that God is going to have all loving people upon earth when He returns then we are BLIND, DEAF, and LACK UNDERSTANDING of God's word to us.
The wicked will far out number the righteous and there will be NO SECOND CHANCE! Stop it right now, stop believing you have all the time in the world or the world hereafter to become God's, to accept God, to ask for forgiveness, to truly repent! STOP IT! You do NOT have time to imagine that being evil is good or acceptable at any time, ever! The very thought of repenting later after you've 'lived a little on the wild side' is a damning thought! It's a presumption that you cannot afford to EVER make! You are not guaranteed tomorrow, no one is. You are only guaranteed right this moment you are living in right now and in this moment you can choose God over Satan, Good over Evil, Righteousness in Christ over self righteousness. Don't wait!
Psa 104:35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.
Sinners really will be consumed.
Sinners really will be NO MORE!
All those in Christ and Him alone will be blessed with life and that life will be everlasting.
Don't fool yourself that God is not exacting, don't, please don't.
By the grace of God, our loving, loving God!
May we be blessed with Him always choosing God! Choosing to fear our God in a healthy fear that allows us to comprehend good from evil. Let us never, ever lose that fear which stems from the love of God towards us.
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
We recently studied this very part of Revelation we can't ignore the duality of our God's workings. Fear God- reverence Him, and yes, fear God who has the power to render punishment to the wicked - righteous punishment, justice. That punishment is permanent-the wicked will be no more.
By the grace of our Lord always in His love!
Amen.
If something is no more- then it doesn't exist, right?
Psa 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Psa 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
Psa 68:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
Psa 68:2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
Psa 73:27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Isa 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
Hos 13:3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
Let the wicked be no more.
Why do so many people believe they will have eternal life after death, a second chance to redeem themselves after death? Why do people cling to the hope of some sort of purgatory where they'll be able to suffer enough to be saved? Why don't people believe God's word?
Very few people live today with the fear of God in them, a real fear of His wrath. They say God is love so don't fear any wrath, that's all old timey stuff to scare you- that ol' fire and brimstone preaching that is long outdated and no longer applicable. Who wants to hear about hell and damnation when they could be hearing about love, love, love? We want the Pollyanna preaching, not the ministers of fury trying to put the fear of God deep inside you. Speaking of Pollyanna, that whole movie was about being happy and spreading cheerfulness with very little left for anything like fear inducing preaching.
People take the soft side of our Savior and want to sell that as His being more compassionate than the old testament God, but it's not true! Nothing that went on during the old testament times occurred without our Savior as God with God, knowing about it, not one thing and it all met with His approval. God being a consuming fire is a reality, not something that was done away with over time. Jesus did not come to change God's ways, but to reveal the Father to us fully. The Father's long suffering and compassion were truly displayed by His Begotten Son, His sorrow over the wicked, unrepentant sinner was revealed. The wrath over presumptuous sin was clearly evident as Jesus rid the temple of buyers and sellers, cheaters, thieves. Jesus' words to us about the wicked and their end are so incredibly relevant but we want to forget He said stuff like this--
Mat 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
The wicked are NOT acceptable.
The unrepentant are NOT acceptable.
The evil man is NOT acceptable.
The evil and the just will both have good things happen to them in this world now, but at the end of the world when our Savior returns the evil, the unrepentant wicked will NOT inherit the kingdom of God! We need to realize this! We need to understand that the love of God is amazing, it's powerful, it's beyond our imagination, but so too is His wrath. None will be saved that choose NOT to be saved. None will be saved that choose to disobey God. None will be saved that defy all that our God calls on us to be in Him, through Him.
We are to LOVE those who hurt us and do wickedness towards us- but that doesn't mean our loving them will alter their wicked ways. If we for one moment believe that God is going to have all loving people upon earth when He returns then we are BLIND, DEAF, and LACK UNDERSTANDING of God's word to us.
The wicked will far out number the righteous and there will be NO SECOND CHANCE! Stop it right now, stop believing you have all the time in the world or the world hereafter to become God's, to accept God, to ask for forgiveness, to truly repent! STOP IT! You do NOT have time to imagine that being evil is good or acceptable at any time, ever! The very thought of repenting later after you've 'lived a little on the wild side' is a damning thought! It's a presumption that you cannot afford to EVER make! You are not guaranteed tomorrow, no one is. You are only guaranteed right this moment you are living in right now and in this moment you can choose God over Satan, Good over Evil, Righteousness in Christ over self righteousness. Don't wait!
Psa 104:35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.
Sinners really will be consumed.
Sinners really will be NO MORE!
All those in Christ and Him alone will be blessed with life and that life will be everlasting.
Don't fool yourself that God is not exacting, don't, please don't.
By the grace of God, our loving, loving God!
May we be blessed with Him always choosing God! Choosing to fear our God in a healthy fear that allows us to comprehend good from evil. Let us never, ever lose that fear which stems from the love of God towards us.
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
We recently studied this very part of Revelation we can't ignore the duality of our God's workings. Fear God- reverence Him, and yes, fear God who has the power to render punishment to the wicked - righteous punishment, justice. That punishment is permanent-the wicked will be no more.
By the grace of our Lord always in His love!
Amen.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
Yes, I'm still stuck on this business of creation and dying, it's a subject that is forever pertinent.
When God hides his face it is troublesome isn't it? Seriously, when we feel as if God is choosing not to let us see Him (of course in a spiritual sense) it's something that upset us. We like to believe God is close to us. So many say He's just a prayer away, and they're not wrong, it's just that people believe they can constantly rebel against God and He'll forever strive with them- this isn't true!
Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years
Sin separates us from God. True, genuine repentance and desire for forgiveness heals that separation. God knows the difference between genuine and false- we can't hide from Him. As long as we keep alive the desire to sin, as long as we stop fighting sin and just allow it to be part of our lives, we cannot hope to have God close to us. Yes, we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ our Lord and nothing else but His righteousness, His forgiveness of our sins, can save us. Yet, this does NOT give us a free pass allowing us to continue on in presumptuous sin without thoughts of the consequences.
Some believe that God hides His face from them when they are overwhelmed with life's all to numerous tragedies, but we know that isn't true. We know that God will never hide His face from those who truly love Him- even if they are called to suffer unimaginably. We cannot hope to have a better path than our Savior had.
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake
We cannot gauge our eternal life on whether or not we are living a pain free life, a life free of troubles and heartaches. God isn't hiding His face from those who love Him when those loved ones are suffering. God will hide His face from those who are not his because sin will separate them from God.
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
We talked about our breath being taken away yesterday and here is yet another verse on that very subject.
When God takes the breath away- we die- we return to dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
When God sends forth His Spirit- we are created. Remember how we discussed how we will receive new flesh bodies one day? God who created the earth and all the things therein, God who created the sun, the moon, the stars. God who can create something from nothing will be able to do this miraculous thing for all of those who love Him.
It is so true that the glory of the LORD will endure forever.
The LORD can rejoice in His works, they are amazing.
By the word of the Lord creation exists so how can we even begin to question His ability to call all the dead in Him to new life? We have way too many horror movies out there that love to portray the dead returning to life and they very seldom do so in any sort of good way. Is it any wonder we tend to question the hows and whys of things when we are overwhelmed with 'man's' version of how things are? Satan has corrupted so much and he'll never stop filling the minds of those who don't want to hear truth -with deception. We live in a world today where our government has actually implemented plans for a world filled with the living dead- people who have died and yet are reanimated through some sort of virus or some such. Could it happen? Who am I to say it could not? Yet, my Bible tells me that no matter what sort of evil the devil is able to work with his ability to perform miracles, that Christ is my Savior and I will have everlasting life in Him and NO other!
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
God our Creator, God our Redeemer will forever exist- He's from everlasting to everlasting and I, by His grace will be found in Him and His everlasting.
Amen.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
Yes, I'm still stuck on this business of creation and dying, it's a subject that is forever pertinent.
When God hides his face it is troublesome isn't it? Seriously, when we feel as if God is choosing not to let us see Him (of course in a spiritual sense) it's something that upset us. We like to believe God is close to us. So many say He's just a prayer away, and they're not wrong, it's just that people believe they can constantly rebel against God and He'll forever strive with them- this isn't true!
Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years
Sin separates us from God. True, genuine repentance and desire for forgiveness heals that separation. God knows the difference between genuine and false- we can't hide from Him. As long as we keep alive the desire to sin, as long as we stop fighting sin and just allow it to be part of our lives, we cannot hope to have God close to us. Yes, we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ our Lord and nothing else but His righteousness, His forgiveness of our sins, can save us. Yet, this does NOT give us a free pass allowing us to continue on in presumptuous sin without thoughts of the consequences.
Some believe that God hides His face from them when they are overwhelmed with life's all to numerous tragedies, but we know that isn't true. We know that God will never hide His face from those who truly love Him- even if they are called to suffer unimaginably. We cannot hope to have a better path than our Savior had.
Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake
We cannot gauge our eternal life on whether or not we are living a pain free life, a life free of troubles and heartaches. God isn't hiding His face from those who love Him when those loved ones are suffering. God will hide His face from those who are not his because sin will separate them from God.
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
We talked about our breath being taken away yesterday and here is yet another verse on that very subject.
When God takes the breath away- we die- we return to dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
When God sends forth His Spirit- we are created. Remember how we discussed how we will receive new flesh bodies one day? God who created the earth and all the things therein, God who created the sun, the moon, the stars. God who can create something from nothing will be able to do this miraculous thing for all of those who love Him.
It is so true that the glory of the LORD will endure forever.
The LORD can rejoice in His works, they are amazing.
By the word of the Lord creation exists so how can we even begin to question His ability to call all the dead in Him to new life? We have way too many horror movies out there that love to portray the dead returning to life and they very seldom do so in any sort of good way. Is it any wonder we tend to question the hows and whys of things when we are overwhelmed with 'man's' version of how things are? Satan has corrupted so much and he'll never stop filling the minds of those who don't want to hear truth -with deception. We live in a world today where our government has actually implemented plans for a world filled with the living dead- people who have died and yet are reanimated through some sort of virus or some such. Could it happen? Who am I to say it could not? Yet, my Bible tells me that no matter what sort of evil the devil is able to work with his ability to perform miracles, that Christ is my Savior and I will have everlasting life in Him and NO other!
Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
God our Creator, God our Redeemer will forever exist- He's from everlasting to everlasting and I, by His grace will be found in Him and His everlasting.
Amen.
While I have my being
Psa 104:33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
While I have my being.
We lose our being, our being is temporary.
Psa 63:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
While I live.
We lose our lives.
Psa 146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
While I live. While I have any being.
So many people really believe that they'll have the ability to praise God always forever without end. Yet why would David say these words? Why would we read - 'while I have my being.' And 'while I live.'
David KNEW there would come a time when he no longer had his 'being', when he no longer 'lived', and then he wouldn't be able to praise, sing, lift up his hands to God. Yet if…as so many people believe…we never really die but simple switch from having a physical being to a spiritual being upon death then WHY can't that spiritual being sing praises to God? Angels are spiritual beings and they sing. We cannot imagine being unable to speak after death- right? If we in fact we are among those who believe in instant life after death- which I don't and neither did David.
Psa 31:12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
Psa 88:9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Psa 88:10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Psa 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Psa 88:12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Psa 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
How can ANYONE believe that we live after we die?
Yes, there are a lot of verses that indicate there is life after death, but that doesn't mean there is IMMEDIATE LIFE after death.
Why are we told the dead in Christ shall rise and meet the Lord in the air, if they are already living with Him in heaven?
We've had plenty of studies on the dead being dead not living on in any existence after death until Christ returns, but I've been thinking a lot about it lately. Yesterday's study talked about us being dust. We die and return to dust.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
The spirit shall return to God. The word spirit here is the word used for breath. God gave Adam his first breath- remember?
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The breath of life. It's that breath of life given to Adam that has subsequently been given to EVERY human being who has ever lived.
Think about it! We have the breath of God in us. Adam's breath, Eve's breath created Cain and Seth's breath and on and on. When Adam died, the breath that enable Him to live was expelled and he never took in another breath. That breath returned to God who gave it.
Now one of the things I've been thinking on is this-- will we get that breath of life back from God?
Lazarus stopped breathing when he died and was wrapped in his burial shroud and laid in his tomb. The breath that he received from his parents, who all the way back to Adam and Eve received the breath from God went back to God. But then Jesus call Lazarus back to life. That breath returned to his body. It had been given by God through long line of ancestors and God gave it back to Him, without receiving that breath back into his body he could not have lived again. We have to remember that Lot had begun to decay already- a human body doesn't stay well preserved for very long unless it is frozen and he wasn't frozen-not even close. The body begins decay immediately going through the process of deterioration. Remember this…
Joh 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
She knew her brother was decaying in the tomb, she wasn't under any other impression at all whatsoever. So when that breath of life returned to Lazarus another change took place as well, the process of decay was instantly reversed, new life was given to Lazarus by the power of God.
No matter when we die- a day before Christ returns or 1000 days, or 6000 days, or more when we are called from our graves no matter where they may be we will be given a new body of dust and that breath of life that God took back from us will return to that new incorruptible body. We will have bodies that will be preserved by the tree of life and never ever see corruption.
God who formed Adam from dust, God who formed Eve from Adam, God who gave Lazarus new life and reversed the decay he'd undergone, God who gave our SAVIOR new life, God who gave back our Savior His breath of life will give us that breath of life again along with new life - new flesh.
God knows each one of us.
God knows all who have been born.
God knows all who have been formed by the miracle of new life that He enable mankind to perform.
There isn't a single person that God doesn't know, not one.
Right now there is a big to do over there being 7 billion people upon earth now and that is an incredible amount of people- God knows every single one. God knows every person that lived and we can't even count that number. Each one received His breath in order to live and each one will receive that breath again- some to eternal life and others to eternal death.
Dear God may we PLEASE be among those who receive Your breath again if we die before Your return, and if we are blessed to not die let us please receive the new flesh you will give to all who will be yours!
By Your grace Lord, by Your righteousness!
In Your love always, always!
Amen.
While I have my being.
We lose our being, our being is temporary.
Psa 63:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
While I live.
We lose our lives.
Psa 146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
While I live. While I have any being.
So many people really believe that they'll have the ability to praise God always forever without end. Yet why would David say these words? Why would we read - 'while I have my being.' And 'while I live.'
David KNEW there would come a time when he no longer had his 'being', when he no longer 'lived', and then he wouldn't be able to praise, sing, lift up his hands to God. Yet if…as so many people believe…we never really die but simple switch from having a physical being to a spiritual being upon death then WHY can't that spiritual being sing praises to God? Angels are spiritual beings and they sing. We cannot imagine being unable to speak after death- right? If we in fact we are among those who believe in instant life after death- which I don't and neither did David.
Psa 31:12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
Psa 88:9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Psa 88:10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Psa 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Psa 88:12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Psa 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
How can ANYONE believe that we live after we die?
Yes, there are a lot of verses that indicate there is life after death, but that doesn't mean there is IMMEDIATE LIFE after death.
Why are we told the dead in Christ shall rise and meet the Lord in the air, if they are already living with Him in heaven?
We've had plenty of studies on the dead being dead not living on in any existence after death until Christ returns, but I've been thinking a lot about it lately. Yesterday's study talked about us being dust. We die and return to dust.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
The spirit shall return to God. The word spirit here is the word used for breath. God gave Adam his first breath- remember?
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The breath of life. It's that breath of life given to Adam that has subsequently been given to EVERY human being who has ever lived.
Think about it! We have the breath of God in us. Adam's breath, Eve's breath created Cain and Seth's breath and on and on. When Adam died, the breath that enable Him to live was expelled and he never took in another breath. That breath returned to God who gave it.
Now one of the things I've been thinking on is this-- will we get that breath of life back from God?
Lazarus stopped breathing when he died and was wrapped in his burial shroud and laid in his tomb. The breath that he received from his parents, who all the way back to Adam and Eve received the breath from God went back to God. But then Jesus call Lazarus back to life. That breath returned to his body. It had been given by God through long line of ancestors and God gave it back to Him, without receiving that breath back into his body he could not have lived again. We have to remember that Lot had begun to decay already- a human body doesn't stay well preserved for very long unless it is frozen and he wasn't frozen-not even close. The body begins decay immediately going through the process of deterioration. Remember this…
Joh 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
She knew her brother was decaying in the tomb, she wasn't under any other impression at all whatsoever. So when that breath of life returned to Lazarus another change took place as well, the process of decay was instantly reversed, new life was given to Lazarus by the power of God.
No matter when we die- a day before Christ returns or 1000 days, or 6000 days, or more when we are called from our graves no matter where they may be we will be given a new body of dust and that breath of life that God took back from us will return to that new incorruptible body. We will have bodies that will be preserved by the tree of life and never ever see corruption.
God who formed Adam from dust, God who formed Eve from Adam, God who gave Lazarus new life and reversed the decay he'd undergone, God who gave our SAVIOR new life, God who gave back our Savior His breath of life will give us that breath of life again along with new life - new flesh.
God knows each one of us.
God knows all who have been born.
God knows all who have been formed by the miracle of new life that He enable mankind to perform.
There isn't a single person that God doesn't know, not one.
Right now there is a big to do over there being 7 billion people upon earth now and that is an incredible amount of people- God knows every single one. God knows every person that lived and we can't even count that number. Each one received His breath in order to live and each one will receive that breath again- some to eternal life and others to eternal death.
Dear God may we PLEASE be among those who receive Your breath again if we die before Your return, and if we are blessed to not die let us please receive the new flesh you will give to all who will be yours!
By Your grace Lord, by Your righteousness!
In Your love always, always!
Amen.
Monday, October 31, 2011
He remembers we are dust
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
*******
God KNOWS our frame. God knows what we are made of- He created us from dust. Just because we weren't continuously created from dust but rather miraculously formed within the womb of our mothers after the essence from both father and mother join, doesn't mean that we are not dust. I think WE tend to forget that we are but dust and we also imagine God believing we are something other than dust as well. The most God fearing man of God was too made of dust, not of anything even remotely immortal.
Do you remember a study we did a short while back on immortality? In the study we saw how God planted the tree of life in the garden where Adam and Eve were created.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The tree of life.
Man was not created with immortal flesh. Man was created with the ability to life forever as long as He had access to the 'Tree of Life'. Man was created from the dust of the ground, and even then he wasn't a living thing. He didn't become a living thing until God breathed into him the breath of life.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God KNOWS we were created out of dust, He took that dust and He used His power to form all that we are, every intricate detail that we have was formed by God.
If a person's heart stops beating, or his lungs stop breathing we have measures we try to take to get that heart beating again, to get that breath going. We do CPR, we breathe our breath into the mouth and down into the lungs of another hoping to jumpstart the other person's lungs into responding, barring that we do it until mechanical means can take over and breathe for the person who isn't breathing. Without that breath going in and out of the body it doesn't live. God put the first breath into the lungs of Adam, God brought that lifeless body He'd created from dust- to life.
AFTER God brought that dust formed body to life man had to eat- he was created that way.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
'…good for food.'
Food. Man was created with the need to eat and given wonderful food to eat. Man was also given the TREE OF LIFE.
The Tree of LIFE-
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
12 manner of fruits.
Brought forth fruit every month.
Fruit is for eating. Man even in his immortal flesh will eat from this tree of life, man will eat every month a different fruit from that tree of life. That fruit will allow man to continue in immortality as He was designed. Remember…
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and NOW, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Man made of dust was NO longer allowed to eat from the tree of life- man made of dust was NO longer allowed to have immortality.
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
The tree of life will one day belong to mankind once more, but only to those who are God's. No unrepentant, no unforgiven, no God-less person will have immortality.
God remembers we are dust- He remembers we are not immortal.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psa 103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
Psa 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Our days are like the grass, our days are like the flowers in the field. We grow new as a tender shoot of grass until we reach full maturity as our season of life continues, then slowly we begin to wither as our life cycle winds down. Our life just like the life cycle of all living things is temporary. And unless we are some very important historical figure making some major contribution to history- we are soon forgotten. Sure we ALL know we've had ancestors dating all the way back in time- but we don't remember them.
God's mercy lasts forever! And it will last forever for those who are HIS, those who reverence Him, those who fear Him, those who claim God's righteousness because they have none of their own. Those who keep the Lord's covenant, those who remember the Lord's commandments, they will have the Lord's mercy. Long after we've returned to dust again, God will remember us. He knows we are housed in bodies of living dust, bodies that will wither away just as wild flowers and grass disappears. He loves us and every single person that is found in Him, loving Him, will one day receive a body of dust once more and immortality. Jesus took on a dust formed body, and Jesus rose from the grave in the dust formed body. He was touched, His flesh was felt and He had the same dust formed flesh as all humans have. He rose from the earth in that body of dust- He been given immortality. Our Savior, our Lord, He will forever bear His humanity- the first fruit of humanity given salvation through His innocence, through His complete obedience to His Father, to the truth they'd both created. Our Savior died pure so that we could live through His purity.
God remembers we are dust.
We need to remember this too.
We are dust. And while we will return to dust part of us that BREATH we are given by God, that LIFE we are given by God as we are formed within our mother's wombs, that part of us returns to God. WE do not return to God, our bodies, our thoughts, our memories, our ability to praise Him all cease as we sleep and know nothing- until by the Grace and Mercy of our Savior we will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns. That breath of life will return to us as we are raised in new bodies of dust and given immortality. What a blessing, what miracles!
God knows we are but dust and He has MERCY upon us.
In His love may we be His always!
Amen.
*******
God KNOWS our frame. God knows what we are made of- He created us from dust. Just because we weren't continuously created from dust but rather miraculously formed within the womb of our mothers after the essence from both father and mother join, doesn't mean that we are not dust. I think WE tend to forget that we are but dust and we also imagine God believing we are something other than dust as well. The most God fearing man of God was too made of dust, not of anything even remotely immortal.
Do you remember a study we did a short while back on immortality? In the study we saw how God planted the tree of life in the garden where Adam and Eve were created.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The tree of life.
Man was not created with immortal flesh. Man was created with the ability to life forever as long as He had access to the 'Tree of Life'. Man was created from the dust of the ground, and even then he wasn't a living thing. He didn't become a living thing until God breathed into him the breath of life.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God KNOWS we were created out of dust, He took that dust and He used His power to form all that we are, every intricate detail that we have was formed by God.
If a person's heart stops beating, or his lungs stop breathing we have measures we try to take to get that heart beating again, to get that breath going. We do CPR, we breathe our breath into the mouth and down into the lungs of another hoping to jumpstart the other person's lungs into responding, barring that we do it until mechanical means can take over and breathe for the person who isn't breathing. Without that breath going in and out of the body it doesn't live. God put the first breath into the lungs of Adam, God brought that lifeless body He'd created from dust- to life.
AFTER God brought that dust formed body to life man had to eat- he was created that way.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
'…good for food.'
Food. Man was created with the need to eat and given wonderful food to eat. Man was also given the TREE OF LIFE.
The Tree of LIFE-
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
12 manner of fruits.
Brought forth fruit every month.
Fruit is for eating. Man even in his immortal flesh will eat from this tree of life, man will eat every month a different fruit from that tree of life. That fruit will allow man to continue in immortality as He was designed. Remember…
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and NOW, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Man made of dust was NO longer allowed to eat from the tree of life- man made of dust was NO longer allowed to have immortality.
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
The tree of life will one day belong to mankind once more, but only to those who are God's. No unrepentant, no unforgiven, no God-less person will have immortality.
God remembers we are dust- He remembers we are not immortal.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psa 103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
Psa 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Our days are like the grass, our days are like the flowers in the field. We grow new as a tender shoot of grass until we reach full maturity as our season of life continues, then slowly we begin to wither as our life cycle winds down. Our life just like the life cycle of all living things is temporary. And unless we are some very important historical figure making some major contribution to history- we are soon forgotten. Sure we ALL know we've had ancestors dating all the way back in time- but we don't remember them.
God's mercy lasts forever! And it will last forever for those who are HIS, those who reverence Him, those who fear Him, those who claim God's righteousness because they have none of their own. Those who keep the Lord's covenant, those who remember the Lord's commandments, they will have the Lord's mercy. Long after we've returned to dust again, God will remember us. He knows we are housed in bodies of living dust, bodies that will wither away just as wild flowers and grass disappears. He loves us and every single person that is found in Him, loving Him, will one day receive a body of dust once more and immortality. Jesus took on a dust formed body, and Jesus rose from the grave in the dust formed body. He was touched, His flesh was felt and He had the same dust formed flesh as all humans have. He rose from the earth in that body of dust- He been given immortality. Our Savior, our Lord, He will forever bear His humanity- the first fruit of humanity given salvation through His innocence, through His complete obedience to His Father, to the truth they'd both created. Our Savior died pure so that we could live through His purity.
God remembers we are dust.
We need to remember this too.
We are dust. And while we will return to dust part of us that BREATH we are given by God, that LIFE we are given by God as we are formed within our mother's wombs, that part of us returns to God. WE do not return to God, our bodies, our thoughts, our memories, our ability to praise Him all cease as we sleep and know nothing- until by the Grace and Mercy of our Savior we will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns. That breath of life will return to us as we are raised in new bodies of dust and given immortality. What a blessing, what miracles!
God knows we are but dust and He has MERCY upon us.
In His love may we be His always!
Amen.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Matthew 24:32-51 We've been warned
Mat 24:32 Now learn a PARABLE of the fig tree
When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh
A fig tree would not have tender branches newly filled with leaves IF it weren't summer, it would be against all nature. People KNOW when they see the new leaves forming that summer is on its way- it is inevitable.
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Christ's return is inevitable.
Christ's return is on the way.
We see the signs. We've lived through so many years that we cannot help but realize that the signs are all there.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
This is TRUE. As sign by sign is fulfilled and we hold witness to them we KNOW that the generation witnessing the signs that are fulfilled at the very end will NOT pass away into the next generation without our Savior returning. THIS will happen and people make the grave mistake of believing that there is a fallacy here. They'd rather simply believe that all this is untrue than honestly imagine the words of our Savior coming to pass. It's easy to fall asleep when you are waiting for something and it takes a long time, longer than perhaps expected. I'm very confident in saying that I believe almost everyone in the world at one point or another has fallen asleep as they've waited for something. Many, many people have fallen asleep, in fact the Bible tells us that all fall asleep and it's HOW they awaken that will matter. Will they awaken prepared and ready, or will they have fallen asleep unprepared so that when they wake they are not ready? Before people fall asleep they NEED to be ready, completely ready for our Savior's return.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
As it was in the DAYS of Noah- people were going about their lives totally unconcerned with the flood that was going to come upon the earth. Just as today many, many people are totally unconcerned with the end of the world and the return of our Savior. In Noah's day they didn't believe it would happen. Today they don't believe it will happen. People laugh and scoff at those heralding the end of the world and in some ways they are justified - such as when people put a date on that moment and prepare for that date as the end of the world. The days constantly come and go without the end of the world happening and this has led many people to simply laugh at the idea of the world ever ending, and Jesus Christ returning to earth. Just as we can imagine them laughing at Noah as he built that ark- a flood, ha! Yet the flood came leaving many to perish along with their unbelief.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
The situation… our Savior will return and some will be prepared and some will not. It is the same theme in this passage since our Savior told us the parable of the fig tree. When we see things come to pass that point to a future reality we have to know they WILL come to pass. As it was in Noah's day it will be in our day. Christ will return and the dead in Christ will rise and the living in Christ will rise and meet the Lord in the air. The prepared person next to the unprepared will SEE that prepared person rising to meet the Lord in the air, even as they will be destroyed moments later by the brightness of our Lord's coming. The prepared are saved, the unprepared are NOT saved.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WATCH. Be prepared! Look for the signs!
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
If we know a thief is headed our way we would NOT leave our house vulnerable to being robbed.
We KNOW that the end of the world is coming and we HAVE to WATCH and be ready, or we will suffer the consequences of NOT being prepared.
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
BE ready! Because our Savior will return when people least expect Him. Remember- all will sleep but we can fall asleep READY. We can be ready even if our Savior comes when we don't expect Him to. We need to be ready ALWAYS! Not a day should go by when we aren't prepared for our Savior's second coming.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Those who are ready.
Those who are doing all the Lord tells them they should be doing.
Those who are faithful in serving the Lord will be BLESSED if they continue on in their faithfulness serving Him.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We have a choice! We have to choose to serve our Lord always, faithfully! We have to be prepared. We cannot EVER believe that our Savior will NOT come for us! We have to be FAITHFUL! Many will fall away. Many will lose faith. All will fall asleep but many will fall asleep UNPREPARED.
We've been WARNED!
No one will be able to say that they were not forewarned, NO ONE. That excuse will not be acceptable.
So go ahead call those who are waiting and watching for their Savior's return among the lunatic fringe, they won't mind because those waiting know there are going to be many that will scoff at their belief.
Ready or not, our Savior is going to return, it is my pray, my desire that we are all READY.
We have to keep watching the signs, we have to keep looking at the truth. No one will be able to say they didn't have an opportunity to be saved, no one. Every single person will have that choice. Please Lord let our choice be to know You to be Yours always! Help us to be prepared, to be ready, to be faithfully Your servant!
We do NOT want to be among those weeping and gnashing our teeth!
In Your love, through Your righteousness, by Your grace and mercy in Your forgiveness, ALWAYS!
Amen.
When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh
A fig tree would not have tender branches newly filled with leaves IF it weren't summer, it would be against all nature. People KNOW when they see the new leaves forming that summer is on its way- it is inevitable.
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Christ's return is inevitable.
Christ's return is on the way.
We see the signs. We've lived through so many years that we cannot help but realize that the signs are all there.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
This is TRUE. As sign by sign is fulfilled and we hold witness to them we KNOW that the generation witnessing the signs that are fulfilled at the very end will NOT pass away into the next generation without our Savior returning. THIS will happen and people make the grave mistake of believing that there is a fallacy here. They'd rather simply believe that all this is untrue than honestly imagine the words of our Savior coming to pass. It's easy to fall asleep when you are waiting for something and it takes a long time, longer than perhaps expected. I'm very confident in saying that I believe almost everyone in the world at one point or another has fallen asleep as they've waited for something. Many, many people have fallen asleep, in fact the Bible tells us that all fall asleep and it's HOW they awaken that will matter. Will they awaken prepared and ready, or will they have fallen asleep unprepared so that when they wake they are not ready? Before people fall asleep they NEED to be ready, completely ready for our Savior's return.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
As it was in the DAYS of Noah- people were going about their lives totally unconcerned with the flood that was going to come upon the earth. Just as today many, many people are totally unconcerned with the end of the world and the return of our Savior. In Noah's day they didn't believe it would happen. Today they don't believe it will happen. People laugh and scoff at those heralding the end of the world and in some ways they are justified - such as when people put a date on that moment and prepare for that date as the end of the world. The days constantly come and go without the end of the world happening and this has led many people to simply laugh at the idea of the world ever ending, and Jesus Christ returning to earth. Just as we can imagine them laughing at Noah as he built that ark- a flood, ha! Yet the flood came leaving many to perish along with their unbelief.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
The situation… our Savior will return and some will be prepared and some will not. It is the same theme in this passage since our Savior told us the parable of the fig tree. When we see things come to pass that point to a future reality we have to know they WILL come to pass. As it was in Noah's day it will be in our day. Christ will return and the dead in Christ will rise and the living in Christ will rise and meet the Lord in the air. The prepared person next to the unprepared will SEE that prepared person rising to meet the Lord in the air, even as they will be destroyed moments later by the brightness of our Lord's coming. The prepared are saved, the unprepared are NOT saved.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WATCH. Be prepared! Look for the signs!
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
If we know a thief is headed our way we would NOT leave our house vulnerable to being robbed.
We KNOW that the end of the world is coming and we HAVE to WATCH and be ready, or we will suffer the consequences of NOT being prepared.
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
BE ready! Because our Savior will return when people least expect Him. Remember- all will sleep but we can fall asleep READY. We can be ready even if our Savior comes when we don't expect Him to. We need to be ready ALWAYS! Not a day should go by when we aren't prepared for our Savior's second coming.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Those who are ready.
Those who are doing all the Lord tells them they should be doing.
Those who are faithful in serving the Lord will be BLESSED if they continue on in their faithfulness serving Him.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We have a choice! We have to choose to serve our Lord always, faithfully! We have to be prepared. We cannot EVER believe that our Savior will NOT come for us! We have to be FAITHFUL! Many will fall away. Many will lose faith. All will fall asleep but many will fall asleep UNPREPARED.
We've been WARNED!
No one will be able to say that they were not forewarned, NO ONE. That excuse will not be acceptable.
So go ahead call those who are waiting and watching for their Savior's return among the lunatic fringe, they won't mind because those waiting know there are going to be many that will scoff at their belief.
Ready or not, our Savior is going to return, it is my pray, my desire that we are all READY.
We have to keep watching the signs, we have to keep looking at the truth. No one will be able to say they didn't have an opportunity to be saved, no one. Every single person will have that choice. Please Lord let our choice be to know You to be Yours always! Help us to be prepared, to be ready, to be faithfully Your servant!
We do NOT want to be among those weeping and gnashing our teeth!
In Your love, through Your righteousness, by Your grace and mercy in Your forgiveness, ALWAYS!
Amen.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Duality of the 4th Commandment
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour,
and do all thy work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God
in it thou shalt not do any work . . . (Exodus 20:8-10)
This is a commandment not only to rest, but a commandment to use six days to labor. Seriously. It's easy to overlook this aspect of the fourth commandment when we are studying it because we tend to focus on the resting aspect of the day. But if we really examine it, this IS a commandment to WORK for six days prior to the one day of REST.
People have six days to work, six days to labor, not one, not two, not three, four, or five but six days to work. A lot of people have five days of what they call work but in truth when we are not focused upon our Creator we are usually focused where? Upon ourselves, upon the things that we want or need to do. On the seventh day we are to focus upon our Creator and that entails EVERY SINGLE facet of our Creator from beginning to end and by end I mean the end of our ability to know our Creator. There is infinite knowledge of our Creator in truth, and because He is a living being, a being without beginning and without end we can never, ever reach an end of knowing Him. Unlike so much in life that has a beginning and an end where we can discover all we can about things, God is a being that transcends all that. So no one can ever get to a point in their relationship with God where they can say they know everything there is to know about Him.
Six days of work. Six days of the secular. Six days to eke out a living for ourselves.
One day of rest. One day of the spiritual. One day to focus on solely living for God, as God would have us live.
We have one day in seven to store up a spiritual blessing enough to last us the next six days.
The Sabbath was created for us, for our spiritual existence.
Satan would have mankind believe they have no need of a spiritual existence, that a carnal existence is more than enough. Satan convinced Eve that she had no need to listen to God's command, that she needed to indulge HERSELF, she needed to focus on self, not God. Her flesh desires mattered more than God's spiritual desire. The fruit was *pleasing* to the sight. The fruit would give her a knowledge of *good and evil like God*. Yet the bottom line was it was God who told her NOT to eat of that fruit, not to indulge that flesh desire, but rather trust Him to know that it was best for them NOT to know good and evil, but to know rather only good. To gain a knowledge of evil is to open the door to evil.
Today in our sad, sick world we call those raised without exposure to a lot of worldly evils- naïve, as if that is a really bad thing. Our children are missing out on something good if we don't allow them to be exposed to worldly evil. Our children are missing out on vital mental and emotional building blocks when we keep them from evil. It's better people say to let them be exposed to evil at its worse then that way they are prepared to face life armed with necessary knowledge to get them far in our world. LIES!
It is Satan that does NOT want our children protected, any more than He wanted God's children protected. Rather than allowing our children to grow up without be exposed to the intense evil mankind exists in we try to protect them and THEN when they are mature enough is time enough to allow them the full knowledge of the evils out there. Why do we insist they grow up abused by life, just to teach them to develop a tough outer shell?
Satan wanted mankind exposed to evil, God did not. God wanted His children to trust Him and that trust protected them from evil. Satan did not want God's children protected, he wanted them exposed to evil and therefore become unworthy of God and partakers of the same evil he'd become a partaker of.
God wanted mankind to feed spiritually for a full day with Him- this was before sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were tending the beautiful garden and the creatures of the world- this was their six days of labor, just as God had labored in creating their world and bringing them into existence in six days, the seventh Day God rested, the seventh day God set aside as holy, the day after He'd completed His creation of mankind, for mankind. From nothingness into existence and this was worthy of great reflection.
From the beginning until now we have had a seven day week without any astronomic reasoning for it- unlike the month and the year.
Seven days.
Symbolic of creation no matter how the devil has tried to twist even that to become perverted through paganism and pagan titles.
Seven days.
Six days for man to do all they need to do for their flesh existence.
One day for man to do all they need to do for their spiritual existence.
One day out of every seven days we are to be reminded of God in all His glory, we are to be reminded of how we came to exist, why we exist. And Satan would have us forget how and why, rather desiring that we focus on our flesh self, our carnal self. As long as we are focusing on self we are NOT focusing on God and this pleases Satan.
Satan doesn't want us to believe we need to work six days. Satan would much rather have us believe that we deserve two days of rest or more. Satan is equally pleased if we want to work seven days a week. Satan wants us to do anything and everything that will defy God.
Told to work six days we are in essence being told that we need to use six days a week to prepare for the one day of rest. Get all the things we absolutely need to get done in order to provide for ourselves and those under our care and then give ourselves the blessing of devoting the seventh day to God, a spiritual blessing allowing us to set aside everything concerned with our providing for ourselves and allow God to provide for us a spiritual feast. Does this mean we are to shut ourselves up in a closet for a full day? Absolutely NOT! We are to live our lives as our Savior gave us an example to live them and He preached, He taught, He healed, He allowed provisions for eating all on the Sabbath day. He didn't want this day of spiritual renewal, this day of spiritual reminding of our Creator to be a day we abhorred. He didn't want the Sabbath day to be more important than the creature He'd created and MADE the Sabbath for. There would be absolutely NO need for a Sabbath if man hadn't been created. The Sabbath was made FOR US as a GIFT, a special gift and it is Satan who wants it to be seen as a burdensome, restrictive commandment of God's, something to limit us, to take away our time, to take away our carnal desire, something that is bad, not wonderful. It was Satan who allowed the Sabbath to become something seemingly more important than the mankind it was created for. Satan and his deception hard at work.
Six days we are to labor.
One day we are to rest.
This isn't to say we aren't supposed to rest at all during those six days. We are made to need sleep daily, to need the rest of sleep daily. It's been proven that those who undergo severe sleep depravation can actually die- after going through all sorts of horrible things- hallucinations, etc.
We rest during the six days but that entire day is not to be set aside to rest, and it is NOT a spiritually focused rest that we undertake during those six days. The Sabbath day is a day of full rest- flesh and spirit rest, a day we are to actually focus on spiritual resting in our God without anything to distract us from that renewing rest in our Creator. As we cease from labor we are acknowledging our need for spiritual renewal in God. It is a necessity, it is a chance for a BLESSING from God! The Sabbath was blessed and made holy so that we who entered into that Sabbath rest are given a special blessing and are sanctified- we are being made holy by our obedience to our Creator, our God, our King, our Savior!
We are to work six days as commanded by our God- and this isn't necessarily work as we know it today but rather work as God meant it- toiling towards providing for ourselves and those under our care. Your job could be working at home as a support to your family- not necessarily a job outside of the home working nine to five. Also, those who work nine to five - their obligation to work, to toil six days a week does not end with the work time clock. They too are commanded to work six days a week following God's plan which isn't Satan's plan. We need to really contemplate this aspect of the commandment of God as well as the RESTING one day, the Sabbath day.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior we will be blessed with understanding through the Holy Spirit so that we may truly follow our God in all ways, not just the ways we assume are right.
In the everlasting love of our God, of our Savior, of the Spirit may we live now and always.
In His love! May His will be done now and forever, may His kingdom come!
In Christ!
Amen.
Six days shalt thou labour,
and do all thy work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God
in it thou shalt not do any work . . . (Exodus 20:8-10)
This is a commandment not only to rest, but a commandment to use six days to labor. Seriously. It's easy to overlook this aspect of the fourth commandment when we are studying it because we tend to focus on the resting aspect of the day. But if we really examine it, this IS a commandment to WORK for six days prior to the one day of REST.
People have six days to work, six days to labor, not one, not two, not three, four, or five but six days to work. A lot of people have five days of what they call work but in truth when we are not focused upon our Creator we are usually focused where? Upon ourselves, upon the things that we want or need to do. On the seventh day we are to focus upon our Creator and that entails EVERY SINGLE facet of our Creator from beginning to end and by end I mean the end of our ability to know our Creator. There is infinite knowledge of our Creator in truth, and because He is a living being, a being without beginning and without end we can never, ever reach an end of knowing Him. Unlike so much in life that has a beginning and an end where we can discover all we can about things, God is a being that transcends all that. So no one can ever get to a point in their relationship with God where they can say they know everything there is to know about Him.
Six days of work. Six days of the secular. Six days to eke out a living for ourselves.
One day of rest. One day of the spiritual. One day to focus on solely living for God, as God would have us live.
We have one day in seven to store up a spiritual blessing enough to last us the next six days.
The Sabbath was created for us, for our spiritual existence.
Satan would have mankind believe they have no need of a spiritual existence, that a carnal existence is more than enough. Satan convinced Eve that she had no need to listen to God's command, that she needed to indulge HERSELF, she needed to focus on self, not God. Her flesh desires mattered more than God's spiritual desire. The fruit was *pleasing* to the sight. The fruit would give her a knowledge of *good and evil like God*. Yet the bottom line was it was God who told her NOT to eat of that fruit, not to indulge that flesh desire, but rather trust Him to know that it was best for them NOT to know good and evil, but to know rather only good. To gain a knowledge of evil is to open the door to evil.
Today in our sad, sick world we call those raised without exposure to a lot of worldly evils- naïve, as if that is a really bad thing. Our children are missing out on something good if we don't allow them to be exposed to worldly evil. Our children are missing out on vital mental and emotional building blocks when we keep them from evil. It's better people say to let them be exposed to evil at its worse then that way they are prepared to face life armed with necessary knowledge to get them far in our world. LIES!
It is Satan that does NOT want our children protected, any more than He wanted God's children protected. Rather than allowing our children to grow up without be exposed to the intense evil mankind exists in we try to protect them and THEN when they are mature enough is time enough to allow them the full knowledge of the evils out there. Why do we insist they grow up abused by life, just to teach them to develop a tough outer shell?
Satan wanted mankind exposed to evil, God did not. God wanted His children to trust Him and that trust protected them from evil. Satan did not want God's children protected, he wanted them exposed to evil and therefore become unworthy of God and partakers of the same evil he'd become a partaker of.
God wanted mankind to feed spiritually for a full day with Him- this was before sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were tending the beautiful garden and the creatures of the world- this was their six days of labor, just as God had labored in creating their world and bringing them into existence in six days, the seventh Day God rested, the seventh day God set aside as holy, the day after He'd completed His creation of mankind, for mankind. From nothingness into existence and this was worthy of great reflection.
From the beginning until now we have had a seven day week without any astronomic reasoning for it- unlike the month and the year.
Seven days.
Symbolic of creation no matter how the devil has tried to twist even that to become perverted through paganism and pagan titles.
Seven days.
Six days for man to do all they need to do for their flesh existence.
One day for man to do all they need to do for their spiritual existence.
One day out of every seven days we are to be reminded of God in all His glory, we are to be reminded of how we came to exist, why we exist. And Satan would have us forget how and why, rather desiring that we focus on our flesh self, our carnal self. As long as we are focusing on self we are NOT focusing on God and this pleases Satan.
Satan doesn't want us to believe we need to work six days. Satan would much rather have us believe that we deserve two days of rest or more. Satan is equally pleased if we want to work seven days a week. Satan wants us to do anything and everything that will defy God.
Told to work six days we are in essence being told that we need to use six days a week to prepare for the one day of rest. Get all the things we absolutely need to get done in order to provide for ourselves and those under our care and then give ourselves the blessing of devoting the seventh day to God, a spiritual blessing allowing us to set aside everything concerned with our providing for ourselves and allow God to provide for us a spiritual feast. Does this mean we are to shut ourselves up in a closet for a full day? Absolutely NOT! We are to live our lives as our Savior gave us an example to live them and He preached, He taught, He healed, He allowed provisions for eating all on the Sabbath day. He didn't want this day of spiritual renewal, this day of spiritual reminding of our Creator to be a day we abhorred. He didn't want the Sabbath day to be more important than the creature He'd created and MADE the Sabbath for. There would be absolutely NO need for a Sabbath if man hadn't been created. The Sabbath was made FOR US as a GIFT, a special gift and it is Satan who wants it to be seen as a burdensome, restrictive commandment of God's, something to limit us, to take away our time, to take away our carnal desire, something that is bad, not wonderful. It was Satan who allowed the Sabbath to become something seemingly more important than the mankind it was created for. Satan and his deception hard at work.
Six days we are to labor.
One day we are to rest.
This isn't to say we aren't supposed to rest at all during those six days. We are made to need sleep daily, to need the rest of sleep daily. It's been proven that those who undergo severe sleep depravation can actually die- after going through all sorts of horrible things- hallucinations, etc.
We rest during the six days but that entire day is not to be set aside to rest, and it is NOT a spiritually focused rest that we undertake during those six days. The Sabbath day is a day of full rest- flesh and spirit rest, a day we are to actually focus on spiritual resting in our God without anything to distract us from that renewing rest in our Creator. As we cease from labor we are acknowledging our need for spiritual renewal in God. It is a necessity, it is a chance for a BLESSING from God! The Sabbath was blessed and made holy so that we who entered into that Sabbath rest are given a special blessing and are sanctified- we are being made holy by our obedience to our Creator, our God, our King, our Savior!
We are to work six days as commanded by our God- and this isn't necessarily work as we know it today but rather work as God meant it- toiling towards providing for ourselves and those under our care. Your job could be working at home as a support to your family- not necessarily a job outside of the home working nine to five. Also, those who work nine to five - their obligation to work, to toil six days a week does not end with the work time clock. They too are commanded to work six days a week following God's plan which isn't Satan's plan. We need to really contemplate this aspect of the commandment of God as well as the RESTING one day, the Sabbath day.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior we will be blessed with understanding through the Holy Spirit so that we may truly follow our God in all ways, not just the ways we assume are right.
In the everlasting love of our God, of our Savior, of the Spirit may we live now and always.
In His love! May His will be done now and forever, may His kingdom come!
In Christ!
Amen.
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