2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Blind.
Unable to see and in this case- unable to see afar off.
Where are we supposed to be able to see afar off, how far?
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them AFAR off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Heb 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
The promise for the future that is AFAR off is HEAVEN. These men of God KNEW they would NOT inherit that promise anytime soon but rather AFAR off.
We have to look AFAR off to that future if our HOPE is in Christ. Is it any wonder we are considered blind if we are caught up in sinning? Sinning holds us to the here and now, trapping us, binding us to the father of lies who claims ownership of the earth. When we stop growing in Christ, we become stagnant in sin. To grow we have this list of things we are to ADD to our Faith- our FIRST believing. The things we have to add are:
Virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity.
When we find ourselves all caught up in sin we have to realize we are NOT adding these things to our faith life.
If we are to have hope in the far off country we are seeking, our heavenly home, then we need to live in Christ. By HIS grace and mercy may WE ever keep growing in these additions to our faith.
Satan doesn't want us growing in Christ. Satan is going to try and keep us from adding anything to our faith at all. Satan will bring up obstacle after obstacle. Every step we make towards adding these things to our faith we will be attacked viciously by Satan. I mean VICIOUSLY! The attacks are geared towards bringing up our cherished sins, our favorite sins, the sins that we have to fight to give up, the sins we have to resist unto blood.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
By His GRACE, His LOVE, His MERCY!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Add to our faith
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
ALL diligence- all attention, all detail, do we do this are we really diligent in our pursuit of a life following our Savior? We are to ADD to our faith- VIRTUE.
Virtue- moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. (dictionary definition)
Add to our FAITH- moral excellence, goodness, righteousness!
In this society when having very little virtue and moral excellence is commended especially among our youth, our young adults who are fed a steady stream of moral-less programs on television and movies, adding VIRTUE to faith is rare. While it is rare we must diligently add this to our faith. We don't stop at faith, we CAN'T stop at faith, we have to ADD to it. And ADDing to it means living our lives with the things we are adding. What good is our faith if we choose to live without any moral excellence- seriously! Is it any wonder people could careless if we love God, if we love Jesus , if we have all the faith in the world as long as our lives seem no different than any others? We MUST add to our faith moral excellence-virtue.
We must add to that virtue- knowledge. We cannot ever be content with the knowledge we possess but forever seek to learn more, so much more.
To that knowledge we need to add- temperance.
Temperance- moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control. (dictionary definition)
We have to have self-restraint! We have to have self-control! We have to deny OURSELVES! Do we? We need to because if we give into our every desire, our every fleshy lust we are not living in the spirit at all, we are living in the flesh and that flesh will lead us into sin because it is so very, very selfish, so self-centered.
To that self-control we have to add patience. Our entire lives demand patience because this life as a Christian is a long, long journey we are undertaking. We are living our lives as pilgrims, true strangers in this strange land and whenever anyone undertakes a long, long journey they must have patience or else that journey will be incredibly difficult, if not impossible.
To patience we have to add godliness.
Conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devout; pious. (dictionary def)
Without this conformity to God's laws we follow NOTHING! Seriously. What's it mean to follow someone without any principles, without any moral standards? God is far from moral-less. God has LAWS. The moral law of God is something we ALL must follow. When we fail to follow the moral law of our God then we are NOT living with godliness in our lives, and if we are not living with godliness then we are living godlessly.
To godliness we must add brotherly kindness. Being kind is something many have forgotten. Simple kindnesses are all too often dismissed in favor of selfishness, self-absorption. We think more of our own selves, our feelings in the moment, our desires in the moment than we do another's. THIS is a sickness that has infected our world on so many, many levels and unfortunately it has NOT spared those who claim to be God's.
To brotherly kindness we have to add charity.
Love. Love. Without love we are truly NOT following our Savior and to think we are well, we're deluding ourselves.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
BLIND.
CANNOT SEE AFAR OFF.
FORGOTTEN WE'VE BEEN PURGED FROM OUR OLD SINS.
How true.
If we forget that we've had our old sins purged what happens? Those sins remain, they return, and if our old sins return the repentance we sought for them is no longer there. We have to repent again! We have to seek forgiveness all over again. If we follow the word of God as given to us here then we will NOT forget we were purged from our former sins. If we DO NOT follow the word of God we will forget and our old sins will over take us again.
BY THE GRACE OF GOD, we will FOLLOW the WORD of God.
More tomorrow on this all by the grace of our Lord and Savior!
Please LORD, please help us.
In YOUR love!
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
ALL diligence- all attention, all detail, do we do this are we really diligent in our pursuit of a life following our Savior? We are to ADD to our faith- VIRTUE.
Virtue- moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. (dictionary definition)
Add to our FAITH- moral excellence, goodness, righteousness!
In this society when having very little virtue and moral excellence is commended especially among our youth, our young adults who are fed a steady stream of moral-less programs on television and movies, adding VIRTUE to faith is rare. While it is rare we must diligently add this to our faith. We don't stop at faith, we CAN'T stop at faith, we have to ADD to it. And ADDing to it means living our lives with the things we are adding. What good is our faith if we choose to live without any moral excellence- seriously! Is it any wonder people could careless if we love God, if we love Jesus , if we have all the faith in the world as long as our lives seem no different than any others? We MUST add to our faith moral excellence-virtue.
We must add to that virtue- knowledge. We cannot ever be content with the knowledge we possess but forever seek to learn more, so much more.
To that knowledge we need to add- temperance.
Temperance- moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control. (dictionary definition)
We have to have self-restraint! We have to have self-control! We have to deny OURSELVES! Do we? We need to because if we give into our every desire, our every fleshy lust we are not living in the spirit at all, we are living in the flesh and that flesh will lead us into sin because it is so very, very selfish, so self-centered.
To that self-control we have to add patience. Our entire lives demand patience because this life as a Christian is a long, long journey we are undertaking. We are living our lives as pilgrims, true strangers in this strange land and whenever anyone undertakes a long, long journey they must have patience or else that journey will be incredibly difficult, if not impossible.
To patience we have to add godliness.
Conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devout; pious. (dictionary def)
Without this conformity to God's laws we follow NOTHING! Seriously. What's it mean to follow someone without any principles, without any moral standards? God is far from moral-less. God has LAWS. The moral law of God is something we ALL must follow. When we fail to follow the moral law of our God then we are NOT living with godliness in our lives, and if we are not living with godliness then we are living godlessly.
To godliness we must add brotherly kindness. Being kind is something many have forgotten. Simple kindnesses are all too often dismissed in favor of selfishness, self-absorption. We think more of our own selves, our feelings in the moment, our desires in the moment than we do another's. THIS is a sickness that has infected our world on so many, many levels and unfortunately it has NOT spared those who claim to be God's.
To brotherly kindness we have to add charity.
Love. Love. Without love we are truly NOT following our Savior and to think we are well, we're deluding ourselves.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
BLIND.
CANNOT SEE AFAR OFF.
FORGOTTEN WE'VE BEEN PURGED FROM OUR OLD SINS.
How true.
If we forget that we've had our old sins purged what happens? Those sins remain, they return, and if our old sins return the repentance we sought for them is no longer there. We have to repent again! We have to seek forgiveness all over again. If we follow the word of God as given to us here then we will NOT forget we were purged from our former sins. If we DO NOT follow the word of God we will forget and our old sins will over take us again.
BY THE GRACE OF GOD, we will FOLLOW the WORD of God.
More tomorrow on this all by the grace of our Lord and Savior!
Please LORD, please help us.
In YOUR love!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord
Grace and peace- THROUGH the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
Knowledge comes to us how? Can you do nothing and gain knowledge? As a rule- no. How can you learn to read if you are not taught? If you don't have to be taught then how do we have people who do not know how to read? So much in our lives does NOT come to us automatically. We are taught a lot. Even by our parents as babes we are learning constantly. People can learn a lot through watching others and whatnot, but some things must be deliberately taught to us. When we find something we desire to learn we can go to a lot of sources and from those sources we will gain the knowledge we want to have. Yes, you can force someone to learn. Ask the majority of kids in school and they'll tell you they believe they are forced to go to school, forced to learn. But learning something from a desire to know more is a lot better than feeling as if you are being forced to learn.
We- who desire so much to have the grace and peace of God and Jesus our Lord- will find learning of them desirable, yes? Grace and peace multiplied through knowledge- we must constantly seek to learn more of our God, of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Exceeding GREAT and PRECIOUS PROMISES.
Do you know of the promises that are so great and precious?
The promise of salvation, the promise of no more tears, no more pain, there are a lot of promises we are given and we must know them, learn them. We are made PARTAKERS of the DIVINE NATURE by these promises. By these promises we can ESCAPE the corruption that exists in our world through lust!
We can escape!
Grace and peace- THROUGH the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
Knowledge comes to us how? Can you do nothing and gain knowledge? As a rule- no. How can you learn to read if you are not taught? If you don't have to be taught then how do we have people who do not know how to read? So much in our lives does NOT come to us automatically. We are taught a lot. Even by our parents as babes we are learning constantly. People can learn a lot through watching others and whatnot, but some things must be deliberately taught to us. When we find something we desire to learn we can go to a lot of sources and from those sources we will gain the knowledge we want to have. Yes, you can force someone to learn. Ask the majority of kids in school and they'll tell you they believe they are forced to go to school, forced to learn. But learning something from a desire to know more is a lot better than feeling as if you are being forced to learn.
We- who desire so much to have the grace and peace of God and Jesus our Lord- will find learning of them desirable, yes? Grace and peace multiplied through knowledge- we must constantly seek to learn more of our God, of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Exceeding GREAT and PRECIOUS PROMISES.
Do you know of the promises that are so great and precious?
The promise of salvation, the promise of no more tears, no more pain, there are a lot of promises we are given and we must know them, learn them. We are made PARTAKERS of the DIVINE NATURE by these promises. By these promises we can ESCAPE the corruption that exists in our world through lust!
We can escape!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Precious Faith
2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ
Like PRECIOUS FAITH with us THROUGH the RIGHTEOUSNESS of GOD and our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
We have no faith outside of the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Is it any wonder Jesus could say this--
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
He could say this because it's the quality of faith that matters far above quantity. The tiniest bit of faith if it is pure is a very, very powerful thing.
The tiniest bit of pure faith could move a mountain.
The tiniest bit of pure faith makes NOTHING impossible to us.
Pure faith is complete belief in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Many will say they have no problem at all believing that God and His Son are righteous. We have to APPLY that righteousness to ourselves, it's there where people falter and it's no wonder- we are so incredibly far from being righteous the idea that our Savior, that our God would see us as righteous is mind blowing. We have to accept Christ's righteousness as ours, and again our filth tells us that we do not deserve that righteousness. That to be touched by the righteousness would mean our death because we are so repugnant, so repulsive, so offensive to all that is good and right. Our Savior DIED to make the gift possible, the UNDESERVED gift of HIMSELF, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Satan would have us NOT accept Christ's righteousness. Satan would have us believe that we are too filthy to ever be cleaned.
Precious faith- through the righteousness of GOD and our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST- that's the only way we can truly have faith at all. We have to STOP focusing on our righteousness of the idea that we must obtain our OWN righteousness because that is a devil trap. We have to focus on our Savior's righteousness, His purity, His goodness, His sinlessness!
He SAVES us- we MUST believe in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS that HE wants to cover us with.
Faith.
Faith not in ourselves, but in God and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, always!
Like PRECIOUS FAITH with us THROUGH the RIGHTEOUSNESS of GOD and our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
We have no faith outside of the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Is it any wonder Jesus could say this--
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
He could say this because it's the quality of faith that matters far above quantity. The tiniest bit of faith if it is pure is a very, very powerful thing.
The tiniest bit of pure faith could move a mountain.
The tiniest bit of pure faith makes NOTHING impossible to us.
Pure faith is complete belief in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Many will say they have no problem at all believing that God and His Son are righteous. We have to APPLY that righteousness to ourselves, it's there where people falter and it's no wonder- we are so incredibly far from being righteous the idea that our Savior, that our God would see us as righteous is mind blowing. We have to accept Christ's righteousness as ours, and again our filth tells us that we do not deserve that righteousness. That to be touched by the righteousness would mean our death because we are so repugnant, so repulsive, so offensive to all that is good and right. Our Savior DIED to make the gift possible, the UNDESERVED gift of HIMSELF, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Satan would have us NOT accept Christ's righteousness. Satan would have us believe that we are too filthy to ever be cleaned.
Precious faith- through the righteousness of GOD and our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST- that's the only way we can truly have faith at all. We have to STOP focusing on our righteousness of the idea that we must obtain our OWN righteousness because that is a devil trap. We have to focus on our Savior's righteousness, His purity, His goodness, His sinlessness!
He SAVES us- we MUST believe in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS that HE wants to cover us with.
Faith.
Faith not in ourselves, but in God and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, always!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
How many cares do we cast upon our God?
ALL.
All our cares need to be cast upon God. We need to give them to Him. We need to pray to our God, talk to Him, tell our God what our cares are - He WANTS to hear them. He needs for us to trust that HE does care for us. We might not comprehend how our Lord works. We might not comprehend how things are meant to work out. We might not comprehend how seemingly bad things are for our good, especially the horrific things we might have to face, but we need to even in that time of horror to give our cares to our God and trust that He cares for us and no matter what we are facing He will ultimately work things for our good- we who TRUST in Him. Remember this verse--
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
~
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
Our ADVERSARY the DEVIL! We can NEVER let ourselves forget that Satan is working against our relationship with our Savior at every opportunity. Satan as a ROARING LION. Satan walking about! Satan seeking to devour us!
We don't want to believe this is REAL. We'd rather just shove all that off as being fictional. We'd rather just not believe that there is an enemy out there after us. We love to have people liking us, not hating us, so to realize that there is a BEING, a powerful BEING out there who wants us destroyed, who wants to devour us is something we'd rather not imagine at all, let alone think there might be some truth to the devil.
Devoured.
When you devour something what are you doing? You're snatching it up and eating it as fast as you possibly can. You're destroying what you devour, aren't you? It's gone forever never to return.
Satan wants to devour us just like that.
Okay, I'm not talking about a monster eating us up physically but spiritually if we are devoured, if the spiritual being in us is devoured then we are spiritually dead and if we die spiritually we have no life eternal, none.
We cannot let Satan get to us and destroy our faith.
We have to be SOBER- not drunken in that way that keeps us from having our wits about us.
We have to be vigilant- not laid back and uncaring, not lazy.
We must be aware, awake, we have to believe in these truths!
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
We have to RESIST the devil!
We have to be stedfast in the FAITH.
We have to comprehend that every trial we face there are others facing them as well. We might not see them face the same trials but they are! We have to comprehend that we are NOT alone, we are going to face so many, many trials, and God will see us through, HE WILL and there is where our faith must be stedfast!
1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1Pe 5:11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
All praise to our GOD!
Please LORD, please keep us IN YOU always and forever!
By YOUR grace!
Amen.
How many cares do we cast upon our God?
ALL.
All our cares need to be cast upon God. We need to give them to Him. We need to pray to our God, talk to Him, tell our God what our cares are - He WANTS to hear them. He needs for us to trust that HE does care for us. We might not comprehend how our Lord works. We might not comprehend how things are meant to work out. We might not comprehend how seemingly bad things are for our good, especially the horrific things we might have to face, but we need to even in that time of horror to give our cares to our God and trust that He cares for us and no matter what we are facing He will ultimately work things for our good- we who TRUST in Him. Remember this verse--
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
~
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour
Our ADVERSARY the DEVIL! We can NEVER let ourselves forget that Satan is working against our relationship with our Savior at every opportunity. Satan as a ROARING LION. Satan walking about! Satan seeking to devour us!
We don't want to believe this is REAL. We'd rather just shove all that off as being fictional. We'd rather just not believe that there is an enemy out there after us. We love to have people liking us, not hating us, so to realize that there is a BEING, a powerful BEING out there who wants us destroyed, who wants to devour us is something we'd rather not imagine at all, let alone think there might be some truth to the devil.
Devoured.
When you devour something what are you doing? You're snatching it up and eating it as fast as you possibly can. You're destroying what you devour, aren't you? It's gone forever never to return.
Satan wants to devour us just like that.
Okay, I'm not talking about a monster eating us up physically but spiritually if we are devoured, if the spiritual being in us is devoured then we are spiritually dead and if we die spiritually we have no life eternal, none.
We cannot let Satan get to us and destroy our faith.
We have to be SOBER- not drunken in that way that keeps us from having our wits about us.
We have to be vigilant- not laid back and uncaring, not lazy.
We must be aware, awake, we have to believe in these truths!
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
We have to RESIST the devil!
We have to be stedfast in the FAITH.
We have to comprehend that every trial we face there are others facing them as well. We might not see them face the same trials but they are! We have to comprehend that we are NOT alone, we are going to face so many, many trials, and God will see us through, HE WILL and there is where our faith must be stedfast!
1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1Pe 5:11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
All praise to our GOD!
Please LORD, please keep us IN YOU always and forever!
By YOUR grace!
Amen.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Humble Ourselves
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time
It's not enough for the younger to submit to the elder. To say that is to give the elder a self-righteous temptation that because of their age they are automatically superior to those younger than they are. The word doesn't stop there- it immediately follows with- 'ALL of you be subject one to another'. The elders included. Being older does not mean that only the younger are to be subject to the elders, but ALL are subject one to another because our Savior would have us all love one another equally.
Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Love does not entail unjust oppression one over another. I say unjust oppression because if you asked a lot of children they'll tell you they feel they are oppressed by their parents, and that is not a case of unjust oppression. Undue oppression is far from the love Jesus would have us exhibit towards each other.
It's is AWFULLY hard to show humility when you are busy acting superior to others, isn't it? It just doesn't get pulled off very easily and not at all under the eyes of the Lord.
God RESISTS the proud.
Being proud is taking on an unjust belief that you in and of yourself have a superiority, yes? Is it any wonder God resists the proud. God knows that man is a creature- created by Him and NO OTHER. Satan try as he might to seduce people to his side can never lay claim to their creation, NEVER. Of course he might try and has tried hasn't he- in his own way. Evolution- the belief that man has descended from apes and before that from some sludge in an ocean slithering out of the water. Such a glorious beginning, not. Satan wants us believing in evolution because then we are not believing in the Creator. Anything to get us to not belief, to keep us from the Love of God.
I read something yesterday about some guy who was supposed to be this famous atheists how he claims NOT to be an atheists but rather and agnostic. He said he cannot prove with all absolute authority that God does NOT exist, that there is a tiny percentage that leaves a itty bit of possibility, very tiny on his part of belief. He also said most agnostics will say there is a 50/50 chance that God does exists, he thinks in his own personal belief it's much smaller than that, but that it does exist and therefore he cannot call himself an atheist.
So many people have been blinded by satan to believe God doesn't exist, it's perfect for Him. Satan was proud-
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Satan's pride was his failing. Satan nurtured that pride he found in himself.
God resists the proud.
Every single person that is filled with the pride of their own existence not giving glory to their Creator, believing they had NO Creator, believing the have no NEED of a Creator, believing that they are their own person simply because they exist, every single one will be lost to God, lost by their own pride.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time
God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
God gives grace to those who understand their need, their indebtness, their creature status. When we understand our need, when we understand that we owe God our very existence we cannot help but be humbled by that knowledge. All glory goes to HIM who created us!
We have to humble ourselves under the MIGHTY HAND OF GOD! And let God exalt us in time, trust God to be all things for us.
Humbling ourselves- constantly recognizing our Creator as all things!
Humbling ourselves- constantly recognizing our dependency on God!
Humbling ourselves constantly recognizing our every good work that we have a tendency to want to take pride is- is only possibly through God!
If we think for one moment that we can claim any glory for ourselves we are so totally wrong! People want us to. People love when we take pride in ourselves, we like it too when we and our accomplishments are praised it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling doesn't it, a special little glow inside to think we have some worth. That's it isn't it? Pride makes us feel worth- SELFworth, worth outside of God. Our self worth should be zilch, we are worthy ONLY in God!
People cringe upon hearing that because we live in a society that wants us to feel great self worth. When we learn of someone who thinks they are nothing, we immediately feel inclined to jump to their defense and tell them they have a lot of worth. The truth of the matter really is that our own worth comes from God. God who created us, God who sent His only begotten Son- God taking on frail, human flesh for us because He found worth in our existence.
We are only worthy in God and no other way whatsoever.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time
May God help us to humble ourselves so that HE may exalt us at His discretion.
All glory to God now and forever!
Amen
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time
It's not enough for the younger to submit to the elder. To say that is to give the elder a self-righteous temptation that because of their age they are automatically superior to those younger than they are. The word doesn't stop there- it immediately follows with- 'ALL of you be subject one to another'. The elders included. Being older does not mean that only the younger are to be subject to the elders, but ALL are subject one to another because our Savior would have us all love one another equally.
Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Love does not entail unjust oppression one over another. I say unjust oppression because if you asked a lot of children they'll tell you they feel they are oppressed by their parents, and that is not a case of unjust oppression. Undue oppression is far from the love Jesus would have us exhibit towards each other.
It's is AWFULLY hard to show humility when you are busy acting superior to others, isn't it? It just doesn't get pulled off very easily and not at all under the eyes of the Lord.
God RESISTS the proud.
Being proud is taking on an unjust belief that you in and of yourself have a superiority, yes? Is it any wonder God resists the proud. God knows that man is a creature- created by Him and NO OTHER. Satan try as he might to seduce people to his side can never lay claim to their creation, NEVER. Of course he might try and has tried hasn't he- in his own way. Evolution- the belief that man has descended from apes and before that from some sludge in an ocean slithering out of the water. Such a glorious beginning, not. Satan wants us believing in evolution because then we are not believing in the Creator. Anything to get us to not belief, to keep us from the Love of God.
I read something yesterday about some guy who was supposed to be this famous atheists how he claims NOT to be an atheists but rather and agnostic. He said he cannot prove with all absolute authority that God does NOT exist, that there is a tiny percentage that leaves a itty bit of possibility, very tiny on his part of belief. He also said most agnostics will say there is a 50/50 chance that God does exists, he thinks in his own personal belief it's much smaller than that, but that it does exist and therefore he cannot call himself an atheist.
So many people have been blinded by satan to believe God doesn't exist, it's perfect for Him. Satan was proud-
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Satan's pride was his failing. Satan nurtured that pride he found in himself.
God resists the proud.
Every single person that is filled with the pride of their own existence not giving glory to their Creator, believing they had NO Creator, believing the have no NEED of a Creator, believing that they are their own person simply because they exist, every single one will be lost to God, lost by their own pride.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time
God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
God gives grace to those who understand their need, their indebtness, their creature status. When we understand our need, when we understand that we owe God our very existence we cannot help but be humbled by that knowledge. All glory goes to HIM who created us!
We have to humble ourselves under the MIGHTY HAND OF GOD! And let God exalt us in time, trust God to be all things for us.
Humbling ourselves- constantly recognizing our Creator as all things!
Humbling ourselves- constantly recognizing our dependency on God!
Humbling ourselves constantly recognizing our every good work that we have a tendency to want to take pride is- is only possibly through God!
If we think for one moment that we can claim any glory for ourselves we are so totally wrong! People want us to. People love when we take pride in ourselves, we like it too when we and our accomplishments are praised it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling doesn't it, a special little glow inside to think we have some worth. That's it isn't it? Pride makes us feel worth- SELFworth, worth outside of God. Our self worth should be zilch, we are worthy ONLY in God!
People cringe upon hearing that because we live in a society that wants us to feel great self worth. When we learn of someone who thinks they are nothing, we immediately feel inclined to jump to their defense and tell them they have a lot of worth. The truth of the matter really is that our own worth comes from God. God who created us, God who sent His only begotten Son- God taking on frail, human flesh for us because He found worth in our existence.
We are only worthy in God and no other way whatsoever.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time
May God help us to humble ourselves so that HE may exalt us at His discretion.
All glory to God now and forever!
Amen
Friday, February 24, 2012
May we follow our greatest Example
1Pe 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Over and over again it is revealed that God did not man to think of himself greater than any other man. Over and over an equality is stressed. No man was to think of himself as better than another. Remember this…
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
And this…
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And this…
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And this…
Mar 9:33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
Mar 9:34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
Mar 9:35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
Examples to the flock, not LORDS over.
Men of God, witnessing of God, desiring to reveal the love of God to others so that they too would desire to know the love of God must LIVE the love of God. We can't TELL of the love and expect people to believe. We have to LIVE the love. Our mouths can flap all day long and it won't matter a single bit. It's what people witness in US that reveals the love of God. We are to be EXAMPLES of God's love, not hold the position of authority over others demanding they love God.
Jesus was our GREATEST example, never did He LORD over others oppressively. Never did He assert His authority needlessly. Jesus always treated others as HE would want them to treat Him, always!
We must live as Jesus lived. When our base flesh nature would have us ruling over others with unnecessary oppression, when we are ruling over them as masters thinking we are in someway superior to others then we fail miserably.
The greatest are the least of all, not those that our sinfilled society deems great for whatever reason.
Many people who hear about Christians hear that they are a people who believe they are better than everyone else, and that is a very, very sad way to be spoken and thought of by others.
Christians are NOT better than anyone. They are the least of all! It is only Christ who is better than all, only Christ. We don't become better than others when we accept Christ, that's not what it's about at all. IF anything our filthy faults are revealed, our state of horrifying sinfulness is made so much more apparent. We are far from superior human beings because we claim to follow Christ. He will forever be the ONLY ONE who is superior to all humanity, always only -the only one!
May we be the examples to others that God would have us be, never, ever putting on airs, never lording over others- never.
All by HIS GRACE!
1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Over and over again it is revealed that God did not man to think of himself greater than any other man. Over and over an equality is stressed. No man was to think of himself as better than another. Remember this…
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
And this…
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And this…
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And this…
Mar 9:33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
Mar 9:34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
Mar 9:35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
Examples to the flock, not LORDS over.
Men of God, witnessing of God, desiring to reveal the love of God to others so that they too would desire to know the love of God must LIVE the love of God. We can't TELL of the love and expect people to believe. We have to LIVE the love. Our mouths can flap all day long and it won't matter a single bit. It's what people witness in US that reveals the love of God. We are to be EXAMPLES of God's love, not hold the position of authority over others demanding they love God.
Jesus was our GREATEST example, never did He LORD over others oppressively. Never did He assert His authority needlessly. Jesus always treated others as HE would want them to treat Him, always!
We must live as Jesus lived. When our base flesh nature would have us ruling over others with unnecessary oppression, when we are ruling over them as masters thinking we are in someway superior to others then we fail miserably.
The greatest are the least of all, not those that our sinfilled society deems great for whatever reason.
Many people who hear about Christians hear that they are a people who believe they are better than everyone else, and that is a very, very sad way to be spoken and thought of by others.
Christians are NOT better than anyone. They are the least of all! It is only Christ who is better than all, only Christ. We don't become better than others when we accept Christ, that's not what it's about at all. IF anything our filthy faults are revealed, our state of horrifying sinfulness is made so much more apparent. We are far from superior human beings because we claim to follow Christ. He will forever be the ONLY ONE who is superior to all humanity, always only -the only one!
May we be the examples to others that God would have us be, never, ever putting on airs, never lording over others- never.
All by HIS GRACE!
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