Luk 7:47 -
Wherefore I say unto thee
Her sins
which are many
are forgiven
for she loved much
but to whom little is forgiven
the same loveth little
Remember this verse-
1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
The more we LOVE, genuinely love, the more we KNOW God.
The more we LOVE, genuinely love, the more our sins are forgiven us.
LOVE truly is the real answer.
I know we hear that formerly popular song- 'All you need is love, love is all you need.' And in truth it really is all we need because GOD is LOVE. So in essence we are saying all we need is God, God is all we need, and THIS is truth!
What gets in our way of being able to love? Our selfishness, our self-centeredness, our self-admiration.
Is there any wonder Jesus said this--
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
How many people out there believe they are more important than others? Aren't we being taught from a very young age that we have to put ourselves first because others will only walk all over us if we don't? How many people that you know ASPIRE to be servants to others?
Luk 9:48 ... he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
Servant- least among us- these are NOT things we are taught to desire. We are taught that the last one chosen, the least desired is the outcast, the worst of the worst. How many people are thrilled not to be that LAST person chosen when others are picking sides? We are taught NOT to want to be the least, the last, the servant, that these are the things we are to despise not desire.
When we are treated like servants we become appalled and disgruntled, even upset and angry, we want to lash out at those treating us like servants, we want to tell them to do it themselves whatever it is, we don't like to be unappreciated which is what we are taught servants are. Even then something inside us rebels at having to do for others what we believe they can do themselves, or should do themselves. We pride ourselves at being able to tell others we're not going to do whatever it is, that they should just do it themselves, we are not their slaves. Yet the truth of the matter is… the REAL HONEST truth is… it is a BLESSING on us to be able to serve- yes, to be able to serve even those who could in all reality very well do for themselves. Every time we serve we are given an opportunity to receive a blessing. I say given an opportunity because we can destroy that opportunity by not RECEIVING it, but rejecting it and letting a spirit of discord rise up in us wiping away any blessing.
I was raised to believe that there were things I had to do- chores and such, whether I liked it or not. I wasn't raised to believe I received a blessing in doing those sorts of things. I, very unfortunately did NOT raise my children to believe in the blessing of serving even in the most minor of things. I taught that they owe the family something- and had to contribute to the over all well being of a semi-well ordered household. They did things because they OWE a debt, they are being well cared for and in exchange for that they should pull their own weight. And now that they're older children I've switched from that to the- you ought to help out because you're an adult and legally you are capable of being out on your own- of having to take care of yourself. Because you're living here and not paying any rent/bills etc you ought to do the things you are told. Again, I haven't really stressed the blessing they can get from serving. Would it make a difference? Would it change the fact they still have to do things they'd rather not, that they have to pull themselves away from their own activities? No. It wouldn't change that.
In my own life as I try- all by the grace and mercy of God, through the Holy Spirit- to alter the awful way I begrudgingly do things that need doing, I hope to make this 'serving is a blessing' a reality. It won't be easy, because the other way is so engrained in me- in fact from my youth.
The least the greatest?
The servant the greatest?
The one who loves most- forgiven most?
The greater sinner who loves is forgiven more than a lesser sinner who loves less?
These are TRUTHS!
These are God's truths!
Love others as GOD would want us to love them.
If we LOVE much, we will be forgiven much and I don't know about you, but there is so much I need to be forgiven for, so much.
Please LORD help me to love!
Please LORD help me to obtain a blessing through serving.
All through YOU!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sabbath - a WEEKLY reminder of God's love for us!
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Why?
Why bless a day?
Why make a day holy?
Did days exist before the first day?
The first day.
The second day.
The third day.
The fourth day.
The fifth day.
The sixth day.
The seventh day.
There was NO eighth day of creation- all had been created.
God stopped creating on the sixth day. When that sixth day was over creation now existed. From nothing, from a void, from an emptiness came all of creation by God's wondrous power.
God did it all in six days and added an extra day in instituting a day of rest after such an amazing act.
Could God have created everything in one day? In one hour? In one minute? One heartbeat?
Yes.
The thing is, God was creating a future with the needs of His creatures in mind. The creation process was for OUR edification, it was done as it was for US.
The creation process at our very beginning mirrors so much of life in general. You've heard all about the circle of life, God's circle of life wasn't supposed to include our deaths. Yet there was still a circle of life going on and it's mirrored in creation. That cycle, that circle was instituted in creation. God told Adam and Eve the were to eat of all the trees bearing fruit- save one tree. God told Adam he was to tend to the garden- all before sin entered our world.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
What happens when you eat a piece of fruit? Does that particular piece of fruit exist any longer? No. There was to be a constant consuming of the fruit and the replenishing of that fruit through that cycle our God brought into existence. God created us with the need to eat. God created us with needs and intended all of those needs be met in all that He gave us. Living as we do in such horrific sin- we can scarcely imagine having all we need - living in a beautiful garden. We can't begin to believe that we could be happy existing in a garden without any of the trappings of our sin filled society, without modern day conveniences. We imagine it to be like camping, but even our best days of camping are still encumbered by sin and the toil that exists in being a sinner- separated from God.
We were changed when we sinned.
Instantly Adam and Eve noticed the difference. It didn't take a minute, an hour, a day for the effects to begin- they were instantaneous.
Sin altered them.
That separation was immediately felt.
Their lives were forever changed in that moment. They were soon cast out of the garden and knowing pain, heartache, shame became real to them- just as we know these things.
You know who God told our first parents to be fruitful and multiply?
Well remember when God added this part after they sinned--
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
In SORROW would she multiply. It wasn't meant to be PAINFUL, it wasn't meant to be SORROWFUL. Being fruitful and multiplying was to be a glorious, wondrous thing, without a hint of sorrow involved.
Yes, a lot changed when sin took over.
So while we might not be able to fully imagine living happily in a garden it's because we are imagining doing so as sinners filled with all the trials and tribulations that possess sinners.
God created days and did so with a purpose.
The seven day weekly cycle is the only one that has worked and survived for humanity. God instituted that cycle.
What was begun during creation was REINFORCED when God gave His written MORAL LAW to man. A law that needed to be memorialized in stone to a people who had been held captive for four hundred years and as we all know time has a way of changing things. This was something God never, ever wanted changed not ONE jot not ONE tittle!
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
And reinforced yet again--
Exo 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
Exo 16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
Exo 16:19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
Exo 16:21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Exo 16:22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
Exo 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Exo 16:24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
Exo 16:25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
Exo 16:26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
The six day work week and the seventh day rest.
This was God's intended design from the beginning, even before sin. Adam in the garden of Eden would work six days and on the seventh day of the week he rested- GOD instituted this amazing day way back at our very beginning and it's a memorial to HIM, our CREATOR.
The cycle given at the beginning still exists for us right NOW.
Our Creator wanted us to NEVER forget our beginning. To forget is to sin because to forget is to deny God, to deny our Creator and if we deny our God, our Creator, we have no hope of being blessed by Him. We have to believe that He is first and foremost.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
What an AMAZING blessing it is to have this WEEKLY reminder of God's love for us!
We can get caught up in the world, caught up in the cares of this life, but EVERY SABBATH our God wants us to be brought back into remembrance of who is in charge of our lives. God wants us to remember His amazing love fully realized in the sacrifice of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ. EVERY SABBATH is a chance for renewal. Honestly, God put the word REMEMBER on this commandment for a reason. It doesn't take long for the world to get it's evil clutches into our lives, not long at all. But if EVERY SABBATH we are drawn back into a renewed FAITH the world has less and less of a chance to sink it's clutches in so deep we are drawn away from our God, our Savior, and this God intended. We would forever be reminded of our origins, of our dependent status, of our being LOVED so perfectly that Satan could not keep us from HIM.
All in HIS LOVE!
Why?
Why bless a day?
Why make a day holy?
Did days exist before the first day?
The first day.
The second day.
The third day.
The fourth day.
The fifth day.
The sixth day.
The seventh day.
There was NO eighth day of creation- all had been created.
God stopped creating on the sixth day. When that sixth day was over creation now existed. From nothing, from a void, from an emptiness came all of creation by God's wondrous power.
God did it all in six days and added an extra day in instituting a day of rest after such an amazing act.
Could God have created everything in one day? In one hour? In one minute? One heartbeat?
Yes.
The thing is, God was creating a future with the needs of His creatures in mind. The creation process was for OUR edification, it was done as it was for US.
The creation process at our very beginning mirrors so much of life in general. You've heard all about the circle of life, God's circle of life wasn't supposed to include our deaths. Yet there was still a circle of life going on and it's mirrored in creation. That cycle, that circle was instituted in creation. God told Adam and Eve the were to eat of all the trees bearing fruit- save one tree. God told Adam he was to tend to the garden- all before sin entered our world.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
What happens when you eat a piece of fruit? Does that particular piece of fruit exist any longer? No. There was to be a constant consuming of the fruit and the replenishing of that fruit through that cycle our God brought into existence. God created us with the need to eat. God created us with needs and intended all of those needs be met in all that He gave us. Living as we do in such horrific sin- we can scarcely imagine having all we need - living in a beautiful garden. We can't begin to believe that we could be happy existing in a garden without any of the trappings of our sin filled society, without modern day conveniences. We imagine it to be like camping, but even our best days of camping are still encumbered by sin and the toil that exists in being a sinner- separated from God.
We were changed when we sinned.
Instantly Adam and Eve noticed the difference. It didn't take a minute, an hour, a day for the effects to begin- they were instantaneous.
Sin altered them.
That separation was immediately felt.
Their lives were forever changed in that moment. They were soon cast out of the garden and knowing pain, heartache, shame became real to them- just as we know these things.
You know who God told our first parents to be fruitful and multiply?
Well remember when God added this part after they sinned--
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
In SORROW would she multiply. It wasn't meant to be PAINFUL, it wasn't meant to be SORROWFUL. Being fruitful and multiplying was to be a glorious, wondrous thing, without a hint of sorrow involved.
Yes, a lot changed when sin took over.
So while we might not be able to fully imagine living happily in a garden it's because we are imagining doing so as sinners filled with all the trials and tribulations that possess sinners.
God created days and did so with a purpose.
The seven day weekly cycle is the only one that has worked and survived for humanity. God instituted that cycle.
What was begun during creation was REINFORCED when God gave His written MORAL LAW to man. A law that needed to be memorialized in stone to a people who had been held captive for four hundred years and as we all know time has a way of changing things. This was something God never, ever wanted changed not ONE jot not ONE tittle!
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
And reinforced yet again--
Exo 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
Exo 16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
Exo 16:19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Exo 16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
Exo 16:21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Exo 16:22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
Exo 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Exo 16:24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
Exo 16:25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
Exo 16:26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
The six day work week and the seventh day rest.
This was God's intended design from the beginning, even before sin. Adam in the garden of Eden would work six days and on the seventh day of the week he rested- GOD instituted this amazing day way back at our very beginning and it's a memorial to HIM, our CREATOR.
The cycle given at the beginning still exists for us right NOW.
Our Creator wanted us to NEVER forget our beginning. To forget is to sin because to forget is to deny God, to deny our Creator and if we deny our God, our Creator, we have no hope of being blessed by Him. We have to believe that He is first and foremost.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
What an AMAZING blessing it is to have this WEEKLY reminder of God's love for us!
We can get caught up in the world, caught up in the cares of this life, but EVERY SABBATH our God wants us to be brought back into remembrance of who is in charge of our lives. God wants us to remember His amazing love fully realized in the sacrifice of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ. EVERY SABBATH is a chance for renewal. Honestly, God put the word REMEMBER on this commandment for a reason. It doesn't take long for the world to get it's evil clutches into our lives, not long at all. But if EVERY SABBATH we are drawn back into a renewed FAITH the world has less and less of a chance to sink it's clutches in so deep we are drawn away from our God, our Savior, and this God intended. We would forever be reminded of our origins, of our dependent status, of our being LOVED so perfectly that Satan could not keep us from HIM.
All in HIS LOVE!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
This world will pass away- God's will abides forever
1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
ALL that is in the world-
Lust of the flesh.
Lust of the eyes.
Pride of life.
ALL THAT IS OF THE WORLD!
All that is NOT of the FATHER.
Lust of the flesh- so much is lust of the flesh so much more than just sex.
Sex is a HUGE part of the flesh and lust. A HUGE part. You can't live in our world today and not know how overwhelmingly corrupted the WHOLE world is by sex. All the horrors of sex slavery, of pedophilia, of homosexuality, of fornication, of teen sex, of meaningless sex, of sexual diseases, of adultery, pornography, of well, you know, you have to know that sex is something that CONSUMES our world. There isn't a single society, a single country, a single place that is exempt from the horrors of the lust of the flesh in sex. In every single household- I'M NOT EXAGERATING! As much as people want to scoff and not believe it's true, it is so incredibly sad that there are very, very, very few households that haven't been touched by the horrors of the lust of the flesh.
How often we hear of the extreme horrors of the sexual perversions filling our world- and just recently I read an article where a very old man confessed to a younger man that the horrors of our perverted sexual world have existed for years- only as a former police officer of many years ago- they were NOT allowed to reveal the horrors to the public because the powers that be thought it would do more harm than good.
These perversions aren't new. We can read of ancient perversions and shake our heads but just because our day and age hides their perversions rather than exposes them, doesn't mean they don't exist, they do in numbers beyond imagining.
Sex is a powerful, powerful thing. Sex can be a good thing it really can but the potential for it to get out of control is so great that we were TOLD it is better NOT to marry, NOT to even go down that road if we can help it. But our LORD knew and knows that some wouldn't be able to contain that powerful force.
1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
1Co 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
The lusts of the flesh the obvious - sex, but there are other fleshy lusts- there is a perverted appetite, a love of filth, a warped desire to adorn the flesh outwardly, etc. there are many, many lusts of the flesh and ALL of them are not of GOD.
People might argue that we need lust- but passion and lust are two different things and we do need passion. Lust is a pervert passion.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes- NOT OF GOD!
The pride of life- NOT OF GOD!
We cannot LOVE this WORLD!
WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD!
Yet this world will do everything to suck us in and keep us all caught up in its snares, everything!
We have to recognize the FIGHT we are in, the WAR we are ALL IN. We have to believe this is a war, our lives are all caught up in this spiritual battle. Every single person! We have to choose the side we fight on. We have to choose to forsake this WORLD and it's lusts if we desire to be God's.
We choose, and it is a REAL choice we must make.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
All the LUSTS will pass away!
But HE that DOETH the WILL OF GOD ABIDES FOREVER!
We choose!
All by HIS GRACE AND LOVE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, OUR GOD, OUR LOVE.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
ALL that is in the world-
Lust of the flesh.
Lust of the eyes.
Pride of life.
ALL THAT IS OF THE WORLD!
All that is NOT of the FATHER.
Lust of the flesh- so much is lust of the flesh so much more than just sex.
Sex is a HUGE part of the flesh and lust. A HUGE part. You can't live in our world today and not know how overwhelmingly corrupted the WHOLE world is by sex. All the horrors of sex slavery, of pedophilia, of homosexuality, of fornication, of teen sex, of meaningless sex, of sexual diseases, of adultery, pornography, of well, you know, you have to know that sex is something that CONSUMES our world. There isn't a single society, a single country, a single place that is exempt from the horrors of the lust of the flesh in sex. In every single household- I'M NOT EXAGERATING! As much as people want to scoff and not believe it's true, it is so incredibly sad that there are very, very, very few households that haven't been touched by the horrors of the lust of the flesh.
How often we hear of the extreme horrors of the sexual perversions filling our world- and just recently I read an article where a very old man confessed to a younger man that the horrors of our perverted sexual world have existed for years- only as a former police officer of many years ago- they were NOT allowed to reveal the horrors to the public because the powers that be thought it would do more harm than good.
These perversions aren't new. We can read of ancient perversions and shake our heads but just because our day and age hides their perversions rather than exposes them, doesn't mean they don't exist, they do in numbers beyond imagining.
Sex is a powerful, powerful thing. Sex can be a good thing it really can but the potential for it to get out of control is so great that we were TOLD it is better NOT to marry, NOT to even go down that road if we can help it. But our LORD knew and knows that some wouldn't be able to contain that powerful force.
1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
1Co 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
The lusts of the flesh the obvious - sex, but there are other fleshy lusts- there is a perverted appetite, a love of filth, a warped desire to adorn the flesh outwardly, etc. there are many, many lusts of the flesh and ALL of them are not of GOD.
People might argue that we need lust- but passion and lust are two different things and we do need passion. Lust is a pervert passion.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes- NOT OF GOD!
The pride of life- NOT OF GOD!
We cannot LOVE this WORLD!
WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD!
Yet this world will do everything to suck us in and keep us all caught up in its snares, everything!
We have to recognize the FIGHT we are in, the WAR we are ALL IN. We have to believe this is a war, our lives are all caught up in this spiritual battle. Every single person! We have to choose the side we fight on. We have to choose to forsake this WORLD and it's lusts if we desire to be God's.
We choose, and it is a REAL choice we must make.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
All the LUSTS will pass away!
But HE that DOETH the WILL OF GOD ABIDES FOREVER!
We choose!
All by HIS GRACE AND LOVE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, OUR GOD, OUR LOVE.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
He writes unto us
1Jn 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Little children.
Fathers.
Young men.
Little children- sins are forgiven for the for the name of Jesus.
Fathers- you have known Him from the beginning.
Young men- have overcome the wicked one.
Little children- you have known the Father.
Fathers- you have known Him from the beginning.
Young men- you are strong and have the word of God in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
The word of our Lord is being given to us all.
None of us is left out.
Those who will listen, those who LOVE GOD will be able to hear, they will be able to comprehend His LOVE.
Those who will NOT be God's, those who do not want to be God's- all the little children, all the fathers, all the young men- will NOT be God's.
We will be forgiven for HIS name's sake.
We will know HIM from the beginning.
We will overcome the wicked one.
We will have the word of God in us.
We will know Him.
We will be strong.
We will overcome.
We will be HIS.
The word of God is written for us to learn from-- we must understand that God WANTS us to read what He writes for us. This isn't a book meant for a select time- it was never intended to be. This is a book that is everlasting in it's knowledge of our God of His LOVE.
So many people want to pick it all apart and not take it as a whole.
So many people want to destroy the word of God, to make His love perverted, something to abhor.
The word of God is filled with LOVE, and a love we can truly see in all that's done.
An exacting REAL love beyond anything we can fully comprehend.
We are given His word, we HAVE to read His word and let the Holy Spirit give us the understanding we need.
All by HIS GRACE.
1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Little children.
Fathers.
Young men.
Little children- sins are forgiven for the for the name of Jesus.
Fathers- you have known Him from the beginning.
Young men- have overcome the wicked one.
Little children- you have known the Father.
Fathers- you have known Him from the beginning.
Young men- you are strong and have the word of God in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
The word of our Lord is being given to us all.
None of us is left out.
Those who will listen, those who LOVE GOD will be able to hear, they will be able to comprehend His LOVE.
Those who will NOT be God's, those who do not want to be God's- all the little children, all the fathers, all the young men- will NOT be God's.
We will be forgiven for HIS name's sake.
We will know HIM from the beginning.
We will overcome the wicked one.
We will have the word of God in us.
We will know Him.
We will be strong.
We will overcome.
We will be HIS.
The word of God is written for us to learn from-- we must understand that God WANTS us to read what He writes for us. This isn't a book meant for a select time- it was never intended to be. This is a book that is everlasting in it's knowledge of our God of His LOVE.
So many people want to pick it all apart and not take it as a whole.
So many people want to destroy the word of God, to make His love perverted, something to abhor.
The word of God is filled with LOVE, and a love we can truly see in all that's done.
An exacting REAL love beyond anything we can fully comprehend.
We are given His word, we HAVE to read His word and let the Holy Spirit give us the understanding we need.
All by HIS GRACE.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Darkness is past, true light now shines
1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
The DARKNESS is past.
The TRUE LIGHT NOW SHINETH.
What darkness?
What did our Savior accomplish at calvary?
He was the PROMISED seed from the beginning. Right after our first parents sinned and separated us from God, our Savior was a spoken promise to our first parents. Our Savior was ready to step in before Creation, ready in the event we fell. That spoken promise was fully realized after 4000 or so years! 4000 years in darkness. 4000 years with Satan trying everything in his power to stop the Promised Seed from coming. Truly 4000 years of darkness.
When our Savior was born a LIGHT was brought into the world that lived in darkness. A world that lived with a Promise as yet unfulfilled. A world that hung in the balance, it's hope of salvation unrealized. Satan fought hard to stop it and he continued to try and stop it. After the birth of our Savior took place Satan working through Herod ordered all infants in Bethlehem to be killed!
Mat 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Satan worked through many, many people, filling them with his evil, manipulating them to try everything to destroy the seed line of God's promised One. Once the LIGHT was shining in the world Satan tried to destroy that Light and He succeeded- only it happened under God's PLAN, not Satan's.
The LIGHT shined brilliantly in the world, brilliantly!
The TRUE LIGHT came to SHINE in the world brining the message of the kingdom- the gospel of salvation through our SAVIOR!
The darkness was past. The obscurity of what was promised was no longer there as the promised was fulfilled.
As always an unfulfilled promise lives within the realm of un-fulfillment- in darkness.
Light shines on fulfilled promises, they are realized, they are brought to life.
Our Savior was brought to life, the promise of Salvation at hand!
Our Savior emphasized the truth of the commandments we were given, the moral law. Our Savior told us that we were to LOVE God and to LOVE our fellowman.
1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
This is TRUTH. If we say we are in the LIGHT of Jesus and HATE others then we are in DARKNESS!
1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
We must LOVE others!
1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Darkness equals HATING others.
Walking in darkness is walking, living and HATING others.
Walking in darkness is BLINDING.
Living in hatred of others is blinding, darkness complete and utter darkness fills us and we cannot see there is NO possible way of seeing because that hatred allows NO light to enter, none.
By the GRACE of God may we WALK IN LIGHT, in the LIGHT OF OUR SAVIOR who dispels ALL DARKNESS!
Love conquers hate!
It truly is all about LOVE! Real, real genuine LOVE.
In His LOVE always!!!!
The DARKNESS is past.
The TRUE LIGHT NOW SHINETH.
What darkness?
What did our Savior accomplish at calvary?
He was the PROMISED seed from the beginning. Right after our first parents sinned and separated us from God, our Savior was a spoken promise to our first parents. Our Savior was ready to step in before Creation, ready in the event we fell. That spoken promise was fully realized after 4000 or so years! 4000 years in darkness. 4000 years with Satan trying everything in his power to stop the Promised Seed from coming. Truly 4000 years of darkness.
When our Savior was born a LIGHT was brought into the world that lived in darkness. A world that lived with a Promise as yet unfulfilled. A world that hung in the balance, it's hope of salvation unrealized. Satan fought hard to stop it and he continued to try and stop it. After the birth of our Savior took place Satan working through Herod ordered all infants in Bethlehem to be killed!
Mat 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
Mat 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Satan worked through many, many people, filling them with his evil, manipulating them to try everything to destroy the seed line of God's promised One. Once the LIGHT was shining in the world Satan tried to destroy that Light and He succeeded- only it happened under God's PLAN, not Satan's.
The LIGHT shined brilliantly in the world, brilliantly!
The TRUE LIGHT came to SHINE in the world brining the message of the kingdom- the gospel of salvation through our SAVIOR!
The darkness was past. The obscurity of what was promised was no longer there as the promised was fulfilled.
As always an unfulfilled promise lives within the realm of un-fulfillment- in darkness.
Light shines on fulfilled promises, they are realized, they are brought to life.
Our Savior was brought to life, the promise of Salvation at hand!
Our Savior emphasized the truth of the commandments we were given, the moral law. Our Savior told us that we were to LOVE God and to LOVE our fellowman.
1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
This is TRUTH. If we say we are in the LIGHT of Jesus and HATE others then we are in DARKNESS!
1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
We must LOVE others!
1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Darkness equals HATING others.
Walking in darkness is walking, living and HATING others.
Walking in darkness is BLINDING.
Living in hatred of others is blinding, darkness complete and utter darkness fills us and we cannot see there is NO possible way of seeing because that hatred allows NO light to enter, none.
By the GRACE of God may we WALK IN LIGHT, in the LIGHT OF OUR SAVIOR who dispels ALL DARKNESS!
Love conquers hate!
It truly is all about LOVE! Real, real genuine LOVE.
In His LOVE always!!!!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Commandment we've had from the beginning
1Jn 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
NO new commandment unto you.
An OLD commandment.
A commandment you had from the BEGINNING.
The WORD ye have heard from the beginning.
I'm sorry but anyone who says the moral commandments, the ten great commandments given by God were first introduced at Sinai by Moses well they're WRONG. Those many, many years before Moses those laws were in effect. These laws are STILL in effect. Writing them down for a people who were being CALLED out of a 400 year life of slavery was necessary but they weren't brand new.
Remember when Cain murdered Abel? Cain knew IMMEDIATELY it was wrong to murder. Cain didn't believe he'd done nothing wrong, that is was okay to murder, he KNEW instantly.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's only verbal warning command to them and committed the first sins- they KNEW instantly they'd done wrong.
There is a right and wrong that existed from the beginning and it is summed fully up in the ten commandments. Jesus renewed the truth of the ten commandments when He walked the earth. They are fully realized in these two commandments- LOVE GOD and LOVE MAN.
The newness of commandments is in the doing away of the ceremonial commandments, doing away with that which isn't in the MORAL LAW.
NEVER would there EVER be a reason for God to do away with His moral law, NEVER! It was established in the beginning and will always exist, always and forever!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there will NEVER be a time to disobey any of the ten commandments, NEVER. Never will any single one of the ten moral laws be obsolete, never! We will forever be instructed to LOVE GOD and LOVE EACH OTHER.
When our Savior returns we will be filled with this love forever and ever and ever, a love we cling to now all by the grace and mercy of our LORD and SAVIOR. Our Lord and Savior make it possible for us to LOVE, we could NEVER love without them, NEVER.
In the beginning, during, and at the end, on to eternity God's love written in His law will forever be realized.
Please Lord, please help us to realize the eternity of your commandments, the love of your law, help us!
All in YOUR amazing LOVE!
NO new commandment unto you.
An OLD commandment.
A commandment you had from the BEGINNING.
The WORD ye have heard from the beginning.
I'm sorry but anyone who says the moral commandments, the ten great commandments given by God were first introduced at Sinai by Moses well they're WRONG. Those many, many years before Moses those laws were in effect. These laws are STILL in effect. Writing them down for a people who were being CALLED out of a 400 year life of slavery was necessary but they weren't brand new.
Remember when Cain murdered Abel? Cain knew IMMEDIATELY it was wrong to murder. Cain didn't believe he'd done nothing wrong, that is was okay to murder, he KNEW instantly.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's only verbal warning command to them and committed the first sins- they KNEW instantly they'd done wrong.
There is a right and wrong that existed from the beginning and it is summed fully up in the ten commandments. Jesus renewed the truth of the ten commandments when He walked the earth. They are fully realized in these two commandments- LOVE GOD and LOVE MAN.
The newness of commandments is in the doing away of the ceremonial commandments, doing away with that which isn't in the MORAL LAW.
NEVER would there EVER be a reason for God to do away with His moral law, NEVER! It was established in the beginning and will always exist, always and forever!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there will NEVER be a time to disobey any of the ten commandments, NEVER. Never will any single one of the ten moral laws be obsolete, never! We will forever be instructed to LOVE GOD and LOVE EACH OTHER.
When our Savior returns we will be filled with this love forever and ever and ever, a love we cling to now all by the grace and mercy of our LORD and SAVIOR. Our Lord and Savior make it possible for us to LOVE, we could NEVER love without them, NEVER.
In the beginning, during, and at the end, on to eternity God's love written in His law will forever be realized.
Please Lord, please help us to realize the eternity of your commandments, the love of your law, help us!
All in YOUR amazing LOVE!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Jesus is our role model
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Jesus is our ROLE MODEL.
Jesus in the One we need to emulate.
Jesus is the One we need to follow and NO other.
If we say we BELONG to Jesus we need to live as Jesus lived.
Jesus did NOT call all the people He came in contact with to be PHYSICAL followers of Him. He did call ALL to be His spiritual followers, but He did not tell every person He healed to give up everything and follow Him. He did not tell every person that listened to Him that they needed to leave their homes, their jobs, their families and go with Him. Jesus gave many, many lessons to those He knew would never leave their families, their homes, their jobs.
When we are told to walk as He walked, we are being told to live the spiritual life He led, to live the moral life that He did, to live the self-less life that He gave us as an example, to live connected fully with the Father. Anyone who actually believes that walking as Christ walked means PRETENDING (with great delusion) to be Christ is far off the mark. We are to live towards our spiritual life, not our carnal life.
If we are abiding in our Savior we are living a life PLEASING TO GOD.
Our Savior lived a life PLEASING to God.
Our Savior lived a life fully dependent upon God.
Our Savior did NOTHING in and of Himself.
Our Savior did GOD'S WILL, not His own.
You wonder how could the two wills be opposed?
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
This is how our Savior lived His life.
He felt His humanity every bit as much as we do.
He didn't WANT to suffer. He didn't WANT to be betrayed. He didn't WANT to be tortured, to be ridiculed. He didn't WANT to be murdered. He KNEW what was going to happen and He did NOT want to go through it all. He wanted His CUP- the bitter dregs of what lay ahead to be taken away from Him so He wouldn't have to drink it, so He wouldn't have to endure all the pain, all the unspeakable agony. But more than facing all that torture HE didn't want His OWN will to be done, He wanted His FATHER'S WILL to be done.
We have to WANT God's will to be done over our own will.
The two wills- man and God's will war against each other because sin separated us from the natural desire for God's will to be done in us.
Jesus revealed His humanity in this statement- NOT MY WILL. Not what He wanted, not what He desired and YES, He did WANT something contrary to the will of God, HE DID, He said it HIMSELF!
NOT MY WILL.
To say those words meant that His will was contrary to the Father's will or else He never would have had to say those words at all.
NOT MY WILL.
BUT THINE BE DONE.
This is HOW we must live. We must submit to the WILL of God, not to our own will which is contrary to God's.
If we are to walk even as Christ's walked then we have to comprehend that our Savior's humanity was as real as ours is. That He faced the same temptations we face- only probably worse. He did. Too many people want to believe that He was above even the idea of temptation, that it was impossible to tempt Him because He couldn't be tempted. Tempting someone that can't be tempted is pointless. Jesus WAS TEMPTED and the possibility for Him to give in to temptation existed! He could ONLY be victorious over sin if it were a real possibility for Him to sin.
He CHOSE to follow God's will, not HIS OWN.
This is what we must do as we fight this Spiritual war. We have to understand that we are in a constant battle of wills ours against God's, with Satan urging us on to follow our own will.
Satan starts teaching us at a very young age that our own desires, that our own will is more important than anything else. That abiding in only ourselves and walking after only our own ways is what's best for us. Satan teaches us that to deprive ourselves is a bad, bad thing, totally unnecessary. Satan teaches us that to be served is better than to serve. Satan teaches us that resenting others is a good thing, a natural thing, an expected thing, that to receive a reward for our service is expected.
Jesus teaches us this--
Luk 6:34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to
If we do for others because we are hoping receive in kind we are doing it for the wrong reasons yet we are told that is exactly what we are to expect. You do this for someone and they are obligated to repay in kind. We grow up on this stuff!
Being the servant is NOT something we are encourage towards especially here in the United States.
Yet we MUST be servants.
Our Savior was a SERVANT!
And our SAVIOR told us that if we want to be first we must be last!
Such contrary teachings to our society.
Looking out for number one is how we are raised and that number one is always self. This is completely contrary to our Savior's desire for us. We are to look out for God, for others, NOT OURSELVES! Yet it's become so ingrained in us that we call it second nature, is it any wonder we find it so incredibly hard to walk as Christ walked? We've been living lives completely contrary to God's will, taught to do so, encouraged to do so.
May God help us all!
Our only hope is the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ!
Our only hope it the MERCY, the GRACE, the FORGIVENESS of our SAVIOR!
Our only hope is found in HIM and not in us.
May HIS WILL, may GOD'S WILL be done in us!
All through HIS LOVE!
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Jesus is our ROLE MODEL.
Jesus in the One we need to emulate.
Jesus is the One we need to follow and NO other.
If we say we BELONG to Jesus we need to live as Jesus lived.
Jesus did NOT call all the people He came in contact with to be PHYSICAL followers of Him. He did call ALL to be His spiritual followers, but He did not tell every person He healed to give up everything and follow Him. He did not tell every person that listened to Him that they needed to leave their homes, their jobs, their families and go with Him. Jesus gave many, many lessons to those He knew would never leave their families, their homes, their jobs.
When we are told to walk as He walked, we are being told to live the spiritual life He led, to live the moral life that He did, to live the self-less life that He gave us as an example, to live connected fully with the Father. Anyone who actually believes that walking as Christ walked means PRETENDING (with great delusion) to be Christ is far off the mark. We are to live towards our spiritual life, not our carnal life.
If we are abiding in our Savior we are living a life PLEASING TO GOD.
Our Savior lived a life PLEASING to God.
Our Savior lived a life fully dependent upon God.
Our Savior did NOTHING in and of Himself.
Our Savior did GOD'S WILL, not His own.
You wonder how could the two wills be opposed?
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
This is how our Savior lived His life.
He felt His humanity every bit as much as we do.
He didn't WANT to suffer. He didn't WANT to be betrayed. He didn't WANT to be tortured, to be ridiculed. He didn't WANT to be murdered. He KNEW what was going to happen and He did NOT want to go through it all. He wanted His CUP- the bitter dregs of what lay ahead to be taken away from Him so He wouldn't have to drink it, so He wouldn't have to endure all the pain, all the unspeakable agony. But more than facing all that torture HE didn't want His OWN will to be done, He wanted His FATHER'S WILL to be done.
We have to WANT God's will to be done over our own will.
The two wills- man and God's will war against each other because sin separated us from the natural desire for God's will to be done in us.
Jesus revealed His humanity in this statement- NOT MY WILL. Not what He wanted, not what He desired and YES, He did WANT something contrary to the will of God, HE DID, He said it HIMSELF!
NOT MY WILL.
To say those words meant that His will was contrary to the Father's will or else He never would have had to say those words at all.
NOT MY WILL.
BUT THINE BE DONE.
This is HOW we must live. We must submit to the WILL of God, not to our own will which is contrary to God's.
If we are to walk even as Christ's walked then we have to comprehend that our Savior's humanity was as real as ours is. That He faced the same temptations we face- only probably worse. He did. Too many people want to believe that He was above even the idea of temptation, that it was impossible to tempt Him because He couldn't be tempted. Tempting someone that can't be tempted is pointless. Jesus WAS TEMPTED and the possibility for Him to give in to temptation existed! He could ONLY be victorious over sin if it were a real possibility for Him to sin.
He CHOSE to follow God's will, not HIS OWN.
This is what we must do as we fight this Spiritual war. We have to understand that we are in a constant battle of wills ours against God's, with Satan urging us on to follow our own will.
Satan starts teaching us at a very young age that our own desires, that our own will is more important than anything else. That abiding in only ourselves and walking after only our own ways is what's best for us. Satan teaches us that to deprive ourselves is a bad, bad thing, totally unnecessary. Satan teaches us that to be served is better than to serve. Satan teaches us that resenting others is a good thing, a natural thing, an expected thing, that to receive a reward for our service is expected.
Jesus teaches us this--
Luk 6:34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to
If we do for others because we are hoping receive in kind we are doing it for the wrong reasons yet we are told that is exactly what we are to expect. You do this for someone and they are obligated to repay in kind. We grow up on this stuff!
Being the servant is NOT something we are encourage towards especially here in the United States.
Yet we MUST be servants.
Our Savior was a SERVANT!
And our SAVIOR told us that if we want to be first we must be last!
Such contrary teachings to our society.
Looking out for number one is how we are raised and that number one is always self. This is completely contrary to our Savior's desire for us. We are to look out for God, for others, NOT OURSELVES! Yet it's become so ingrained in us that we call it second nature, is it any wonder we find it so incredibly hard to walk as Christ walked? We've been living lives completely contrary to God's will, taught to do so, encouraged to do so.
May God help us all!
Our only hope is the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ!
Our only hope it the MERCY, the GRACE, the FORGIVENESS of our SAVIOR!
Our only hope is found in HIM and not in us.
May HIS WILL, may GOD'S WILL be done in us!
All through HIS LOVE!
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