Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
The LORD gives.
The LORD takes.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.
We receive GOOD at the hand of God.
We receive EVIL at the hand of God- He allows evil to befall us.
We are VILE.
We ABHOR ourselves.
We MUST repent.
God's ways are past our finding them out. When we look at our world and all the horrors that are allowed to happen, Satan wants us to curse God for it all as we try to comprehend it all, thinking that we really do have a way of understanding- when in truth we don't. The horrors, and they are many and unimaginable in their vileness, exist and even the INNOCENT are made to endure them. People love to throw this up high in the air to top their list of reasons why they don't want to believe in a God who allows such agonizing horror. The worse the reprehensible act the more convinced they become that they do NOT want to believe in a God who sits back and watches as the terror unfolds. As tears falls, as gut wrenching sorrow doubles them over for the tragedies occurring around every corner people would rather believe there is no God than believe there is a God who has the power to stop the awfulness, yet does not.
The thing is- our God is MERCIFUL- the horrors, no matter how vile and no matter how long those horrors must be endure- they do eventually end. A God who would allow endless torture, would be a God I could not imagine. All this world's sorrows are TEMPORARY to ETERNITY.
If we spend an entire lifetime- from birth to old age-80, 90 years in pain- we have to take comfort knowing there is an end, a stopping point.
We cannot begin to comprehend why people are put through horrors unimaginable, we simply can't. For that matter we can't comprehend the reality we call life -much at all- no matter how long scientists and the great minds that exist over the ages try to define it all.
If God were a man who had MAGICAL powers upon earth and then he allowed evil to exist- then we could comprehend. But GOD is NOT a man and NEVER will be a man- He is the CREATOR of MAN, He can never be what HE'S CREATED any more than an architect could become a house, a gardener become a flower garden, a doctor a cure. It's IMPOSSIBLE. God did become man in JESUS CHRIST- God taking on flesh and feeling our infirmities completely- but God did NOT cease being GOD in order to become human. The FATHER GOD has forever been God without human flesh. GOD the SON took on the very flesh He'd had a hand in creating and while He laid aside HIS powers and relied upon God the FATHER'S there was never a moment when the power of GOD the Father was gone, NEVER.
From everlasting to everlasting God exists and will forever exist and THIS we cannot fully comprehend in our humanity, in our seemingly finite, our possibly finite, existence.
Job was a righteous man- even God said so.
Yet Job's righteousness became corrupted as He was tried, corrupted because He began to believe in His own righteousness and condemned God for what he perceived was an unjust punishment. Job was in severe pain, in agony, his very existence a nightmare and he was trying to make sense of it. It didn't help that others were telling him it had to be because He'd done something wrong. The others couldn't comprehend that God' s plans could include allowing someone to be tortured by the devil, someone who had done nothing to deserve it.
We cannot begin to comprehend God's ways, they are so incredibly far above us. We don't know that some horror now might not be for some good later, we haven't a clue. We can guess all we want, but we don't know. The horrors we encounter seem to be enough to drive us mad with grief, and yet when all is said and down we have to trust that our Lord has HIS reasons far beyond our understanding and those reasons are just.
I think a lot of what goes on in our lives we forget to contribute to our God. The sun shining, the moon, the stars, the very breath we breathe, the heart that beats in our chests, the flower unfolding, the rain that drops, the majestic mountains, the clouds that form- we stop realizing the power of God and take for granted those very things that He has a hand in.
People want to explain everything and when they can't they make us their own theories and call them factual and scientific just because it's something they perceive and others agree with. What was scientific a 100 years ago might be proven complete wrong today, yet people believe their ideas were factual and true.
Just because you figure out the dna sequence does not mean you've created dna itself. Just because you take a stem cell and create other things from that cell, does not mean you've created a stem cell or can. Just because you've created a mechanical device for a heart does not mean you've created a heart. I could go on and on, but you have to get the point at least somewhat. How many of you know how your television receives the information that is portrayed on the screen? How many of you fully comprehend how electricity is harnessed and sent through wires to your house? How many of you comprehend radio waves? The majority of people don't have the understanding of these things and yet some do, they learn it and go on to learn more. Understanding things did not make them the creator of things. Understanding how to record of voice onto a tiny electronic chip, does not mean you understand every single point of that to the minutest detail. You might know how to put pieces together so they create something, but that doesn't mean you know how to create the pieces themselves. A bricklayer can mix up mortar to lay between the bricks, but he's using things he didn't create to make that mix.
We've come a long, long way from knowing very little about how things work, and we've debunked many a superstition, but in doing so MANY have tried to take God out of everything. Before we lived in a world that held the belief that God created, now we live in a world that takes great pride in what man seems to create. Satan has worked very hard to get people to believe in themselves over God, to believe in things over God and he's done a very thorough job of it. We like to say that if you are SMART you don't believe in the fairy tale, the fable of God, and people love to believe they are smart. The reality, they are more foolish than they'll ever know.
Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
By our God's mercy! By our God's love! May we endure to the end clinging to Christ's righteousness.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
We've sadly learned to base our ability to love upon conditions
1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Heard from the beginning-
-we should LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
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.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
A new commandment- an ADDITIONAL commandment- a commandment that is an addition to the moral ten. This addition to the commandments, this new command was necessary because our SAVIOR was manifested to us and an example to look to- an example that had NOT existed before.
LOVE as HE LOVED.
Jesus was manifested. Jesus' love was manifested to mankind. Jesus - God taking on human flesh and loving us as a Son of God in a way that He couldn't for thousands of years.
So while Jesus could say this in answer to the question--
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The man asking the question of our Savior was speaking of the moral commandments and Jesus said- on THESE two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets.
The first and the second.
And Jesus could also say this in answer to the question--
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The commandments of the MORAL law!
The moral law of the ten commandments were given to guide us into a full love of God and a full love of our fellowman.
Our Savior LIVED the law perfectly never straying from it for a single instance- how do I know? Our Savior was sinless. Being sinless means not transgressing the law of God, because sin is a transgression of the law. Jesus loved God perfectly, Jesus loved his fellowman perfectly, and He is our perfect example.
1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
This is our Savior's message.
LOVE.
When we sin we are guilty of NOT LOVING.
That sin of coveting exists because we are not loving selflessly, we are not loving our fellow man.
That sin of taking God's name is vain exists because we are not loving God.
It's the same for the entire moral law, all ten commandments.
It's the transgression of NOT LOVING.
We've sadly learned to base our ability to love upon conditions that we were NEVER supposed to have, never.
I'll love if…
I can't love because…
If he/she shows they love me…
I'll stop loving you if you do this or that…
I could never love someone that…
Conditions!
Sin is NOT LOVING, and the results that come from NOT LOVING, the actions caused by NOT LOVING.
If we put conditions on our ability to love God and love others, we are NOT loving as our Savior loved. He loved us while we were yet sinners.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Please LORD teach us to LOVE as YOU LOVED!
Please!
Help us to love one another, and to love You!
By Your GRACE and MERCY! By Your LOVE!
Heard from the beginning-
-we should LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
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.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
A new commandment- an ADDITIONAL commandment- a commandment that is an addition to the moral ten. This addition to the commandments, this new command was necessary because our SAVIOR was manifested to us and an example to look to- an example that had NOT existed before.
LOVE as HE LOVED.
Jesus was manifested. Jesus' love was manifested to mankind. Jesus - God taking on human flesh and loving us as a Son of God in a way that He couldn't for thousands of years.
So while Jesus could say this in answer to the question--
Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The man asking the question of our Savior was speaking of the moral commandments and Jesus said- on THESE two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets.
The first and the second.
And Jesus could also say this in answer to the question--
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The commandments of the MORAL law!
The moral law of the ten commandments were given to guide us into a full love of God and a full love of our fellowman.
Our Savior LIVED the law perfectly never straying from it for a single instance- how do I know? Our Savior was sinless. Being sinless means not transgressing the law of God, because sin is a transgression of the law. Jesus loved God perfectly, Jesus loved his fellowman perfectly, and He is our perfect example.
1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
This is our Savior's message.
LOVE.
When we sin we are guilty of NOT LOVING.
That sin of coveting exists because we are not loving selflessly, we are not loving our fellow man.
That sin of taking God's name is vain exists because we are not loving God.
It's the same for the entire moral law, all ten commandments.
It's the transgression of NOT LOVING.
We've sadly learned to base our ability to love upon conditions that we were NEVER supposed to have, never.
I'll love if…
I can't love because…
If he/she shows they love me…
I'll stop loving you if you do this or that…
I could never love someone that…
Conditions!
Sin is NOT LOVING, and the results that come from NOT LOVING, the actions caused by NOT LOVING.
If we put conditions on our ability to love God and love others, we are NOT loving as our Savior loved. He loved us while we were yet sinners.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Please LORD teach us to LOVE as YOU LOVED!
Please!
Help us to love one another, and to love You!
By Your GRACE and MERCY! By Your LOVE!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Manifest in God
1Jn 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1Jn 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
The children of God are manifest-
The children of God are - made visible, made known, made actual, realized, recognized.
The children of the devil are also manifest.
We are manifested by the choices we make.
We choose to remain sinners, and we also choose to be born again- born of God.
Jesus said these words--
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
MUST be BORN AGAIN.
We must be born again and born again of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Born of the SPIRIT.
Those who are born of the Spirit claim their Savior as their righteousness, seeking to give themselves wholly to Him, begging forgiveness, knowing their unworthiness, recognizing their full dependence upon Jesus Christ. We are born of flesh, and given an opportunity to be born of the Spirit.
If we are born of the Spirit we will not seek to willfully sin. We will recognize our sins and seek to repent of them and ask for forgiveness -- NOT seek to keep living in sin. Those who are embroiled in sin wanting to remain in it will do so and they are of their father the devil.
Sin is forever tempting us, forever until our Savior returns for us. We have to surrender ourselves to HIM, to our GOD. We have to keep ourselves IN HIM, having FAITH in HIS ability to save us, to forgive us, to love us.
When we are IN our Savior we cannot sin.
When we are HIS, covered by HIM we cannot sin.
Outside of Him we are lost sinners.
It is ONLY when our SAVIOR is ours that we are sinless, we are NEVER sinless on our own, never!
We must abide in Christ.
We must live in Christ.
We must love our fellow man, we must love as our Savior loves, love through Him, love because He loves, loves because His Spirit in us lives.
All in HIM! Always!
1Jn 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
The children of God are manifest-
The children of God are - made visible, made known, made actual, realized, recognized.
The children of the devil are also manifest.
We are manifested by the choices we make.
We choose to remain sinners, and we also choose to be born again- born of God.
Jesus said these words--
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
MUST be BORN AGAIN.
We must be born again and born again of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Born of the SPIRIT.
Those who are born of the Spirit claim their Savior as their righteousness, seeking to give themselves wholly to Him, begging forgiveness, knowing their unworthiness, recognizing their full dependence upon Jesus Christ. We are born of flesh, and given an opportunity to be born of the Spirit.
If we are born of the Spirit we will not seek to willfully sin. We will recognize our sins and seek to repent of them and ask for forgiveness -- NOT seek to keep living in sin. Those who are embroiled in sin wanting to remain in it will do so and they are of their father the devil.
Sin is forever tempting us, forever until our Savior returns for us. We have to surrender ourselves to HIM, to our GOD. We have to keep ourselves IN HIM, having FAITH in HIS ability to save us, to forgive us, to love us.
When we are IN our Savior we cannot sin.
When we are HIS, covered by HIM we cannot sin.
Outside of Him we are lost sinners.
It is ONLY when our SAVIOR is ours that we are sinless, we are NEVER sinless on our own, never!
We must abide in Christ.
We must live in Christ.
We must love our fellow man, we must love as our Savior loves, love through Him, love because He loves, loves because His Spirit in us lives.
All in HIM! Always!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Jesus came to destroy sin- NOT excuse it
1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Do NOT be deceived.
If you DO righteousness- you are righteous- as our Savior is righteous.
If you SIN- you are OF the devil- the devil sinned from the beginning.
The Son of God was MANIFESTED- created- brought into being- God taking on flesh- all to DESTROY the works of the devil- SIN.
Our Savior is righteous and if we ABIDE in Him- we will be righteous because of Him. Any righteousness we do, we do it because HE enables us to do that righteousness.
If we sin we are doing the works of the devil.
Sin exists because of the devil. When we sin we are working FOR the devil.
Sinning isn't trivial.
Sinning isn't something we can simply overlook and ignore.
Every sin needs to be confessed and repented of.
If we sin and are not concerned about the sin we've committed then we've been blinded by the devil. The devil will use every opportunity possible to get us numbed to the sins we commit, to make us call EVIL - GOOD. When Satan gets us to believe that evil is good he's blinded us to the TRUTH. And when we are blind to the truth we are lost to our Savior.
Our SAVIOR came into existence as the Son of God so He could eradicate sin once and for all. The kingdom of heaven, the promise of eternal life with our Savior, with God the Father - is all promised to those who abhor sin because SIN is of the devil!
We need to despise sin because is SEPARATES us from God!
Righteousness is GOD.
Sin is of SATAN.
Jesus will destroy ALL SIN.
All sinners will be destroyed.
Not a single sinner will live.
Those who have sinned and repented, finding forgiveness in our Savior are COVERED by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Those who have sinned and have NOT repented will NOT be forgiven and they will be destroyed.
We must be found in CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS!
He came to destroy sin, not excuse it.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Do NOT be deceived.
If you DO righteousness- you are righteous- as our Savior is righteous.
If you SIN- you are OF the devil- the devil sinned from the beginning.
The Son of God was MANIFESTED- created- brought into being- God taking on flesh- all to DESTROY the works of the devil- SIN.
Our Savior is righteous and if we ABIDE in Him- we will be righteous because of Him. Any righteousness we do, we do it because HE enables us to do that righteousness.
If we sin we are doing the works of the devil.
Sin exists because of the devil. When we sin we are working FOR the devil.
Sinning isn't trivial.
Sinning isn't something we can simply overlook and ignore.
Every sin needs to be confessed and repented of.
If we sin and are not concerned about the sin we've committed then we've been blinded by the devil. The devil will use every opportunity possible to get us numbed to the sins we commit, to make us call EVIL - GOOD. When Satan gets us to believe that evil is good he's blinded us to the TRUTH. And when we are blind to the truth we are lost to our Savior.
Our SAVIOR came into existence as the Son of God so He could eradicate sin once and for all. The kingdom of heaven, the promise of eternal life with our Savior, with God the Father - is all promised to those who abhor sin because SIN is of the devil!
We need to despise sin because is SEPARATES us from God!
Righteousness is GOD.
Sin is of SATAN.
Jesus will destroy ALL SIN.
All sinners will be destroyed.
Not a single sinner will live.
Those who have sinned and repented, finding forgiveness in our Savior are COVERED by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Those who have sinned and have NOT repented will NOT be forgiven and they will be destroyed.
We must be found in CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS!
He came to destroy sin, not excuse it.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Abide in love
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
Not seen Him.
Doesn't know Him.
Those who CHOOSE to willfully sin, those who choose NOT to love God or love others, can't see our Savior, the can't know Him.
When we CHOOSE not to love, we are in fact CHOOSING to live in sin.
So many get all caught up in the BLATANT sins they ignore the fact that that ALL sins are transgressions of God's laws and all of God's laws have to do with love because- God is love. NOT loving is the GREATEST sin, seriously, because it is the source of each and every sin.
If we abide in our Savior we are abiding in LOVE. Remember- God is LOVE. Abiding in love keeps us from sinning.
The love of God is so amazing we can scarcely comprehend it.
We get so caught up in our own self we believe love is something we are to get, to obtain, to seek. We believe we are loved when others treat us special and care for us.
The truth is love is something we are to GIVE. Our lives should not be spent trying to find love, but rather trying to give love to others, to God.
We spend SO much time thinking about the love we receive, or should receive, want to receive. How many days of depression are spent by millions because of the HUGE misconceptions about love? We kill ourselves because we are NOT loved by others, we haven't found love.
People say they are IN LOVE when the truth is, they are CHOOSING to involve themselves with another person to mutually benefit each other, by sharing their feelings, their lives, their trials, their happiness. LOVE isn't the idealized fantasy we grow up on- that shows up in movies and in books, on tv, over and over again. So many of those idealize LOVE end up without any love, why, because they stop choosing to share the burdens, and the good times with each other. Maybe someone more exciting comes along, someone who seems better to share our lives with, or maybe we want to simply not share our lives with anyone for awhile.
When we put the fantasy spin on love if we are NOT grounded in the reality of that newness - that learning and sharing with another - wearing off over time, then that love we are so filled with can tragically die. We have to CONTINUE to choose to share the life of another when we view them at their worst. We need to imagine them at their worst, not idolize them at their best and end up shocked when we view their basest humanity.
Love.
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
If we love we see- we know our Savior.
If we do not love, if we don't see and know our Savior then we are sinning and living in sin.
We need to love.
To love and in love abide in our Savior- who IS LOVE.
Not seen Him.
Doesn't know Him.
Those who CHOOSE to willfully sin, those who choose NOT to love God or love others, can't see our Savior, the can't know Him.
When we CHOOSE not to love, we are in fact CHOOSING to live in sin.
So many get all caught up in the BLATANT sins they ignore the fact that that ALL sins are transgressions of God's laws and all of God's laws have to do with love because- God is love. NOT loving is the GREATEST sin, seriously, because it is the source of each and every sin.
If we abide in our Savior we are abiding in LOVE. Remember- God is LOVE. Abiding in love keeps us from sinning.
The love of God is so amazing we can scarcely comprehend it.
We get so caught up in our own self we believe love is something we are to get, to obtain, to seek. We believe we are loved when others treat us special and care for us.
The truth is love is something we are to GIVE. Our lives should not be spent trying to find love, but rather trying to give love to others, to God.
We spend SO much time thinking about the love we receive, or should receive, want to receive. How many days of depression are spent by millions because of the HUGE misconceptions about love? We kill ourselves because we are NOT loved by others, we haven't found love.
People say they are IN LOVE when the truth is, they are CHOOSING to involve themselves with another person to mutually benefit each other, by sharing their feelings, their lives, their trials, their happiness. LOVE isn't the idealized fantasy we grow up on- that shows up in movies and in books, on tv, over and over again. So many of those idealize LOVE end up without any love, why, because they stop choosing to share the burdens, and the good times with each other. Maybe someone more exciting comes along, someone who seems better to share our lives with, or maybe we want to simply not share our lives with anyone for awhile.
When we put the fantasy spin on love if we are NOT grounded in the reality of that newness - that learning and sharing with another - wearing off over time, then that love we are so filled with can tragically die. We have to CONTINUE to choose to share the life of another when we view them at their worst. We need to imagine them at their worst, not idolize them at their best and end up shocked when we view their basest humanity.
Love.
1Jn 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
If we love we see- we know our Savior.
If we do not love, if we don't see and know our Savior then we are sinning and living in sin.
We need to love.
To love and in love abide in our Savior- who IS LOVE.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sin- not loving God or others
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
When you think of sin do you think of the law of God?
Seriously. Do you think of the law of God when you sin?
The law says that we are to LOVE GOD, and LOVE OUR FELLOW MAN, all those ten commandments- that moral law is summed up in those two acts. Out of love for God we follow the first four commandments, out of love for our fellow man we follow the last six commandments.
When we sin- we are NOT loving God, and we are NOT loving our fellow man.
Any sin we commit is a sin because we stop loving God and our fellow man.
You cannot sin in any other way because sin IS the transgression of the law and that law tells us to LOVE God and LOVE others.
We STOP loving God when we love ourselves more than we love Him.
So many of our sins are committed because we choose to love ourselves more than God. We can spend our whole lives believing we love others and if we do NOT love God it means nothing. That love we believe we have for others is really a selfish desire to get accolades from them, to feel self-important, to be the person who is lauded for their actions. We HAVE to realize that every SIN we commit is a breaking of the law, it's GOD'S law and we break it when we sin.
Our Savior was manifested- our Savior - our God took on human flesh- so He could TAKE AWAY our sins. So that He could FORGIVE us when we commit acts that show our lack of love for Him and for Others. When we transgress His law that tells us we MUST LOVE HIM and OTHERS, He came to forgive us those acts that reveal how unloving we really, really are!
We can be unloving towards HIM and towards others, and that is sin.
Our Savior forgives our lovelessness, knowing that our propensity towards selfishness, towards self-love, is soooo incredibly great. We NEED HIM to draw us out of ourselves, it is ONLY our SAVIOR who can give us what we need to LOVE as we need to LOVE- selflessly. It is HIS righteousness that must stand in place of our unrighteousness. God has to see His Son's righteousness in OUR PLACE, because we have NONE. And we must submit ourselves to the SON completely, knowing we have NOTHING that is worthy in and of ourselves, it's ALL HIM and ONLY HIM, we choose!
By HIS GRACE! HIS LOVE!
1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
When you think of sin do you think of the law of God?
Seriously. Do you think of the law of God when you sin?
The law says that we are to LOVE GOD, and LOVE OUR FELLOW MAN, all those ten commandments- that moral law is summed up in those two acts. Out of love for God we follow the first four commandments, out of love for our fellow man we follow the last six commandments.
When we sin- we are NOT loving God, and we are NOT loving our fellow man.
Any sin we commit is a sin because we stop loving God and our fellow man.
You cannot sin in any other way because sin IS the transgression of the law and that law tells us to LOVE God and LOVE others.
We STOP loving God when we love ourselves more than we love Him.
So many of our sins are committed because we choose to love ourselves more than God. We can spend our whole lives believing we love others and if we do NOT love God it means nothing. That love we believe we have for others is really a selfish desire to get accolades from them, to feel self-important, to be the person who is lauded for their actions. We HAVE to realize that every SIN we commit is a breaking of the law, it's GOD'S law and we break it when we sin.
Our Savior was manifested- our Savior - our God took on human flesh- so He could TAKE AWAY our sins. So that He could FORGIVE us when we commit acts that show our lack of love for Him and for Others. When we transgress His law that tells us we MUST LOVE HIM and OTHERS, He came to forgive us those acts that reveal how unloving we really, really are!
We can be unloving towards HIM and towards others, and that is sin.
Our Savior forgives our lovelessness, knowing that our propensity towards selfishness, towards self-love, is soooo incredibly great. We NEED HIM to draw us out of ourselves, it is ONLY our SAVIOR who can give us what we need to LOVE as we need to LOVE- selflessly. It is HIS righteousness that must stand in place of our unrighteousness. God has to see His Son's righteousness in OUR PLACE, because we have NONE. And we must submit ourselves to the SON completely, knowing we have NOTHING that is worthy in and of ourselves, it's ALL HIM and ONLY HIM, we choose!
By HIS GRACE! HIS LOVE!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Not peace- but division
Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division
Way too many people believe that our Savior came to GIVE peace on earth.
We've heard it over and over especially during the Christmas holiday season- Peace on Earth. Why because of this--
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Who said those words?
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
This is on the occasion of Jesus' birth and the angels are praising God. The goal of having peace on earth is a goal that will only be achieved when our Savior comes again. That Jesus was born - the fact that He is the AUTHOR of peace means everything. Without the birth of the Messiah there would be no hope for any peace on earth, ever.
Too many people take this to mean that Jesus wants peace on earth here and now without His return, yet clearly our Savior speaks these words.
Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division
How do you equate that with the belief people have that we are to STRIVE for peace on earth?
The fact of the matter is- there will NOT be world peace- but we are to strive for individual peace among each other.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord
We are to abide in our Savior and in abiding in Him we are to have peace towards all those around us- not strife.
World peace- no- not until our Savior returns.
Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division
Jesus said- suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?
And He answers-
No.
Not only does he say no, He says this-
But RATHER division.
DIVISION!
And He continues by explaining this--
Luk 12:52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
Luk 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Division- NOT PEACE.
The dividing factor is between those with our Savior and those not with our Savior. And the division will be as close as one family member against another. This isn't PEACE promised, this is division. And wherever there is division there comes strife. When peace isn't prevailing then strife is. There is one or the other.
Our Savior KNOWS that there is a fight between the flesh and the spirit, a fight between those who strive to live in the spirit and those who choose to live in the flesh. We war with ourselves over the spirit and the flesh and we war with others around us. As long as there is sin in the world there will be this division, our Savior has told us this. He didn't come to give peace on earth.
We have to comprehend this because way too many people WANT there to be worldwide peace without our Savior having come again. They're expecting this now, striving towards it as if they're ignoring our Savior's own words completely.
We cannot ignore His words, we have to hear them! We have to understand what we're facing not hide from it. When we try to put our own spin on the words of the Lord then we are following our own path and NOT His. We need to follow HIM in all ways.
Please Lord help us to understand that the division we face is something that will remain in the world around us until You come again to take us home with You. Help us Lord to understand that we can be in You and have division surround us. Satan will fight us at ever step, and at every step You are there to fight for us!
Please Lord, help us, bless us, forgive us! LOVE us.
Your love always.
Way too many people believe that our Savior came to GIVE peace on earth.
We've heard it over and over especially during the Christmas holiday season- Peace on Earth. Why because of this--
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Who said those words?
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
This is on the occasion of Jesus' birth and the angels are praising God. The goal of having peace on earth is a goal that will only be achieved when our Savior comes again. That Jesus was born - the fact that He is the AUTHOR of peace means everything. Without the birth of the Messiah there would be no hope for any peace on earth, ever.
Too many people take this to mean that Jesus wants peace on earth here and now without His return, yet clearly our Savior speaks these words.
Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division
How do you equate that with the belief people have that we are to STRIVE for peace on earth?
The fact of the matter is- there will NOT be world peace- but we are to strive for individual peace among each other.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord
We are to abide in our Savior and in abiding in Him we are to have peace towards all those around us- not strife.
World peace- no- not until our Savior returns.
Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division
Jesus said- suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?
And He answers-
No.
Not only does he say no, He says this-
But RATHER division.
DIVISION!
And He continues by explaining this--
Luk 12:52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
Luk 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Division- NOT PEACE.
The dividing factor is between those with our Savior and those not with our Savior. And the division will be as close as one family member against another. This isn't PEACE promised, this is division. And wherever there is division there comes strife. When peace isn't prevailing then strife is. There is one or the other.
Our Savior KNOWS that there is a fight between the flesh and the spirit, a fight between those who strive to live in the spirit and those who choose to live in the flesh. We war with ourselves over the spirit and the flesh and we war with others around us. As long as there is sin in the world there will be this division, our Savior has told us this. He didn't come to give peace on earth.
We have to comprehend this because way too many people WANT there to be worldwide peace without our Savior having come again. They're expecting this now, striving towards it as if they're ignoring our Savior's own words completely.
We cannot ignore His words, we have to hear them! We have to understand what we're facing not hide from it. When we try to put our own spin on the words of the Lord then we are following our own path and NOT His. We need to follow HIM in all ways.
Please Lord help us to understand that the division we face is something that will remain in the world around us until You come again to take us home with You. Help us Lord to understand that we can be in You and have division surround us. Satan will fight us at ever step, and at every step You are there to fight for us!
Please Lord, help us, bless us, forgive us! LOVE us.
Your love always.
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