Deceived by miracles

Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Deception through MIRACLES.
Power to give LIFE.

Does this sound like a harmless entity?

We'd love to be able to trust in miracles, wouldn't we? We want to witness miracles, we want to partake of miracles, we love the idea of real miracles occurring, miracles that are irrefutable. We want miracles that even the most skeptic among us cannot help but believe. We do, don't we? Maybe you consider yourself a skeptic and that's not altogether a bad thing, is it? Being skeptical keeps us from being hoodwinked, right? The Catholic church believes in miracles and goes to great lengths to prove the validity of any miracle, right? True miracles are things we see everyday, right? The miracle of life, the miracle of our existence. Yet we mean something different than these common miracles when we discuss miracles.  Jesus went about performing miracles, didn't He?

Joh 2:11  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

Joh 2:23  Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

Joh 6:2  And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

Act 2:22  Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain

Jesus did MANY miracles, so many we haven't even been told about them all.

Joh 21:25  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Real miracles. Blind men, blind from birth, were given their sight back! Just imagine you knew that man, perhaps you grew up right near him and saw him as a child blind, saw him as a teenager blind, you interacted with him, talked with him, walked with him, helped him, felt sorry for him as he became a man unable to see and therefore so incredibly limited in his life. Then Jesus comes along and the next thing you know is that man is no longer blind!  Can you let yourself imagine it!? Try!  He can see you! For the first time He looks upon you and when you speak he recognizes your voice and calls you by name, his joy boundless. "Look! I can see! I can see! I see YOU! It's a miracle!"  What would you think in that moment? Would you believe it was a real miracle? What other choice would you have? Seriously, what other choice, especially when that man tells you how he was healed. You couldn't doubt him, he was seeing!

Real miracles beyond the miracle of life and all that entails. Do you believe in them? Could you believe in them? You'd have no choice not if your life was touched by a miracle such as described in the previous paragraph.  You'd immediately believe that miracle was God sent, wouldn't you? Of course you would. And yet we read this-

Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do…

Deceived by miracles.

So you tell me, can we trust miracles? We want to because we do NOT want to believe that Satan can work miracles. We want to believe that ONLY God can do miracles, especially miracles of healing, surely He alone would do something that wonderful.  People do NOT want to believe that Satan, using His deceptive power honed to perfection, will work miracles we deem good- such as healing. The truth is, most people who believe in God do not want to believe that Satan is just as real as God. The Evil One has done a remarkable job at marketing himself so that the blinders he has crafted for people- yes, even God fearing people- fit perfectly about our eyes so that there isn't a glimmer of light that can enter in around them. Not a single bit of saving truth can penetrate those blinders. In fact the show going on behind the blinders suit us just fine, soothing us, lulling us into a false sense of security so that we WILL be deceived and ultimately the realization will come that it was a deception we chose, not one that was forced upon us. We choice deception when we turn from truth, whatever that truth is that is being presented. When we make the choice to accept some truth, but not all, we are NOT going to be SAVED! Jesus is the TRUTH! And if we reject any of HIS truth, then we are rejecting HIM.

No, people do NOT want to believe that they could be rejecting Jesus, especially those who claim to know Him and be known by Him. They want to hold fast to their blinders and keep them on tight to their eyes lest their delusions become apparent and they are forced to realize that there is truth out there they have rejected. They love their blinders because Satan has tailor made them to meet every desire they have- keeping them very comfortable in his masterful deception.

Deceived by miracles.

If we aren't willing to hold fast to all God's truth now, what makes us think that we'll be able to tell Satan's miracles from God's?

How many of Satan's miracles have been labeled God's already?  Not something you want to think about, well keep those blinders on,  the price you are paying for them is your eternal life, forsaking our loving Savior, Christ Jesus.

Deceived by miracles.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

GREAT SIGNS, GREAT WONDERS all meant for DECEPTION! And ONLY the VERY ELECT will NOT be deceived!

Only those whose eyes are NOT blinded by deception will see.
Only those who live in the TRUTH of our SAVIOR, all HIS TRUTH will not be deceived.

Remember this…

Luk 10:25  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.


What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus ANSWERED- What is written in the law? How readest thou?
And the man summed up the entire MORAL law written on the two tablets of stone by saying--
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.

Did Jesus rebuke the man? Did Jesus tell him that it would no longer be necessary to keep the moral law? It was a PERFECT opportunity to do so.  Did Jesus say that He'd come to replace the law, just believe in Him and forget about the law? Did Jesus tell Him that the moral law would not save him? Why not? Why didn't He? That's what people love to say isn't it? That the moral law is the law of the old testament and no longer valid. But that's not what Jesus said at all.

Jesus replied by saying THOU HAST ANSWERED RIGHT, THIS DO AND THOU SHALT LIVE.

Why would Jesus say that if it weren’t TRUE?  Was it only a valid answer until Jesus died?  If that's the case wouldn't Jesus have said so? Perhaps adding, that's right, do that and live, BUT also remember things are going to change after I'm gone. 

We have to LIVE IN THE TRUTH of our SAVIOR, not the lies people make up so that it's easier for us to pretend we belong to God, all the while we go about living selfishly only serving self even as we help others to serve our own egos.

By the GRACE of our LORD, more tomorrow!  We cannot let ourselves be DECEIVED! We cannot wear the blinders Satan has tailored made for us! We have to RESIST the DEVIL!

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

RESIST the DEVIL.   Yes, the Devil is very, very real and eager to please -- himself by lying and deceiving all who do not truly love Christ Jesus more than they love themselves.

Please LORD HELP US! SAVE US! TEACH US! LOVE US ALWAYS!

By YOUR GRACE.

Happily blinded by Satan?

Do you need proof that Satan rules this world?  Just read or watch the news. We have NO difficulty reporting the atrocities that people commit, announcing them all too eagerly  to the world. I still remember hearing this little tale- not sure when or where. A long retired police officer took a much younger officer aside to talk with him. They were discussing the horrors that are common in our world today and the much older officer sighed heavily and spoke sadly telling the younger that a lot of the horrors today were common back in his day too, the only difference being the police officers were not allowed to talk about them, not to reporters, not to anyone. They made not talking about the horror a part of their duty to protect the decent public from the morally corrupt around them. They felt it would do much more harm than good to discuss the awful things people could do to each other and to other living things. 

Are things worse today? Yes, I think they are and that's because there stopped being a need to protect people from horror. And when we stop protecting others a lot of time they fall victim to the fear that comes into their hearts, fear of living in such an awful world. Some will argue that we don't need to be protected we need to be informed and that information will protect us against the horrors, but really, seriously does knowing about the evils that occur day in and day out protect you? Can you know about evil without constantly being barraged by it? Why do we have to broadcast the evil more and more? What good does knowing every sick thing that takes place in the world? Is it enough to say there was a murder without getting the gruesome details of that murder? Is there enough to say there was a kidnapping without discussing every bit of torture that occurred to the victim of the kidnapping? Do you know what I’m saying? But that isn't what's happening and it's not going to start happening now, the floodgates of all things gruesome and horrifying has been open and it will not close, it cannot close the evil flowing through those gates is only growing more and more forceful.

Satan will blind us to his devices if he can. As long as we're blind to his handiwork we are his. If we CHOOSE blindness, God will allow us to be blind. God will not force us to see, God does NOT use force.

How many people are right now walking the earth happily blind to Satan? Spiritually blind? Living in the darkness yet they believe they are in the light? 

How many of those same people actually believe in God?  I think it's fair to say, a lot of them. No, not as many as in days past, but there is a strong belief in God in our world. Yet the God they are believing in ISN'T truly the God of the Bible, the God of old, the God from everlasting to everlasting, God the Father. A lot of them believe it is God, but they are caught in yet another great lie of Satan's- they don't believe that Satan is really, really, real. They regulate Satan to fablehood. They reduce him to a minor nuisance. They've taken him and resigned him to the corner, they've swept him under a rug, they've put in a closet, locked him in the attic, they've cartooned him, made a comedian of him, they've let him become scary movie fiction, horror book characterized. And they've labeled those that believe Satan to be a real enemy - as being crazy, being off their noggin's, looney toons.   With Satan taking on such a role they've unknowingly removed God from His role and replaced Him with a false god. Don't be fooled, if you think that can't happen!

Remember this--

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

More on this tomorrow… ALL BY THE GRACE OF GOD!

Please LORD bless us, help us to comprehend our need to worship YOU and ONLY YOU and none other! Please LORD don't let us be deceived! We want to be among Your elect, please LORD! Satan will deceive ALL but the very elect, don't let us be deceive all by YOUR grace, YOUR righteousness, YOUR LOVE!

We are under attack...

1Ch 21:1  And Satan (G4566) stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

Satan
G4566
- Definition:
1. adversary (one who opposes another in purpose or act), the name given to
a. the prince of evil spirits, the inveterate adversary of God and christ
1. he incites apostasy from God and to sin
2. circumventing men by his wiles
3. the worshippers of idols are said to be under his control
4. by his demons he is able to take possession of men and inflict them with diseases
5. by God's assistance he is overcome
6. on christ's return from heaven he will be bound with chains for a thousand years, but when the thousand years are finished he will walk the earth in yet greater power, but shortly after will be given over to eternal punishment

 Satan

The prince of evil spirits.
The adversary of God and Christ.
Incites apostasy from God.
Incites us to sin.
Uses wiles.
Idol worshippers - under his control.
He has evil spirits he uses to harm people.

He's every horrifically bad thing you can ever imagine.

If you witness any evil it stems from HIM.

People will tell you that you can commit evil without Satan, but that's not true. He is the FATHER of lies, He is EVIL, He is all that is EVIL! The origin of all evil is Satan. You can trace every evil to Him. Eve said she was beguiled and that began the reign of Satan on earth. Do you think Cain was not influenced by Satan? He was!

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

If thou doest well.
If thou doest not well.

Good and evil.  We are confronted with that choice every day of our lives! You may not think so, but we are. 

It's a HEART goodness, and a HEART evil, NOT the superficial good which is evil only prettied up.

Cain had the choice to make, none could make it for him, just as NONE can make it for us. God SPOKE to Cain. God told Cain that he needn't be upset so much so that it was easily worn upon his features.  Don't be upset just because I did NOT accept your sin offering, you can STILL rectify this, there is still room to do what is RIGHT.  However, if you are CHOOSING to not rectify this, if you are CHOOSING to not make a proper offering then sin is right there ready to take over you. 

God didn't condemn Cain outright when Cain did not offer a proper offering. God is a sympathetic God, a compassionate God. God didn't want Cain to sin. God was telling Cain that he would always be the firstborn and Abel under him.  Did Cain listen?  No. We know he didn't. That sin lying at his door was encouraged by Satan. 

We have to realize that Satan instigated all evil and his on going legacy is evil. Do you think He isn't thrilled when we follow in his ways? How do you think he felt about Cain's sin?

We know Satan has 'devices', that he has 'wiles', these are FACTS.

Satan used the serpent and BEGUILED Eve and once he'd done that there was NO stopping Him from corrupting every single human begin he could and can.

This is how bad it became on earth--

Gen 6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Satan was ruling earth then and he's ruling earth now.

EVERY imagination of the thoughts of mankind's heart was ONLY EVIL CONTINUALLY.

EVIL.

We are so intent upon believing that man is evil in and of himself without any influence, but that simply is NOT true! Man consents to evil, man chooses evil over good.  We are ALL subject to the influence of Satan- our ONLY protection is found in CHRIST.

 People tell us blaming Satan is a cop out so that we don't have to take the blame for our own actions.  We still have to take the blame for the choices we make.  We are still accountable for every thing we do whether we ask for forgiveness or whether we don't, whether we sin or sin not, whether we let lust be conceived in us or not.  We choose!

We aren't using the fact that the origin of ALL our sin is Satan to escape our own guilt, that's impossible.  We can't escape, we are guilty and in need of forgiveness  every single time we sin! Yet knowing that Satan is influencing us to sin lets us prepare, let's us don our armor against Him! We don't wear armor if we don't think we are being attacked, right?

By the GRACE of GOD may we recognize our need of protection from our SAVIOR through the HOLY SPIRIT! May we recognize we are UNDER ATTACK constantly!!!!!!!

Please God, help us! Save us! ALL BY YOUR GRACE, YOUR LOVE!

Satan has DECEIVED the WORLD!

2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Satan was very REAL to the disciples.

They did NOT imagine Satan to be some imagined fable.  He wasn't just a story book character to them.  He was a real force, a real entity, a real being that influenced their lives. They didn't stuff him into some corner and pull him out for story time. Satan was and IS the enemy of Jesus Christ and therefore he is OUR enemy as well just as he was the enemy of the disciples.

Satan's devices.

This force for evil has his evil devices and we cannot allow ourselves to be ignorant of them.

Do you believe in the Word of God?
Do you believe in the LORD Jesus Christ?

If you believe… then you HAVE to believe in Satan, the REALITY of this EVIL being who is intent on destroying any one who would be Christ's.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

1Ch 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
1Ch 21:2  And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

Job 2:3  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Job 2:4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7  So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

Zec 3:1  And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Zec 3:2  And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Zec 3:4  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat

Joh 13:2  And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him

1Co 7:5  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour

Rev 2:24  But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Read that last verse again-

And ALL that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (SATAN), whose names are NOT written in the book of the  LIFE of the LAMB slain from the foundation of the world.

He's real all right and he's dedicated to stealing from God all the people he can. If you think you are immune to him, think again and think hard because your eternal life is at stake.

Satan has LULLED the majority of the world into believing one of his greatest lies- that we don't REALLY die.

How many people do you know believe that our loved ones who die are in a 'better place'? Do you believe it? It's a LIE. It's a lie that goes all the way back to Eve in the garden with the serpent.

Gen 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The serpent said unto the woman--  YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE.

Did Eve die?

Yes. She might not have died right there on the spot, but God did NOT say that would happen. God did not tell Eve and Adam that if they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree they would die instantaneously.  He said they would die.

Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 2:17  but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you may not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, dying you shall die.  (LITV- Literal translation of the Holy Bible)

DYING you shall DIE.

Before they ate of that fruit they weren't subjected to death, they ate from the tree of life and death would not come to them. They were covered in the Righteousness of God, and because they were covered by GOD they could eat from that tree of life.

Satan LIED to Eve!

YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE.

This is a lie the majority of people believe.  They believe that when a person dies they keep living in a different form. They believe they shift from flesh to spirit and that spirit knows EVERYTHING. The spirit LIVES in heaven and yet, like God, that spirit person knows EVERYTHING that goes on. That spirit can be happy … because there are no tears in heaven, right?  Heaven is a good thing where only good can happen. So, they believe this and then they believe that the spirit person can look down on them and see all their pain, all their heartache, all their grief, and all that they see does NOT make them cry or feel bad, or grieve themselves because that is NOT allowed in heaven, right?

Satan has DECEIVED the WORLD! 

Remember this-

Rev 13:8 And ALL that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (SATAN), whose names are NOT written in the book of the  LIFE of the LAMB slain from the foundation of the world.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

And remember this-

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour

Satan isn't sleeping, he's devouring, he's ravenous, he's craving YOU and ME! We are being HUNTED and this is NOT a stupid horror show, this is REAL life!
Satan has weaved a HUGE web of deceit and he's caught almost the entire world in that web and you know the really, really tragic thing… most don't even realize they've been caught!

Please LORD, please help us to NOT be ignorant of Satan's devices! Help us NOT let Satan get an advantage over us! We are living in perilous times! We are living in a nightmare and we pray that we will wake up to YOUR SOON COMING! PLEASE LORD, SAVE US, KEEP US, PROTECT US, LOVE US!

All in YOU and YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Amen!

His Existence at Stake

Our Savior,  the ONLY Mediator between God the Father and Mankind, the One who paid our ransom through the Sacrifice of His life, and of His possible existence--

Yes, through the Sacrifice of His possible existence.

Do you comprehend that?

God with God from everlasting to everlasting, God who took on human flesh was BOUND by that flesh! Jesus did not become a God with power among us. His power came SOLELY from God the Father.

Joh 12:49  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

Joh 17:25  O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:26  And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

HE did NOT speak of Himself- but the FATHER told Him what to say.
The FATHER dwelled IN HIM,  and the FATHER IN HIM did the works!

Just as we are to have the FATHER'S love in us, and have JESUS in US,  Jesus and His Father agree in ONE. 

When we accept our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and He is IN us, it's a very REAL SPIRITUAL existence, yet that did NOT make us ONE being and no longer two separate entities. I am still ME, and Jesus is still JESUS.  The Spiritual power that exists beyond our flesh has us agreeing as ONE. The power we get from our God through the Holy Spirit is given to us to do HIS works, the works the FATHER would have us do.

The FATHER had the power and gave that power to HIS flesh bearing Son.  Jesus did NOTHING of Himself.

Joh 5:19  Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

The FATHER lived in HIM and Jesus revealed the FATHER to us through HIS LIFE!

Our Savior was willing to risk becoming human and being subjected to temptation, fierce temptations beyond anything we can honestly imagine. He risked His existence.  If He'd died in sin He would never have been raised by His Father from the grave. He would have lost all humanity. Humanity would have ceased to exist at that point.

Did Satan ever accuse God of Jesus NOT being an acceptable atonement for mankind? No. Why? Because it wouldn't have been true and Satan knew it.

Satan did ALL in his power to get our Savior to sin, would he have even tried if it were impossible for Jesus to sin? NO!  Jesus was not a stone statue. Jesus was not God with God, but God in human flesh with God. That human flesh made it possible for our Savior to sin should He have chosen to do so. Satan knows this, we have to realize this. It was a REAL SACRIFICE. It wasn't God playing around making up tricks to appease Satan. This was a REAL SACRIFICE, and a REAL possibility that our Savior could have lost His OWN existence. There would have been NO excusing the sin, no reset button pushed, no do-overs, no try again and let's get it right this time. If our Savior had succumbed to temptation the power of sin would have been such that our Savior's existence along with our own would have been gone forever. THIS was the REAL SACRIFICE MADE!  He risked His entire existence and His existence was so far beyond anything we can possibly imagine that just trying to understand seems all but impossible. We are allowed enough to comprehend the depths, the heights, of the mercy given to us so that we can throw sinfilled selves at the feet of our Savior and beg Him for forgiveness, for HE ALONE is truly WORTHY of being able to forgive us our grave sins, He who gave so much and was under NO obligation to even give us a second glance.  Oh THE LOVE! The INCREDIBLE LOVE of our GOD and SAVIOR!

May we know this LOVE and be one with the Father, with the  Son, and with the Holy Spirit, in the LOVE that they alone can give to us- may we as individuals become four that agree as one, and as a collective as many as possible agreeing as one with our God the FATHER who is in heaven, from everlasting to everlasting.

Our Savior gave it all, He gave up His possible existence when He died on the cross and totally depended upon the Father to raise Him from the dead.

We can never forget this, never!



Amen.

A Ransom for all

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6  Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
1Ti 2:7  Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all.

Ransom definition-

Redemption, the price paid, means of deliverance, rescued from punishment, redeemed from captivity, to release-to restore upon receipt of payment.

PAYMENT- Christ Jesus' life was the price paid for US, for us, for ALL, for
bEVERYONE.

To take on His role as our MEDIATOR our Savior had to pay a price for us. 

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1Co 7:22  For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
1Co 7:23  Ye are bought with a price…

Bought with a price.

We tend to think that it was so easy for God to sacrifice His Son, that it was so easy for the Son to agree to be sacrificed. Christianity, being a follower of Christ is not something that should be taken for granted at all.  What our God did for us is so far beyond our true comprehension that the little glimpse we are allowed into the understanding boggles our minds. 

God CHOSE to create us. He did NOT have to create us. And yet we live as if we are greater than He is! We live thinking we are here by mere chance. We philosophize away the truth so that WE become our OWN creators. We take it ALL out of anyone else's hands and believe that we just happen to be what we are and to think anything else is foolishness. We believe our science can duplicate everything. We clone now and we believe that makes us creators, yet the material we are cloning from was not created by us. Rather than believe in a CREATOR we choose to believe we exist and there is little more to it.

God chose to create us, I believe this with ALL my heart! I have a GOD, I have a REDEEMER. My God before creating me agreed with my other God, who is God the Father and they agreed together that we should be created. They agreed on all the particulars of our Creation. They agreed on our being given the power to choose whether or not we would give honor, glory, and praise to them as our Creators. They agreed that they would reveal their love in all they created to us and they also agreed that to be given a choice we had to have something to choose between. 

Satan rebelled, a created angel being, made the choice to not return the pure love given to him by God even though there was NO physical, NO tangible choice for him to choose between. There was NO forbidden tree place before the angels. The angels were spirit beings just as God was and is a spirit being. Satan's own thoughts betrayed Him. He wanted to be like God, He wasn’t satisfied with His position. He had so much, He had everything except the power that makes God, God, and able to create as only He can.

We as created human being also made the choice when we were confronted with that forbidden tree and egged on by an outside force to disobey God.

I believe it's because we were enticed and did NOT solely act of our own accord that God deemed us worthy for the plan of redemption that had been drawn up before our creation.

People say, 'The devil made me do it.' And you know what? The devil tries to make us do it- but we CHOOSE whether or not to ultimately do it.  The devil does not force us to sin but he'll do everything he possibly can to make us desire to do so ourselves.

That plan of redemption wasn't just a silly little thing, it wasn't a minor plan, it was a plan of tremendous forethought and SACRIFICE. The enormity of the plan of redemption cannot truly hit home, at least I don't think it can not until we understand what was sacrificed. It wasn't one human sacrificing themselves for another, though we call that honorable and good.  It was so much more than the sacrifice of our temporary life.

Agreeing to take on human flesh, that is not even like us agreeing to become an insect, it is so incredibly much more.

Would you agree to become an insect- permanently? Would you agree to that? Of course not, an insect is more often than not considered a pest and pests are meant to be killed quite often.

Our Savior agreed to put aside His GODHOOD. One who had no way to die, to be killed, to be destroyed. One who was from everlasting to everlasting- CHOSE to put on flesh and solely rely on God the Father as we must do and NOT any power He might possess- this amazing God did it so that He could SAVE us vile creatures.

He PAID the price! We are BOUGHT with a price! The ransom for us was INCREDIBLY, mindblowingly HIGH!

The ransom has been paid.

However usually when a ransom is paid the person held against their will is set free, and we are still here, still living with sin only growing more and more powerful all around us.

Again we have to look to the SANCTUARY that we were given an example of. Remember the earthly sanctuary was patterned after the heavenly. We MUST look there because our REDEEMER became the ULTIMATE LAMB of GOD that was SACRIFICED.

When we look at the Sanctuary we know that on the Day of Atonement after the animals were sacrificed their blood was still in play. They didn't simply die and that was it, their blood had a purpose.

Our Savior's blood has a purpose and He went to the FATHER to prepare a place for us, He went to the Father to plead on our behalf revealing that He had indeed met the necessary conditions in order to redeem us. He is our HIGH PRIEST in the HEAVENLY SANCTUARY.  The work is ongoing, the application of the shed blood in play.

Our Savior isn't slack concerning His promise to us, but is LONGSUFFERING.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Our Savior doesn't want to lose a single person that chooses to be saved by Him, not one.

By the grace of God may we comprehend as much as we possibly can of the love of God towards us in the sacrifice made to redeem us, in the RANSOM paid, the PRICE we are bought with.

All through the LOVE of our God forever!

We are Blessed by this Gift- The Sabbath!

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Sacrifices.

Yesterday we were talking about the special GIFT of the seventh day Sabbath to mankind.

We discuss how that Sabbath was a special day of communing between God and Mankind. How even after the fall - even after Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the garden of Eden- God still met with them.  When He met with them an OFFERING was necessary,  a SACRIFICAL OFFERING, the OFFERING of SACRIFICE. Why was an offering of sacrifice made? Because man had sinned- separating Himself from God.

By all accounts God could have -and some would argue- should have just annihilated mankind at that moment. But God, whose compassion and love we can scarcely begin to comprehend had already decided if He were going to go ahead with the creation of mankind that there had to be some plan in place if mankind chose the path of sin rather than the path of love. He knew when He made the plans that the possibility was there because He was creating mankind with the power to CHOOSE. He didn't want creatures to be like animals, like puppets, but rather like Him, in HIS image. He wanted them to be able to choose right over wrong, love over evil, to willingly do this.  Remember this--

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

The plan of salvation was in place before the world ever existed.  God did not create mankind willy nilly and then go 'OOPS!'  when they sinned. He didn't say a great big, 'UHOH!'  He had plans in place because of the LOVE He possesses that we can only comprehend the tiniest bit of.

So while some might argue that God would have been better off just making mankind disappear they'd be wrong. 

God did NOT do away with mankind, so why would He stop communicating with mankind? Why would He cut them off completely? Would that show them the plan of Salvation? Would that reveal the way to reunite with Him and be sinless? Would that destroy the evil of sin? It's ludicrous to believe that God would banish Adam and Eve and then never communicate with them again.  The facts are- God did communicate with them and taught them how they could repair the huge breech that sin had created between them.

An understanding of their WRONG must come first. Without the comprehension of their wrong, of their sin, what good would saving them be?

Did they know they did wrong?

Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Gen 3:11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Gen 3:12  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Gen 3:13  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Fear.
No longer covered in the light of God's righteousness but naked.
Hiding.
Beguiled.
Admission of wrong doing.

They knew, their eyes were opened to the realization they'd disobeyed their beloved Creator. They felt the incredible guilt instantly. The light of righteousness was GONE from around them. Do you honestly believe they were blind before sinning? NO. They were NOT blind, they were under LOVE'S protection, they were shielded by God's righteousness.  Is a child blind because a parent doesn't allow them to watch bloody horror shows on tv? No. But once that child disobeys and watches a bloody horror show on tv then they can no longer Un-watch it, it cannot be as if they hadn't seen it, the damage is done. They might even view a lot of things around them in a different light depending on what horror show they witnessed and the psychological aspect to it.  Adam and Eve were not blinded, they saw all the beauty of the garden, of the creatures that inhabited the garden, they met with God Himself and saw Him. They were not blind, but eating the fruit from the forbidden tree was an act that could not be undone.  They saw instantaneously that their disobedience had consequences. While God had clothed them in His righteousness they never felt naked. It wasn't that they loved traipsing around in the innocence of nudity, they were clothed in God's light, God's righteousness! When His righteousness was suddenly gone they could see that they HAD no righteousness of their own! Why do you suppose their nudity shocked them after sinning? It was because they hadn't been naked spiritually! If you open your eyes and discover you're naked, you had to have been clothed before, right? You had to know you'd been clothed before. They HAD been clothed, truly they had.

2Co 5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
2Co 5:4  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Clothed with Christ's righteousness- no longer naked.
The garments of salvation- the robe of righteousness.

Before they sinned they were in a saved state, yes? They were in a PURE, SINLESS state. They had the ROBE of RIGHTEOUSNESS upon them! 

Their FLESH eyes were opened to the selfish things of the flesh, they could no longer view things in the light of God's pure righteousness, they'd given that up and they felt the weight of it instantly.

The very first thing they did was make something to cover themselves but it couldn't compare to the glory of God's righteousness.   How incredibly vulnerable they must have felt.  Have you ever been lost in your life- not figuratively but literally lost and vulnerable? It's a very, very frightening experience. To suddenly be separated from God's righteousness had to be incredibly frightening for Adam and Eve. They wanted their clothing back! They wanted that covering back on them. They weren't rejoicing in their sudden nudity, they were fearful of it, they did not like it! They wanted to be clothed once more. 

Fear.
No longer covered in the light of God's righteousness but naked.
Hiding.
Beguiled.
Admission of wrong doing.

They HID from God! You don't hide from someone out of fear unless you know you've done something wrong. How many children do this? They do something wrong and think if they hide from their parents it'll be better some how, or at least it will forestall immediate punishment.  It's not strange for a child to hide when they've done something wrong, in fact a lot of adults probably wish they could hide too when they do something wrong and have to face the person they've harmed.

Eve said she was beguiled, that's NOT a good thing. Eve didn't defend herself by saying she ate the fruit of her own accord, she KNEW this wrong act had been encouraged by the serpent. She was beguiled, she put herself in the situation to be beguiled. She believed the beguiler when he told her something contrary to what God had already said.  She listened to the voice of one speaking out against God, bad mouthing Him. She had NO reason to even minutely believe that her beloved Creator was keeping good from her, NONE, not a single reason! Yet she listened to the beguiler.

They KNEW they'd done wrong and that was and is the first step to comprehending our need to atone for that wrong.  God quickly made them realize that there would need to be a MEDIATOR, that they couldn't in and of themselves atone for what they'd done. 

The offering of a sacrifice, a DEATH was necessary, and not only was a death necessary it was the death of an INNOCENT.  Animals are innocent, they never consciously commit any evil. They might be trained to do evil, but even then they are victims of their trainers.  They might kill out of instinct but there is NO malicious intent, for that to happen there has to be reasoning and animals just do not have the higher thought of mankind. It wasn't generally wild animals brought to sacrifice but tame ones, very, very innocent of any wrong doing. Lambs led to the slaughter. Innocent lives that had never been meant to be killed. Man was to eat --

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.

The animals hadn't been created to be killed and eaten, or killed as a sacrifice.

If you've ever loved an animal you know the mere idea of having to sacrifice that animal is completely heartbreaking.

God instituted the sacrificial offerings all pointing to Christ, and those sacrificial offerings ended when Christ Jesus became our ultimate sacrificial Lamb- the Lamb of God.

Joh 1:36  And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

No longer did earthly sacrifices which were only examples of the Lamb of GOD sacrificing Himself, have to be given, they'd served their purpose. The ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross. In the earthly temple the veil was torn in two.

Mat 27:50  Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died.
Mat 27:51  At once the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart.
(CEV)

So how were those left to live? Those who had been raised to offer sacrifices? They'd still offer sacrifices but NOT imitating the LAMB of GOD sacrificed. He'd BEEN sacrificed! There was no longer a reason to look towards the Messiah, He'd come!

Now people had to look towards a RISEN CHRIST! They had to believe upon HIM and the SACRIFICE He'd made for them!  They had to be BORN again into a new SPIRITUAL birth! From then on their sacrifices would be SPIRITUAL sacrifices!

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise

Mar 12:32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Mar 12:34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

We still and forever have the all important gift of God's to mankind at the beginning- the Sabbath day and we can STILL commune with God on this day! We can still bring our spiritual sacrifices to Him.  We can present our broken and contrite hearts-  hearts that realize the state of sinfulness they possess and their only hope is in Christ Jesus' righteousness, His forgiveness, His love.  We can LOVE God with all our heart- not just a sliver of it. We can love our neighbors, our fellow man as we would be loved. We can present our living bodies, our LIVES to HIM and through HIS mercies , by HIS grace He will make us holy as we can never make ourselves.

None of us can take a coal off the alter and touch it to our own lips.
None of us can take our filthy unrighteous off ourselves and replace it with righteousness.

We must present ourselves TO GOD, a will, living sacrifice ready for Him to do all He needs to do in us.

On the blessed, holy day of the Sabbath we have this unique period of time set aside to live solely for our God. 

Do away or change this wondrous GIFT given to us from Creation?! GOD FORBID!

Many might wish to ignore it and pretend it doesn't matter, but it does, it really, really does.

Every Sabbath we are called to remember our beginning, our fall, our redemption, our future in Christ!

Every Sabbath we are called to remember that there was a time when God and Man were in full communion with one another.

Every Sabbath we are called to remember the day is HOLY only because our God deemed it so!

Every Sabbath we are called to remember that even before the world was created a plan was made to save us should we fall.

Every Sabbath we must remember the greatest Sacrifice ever made all in order to save us!

Every Sabbath we must praise our God for HIS mercy, HIS love!

Every Sabbath we must seek God knowing He will speak to us through His HOLY Word!

We are BLESSED by this GIFT God made for US, and to reject this very special gift is to reject His love, His truth, it is to reject HIM.

ALL GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE, ALL THANKFULNESS, ALL LOVE UNTO OUR GODS, the FATHER and the SON WHO AGREE IN ONE.  ALL THROUGH HIM, THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT!