Love God, Love Our Neighbors

Bonhoeffer - 'Suppose then we say finally that whereas the commandment the disciples received was plain and clear enough, we have to decide for ourselves which of his words applies to our particular case. That again is a complete MISUNDERSTANDING of the situation of the disciples, and of our own situation too.

The object of Jesus' command is ALWAYS the same-- to evoke wholehearted faith, to make us love God and our neighbor with all our heart and soul.

This is the only unequivocal feature in his command.

Every time we try to perform the commandment of Jesus in some other sense, it is another sign that we have misunderstood his word and are disobeying it. But this does not mean that we have no means whatever of ascertaining what he would have us do in any concrete situation. On the contrary, we are told quite clearly what we have to do every time we hear the word of Christ proclaimed; yet in such a way that we understand that there is no other way of fulfilling it, but by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Thus the gift Jesus gave to his disciples is just as available for us as it was for them. In fact it is even more readily available for us now that he has left the world, because we know that he is glorified, and because the Holy Spirit is with us.'

My thoughts-

The commandments of Jesus are LOVE realized. We have twisted them into becoming something that restricts us, forbids us, commands us to do things we just would rather not do. Why don't we want to do them? Why don't we have a natural inclination to do so? Because of SIN.

Sin.

Sin stripped away our natural inclination.  Our Savior restores it IF we let Him! If we realize we must LIVE every moment of our lives dedicated to HIM. 

We cannot pick and choose the moments we are his and the moments we are not!  We want to, but we can't! We try to, but we can't! We have to be His through faith always. Our life must be HIS, always. We must LOVE HIM ALWAYS.   Only but clinging to Him and trusting in Him through faith can we have any hope at all.

When we are BORN AGAIN it is a spiritual birth that is a new life in CHRIST.  A new life. A Spiritual life!

It is true what Bonhoeffer says- if we 'try and perform the commandment of Jesus in some other sense, it is another sign that we have misunderstood his word and are disobeying it.'   We HAVE to perform all the commandments of our Savior through our Savior and not through ourselves!

Mar_12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar_12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

 Jesus' words!  TRUTH!

We shall love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength-    with ALL of ourselves!

We can only Love through HIM when we choose to LOVE Him with all that we are.  We must choose- HE does the rest.

Please LORD we choose YOU!

We Know Him By His Word - Cost of Discipleship Pt 127

Chapter 27 - Preliminary Questions

Bonhoeffer-  'But surely there is another way in which the disciples really had the advantage over us. When they had recognized the Christ, they were immediately given a simple and direct command from his very lips, telling them exactly what to do. But just at this crucial point of Christian obedience we are given no help whatever. Does not Christ speak to us differently now? If that were true, we should certainly be in a hopeless predicament. But it is far from true. Christ speaks to us exactly as he spoke to them.

 It was not as though they first recognized him as the Christ and then received his command.

They believed his word and command and recognized him as the Christ-- in that order.

There was no other way for them to know Christ, but by his plain word.

And therefore the converse is also true-- we cannot know Jesus without at the same time knowing his will.

So far from obscuring the disciple's realization of his action, his knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ made it all the more certain. If Christ is the living Lord of my life, my encounter with him discloses his word for me, and indeed--

 I have no other means of knowing him, but through his plain word and command.

You may of course object that our trouble is that we should like to know Christ and believe on him, but have no means of knowing his will. But such an objection only shows that our knowledge of him is neither genuine nor clear.

To know Christ means to know him by his word as the Lord and Savior of my life.

But that knowledge includes a recognition of his plain word directed to me.'

My thoughts-

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1Jn 1:1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life

Deu_8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Mat_4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

All too often we truly believe that if ONLY Christ were here on earth right now as He was in the days just after His crucifixion, we would have a much better walk with Him.  Why do we believe that? We have been given everything we need to BELIEVE in Christ, just at the disciples were given everything they needed.   We say we want to witness miracles and they we'll believe, but how many thousands witnessed His miracles as He ministered upon earth and they DID NOT BELIEVE! We can come up with all sorts of ideas about things that would MAKE us believe just a bit more, but the truth of it all is, we have to believe by the WORD of our Savior, just like all others have and will ever do.

The WORD was in the BEGINNING.

The WORD was WITH GOD.

The WORD WAS GOD.

The WORD of LIFE.

LIVE BY EVERY WORD PROCEEDING OUT OF THE MOUTH OF the LORD.

LIVE BY EVERY WORD OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.

THE WORD!

We have to stop believing that there is MORE we need, when we have everything we need.

Amazingly the Word of God has persisted for thousands of years. Say what you want to, it is amazing, it is miraculous.  The Word of God.

Do we cherish it?

Do we live it?

Do we believe it?

Do we?

We have so much wealth at our fingertips and we let it collect dust, we bury it in boxes, we stack it on shelves, we leave it in church, we would rather have the wealth of material things than the wealth of our Savior, eternal life, His Word!

His Word is LIFE- Eternal life.  Do we value eternal life or are we valuing a selfish life?

Through HIS WORD.

His commands, His life!

He's Real, We Believe! - Cost of Discipleship Pt 126

Chapter 27 - Preliminary Questions

Bonhoeffer- 'Who are we to come forward and volunteer for such an extraordinary and unusual life? Who is there to tell me and others, for that matter, that we are not acting on our own initiative and following our own wild fancies? But that would not be discipleship. There is something wrong about all these questions. Every time we ask them we are retreating from the presence of the living Christ and forgetting that Jesus Christ is not dead, but alive and speaking to us to-day through the testimony of the Scripture. He comes to us to-day and is present with us in bodily form and in his word. If we would hear his call to follow, we must listen where he is to be found.'

  (((My interjecting- from here on Bonhoeffer extols the belief that Christ is found in the CHURCH (organization)  and the SACRAMENT.  I have to dispute this today because I firmly believe that Christ's church is where two or more are gathered in His name, not some organization for organizations have gone corrupt all along the way over the last almost two thousand years since Jesus died. The early church had its divisions, it had those who were anti-christs among them, it says so right in the word of God.

1Jn_4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

There were disputes even among the Apostles.  Yes, Jesus Christ poured out the Holy Spirit upon His chosen after He ascended to heaven and I believe He continues to do so but NOT necessarily on an organization, a church as a group, as a whole.

To find Jesus Christ alive for us  we have to do so for ourselves through His word, through prayer, through faith, and yes, even by following the example He set for us at His last supper.

Bonhoeffer is trying to make us realize that if we are to be Christ's disciples we are to follow a RISEN, LIVING, ACTIVE Christ. Not a Christ who is not within reach. )))) 

Bonhoeffer- 'But discipleship never consists in this or that specific action: it is always a decision, either for or against Jesus Christ. Hence our situation is not a whit less clear than that of the disciple or the publican in the gospel. When Jesus called his first disciples, they obeyed and followed him because they recognize him as the Christ. But his Messiahship was as hidden to them as it is to us. By itself the call of Jesus could be taken in many different ways. How we take it depends on what we think of him, and he can be recognized only by faith. That was a true for the first disciples as it is for us. They saw the rabbi and the wonder worker, and believed on Christ. We hear the Word and believe on Christ.'

My thoughts-

A living God.

Jesus prayed for US!

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for THEM also which shall believe on me through their word

That's YOU and that's ME- believers through their word!

And Jesus prayed for US!

Joh 17:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Joh 17:2  As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
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.
Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Joh 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Joh 17:24  Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
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.

This is TRUTH!
This is REAL!

This prayer our Savior prayed for US is a reality!

We choose to believe and if we've chosen to believe on Jesus Christ through the word, then He is praying this prayer for US today, right now, for all of us who truly believe!  This makes us HIS. He is REAL, our discipleship is REAL. He wants US to believe! He wants us to live in Him so that the world may know that He is REAL and that the Father God sent Him.  He wants us. He truly wants us. 

It is Satan who would have us believe that our very real discipleship is nothing more than a fanciful notion we have about serving Christ. Satan would have us DOUBT the living God! We must believe! We must have a faith that through Him, will not waver!

More tomorrow on this subject, by the GRACE of our LORD, Jesus Christ!

All in HIS very real LOVE!

Receive Him - Cost of Discipleship Pt 125

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Mat 10:41  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

Mat 10:42  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.



Bonhoeffer- 'The Bearers of Jesus' word receive a final word of promise for their work. They are now Christ's fellow-workers, and will be like him in all things. Thus they are to meet those to whom they are sent as if they were Christ himself. When they are welcomed into a house, Christ enters with them. They are bearers of his presence. They bring with them the most precious gift in the world, the gift of Jesus Christ. And with him they bring God the Father, and that means indeed forgiveness and salvation, life and bliss. Theat is the reward and fruit of their toil and suffering. Every service men render them is service rendered to Christ himself. This means grace for the Church and grace for the disciple in equal measure. The Church will be readier to give them its service and honor, for with them the Lord himself has entered into their midst. But the disciples are given to understand that when they enter into a house they do not enter in vain. They bring with them an incomparable gift. It is a law of the kingdom of God that every man shall participate in the gift which He willingly receives as a gift from God.



Thus the disciples are bidden lastly to think, not about their own way, their own sufferings and their own reward, but of the goal of their labors, which is the salvation of the Church.'



 (((God's people = God's Church))))



My thoughts-



When we are received as Christ's followers, those receiving us receive Christ.

When we receive Christ we receive God the Father, the One who sent Christ.

When we receive a prophet of Christ's we receive the reward of the prophet.

When we receive a righteous man, a man who is Christ's, we receive the reward of the righteous man.

When we give a drink to a little one,  a cup of cold water in the name of a Christ follower- we lose no reward we may have.



Being a follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ we are to bring Christ with us wherever we go. 



Christ came to bring the gospel of the kingdom- Salvation!



Christ came to bring salvation- eternal salvation- not temporary worldly salvation from life and its problems.  Many people alive when Christ walked the earth before He died upon the cross, followed Him. They heard His message of salvation and were amazed by it. Only many of them twisted what He was saying. Many of them wanted Him to be an earthly king and rid their world of all oppressors. They wanted Him to save Himself, to take Himself off the cross. Their comprehension of the truth was muddled by their selfish desires for instantaneous gratification. So many people want instantaneous everything. The idea of having to live a life of modesty, of selfless-ness, a life of poverty, a life of giving and not receiving, a life filled with hope for SALVATION in the KINGDOM of HEAVEN through JESUS CHRIST, and NOT a life of meant to be filled with any real happiness here and now outside of JESUS, isn't what people want! He is our HOPE. We could live a  life filled with temporary happiness now, or eternal happiness through the hope of Christ in us.  If our HOPE is in Christ, truly in CHRIST then nothing else matters, really, does it?  Nothing other than LIVING for HIM.



Do we believe this? Or are we among those who want temporary happiness, temporary fixes, temporary gratification, temporary ease, temporary life?



Truly ….



Mat_16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.



...this is life.



We lose our life here and now in the hope of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, who will give us eternity in HIM.



We bring Christ to others, not ourselves! When we want the adoration of others, we are NOT bringing Christ to them, but ourselves!



When we want recognition we are NOT drawing attention to Christ!



Satan would have us SELF CENTERED always!  Satan will do EVERYTHING to keep our minds focused strictly on ourselves. What we can do for ourselves, what we can accomplish for ourselves, how we feel, how we think, how we want things to be, it's ALL about US with Satan!  If we are feeling put out, yay! Satan will use that to make us feel sorry for ourselves, he'll use it to get us riled up.  Satan wants us to ALWAYS think about ourselves and NOTHING else. 



Christ EMPTIED HIMSELF of HIS DIVINITY!



Php_2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men



Php 2:7  but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men



Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.



Jesus was the most selfless of all! And HE is our example, He is our everything!

We must think, live, breathe, JESUS, not ourselves!



By His grace!

Words justify or condemn you - this is truth!

Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.



Jesus' words.



Jesus only speaks truthfully.  So when He says- 'By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned', does He really mean it?



Mat_15:11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.



Mat_15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.



How many times have you said something only to regret it the moment it was out of your mouth?  Yet to say you didn't mean it would be a lie, wouldn't it? A better apology would be sorry for whatever it was you said. When it comes out of our mouth, we mean it. We might regret it but we wouldn't have said it if we weren't thinking it and we wouldn't be thinking it if we weren't feeling it, believing it? Right?



Seriously.  We say a lot of things we wish we could unsay. We regret letting things come out of our mouths. We'd rather keep them as thoughts left unspoken because they are hurtful. 



I'm going to get a bit personal here for a moment, if it's too personal then uhm...close your eyes and skip ahead? Hey, it was a thought.



I suffer from PMS.  I'm sure almost everyone has heard of this. It's been the stuff of jokes for a long time. However, it is a very serious thing. I never thought it was real, until after the birth of my first child. Then suddenly this crazy thing was happening to me out of nowhere. I couldn't understand it. I would feel this fury inside of me, this pent up anger over absolutely nothing. The sensation is awful, to feel this thing without rhyme nor reason was in itself infuriating. I could feel this living, breathing monster inside of me and I had very little, if any control over it.  I'd snap at everyone as a result of this monster in me and yes, I'd regret it later, truthfully, I'd often regret it even as the words were streaming out of my mouth but the control switch was broken. I couldn't turn it off! I was at the mercy of my hormones. 



Now that you know that bit about me (even though I've probably mentioned it before), I have another thing to add. The PMS monster in me has been changing lately, why? Because of the change of life, the dreaded menopause. I've felt that the PMS monster has morphed into super menopause monster who has NO timetable! The PMS monster at least had a timetable. I could expect it monthly for up to a week but no longer, sometimes only for a day or two then it would disappear, don't ask me why. This menopause monster however has decided to stick to NO timetable and is liable to pop up out of the blue at any moment. I'm not lying! I'm being very, very serious! This is a horrible thing to deal with because I truly feel it is out of my control.



I know there are medicines etc out there and I'm going to try the natural remedies route, but the point I'm going to make by telling this is- out of my mouth goes HORRIBLE THINGS and while I have a VERY real thing to blame it on, I'm not sure that our Savior is going to listen to excuses. 



Mat_12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.



Luk_6:45  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.



Do you see what I'm getting at?



Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.



There is a SUPER importance to the words we speak! We talk so casually. We speak so nonchalantly. We claim it as our right to speak and say whatever we want to.  More and more children are brought up believing they can say whatever they want and it shows in the disrespect that is rampant in our young people today.  Just fifty years ago a child wouldn't dream of sassing his or her parents without expecting a swift and decided punishment. Yet today we speak and speak and speak as if none of our words have an eternal weight resting upon them, when the truth is EVERY SINGLE WORD has eternal weight.



Think about that for a moment, just a few moments really think about the implications of Jesus' words.



For by thy words---- thou shalt be justified.

By thy words---- thou shalt be condemned.



Every IDLE word we will have to give account of.



Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.



IDLE words.  What are idle words?



Careless words, lazy words, every word, these can be idle words. Do you imagine you can speak all day long just a bunch of idle words, words that have no substance at all?  You might not want to answer yes to that because it would really be putting yourself down, wouldn't it? To imagine that you spoke all day of useless chitchat. You want to believe that all the idle words have somehow got weight to them, even if that idle word caused laughter, that was something wasn't it? 



We do NOT want to believe we have to really give account for every word we speak.  I shudder at the thought knowing how many hateful things I've spoken especially when I haven't felt in control of my own self during my "monster" moments.



Every word.



Will your words justify you, or will your words condemn you?



Do we really place any importance on these words of our Savior? If we don't, we are going to be accountable for that too, aren't we?



It's at times like these a lot of people just want to throw their hands in the air and give up on being a Christ follower because it's too darn hard, it's too much, it's too impossible.  Well guess what? It's supposed to be impossible for us to accomplish on our own. It is. We have to yield ourselves to CHRIST, to the Holy Spirit living in us.  Even me with my "monster" problem, I have to yield myself to the Holy Spirit. My God is greater than anything in this world, even my "monster" problem which is very real, very physically comprehended. I could use my "monster" as an excuse but that would be wrong, I'd be lying to myself if I said I can't help it, just as others with mental, emotional, and physical issues that cause them to speak out would be lying to themselves.  Tourette's syndrome comes to mind as something someone might throw up there instantly, and sure, that's real and it has it's roots in something that a person can't control. I'm POSITIVE that our SAVIOR knows what is truly uncontrollable and what isn't and whether a person is yielding to Him or not.  Is this the excuse I'm looking for? Not really. I know after I speak rashly I've done wrong and I know I need to seek forgiveness for it and this is a never ending cycle of seeking forgiveness, because I REFUSE to give up and give into Satan who wants nothing more than for me and everyone else to give into despair of ever being right with God.



Whether it's PMS or the Meno Monster, or a more serious condition like Tourette's, or maybe it's an autistic issue, the wiring in our brains has become scrambled- whatever it is- if we can feel guilt over our mouth speaking awful things, then we need to seek forgiveness, not excuse it. Yes, the excuse might be real, but it doesn't matter. It's the KNOWLEDGE beyond the reason that things that have come out of our mouths have hurt others, or things that have come out of our mouths have condemned us. As soon as we have that knowledge we need to repent. We might need to repent daily, hourly, minutely but with knowledge comes accountability.



We are accountable for our words.



We have to STOP making excuses and accept the accountability.



Our words matter in the eternal scheme of things, they truly do.



We need to do a lot more THINKING before we speak.



Some might advocate just saying whatever you feel like saying so you don't bottle up emotions, but those same advocates are not probably thinking about the words of our Savior. If we can keep from speaking idle words, from harsh words, from harmful words we should.  Having the thoughts will be bad enough but at least as thoughts no other person around us is harmed or influenced. Yes, we'll still need to seek forgiveness for our thoughts if they are uncharitable and such, we can't escape truth whether in our thoughts or in our deeds.



Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath



Swift to hear…….. SLOW TO SPEAK. 



How many men are supposed to be swift to hear and slow to speak?



EVERY MAN!



By the grace of God may we heed the words of our SAVIOR!



We will have to give account of all our words… maybe we'd do well to try and remember this every morning when we wake up and go about our day.



Our words matter, they eternally matter.



Please LORD, keep the door to our lips! Please LORD, keep us from idle words! Please LORD, help us to surrender to You our every word! Guide us and keep us in You through the Holy Spirit!



Thank you Father for all Your love!



By Your grace, mercy, and amazing love! In YOUR righteousness always!

Don't be a spoon fed Christ follower! 2 Timothy 2:15

"Well would it be for the church and the world if the principles that actuated those steadfast souls (early Christians) were revived in the hearts of God's professed people.

There is an alarming indifference in regard to the doctrines which are the pillars of the Christian faith.

The opinion is gaining ground that, after all, these are not of vital importance.

This degeneracy is strengthening the hands of the agents of Satan, so that false theories and fatal delusions which the faithful in ages past imperiled their lives to resist and expose, are now regarded with favor by thousands who claim to be followers of Christ." - The Great Controversy, p. 46

(((TRUTH))))

"Satan has wrought with deceiving power, bringing in a multiplicity of errors that obscure the truth.

Error cannot stand alone, and would soon become extinct if it did not fasten itself like a parasite upon the tree of truth.

Error draws its life from the truth of God.

The traditions of men, like floating germs, attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as a part of the truth.

Through false doctrines, Satan gains a foothold, and captivates the minds of men, causing them to hold theories that have no foundation in truth.

Men boldly teach for doctrines the commandments of men; and as traditions pass on from age to age, they acquire a power over the human mind.

But age does not make error truth, neither does its burdensome weight cause the plant of truth to become a parasite.

The tree of truth bears its own genuine fruit, showing its true origin and nature.

The parasite of error also bears it own fruit, and makes manifest that its character is diverse from the plant of heavenly origin." - R&H, October 22, 1895

*******

Christ's words-  Mat_15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Tit 1:13  This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
Tit 1:14  Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
Tit 1:15  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Tit 1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Luk_21:8  And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

1Co 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Rev_19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

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Miracles will be wrought before us in the last days. MIRACLES that come from SATAN! Miracles that will DECEIVE!

The ONLY hope any of us have is in the TRUTH! Being grounded solely in the TRUTH of GOD. If we allow ourselves to believe any traditions of men over the truth of God we will be lost!

We have to STUDY.  We can't just sit down and be fed from the pulpit spoon and say it is enough. We can't know beyond any doubt that the one wielding the spoon isn't filling it up with their own truth. Their own deceptions however well intentioned could be a mixture of old fashioned untruths that have all the appearance of being truth.  The only way we can be sure we are being fed truth is by studying for ourselves!

2Ti_2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Not, listen to what others tell you and believe them, but STUDY to show thyself approved unto God!

If we know God's word tells us that many will be deceived then we HAVE to study for ourselves and not take anyone's word as truth!

Traditions of men.  Just how important is it to realize what might be tradition rather than truth? What concepts are you following just because the majority of people believe and follow them?  Don't you remember?! BROAD is the way!  The majority are going to be following the deceptions, following traditions of men! The majority are going to be DECEIVED and there isn't anything anyone can do about it but PRAY they aren't among them!

Our Savior would not tell us that His way is narrow and hard to find if it weren't TRUTH!

So why don't we believe HIM?! Why don't we take a look at all our beliefs and hold them up to the BIBLE and it's truth?!  Why don't we take more than a superficial look into the word of God?! Why aren't we DIGGING into the truth as if it were a hidden treasure?!

Who is feeding you God's word? Is it God, Himself or another?  Are you trusting in man to give you the truth just because they are charismatic and have the appearance of being a good Christian, a devoted Christ follower? In this late hour we cannot afford to be spoon fed, we need to feed from the Word of God directly!

Please LORD help us! Satan would deceive us! We don't want to be among those deceived! We don't want to be among those who believe the error laced truth! We don't want to be among those drinking the sweet poisoned kool-aid only to end up spiritually dead to You! Please LORD save us as the end times are upon us. Soon probation will be up and we would be with YOU, knowing You and known by You!

All by Your grace! Your love! Your mercy! Your righteousness!

'God's love for man means the cross...' Cost of Discipleship Pt 124

Chapter 25 - The Decision

Bonhoeffer- 'The power which men enjoy for a brief space on earth is not without the cognizance and the will of God. If we fall into the hands of men, and meet suffering and death from their violence, we are none the less certain that everything comes from God. The same God who sees no sparrow fall to the ground without his knowledge and will, allows nothing to happen except it be good and profitable for his children and cause for which they stand. We are in God's hands. Therefore, "Fear not."

The time is short. Eternity is long. It is the time of decision. Those who are true to the word and confession on earth will find Jesus Christ standing by their side in the hour of judgment. He will acknowledge them and come to their aid when the accuser demands his rights. All the world will be called to witness as Jesus pronounces our name before his heavenly Father. If we have been true to Jesus in this life, he will be true to us in eternity. But if we have been ashamed of our Lord and his name, he will likewise be ashamed of us and deny us.

The final decision must be made while we are still on earth. The peace of Jesus is the cross. But the cross is the sword God wields on earth. It creates division. The son against the father, the daughter against her mother, the member of the house against the head-- all this will happen in the name of God's kingdom and his peace. That is the work which Christ performs on earth. It is hardly surprising that the harbinger of God's love has been accused of hatred of the human race. Who has a right to speak thus of love for father and mother, for son and daughter, but the destroyer of all human life on the one hand, or the Creator of a new life on the other? Who dare lay such an exclusive claim to man's love and devotion, but the enemy of mankind on the one hand, and the Savior of mankind on the other? Who but the devil, or Christ, the Prince of Peace, will carry the sword into men's houses? God's love for man is altogether different from the love of men for their own flesh and blood. God's love for man means the cross and the way of discipleship. But that cross and that way are both life and resurrection. "He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." In this promise we hear the voice of him who holds the keys of death, the Son of God, who goes to the cross and resurrection, and with him takes his own."

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My thoughts-

'God's love for man means the cross and the way of discipleship.'

Do we believe?

Mar_8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Do we believe?

Do you have a cross?

Do you deny yourself?

We are told to take up our cross if we want to follow our Savior.

We cannot follow our Savior without taking up our cross, it is impossible. And in order to take up our cross, we have to deny ourselves.

Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Rom 15:3  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

What, but our ungodliness, and worldly lusts; what but our selfishness should be denied? All that is ungodly in us must be denied.  We have to deny ourselves anything that would take the love of God from anyone in any way. We must deny ourselves. 

One of the hardest things we are called to do is deny ourselves, is there any wonder that few will do so?

We don't have a clue how to deny ourselves it is so incredibly foreign to us.

God, please teach us to deny ourselves, we need to learn this from YOU. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us, to help us, to live in us doing for us what we have no idea how to do. The world we live in today is so incredibly messed up with it's modernity. The simple life no longer exists for so many. A life of denying self has been twisted into something used to glorify self, things are so turned upside-down.

Please, Lord, save us from ourselves!

We want to hear you call our name, we want you to know us, we want you to live in us, please Lord help us to find the very narrow way of discipleship, denying ourselves, picking up our cross all to FOLLOW you, please.