Lay aside every weight...

Lay aside every weight.   Every weight. What weighs you down? What gives you that spiritual heaviness that threatens to crush you with its weight? You know what I'm talking about, I know you do. Something that weighs you down keeps you from being lifted up. What sort of things weigh you down? Maybe it's your thoughts? Maybe it's your cherished sins.  You might feel the heavy weight of conviction given to you by the grace of our Lord, intending that you repent and seek forgiveness for the sins. Laying aside the weight means...

Lay aside every sin.  Every sin.  Laying aside every weight means laying aside every sin. If you're laying things aside, you are letting go of them aren't you? You are getting them away from you. You can't hold onto something you've laid aside, not unless you choose to pick up that something again.  We are to lay aside our sins.  Is it possible?  Only through Jesus Christ! We are wretched men caught up in our flesh nature, minding things of the flesh and as such we have to look outside of ourselves for the victory - from the smallest of victories to the greatest. When we recognize a sin in our lives we have to choose not to cling to it. We have to choose to despise it. We have to choose to seek repentance and forgiveness. We have to choose to be rid of that sin in our lives by not clinging to it, by not encouraging ourselves to hold onto it. We can't tuck away our cherished sins, we have to lay them aside, let go of them. Sins we cherish are the hardest to be rid of. These are sins that we enjoy, sins that give us pleasures, sins that are easier to commit than fight against.

We do that don't we? We commit sin because it's easier than the fight against it. And we are all for indulging ourselves, making our lives easier.  We confuse ourselves by believing God wants us to have an easy life, He expects us to strive for a life of ease, the path of the least resistance to our contentment.  The trouble with that, it isn't want God wants for us at all!  God wants us to love Him, and in loving Him we choose not to sin no matter the cost to our ease, to our comfort, to our life. Because sinning SEPARATES US FROM GOD! God never wants us to be separated from Him.

Sin's evil is its ability to separate us from God!
Sin separates us from LOVE!

More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST!



Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Jesus walked the earth for forty days after He died and returned to life, and as we discussed yesterday, He spent that time speaking of things pertaining the kingdom of God. This is what His disciples asked Him before He left this earth and went to Heaven as High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary.

Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying,
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

They wanted to know if the kingdom would be restored to Israel at that time. The kingdom restored on earth to Israel. As if Jesus hadn't said this--

Joh_18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence

They comprehended that Christ their Savior had died, they knew for a fact He'd died, some if not all of them witnessed His crucifixion. He was declared and proven dead beyond any doubt. Then three days later He returned to life!  So here they are realizing upon His death that Jesus wasn't making this world His kingdom. Now, upon His resurrection they had a renewed hope that NOW was a good time for the kingdom to come. Sure, Jesus' kingdom wasn't this world before His death, but now, maybe now it would be His kingdom. Didn't He teach them to pray... 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done?'  Still they didn't realize that the Savior had brought the kingdom to them, the Savior made it all possible, He was the Key to the kingdom. They clearly wanted and expected that Israel would become a kingdom once more in power over all others, but that wasn't what Jesus taught. Jesus taught loving your enemy not lording yourself over them. Jesus taught setting captives free, not making all others your captives.

The answer Jesus gave to that question- 'wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?'  was this...

Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

It's not for you to know when.
The Father alone has those answers.

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

The disciples had wanted to know the signs of the end of the world and Jesus went to great lengths to reveal many prophecies that had yet to take place. Those prophecies did not come to pass between the time Jesus died and was resurrected three days later, yet the disciples were still asking if it were time for the kingdom to come. They didn't comprehend fully all that Jesus had tried to teach them. They were trying to make sense of everything, putting the pieces together in their minds. They'd lived with the idea that the Messiah would come and usher in a new reign for the kingdom of Israel which was under great oppression.  Then they had to wrap their heads around the truth that the Messiah wasn't there to do that, He wasn't there to bring the kingdom of Israel a new king, a new ruler-ship that would bring down all their oppressors.  He was there to teach them a NEW WAY, a WAY beyond the sacrificial system they'd been given. A WAY that would have them servants not masters. A WAY that would depend fully upon their Savior for salvation and not upon their ability to seek forgiveness through a lamb or any other sin offering that might be made. The Lamb of God, the ultimate Sacrifice was made and it was that Sacrifice all forgiveness depended. This was the WAY to the kingdom, the WAY Jesus taught.

Jesus did not return after three days to bring a new kingdom to Israel on Earth. He brought the WAY to a new kingdom of God in Heaven.

Jesus went on to tell them this--

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Power.  They would receive power. Power to do what? To witness of JESUS-the KINGDOM to all!

The power the Holy Spirit would give to them would enable them to witness of Jesus Christ Lord and Savior, and HE lived His entire ministry preaching on the kingdom of heaven.

Any mention of Christ is a mention of the kingdom.

Jesus wanted the gospel, the good news of Him, and How He made the kingdom of heaven available to all to be spread over the entire earth, and the Holy Spirit would give power to those chosen to preach this good news.

How wondrous is our Savior, the Savior of the world! The bringer of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Please Lord, we would be YOURS, wholly YOURS.

All by YOUR AMAZING GRACE!

All through LOVE, and YOU ARE LOVE!

Things pertaing to the kingdom of God

Act 1:1  The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Act 1:2  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
Act 1:3  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God

He died.
Jesus died.
His disciples were devastated.  You can imagine it, the awful sadness, the despair.  You try to make sense of it all and then you realize just a few days later- He's no longer dead, He's back from the dead!

How glorious! How amazingly, unbelievably glorious!

He showed himself ALIVE after He died and He did so through many INFALLIBLE PROOFS. He was seen for forty days and during that time He spoke of what?

'THINGS PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD'!

Our Savior returned to life, brought back from eternal death, and He spoke of THING PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

The kingdom of God!

We've been studying the Kingdom of God and you know what the truth of it all is…

Whenever we study our Bibles, whenever we study about our Savior Jesus Christ, whenever we seek to learn about God- we are studying the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, we are studying the KINGDOM OF GOD, every single time!

This is the whole message of our Savior! He came to preach the gospel, the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven!

We truly cannot study the Bible without studying about the Kingdom.

Is it any wonder that Jesus returned to life and walked the earth for forty more days and spoke on things pertaining to the kingdom of God?  He could do nothing else. He is the kingdom!

Bless us LORD, bless us with You, bless us with the Kingdom!

Teach us the kingdom!

Let us live in YOUR TRUTH!

Speak of the Kingdom of heaven to us!

Let us live with You in the Kingdom of God!

Please, all by YOUR righteousness, YOUR love, YOUR forgiveness, YOUR mercy, YOUR love, always and forever without end!

Bless us!

Counterfeit Love

Joh_18:36  Jesus answered, MY KINGDOM is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is MY KINGDOM not from hence.

Amazing words, words we need to comprehend.

Jesus came to preach His kingdom to us, the way to His kingdom and that kingdom is NOT this world.

So many believe this world is everything, they make this world their everything. But it isn't the Kingdom that Jesus came to preach.  Our Savior came to SAVE us from this world!

Jesus wants us to preach His kingdom, and His kingdom is NOT of this world! 

So, if we are preaching this world, then we aren't preaching the kingdom.

It's not ludicrous to believe that we should be preaching life eternal in the face of life now.

None of us know when we will die, not a single one of us! Even suicides aren't guaranteed death, ask all of those who thought they were taking their lives but lived to tell about it, there are quite a few of them.

We do not know how long we have to spend on this world. Yet so many of us act as if it is all that matters.

What matters on this world is how we live for the kingdom of our Savior.
Our Savior wants us to love Him so we CAN love others!

We can't love others without loving Him, not really, not truly, not with the love that only comes from our Creator, our Redeemer. We can manufacture an idea of love but it has no truth in it if it is not of God, none. It's a lie that feels good, looks good, seems good, in fact it could be a lie that is wonderful and seems to be very genuine. The counterfeit is always amazingly, unbelievably close to the original, that's how it deceives people.

Counterfeit love.

We don't like to imagine there is such a thing, but it exists. In every loving atheist who swears there is no God, it exists. In every person who claims a false religion, it exists.

The truth is out there for us, our Savior made the whole truth available to us, He didn't hide it!

We will NOT be able to claim that the truth was hidden from us, He'll be able to show us every single opportunity we passed up to know the truth. We cannot LIE to GOD! He knows! HE KNOWS!

Any love that is NOT of GOD is NOT LOVE!

Hard for us to believe when we realize that there are so many people who are incredibly loving in their actions, their words, their lives that they are using counterfeit love.

Is it our job to expose them, NO.

We cannot JUDGE anyone!

It is our job to expose only the TRUTH!  And when that truth is exposed the Holy Spirit alone will convict the hearts that seek the Lord our Savior and TRUE LOVE.

Please LORD, bless us!
Keep us in YOU, keep us in YOUR TRUTH!
Keep us in YOUR LOVE!

By YOUR GRACE!

We live in the flesh, but we do not war after the flesh

We walk in the flesh.
We do not war after the flesh.
Our weapons are not carnal.
Our weapons are mighty through God.
Our weapons through GOD cast down imaginations.
Our weapons through God cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
Our weapons through GOD bring into captivity EVERY THOUGHT to the OBEDIENCE of CHRIST.
Our weapons through GOD are ready to revenge all disobedience- when our obedience is FULFILLED.

Do you look on THINGS after the OUTWARD appearance?

If we are CHRIST'S we must think that Christ has a people that are HIS-and we are among those people.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
2Co 10:7  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

This is truth.

We have to realize that even though we must walk in flesh- we most certainly cannot step out of our flesh and live on- it's impossible.  We walk in flesh. But we DO NOT WAR after the flesh.

I know, you're probably thinking that you war after the flesh all the time, we fight with each other often don't we? We have wars of flesh where people die from this sort of warring, but that's not what we are focusing on here because we have a different sort of war, a spiritual war. If we die in the battle of the flesh, it doesn't mean we've lost eternal life. If we die spiritually, we have lost eternal life. So which war is more important? Seriously?

Every single day it seems we are put to the test. Just how important is eternal life to us? Is it more important than family? Friends? Government? Is it?

Keeping peace in the flesh, or peace in the spirit, which is more important?

Keeping peace among each other, among family and friends, and even strangers is this more important than peace in the spirit?

Flesh or God?

Yes, God wants us to love one another, but we are not to sacrifice God for others.  The two great commandments that encompass all ten moral laws are these--

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love God.
Love mankind.

Without the love of God we CANNOT love mankind, it's IMPOSSIBLE.  We can pass something off as love, but it won't be true love.

Flesh or God?

God.

Spirit first, flesh second.

God first!

We are Christ's!  As being Christ's we must know that the spirit comes first.

Our warfare is a spiritual one.

We walk in the flesh.
We do not war after the flesh.
Our weapons are not carnal.
Our weapons are mighty through God.
Our weapons through GOD cast down imaginations.
Our weapons through God cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
Our weapons through GOD bring into captivity EVERY THOUGHT to the OBEDIENCE of CHRIST.
Our weapons through GOD are ready to revenge all disobedience- when our obedience is FULFILLED.

Amazing!

Read this--

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

The POWER OF HIS MIGHT! CHRIST'S MIGHT! ALL THROUGH GOD!

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.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

More tomorrow by the grace of God, our LORD, our SAVIOR!

Please let us know we are YOURS, let us think on YOU, CHRIST JESUS. Let us live in the SPIRIT that we are born again into all through YOU.  Though we walk in the flesh, let us live to YOU!

Please!

Lord, save us from ourselves!

From yesterday…

Clearly the Bible has instructions on our thinking, yes?

Do we listen to God's word? Do we listen? Do we obey the truth we are given?

Our minds and bodies are at war, our flesh and our spirit are at war, is it any wonder that our Savior speaks as He does to us?

He tells us that we don't want the truth if we want our flesh nature to rule us, we prefer darkness rather than light. We'd rather have no knowledge than have knowledge that will cause us to comprehend our own self worth, and in comprehending know that we are NOTHING without God, without our Savior.

Joh_3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Men LOVED darkness.
Men LOVED darkness BECAUSE their  deeds were EVIL.

Men don't WANT understanding, they want to remain in ignorance, they don't want to know the truth because the truth wars against their flesh nature and they want to indulge that flesh nature.

Sin becomes a heavy weight when we recognize it for what it is, and people do NOT want to feel that weight, they do not want to feel bad about their sins.  They want to love their sins so they love their darkness.  They do not  want to reveal sin for what it is.

Sin is what separates us from God.
Sin is what kept us from eternal life and introduced death to us.
Sin is what has brought every single bad thing in the world into existence.  Think of something bad, something sad, something awful, and it's root cause is sin.
Sin is the transgression of the law of God, because the law of God is love, and God is love. And when you separate from love you are left with sin.

Sin is self serving.
Love is selfless.

The war exists because our flesh nature craves to be self serving.

The light of the truth reveals our Savior's complete selflessness.
The light gives us understanding, do we want understanding? If we don't then we admittedly love sin.

When our sins are reveals we have to seek forgiveness.  Our Savior gives us the light of the truth so that our sins are revealed. And being born again, born of water and spirit, we are born with the ability of our spirit to do truth in Christ, to have understanding, to comprehend the light.

No matter how filthy our sins are, no matter how slight our sins can be, any stain of selfish sinfulness must be exposed to the light of truth in Jesus Christ.

We seek constant forgiveness.

Paul detested his flesh nature, crying out to be saved from his own sinfulness, and we TOO must detest our flesh nature, our propensity to sin. We cannot CALL any sin in us good! As soon as we call any sin in us good, we are inviting darkness into our lives.

We must BELIEVE in Jesus Christ our Lord, He is the ONLY One who can save us from ourselves!

Please LORD, Save us!  Keep us in Your LIGHT, Your TRUTH, always!

Do truth

Do truth.

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

How?

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

How?

Joh 3:10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Joh 3:11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Joh 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

How?

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

*******

Truly Jesus speaks from the heart and tries to explain, but in explaining He comes right out and tells us that to believe we must believe, to want understanding, we must do truth.

Do truth.

Jesus says- 'He that doeth truth…'

Doing truth.

To do truth- you must know truth, and Jesus speaks nothing but the truth.

When we LIVE the truth, then we are given understanding.  Our actions are manifested as being truth, and truth is wrought in God!

Living truth.

Jesus said this- 'If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?'

Believing.  We want to know the answers but when they are given to us we refuse to believe them.

If we are evil we do not want to hear the truth, we do not want understanding, we do not want to believe, not really. We'd much rather live as we please than be told our actions are not of truth, not of Christ.

To come to Christ, to come to the truth, to come to the light is to comprehend that every single act we commit is either done in truth, or done to be reproved. There is NO middle ground!

We strive for that middle ground, that place where we can coast by without feeling too guilty about our lives.  We don't want to live our lives constantly being reproved but we are at a loss as to live our lives without doing things that are contrary to the truth that our Savior gives to us.

Again- Paul sums it up incredibly well-

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Beautifully summed up isn't it? Who of us hasn't felt this way?

We need to truly THANK GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.

We can serve the law of God with our minds, even when our bodies are prone to sin.

Mind and body.

Let's see what the Bible has to say about our thinking-

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Think - it not strange.

Php_4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Think- on these things.

Gal 6:3  For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Gal 6:4  But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

Think- himself to be something when he is nothing.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
2Co 10:7  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

Bringing every THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ.

Think- that as he is Christ's- even so are we Christ's.

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Not…think- any thing as of our ourselves
Think… our sufficiency is of God.

1Co_8:2  And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

Think- he knows, he knows nothing.

Rom_12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Think- not highly of ourselves.
Think- soberly.

Joh_5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

You think- you have eternal life

Mat_5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Think not- that I come to destroy the law.

*******
We can serve the law of God with our minds, even when our bodies are prone to sin.

Mind and body.

Thinking.

Clearly the Bible has instructions on our thinking, yes?

Do we listen to God's word? Do we listen? Do we obey the truth we are given?

Our minds and body are at war, our flesh and our spirit are at war, is it any wonder that our Savior speaks as He does to us?

He tells us that we don't want the truth if we want our flesh nature to rule us, we prefer darkness rather than light. We'd rather have no knowledge than have knowledge that will cause us to comprehend our own self worth, and in comprehending know that we are NOTHING without God, without our Savior.

More tomorrow by the grace of our Lord.

We need LIGHT. We need TRUTH. We need to BELIEVE. We need JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR!

Please LORD, bring us closer to YOU, give us truth, give us light, we would KNOW YOU and have YOU KNOW US!

We want to be born again, we want our spirit to be born in You.

Please LORD, help us!