'Where truth does not soften the heart, it hardens it...'

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Albert Barnes Notes On the Bible had this to say-

'Might be made blind - Such would be the effect of his preaching. It would exasperate them, and their pride and opposition to him would confirm them more and more in their erroneous views. This is always the effect of truth. Where it does not soften it hardens the heart; where it does not convert, it sinks into deeper blindness and condemnation.'

The Pharisees were exasperated by Jesus' preaching. The Pharisees were very prideful. The Pharisees were in opposition to the Savior.  The truth did NOT enlighten the Pharisees, they believed they were already enlightened and in need of NO enlightenment.

We get caught up in the same trap- thinking that we know all we need to know, but we are forever learning from our Savior. We are forever growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord.

2Pe 3:1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

2Pe 3:2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

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.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Forever growing in grace and knowledge of our LORD and SAVIOR, this is what we must do! We can never reach a place where we can say we know it all, God will have us forever learning.  He is our all in all, He is our everything, He is the One who has no need, who see unblinded always. We need all the sight He can give us, we need the Holy Spirit opening our hearts and minds fully to Him all through HIS grace and love, always!

Esteeming others better than ourselves

Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Php 2:4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

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 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Truth.

How often do we esteem others better than ourselves?  Truthfully think about that for a little bit.  We get so wrapped up in ourselves that we seldom esteem anyone better than ourselves. We fight to prove we are worth something, that we are good, caring, well meaning, kind people all the while we are striving towards that end we forget to truly be good, caring, well meaning, and kind people. We lose ourselves in our obsession of ourselves.  We think we are automatically belittling ourselves when we esteem others better than ourselves. God, please help me learn to esteem others better than myself, help me to realize that we are not to be first in our own thoughts, but have the mind Jesus has, a mind that puts others before self. I need this, Lord, I need to learn so much. Rid me of my selfishness, please. Let there be less of me and so much more of YOU.

Guide me Lord in all truth, in YOUR truth only.  All glory, praise, and honor unto You, my Savior!

Teach me

Psa 143:10  Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Psa 143:11  Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

We need to be taught.  We definitely do not know it all, and we definitely need a teacher, and the Comforter that Jesus prayed to the Father to give to us, will teach us all we need to know in truth.  We need to be taught to do God's will.  Our natural man will not automatically do God's will of its own accord. Our natural selves are very selfish, very prideful and not at all prone to God's will.  We need to be taught to do God's will. He is OUR GOD. His SPIRIT is GOOD. We will be led into the land of uprightness, and that land is God's.  We need to be quickened, we need our spirit to come alive, to be born again in the Holy Spirit, born again as Jesus told Nicodemus.  We need God's quickening, for His name's sake, for HIS righteousness' sake we need to be brought out of trouble.  Of our own accord we cannot hope, it's only by hoping in Christ that we can live in Him.   It's through HIS righteousness we have hope, not of our own righteousness. Please GOD, please FATHER, please teach us to do Your will! Please, bring us out of the trouble that life has for us around every turn. Please, Father, bless us, keep us, save us all in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior!

The truth or the world

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Jesus will PRAY the FATHER, Jesus will petition the FATHER,  Jesus wants the FATHER to give us ANOTHER Comforter. Jesus KNOWS that He will be in heaven beside His Father after He is raised from the grave days after His death. Jesus  knows He won't be on earth to be with followers, and Jesus knows they will NEED another Comforter, One who will be with us forever.  Jesus knows that we will need the Spirit of TRUTH. Jesus knows the WORLD CANNOT RECEIVE the Spirit of Truth. The WORLD cannot see the TRUTH, or KNOW the TRUTH.  We CAN know the TRUTH, because the TRUTH will be with us, the TRUTH will be in us.

So are we of the world or of Christ?

If we are of the world we cannot know the truth, and if we can't know the truth, we cannot be Christ's.

Where does the world rank with us?

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Who rules you? The natural man or the Spirit?

We need truth! We need Christ! We need another Comforter.

Please Father, please help us to choose YOU over all the world has to offer us!

Please Father, we would be YOURS!

Please Father.

Jesus, Your only begotten Son prayed for us, please hear His prayer and give us Another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth!

All in HIS NAME!

Moses chose to suffer

Truth-  Moses--

Heb 11:25,26  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;  esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Moses- esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.

Stop and think about that for a moment, Christ was NOT yet human, He had not yet taken on flesh when Moses lived.  Moses knew the entire Sacrificial system that He was instrumental in setting up with God guiding him every step of the way, was set up pointing to the ultimate sacrifice. Moses knew!  The things he set up were a pattern of heavenly things, the things he set up were never intended to take the place of the promised Messiah, they were to POINT to Him and they did!

Moses understood that one day the Messiah would come and that HOPE of the Messiah was worth anything and everything He had to endure to serve God.

He served God in all things. Does this mean He was perfect? No.  But  it means His desire to be God's was greater than the desire for all pleasures he could have for a season- the short span of his life before death's sleep.

So many of us want the pleasures of here and now more than anything else. So many of us want to have things now in this life time not realizing that anything we can have now pales in comparison to the heavenly rewards that await us upon Christ's return.

Moses understood this and suffered rather than live a life of luxury because that is what He was called to do by God.  The future with his Savior, the PROMISE by FAITH in his Savior was all Moses had, and WE have that too. 

Our Savior needs to mean more to us than all else.  By HIS grace this will be possible! By His power alone is it possible.  Lord, we believe, help our unbelief!

All in YOU and YOUR LOVE- this is TRUTH, help us live Your truth!

I am so blessed!

My God, my King, my Savior! Blessed be Your Name! God is so incredibly good to us in so many ways.  As I say those words I realize that many people don't have a life filled with loved ones and good things. Many people are living lives filled with hardship and pain. Can they say the same things I can? Can they say God is so incredibly good to us in so many ways?  Perhaps they can and I just can't imagine them being able to do so because my idea of good things differ from theirs. Some times it takes having a lot of things stripped away from us before we realize what really matters, and yet even as I say those words I realize some people would rather not live then do without things that are stripped away from them.  The value we place on our lives can be great, or it can be little to no value.  What value does God place upon our lives?

God with God, places so great a value on our lives that He took on human flesh, removing Himself from His Spirit form and allowed Himself to be murdered- for US, because He values US so incredibly much! We are THAT important to Him.

Truly, God who was decreed the Father so loved the WORLD that gave His only begotten decreed Son, and whosoever BELIEVES in HIM will NOT perish but have EVERLASTING LIFE.

This is truth!

God loves those with awful lives, and those with lives of ease and luxury, and in some ways those with the lives of ease have a much harder time than those with lives of pain and hardship. We are called to be God's in giving, in taking, in good, in bad, in ease, and in hardship- may we never forget this, not ever.  May God bless those who give so much without ever expecting things in return. May God bless those who have enriched my life with their blessings. May God fill them with His truth, His love, His light, with all that He is!

I am blessed, so incredibly blessed in so many ways

The heavenly city is promised to all those who are called forth from their graves

'And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. ' Heb 11:15-16

Do you desire a better country, a HEAVENLY country to live in?

This heavenly city is promised to all those who are called forth from their graves to meet the Lord in the air upon His return for His saints.  Those who are alive when He returns will also meet our Lord in the air.

If the dead saints are called from their graves, and the living taken up to meet the Lord in the air upon His return, are the majority of people who have died in heaven already? NO!

I shout it again, NO!

Let me give you the truth from God's Holy Word--

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The DEAD in CHRIST shall RISE FIRST!

When do the dead rise from their graves?  When the LORD descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of GOD, AND NOT BEFORE!

Has the Lord descended from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God? NO! The dead in Christ have NOT been called from their graves and been told to rise. And most assuredly no others, no living, have been caught up together with the dead that have newly risen and gone to the clouds to meet the LORD IN THE AIR, and also most assuredly we have NOT gone up and been with the LORD for ever.

We are told to COMFORT one another with THESE word, not lies.

These words can offer comfort to all who are living as pilgrims and strangers upon this earth seeking a heavenly home.  You will NOT find that home in heaven upon death no matter what anyone tells you. No matter if the most supposedly holy person in the world tells you, no matter if the smartest Biblical scholar tells you that a person who has passed away is now in heaven with God and other previously passed loved ones, they are WRONG! Because our Bibles tell us the DEAD KNOW NOTHING. Our Bibles tell us that the dead in Christ rise from their graves when Jesus returns, why would our Bibles lie? They wouldn't lie to us. So as many hear preachers preaching and people comforting each other with lies, we are to comfort with the truth … God give us a voice to speak that truth.

I don't have a voice, I have words upon a screen and I pray that our Lord and Savior can use my in His service in this way. I fail Him so much otherwise, I fail Him in my inability to speak aloud the truth I know. Please LORD, please by the grace You give to us, be with me in all I'm called to do. Please, help me in my weakness. Please, forgive me!

By Your amazing LOVE, always!