A Jew Inwardly.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 

Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

A Jew is simply the chosen of God. You do NOT have to be born a Jew to be a Jew, yet in our society today we believe this to be wrong. We called Jews those who are born into the Jewish religion and keep the Jewish faith. Yet, the followers of Christ were Jews, Paul was a Jew and when the followers weren't Jews it was noted- they were Gentiles. Paul was sent to preach to the gentiles and he wasn't sent to convert them to the Jewish faith, but rather into Christ's truth. The gentiles were not to be turned into followers of the Jewish faith yet they were to become Jews - INWARDLY a  follower of God, a chosen of God. Their token of being a follower of God was NOT to be the outward sign of circumcision, but an inward circumcision of the heart, in the spirit.

A heart circumcised in the spirit.  Truly this is a heart touched by God!

God chose a people and those people betrayed Him over and over again. The history of the Jewish people is one of backsliding and renewal, backsliding and renewal. Given leaders in judges, prophets, kings and they still consistently turned their backs on God and their promises to Him. Mankind is sinful, and even as those chosen by God they did not get rid of their tendency towards sin. God knew from the moment Eve and Adam chose to disobey, chose to no longer live in His love, that He could either destroy mankind He'd created or make a way to redeem them. He chose to make a way to redeem them. This way wouldn't be easy, it wouldn't be instantaneous, it would be long and trying for the humans he'd created but it was a plan of redemption and it would be for all mankind.

In this plan, God chose a people from those who believed upon Him, using them to father a nation of His people who would live as examples of His love, of the forgiveness He would give to them.  When Christ was born and lived His ministry He lived God on Earth. He broke past the tight knit, closed group of elitist who were once His chosen, and revealed the truth that was for ALL.

God's chosen- the Jewish - are Jewish in the heart through the spirit.

May we all be Jews - circumcised in our hearts though the spirit!!!!!!!

The Jewish people have endure much horror throughout history, just the other day I read an article about a certain sect of Jewish people are no longer going to wear an article that proclaims them to be Jewish because they were being attacked by Moslems.  There has been a great rise in Jewish hatred and it only continues. Yet, truly we are Jewish as God's followers, as Christ's followers, Jewish in truth, in heart. Christ Himself was Jewish and never gave up being Jewish. He did tell the Jewish religious leaders that they were left desolate, and that was truth. The legal, ceremonial laws were over when Christ became the sacrifice for our sins. The Jewish religion was forever changed, God's chosen people were being led down a new way, the way of Christ.

All through the Love of God may we be HIS no matter what!

Faith or Wrath- You Choose.

Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

Secrets judged.

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 

Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds

People ARE actually treasuring up wrath because of the hardness and impenitent heart they possess.  When the day of wrath, when the day of the revelation of the righteous judgement of God is at hand all that wrath will be revealed. Do people really believe they won't be judged? Do they simply not care? Is there a callousness in people that causes them not to care about their eternal life, not to care about the judgement to come? Would they rather live their lives now content with the evil they may be incurring because they'd rather not believe they'll be judged? The unknown that calls for faith is something they'd rather choose not to believe in because…why, because they are too enlightened to care about something that is most likely a fairy tale of the highest order. They would rather live believing they can't be duped. They'll go to their graves secure in the knowledge they've remained true to their personal convictions. There simply isn't enough proof of the tangible sort for them to deign to have faith. So one of two things is going to happen- they'll be proven correct in their belief and they’ll never know they were correct because there won't be a resurrection, or they'll be proven incorrect in their belief and they'll know because they'll face a judgement at which point they will be judged in the wrath they incurred through their choice to not have faith.  If we choose to believe we lose nothing if we are proven wrong, we won't even know we were wrong in our faith. However if we choose to believe, truly believe and we are correct in our faith- what an amazing love we will be eternally alive to experience. We will have experienced that love in our lives here and now shrouded in a heavy fog of a sin-filled world, veiled by evil spirits, and we will recognize that love we know as we are lifted from the utter darkness of this current world and into the brilliant light of the Son of God!

Rom 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 

Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 

Rom 14:12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Gen 18:25  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 

Psa 9:7  But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. 

Psa 9:8  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 

Psa 50:6  And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. 

Psa 96:13  Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 

Psa 98:9  Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. 

Ecc 3:17  I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 

Ecc 11:9  Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 

Ecc 12:14  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

Mat 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 

Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 

Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 

Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 

Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 

Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 

Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 

Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 

Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 

Luk 8:17  For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

1Co 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment

1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 

1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished 

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

Following From Our Hearts.

Following the law of God- which is written in our hearts.

Amazing isn't it? The law of God can be written in our hearts. There are those who follow the law of God from His written word, and those who follow the law not from written law are doing so because it is in their hearts. The truth was in their hearts and it was from there they kept the law. Their OWN conscience bear witness to them. Their thoughts will accuse or excuse, we know what this is like don't we?

Those who would be God's will follow God from their hearts.

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 

Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 

Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

Remember this--

Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 

Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 

Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 

Heb 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 

We need the law in our hearts and minds, we need God to write on our hearts and minds! 

Truthfully there are those who have no access to the written word. You wouldn't think so in this day and age, however the Word of God is still illegal in more countries than people realize.

'Afghanistan, Algeria, China (People's Republic), Comoros, Djibouti, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen'

From <https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/9351/in-what-countries-is-it-illegal-to-own-a-bible-the-most-banned-book-in-the-worl>

This is just a bit about the information out there about the Word of God being illegal, hard to get to, please search the internet for more knowledge. Most of us have easy access to the Bible, to the written laws, to Jesus' reaffirmation of the moral law. We know what truth our Lord would have us know. We STILL need the law of God written on our hearts and minds forever!

More on this tomorrow by the WILL and GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!! All in HIS LOVE!

God will judge all mankind, there are no exemptions.

We cannot judge another person's eternal life, not ever, not for a moment. No matter how horrific a person may be, it is still not up to us to judge anyone. Likewise, no matter how wonderful a person is, do we dare judge that they are saved? Is it better to deem all saved than none? We know that all won't be saved but we aren’t to judge who will be and who won't be.  We do not know the heart of a single person, we scarcely know our own hearts half the time. We witness our own faults- and there are many- and we beg forgiveness, praying we will be among those worthy through the Savior, and His righteousness, to be saved.

Rom 2:1  Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 

How true it this! Of course all the Word of God is truth, but let's pay attention to this for a few moments. We have no excuse for judging another. If we choose to judge another we are in fact condemning ourselves, why? Because we too have so many faults worthy of condemnation. We are not clean, we will never be clean of our own accord. We need to claim Christ as our righteousness, and just as we can claim Christ as our righteousness, so to can others. We may struggle daily with our faults, we are truly wretched people, who could despair of being saved from ourselves, but we have CHRIST our advocate, who stands in our behalf, pleading His blood spilled, His life given for ours because we could never sacrifice enough to ever warrant salvation for ourselves.

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 

Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 

No one will escape judgement.

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 

We could easily despise the goodness of God - His riches, His forbearance, His longsuffering towards us, because all of that will cause us to realize the darkness within us. When we stop despising God's goodness towards us- we are truly led to repentance.  When we understand that ONLY God can give us all we need and no other, not even ourselves, we can repent and rely upon HIM.

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 

We dare not encourage the hardness and impenitent of our hearts which will only lead us to the day of wrath and revelation- the revelation of the righteousness of God's judgement.  We need the mercy of God in our lives always!

Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 

God WILL render to every man according to his deeds- ALL deeds, ALL men. God will judge righteously.

Rom 2:7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 

We NEED to be patient, ALWAYS seeking to do well - that the end of that well doing is for the glory and honor, the immortality that we will find in eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our LORD and SAVIOR! We should not do well to get the glory and honor of others, our hope in any well doing should be for the SAVIOR to be HONORED and GLORIFIED!  

Rom 2:8  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 

Any who willingly, tragically seek to do evil endlessly even after truth is offered time and again will face an end far different than those who seek Christ.

Rom 2:9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 

Rom 2:10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 

Rom 2:11  For there is no respect of persons with God. 

God will judge all no matter who they are, no matter what religion, or non-religion, no matter what their lifestyle, their ethnicity, no matter what, GOD will judge all and the standard of His judgement is Christ, the truth.

May we seek CHRIST first and foremost! Please! All through His love and ALL that means. Now and forever!!!!!!!

Faith in God- Believing No Matter What.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

The gospel of Christ has POWER, the gospel of Christ IS POWER, and the power is it… is of GOD unto salvation to EVERYONE that believes.

The RIGHTEOUSNESS of  GOD is revealed from faith to faith, from believing to believing. The JUST shall LIVE BY FAITH.

When you choose to be a Christian you are choosing to live by FAITH.  You can't make anyone believe, they have to choose to believe on their own.  You can tell someone that you have faith and they may say how can you believe just by believing, it makes no sense, there has to be more you have to have something tangible, proof.

Faith- Heb_11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is the substance of THINGS HOPED FOR.

Faith is the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN.

Faith.

By its very nature faith cannot be touched physically.  Faith is a choice.

We place our faith in people, and in things all the time. A person puts faith in their vehicles that they are going to get them to where they need to go. When their vehicles break down, they start to lose faith in the vehicle. They get the vehicle fixed and once again they begin to have faith in that vehicle. We have faith in people that they will behave in a certain manner, hopefully respectable and kind. We have faith in our spouses. We don't lose faith in them until they do something against the trust, the faith we've placed in them to not harm us- mentally, emotionally, and physically. Then we make a choice to learn to have faith in the person once again or not.

Having faith in God is having faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, having faith in the revealed truth given to us, having faith in the prophecies we need to comprehend. We don't ever have to lose FAITH in God because He's only ever told us the truth. We are to put our TREASURES in heaven, not earth. We are to seek a heavenly home, not cling to this earthly one. Our lives here on earth are going to be filled with heartache, agonizing heartache, pain, unbelievable agony in many way. We are NOT promised easy lives here and now, we just aren't. Our faith doesn't need to perish as we are tested and tried in horrific fires over and over again through our lives, because our faith tells us we will be tested this way. Our hope is in Jesus, and Jesus is in heaven, and Jesus will come again and take us back to heaven with Him.

Faith - unseen belief, believing no matter what.

All by the grace and love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!!!!!!!

Word of His Grace.

Act 20:32  And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. 

The word of God - is so powerful, we don't realize enough how powerful it is, if we did we'd use it so much more. The word is our weapon.

The word is a sword.

I'm not just saying these things, God said these things!

Eph 6:17  …the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Paul told those he was ministering to that he commended them to God and to the WORD of HIS GRACE.  That word of grace would build them up and give them an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

The power of the WORD.

We can spend all day reading the word of God and receive nothing from it at all, we might as well be reading a comic book. We can read it over and over and never comprehend the power it possesses. It is the GRACE of God which is given to us that enables us to understand the power of the word. Without the grace of God we are blind to His amazing truth. If you are reading God's word and it means nothing to you, you need to repent and seek forgiveness for your sins, obtaining the grace, the mercy of our Lord and Savior.  The Holy Spirit will open our spiritual sight so we can see. 

Being commended to God and to his word of grace- we need to realize it will BUILD us up. 

The Word of His grace! 

Do we want the inheritance that is given to those who are sanctified?   We have to live in Christ, live our lives deeply in the Word of God.  All by HIS AMAZING GRACE! 

Paul did not count his own life dear.

Paul served the Lord with ALL humility of mind, with MANY tears and temptations. Paul kept nothing back that was profitable, but taught publicly from house to house. Paul testified to Jews and Greeks of repentance to God, and faith to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Getting ready to go BOUND in the SPIRIT to Jerusalem, not knowing what was going to happen to him, but the HOLY SPIRIT told him that in every city bonds and affliction were there. 

Paul knowing the HOLY SPIRIT was telling him that chains, imprisonment, pain, beatings, whippings, abuse waited for him - did NOT let that stop him from desiring to go. 

Paul did NOT count his own life dear.

He would finish his life with JOY.

His life was the ministry he was called to by the LORD JESUS, testifying to the gospel of the grace of God.

So I ask once again, knowing this truth of Paul's life, what makes people believe they should have an easy, carefree life? Did all those Paul preached to suddenly have an easy life? They believe the message of the gospel, of salvation through Jesus Christ, the were baptized into His Way, His death and life, and were they left with a life of all good things? No. Not a single Christian is promised an easy life here and now, not one. Our idea of an easy life has become so skewed over the many, many years of sin that there is no wonder few would have what we term an easy life. Somewhere along the line people began to equate possessions with a good life. Having just what you needed and no more, wasn't considered a good thing- a desired thing.  Keeping up with the latest gadgets and games, fashions and fads, cars and boats, this is the sort of thing people desire rather than being content with so much less.

Paul's life wasn't one of possessions. Did those he preached to have lives of possessions? Some did. Not everyone is called to a life like Paul, but we are told that Paul is a pattern of the grace of God for us. 

Paul did NOT count his own life dear. Paul found his worth only in Christ Jesus.  No matter what we possess in material things our worth is NOT in what we possess, it's in WHO we possess, and if we possess a life of salvation having Christ with us, then we are of the richest of the rich.

Let us use Paul's life as a pattern of the grace of God for us, this was everything to Paul and it needs to be everything to us! Please, Lord, please!

Act 20:17  And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. 

Act 20:18  And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, 

Act 20:19  Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: 

Act 20:20  And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, 

Act 20:21  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Act 20:22  And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 

Act 20:23  Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 

Act 20:24  But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.