Not Of The World.

'That is what it means to be saved. You declare that you belong to another system of things.'   Love Not the World - Watchman Nee

How many people claim to be saved and yet their lives are no different at all from those who don't claim to be saved? We are to be in the world, but not of the world. The new system of things is just that, new, different from the old.

Joh_17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Not of the world. Yet we live in 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. 

We aren't to be taken out of this world that we are not of, but we are to be kept from the evil of this world.

(Webster's)

Evil

E'VIL, a. e'vl. [Heb. to be unjust or injurious, to defraud.]

1. Having bad qualities of a natural kind; mischievous; having qualities which tend to injury, or to produce mischief.

Some evil beast hath devoured him. Gen 37.

2. Having bad qualities of a moral kind; wicked; corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking; an evil generation.

3. Unfortunate; unhappy; producing sorrow, distress, injury or calamity; as evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days.

E'VIL, n. Evil is natural or moral. Natural evil is any thing which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.

Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.

There are also evils called civil, which affect injuriously the peace or prosperity of a city or state; and political evils, which injure a nation, in its public capacity.

All wickedness, all crimes, all violations of law and right are moral evils. Diseases are natural evils, but they often proceed from moral evils.

2. Misfortune; mischief; injury.

There shall no evil befall thee. Psa 91.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself. Prov 22.

3. Depravity; corruption of heart, or disposition to commit wickedness; malignity.

The heart of the sons of men is full of evil. Eccl 9.

4. Malady; as the king's evil or scrophula.

E'VIL, adv. [generally contracted to ill.]

1. Not well; not with justice or propriety; unsuitable.

Evil it beseems thee.

2. Not virtuously; not innocently.

3. Not happily; unfortunately.

It went evil with his house.

4. Injuriously; not kindly.

The Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us.

In composition, evil, denoting something bad or wrong, is often contracted to ill.

To be kept from evil.

Jesus prays to the Father to keep us from evil. If we can't be taken out of the evil world we can be kept from the evil that is in the world, and this is what we have to consider more in depth.

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Delivered from evil.

Please, Father, deliver us, keep us from all evil!

Our Hope Is Always Christ.

1Pe 3:21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ

In baptism we figuratively die. In baptism we are figuratively resurrected with Christ.

Christ Jesus was brought back from death. Christ did not leave His body in spirit form upon death. Why not? Seriously, why not? No one disputes this. Yet they believe they leave their bodies upon death taking on a spirit form that goes into the light most times. More and more people are saying they've gone to heaven during their near death experiences. They lived to tell about it and want others to know heaven is real and they'll go there after they die. They were sent back to tell others. And yet, upon death, Jesus did not go to heaven, why didn't he? Why are we told this…

1Co_15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The dead shall be raised.

If the dead are already raised, what is being raised? If you live on already in an incorruptible form what is being raised? At that last trump when Christ returns the dead shall be raised, what dead? Who hasn’t been raised already among the dead? 

Christ was not raised upon death, Christ remained in the tomb. And then when Christ was resurrected, He was resurrected in His body, He wasn't taken out of His body - not ever.

Why are we supposed to believe that we warrant instant eternal life? Why should David, Abraham, Noah and many other still be in their graves yet us modern man are allowed to go right to heaven?

The dead shall be raised.

The dead shall be resurrected.

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead didn't He? Martha said she believed in the resurrection -

Joh 11:23  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 

Joh 11:24  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 

Joh 11:27  She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. 

Jesus is the resurrection.  Did Jesus raise Lazarus to eternal life in heaven? Martha's comprehension was for the eternal raising from the dead to life in the last day. Martha wasn't thinking about a resurrection for Lazarus to continue his life right there on earth, living to only have to die once more. Jesus is the resurrection, and the life. Jesus gave Lazarus life again right then. And yet Jesus also said this- whosoever lives and believes in Him will never die. Yet, people continued to die. So….

The never dying is this death…

Rev_2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Second death.

Rev_20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Second death.

Rev_20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Second death.

Rev_21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Second death.

Did you know there was such a thing as a second death?

Jesus could bring Lazarus back from the dead into the current life, waking him from death's sleep. Jesus did NOT pull Lazarus back from heaven, He woke him up. Eventually Lazarus went back into death's sleep.

Truly those who believe in Jesus Christ and are His, known by Him, will never die the eternal death, never will they take part in the second death. Most will die the first death, few will never even die the first death. A lot will die the second death, the eternal death from which there is no return because there is nothing to return that is how final that death is. Only one survived the complete and utter separation of the second death and was raised from that death and that was our Savior. He wasn't put into a sleep from which He'd wake from at the last day, He was cut off from His Father completely and it was by His Father He was given life and raised in body from that death.

Because He lives, because He tasted that death we are promised life. He can say some will never taste death because they will never taste the second death, not ever.

Jesus' resurrection is life for us, we have this hope that even should we face death's temporary sleep we will never die the second death. Jesus will wake those who die the first death from temporary sleep when He returns.

All who die in Christ will be resurrected in the last day.  The promise that those who died before Christ took on flesh will be realized in the last day as well. Abraham will be raised from the dead at the same time as any of us who have died before Christ returns.  What a glorious resurrection day!  All who belong to Christ will have Christ as their hope, Christ as their everything. Those who looked for the hope of Christ to come and then come again, and those who look for the hope of Christ to come again. Our hope is CHRIST. 

The Rock -

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

The Rock was Christ- Moses day, Christ was there!

Our hope is Christ! We are resurrected with Christ! He died the ultimate death for us.

We Live In Hope.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 

Why did Jesus, why did a God take on flesh and live in a world of sin and sinners? Most people would answer that Jesus did that so He could save us. Jesus sacrificed Himself when He of all humans did not deserve to die. Jesus tasted the agonies of death, the full separation from His declared Father and knew the darkness of non-existence. Jesus did that so all who would accept His sacrifice would never need know the full separation from God, the declared Father. The people who would answer in this way would be correct. Jesus made a sacrifice of Himself because of the love that He is, and the love that He has for His creatures. Jesus did not want there to be hopelessness in the earthly life of His creatures. Jesus wanted to bring the good news to His creatures. That good news was and is, that they have hope. Hope for what? Hope for the kingdom of heaven, hope for eternity in love with God the Father and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  The hope, the exact same hope Jesus personally came to earth to give to His creatures is the same hope spoken of after mankind's fall into sin. The sin creature would suffer a fatal blow.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

This was hope given to the first pair of sinners.  They weren't to be left without hope and throughout history we've been given hope.

The prize we reach for, that which Jesus calls us to hope for is real. Heaven is not a gift given to each person upon their birth, or even their conception. We are not guaranteed a place in heaven. There are the wicked who will never see heaven, who have no home in heaven at all. Just writing that was a tiny bit contrary to me, I want everyone to have the hope of heaven. In truth, everyone does have that HOPE, but not all are going to avail themselves of the hope and this is a fact. Heaven is attainable through Christ Jesus our Savior, this is the hope we have.  Jesus would have us deliver this hope through our lives to others. We have a hope we long for, and Jesus has given us this hope. We strive for a prize even as we comprehend it is a journey fraught with dangers. We are not without sin, we are with hope. We despise sin with all our being even as it calls to us with its seductive tones unique to us all trying to capture us and turn us from our hope. We will die daily to our sin, and rise daily in the hope of Christ and His perfection.

We must don our spiritual armor as we war against principalities and powers, rulers of darkness, unseen foes who wield their wickedness in the most unexpected sinister deceptive ways. Around every corner, each turn, every step we take we are walking on the enemy's ground but we do have ARMOR. We do have a WEAPON. We do have a SHIELD. These are our protection from being drawn away from the hope, from the path, from the race, from our goal which is to live for our God, to live for our Savior, to live with the Holy Spirit.

Battles will occur and we can't make the mistake of thinking the battle means we are without hope.  The battle happens because we have hope. Is it any wonder Paul could proclaim that he counted it all joy when he was in battle against the spiritual forces arrayed against him? The joy came from knowing he was fighting for the prize and that meant hope of attaining the prize. Where there is defeat in this race there is despair, there is no hope, there is a giving up, a surrender to evil. Where there is hope we fight on, and on, and on clinging to the cross of our Savior, knowing He fought this battle and He won!

As we are apprehended of Christ Jesus we apprehend hope in Him. We live in hope. All by HIS grace and love!

Help Me to Know You Lord.

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

The knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, this is what is life. Life in the beginning, life now, and life everlasting.

1Jn_5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

1Jn_2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn_2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Help me to know You, Lord, help me to know you.

What is the Abundance of Your Heart?

My wicked, wicked tongue! Unbridled, wild, untamed, evil, full of poison- this is my tongue!

Be careful what you wish for, you've all heard that before. Why do you need to be careful? Because sometimes what you wish for is given to you and it turns out to put you in a situation you aren't particularly fond of being in.  Have you heard this other saying, I'm sure you have, 'It's for your own good.'  That is usually accompanied with something, again,  that you aren't particularly fond of.  When you know something is for your own good and you wish for that something and the result is chaos, upheaval, and all sorts of undesirable happenstances that you sort of knew would occur, it's not pleasant.

I want desperately for God to create in me a clean heart, to renew a right spirit within me. I want desperately to belong to God, heart, soul, spirit, all of me. I want God to use me for HIS service, all my plans I want to lay at HIS feet for HIM to direct. I want HIM to see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in HIS way everlasting. I want only HIS truth not the lies and fables, the traditions that have replaced truth. I want the LORD to lead me now and always.

I WANT ALL of what I wrote above and I know this--

Heb_12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

God has been working in me, PRAISE HIM! God has revealed to me the wickedness of my tongue. And you know what…

Mat_12:34  …for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Please, LORD, I need a CLEAN heart so what comes out of my mouth is to YOUR glory always, and not wicked. I don't want the abundance of my heart to be wickedness, I want it to be love, Your love.

When the Holy Spirit works in us we may experience chastising, we say something and no sooner is it out of our mouths then we are made aware of the wrongness of what we've said. Too late to take it back, it's been said, it's been heard. The words spoken have entered the thoughts of the one who heard them and you can't undo that, not ever.

My words are powerful, so incredibly powerful as are all of our words. I don't think we realize quite enough just how powerful they are. God knows how powerful they are, read this--

Jas 3:2  …If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 

Jas 3:3  Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 

Jas 3:4  Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 

Jas 3:5  Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 

Jas 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 

Jas 3:7  For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 

Jas 3:8  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 

Jas 3:9  Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 

Jas 3:10  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 

Jas 3:11  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 

Jas 3:12  Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. 

EVIL TONGUE!

Oh, to be able to take a vow of silence just to silence the wicked little tongue I possess. But we are not called to vows of silence, at least I'm not being called to one at this time. I am being chastened, I am being guided, I am being taught, and this isn't the first time I've had this brought to my attention. God would have me surrender all of me to HIM and that includes by tongue and its wickedness. I need Christ to live in me, working HIS will in me, guarding the door to my lips.

Forgive me, God, forgive me for letting my selfish, self-centered focus be made even more apparent in my words, in my conversations with others. Help me to listen, to be quick to hear and slow to speak, help me to weigh the words I choose to utter not let them spill forth from my mouth like a newly knocked over fire hydrant flooding the world around me, the people around me, with my inane chatter, all too often verbally poisoning them. Help me to listen!

And Lord, please, when others purposefully or inadvertently seek to wound me with their words do NOT let me return in kind, but with a soft answer. Let no grievous words come from me, LORD. Please.  Thank you, precious, LORD, thank you!

Pro 15:1  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. 

Do You Deceive Your Own Heart?

Do you SEEM to be religious?

Do others who know you think you might be religious?

Are we supposed to seem religious?

What does it mean if someone who knows us doesn't consider us religious?

Barring wearing a sign that says we are religious- or some sort of religious paraphernalia, religious associated clothing, hair style, etc, how are others supposed to know we are religious?

Strip away all outward show and only wearing what could be considered generic non-branding clothing and such, no one would be able to tell just by looking if we are religious or not.  We could line up a whole group of people and simply by looking at them not know if they are religious.

The opposite side of this coin maybe lining up a whole group of people dressed in various religious garb, adornments, and whatnot and do you know not a single one of those people may be truly religious- it could be all for show, not a heart religion at all.

Seeming religious.

We can seem religious in various ways. If I notice someone praying I will then assume they are religious. If I see someone carrying a Bible, I'll again, assume they are religious. If I hear someone singing a religious song I'm definitely going to make the assumption of their being religious.

If I meet a kind person I might suspect they are religious. However, if I meet an unkind person I will most definitely not believe they are religious (even though they could be, and just having a bad day).

God tells me this--

Jas 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Vain religion.

Is it possible there is a lot of vain religion? I believe there is.

I know I do NOT want to deceive my own heart! Yet my tongue, my wicked, wicked tongue needs bridling!

We can deceive our own hearts. Make no mistake, it is entirely possible for us to deceive ourselves.

If you had the opportunity to step out of your own life and look at yourself as others view you, what do you suppose you might see?  

By our fruits we are known.

Strangers might only see the fruit of our goodness, our generosity, our soft spoken words, our helpfulness in a single act.

People who know us well will have seen the bruised fruit and have experience with our not so good traits.

People who know us the best, well, they will have witnessed the rotten fruit of our lives.

God knows us best of all, better than a human being, better than ourselves. God sees all the fruit- the good, the slightly spoiled and the completely rotten fruit of our lives. God knows our heart. Is it any wonder we need to pray for Him to create a clean heart in us?

A really good barometer of our seeming religious is our ability to bridle our tongue.

Jas 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

I don't want to have a vain religion. I do NOT want to seem religious to myself or anyone else if it is a vain religion I'm living. I don't want my own heart deceived! Please Lord, teach me to bridle my tongue!

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.

Let my mouth speak good, not evil! Please, Lord, I can't create in myself a clean heart, but you can create in me a clean heart, please…create a clean heart in me right now.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever and ever!!!!!!!

Slow to Speak.

Life Lessons…

Jas 1:19 …let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath

Pro 18:13  He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. 

All too often I am slow to hear, swift to speak, and swift to wrath. It's true! So very often I'll only hear a little bit (look at that second verse up there- ANSWERING A MATTER BEFORE I HEAR IT ALL),  and I'm just jabbering away with my opinion, my thoughts, my two cents worth of nonsense because I haven't even heard all of what was being said.

I've had this pointed out several times, okay a lot more than that- often enough to know it's a fact and I need to be ashamed of myself!

Have you ever found yourself just jumping into putting your two cents into a conversation before you even know what all is being said?

Sometimes I legitimately believe that a pause in a conversation means I can jump in, that a breath taken between one word and the next was just the opening I needed. There, I didn't interrupt, I responded.  Other times I'm just biting at the bit to get my thoughts out there on whatever subject it may be and impulsively I'll interrupt mid-word, you read that right, mid-word not sentence. I need to be ashamed.

So, why do I do this? In part it might be the swift to anger bit spoken of above. I have a hair trigger response in my brain. The least bit of criticism, angst, upset of any sort and my brain automatically screams in the background where I can't even hear it happening-  Shields up! Weapons ready! Fire!  Yes, just like that my go to response is one of defense at the slightest provocation and that does not make for a very easy - slow to wrath response at all!

There is a reason for these words of God's wisdom.

Jas 1:19 …let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath

Pro 18:13  He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. 

When we are swift to hear- focusing on the hearing- then we are giving someone the attention they deserve. We are serving them over ourselves. We are loving that other person. We are giving respect to that person by listening to them fully. If we take the time and measure our responses in light of all they've said we further that respect, that love for them. If we do not immediately get angry no matter how painful, hurtful, inciting the words may be, again we are loving the person speaking the wounding words- in spite of their venom filled tongues. If what is being spoken to us, hurts us, intentionally meant to hurt us or not, we have to be SLOW to WRATH. If we are going to have wrath it needs to be justified, and the only way for wrath to be justified is by it being a righteous anger, and even then we aren't supposed to hang on to that anger and let it fester.

How many of us have said things impulsively we've regretted the moment they came out of our mouths? All of us, right?

By heeding God's wisdom being slow to speak, might that not help with this problem? I can't say for sure it would eliminate all the speaking of things we regret but at least the instant retort wouldn't be the issue.

I need to learn these life lessons.

Slow to speak, slow to wrath, listen attentively, and do NOT interrupt others. Better to ask if they are done speaking than assume they are done speaking.

It is my prayer that God help me with my lack of these things so that I may be better used by Him as He wills.  I'm most certainly not portraying Christ in me when I'm lacking the loving respect for others- all others- that they deserve. I am commanded to love others, please Lord, help me do this.

All by Your grace and love, through Your will Lord, Jesus Christ my Savior now and forever!!!!!!!