Suffering Unjustly

 'For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.'

Jesus suffered wrongfully. Would we want it any other way?

Imagine if He had not suffered wrongfully. Imagine if He had hated those who hated Him. What then? If Jesus had hated those who hated Him then He couldn't have been love personified. He hates sin. His heartbreaks for the unrepentant sinner because He loves them. He loves us not the sin in us. Sin is something we commit, it is not who we are. Jesus could, and can look beyond the sin and see us without sin. Jesus could, and can see our hearts uncorrupted. We have a natural tendency when drawn away by our desires to let sin be conceived in us. We think according to our desires. What we want, what we like. Murder is wanting someone dead, stealing is wanting something that isn't ours. Adultery is wanting another's husband or wife. Dishonoring one's parents is not wanting to obey them. Coveting is wanting something that isn't yours, it's not even wanting others to have those things. Telling falsehoods is desiring to twist the truth. Not loving God is not wanting your Creator or redeemer. Taking God's name in vain is wanting to disparage God, to make Him of no real affect, of no consequence in things eternal. To bow down to idols is your desire to choose falsehood over truth, to put something else in the place of God in your life. And when you choose not to worship God on the Sabbath, the day He set aside for you to do so- actually blessing and sanctifying that day of the week, you want to disobey God's command so you can worship yourself- believing you and your way of worship, your life is superior to God's.  

Do you see it? Your not loving God or loving others is your choosing yourself- and you've set yourself up to be your own god.  

Jesus hates sin, Jesus despises when we turn away from the source of all true love. It breaks His heart when we turn away from Him, is it any wonder He hates sin! He hates that sin exists at all and has made provision for the day when sin will reign no longer.

Jesus suffered wrongfully, but we've got it in our heads that we are not to do likewise.

'For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.'

Read that a few times.

If you're suffering because of your own faults, then you can expect nothing else and may have a tendency to be patient with yourself, understanding that you just might deserve what comes to you through your own shortcomings. But if you are doing good, if you aren't doing anything wrong at all, if you've no reason to suffer, and no fault of your own caused the suffering yet you suffer… the tendency is to rail against the injustice of having to suffer. Christ calls us to take such suffering with patience.

Christ suffered the same- unjustly and with patience.

'For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.'

Spiritually Hungry?

         Are you SEEKING the kingdom of God? Seeking means you are attempting to find or obtain something. Are you attempting to find/obtain the kingdom of God and Christ's righteousness? Can you describe what your seeking entails?

       Mat_6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

       Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

       Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

      That's another verse about seeking. Are you actively seeking those things which are above- things of that heavenly kingdom?

      Just where are your affections, your thoughts, your desires?

      Is the heavenly kingdom an afterthought in  your day, not the focus? 

      We need to ask ourselves these things because we are told not to have our focus on earthly things, even while we are living among all earthly things.

      Is God's will being done something you apply to every aspect of your life? 

      In all your ways - every single one of them - are you acknowledging the LORD? 

      If you're not, why not? 

      Just how much of your life does God occupy- 1%, 10% 25% 50%?  

      How much of your life should God occupy?

      In ALL our ways we are to acknowledge God- does that mean in everything we do from the smallest thing to the greatest, or should we set God aside while we brush our teeth? 

     How can we make sure God is in our thoughts first and foremost and all earthly things secondary to Him? 

     Solomon was told this…

1Ki 3:11  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 

1Ki 3:12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 

1Ki 3:13  And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 

1Ki 3:14  And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 

      Solomon did not ask for earthly things. He wanted the ability to understand how to care for the people entrusted to him. He wanted an understanding heart.  

      All too often we want things, earthly things and neglect the desire of wanting an understanding heart.

      Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 

Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

      People were seeking Jesus because He revealed He could provide for their earthly needs, but the earthly needs were provided by Jesus so the people could stop thinking about their physical hunger and feast on the words He was preaching. 

      Jesus did not go about feeding every single person, keeping them from physical hunger. Jesus did not tell people He was wiping out the ability for people to starve to death, to go hungry. He was offering eternal salvation- hope in a kingdom, the kingdom we are to seek as we set our mind on heavenly things.

      Which rules your life- physical hunger or spiritual hunger? 

      Do you even have a hunger or thirst for things spiritual? 

      A true HUNGER, a true THIRST?

      Are you SO hungry for the spiritual that you seek to be fed spiritual meat? Are you hungry to learn things of a spiritual nature or is your appetite for things spiritual so slight it's barely discernible? When was the last time you couldn't wait to dive into the study of the Bible because you yearned for the spiritual food it contains? 

      We have an inexhaustible wealth of spiritual food that is there for the taking, for the devouring, for the constant consuming. At least some of us do. There are those who cherish even a tiny scrap of spiritual food found in God's word because they aren't allowed to have a Bible. Their love for a single passage of Scripture passed onto them outweighs the love of many who own multiple Bibles and have a stock pile of spiritual food they barely look upon, let alone truly feast from.

     Where is your hunger, your thirst for things of God's kingdom? 

     The next time your stomach growls, or you lick your dry lips as thirst fills you, try to pause and ask yourself how much you want that food, or drink to take the edge off your needs. You might want it quite badly, in fact it finds you walking into your kitchen for a sandwich and some water knowing once you consume those things your hunger and thirst will be satisfied temporarily, that's understandable, right? So I ask again, where is your hunger and thirst for things of God's kingdom?  Is it so great you have to satisfy it temporarily, or is it non-existent? You snack on the Word of God, on things spiritual occasionally just because it's something you should do, not because you spiritually ache to be filled with an understanding heart so you can be filled spiritually.  Your affections aren't heavenly kingdom affections, they are earthly. Your mind is set upon earthly life and all the things that entails, not on your heavenly kingdom home. 

      We need to pray for an understanding heart, a heart yearning for God's leaning, a heart desiring God's ways, not our ways. God help us!

The Law

      Sin is the transgression of the law. Ergo a law existed before sin.  What law existed before sin? We know laws can be called commands. Commands given and meant to be obey. Was there a command given by God before mankind sinned? Yes. What command? 

     Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

     Gen 2:16  And the LORD God COMMANDED the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 

     Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

     The LORD God commanded…   the LORD God gave a law. The law was mankind could eat of every tree in the garden but one.  

     They weren't told to follow that law blindly, just because God said so and nothing more. God didn't stop there with his law.. He told them the penalty involved for not listening. There was a law and a consequence for the breaking of the law. Thou shalt surely die-  if you break the law given.

     Isn't that the way of all God's royal laws, those given on the mount and carved by His finger in stone? Death was the penalty for all of them because breaking God's laws, sinning against God, is a willful acknowledgement that God's laws are not a part of Him, of His love. It's choosing other than God, the source of all love.  His word tells us the wages of sin… is death.

      As soon as the first pair stepped outside of love, evil took over. 

      They chose something other than God's loving command meant to protect them. They WOULD have kept that command if left to their own devices. But a being, who already had the knowledge of good and evil, no tree test for him, decided to step outside of God's love and tried to take God's place. No longer did this being recognize his creature status, a creature made out of love and brought to life. This creature decided that taking his eyes off God and away from love and putting them upon himself was better. He saw human kind being made in God's image, something he wasn't and this spark of jealousy ignited a furor inside him. He would be a god in his own right. 

     Yes, the newly created humans were the first creation to come into existence as evil was embraced by the covering cherub, Lucifer, the Morning Star- turning him into Satan. Turning him into one opposed to all that was God.

     All the other worlds filled with inhabitants had no evil to contend with, it hadn't ignited, that seed hadn't yet sprouted. The seed of evil existed, but lay dormant where it could have remained forever. The seed sprouted in Satan and he nurtured it, and when he did the new world, the new creatures bore its greatest wrath. 

     That knowledge of good and evil was loosed before Adam and Eve ever came to full maturity in their relationship with God, to a place they could have this knowledge without being tempted by it. They hadn't let their love with God solidify as it had on so many other worlds throughout existence. God could allow this knowledge to those he deem ready to handle the knowledge. The knowledge of good and evil isn't evil in and of itself- it was forbidden because Adam and Eve were not ready to understand it. Their sin came in disobeying God, not in the knowledge they obtained. These new creature were forbidden the knowledge out of love, and if their love had grown, in time it would have been theirs. The Elohim, the two Gods knew their new creatures would now face an enemy unlike anything anyone on any other world had to face. Still, they had a contingency plan in place- one that could only come into play should the new creatures be led astray by this new evil being. 

     There it was a tree filled with the knowledge of good and evil, a tree they couldn't eat of and didn't eat of for who knows how long. A tree that Satan saw and knew if he could get them to eat of it they would no longer exist. He would ruin these awful creatures who had been made to eventually become counterparts with the two Gods- the Almighty and the I AM. The Almighty declared the Father and the I AM the declared Son. Satan wanted to destroy this new creation and he heard God pronounce the possible death sentence upon the newly created pair should they disobey Him.   

    Death, Satan, who had all the knowledge of good and evil knew what death meant- a nothingness, being as they'd never been. Satan had to get the pair to disobey the command, the law, given by God to them, and he did.  

     Through being compelled by Satan, Eve ate of the fruit and broke the law given to her by God. Adam quickly joined her, not wanting anything to happen to her that wasn't going to happen to him.  Satan saw Eve take that first bite and waited for her to disappear into non-existence. It didn't happen. Satan watched as she held the fruit out to Adam and he too bit into it and swallowed, eating of the forbidden fruit. Maybe both had to do it for them to disappear. Nope. Adam swallowed and he didn't die either!

     Satan watched as their understanding of all good and all evil was opened to them and he laughed as they realized they'd chosen the evil, forsaking good, forsaking God. He saw them scrambling about the garden trying to hide their newly naked state, the light of God's pure love no longer covering them. He saw when that light gave way and the creatures beneath it were altered, no longer flesh wrapped in light, but flesh filled with guilt. Their entire appearances changed without the light there to lend them purity and immortality. These hideous creatures were in the process of dying. The death perhaps didn't happen instantly, Satan didn't know, nothing had died before for him to know. 

     Continuing to watch, still waiting for them to be overcome and gone, Satan heard God call out to them in the garden.  That's it, the Elohim had to bear witness to the death of their creations, the ending of them entirely. Not only that, they'd have to recognize him as a superior being, as a god, hadn't he just revealed his power over the fallen creatures? He could go to all the other worlds and do the same thing, causing them to turn from God.

     The disgraced, condemned pair and the Elohim were together, Gods bearing witness to their fallen creations and the pairs ineffective attempt to hide the results of what they'd done with fig leaves, as if they hadn't been stripped of so much more- innocence, immortality, perfectness in flesh. 

     Satan listened in shock and realized because he'd interfered with the creatures obedience, they weren't going to immediately disappear! He hadn't rid them of existence! They would slowly die and live terrible lives, that wasn't enough!

     Then the Elohim turned on HIM! Cursing him! Stripping the beautiful creature he inhabited of its beauty while he was still inside it! And he was told that he would be killed by an offspring of these horrible human creatures! Never! He couldn't let that happen! He'd brought the seed of evil to life and that power would overwhelm the Elohim's! He'd show them, he'd prove it to them! He would destroy these creatures before they'd ever get a chance to hurt him!

     Of course, soon Satan realized they were protected by guardian angels- keeping him from outright ending their entire existence. He'd do his worse though and he'd never stop. There was going to be a terrible human spawn that would end him, but he'd end him first. 

     *

     So, yes, the command, the law given by the Elohim to obey God no matter what- tempted or not, was a real law and it was broken. That first sin stained all of humanity with its touch. When many years later Moses  took up the tablets of the Ten Commandments the people knew they had been given a revelation of God's love towards them. Mankind was allowed to see sin as God saw it in all its horror. Sin in not loving God, not loving the very Ones who created and would redeem them, but choosing eternal death over eternal life. Sin in not loving each other more than loving themselves. Those laws revealed love and yet evil determined they be seen as cumbersome vile restrictions placed on personal freedom. The law can't save anyone, it never could. The law revealed the love of its Authors and their ability to save. After the Ten Commandments the people were given the ceremonial sacrificial laws of the tabernacle in the wilderness- an example of how God would save them. They had to sacrifice animals recognizing their sinning had a penalty they couldn't pay. Another had to give it's life. That animal sacrifice pointed towards the ultimate sacrifice, God, the declared Son giving his life, paying a penalty for sin that we can't pay. We could never redeem ourselves, and we still can't. We recognize the evil of our sins, and go to the only One who can give us forgiveness and cleanse us- daily.

     The Ten Commandments were and are a constant reminder of God's love. Yes, other laws were added but none like the Ten Royal Laws which encompassed God's love. 

        All the laws given by God were meant to serve love. Mankind added to those laws, twisting them, explaining them to mean things they did not. They had a great number of laws added to the ones God gave and it placed a heavy yoke upon the chosen people of God. 

     Jesus the promised Seed came and well, we know what happened from there. The thing I'm trying to get across is the law was established in Eden first. The law of obedience to our Creator. That law was expounded upon at Sinai. That law was further expounded upon by our Savior who proclaimed not a single bit of it would be abolished. How could you abolish the revelation of love?  To abolish it would be to say loving God and loving each other is no longer relevant.

     God help us all to see the righteousness of Christ as our hope- He kept the Royal Law perfectly in a flesh body with natural inclinations towards sin that He overcame, and we overcome through Him! All glory to God in the highest!

Captive to the Devil

 

You can be taken captive by the devil. I'm not talking demon possession, though that is a reality most **enlightened** people do not want to admit to at all whatsoever. Jesus cast out demons, if you believe in Jesus you believe in demon possession as a reality. If you are some new superior Christ follower who chooses not to believe in the reality Jesus lived then by all means follow your false Christ, your devil in disguise. Others will say that demon possession went into obscurity along with Christ followers performing miracles. Well, let me mention this fact, there were very, very, very few miracles workers in the Old Testament but we know demon possession was alive and well. We know King Saul was troubled by demons.  We also know this…

Lev_20:27  A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

A familiar spirit is an evil spirit, and evil spirits using men and woman is commonly spoken of in the Old Testament. So, not that many miracle workers in the Old Testament but lots of familiars-evil spirits and those who had them were put to death.  In the New Testament, demons made men act crazy. Those men weren't using these evil spirits nefariously, they were trapped by them.  Though the New Testament mentions magicians, soothsayers, witches and the like- those that traffic in evil spirits, those that are not getting any of their supposed powers from God.

As for demon possession going into obscurity today in modern times- no, no it hasn't. Demon possession has grown more sophisticated, demons aren't stupid, they were once angels of God. There was a time that people thought every physical, mental, emotional great upset was evil. Medical science has corrected a lot of the things people once attributed to demon possession. What hasn't been corrected by anything is the evil in mankind, try as they might, it still exist in grand proportions worldwide. 

Yes, it was easy to get people to blame medical conditions on demons, so why not use that, Satan loves using anything he can, he's not all that particular, he has no signature move.  Right now and for some time he's switched up tactics, no longer concentrating on possessing humans in ways that cause them not to be useful to him and his evils. The subtle possessions, with labels mankind accepts, work to his ultimate end. 

Captivity to the devil is real, and there are a multitude of ways to be captured. It's not only the Exorcist girl, the Conjuring people, the Stigmata, the numerous movies depicting possession- you aren't captive only if you're given the extreme form of demon possession. You are captive when you are NOT in the truth, when you are not in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If you believe a single lie the devil spews, holding tight to that lie and if you treat that lie as God's truth, and you're in a devil snare, captured.

The devil is REAL. You can be taken captive by him. We are point blank told this in the New Testament-

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves…

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  2Ti 2:25,26

The devil sets snares!

The devil takes captives!

The devil does this at his will, taking whoever he wants!

People caught up in the devil's snares, people who are captive to the devil, whether by possession or willingness to embrace that evil and be used by it, they need to be RECOVERED from the devil. All but the very elect will be deceived by Satan, that is a whole lot of people under the devil's snare.  The reality of the devil is a reality of evil angels that fell with the devil something we refuse to comprehend in our day to day life. 

In meekness, in gentleness we are to instruct those captive by the devil.

2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

We instruct and if GOD chooses He can give them repentance  TO THE acknowledging of the TRUTH.

No screaming, no using the rod on those caught in the devil's snares. In gentleness… dare I say… lovingly instructing those caught by the devil. Lovingly as one who loves their neighbors, let people know that Satan is alive and well and yeah, he is living right here on earth with us.

People will say that the devil is an excuse to blame our evils on. Yeah, well, that's true- but it's not an excuse. Satan is the author of evil, every single evil, all of them. We are, however, responsible for allowing Satan to influence us. We are responsible for hiding from the truth, preferring lies, preferring things that are pleasing to our ears rather than hard truths.

Do you want to be recovered from the snare of the devil? 

Seek truth desperately, only truth, settle for nothing less. If someone tells you something contrary to what you believe, go to your Bible's search it out, don't ignore it because it's not what you were taught, not what you're used to. Find out if it is a tradition of man and not from God, all these things you believe- it matters because one is truth and one is a lie. Satan's snares have entangled the masses and his deception makes them enjoy their captivity to him. His deceptions keeps them from ever realizing they are deceived. Please, I beg you, don't let yourself be deceived. Truth matters. Don't be captured by the devil.

God alone can save us, God's truth! Jesus is the truth!

Perilous Times

      'This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent((lacking self-control)), fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.' 2 Timothy 3:1

     From such turn away. Try to equate that with loving your enemies. Because we are told to love our enemies, and surely those listed above are our enemies and we are told to turn away from them. Love them, yet turn away from them. A lot of people have a hard time with this. Jesus had a hard time with it, and by that I mean it broke his heart when he had to turn away from them. He wept over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, crying out that he wanted to protect them just like a mother hen her chicks, hiding them under her wing, yet they wouldn't let him. He lashed out at the hypocrites, the Pharisees, the scribes all the while taking Nicodemus, a Pharisee, to a private place and opening up to him the truth in a marvelous way. He didn't shun Pharisees to the point that he would not take a repentant Pharisee into his fold, a reformed hypocrite, a scribe that gave up his evil ways and turned to him.  Jesus did despite all evil in every form and didn't hesitate to let others know. His love extended to all those the evil ones despised, because he wanted them to know they weren't people to be despised in the eyes of God should they turn from their evil ways. Go and sin no more was said by Jesus more than once to a repentant sinner he accepted and forgave. He wanted them to realize that they need to constantly recognize sin in themselves and choose not to do it, strive against the sins, not just accept them and give up as being hopeless. He said to pick up the cross daily. And that cross is all about forgiveness, needing forgiveness and being forgiven. And we only need daily forgiveness if we are recognizing our sinful selves and daily need of a Savior. 

     All those people mentioned above- 

Lovers of themselves.

Covetous.

Boasters.

Proud.

Blasphemers.

Disobedient to parents.

Unthankful.

Unholy.

Without natural affection.

Trucebreakers.

False accusers.

Lacking self-control.

Fierce.

Despisers of those that are good.

Traitors.

Heady.

High-minded.

Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

     All of the actions people commit that make them the above we do not condone. We do NOT join in those actions. We do NOT approve of those actions. We do NOT become a part of those actions. And because we do not take part in like actions we turn away from those committing them. We do NOT stop loving them and praying they'll repent of the wrongdoing. Jesus left the inhabitants of Jerusalem desolate. He wanted them to accept Him, His love, His forgiveness, His salvation, but they wanted nothing to do with him and all those that chose to reject him, were left desolate. He loved them, and left them to their own choices, and yes, some choose evil over the greatest love ever in existence.

      I've read recently that there are people who believe ALL those ever born from the beginning to the end, will be saved, that God will not lose a single person. They say that God has set up a system for those who do not immediately gain salvation to try again, or to work for it. They die, realize they didn't make it to heaven and they get to keep trying in another manner of living after death. THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE BIBLE IN ANY WAY! Why did Jesus take such great pains to bring the truth to people, why did he weep over people if everyone would be saved? Why? Why such grave warnings about narrow ways and few that find it, if everyone finds it? Why are we told…

     …from such turn away-- if all are to be God's no matter what? Why does it matter if we don't turn away, or are among those people if we are all saved automatically? Why? 

       This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

We live in a society, our so called first world living that if filled to the brim with these people, so much so that we've normalized them. 

How perilous are the times we live in when it's normal to be those things mentioned above? Are we caught up in those things and consider them normal? There are FEW that will escape being caught up and being a part of the above.  There are those who are a part of the evil now called good, and those who long to be a part of it, while others are a part of it in their own societal ways, first, second or third world ways. Worldwide deception. 

       Worldwide --

Lovers of themselves.

Covetous.

Boasters.

Proud.

Blasphemers.

Disobedient to parents.

Unthankful.

Unholy.

Without natural affection.

Trucebreakers.

False accusers.

Lacking self-control.

Fierce.

Despisers of those that are good.

Traitors.

Heady.

High-minded.

Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

     This is a state of being with slogans to go along with their promotion.

Put yourself first. You only live once, enjoy it. You deserve to treat yourself. Whatever floats your boat. Do your own thing. You be you. Nothing is wrong. Stand up for yourself. Just do it. They did it to you, do it do them. It's not wrong if it's what makes you happy. You don't have to answer to anyone but yourself… and the list goes on and on and on. 

     And we call all of that good, not truly realizing the deceptions behind them. 

     Perilous times shall come.

Times of imminent danger, life-threatening risk, ruin, disaster… shall come. 

     They are here. 

     God help us all!

     Isa 55:6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 

Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 

Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

Isa 55:10  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

Few there be...

 1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 

What do you suppose is truly meant in this verse- 'therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.' ?

Popularity was never something Christ was interested in. He never sought crowds for the sake of being popular. Jesus always wanted the truth to be heard- hard truths, eternal truths.

Today if you believe in the hard truths you will NOT be known of the world. The world loves its own and hates us.

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

People don't want to know hard truths, they want simple religion, in fact a religion they can practice completely inwardly without any complication to anything in their lives. People want to be fed the food of their egos, they want to be soothed in their sins, told they aren't really sinners at all. They believe that no matter what in the end, truth keepers or not, they'll be in heaven. The world has made attaining heaven so incredibly easy, so why did Jesus tell us- 'few there be that find it?' 

Let's recall this truth-

After five thousand very hungry people were fed miraculously by him, after hearing his message, the truth, the same people sought Jesus out the next day supposedly wanting more truth, but when they were given more, almost all of them turned back, rejecting the truth, rejecting him. They wanted food, they wanted miracles, they wanted anything but the hard truths. 

Too many people know of the 5000 being fed it's a common part of the Bible, but very few go on past that 5000 being fed to them turning their backs on Jesus, that's a very hard truth.

Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and WALKED NO MORE WITH HIM. 

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 

Imagine it. 5000 people fed. How many of the 5000 went in search of Jesus the next day it doesn't say, but there were MANY. The day before they'd wanted to crown him their king, but Jesus left before they could even try. This day they sought him again, and when he gave them hard truths they couldn't comprehend because their hearts truly didn't want truth, they left-- all of them but the 12. Jesus even said to the 12, "Will ye also go away?" 

It's no different today, nor has it been throughout history after Jesus' life, death and resurrection. People don't want truth. They want to hear things pleasing to their ears. The hard truth of poverty over riches has been ignored for so very, very long. The hard truth of doing good to those that hate you, despitefully use you, it's ignored. The hard truth of looking upon another and lusting after them, that's ignored all the time to the tune of 'I was only looking.' Or 'You can look but don't touch'. Another hard truth, turning the other cheek, of walking 2 miles when asked only to go 1, or giving your coat and shirt when just asked for your coat, a truth ignored. Feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, imprisoned, helping wherever needed as if you were helping JESUS himself, yes, ignored as we dole out our generosity to fit our means keeping ourselves comfortable. 

So many people call themselves Christians and they even do many wonderful works in Christ's name- did you read that? MANY wonderful works. They do all the above but they do it to earn merit, they do it selfishly, they are doing it for themselves not Christ- even though they use his name, and stick a Jesus label on those works.

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Hard truths are the truths you don't want to hear- such as - not one dot of an i 

will be taken from the law, not one cross of t will disappear from the ten commandments, these are also ignored. 

People have played very loose with the Ten Commandments- twisting them, turning them, pruning them, all in order to make them easier to follow. They've even latched on to the Apostles saying the law was done away with, as if they don’t know that was the ceremonial law- that the veil in the temple was torn in half by unseen hands when Christ died. They read the word 'law' and stop there not delving into the hard truths. They don't want the Greek words explained or the Hebrew language understood, they don't want to know that mistakes that were made by men copying the word, but if you compare earlier and the scholarly researched the true meanings are revealed. They want easy. The want to drink the baby's milk all their adult lives, never taking a bite of solid food.

Hard truths. Jesus said- if you love me keep my commandments. Jesus also said…

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent 

And- 

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. 

And- 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

ONCE you believe - you love Jesus, and if you love him you keep his commandments. You don't stop at love as if that's the end. Faith without works is dead, even though for by grace are you saved through faith and not of works lest any man boast.  Grace is FIRST, BELIEF is FIRST, but after the first step you take more and more and more. Jesus is the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE and no one comes to the Father except through HIM.   The way… the truth… the life…. 

Say what you will-- Jesus had A LOT to say to us, and to just take a tiny bit and ignore the rest of his words is wrong. We will be held accountable for our ignoring truth, even if we are the seemingly most perfect Christian in existence. 

When Jesus ministered upon earth people wanted easy, they didn't want to have truth so they were ALLOWED to be blind.

Instead of getting to the heart of the matter they turned and walked away. Jesus didn't want their crown, and he still doesn't want their crown. 

Is Jesus King? Yes, but NOT with an earthly crown. That earthly crown people place upon his head every time they fit his words into their molds, is rejected.

Be scared, please. 

Mat_7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.

Take time to allow yourself to be frightened by the realization that FEW will find him- NOT the masses and masses of people that everyone seems to want to believe are his. Don't all our loved ones supposedly go to heaven? Not many are said to be supposedly in hell. Those lies about heaven and hell are things people embrace, ignoring hard truths. We have NO right to say a single person is in heaven (if they went there when they die, which they don't- HARD truth). We have NO right to pass eternal judgment on a single person, that's not given to us! Yet people do it all the time!

Be terrified, please.

For a moment let the words sink in-  'Get away from me, I never knew you.' Words we don't want to believe Jesus will say, but He will. He is going to say those words to all the pretend Christians, even those who believe they are real Christians. They rejected truth! Embraced the lies and deceptions willfully and Jesus knows this. They've deluded themselves, believed their own lies so they will be shocked to hear those words. They aren't blatant robbers, adulterers, murderers, idol worshipers, blasphemers- they are those who believe they are all about the good works in Jesus' name. And there won't be just a few deceived but the Many. You know… those broad road people, not the narrow road followers. 

If you aren't wrestling with word of God seeking the deep meaningful truths, then you aren't seeking Jesus Christ. You've stopped growing, and are clinging to the things you like and are familiar with, the traditions, the deceptions. You've embraced the wolf in sheep clothing, adoring the false god. 

May God help all those who are seeking Him in all truth, to find Him, to find that narrow way that few are going to find. 

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever. Amen!

Sabbath

 

Gen 1:5 … And the evening and the morning were the first day. 

Gen 1:8 … And the evening and the morning were the second day. 

Gen 1:13   And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Gen 1:19   And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 

Gen 1:23   And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Gen 1:31…And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

What about the seventh day? There is no- and the evening and the morning were the seventh day. Why? It was a day, wasn't it? Just like all six of the others. There was a morning and an evening. Why not keep to the pattern established? Could it be that the seventh day of creation was designated in more ways than one to be a very special day? God worked on days 1 through 6 and made a notation of each day containing a morning and an evening. We know the seventh day is a day, and it's been confirmed over the last six days what constituted a day- a morning and an evening.  It stands to reason then that the seventh day consisted of a morning and an evening, but why no mention of this fact?

You think it's silly that I'm thinking about this, and I could be, but it's a peculiarity isn't it? It stands out. It draws the attention to an anomaly. It begs the question of why, at least for me. 

I know beyond a single doubt in my mind that the seventh day of creation was the day the sabbath rest was created. I know that God made a huge point of this fact because He then put it among the Royal Law, the law of all laws, that law that constitutes us loving God and loving each other. He didn't introduce it along with the ceremonial laws or any other laws brought into being- none of which are among the Ten Royal Laws. He instituted the day of rest in Creation week, at the very end of Creation week. Then much later God took a people who had forgotten many of His ways, the ways He'd given to Adam and Eve, to Seth, to Noah, to Abraham. God called Abram out from all other people and blessed him by choosing him to be the father of all His people.

After those people were slowly shifted from being guests on land in Egypt, to slavery for four hundred years- their cries for deliverance were heard and along came Moses. Moses was used by God to free the slaves and lead them out of Egypt. Not long after the people started complaining about food and God sent bread from heaven to feed them.  Read the following carefully-

Exo 16:4  Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 

Exo 16:5  And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 

Did you catch that… God was going to feed the hungry people with heavenly bread to PROVE them, to see if they would WALK IN HIS LAW or not. 

The bread from heaven wasn't given willy nilly, there were conditions, there was a test involved, a test of faith. These slaves, descendants of Abraham, God's chosen people were far from where they should be concerning God. They needed to know God, and He needed to know if they were capable of knowing Him, of listening to Him, of believing in Him. So He told them he'd give them bread, they weren't going to starve. However, they couldn't hoard the bread. Every day there would be enough for everyone to eat, and if they tried to save some for later- it would become wormy.  That was the first test. Would they be able to refrain from hoarding the bread from heaven and trust that God would provide it every single day? But wait, there's more! A second test. On the sixth day of the week ((Yes, they had days of the week back then, - seven of them, they knew which was the sixth day.)). On the sixth day of the week they were to gather twice as much. Every other day of the week they could not save extra manna for later, but the sixth day they had to save double because on the seventh day…

Exo 16:22  And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 

Exo 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the REST OF THE HOLY SABBATH UNTO THE LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 

Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 

Exo 16:25  And Moses said, Eat that to day; FOR TODAY IS A SABBATH UNTO THE LORD to day ye shall not find it in the field. 

Exo 16:26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, WHICH IS THE SABBATH, in it there shall be none. 

Remember, God is doing this to prove the people to see if they are capable of following Him, whether or not they will walk in His LAW.

What law? He's teaching them the SABBATH LAW before ever giving them the Royal Law, the Ten Commandments!  How incredibly important this point is and people miss it entirely! People don't care about what day they worship on. They say Sunday the first day of the week is just fine and so is Friday, or maybe you choose Wednesday. God is PROVING the newly released slaves that had been chosen to belong to Him to see if they will keep HIS LAW. His TEN COMMANDMENTS- of which NOT ONE was abolished by JESUS, in fact He kept every one of them, fulfilling them, endorsing them, showing how they were truly to be kept. Don't you dare look at another woman other than your wife with lust, it's adultery!  Wait? What? But only the act of adultery is adultery, I'm allowed to look all I want!  Jesus said NOPE you're not. Jesus also said that some of the rules on the Sabbath were too strict, it was a SPECIAL day and to be kept SPECIAL, a day of healing, communing, praying, worshipping, studying, fellowshipping. A day to eat, drink, enjoy God's bounty. It was a day of NO work for money, NO work for laboring in any way that can be done beforehand. Yes, feed your animals still on the Sabbath and hey, if one of your animals is hurt, help it on the Sabbath you know that's okay, so yeah, HELP each other on the Sabbath too. Waling by food still attached to a stalk, vine, whatever sure take a bit- you are NOT harvesting the whole field, the whole vineyard, you are taking freely what is freely available to stave off hunger that would otherwise interfere with your ability to concentrate on the other blessings of the Sabbath. 

Jesus NEVER kept another day of worship. Jesus NEVER told His disciples to pick a day, any day. Jesus NEVER mentioned anywhere in the entire Bible- that the Sabbath would be celebrated on His resurrection day! Jesus gave the method of celebration and remembrance of His death and resurrection. The LORD'S SUPPER- a NEW commandment, not a replacement commandment. The disciples ALL WORSHIPED on the SABBATH still and were NEVER accused of making a NEW SABBATH DAY! 

The Sabbath was SO important it was kept before the Ten Commandments were given. The Sabbath was SO important Jesus rested in the tomb on that day- He did NOT rise immediately after He died. The Sabbath was SO important that God's word mentions it's a SIGN between Him and His people. JESUS said to PRAY your flight isn't on the Sabbath. Why? WHY?! Surely He'd want us to run for our lives on the Sabbath, so why say that??? Go on, ask yourself the question, why? Because the Sabbath is supposed to be SO precious to us that we don't want to spend it in any other way than worshipping God, and through that worship we live the Sabbath day filled with loving Him and loving others! Jesus really shouldn't have said that if the Sabbath were no longer going to be important, but He did…

Mat_24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day

Jesus knew what day of the week was the Sabbath. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Jesus' followers kept the Sabbath after His resurrection. 

Act_13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Act_16:13  And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

THEY knew when the Sabbath was, there was only ONE SABBATH DAY, the same Sabbath day they'd always kept, all their lives!

How awfully confusing it would have been for them to keep any other day as the Sabbath.  

Ah, but some say they kept the Sabbath and the LORD'S DAY which was the resurrection day. That lie is NO WHERE IN THE BIBLE! The LORD'S DAY is mentioned but the Lord's day had always been and will always be the SABBATH, no matter how people try to twist the scriptures to say what they want it to say!

The seventh day, from Creation has been blessed and holy. God tested the people coming out of Egypt with a Sabbath test. God put the Sabbath among His Royal Law, the Ten Commandments.

Yes, a lot of laws were done away with after Jesus- the ceremonial law was no longer needed. In fact nothing that pointed to the Messiah's arrival was needed. All things were NEW in Christ, even the truth IN the Royal Law to still be kept was made new to people. Remember- don't look on that person to lust after them! Seriously, don't look. Why bother making that stipulation on the adultery commandment if the Ten Commandments were no longer to be kept?  Not ONE dot above an i, not ONE cross on the t would be done away with of the Ten Commandments, not ONE. 

Those people coming out of slavery in Egypt were a little hard headed (like people today)  when Moses gave them God's command about the manna this is what happened… 

Exo 16:27  And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 

Exo 16:28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 

Exo 16:29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 

Exo 16:30  So the people rested on the seventh day. 

The LORD HIMSELF SAID to Moses …the LORD has given you the sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day bread of two days, abide every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.   

People weren't to go looking for what God already provided for them, they were to LISTEN TO GOD.

People were to REST completely REST, rest so much that their food was ready for them on that day.

It was this Sabbath, the creation Sabbath, God was reminding the people of then, and us today…

Gen 2:1  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 

Gen 2:3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 

No need to say and the evening and the morning were the seventh day, this Sabbath Rest is something so much more, something to be remembered always as a SPECIAL DAY. The anomaly? The reality of its uniqueness, an evening and morning, the seventh day, BLESSED and SANCTIFIED as no other day of the week had been. 

Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 

Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

*******

The following is a bit of food for thought and study- I'm not advocating or detracting from the following, but simply putting it out there for people to study and formulate their own thoughts about what was written by the Old Testament Bible Commentators- Keil and Delitzsch.

Isaiah 58:13-14

The third part of the prophecy now adds to the duties of human love the duty of keeping the Sabbath, together with equally great promises; i.e., it adds the duties of the first table to those of the second, for the service of works is sanctified by the service of worship. “If thou hold back thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy business on my holy day, and callest the Sabbath a delight, the holy of Jehovah, reverer, and honourest it, not doing thine own ways, not pursuing thy business and speaking words: then wilt thou have delight in Jehovah, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the land, and make thee enjoy the inheritance of Jacob thy forefather, for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.” The duty of keeping the Sabbath is also enforced by Jeremiah (Jer_17:19.) and Ezekiel (Eze_20:12., Eze_22:8, Eze_22:26), and the neglect of this duty severely condemned. Chapter 56 has already shown the importance attached to it by our prophet. The Sabbath, above all other institutions appointed by the law, was the true means of uniting and sustaining Israel as a religious community, more especially in exile, where a great part of the worship necessarily feel into abeyance on account of its intimate connection with Jerusalem and the holy land; but whilst it was a Mosaic institution so far as its legal appointments were concerned, it rested, in a way which reached even beyond the rite of circumcision, upon a basis much older than that of the law, being a ceremonial copy of the Sabbath of creation, which was the divine rest established by God as the true object of all motion; for God entered into Himself again after He had created the world out of Himself, that all created things might enter into Him. In order that this, the great end set before all creation, and especially before mankind, viz., entrance into the rest of God, might be secured, the keeping of the Sabbath prescribed by the law was a divine method of education, which put an end every week to the ordinary avocations of the people, with their secular influence and their tendency to fix the mind on outward things, and was designed by the strict prohibition of all work to force them to enter into themselves and occupy their minds with God and His word. The prophet does not hedge round this commandment to keep the Sabbath with any new precepts, but merely demands for its observance full truth answering to the spirit of the letter. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath” is equivalent to, if thou do not tread upon its holy ground with a foot occupied with its everyday work.

עֲשׂוֹת which follows is not elliptical (= מֵעֲשׂוֹת answering to מִשַּׁבָּת, an unnecessary and mistaken assumption), but an explanatory permutative of the object “thy foot:” “turn away thy foot,” viz., from attending to thy business (a defective plural) on my holy day. Again, if thou call (i.e., from inward contemplation and esteem) the Sabbath a pleasure (‛ōneg, because it leads thee to God, and not a burden because it leads thee away from thine everyday life; cf., Amo_8:5) and the holy one of Jehovah (on this masculine personification of the Sabbath, see Isa_56:2), “mekhubbâd,” honoured = honourable, honorandus, and if thou truly honourest him, whom Jehovah has invested with the splendour of His own glory (Gen_2:3 : “and sanctified it”), “not” (מִן = ὥστε μὴ) “to perform thy ways” (the ordinary ways which relate to self-preservation, not to God), “not to attend to thine own business' (see at Isa_58:3) “and make words,” viz., words of vain useless character and needless multitude (דַּבֶּר־דָּבָרas in Hos_10:4, denoting unspiritual gossip and boasting);

(Note: Hitzig observes, that “the law of the Sabbath has already received the Jewish addition, 'speaking is work.' “ But from the premiss that the sabbatical rest of God was rest from speaking His creating word (Psa_33:6), all the conclusion that tradition has ever drawn is, that on the Sabbath men must to a certain extent rest מהדבור as well as ממעשׂה; and when R. Simon b. Jochai exclaimed to his loquacious old mother on the Sabbath, “Keeping the Sabbath means keeping silence,” his meaning was not that talking in itself was working and therefore all conversation was forbidden on the Sabbath. Tradition never went as far as this. The rabbinical exposition of the passage before us is the following: “Let not thy talking on the Sabbath be the same as that on working days;” and when it is stated once in the Jerusalem Talmud that the Rabbins could hardly bring themselves to allow of friendly greetings on the Sabbath, it certainly follows from this, that they did not forbid them. Even the author of the ש לה (הברית לוחות שׂני) with its excessive ceremonial stringency goes no further than this, that on the Sabbath men must abstain from חול דברי. And is it possible that our prophet can have been more stringent than the strictest traditionalists, and wished to make the keeper of the Sabbath a Carthusian monk? There could not be a more thorough perversion of the spirit of prophecy than this.)

then, just as the Sabbath is thy pleasure, so wilt thou have thy pleasure in Jehovah, i.e., enjoy His delightful fellowship (עַל־ה תִּתְעַנַּג, a promise as in Job_22:26), and He will reward thee for thy renunciation of earthly advantages with a victorious reign, with an unapproachable possession of the high places of the land - i.e., chiefly, though not exclusively, of the promised land, which shall then be restored to thee - and with the free and undisputed usufruct of the inheritance promised to thy forefather Jacob (Psa_105:10-11; Deu_32:13 and Deu_33:29) - this will be thy glorious reward, for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. Thus does Isaiah confirm the predictions of Isa_1:20 and Isa_40:25 (compare Isa_24:3).