Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom
14 Aug
Acts 13:38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;
39 “and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Here we have the Apostle Paul preaching to the Jews in the synagogue on the Sabbath about the forgiveness that is available to them through faith in Jesus. Notice that he says that the Law of Moses couldn’t justify them. The law came to show mankind their need of forgiveness by revealing to them their sinful nature. That is what Paul meant when he wrote
Rom 7:7 ¶ What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
Paul goes on in the next verse to show how the law caused a magnification of the desire to sin. Ro 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all [manner of evil] desire. For apart from the law sin [was] dead. The law will still do the same thing to us today that it did in Paul. It can never get rid of those desires. The law can be summed up in mans attempt to live righteously before God. Our efforts to live a disciplined life in Christ can, if we are not careful, move us into striving for righteousness through our own effort. When we do that we move away from the free gift of God’s righteousness given to us by grace. Grace is not something we worked for, it was something we received when we believed the truth about Jesus and accepted His Lordship of our lives. It is through His grace that we live justified before God.
Ro 5:18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense [judgment came] to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act [the free gift came] to all men, resulting in justification of life.
The Law of Moses or our sincere efforts to keep and live a godly life, will never be able to make us live a life filled with the acceptance and love of God. That only comes by grace. You see living by grace is being totally dependent on Gods power and righteousness working in our lives. So endeavor to live everyday of your life in the free gift of His righteousness which is something the Law of Moses could never do!!!
Have a Great Day!!!!!
14 Jul
As we continue on in our understanding that the Grace of God is teaching us to deny ungodliness, let us remember that we have to understand God to know ungodliness. So as a refresher here is Charles Hodges quote from the Westminster Catechism:
“…”Westminster Catechism,” to the question, What is God? It is assumed in that answer that God is a self-existent and necessary Being; and it is affirmed of Him, I. That He is a Spirit. II. That as such He is infinite, eternal, and immutable. III. That He is infinite, eternal, and immutable, (1.) In his being. (2.) In all that belongs to his intelligence, namely, in his knowledge and wisdom. (3.) In all that belongs to his will, namely, his power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Whatever speculative objections may be made to this plan, it has the advantage of being simple and familiar.”(Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge)
We have looked at the fact that God is a self-existent and necessary Being and that He is a Spirit. It should be emphasized that God is not a man. He is infinite not finite, sinless not sinful, truthful not a liar, faithful not fickle, and righteous not wrong.
He is infinite means that He is so large in every aspect of being that He is beyond the ability of corporeal measurement. Remember the definition of corporeal: 1 of, for, or having the nature of, body, bodily; 2 of material nature; physical; perceptible by the senses. No matter how many dimensions mathematicians discover, or how many universes astronomers find, or how small a particle a physicist split, man will never be able to perceive God through their natural senses. God is not found by analysis, but by revelation. Man’s analysis misses what is clearly perceived of God in the creation. What is needed is a revelation of what the creation clearly testifies.
Ro 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible [attributes] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Though God is infinitely beyond man’s ability to measure He is clearly seen in the very things He has made. Not being limited by what He has made yet intimately involved in its ever evolving detail, God looms invisibly behind every discovery or invention of man. Those who have a revelation of Him are humbled by such a prospect. He is always here but not always perceived. Oh, that all men would come to recognize and discover Him to whom they unknowingly owe their being. His heart is ever longing for that moment in which they find Him. (Is it then ungodly to not have the same longing?)
He is eternal. God is beyond our understanding of time, He is timeless. The concept of time is a material measurement and wholly inadequate in describing His existence. Everything that man can measure will eventually end, yet He will remain.
Mr 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Man being made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) possesses the same eternal nature, though radically different from God, who is self-existent, rather than man who exist because of Him. Therefore there exist only two options for man, to live eternally with God or suffer the misery of living eternally damned from Him. This is a choice in which He has left for all mankind to make.
Joh 3:15 “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
He is immutable: never changing or varying; unchangeable. Think about that for a moment. Encarta online Dictionary adds; or not able to be changed. God cannot change but man’s perception of God can. This is one of the most important concepts of understanding godliness verses ungodliness. God has chosen to reveal Himself through the Bible, which was written when men of God were inspired by Him to write.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
2Pe 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke [as they were] moved by the Holy Spirit.
God and His truth never change and are unchangeable. That means they are not interchangeable with the world nor the world’s philosophies, science, and teachings. We are living in a time when truth is constantly trying to be redefined. TRUTH NEVER CHANGES. The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness, therefore we need to deny those things which would challenge the truth revealed in His Word. It is time for us to allow His grace to eradicate those lies out of our lives. Pray this prayer with me.
Father, Your Word says that we are to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Would you give me the grace I need to deliver me from every wrong, or twisted concept that I have received as truth and have believed. Please remove from me every compromise or change that I have made in my understanding of you that is not true. Please forgive me for the things I have allowed and done because of believing and living a lie. I repent and change my mind today. Thank you for your grace to help me live this out in my life from this day forward. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!
Have a great day!!!
13 Jul
The Spirit of Grace is at work in the church, to bring us to spiritual maturity so that we should be a reflection of God and not of the world.
Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— (Zec. 12:10; Heb. 6:29)
The Spirit of Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts….
Titus 2:11 ¶ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Ungodliness
The church needs to teach what the grace of God intends to teach and that is, we should deny first of all; ungodliness. But to understand what is ungodly we must first answer the question of “What is Godly?”. To know the meaning what is Godly we must know “What is God?” Here is a quote from Hodges Systematic Theology about that very question:
“…”Westminster Catechism,” to the question, What is God? It is assumed in that answer that God is a self-existent and necessary Being; and it is affirmed of Him, I. That He is a Spirit. II. That as such He is infinite, eternal, and immutable. III. That He is infinite, eternal, and immutable, (1.) In his being. (2.) In all that belongs to his intelligence, namely, in his knowledge and wisdom. (3.) In all that belongs to his will, namely, his power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Whatever speculative objections may be made to this plan, it has the advantage of being simple and familiar.”(Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge)
(Webster’s dictionary describes immutable as: never changing or varying, unchangeable)
Notice that God is a “self-existent and necessary Being. “ God is self-existent, which means He doesn’t need the aid of any other thing, He just is and stands alone as God. But He is necessary, because without Him nothing would exist. That means that all that we see, touch, smell and taste can’t exist without Him. This includes all material and natural things. Without God nothing would be alive, nothing would be present, nothing would be real and nothing would survive; regardless of whether or not we perceive, know, or recognize Him. Yet God, in His mercy, has revealed Himself to mankind; first through Abraham, then Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David, and the Holy Prophets in the revelation of His inspired Word, recorded in and preserved in the Holy Bible. The fulfillment of this revelation happened when that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14) This speaks of none other and only of Jesus, the Son of God!!! He came to the earth to reveal the true nature of the Father. If we ever hope to grow in the Grace of God, we must allow the Living Word of God, to reveal the Father to us. Jesus taught us that God is a Spirit.
He is a Spirit
The Bible teaches clearly that God is a Spirit.
Joh 4:24 “God [is] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Nu 23:19 “God [is] not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
John Gill’s Expositors commentary has this to say about this verse:
“ Man is a creature consisting of a body of flesh and blood, and of a soul, a created and finite spirit; but God, though he has the parts of an human body ascribed to him in a figurative sense, yet is not to be conceived of in a corporeal manner; and though he is a Spirit, yet eternal, immense, and infinite; and much less is as a sinful man, who goes astray from the womb speaking lies; no, let God be true, and every man a liar: he is God, that cannot lie; his counsels of old are faithfulness and truth; his promises yea and amen in Christ; the Scriptures inspired by him are true, and the prophecies of them are punctually accomplished, particularly what he foretold of the people of Israel, and promised unto them; that they should be happy, and inherit the land of Canaan; that be would be true and faithful to them, and there could be no hope, by any means whatever, to make him false and unfaithful to his word: neither the son of man, that he should repent; repentance is found in men, who repent for what they have done, or change their minds, as to what they intended to do or set about; perceiving it to be wrong to do it, or that they are able to do it, some unforeseen thing turning up they were not aware of: but nothing of this kind belongs to God, or can befall him; he never changes his mind, alters his counsels, purposes, and decrees, and never varies in his affections to his people, nor makes void his choice of them, or covenant with them; and his calling of them by his grace, and his gifts of grace bestowed upon them, are without repentance: and particularly with respect to the people of Israel, there was no reason to hope or believe that God would change his purposes or promises respecting their outward happiness, and enjoyment of the land of Canaan; or that ever he would be prevailed upon to curse them, or admit them to be cursed, when he was determined, and had so peremptorily promised that he would bless them:
hath he said, and shall he not do it? or “hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” whether it be with regard to things temporal, spiritual, or eternal; for there is no variableness nor shadow of turning in his mind; he never forgets his word, he foresees all events, he is able to perform, and is true and faithful; and therefore whatever is gone out of his lips will never be altered, but will be most certainly fulfilled,”
(Webster’s dictionary for corporeal: 1. Of, for, or having the nature of, the body, bodily. 2. Of material nature; physical; perceptible by the senses; tangible.)
Since we have learned from John Gill what God is, then shouldn’t we as believers start to live and behave more like Him. That would be what Godliness is. So un-godliness would be living or behaving in a manner contrary to who and what God is. I know I have emphasized over and over in my posts the importance of living in His Grace. Now I want to show what that looks like and what it should look like, is God. We must understand who He is so we can allow His grace to form His nature in us.
I will continue this study in my next post.
Have a great day.
9 Jun
Pray for Israel this week. Iran is sending ships to Gaza to break the embargo http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=177713 Pray that this does not turn into an international disaster or war!!
Ps 122:6 ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
4 Jun
The devil is defeated and his authority has been taken from him by the work on the cross of Calvary.
Col 2:15 <God> disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it <the cross>.
This is a true statement, but it certainly does not ring true in most Christian lives. If Satan is defeated why does it seem like he is alive and doing so well in our world today? First, we must realize that the cross rendered the kingdom of the devil and this world defeated and subject to the authority of the believer. Jesus said when the Holy Spirit would come the devil would be judged. (Joh 16:11 “of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.)
Judgment is a edict or law that has been established by God against the devil and his kingdom. The edict is still in effect today as much as it was the day that it was first made. The law is still on the eternal books of God’s judgments in heaven and they are enforceable here on the earth. Actually the Church has been given the authority of God to execute those judgments on the earth.
Mt 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.
Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the AUTHORITY to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
We have been given the keys of this authority and they are at our disposal available for use at will. That is why the apostle Peter warned the believers about the attack of the enemy (1Pe 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.); and their ability to make him flee (1Pe 5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.).
The devil knows that the law has been set in place and that his authority has been transferred to the Church, yet it does not stop him from repeatedly challenging those to whom the authority has been given. Note that Peter says that we must “Resist him, steadfast in the faith,…”.
A law in our city or country is only valid if it is being enforced. There are many laws that never get enforced in our land today, yet the laws are still on the books. That is where the Church must come into it’s rightful place of Authority. That authority has been given to us to enforce the laws and judgments of God. Peter said “Resist him”.Resist him in this context means ” to set one’s self against”. That means we are to use the authority that is at our disposal and determine to bind and loose as God has established in the judgments He has established in heaven. It is our responsibility to establish the decrees that are made in heaven, here on the earth.
It is time to realize and not forget the power you have in being a believer in Jesus Christ. So start rising up in the authority that God has given you and start making a difference in your life and the lives of those around you!
Have a Great Day!
3 Jun
We are all in an epic battle with the enemies of the Kingdom of God. As with all battles there are strategies that need to be employed in order to achieve victory. Many believers have no idea what their strategy should be, and are even more ignorant of the systematic scheming of the enemy of their souls. The sad thing is the battle does not need to be that complicated. Paul writes to the Corinthians :
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The simplicity that is in Christ. It is in Christ and in our identity in Christ that we have the victory over the craftiness of the devil. The devil’s primary scheme is to get us so engaged in the things of this world that we forget that we are no longer of this world. (John17:14, 16) Our focus needs to be on things in heaven not on the things of this world. (Col. 3:1,2) Unless our minds are firmly set on the things of heaven and God’s will for our lives every moment of everyday, we at risk of becoming vulnerable to the circumstances and even the desires of our old nature. The simplicity that is in Christ is the divine power that is made available to every believer by His Grace.
Grace is the divine empowerment bestowed upon every one who calls out on the name of the Lord. The reason the full potential of this power is not evident in every believer is the sad fact that they do not know. They simply lack the the understanding of the amount and the potential of the power that resides in them in the person of the Holy Spirit. That is why the Apostle Paul prayed for their understanding to be enlarged. (Eph. 1:16-23; 3:14-19; Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:9)
The Devil’s greatest fear is that believer’s would find out who they are and the power that they have in Christ. There is only one way for believers to find their potential and that is in His Word. There is not enough space available nor do I have the time to fully dive into this subject in one sitting; so I will endeavor to bring this to you in later blogs.
Have a Great Day!!
29 May
1Ch 4:42 Now [some] of them, five hundred men of the sons of Simeon, went to Mount Seir, having as their captains Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated the rest of the Amalekites who had escaped. They have dwelt there to this day.
In this passage of Scripture we find the sons of Simeon defeating the remnants of the Amalekites that had escaped from David and Saul. Even though they were in the land of Edom (Esau’s descendants), and it had been hundreds of years since the initial conquest of the Land by Joshua, they conquered the Amalekites and lived on the land as an inheritance. The interesting thing about these verses is the names of the captains from the family of Ishi.
Let’s look at the names:
Ishi = “He saves me”
Pelatiah =” Jehovah delivers”
Neariah =” servant of Jehovah”
Rephaiah=” healed of Jehovah”
Uzziel =” my strength is God”
Here are four captains that clearly have names that reflect the nature and character of God. Just think about these men’s names for one moment. Every time someone would call them, they would here, God Saves Me, God delivers, Servant of God, Healed by God, and my strength is God. No wonder these men could lead the others, their very names would lead them to trust in the God for whom they had been named. These men conquered the enemies of God and took what had been theirs for their own.
The prophetic significance of this is really awesome. Paul tells us that we are to put off the old man, the former behavior of our lives before Christ. Well the good news that we can learn from this short story in the Chronicles is we always have time to overcome what remains of the old nature. Hallelujah!
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE
27 May
I can always find hope no matter how hopeless things may become. Hope for me is not based on what is happening around me but on what is happening on the inside of me, down in the depths of my soul. The hope that lies within me is God Himself who dwells in my heart. (Ro 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.) It is the indwelling of His Spirit in my life that brings me hope regardless of the circumstance. I have always found hope rising in my heart that is always sufficiently and proportionately supplied in relation to the degree of the attack in circumstance. God said it this way; “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Where did I find this kind of hope? I found it in His promises. Paul writes :Hebrews 6:18 (New Living Translation)
18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
By trusting in His promise and oath I find a hope that always brings me a peace that goes beyond what my natural mind can comprehend. My mind, a lot of the time, freaks out when I first encounter a circumstance that looks utterly hopeless. At that moment I have a decision to make, go with my mind, or trust in His promise. If I go with my mind then it will be a roller coaster ride of emotions that more often than not makes the circumstance seem more ominous than it is in reality. I have learned that it is always much easier to just hope against all hope by just trusting in God’s promises. No matter how bad it may seem, He always pulls me through. Praise God! Paul continues writing;
Heb 6:19 <Now> we have this <hope> as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul <it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope> that reaches farther and enters into <the very certainty of the Presence> within the veil, (AMP)
So, What will your decision be the next time you encounter a hopeless circumstance?
Have a Great Day.
26 May
It never ceases to amaze me; when I seem to mess everything up by giving into my flesh; that God steps into the mess that I have made and cleans everything up. I was reading the message translation of:
Titus 3:3 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back.
4 But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in,
5 he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath,and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.; and it made me just stop to take a moment to praise Him for His amazing Grace.
Not that I consider myself to be a habitual dupe of sin, but it really impressed me to focus on His Grace instead of my mess. It is so easy to just focus on the MESS and Miss the movement of His Holy Spirit cleaning it up all around me. No matter how bad the mess is, it is never to large,nor to bad for the Spirit’s gracious cleansing. He never makes me feel like I can never face Him again because of the mess I make by yielding to my fleshly desires. Here is the Message again:
1John 1:9 On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.
I am so thankful for His mercy and grace. In that very moment when I come clean by admitting my sin before His throne of Grace, He never lets me down. On the contrary, He not only instantly forgives me, but starts the cleansing process of purging my heart of all wrong doing. Isn’t that just Amazing!!!!!!!!
He can take my heart that has been hardened by the unrighteous mess in this society and make it tender again to His touch and His still small gentle voice. Makes me just want to scream HALLELUJAH!!!
How about You?
Do you know that no matter how bad you mess up, that God is just patiently waiting!
Have a Great Day!!!
12 Feb
Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
It is so important that are focus in life is Jesus. The original language for “looking unto” is interpreted by Robinson’s Word Pictures “Looking unto (αφορωντες εις). Present active participle of αφοραω, old verb to look away, “looking away to Jesus.”
Notice it says looking away to Jesus. The Amplified reads “Looking away <from all that will distract> to Jesus,” To understand what we are to look away from we must consider the previous verse.
Heb 12:1 ¶ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us], and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
We are to look away from the weight and the sin that tries to ensnare or distract us from having our focus on Jesus. We have to make a determination to purposely look away from those things that would distract us from running the race that God has set before us. That race is the purpose that God has planned for us:
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
You and I have a purpose that was designed just for us and I believe that no one else on earth can complete it the way that God intended except us. We have been “…fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Ps. 139:14) There is no one like you or me, we are unique and uniquely fitted for the purpose that He has prepared us for before the foundation of the world.
Life throws so many distractions at us that we must make a conscious decision to set the focus of our thoughts on Jesus. Paul said it this way:
Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Robertson’s Word Pictures has this to say about this verse:
Set your mind on (~φρονειτε~). “Keep on thinking about.”
It does matter what we think and we are responsible for our
thoughts.
Not on the things that are upon the earth (~μη~
~τα επι της γης~). Paul does not mean that we should never
think the things upon the earth, but that these should not
be our aim, our goal, our master. The Christian has to keep
his feet upon the earth, but his head in the heavens. He
must be heavenly-minded here on earth and so help to make
earth like heaven. I think that says it well.
Another commentator put it this way: “”You must not only seek heaven, you must think heaven”(Lightfoot).
So we can see from these verses that the way to keep from being distracted is to direct our thought toward heavenly things.
Have a Great Day
5 Feb
Is the Wrath of God only a future event, or does it happen now?
I believe the answer to that question can be found in the following definition of wrath found in the “Dictionary of Theology”:
“Biblically, it is the divine judgment upon sin and sinners. It does not merely mean that it is a casual response by God to ungodliness, but carries the meaning of hatred, revulsion, and indignation. God is by nature love, #1Jo 4:16 however, in His justice He must punish sin. The punishment is called the wrath of God. It will occur on the final Day of Judgment when those who are unsaved will incur the wrath of God. It is, though, presently being released upon the ungodly #Ro 1:18-32 in the hardening of their hearts.
Wrath is described as God’s anger, #Nu 32:10-13 as stored up, #Ro 2:5-8 and as great. #Zec 7:12 The believer’s deliverance from God’s wrath is through the atonement. #Ro 5:8-10 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”. #1Th5:9”
Did you catch that phrase that God’s wrath is presently being released on the ungodly in the hardening of their hearts. So we see the wrath of God working against sin in the world today by hardening the individual’s heart.
What about Nations?
Nations have come and nations have gone. I believe the nations that acknowledge God will be blessed and the nations that don’t will come to ruin. Is this the wrath of God or is it the consequence of not honoring God?
I see the whole process as the working of Gods love for people. The nations that don’t serve God have a tendency to oppress and abuse their people for the gain of the few who have usually gained control through might. God in His mercy for individuals allows those governments to come to ruin so the people can be free from the oppression. It might be wrath on those who rule in unrighteousness, but it is an act of compassion for those who are being oppressed.
Have a great day!
15 Jan
What is the wrath of God?
The “Concise Bible Dictionary” has this to say about the wrath of God.
“The wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men is plainly declared in scripture, and will surely fall upon the children of disobedience
Ro 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Col 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
The fierceness of that wrath is spoken of.
Re 16:19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
How vain then for the false teachers to speak only of the love of God, and to say that because ‘God is love’ there will be mercy for all eventually. There is grace for all now, but there is as surely a day of wrath coming, for God is righteous. “
I know that this definition is a bit on the harsh side, but laying aside the attitude the truth remains that their will be a day when the wrath of God is seen.
Who is Appointed to Wrath?
Jesus clearly answers this question with His statement in John:
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Now that is what I call speaking plainly for all to hear. Those who believe have everlasting life, those who don’t believe the Son, the wrath of God abides on them.
So we who believe in the Son and have received Him as our Lord have escaped the Wrath of God.
1Th 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, [even] Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1Th 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Is the Wrath of God only a future event, or does it happen now?
I’ll answer that in my next blog.
Have a great day!!!
29 Nov
Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Think if you will for one moment what Paul is revealing to us in these Scripture verses. He is telling us that in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That means that Jesus was the very embodiment of God Himself. Jesus is God!! That’s right He is the very manifestation of the Godhead bodily. Now I know that it says that…”God is Spirit”. (Jn.4:4) So, if God is Spirit how can Jesus be the fullness of the Godhead bodily? To understand this we must understand the Godhead. The word here for Godhead is used no where else in the Scriptures means all that is divine and belonging to divinity is fully belonging and existing in Jesus in His glorified body. This shows us that Jesus was fully human having a body not just spirit, and that He was fully God, possessing all the attributes, nature and character of God.
Jesus possessed the very nature of God in His human body, yet He chose to live only by the power provided to Him by the Holy Spirit; thus providing for us the ultimate example of how to walk in the Spirit. Jesus illustrates this point in these verses; John 5:19, 30; 8:28; 14:10. He was totally reliant on the power of His Father’s Holy Spirit.
The first point Paul wants us to understand is that all that God is resides in Jesus.
The second point he want us to know is that we, like Jesus, are complete fully mature in Him. Not by our power but by the power of the Holy Spirit; so that the works that He did we can do. Why? Because the Fullness of The Godhead dwells in Us. If the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus and He dwells in us, then in our body dwells the fullness of the Godhead. We must realize that when we accepted the free gift of Jesus and asked Him to dwell in us, He did. Jesus came to make His abode or dwelling place in us so that we can complete all He has planned for us to do.
Have a Great Day!!!
25 Nov
The Bible clearly teaches us that there will be a time when darkness shall cover the earth and dense darkness all peoples.
What is meant by darkness?
Eph 4:18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
Eph 4:19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
I believe the darkness that is enveloping the world is two-fold. It is a blindness in their hearts that alienates them from understanding the life of God and it is moral decay that works all manner of lewdness and uncleanness with greediness.
Today, especially in Western society, there is a marked decline in those who profess Christianity and an increase in the numbers of those who hold no religious affiliation. This should not surprise us or shock us because “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” One of the leading factors to the success of the Western society can be marked from the time of the early Reformers of the Church. When Guttenberg wanted the Scriptures to be read in his native tongue he was inspired, I believe by God, to invent the printing press, which sparked the industrial revolution. God fearing, God believing Christians enlightened by having the Word of God in their own language radically changed our world. A God fearing thread of believers lines the fabled halls of science, starting with Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543); Johannes Kepler (1571-1630); Galileo Galilei (1564-1642); Rene Descartes (1596-1650); Isaac Newton (1642-1727); Robert Boyle (1791-1867); Michael Faraday (1791-1867); Gregor Mendel (1822-1884); William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907) and Max Planck (1858-1947). The very success of science and much of it inspired by these God fearing men, has also lead to a climate of intolerance for anything Christian. Christianity is no longer held in high esteem by the educational elite who have forgotten that the very freedoms they enjoy owe themselves to the very religion they eagerly plot to remove from the realm of educational discourse. So successful has this stratagem been that it has lead to the blinding of an increasingly higher percentage of mostly young peoples’ hearts toward the knowledge of God.
Just as Christianity lead to the freedoms enjoyed by Western Societies, its decline has lead to increased governmental control on a global level. This control has been ushered in on the backs of this intolerant treatment of anything Christian; to such a point that the very societal moral restraints, that have been the glue which held together these freedoms, have been equally attacked. This ethical degeneration has affected every citizen of this emerging globally governed community by the constant assault on the senses of their God given conscience leading to gross insensitivity. Being past feeling it has truly lead to lewdness on an unprecedented scale and has worked all uncleanness with greediness.
When I look at my own life through the revealing mirror of God’s Truth, I am shocked by the affect on my own conscience by this wilily assault. Things I would never have tolerated my eyes to see, my ears to hear and my heart to imagine, have now become shockingly less offensive.
Thank God for His grace. When all seems impossible God always has a way of coming through on our behalf. He will arise upon us and His glory will be seen on us. Hallelujah!
Thank You Lord For Your Grace!!!
Have a great day!
25 Nov
2Co 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The disappointment that occurs when the prayers that we pray bring the opposite of what we were petitioning can border on disillusionment if one is not careful. It is incumbent upon those who find themselves in such a state to look beyond one’s expectations and into the Lord’s ultimate design.
How can we possibly know the Lord’s design?
The only way in which one can discover the design of God is to understand the designer God; Himself. As we begin to know Him, I mean not intellectually, rather intimately acquainted with His ways. First we must understand that often His ways are not our ways.
Isa 55:8 “For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor [are] your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
God’s ways of bringing about answers to our prayers don’t always seem to be what we would think they should be. His thoughts are so much higher than ours.
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.
God sits in the heavens far above the realms of this earth in a place or dimension that is not subject to or bound by the laws of time and space as we understand them. He knows before things come to pass, He can tell the end of a thing before it even starts.
Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Ac 15:18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
Eternity is a tricky thing because it has no beginning and no end. So an eternity happened before God created earth and an eternity will continue long after this earth and it’s universe are gone. The amazing think about God is His ability to determine the entire outcome, every little detail of all His creation, of the events that will occur in the lifetime of the whole universe and the effects those outcomes will have in relation to all animate and imamate objects.
No, God was not surprised by the outcomes of the elections that occurred over a year ago. He knew exactly what would happen and when it would happen. So why bother praying, if God already knows what the outcome will be? You see, God knew that we would pray and that He would answer. He determines the best way to bring about what we have asked in prayer. Remember His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts.
As we have asked for an awaking of this nation to the truth of the Gospel of His Love, then He will answer that prayer in His divine way. That is what I believe is occurring at this moment in time. He is working in the midst of all that we see to bring about His ultimate plan, the awakening of this back to the knowledge of His Truth. That is why I am resolved to knowing and sharing His truth wherever I go.
Join me in speaking and seeking the truth in every thing you do.
Have a Great Day!!!
14 Nov
The apostle Paul received an answer from the Lord and it wasn’t what he had pleaded with the Lord about.
2Co 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
To understand how he determined to deal with this attack from the devil against him we must under stand the meaning of the word buffet in this scripture:
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
There are two meanings in the definition of the Greek word used to buffet;
1) to strike with the fist, give one a blow with the fist
2) to maltreat, treat with violence and contumely (insulting, scornful, or contemptuous language or treatment)
The second definition seems to be the most logical selection to fit within the sentence framework. What was reason for which this malevolent messenger mistreated Paul with violent, insulting, scornful or contemptuous language, or treatment?
His answer was “…lest I be exalted above measure.” That answers the question of the effect of the assault but not the motive. What did Satan have on Paul to accuse him?
Paul’s reply to the Lord gives us the clue; “…I will rather boast in my infirmities…” The meaning of the word infirmities is the clue to this riddle. The word infirmity is defined:
1) want of strength, weakness, infirmity
1a) of the body
1a1) its native weakness and frailty
1a2) feebleness of health or sickness
1b) of the soul
1b1) want of strength and capacity requisite
1b1a) to understand a thing
1b1b) to do things great and glorious
1b1c) to restrain corrupt desires
1b1d) to bear trials and troubles
Which of these best suits Paul’s affliction from Satan really doesn’t matter. What really matters is that it didn’t depart as Paul had pleaded and he had decided to boast in his weakness rather than ask that it depart. Instead of having it depart God reminded Paul that His grace was sufficient, that the power of Christ would rest upon him. God’s Grace enabled Paul to rest in the power of the anointing of God rather than fight the battle in his flesh. That grace enabled him to deal with this unanswered prayer, not to accept it as permanent as some have surmised, but to empower him to overcome. That is consistent with the message of the Gospel and I believe that is what Paul meant when he said “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Ro 8:37)
How this applies to my disappointment in the results of the election and my renewed resolve I must tell at another time?
………..To Be Continued…”
Have a Great Day!!
14 Nov
I cannot tell you how perplexed I was after the elections of last year. Never in my adult Christian life had I seen the mobilization of prayer that was displayed in the years, months and days before that election. It was personally one of the most awe inspiring moments in my life, to see and know that American Christians were waking up to the importance of prayer for our nation. There were multitudes of groups of people in every state of this union that had purposed in their hearts to fast and pray until the Election Day; some 40 days, some 30 days and others what they could bear. I just knew at that time this was a pivotal moment in the history of not just the United States of America, but of the entire world. So dire were the predictions of what a victory of the ideological opposition would preclude for the rights of those whom personal and individual liberties are sacred, that I just knew that a God who had given us such exceedingly great and precious promises in His Word would not possibly deny such heartfelt pleas.
Then the most agonizing, and might I say terrorizing emotions I have ever had to face flooded my entire being as the tally of those votes began to trickle in on the television screen. I could not believe the results that were announced the next day. After all that had been prayed I could not shake the nagging question “How can this possibly be?”
Now well after a year from the date of the declaration of the bad news of that day, the agony and terror have faded almost entirely, not away, but have morphed into a resilient resolve to abide in absolute Truth. Did God not answer our prayers? To this I must say a resounding and heartfelt, “Yes!”, but not in any possible way that I had previously conceived. Such was the state of mind that the Apostle Paul had found himself in after he had previously petitioned the Lord three times to remove that “…messenger that Satan had sent”, the Lord responded to Paul’s pleas with this reply:
Note that Paul’s response to the Lords reply was that he would rather boast in his infirmities, that the power of Christ might rest upon him. I know that does not seem an appropriate answer to all that had previously been stated; yet time and space have determined this blogs fate.
……. To be Continued……………………………………………..
Have a Great Day!
12 Nov
God’s perfect, immeasurable, incomprehensible love never fails. This Greek word used here for fails adds so much power to this statement.
Ekpipto:
1) to fall out of, to fall down from, to fall off
2) metaph.
2a) to fall from a thing, to lose it
2b) to perish, to fall
2b1) to fall from a place from which one cannot keep
2b2) fall from a position
2b3) to fall powerless, to fall to the ground, be without effect
2b3a) of the divine promise of salvation
Did you understand that last definition in regard to this statement love never fails. God’s love for us immeasurable, yet that still does little to define it. This is how that definition flows together in sentence form; to fall powerless, (of the divine promise of salvation), to fall to the ground (of the divine promise of salvation), be without effect (of the divine promise of salvation).
God’s promise of salvation inclusively expressed in Paul’s phrase of Love Never Fails, is further expressed in the word Ekpipto by emphasizing that this love will never let us fall out of, fall down from, or fall off of His Divine Promise of Salvation.
Is this really true and are there other Scriptures that support this?
Joh 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
Joh 10:28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand .29.”My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
Ro 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
Ro 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing is able to separate us from the love of God. Hallelujah!!
Have a Great Day!!!
10 Nov
Love is able to endure anything and everything that comes its’ way. Love becomes a covering in our lives that bears the weight of any and every circumstance or situation that may ever come against us.
What can a person do to have that kind of Love?
That kind of love is realized by those who surrender their will, like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, entirely to the will of God the Father. In surrendering our will we come into relationship with God whereby we become more in tune to His will in our lives. Since we have surrendered to His will in our life He comes and dwells in us. By having Him living on the inside of us we become more aware of His love because God is Love (1Jo 4:8; 16). The more we dwell in Him (LOVE), the more He (LOVE) dwells in us.
This awareness of God’s love in our lives grows so evident that we become more confident in His ability to help us in every circumstance and always bring us through every problem. This experience develops within us a certain knowledge of His love that causes us to be able to withstand or stand against any attack that may come against us. Really it is not our love that gives us the ability to bear all things it is His love working in us.
Have a Great Day
10 Nov
It has never ceased to amaze me when some rejoice in others being caught in unrighteousness or lawless, especially saints or televangelists or someone holding to an opposing point of view or an enemy. It seems that they take some sort of perverse delight in the demise of those in whom they disagree or despise. You have heard this kind of unloving mockery from all sides of the debates, especially today as a party spirit has polarized and divided our society today. I know that there is nothing new under the sun, as King Solomon once said.
I can only imagine the perverse delight on the faces of those scribes and Pharisees who had caught that woman in the act of adultery and had drug her half naked through the streets of Jerusalem to be thrown at the feet of Jesus early in the morning on that holy temple ground. As they heralded the accusation against this woman in hopes of entrapping Jesus that they might have something of which to accuse Him, He acted as he did not hear them, stooped down and wrote on the ground. So much conjecture has been written and preached about what He had written then that I am a little embarrassed to give you what I believe.
As they demanded judgment according to the Law of Moses, that they might all stone her, the heart of love inside Him cried out for justice. I believe all those angry men were gawking in delight at the half naked form of that woman. But Jesus not wanting to humiliate her by looking at her nakedness stooped down and wrote,”…whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”(Mt 5:28) As they demanded that she be stoned He stood and said “”He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Again not wanting to shame the woman He stooped down and wrote on the ground; “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother.”( Zec. 7:9)
Having watched Jesus’ every move and seeing every word He wrote, the impious hearts of those men were convicted beyond the point in which their consciences could bear. From the oldest to the last they each dropped the stones they had clung to, as they could not another minute endure to stand in His presence. Waiting until, the last reverberations of the scuffling sound sandals make as men depart in haste, as she at last stood there all alone, He stood, looked around, and said “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
There is no greater example of the love that does not rejoice in injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail then this one of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Please allow this example bring about an attitude of mercy in your heart the next time you encounter the failure of others. Have a Great Day!
9 Nov
One of the most important things I learned as a young Christian growing up in a community where we slept in three high bunk beds and cramped living quarter was not to let myself be easily offended. There were times that we had as many as 25-30 guys living in that community, along with 25-30 women who had their own sleeping quarters. With so much interaction with people it was inevitable that someone would get offended by something someone else had done. The Amplified version which expands the Greek says this about provoked and thinks no evil; “….it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it <it pays no attention to a suffered wrong>”.
We learned how to live 24 hours a day in the love of God; because if we didn’t then we would have ended up killing each other. How can you learn to not be touchy or fretful or resentful and take no account of a suffered wrong?
What we learned in that community taught us how to focus on the Lord to such an extent that it would not allow room for our flesh to become touchy or fretful. Here is the first thing we learned from this verse in Psalms 119;
We learned when we really loved the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength that maturity grew in us which gave us the ability to say no to an offense when it came. True love causes us to loose sight of ourselves to such a degree that even when we become offended we won’t grow resentful but merciful; it pays no attention to a suffered wrong instead of keeping a record of an evil done. God’s kind of love has taught me to let the past go; live in the present, and have an eternal hope for the future. That is what I believe Paul was alluding to in Philippians 3:
8 Nov
The Amplified expansion from the original Greek renders this as….does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking. God’s kind of Love does not insist on its own rights. I know that is so impossible to get a hold on in our American Culture, in which our freedom as a nation is based on inalienable rights. Are the two rights here the same? Yes, we have God given rights and our founding Fathers based our Constitution on those ideals. The intent is clearly evident, being they were struggling under the tyranny of King George of England, these rights were expressed so that it would limit government from exercising its powers over those rights. That each individual was given the right to self governance and the government was there not to govern the people, but represent and ensure that those freedoms not be abridged or abrogated. The concept of these rights were not self-seeking, rather they were given so that the free exercise of them would be for the common good and not just the individual. This was a community principle that became a necessary part of the first American colonies. Men throughout the colonies would voluntarily leave there farms, and work places to go fight for these freedoms, not just for them but for this new nation. It is an example of the servant’s heart. It is in the servant attitude of Jesus that we find our clear guidance on how to not seek our own rights and way. Jesus came for the purpose of giving His life so that all mankind might be saved.
Jesus came as the humble servant who was will not to seek His rights, but lay them down in obedience to God’s plan and purpose. That is what the God kind of love is all about.
This is the ultimate love act that we would lay down our lives for our brethren. Lets don’t insist on our rights, lets seek to lay down our wants and dreams by seeing someone else reach theirs’.
Have a Great Day!!
7 Nov
This is a particularly difficult aspect of love that we have a hard time understanding in our society today. One major reason is the way that we are entertained by comedians today. What is allowed today to pass as comedy would have been obscene in the 60’s and early 70’s and subject to the obscenity laws. Obscenity included four letter profanities at that time. I started playing golf when I was 8 yrs old and still enjoy playing to this day. I remember being kicked off a golf course for using choice four letter words when I made a bad shot. That doesn’t happen today because that is not considered to be offensive according to the accepted standards of decency. What has Changed?
One thing for certain has changed, and that is what we consider to be rude or crude today compared to even a decade ago, let alone 40 or 50 yrs. The definition of rude is 1. ill-mannered, disagreeable or discourteous in manner or action; 2. indecent, offensive to accepted standards of decency; 3. unrefined, lacking refinement or social skills. (Encarta)
Love takes into consideration the acceptable manners or actions of others and doesn’t push people beyond their perspective of acceptable standards of decency. We are told today to not put our standards of decency on others and if we have a different standard then we better adapt and accept theirs or be considered intolerant.
Since rude has the definition of offensive to the accepted standards of decency, it becomes a variable instead of a constant. God’s standards do not change while the standards of mankind change like the wind. So how are we to not be rude in our society today? Our prime example must always be Jesus. Jesus was never unseemly in His actions toward others. You might say what about in the temple with the money changers?
That was not a rude act, but an act of holy indignation at the fact that they had made His Fathers house a den of thieves. He was taking a stand for righteousness in the midst of corruption. Righteousness (God’s way of being acting and being right) will always cause us to walk in love.
Jesus never once used profane language or crude jokes while talking to His disciples or even the Pharisees, whom had set themselves in opposition to Him. He was trained by the Jewish customs of the time on how to behave in society. His training came for the most part from the Holy Scriptures and that is where we will find our training on how to live today. Here is one:
Do a study in the Word and find out what is rude or obscene so we can live as examples of His love today!
Have a great day!
6 Nov
1Co 13:4 ¶ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
Love is a lifestyle that does nothing from selfishness or for ones own gain. That is of course if you want to live by the love example of Jesus. Being a braggart or being boastful and haughty is not the example of how Jesus lived His life. When Paul wrote to his supporters in Philippi he told them how they should love. To explain his exhortation to them he gave them the attitude of Jesus as the prime example of how to walk the love walk.
Phil. 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
To walk like Jesus has to be the absolute mindset if you want to ever live the same walk in this kind of Love. First He knew who He was and that He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. Wow, He knew He was the incarnate Word of God. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He knew He was God, yet He made Himself of no reputation. No reputation is the exact opposite of boasting. He didn’t come to bring glory to Himself but to Glorify His Father.
The Jesus type of love comes to bring Glory to God and not to oneself. Though He was superior to all those whom He encountered He decided to take the form of a bondservant, living life like a man. A servant attitude was what He displayed and lived.
Mt 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
He came in the appearance and likeness of mankind. He became acquainted with our feelings and all that we experience in life.
Even though He never once sinned Jesus never condemned one sinner. When He encountered sinners He was always full of Grace and Mercy. He would heal them, deliver them, and love them enough to tell them to go and sin no more (Jn.5:14; Jn. 8:11) He never displayed Himself to be proud or haughty, but humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death. Wow. True humility has within it the full surrender of ones self to the will of the Father, just as Jesus did in the Garden prayer. That is true humility, willing to be obedient even to death, the death of the cross. That means that when I disobey God it is my pride that must die if I want to ever attain to the kind of love that is obedient even to death.
“Father, I ask that You would give me a heart filled with this kind of love. The love that would obey You even to the point of death; death of my will, my pleasure, my comfort and looking out only for myself. Let me love like your Son Jesus in true humility of obedience to Your command to love You above all and my neighbor as myself. Amen.
5 Nov
1Co 13:4 ¶ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is so hard to come to grips with those things that we see in others that we wish we had, or could do, or not do. I know exactly what it is like to have that kind of envy that makes you want to just give up and quit. For me envy is not a positive motivation, but negative deflation. When a ball looses its air it takes so much more effort to try and make it bounce. That is how life is for me when I allow my flesh to grovel in the mire of envy; it takes so much more energy to get the simplest things done.
Where does envy come from?
You know I thought that as I studied envy I was going to get some really deep revelation from the Lord as to where it comes from and you know what He showed me?
You know what this list comes from, it comes from Galatians 5: 19 that records all the works of the flesh. THAT’S RIGHT, THE WORKS OF THE FLESH!!!
Whether I like it or not that was the big revelation that God gave me about envy. It is a work of my flesh. When I allow my flesh to rule in my life I find that it is so much easier for me to fall into envy. Why?
For me to live free from the passions and desires that bring about the natural course of action that my flesh wants to take, this verse says that I must crucify my flesh. Every time I hear some preacher or teacher talk about crucifying my flesh, I struggle to get a full understanding of what they are saying. My natural mind blocks me from really understanding what God is trying to say. Then He reminded me of one simple truth and here it is:
You might find that to a difficult rather than a simple truth. But when you consider who it is that is speaking, and the life He lived as an example for us, I believe the truth comes into focus. Jesus laid done His life as the ultimate expression of self-less love. He went to that cross even though His flesh wanted to find some other way around the cross. Mt 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You [will].”
Thank God He didn’t give in to the passion and desires of His flesh but said to it and God, “…nevertheless, not as I will, but as You [will].”
The simplicity of realizing that what crucifying my flesh means is saying to my passions and my desires, not as I will, but as God wills. Crucifying is taking the life of my passion and putting them to death with the self-less love that Jesus displayed for the entire world to see. I must willingly take the Grace that empowers me to overcome my fleshly desire to envy.
You see God has provided us the ability and the strength to handle any and every temptation our flesh may try to throw at us. His Grace Is More Than Enough!!!
4 Nov
1Co 13:4 ¶ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
That is a mouthful and a life long pursuit all in one small phrase. The first part of this phrase is the ability to endure long, other translations I think say it the way it feels for me; suffers long. I really mean that. There are times it is just miserable on my flesh when I have to endure the behavior, or conversation, or eating manners, or singing style of other Christians whom I have come to love and respect. It is not that I don’t love them, but the sad reality is I love myself more than I love them. I am more concerned, or should I say, more impressed with my behavior, conversation, eating manners, and singing style than other people. Isn’t that just pathetic, to think so highly of myself that I would get irritated at the ways’ of others. I am not talking about being irritated because of sin but over petty little things that I personally dislike or think I could do better.
Convicted yet? I am, so why don’t you pray this prayer with me?
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for my selfish attitude. When I get so irritated at others because I love myself more than I love them. Please, give me the grace to have the kind of love that will endure long with other people; In Jesus name, Amen.
I love this phrase because it doesn’t just say, have patience and endure long, it adds the attitude that we are to have as we suffer long, and be kind. That word is so hard for me to wrap my head around that I had to look it up. Here is what I found that it means; 1. sympathetic, friendly, gentle, tender-hearted, generous, etc.; 2. cordial (not incorrigible; hah :). Wow! That again strikes me to the core of my heart, because I have had to struggle to be tender-hearted and sympathetic with others all the time. Note, when you endure long or suffer long, your not just to sit therewith with this type of attitude,( like “How long do I have to put up with this???”). But the God kind of love sits there with a very friendly, tender-hearted and sympathetic attitude and expression. Yes! Even our expression can speak louder than our intention. If we don’t let kindness flow from our own hearts to our face then others may not see our real intention. Love is so hard to get a handle on because it is so beyond our own ability to understand, and that is why we need to rely on His grace.
Thank God for His grace that empowers us to be able to do all things through Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!!
3 Nov
I had an absolutely wonderful time with my wife this evening when we went out to dinner to meet some friends. They were delayed for about forty-five minutes so we just sat there thoroughly enjoying every minute alone, drinking in the moment like a sommelier savors a perfect wine. While we were being served by our waitress, she so graciously informed us that she would no longer be tending our table because she was feeling ill. I just felt compassion that only comes when the Grace of God moves on my heart toward someone. I asked her if she would mind if I prayed for her that she might feel better. She said ‘Oh sure that would be great!’ all the time thinking I meant at some future moment and different place. My reply to her was ‘May I have your hand so I can pray for you?’ She tentatively stretched her hand out to grab mine and I prayed for her that the Lord would heal her and touch her body. A pretty mundane thing that I am very comfortable doing and really didn’t think much about it.
Later as our friends arrived I was so caught up in the fellowship that I had already forgotten that I had even prayed for a waitress. After we had paid and were leaving the restaurant the manager was greeting every patron as the left the establishment. When I passed by her she put her hand on my shoulder, look me straight in the eyes, and said ‘That was a really wonderful thing that you did by praying for your server. She was so moved by your concern that she left in tears.” As our friends, my wife and I walked to the car we talked about how awesome that was that a thing like prayer, that we as Christians take for granted, so touched that waitress.
On our drive home my wife and I discussed how we take each other, our love and compassion for one another for granted. We spent the rest of the drive home recalling how fortunate we are that we have so many people in our lives who love us on a daily basis. As my wife shared her thoughts about how many people there are in our society today whom the kind of love that we have surrounding us is foreign to them, that I felt so impressed to let everyone know how a little compassion can go such a long way.
There is a world of people out there that are starving to truly be loved. Some have lost hope that they will ever find some sort of meaningful relationship in their life. It made me so aware of how blessed I am to have a family, a church and a God who loves me.
Look for an opportunity to let the love of Jesus shine!
Have a Great Day!
2 Nov
The Gospel of John starts off with the revelation of the Word of God. He takes us back to a time before the very beginnings of this universe and the creation of all things. John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Let’s start with the beginning in the Book of Genesis which means the beginnings or origin of things. There is so much debate about the origin of things in the physical universe; “Creationism or Evolution?” Debates center on the age of the universe and many other subjects. My purely unscientific explanation of the age argument is that God created the universe mature, at the optimum state for all life to flourish. When He created trees they were already mature, not little saplings. This is clearly seen when God created the fruit bearing trees which were already mature enough to yield fruit. The whole planet, universe, and all matter were created by God for the development of sustainable life on Earth. Instead of light taking billions of years to travel to earth, God created the light in an instant, in a single moment from the Earth surface to the distant star. Man after the creation did not have to wait for the light to travel to them from the distant stars. He created everything mature. Think of the stars, if God had created the stars without creating the observable light of them to this planet, then the sky which He had created for mans pleasure would have been dark except for the shining of the moon. Ge 1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God created them with the very word that He had spoken. Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. It was the Word that created the all things. 2Pe 3:5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, The Gospel of John shows us that the Word spoken by God was not just words, but the very living, person of the Word. John reveals who the person is in vs 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the living breathing person known as the Word of God. John makes that connection in this verse; Joh 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, [but] grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Thank God for giving us His Son and bringing the opportunity of grace and truth to “…as many as received Him.”(v.12)
1 Nov
So many people fear and wonder about what happens when someone dies. This is not a complicated thing for Christians to understand. As a Christian we know that when be die we will go and be with the Lord.
2Co 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
After we leave this body we will be in the presence of Almighty God. There will be no more tears or sorrow and the former things of our lives will pass away.
Re 21:4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.
No more anguish, no more grief nor pain any more. What a wonderful place that will be as we live in the presence of God. I can’t imagine how good that it is going be considering how awesome it feels to be in His presence now. Just imagine what it is going to be like when we don’t have the intrusion of our body with it’s hunger, pains and lusts. We will be able to stand or sit or run or dance without getting tired. Then we won’t have all the mental interference with all the doubts, fears, anguish, mourning and worry.
That place where we will be in His presence is called Heaven. There will be ample room for everyone there because of what Jesus told us in John 12:
There will be mansions for everyone who believes in Jesus. What happens to those who don’t accept or believe in Jesus? Jesus answers this for us in
John 12:48 “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him——the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
What kind of judgment awaits the unbelievers? There is going to be a day of judgment for every person on the earth believer and unbeliever alike. For the believers they will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and receive rewards for what they have done through His Grace.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (Rom. 14:10)
For the unbelievers they will face a place called Hades or Hell when they die. This is not the judgment it is just the place of torment and separation from God that they will have to endure until the final Judgment of God. Jesus told a story of the beggar and the rich man who both died and show us what it will be like.
Lu 16:22 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
This is just the place they are held until the Judgment and it will not be a nice place.
Mt 13:41 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Sadly that is what awaits all those who do not know Jesus. That is why it is so important for us to use every opportunity that we have to reach the lost, which is anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus and His Word. So lets ask God for the grace to reach them all before it is too late. Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
1 Nov
Jesus asked his disciples this very question. What is your answer to that question? You don’t have to ask people that question to find an answer. Many people out there are portraying radically different concepts of who He was or is. You might find one religion that views Jesus as just one of many deities. Another may see Him as just a prophet, a holy man. Others see Him as just being a wise man. Why are there so many differing views of the One in whom we call our Lord and Savior? The answer to that question is found in
2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5. casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
There has always been a battle in the realms of reason by which the devil has instigated deception by using arguments, scientific or philosophic, that would bring in doubts about the person of Jesus. The devil does not want the world to know who Jesus really is, and especially what He has done. In this same letter to the Corinthians Paul tells us why the people in the world are blind to the reality of Jesus.
2Co 4:4 For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds <that they should not discern the truth>, preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.
You see the god of this world is the devil. He doesn’t want anybody know that Jesus is the image and likeness of God. Not just a deity, not just a prophet, and not just a holy man. He is the Son of God;
Heb 1:5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?
In the context of this verse we see that Paul is discussing the divinity of Jesus. He goes on to make that very statement;
Heb 1:8 But to the Son [He says]: “Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your Kingdom.
This verse makes it very clear that Jesus is God, not a God, but God.
Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The beginning of the Gospel of John declares that He is God and that all things were created by Him.(.3);
Col 1: 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
These are just a few verses that declare who Jesus is and what He has done. There are many more and certainly not enough room on this blog. So don’t let someone come and tell you that Jesus was just a man, the angel Gabriel, or that His brother was Lucifer before they came to earth, or any other thing that contradicts the Scriptures. Here is one of Paul’s warnings in this regard:
2Co 11:4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or [if] you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted——you may well put up with it!
It is important to know who people say Jesus is, but it is not the most important question of all. The most important question is; Who do you say Jesus is?
I hope you say that He is your Lord and Savior; that you have been saved by grace through your trust and belief in Him; and not by any of your Works because it is a gift of God. Study these Scriptures today that tell you who Jesus is; Isa 9:6 ; Ro 9:5; Col 2:9; 1Ti 3:16; Tit 2:13; 1Jo 5:20. One of my favorite descriptions of Jesus is given to us by Jesus himself;
Re 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
When compared with these scriptures from Isaiah I think you will see that Jesus is the God of Isaiah;
Isa 41:4 Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.’”Isa 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
Isa 48:12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
Jesus is the First (Alpha) and the Last (Omega)!!
Have a Great Day!!!
30 Oct
Isa 51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy [shall be] upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; [and] sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Isa 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
I know that these two prophetic promises of Scripture primarily refer to the return of the Jews to Israel, yet I also know they belong to ever one who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When the Gentiles (non-Jews) accepted Jesus as their Savior; the Apostle Paul tells us that we are partakers of these covenant promises.
If the above promises refer to the return of the Jews to Israel, where are the everlasting joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away? We still see Israel engaged in a bitter battle with the nations over their very existence. Though they have returned to their homeland they have not yet been ransomed or redeemed by the Lord in its fullest meaning. I know Jews who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah, and are now the Redeemed of the Lord. But Israel as a nation will be ransomed when Messiah comes again physically to this earth to set them free, which of course refers to a future date that I believe is not very far off. So for Israel the promised redemption is still awaiting its fulfillment, yet for us believers the promise has already begun to blossom and is ready to come into full bloom at the appearing of our Great God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tit 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
That should cause all of us who believe to come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon our heads and there in that place of worship we find gladness and joy and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Zion refers to the place where the legendary King David brought the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He placed it on the highest hill and instituted a continuous chorus of praise to his and our God. That is why we refer to Zion as a place of worship.
In our times of worship we are able to transcend the difficulties and pressures of this world and find that tranquil state of peace, joy and gladness. That is why I love worship music and worship services in the midst of the congregation. I love my personal time of worship, because it lifts my spirit and bring joy to my soul. The most awesome thing of all about the above Scriptures is that it refers to a future time for us as believers. Where we will find the final rest of our souls and be eternally united with our God. In that blessed state we will not have any sorrow and all mourning will definitely flee away!!!