The 4 Gospels Christian Network Blog

The Pure Heart

2012-02-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By takingheed thereto according to Thy word.” Psalm 119:9

A child delights in what he has.

A youth delights in what he does.

An adult delights in what he is.

The more mature you are, the more you will desire to besomething—not just to have something or to do something, but to be something.

What do you desire to be today? Someone who is known for theway they dress? The deals they close? The house they live in? Or do you wantothers to know that you have a pure heart—a heart that is utterly devoted andsurrendered to God.

Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for theyshall see God.” They will know the unknowable, they will do the impossible, andthey will see the invisible. I want to have a heart like that. What about you?

Risks of Afghan War Shift From Soldiers to Contractors

2012-02-12T08:43:00.001-08:00

By ROD NORDLAND

KABUL, Afghanistan — Even dying is beingoutsourced here.

This is a war where traditional military jobs, from messhall cooks to base guards and convoy drivers, have increasingly been shifted tothe private sector. Many American generals and diplomats have privatecontractors for their personal bodyguards. And along with the risks have comethe consequences: More civilian contractors working for American companies thanAmerican soldiers died in Afghanistanlast year for the first time during the war.

American employers here are under no obligation to publiclyreport the deaths of their employees and frequently do not. While the militaryannounces the names of all its war dead, private companies routinely notifyonly family members. Most of the contractors die unheralded and uncounted — andin some cases, leave their survivors uncompensated.

“By continuing to outsource high-risk jobs that werepreviously performed by soldiers, the military, in effect, is privatizing theultimate sacrifice,” said Steven L. Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University who hasstudied the civilian casualties issue.

Last year, at least 430 employees of American contractors werereported killed in Afghanistan:386 working for the Defense Department, 43 for the United States Agency forInternational Development and one for the State Department, according to dataprovided by the American Embassy in Kabuland publicly available in part from the United States Department of Labor.

By comparison, 418 American soldiers died in Afghanistanlast year, according to Defense Department statistics compiled byicasualties.org, an independent organization that monitors war deaths.

That trend has been growing for the past several years in Afghanistan, and it parallels a similar trend inIraq,where contractor deaths exceeded military deaths as long ago as 2009. In Iraq, however,that took place as the number of American troops was being drastically reduceduntil their complete withdrawal at the end of last year. And last year, moresoldiers than private contractors died in Iraq (54 compared with 41,according to Labor Department figures).

Experts who have studied the phenomenon say that becausemany contractors do not comply with even the current, scanty reportingrequirements, the true number of private contractor deaths may be far higher.“No one believes we’re underreporting military deaths,” Mr. Schooner said.“Everyone believes we’re underreporting contractor deaths.”

Qais Mansoori, 20, may have been among the uncounted. AnAfghan interpreter employed by Mission Essential Personnel, a leading providerof interpreters in Afghanistan, Mr. Mansoori was killed along with five otherinterpreters when Taliban insurgents overran the military base where theinterpreters were staying in the Mirwais district of Kandahar Province in July2010.

That attack, typically, was scantily reported, since nosoldiers died — although the death toll was 17, including an unidentifiedAmerican civilian, according to Afghan officials and Mr. Mansoori’s friends andfamily.

Under the federal Defense Base Act, American defensecontractors are obliged to report the war zone deaths and injuries of theiremployees — including subcontractors and foreign workers — to the Department ofLabor, and to carry insurance that will provide the employees with medical careand compensation. In the case of foreign employees, which many of the deadwere, survivors generally receive a death benefit equal to half of theemployee’s salary for life; American employees get even more.

Mr. Mansoori’s brother, Mohammad, 35, an employee of amine-removal charity in Afghanistan, said his brother’s employer, MissionEssential Personnel, promptly contacted the family and made a lump sum paymentof $10,004, never mentioning the lifetime annuity to which they were entitled —which given Mr. Mansoori’s salary of $800 a month would have been closer to$150,000 over his survivors’ lifetimes. “I wish he was still here to look aftermy father and mother,” Mohammad Mansoori said. Their father is blind, and QaisMansoori was his parents’ sole support, he said.

A spokesman for Mission Essential Personnel, Sean Rushton,disputed that, saying that his company has been making biweekly payments of$190 to Mr. Mansoori’s family and will continue doing so for 29 years. The$10,004 lump sum payment was a voluntary death gratuity paid by the company,Mr. Rushton said.

There were 113,491 employees of defense contractors in Afghanistan asof January 2012, compared with about 90,000 American soldiers, according toDefense Department statistics. Of those, 25,287, or about 22 percent of theemployees, were American citizens, with 47 percent Afghans and 31 percent fromother countries.

The bulk of the known contractor deaths are concentratedamong a handful of major companies, particularly those providing interpreters,drivers, security guards and other support personnel who are particularlyvulnerable to attacks.

The biggest contractor in terms of war zone deaths isapparently the defense giant L-3 Communications. If L-3 were a country, itwould have the third highest loss of life in Afghanistanas well as in Iraq; only theUnited States and Britain wouldexceed it in fatalities.

Over the past 10 years, L-3 and its subsidiaries, includingTitan Corporation and MPRI Inc., had at least 370 workers killed and 1,789seriously wounded or injured through the end of 2011 in Iraq and Afghanistan, records show. In a statement,a spokeswoman for L-3, Jennifer Barton, said: “L-3 is proud to have theopportunity to support the U.S.and coalition efforts in Iraqand Afghanistan.We mourn the loss of life of these dedicated men and women.”

Other American companies with a high number of fatalitiesare Supreme Group, a catering company, with 241 dead through the end of 2011;Service Employees International, another catering company, with 125 dead; andsecurity companies like DynCorps (101 dead), Aegis (86 dead) and Hart Group (63dead). In all, according to Labor Department data, 64 American companies havelost more than seven employees each in the past 10 years.

The American dead have included people like JamesMcLaughlin, 55, who trained pilots on a contract for MPRI and was killed by arogue Afghan pilot who also killed eight American soldiers last April; and ToddWalker, Michael Clawson and James Scott Ozier, employees of AAR Airlift, whowere killed in a helicopter crash in Helmand Province last month for whichTaliban insurgents claimed responsibility.

For every contractor who is killed, many more are seriouslywounded. According to the Labor Department’s statistics, 1,777 Americancontractors in Afghanistanwere injured or wounded seriously enough to miss more than four days of worklast year.

Marcie Hascall Clark began the Defense Base Act CompensationBlog after her husband, Merlin, a former Navy explosives ordnance disposalexpert, was injured in 2003 while working for an American contractor. She andher husband have spent the past seven years fighting for hundreds of thousandsof dollars in disability payments and medical compensation. “It was quite ashock to learn how little my husband’s body, mind and future were worth,” shesaid.

Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Truth, lies and Afghanistan

2012-02-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2012/02/8904030

The Beliefs of Orthodox Christianity Part 1

2012-02-07T16:53:00.001-08:00

The Beliefs of Orthodox Christianity Part 1

1.
conforming to established doctrine especially in religion b : conventional

OBJECTIVES (What we do hope to do in this Study):

To analyze critically the concept of "religion" as commonly understood in Western societies.

To be introduced to a number of "religious" traditions other than evangelical Protestant Christianity.

To develop skills as an empathic interpreter of "religious" traditions other than one's own.

To gain a clearer understanding of the impact of "religious" convictions and practices on everyday life.

To gain an appreciation for the diversity present within "religious" traditions, as well as across them.

To gain a clearer understanding of some of the distinguishing features of the world's "religious" traditions.

To gain a clearer understanding of some of the similarities among many "religious" traditions.

Having accomplished the above, to see one's own "religious" tradition with a new perspective and renewed appreciation.

NON-OBJECTIVES (What we do not plan to do in this Study):

To resolve difficult and important questions about the relationship between Christianity and other "religious" traditions.

To develop apologetic strategies for demonstrating the superiority of Christianity to other traditions.

To develop strategies for evangelizing those from other "religious" traditions.

In these studies we will focus on some of the major religions of the world.

The Basic Beliefs

For over two thousand years, the Christian Church has held certain beliefs vital to ones faith.

While there is some doctrinal disagreement within the the three branches of Christendom -Roman Catholic,Eastern Orthodox and Protestant-there is a general agreement among them as to the essentials of faith.

We can find them in the:
Apostles' Creed1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

1.
Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea.

Pontius Pilate was the Roman official who gave the final order for the crucifixion. According to the gospels, he actually believed that Jesus was innocent, and wanted to save him, but was pressured into ordering his death by the Jewish religious leaders and a disorderly crowd of spectators.

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

God is the creator of all things whose fullness is beyond all human conceptions.

Trinity : God has revealed himself as three distinct persons of the Father,Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus : Is the Promised Messiah, conceived of the Holy spirit; born of the Virgin Mary. He died for the sins of all mankind. He was crucified, died ,buried for the sins of mankind. He was resurrected on the third day and ascended into heaven, to return to establish the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter promised by Jesus Christ,which lives inside of us, guiding us in all truths to salvation.

The Bible is the inspired , infallible and authoritative Word of God

Salvation is the deliverance from bondage of sin, our atonement to God with assurance of eternal life, coming from a voluntary sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary for our sins.

Repentance: All humanity may receive salvation by Jesus, and be forgiven of their sins If they repent of their sins and confess their sins, and surrender their life to Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Grace: is free, unmerited gift of eternal life which God gives to those who have a change of heart and start a new life in Christ.

Christianity: Christians are people acting in faith who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and in whom the Holy spirit lives inside creating a new birth and life. The new birth lives a different life following the footsteps of Christ and shows Christian fruits of the Holy Spirit as evidence.

Baptism is an outward expression and testimony of our life surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ; being symbolic of Jesus' death,burial and resurrection.

1. Doctrine of Authority

When it comes to a matter of final authority there is an agreement among the major branches of Christianity with regard to the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments.

However, the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox branches of the church go somewhat beyond the Bible as to their source of authority.

Roman Catholic

The historic Roman Catholic Church accepts the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God. Further they consider church tradition just as authoritative as the Scriptures.

Eastern Orthodox

The historic Eastern Orthodox church also accepts the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired revelation.
To this they add their church tradition as equally authoritative.

Protestant

The Historic Protestant church holds that Scripture alone is the final authority on all matters of faith and practice.

The Doctrine of God is the same in all three branches of Christianity.

One of the most misunderstood ideas in the Bible concerns the teaching about the Trinity.

The Bible teaches that there is one God and only one God.

Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

However, even though God is one in His essential being or nature, He is also three persons.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us

Gods plural personality is alluded to here, for he could not be talking to angels in these instances, because angels could not and did not help God create.

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ , not the angels , created all things.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

In addition to speaking of God as one, and alluding to to a plurality of God's personality, the Scriptures are quite specific as to naming God in terms of three persons.

There is a person whom the Bible calls the Father, and the Father is designated as God the Father.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Bible talks about a person named Jesus, or the Son, or the Word, also called God.

Jesus was also calling God His own Father, making himself equal with God.

Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Act 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
There is a third person mentioned in the Scriptures called The Holy Spirit, and this person-different from the Father and the Son-is also called God.

Act 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

The facts of the biblical teaching are these:
There is one God.
This one God has a plural personality.
This one God is called the Father, the Son,the Holy Spirit, all distinct personalities , all designated God.

The person of Jesus Christ

Over 2000 years ago, Jesus asked His disciples the ultimate question: "Who do you say I am?

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Central to the Christian faith is the identity of its founder, Jesus Christ, and it is of monumental improtance to have a proper view of who He is.

Jesus Was Human

The Christian church has always affirmed that, although He was super-naturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, God in human flesh, Jesus Christ was also fully man.
The teaching of the Scriptures is clear with regard to His humanity.

He grew intellectually and physically

Luk 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man

He desired food

Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

He needed sleep

Mat 8:24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

He Cried

Joh 11:35 Jesus wept.

He died
Therefore, it is made plain by Scripture that Jesus was genuinely human. He possessed all the attributes of humanity.

Has anyone ever heard the phrase or even said that I'm only human?

Jesus of Nazareth was a man but He was more than just a man. He was God in Human Flesh.

While the scriptures clearly teach He was a man, They likewise make it clear that he was God.

Not part man and part God, But fully man and fully God.

Next week we will continue to study the attributes of the Divinity of Jesus.

Trivia

What religion believes that 144,000 people will go to Heaven and the rest will just vanish?

Who is the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints?

Learning to trust God

2012-02-04T18:03:00.001-08:00

You may struggle to believe that the Lord will provide for your daily needs. Perhaps you're facing an overwhelmingly difficult trial—one which exhausts your resources. Or perhaps you wonder if He will ever fulfill your heart's desire in a particular area.

Lets look at the story of David and Goliath...

The story of David and Goliath illustrates the
importance of trusting the Lord completely—
especially when we face overwhelming
challenges. The Israelite army was at war with
the Philistines. For 40 days, a fierce warrior
named Goliath had challenged the Israelites to
send a soldier to fight him man to man. Since no
one responded to his challenge, the Philistine
ridiculed them. The entire Israelite army—
including the king—was terrified of this giant,
who was not only an experienced fighter but
more than nine-feet tall.
In contrast, David focused on the spiritual
nature of the battle. He asked, “Who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt
the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26).
Later, he told Goliath, “This day the LORD will
deliver you up into my hands . . . that all the earth
may know that there is a God in Israel, and that
all this assembly may know that the LORD does
not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is
the LORD’S” (1 Sam. 17:46-47). After declaring his
victory, David killed the giant with one stone
from his slingshot.With their champion defeated,
the Philistine army quickly lost heart—enabling
the Israelites to overtake them and win the battle.
A shepherd boy with no armor, no shield, no
sword, and no javelin—armed with only five
smooth stones—was able to triumph over a much
larger, well-equipped, and experienced warrior.
That’s the power of faith in the one true God.

The secret of David's success was his ability to trust and obey God. How can you have the same kind of faith?

1. Recall past victories.

What triumphs did David remember (1 Sam. 17:32-37)?

How did these victories give him confidence against Goliath?

List a few victories from your own life that could serve as reminders of how God worked through you in the past.

2. Reject discouraging words.

No one from the Israelite camp encouraged David in his quest to defeat Goliath.

All of them saw a young, inexperienced man instead of someone God could work through. Why? They looked at David from man's perspective instead of the Lord's.

As this story demonstrates, some of our worst opposition and discouragement may come from those who should be on our side, such as family members or fellow believers.

Describe how you can respond when others give worldly counsel instead of encouraging you to obey the Lord.

3. Recognize the true nature of the conflict.

Whatever adversary you face, the real enemy is Satan. He wants to defeat you and discourage you from serving God. Certainly, you have a responsibility to address the practical aspects of your difficult situation. But remember that behind each challenge is a spiritual war. For instance, while you seek medical treatment, you might also need to wage a spiritual battle against discouragement and fear.

What do you think the Father wants His children to remember in the midst of conflict?

4. Respond to the challenge with a positive declaration of faith.

David asked the fearful Israelites, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" (v. 26). To Saul, he said, "The LORD … will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine" (v. 37). And in answer to Goliath's ridicule: "I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel" (v. 45). David firmly declared his belief. He wouldn't lose, because the Almighty was with him.

The Scriptures are full of promises: for guidance (Ps. 32:8), God's help (121:1-2), hope (Ps. 16:9), joy (Ps. 43:4), mercy (Ex. 20:6), the Father's care (1 Peter 5:6-7) and peace (John 16:33)— to name just a few.

Choose a verse that speaks to your need, and write it below.

When worry or frustration builds, recite encouraging scriptures aloud to yourself. Your faith will grow, and so will your peace.

5. Rely on the power of God.

David knew it wasn't his own reputation on the line; he also knew it was not his strength that would win the battle. Glory and victory belonged to the Lord alone.

What did David believe Goliath's defeat would show everyone who watched (v. 47)?

In John 15:5, Jesus said, "He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." In other words, we can do nothing of spiritual value unless we depend on Christ to work through us.

What would it look like for you to rely on Jesus in your present trials?

Conclusion: Every challenge presents an opportunity for the Father to display His faithfulness and love. Instead of yielding to thoughts of fear and failure, make a commitment to trust Him, even when you don't know what tomorrow will bring. Yes, you may experience failure, and life may not always turn out as you planned. But ultimately, God will be glorified, and you will be blessed.

The Gospel According To Nothing

2012-02-04T10:40:00.001-08:00

“The Gospel According To Nothing” by Romans

In the 1850's, Charles Darwin published a book, On the Origin of Species, that has revolutionized the thinking, the judgments, the priorities, the teaching and the mindset of our Scientific Communities and Educational Systems from Elementary Education straight through to our most prestigious Institutions of Higher Learning. In the 150 years since his book was published, Darwin's Theory of Evolution has slowly but surely, and now securely gained a preeminent place of exclusivity as the explanation of how and why there is Life on this planet. When God was shown the door and expelled from our Public Schools in the early 1960's, the balance that existed in which not only God's Existence but His role as Creator, provided to impressionable students of all ages, an alternate and competing explanation to Evolution. But that is now completely gone. Teachers in Public Primary Education from the First through the Twelfth Grades are legally forbidden from introducing any ideas about a Creator, or even an unnamed Intelligent Designer into the Science Classroom or Discussions about the Origin of Life. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which forbids Congress, and only Congress from establishing a National Denomination, has been misrepresented by a twisted interpretation to mean that God is not welcome in the Public Square, or in the Public Schools of this country. This is the current status quo, even though no one ever refers to that portion of the First Amendment that also insures American citizens the “free exercise” of their religious beliefs. Many efforts over the course of the past few decades have been made in various School Districts around the country, to allow a two-model approach in the schools so that evidence for Evolution and Creation might be reviewed and evaluated. In every case but one that I am aware of, every such attempt has had the door slammed in its face, and has been accused of using Science as a Trojan Horse to sneak God and Religion back into the Public Schools. Last week, I became aware of the writings of one proponent of Evolution who actually supported the two-model approach. He condemned the one-sided status quo that restricted the evidence from the opposing model and wrote: “I look with confidence to the future, to young and rising naturalists, who will be able to view both sides of the question with impartiality.” That was written by Charles Darwin, himself, on page 420 of his book, On the Origin of Species, at a time when Creation was the only model being presented. He did not call for his ideas to replace what was being taught, and become the new exclusive teaching. He called for the ability to “view both sides of the question with impartiality.” But what do we have, today? Has Darwin's confidence of an impartial future been realized?

No.

Creation has been replaced and forbidden as a model. But with what? Scientists have had 150 years since Darwin's day, and 50 years since the Supreme Court threw the Bible out of the Public Schools to come up with a superior and “more scientific” explanation for how and why there is Life on Earth. The best and the brightest scientific minds have joined forces to teach our children, especially in the Public Schools, and the rest of us, courtesy of the constant Darwinian drumbeat pounding into our brains the reminder that we evolved. That claim is mentioned in every “Science”-related television program and magazine article regarding past, present or future biology. They balked at the claims of a Creator found in the Book of Genesis, and they were supposed to provide us, instead, with the impirical scientific truth, devoid of the “fabrications,” guesswork and superstitious imaginings of uniformed, primitive tribes from thousands of years ago. Did they do that?

No.

In the descriptions of The Beginning, found in both the Old and the New Testaments we read in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Similarly, in John 1:1, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” What does Science offer as the replacement truth, based on “empirical scientific fact”? The scientists of the world, have, in their infinite wisdom, concluded that: In the beginning there was... nothing. Now don't misunderstand what I am saying, here. I do not mean that, after expelling the Creator, that they have come up with no alternate explanation for Life on Earth. I mean that nothing IS their explanation!

Nothing. No God. No Word. No Spirit. No matter. No energy. No time. In the replacement Beginning, provided by the greatest minds on earth, there was nothing. All that exists, all that we see in this Universe had its supremely humble beginning as absolutely nothing. And with that nothing for a beginning, we are left with the bleak, kissing-cousin condemnation that there is no purpose for us even being alive. We, as human beings, have no intended or guided past, we have no present in which we can refer to any moral absolutes, and we certainly have no individual or collective future, glorious or otherwise. We came from nothing, we live for nothing, and when we die, we pass into nothingness.

I have some very good news for all of you. There IS a Creator God Who made the Heavens and the Earth, Who gave us His Word, Who gave us His Law to live by, and Who sent us His Son to die in our place because we did not obey His Law. I am not the little boy trying to present a brave face after finding out that there is no Santa Claus. I am a man declaring that there is no sane or honest individual who can look me in the eye, and tell me that he or she rejects the “fairy tale” of Genesis, but has, instead, accepted as a “scientific fact,” the completely unscientific lunacy that nothing spontaneously became the Universe. That position is at once indefensible, irrational and is utterly devoid of reason, logic and any merit or redeeming value of any kind.

But it did start wheels turning in my mind. On a whim, I did a Scriptural word search for the word, “nothing.” And I found, to my delight, that the Bible does indeed have much to say on the subject of “nothing.”

Join me as I go through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, as I review the occurrences of the word, “nothing,” and see what the Bible teaches us about it.

We'll begin at the beginning:

Scripture tells us, in this occurrence of “nothing,” of a God Who intervenes to save us:
Genesis 11:6: “And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.”

God said of mankind's developments: “...and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” God takes a stand in man's progress. Because He created us and He loves us, He will not allow us to drive civilization and mankind over the cliff into oblivion. Do we have “free will”?

Absolutely!

But God also has a Plan and a Future for man that does not include our going off on our own, taking civilization in a direction that is outside of His Will for us. It was true at the Tower of Babel, and it will be true when Jesus returns to this Earth to rule as King of kings and Lord of lords. We read Jesus' words describing what would be going on when He returned, in Matthew 24:21-22: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

God will intervene and will shorten those days so that mankind does not blow himself off the face of the Earth!

Let us continue: Joseph had been sold into slavery by his own jealous brothers, and then as a slave, was falsely accused of attempted rape by his master's wife. He was in prison for 13 years for a crime he did not commit. We pick up the story as Joseph interprets the dream of a fellow-prisoner, Pharaoh's butler:

We read in Genesis 40:13: “Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.”

Rather than harboring any grudges against the woman who falsely accused him... rather than allowing hatred and resentment and a desire for revenge to consume him, notice what Joseph says, instead: “I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.” No rage. No desire for vengeance. No accusation. A mere declaration that he had done “nothing” deserving of imprisonment. Our occurrence of “nothing,” here, reminds us that we are to forgive, and that vengeance belongs to God, alone. Anyone who allows that root of bitterness to grow and fester, and fixates on exacting vengeane does far more harm to themselves, emotionally, physically and spiritually than their perceived enemy could every be harmed. And Joseph teaches us that by this harmless and godly response to adversity.

As we move forward, our next two occurrences of “nothing” teach us of God's Provision for His people:
Exodus 9:4: “And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.”

God was setting a clear difference between the Egyptian and the Hebrew. There were Ten Plagues poured out on Egypt. In the first Nine Plagues, only the Egyptian population was impacted. The Hebrews were not affected at all. In the Plague described above, God promised His people that “... there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.”

After they were delivered from Egypt, God provided Manna, to the children of Israel that kept them alive in the Wilderness for forty years. We read of that Provision:

Exodus 16:18: “And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.”

And the Provision always satisfied the exact needs of the people. He that gathered little had no lack, and he that gathered much had nothing over.

Our next occurrence of the word “nothing” teaches us that when God is with us, we lack nothing!
Deuteronomy 2:7: “For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” speaks of the evil of ingratitude:

Numbers 11:6: “But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”

Manna was a picture of Jesus Christ Who said in John 6:32: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.” And, Jesus faced resentment and ingratitude from His fellow-Jews as their ancestors murmured against the Manna in the Wilderness.

As we proceed through the history of ancient Israel, when he was about to take the throne, God had asked King Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5: “Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon asked for understanding that he might rightly rule the people of God. God granted Solomon the wisdom he asked for, and added in 1 Kings3:13: “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.” In our next occurrence of the word “nothing” we read of the rule of King Solomon. We read in 1 Kings 10:21: “And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.” God was true to His Word, blessing Solomon with great riches such that silver was accounted as nothing.

In the next occurrence of the word “nothing” we read of the peace that comes with the knowledge and obedience of the Law of God: We read in Psalms 119:165: “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” teaches us of the deceitfulness of riches:
Proverbs 10:2: “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.” As Jesus said in Matthew 16:26: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses the word “nothing” to tell us of the value of salt if it loses its savour: Matthew 5:13: “¶Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” If it has lost its savour, it is good for nothing. But, of course, Jesus was not speaking about salt. He had just told His disciples, “Ye are the salt of the earth...” Of this, Matthew Henry writes: “Ye are the salt of the earth. Mankind, lying in ignorance and wickedness, were as a vast heap, ready to putrify; but Christ sent forth his disciples, by their lives and doctrines to season it with knowledge and grace. If they are not such as they should be, they are as salt that has lost its savour. If a man can take up the profession of Christ, and yet remain graceless, no other doctrine, no other means, can make him profitable. Our light must shine, by doing such good works as men may see.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” reinforces the power of having Faith:
Matthew 17:20: “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

The word “nothing” is next used to encourage us to be merciful and generous.
Luke 6:35: “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and do good because it is the right thing to do. Whatever good we do, we should do as salt and lights, hoping for nothing in return. In another place, Jesus explained, “... thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” ( Matthew 6:4).

In the next occurrence of the word “nothing” we read of Jesus' cursing a fig tree: Mark 11:13: “And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

In the same way that Jesus was not speaking about salt, earlier, Jesus cursed the fig tree to show His great displeasure if those who call themselves believers, bear no fruit. That fig tree had leaves, and the appearance of being fruitful, but He found nothing but leaves, there. And the tree was cursed. Notice, also, Jesus' words about bearing fruit in John 15:1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” reminds us of Jesus' total obedience to His Father:

John 8:28: “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” As the Apostle Paul put it, Philippians 2:8: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

What follows next is a series of occurrences of the word “nothing” all having to do with the Trial of Jesus Christ before Pontius Pilate.

Matthew 27:12: “And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.”

Mark 15:4: “And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.”

Mark 15:5: “But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.”

All of these occurrences of Jesus saying “nothing” in His Own defense, fulfilled the Prophecy that was written 600 years before Christ was born. We read in Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

The Trial and occurrences of "nothing" continue:
Matthew 27:19: “When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.”

Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, and he “knew that for envy they had delivered him,” (Matthew 27:18). In Luke 23:14, Pilate, "...said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him."

Pilate tried to reason with the mob and to release Jesus. But we read in Matthew 27:24: “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” Pilate could prevail nothing to the crowd bent on Jesus' crucifixion.

When He was crucified to die for our sins, one of the two criminals who was crucified with Jesus recognized His innocence using the word "nothing." We read beginning in Luke 23:39: "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss."

And this is also evidence of fulfilled Prophecy. Jesus was innocent of any crime, but went to His death for us. Isaiah wrote, 500 years before Jesus was born, beginning in Isaiah 53:4: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

In the next occurrence of the word “nothing” we are taught to remember always the Source of all that we have. We read in John 3:27: “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” This statement is far more encompassing than we might think at first. It goes beyond what we read in James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...” It extends also to those who are not believers, including the Roman Governor of Judea. Getting back to the Trial before Pilate, consider Jesus' words when Pilate told Him he had the power to release Him: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above...” (John 19:11). So you see, it is true: “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” reassures believers of their place in the Plan of Salvation. Jesus said in John 6:39: “And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” And that's us: It is the Father's Will that of all those whom the Father had given Him, that He should lose nothing.

In the next occurrence of the word “nothing,” we see God expanding the offer of Salvation to include the Gentiles. Peter had just had a vision. We pick up the story in Acts 10:19: “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.” Peter was to meet with the first Gentile convert, and the Holy Spirit told him, “... go with them, doubting nothing.” And so the next Verse reads “Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius...”

As there were inter-personal conflicts in the Church even when it was exclusively Jewish, the divisions and controversies only increased with the addition of the Gentiles. An issue that repeatedly came up was whether or not the Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the whole Law of Moses in order to be saved. Our next occurrence of the word “nothing” is found as the Apostle Paul is, once again, trying to settle the issue among the factions:

We read in 1 Corinthians 7:19: “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” that we'll look at also addresses the divisions and offenses that existed in the various Congregations. Without naming any specific controversy, Paul appeals to his readers with a general attitude that should prevail regarding how Christians interact with each other:
Philippians 2:3: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” encourages the Christian not to worry. Rather, we have a Heavenly Father in Heaven who loves us, and wants us to come to Him, and make our requests to Him for help in all of the various trials and situations in which we find ourselves. And so we read in Philippians 4:6: “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” teaches us that when we pray, we should pray in Faith, expecting God to hear and answer our prayers: James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” If we want to expect an answer, we are to “ask in Faith, nothing wavering.”

As we continue to see how even a review of the word “nothing” can be edifying and instructive, we come to 1 Corinthians 13, also known as The Love Chapter. In it, Paul writes about “charity,” translated from the Greek word “agape,” meaning “godly love. In this chapter, Paul tells us of the vital importance of the presence of agape as the motivating factor in all that we do. The next occurrence of the word “nothing” that we see is used in conveying that importance: 1 Corinthians 13:2: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

Paul continues the thought in Verse 3: “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

Matthew Henry writes that charity (agape) is “love in its fullest meaning; true love to God and man. Without this, the most glorious gifts are of no account to us, of no esteem in the sight of God. A clear head and a deep understanding, are of no value without a benevolent and charitable heart. There may be an open and lavish hand, where there is not a liberal and charitable heart. Doing good to others will do none to us, if it be not done from love to God, and good-will to men. If we give away all we have, while we withhold the heart from God, it will not profit. Nor even the most painful sufferings. How are those deluded who look for acceptance and reward for their good works, which are as scanty and defective as they are corrupt and selfish!”

Building on the idea of selfishness, Paul reminds all of us of the deceitfulness of riches, and the folly of seeking to amass to ourselves great possessions in this next occurrence of the word “nothing.” We read beginning in 1 Timothy 6:6: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil...”

Hebrews 7:19: “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

The next occurrence of the word “nothing” warns us to never become complacent and self-satisfied. As we have already seen, receive all things from the hand of God. We read in Revelation 3:17: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Of this, Matthew Henry writes: “They could not see their state, nor their way, nor their danger, yet they thought they saw it. They had not the garment of justification, nor sanctification: they were exposed to sin and shame; their rags that would defile them. They were naked, without house or harbour, for they were without God, in whom alone the soul of man can find rest and safety. Good counsel was given by Christ to this sinful people. Happy those who take his counsel, for all others must perish in their sins. Christ lets them know where they might have true riches, and how they might have them. Some things must be parted with, but nothing valuable; and it is only to make room for receiving true riches. Part with sin and self-confidence, that you may be filled with his hidden treasure. They must receive from Christ the white raiment he purchased and provided for them; his own imputed righteousness for justification, and the garments of holiness and sanctification. Let them give themselves up to his word and Spirit, and their eyes shall be opened to see their way and their end. Let us examine ourselves by the rule of his word, and pray earnestly for the teaching of his Holy Spirit, to take away our pride, prejudices, and worldly lusts. Sinners ought to take the rebukes of God's word and rod, as tokens of his love to their souls.”

As we continue in our review of the occurrences of the word “nothing” in Scripture, a familiar Psalm is quoted and then expanded upon, showing us the future that God has in store for us: We read, beinning in Hebrews 2:6: “But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” God left nothing that is not put under those who believe and love and obey God... but not yet. Matthew Henry writes: “Neither the state in which the church is at present, nor its more completely restored state, when the prince of this world shall be cast out, and the kingdoms of the earth become the kingdom of Christ, is left to the government of the angels: Christ will take to him his great power, and will reign. And what is the moving cause of all the kindness God shows to men in giving Christ for them and to them? it is the grace of God. As a reward of Christ's humiliation in suffering death, he has unlimited dominion over all things; thus this ancient scripture was fulfilled in him. Thus God has done wonderful things for us in creation and providence...”

The last occurrence of the word “nothing” is found in Luke 1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Matthew Henry's comment on this thought is short and sweet: “ In all conflicts, let us remember that with God nothing is impossible; and as we read and hear his promises, let us turn them into prayers...” And we should do just that: When we become familiar with His Word, and His promises contained therein, we can remind Our Father of what He has promised, and tell Him that we look to Him in Faith to perform what He has promised to do. And then, Matthew Henry's final statement of this Verse fully applies: “... Behold the willing servant of the Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word.”

Modern-day proponents of “science” have chosen to not retain God in their knowledge. The official position of the recognized scientific community is the preclusion that there is no God. They do not and will not acknowledge an Eternal God Who transcends time and space, and Who has created and sustains all that is. He has applied order and reason to His Creation such that were there not that order, were there not the constants in the laws of nature, there could be no science. For the evolutionist, and the atheist, “In the beginning, there was... nothing.” And, having dismissed the existence of God from their senseless paradigm, what have they given us in return? To all those who have listened to and trusted in their biased version of unscientific “truth,” they have given us literally nothing in exchange after having negated for untold millions, faith in a loving Creator, hope in an eternal future and a purpose for human life. As I stated in the introduction, “Science” has condemned us to a godless, pointless existence in which there is no point is being alive: they offer us no past, no present in that they acknowledge no absolute moral truth by which we should live our lives, and no future but an endless and meaningless nothingness. But as David stated in Psalms 53:1: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”And, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:19: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” This bleak, godless ideology, masquerading as “empirical science” is the approved “truth” that the Courts and the Local School Boards continue to maintain and enforce as the exclusive ideology that our children are subjected to in the “science” classrooms of the Public Schools in this claimed “one Nation under God” United States of America.

In stark contrast, the concept of “nothing,” when the Word of God is the Source, has much to offer to those who would open their eyes and reject the fabrications, the biased and suppressed evidence, and the misrepresentations of the most learned and brilliant minds on the planet. When the Bible is the Source of "nothing," we read of God's involvement with His Creation, God’s Plan of Salvation, it tells us of the injustice of the rigged Trial that Christ endured before His crucifixion, we are taught of fulfilled Prophecy in God's having sent His innocent Son to be crucified and die for our sins, we are encouraged to pray, to forgive, to truly love God and our fellow-man, to be generous, to try to resolve our differences with fellow-believers, to pray in faith expecting God to hear and answer, and it tells us that there is a God for Whom nothing is impossible. Even the “nothing” of God is superior to the “wisdom” of man.

This concludes this Evening's Discussion: “The Gospel According To Nothing.”

Romans, February 4th, 2012

The Wind Blows Wherever it Will John 3:8

2012-02-03T06:50:00.001-08:00

The Wind Blows Wherever it Will John 3:8
The New Testament reveals four commands given to the Christian relating to the Holy Spirit. Two are positive and two are negative.
“Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
“Live by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).
“Do not grieve the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30).
“Do not quench the Spirit"(I Thessalonians 5:19).
I will spend the next few weeks talking about the Holy Spirit. Please feel free to comment. No need to ! And you may interject your thoughts at any time!
I. The Wind of the Spirit
Tonight we begin by looking at the words of Jesus in John 3:8. This verse occurs during the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night. When Jesus said, “You must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God,” Nicodemus did not understand the concept. So Jesus explained that flesh produces flesh (speaking of human birth), but only God’s Spirit could give new birth in the realm of the spirit (v. 6). Then Jesus added this word of explanation in verse 8: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” Pay special attention to two words in this verse: “wind” and “Spirit.” Though they are two words in English, in Greek they come from the same word: pneuma. We get the English words pneumatic (an air-powered drill) and pneumonia (a disease of the lungs) from this Greek word. Depending on the context, pneuma can mean breath, wind or spirit. In this case, the same Greek word has two meanings in the same verse.
Wind serves as a particularly good symbol of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus points out to Nicodemus, wind by its very nature is invisible and unpredictable. The wind that blows today from the north may blow from the south tomorrow or from the east or west or not at all. We feel its effect and hear it whistling through the leaves, but the wind itself is totally free from man’s control. Wind exists everywhere on the earth, is continually in motion, and may be experienced in varying degrees—from a slight breeze to a mighty rushing wind to the destructive force of a tornado. In a closed room, the air soon becomes stagnant. But when the window is open, the incoming wind blows out the stifling air. On a hot summer’s day, a cool breeze refreshes everyone. Just as the wind is everywhere in the world, even so the Holy Spirit’s work is universal, not limited to one country, region, or race of humanity. Similar to the unpredictability of the wind, no one can say for certain where the Spirit will blow in great power today or tomorrow. As the wind is beyond man’s control, in the same way no one can control the work of the Spirit. As the wind blows from the heavens, so the Holy Spirit is sent from heaven.
According to Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, “The Holy Spirit leaves no footprints.” Like the wind he is invisible, unpredictable and uncontrollable. Have you ever tried to catch the wind in a bottle? It can’t be done. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. He is sovereign and will not be taken captive by any person. Like the wind, we experience it in different ways. So it is with the Spirit. He comes as he wills, and he manifests himself in different ways. And as the story of Nicodemus demonstrates, no one can predict when he will invade a human heart. Have you ever heard of a person that had responded to the gospel after just one invitation? Sometimes you have to talk to a person again and again, and even then, they may not respond. Why does one person respond immediately while others take much more persuasion? While there are many explanations, one part of the answer is the Holy Spirit. Like the wind, he blows where he wills, and no one can control his movements.
II. The Descent of the Spirit
Acts 2 describes the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, as the small band of disciples waited and prayed in Jerusalem. According to Acts 2:1-4,
Then the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

four things happened in this order:
A. The sound of a violent, rushing wind filled the house.
B. Tongues of fire rested on each of them.
C. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
D. They began to speak in other languages.
Wind … Fire … Holy Spirit … Languages. Later Peter preached the gospel, 3,000 were saved in one day, and the Christian church was born. Note the sequence again:
Wind … Fire … Holy Spirit … Languages … Preaching … Conversion.
Why does the wind come first? Because the Holy Spirit begins his work by blowing through each heart, preparing them for further work to come. So it is with us today. We need the wind of the Spirit to blow through our hearts,
Replacing fear with faith,
Replacing anger with forgiveness,
Replacing doubt with hope,
Replacing anger with love,
Replacing judgment with grace,
Replacing bitterness with trust,
Replacing pride with humility,
Replacing envy with kindness,
Replacing cowardice with courage,
Replacing impatience with perseverance,
Replacing harshness with compassion,
Replacing selfishness with generosity.
We need the wind of God to blow through our midst today. All our work will come to nothing without the Holy Spirit to bless our efforts. We may plan and organize and strategize and publicize to our heart’s content. We may meet and write papers all night and all day. We may discuss and ponder and consider all the alternatives. We may use all the wisdom we can muster, but unless we are changed on the inside by the Holy Spirit, nothing will change and our work will mean nothing for the sake of the Kingdom.
We need the Holy Spirit to come in a new way because there is always more of God to experience. In Ephesians 3:19 Paul prayed that his readers might be “filled with all the fullness of God.” This is the whole goal of the Christian life. Don’t water it down. The word for “filled” has the idea of being dominated by something. If you are filled with rage, then rage will dominate your life. If you are filled with love, then love dominates your life. If you are filled with joy, then joy dominates your life. When you are filled with God, then God himself will dominate your life. It pictures the total transformation of the human personality by virtue of the presence of God in your life. This is an amazing thought—to be filled up with all the fullness of God. Don’t shy away from the implications of this truth. As believers we have been created to be the containers of God. He desires to pour his life into ours and to fill us until we’re full. This prayer will never be completely answered in this life. And in eternity we will continue to experience more and more of the “fullness of God,” and we will never (not even in eternity) come to the end of who he is.
No one will ever come to the end of the Holy Spirit.
No one will ever come to the end of the Lord Jesus Christ.
No one will ever come to the end of God the Father.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us continually into a deeper, more profound experience of who God is. He brings more of God to us as we bring more of us to him.
III. The Sovereignty of the Spirit
Jesus applied the image of the wind of the Spirit in the last phrase of verse 8: “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus did not come that night intending to be converted. But that is what happened. The Spirit drew him to Jesus and he came. The same is true for everyone who comes to Christ. In John 6:44 Jesus declares that “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” The Father draws sinners to the Son by means of the Holy Spirit. And all those who are drawn will in fact come to Jesus, and those who come will never be turned away (John 6:37).
We must change and only God can change us. This is the testimony of the entire Bible. Because we are sinners, we cannot come to God bearing our own sins. If we come with our sins, he will turn us away for sinners will gain no admittance to heaven. Here is the Bible’s testimony as to the true condition of all humanity apart from Jesus Christ.
� Blind: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Corinthians 4:4).
� Captive to Satan: We should pray that unbelievers might “escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (II Timothy 2:26).
� Condemned: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).
� Dead: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
� Bound for hell: “Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36b).
� Helpless: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).
� Hopeless: “Without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
� Without understanding: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14).
A whole study could be taught on any one of those verses. Taken together they show how desperate is the plight of those without Christ. They are blind and think they can see. They are dead and think they are alive. They are captive and think they are free. They are helpless and think they can do anything. They are without understanding and think they know everything. They are bound for hell and think they are going to heaven.
Please understand. We all were once in the “they” of the last paragraph. Apart from Jesus, that’s our natural condition in the world. That is what we were. And now through the power of the Holy Spirit, this is our converted condition:
Once we were blind, now we can see.
Once we were condemned, now we are forgiven.
Once we were dead, now we are alive.
Once we were captives of Satan, now we have been set free.
Once we were bound for hell, now we are going to heaven.
Once we were helpless, now Christ lives in us.
Once we were hopeless, now we have hope in God.
Once we were without understanding, now we have the mind of Christ.
All this comes to us because of the Holy Spirit. This is the true power of the new birth. When Jesus said the Holy Spirit is like the wind, he meant that the Holy Spirit is sovereign, free, unpredictable and uncontrollable. He blows where he wills.
What should we learn from this? This truth should humble us because it means that our salvation depends on God, not on us. You have heard this before. It is no secret to those who have been around for awhile. It gives us great incentive to pray because even the most hardened sinner may yet encounter the saving power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. It ought to make us both bold and patient as we speak the gospel, knowing that after we have done our part, the work of conversion rests with the Holy Spirit. Our words have no power to convert anyone. Finally, this truth of the Spirit being like the wind ought to make us hungry for the Spirit to blow upon us once again.

http://www.keepbelieving.com

Wake Up America! A lie is a lie no matter who speaks it!

2012-01-25T04:15:00.001-08:00

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ASTROLOGY?

2012-01-25T03:14:00.001-08:00

What Does the Bible Say About Astrology?
QUESTION: What does the Bible say about astrology, tarot cards, and numerology?

ANSWER: Interestingly, all of these “activities” have something in common. They are all part of the occult, because they attempt to find the “hidden” signs that affect human destiny (the word “occult” means “hidden”).

The Bible does address all three of these types of activities in Deuteronomy 18:11-14. What you will find is that God did not allow His people to practice sorcery or divination.

The problem with these practices is that they attempt to explain human destiny through spiritual means, but it’s not the Spirit of God. There’s just no substitute for God when it comes to our future destiny. A great example of this is in the book of Daniel, where the court astrologers attempted to interpret the king’s dreams regarding the future, and they failed miserably. Daniel put them to shame with his God-inspired interpretations (Daniel 1:20).

We do want to make a couple of comments about what the Bible says about stars and numbers. In Genesis we find that God created the stars, along with the sun and the moon, as “signs to mark seasons and days and years” (Genesis 1:14). So the stars have value as “signs,” but God intended for them to be signs for the seasons, not for help in predicting our futures.

Same goes for numbers. There is such a thing as “Bible numerology.” Numbers in the Bible are important in that they symbolize certain truths, such as the number seven symbolizing completion or perfection. But when people try to read into the numbers or patterns of numbers, even in the Bible, it becomes an exercise in futility.

One of the reasons people are so intrigued with these “hidden” things is that they don’t want to accept what God has plainly revealed in His Word. It’s a way to avoid the truth about our future and the hope God has set before us.

Intro to World Religions(Comparative Religions)

2012-01-24T13:56:00.001-08:00

While Christianity dominates the religious landscape of much of the Western world, there are many parts of the globe where Christians , regardless of how broadly or narrowly one defines the term, represent only a tiny fraction of the population.

In an age when mobility is widespread, many religions are now represented in regions where they were not historically present.

Believers in Christianized countries who were once contended for the faith mainly with agnostic, apathetic, or simply uniformed neighbors, now find that many in their communities actively subscribe to other religions-and your community is probably no different.

In some areas of the world, Buddhism may represent the majority world view, while in others, it influence may be seen largely in the media (celebrity adherents, movie references and media fascination . The same may be true of Islam, which dominates the collective life of certain cultures , yet it is viewed through the media lens of other cultures of terms of fanaticism and terrorism.

Christians often have relatively limited knowledge about other religions: that is, they may understand a religions cultural significance without having a firm grasp on what it teaches.

This of course makes it difficult to articulate the differences when asked what makes Christianity unique or true.
Aren't all religions the same? Is Christ the only way to God?Jesus claimed absolute exclusivity. Christ was unique compared to founders of other world religions. Some promoted their teachings as the only way to God, but Christ proclaimed Himself as the only way to God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Christianity is unique in other ways. The views of gods of other religions are very different from Christianity.

The philosophical Hindu is either a monist (believing that ultimate reality is a oneness beyond differentiation) or a pantheist (believing that everything is God).

The popular sects of Hinduism are polytheistic (worshipers of many gods).

Buddhist sects may hold a variety of views on God, including polytheism, pantheism, or usually, atheism.

Classical Islam endorses the killing of infidels but Christianity teaches to love your enemies. Islam also teaches that there is one impardonable sin—to accept that God has a Son. Christianity teaches that one must accept Jesus as the Son of God to get to heaven.

Of eleven major religions of the world, ten of them teach salvation through human effort.

Only Christianity recognizes the frustration and futility of man's own efforts and declares that man's salvation rests in the provision and grace of God.

Christianity alone makes provision for man's basic need—the forgiveness of sin.

Only Christianity resolves the problem of God's dual nature of both absolute justice and absolute love. This dichotomy(division into two parts)(
the belief that man consists of two parts, the body and the soul).
This may also be viewed as man's physical being and his non-physical being.
is once and for all resolved by Christ's coming, His sinless life, and His finished work on the cross as our substitute.

There are irreconcilable conflicts between Christianity and other religions.

Christianity is at odds with other views of God, the nature of man, heaven, and salvation.

The law of noncontradiction says that if two statements about one particular issue contradict each other, then

(1) only one of them is true, or
The law of noncontradiction says that if two statements about one particular issue contradict each other, then

(2) they are both false.

.They cannot both be true in the same sense and at the same time. Truth, by definition, is exclusive

Actually all religions claim exclusivity. Just ask a Muslim or a Hindu if a Christian is one of them. Even those who say that there should be no exclusivity in religion are in reality making an absolutist claim by eliminating from their circle those religions who claim exclusivity.

So the issue of exclusive truth claims cannot be merely brushed aside by uninformed statements like, "There are many paths to God." In the end, one must choose.

OBJECTIVES (What we do hope to do in this Study):

To analyze critically the concept of "religion" as commonly understood in Western societies.

To be introduced to a number of "religious" traditions other than evangelical Protestant Christianity.

To develop skills as an empathic interpreter of "religious" traditions other than one's own.

To gain a clearer understanding of the impact of "religious" convictions and practices on everyday life.

To gain an appreciation for the diversity present within "religious" traditions, as well as across them.

To gain a clearer understanding of some of the distinguishing features of the world's "religious" traditions.

To gain a clearer understanding of some of the similarities among many "religious" traditions.

Having accomplished the above, to see one's own "religious" tradition with a new perspective and renewed appreciation.

NON-OBJECTIVES (What we do not plan to do in this Study):

To resolve difficult and important questions about the relationship between Christianity and other "religious" traditions.

To develop apologetic strategies for demonstrating the superiority of Christianity to other traditions.

To develop strategies for evangelizing those from other "religious" traditions.

In these studies we will focus on some of the major religions of the world.

To include:
Judaism
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
African traditional religions (as a group will also be introduced).
Atheism
the New Age movement, and the new "Christian" religion offshoots of traditional , orthodox Christianity that are growing around the world.

We will define the characteristics of a cult and a sect.

We will also outline some key claims of Christianity that set it apart from all other religions.

The scope of these lessons are intended to be a general reference work for those who are interested in knowing what various groups believe .

We will also compare the standard beliefs of Christianity to the various groups of religions.

The goal here is not to attack other religions but to come to have a better understanding about them.

Prayer

Whys this Study?

With an advance of modern technology, the world has shrunk to the point that we would do well to know and understand what our neighbors believe. This study is an effort to fill this information gap by giving us a working knowledge of the great religions of the world.

What Is Religion?
A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth.

Religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, but more generally is interwoven with society and politics. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle.

Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience.

The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.

"Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system," but it is more socially defined than personal convictions, and it entails specific behaviors, respectively.

The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures.

It considers psychological and social roots, along with origins and historical development.

In the frame of western religious thought, religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane

According to the futurist Raymond Kurzweil, "The primary role of traditional religion is deathist rationalization—that is, rationalizing the tragedy of death as a good thing." Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth.

Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy.

Religion is also often described as a "way of life" or a life stance.

The term religion has many definitions.

None is agreed upon by everyone,but certain common aspects and implications of religion can be observed.

Religion can be defined as that aspect of ones experience in which he/she attempts to live harmoniously with the power or powers he believes are controlling the world.

Even secular religions, though they do not believe in God or the supernatural,and involve in no form of worship or liturgy,still are more less unified comprehensive world views, which seek to explain the "why" of existence.
Because they have their own, creeds,scriptures,clergy and closely knit groups, they may properly labeled religious.

Religion is Universal

Wherever man lives he is found giving some recognition to a power or powers beyond himself.

Religion is not only universal,it is also one of the features separating man from the animal world.

Religion Meets Needs

Religion gives to a person what he can obtain from no other source.

The distinguishing function of a religion , in contrast with that of philosophy or ethics is to give to a human being the supreme satisfaction of his life through a vital relationship with what he recognizes as the super human Power, or powers in the world.

Religion gives to a person what he can obtain from no other source.

The practice of religion is varied as the religious themselves,

All Religions Are Not The Same

A common misconception is that all religions are basically saying the same thing or that religious paths eventually reach the same summit-God

In this study we will explore excerpts from the holy writings of Christians,Jews,Hindus,Buddhist,Muslims,as well as other religions of India, Persia,China and Japan.
time and end on time.

Please remember that this study is not an attack on the beliefs of others but an information tool for us that me may better understand the religions of the world.

There will be some denominational study discussion.

Please remember that we are only here to understand their beliefs and not here to attack anyone .
Many of us here belong to different denominations and have different beliefs.

Let us be like Christ , be about love.

Next weeks study

Defining the meaning of and understanding what are considered Cults and Sects .

ABCs of Father Heart of God "C" carry, choose, comfort

2012-01-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

So we are looking at... The ABC’s Of Father God’s heart and so far...

A - Abba My Father is my Abba, Papa-God. I am His beloved child. (Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:4-7, John 1:12, Jam. 1:18)

B - Bless

My Father blesses me with every heavenly (spiritual) gift. (Eph. 1:3)

This week we will look at “carry, comfort and chosen”

C- Carry, comfort and Chosen

( My Father gathers me in His arms and carries me all my life. (Isa. 40:11, 46:3-4; Deu. 1:31)

My Father chose me from the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4-6)

My Father desires to comfort me. (psa 69:16, Psa 94:19. Psa 119:76, Isa 49:12, Isa 51:3, Isa 51:12, Isa 52:9, Matt 5:4, John 14:26, 2 Cor 1:2-4)

Have you ever carried a small baby? Or held one?

Do you ever just long to be able to completely rest and relax in the arms of Jesus? Maybe you can. Maybe you have only for a moment, but looking at the pictures we can surely imagine how it feels and also probably most of us have held a baby.

God, our Father offers to tenderly carry us. His arms are always open to invite us to enter his embrace. Let’s look at some verses....

Isa 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those who have young.

AMP 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd.

He will carry the lambs in his arms,

holding them close to his heart.

He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

Would anyone like to share their heart response to reading/hearing this verse?

***pictures...shepherd sheep, Jesus lamb

Isa 46:3-4 AMP Listen to Me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born,Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

NLT 3 “Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,

all you who remain in Israel.

I have cared for you since you were born.

Yes, I carried you before you were born.

4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime—

until your hair is white with age.

I made you, and I will care for you.

I will carry you along and save you.

IT doesn’t matter if we are old or young, God, our Abba wants to care for us, and love us. (carry us)

Deu 1:31 ( Let’s back up to verse 30 also) AMP 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31And in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God bore you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.

NLT 30 The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. 31 And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

The Lord going ahead of us, fighting for us, carries us and cares for us...

Now let’s look a another verse... Eph 1:3-6

AMP 3May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

4Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.

5For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [[a]because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]--

6[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

NLT 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

also Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

and Jer 29:11

Comfort: Psalm 69:16

Hear and answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me.

Psalm 94:19

In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!

Psalm 119:76

Let, I pray You, Your merciful kindness and steadfast love be for my comfort, according to Your promise to Your servant.

Isaiah 49:13

Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion upon His afflicted.

Isaiah 51:3

For the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song or instrument of praise.

Isaiah 51:12

I, even I, am He Who comforts you. Who are you, that you should be afraid of man, who shall die, and of a son of man, who shall be made [as destructible] as grass,

Isaiah 52:9

Break forth joyously, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem!

Matthew 5:4

Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!

John 14:26

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

2 Corinthians 1:2-4

2Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) to you and [heart] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),

4Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.

As someone pointed out, there is another “C” word chastens...

Choose Your Friends Carefrully

2012-01-24T05:08:00.001-08:00

For those of you who have really entered into a true Spirit-filled, fully-surrendered walk with the Lord where He is now leading your life in the direction that He will want it to go in – one of the first things that you will find happening is that God will start to prune out the people that He does not want in your life and start to bring in the people that He does want in your life.

As you will see in the Scripture verses I will list below, the Bible tells us to choose our friends very carefully in this life. These verses will tell us that he who walks with wise people will become wise himself, but that he who keeps company with fools will be destroyed. The Bible tells us that we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, that we are to stay away from people who cause divisions and offenses, and to withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly.

This does not mean that we cannot work with the lost, the downtrodden, and the people who need to find God and His message of eternal salvation. When Jesus came to our earth in the flesh, He always went after the sinners and the outcasts. But when Jesus went after these sinners, it was always for the express purpose of getting them saved and cleaned up.

Jesus did not chase after everyone. He ripped on the Pharisees and many of the high-ranking Jewish leaders. Some people are open to be helped, others are not. The Bible tells us to stay away from people who are considered to be “dogs,” and to beware of people who are “evil workers.”

One of the first things that God will do with your life once you come into a full surrender with Him is to start to set some boundary lines. He will now decide the path that you will follow in Him. He will now be leading you into the specific jobs that He will want you to have in this life. If you are single and have not married yet, He will lead you to the mate that He will want you to marry if it is in His perfect will that you get married in this life.

And once those boundary lines start to go up – one of the first things that God will do is to decide who is going to be coming into those boundary lines and who will be going out. In other words, God will be deciding who your true friends are going to be in this life and who will not.

The main reason God will be helping you to choose who your true friends are going to be in this life is because His ultimate and highest aim for you is to transform and sanctify you. In other words, He wants you to spiritually grow and mature in your walk with Him.

The Bible tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. God’s ultimate aim for us is our sanctification – where He starts to begin to mold and transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ.

The main reason that God will start to take out the friends in your life that He does not want you to have is because some of these people may be negative influences in your life. They may not be open to growing and maturing in the Lord like you will be, and all they will do is try and hold you back when you start your own spiritual journey and growth in the Lord.

God will not be putting up with this, and He will thus be taking all of these bad and negative influences out of your life very early on once you enter into this full surrender with Him. For those of you who are married and have children – it is the same thing when you do not want your children hanging out with other children who you know would be a bad and negative influence on your child.

It is the exact same way with God the Father! This is why God will be moving very early on to take out these negative influences in your life. Once this starts to happen, you have to go with the program or you could cause God to start pulling back on you. And once that starts to happen, you could then start to backslide and everything could then start to shut down.

If you will allow God to prune out the people that He does not want you to have in your life – then what He will start to do is to bring in the people that He will want to have in your life. I call these types of friends “God-friends.” These people will be other good, godly, Spirit-filled Christians who are truly walking in good stead with the Lord and they will now be the people that He will want you to share your walk with!

As you will see in the Scripture verses listed below – you will need other good, solid, Christian friends in your life to help you grow in the Lord. The Bible tells us that we can only “know in part.” No one has all of the answers to everything. By sharing your walk with other good, solid, Christian friends, you can each help each other out in your pursuit of the knowledge and ways of God.

You will know some things about God they may not know, and they will know some things that you may not know. You thus are able to help contribute to each other’s storehouse of knowledge in the Lord.

One of the verses listed below state that two friends can help sharpen each other up like “iron sharpens iron.” Just like one piece of iron can make the other piece of iron extremely sharp by rubbing up against it – two solid Christian friends can also have the same type of positive effect on one another by sharing their own personal walks in the Lord with one other.

By having other good, solid, Christian friends to share your journey with – you will literally accelerate your spiritual growth and development in the Lord because you will have more than one source in which to feed and learn from. You will be learning about God from all of your own personal adventures and experiences with Him – but you will also be learning more about God from all of your other friend’s personal journey and experiences with Him.

How many of these types of God-friends can you expect God to bring into your life? Only God will be able to answer that for each and every one of you. Some may only get one or two to start off with, others may get 5 or 10. Let God make the decision as to how many and when they will be brought into your life.

What I have learned is that it is not the quantity or amount that comes in – it is the quality. You are much better off having just one or two good, solid, quality friends as versus 10 or 15 that are not as good quality friends as the one or two may be.

Every Christian is operating at different levels of spiritual development with the Lord. God knows best as to who would be best suited for you at the level of spiritual development that you are currently operating at with Him. When God does bring in these types of special God-friends to share your journey with – they will be real treasures! These God-friendships will be anointed by God Himself due to the quality feedings and interaction that will occur in them.

Sadly, what you will find out very early on, is just because someone may be a saved and born again Christian does not mean this person has their act together in the Lord. Some people have become too judgmental and too critical in their walks with the Lord. Some have become too arrogant and pompous, thinking they have all the answers to everything. They will tend to look down on anyone else who is not operating at the knowledge levels they are operating at. Some have become so flaky in their walks with the Lord, that they have lost touch with reality and you won’t be able to connect with any of them.

God knows best as to who will be best suited for you at your current level of spiritual development with Him – so let Him guide you to the ones that He will want you to connect with. I have seen God do this so many times for others, that I literally consider it a miraculous piece of work – especially as to how He gets you to meet some of these people in the first place. Some of these chess moves are quite incredible, as most of these people will be total strangers to you until God moves in to match the two of you up.

The other thing that could occur besides God matching you up with total strangers is that He may move on someone else you may know, but that you are not particular good friends with. That person then gets saved and plugged in, and then they find out that you too are saved and plugged in – and now a good God-friendship can start to build up as you now have something in common with one another to start to build a good solid friendship with.

This could be another member in your family, someone that you may work with, a friend who you may have known from your past, or someone you may see at church from time to time but never really talked with. The possibilities are endless as to where these people may come from. These God-friends can come from anywhere and at anytime – so keep your radars up, as you never know when God may move to bring one of them into your life.

Now I will go to the actual Scripture verses confirming all of the above for you.

1. Choose Your Friends Carefully
This first verse is the one that will tell us to choose our friends very carefully in this life. This verse should literally be burned into your memory banks so that you never, ever forget this basic fundamental command from the Lord! Here it is:

“The righteous should CHOOSE HIS FRIENDS CAREFULLY, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26)

Notice this verse is specifically telling us that if we do not choose our friends very carefully in this life, that we could end up choosing the wrong type of people to become friends with, and they can then end up leading us astray from God and with what He wants to do with our lives. Many of God’s people have lost their calls in Him because they chose to hang out with the wrong type of people.

2. Benefits of Choosing Good God-Friends
Here are six very interesting verses showing you why God does want you to have other good, solid, Christian friends to share your walk with.

These six verses will show you that there is safety in the multitude of counselors, that plans can go awry without having other people to hash things out with, that war is waged by having wise counsel with others, that learning is increased by listening to wise counsel, and that if you cease to listen to wise counsel – that you will start to stray from being able to acquire more knowledge in God.

“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)

“A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24:5)

“Every purpose is established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war.” (Proverbs 20:18)

“Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” (Proverbs 15:22)

“Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.” (Proverbs 19:20)

“Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27)
Once you turn the reigns of your life over to God for Him to fully handle, He will now make sure that you get matched up with the right kind of people that you can become true God-friends with.

3. As Iron Sharpens Iron
This next verse is extremely fascinating as it tells us that two friends can help sharpen each other up as iron sharpens iron. A true God-friend can help keep you sharp in the Spirit, let you know when you are getting too far off track, help you get through and make sense of some of the downswings that can occur in your walk, confirm and help bear witness when you are on the right track, give you pep talks when needed, and help keep you in the game when you start to get too mad and frustrated when things do not go your way.

You each serve to help keep each other up in the Lord so that you both can continue to stay on the straight and narrow road that God now has you set up on. You can also help each other out if one starts to be tempted to do something they should not be engaging in. Here is the verse:

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17)

A true God-friend will always be honest and straight forward with you. You cannot help keep each other up and sharp in the Lord unless you are both willing to be totally honest with one another.

4. Do Not Be Unequally Yoked With Unbelievers
These next seven verses will tell us not to be yoked together with unbelievers, foolish men, dogs, evil workers, those who are disorderly, reckless, contentious and always causing trouble and strife.

There is one verse in particular that tells us that “evil company corrupts good habits.” This verse perfectly shows us what can happen to any of your children if they start hanging out with the wrong type of people.

Here are 7 good verses telling us to stay on our side of the fence, and to stay away from all of the bad apples who have no desire for God or anything that He stands for.

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14)

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20)

“A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:6)

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers …” (Philippians 3:2)

“But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6)

“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17)

“Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
All of these verses are giving us major warnings that we are to stay away from all of the bad apples in this life who will do nothing but try and bring us down to their lower way of living in this life. Many Christians have had their lives totally ruined and destroyed as a result of marrying the wrong people or choosing the wrong kinds of friends to hang out with.

Conclusion
Just as God saw fit to create Eve for Adam in the Garden of Eden when He first created the first man – God still places an extremely high value on personal friendships, and He will make sure to bring the right people and the right number of people in your life so you can each help each other out to go farther and fly higher in the Lord.

When Jesus first started to send the 12 apostles out to walk with His anointing, He would always send them out two-by-two.

Once you enter into a real supernatural walk with the Lord, you will go nuts if you do not have someone to share your walk with. There are simply too many good God things that will start to happen in your life, and you will need others to talk with, to vent with, to share with, to learn from one another, and to help keep each other on track.

I believe Jesus was giving us a major piece of revelation when He started sending the apostles out two-by-two instead of by themselves.

For those of you who have not been matched up with a good God-friend at this time – just go to God the Father in prayer and ask Him to bring you the right friend that would be best suited for you at your present level of spiritual development in Him.

Unless God is keeping you all to Himself for a reason and a season, there is no reason that God will not want to move on this request to bring you a true special God-friend in order to help accelerate your spiritual growth in Him. If God did it for Adam in the Garden of Eden, then there is no reason that He would not want to do it for you.

http://www.ucg.org/sermon/be-true-friend

HOW SHOULD I PRAY?

2012-01-23T10:38:00.001-08:00

How Should I Pray?

Question: Are all our prayers answered? Some say yes, others say no. Do we doubt when we repeat our prayers? Should a request be made only once or should we continue praying until we see results?

Answer: Some people would say that all of our prayers are answered, because even “no” is an answer.

However, we would say that God answers all prayers in His time, and since we don’t know what that is in every situation, we can conclude that some of our prayers have not yet been answered.

Repeating prayers doesn’t mean you are doubting God. It means you are being persistent. The Bible says that the “fervent” or persistent prayers of righteous people are effective and have great results (James 5:16).

But again, keep in mind that God’s ways are not our ways, and His timing is not our timing. We want everything right away, and occasionally that is what God wants, too. But more often than not, God takes longer than we would like. It’s only afterwords, when we see the results of God’s plan, that we realize His timing was the best.

When it comes to prayer, here are some wise words to live by: God is rarely early and never late, but always right on time.

What Is A Christian? Part 2

2012-01-23T10:35:00.001-08:00

What Is A Christian? Part 2 by Romans

Last week, I conducted a Discussion called What Is A Christian? I used The World's Bible Handbook by Robert Boyd, and an article titled “I Am What I Am,” in the section commenting on 1 Corinthians 15, to list many amazing and wonderful adjectives and descriptions of what it is to be a Christian. In that list we learned that Christians are forgiven, justifies, declared to be righteous, sanctified (set apart for Holy use), God's children by adoption, a new creation, heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ, members of the Body of Christ, we are the Temple of the Living God, kings and priests, the people of God, a Holy nation, crucified with Christ, dead with Christ, buried with Christ, raised with Christ, seated in the Heavenlies, not of this world, delivered from this present evil world, in Christ's Kingdom, a child of light to the lost, co-laborers with God, the servants of righteousness, God's workmanship, like Christ, at peace with God, Heaven's Ambassadors, empowered witnesses, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, highly valued, Jesus' disciples, victorious, more than conquerors, Jesus' friends, and glorified. It is a wonderful and enriching list. Powerful and edifying. As I went through it last week, one person commented, “No wonder Christians are hated as they are.” I had never thought of that but it has much truth to it. Look, again, at that list! God has poured out His Blessings on us exceeding by far the riches of the wealthiest person on earth.

But during the week, it occurred to me that, as wonderful as that list was, it was missing something... It was missing what is, perhaps, the [i]most marvelous aspect[/i] of being a Christian: We are [i]loved[/i]. Without love, anything and everything else means nothing. In I Corinthians 13, which is sometimes referred to as “the love chapter,” Paul writes about the importance of "charity." Charity is translated from the original Greek word, "agape" meaning "Godly love." We read, beginning in Verse 1: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

In order to better understand this particular dimension of being a Christian, we need to establish our spiritual roots. As Christians, few if any of us in this room, and few Christians in the world can trace themselves along bloodlines that go back to Abraham. We are, from a strictly Jewish standpoint, Gentiles. But we have been grafted into the nation of Israel. And, for the time being, we have, in a manner of speaking, supplanted physical descendants of the nation of Israel. This is something that Jesus, Himself, told His detractors would take place. We read in Matthew 21:43: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Notice, also, Paul's words in Romans 11:25: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Gentiles' supplanting physical descendants of Abraham, and becoming the people of God, was already taking place in Paul's day. But it was not to be a permanent replacement. Israel has not be foresaken. Paul reinforces that with these words found in Romans 11:1: “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”

Matthew Henry writes comments: “The restoration of the Jews is, in the course of things, far less improbable than the call of the Gentiles to be the children of Abraham; and though others now possess these privileges, it will not hinder their being admitted again.”

Let's go back to the beginning, and get a clearer picture of the nation into which we have been grafted in:

Deuteronomy 7:6: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers...”

Let's take this, again, a phrase at a time, to see how Gentiles, both in New Testament times, and today, factor into these descriptions of God's Chosen People:

Deuteronomy 7:6: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God:”

And Peter writes of us in 1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Deuteronomy 7:6 says: “... the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Peter writes: “Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

Deuteronomy goes on to say: “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers...”

But where is our bloodline, as Gentiles, going back to the Patriarchs? Does God also include us as coming under promises He had sworn unto Abraham? We read beginning in Galatians 3:27: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Yes. We have been grafted into Israel. We are considered an Holy Nation, the people of God, who have obtained Mercy, but God also regards us as “Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

But I would like to go back to the introductory portion of the reason that God tells Israel is the reason why He chose them to be His people. He told them that they were not more in number than any people but rather because they were the fewest in number.

And why were we chosen? Because we were among the mighty, the noblest and the wisest? Just the opposite: we read of ourselves beginning in1 Corinthians 1:26: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:”

But then God told Israel one other reason why He chose them. He said He did not choose them “because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you...” (Deuteronomy 7:6).

God loved Israel.

Of all the things that differentiated Israel from the nations that lived at the time, and that surrounded them, the fact that the God Whom they worshiped loved them, stands out, to me as a most outstanding difference. While their neighbors were worshiping the rivers and the moon and the cattle and bugs... while their neighbors were sacrificing their own children to serve their gods, Jehovah was telling them to be a holy people.

Just as they were about to enter the Promised Land, God made this statement to them: It is found in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Matthew Henry: “What could be said more moving, and more likely to make deep and lasting impressions? Every man wishes to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil; he desires happiness, and dreads misery. So great is the compassion of the Lord, that he has favoured men, by his word, with such a knowledge of good and evil as will make them for ever happy, if it be not their own fault. Let us hear the sum of the whole matter. If they and theirs would love God, and serve him, they should live and be happy. If they or theirs should turn from God, desert his service, and worship other gods, that would certainly be their ruin. There never was, since the fall of man, more than one way to heaven; which is marked out in both Testaments, though not with equal clearness. Moses meant that same way of acceptance, which Paul more plainly described; and Paul's words mean the same obedience, on which Moses more fully treated. In both Testaments the good and right way is brought near, and plainly revealed to us.”

Yes, “In both Testaments the good and right way is brought near, and plainly revealed to us.”

We read in the Old Testament in Psalms 36:7: “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

With that in mind, Jesus lamented over the stiffnecked and rebellious resistance of the Israelities. We read in Luke 13:34: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

God wanted them to trust Him, to believe Him and to obey Him, not merely that He might be worshiped and glorified, but for their good, as well: Notice in Deuteronomy 5:29: “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”

Those are words that are spoken to someone who is loved, whose well-being is a priority.

What kind of love did God love Israel with? We are told in Jeremiah 31:3: “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

God's love for His people is an everlasting love. Yes, as I said earlier, at the present time Gentiles have supplanted the descendants of Jacob as the people of God. But God's love is an everlasting love. In the Verses immediately following His declaration of lovingkindness and an everlasting love for Israel, we read a Prophecy of Israel's return from their exile which God, Himself will bring about:

Beginning in Isaiah 31:8: “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.” His everlasting love will be made manifest.

As Christians, we are also in a love relationship with God. And these Psalms that were written in songs of praise to God, apply every bit to us as they did to Old Covenant Israel:

We read in Psalms 143:8: “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.”

The psalmist wrote: “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning...”

But then we are to respond: We read in Psalms 69:16: “Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.”

Notice, also, Psalms 146:8: “The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:”

Our eyes, as New Testament Christians have been opened to see, to recognize, to understand, and to accept the Truth of the Word of God. And we can say, as Israel was able to say, that the love for His people was God's motivating factor.

What is the reason given in, what may be, the most well-known Verse, about why God gave His only begotten Son?

John 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned:”

God loved us.

God loves us.

God [i]is[/i] love.

Notice 1 John 4:16: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

1 John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us.”

John 15:9: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”

John 15:10: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.”

God's love for us is as a Father to His children:

Proverbs 3:12: “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

But how is His love manifest to us? I give full credit to Torrey's Topical Textbook for the lists and headings provided there as I wrote this Evening's Discussion:

It is manifested in His coming to seek the lost:
Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Jesus love is manifest by His praying for His enemies:
We read, beginning in Luke 23:33: “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.”

But I hasten to add, Jesus' love was manifest in His praying for His enemies. When we read that, it is so easy to limit that list of enemies to the Pharisees and chief priests who had Him arrested, and to the soldiers who mocked and beat Him. But all of our names would appear on a list of the enemies of Christ, if one existed.

Yes, Jesus said in John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

But we have not always done whatsoever He commanded us. So Jesus did not lay down His life for those who obeyed Him, for His friends...

We read in Romans 5:8 and 10: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” And Verse 10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

The Love of Christ is manifest to us by His giving Himself for us:
Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The Love of Christ is manifest to us by His dying for us:
1 John 3:16: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Jesus' love is manifest in His bearing our sins:
Hebrews 9:28: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

The Love of Christ is manifest to us by His washing away our sins:
Revelation 1:5: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood...”

Jesus manifests His Love for us by Interceding for us:
Hebrews 7:25: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Notice, now, the incredibly beautiful summary statement that Matthew Henry penned about Christ as our High Priest and Intercessor, and our proper response to Him: “The law which made the Levitical priesthood, showed that the priests were frail, dying creatures, not able to save their own lives, much less could they save the souls of those who came to them. But the High Priest of our profession holds his office by the power of endless life in himself; not only to keep himself alive, but to give spiritual and eternal life to all who rely upon his sacrifice and intercession. The better covenant, of which Jesus was the Surety, is not here contrasted with the covenant of works, by which every transgressor is shut up under the curse. It is distinguished from the Sinai covenant with Israel, and the legal dispensation under which the church so long remained. The better covenant brought the church and every believer into clearer light, more perfect liberty, and more abundant privileges. In the order of Aaron there was a multitude of priests, of high priests one after another; but in the priesthood of Christ there is only one and the same. This is the believer's safety and happiness, that this everlasting High Priest is able to save to the uttermost, in all times, in all cases. Surely then it becomes us to desire a spirituality and holiness, as much beyond those of the Old Testament believers, as our advantages exceed theirs.”

Jesus Love is manifest to us by His sending the Holy Spirit:
John 16:7 and 13: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

John 16: 13: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

The Love of Christ is manifest to us by His rebukes and chastisements:
Revelation 3:19: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

Notice also these words found beginning in Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?”

Matthew Henry writes of this chastisement: “Sinners ought to take the rebukes of God's word and rod, as tokens of his love to their souls. Christ stood without; knocking, by the dealings of his providence, the warnings and teaching of his word, and the influences of his Spirit. Christ still graciously, by his word and Spirit, comes to the door of the hearts of sinners. Those who open to him shall enjoy his presence. If what he finds would make but a poor feast, what he brings will supply a rich one. He will give fresh supplies of graces and comforts. In the conclusion is a promise to the overcoming believer. Christ himself had temptations and conflicts; he overcame them all, and was more than a conqueror. Those made like to Christ in his trials, shall be made like to him in glory.”

To His saints, the Love of Christ is unchangeable:
John 13:1: “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”

And, a Christian is also one who receives and reflects the Love of God:
John 15:12: “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Notice also: Romans 5:5: “... the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” To me, Paul is not merely saying that God's love is shed abroad to our hearts, but rather through our hearts as He loves through us, all those who come into contact with us. This understanding is confirmed beginning in 1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

What is a Christian?

A Christian is one who is Loved by our Almighty Creator God, and who, through the Power of His indwelling Holy Spirit, [i]accepts[/i] His Love, [i]cherishes [/i]His Love, and [i]returns [/i]His Love through obeying His Commands:

Jesus said in John 15:10: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

Do you see what Jesus just said? “Keep my Commandments that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” It is the [i]very same[/i] Love desire for blessing that God expressed for Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land, when He said in Deuteronomy 30:19: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live...”

A Christian is one who [i]never[/i] has to fear being rejected by his Savior:

We read in John 6:37: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Lastly, a Christian is one who [i]never[/i] has to fear being separated from the Love of Christ:

Paul asked in Romans 8:35: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I will close with Matthew Henry's thoughts: “All things whatever, in heaven and earth, are not so great a display of God's free love, as the gift of his coequal Son to be the atonement on the cross for the sin of man; and all the rest follows upon union with him, and interest in him. All things, all which can be the causes or means of any real good to the faithful Christian. He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for us, will give us what we need in the way to it. Men may justify themselves, though the accusations are in full force against them; but if God justifies, that answers all. By Christ we are thus secured. By the merit of his death he paid our debt. Yea, rather that is risen again. This is convincing evidence that Divine justice was satisfied. We have such a Friend at the right hand of God; all power is given to him. He is there, making intercession. Believer! does your soul say within you, Oh that he were mine! and oh that I were his; that I could please him and live to him! Then do not toss your spirit and perplex your thoughts in fruitless, endless doubtings, but as you are convinced of ungodliness, believe on Him who justifies the ungodly. You are condemned, yet Christ is dead and risen. Flee to Him as such. God having manifested his love in giving his own Son for us, can we think that any thing should turn aside or do away that love? Troubles neither cause nor show any abatement of his love. Whatever believers may be separated from, enough remains. None can take Christ from the believer: none can take the believer from Him; and that is enough.”

This concludes this Evening's Discussion: What Is A Christian? Part 2

Romans, January 21st, 2012

The Tabernacle (part 2)

2012-01-21T18:24:00.001-08:00

The Golden Altar of Incense of the Tabernacle
The golden altar of incense, which is not to be confused with the brazen altar, sat in front of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This altar was smaller than the brazen altar. It was a square with each side measuring 1.5 feet and was 3 feet high. It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. Four horns protruded from the four corners of the altar.
God commanded the priests to burn incense on the golden altar every morning and evening, the same time that the daily burnt offerings were made. The incense was to be left burning continually throughout the day and night as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It was made of an equal part of four precious spices (stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense) and was considered holy. God commanded the Israelites not to use the same formula outside the tabernacle to make perfume for their own consumption; otherwise, they were to be cut off from their people (Exodus 30:34-38).
The incense was a symbol of the prayers and intercession of the people going up to God as a sweet fragrance. God wanted His dwelling to be a place where people could approach Him and pray to Him.
“…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:7)
The picture of prayers wafting up to heaven like incense is captured in David’s psalm and also in John’s vision in Revelations:
“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:2)

“Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.” (Revelations 8:3-4)
The golden altar, furthermore, is a representation of Christ, who is our intercessor before God the Father. During His days on earth, Jesus prayed for the believers. He was like the high priest of the tabernacle, who bore the names of each of the Israelite tribes on his breastplate before God. Just before He was betrayed and sentenced to death, Jesus interceded for His disciples and all believers, asking God to guard them from evil and sanctify them by His Word, and that they may see God’s glory and be a witness to the world (John 17:1-26). Today, Jesus still is our high priest at the Father’s side, interceding for God’s people:
“Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Romans 8:34)
Since we have been forgiven of our sins through the blood of Christ, we also come boldly in prayer in Jesus’ name. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are praying based on the work He has done and not on our own merit. It is in His powerful name that we are saved and baptized, and in His name we live, speak and act.
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
The horns of the golden altar were sprinkled with blood from the animal sacrifice to cleanse and purify it from the sins of the Israelites (Leviticus 4:7, 16:18). Just as the horns on the brazen altar represent the power of Christ’s blood to forgive sins, the horns on golden altar signify the power of His blood in prayer as we confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness.
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:15-16)
The Holy of Holies and the Veil
Within the Holy Place of the tabernacle, there was an inner room called the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. Judging from its name, we can see that it was a most sacred room, a place no ordinary person could enter. It was God’s special dwelling place in the midst of His people. During the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness, God appeared as a pillar of cloud or fire in and above the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube — its length, width and height were all equal to 15 feet.
A thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. This curtain, known as the “veil,” was made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn. There were figures of cherubim (angels) embroidered onto it. Cherubim, spirits who serve God, were in the presence of God to demonstrate His almighty power and majesty. They also guarded the throne of God. These cherubim were also on the innermost layer of covering of the tent. If one looked upward, they would see the cherubim figures.
The word “veil” in Hebrew means a screen, divider or separator that hides. What was this curtain hiding? Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God. In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement.
The picture of the veil was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13). The veil was a barrier to make sure that man could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins.
“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)
So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain during the history of Israel. However, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. Only God could have carried out such an incredible feat because the veil was too high for human hands to have reached it, and too thick to have torn it. (The Jerusalem temple, a replica of the wilderness tabernacle, had a curtain that was about 60 feet in height, 30 feet in width and four inches thick.) Furthermore, it was torn from top down, meaning this act must have come from above.
As the veil was torn, the Holy of Holies was exposed. God’s presence was now accessible to all. Shocking as this may have been to the priests ministering in the temple that day, it is indeed good news to us as believers, because we know that Jesus’ death has atoned for our sins and made us right before God. The torn veil illustrated Jesus’ body broken for us, opening the way for us to come to God. As Jesus cried out “It is finished!” on the cross, He was indeed proclaiming that God’s redemptive plan was now complete. The age of animal offerings was over. The ultimate offering had been sacrificed.
We can now boldly enter into God’s presence, “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
The Holy of Holies is a representation of heaven itself, God’s dwelling place, which we have access now through Christ. In Revelations, John’s vision of heaven — the New Jerusalem — also was a perfect square, just as the Holy of Holies was (Revelation 21:16).
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. …But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:24-26)
The Ark of the Covenant and Atonement Cover
Within the Holy of Holies, shielded from the eye of the common man, was one piece of furniture comprising two parts: the Ark of the Covenant and the atonement cover (or “mercy seat”) on top of it. The ark was a chest made of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold inside and out. It was 3 feet, 9 inches long and 2 feet, 3 inches wide and high. God commanded Moses to put in the ark three items: a golden pot of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. We will discuss these three objects in further detail below.
The atonement cover was the lid for the ark. On top of it stood two cherubim (angels) at the two ends, facing each other. The cherubim, symbols of God’s divine presence and power, were facing downward toward the ark with outstretched wings that covered the atonement cover. The whole structure was beaten out of one piece of pure gold. The atonement cover was God’s dwelling place in the tabernacle. It was His throne, flanked by angels. God said to Moses:
“There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” (Exodus 25:22)

“Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.” (Leviticus 16:2)
Other Scriptures also speak of God’s throne:
“…the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.” (2 Samuel 6:2)

“O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.” (Isaiah 37:16)
Above the ark and the atonement cover, God appeared in His glory in “unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). This light is sometimes referred to as the Shekinah glory. The word Shekinah, although it does not appear in our English bibles, has the same roots as the word for tabernacle in Hebrew and refers to the presence of the Lord.
Because the ark was God’s throne among His people, it was a symbol of His presence and power with them wherever it went. There are quite a number of miracles recorded in the Old Testament surrounding the ark: With the presence of the ark, the waters of the River Jordan divided so the Israelites could cross on dry land, and the walls of Jericho fell so that the Israelites could capture it (Joshua 3:14-17, 6:6-21). Yet the ark could not be treated with irreverence because it was also a symbol of God’s judgment and wrath. When the Israelites fought their enemies the Philistines during the time of the prophet Samuel, they disregarded the commands of the Lord and took the ark out to the battlefield with them, “summoning” God’s presence. God caused the Philistines to win the battle and “the glory departed from Israel, for the ark of the Lord was taken” (1 Samuel 4:22). However, God showed His power to the Philistines when He caused their idol, Dagon, to fall to the ground when the ark was placed next to it, and several Philistine cities were plagued heavily when the ark was in their midst (1 Samuel 5). Ultimately, the ark was returned to Israel.

What Is A Christian?

2012-01-13T08:38:00.001-08:00

What Is a Christian? By Romans

I wasn't sure what to speak on tonight, so I consulted a book that has been for me a gold mine of unlimited riches, The World's Bible Handbook by Robert Boyd. In an article titled “I Am What I Am,” in the section commenting on 1 Corinthians 15, Mr. Boyd compiles a list that describes what we, as Christians, are. I have titled tonight's Discussion, “What Is A Christian?” I have used most of the headings and Scriptures from the Bible Handbook, but I have also added a few ideas and Verses of my own to round things out. Tonight, we will be looking at what makes us Christian. Speaking for myself, Mr. Boyd has compiled a list that is more thorough and, seeing it all in one place, is more inspiring than anything I have ever seen before. It also serves to powerfully point out the stark difference between how the world writes us off a fools, compared to how God provides for us, and has welcomed us into His Family.

First, we should remember who we were:
Ephesians 2:12: “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Then Verse 19: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”

We are forgiven:
We read in Romans 4:7: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

That, my friends, is who we are, [i]Blessed[/i] because we are forgiven.

And, as a result of being forgiven, Paul goes on to tell us in Ephesians 4:32: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

But being forgiven is just the beginning...

We are justified:
Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith...”

We are declared to be righteous:
Romans 3:25: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

We are sanctified (which means, set apart for Holy use):
Hebrews 10:10: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

1 Corinthians 6:11: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

We are children of God by adoption:
Romans 8:15: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”

It is important to point out here that in the Middle East, Abba is an intimate term of endearment. We miss that intimacy in this culture if we don't fully realize that that is how children there say, [i]“Daddy.”[/i] That is how the Almighty God wants us to think of Him! This really struck home powerfully for me when I visited Israel. I was in a crowded street walking through the crowds of both tourists and local residents, when suddenly a happy little boy broke through the crowd and ran to his father calling, “Abba! Abba!” It was then that I realized, as never before, the kind of relationship that God wanted with me.

Ephesians 1:5: “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will...”

We are a new creation:
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

As children, we are heirs of God, as well as joint-heirs with Christ:
Romans 8:16: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

But, as heirs, [i]what[/i] do we inherit?
Matthew 25:34: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”

Revelation 21:7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

We are members of the Body of Christ:
1 Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

Ephesians 5:29: “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”

We are the Temple of God:
1 Corinthians 3:16: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

1 Corinthians 6:19: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

We are kings and priests:
Revelation 20:6: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Revelation 22:5: “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

1 Corinthians 4:8: “Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

We are the people of God:
1 Peter 2:10: “Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

“Peculiar” is not a word that is usually used as a compliment. But if you hear it in these two other Verses you might be less concerned about it being applied to us, as believers:

We read in Psalms 135:4: “For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.”

And then in Titus 2:14: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

We are crucified with Christ:
Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:”

Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

We are dead with Christ:
Romans 6:8: “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:”

Buried with Christ
Romans 6:4: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:”

Romans 6:6-7: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”

And then we are raised with Christ:
Colossians 2:12: “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”

Romans 6:3-8: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:”

We are seated in the Heavenlies:
Ephesians 2:5: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Being a Christian means that we are not of this world:
John 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.”

John 17:15: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

We are delivered from this present evil world:
Galatians 1:3: “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:”

We are in Christ's Kingdom:
Colossians 1:13: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

We are each a child of light to the lost:
Acts 13:47: “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”

Ephesians 5:8: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”

We are co-laborers with God:
1 Corinthians 3:9: “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”

We are servants of Righteousness:
Romans 6:18: “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

We are God's Workmanship:
Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We are like Christ:
1 John 4:17: “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”

We are at Peace with God:
Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

We are Heaven's Ambassadors:
2 Corinthians 5:20: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

We are empowered witnesses:
Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

We are the salt of the Earth:
Matthew 5:13: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

We are the light of the world:
Matthew 5:14: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

We are highly valued:
Luke 12:6: “... ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Of more value than sparrows? Is that being highly valued? Well, it is when you consider what Jesus said immediately before that: “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?” Yes, we are highly valued.

We are Jesus' disciples:
John 13:35: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

We are victorious:
1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are more than conquerors:
Romans 8:37: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

We are Jesus' friends:
John 15:14: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

We are glorified:
Romans 8:30: “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Who are we?

We are Christians.

We read in Hebrews 3:14: “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end...” Besides being made “partakers of Christ,” we read in 2 Corinthians 2:15: “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ...” On another level we are told in Ephesians 4:25: “...for we are members one of another.” The list of positive themes that describe us can supply us with many, many hours of meditation and edification in our spiritual walk. I have never heard any of our detractors ever use any of the adjectives, descriptions and categories that I used, tonight, to describe who and what we are. The world dismisses us as fools believing in fairy tales. They don't have the [i]remotest[/i] idea of the blessings poured out on us by God. But remember, Jesus told us to expect to be resisted and rejected: He said beginning in John 15:18: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 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. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.”

But I also hasten to add these words of consolation that Jesus also spoke to us in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Lastly, we are [i]complete[/i] in Christ:
That is such a reassuring and comforting thought: We read in Colossians 2:10: “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

Now, if you think I could get through a Discussion without sharing with all of you the comments of Matthew Henry, you are wrong. Regarding our being complete in Christ, Mr. Henry writes: “We have in Him the substance of all the shadows of the ceremonial law. All the defects of it are made up in the gospel of Christ, by his complete sacrifice for sin, and by the revelation of the will of God. To be complete, is to be furnished with all things necessary for salvation. By this one word "complete," is shown that we have in Christ whatever is required. "In him," not when we look to Christ, as though he were distant from us, but we are in him, when, by the power of the Spirit, we have faith wrought in our hearts by the Spirit, and we are united to our Head. The circumcision of the heart, the crucifixion of the flesh, the death and burial to sin and to the world, and the resurrection to newness of life, set forth in baptism, and by faith wrought in our hearts, prove that our sins are forgiven, and that we are fully delivered from the curse of the law. Through Christ, we, who were dead in sins, are quickened. Christ's death was the death of our sins; Christ's resurrection is the quickening of our souls.”

This concludes this Evening's Discussion, “What Is A Christian?”

Romans, January 13th, 2012

Christian Resolutions

2012-01-13T08:28:00.001-08:00

“Christian Resolutions” by Romans

Well, here we are in the first few days of the New Year. It is a cultural tradition that we make resolutions for what we are going to accomplish, add to our lives or put out of our lives in the coming New Year.

Would anyone like to share with us any resolutions that you made for 2012, or, any stories about past resolution successes or failures?

Tonight, as last week, I offer you a Discussion in the spirit of the New Year, but this time with a very different focus than last week. Tonight, we are going to look at what I call, Christian Resolutions. I will be utilizing some Topic Headings and Scriptures provided by Torrey's Topical Textbook, and Nave's Topical Bible, and I give them each general credit, here.

What is a resolution? It is an action, a change in our lives that we resolve to make, or are determined to be performed.

Living a Life as a follower of Jesus Christ is a Life that should include regular personal spiritual self-examination, followed by changes in thought and behavior. In the Church I attended in Philadelphia, whenever we partook of the Lord's Table, a Verse was included during the ceremony that I have not heard included in the Service since moving to Virginia in any of the various Churches I have attended. The Verse was quoted in context, and is found right in the midst of Paul's instructions regarding partaking of the Lord's Table, that he wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11:27: “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”

Let me ask all of you, has anyone else heard the Verse about self-examination included during the taking of Communion?

Let's read that Verse again and make sure we understand it: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” We should not practice this self-examination with an eye toward not partaking of the Lord's Table, but rather participating. Self-examination brings us to an awareness of our sins. And when we become aware of them, what should we do? Confess them to God. Days before the Service, in a room alone and without distractions, review your activities, your responses to negative situations, your priorities, your generosity or lack thereof, your willingness to forgive offenses, your indulging lustful thoughts... Review in your mind the Ten Commandments. Read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapters 5 through 7. Allow God's Word to speak to you and correct you. Then allow that self-examination to lead to confession and repentance days before the Communion Table.

Scripture tells us in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

It all brings us to a clearer understanding of why we are partaking of the Communion Table at all. And then, as Paul continued in his instructions, after the self-examination and confession process is complete, "... so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”

We read in Matthew 26:26: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

But self-examination should take place even when we are not at the Communion Table.

Consider the following Verse:

2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

That is, admittedly, a bit difficult to follow in King James English: Allow me to quote that again from a more modern translation in the hope of making clearer: From the International Standard Version, we read “Keep examining yourselves to see whether you are continuing in the faith. Test yourselves! You know, don’t you, that Jesus the Messiah lives in you? Could it be that you are failing the test? ”

Matthew Henry has this to say of that Verse: “Though it is God's gracious method to bear long with sinners, yet he will not bear always; at length he will come, and will not spare those who remain obstinate and impenitent. Christ at his crucifixion, appeared as only a weak and helpless man, but his resurrection and life showed his Divine power. So the apostles, how mean and contemptible soever they appeared to the world, yet, as instruments, they manifested the power of God. Let them prove their tempers, conduct, and experience, as gold is assayed or proved by the touchstone. If they could prove themselves not to be reprobates, not to be rejected of Christ, he trusted they would know that he was not a reprobate, not disowned by Christ. They ought to know if Christ Jesus was in them, by the influences, graces, and indwelling of his Spirit, by his kingdom set up in their hearts. Let us question our own souls; either we are true Christians, or we are deceivers. Unless Christ be in us by his Spirit, and power of his love, our faith is dead, and we are yet disapproved by our Judge.”

While you are digesting those words, listen again to that Verse as translated in the International Standard Version:

“Keep examining yourselves to see whether you are continuing in the faith. Test yourselves! You know, don’t you, that Jesus the Messiah lives in you? Could it be that you are failing the test? ”

This need not be a condemnation but it is a sobering question. However, it is also a question for which Scripture provides a positive remedy. Listen to these words Peter penned in his Second Epistle. In chapter 5 and Verse 10 we read: “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”

“If you do these things, ye shall never fall.”

Don't misunderstand: I am not preaching a gospel of works, here! I am saying two things: First, that we should regularly examine ourselves. And then, not if, but when we find sin in our lives, we are to confess those sins, and God will forgive us and cleanse us of unrighteousness. And then God would have us put whatever sins we confess out of our lives.

Notice what Paul writes in Ephesians 4:31-32: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” I do not believe in or teach Salvation by works. But the Bible clearly teaches that there are things that Christians will do not in order to be saved, but rather in response to being saved. We read of Jesus' words in John 8:31: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”

Now, let's back to Peter's words: Peter assures us that there are things that, if we do them, we “shall never fall.”

What things?

The things that he lists in the Verses that precede his assurance, and we'll look at those in a second.

These things are what I am calling for tonight's Discussion, “Christian Resolutions.” These are the things Peter admonishes us to do, to make our calling and election sure.

Beginning in 2 Peter 1:5, we read: “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”

First, before we focus on Peter's list of what I am calling Christian Resolutions, let us notice that we are adding these things to what is already there, namely “Faith.”

Faith:

What do we know about Faith? Where does it come from? Are we born with it?

No...

As we read in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith.” It is imparted to us.
Notice what the rarely cited Book of Jude has to say about it. We read in Jude 1:3 that we should “... earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Faith was delivered unto the saints. It was and is a Gift from God to the saints who were alive when Jude wrote this epistle, and it is God's Gift to us. But as the Parables of the Talents and the Pounds taught us, we are to use this Gift and bear fruit with it to God's Glory and Honor.

Of Faith, Matthew Henry writes: “Faith unites the weak believer to Christ, as really as it does the strong one, and purifies the heart of one as truly as of another; and every sincere believer is by his faith justified in the sight of God. Faith worketh godliness, and produces effects which no other grace in the soul can do. In Christ all fulness dwells, and pardon, peace, grace, and knowledge, and new principles, are thus given through the Holy Spirit.”

James tells us beginning in James 2:22: “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

So Faith in a Christian is a basic prerequisite for being a believer. It is there because God put it there. We believe in Faith, but we are to act on it and show that it is alive in us. James explains in James 2:18: “... shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

To that Faith we are to Add Virtue:

Virtue is translated, here, from the Greek word “arete” meaning “excellence.”

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines “virtue” as “conformity to a standard of right”

For Christians, “Who is our Standard of Right”? It is Jesus Christ, Who told His followers in Luke 9:23: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” His words “Follow Me” occur 17 times in the Four Gospels. If we are to add to our Faith, Virtue, which is “conformity to a standard of right,” then the why not add the Supreme Standard of Right, namely Jesus Christ? If fact, Scripture tells us to do just that: Notice the instruction in 3 John 1:11: “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.”

To Virtue we are to Add Knowledge:

What kind of knowledge?

Matthew Henry writes, “The believer must add knowledge to his virtue, increasing acquaintance with the whole truth and will of God.”

How can we do that? By getting in to the Word of God, and getting the Word of God into us. We read some sobering words that we find in Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge...”

Yes, that was an Old Testament condemnation to the stiff-necked and rebellious children of Israel. But the principle is that lack of knowledge or rejection of knowledge leads to destruction. Of those who resist and reject the Word of God, we read in Romans 1:28: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”

We read in Psalms 119:66: “Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.” Having the Knowledge that God would impart to us through His Word keeps us from going astray and into error, and destruction.

We read in 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ...” And that growth will often require that we abandon and/or revise ideas and conclusions that were the result of misunderstanding, or an incomplete familiarity with Scripture. We are to grow into His Truth by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Notice Jesus' Words when He promised to send the Holy Spirit: We read in John 16:13: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear...” And we are to follow His lead, the lead of the Holy Spirit as the Father speaks to us through Him. We are renewed by the knowledge imparted to us, knowledge for which there is no other Source. Notice Colossians 3:9: “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”

To Knowledge we are to Add Temperance:

First, Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines “temperance” as:
“1: moderation in action, thought, or feeling, restraint; and
2: habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions”

Matthew Henry writes of adding Temperance: “We must add temperance to knowledge; moderation about worldly things.”

In one of the occurrences of Jesus inviting His disciples to follow Him, He spoke of temperance in Luke 9:23: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Certainly self-denial would easily fall under the definition of temperance, being the “habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions.”

But remember that Jesus doesn't speak of us merely following Him. As I quoted earlier, He said in John 8:31: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” We are to follow Him, but then once we start, we are to continue to follow Him! Jesus said in Luke 9:62: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Notice Paul's understanding of the need to both follow Jesus and to continue to follow Jesus, all the while in the context of temperance: He wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:25 and 27: “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” (27) “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Paul writes of adding both Virtue and Temperance in Romans 13:14: “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Our temperance should be something that serves as an example and a witness to all those who know us: We read in Philippians 4:5: “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”

To Temperance we are to Add Patience:

Matthew Henry writes of adding Patience: “... add to temperance, patience, or cheerful submission to the will of God. Tribulation worketh patience, whereby we bear all calamities and crosses with silence and submission.”

We are told that God is the God of Patience, but notice what Paul adds:

Romans 15:5: “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are admonished to be likeminded not merely with fellow-believers, but with God's own attitude toward us of “patience and consolation.” Listen, again, to how the Verse is phrased: “ Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus...”

Christ is also cited as an example of Patience:

Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

Various Trials of saints lead to Patience:

Romans 5:3: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Patience leading to hope is re-affirmed by Paul in Romans 15:4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

This idea of the spiritual fruits of patience is confirmed by James when he wrote in James 1:3 “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

We are to Exercise Patience in Running the Race Set Before Us:

After reviewing all of the heroes of Faith listed in Hebrews 11, chapter 12 opens with the words in Hebrews 12:1: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us...”

We are to Exercise Patience in Bringing Forth Fruits

In His Parable of the Sower, Jesus describes the seeds which fell on good ground with these words in Luke 8:15: “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
We are to Exercise Patience in Well-doing:

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

To Patience we are to Add Godliness:

Of adding Godliness, Matthew Henry writes: “To patience we must add godliness: this includes the holy affections and dispositions found in the true worshipper of God; with tender affection to all fellow Christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, heirs of the same inheritance.”

We often thank God for our being blessed with living in a land where we can worship God without fear of arrest or persecution. Such is not the case for many Christians living in China and various countries dominated by other religions. We should not take our religious freedoms for granted. Paul instructs us in 1 Timothy 2:1: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

We read in Psalms 4:3: “But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.”

How important is it to be assured that when we call, God will hear us? This is in addition to Peter's telling us how important it is that we add godliness and these other things we are examining, to our faith, assuring us that if we do so, we shall never fall.

To Godliness we are to Add Brotherly Kindness:

This comes from the Greek word, “filadelfia” meaning brotherly affection.

Romans 12:10: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”

Hebrews 13:1: “Let brotherly love continue.”

At the same time we should not limit our expression of kindness to fellow-believers. Jesus said in Matthew 5:47: “And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?”

Brotherly kindness, then, is the kindness that we extend to a stranger, as we would a brother. This is confirmed in 3 John 1:5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church:” Which brings us to the next item Peter said we should add to make our calling and election sure:

To Brotherly Kindness we are to Add Charity:

The word “charity” used here is translated from the Greek word, “agape.” Strong's Concordance defines it as “love, i.e. affection or benevolence.” It is most often understood as the Love of God, much higher than “fileo” or brotherly love.

The best way to discuss a believer's expression of “agape`” or “charity” or “the Love of God” to our fellow man, I turn to 1 Corinthians 13, known as the “love chapter.” As you will see as we review the details of how charity is expressed, we are not talking about brotherly love, but rather about love as God loves us:

1 Corinthians 13:1: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth... And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

So, that's Peter's list of the items we should add to our Faith: Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness; and Charity. But where and how are we supposed to obtain the items on the list?

There is an another interesting list of spiritual qualities found in the Book of Galatians, beginning in “Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.”

Peter said to our Faith we add these things on his list. But we learn here that Faith, itself, is a Fruit of the Spirit.

Peter said to add Virtue, also defined as Goodness, which is another Fruit of the Spirit.

Peter said we are to add Knowledge, and we read in 2 Corinthians 4:6: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Peter said to add Temperance which is another Fruit of the Spirit.

Peter said to add Patience. Longsuffering is a Fruit of the Spirit.

Peter said to add Godliness and Charity (agape`). Love, translated from the same Greek word “agape`,” is a Fruit of the Spirit.

Peter said to add Brotherly Kindness. Paul tell us in the love chapter that “charity is kind.”

Besides that, we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:9: “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”

The items included in Peter's list of spiritual qualities that we should add to our lives, are all Gifts from God to us. All we have to do is receive them, and apply them. And, as Peter said in 2 Peter 1:8: “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I will conclude this Evening's Discussion with Matthew Henry's summary of these “Christian Resolutions” as I have called them, which Peter assures us, that if we add them to our lives and practice, we shall never fall:

“The promises to those who are partakers of a Divine nature, will cause us to inquire whether we are really renewed in the spirit of our minds; let us turn all these promises into prayers for the transforming and purifying grace of the Holy Spirit. Wherefore let Christians labour to attain assurance of their calling, and of their election, by believing and well-doing; and thus carefully to endeavour, is a firm argument of the grace and mercy of God, upholding them so that they shall not utterly fall. Those who are diligent in the work of religion, shall have a triumphant entrance into that everlasting kingdom where Christ reigns, and they shall reign with him for ever and ever...”

This concludes this Evening's Discussion, “Christian Resolutions”

Romans, January 6th, 2012

Christian Maturity Series - The Church of Jesus Christ

2012-01-13T08:25:00.001-08:00

Continuing our Christian Maturity series of bible studies, we are looking this evening at: The Church of Jesus Christ and our objectives will be to find what is this church, who makes up this church, and what is the purpose of this church.

In past weeks and months, we have learned about Jesus’ arrival in the world; His teachings and ministry; His death and His resurrection. Last lesson we saw how the Holy Spirit of God lives within each of us and that we - you and I, individually - are the New Temple – where God’s Holy Spirit enters into this new temple through Jesus opening the doorway of our hearts

[i]“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)[/i]
[b] and[/b]
[i]“Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Mat 7:14)[/i]
Through Him, we have gained the restoration of the daily walk, or communion with God, that He wants with us and that Adam and Eve enjoyed before our enemy fooled them and tempted them into sin.

In the Old Testament, beginning in the Garden, God walked with Adam. After the Fall, God established His Old Covenant temple, so that He could inhabit the Holy of Holies and speak to His people through the High Priest. The New Covenant through Jesus, established a new temple within each of His people individually, Jesus being our High Priest. (For God had appointed an Old Covenant High Priest to take the people’s sacrifice, made by the temple priest, from the outer court of the temple into the Holy of Holies. Now, Jesus our High Priest, takes our sacrifice from our temple directly to the Holy of Holies on God’s throne.)

If we individually (our bodies) are temples, collectively we are The Church. The Church is the Body of Christ, with Jesus as the Head.

We see the church scripturally in a couple of different ways: the Universal Church and the Local Church.
[b]
i) The Universal Church[/b]

(1) Paul frequently compares the church to a body. A body can have only one head. Who is the head of the church body? (Ephesians 5:23)
[i]Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.[/i]

Who are the members? (I Corinthians 12:27)
[i]1Cr 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.[/i]

The word “members” here is not speaking of membership as in being the member of a club, or even signing a membership roster at your local church. Here, in your local church, as we will speak of later in this study, you personally would be a member (as in an arm or a leg) of your church body. Each member has a specific function different from, say, the function of your church pastor. You might function for the body as the hands that keep the sanctuary clean, for example; or the mouth that lovingly admonishes or encourages the wise virgins to keep their lamps trimmed (while the Bride awaits the return of Her Groom); or the feet that carry dinner to an elderly shut-in.

Speaking of the Universal Church, rather than your local church and you, the word “members” is speaking of each local church body, or even a denomination, as being a member (as in an arm or a leg) of the whole body of Christ of all saved people of all ages, past, present and future. Some churches may have an anointing for praise music that goes out to the nations to glorify God, and to encourage, uplift and edify the Church; Some churches may have a gift for enormous relief ministry following disaster. You get the picture.

There is no building, or religious administrative or financial institution that serves as the one body of Christ. It is everyone and every organization that has Christ as his/her/its head. No-one and no denomination can claim Headship but Christ alone.

However, there are Christians who disagree with the above definition or even the existence of the Universal Church. For full disclosure of that opinion, I offer the following web page link to save or mark for your independent reference in your own time and to draw your own conclusions. Mr. Williamson, affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Association, writes a paper in defense of his argument here:

http://www.thomaswilliamson.net/uct_new.htm

(2) We all have a body image, right? So how does Christ see His body? This is how Paul puts it: (I Corinthians 12:12-13)
[i]1Cr 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is] Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.[/i]

As an individual, we are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit and Jesus sees each of us (and each church denomination, whether they play instruments as part of their worship service or sing a capella, whether they swing an incensor or dance in the aisle), as part of His own Body, be they sick or well.

(3) As members of His body, how should we feel toward each other? (I Corinthians 12:25-26)

[i]1Cr 12:25-26 That there should be no schism (division, break or rift) in the body; but [that] the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.[/i]

So, if Christ suffered a schism, or a cut or break to his arm (whether an individual church member or whether a break in denominations), he’d hurt. It would hurt Him personally. He would want to heal the wound, else infection might set in and spread. Christ loves His Body. He has a great “body image”. He knows who made that body and it is good.

If there were a schism or a break in the Church today, how might a schism in the local body look?

Might it be infighting over minute points of legal doctrine? Might it have a motive other than a Godly one? Power, money, control?

Infection in a body is bad. Wholeness is good. It might be necessary to cut off an offending arm if it would cause infection to spread, but certainly, Christ having good body image would try everything in His power to save His arm first, wouldn’t you imagine?

This is speaking not only of ourselves in our local churches, but everyone in the whole body of Christ. We all agree in Christ.

[i]Mar 9:39-40 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.[/i]

I live in a small community (tiny actually – 800 people). Each year at Thanksgiving, we have a tradition that all our local denominations come together for a thanksgiving service. However, one denomination and no members of that denomination will ever participate because all the other denominations give thanks in music with instruments. Further, in this tiny community, there many denominations, yet there are sub-denominations of some of the bigger ones. That is a sad schism of the Universal Body. However, that does not prevent each of us, each member of the community, from loving one another as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We recognize Christ in each other and celebrate Christ, not our differences (for the most part!). We hurt when a member of our community hurts. We celebrate when one of our community has a victory. We love one another. We protect one another. We admonish one another in Christ. We encourage one another in Christ, leaving the differences of our separate doctrines aside.

Much as we do here in the fellowship of the4Gospels.

(4) If differences in legal doctrine are not to be our greatest concern, what is it supposed to be? Let’s look at verse 8 of the first Chapter of Acts:

[i]Act 1:6-11 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.[/i]

So this then, is the Great Commission, the thing that the Body is to be busy with – we are (having been filled with the Holy Ghost and not before) – witnesses of Christ - His birth, resurrection, transfiguration, and His eventual return for His bride.

[i]Mat 22:9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:[/i]

(5) Read Acts 1-11 again.

Where did Jesus physically go?

And how will Jesus come again for His church?

Who knows when that will be?
[i]
Mar 13:32-33 But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.[/i]

Not even Jesus knows when He will be sent back for His bride. Only the Father knows. Jesus said while He was here He never did anything except what the Father told Him or what He had seen of the Father.
[i]
Jhn 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.[/i]

And so Jesus tells us of the Holy Ghost by whom we will receive that Will of the Father when Jesus is no longer with us, but preparing that place for His bride, the Body of Christ.
[i]
Jhn 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.[/i]

(7) Although Jesus-God is spiritually present in our hearts through the Holy Ghost-God, He, Jesus is with God the Father-God in Heaven in person in His body. In the future, He will return in His bodily form to judge the world and rule the nations:
[i]Mat 25:31-32 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats:[/i]

In the meantime, the church is to be His witness on Earth and, working with the Holy Ghost, tell the Good News of the New Covenant Salvation, so that as many people as possible may be brought, having been called of God, and by the working of the Holy Ghost through us and our witness, into a personal relationship with Him.

Let’s take a look at some scriptures that speak of the commission of the church, beginning with one from the Old Testament:
[i]
Pro 25:25 [As] cold waters to a thirsty soul, so [is] good news from a far country.[/i]

The commentary describes this as being like news of an absent friend coming from far off. I believe (and this is a personal opinion), it foretold in the Old Testament, of John the Baptist who was the witness of the coming Messiah. In New Testament terms it alludes to the witness of the future return of Christ - and who would be the voice in the wilderness (or witness) today?

So to wrap up the “story” of the commission of the Universal Church in scripture, here is my message in scriptural form:

[i]Act 7:44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as [he did] unto us;
1Jo 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1Jo 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.[/i]

Remember we read in Acts that the Holy Spirit must FIRST come upon the disciples and THEN they would be witnesses of Christ.
[i]
Luk 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
[/i]
This, together with the earlier texts regarding the function of the members of the body, speaks of the exhortation of our church family to good deeds, but it also speaks regarding the evangelization of those who have not yet heard the good news.

(a) In light of all of this – witnessing after having received the Holy Ghost, that they will know us by our love, that the fruits of our faith will be evident in us as witness to all mankind - what should be one of the church’s main purposes here on Earth?

[b]ii) The Local Church.[/b]

(1) As members of the body of Christ, what are Christians not to do? (Hebrews 10:25)

[i]Hbr 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.[/i]

We are to continue to gather together. God tells us that no man will ever know the exact time when Christ is to return, but Christ did give us some clues to look for. Here Paul says that as that day comes closer the church should encourage one another all the more, so that she will be “the glory of Christ” spoken of in 2 Corinthians:

[i]2Cr 8:23 If [anyone inquires] about Titus, [he is] my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren [are inquired about, they are] messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.[/i]

So, this is the Great Commission given to the Church – to witness in the whole world - and to encourage each other to remain steadfast in our faith, so that we can be the Glory of Christ. Is there more?

(2) We are saved by faith (yet, without works our faith is but a clanging cymbal – it is empty if we are not obedient to Christ’s commands). The church has two simple, yet meaningful ordinances that we are to observe: baptism and communion. Why? How? And by Whom?

(Eyes on Him and IgotSunshine have both done great studies recently on baptism, so I won’t go into too much detail. Though there is so much more to be learned about the origins. Jesus didn’t just throw these things at us because they seemed like a good idea to keep some of the old traditions and laws going. Jesus gave us a commandment and it is wise to obey! I would like to give a few foundational texts both from the Old and New Testaments (afterall, Jesus’ own Words say that the Old Testament speaks directly and specifically of Him).

We know from previous studies (that our member Romans has presented) that throughout the Old and New Testaments of the bible we have examples, or types, of Christ. God’s Word also gives us throughout, examples or types, of the baptism, and of communion. These biblical types of the Old Testament give us the answer as to the why of the question:

Why did Jesus insist that as often as we gather together as His Church (His Body) We should “Do this in remembrance of me” when he spoke of the communion (which we’ll get into here shortly)? And why did Jesus insist that his disciples should wash one another’s feet (even as they objected to Jesus washing theirs)? And why did Jesus instruct them to go and baptize everyone in all nations?

Yes, there’s the obvious “so we don’t forget” and “so we’ll be humbled in service of others” This is often taught and true. But, what do these two acts REPRESENT?

We are spared from eternal death and separation from God by the blood of Jesus, the Passover Lamb, symbolically placed on the doorway of our hearts. We take the communion to remind us of this symbolism and as part of our witness of obedience.

We are purified and refreshed by the living water of Jesus, the spring that never runs dry that was symbolized both by the stream that emanated from the doorway to the New Temple of Ezekiel, and as symbolized by ceremonial washing in the Old Testament. Because nothing unclean must come near to God. Also, the washing of the feet (and, as Simon Peter aptly said: “Lord, not my feet only, but also [my] hands and [my] head.” Jhn 13:9). So, if we are baptized to Christ by the Holy Spirit, and can be ceremonially washed, why the ordinance to baptism by immersion? Again, it is a symbolic cleansing of sin, it is for the completion of righteousness, but it is also part of our witness.

The washing of the feet represents not only humility and service, and washing off obviously the grime of the city, but the washing away of sins. Self-immersion was a ritual spoken of in the Old Testament in several places. Ron Moseley writes in “The Jewish Background to Christian Baptism: “Immersion was so important that it occurred before the high Priest conducted the service on the Day of Atonement, before the regular priests participated in the Temple service, before each person entered the Temple complex, before a scribe wrote the name of God, as well as several other occasions.”

Public baptism was one of the requisites, along with circumcision, for conversion from paganism to Judaism.

And then Jesus himself instructed His disciples, as follows:

[i]Mat 28:18-19 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [/i]

Ron Moseley summarizes (numericals added by me for clarity):

“A detailed study of the Jewish background of Christian baptism shows that it is vitally important, but God doesn't always tell us why. Obviously, the convert could repent and have a part in the life to come without it, but the emphasis seems to be pointing to the taking on of a new "believer" status illustrated as a "new birth" by immersion. In any covenant with the Lord the three items of 1) God's Word, 2) the blood, and 3) a token are always present (Genesis 17:11). Jesus was always cautious to have three witnesses in everything He did (I John 5:7-8). In the Old Testament circumcision was considered the token of God's covenant, and in the New Testament we see the same wording concerning baptism as it is referred to as "circumcision made without hands" (Colossians 2:11-12). Whatever religious denomination, all believers should agree that immersion has its roots in the Jewish mikveh of Jesus' day, and it is of utmost importance for each of us to fulfill this righteous deed.”

(3) What is the purpose of the communion service? (I Corinthians 1:23-26)
[i]Deu 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with [that which is] not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
1Cr 1:23-26 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]:[/i]
[i]Jhn 5:37-40 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.[/i]

[i]Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1Cr 11:24-25 And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me.[/i]

Fulfilling these ordinances is to remember Christ and Him crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of MY sins – but it is not merely for MY salvation and the salvation of the gentiles (though it is that) – NO! As we will see soon in the scriptures I will post from the book of Romans – it is another vital part of our witness – Our witness of Christ is to remind God’s people, ISRAEL by our example, that their inheritance is shared with adopted sons and daughters, grafted in. It is and always has been to provoke His people to jealousy of their inheritance, so that they will know what they missed when they rejected Jesus. The Old Covenant MUST BE RECOGNIZABLE in the New Covenant because of GOD’S LOVE FOR ISRAEL!

Taking communion is a frequent reminder of the New Covenant, not for us gentiles only, but it is to remind Jews as they see our love of Christ and of one another, and our witness of Christ, that there has been a one-time blood sacrifice - that Passover Lamb is born, slain, his blood is placed on the doorway to the hearts of millions, and He lives forever in the body of His Church.

Do not forget WHY we have this inheritance. Do not be selfish and make it about ME only (though I am eternally grateful for my personal salvation). Remember His People Israel. Pray for Israel. Be grateful for the blindness of the Jews. Because of their blindness, we have life! Let’s not forget our Father’s love for Israel. Pray their eyes be opened and see the New Covenant IN US.

[i]
Rom 10:19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by [them that are] no people, [and] by a foolish nation I will anger you.
Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but [rather] through their fall salvation [is come] unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation [them which are] my flesh, and might save some of them.[/i]

Merriam-Webster: Emulation: “1 obsolete : ambitious or envious rivalry 2 : ambition or endeavor to equal or excel others (as in achievement)” Note the OBSOLETE next to the first definition – do you suppose that unbelievers would like to blot out the original use of the term “emulation” from literature because of it’s religious context, just as they seek to rewrite history and redefine other words in an attempt to water down the message of salvation?

What sort of a witness are we as Christ’s Body? Is your life’s witness one that will testify of God’s grace and mercy and the VICTORY of JESUS over sin? Is the local church of which you are a member, reaching out to hurting people locally and spreading the Good News of Messiah outside its own four walls and far beyond?

Or, will your life or the witness of our local churches testify to Israel an “obsolete plan of salvation” that feeble-minded men have watered down for political power and monetary gain? Have our churches turned to idols, seeking fame and ever-increasing coffers by flattery and the perversion of God’s Word? God forbid! Yet in some, it is so.

(4) Here are two examples, for contrast, of the witness of two very different churches:

(a) Thessalonica (I Thessalonians 1:6-10)
[i]1Th 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.[/i]

And by contrast, Laodicea:

(b) Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-17)

[i]Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:[/i]

Which of these two churches would have the witness of the sacrifice of Jesus as saviour and as the Messiah (as opposed to just another prophet as some would like to believe)?

(4) Just as some New Testament churches were dynamic and others were powerless, so it is today. Not all churches are alive, and great variety exists within a single denomination.

To stimulate your Christian growth (and thereby your witness), you should attend a church that exalts Christ, teaches the Bible, explains clearly what a Christian is and how to become one, and provides loving fellowship, exhortation and accountability.

What could happen to your spiritual growth if you do not attend church regularly or attend a church that is powerless?

iii) Life Application

(1) Give at least two reasons why it is important for us to be part of a
local church.

a) Loss of witness
b) Sickness of whole body of the church

(2) If you are not active in a local church, plan right now to get involved. Don’t just join - Join IN. Be an active member. Find whether you are an arm, a leg, a mouth, etc. Find your function. Find your calling. You might ask Christian friends for recommendations of some dynamic local churches that are unafraid of the witness of Jesus Christ, and make a list of churches that you would like to visit.

controlling sinful appetites

2012-01-12T18:57:00.001-08:00

Controlling Sinful Appetites

Appetite can be defined as “a strong desire or urge.” While we typically associate it with food or drink, this word refers to any powerful wish, including the longing for security, a craving for wealth, or a sexual desire.

Most of our appetites, in their purest forms, are God-given. The problem arises when we allow them to usurp His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.

Aside from the ones listed above, name some appetites that can get people into trouble.

Which of your desires sometimes get out of control?

God’s Path to Freedom

According to worldly wisdom, the way to overcome unhealthy desires is by adhering to a series of rules and guidelines. Although moral absolutes do provide us standards for behavior, they are not the means to godliness. God wants us to depend on Him to find relief from our fixations. Here are a series of helpful steps in addressing any appetite that gets out of control.

Confession

Admit before God that indulging a wayward appetite is disobedience. Agree with Him that not only are the effects of sin painful, but the sin itself is a risky and ineffective way to attempt meeting your needs.

In explaining how believers should treat one another, what does Ephesians 4:32 imply about the way God treats us?

What reassurance does Romans 8:1-2 give about your relationship with Christ despite your weaknesses?

Take a moment to confess your sin and receive God’s forgiveness.

Surrender

You must admit that you can’t conquer a harmful appetite on your own. Ask the Holy Spirit to provide the strength you need to resist it.

Why do you think Paul says that rules such as “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch” are of “no value against fleshly indulgence” (Col. 2:21, 23)?

Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing” (John 5:30). Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Is there a contradiction in these two statements? Explain.

Believers are “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). Since we are still alive physically, what do you think this means (see also Luke 9:23-24)?

Why does weakness give us an opportunity to be strong (2 Cor. 12:9-10)?

When you have surrendered to the Lord’s will in the past, what have been the results? Try to give a specific example.

What would surrender to Him look like in your current situation?

Address the root problem

Prayerfully analyze why you indulge certain appetites. For the most part, sinful behavior has its root in legitimate needs, such as loneliness, sadness, exhaustion, insecurity, discomfort, etc. (For example, stress might trigger a desire to binge on junk food.)

After his affair with Bathsheba, another man’s wife, David’s real need was for God’s forgiveness. Instead of turning to the Lord with his guilt, how did he attempt to hide his sin (2 Sam. 11:6-25)?

According to Psalm 32, written by David, what are the consequences of failing to ask God’s forgiveness? What are some benefits of confession?

What are the root problem(s) that prompt you to give in to sinful appetites? If you’re unsure, pray that God would reveal them to you.

Find a replacement

In general, the more a person focuses on not giving in to a temptation, the more he or she will want to indulge that particular sinful appetite. The solution is to ask the Lord for healthier ways to respond to life’s challenges. (For instance, God may lead an anxious person to call a friend and pray instead of turning to unhealthy snack food.)

What advice did Paul give believers in Colossians 3:12-17?

Choose one command from the passage that could impact how you resist temptation. How would taking that advice change the way you react to life’s stressors?

What do you think the Lord would have you do instead of indulging your appetite(s)? You will probably have different solutions for each need.

Worship

Humans are designed to worship. Either we will live for the Creator, or we will passionately sacrifice for possessions, people, power, accomplishment, appearance, comfort, or something else. As believers, we are not immune to this tendency.

Read Romans 12:1-2. What does it mean to be a “living sacrifice”?

How can you worship God in practical ways as you go throughout your daily routine?

Read Psalm 16:11. Why does worship fill a person with joy and pleasure?

Contrast the way you feel after worshipping and praising the Lord with how you feel after overindulging an appetite.

Why do you think believers continually fall into the same sin when its fruit is always bad?

Prayer: In your time of prayer, confess any areas where your appetites are out of balance. Ask God to open your eyes to the emptiness and dissatisfaction sin brings. Pray for His help in breaking the unhealthy patterns you have developed. When you surrender fully to the Lord, He will satisfy your needs as He sees fit.

Copyright 2011 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.intouch.org.

The Tabernacle (part 1)

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

What is the Tabernacle?
A visual dwelling
Tabernacle means “tent,” “place of dwelling” or “sanctuary.” It was a sacred place where God chose to meet His people, the Israelites, during the 40 years they wandered in the desert under Moses’ leadership. It was the place where the leaders and people came together to worship and offer sacrifices.
The tabernacle was first erected in the wilderness exactly one year after the Passover when the Israelites were freed from their Egyptian slavery (circa 1450 B.C.). It was a mobile tent with portable furniture that the people traveled with and set up wherever they pitched camp. The tabernacle would be in the center of the camp, and the 12 tribes of Israel would set up their tents around it according to tribe.
“…make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

“Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them.” (Exodus 29:45-46)
And so God dwelled among His people in the tabernacle in the wilderness. He appeared as a pillar of cloud over the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire by night in the sight of all Israel. The people would not set out on their journey unless the cloud lifted. It was an unmistakably powerful visual statement indicating God’s presence among them.
God knew that the Israelites needed visual evidence of His presence. When Moses went up to Mount Sinai for 40 days and the people did not see or hear from him, they grew impatient and gathered their gold to form a golden calf that they worshipped in place of God. After ten generations of living in Egypt, it was not surprising that the Israelites mimicked the Egyptians in fashioning a visual idol of their own. This act of disobedience demonstrated their need to follow and worship a God who was visually tangible. God’s provision of a tabernacle — itself a splendor to behold — not only allowed the people to sense His presence, but also to see their leader go in to meet with God in a concrete place and not disappear up a mountain.
A lesson of unquestionable authority
The tabernacle was more than just a dwelling place. All the components of the tabernacle were part of an intricate visual aid to illustrate God's relationship with His people. One aspect of this relationship was God’s requirement for complete obedience. God told Moses to create the tabernacle exactly the way He commanded. It was not to stray from God’s blueprint.
“Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” (Exodus 25:9)
To this end, God gave very specific instructions about the size of each component and the materials the Israelites were to use, as we will see in the following sections of this discussion. These seemingly cumbersome rules were not intended to burden the people, but to show God’s unquestionable authority and holiness, and emphasize that people could only come to God on God’s terms, not on their own. They had to obey reverently not only in the construction of the tabernacle, but also in the way they worshipped. Any irreverence or ritual uncleanness could result from an individual being cut off from his people or in death.
For example, the anointing oil for the tabernacle and the incense for the alter of incense (made from God’s own prescribed formulas of spices) were both declared holy by God and could only be used for the purpose of the tabernacle; anyone else using the same formula for their own consumption would be cut off from Israel (Exodus 30:34-38). The special garments for the priests were holy; if they did not wear the right clothing in serving the Lord, they could die (Exodus 28:2, 43).
A projection of God’s redemptive plan
In the New Testament, John writes: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) This word “dwelling” is the same word for “tabernacle” in the Old Testament. In other words, God came in living flesh to dwell or to tabernacle among His people. As He walked upon the earth and lived among the Jews, Jesus Christ Himself fulfilled the picture of the Old Testament tabernacle. In that and many other ways, as we will see, the tabernacle really was a prophetic projection of the Lord’s redemptive plan for His people.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’” (Rev. 21:3)
The Basic Layout of the Tabernacle
The tabernacle consisted of a tent-like structure (the tabernacle proper) covered by rug-like coverings for a roof, and an external courtyard (150 feet by 75 feet). The whole compound was surrounded by a high fence about 7 feet in height. The fence was made of linen hangings held by pillars.

The tent (tabernacle proper) was divided into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The tent was made of acacia wood boards overlaid with gold and fitted together to form the walls, measuring 45 by 15 feet. On top, four layers of curtains acted as a roof to shield the tabernacle from sun and rain: The innermost layer was woven with fine linen and embroidered with figures of cherubim (angels), the second layer was made of goat’s hair, the third layer was made of rams’ skins dyed red, and the outermost layer was made of porpoise skins. The curtains were pinned to the ground with loops and clasps.
The specific layout of the tabernacle and its courtyard is significant because it illustrates God’s prescribed way for man to approach Him.
The whole compound was surrounded by a high fence with only one entrance. A person could not simply come from any direction into the tabernacle as he pleased — he had to enter through the one gate, which was always located to the east (so that people were facing west when they entered the tabernacle — a direct opposition to the pagan sun worshippers of the day who always faced east). Upon entering the gate, he encountered the brazen altar, where he was to present his animal offering, and then hand the reigns over to the priests, who make atonement and intercession for him in the tent.
This setup informed the Israelites that they could only come to God in the way He prescribed. There was no other way. As we will see even more clearly in the following sections, God is using the Old Testament tabernacle to tell us that we, too, must come to Him only through the way He has provided for us — Jesus Christ.
The Gate of the Tabernacle
There was only one gate by which people could enter into the tabernacle courtyard. The gate was 30 feet wide. It was located directly in the center of the outer court on the east end. The gate was covered by a curtain or screen made of finely twisted linen in blue, purple and scarlet.
The one and only gate is a representation of Christ as the only way through which one could fellowship with God and worship Him. To do this, one must enter in through the gate to the place where God dwelled. Jesus said in his famous “I am” statements:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9)
He also said:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
The act of entering the gate to the tabernacle was significant to the Israelites. By entering, one could find forgiveness of sin and fellowship with God. The first thing that one saw upon coming through the gate was the brazen altar, which served as a reminder of man’s sinfulness and his need for a blood sacrifice in order to be fellowship with God. One needed to repent and offer sacrifices for their sin. Those who did not repent were not entering this “narrow way.”
The Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle
The brazen altar, bronze altar, or altar of sacrifice was situated right inside the courtyard upon entering the gate to the tabernacle. The Hebrew root for altar means “to slay” or “slaughter.” The Latin word alta means “high.” An altar is a “high place for sacrifice/slaughter.” The altar stood raised on a mound of earth, higher than its surrounding furniture. This is a projection of Christ, our sacrifice, lifted up on the cross, His altar, which stood on a hill called Golgotha.
The altar was made of wood from the acacia tree and overlaid with bronze (usually symbolic of judgment on sin in the Bible), measuring 7.5 feet on all four sides and 4.5 feet deep. Four horns projected from the top four corners and a bronze grating was inside to hold the animal.
The altar was the place for burning animal sacrifices. It showed the Israelites that the first step for sinful man to approach a holy God was to be cleansed by the blood of an innocent creature. For a sin offering, a person had to bring an animal — a male one without blemish or defect from the flock or herd — to the priest at the tabernacle gate.
“He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” (Leviticus 1:4)
By laying his hand upon the head of the offering, the person was identifying with the sacrifice. His sin and guilt was being moved from himself to the animal. The priest would then slaughter the animal, sprinkle its blood in front of the veil of the Holy Place, burn the sacrifice, and pour the rest of it at the bottom of the altar. Blood is a significant agent of atonement (covering for sin; click on link to read more detailed definition) and cleansing in the Old Testament.
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.” (Leviticus 17:11)

“The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
Although the blood of the sacrifices covered over the sins of the Israelites, they had to perform the sacrifices year after year, for they were not freed permanently of a guilty conscience. However, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came as the ultimate and last sacrifice for mankind when He offered up His life. As Isaiah prophesized, the Christ would be like a lamb that is led to slaughter and pierced for our transgressions. His blood was sprinkled and poured out at the cross for us. The Bible says much about this:
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:24)

“For you know that … you were redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:13-14)

“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. …By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. …And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” (Hebrews 10:10, 14, 18)

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Horns were a symbol power and strength in biblical times. When the sacrifice was made, blood was dabbed on the horns of the altar, signifying the power of the blood to atone for sins. In the same way, there is mighty power in the blood of Christ. Jesus is the “horn of our salvation” (Psalm 18:2, Luke 1:69).
The animal sacrifices bore reference to the Passover lambs, which the Israelites slaughtered in like manner to save their firstborns from the last plague of God's judgment on Egypt (Exodus 12:1-13). Similarly, as the Passover lambs were eaten after they were slaughtered, some of the sacrificial lambs also were eaten. Just as the sacrificial lambs were sacrificed and eaten, so Jesus' body was sacrificed and "eaten." It was no coincidence that on the night before the Passover when Jesus was crucified, He “took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body’” (Matthew 26:26). Earlier Jesus had taught His disciples:
“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” (John 6:53-56)
Jesus Himself is the Lamb of God as well as the Passover Lamb for those who believe in Him.
The Laver of the Tabernacle
The laver, or basin, was a large bowl filled with water located halfway between the brazen altar and the Holy Place. Although God did not give specific measurements for the Laver, it was to be made entirely of bronze. The priests were to wash their hands and their feet in it before entering the Holy Place.
The laver was located in a convenient place for washing and stood as a reminder that people need cleansing before approaching God. The priests atoned for their sins through a sacrifice at the brazen altar, but they cleansed themselves at the laver before serving in the Holy Place, so that they would be pure and not die before a holy God.
The application for believers today is that we are forgiven through Christ’s work on the cross, but we are washed through His Word. We need to be washed daily in His Word to cleanse ourselves, so that we can serve and minister before Him.
“…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [with blood] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)
The Table of Showbread of the Tabernacle
The table of showbread was a small table made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. It measured 3 feet by 1.5 feet and was 2 feet, 3 inches high. It stood on the right side of the Holy Place across from the lampstand and held 12 loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The priests baked the bread with fine flour and it remained on the table before the Lord for a week; every Sabbath day the priests would remove it and eat it in the Holy Place, then put fresh bread on the table. Only priests could eat the bread, and it could only be eaten in the Holy Place, because it was holy.
“Showbread” also was called “bread of the presence” because it was to be always in the Lord’s presence. The table and the bread were a picture of God’s willingness to fellowship and communion (literally speaking, sharing something in common) with man. It was like an invitation to share a meal, an extension of friendship. Eating together often is an act of fellowship. God was willing for man to enter into His presence to fellowship with Him, and this invitation was always open.
Jesus exemplified this when He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes and the sinners of Jewish society. But this was more than just a gesture of friendship on earth. Jesus came to call sinners to Him, make them right with God, so that they could enjoy everlasting fellowship with God.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. … Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.” (John 6:35, 49-50)
God so desires our fellowship that He was willing to come to earth from heaven as our “bread of life” to give eternal life to all those who would partake in it. At Jesus’ last Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus described Himself as bread again:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’” (Matthew 26:26)
Jesus’ broken body is our only access to fellowship with God. Today, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or communion, to remember this important truth. And today, as in the day of Moses’ tabernacle, God still desires to have fellowship and sit down for a feast with His people.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20)

What the Bible Says About... Honesty and Truth

2012-01-11T05:01:00.000-08:00

by SnowBunny

Question: What the Bible Says About... Honesty and Truth
What is honesty and why is it so important? What's wrong with a little white lie? The Bible actually has a lot to say about honesty, as God has called Christian teens to be honest people. Even little white lies to protect someone's feelings can compromise your faith. Remember that speaking and living the truth help those around us come to the Truth.
Answer:
God, Honesty, and Truth
Christ said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If Christ is Truth, then it follows that lying is moving away from Christ. Being honest is about following in God's footsteps, for He cannot lie. If the Christian teen's goal is to become more God-like and God-centered, then honesty needs to be a focus.
Hebrews 6:18 - "So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie." (NLT)
Reveals Our Character
Honesty is a direct reflection of your inner character. Your actions are a reflection on your faith, and reflecting the truth in your actions is a part of being a good witness. Learning how to be more honest will also help you keep a clear conscious.
Character plays a big role in where you go in your life. Honesty is considered a characteristic employers and college interviewers look for in candidates. When you are faithful and honest, it shows.
Luke 16:10 - "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." (NIV)
1 Timothy 1:19 - "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." (NLT)
Proverbs 12:5 - "The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful."(NIV)
God's Desire
While your honesty level is a reflection of your character, it is also a way to show your faith. In the Bible, God made honesty one of his commandments. Since God cannot lie, He sets the example for all of His people. It is God's desire that we follow that example in all that we do.
Exodus 20:16 - "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (NIV)
Proverbs 16:11 - "The Lord demands accurate scales and balances; he sets the standards for fairness." (NLT)
Psalm 119:160 - "The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever." (NLT)
Keeping Your Faith Strong
Being honest is not always easy. As Christians we know how easy it is to fall into sin. Therefore, you need to work at being truthful, and it is work. The world does not give us easy situations, and sometimes we need to really work to keep our eyes on God in order to find the answers. Being honest can sometimes hurt, but knowing that you are following what God wants for you will make you more faithful in the end.
Honesty is also not just how you speak to others, but also how you speak to yourself. While humility and modesty is a good thing, being too harsh on yourself is not being truthful. Also, thinking too highly of yourself is a sin. Thus, it is important for you to find a balance of knowing your blessings and shortcomings so you can continue to grow.
Proverbs 11:3 - "Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people." (NLT)
Romans 12:3 - "Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us." (NLT)

In the dictionary, the word integrity means 1) an unimpaired condition, i.e., soundness, wholeness 2) firm adherence to a code of moral values, i.e., incorruptible, honor, 3) the quality or state of being complete or undivided, i.e., completeness. Synonyms of integrity are honesty and unity.
The word integrity is related to what other words? Do they give you a better sense of the meaning of integrity?

The first definition (soundness or wholeness) is most often applied to a structure or a physical object, say the girders in a bridge, an engine block, or a piece of pottery. Can it be applied to a person as well?

Thinking just of the first definition above, what happens to something that does not have integrity?

We frequently think of a man of integrity being honest and trustworthy, but integrity is more than that. Look at the second definition and describe the difference between being trustworthy and being incorruptible.

HONESTY
I. Some Biblical verses pertaining to "honesty"
Exod. 20:16 - "you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"
Exod. 23:1 - "you shall not carry a false rumor"
Exod. 23:7 - "keep far from a false charge"
Prov. 6:12 - "a worthless person, a wicked man, is the one who walks with a false mouth"
Prov. 6:19 - "things which the Lord hates...a false witness who utters lies"
Prov. 12:17 - "He who speaks truth tells what is right, but a false witness, deceit"
Prov. 12:22 - "lying lips are an abomination to the Lord"
Prov. 13:5 - "a righteous man hates falsehood"
Prov. 14:5 - "A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness speaks lies"
Prov. 19:5,9 - "a false witness will not go unpunished"
Prov. 25:18 - "like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness
against his neighbor"
Matt. 15:19 - "out of the heart come evil thoughts...false witness, slanders..."
Lk. 8:15 - "an honest and good heart"
I Cor. 13:6 - "love...rejoices with the truth"
II Cor. 4:2 - "by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves"
Eph. 4:15 - "speaking the truth in love"
Heb. 13:18 - "desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things"
II Pt. 2:3 - "false prophets will exploit you with false words"
I Jn. 2:21 - "no lie is of the truth"
Rev. 21:27 - "no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it (heaven)"
II. Forms of dishonesty
A. Falsehood, lies, inaccuracy
B. Exaggerations, embellishments
C. Deceit, misleading another
D. Fraud, cheating
E. Misinformation
F. Disinformation
G. False-accusations, false-charges
H. Rumors - Exod. 23:1
III. Basis of honesty

A. Christ is Truth - John 14:6; 8:32,36
B. God cannot lie - Heb. 6:18
C. Satan is the father of lies - Jn. 8:44
IV. Forms of honesty
A. Accuracy, truth-telling
B. Integrity - true to one's word
C. Credibility, pattern of believability
D. Complete communication
E. Faithfulness - do what you say you'll do
F. Keep your promises
V. Examples where honesty should be employed by Christians
A. When completing income tax forms
B. When selling an automobile
C. When you are given too much change
D. When you are told a rumor
E. When you break something
F. When you owe people money
G. When someone calls and you do not want to talk to them
H. When you are reminiscing and telling a story
I. When you tell someone how much you paid for something
J. When you are asked for your opinion or advice
K. When you fill out credit applications
L. When you give character references

What does the Bible have to say about integrity?
Integrity means treating people fairly and honestly. (Leviticus 19:35-36, Deut 25:15, Proverbs 16:11-13)
Integrity is giving your word and keeping it. (Exodus 8:28-32)
Integrity will protect you. In Psalm 25, David prays that integrity and uprightness will protect him. How can it? (Psalm 25:21, Proverbs 2:7-8, 10:9, 11:3, 13:6)
Integrity is more valuable than riches. (Proverbs 28:6)
The Lord will test and judge your integrity. (1 Chronicles 29:17, Psalm 7:8)
The Lord hates lies and lack of integrity. (Zechariah 8:16-17)
It may be difficult to maintain your integrity. (Job 2:3, 2:9, Proverbs 29:10)
Your character can be corrupted by bad company. (1 Corinthians 15:33)
Integrity will be rewarded. (1 Kings 9:4-5, Nehemiah 7:2, Psalm 41:11-12)
Your integrity should set an example. (Titus 2:7)
Who do you know that you would describe as a person of integrity? What sets this person apart from other people of a similar age and position?

If people who know you were asked for five words that describe you, would integrity be one of them?

What can you do to improve your integrity?

Sources
James A. Fowler
Kelli Mahoney, About.com Guide
http://www.SwapMeetDave.com

The ABCs of Father Heart of GOD "M" God is merciful

2012-01-11T03:30:00.001-08:00

by Shalom
Another “M” is mercy. God is merciful. God shows us mercy.
Exodus 33:19
And God said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, THE LORD, before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy and loving-kindness on whom I will show mercy and loving-kindness.

Gracious, Mercy, Loving kindness...
Have you personally experienced God’s loving kindness?
His mercy?

Deuteronomy 7:9
Know, recognize, and understand therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant and steadfast love and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations,

Do you see the condition? Who does he keep covenant with? Show mercy to?

Again we see a condition, it looks like...Do you see it? Love Him. Simple.

1 Kings 8:23
And he said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing mercy and loving-kindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart. ( repeated in 2 Chronicles 6:14)

See it again? Walk before you with all their heart? Do you think that means love him?
Is there any area of your heart, which you have not fully surrendered to God? Any hidden thing? Does anyone want to share on this?

Nehemiah 1:5
And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, Who keeps covenant, loving-kindness, and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

God’s mercy calls forth an action, a heart action on our parts. We can hardly NOT respond when we experience his mercy.. as stated in Psalms..Psalm 9:10
And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God's Word and the right of their necessity].

When David sinned, he remembered Who God is and called out to God, basing it on His merciful nature/character... Psalm 51:1
[ To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba. ] HAVE MERCY upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions.
1. Do you find this comforting? Something good to remember?
2. Have you ever felt the need, because of some sin, maybe even a habitual one you are seeking healing for to CRY out to God for His mercy? Care to share?

This verse is a great one, when we are feeling shamed, slandered etc...Psalm 57:3
He will send from heaven and save me from the slanders and reproaches of him who would trample me down or swallow me up, and He will put him to shame. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! God will send forth His mercy and loving-kindness and His truth and faithfulness.

Also this one: Psalm 59:10
My God in His mercy and steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look [triumphantly] on my enemies (those who lie in wait for me).
Comments? Anything you would like to share as we think about God’s mercy?

Before we go, I would like to share a teaching from A church I attend. We have been studying the beatitudes... and this particular week, it was on mercy.
Since we know God is merciful and extends mercy to as, really as a part of meeting our needs (smile mercy+meets our needs “M”), I wanted to share how Pastor Time explained mercy.

Mercy from a sermon by Tim Maynard at FCBC on 11-6-11
Matthew 5 Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.
The first 4 Beatitudes are internal. They are heart attitudes between us and God.
The second 4 are outwardly focused. We are to be immersed with people and with their pain and
”stuff”.
1. Mercy is an emotion. (FEEL) This is vulnerability in our hearts with and to others.We feel compassion for another. We hurt and weep with others. We allow the pain of other people to “bother” us.
2. Mercy is an expression (DOING)It is doing for another in need. InJames we see being “moved” with compassion to do something. Mercy see the person who cares calls and never changes, the drunk, the broken by life one...Mercy does not ignore them or walk past them. But instead shows/demonstrates God’s love for them. MERCY wipes the blood off the hurting people.
3. Mercy is an expectation. (EXPECTED OF US)(NOT DOING)
Mercy means also to withold something. Like God withoulds his judgement from us. Some has broken your heart, you can either pay them back OR you can withold giving them what they deserve to punish them for hurting you.
Spirituality is not JUST vertrical (me and God) its going to beat up hurting people in the world and showing Christ’s love. Maybe all you can do is a small thing, like “a pillow for Pam” but then that is what you do.

If someone has injured you, lied to you, wounded you and you are holding on to them, LET THEM GO. Mercy says let them go.
Forgive.

So today, we have sort of come full circle and ended up with a Celebrate Recovery Principle... FORGIVENESS..

Additional verses to ponder:

Psalm 136:26
O give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
Proverbs 21:21
He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor.
Isaiah 30:18
And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!
Daniel 9:18
O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and look at our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You for our own righteousness and justice, but for Your great mercy and loving-kindness.
Hosea 12:6
Therefore return to your God! Hold fast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually!
*****Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?
****Micah 7:18
Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.
****Matthew 9:13
Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy [that is, readiness to help those in trouble] and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims. For I came not to call and invite [to repentance] the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God), but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin).
Romans 3:24
[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,
****2 Corinthians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),
***Eph 2: 4But God--so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,
5Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation).
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
2 John 1:3
Grace (spiritual blessing), mercy, and [soul] peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ (the Messiah), the Father's Son, in all sincerity (truth) and love.
Jude 1:21
Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)--[which will bring you] unto life eternal.

Any comments or questions?

The Steadfast love

Break Through

Great is thy faithfulness

Mighty to Save

Because He Lives

Kindness

2012-01-06T04:59:00.000-08:00

By Dorothea J. Lotter
Fruit of the Spirit
•Love
•Joy
•Peace
•Patience
•Kindness
•Goodness
•Faithfulness
•Gentleness
•Self-Control

The native clutched his dying son and ran through the hot dust for 2 miles until he reached Africa’s Baragwanath Hospital. Instinctively he knew it was too late. He sadly turned homeward with the baby cold in his arms. The child had died of gastric enteritis.
Vusamazulu Mutwa tearfully built a crude coffin and prepared his tiny son’s body for burial. To a Bantu native, proper burial is vital. To be buried in an unknown grave would be the deepest disgrace that could befall him. But a Bantu has no access to any cemetery unless he belongs to a recognized church and the funeral is conducted by a minister. A well-known authority has said, “Determination to have a proper burial is a strong reason why natives turn to Christianity.”1
The grief-stricken parents went to their Christian pastor, whose church the wife had attended for many years; the father had never accepted the faith. When they asked for a funeral, the pastor refused without explanation.
Later Mutwa acidly wrote, “Strangely, the priest knew exactly what he was doing to me when he refused to bury my son. For over the years, I had explained to him all the laws and customs of the Bantu. He refused simply because I was not, with the rest of my family, a member of his church.”
Vusamazulu Mutwa later wrote a scorching essay on “Why Christianity Has Failed in Africa.” It is part of his bitter book, Africa Is My Witness, which charges, “The culprits are those petty dictators and sadists who wear their white collars the wrong way round.”2

This abridged story from Charles Hembree’s book, Fruits of the Spirit, vividly illustrates the cruelty Christians, often unintentionally, inflict on others.
By contrast, the Bible emphasizes kindness. It is to be a major Christian virtue, so important that Paul calls it a fruit of the Spirit.
The Greek term for kindness (chrestotes) appears 10 times in the New Testament. The King James Version translates it in Galatians as “gentleness,” but as “kindness” on four other occasions. The New International Version translates the word as “kindness” in 9 of 10 occurrences.
Like the word love (agape), kindness (chrestotes) is closely related to hesed in the Old Testament, which stands for God’s covenant love. Commenting on hesed, the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says, “loving-kindness — is not far from the fullness of the meaning of the word.”3
The lesson of our text is that the Holy Spirit enables us to show kindness in all our relationships as we sincerely seek His assistance.
Kindness begins in the heart
Helen Brenneman writes: “There was a man who had a heart transplant. But the operation was a total failure. For the man was a mean man and the heart was a kind heart. His body simply rejected it.”4
The Bible, however, tells us about a successful heart transplant: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26).*
Like the mean man, we fallen human beings have a predisposition to be unkind! Unfortunately, even our salvation experience does not remove us from that temptation. Christians can be very cruel, like the priest in his response to the Bantu. And probably, without intending to be, all of us are cruel at times. The Word of God teaches us, however, that to please God we must cultivate the virtue of kindness.
Ephesians 4:31,32 says to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
In Colossians 3:12,13, Paul admonishes us, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” A kind disposition is possible precisely because the Holy Spirit has given us a new heart as described by Ezekiel. This transformation process of the Spirit is emphasized in Titus 3:5: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.“

Moses tried to do ministry prematurely and in his own strength. He became enraged and killed an Egyptian. Only after long years as a shepherd, followed by a life-changing encounter with the living Yahweh at the burning bush, did Moses become the meekest of men and a powerful leader of the people of God. We, too, can become fundamentally different people when we receive a change of heart which enables us to be kind to others.
Kindness is a growth process
You just don’t get up in the morning and say, “Beginning today, I’m going to be kind.” Even the best intentions fail if we rely on our own strength. Paul called kindness a fruit of the Spirit because it cannot be grown effectively without the Spirit’s continuing work in our lives.
Ephesians 5:18 admonishes us to “be filled with the Spirit.” The wider context shows that spiritual fullness results in changed behavior. “Submit to one another” (5:21); “Husbands, love your wives” (5:25); “Children, obey your parents” (6:l); “Fathers, do not exasperate your children” (6:4); “Slaves, obey your earthly masters” (6:5). Kindness is one of the products of the Spirit at work in our relationships.
Jesus was really stating much the same thing in John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The Holy Spirit according to Paul is the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). So to abide in Christ is to live in the Spirit. They are one and the same. Abiding in Christ through the Spirit empowers us to live in obedience to all His commandments.
As we live in Spirit-filled obedience, these scriptural commands will continue to echo and re-echo throughout our lives: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage … anger, brawling … slander … malice. Be kind … compassionate … forgiving” (Ephesians 4:31,32). “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness … patience … Bear with each other … forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:12,13).
In Scripture, you notice how John tried to position himself for power and prestige during Jesus’ ministry. He and his brothers asked Jesus, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (Mark 10:37). That selfish request came during the childhood stage of John’s spiritual development. But he grew in spirit so that by the end of his life he was the epitome of kindness. John, one of the Sons of Thunder, became the Apostle of Love as reported over and over in 1 John. By the power of the Spirit, he had learned the lesson of kindness.
Kindness produces results
The Bible shows that kindness, admittedly costly to us, produces positive results: “A kind man benefits himself” (Proverbs 11:17). This verse brings to mind people like Mark Buntain and Billy Graham. Mark Buntain was loved and honored in life. In death, thousands of people stood for hours in the hot Indian sun to honor him. He poured out his life to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of Calcutta.

Dr. Graham’s presence is requested by kings and leaders throughout the world. President Bush was quick to call him to the White House the night the United States went to war with Iraq. A humble, beloved man who manifests kindness, Dr. Graham has earned the respect of the secular and Christian communities.
Kindness opens doors for service. Barnabas, Son of Encouragement, sold a field and gave the money for relief of the saints (Acts 4:37). He was sensitive to hurting people in need of assistance. The Spirit later marked him out as the first missionary companion of the apostle Paul.
Undoubtedly, this act of kindness in support of the poor was an important part of Barnabas’s growth in service! It testified to the Christian community of his fitness.
Kindness also softens the hard and angry hearts of men. “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:l).
Seeking the Lord for wisdom enables us to respond gently and work through others concerns.
Let our example lead others to be kind. Peter Ainslie, in his book, Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit, says, “No influence is so powerful in human society as practicing kindness,” and illustrates with the following story:
A rail fence between two Virginia farms had settled and needed repair. The cattle from one farm wandered into the cornfield of the other, doing considerable damage. The farmer who suffered the loss wrote a severe threatening letter to his neighbor who owned the cattle. The neighbor responded by letter, expressing deep regrets, offering to pay the damages and reminding the farmer that through the years his cattle, too, had made like depredations on him. He had never notified him, however, but had simply repaired the fence, knowing that those situations sometimes occur despite precautions. The next morning, the offended farmer begged his neighbor’s forgiveness, and from that time on they were the best of friends.
Kindness demonstrates Christ to the world.
“The greatest thing a man can do for a Heavenly Father,” said Henry Drummond, “is to be kind to some of His other children.” And Frederick William Faber commented, “Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.” Prayer for the salvation of others must be coupled with Spirit-empowered kindness if we are to be effective in winning them to the Lord.

Conclusion
This emphasis on kindness may sound good in theory, but does it really happen in practice? Does the Holy Spirit actually help us to develop kindness? Are not some people just “naturally” kind?
It is impossible to produce genuine Christlike kindness as described in Galatians 5:22 by ourselves. A new heart is required. Then a growth process follows which can only take place as we submit to and obey the Holy Spirit. He nurtures those positive character changes that are reflected in our relationships.
Kindness, or the lack of it, makes a difference in our lives. Many of us have experienced the unkindness done to us throughout our lives. And kindnesses done to us as wall.
When I met the Heavenly Father, I found one who generously poured out His love on me. In kindness, He nurtured me. He was understanding, gentle, and approachable. He gave hope when I had none. He guided, opened doors, encouraged, and listened to my concerns.
Through Him I found the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit, who helped me turn cruelty into kindness.
We, like the Bantu father who was denied a Christian funeral for his son, may also experience cruelty in the church.
When that happens, we need the powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit to walk through those hurts without bitterness.
If we are willing, He enables us to respond in love and kindness. He gives the strength to forgive, and heals painful memories.
We must purpose in our hearts not to be part of the cruelty in our church, our ministry and world. Rather, we must be sensitive to the needs of people, showing kindness to those we serve — to friends and enemies alike.
May we resolve, in our cultivation of the fruit of kindness, to seek the inexhaustible resources of the gentle, yet dynamic Holy Spirit whom God has so graciously poured out on us to manifest kindness. For it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).

Remember Who You are in Christ

2012-01-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

by Snowbunny

The writer of Hebrews is consistent about giving words of encouragement after he has stated his warnings against apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:26-31).

"But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:32-39, NASB95). All Scripture references unless otherwise noted are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Update.

It does us good to remember where we have been, and to reevaluate where we are going. The sensitive heart will submit to the probing of the Holy Spirit and repent of sinful thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, and refocus on Christ. It is hard to forget some things, even with God's help. That is where His cleaning and forgiveness is needed. On the other hand, there are some wonderful things we need to write down and remember. We need to recall them and keep them in our memory.

Christians draw encouragement from past experience of walking with the Lord. We stand back and see His sustaining grace, His provisions, joy of salvation, and praise to His glory and say I saw God do it. We remember how He reached down in His grace and mercy and pointed us to the saving death of Christ and believed on Christ as our Savior. We remember how He has been there for us when there was no other place to turn. We have watched Him open doors of opportunity and privilege to serve Him. We remember those special intimate moments of entering into His presence, and the daily abiding in Him. These remembrances cause us to refocus our faith in our great God and Savior. The writer of Hebrews now admonishes us to remember who you are in Christ. Look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His glory.

Remember your former days.
The author of Hebrews admonishes his readers to "keep on remembering" those special events in the Christian life. He uses the Greek present imperative which is not a timid suggestion. Remember the early ages and stages of your Christian life. Remember how and when you put your faith in Christ as your Savior. I would encourage you to take a few minutes and write out personal testimony of God's saving grace in 250 words. Keep in mind three things: 1) this was my life before I came to Christ. This is why I need Christ to save me. I am a sinner, radically depraved and Christ died for me. 2) This is when I placed my faith in the saving grace of God and was born again. I believed on Christ as my Savior. 3) This is what God is doing in and through my life since the day I trusted in Christ to save me. This is how He has changed my life. You will be surprised how the Holy Spirit will enable you to recall how He brought you to repentance, faith in Christ and the changes He has brought about since He began His life in you. He will open doors for you to share this simple testimony of His saving grace.

Remember when you began you walk with Christ. Remember those good things he has done in your life.

Remember when you were "enlightened."
"Enlightened" from "to give light to, light up, illuminate" signifies spiritual light that has been given to the person enlightened. This is the effect of the Word of God on the mind. It is the illumination of the Word of God in the mind and heart of the individual hearing it. They were enlightened by the Word of God and brought to a saving faith in Christ. It is the enlightenment that came when they were spiritually regenerated. It is the work of the Holy Spirit applying His Word. Their spiritual eyes were opened to the truth of God's Word and the good news of Christ.

Remember those delightful days when you first believed on Christ and were saved?

Persecutions
Accepting Jesus as the Messiah opened the door for personal attacks by their own countrymen and pagans. They were persecuted viciously because they declared their faith in Christ. "But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated" (Hebrews 10:32-33).

The author of Hebrews uses an athletic metaphor to encourage his readers to stand firm in the midst of persecution. You stood your ground is the idea of "endured" (hupomeno). After they placed their trust in Christ they endured persecution instead of fleeing. They endured the hard struggle with suffering.

"You endured a great conflict of suffering" or "a hard struggle with suffering." You "endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened" . The "great conflict" is literally "contest" or struggle. They were contending for a crown, and were resolute and did not waver in the spiritual combat.

It is encouraging to note the intensity and repetition of the conflict. It is of great intensity. The word is polus meaning "much, great, strong, severe, hard, deep, profound." They were enduring an intense profound struggle with sufferings (pathema). The sufferings were the severe trials that are descried in the next verses.

They were "made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations" (v. 33a). The "public spectacle" reminds us of the public derision, scorn and death that was literally true of the believers who were exposed to wild beats in the Roman amphitheaters. The story line in the book of Acts demonstrates the early Christians were exposed to open shame, persecution and derision (Acts 4:15-18; 5:17-18, 40-41; 8:1; 9:1-2; 12:1-5; 13:50; 14:19; 16:19-24, 37-39; 17:5-8, 13; 18:2; 19:9, 23ff; 21:27-39; 28:16-17, 30). Stephen's martyrdom in Acts 8 is an excellent example of this kind of persecution. James the brother of John was murdered by King Herod (Acts 12:1-2).

These believers were exposed to public shame and reproach. They became the gazing stock of public spectacle. Westcott noted that "reproaches affect the character; afflictions affect material prosperity.

They were "abused" has the idea of reproach, defamation, insulted. They were abused for being followers of Jesus. Again the emphasis is on public reproach because of their faith in Christ.

"Tribulations" is a more general picture of affliction, oppression, tribulation brought on because of their faith. These are pain sufferings.

They shared "with those who were so treated" . Even those believers who had not been directly persecuted suffered by being identified with those who were savagely persecuted. They were subject to the public reproaches and suffering in part because they, too, were Christians. They sympathized with those who were persecuted. They refused to abandon their faith knowing what the consequences could be. They were "partners" (koinonos) with those who suffered the shame. The word means one who takes part or share with another person something in common. They shared the life of reproach and shame for being a believer.

For indeed "you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one" (Hebrews 10:34). The writer of Hebrews reverses the order of ideas of verse 33 and emphasizes with more definite instances in verse 34. "For indeed" or "for in point of fact" they had become joint partakers with the persecuted believers.

The fellow believers ran the risk of persecution by visiting the imprisoned believers. They showed "sympathy" with prisoners. Phillips paraphrases, "You sympathized with those who were put in prison."

Moreover, these believers joyfully accepted the plundering of their property. "For you . . . accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one" (Hebrews 10:34). That runs counter to the modern Christian mindset. You cannot water it down. It is the same message of the beatitudes of Jesus. You accepted joyfully the confiscation of your belongings. You "accepted joyfully the seizure of your property." Their joy in Christ was so great that it could not be extinguished by the loss of their material prosperity.

Their personal possessions were seized denoting violent and unjust confiscation, pillage, robbery, and extortion by authorities or plundered by a mob. It is the forcible confiscation of property in persecution. A couple of years ago I was conducting workshops in a Baptist church in Honduras when a drug dealer forced a Christian woman who was an active member of the church to sell her property at a huge devalued price so he could take possession. It was her house and it was paid for in full. All the members of the church were gripped with fear, intimidation and revulsion, but there was nothing that could be done. They lawyers and authorities shrugged their shoulders and turned a deaf ear. This Christian purchased a smaller home in another part of town. She resolved in her own heart the same attitude of these Hebrew Christians. They yielded their property without resistance and with joy. They had a spiritual prosperity far greater than any material prosperity could ever be valued. Westcott, "You gladly accepted loss as if it were gain."

You accepted it "with joy" (joyfully). The preposition "with" denotes the attendant circumstances of something that is taking place. Here it is "with" the feeling of excitement, a state of mind, filled with "joy" (chara). Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:12).

How can a Christian have that kind of attitude? It is by "knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one." That is the peace of mind, the joy of heart, the eternal security of knowing you have an eternal possession of which no one can robe you. Where are your possessions? What are you storing up in heaven?

Would you and I accept such news of confiscation of our property with joy? They "accepted" (prosdechomai) means to receive, welcome, receive willingly. The writer implies that the knowledge came to be realized through the trial. "Knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one" (NASB). "You knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession" (NET). Are you conscious of the fact that you have for yourselves greater, everlasting possessions? That great knowledge will get our eyes back on right things. The author is speaking of those eternal unseen objects of glory. The world may rob you of your sacred objects, but you know that you still have for yourselves something much better. Let's ask God to clarify our values. Do you realize that you possess something better and more lasting that any earthly possession? We have an eternal inheritance the world cannot touch. It is something better and more lasting.

It is a "better possession" better, higher in rank, preferable. And it is "an abiding one" because it remains, continues to live. Believers have an abiding possession of which no one can robe them.

Remain steadfast
"Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward" (Hebrews 10:35.

You have been steadfast; therefore, do not cast away like a worthless garment, this confidence in Christ Jesus. Lenski said, "By all means hold fast your assurance no matter what comes!" Do not abandon your courage now.

Confidence in Christ
"Do not throw away your confidence" meaning courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness in the presence of high ranking government officials. Don't throw away your confidence in God, and your faith in Christ.

Waiting on God and persevering demands patient, steadfast enduring faith in God.

Endurance
"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised" (Hebrews 10:36). "Endurance" can be translated "patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance." Every Christian must have patient endurance to do the will of God daily. We especially need it when times of stress.

The inheritance of eternal life is already sure for us (1 John 5:11-13; John 10:25-30; Phil 1:3-6; Romans 8:31-39). What we need is patient endurance to continue doing the will of God. God will fulfill His promises. We faithfully fulfill the performance of God's will by looking to Christ as our great High Priest for every need in our daily walk with God.

Receive promise
The believer will receive a great reward when Christ returns. We have the peace of God in our hearts now, and the assurance of our eternal reward in heaven. Let's show perseverance for a short time longer as we wait the realized promise in due time.

The reward (misthapadosia) is literally the payment of wages.

"And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4).

Christ is coming
"For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay" (Hebrews 10:37). The one who is coming is the Messiah (Matt. 11:3; Luke 7:19-20; John 1:27; 11:27; Rev. 1:4, 8; 4:8; 11:17). The Coming One has already come, and He is coming again! He will make His appearance before the public. "Coming He will come." By placing the definite article before the participles the author stresses the Messianic title, "The Coming One will come and not delay." One day we will see His personal glory fill the skies.

He is not going to fail to come as some would suggest in our day. "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:8-13).

Live by faith
"But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:38-39).

Who is it that lives by faith? Habakkuk 2:4 is applied to the Christian believer. Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 tells us the "righteous one" lives by faith. Man is justified by faith in Christ. The individual justified by believing in Christ is saved. He is not only justified by believing, but continues believing. He abides in Christ. The person who lives by faith obtains the permanent blessing from God.

Here the principle of life of the righteous person is faith. "The just shall live by faith." This is the only way we shall survive the perilous time in which we live. Albert Barnes said, "The righteous shall live by continued confidence in God." Faith in this context is the continuing trust in God, not just for our justification, but also for our sanctification and glorification.

"My righteous one" is a believer. The person "shrinking back" is a reprobate who was never saved. If he shrinks back he only proves he is a reprobate. The author of Hebrews stresses the necessity of endurance in the righteousness. There is no tension here between forensic righteousness which saves the believer and the righteous life that it produces. The only way an individual can stand in a right relationship with God is justification by faith in Jesus Christ. God's forensic verdict is the believing sinner is declared righteous by God. It is always an alien righteousness. It is something God provides; it can never be provided by sinful man. Those who are reckoned just before God can only live by faith. That right standing with God will produce a life of righteousness. God's righteousness works from the inside out. He justifies us and then goes to work transforming us by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. The person whose faith has made him right with God must live by faith in the same Savior.

How tragic to "shrink back" from trusting in God. The idea is to shrink back in fear, in a cowardly timidly fashion, and give up his faith. How tragic to disappoint God. The book of Hebrews is concerned with holding fast to one's faith in the midst of temptations and suffering. Warren Wiersbe said, "A believer who does not walk by faith goes back into the old ways an wastes his life."

We shall see beautiful examples and illustration of walking by faith in the chapters that follow.

In the past these faith believers in Christ had stood their ground and withstood public shame and persecution for their faith. They unashamedly encouraged other believers who were enduring persecution. Prisoners were not pampered as in our day. These Christians were punished in prison. Like in many parts of the word today their daily food came from family and friends or they starved. These believers considered it a badge of honor to serve Christ by ministering to persecuted Christians in prison. There was a great risk involved, as in our day in some areas of the world. The visiting Christian became identified with the prisoner. They were guilty by association.

Their focus was on their eternal inheritance in Christ which was laid up for them in heaven, and it was so real to them that they did not consider material prosperity of high value. What a condemnation to much of our contemporary preaching in the 21st century. One day they will rise up to condemn our modern day secular humanistic commercialized Christianity. These early Christians were willing to suffer material loss because the focused on a better inheritance in the future.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to clarify our values and keep on keeping on living Christ. W. H. Griffith-Thomas said, "The safeguard against degeneration, isolation, and consequent failure is to make progress in the Christian life, and to proceed from point to point from one elementary to the richest, fullest, deepest experience."

The writer of Hebrews has confidence that his readers are true born again regenerated believers who have been justified by faith in Christ. Therefore, he wants them to grow up in Christ. We need to keep walking by the same faith that saved us. In this manner we will please our great God and Savior. To shrink back in our Christian walk will result not in the loss of eternal life, but the loss of eternal rewards in the Christian life.

JESUS THE KINSMAN REDEEMER

2011-12-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

by IgotSunshine
He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name. (Psalm 111:9).
Slavery was a very common institution in the ancient world. There were a number of ways in which a man might become a slave.
o He might he born into slavery. The son of a slave was himself considered a slave.
o He might be captured by an invading array and become a prized captive, led away in chains to a foreign country to be sold as a slave.
o He might fall into debt so that he was forced to declare bankruptcy. This involved selling yourself into slavery to pay the debts that were owed.
Picture the situation of this last scenario. An Israelite living in the land of Palestine is hit with economic disaster. Perhaps a famine has come over the land and wiped out his crops. Rather than resort to begging, he sells himself into slavery, using the proceeds to pay off his debts and to care for his starving family.
And so, he becomes a slave. Can he ever regain his freedom? Yes. But it can only happen if the redemption price is paid.
Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, 48 then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself." (Leviticus 25:47-49).
This was the Law of the Kinsman Redeemer. It listed four qualifications which were necessary for a man to fulfill the role of Kinsman Redeemer. It was only when a man possessed these four qualities that he was permitted to perform this task.
1. He must be a Kinsman.
The passage is very explicit that this redeemer must be related to the one whom he is going to buy back out of slavery.
2. He must be Free himself.
A slave was unable to purchase another slave. A Kinsman Redeemer must be himself free of the debt and of the bondage which had fallen on the one who was to be redeemed.
3. He must be able to Pay the Price.
If he did not have the necessary sum of money which was required to pay the purchase price, then he would not be able to redeem his relative.
4. He must be Willing to pay the price.
It was not enough to have a kinsman who was able to accomplish the work of redemption. He must also be willing to make the sacrifice of paying the price. I imagine that there were a number of slaves with rich uncles who just didn’t want to spend the money to release their unfortunate relative from slavery.
Each of these qualifications was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus into the world’s slave market of sin to purchase men from their bondage of sin. He alone met the qualifications of the Kinsman Redeemer.
He became a Kinsman by taking on flesh and becoming a man. He was free from the bondage of sin. He was able to pay the ransom price. He was willing to pay the price.

THE PROMISE OF A KINSMAN
For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying, "I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise."
And again, "I will put My trust in Him." And again, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." (Hebrews 2:11-13).
The Old Testament prophets promised that One would come who would be the Kinsman Redeemer of all men. He would set right those things that had been made wrong by sin. He would set free those who were in bondage to sin. He would purify those who were unclean. He would sanctify His people.
For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father (2:11).
The work of Christ did much more than merely provide a fire insurance claim from hell. He set you apart. He sanctified you. He made you a part of a special people which is known as the family of God. This is what it means to be sanctified.
If you have come to Christ, then you have become a member of the family of God. God is now your Father. You are His child. You have entered into an eternal relationship.
This principle of sanctification was rooted in Jewish theology. To sanctify something meant to set it apart for a special purpose. For example, when a man went up to Jerusalem and gave an offering of money to the Temple, those coins were sanctified - that is, they were set apart for the use of the Temple.
The Jews were a set apart people. Their entire culture set them apart from the rest of the world. They ate differently than other people. They dressed differently than other people. They lived differently than other people. They worshiped differently than other people. They were different.
Jesus came to make men different. He loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the way you are. If you come to Him, then He is going to change you. He is first going to bring you into the family of God and then He is going to change your life so that there will be a growing family resemblance between you and your Heavenly Father.
The Jews were set apart on the outside. They did all sorts of exterior things to set themselves apart. But Jesus came to set you apart on the inside. He came to make you a child of God. He entered the family of men so that men could enter the family of God.
This is not a new teaching. It was prophesied by the Old Testament prophets.
I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren (2:12).
This quotation is taken from Psalm 22:22. It is a Messianic Psalm. It is the Psalm that opens with the cry of Jesus upon the cross when He screamed, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" It is the Psalm that focuses on the sufferings of the Messiah.
But now, He who was once crucified has been exalted. On the basis of the ministry of His death, He now proclaims the name of the Lord to His people. This is important. The reason that Christ became man and was made lower than the angels was so that He could call men His brethren. It is through Him that we can be known as the children of God.
I will put My trust in Him (2:13).
This second quotation is taken from Isaiah 8:17. Isaiah writes in a day when the Assyrian armies loom on the horizon. They will soon march against Israel and devastate the land. There will be only one way of escape — to trust in the Lord and to wait for His salvation.
The book of Hebrews is written to such a people. Now it is the legions of Rome which loom on the horizon. Within a few years, the Roman general Titus will besiege the city of Jerusalem and the land will be laid waste. There will be only one thing that the people can do - trust in the Lord.
There is a lesson here. It is that adversity teaches us to trust in the Lord. The Lord has given us needs for a reason. They are given so that we will trust in Him.
Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me (2:13).
This third quotation is also from Isaiah 8. It quotes from the very next verse. It describes the identity of those who are trusting in God. They are the children of God. This is important. The Jews thought that they were the children of God because they were descended from Abraham. But a child of God is one who trusts in God.
The same principle is true today. Having Christian parents will not save you. Joining a church will not help you. Your faith must be in God.

THE COMING OF THE KINSMAN
Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook in the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the Kinsman Redeemer. We covered those requirements at the beginning of this chapter.
o He must be a Kinsman.
o He must be Free himself.
o He must be able to Pay the Price.
o He must be Willing to pay the price.
Each of these qualifications was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They are seen in this passage.
Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook in the same (2:14).
Since the ones who were to become children were flesh and blood - that is, they were mortal men — so also Christ took on flesh and blood and became a mortal man.
This was one of the requirements of the Kinsman Redeemer. He must be a Kinsman.
He must be related to the ones whom he is going to purchase from slavery.
And so, Jesus took on flesh and became a Kinsman to the human race in order that He might redeem men from sin.
Christ was our Kinsman Redeemer. He fulfilled all four of the requirements of the Kinsman Redeemer.
1. He became a Kinsman.
It was impossible for God to save us apart from the incarnation of Christ. God could not die for us because God cannot die. He is eternal life and He is the source of all life. Only by being born as a man and taking on human flesh could He experience death for us.
2. He was free from the bondage of sin.
Jesus Christ was the only man who has ever been free from sin. From the day that Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden to this day, all have been under that bondage. Only Christ was qualified to set us free.
3. He was able to pay the ransom price.
Even if there had been another man who had been without sin, the death of such a man would still be lacking the infinite merit to pay for the sins of the whole world. At best, the sacrifice of a finite man could only atone for the sins of a single man.
But the death of Christ was not the death of a mere man. It was the death of an infinite being. It was the death of God in the flesh. God died in our place. Only the death of such a One could have been sufficient to save the world.
4. He was willing to pay the price.
This is the most amazing truth of all. God loved us enough to send His Son to die in our place. When the venerable theologian, Karl Barth, was asked what was the most profound truth that he had ever learned, he replied:
Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
This is the great message of the gospel. It is the message that God’s love has triumphed over the work of Satan to set us free.
That through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (2:14).
Here is the reason why Christ became flesh and joined the human race. It was so that He might nullify death. It was so that He might bring to naught the work of Satan.
What does Satan have to do with death? It was Satan who deceived the woman in the Garden of Eden and thereby brought sin into the world. Satan’s plan was to undo God’s perfect work of creation. God had created man in His own image. Satan caused that image to fall. Christ, through His death on the cross, restored that perfect image and conquered death. Not all the hosts of darkness were able to keep the Son of God in the grave. He arose from the dead, proving that He had conquered Satan once and for all.
And might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives" (2:15).
Men have always suffered from a fear of death. You have only to watch the reaction of a man in his physician’s office as he is told the he has a malignant cancer to understand that this fear is a reality.
We have been set free from the fear of death. We can actually look forward to death. Death is no longer the end. It is now the beginning. It is a promotion to a higher kind of living.
THE NECESSITY OF A KINSMAN
For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:16-17).
The writer now ties in these truths concerning the Kinsman Redeemer with the previous message about how Christ is better than the angels.
Jesus is better than the angels even though He took on flesh and became a little lower than the angels. He did not do that for the sake of the angels. He did it for the sake of the descendants of Abraham.
Do you remember the promise that was made to Abraham? It was a promise that God would bless him.
Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; 3 and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3).
God appeared to Abram and told him to leave his family and his country and to move to a new land. In return, God promised to bless Abram and to make him a blessing. Notice the last phrase of this promise. "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." This blessing to Abram will have far-reaching effects. It will extend to all the families of the earth.
Don’t miss this! You can partake of that blessing which was given to Abraham when you put your faith in the God of Abraham.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:29).
Do you belong to Christ? It is only those who belong to Him who will be heirs with Abraham.
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things (2:17).
In order to bring salvation to Abraham and his descendents, Christ had to become one of Abraham’s descendents. He did not merely become a man. He became a Jew. He did this in fulfillment of the promise. He is the blessing through which all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
That He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God (2:17).
Here we see a theme introduced which shall be developed more fully in the chapters which follow. It is the theme that Jesus is our high priest.
The office of high priest was the highest religious office in Judaism. The high priest was the one who entered the Holy of Holies once a year to offer sacrifices for the sins of the nation.
The high priest in the days of Jesus had been Caiaphus. He was anything but merciful or faithful. He was a false shepherd. He was not merciful, for he was ready to condemn the One who had never sinned. He was not faithful, for he rejected the message of the Son of God.
But Jesus is the true shepherd. He is merciful with those who have transgressed against Him. He is faithful and just to forgive their sins. He offered the perfect sacrifice.
To make propitiation for the sins of the people (2:17).
The word "propitiation" refers to an appeasement, a payment which satisfies. This word was used by the Greeks to describe an offering that was brought to appease the wrath of an angry god. For example, in the midst of a violent storm, the people would think that they had offended Posideon, the storm god. In an effort to satisfy his anger, they would offer a sacrifice. When the storm ended, they would say that his anger had been propitiated.
But there was also another use of this word. In Jewish theology, the place of propitiation was located inside the Temple. At the very center of the Temple was the Holy of Holies. Within this room there had stood a single article of furniture. It was the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden box overlaid with gold. It held Aaron’s rod, a bowel of manna, and the broken remains of the Ten Commandments. The cover of the Ark was made of solid gold. This was known as the Mercy Seat.
It also had another name. It was called the Hilasterion. It was called the Propitiation.
It was here that the high priest would come once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the nation.
Jesus is our high priest. He has made an offering for our sins. He has appeased the righteous anger of God. He bore the wrath of God in His own body on the cross.

THE REDEEMER WHO SUFFERED
For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18).
Here is another reason that Christ became flesh and joined the human race. It is so that He might be tempted as we are tempted and that He might suffer as we suffer. Jesus didn’t just come to earth and then die. He also went through all the hurts and the pains and the testings that are part of life.
He suffered bodily hunger. He suffered the grief of the death of a loved one. He suffered the betrayal of a friend. He suffered the taunts of his enemies. He suffered the temptations of Satan.
Because He suffered all these things, He is able to understand and empathize with our sufferings and our temptations. Are you going through hard times? Jesus understands.
He has been there. He went through those same kinds of experiences. He knows how to help. You don’t have a cosmic God who is indifferent to your daily problems. You have a God who is intimately acquainted with your problems. You have a God who has been there. He has hurt where you hurt. He has cried where you cry. He has been tempted where you are tempted. And, because of that, He is able to help.

To be honest, I cannot remember the website where I got this. I admit honestly that this is not my work. igotsunshine

“I am crucified with Christ.”

2011-12-14T16:07:00.001-08:00

Charles Spurgeon
- Gal_2:20
The Lord Jesus Christ acted in what he did as a great public representative person, and his dying upon the cross was the virtual dying of all his people. Then all his saints rendered unto justice what was due, and made an expiation to divine vengeance for all their sins. The apostle of the Gentiles delighted to think that as one of Christ’s chosen people, he died upon the cross in Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally, he accepted it confidently, resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Christ’s death, he had satisfied divine justice, and found reconciliation with God. Beloved, what a blessed thing it is when the soul can, as it were, stretch itself upon the cross of Christ, and feel, “I am dead; the law has slain me, and I am therefore free from its power, because in my Surety I have borne the curse, and in the person of my Substitute the whole that the law could do, by way of condemnation, has been executed upon me, for I am crucified with Christ.”
But Paul meant even more than this. He not only believed in Christ’s death, and trusted in it, but he actually felt its power in himself in causing the crucifixion of his old corrupt nature. When he saw the pleasures of sin, he said, “I cannot enjoy these: I am dead to them.” Such is the experience of every true Christian. Having received Christ, he is to this world as one who is utterly dead. Yet, while conscious of death to the world, he can, at the same time, exclaim with the apostle, “Nevertheless I live.” He is fully alive unto God. The Christian’s life is a matchless riddle. No worldling can comprehend it; even the believer himself cannot understand it. Dead, yet alive! crucified with Christ, and yet at the same time risen with Christ in newness of life! Union with the suffering, bleeding Saviour, and death to the world and sin, are soul-cheering things. O for more enjoyment of them!

COMMUNION AND TRANSFORMATION

2011-12-14T16:06:00.001-08:00

F.B. Meyer
"Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him."-- Exo_34:29.
"We all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image."-- 2Co_3:18.

MOSES, AS he returned from the mountain of vision, where he had beheld as much of God's glory as seems possible to man, caught some gleam of the Light which he beheld. There was a strange radiance on his face, unknown to himself, but visible to all. He remained long enough in the presence of God to become saturated with the light and glory of the Lord. What wonder that he sparkled with it and was compelled to cover his face with a veil!
St. Paul refers to this incident, and show that the light which shone upon the face of Moses is the symbol of the lustre of character which shines from those who behold or reflect the glory of the Lord. As we behold the glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ, we are changed into His likeness.
There are two laws for Christian living: keep looking at Jesus until you become like Him, and beholding are changed into the same image; then reflect Him to others, and as you endeavour to reflect Him, the work of transformation goes on. "Tell me the company a man keeps, and I will tell you his character"; so runs the old proverb. We might go further and say, tell us what are the subjects of his habitual consideration--art, literature, theology, law, commerce, philanthropy--and we shall be able to anticipate the expression that will come upon his face.
If we desire to be pure and good, Christ-like and God like, we must live in fellowship with Christ; beholding and reflecting His glory, even the lowliest and most sinful may become changed into His image. How different to Moses is the unveiled glory of Christ. Let us beware of anything that might bring a veil between Him and us, and nothing will so soon do this as sin, and inconsistency. Moses wist not that his face shone, and Samson wist not that the Lord had departed from him (Jdg_16:20). There is a tragic as well as a blessed unconsciousness. Let us see to it that we watch and pray, that we may not be taken unawares, and deprived of our purity and strength whilst wrapt in unconsciousness.

PRAYER
We long to be holy as Thou art holy; to love as Christ also loved us; to be patient and unmurmuring as He was, and so to resemble Him that men may love Him for what they see of His likeness in us. AMEN.

"21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People" #6

2011-12-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

by Iris
Tonight, we continue our study into some of the reasons bad things happen to good people. Our source information has been the book by Dave Earley, "21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People".

It's important for us to know and remember that the author uses the term "good people" to designate those who are Christians. People who are not Christians may suffer bad things for reasons other than those we are considering in this study.

To Equip Us for Further Ministry
Called by many the greatest Christian of us all, Paul was a very good and godly man who was the veteran of extreme hardship. Persecuted for his faith, few have suffered as much. He faced frequent imprisonments, skin-shredding whippings, bloody beatings, shipwreck, betrayal, sleeplessness, hunger, cold, nakedness, and the awful stresses of leadership (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).

Why so much affliction for such a good and godly man? According to Paul, one of the lessons he learned in the school of severe suffering was that the best person to help a sufferer is a veteran sufferer. Note what he said to some of his friends: "2 Corinthians 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

When we suffer and learn to position ourselves to receive the comfort of God in our sorrow, we gain a priceless key that enables us to unlock hearts and minister to them more effectively. In a very real sense, suffering is a primary education and qualification for effective ministry.
Through the empathy that comes from having been down the same road of suffering as another, we can minister more effectively than otherwise possible. Others can tell that we truly understand their pain and feel their hurt. A connection can be made. Trust can be built. Then real ministry can occur.

So why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? One reason is that the very best person to help someone who is suffering is someone who has suffered. Let me encourage you to use your pain to more effectively minister to others.

We'll pause for a few moments to take any questions or comments.

To Remove Our Self-Sufficiency
Paul was a high-octane guy. Prior to his encounter with Christ, he was a respected scholar, an influential, up-and-coming leader of Judaism, and a Roman citizen, as well. After meeting Christ, he came to be the voice of Christianity, a great church planter, a mighty missionary, and a powerful minister. Beyond that, his letters were considered the very words of God and were collected as scripture. Moreover, he was given amazing revelations of heaven and the future, unlike anyone before him.

Through it all, Paul was a scholar in the school of severe suffering. He faced hunger, homelessness, cruel criticisms, frequent imprisonments, physical beatings, spiritual attacks, and more. In suffering he learned many priceless lessons, including this: "When I am weak, then I am strong". His pain and weakness removed his pride and self-sufficiency so he could more fully experience God's strength.

In 2 Corinthians 12:5, 7-10, Paul mentions a source of frustration and torment neglected in his other catalogs of personal sufferings: "a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan." For two millennia, scholars have debated the exact nature of this thorn in the flesh. Some think it was physical, in the form of chronic maladies, such as an eye problem (Galatians 4:13-15; 6:11), or a speech disability (1 Corinthians 10:10). Others see it as an internal struggle coming in the form of incessant temptation. There are those who view the thorn as human in nature, caused by persistent persecution or constant Christian critics.

So, who's right? What was Paul's thorn? We don't know. I think it's intentionally unclear. Why? So no matter what your "thorn" is--physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, or whatever--you can still apply the principle that God's strength is made perfect in your weakness.

Paul considered his thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry, and he repeatedly petitioned God for its removal (2 Corinthians 12:8). Paul's language here suggests that this was probably the most intensive prayer struggle he ever faced. And yet God said no three times. Why? It was through the continual torment of the constraining thorn that Paul was constantly reminded of the critical lesson anyone eager to be used of God must learn: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."

So why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Sometimes He wants to strip away their self-sufficiency and to bring them to a much deeper place of dependency on God. He reminds us of our abject weakness so we will fully rely on His amazing strength.

Are there any comments or questions about this reason?

To Expand Our Evangelistic Efforts
The apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome for his faith. Awaiting possible execution, he wrote a letter to his friends at a church in Greece.
Philippians 1:12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul used his suffering as a means of sharing his faith. God knows that the best way to get the attention of a seeker is not necessarily by having His children live pain-free lives. One of the best ways to get the attention of sincere spiritual seekers is for them to see a Christian suffering triumphantly. Trials create the opportunity for testimony.

There were three groups of people who were evangelistically helped because Paul was in prison. Probably none of them would have been helped if he hadn't been imprisoned.
The first people who benefited from Paul's imprisonment were his guards. Paul was a major political prisoner. In the past, God had miraculously opened prison doors to set him free. The Romans were taking no chances, so Paul was in chains, probably chained to a Roman guard. Picture this. When one guard would come on duty, Paul would tell him about Jesus and the guy might later become a Christian. That guard would go off duty and another one would be chained to Paul. Paul would tell this guard about Jesus, and the process repeated. One by one the guards who were chained to Paul would end up giving their lives to Christ. Roman guards who never would have been exposed to the gospel any other way were converted to Christ because Paul was chained in prison.

A second set of people positively impacted by Paul's imprisonment included the other Christian leaders. Because of the fierce persecution, most Christians were not as bold as Paul. But when they saw what Paul had the courage to do inside the prison, they got on board outside the prison. They became bold in telling others about Jesus outside the prison because Paul was bold inside the prison.

A third, a by far largest, group has benefited from Paul's prison suffering. You see, while Paul was in prison, the Philippian brethren sent him a care package. He sent them a lengthy thank-you note that we now call the letter to the Philippians. They were blessed by Paul's prison epistle, and so have been millions of others across the centuries. This letter, Philippians, is one he might not have had reason or time to write if he had not been suffering in prison.

Much good came from the bad. The message of Christ was spread throughout the prison, around the area, and down through history.
Maybe the reason you are suffering is to open up doors of testimony that would have been otherwise closed. Maybe your suffering will allow you to reach someone for Christ who might not be reached otherwise.

Are there any questions or comments?

To Promote Us to Greater Glory
Paul had lived a life full of thrilling adventure as he followed Jesus. Now he was old, tired, and ready for relief. His body ached from the beatings, stonings and hardships he had endured for Christ. Now locked in a prison because of his faith, he was smart enough to know that if he pushed the right buttons, he would be executed. That would end the persecution and the pain. He would get to go to a much better place.

Yet there were people on earth who still counted on him. They needed his leadership and teaching. So a dilemma developed. He was confident that with enough prayer support he could get out so he could help more people. But should he? Or should he press his point and find his neck on the executioner's block? Then he could go to enjoy heaven. In a letter to his friends in Philippi, he described his dilemma and why he chose deliverance over death.

Philippians 1:19-26(The Message)-- "And I'm going to keep that celebration going because I know how it's going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don't expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.
As long as I'm alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I'd choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it's better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We'll be praising Christ, enjoying each other."

Notice the sentence at the end of that first paragraph : "Alive I'm Christ's messenger; dead I'm his bounty." Life versus MORE life. He could not lose! Paul understood that for the believer, physical death is merely a step into eternal life. The "bad" of death is nullified by the "better" of heaven.

God allows His people to experience the negative of physical death because He knows that death is the door to higher, greater, eternal life. It is a gift of blessed relief from pain and rest from labors. Even though we miss our loved ones who have gone on ahead of us, we rejoice in the joy they have entered into.

Comments or questions?

To Give Us Further Instruction
The first-century Roman world was a faith-draining world for a Jewish Christian. Read slowly from Hebrews 10:32-34; 11:35-38, the roll call of pain the Hebrew Christians had to endure that could only be called "a great contest and conflict of sufferings."
*Being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations
*Seeing friends and loved ones endure the same
*Enduring the seizure of property
*Being tortured and refusing to be released
*Facing jeers and flogging
*Being chained and put in prison
*Being destitute, persecuted, and mistreated
*Finding shelter only in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground
*Facing death by stoning, being sawed in two, or being beheaded by the sword
*Having nothing to wear but sheepskins and goatskins

My hardships seem small compared to what they endured. It was to these people who were living in the school of suffering that God said, don't throw away your faith (Heb. 10:35), keep running the marathon of faith (12:1), a focus your eyes on Jesus (12:2-3).

I often need to be reminded that most of life is education, not destination. One of the primary agents of instruction is adversity. There is much to be learned in the academy of agony. Sometimes the purpose is teaching us a truth, an attitude, or even a skill that we did not previously know. Often the objective is to correct our thinking, attitudes, or behavior.

Chapter 12 of the letter to the Hebrews addresses the matter of education through adversity. The author reminds us of several lessons we can learn when the storms of life grow intense.
1. Don't feel sorry for yourself. You are not the only one who is suffering.
2. Don't blow off the lessons or, on the other hand, be crushed by suffering. Parental discipline is part of family life. The fact that God brings discipline into our lives proves that we are His children.
3. Don't quit. Discipline is part of God's parenting process.
4. Don't view what you are experiencing as punishment. It is training.
5. Embrace God's training.
6. Don't get discouraged. Maintain the big perspective.
7. Don't go it alone. Rely on your church family to not only assist you, but to receive your assistance.

In pain we learn to live God's Word. Often it is merely part of the parenting process, designed to teach us how to practically live out the truths of God's Word.
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word."(Psalm 119:67) "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees." (Psalm 119:71)

Living the Christmas Spirit All Year Long

2011-12-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

by Snowbunny
When someone says the word "Christmas," what comes to your mind? Perhaps your thoughts include family, eating, visiting and, of course, the presents! Maybe your mind goes to the stress of the holidays in trying to find that perfect gift for a picky relative or a cherished loved one, or, perhaps, the dreaded family visits when you know you will be picked apart by relatives with questions such as "What are you doing, still going to that church? When are you going to get a real job? Why are you not married yet? Why are your kids wearing that? and so forth.
Perhaps you are very relieved right now that Christmas is a mere memory, and you have almost 12 months before you have to worry about it again. However, have you considered that there is a Christmas spirit? Not the Christmas spirit as told by Santa stories or children's books, but the Christmas Spirit from the Word of God?
"...stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel," (Phil. 1:27)
The Christmas Spirit is the character of Christ living out in us all year long. The point of the Christian life is not self-realization, but in knowing Jesus Christ, not allowing anything to take His place in our thinking, our emotions, and the daily experiences of life. The spiritual and mature Christian will never think his circumstances are merely haphazard, neither think of himself as the center of the universe. Rather Christians are to be Christ like in "attitude" and in "form." Whether we do menial activities like raking leaves, or tackle big projects for the church, the mature Christian will see everything as Christ does, even in those times when it seems He has "dumped" on him.
Thus, our daily activities as well as those bad circumstances such as stress, setbacks, failures, and such, are a means of growth and learning and becoming more like Him. We are to see all that there is in life as a journey to further secure the knowledge of Jesus Christ in our lives, even to the point of being recklessly abandoned to Him. (Gal. 2:20-21)
This "attitude" and "form" are key words for Paul (see questions # 9 & 10) and what the book of Philippians is all about--not to mention what life is all about! This is what Christmas is all about. This is why Christ came. Yes, to save you from your sins, but then what? Are you to sit in a pew and complain, to throw pity parties when things do not go your way? Are you to hate the relatives during the holidays? NO! The Holy Spirit is determined for us to realize Jesus Christ in every aspect of our life. If not, He will bring us back to the same scenario repeatedly until we learn the lessons He has for us, until we get it right.
Self-realization is thinking that we are all that leads to the believing. It is in thinking that if we are good, we will go to heaven, or that we are good persons, and we work hard, so we do not need Christ in our lives. It is saying that if He is there, we will keep Him on a "short leash." This is total anti-Biblical thinking. When we have this mindset, no growth will accrue. There will be no maturity, no seizing the maturity of the Christian life, and no partaking in the real meaning of life, in the real meaning of Christmas.
Instead, the focus in life and Christmas is on the eating, the drinking, or the presents, and not upon the washing of the disciples' feet. We forsake each other for ourselves or use others as a means to gain status or whatever it is we desire. The Spirit is there all along, trying to guide us in, like an airport attendant with two flashlights guiding in a jumbo jet. The pilot must keep a careful eye on the person guiding him as well as the controls of the aircraft or else the multi-million dollar plane and the hundreds on board will be in dire jeopardy. We too, must keep watch on the Spirit and His guiding, a teaching that is clearly seen in these verses.
So, we must watch. We must take the controls and steer our life His way, less we crash, resulting in a consequence to all those around us. It may come small, like a small man compared to the monstrous 747 jet. However, the 747 cannot park, nor can the passengers go on their way without the guidance from two very small flashlights. We have to take the initiative of realizing Jesus Christ in every phase of our daily life. If we don't, a counterfeit will invade in the place of Jesus.
When He walked this earth in human form, Christ Himself realized His relationship to the Father even in his normal, day-to-day activities.
"After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." (John 13:5)
Jesus knew that He was God, but as a man He "took a towel," the most low and menial task of His day. It would compare today to our washing a toilet. So, if the Creator of the universe was able to be humble and be guided in by the seemingly small voice in a loud and large world, why cannot we?
The aim of the mature, spiritual Christian, who desires to live the true Christian faith, will have this Christ like theme imprinted upon his heart and mind. This theme will permeate every activity and aspect of his life--from preaching a sermon to washing a toilet, from buying groceries to leading a person to the Lord-- "that I may know Him." Do you know Him where you are today? If not, you are failing Him. This may seem harsh and un-Christmas like, but very Biblically true. Let us not be confused in our culture, our desires, our needs and wants, or our ideas of what we think the Christian life is to be like, and let us surrender ourselves to what the Word is really calling us, to maturity and growth in Him!
We are not on this earth to just appreciate ourselves, but to know Jesus and to make Him known. In our Evangelical Christian subculture, the trends in thinking are too often placed solely on the idea that, " Something needs to be fixed and I must be the one to do it." Yes, something must be fixed, work must be done, and we must do it. Nevertheless, we do it, not just for the aspect of work, but because of who we are and what we have been called to do--mature and grow. When everyday Christians are pursuing the Heart of Christ by following His character in "attitude" and "form," then we will see our churches change. Then society will change.
Questions to ponder:
1. When someone says the word, "Christmas," what comes to your mind?
2. Have you considered that there is a Christmas Spirit?
3. If so, what does that mean?
4. Read the selected verses. First, read Philippians 1:27 - 2: 4, then 2:5-11. What do you see as the connection between these two passages?
5. What was Christ's attitude toward others? (Remember, He is God, and deserves full worship and adoration)
6. When life does not go your way, what do you do?
a. Sit in a pew and complain?
b. Throw pity parties?
c. Or?
7. What should you do when things do not go your way?
8. What does "attitude" mean to you?
9. What are the attitudes in these verses? (In the Greek, "attitude" NIV, or "mind" in NKJV, (2:5) means a mental state based on feeling, rather than just thinking. It signifies a concern for others, whereas just thinking keeps the focus upon us. The opposite of this is "pride," which is what Paul was confronting in these verses--Phil. 1:1-4; 2:7.)
10. What does "nature" in NIV or "form" in NKJV mean to you? (Usually we just skip over such words and miss their depth and meaning. The characteristics of "nature" or "form" in the Greek mean an "inward character and goodness that is reflected from a primary source." It does not mean a shape, but rather imitating--that we are to imitate Christ's character! It comes from Plato's Philosophy of Imitation, in which he used the illustration of how a fire reflects a shadow, that life and all that we perceive as real is just a shadow on the wall. So, all that we see and experience in life is a shadow of the true reality that is hidden from us. Thus, Paul is drawing upon Plato's themes in pointing us to the ONE true reality and that is Christ. We only see a mere shadow of Him until we are called home.)
11. How do the terms, "attitude," "form," and "humility" go together?
12. How can you apply these themes into your life, so you may become more Christ-like? Begin with Philippians 3:10, "That I may know Him." Do you know Him where you are today? If so, what can you do to implement the Christ character? If not, what is in the way?
What we experience in life, what we go through, what we suffer through, what we give up is all just a mere shadow compared to the Eternity to come. What we seem to lose is of no comparison to what we gain in Him!!!! Christianity and suffering are the Ultimate in delayed gratification!

"21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People" #5

2011-12-12T17:45:00.000-08:00

First a brief review:
We've been looking at some thoughts from the book "21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People" by Dave Earley. In previous lessons we've seen there are 4 Important Truths regarding this topic of suffering. In order to understand suffering, we MUST remember these truths:
1. God is under no obligation to give us an explanation for suffering.
2. God has given us plenty of explanation if we will only look for it and accept it.
3. God can do more than one good thing through the bad things that happen to us.
4. God knows what it is to suffer, and He knows how to help us in our suffering.

We began this study by my stating Reason #21 first, because I believe it to be basis of ALL suffering.
God created the world good. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:1, 31) When God created the world, there were no earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, sickness, murder, suicide or crime. The world God made was very good. It was Paradise.

God created people with the ability to choose. "So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27) Being made in the image of God is what sets people apart from animals. Animals do not have a God-consciousness and cannot make moral choices. Humans can. God gave people the power to choose.

People chose evil. "16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) " 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Genesis 3:6) God gave Adam and Eve a choice. They chose to disobey. They chose evil.

Their choice brought evil into the world. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all have sinned—" (Romans 5:12). Exercise of free choice in the direction of evil is the basic reason for evil and suffering in the world. When we think of blaming God for the evil in this world, we need to stop and remember that humans introduced evil into the world. Not God.

Their choice has had lasting consequences. Since the Garden of Eden, the choice of Adam and Eve has had lasting implications. First, the world is no longer good. When we human beings (Adam and Eve) told God to shove off, He partially honored our request. Nature began to revolt. The earth was cursed. Genetic breakdown and disease began. Pain and death became part of the human experience. The good creation was marred. We live in an unjust world. We are born into a world made chaotic and unfair by humanity in revolt against its Creator. Second, people are no longer good. Romans 3:10 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." We need to remember that the blame for the majority of human evil and suffering lies at the feet of human responsibility. We are NOT GOOD. Only Christ was GOOD. We can only become good when we are IN CHRIST.

So far in our study we have looked at the following reasons why bad things happen to good people:
1. To win an unseen victory.
2. To expand our perspective of God.
3. To deepen our humility before God.
4. To produce greater intimacy with God.
5. To prepare us to receive far greater blessings.
6. To position us for higher promotion.
7. To prepare us for the miraculous.
8. To increase the testimony of God.

Tonight, we will explore 4 more reasons.

To Bring Us to Himself
He dreamed of a good life, a good job, and a good family. He was just a few months from retirement in beautiful Philippi. Things had fallen into place and were going his way--until the night all his dreams were shaken and shattered.
Earlier in the day, he had taken into custody two political prisoners. Religious zealots, they had incited a riot. He did not know all the details, but somehow these terrible two claimed to have cast a demon out of a slave girl in the name of Jesus. They had been dragged before the authorities and severely whipped and beaten. That's when they were turned over to him.

He locked them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks. He would sleep soundly tonight. No one could get out of there. Or so he thought.
Unlike most prisoners, moaning and crying, these two crazy men started praying and singing praises to Jesus. They weren't great singers, but their singing was interesting and did sound pretty nice…and harmless--he thought. So he went to sleep.

Suddenly, the ground started pitching and the walls began shaking. An earthquake was taking place right under the cells of those two religious men. Suddenly and miraculously, all the prison doors flew open and all the chains came loose. No one was hurt. How had this happened? What had he done wrong? All the jailor's hopes and dreams were gone, completely gone. Trembling, the jailer knew what he had to do. Allowing prisoners to escape was unacceptable. When he accepted the job, he knew the policy. For a jailer to lose a prisoner was to lose his life. So resolutely he grabbed his sword and drew it out in front of his stomach. One quick plunge and it would be over. Goodbye wife, good-bye kids, good-bye world.

"Stop!" a voice broke his concentration. "Don't harm yourself. We are all here." It was those two men. Stunned, amazed, relieved, overjoyed, afraid--the jailer called for a light. Running into their cell, he found the two men, calm, unhurt, and smiling. Happily, he led these miracle producers out into the room where his family was eagerly gathered. They were confused but relieved. They had assumed that the jailer would have killed himself by now. But there he was, standing before them with the two smiling men.

"Sirs," he asked the men through trembling lips, "what must I do to be saved?"
"Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved," one answered. Then gesturing to the man's family, he added, "you and your family." Then the two men taught the jailor and his family the gospel about Jesus Christ. They did believe on the Lord Jesus and were baptized for the remission of their sins (for the full account, read Acts 16:16-40).

One reason these good men, Paul and Silas, suffered was so that they could be in a position to bring the Philippian jailer to faith in Jesus Christ. One reason the jailer lost his dream of sound sleep and a secure jail was so he could have an opportunity to hear the gospel, express faith in Jesus Christ and receive the salvation of his soul.
God turned shattered dreams into something better-- an encounter with Himself. Why does God allow bad things? Sometimes it is so He can do what He knows is best, blessing us with Himself.

Many of people may be brought to salvation in Christ by some bad thing happening to them and God using it to draw them to Him. Then they, too, can be taught the gospel of Christ, believe it and be baptized to receive the salvation of their souls.
"Hebrews 10: 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;"

Are there any comments or questions so far?

To Stretch Us For Greater Growth
Are you suffering? Does affliction seem to come in waves that won't go away? Do you feel like it comes at you from all directions? Take hope. You are not alone. And you are not the first.

A devoted Christian man named Paul endured his own dizzying list of adversities. In fact, his sorrows are so numerous that he views himself as possibly the undisputed champion of pain. Read his testimony slowly, imagining how deeply these things must have hurt:
2 Corinthians 11:23-27 I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.

Why would God allow such a good man to suffer so many bad things? In letters to his friends, Paul describes several benefits of suffering that we will discuss. One reason that especially stands out is his dogged insistence that bad is good for us, in the hands of God, because it helps us grow. In fact, it is so good that Paul said he even shouted praises when he was surrounded by troubles!

Romans 5: 3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Look at the benefits: "passionate patience," "the tempered steel of virtue," and "alert expectancy." Those three add up to personal spiritual growth.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Because in the hands of God, pain can help us grow and forge our character. It all depends upon our faith and trust in God to be doing what is best for us.

Any questions or comments here?

To Remind Us That We Are Not Home Yet
At the time of its creation, the earth was a lush, glorious, tropical garden paradise. All of creation existed in perfect harmony under the rule of God. But because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, planet Earth was placed under a curse. It has been groaning ever since.
Genesis 3:17 "To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

At that moment, when mankind lost Paradise, a dark shadow was cast over our planet. Aging, death, and decay of all living creatures began. Thorns and other weeds began to grow. Viruses were born. Plagues were hatched. Mosquitoes became bloodsuckers. Snakes became poisonous, as did some types of ivy. The table was set for the rise of killer storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and droughts.

Since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden, creation has been groaning under the curse as it awaits the coming day of redemption. Paul writes: Romans 8: 18 " I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Notice some of the ugly descriptions Paul chose to depict earth at this time: sufferings, subjected, frustration, decay, groaning, pains. But a better day, a brighter day is approaching. It will be a great day of glory, liberation and glorious freedom. It will be a day when Christ will return to take us to heaven where all the saved will be restored to Paradise.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

1 Corinthians 15:20 "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man (Adam) came death, by a man (Christ) also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father"

Sometimes we look for deep and complex reasons why bad things happen, when the easiest answer is that bad things happen because we live on a planet that is no longer truly good. Everything on earth is now stained and strained by imperfection. When bad things happen, they remind us that we are not home yet.

The closer we draw to God the more we long to be with Him where He is. Paul spoke of this in 2 Corinthians 5: 6 "Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Are there any questions or comments?

To Shape Us More Like Jesus
Most of us can quote Romans 8:28 by heart. It is one of the most encouraging promises ever pledged. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." The almighty God of the universe reassures His people that no matter what things happen, he works every single one of them for out good and his glory. Knowing and believing this enables Christians to live as "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37). It binds us with certainty to the love of Christ no matter what we face. No amount of trouble, trials, or tribulations; no hard times, hunger, homelessness, harshness, or hatred; no type of pain, pressure, or problem is so strong as to separate us from the love of God. Nothing is too complex, overwhelming, pervasive, or powerful to keep God for using it for good. God works all things for the good of those who are called according to His purpose!

Therefore, the questions that must be answered when we are suffering are, "What is God's purpose?" and "Who are the called?" Fortunately, we don't have to guess. The answer is in the very next verse: Romans 8: " 29 For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." In other words, God has known what He was doing all along. From the beginning He decided to shape the character of those who love and obey Him along the same lines as the character of His Son. God knows exactly what He is doing, and He uses all the circumstances in the lives of His people to make us more like Jesus.

God uses the gospel of Christ to call us to Him. Every human being who is taught the gospel has been "called" by God to come to Him. In order to receive salvation, it is then the responsibility of each person to accept that calling by obeying what the gospel of Christ tells them to do.

Paul writes to Christians at Thessalonica that God “CALLED YOU THROUGH OUR GOSPEL” --
2 Thessalonians 2:14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. THE GOSPEL (1 Corinthians 15:1-3) is communicated by “THE WORD OF TRUTH” (Ephesians 1:13), which God designed to PRODUCE FAITH in sincere hearts (Romans 10:17; John 20:30, 31).

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

These promises are made to CHRISTIANS-- not to those who are not yet Christians. Christians are those "good" people we've been talking about in this series. They are "good" because they have been clothed with Christ's goodness.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

The first step in receiving the blessings of the gospel is to submit YOUR will to the Will of God.

CHRIST'S REVELATION OF GOD

2011-12-09T16:49:00.001-08:00

"Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us, Jesus saith .. he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."-- Joh_14:8-9.

PHILIP'S INQUIRY bore witness to the growth of a human soul. Only three short years before Christ had found him. At that time he was probably much as the young men of his standing and age, not specially remarkable, save for an interest in the earnestness about the advent of the Messiah. His views, however, were limited and narrow; he looked for Christ's advent as the time for the re-establishment of the Kingdom of David, and deliverance from the hated Roman yoke. But three years of fellowship with the Master had made a wonderful difference. He is not now content with beholding the Messiah--he is eager to know the Father: "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us."
But surely this request was based on a mistake. He wanted to see the Father. But how can you make Wisdom, or Love, or Purity visible, save in a human life? Philip was so absorbed in his quest for the transcendent, that he missed the revelation of the Father which for three years had been passing before his eyes. "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?"
Our Lord revealed the Father in His works (Joh_14:10-11). The story of His miracles are leaves from God's diary. The right way to read them is not to say: This is what Christ did; but, Thus God is ever doing--always healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, restoring the leper, and raising the dead.
He reveals the Father in answering our prayers (Joh_14:13). He is ever anxious to answer our petitions, that He may reveal the nature and glory of God our Father.
Christ reveals the Father by communicating the Holy Spirit, who comes to abide in us. No miracle could tell us so much of God as the Spirit does when He communicates the Divine nature. When our Lord says that He will manifest Himself to the soul that obeys Him, and that the Father will come in to make His abiding-place with us, He not only shows, but He gives to us the Father (Joh_14:21-23). The life and ministry of our Lord during His earthly life, and throughout the ages, unfolds to us the Father, in the sweetness, tenderness and strength of that glorious Being, whose Love pervades the universe.

PRAYER
We bless Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that Thou hast revealed to us the Father, and hast brought us nigh unto God. Make us pure in heart, not only in our walk, but in our inward temper, that we may never lose sight of God by reason of the obscurity of our own nature. AMEN.

THE MIRROR OF TRUTH

2011-12-08T18:41:00.001-08:00

"If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: for he goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."-- Jam_1:23-24.

THERE IS an old fable of a palace, in which one room was remarkable above all others because it was lined with glass of a special quality.
Whenever a person entered whose life was inconsistent with truth, a mist blurred the surface of the mirrors so that he was unable to see himself clearly. It was when the Apostle Paul compared" his own self-centred goodness with the love and purity of Christ, he lost all hope of justifying himself, and confessed that the things which he had counted gain were only loss.
Truth and Love are indissolubly connected. Love is of God, and so is Truth. If you have the one, the other must follow. If the soul, looking into the mirror of God's Word, perceiving that there is a blur, and sets itself to remove all that has caused it; and if it continues in this attitude, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer that works, he shall be "blessed in his doing."
The blessedness of doing and becoming. It is only as we do, that we become. Even to behold Christ will not make us Christlike in character, unless we translate into action what we have discovered in Him. The impressions made on the hearer through the ear are very vagrant, like the breeze on the water. We look at ourselves in the mirror held up before us, and straightway go off and forget what manner of persons we were. It is only as we cease to be hearers who forget, and become doers that work, that we can make any progress in the Christian life and walk.
Listen attentively to the Word of Truth, written or spoken. Be quick to notice the smallest symptom of inconsistency between your life and the perfect beauty of Jesus, and set yourself immediately to correct it. Be merciful to the failings of everyone else, but be merciless to your own. Let no fault remain uncorrected, and no call to duty unanswered. For you to live, let it be Christ. Your blessedness and happiness will come in choosing the Christ-life, in doing, and continuing to do what He would have you do.

PRAYER
Help us to cast out all those things which are contrary to Thy peace, or that are not according to Thy will, so that ours may be the quiet life of trust, and faith, and obedience, longing for Thy truth, and walking in the light thereof. AMEN.

Count Your Blessings

2011-12-07T18:46:00.001-08:00

The 10 Essential Absolute Truths. #3

2011-12-07T18:17:00.001-08:00

by Igotsunshine

Last week I continued the discussion about the absolute truths regarding Christianity. Let me recap here briefly what I said. First the absolute truths regarding Christianity deal with 4 primary areas:
1. God
2. Creation
3. Man
4. Salvation

The Fundamentals of the Christian Faith are the non-negotiables that define true Christianity. In order to be called a Christian let me continue to outline the The 10 Essential Absolute Truths. Now we got through 2 of the 10. Number one being the inspiration and authority (sole authority) of the Bible. Being number one is not arbitrary. If you do not believe this first essential absolute truth then the rest of this discussion is quite useless. Number 2 was the creation of man by the direct act of God. And now I move on to number 3 namely:

The incarnation and virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I see the word incarnation is what does that word mean?
So here I find something close to an explanation in Wikipedia on Christian Incarnation: (here I only include part of the explanation)
The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that the second person in the Christian Godhead, also known as God the Son or the Logos (Word), "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Mary while she was a virgin.
The Incarnation is a fundamental theological teaching of orthodox (Nicene) Christianity, based on its understanding of the New Testament. The Incarnation represents the belief that Jesus, who is the non-created second hypostasis of the triune God, took on a human body and nature and became both man and God. In the Bible its clearest teaching is in John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”
In the Incarnation, as traditionally defined, the divine nature of the Son was joined but not mixed with human nature in one divine Person, Jesus Christ, who was both "truly God and truly man".
This is central to the traditional faith held by most Christians.
Basically incarnation is the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ.
I am not willing to go into a debate about the meaning past the definition in the Bible. Namely in the following verses (one that was already included here):

Let’s look at some scripture:

John 1:1-2, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Colosssians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Here we have --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wesley's Notes
For in him dwelleth - Inhabiteth, continually abideth, all the fulness of the Godhead. Believers are filled with all the fulness of God, Eph 3:19. But in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead; the most full Godhead; not only divine powers, but divine nature, Col 1:19. Bodily - Personally, really, substantially. The very substance of God, if one might so speak, dwells in Christ in the most full sense.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Again I allude to the useful purpose of Wesley’s Notes:
Therefore - Because you despise me, and the sign which I now offer to you, God of his own free grace will send you a more honourable messenger, and give you a nobler sign. A sign - Of your deliverance. But how was this birth, which was not to happen 'till many ages after, a sign of their deliverance from present danger? This promised birth supposed the preservation of that city, and nation and tribe, in and of which the Messiah was to be born; and therefore there was no cause to fear that ruin which their enemies now threatened. Immanuel - God with us; God dwelling among us, in our nature, John 1:14. God and man meeting in one person, and being a mediator between God and men. For the design of these words is not so much to relate the name by which Christ should commonly he called, as to describe his nature and office.
John 8:58 “I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
I like this short discussion from the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary:
Before Abraham was, I am-The words rendered "was" and "am" are quite different. The one clause means, "Abraham was brought into being"; the other, "I exist." The statement therefore is not that Christ came into existence before Abraham did (as Arians affirm is the meaning), but that He never came into being at all, but existed before Abraham had a being; in other words, existed before creation, or eternally (as Joh 1:1). In that sense the Jews plainly understood Him, since "then took they up stones to cast at Him," just as they had before done when they saw that He made Himself equal with God (Joh 5:18).

Further in the New Testament part of the Bible we have:
Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (or Emmanuel)--which means, "God with us."

In further explanation let us look again at Wesley's Notes:

They shall call his name Emmanuel - To be called, only means, according to the Hebrew manner of speaking, that the person spoken of shall really and effectually be what he is called, and actually fulfil that title. Thus, Unto us a child is born - and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace - That is, he shall be all these, though not so much nominally, as really, and in effect. And thus was he called Emmanuel; which was no common name of Christ, but points out his nature and office; as he is God incarnate, and dwells by his Spirit in the hearts of his people. It is observable, the words in Isaiah are, Thou (namely, his mother) shalt call; but here, They - that is, all his people, shall call - shall acknowledge him to be Emmanuel, God with us.

Using the Bible as the inspiration and sole authority to me clearly states the incarnation and virgin birth of Jesus.

I will end with this…

The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

"You will be with child and give birth to a son ...'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:34-35).
The virgin birth is an essential doctrine of historic Christianity. Christ did not have a sin nature. To be the perfect sacrifice, as Jesus was, required that He be free of sin. Yet, Christ had to be fully man. The virgin birth solved both of these requirements: Christ was born of a woman so as to be fully man; yet was born as result of the miraculous intervention of God, by means of the Holy Spirit -- the result of which was that Adam's sin nature was not passed to Jesus.
The Old Testament prophesied the virgin birth: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Those who deny the virgin birth often claim this text should be rendered "A young woman will be with child." That interpretation would render the passage meaningless since the birth was to be a sign. A virgin bearing a child is a sign; a young woman bearing a child is not a sign.

The Apostles recognized Isaiah's sign as applying to Jesus -- they affirmed the virgin birth. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel' -- which means, 'God with us'" (Matthew 1:22-23).

Most cults deny the virgin birth. Some claim that Christ's conception and birth was no different than that of any other person. At least one claims that Jesus' birth was the result of sexual relations between God and Mary. All deny the clear teaching of Scripture that this was a miraculous intervention by God the Holy Spirit. The virgin birth is an essential of the faith and must not be compromised.

MAN'S WAY! GOD'S DIRECTION

2011-12-06T14:10:00.001-08:00

by F. B. Meyers

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps."-- Pro_16:9.

THE WAYS of a man, we justify them to ourselves, and think that they are necessarily right, but we are liable to be self-deceived. We must employ our sanctified common-sense, or, to adopt the phrase of our text, our heart must seriously and thoughtfully devise our way. First pray for direction; then weigh the pros and cons; then view the matter from the standpoint of trusted friends; see that your eye is single to do only the will of God; be sure that no selfish or evil consideration is allowed to bias or divert you: then make your decision, asking God to block you in whatever would be hurtful, foolish, or perilous. You will not make a mistake if you sincerely and prayerfully adopt these rules. If your eye is single (i.e., straight), your whole body will be full of light.
There is every reason why we should employ the faculties of judgment and choice. When Samuel sent the young Saul away, he said, "Thou shalt do as occasion shall serve thee"; we are also told of Peter, that when the angel left him, he considered the matter, and came to Mary's house.
But God's purpose is behind all human decisions. There must be room for man to devise his steps, else we should become automatons. But all our volitions and choices must be ultimately subjected to the Rule and Will of the Most High. Let us commit our works and ways to God. We must roll our burden and ourselves on our faithful Creator. Of what use is it to worry over past mistakes? We cannot undo them, but we can ask God to bring good out of evil. He will put right the mistakes, and compensate for the failures. Let the Father's hand direct your steps. If with all your devising and planning, you cannot settle the matter, throw the whole responsibility back on Him and ask Him to undertake it.
Let us seek so to live that our ways may please the Lord (Pro_16:7). "We beseech you," said St. Paul, "that as ye received of us how ye ought to walk and please God, even so ye do walk." We need to wait on God that He may show us the right way, and there is a sure sign--Via Crucis, via lucis. Jesus said, "I am the Way: Follow Me!"

PRAYER
Lead us, O God, bypaths we have not known. Make the darkness light before us, the crooked places straight, and the rough places plain. Let Thine Angel lead us forth into the liberty of the sons of God. AMEN.

LIGHT IN DARKNESS

2011-12-05T17:42:00.001-08:00

by F.B. Meyers

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of deep darkness, upon them hath the light shined."-- Isa_9:2 (R.V. marg.).

AS EVERY one is affected by the first man, Adam, so every one has a direct claim upon Jesus Christ, the second Man, whose Death and Resurrection and Ascension affect us all. He is the Light who has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Because Christ lay upon Mary's breast, and was cradled in her arms, we have been delivered from darkness, and it is possible for us to climb, by the staircase of His Cross, over angels, principalities, and powers, to be seated with Him on His Throne of Glory.
"Unto us a Child is born!" He is Wonderful, because in Him the most marvellous extremes meet. He is the Babe just born, but He is the Ancient of Days who fills space. He grows in knowledge, but in Him are stored the riches of eternal wisdom. He hangs in mortal agony upon the Cross, but He gives life to uncounted myriads. He is laid in a borrowed tomb, but He lives for evermore, and death hath no power over Him!
He is Counsellor. Tell Him thy heart's problems. Ask His counsel, and He will not mislead thee. He is the Prince of Peace, and "of the increase of His government" over new regions of the inner life, over new departments of the soul, over new openings, out of your existence, the increase deepening, heightening, widening, of the increase of His government as the years pass, there shall be no end, because the soul of man is infinite, and it will take eternity to bring out all the meaning of the Empire of Christ over our nature.
What is your reply to the claim of Christ? I urge you to-day to humbly put the government of everything that concerns your life upon the shoulders of Christ, and then you will find the joy and peace will increase. Such joy as thou hast never known! Such peace as has never before uttered its benison upon thy heart (Isa_9:3).

PRAYER
We thank Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy Love; for all that He has done for us, and will do; for all that He has been to us, and will be. We know that He holds us in His strong hand, that He loves us with a love that cannot let us go, that we are one with Him in a union which nothing can break. AMEN.

JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

2011-12-02T15:24:00.001-08:00

by F.B.Meyer

"I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."-- Joh 8:12.

THE STAR Sirius is so far away from our little earth, that its light, travelling at the rate of 186,000 miles per second, has to travel for eight long years before it can reach our eyes; and yet it is so bright that, when its ray shines down the telescope, the eye of the astronomer is dazzled as though by the sun. But if the light of a single created world is thus in the physical sphere, what shall we say of Him of whom we are told "God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all?" Yet we may live and work in that search-light, and have fellowship with Him!
Present-tense cleansing. Years ago in my congregation there was a sweep who was a friend of mine. On Sundays he sang in our choir, and his face shone with the love of God. But if I happened to call at his home close on his return from work, his face was begrimed as to be almost unrecognizable! Yet even then there was one part as clear and bright as on the Sunday! The pupils of his eyes set in pearly white! It seemed as though these were impervious to the soiling-touch of the smoke-dust. And why! Because Nature, which is the glove on the hand of God, has provided eyelids, eye-lashes, and above all, tear-water, so that whatever be our environment, the eye is kept washed and clean. Is not this an illustration of what the Apostle meant by the "Blood of Jesus Christ cleansing from all sin?" It is the same truth as our Lord taught, when, having washed the disciples' feet, He said that he who had bathed in the morning needed only to wash his feet.
The ultimate purpose of the soul, therefore, should be to walk in the Light as He is in the Light. God covers Himself with light as with a garment. It is an emblem of purity and love and joy. And our life is meant to be like that, even when we are compelled to spend the hours of the day in the company of those who know not God, and perhaps blaspheme His Name. That Light may shine in heart and face, and fall on those around. That fellowship and communion with Him may be unbroken! The song of the Lord may rise in our hearts without a jarring note! It seems incredible and impossible, especially when one is conscious of so much sin and failure! Nay, it is not impossible, if once we have learnt the secret of this present tense---"the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin."

PRAYER
Fill me with Thy light and joy, O Lord, that I may have wherewith to give to my home and friends, and to the dark world around me. Keep me from hiding my light under the bushel of my own anxieties. AMEN.

WALKING IN THE LIGHT

2011-12-01T17:07:00.001-08:00

"God said, Let there be Light; and there was Light."--- Gen 1:3.
"Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: Walk as children of Light."-- Eph 5:8.

ST. PAUL makes use of this passage in Genesis, when He says, that "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." He seems to go back in his experience to that remarkable vision on the road to Damascus, when the light shone, and he saw the face of the Lord Jesus. It was as though he had passed through the experience of chaos, while kicking against the goad of conviction, and at that moment, which he could never forget, God said: "Let there be light." Looking up, he saw the light of the glory of God reflected in that dear Face that looked down on him with ineffable love. It was life out of death; light replaced darkness, and peace chased away the last vestige of storm.
This is ever the result and climax of the work in our hearts wrought by the Holy Spirit. He leads us out of darkness; He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. His one aim is to glorify our Saviour, and to make Him the Alpha and Omega of our faith, as we walk in the light.
When I was in Tasmania, I was shown a great mountain range on which was a vast lake, fifty-two miles in circumference. The overflow yielded a perennial waterfall of a thousand feet, the force of which was translated into electricity which made light and power cheap for great factories and for domestic needs. It seemed to me, as I thought about it, that the great sheet of water resembled the Love of God, in its longing to help mankind; that the descending waterfall might be taken to illustrate the Incarnation of our Saviour, who was the Sent-One of the Eternal Trinity; and that the electric current, invisible but mighty, was typical of the Holy Spirit, who brings to our hearts the Light and Power of the Divine Nature. The lesson is obvious, that as the manufacturer or the scientist invents machinery to meet the conditions on which alone the electric current can do its work, so must we learn to adapt ourselves to receive and transmit the power and light of God, which comes to us through our union with Jesus.

PRAYER
May the Holy Spirit keep us ever walking in the light of Thy countenance. May He fill our hearts with the sense of Thy nearness and loving fellowship. Order our steps in Thy way, and then walk with us, for in Thee is no darkness at all. AMEN.