Holy Ambition and Hope (our common Christian calling)
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,
(Heb 6:11 NASB)
For 2011 – a new year. I am reading several books on Kindle (pc and Android) and was reading My Utmost for His Highest Devos on Heartlight.org . Several items have stayed with me so far.
Hope – too many times I have looked into the worldly hope or hopelessness, it is ‘both and’ true – one day there is hope, a few days later there is hopelessness or silence, no continuity; instead of constantly looking to God in Jesus Christ. I have failed to lead my emotions / heart / feelings with my head and failed to keep my head firmly pointed to Christ. This ‘self reliance’ opens a door to fear, and heading away from God’s best for me. God designed me for interdependence – cooperation with Him.
according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
(Phi 1:20 NASB)
Ambition – my worldly view has been to give lip service to God in prayer and thanks for a few minutes a week, usually on Sunday, and set my own agenda and goals with only a small influence from God.
Holy Ambition – something I really really want to do, very badly, that God also wants me to do. I am reflecting on what that is for 2011.
The Book ‘Do Hard Things’ is a great read, for teens as well as any age. In it the author discusses Holy Amition and provides an analysis of failure to succeed is always a lacking in one of three areas (or more)
He calls these the 3 pillars:
character
competence
collaboration
a failure in any of these three areas will likely distract or prevent me from suceeding in ambition or Holy Ambition.
It is my New Year’s resolution to succeed by paying attention to these three pillars, keeping my mind focused on Christ (and acting to give Him Glory) in all the ambitions and Holy Ambitions I follow this year.
Jude at a Glance
Book Theme: warn and encourage believers about coming judgment, false teachers in the church.
Author: Jude, brother of James. Believed by many to be a brother of Jesus. Bondservant of Jesus Christ.
Key Words: Ungodly, judgment, love, mercy, faith
Purpose: encourage and warn believers to be prepared to contend earnestly for the faith against ungodly evil deceivers.
Paragraph themes
Jude 1:1-2 – greeting, identify author, encourage the believers in mercy, love and peace, kept.
Jude 1:3-4 – why he is writing, to contend earnestly for faith, in preparation for confronting the ungodly teachers who are in the church
Jude 1:5-10 – reminding the readers of the mistakes of fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, the false teachers among them will revile flesh and authority, how Michael the arch-angel did not condemn, but rebuked in Jesus name.
Jude 1:11-16 – these men are like Cain, Balaam, wild waves, God will enact judgment, describes how to recognize them.
Jude 1:17-23 – remember the words of the apostles – keep yourselves, that there will be mockers and deceivers, build up your faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, have mercy and save those who can be from the flames
Jude 1:24-25 – closing, recognizing the glory and power of Jesus Christ. God is able to keep you and make you stand.
Skillet – Rebirthing
I have come to enjoy many of Skillet’s songs, and among them rebirthing is one that I find the combination of words, vocals and music to place me in apowerful place of worship and reflection, and sometimes repentance / praise / humility.
I lie here paralytic, inside this soul
Screaming for you till my throat is numb
I wanna break out I need a way out
I don’t believe that it’s gotta be this way
The worst is the waiting
In this womb I’m suffocating
Before I woke up to the reality of Christ, the healing / changing / cleansing love of Jesus – I was feeling this, yet ignoring this, being numb to the reality of Jesus wooing me. Living a dead life.
For indeed in this
> we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
(2Co 5:2 NASB)
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Rom 3:23 NASB)
Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen
I take you in I’ve died
Rebirthing now I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Rebirthing now I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Right now Right now
I went on a walk to emmaus in Oct 2000, and for a good 2 years, was on a mission to proclaim Christ, teach Christ, talk about Jesus where ever and whenever I could. I felt the zeal, realized my prior inaction, desired to make amends to God. Saw the emptiness of this life and the suffocating smothering death I had been living in. I have continued these last 8 years in obedience, but not alway with the zeal of the first 2 years. I often wonder why the fire abated, God did not change, so I chose to.
(Isaiah 59:17) He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
I lie here lifeless in this cocoon Shedding my skin cause I’m ready to I wanna break out, I found a way out I don’t believe that it’s gotta be this way The worst is the waiting In this womb I’m suffocating
Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen I take you in I’ve died
Rebirthing now I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Rebirthing now I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
These lyrics remind me that each day / month / year is a rebirthing in Christ, an opportunity to recapture the zeal and emotional fire for Christ
(Galatians 2:20) “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Tell me when I’m gonna live again Tell me when I’m gonna breathe you in Tell me when I’m gonna feel inside Tell me when I’m gonna feel alive
Tell me when I’m gonna live again Tell me when this fear will end Tell me when I’m gonna feel inside Tell me when I’ll feel alive
(2 Thessalonians 3:3) But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
(2 Corinthians 5:1) For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Rebirthing now I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Rebirthing now I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow
Right now(I come alive somehow)Right now(I come alive somehow) I lie here paralytic, inside this soul Screaming for you till my throat is numb I wanna break out I need a way out I don’t believe that it’s gotta be this way The worst is the waiting In this womb I’m suffocating Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen I take you in I’ve diedRebirthing now I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow Rebirthing now I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow Right now Right now I lie here lifeless in this cocoon Shedding my skin cause I’m ready to I wanna break out, I found a way out I don’t believe that it’s gotta be this way The worst is the waiting In this womb I’m suffocating Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen I take you in I’ve died Rebirthing now I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow Rebirthing now I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow Tell me when I’m gonna live again Tell me when I’m gonna breathe you in Tell me when I’m gonna feel inside Tell me when I’m gonna feel alive Tell me when I’m gonna live again Tell me when this fear will end Tell me when I’m gonna feel inside Tell me when I’ll feel alive Rebirthing now I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow Rebirthing now I wanna live my life, wanna give you everything Breathe for the first time now I come alive somehow Right now(I come alive somehow)Right now(I come alive somehow)
Living a purpose driven life that extends to eternity and glory in Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior!
John
What is in your ministry? Faith or only Sight?
Lord, help me walk by Faith, instead of what I see.
A wonderful Idea
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
(Gen 1:26 MSG)
From God, that Crazy Grace filled love
Leisa read this to me from Francis Chan’s book “Crazy Love”. There was a section that referenced
So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you–you’re eating to God’s glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God’s glory.
(1Co 10:31 MSG)
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
(Mat 6:33 MSG)
In my reality, I choose to focus on my problems, my stress, and don’t look to these commands, these guiding principles – I ignore.
What I am saying is very arrogant and self serving, I choose not to glorify God and worry, because I want to have “enjoy” my stress and swim in my worry. I choose to be disobedient to God, when He plainly tells me that in all moments, I should glorify Him, and not worry.
When I choose to do that, He is there. I need to choose that more each day.
May you choose this also. Peace of Christ to you this day.
Thoughts on where I am today
I sat here this morning, reading over the gospel passages of Jesus converting the Jewish passover feast into the New Covenant
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
(Mat 26:26-28 NASB)
{also 1 Cor 5:7, 1 Cor 11:23, JOhn 6:35, Matt 6:11, John 1:12, Ex 24:8, Dan 9:27, Eph 1:7)
God designed the world, universe, and humans. We are the only part of creation that share the image of God.
God Loves me, us. God has created and is executing a plan to reconcile me, us to Him. Just like a gift, we cannot enjoy or use a gift unless we receive and open it. God desires us to enjoy life and be in fellowship with Him.
God sustains me, us. God is there even when we cannot see Him or feel His presence. God’s promise is a covenant and will not and cannot be broken, He makes a way.
God provides power to me, us. God in Jesus Christ as Savior, and with the power of the person of the Holy Spirit – empowers me to live in faith, flee temptation, be patient, loving, and kind.
My choice ( and God always allows me a choice) is to believe this or not, act on these truths or not, live in loving fellowship or not, receive the peace being offered or not.
Why don’t I have peace?
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
(2Th 3:16 NASB)
“Every circumstance” seems pretty clear, it means every situation, with every person. I notice it does not say anything about how I feel. And the granting only and 100% comes from the “Lord of Peace”. I have to receive the peace from the Lord. From Dr Ed Smith (TPM) – “If we do not have peace in every circumstance, then we believe something that is contrary to this peace. Peace follows truth. When I know truth, I will walk in peace.”
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
(Gal 6:8 NASB)
“be anxious for NOTHING” (Philippians 4:6). “Nothing” means for no reason, ever! The Apostle John wrote “Perfect love casts out ALL fear” (1 John 4:18). We are told to “Get rid of ALL bitterness, rage and anger … along with EVERY form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31).
When I try to have peace on my own path and own strength, I may succeed, but without receiving the grant of peace from the Lord, the peace probably will not last.
I only recently reflected on this truth from the Word of God, and have found new areas of peace in my life as a result.
I pray that you will also.
Easter – Completion of a Jewish Feast, A review
The Feasts of Israel, Hebrew Date, Our date
–Passover – Nissan 14 – March April
–Unleavened Bread – Nissan 15-21 – March April (15th day began the Unleavened bread which lasts for 7 days)
–First Fruits – Nissan 16 – March April (1st Sunday after Passover (Sabbath)
–Pentecost – Sivan 6 – May June
–Trumpets – Tishri 1 – September October
–Day of Atonement – Tishri 10 – September October
–Tabernacles – Tishri 15-21 – September October
Oldest recorded feast
Passover
Feast symbolic of the Rapture
Trumpets
Feasts not yet fulfilled by Christ
Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles
1st and last feast (book ends)
Passover, Tabernacles
The feast that commemorated the giving of the law to Moses.
Pentecost
Sacred Assemblies shall be known as
Holy Convocation
No work done day – not even in the home
Sabbath
This feast does not have an exact date given to it.
First Fruits
This feast more closely replicates our Easter morning.
First Fruits
Book and Chapter where we find the order and the direction of the feasts.
Leviticus 23
Feast symbolic of the Lamb of God being slain.
Passover
The feast where two goats are used in the ritual
Day of Atonement
Two overlapping feasts – can have 2 on the same day
Unleavened bread and first fruits (bread and fruit go together) (In some places in the Bible – Passover and unleavened Bread are used interchangeably because they are so close together.)
3 Feasts where males had to return to Jerusalem
Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles
What time was Jesus nailed to the cross and what time did he give up His life?
Nailed on cross at 9am and gave up his life at 3pm (had to come down before 6pm)
Feast that indicates the millennial reign of Christ
Tabernacles
Feast symbolic of Christ’s body in the grave for 3 days
Unleavened Bread
Symbolic of the 2nd advent of Christ
Trumpets
-Passover – Pesach – Exodus 12 (The Passover)
-Is the oldest recorded feast in the bible
-Is symbolic of the lamb of God being slain
-Jesus on the day of the Passover feast was nailed to cross at 9am and gave up his life at 3pm.
– justification of believer, We were justified at the Passover. It established our position in Christ. In justification, we are declared not guilty. God credits Jesus’ righteousness to our spiritual bank account. Passover is our justification. I have been justified by Jesus Christ.
-one day feast.
-‘Taking Israel out of Egypt’.
-1 Cor 5:7 Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.
– Passover season was the barley harvest – known as the ‘ poor man’s bread’
– Passover – God’s Peace
-Unleavened Bread – Hag Hamatozot – Lev. 23:6-8
-God was ‘taking Egypt out of Israel’. Egypt represents darkness, sin, evil, the world. We can accept Christ today, but it doesn’t mean we will walk the way Jesus wants us to walk yet. That is a journey of sanctification. We are saved but we still have sin to remove from our lives. Removing sin out of the believer’s life each day, a new battle each day. This is the sanctification process.
-symbolic of Christ body in grave for 3 days. During the 3 days in the tomb (the heart of earth), during the time of unleavened bread, he removed the works of the devil. He took the keys back. He became sin for us. Jesus removed sin from the earth. Our worldly attitudes and sinful ways were buried with Jesus in the grave.
-Unleavened bread represents Jesus power over sin and sickness.
-During Unleavened Bread they cleaned the house of leaven and removed all the leaven. For seven days there is no leaven in the house. It is a reminder to cleanse our lives of sin and everything that is not in line with God.
-1 Cor 5:8 Let us keep the feast of unleavened bread by purging out our sin. Jesus purged out our sins on the cross.
-First Fruits – Leviticus 23:9-14
-the Sunday after Passover, Jesus was resurrected. Priest waving sheaf before the Lord and offered a lamb for sacrifice.
– This feast stands for the believer’s resurrection with Christ and our future bodily resurrection. We are saved from our old life to new life in Jesus. Put off the old man, and put on the new man. It is not enough to wash off the outside, we also have to clean up our inside. We have to walk in the spirit (Gal 5:16) and you will not fulfill the works of the flesh. The evidence of this is the Fruits of the spirit (gal 5:22,23). Fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience and self control. We should walk in these everyday. When we are walking in the Spirit and exhibiting the fruits of the spirit, we are presenting ourselves as a wave offering to God.
– Purpose was to consecrate the harvest to God, by taking the first cuttings and saying this is yours. All of harvest belonged to God, and reminded them of their stewardship. God gave them the land, it all belonged to Him. It was God’s harvest and they were responsible to be good stewards of what God gave them. This is important to us because the Tithe is the first portion. It is all God’s, we give the first 10 percent as a way of saying this is all your and I am asking your blessings upon it.
– How did Jesus fulfill first fruits?
-He (Christ) is the first born
-The Believers (church) He is the first born among believers
– Christ was to suffer and to be the first to be raised from physical and spiritual death.
– First fruits help us remember that it all belongs to God. God wants our heart and not our money.
– How do we partake of first fruits?
-(see Abraham in Gen 14), – given as a sacrifice. The first fruits were given to the priests to sustain them. The priests were provided for. God wants his priests to be taken care of.
-The first fruits of land (Jericho was a first fruit for God).
-Leviticus 27 the first fruits of animals – sacrifices – they always used the best animals for sacrifices. God use the best for sacrifices. Do I give God my best?
-First born male of every family belonged to God and had special privileges:
– had right of rulership over family. Ruled the family after the father’s death.
– given priesthood – given direction and instruction, from God how to administer (run) the family.
– Given a double portion of the inheritance.
– The church is the first fruits of:
-Revival
-Change
– Jesus resurrection fulfilled first fruits. 1 Cor 15:20 Christ is risen from the dead and become the first fruits of those who slept. Churches today are filled with people who are asleep. We have a responsibility to wake them up. We are His hands feet and mouthpiece.
– Christ was the first fruit and he passed it on to us.
-Pentecost – Shavuot – 50 days after Passover – happens in June
-Priest waved two loaves – one for Jews and one for Gentiles. This signifies that God is giving His Holy Spirit to all people.
– Acts – Fulfillment of Pentecost when Jesus baptized the disciples in the Upper room with the Holy Spirit. To be filled with Holy Spirit is available to all people (Jews and Gentiles).
– 50 days after first fruits, was the celebration of the completion of the wheat harvest.
– Pentecost – wheat harvest – known as the rich man’s bread
We are much richer with Jesus in our lives.
– The two loaves were made of fine flour carefully sifted to separate the coarse matter from the wheat. This is a symbol of our righteousness.
– It expressed the Hebrews dependence on God for the harvest and their daily bread. In other words – we can’t do it on our own, we need the blood of Christ.
– the Jews celebrated Pentecost as a memorial to the time when God gave the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
– It foreshadowed the Holy Spirit coming down on Pentecost to dwell in us.
-Pentecost is the wheat harvest. Jesus calls himself the human grain of wheat. In order for us to receive more – Jesus had to die and be planted in the ground. (Jesus was involved in Pentecost) A grain of wheat must be buried to bear fruit. The son of God must die and be buried to bear fruit.
– Just as wheat has to be crushed, sifted and baked to become bread. Jesus was crushed, sifted and baked in the ovens of Hell for our sins. Jesus fulfilled the feast of Pentecost.
– Pentecost – God’s Power
-Trumpets – Rosh Hashanna –
–Blowing the trumpets to call all the people together
– represents the Rapture. God calls all people together.
-It is the foreshadowing of the 2nd advent of Jesus. Will be fulfilled when Jesus comes back.
– Feast of Trumpets is a time of awakening or warning. It ushers in entrance or that something is going to be revealed. The trumpet is blown to get everyone’s attention.
– Has not been fulfilled yet. We don’t know what day it is going to be, but based on the seasons it is close. Do not let it take us by surprise. It will not sneak up on us. We need to be prepared for the Lord’s return.
– The word ‘rosh’ means the head of, the top, sovereign.
-Trumpets was to prepare everyone for the day of atonement.
-For the Jews – Trumpets symbolized the voice of God, calling them to a special revelation (knowledge, prophet spoke, etc) or calling them to something (worship on the Sabbath, feasts). It also meant that God was a mighty God and mighty warrior. Like Joshua at Jericho.
-Trumpets ushers in the first of 10 days of repentance and it was a time:
– of partial fasting (there were certain things they could drink)
– of seeking God’s face
– of seeking God’s favor
– to repent of their sins.
– for the Jews to make things right with one another.
– to seek forgiveness
– to repay debts
The Jews took this very seriously. They felt that these things had to be done by sundown of the day of feast of trumpets (the 10th day) or your name would be stricken from the book life of the Jews (not the Lamb’s book of life), excommunicated from the nation (you were dead to the nation).
-Trumpets is the beginning of the festival time of feasts, that are not yet fulfilled by Christ, but Christ will come to fulfill them.
– How does Trumpets apply to the church?
Rev 1:10 tells us that the trumpet was God speaking out. Jesus was the trumpet. God is speaking to the church. Church needs to listen for the trumpet. The church needs to listen to God. The church needs to have spiritual leaders who will listen to God. The trumpet is for us – to go out into the world and spread the good news.
-The ultimate fulfillment of Trumpets will be the Rapture. Rev. 11:15 – that is when the trumpets blow, we hear Christ coming. Jesus is the trumpet of God and the horn of our salvation.
Day of Awe – prior to the day of atonement. It runs from 2 hours before sunset to 2 hours after sunset – about 28 hours. The Jews are in fasting, do good deeds for each other, stop working (except for priests), spiritually prepare themselves. They are only seeking God. They Greet each other with hope and concern, “may your name be in the book of life…” “May you have a good signature.”
-Day of Atonement – Yon Kippur –
– Matt 25:31-33 atonement will be fulfilled when Jesus cleanses the earth by separating the sheep and goats.
-This is the 7th feast of Israel. The number 7 is the number of completion.
– Atonement means to cover, make reconciliation, to passify or appease, to clear, to purge, to cleanse. Gen 6:14 – Noah is instructed to ‘cover’ the Ark with pitch. The same word used to tell Noah to ‘cover’ the ark with pitch.
-It is the most solemn and holy day of year – day of atonement.
-Great day of national cleansing and forgiveness – not for personal cleansing.
-Only required day (only day in bible) of complete fasting.
– The Jews believe the final accounting of souls and final judgment will come on the Day of Atonement. It is also called the day of Forgiveness. They call it Yom Kippur.
-Lev 16 – The high priest’s most important duty was to minister on the Day of Atonement. If the priest made a mistake, on this day, the whole nation would suffer – they would not be forgiven.
-Lev. 16:4 – Before the priest did anything he would cleanse himself first. The priests dressed for the service. They wore white robes, sash, turbans – these were not glamorous garments – they were not elaborate or beautiful. They were very ordinary garments. He made a sin offering for himself first – he sacrificed a bull for himself. He had to atone for his own sins before he could ask God to forgive the nation. Then he made a sin offering for the nation.
-He enters into the Holy of Holies
-Takes some of the blood from the sacrifice into the tabernacle
-Passes through the outer room
-He would stop at the incense altar, pull coal from the altar and fill the golden censor.
-He would fill his hands with incense.
-He would approach the holy of holies, where God’s presence was.
-He would go behind the veil with incense, into the holy of holies, where ark of covenant was.
-The mercy seat was on top (the lid) of the ark of the covenant.
-A great light was visible – the shekinah glory of God.
-Put incense over the coals to create a White clouds of smoke.
-He sprinkled blood sprinkled on the mercy seat seven times 7-symbol of completion).
-Greek word for mercy meant Propitiation. This was to turn away God’s wrath by satisfying His violated justice. We are going to do this in hopes that you forgive us.
-Heb 9:22 – shedding of blood for forgiveness of sin.
-Heb 12:24 – The blood of Jesus is crying out for mercy.
The blood of Able cried out for vengeance.
The message is clear – Blood Speaks!
-2 goats were offered:
-1 was sacrificed (scapegoat)
-1 was set free
Lots were cast to see which one was set free.
The goat symbolized the sins of the nation. The high priest leaned heavily with his body weight on the goat – which symbolized the transfer of the nations sins. The high priest took the sins of the nation and put it on the goat. Then he cut the goat’s throat and took the blood into the holy of holies to the mercy seat. Standing in the incense cloud – because he already did this with the blood of the bull to cleanse himself.
– The blood changes God’s throne from a throne of pure judgment to one of mercy.
-On other sacrifice days the Jews could bring in sacrifices based on their social standing (their income – what they could afford) but for atonement they could only bring in a goat. This meant they had to suck it up and pay the price for the goat. Today we do not want to pay the price to do what we have to do to be followers of Christ. God said “this day you must do this” (bring the goat) there was a reason for it. It applies to us today.
-1st Goat (the one that died) represented the people.
-2nd goat scapegoat was let go into the wilderness (uninhabited area). This was evidence that the sacrifice was accomplished.
– Every year this was repeated, atonement was never finished. Sins were covered up for a year at a time. Atonement means cover up. Their sins were covered up for a year.
-Tabernacles – Sukkot –
-will be fulfilled when Jesus returns to Tabernacle with the redeemed.
-In Lev 23 – The Feast of Tabernacles began on the 15th day of Tishri and lasted until the 21st. On the 22nd there was a special Sabbath, which was a day of rest, followed by a day of much rejoicing.
-The Feast of Tabernacles has 2 aspects:
-Looked back to the 40 year wilderness wandering, living in shelters, tents, or booths
-Also a time to look ahead.
-Tabernacles also called the Feast of Ingathering. It was at the end of the harvest season. Harvest was a lot of work. It was a time of celebrating the completion of the harvest. It was a time of great rejoicing.
-This is the 8th feast – tabernacles is also called booths because the Jews slept in booths or shelters during the feast. It is a Time of seeking God and not things from God.
-It is a time of pouring of Water. (Lev 23:36) It took place on the last day of the feast. It was called the Day of Hosanna (means saves now). They would pray for salvation through the messiah. A special thanksgiving offering was made for rain to soften the ground for plowing. It was also a time that pointed to the messiah who would bring them living waters of the spirit. A younger priests would draw water with a golden pitcher from the Pool of Salome, which would be taken to the temple and poured over sacrifices. This was in remembrance of the time God gave them water from the rock – when Moses struck the rock. God provides for His people. The trumpets were blown and the people waved palm branches sang the psalms 113-118.
-How is Jesus our tabernacle?
–Jesus is our rest; you go into a tabernacle for rest.
-Matt 11:28-30 – Jesus said we can rest in God through Him (Jesus)
-Jesus is called Emmanuel. Emmanuel means ‘God with us’. When God is with us we can rest, through Christ, in God.
–Pouring of the water – in John 7:2,6-10,37-39 – it talks about how this is the late and greatest day of the feast. Jesus made a bold statement “I am your hosanna, I am your salvation, I will give you living waters”. Many believe that when the priest was pouring the water onto the ground is when Jesus stood and said this. He came to satisfy their spiritual thirst.
-Jesus is the ‘sent one’. The pool of Salome is considered the ‘sent pool’.
-John 7:16 – I came from Him who sent me.
-Jesus is the pool from which the living water will spring up in us.
–Jesus is the light of the Temple. In John 8:12 – Jesus came to give us spiritual light. The Jews rejected the light (Jesus). They liked rituals more than they loved God. They were looking for a political messiah. As a result they have been wandering for 2000 years. The Jews who did not accept Him have missed the ‘rest of Jesus’ during this church age.
-This Feast will be fulfilled when Jesus returns at His 2nd advent to tabernacle with His people on earth. It represents the 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth – which is called the millennium.
-Revelation 20- The curse of sin will be removed from the earth, and satan will be bound.
-Revelation 21 22- There will be a New heaven and new earth. This will be the 8th day of rest for us. Final rest is when God comes to live with His people.
-Revelation 22:1-5 talks about a river of living water that will flow from the throne of God. Whatever we need, will be there, all we have to do is walk over and take a drink. No more need for energy, God’s shekinah glory will power and illuminate everything. This will happen when God comes to tabernacle with us.
Tabernacles can also mean the season of the fall feasts.
These feasts symbolize ‘God’s rest’:
Matt 5:17”Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (NIV)
Jesus took bread and wine and established a new ordinance called the Lord ’s Supper.
-His body was Unleavened bread.
-His blood was the Passover.
Who am I
Temporal and Positional Truth
Christian’s understand that our salvation is a gift that comes from Christ’s sacrifice for us, but most churches stop there. So, a lot of Christians are not taught about the position, authority and relationship that we have with God. I did not understand the Positional and Temporal truths that make up the rest of God’s gift to us.
The Positional truth is that once we accept Christ, He is in us and we are in Him. We are covered by Christ’s blood and seen as Holy and blameless in the sight of God (Ephesians 1:4). We are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and become co-heirs with Christ and sons and daughters of God (Ephesians 1:5). We enter into an intimate relationship with our Creator through Christ. We have the Holy Spirit living in us to teach, comfort, guide, help and empower us. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, right next to God (Ephesians 2:6). We are citizens of heaven. We also become part of the body of Christ. We join with other believers to work together to do God’s work. Through Christ we are linked together. We are a spiritual family (Ephesians 2:19-22). What this means to me is that I am never alone, no matter how I may feel, because Christ and God are always right next to me and the body of believers are all there, too. It also means that I have the power of God in me because Christ is in me and I have the authority to use that power for His purposes. It is not my authority. It is Christ’s authority and He has given me access to it, to use in His name. For me, this gift of authority is one I have only recently become aware of. It is a gift that I have had for a long time, but never saw. Now I see it and I have opened it, but I am not sure about what to do with it. I have not fully grasped all that it means. This area is a prayer focus for me because I want to be all that God wants me to be. I want to do all the things He wants me to do. It is a gift that is to be taken very seriously because I will be held accountable for the way I use it. God put all these things in place because He loves us and wanted to protect us and wanted a relationship with us. His love is amazing. It has no limits. I feel it every day. It is empowering and humbling at the same time. My focus needs to stay on Him, in all I do and my thoughts should be focused on the spiritual rather than the physical. The eternal consequences are more important than the worldly consequences.
The Temporal truth is that God will give me what I need, here in my physical body to do what He wants me to do here on this earth. If I feel stressed I can call out to Him and He will give me peace, He will comfort me and provide for my physical needs. While I am here, my job is to study and increase my knowledge and grow into a mature Christian, so I know the truth and will not be deceived by false teachings. (Ephesians 4:13-15). I have a responsibility to be Christ like in my interactions with others. I should be patient, honest and kind with others. People should see Christ in me (Ephesians 4:24-32). I should follow God’s example and show love to everyone (Ephesians 5:1-2). By doing this I can teach others about God and bring new people into the body of Christ. The way I conduct myself is very important because I represent God. So, all my relationships and all my conduct should be guided by love. (Ephesians 5:22-6:9) I also need to remember that my struggles and battles are not with other people, but with satan and his forces (Ephesians 6:12). I am not alone in this battle. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the body of believers are all with me. I never stand alone. God has also given me the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). These are powerful tools to help me stand against the enemy.
Busyiness…
I get too busy to “smell the roses”, listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit each moment, smile, laugh, and enjoy the life I am traveling through.
That is my choice and yours, too much facebooking, tweeting, texting, working, cooking, preparing for church stuff, doing church stuff. I and too many forget to take special time and keep a special focus on the first love, Love the Lord your God, then love others.
Take time, make time, right now and each moment afterward.
Romans 8 – Grace revealed, Called to His Purpose
(Rom 8:1 NASB) Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
(Rom 8:2 NASB) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
(Rom 8:3 NASB) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
(Rom 8:4 NASB) so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
(Rom 8:5 NASB) For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
(Rom 8:6 NASB) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
(Rom 8:7 NASB) because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
(Rom 8:8 NASB) and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
(Rom 8:9 NASB) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
(Rom 8:10 NASB) If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
(Rom 8:11 NASB) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
(Rom 8:12 NASB) So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–
(Rom 8:13 NASB) for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
(Rom 8:14 NASB) For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
(Rom 8:15 NASB) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
(Rom 8:16 NASB) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
(Rom 8:17 NASB) and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
(Rom 8:18 NASB) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
(Rom 8:19 NASB) For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
(Rom 8:20 NASB) For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
(Rom 8:21 NASB) that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
(Rom 8:22 NASB) For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
(Rom 8:23 NASB) And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
(Rom 8:24 NASB) For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
(Rom 8:25 NASB) But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
(Rom 8:26 NASB) In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
(Rom 8:27 NASB) and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
(Rom 8:28 NASB) 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.
(Rom 8:29 NASB) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
(Rom 8:30 NASB) and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
(Rom 8:31 NASB) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
(Rom 8:32 NASB) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
(Rom 8:33 NASB) Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
(Rom 8:34 NASB) who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
(Rom 8:35 NASB) Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
(Rom 8:36 NASB) Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
(Rom 8:37 NASB) But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
(Rom 8:38 NASB) For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
(Rom 8:39 NASB) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Life in Christ
From Colossians 3
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him– a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart. Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
(Col 3:1-25 NASB)
From J Vernon McGee
Christ, the fullness of God, poured out in life through believers.
A. Thoughts and affections of believers are heavenly,
Chapter 3:1-4
(The believer’s heart should be in heaven where his Head is.)
B. Living of believers is holy, Chapters 3:5 — 4:6
(In all relationships — personal, social, marital, parental, capital and labor — the believer should manifest Christ.)
Strategy of Satan
to attack our mind. Why
In the Strategy of Satan, Warren Wiersbe states “your mind is part of the image of God, where God communicates with you and reveals His will to you”
“God renews our lives by renewing our minds, and he renews our minds through His Truth, which is the Word of God”… “If Satan can get you to believe a lie, then he can begin his work in your life to lead you into sin, this is why he attacks our minds, and why we must protect our minds from the attacks of the wicked one”
Paul writes if it is not true do not let it in your mind.
Lie of Satan – words don’t mean what others say they mean, so I can use profane language, speak hrshly, use vulgar speech.
Truth – Jesus said let your Yes or No be enough, anything else if from the evil one. Paul writes about Christian living and emphasizes avoiding vulgar and profane speech.
Lie of Satan – i can live with my girl/boyfriend and it will be ok, everybody does it, or I have to check them out sexually to see if we are compatible before getting married for life.
Truth – Jesus said do not commit adultery, Paul wrote to stay away from immorality, sexually impure people will not have any inheritance in the kingdom.
Don’t let Satan’s lies stay in your mind.
What is your statement of faith or Creed?
a few summers ago, I had an assignment to write my own statement of faith. This was the result.
I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Jesus is the son of God, born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, lived a fully human life without sinning, was persecuted, punished for all human sins (including mine) and died in our place, with our sins placed on Him on the cross to redeem all who believe in Him by Faith to a righteous relationship with God the Father. At death, He descended into Hades, Jesus was dead and rose from death to eternal life on the third day in a fully regenerated supernatural body. He ascended to Heaven to join the Father. Jesus provides for the forgiveness of our sins as the intercessor to God the Father. Jesus justifies each believer before God. The Word of God is inerrant, infallible, and complete and Jesus is the Word, the Truth, the Way, and the Life.
I believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not created – but each person existed beyond any beginning, are each eternal, are equal, distinct and one. Together God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit forms the Trinity and there is one God. Each person of the trinity has always been and always will be.
I believe in the second coming of Jesus, the dead believers will be resurrected to life and join Jesus in the clouds, the living believers will be lifted into the air to meet Jesus, . Jesus will judge living and dead believers according to what was done in the flesh and assign rewards in heaven.
I believe that the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are working the same today as they have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
All believers will be resurrected to a fully supernatural regenerated (new) body at the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.
Christians have the goal to strive for
I came across this blessing from 1600 years ago, penned by Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome. It is a nativity sermon, looking ahead to the season for being thankful and celebrating the birth of our Savior, Lord, and King.
excerpt follows…”
III. Christians then must live worthily of Christ their Head
Let us then, dearly beloved, give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit , Who “for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us,” has had pity on us: and “when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ Ephesians 2:4-5,” that we might be in Him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which you are a member. Recollect that you were rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God’s light and kingdom. By the mystery of Baptism you were made the temple of the Holy Ghost: do not put such a denizen to flight from you by base acts, and subject yourself once more to the devil’s thraldom: because your purchase money is the blood of Christ, because He shall judge you in truth Who ransomed you in mercy, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever and ever. Amen.”
Eph 2:2 NASB – in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Eph 2:3 NASB – Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Eph 2:4 NASB – But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph 2:5 NASB – even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Jesus saved and continues to save us, we need to live that way.
All that matters
The Lyrics to Jonah 33’s “All that matters” song were significant to me this morning as I prepared for Bible Study and Worship.
Look at what I’ve gained, I’ve earned
Since I’ve been here on this earth.
I’ve collected everything that was of value and of worth!
But there was always something missing inside of me…
(Always something missing… Always something…)
People that could give to me, I always held in high esteem.
And I would stab you in the back to gain popularity.
And then You came into my life and I realized
(You came into my life… You came into…)
Everything I have is trash
Compared to knowing who You are!
Everything is trash compared to knowing You!
(All that matters is You)
Since you came along, I’ve had to re-evaluate my heart…
Then I realized that I was blind from the very start!
Because without You there is nothing worth anything
(There is nothing… There Is…)
Everything I have is trash
Compared to knowing who You are!
Everything is trash compared to knowing You!
(All that matters is You)
So take my heart and take my soul (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!)
Instill in me what matters most (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!)
All that matters is You
All that matters is You
All that matters is You
All that matters is… You!
Everything I have is trash
Compared to knowing who You are!
Everything is trash compared to knowing You!
(All that matters is You)
Everything I have is trash
Compared to knowing who You are! (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!)
Everything is trash compared to knowing You!
(All that matters is You)
Compared to knowing You (All that matters is You)
Everything is trash (All that matters is You)
Compared to knowing You (All that matters is You)
All that matters is You…
Jonah 33 All that matters (click to listen to it on rhapsody)
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbishso that I may gain Christ, Phl 3:8
Take some time today to expose and release the stuff that does not matter, re-evaluate your heart, let Jesus cloth you and your life in all that matters! May you know peace, the love of Christ today. May you choose peace…Jesus.
Beloved, Beware
John, the disciple who was with Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus was cloaked in heavenly glory with Moses, coaxes believers in 1 John 4:1 to “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world”‘ – Test every spirit.
To properly test spirits, your sensors have to be alert, and able to discern truth from false. You have to be connected to the truth, since Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and The Life (John 14:6), this means that you need to be connected by experiencing the Word (John 1:1) directly – and the only way of doing that is reading or hearing the Bible.
Testing and making discerning judgments according to God’s Word (Jesus Christ) is important because as a result of living in a sinful and fallen world we experience trials (James 1:2) – just like Jesus did, except for most of us, the end game is not a horrible death on the cross, or any sort of execution.
Re-read Proverbs 3 for comfort and restoration.
Christian Love Story – excerpts from Zola Levitt’s Book
THE COVENANT
The Church is called “the bride of Christ” in the New Testament for good reason. It is we who have a covenant relationship with the One Who forgives sins. It is we who drink the cup with Him, and we for whom the price was paid. We are the ones to whom He said, “I go to prepare a place for you,” and we are the ones who now await His sudden return.
Our covenant, in all its fullness, was expressed by the prophet Jeremiah:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel , and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my
covenant they brake, although I was an husband
unto them, saith the Lord:
Butthis shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will
put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be
my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:31-34).
Paul repeated the same covenant in Hebrews 8:8-12, for the benefit of the bride.
We can see very plainly that these verses constitute a contract. Terms are given and the parties identified. The Lord made His covenant with “the house of Israel and with the house of Judah”, but it is continued to all of those who are the spiritual seed of Abraham and follow the Jewish Messiah. The New Covenant is written in our hearts, in a very real sense. It is not like the Old Covenant given to Moses, as explained in verse 32 above. That covenant was etched in stone and totally inflexible and unbreakable –
the punishment for breaking it was death. The New Covenant comes out of a love relationship – we obey the Lord today because we love Him, not because we fear Him – and thus the New Covenant is a matter of the heart. God purposely contrasts this New Covenant with the Old in order to make the point that He would forgive our iniquities and forget our sins under the new arrangement. This is the most striking term of the New Covenant that our sins are forgiven and forgotten. That certainly wasn’t true under the Mosaic law. The people might in effect “file sacrifices” against their sins so that when the Messiah came He would retroactively take that into consideration and forgive them (Romans 3:25). God went along with an unregenerate people, knowing that forgiveness would be provided when the Messiah paid the price as the final sacrifice. But we are not in the same position. The price has already been paid for our sins, so that every last one of them is totally forgiven.
Some believers don’t like this concept, and indeed much of the Church spends much of its energy acting as if the Covenant read, “I will forgive you only if you’re good.” There is a great deal of pretense among the believers that each of us is sinless, or very nearly sinless. But the fact of the matter is, God knows well the hearts of men and has provided a different system for us than He did in the Old Covenant. We are not responsible to be sinless; we ate responsible only to believe in the Messiah, Who was sinless in our place and paid for our sins.
We might look at the New Covenant as a “gift certificate”
for salvation. When one gives you a gift certificate,
you need only to take it to the store and present it; there will
be no charge for the merchandise. It’s not that the
merchandise is free, but that someone has been there ahead of you and paid for it. When you get the merchandise
home, you may misuse it, if you wish. You may take gifts provided for you by the one who bought your certificate and damage them, or fail to appreciate them. That would be a shame, of course, but it certainly wouldn’t cause the buyer of your gift certificate to come to you demanding the return of the merchandise. In the case of the New Covenant, God, the store owner, has agreed to provide you the merchandise of salvation in return for the gift certificate purchased for you by His Son. It’s as simple as that.
Well, then, you may ask, can I sin as much as I like and still be saved? Paul covered that case when he said, “Shall I sin more that grace may abound?” He made clear that we are not to take our salvation as a license – that would be as bad as damaging the free gift we have received – but, in point of fact, our salvation has been paid for in advance. We can only thank God for this arrangement under which we common sinners can achieve the glory reached by Christ Himself. We would certainly never make it on our own merits.
Verse 34 above will be fulfilled in the Kingdom of the Lord, when everyone will certainly know the King. He will reside in Jerusalem in the Tabernacle for 1,000 years and it will no longer be necessary for people to teach “every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord””. When this particular wedding is completed, it will be a happy marriage indeed!
The New Covenant is like a contract also in the respect
that it is signed and dated. In the verse following those
quoted above, God presents His signature to this
contract:
Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light
by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the
stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when
the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His
name (cJer. 31:35).
There’s no doubting whose signature that is!
Now we find a date, as we do on all contracts:
If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the
Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from
being a nation before me forever (v. 36).
God says plainly that His covenant will go out of date when Israel ceases to be a nation. Clearly, our covenant is still in force because Israel is a nation today and has really never ceased to be a nation. If all the Jews would perish – if those who wanted to exterminate the Jewish people ever had their wish – then it is apparent that the New Covenant would go out of date and forgiveness would not be available to anyone. The very presence of the Jews among us is the sign of the New Covenant; it is still in force and every sin of every person who believes is still forgiven.
The Jews are, in this one way, a most special people. As God promised His friend Abraham:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be
a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Gen. 12:2-3).
But in case anyone would doubt that Israel will survive
the Lord adds a footnote in the next verse: ‘
Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be
measured, and the foundations of the earth
searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed
of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord
(Jer. 31 :37).
Obviously, Israel is as secure as the secrets of how the universe is put together. If anyone could tell God how He has set up in heaven and earth, He would then cast off the seed of Israel, He says. It’s virtually the same argument God used with Job when that worthy one came before Him with questions. God inquired, “Where was thou when I laid the cornerstone of the earth?” as if to say, “Seeing that you ask such intelligent questions, I am sure that you understand as much as God does.” That settled who Job was and who God was, and the verse quoted above should settle once and for all any question about the survival of Israel and the Jewish people. .
And thus we have our marriage contract and it is an advantageous contract for the bride indeed. Note the language used in Jeremiah 31:32: “Which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord.” God could very well have been angry enough with Israel that He would have chosen a different bride for His Son. He says, in effect, “I tried to marry them before, but they broke the marriage contract.” Nevertheless, in His forgiveness, God makes this covenant again with Israel, sending His Son to that nation and the Holy Spirit to that people. And Israel, in turn, sent the Messiah to the world through Jewish missionaries who built the churches of Asia. And the contract God has made is a real stunner – He has agreed that should the Bride sin this time, He will forget about it!
It is as if the bridegroom came forward and said to his bride, “I’ll pay the price for you and drink the cup with you, and go to prepare the place for you and if you happen to stumble in the year that I am away, I’ll just forget it. If I hear, while I am building the bridal chamber, that you were not waiting for me at home but had even gone out with another man, I will just forget about it. If you try to break my covenant, I will not allow it to be broken. I will pay for all your sins myself!”
Here, we have a bridal contract unbreakable by the bride. How could God possibly make such a contract? Well, we might say this: The price was very high.
Second Coming
| Acts 1:11 | They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” |
Jesus will return just like he left!
Jesus confirmed this in his last teachings to His disciples!
(37) “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
(38) “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
(39) and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
(40) “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
(41) “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
(42) “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
(43) “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
(44) “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Zechariah predicted the first and second coming of Christ
Zec 9:9-10
(9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
(10) I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Isaiah spoke of this in 11:1 and the second coming in 11:2-5
Isa 11:1-5
(1) Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
(2) The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
(3) And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
(4) But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
(5) Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
Isaiah and Christ both spoke to this, 600 years apart.
Isa 61:1-2
(1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
(2) To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
Luk 4:16-21
(16) And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
(17) And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
(18) “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
(19) TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
(20) And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
(21) And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, Messiah will bodily and mightily return to start a 1000 year reign of the kingdom of Heaven on earth. I hope one day very soon.
End Times Prophecy Events – excellent article from Zola Levitt Ministries
The founders on Jesus
If you need a refresher on our nation’s true history and what the founders really thought, look at this website
http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=8755
What has been carefully de-emphasized in our education system is the founders
founded a Christian nation and expected those principles and focus to be part of governing, not separated by an artificial wall that did not exist until a 1947 supreme court decision that made it up by refocusing on what Thomas Jefferson told a group of Baptists to allay their fears the government would interfere with their practice of Christian worship.
Until LBJ enacted vengeance on pastors who dared oppose him on a senate run in the 1950’s, pastors were free to and did preach on good government, who to vote for, since the founding of the country until the mid 1950’s.
Consider the following quotes from their writings (historical documents)–
“John Adams
SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; JUDGE; DIPLOMAT; ONE OF TWO SIGNERS OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS; SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
The Holy Ghost carries on the whole Christian system in this earth. Not a baptism, not a marriage, not a sacrament can be administered but by the Holy Ghost. . . . There is no authority, civil or religious – there can be no legitimate government but what is administered by this Holy Ghost. There can be no salvation without it. All without it is rebellion and perdition, or in more orthodox words damnation.2
Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell.3
The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.”
“John Quincy Adams
SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; DIPLOMAT; SECRETARY OF STATE; U. S. SENATOR; U. S. REPRESENTATIVE; “OLD MAN ELOQUENT”; “HELL-HOUND OF ABOLITION”
My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ and I cannot cavil or quibble away [evade or object to]. . . . the whole tenor of His conduct by which He sometimes positively asserted and at others countenances [permits] His disciples in asserting that He was God.7
The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the Divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made “bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” [Isaiah 52:10].8
In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.”
Benjamin Franklin
SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION; DIPLOMAT; PRINTER; SCIENTIST; SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA
As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.30
The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beatiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.31 (FRANKLIN’S EULOGY THAT HE WROTE FOR HIMSELF)”
John Hancock
SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS; REVOLUTIONARY GENERAL; GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS
Sensible of the importance of Christian piety and virtue to the order and happiness of a state, I cannot but earnestly commend to you every measure for their support and encouragement.38
He called on the entire state to pray “that universal happiness may be established in the world [and] that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with His glory.”
there are many other examples and quotes from our founder’s writings. Our freedom, liberty, and resulting wealth and prosperity are the direct result of obedient Christians founding a Christian nation.
Praising God wherever whenever
The Bible, The Word of God,
Word of God
The Truth – The Way – The Life
mentions praise over 180 times in the NASB translation.
Choose today to praise God, and be thankful no matter the circumstances
in loss and grief Job 1:20
In time of goodness and plenty 1 Chron 23:5
Time
(Joh 6:35) Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
(Joh 6:40) “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
(Joh 6:51) “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
(Joh 7:6) So Jesus *said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.
(Joh 7:7) “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.
(Joh 7:8) “Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
(Joh 7:28) Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
(Joh 7:29) “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
God has definite plans for our time in this life. We can choose to participate and listen and cooperate or choose not to.
Ways to know and cooperate
1. Read the Word of God. This is direct communication from and with Jesus Christ,
(Joh 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. Pray – involves talking and listening.
Mat 6:6-13
(6) “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
(7) “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
(8) “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
(9) “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
(10) ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
(11) ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
(12) ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
(13) ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’
3. Act on what you have been taught from the Word of God, using your gift of reason and common sense that comes from God.
Christian and Tattoos
This comes up from time to time. I agree with the view expressed in this article.
the following links:
What to do when the Bible is not clear
Should Christian Teens get tattoos?
Jewish Rabbi perspective on Tattoos?
Disease risks with tattoos
When is Body Art a Health Risk?
Read and decide for yourself, but make an informed and reasoned decision that can be reconciled with your faith based on Romans 14:23 perspective.
You are wonderfully made
Psalms 139:1-14 NASB For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me. (2) You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. (3) You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. (4) Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. (5) You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. (6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. (7) Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (8) If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. (9) If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, (10) Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. (11) If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” (12) Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. (13) For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. (14) I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
God Designed YOu
Questions, Life, Purpose
Our lives are filled with questions
question
……….what am I here for………..who am I……….why …………do bad things happen
bad things
……..why does someone who seems so worthy get so sick…..die suddenly….. why do some people who have been blessed by riches
riches
beyond 99.9% of the world’s imagination ……go down in drugs, violent death, illegal activity.
are these even the best questions to be asking ourselves….
The Bible poses these questions:
The ultimate question is where will and what will my life be like after death? and What do I believe about eternal life?
The answer to the last two goes a long way to determining happiness, focus, satisfaction, and peace in this temporal life. I believe this produces liberty and freedom in this life – no matter your circumstances.
(Joh 3:6) “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:14-17 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; (15) so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. (16) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (17) “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Days of Praise
Each Day – God has a plan, God has a design for each individual. It is a map 
to explore our lives, the map contains recommended routes to follow to safely and effectively operate our vehicle (our mortal body, the Jar of Clay) which contains the occupant (our eternal spirit person) from the starting point (conception) to the ending destination (passage through the death gate to Jesus our Lord and Savior who is waiting on us in the heavenly realm, John 14). We drive through our lives, we walk through our lives, we build houses, all according to plans we or other people have made. Even if tragedy strikes (car wrecks, twisting an ankle, etc). We still resume driving cars, walking, building – we work the process of our lives and try to avoid similar circumstances. God is working in our lives to help us cope, avoid in some instances, and ultimately through the work on the cross of Jesus Christ – salvation.
some thoughts on praise
A son of Jacob in the line of Jesus – Judah – named to the praise of God.
Judah was the tribe that most of the remnant came from that rebuilt Jerusalem.
God has a plan, it is a map for a journey, there are provisions to bless us, guide us, and ultimately protect us from eternal death in separation from God after we die in this life.
Be part of the remnant of God’s people, He has planned and provided for you in this life and after to eternity.
Our Charge…to be witnesses
Why we can be ready –
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB
(7) For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
We have power and love and discipline….couple with the invincibility of Christ
Romans 8:35 NASB
(35) Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Either the life of Christ is the power that overcomes all through His love for us, and cannot be defeated even by death or there is no possibility of any meaning in anything that the Bible is telling us. We have the power and authority of Christ over sin, behavior, attitudes, choices in our lives – nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. The Love exists apart from time itself, created the world we live in, stands in judgement of our fallen sinful state, and will come again to judge the living and the dead, and in the end will destroy the fallen world and create a new one to replace it. Each believer will be recreated into a resurrected body just like Christ.
There is a song with the lyrics “I Have the Power”, we have that power in us.
Acts 1:8 NASB
(8) but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Questions, Change, Decisions, Truth and Thinking
Tuesday night we had open questions night at Bible Study.
We opened up with comments on why different churches / denominations believe differently on baptism and salvation.
We discussed salvation definitions focused on what Jesus taught and commanded. At His Way Christian Fellowship, we hold to the primary message of John 3:16, John 14:6, and Romans 10:8-10. Baptism follows salvation as an act of obedience to the new Lord of Your Life – Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John15 that if we love Him, we will do what he says and follow his commands – which includes baptism.
Staying connected to Christ, loving Him by living an obedient life, and preaching the gospel to others is what we are commanded to do.
Another question that comes up often is concerning dinosaurs, creation accounts, what happened when. We discussed some of the issues, and discussed the needed first step of deciding, seeking, investigating what you can choose to believe about the Bible and how that impacts your faith, sense of salvation, security, etc. If the Bible is true and can be believed, then you should trust and move forward based on that decision. More on this later.
Prepared for Action
1 Peter 1:13-19 NASB
(13) Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(14) As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
(15) but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
(16) because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
(17) If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;
(18) knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
(19) but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
Prepared
Our minds need to be fed to be prepared, renewed as per Romans 12:1-2 daily or more often. Our spirits are fed by the Word of God, the precious Lamb who died and rose to eternal life, so we will be victorious.
Grace like the rain
I am thankful for many things, all of which is due to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace pours and pours much like the rain did yesterday – filling the ditches of my life – all in spite of me.John 7:37 (37) Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
Happy Easter
Jesus is here!
Matthew 28:1-10 NASB
(1) Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
(2) And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
(3) And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
(4) The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
(5) The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
(6) “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
(7) “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
(8) And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
(9) And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
(10) Then Jesus *said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
Matthew 28:17-20 NASB
(17) When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
(19) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
(20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
See yourself as God sees you
It is about relationship,
the phrase it’s not who you are, but who you know that matters.
John 4:1-40 NASB
(1) Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
(2) (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
(3) He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
(4) And He had to pass through Samaria.
(5) So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
(6) and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
(7) There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
(8) For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
(9) Therefore the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
(10) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
(11) She *said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?
(12) “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”
(13) Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
(14) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
(15) The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”
(16) He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”
(17) The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;
(18) for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
(19) The woman *said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
(20) “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
(21) Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
(22) “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
(23) “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
(24) “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
(25) The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
(26) Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
(27) At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”
(28) So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men,
(29) “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
(30) They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
(31) Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
(32) But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
(33) So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”
(34) Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
(35) “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
(36) “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
(37) “For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
(38) “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
(39) From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”
(40) So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Jesus broke with Jewish and local customs by speaking to the woman at the well. 
She knew immediately that this was unusual and asked him why he, a jew would be speaking to her or asking her for water.
Jesus saw her for what she was, a woman with many former husbands, and offered her living water and spoke to her of worshipping in spirit and truth. She was immediately changed by how she was seen by God in Jesus Christ. He spoke the truth to her and yet offered her something that caused her to desire to tell everyone else about Christ. She became motivated by her conversation with Christ to start a revival.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB
(17) Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Her old ways were fading, not important, she was following a purpose laid down for her by Christ, tell others about the Living eternal Water of God. She was a new creation, immediately.
Who are you ? According to Ephesians 1:19-21: You as a believer are a brother or sister with Christ to God the Father. God sees you as His child. That means relationship and love – the love of God that never fails.
Ephesians 1:19-21 NASB
(19) and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
(20) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
(21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
How do you See yourself? do you doubt, feel week, useless, powerless. Listen to what sacred scripture tells us about how God works.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB
(9) And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
God sees you as so important that He wants you to know nothing can separate you from His love.
Romans 8:38 NASB
(38) For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
(39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now ask yourself again and answer based on your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Colossians – Encouraging words of hope
Colossians 1:1-14 NASB
(1) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
(2) To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
(3) We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
(4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
(5) because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel
(6) which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;
(7) just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
(8) and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
(9) For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
(10) so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
(11) strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
(12) giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
(13) For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
(14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Paul – the pharisee of pharisees, led the persecution of Christians, prosecutor of Jewish Temple Law – writes encouraging and uplifting words to the Colosse Church.
In verse 5 – he writes of the hope stored up for us in heaven that brings or enables love and faith to operate here in our earthly lives. Paul the ultimate Jewish critic of the ministry of Jesus Christ became the great encourager, the writer of hopeful words, expressing joy and love. Paul chose to yield to Jesus Christ and serve him.
Paul often writes his readers to act and copy his actions and attitude. We are to be filled with the hope that is stored in heaven, so we may express love and joy.
so that you may not sin…
Avoiding sin is the plan and overall message of the Bible, the only way to dodge the bullet of death that sin brings is the saving love of Jesus Christ, believing in Him as your savior, the cross as payment for your sin. It is about receiving then giving what you have been given to others.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
(1 John 2:1-5 NASB)
Life in Christ works, works well, is full of joy, and protects relationships, and always loves God and others.
Are you alive in Christ? If not, come on back, Jesus is the gracious advocate and will help you if you allow Him to.
After you come back, Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
(Colossians 3:2 NASB)
, and then Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:1-2 NASB)
Making Sense of your life
How do you answer the question – Why am I here? What purpose am I fulfilling?
“For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
(Jeremiah 29:10-13 NASB)
God the Father has a plan, has been performing it for a long time. Jesus came to earth as the final solution of the redemption plan to bring about the end of evil, Satan’s destructive plans, and the problem of sin in humans.
My purpose and your purpose fits within this long developing story.
Jesus brings sense to life, brings purpose to any confusion, when lost – shows the way out or way home.
Have you sinned too much? Jesus said no – that is not too much for me…”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 NASB)
You gotta believe in Jesus as a Savior who overcame death, can heal anything or anyone. Jesus is the one that the chosen people at the time refused to recognize, but every demon who came with shouting distance called him the Son of God. The difference between a demon ( a fallen angel and follower of Satan) and any human is that Jesus came to redeem humans, demons already have been marked for destruction by God long ago… the followers who are human who do not turn away in repentance will receive eternal punishment. See Jude.
Making sense of your life, means reconciling what you believe with what Jesus teaches, coming to a saving believing faith in His resurrection power, receiving His grace (healing, forgiveness, love) into your life. Taking action to make the changes called for, getting and receiving help where you need it, and living a life of sense and purpose as defined by our Savior, who is the truth, life and the way.
So – take time to seriously consider and answer the question – who am I, and what I am doing, what should I be doing as a follower of Christ?
There is an answer and Jesus does not fail.
Serving
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. “When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ “They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ “When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. “When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
(Matthew 20:1-34 NASB)
How have you represented Christ this week? Who have you been of service to? In Jesus words, to become great in His eyes is be a servant in this life to others.
Walking this life
How are you walking through this life. Does your walk reflect Christ’s influence and guidance in your life? What about when no one is around, what about the thoughts that occupy your mind most of time.
If you are married, how are you walking with your wife? Consider the song by Mark Schulz about how a man is to walk through this life.
Mark Schultz – Walking Her Home Lyrics
Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call
Her dad said son
Have her home on time
And promise me you�ll never leave her side
He took her to a show in town
And he was ten feet off the ground
(Chorus)
He was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road
With the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home
Ten more years and a waiting room
At half past one
And the doctor said come in and meet your son
His knees went weak
When he saw his wife
She was smiling as she said he�s got your eyes
And as she slept he held her tight
His mind went back to that first night
(Chorus)
He was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road
With the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home
He walked her through the best days of her life
Sixty years together and he never left her side
A nursing home
At eighty-five
And the doctor said it could be her last night
And the nurse said Oh
Should we tell him now
Or should he wait until the morning to find out
But when they checked her room that night
He was laying by her side
Oh he was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled when he said this is not the end
And just for a while they were eighteen
And she was still more beautiful to him than anything
He was walking her home
He was walking her home
Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call
Ephesians Chapter 5 speaks of the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church…Christ washes the church clean in the Word of God, as husbands are to do the same thing. Christ died for the church, husbands are called to die to themselves (remove all selfishness and self focus) and die for their wife.
If you are not married, your walk now prepares you for the possibility of being married, are you godly husband material, will you be able to walk this life and walk your wife along the journey and deliver her safely home?
Unfortunately, too much of my life was spent in selfish focus. Not now, and not ever again. I ignored God and my wife in my walk, gave lip service to what Ephesians 5 teaches. If you are in the boat, jump out, turn to Christ and run with Him to a life you will never regret and find joy in the journey.
Truth and Love
1 John 4 discusses the importance of truth and love in you as a believer, a believer in faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, Savior of the World, Redeemer of Truth, the Word, The Way, The Life.
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
How do you choose to love God each day? Some suggestions—
Love yourself, find a way to forgive yourself, find a way to choose freedom from your past.
Love others, say fewer angry hurtful words to others, even when they don’t deserve it. You don’t have to be a doormat, but you can choose to find a way to redeem every situation and offer a loving response or perspective. God chose to redeem in the strength of Christ dying on the Cross, choose a loving strength that honors God.
Smile, receive more joy, live in truth more, choose to receive the love that God is offering you.
What do you believe?
http://brentsplace.info/survey.shtml
take the belief’s survey here.
See what you believe about God.
Some other questions:
Integrity
God designed us for integrity in relating to Him, ourselves and others. He wants us to be aware of how we impact others. Joseph was aware of how it would impact himself, his relationship with God if he allowed the temptation of Potiphar’s wife to be considered for even a moment, instead, he ran from the sexual temptation.
Jesus taught that we should love, and not hate, operate our lives with a moral focus of how we impact each other.
Think about it, how can you change the focus of your life right now?
Relationships, love, agape and how to pick a life mate
always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also doesthe church, because we are members of His body.
What does it look like?
Ephesians chapter 5 paints a clear picture of our relationships with God in Christ, and with each other. Especially husbands and wives. We are to submit to the Lord AND to each other out of reverence and fear of Christ.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 NASB)
What does it look like?
Am I Ungodly…or rescued from the fire?
These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
(Jude 1:16-25 NASB)
I have been thinking about how much I grumble, about taxes, my problems, my frustrations with myself, other people, falling short of being obedient to Christ….on and on.
Look at Jude 16 – grumblers…finding fault….following lust…..speaking arrogantly………flattering people for selfish gain………..
and in Jude 18 – …following ungodly lusts…. and in Jude 19 – …cause divisions..worldly minded…devoid of the SPIRIT
I used to focus too much on what I did not understand in the Bible. I can understand what the above passages say, it is pretty clear. For much of my life and too often each day, I have chosen to place myself in a grumbling attitude, mocking myself (As a Christian I am reborn into a New Creation) – so I ask myself why am I mocking an reflection of Christ (ME)!. Mocking others, finding lots of fault in the world and others – in Christians, yet not bothering to do what Jesus cleary taught about sin in my life (do anything and everything to get rid of it!, be willing to suffer greatly right now in order to obey Him and be as righteous as possible!)
Right now even if I am not careful, I can creep or rush into self condemnation. except for scripture which always redirects me to renewed salvation.
Thank goodness scripture rescues me (here and here)
read it and believe! Be rescued from the failings of your mind and doubts!…. more later
Satan is Bad, Jesus is Good, Be like Jesus
That is how simple it is.
Satan is mentioned by the name Satan 54 times in the NASB translation. He is a person described in the Bible in the same way that any other person is mentioned (Moses, Job, David, Jesus…etc). He is described as a deceiver, author of lies, murderer, tormentor…. really BAD.
Jesus is described as loving the whole world so much He came to die in substitution for each of us in a horrible tortuous death.
Jesus is described as love
Jesus did the hard part. All I have to do (and you) is let that love guide you and mean each moment to be more like Jesus in how we think, react, act, say, and do.
Be like Jesus more today!
Unfathomable Riches
Ephesians 3 – speaks of the glory and riches in Christ Jesus.
How rich are you? I eat every day, drink pretty much what I want (I love Gold Peak Diet Iced Tea), go where and when I want. I sleep in a bed every night.
How much glory do you have? Paul writes that the riches and glory are amazing, and beyond our current ability to see, feel, and comprehend. It is a lot better than anything we have here.
Undivided Heart, Fearing God’s Name
I will walk in thy truth –
I will live and act in accordance with what thou dost declare to be true. Whatever that may be, I will pursue it, having no will of my own.
Unite my heart to fear thy name –
That is, to worship, obey, and honor thee.
(b) the means which he saw to be necessary for this was that his “heart” might be “united” in this one great object; that is, that his heart might be single in its views and purposes; that there might be no distracting purposes; that one great aim might be always before him.
The word rendered “unite” –
יחד yāchad – occurs as a verb only in three places. In Gen_49:6, it is rendered united: “Unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united.” In Isa_14:20, it is translated joined: “Thou shalt not be joined with them.” The adverb – יחד yachad, occurs often, and is rendered together, Gen_13:6; Gen_22:6, Gen_22:8,Gen_22:19; Gen_36:7
; et saepe. The idea is that of union, or conjunction; of being together; of constituting one; and this is accomplished in the heart when there is one great ruling object before the mind which nothing is allowed to interfere with. It may be added, that there is no more appropriate prayer which a man can offer than that his heart may have such a unity of purpose, and that nothing may be allowed to interfere with that one supreme purpose.
David sought God’s favor in an emergency, He was facing panic, extreme stress (running for 13 years from 3000 of King Saul’s soldiers who will kill him on sight), extreme doubt (why is God doing this to me), extreme whining (this is not fair), extreme anger (why God will you not destroy these enemies of mine)…on and on. Somewhere in all of these, David returned to his heart that God so valued (and what was in David’s heart was why God annointed him King of Israel), David always returned to worshipping God, trusting God, and submitting to God’s desire for his life.
David feared God’s name. You can see this fear play itself out in the psalms, David had multiple chances to kill Saul, and chose not to follow the faulty desires of his own anger and fear. David showed grace, mercy, and submission to trust God to deliver him from being under a death warrant and constant extreme stress. David feared God more than any man or even his own fears. In the end, David was able to rest in God’s hands.
David doubted, was angry, lived in anxiety, feared for his life; and in the process of this bad time of his life, he discovered the value of choosing to fear God, of following the path of a heart fixed on God.
An undivided heart, a heart that can be taught the way of God, that can walk in the truth of God, and is joined intimately with God in the here and now – fulfills the promise Jesus made in Matthew 11:28 – you, me, David will only find rest from our burdens in God, in Jesus Christ.
Why not choose to rest right now, today?
Psalm 86:11 – A comparison of many translations of this verse:
Psa 86:11
(AMP)
Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart [solely, reverently] to fear and honor Your name. [Ps. 5:11; 69:36.] (ASV)
Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name.
(BBE)
Make your way clear to me, O Lord; I will go on my way in your faith: let my heart be glad in the fear of your name.
(CEV)
Teach me to follow you, and I will obey your truth. Always keep me faithful.
(ESV)
Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
(HCSB)
Teach me Your way, LORD, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.
(KJV)
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
(KJV+)
TeachH3384 me thy way,H1870 O LORD;H3068 I will walkH1980 in thy truth:H571 uniteH3161 my heartH3824 to fearH3372 thy name.H8034
(a) The end which he desired to secure was that he might truly fear God, or properly reverence and honor him;
That is, in the present emergency. Show me what thou wouldst have me to do that I may obtain thy favor, and thy gracious help.
My responsibility, my calling
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
(Jude 1:1)
What does it mean and what is your responsibility?
2. b. Called – 15kletos (Adjective)“called, invited,” is used, (a) “of the call of the Gospel,” Mt. 20:16; 22:14, not there “an effectual call,” as in the Epistles, Ro. 1:1,6,7; 8:28; 1Co. 1:2,24; Jude. 1:1; Re. 17:14; in Ro. 1:7; 1Co. 1:2 the meaning is “saints by calling;” (b) of “an appointment to apostleship,” Ro. 1:1; 1Co. 1:1.
c. 1) Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
(2 Timothy 1:8-9)
Do not be ashamed of Jesus, join in suffering for the gospel, I have a holy calling according to Jesus own purpose. I have been granted grace in Christ Jesus for eternity.
c. 2) But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
Chosen from the beginning for salvation, sanctification being done by the Spirit and faith in truth. It is for salvation purposes that I was called to gain the glory of Jesus Christ.
c. 3) But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
(1 Peter 2:9)
I am part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, part of a people for God’s own possession, so that I may proclaim the excellent glory of Jesus Christ who called me out of my darkness into light.
c. 4) 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. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
(Romans 8:28-30)
This is beyond my ability to take in. In my sinful state, my darkness – the love of Christ reached into my life and saved me from myself and my wrongheaded life. God caused all of my sin to become part of a ministry – a calling – working together to produce a good and righteous life in Christ Jesus, I went from being so wrong to being conformed into the image of Christ. I understand this, but I am unable to comprehend the full meaning of the amazing glory and grace that God has poured and continues to pour into my life.
Lucky, Blessed, Fortunate….Trials, Suffering, Sickness
Jas 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
This morning Leisa made the comment that Jesus had 12 disciples, with Jesus that made 13 people. Friday the 13th, has a lot of myth and superstition about being a bad day to do things. Christians as people of faith and followers of Christ can count on His promises for life (faith is mentioned about 250 times in the Bible, promises are discussed 18 times, and promise is the focuse in 139 verses ). That is important to remember, no day is any different from any other, living in the promise of Christ, in His grace, and connected with power source that created the world.
Whatever this life brings you this day, count it as something that Jesus is standing with you on and creating a way to stand in faith against anything in this world. After you pass through this, the King is faithful and will complete the promise to bless you in eternal life.
In the words of the Bible,
Joshua 24:15“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or (A)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
What you believe
Do you know enough in you mind, will, heart, soul to be standing on solid ground and then stand when you are assailed by doubt, fear, other people’s opinions. Do you know that you have a solid faith in Jesus Christ?
How can you strengthen yourself?
Resources to keep in mind
Bible Online – Ephesians 6:12-18 – 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
If you are moving from teen age to college years or leaving high school and entering the work force, leaving behind the church you have been a part of for years, living apart from home… are you ready to be the light in a dark world?
Do you understand the world will at times hate you because of Jesus Christ.
Can you explain why the Bible can be trusted as God’s Word? Or why a saving faith in Jesus is the only way to live in eternity?
Why should you care who is elected to office?
You will live in this world, how will you represent your King and Savior, Jesus Christ? Think about it and decide how to proceed, develop a plan, be involved and active.
Romans 12:1-2 Walking the roads
Romans 12:1-2 Living Sacrifices
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.- Paul talks about renewing your mind, stresses the importance, and what the results will be.
There is a road to Emmaus 
that Jesus is expecting us to walk (Luke 24:14-34), it is a narrow road , one that we can walk on with Christ’s help, Jesus has compassion for us, He came to earth so that all might be saved.
Try Jesus in a new way today. Choose to renew your mind. Walk differently, walk with Jesus.
Challenge – read the Bible in a year, by reading it or by listening to it. Make this part of your walk.
Debts
Col 2:11 In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ.
Col 2:12 This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism. In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ through faith in the power of God, who brought him back to life.
Col 2:13 You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures.
Col 2:14 He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross.
Col 2:15 He stripped the rulers and authorities of their power and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ.
Receive what is given
Faith and Seeing
2 Cor 5:17
Paul writes that our faith cannot clearly see where to walk, we depend on God to guide use in each step. We also depend on God to inform us and trust that He will bring us to where we need to be.
Sometimes it seems like heaven is too quiet or too silent. that is when we must look to God, continue even though we do not clearly see for ourselves
Palm Sunday
about 2000 years ago, the King of Kings received a human welcome to Jerusalem, truly welcomed by crowds. Just as in a few days later they did not know what they were doing, they really did not comprehend Who Jesus really was or what He was really there to do for them. They did not have a clue. We do. We have His Word in our hands, in our browsers, in our hearts. We hear His voice when we read the Word aloud. Jesus is with us today, let us celebrate and welcome Him in our midst , Our Lord and Savior.
THoughts on Life
- God is my only Hope , Jesus Christ
- i recall when I was 9 realizing that one day mom and dad would die and crying about it by myself and asking God to keep that from happening
- I have had such an amazing life. My mom and dad loved us and gave us everything we needed including discipline and spanking. I recall fondly the hundreds of camping/fishing trips to the Neches river camp my dad had. my brothers and I, cousins, uncles, aunts. Amazing adventures.
- Eagle Scout – Father Vincent – Johnny Marble – an amazing trip that i wanted to quit many times. the mile swim, the 55 merit badges, order of the arrow, bronze palms, welcome letter from the president in 1972.
- meeting my wife Leisa, dating, 1976, summer, the 4th of July fish fry. fireworks. some very good times.
- marriage in 1980, tough first year of marriage while going to college, then graduation, starting our home, buying a house, Walt Disney World, pregnancy, Joshua’s arrival April 9 1984.
- living, career building, changing jobs, conroe, back to buna, going big with Gulfstream / New Signals / 2002
- Joshua’s last week June 2002, the funeral, Bible Study, going through grief.
- call to ministry
- LCBI
- Chrysalis
- youth ministry
- letting go of NSE
- the Coop life at SHECO
- recovering who I am
- almost dying of appendicitus
- approaching 60.
- remembering life this Dec 8 2017.
I am blessed. I also miss Joshua. I hope I can recover me from the rush of life called the last 30 years. I am blessed.
I love my wife, I miss my son, and my dad. but I am blessed beyond belief.
Thank you Jesus
Thoughts on Truth
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
15I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.a 16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
God wants us to be truth tellers in all things, HE does not approved lying
15“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evilc from your midst. 20And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.21Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Fast forward to current events, Judge Moore in Alabama…accused of being very sleazy if not a child molester…in 39 year old charges that never surfaced until he faced a Democratic opponent in a Senate election with one month to go to the election…..
“would have us believe that they do not have a double standard when it comes to conservatives. When Sarah Palin was selected for vice president David Corn claimed, “Alaska’s getting pretty crowded…with investigative reporters and scandal-chasers.” Six weeks after being offered an exclusive story by Paula Jones the Post printed nothing. The Post’s managing editor, Robert Kaiser claimed, “We have an obligation to the Post’s readers to do our best to establish the truth and not simply to print damaging accusations the moment they are made.”
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/11/roy_moore_vs_the_swamp.html#ixzz4yEdQUmbH
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From Clarence Thomas, to the Duke lacrosse team, to the University of Virginia rape case, to Herman Cain, we have heard such charges before and the rush to judgment that follows.
Moore’s accusers issue the boilerplate caveat that if the charges are true, he should exit the public stage immediately in shame and certainly that is true. Then they quickly throw him under the guilty-as-charged bus that just ran over his presumption of innocence.
It matters not that Judge Roy Moore has been in Alabama politics for decades and his accusers were silent — silent until he threatened the establishment by being a credible candidate for the U.S. Senate, having dispatched the establishment candidate, Luther Strange, in the Alabama primary. Had Moore lost the primary, it is doubtful these accusations would have surfaced….
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/11/roy_moore_gets_the_herman_cain_treatment.html
Rewind to 2016 and the reports of Trump collusion with Russia and the appointment in 2017 of a prosecutor to pursue evidence and convict if found.
It appears to be based on a fabricated story paid for by the DNC and HRC campaign to de-legitimize Trump prior to the election in 2016 and to smear him continuously since then.
Using what you have
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[fn] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[fn] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[fn] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Sometimes heaven is silent
Spying
Weaponization of intel agencies?
Nobody wants our intel agencies to be used like the Stasi in East Germany; the secret police spying on its own citizens for political purposes. The prospect of our own NSA, CIA and FBI becoming politically weaponized has been shrouded by untruths, accusations and justifications.
You’ll recall DNI Clapper falsely assured Congress in 2013 that the NSA was not collecting “any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans.”
Intel agencies secretly monitored conversations of members of Congress while the Obama administration negotiated the Iran nuclear deal.
In 2014, the CIA got caught spying on Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, though CIA Director John Brennan had explicitly denied that.
There were also wiretaps on then-Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in 2011 under Obama. The same happened under President George W. Bush to former Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-Calif.).
Journalists have been targeted, too. This internal email, exposed by WikiLeaks, should give everyone chills. It did me.
Dated Sept. 21, 2010, the “global intelligence” firm Stratfor wrote:
[John] Brennan [then an Obama Homeland Security adviser] is behind the witch hunts of investigative journalists learning information from inside the beltway sources.
Note — There is specific tasker from the WH to go after anyone printing materials negative to the Obama agenda (oh my.) Even the FBI is shocked. The Wonder Boys must be in meltdown mode…
The government subsequently got caught monitoring journalists at Fox News, The Associated Press, and, as I allege in a federal lawsuit, my computers while I worked as an investigative correspondent at CBS News. On Aug. 7, 2013, CBS News publicly announced:
… correspondent Sharyl Attkisson’s computer was hacked by ‘an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions,’ confirming Attkisson’s previous revelation of the hacking.
Then, as now, instead of getting the bigger story, some in the news media and quasi-news media published false and misleading narratives pushed by government interests. They implied the computer intrusions were the stuff of vivid imagination, conveniently dismissed forensic evidence from three independent examinations that they didn’t review. All seemed happy enough to let news of the government’s alleged unlawful behavior fade away, rather than get to the bottom of it.
I have spent more than two years litigating against the Department of Justice for the computer intrusions. Forensics have revealed dates, times and methods of some of the illegal activities. The software used was proprietary to a federal intel agency. The intruders deployed a keystroke monitoring program, accessed the CBS News corporate computer system, listened in on my conversations by activating the computer’s microphone and used Skype to exfiltrate files.
Patterns
It’s difficult not to see patterns in the government’s behavior, unless you’re wearing blinders.
- The intelligence community secretly expanded its authority in 2011 so it can monitor innocent U.S. citizens like you and me for doing nothing more than mentioning a target’s name a single time.
- In January 2016, a top secret inspector general report found the NSA violated the very laws designed to prevent abuse.
- In 2016, Obama officials searched through intelligence on U.S. citizens a record 30,000 times, up from 9,500 in 2013.
- Two weeks before the election, at a secret hearing before the FISA court overseeing government surveillance, NSA officials confessed they’d violated privacy safeguards “with much greater frequency” than they’d admitted. The judge accused them of “institutional lack of candor” and said, “this is a very serious Fourth Amendment issue.”
Officials involved in the surveillance and unmasking of U.S. citizens have said their actions were legal and not politically motivated. And there are certainly legitimate areas of inquiry to be made by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. But look at the patterns. It seems that government monitoring of journalists, members of Congress and political enemies — under multiple administrations — has become more common than anyone would have imagined two decades ago. So has the unmasking of sensitive and highly protected names by political officials.
Those deflecting with minutiae are missing the point. To me, they sound like the ones who aren’t thinking.
Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) is an Emmy-award winning investigative journalist, author of The New York Times bestsellers “The Smear” and “Stonewalled,” and host of Sinclair’s Sunday TV program “Full Measure.”
About That Prayer Plaque
by Stuart Shepard
It was just a rather sizable, but otherwise plain-looking, plaque on the wall of the Spiller Elementary lunchroom.
It’s been at the Wytheville, Virginia, school for so long, no one remembers who put it there.
Here’s what it says – or rather – said:
Our Father:
We thank thee for this food.
Bless it to the nourishment
of our bodies and our lives
to Thy service. Amen.
That humble prayer is now in storage.
What’s that?
You say even you think there might be a problem with such a bold Christian expression in a public school? Especially the “Thy service” part? Because the courts have ruled this or that or something else?
Okay. That’s essentially the argument made by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which sent one of its threatening, copy-and-paste letters to school officials after hearing from (this is a quote) “a local member of the district.”
Umm, yeah, okay. We’ll go with that.
Do All Religions Lead to God?
there are usually two motivations for dismissing the idea that Christ is the only way to God, and we need to examine them both. The first objection is that it is arrogant to say that Jesus is the only way. How could Christians possibly be so arrogant as to say that all the other religions are wrong and Jesus is the only path to God? Often the parable of the elephant is used to illustrate the sheer arrogance of Christianity. It goes something like this: Three blind scribes are touching different parts of an elephant. The one who is holding the tail says, “This is a rope.” Another holding the elephant’s leg says, “This is not a rope; you are wrong. It is a tree.” Still another who is holding the trunk of the elephant says, “You are both wrong. It is a snake!” The moral of the story is that all religions are like these men. They each touch a different part of ultimate reality and therefore any one of them is arrogant to say they have the whole truth.
But take a step back and think about what is being said here. Do you see the breathtaking claim that is being made? Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Moses, and Muhammad are all blind, but in fact, I can see! These leaders all had a small perspective, but I am the one who sees the full picture. Now who is being arrogant? It is just as arrogant to say that Buddha, Muhammad, and Jesus were all wrong in their exclusive claims as it is to say that Jesus is the only way. The issue is not about who is arrogant, but what is actually true and real.
The second motivation in dismissing Christ is often a question of exclusion. How can you exclude all of these religions? Jesus may have said he was the way to the Father, but how can I follow him and become an intolerant person who excludes others? Again, we need to think carefully about this view because the reality is that whatever position we hold will exclude something. Even the person who believes that all ways lead to God excludes the view that only some ways lead to God or that only one way leads to God. Every view excludes something. Again, the issue is not about who is excluding people, but what is actually true and real.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). There are a number of possibilities here for why he might have said this, and exploring these possibilities is crucial. First, perhaps he was genuinely a good person but he was deluded. He was sincere, but he was wrong; he believed that he was the Son of God, but he wasn’t. In other words, he was mentally imbalanced. Or second, perhaps Jesus knew he wasn’t God but went around telling people that he was the only way to God regardless. In other words, he was a sinister character purposely telling lies. Or finally, perhaps Jesus was who he said he was. Perhaps he made these radical statements because they were true and real. In other words, he is indeed the way to God.
Amy Orr-Ewing is EMEA Director for RZIM, and Director of Programmes for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.
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How to believe and love
[1Jo 4:1-10 NASB] 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The Persecution of Christians
Book of Jonah
Jonah was a prejudiced man, he had no tolerance for the violence around him
God told him to preach repentance to the Ninevah and He said no and ran from the call of God.
[Jon 1:1-3 NASB] 1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
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