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!

Mat 24:37 NASB – “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

Mat 24:38 NASB – “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,

Mat 24:39 NASB – and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Mat 24:40 NASB – “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

Mat 24:41 NASB – “Two women {will be} grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Mat 24:42 NASB – “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

Mat 24:43 NASB – “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.

Mat 24:44 NASB – “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.}

Jesus confirmed this in his last teachings to His disciples!

Mat 24:37-44

(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?

Tattoos and the Bible?

Jewish Rabbi perspective on Tattoos?

To ink or not to Ink

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

This is how God sees us.

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:

Mat_22:35; Mat_22:41; Mat_22:46; Mar_9:33; Mar_10:2; Mar_11:29; Luk_11:53; Luk_20:3; Luk_20:40; Luk_22:68; Joh_16:19; Joh_16:23; Joh_16:30; Joh_18:21; Joh_21:12;

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.

Where are you going? What are you keeping in your way?

 

And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for

 

 

 

their journey, except a mere staff–no bread, no bag, no money in their belt– but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.” And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. “Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!” For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

(Mar 6:7-29 NASB)

Write Down the 3 biggest scariest… problems, issues, questions that you face today

 

 

 

1.

 

2

 

3

 

 

 

When have you had to agree to disagree?

 

 

What makes you angry?

 

 

What do you value most?

 

 

Where are you going?

 

What impossible Task are you facing?

 

What topic usually turns into an argument for you?

 

In an emergency at 4am, who would you call?

 

What person in your life do you find most challenging?

 

How difficult is it for you to speak the truth, even when it may be hurtful or unpopular?

 

What is your greatest weakness?

 

What do you want your tombstone to say?  What would you like others to think and say about you after you die?

 

What about Rahab? What about you?

Read Joshua 6.

Was Rahab’s lie justified?

What 2 lessons can you learn from Rahab about your own salvation.

Look at Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25.

Is your faith prepared to be as ready as Rahab’s?

Tuesday Night Bible Study Remote Access

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tuesday-bible-study

will be broadcasting on the above channel

can online chat on this channel or call in on skype to newsignals to talk.

Tuesday Bible Study for Nov 18 2008

http://www.4shared.com/file/72130708/4bc8ad87/Who_am_I.html

link to power point study of Who you are in Christ.

Romans 8 – You do not suck!

Attitudes are important,  they govern our lives, color our actions, thoughts, and behavior.  Our attitudes create the environment for good slef talk or bad self talk.

What is you attitude?  toward yourself?  others? your job? your teacher or professor?  mom, dad?…..

The Bible says that while we were bad (sinners), Christ died for us to redeem us to God,  He loved us before we could love him.

We are called to be like Christ…which means we must first choose to love ourselves and have a Christlike attitude towards ourselves,  then toward others.

You do not suck,  Christ loves you!  Cut yourself some slack,  let God in !

 

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 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, 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. 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. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 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, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 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. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 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. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– 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. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 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!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 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. 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. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 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. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 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. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 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; 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. 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. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 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? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 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. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 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.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 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.

(Rom 8:1-39 NASB)

Prayer – Eagerly Watching or ?

(Psa 5:3 NASB)

 

 

In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly  watch.

 

(Mat 21:22 NASB)

 

 

“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

 

(Luk 6:12 NASB)

 

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

(Act 1:14 NASB)

 

These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

(Act 10:31 NASB)

 

and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

(Rom 12:12 NASB)

 

rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

What is your prayer life like?  Is it something totally separate from your “normal” life?

Are you devoted, eagerly watching in prayer?

How much focus and time do you devote to prayer? 

How can you devote more focus to prayer?

Jesus said that if you ask, seek, knock – He will answer.  Are you knocking?

 

 

 

 

Hope – the reason for

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

(1Jn 3:3 NASB)

 

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

(Php 2:12 NASB)

 

From the Barnes Commentary—

Php 2:12 –

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed – The Philippians had from the beginning manifested a remarkable readiness to show respect to the apostle, and to listen to his teaching. This readiness he more than once refers to and commends. He still appeals to them, and urges them to follow his counsels, that they might secure their salvation.

Now much more in my absence – Though they had been obedient when he was with them, yet circumstances had occurred in his absence which made their obedience more remarkable, and more worthy of special commendation.

Work out your own salvation – This important command was first addressed to Christians, but there is no reason why the same command should not be regarded as addressed to all – for it is equally applicable to all. The duty of doing this is enjoined here; the reason for making the effort, or the encouragement for the effort, is stated in the next verse. In regard to the command here, it is natural to inquire why it is a duty; and what is necessary to be done in order to comply with it? On the first of these inquiries, it may be observed that it is a duty to make a personal effort to secure salvation, or to work out our salvation:

(1) Because God commands it. There is no command more frequently repeated in the Scriptures, than the command to make to ourselves a new heart; to strive to enter in at the strait gate; to break off from sin, and to repent.

(2) it is a duty because it is our own personal interest that is at stake. No one else has, or can have, as much interest in our salvation as we have. It is every person’s duty to be as happy as possible here, and to be prepared for eternal happiness in the future world. No person has a right either to throw away his life or his soul. He has no more right to do the one than the other; and if it is a person’s duty to endeavor to save his life when in danger of drowning, it is no less his duty to endeavor to save his soul when in danger of hell.

(3) our earthly friends cannot save us. No effort of theirs can deliver us from eternal death without our own exertion. Great as may be their solicitude for us, and much as they may do, there is a point where their efforts must stop – and that point is always short of our salvation, unless we are roused to seek salvation. They may pray, and weep, and plead, but they cannot save us. There is a work to be done on our own hearts which they cannot do.

(4) it is a duty, because the salvation of the soul will not take care of itself without an effort on our part. There is no more reason to suppose this than that health and life will take care of themselves without our own exertion. And yet many live as if they supposed that somehow all would yet be well; that the matter of salvation need not give them any concern, for that things will so arrange themselves that they will be saved. Why should they suppose this anymore in regard to religion than in regard to anything else?

(5) it is a duty, because there is no reason to expect the divine interposition without our own effort. No such interposition is promised to any man, and why should he expect it? In the case of all who have been saved, they have made an effort – and why should we expect that God will favor us more than he did them? “God helps them who help themselves;” and what reason has any man to suppose that he will interfere in his case and save him, if he will put forth no effort to “work out his own salvation?” In regard to the other inquiry – What does the command imply; or what is necessary to be done in order to comply with it? We may observe, that it does not mean:

(a) that we are to attempt to deserve salvation on the ground of merit. That is out of the question; for what can man do that shall be an equivalent for eternal happiness in heaven? Nor,

(b) does it mean that we are to endeavor to make atonement for past sins. That would be equally impossible, and it is, besides, unnecessary. That work has been done by the great Redeemer. But it means:

(i)           that we are to make an honest effort to be saved in the way which God has appointed;

(ii)    that we are to break off from our sins by true repentance;

(iii)   that we are to believe in the Saviour, and honestly to put our trust in him;

(iv)   that we are to give up all that we have to God;

(v)    that we are to break away from all evil companions and evil plans of life; and,

(vi)   that we are to resist all the allurements of the world, and all the temptations which may assail us that would lead us back from God, and are to persevere unto the end. The great difficulty in working out salvation is in forming a purpose to begin at once. When that purpose is formed, salvation is easy.

With fear and trembling – That is, with that kind of anxiety which one has who feels that he has an important interest at stake, and that he is in danger of losing it. The reason or the ground for “fear” in this case is in general this: there is danger of losing the soul.

(1) so many persons make shipwreck of all hope and perish, that there is danger that we may also.

(2) there are so many temptations and allurements in the world, and so many things that lead us to defer attention to religion, that there is danger that we may be lost.

(3) there is danger that if the present opportunity passes, another may not occur. Death may soon overtake us. No one has a moment to lose. No one can designate one single moment of his life, and say, “I may safely lose that moment. I may safely spend it in the neglect of my soul.”

(4) it should be done with the most earnest concern, front the immensity of the interest at stake. If the soul is lost, all is lost. And who is there that can estimate the value of that soul which is thus in danger of being lost forever?

 

 ———————

 

My Comments

 

God calls on us in faith to see and act beyond what we see in front of us, in our lives, in our minds, and especially our feelings.  We have hope in Christ, period!  Put your faith to work and change the world that starts in you,  then watch how the world around you changes.

Reality

Do you know who you are?  Check yourself out.

What worldview do you hold?

world·view (wûrldvy)

n. In both senses also called Weltanschauung.

1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.

2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.

How do you see your world?  yourself?  your place in the world?

Are you important?  What do you believe about God?  Who do you believe Jesus Christ is?

How important is the Bible as God’s Word in your life?  If you believe that Jesus is God’s son, savior of you and the rest of the world,  then the Bible and Jesus are the same ….

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(Joh 1:1-14 NASB)

What are you choosing to believe about yourself?  What are you choosing to believe about someone who Christ died for?

Are you choosing to listen?  to believe?

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

(2Pe 3:9 NASB)

Choose today what you experience as reality.

Where is He?

and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For

ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

(2Pe 3:4 NASB)

maybe the better question is Why do we have to wait?

An Australian church group made a series of clips about Christian living, being ready,  one clip is titled “Are you ready?”  They ask some good questions.

http://www.pottershouse-australia.org/

That is a good question.  Am I ready?   Am I serving Christ?  What do I need to do to be ready? 

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
(Mat 25:1-12 NASB)

These are the important questions,  the only really relevant questions to ask ourselves and others.  We need to be prepared,  ready to meet Jesus in the second coming.  Do not leave room for doubt.  It is your choice.

Jesus came the first time,  changed history as no other man ever has or ever will.  Jesus influences and stirs up people today just as he did in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, whether you proclaim Him as your savior or not.

Rules – Relationships – Letting Love Guide

In June 2002,  my son asked me to just let love guide me.  11 days later and most days since then,  Joshua’s words have been in my mind often.  11 days later he died in an auto accident at age 18.  

You see I have a life long problem with letting love guide me in all my relationships.   In my marriage – I fall the furthest from God’s standard for loving and that is where God shines in illustrating intimate agape love.  In other relationships, friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ – I fall short also – all due to me not allowing God’s agape love to guide me.

In spite of this,  the Amazing Grace of God in Christ Jesus – keeps trying, offering, asking me to accept the gift,  to choose His method for loving.

It is about relationship,  get the God relationship right,  choices will be guided by agape love,  your relationships over time will be healed,  mostly in you, and many times in others.  The point is always what God’s love is doing in you and then through you to others.

Then it is never about following rules or being good,  it is about being in relationship the way God designed you to be, with Him, and everyone else.

Jesus was the instrument used in creating the world.    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
(Joh 1:1-4 NASB)

 

The Bible in the New Testament mentions love in 216 verses.  so it is a pretty important concept.  Many traditions have a prayer of confession similar to this “we confess that we have sinned. in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves”.

This is relationship loving, “letting love guide you”.  God chose to let love guide,  when all the actions of Adam, Eve, the people of Babel, Sodom, Canaan, the nation of Israel all rejected God’s provision, blessing, and offers of relationship based on love.  God chose to model and act in agape love.

The guiding love that God designed for all humans, perfected in Christ Jesus is agape love,  all other methods and ways of “loving” fall short as is described in (Mat 6:24 NASB)  “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Love that is not guiding by God,  will become stagnant, fail, fall short, it will not work right.

Verses mentioning love in the NT.

(NASB) Mat_5:43; Mat_5:44; Mat_5:46; Mat_6:5; Mat_6:24; Mat_19:19; Mat_22:37; Mat_22:39; Mat_23:6; Mat_24:12; Mar_10:21; Mar_12:30; Mar_12:31; Mar_12:33; Luk_6:27; Luk_6:32; Luk_6:35; Luk_7:42; Luk_10:27; Luk_11:42; Luk_11:43; Luk_16:13; Luk_20:46; Joh_5:42; Joh_8:42; Joh_11:3; Joh_13:34; Joh_13:35; Joh_14:15; Joh_14:21; Joh_14:23; Joh_14:24; Joh_14:31; Joh_15:9; Joh_15:10; Joh_15:12; Joh_15:13; Joh_15:17; Joh_15:19; Joh_17:26; Joh_21:15; Joh_21:16; Joh_21:17; Rom_5:5; Rom_5:8; Rom_8:28; Rom_8:35; Rom_8:39; Rom_12:9; Rom_12:10; Rom_13:8; Rom_13:9; Rom_13:10; Rom_14:15; Rom_15:30; 1Co_2:9; 1Co_4:21; 1Co_8:1; 1Co_13:1; 1Co_13:2; 1Co_13:3; 1Co_13:4; 1Co_13:8; 1Co_13:13; 1Co_14:1; 1Co_16:14; 1Co_16:22; 1Co_16:24; 2Co_2:4; 2Co_2:8; 2Co_5:14; 2Co_6:6; 2Co_8:7; 2Co_8:8; 2Co_8:24; 2Co_11:11; 2Co_12:15; 2Co_13:11; 2Co_13:14; Gal_5:6; Gal_5:13; Gal_5:14; Gal_5:22; Eph_1:4; Eph_1:15; Eph_2:4; Eph_3:17; Eph_3:19; Eph_4:2; Eph_4:15; Eph_4:16; Eph_5:2; Eph_5:25; Eph_5:28; Eph_5:33; Eph_6:23; Eph_6:24; Php_1:9; Php_1:16; Php_2:1; Php_2:2; Col_1:4; Col_1:8; Col_2:2; Col_3:14; Col_3:19; 1Th_1:3; 1Th_3:6; 1Th_3:12; 1Th_4:9; 1Th_5:8; 1Th_5:13; 2Th_1:3; 2Th_2:10; 2Th_3:5; 1Ti_1:5; 1Ti_1:14; 1Ti_2:15; 1Ti_3:3; 1Ti_4:12; 1Ti_6:10; 1Ti_6:11; 2Ti_1:7; 2Ti_1:13; 2Ti_2:22; 2Ti_3:10; Tit_2:2; Tit_2:4; Tit_3:4; Tit_3:15; Phm_1:5; Phm_1:7; Phm_1:9; Heb_6:10; Heb_10:24; Heb_13:1; Heb_13:5; Jas_1:12; Jas_2:5; Jas_2:8; 1Pe_1:8; 1Pe_1:22; 1Pe_2:17; 1Pe_3:10; 1Pe_4:8; 1Pe_5:14; 2Pe_1:7; 1Jn_2:5; 1Jn_2:15; 1Jn_3:1; 1Jn_3:10; 1Jn_3:11; 1Jn_3:14; 1Jn_3:16; 1Jn_3:17; 1Jn_3:18; 1Jn_3:23; 1Jn_4:7; 1Jn_4:8; 1Jn_4:9; 1Jn_4:10; 1Jn_4:11; 1Jn_4:12; 1Jn_4:16; 1Jn_4:17; 1Jn_4:18; 1Jn_4:19; 1Jn_4:20; 1Jn_4:21; 1Jn_5:2; 1Jn_5:3; 2Jn_1:1; 2Jn_1:3; 2Jn_1:5; 2Jn_1:6; 3Jn_1:1; 3Jn_1:6; Jud_1:2; Jud_1:12; Jud_1:21; Rev_2:4; Rev_2:19; Rev_3:19; Rev_12:11;

Think about it,  choose wisely, act differently.  Do it now!

Entering the Kingdom

 

and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

(Mat 18:3-7 NASB)

 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

 (Mat 7:11-7 NASB)

  

God desires to give blessing and goodness into our lives.  In the passages above,  Jesus describes what is required to enter the kingdom of heaven and what attitude we must have.  One of humility and meekness and innocence / obedience.

We must be careful to not put anything in the way of any little one seeing / knowing Christ as Lord.

 The second passage is a reminder that God wants to be in relationship with us as a parent is to their child.  We desire to bless our children with shelter, food, clothing, toys, entertainment… good things.  Whe our children ask,  most often we supply what they ask for.  Jesus is saying God is the same way,  what we ask for He wants to give us.  We need to be listening and talking to God to be in a position and able to ask and receive God’s blessings.  It is ok to ask for what we need or want.

So choose to enter the kingdom today,  become like a child in your attitude with God and others.  Choose joy, laughter, and playfulness.  Choose to look to God, ask for blessing, ask for needs and wants, just be sure to be in conversation with Him.  God wants to give.

Making peace, Onward Christian Soldiers

Jesus’ life was a disaster… from a world perspective.  He was born of a virgin, family was on the run for the early years, Kings tried to find and kill him.  When His ministry started,  the jewish officials ridiculed, threatened, and finally had him tried and executed for claiming to be God.  Not the normal success story.

Jesus was the peacemaker,  if you will receive Him,  He grants peace, and then you offer to others.  We (believer’s in Jesus Christ) are called to a mission and the langauge often used is in military terms, armor of God, shield of faith…

Our fight is not an earthly one, or even against humans.  Ephesians 6:12-18 describes the war  terms of against spriritual foes, and we must use spiritual weapons (3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. Christ.  2 cor 10:3-5)

We make peace and that is war in the heavenlies,  the peace of Christ produces miracles, first in me, then in others who also receive what I have.

Our weapons are carefully described in Ephesians 6:12-18.

learn these weapons,  and practice using them.  you will not regret it.

Lessons Learned and Learning…

Three (3) lessons I learned from Joshua (son of Nun)’s life:

1. Fear takes you very far from God and denies God’s instruction to be courageous.  My fear and my doubt have kept me separated from God.

2. I have to choose to be strong and courageous… God does them rest.

3. When I choose to remember that God is always with me,  I make better decisions when I remember that and I am also given peace.

Scripture is Joshua 1:5-9

5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 

God’s promise to Joshua was conditional.  It is the same with us.  We respond to God’s promise(s) by either rejecting His truth or receiving it and acting on it.

Take Salvation,  it is by Faith received here and now.  We make it a reality in our life by acting on this promise and when our actions line up with our professed belief.

Joshua crossed and led Israel because God told him to,  then God delivered the land into their possession.

What land is God desiring you to take possession of in your life?  Courage and Strength!  Choose  and step out in faith.

How to lean properly

Proverbs 3: 5-6

 

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;

 6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight.

Use your understanding,  but realize your need to depend more on God’s wisdom, and leading.  Make sure you consult Him on all decisions.

Do you acknowledge God in all of your moments each day?  How can you choose to include more of God in your life each moment?

If any part of your life needs to be straightened,  God wants to help and will,  just start leaning on Him.

the promise of God’s Divine Nature

 

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
(2 Peter 1:3-4) 

 

 

Has granted – this has already been put in Place for us to use and receive.

Everything – this means anything and everything we need is available and ready to help us succeed in being godly people.

True Knowledge – read your Bible, study God’s Word.

We can partake in God’s Divine nature.  Don’t try to understand this – it is not possible this side of paradise.  Think about it this way.  You do not have to understand how to digest food,  you do need to eat enough of the right kind of food to get basic nutrition – all without understanding how your stomach does this.  You receive nutrients and thrive!

The promise is to escape the coruption of this world.  Why not accept and receive this gift right now and then continue by feeding your spirit, growing, receiving your portion of the promise.

Delve deep into the Word, it will feed you and you will thrive.

 

 

 

 

Your Purpose

 

Salvation created a purpose for your life,  one that exists beyond this life and world, and reality. 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;

(Romans 8:28-29 NASB)

There is a temporal good, and a spiritual good, and an eternal one. Temporal good is what the men of the world are seeking after, and generally have the greatest share of, and the saints the least; and yet they have as much as is needful for them, and what they have, they have with a blessing; and even sometimes afflictions work for the temporal good of God’s children: spiritual good lies in a lively exercise of grace and a conformity of the soul to God; {from Gill’s commentary}

 Knowing your purpose…what do you know of your purpose?  Are you fulfilling it?  How long does your purpose last?

I live the first 42 years of my life with the following purposes:

- attend schooling until graduating from college.  I accomplished this in 1981 with a BSEE.

- marry, have a family – This was started in not long before 1981 when I married my lovely, grace filled, wife Leisa.    Son Joshua followed in the mid 80’s.

- provide for my family – I have worked and been blessed by work I enjoy.

The other purposes I fulfilled were not so good

- working too much

- too much focus on greed, money, collecting things

- losing myself and disconnecting from my family by working too much and living a life largely focused on lust for things, money

In 2000,  I rediscovered that Jesus Christ had called me to His purposes,  and my life has been going in a different direction ever since.  My purpose is to represent, preach, teach, pray for, and love others into a relationship with Christ and receive or rediscover salvation and that purpose that God intends for all to come to a saving faith.

My immoral attitudes left, most at once, some left only after additional work and attention by me.  My language choices changed, from regular use of bad or hurtful language to word choices that increasingly became more and more encouraging.  I started praying with hope and expectation. I started teaching bible classes, mostly for youth,  and occasionally for adults.

My purpose as a follower of Christ is to live according to Romans 8:29 and discover how God is blessing me with Romans 8:28.  Read them again and think about it.  My purpose includes caring about how I impact people, including my family, my wife, strangers, friends, former enemies, and people I cannot stand to be around.  This purpose extends to being prepared and ready to discuss, pray, and love someone as Christ would – no matter what they have done or are still doing.

Christ conversed with all manner of people,  the people who most needed truth and hope – received directly from God on earth the solution to living a blessed life.  He also told them to go and sin no more.

Rediscover your purpose,  allow Christ to reclaim the purpose of your life now and your life eternal!

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2:4-7 NASB)

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Undivided Heart, Fearing God’s Name

A David psalm. Bend an ear, GOD; answer me. I’m one miserable wretch! (Psalms 86:1)  Train me, GOD, to walk straight; then I’ll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear. To go further consider what the Barnes commentary provides about Psalm 86:11 Teach me thy way, O Lord –

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.

 

(Psalms 86:11)

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+) 

 

 

 

Teach^{H3384 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.

 

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.

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!

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

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.

(Ephesians 5:20-30 NASB)

What does it mean to have a relationship with Christ?
What does it look like?

What does it mean to have a spouse who is in  a committed relationship with Christ?  How do you know before you get married?

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.

 

The word in John 3:16 for love is translated from the greek word agape.  God so loved the world,  God so agaped the world.  This is the same word used in Ephesians 5:25 where Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.

 

 

(John 3:16 NASB)

 What does it mean to have a relationship with Christ?
What does it look like?

 

What is love?

You are worth dying for!  If you are dating someone,  are they someone who would die for you?  Do they serve or wait to be served?  Do they have agape running in their lives and pouring out on everyone they encounter?  That is the kind of love you need to fill your life,  the same love that Christ showers on you in hopes you will receive and respond.

Is your future spouse’s life being filled by Christ?  by God’s amazing love?

Do they serve others?  Do they have peace?  Are they a peacemaker?  Do they honor commitments?

Are they safe?  can they be trusted?

Ephesians uses about 43 words to instruct the woman towards her husband, and about 143 to instruct the husband on how to love (agape) his wife, all the way to death if necessary, death to selfishness….

Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers,  this is very important in marriage for the husband to always pursue.

God has a plan,  even for dating, marriage, and picking someone to commit to a life together with.  Discover His plan for you.

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?

What do you believe?

http://brentsplace.info/survey.shtml 

take the belief’s survey here.

See what you believe about God.

Some other questions:

How Long I’ve Been a Christian

How I Came to Accept Christ

Denomination

Church

Pastor’s Name

Area of Ministry

Greatest Strength in Christ

Greatest Weakness in the Flesh

Best Witnessing Experience

Worst Witnessing Mistake

Favorite Time for Devotions

Favorite Bible Translation

Favorite Bible Type (Thompson, Scofield, etc.)

Where I Write Bible Study Notes (in Bible or Notepad)

Favorite Comment by Jesus

Favorite Verse

Favorite Gospel

Favorite Parable

Favorite Epistle

Favorite Apostle

Favorite Major Prophet

Favorite Minor Prophet

Favorite Biblical Name

Favorite Book of the Bible

Favorite Old Testament Story

Favorite New Testament Story

Favorite Male Character (besides Christ)

Favorite Female Character (besides Mary)

Favorite Old Testament Character

Favorite New Testament Character (besides Christ)

Bible Character I Most Want to Meet (besides Jesus/God)

Bible Character Most Similar to Me

Why?

Truth and Love

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.

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.

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.

Serving

Matthew 20

“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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Fear and What the Bible teaches

Gen_9:2; Gen_14:23; Gen_15:1; Gen_20:11; Gen_21:17; Gen_22:12; Gen_26:24; Gen_31:42; Gen_31:53; Gen_32:11; Gen_35:17; Gen_42:18; Gen_44:34; Exo_9:30; Exo_14:13; Exo_18:21; Exo_20:20; Lev_25:17; Num_14:9; Num_21:34; Num_22:3; Deu_1:17; Deu_1:21; Deu_1:29; Deu_2:25; Deu_3:2; Deu_3:22; Deu_4:10; Deu_5:29; Deu_6:2; Deu_6:13; Deu_6:24; Deu_8:6; Deu_10:12; Deu_10:20; Deu_11:25; Deu_13:4; Deu_14:23; Deu_17:19; Deu_21:21; Deu_25:18; Deu_28:58; Deu_31:8; Deu_31:12; Deu_31:13; Jos_4:24; Jos_8:1; Jos_10:8; Jos_10:25; Jos_14:8; Jos_24:14; Jdg_6:10; Jdg_6:23; Rth_3:11; 1Sa_12:14; 1Sa_12:20; 1Sa_12:24; 2Sa_9:7; 2Sa_13:28; 2Sa_23:3; 1Ki_8:40; 1Ki_8:43; 1Ki_17:13; 2Ki_6:16; 2Ki_17:25; 2Ki_17:28; 2Ki_17:34; 2Ki_17:35; 2Ki_17:36; 2Ki_17:37; 2Ki_17:38; 2Ki_17:39; 1Ch_14:17; 1Ch_22:13; 1Ch_28:20; 2Ch_6:31; 2Ch_6:33; 2Ch_19:7; 2Ch_19:9; 2Ch_20:15; 2Ch_20:17; 2Ch_32:7; Neh_4:14; Neh_5:9; Neh_5:15; Job_1:9; Job_3:25; Job_4:6; Job_5:24; Job_6:14; Job_9:35; Job_11:15; Job_21:9; Job_28:28; Job_33:7; Job_37:24; Job_39:22; Job_41:25; Job_41:33; Psa_9:20; Psa_15:4; Psa_19:9; Psa_22:23; Psa_22:25; Psa_23:4; Psa_25:14; Psa_27:1; Psa_27:3; Psa_31:19; Psa_33:8; Psa_33:18; Psa_34:7; Psa_34:9; Psa_34:11; Psa_36:1; Psa_40:3; Psa_46:2; Psa_49:5; Psa_52:6; Psa_53:5; Psa_55:5; Psa_55:19; Psa_60:4; Psa_61:5; Psa_64:4; Psa_64:9; Psa_66:16; Psa_67:7; Psa_72:5; Psa_78:53; Psa_85:9; Psa_86:11; Psa_90:11; Psa_102:15; Psa_103:11; Psa_103:13; Psa_103:17; Psa_111:5; Psa_111:10; Psa_112:7; Psa_112:8; Psa_115:11; Psa_115:13; Psa_118:4; Psa_118:6; Psa_119:63; Psa_119:74; Psa_119:79; Psa_119:120; Psa_145:19; Psa_147:11; Pro_1:7; Pro_1:29; Pro_2:5; Pro_3:7; Pro_3:25; Pro_8:13; Pro_9:10; Pro_10:27; Pro_14:26; Pro_14:27; Pro_15:16; Pro_15:33; Pro_16:6; Pro_19:23; Pro_22:4; Pro_23:17; Pro_24:21; Pro_29:25; Ecc_3:14; Ecc_5:7; Ecc_8:12; Ecc_8:13; Ecc_12:13; Isa_7:4; Isa_7:25; Isa_8:12; Isa_8:13; Isa_10:24; Isa_11:2; Isa_11:3; Isa_33:6; Isa_35:4; Isa_40:9; Isa_41:10; Isa_41:13; Isa_41:14; Isa_41:23; Isa_43:1; Isa_43:5; Isa_44:2; Isa_51:7; Isa_51:13; Isa_54:4; Isa_54:14; Isa_57:11; Isa_59:19; Jer_3:8; Jer_5:22; Jer_5:24; Jer_10:5; Jer_10:7; Jer_17:8; Jer_26:19; Jer_30:10; Jer_32:39; Jer_32:40; Jer_33:9; Jer_36:16; Jer_46:27; Jer_46:28; Lam_3:57; Eze_2:6; Eze_30:13; Dan_6:26; Hos_10:5; Joe_2:21; Joe_2:22; Amo_3:8; Jon_1:9; Mic_6:9; Hab_3:2; Zep_3:15; Hag_2:5; Zec_8:13; Zec_8:15; Mal_3:5; Mal_3:16; Mal_4:2; Mat_10:26; Mat_10:28; Mat_10:31; Mat_14:26; Mat_21:26; Mat_28:4; Mat_28:8; Luk_1:12; Luk_1:50; Luk_1:65; Luk_1:74; Luk_5:10; Luk_5:26; Luk_7:16; Luk_8:37; Luk_12:5; Luk_12:7; Luk_18:2; Luk_18:4; Luk_21:26; Luk_23:40; Joh_3:20; Joh_7:13; Joh_12:15; Joh_12:42; Joh_19:38; Joh_20:19; Act_5:5; Act_5:11; Act_7:32; Act_9:31; Act_13:16; Act_13:26; Act_16:29; Act_19:17; Rom_3:18; Rom_8:15; Rom_11:20; Rom_13:3; Rom_13:7; 1Co_2:3; 2Co_5:11; 2Co_7:1; 2Co_7:11; 2Co_7:15; Gal_2:2; Gal_4:11; Eph_5:21; Eph_6:5; Phi_1:14; Phi_2:12; 1Th_3:5; Heb_2:15; Heb_4:1; Heb_12:21; 1Pe_1:17; 1Pe_2:17; 1Pe_3:6; 1Pe_3:14; 1Jo_4:18; Jud_1:12; Jud_1:23; Rev_2:10; Rev_11:11; Rev_11:18; Rev_14:7; Rev_15:4; Rev_18:10; Rev_18:15; Rev_19:5;

The above bible verses have the word fear mentioned (NASB translation).

There are two types of fear,  a good summary is contained here and excerpted “

“The Bible mentions two specific types of fear. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged. The second type is a detriment and is to be overcome. The first type of fear is fear of the Lord. This type of fear does not necessarily mean to be afraid of something. Rather, it is a reverential awe of God; a reverence for His power and glory. However, it is also a proper respect for His wrath and anger. In other words, the fear of the Lord is a total acknowledgement of all that God is, which comes through knowing Him and His attributes.

Fear of the Lord brings with it many blessings and benefits. It is the beginning of wisdom and leads to good understanding (Psalm 111:10). Only fools despise wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1:7). Furthermore, fear of the Lord leads to life, rest, peace, and contentment (Proverbs 19:23). It is the fountain and life (Proverbs 14:27) and provides a security and a place of safety for us (Proverbs 14:26).”

In my 51 years of life,  I have made too much of the the spirit of fear that comes from the enemy.  This has led to brokeness in my relationships,  poor decision making,  and turning away from God for most of my life.

When at age 42 I answered Jesus call and accepted his forgiveness,  my life started changing for the better,  more joy,  a good purpose.  Yet I still resisted and still listened to much to the spirits of fear.

Spiritual Marriage and the Second Coming

Excerpts taken from http://www.levitt.com/essays/endtimes_events.html

Israel’s wedding traditions in Christ’s time. There was a seven-day honeymoon in a bridal chamber for the bride and groom, preceding the marriage supper. This pertains exactly to the seven years in Heaven and the Judgment Seat of Christ, leading up to marriage with Him. (The Jewish wedding and all of its Gospel implications are explained fully in the booklet, A Christian Love Story.)

John covers the marriage scene for us in two glorious verses (Rev. 19:7–8). The white linen bridal gowns we shall wear fulfill a fascinating Bible type that reaches back to the Tabernacle of ancient Israel (Exodus 25–30). In the Tabernacle, plain white linen symbolized pure righteousness. The linen curtains around the entire Tabernacle, the tent, as it were, were pure white. Therefore, no one could enter through the sides or rear, because no one was perfectly righteous. The door of the Tabernacle was sewn with the colors of Christ — scarlet, purple, and blue threads, indicating sacrifice, royalty, and Heaven. The Israelites entered by the door, so symbolically, they were entering by means of the Messiah.

Jesus said, I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9). Messianic colors were worn by the priests, and also appeared in the hangings of various courts and in roof coverings.

But now, the Church shall wear white! — “Fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” That we now appear in pure white testifies to our final perfection. Paul compared earthly marriage to Christ’s marrying the Church (Eph. 5:21–33). Ultimately, we will see the result of the apostles’ exhortation of the infant Church.

After we marry the Lord, we’ll reign with Him in His Kingdom on earth. This is exactly the way the bride returned with her groom after an Israeli marriage, to housing he had arranged for them — outside of his father’s house. (Some teach that the wedding will be on earth after we return, and others have it in Heaven with the marriage supper on earth (Rev. 19:7–8).