tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30660722272379362462024-02-20T09:14:42.732-08:00Jim's Living RoomUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-41818715424975368042011-11-11T05:21:00.000-08:002011-11-12T06:15:09.758-08:00Considerations for Entering Kingdom Living<div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><strong>The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl</strong></div><br />
<em>The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. </em><br />
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<em>Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.</em> (Matthew 13:44-46)<br />
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A few weeks ago I began to get really serious about making some changes in my life, mainly with my work situation. Since last December, I have been working nights in intensive care. (I am a registered nurse.) I've never been, and probably will never be a nocturnal creature, so working the night shift has been a tremendous struggle, one that has left me emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally drained. Moreover, I've been a critical care nurse for more years than I want to count. Recently, after a season of introspection I realized that I no longer enjoyed this type of nursing and hadn't for a long time. It was time to make a drastic change!<br />
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It is so incredibly easy to get stuck in a rut and never leave it. Frighteningly, many people spend their entire lives doing the same thing over and over again <em>ad nauseam</em> hardly questioning why they do what they do. After a number of years, they begin to function robotically by just going through the motions of life with little to no thought. Undoubtedly, there are a number of reasons for this but regardless, the end result is almost always the same. <br />
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When we go through life with minimal forethought and purpose, we lose a sense of who we are, as well as any dreams we may have had for our lives. Most tragically however, the Lord's destiny for us is never acknowledged much less released. Thus, at the end of life we have little satisfaction to show for all the years of toil and labor. Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes surely must have felt that disheartenment deep within his soul when he rhetorically asked, <em>"What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?" </em> (Ecclesiastes 1:3) And again he wrote in the same book, <em>"What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?" </em> (2:22) Indeed, these are valid questions that most of us ought to contemplate soberly in this "rat-race" age in which we live.<br />
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Jesus spells out a different way of life for whosoever will heed the call of God's Holy Spirit, with spiritual ears to hear. Now please, don't misunderstand. His purposed life is by no means free of difficulties and heartaches. Nor does living it mean that life is purely peaches and cream 24/7, 365 days a year. However, it is a life of great satisfaction, peace and purpose to any and all who will accept it. <br />
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Perhaps surprising to many, there is a price tag attached to God's Kingdom and its way of life. It is not free but must be purchased at great price. You see, Jesus had to die on the cross and shed His precious blood to give us the <strong>right</strong> to enter into Kingdom living, but we too must take up our cross in order to enter in. (Always remember the words Jesus spoke to the disciples, <em>".... a servant is not great than master...."</em> [John 15:20] In other words, what He experienced while on earth, so will we.) Lamentably, for many believers, taking up the cross to follow Christ in all His glory is too much to ask. Sadly, many Christians will not attain this measure of promised, abundant life offered to them.<br />
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I'd like to take the opportunity to exposit on a very <strong>fundamental</strong> level five considerations of the value of God's Kingdom and of entering into that Kingdom living, to which allude the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl. I personally believe that these two parables, told by the Master, partially divulge the untold worth of the Kingdom of God, as well as the secret for entering into the Kingdom. Think about it! What would provoke any mortal man to trade every possession he had in this life, and do it joyfully at that, to purchase something else that cannot be quantified nor qualified by human standards? After all, we humans greatly cherish our earthly possessions and social status, clinging to them with dear life! And furthermore, for any soul who would dare to esteem the finest pearls (riches) of this life to be nothing in comparison to some seemingly elusive kingdom that Jesus describes as one of great value? Saints of God, on what are we missing out?!?<br />
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It is well beyond the scope of this particular blog to dive deeply into the Kingdom of God by defining it in great detail. (NOTE: The Kingdom of God is completely interchangeable with the Kingdom of Heaven.) I do wish however to stimulate your thinking in such a way that perhaps you would at least begin to desire to seek the Kingdom of God. I readily admit that ultimately, it is a divine work of God the Holy Spirit Who must show you, as well as me, the inherent value of the Kingdom, else we are destined for a substandard life here on planet earth. That is not the will of God for any of His children, for anything less than the very best for us nullifies the work of Christ's cross concerning our lives, on this side of eternity. Should Christ tarry and we live to a ripe age, we would then risk hearing the eternal, echoing words of King Solomon posed in Ecclesiastes as they resonate loudly in our souls, <em>"What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?"</em> (Ecclesiastes 1:3) Lest we fall into that trap, let us heed some considerations.<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Consideration #1:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kingdom of God is hidden from the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This really is no mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything God has for His creation is "masked" to the world, and has been since the fall of man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This is not God's fault, but rather man's. Because of humanity's </span>sin nature, his thoughts are primarily toward himself and the creation, not Godward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord has consistently revealed Himself to creation since the fall, but to no avail other than at judgment we cannot accuse the Lord of hiding Himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Apostle Paul speaks of this when he says, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Romans 1:19-20)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In a nutshell, </span>mankind will not seek God’s Kingdom when they won’t even look for Him, preferring rather to be their own gods running their own finite kingdoms. Why would anyone seek the Kingdom or the Government of God and His Christ when they don't even acknowledge its King?<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spirit of the world is antithetical to God and His nature hence it’s not possible for the world and its systems of thought to discern anything that isn’t borne of worldly wisdom and intellect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I Corinthians 2:14)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comprehending even the existence of the Kingdom of God clearly requires the work of God’s Spirit in an individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet paradoxically, no one has the Spirit of Christ unless he or she has accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Romans 8:9) Therefore, until an individual acknowledges Christ as Lord and Savior, his sin nature precludes any real knowledge and understanding of God, much more the Kingdom, because God remains hidden from him.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Consideration #2:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kingdom of God is hidden from the believer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may seem contradictory or even nonsensical initially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as we seek to know the Lord more intimately, we realize that indeed He does hide Himself and His treasures so that the believer will seek them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps this may seem to be an argument from a human standpoint, but if the Lord gave us all of Himself and all His hidden treasures initially from the point of our salvation, for us there would be nothing for which to strive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mercifully however, the Lord tantalizes our spiritual taste buds with glimpses of truth and glory, which in turn cause us to want more and more of Him and that which He freely offers to those who seek Him with all their heart, soul and mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The promise of revealing Himself and His treasures is clear to all who will heed the invitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Isaiah 45:3) And in the words of Jesus, <em>"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."</em> (Luke 12:32)<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Consideration #3:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who purposefully and intentionally seek the Kingdom of God reveal the nature of who they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Ponder the following scripture: </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Proverbs 25:2)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see from this verse that as far as the second principle is concerned, God actually delights in concealing deep secrets. On the other hand, only those who consider themselves “kingly” will seek out those hidden treasures that belong to the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a very important point because it speaks to the nature of how any Christian must perceive himself (herself implied) if he is to enjoy a successful, abundant life that is his in Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(John 10:10)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply stated through the negative, if an individual does not understand the life he has in Christ, he will not seek the hidden treasures of God in Christ because he, the believer, doesn’t believe he is worthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This gross error in thinking will cause the individual to distance himself from the Lord thus making it impossible to seek God's finest. If the believer in question actually knew that in Christ he is worthy of all things, he could perhaps move forward in his faith. Consequently, it must be readily apparent why God's will is discovered only in the act of renewing the mind with God's Word! <em>"</em></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><em>Do not conform 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." </em> (Romans 12:2)</span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Kingly” believers know without a shadow of a doubt who they are in Christ hence, will seek the treasures of God, and even will unabashedly seek the face of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing will hinder these people because they understand fully that their life is completely rendered anew through the atoning sacrifice of Christ and His finished work at the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They completely comprehend that Christian life and Kingdom living is about “being” in the Spirit, not about what they must do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Please refer to Romans 14:17)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Kingly” believers freely accept the truth of who they are in Christ, and nothing less. <em>"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' <strong>The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory</strong>."</em> (Romans 8:15-17) If we know that we know that we are God's sons and daughters, how can we live any less than for how we were intended?<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Consideration #4:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As believers in Christ, once we discover the reality of His Kingdom, we must choose to pay the price to enter into Kingdom living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because again, Kingdom living isn’t free, as I stated earlier in the blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a tremendous cost that must be paid by every believer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where it gets quite sticky for many Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly, the majority of followers of Christ would surely want all that God has for them, until they come to the realization that the blessings come with a price attached to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Kingdom is no less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus clearly speaks of a tradeoff that must be made in order to purchase the Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the parables of the Great Treasure and the Pearl, the first man gave up his possessions; the second, who was a merchant of great, earthly treasures, did the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> M</span>oreover, it stands to reason that the latter freely yielded any rights to further seek goodly, earthen pearls as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beloved, it has to be this way!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s no other way it can be!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having been created in the image of God, we humans were made with singleness of heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God Almighty is most assuredly of one mind, and His creation can be no less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The double mindedness of the world is astounding!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Humanity is at a place in time where we want everything, we want to be everything and let's do it all NOW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s as if we think we deserve any and everything the world can possible offer, but without any penalty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I declare to you that this is NOT God’s way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were not designed to be and do everything that our finite minds conjure up in the evil imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Again, w</span>e are not greater than Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even He surrendered His human will to that of the Father when He finally declared in the Garden of Gethsemane that He could accept God’s will and not His own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Matthew 26:42)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Successful Kingdom living is absolutely contingent on the believer, consciously of his own volition, forfeiting his will by accepting that of the Father.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus did it; so must we.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consequently, the price we pay is the totally complete surrender of our will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may sound easy, but it’s the most significant expenditure we’ll ever face in this life, make no mistake about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Consideration #5:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Double minded people will not seek the Kingdom much less pay for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This must by now be obvious to the reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please indulge me however, as I look at this phenomena from a different angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made a statement earlier that God is single minded and made His creation the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, the creation was never designed to know the difference between good and evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Please refer to Genesis 3:22.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That knowledge, reserved only for an omnipotent, all-knowing God, would destroy the single mindedness of mankind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For in possessing that knowledge, the creation was and still is automatically forced to make a choice between God and obedience to Him verses an existence separated from Him. (We’re meant to be single minded, remember?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, God’s own creation will always choose to eat the forbidden fruit, as did mother Eve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the nature of human existence since the fall of creation. <br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The option that God gives all humans with regards to salvation is the opportunity to accept Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In turn, </span>Jesus reversed the curse of eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.’” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[Galatians 3:13])<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the door of choice for all of us was opened in the Garden and cannot be closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must hence choose Christ and return to God or else decide that we will partake a second time of the forbidden fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In essence, when anyone rejects Christ as Lord and Savior, he is choosing to partake a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Fundamentally, </span>Christians who wish to “live in the world” and enjoy the benefits of Kingdom living are in basically standing before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil pondering its luscious, enticing fruit. Their problem, uniquely different from those who reject Christ however, is that they don’t want to make a choice, or else they would prefer to choose both God and the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (I suspect the latter is more true for the "uncommitted" believer, while the former applies more to the unbeliever.) </span>These Christians do not understand mutual exclusivity and how it relates to Christian living in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, the Lord does not give up on those believers who choose to live double mindedly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s Word beckons to the believing heart for anyone who would attempt to choose God and the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…..and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(James 4:8)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the Lord’s will that all believers consecrate themselves <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wholly</b> to Him, His purposes, and His Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In so doing, the believer can begin to receive the infinite blessings and secrets of living in God’s Kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choosing to remain a double minded believer is dangerous and thus precludes the individual from receiving anything from God!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(James 1:6-8)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord views any believer that is double-minded as unstable and incapable of receiving His finest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re unfit for Kingdom living and will never enter in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These believers literally squelch any hope of being blessed by God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In conclusion, God has a Kingdom of abundant living in Christ by the indwelling Spirit that He wishes to give all people. To access the Kingdom, the believer must accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior first before anything else. The believer must see himself as "Kingly," a child of the Most High God and a co-heir with Christ the Son. This self perception lends itself to searching for all the Heavenly Father has for His children. Those people who wish to straddle the fence by attempting to live in the natural world and yet simultaneously reach for the supernatural of God's Kingdom must recognize that the Bible labels them as double-minded. In this state of being, they will not receive God's blessings because they're literally being tossed to and fro by the world that literally enslaves them. Hence, they're commanded to repent, to purify their hearts and seek all the hidden treasures and blessings the Lord has for all of us. </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Dear Father in Heaven, I pray that the Holy Spirit will capture the heart of the reader of this blog. If the individual is not a believer, I pray that God's Spirit will reveal to him or her the saving power of Jesus Christ by the engrafting of the Word that is more than capable of saving the soul. If the reader has already given his or her heart to Jesus, may the Spirit arouse in the heart a yearning, a hunger and thirst for the deeper, more profound things that You, Oh Father, have for them. May that longing in and of itself be so strong that they're compelled to begin a life-long search for the very heart of God. In Jesus' Precious, Holy Name I pray, amen. </span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-81851076742980686782011-10-10T10:05:00.000-07:002011-10-12T02:27:20.490-07:00Called to be Philosophers?<em>While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplaces day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean." (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) </em>(Acts 17:16-21)<br />
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A few weeks ago I haphazardly got involved in a philosophical discourse with a young gentleman. I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did. I had commented on a FaceBook friend's link and had augmented my point by using scripture. Before I knew it, I was being challenged by a student of philosophy! By all regards, I was shocked that I had even gotten baited into this discussion because most certainly, that was not my intention. Further, I was never interested in philosophy and at at 51, have no desire, not even the slightest bend to engage in that field of academia. In light of my philosophical disinterest, I had to wonder if perhaps I had come across as someone who wanted a good argument. I now realize that was not the case.<br />
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My young "rival" was quite upset that I had quoted scripture and commented to me that I had come across as narrow-minded by stating that Jesus Christ was (is) the ONLY Way, the ONLY Truth, and the ONLY Life. He further pointed out that by quoting scripture, I had diminished my argument, as if I had been attempting to prove something. (I had not.) Though well-spoken, full of ideas that unfortunately seemed non-ending and leading nowhere, and a passionate zeal against any hint of Christianity, it soon became readily apparent that this young philosopher was a nonbeliever. For him, the mere thought that there was (is) only one path, one answer, and one truth to the mysteries of life was abhorrent.<br />
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After about a day and a half of debate with this young man, the Holy Spirit brought deep conviction to my heart by reminding me of what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: <em>"Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly."</em> (II Timothy 2:15) I, as gracefully as possible, bowed out of the discussion and thankfully, learned a lesson in godliness and holiness. But however, I pray that somehow, someway this young man with whom I crossed paths in the electronic arena of communication will come to know Jesus Christ as his personal Savior perhaps by way of a nugget of truth I or someone else wrote, before he enters the realm of eternity. All of his brilliant ideas, as well as his effulgent aptitude for reasoning and discourse will not save him on the judgment day unless he permits Christ to be his Advocate in this life. (I John 2:1)<br />
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Upon arriving in Athens, the Apostle Paul was greatly distressed in his spirit from seeing all the vain and useless idols in the city (Wow, how would he have felt if he could have seen futuristically into the hearts of modern day man?), which more than likely played a significant role in him frequenting the synagogue to speak with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as spending time at the market places to speak with anyone who would listen to his message. Somewhere between these locations, the apostle had the opportunity to engage in discussion with two philosophical groups: the Epicureans and the Stoics.<br />
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In short, the Epicureans essentially believed that life was to be lived for luxury and indulgence in sensual pleasures while the Stoics postulated a quite different stance. They taught that life was to be free of passions whereby the individual was unmoved by any emotions such as grief or joy, for example. Polemically, 180 degrees apart on the spectrum of beliefs, examination of the scriptures reveals that neither of these systems of thought is correct. Indulgence of sensual pleasures, the forethought of the Epicureans, is a fruit of the flesh which is condemned in Galatians 5:19-21. (Specifically, sexual immorality, selfish ambition, drunkenness, orgies, to name a few...) <br />
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Regarding Stoicism, even the Lord Jesus showed emotion when He cried at the tomb of Lazarus. (John 11:35) He most certainly showed anger upon entering the temple in Jerusalem only to find that the religious leaders were cheating the poor people out of money! (Please read Matthew 21:12-13!) All in all, the Apostle Paul had his work cut out for him while debating with these intellects!<br />
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It shouldn't surprise anyone that the two groups of philosophers were amenable to at least listen to Paul. The Bible says, <em>"All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas."</em> (Acts 17:21) Evidently, many Athenian citizens had an abundance of free time and had nothing better to do. (This sure seems to give creedance to the old saying, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop.") And so Paul began preaching to the people, introducing them to the only true God. (Please take some time and read his forceful sermon given at Mars Hill in Athens as recorded in Acts 17:22-31.)<br />
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Toward the end of Paul's discourse, he climaxes the sermon by mentioning the resurrection from the dead, which undoubtedly caught the ear of all the intellects. The Bible says,<em> "When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, <strong>some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject.</strong>' At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed....</em>." (Acts 17:32-34) The crowd's response is notworthy, yet more typical. Paul left the Council seemingly in an abrupt fashion, so we have to wonder what he was thinking and feeling.<br />
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Scripture does not mention that the apostle speaks with anyone there again. (Verse 34 is the last of chapter 17 of Acts.) The first verse of Acts 18 says, <em>"After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth</em>." Again, we see that some people did believe after listening to the apostle's address, but the impression left by scripture indicates that there were few followers. We are compelled to ask if any of these new converts were from the ranks of the Epicurean or Stoic philosophers? The Bible does not divulge any information. Paul hence moves on to Corinth.<br />
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The Apostle Paul makes some incredibly powerful statements in his first letter to the church in Corinth that lead me personally to believe that perhaps he viewed his evangelistic endeavors in Athens with some frustration, that conceivably he may have expected more fruit from his labors there. (I readily confess that this is not my thought. Regardless of the origin of the idea however, I most assuredly subscribe to the idea that the gospel of Jesus Christ will NOT spread successfully, with remaining fruit, by means of human wisdom mixed with the most astute debating skills. [I apologize that I cannot recall where I got the idea that Paul may have felt some defeat in Athens.]) I ask that the reader indulge me by reading Paul's words to the believers in Corinth in the following paragraph.<br />
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<em>"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the <strong>wise person</strong>? Where is the <strong>teacher of the law</strong>? Where is the <strong>philosopher of this age</strong>? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. <strong>For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.</strong>" </em>(I Corinthians 1:18-25) The apostle's vituperative outlook on philosophy and human wisdom cannot be denied!<br />
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Could it be that Paul came to realize during his journey from Athens to Corinth that he had relied too heavily on his own abilities of discourse to lead the intelligentsia of Athens to Christ? It's quite probable that he entertained this thought because later he writes in his epistle to Corinth the following, <em>"And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with <strong>eloquence</strong> or <strong>human wisdom</strong> as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, <strong>so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power</strong>." </em> (I Corinthians 2:1-5) It certainly seems reasonable that indeed, Paul was writing from a retrospective standpoint.<br />
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Beloved of God, whether or not you concur with my line of thought, truthfully the point becomes mute when we consider how a soul enters the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ. I'm confident that you'll agree that the conversion experience from death to eternal life upon salvation is a supernatural, divine phenomena that is completely independent of the greatest wisdom and philosophies of this fallen world. Verily, no human being comes to God by way of worldly wisdom or great thought. <br />
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The Bible is abundantly clear that no one approaches God initially, but that He comes to us first! <strong>If God did not comes to us in our hopeless, godless state of sin, if He didn't engage us first, we'd be lost for all eternity!</strong> PERIOD! Consider carefully the following verses that allude to this truth. <em>".....and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." </em> (I Corinthians 12:3) <em>"You see, at just the right time, <strong>when we were still powerless</strong>, Christ died for the ungodly." </em> (Romans 5:6) <em>"We love because <strong>he first loved us</strong>."</em> (I John 4:19) <em>"<strong>You did not choose me, but I chose you</strong> and appointed you....."</em> (John 15:16) There are of course more scriptures that that reinforce our dependence on God Almighty for His salvation. However, hopefully the point is already made.<br />
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So what of the philosophies of this world and their enlightenment for the human race? Are they capable of saving you in eternity? Absolutely not! They may in some way enhance your life in some small way while in this life, but even that's doubtful. Any thought that doesn't originate with God and His Word is arrogant, notwithstanding that it is supposed to ameliorate life today. In light of that, are believers, or nonbelievers for that matter, called to be philosophers? <br />
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God does not call anyone to be a philosopher. We certainly are not required to sit around and reason our lives away, nor should we! Moreover, the Lord is not interested in our brilliant cognitive abilities to the extent that they dictate our thought-life, which ultimately steers the course of our lives, outside of His boundaries that He has set forth in Christ. <em>"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and <strong>lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him</strong>, and he will make your paths straight."</em> (Proverbs 3:5-6) Our lives on this side of existence mandate a life of faith for <em>"without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone that comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."</em> (Hebrews 11:6)<br />
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We live according to the eternal unseen that exists concurrently with the natural realm and yet in this unseen, God is known by all of His who seek Him with all their hearts. He graciously reveals Himself and His Kingdom through the Word and the Spirit (Faith is NOT blind, contrary to the old adage!), and not by way of vain imaginations and reasonings of which we humans are more than capable of creating in our sinful, rebellious minds. The Apostle Paul warns another church of this danger when he writes, <em>"See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his <strong>so-called philosophy</strong> and <strong>intellectualism</strong> and <strong>vain deceit</strong> (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following <strong>human tradition</strong> (men's ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah)."</em> (Colossians 2:8, Amp.)<br />
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Saints of God, today, purpose in your heart that you are going to trust without question the Living, Breathing, All-Wise and All-Knowing God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as He desirously reveals Himself to you through His Christ by way of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the written Word. We do not need some vainglorious ideology that attempts to explain the meaning of our existence on planet earth, as well as how we should behave while here. Rather, what we need, and really crave when the rubber meets the road, is the glorious reality of Jesus Christ's Presence in our lives. He is the only WAY, the only TRUTH, the only LIFE! Amen and amen!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-70407541165936347982011-10-03T06:17:00.000-07:002011-10-05T06:21:49.706-07:00The Leaven of Herod (Part Two)<em>Two things I ask of you, LORD;</em><br />
<em> do not refuse me before I die:</em><br />
<em>Keep falsehood and lies far from me;</em><br />
<em> give me neither poverty nor riches,</em><br />
<em> <strong>but give me only my daily bread</strong>.</em><br />
<em><strong>Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you</strong></em><br />
<em><strong> and say, "Who is the LORD?"</strong></em><br />
<em>Or I may become poor and steal,</em><br />
<em> and so dishonor the name of my God. </em>(Proverbs 30:7-9)<br />
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<em>"Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, <strong>who rate themselves insignificant)</strong>, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!"</em> (Matthew 5:3, Amp)<br />
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Many Christians today wrongly believe that they are called to be strong in the power of their own flesh and might, that somehow this is pleasing to God. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. For these people, any weakness is viewed as failure and should be avoided at all costs. Even if they feel weak and out of control. they'd never admit it for God would be sorely displeased and disappointed. Therefore, these same individuals frequently wear the mask of strength at all times while hardly ever depending on the Lord for anything.<br />
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It is never God's will that we function on an independent plane outside of Him if for no other reason, simply because it leaves Christ and His finished work at the cross, and the power of the Holy Spirit out of the entire equation of human existence thereby making it impossible for God to get the glory. (How can He be glorified when we've done His job for Him?) <strong>This mindset, this evil influence, the leaven of Herod is nothing more than religious atheism. </strong> We can dress it up and make it look biblical, hence acceptable to those around us, but God sees straight through it. <em> "All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD."</em> (Proverbs 16:2)<br />
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I once provided care for a gentleman who had a son that was a pastor. The patient and his wife spoke incessantly about how great their son was, about all of his academic accomplishments and how he pastored a large church of several hundred parishioners. During my 12-hour shift, neither the husband nor the wife once mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the head of the Church at large and Who is the Chief Boss of their son. [<em>"And he is the head of the body, the church....."</em> (Colossians 1:18)] Sadly, there wasn't even the slightest hint of Him in their conversation. Finally, it became apparent to me that neither my patient nor his wife knew the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. As far as they were concerned, their son's numerous successes were the golden calf, the god to be revered and adored. <br />
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Beloved, it's this attitude, <strong>the leaven of Herod, religious atheism</strong>, that is so prevalent in the Body of Christ today among those who confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. It's frightening and quite disturbing. (Oh, and please don't be of the mindset that I'm some harsh, overbearing Christian! There's nothing wrong with us bragging on our children and what they do, especially for God's Kingdom and Christ's Church! But we must be cautious and temperate in all things. [Galatians 5:22]) <br />
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Dearest friends, there is no place in the Bible that even remotely purports that Christians are to function as independent entities apart from God, His Christ and Spirit. <em>"Christ the <strong>power</strong> of God and the wisdom of God"</em> (I Corinthians 1:24) is that which undergirds the success of the believer, and to the extent we truly believe and rest in that truth, the more successful we become in the Kingdom of God. God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in us must needs be the source of all things accomplished in and through us, else we will surely end up trying to save ourselves, serve the Kingdom in the power of the flesh and worse yet, be in charge of our own destinies. That may seem innocuous, but really it's quite dangerous spiritually. <strong>Even in its most innocent appearance, operating under the unholy influence of the leaven of Herod is a literal proclamation of emancipation from God Almighty.</strong> Whether we see or intend it that way, that is the way the Lord interprets it. And quite honestly, if we choose to live emancipated from God, we become no better than Eve in the Garden of Eden when she fell for the serpent's lie.<br />
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<em>"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he at it."</em> (Genesis 3:6) We note that Eve passed the fruit to Adam and he hence passed it on.....and on......and on.....and on. Death and separation from our Creator became the fruit of that awful choice. AND now today, as it was in the Garden of Eden, the spirit of independence from God spreads like a viral contagion and has lamentably pierced the safe-haven walls of the Body of Christ. So we sons and daughters of God must beware! [<em>"Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?"</em> (I Corinthians 5:6)] <br />
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Frighteningly, no one is exempt from the poisonous leaven that permeates the hearts of the spiritually slothful. The fruit of independence captivates the sinful nature of the believer and without further question, appears almost virtuous. But again, this attitude is nothing more than the leaven of the once mighty King Herod, a reality of christian infidelity at its finest. It is sheer unbelief and rightly stinks in the nostrils of God.<br />
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Be not deceived, dear believer! God does NOT help those who insist on helping themselves, but rather, God helps those who humble themselves before Him and freely acknowledge that their whole being and existence depend solely on Him and Him alone! <em>".......'God opposes the proud but gives favor to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore under God's mighty hand, that he might lift you up in due time."</em> (I Peter 5:5-6) The Lord can only operate in the lives of those who are surrendered to Him, those who have given up their will in exchange for His.<br />
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Jesus warned His disciples to steer clear of the leaven of Herod; the Holy Spirit through the Word of God warns us believers today to do the same. May God's Spirit give us eyes to see and ears to hear. We forever shall be <strong>dependent</strong> upon God Almighty for everything in this life, for it is the Spirit in us, as we wholly yield ourselves to Him, that works the good and perfect will of the Eternal God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. <em>"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, <strong>according to <u>his power</u> that is at work within us</strong>, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."</em> (Ephesians 3:20-21)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-75541230827098473682011-09-28T05:47:00.000-07:002011-09-30T05:41:37.037-07:00The Leaven of Herod (Part One)<em>The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch for the yeast of the Pharisees and <strong>that of Herod</strong>."</em><br />
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<em>They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread."</em><br />
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<em>Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?"</em><br />
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<em>"Twelve," they replied.</em><br />
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<em>"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?"</em><br />
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<em>They answered, "Seven."</em><br />
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<em>He said to them, "Do you still not understand?" </em>(Mark 8:14-21)<br />
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All my life I've heard the clich<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>, "God helps those who help themselves." As a matter of fact, I can't remember a time in life when I haven't heard it. I still hear it from time to time! It's as if those words were as old as the hills from whence I came. Theologically sound, or so it seems, most wouldn't question the validity of the statement. After all, if we put forth the effort necessary to accomplish the "good" things in life, won't God help us to achieve that which we've set out to do?<br />
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Miracles are wonderful, but if they don't teach us anything, if they don't affect any change in our lives after we have witnessed them, then it's as if they become null and void for us. They are rendered insignificant by our unbelief or spiritual dullness, and are quickly overlooked. Jesus must then reiterate to us, for our sakes, that which He rhetorically asked His twelve disciples: <em>"Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?"</em> (Mark 8:17-18)<br />
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How then do Christians need to respond to miraculous interventions in our lives and those of others? Allow me to elucidate. If I'm terminally ill and Jesus were to heal my body, the wonder and amazement of how God Almighty can invade the natural with His supernatural should fundamentally <strong>bring to me a sense of awe</strong>. The result of my experience with God's miraculous divineness must be that I, in the deepest recesses my heart, <strong>understand</strong> that with Christ all things are possible (Philippians 4:13) AND without Him nothing is. Progressively, that realization needs to change my heart such that <strong>I begin to lean upon Him</strong> for everything in life; nothing is excluded! Ultimately, I will surely choose to <strong>no longer control the circumstances</strong> of my life. I freely, of my own volition, surrender that right. When all is said and done, the miraculous healing I received from the Lord will have had the desired effect for which it was designed to have. I am forever changed for the better. I will no longer be in charge of my life, nor will I trust in any of my talents and abilites. Jesus Christ is my everything, my all in all. I will have surrendered my entire being to His tender care.<br />
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Contrast the above process that concludes with my sweet surrender to God because of His divine grace afforded me in the form of the miraculous healing of my body against the aforementioned clich<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span>, "God helps those that help themselves." We quickly, and hopefully, begin to see that the ever-famous saying begins to lose it theological weight. It simply isn't valid.<br />
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The twelve disciples had witnessed the mighty, life-changing power of God through Jesus when He replicated five loaves of bread and two fish in order to feed a multitude. Despite that the disciples were there as witnesses to the event and even helped to distribute the food, the wondrous miracle did not change their outlook. They still didn't see Jesus for Who He was: the Son of God. For them, the miracle was, for the time being, lost in a sea of unbelief and/or dullness of their spiritual eyes.<br />
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The disciples were at that point no better off than the Pharisees, who were unwilling to believe Jesus. (They had already demanded a sign from the Lord, but didn't get one. Signs must follow our belief, never proceed it.) Their godless minds were still closed as to how God can and <strong>still does</strong> alter the affairs of the human race. (Unfortunately, many Christians today say that God can perform miracles but they really don't believe it else it would change how they approach the Lord. They would start to <strong>genuinely</strong> trust Him for the needs of their lives instead of trying to accomplish things by using their own ingenuity.) The Pharisees had the mindset of one who is given over to a pervasive influence found in the church today, <strong>the leaven of Herod</strong>.<br />
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What is <strong>the leaven of Herod</strong>? To get an answer to this, we begin by consulting God's Word in Matthew 2:1-12. Synoptically, we read the story of the wise men that came from afar by following the star leading them to Israel where the Christ Child was to be born. Upon their arrival in Israel, they announced His birth and inquired where is birthplace was so they could worship and give Him gifts. King Herod was shaken to the core of his being at this news consequently he gathered the religious echelon together to discover the validity of this announcement given by the wise men. A search of the scriptures in Micah revealed the location of the Child's birth: Bethlehem of Judea. In secret, King Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem telling them to seek the Child and when they had found Him, let the king know the location so he too could worship the Baby. King Herod's evil plan was thwarted when God spoke to the magi in a dream warning them not to return to the palace afterwards.<br />
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Indeed, Herod had absolutely no intention of bowing his knees to the Baby Jesus! Scripture teaches that he plotted the demise of the Baby by ordering that all male babies two years old and under be slaughtered! As far as the king was concerned, he himself was the king; there was no other. He was in charge.<br />
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Further investigation of Herod affirms his incredible achievements as the ruler of Israel, as well as a fierce desire to remain as such! The Compact Bible Dictionary states, <em>"Herod the Great established his authority and influence through a centralized bureaucracy, well-built fortresses, and foreign soldiers. To assure his continued rule, he slaughtered all male infants who could possibly be considered legal heirs to the throne. His wife Mariamne also became a victim.</em><br />
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<em> The territories under Herod's rule experienced economic and cultural growth. His business and organizational ability led to the erection of many important buildings. Hellenistic (Greek) ideas were introduced into Palestine through literature, art, and athletic contests. His major building project was the timple complex in Jerusalem, which according to John 2:20, had taken 46 years to build up to that time. From the Jewish perspective, this was his greatest achievement." </em>(Youngblood Ronald F., Bruce F.F., Harrison R.K.; <u>Compact Bible Dictionary</u>; Thomas Nelson Publishers 2004, Nashville, Tennessee; p. 265.) <br />
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Clearly, Herod realized numerous monumental achievements in the arts and humanities as well as architecture and sports, and ruled with an "iron fist," evidently. In light of this knowledge, one is compelled to ask why would anyone of that influencial caliber bow on bended knee to worship the Baby Jesus Who was born in a nasty, filthy manger of common ordinary people?<br />
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In reality, the question of bowing to Jesus for most people in modern-day society is one that perhaps should be posed in many churches of today. Why should numerous people that sit in the pews Sunday after Sunday of the rich, elite congregations worship Jesus Christ? (But honestly, do they really?) There's hardly any reason to do so. So many church-goers, many of whom are self-professed successes in every right as far as the world is concerned, flaunt a portfolio of endless accomplishments that piles high to the heavens. Many of them are financially well-to-to, and certainly have no need for God's daily bread, neither spiritual as well as financial. Yet, lest we think only the rich and well-accomplished are the only ones that fall under the hypnotic, evil spell of the leaven of Herod, beware!<br />
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Many of the church's "poorer" operate under the same hellish influence, the leaven of Herod and therefore are as guilty as their rich counterparts. You see beloved, the leaven of Herod is a mindset that transcends socio-economic status. It is an influence that was birthed, and is still propagated, in hell itself and the world has obviously bought into it. This powerful, seductive influence is the spirit of the antichrist at work stealthily and most subtly that unfortunately has crept from the world into the church, infiltrating the same at every level. Certainly, one of the leaven of Herod's mainstays is that "God helps those that help themselves," a statement that is not biblical and must at all costs be refuted by any follower of Christ. Because of the presence of this satanic attitude in the church, many faithful attenders will not bow to Jesus Christ much less allow His Lordship to influence them in the least. Outwardly, it may appear that they submit to Christ's Lordship, but in their hearts they wouldn't dare. And why should they? They don't need Jesus because they already have their lives "together" without Him. What can He offer them that they don't already have?<br />
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Stay tuned to this blog site for the upcoming Part Two of "The Leaven of Herod"........Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-100460114186441102011-09-15T05:46:00.000-07:002011-09-18T13:06:49.303-07:00Belated Thoughts on 9/11 The morning of September 11, 2001 was like any other break of day. I got up early to fix coffee for my wife and me. (Carol was sleeping in.) I prepared the coffee, took Carol her cup, and turned the TV on to one of the morning shows. Interestingly, the first thing I saw was a picture of the World Trade Center with smoke coming out of one of the trade towers. People on the morning show were making comments seemingly in a hushed tone as if they didn't quite know themselves what was happening. During the first few minutes, I do not recall anyone making any comments on a possible terrorist attack. I continued to stare at the image of the twin tower on the screen, with thick smoke billowing out of the sides of the building. Obviously, there was a huge fire in the building, but what could have caused it? I sat transfixed, eyes glued to the screen.<br />
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My mind raced back to the late 1980s, early 1990s when I was stationed at the Naval Military Personnel Command in Washington, D.C. I had three friends from my days in Data Processing Technician "A" School in San Diego, California who were stationed at Fort Meade just outside of Washington in Maryland. Like clockwork, every three months the four of us guys would take a tour bus from Fort Meade, Maryland up to New York City where we'd spend the day. At 6:00 p.m. sharp we would meet up with the bus at the front of St Patrick's Cathedral for the ride back to Fort Meade. <br />
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Exhausted and elated from our time in the Big Apple, we'd talk about the day. The agenda was somewhat different each time we visited the city, but there were some things we enjoyed time and again. The Statue of Liberty (In those days the public was allowed to climb the steps from the base to the crown.), the Empire State Building, Central Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine were some of our favorites. Many times we'd go down below the great city and ride the subway system just to rest. The graffiti and the stench of ozone found in the subway system, still after 20+ years, pleasantly linger in my mind. I always enjoyed our trips to New York City!<br />
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During one of our visits in December 1989 about a week before Christmas, we decided that we should visit the World Trade Center. For whatever reason, we had never been there before so why not? My buddies and I spent a good portion of the morning there (not hard to do!) with the climax of the memorable sojourn being a trip up to the observation deck of Twin Tower #2. (Twin Tower #1 didn't have an observation deck.) The view was breathtakingly spectacular! The wind was unrelentingly frigid and I thought we would surely freeze to death before getting back inside! But, we had our cameras and so we decided to take lots of pictures. Somewhere in the depths of all my belongings at my home, and some assorted stuff still at my parents' house, there is a picture of me leaning against the rail on the observation deck of Twin Tower #2. Now, more than ever, I wish I could find the photo because it would have a lot of significance for me.<br />
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As I sat, eyes still stuck to the TV screen, much to my horror, I saw an airplane come around from an angle and go through the other world trade center building! What in the world......... I remember yelling at Carol to quickly get up, that obviously the United States was under some terrorist attack! And the rest was history........ How rapidly my throughts were jolted from the pleasant memories of yesteryear to a horrid reality!<br />
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We hear about, or directly witness atrocities that defy human imagination and so often we ask, "Why did God allow this to happen if truly He is a good God and also sovereign?" Initially, the question seems reasonable. Why, God? However, when we start examining scripture, we begin to realize that tragedies, of any magnitude or cause be they natural disasters or acts of evil such as 9/11, are not God's fault. Yes, He could have averted them, plainly, but He didn't. In reality, what we are seeing is the disastrous consequences of sin and what it has done to every human since Adam, and how it has even affected planet earth.<br />
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The human race is fallen due to the first Adam's choice to disobey God and partake of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. We are witnesses (some are participants unfortunately) of the dire consequences of what happens when man chooses to disregard and alienate himself from God, rejecting the Almighty's authority through rebellion. It's not a pretty picture. Please don't misunderstand. In relation to the world's population, only a handful of people were directly responsible for the events of 9/11. To be sure, the many catastrophes of that day can only be attributed to a few mad, raving lunatics that had no regard for human life, even their own! But, it is impossible to isolate their behavior from the remainder of human existence and its foregoing sinful state. Evil is evil is evil is evil. <br />
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For us human beings, how evil manifests varies greatly. The occurrences of 9/11 and the atrocities of Hitler and his WWII armies of madness, as well as other notable events of history, cause us to pause and reflect only because of how horrific they were. We focus on the <strong>magnitude</strong> of the atrocity consequently "measuring" evil. However, for God, evil is a direct result of sin and isn't quantified. He sees no difference between Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden vice all that transpired at 9/11 in New York City. This is a hard pill for us to swallow, even as Christians, yet sin is NOT an act or acts. <strong>Sin is a perpetual state of a heart that refuses to surrender to its Creator in humility and repentance.</strong> <em>"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our way....."</em> (Isaiah 53:6)<br />
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The Bible says, <em>"There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, <strong>not even one</strong>."</em> (Romans 3:11-12) Solomon, the wisest man that has ever lived wrote, <em>"Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, <strong>no one who is right and never sins</strong>."</em> (Ecclesiastes 7:20) Our sin nature, as a result of the fall in the Garden of Eden becomes our undoing. We cannot rightly and justly blame God Almighty for the failures and corruptions of humanity, including even the natural disasters! King Solomon summed it up well in one proverb, <em>"People ruin their own lives by their foolishness and then are angry at the LORD."</em> (Proverbs 19:3, NLT) The bottom line is that every human is born into a state of sin, separated from God, even at birth. (Please refer to Psalm 51:5) When things go awry in our lives, or in world events, we point toward heaven with words of blame instead of pointing at ourselves. Not smart. That doesn't solve anything.<br />
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If indeed the human race is capable of such monumental evil as 9/11, and evidently it is, then each of us ought to consider the condition of the human heart to discover what lies inside of each of us. Moreover, we are compelled to not stop at the individual level but rather, we must consider the heart of the nation as a whole. In the Old Testament, God's people were constantly oscillating between times when they would love, honor and obey Him; and periods of profound backsliding when they would engage in abysmal idolatry. <br />
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During the time of the judges of Israel, the Lord would allow His people to undergo unspeakable bondage to their neighbors i.e. the Midianites when His chosen would turn their backs on Him. They would then cry out to the Lord and He would send them a judge (a shadow, a figure of Christ the Messiah), a deliverer from their enemies. This became a vicious cycle during Israel's period of history before they had an earthly king. Later, during the reign of the kings, the pattern of apostasy lamentably kept repeating itself as it had done during the period of the judges. Nothing changed. So the consideration is this: Israel was God's chosen people through whom He elected to reveal Himself to the human race, and through whom He would subsequently send the Savior, His own Son, Jesus Christ, to save the same. <strong>Can we as the United States of America actually believe that we are any less guilty of apostasy and backsliding than God's elect? Do we not deserve punishment like they did? </strong>Dear blessed reader, the unadulterated truth is that we are as guilty as the nation of Israel of the Old Testament! <br />
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Israel's sins piled high to heaven notwithstanding God's constant warnings through the prophets. The northern kingdom of Israel (Israel split into northern and southern kingdoms after King Solomon's death.) was eventually obliterated from history by the mighty Assyrians; about 150 years later the southern kingdom received its just recompense from the fierce Babylonians. The Bible offers an eerie description of the fall of Jerusalem, which served as the capital city of the southern kingdom of Judah. <em>"The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. <strong>But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people <u>and there was no remedy</u>. </strong> He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. He carried to Babylon all the articles of the temple, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. They set fire to God's temple and broke down the walls of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there. He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power." </em> (II Chronicles 36:15-20) <strong>Could this mayhem happen in America? New York City, September 11, 2001? </strong><br />
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We, the United States of America are a mighty nation that has been blest beyond compare. But this season of continual blessing cannot endure if we are going to repeatedly disregard the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the salvation He offers through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and passionately embrace the deplorable practices of idolatry and reckless bloodshed. (The abominable practice of abortion in this country is in itself enough to bring God's judgment and wrath upon us!) Whether we want to regard the events of 9/11 as a wakeup call to this great land, the home of the free and the brave, remains our choice. If they serve as a wakeup call, repent we shall; if not, we will march on in our unyielding path of sin. Make no mistake about it however, sin doesn't go unobserved and cannot continue indefinitely. God Almighty sees it all and most assuredly, there is a day of reckoning. <br />
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Mercifully, the Bible gives us an example from scripture, speaking of the judgment of a wicked, unrepentant place, Babylon. <em>"Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; <strong>for her sins are piled up to heaven</strong>, and God has remembered her crimes. <strong>Give back to her as she has given; pay back her double portion for what she has done. Pour her a double portion for her own cup</strong>."</em> (Revelation 18:4-6) Since this scripture strongly alludes to the sure call of God's divine justice, we wisely heed the warning by taking advantage of the option to flee a life of sin through repentance, on an individual as well as national level. And let us not forget that Jesus Christ took the sins of the world at the cross and forever appeased the righteousness of God, but that does NOT give any nation or people the license to ignore God by continuing to walk blatantly unrepentant, mocking the Holy One every step of the way. There is always a choice before each of us. We are not doomed to a life of sin. <em>"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."</em> (Ephesians 1:7) Praise God for His goodness and forgiveness in Christ Jesus!!! <br />
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May God Almighty have mercy upon us, this great nation of the United States of America! And may we walk in obedience by getting Him back into our lives, in EVERY aspect of our existence. So be it, amen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-59715773007270544132011-09-03T15:46:00.000-07:002011-09-04T13:31:14.164-07:00The Believer's Companion: God the Holy Spirit.....(Part Three)<em>May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, <strong>and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.</strong></em> (II Corinthians 13:14) <br />
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How can any believer really experience the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father if they do not have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? God the Father is not here on planet earth, nor is God the Son.....<br />
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The Lord Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be the "Guardian" of the truth. <em>"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you." </em> (John 16:13-15) Without fail, we can be sure that the Holy Spirit will share with us the deep things of the Son AND the Father. <strong>It is quite noteworthy that God's Spirit never ever acts independently from the other two members of the trinity! </strong>He does not promote an agenda of His own while here on earth with us. Rather, He always works in accordance with the Father and the Son.<br />
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The Holy Spirit will never ever contradict the written word, the Bible. <em>"For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." </em> (I John 5:7-8) [The water in this scripture refers to the Word of God.] Thus, reader beware, if anyone would dare promote another gospel or theology that is extraneous or even minutely different to that which is taught in the Holy Scriptures, they definitely speak by another spirit and not of God's! (Galatians 1:8-9) God the Holy Spirit will only promote the pure, unadulterated gospel of <em>"Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."</em> (I Corinthians 1:24)<br />
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And so, given all this, what will we do with God the Holy Spirit? ..........<br />
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Lamentably, many believers today needlessly struggle with the truth and reality of the Holy Spirit. (Perhaps this is because they have had a "negative" pentecostal experience i.e. witnessing "fleshly" manifestations in which others literally acted possessed, behaving as if they were out of their minds or out of control. Therefore, this caused some fear and trepidation for the observer that was so strong that any further mention of the Holy Spirit became a turnoff.) They choose either to completely ignore Him, and try to live a Christian life independently of His existence and Person, or they try to manipulate Him into manifesting in the manner, time and place they would choose. Sadly, some people even refer to Him as "it," as if He were some impersonal, cosmic force with which to reckon. <br />
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Beloved of God, our ignorance on the matter of Who God's Spirit is and what He wills to do today in these last days is reproachful, it's downright shameful! We have God's written Word, the Bible, and we have the Holy Spirit Himself living inside our hearts, as well as numerous books on the subject authored by Godly men and women who have had prosperously glorious ministries under the auspice of God's wonderful Spirit of power. (I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19) We cannot say that we're uninformed regarding the Spirit and what He wills to do. Consequently, we all must choose what we will do with the Spirit of the Lord. The church has finally arrived at the crossroad of decision!<br />
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Will we hide the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord away in the closet of the heart (out of sight, out of mind) or will we acknowledge Him as we freely do with our Father and Jesus, the Son of God? Will we lovingly yield to His Lordship since He desires to bring heaven into our midst, or will we try to forge our will upon His, as by doing so we blatantly practice witchcraft? (<strong>Manipulation, intimidation and domination imposed upon any person, or persons, the Holy Spirit no less included, is the practice of witchcraft!</strong> [Making Him the object of our pitiful mind games doesn't work. We cannot fool or lull Him though we would often dare try. He is God Almighty!] God's people must begin to understand this!)<br />
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Each person is responsible before God regarding what he or she will do with Jesus. Will they accept or reject Him? For those who accept Christ, each saint must then decide what he or she will do with God's Holy Spirit. Will we accept His Personhood and Lordship, and therefore <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">work closely with Him allowing Him to advance the Kingdom of God through us as we lovingly choose to submit to Him</b>, as well as permitting Him to conform us to the very image of Christ? (Romans 8:29) Or will we go around covering up, even denying by our actions and avoidance, the reality of His glorious existence?<br />
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The Apostle Paul closes one of his epistles by writing, <em>"Do not quench the Spirit."</em> (I Thessalonians 5:19) Would any Christian decidedly attempt to extinguish the mighty power of God? Would any believer in Jesus Christ purposefully stifle or suppress the lovely Spirit of grace as He so wants to bring the presence of Christ and the Father into our lives? Surely the answer to both questions is emphatically "NO!" However, by ignoring the Person of the Holy Spirit, refusing to deal with His reality, and never speaking His Name from the lips rendering sweet devotion to Him as we would with the Father and the Son, we are quenching Him. Plain and simple. May God help us. May we never suppress the third Person of our Trinitarian Lord! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-56737206849895028972011-08-28T11:58:00.000-07:002011-09-06T04:45:59.568-07:00The Believer's Companion: God the Holy Spirit.....(Part Two)<em>May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, <strong>and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.</strong></em> (II Corinthians 13:14) <br />
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How can any believer really experience the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father if they do not have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? God the Father is not here on planet earth, nor is God the Son.....<br />
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It is an undeniable truth that God the Holy Spirit directed the life of Jesus during his short ministry. Just as important, especially for us believers today, Jesus taught His disciples about His and the Father's divine plan to have the Spirit come to earth to continue the Savior's ministry. Jesus, in pure obedience, had thoroughly submitted to the Father by way of God's Spirit. As His time on earth rapidly came to a close, He desired to share the truth of the Holy Spirit with His disciples so they too could experience fellowship with the Father, and with Him!<br />
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Scripture teaches that the Christ, when He came to earth, "stripped" Himself of all power in order to become like man. (Please refer to Luke 4:18-19; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 2:9, 2:14-17) In and of Himself, He was <strong>completely powerless</strong> and <strong>depended wholly</strong> on God the Holy Spirit for everything He did in His ministry. Important scriptures that illustrate Jesus receiving and submitting to God's Holy Spirit are: <em>"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and <strong>he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him</strong>."</em> (Matthew 3:16); <em>"Jesus, <strong>full of the the Holy Spirit</strong>, left the Jordan and <strong>was led by the Spirit into the wilderness</strong>, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil."</em> (Luke 4:1); and, <em>"Jesus returned to Galilee <strong>in the power of the Spirit</strong>, and news about him spread through the whole countryside."</em> (Luke 4:14) <br />
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Jesus depended on God's Spirit for everything. He, without doubt, kept deep, abiding, intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit at all times. His success depended on it because <strong>by having uninterrupted fellowship with God the Holy Spirit, Jesus had the necessary, constant link to His Heavenly Father. </strong><br />
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Continuing, there are two important considerations as we reflect on the Holy Spirit and His ministry upon coming to earth. Firstly, we note that the Spirit came to earth per Jesus' request to the Father. This was a planned, coordinated effort between all members of the Godhead. <em>"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."</em> (John 14:16-17) It wasn't coincidental that the Lord shared this with the disciples shortly before His crucifixion, knowing that soon He would have to leave them to fulfill the Father's plan that He, the Christ, die upon the cross, and thus have to leave behind his beloved followers. <br />
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Secondly, the Lord refers to His Spirit as the "advocate," or "comforter" in the King James. The Greek word here is <em>“<strong>paraklētos</strong>” </em>which means (1) summoned, called to one's side, especially called to one's aid, (2) one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate, (3) one who pleads another's cause with one, and intercessor [Please please read Romans 8:26-27 to see what the Spirit can and will do for you!], (4) of Christ in his exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins, (5) in the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant, (6) of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a <strong>deeper knowledge of the gospel truth</strong>, and <strong>give them divine strength</strong> <strong>needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom</strong>. It should be evident how desperately we need this wonderful Person with us in the absentia of Christ!<em> </em><br />
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<em> </em>Jesus later assures the disciples that when the Advocate (Spirit) comes, He would vouch for the reality of Christ. <em>"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father--he will testify about me."</em> (John 15:26) The Spirit will ALWAYS, unfailingly give an honorable report about the Son of God. He will witness the presence of Christ in our hearts. This affirmation is sure and certain; we can depend on it! Furthermore, and no less importantly, the Apostle Paul told the church that this same indwelling witness of the Holy Spirit allows us to recognize and acknowledge God Almighty as our Heavenly Father. <em>"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'"</em> (Galatians 4:6) [See also Romans 8:15.] <br />
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How incredibly exciting it is to have more than just head-knowledge of the truth that we are sons and daughters of God, and joint-heirs with Christ! (Romans 8:16-17) The Spirit, Who lives in the heart of every believer per the will of God the Father and God the Son, testifies directly to us the reality of who we are in Christ and to Whom we belong! Praise the Lord for His goodness! And thanks be to Him for allowing us to have uninterrupted, sweet fellowship with His Spirit! It is in the depths of this intimacy that we can indeed know who we are. Additionally, we can through the Spirit enjoy the love of our Heavenly Father and move forward in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-8825031644912078862011-08-24T06:39:00.000-07:002011-08-24T11:58:06.919-07:00The Believer's Companion: God the Holy Spirit.....(Part One)<em>May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, <strong>and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.</strong></em> (II Corinthians 13:14) <br />
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How can any believer really experience the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father if they do not have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? God the Father is not here on planet earth, nor is God the Son.....<br />
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The Lord Almighty God; the Maker of heaven and earth; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of the Bible is a Triune God: <strong>He is three Persons</strong>: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet there is only one God. <em>"Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God, the LORD is one."</em> (Deuteronomy 6:4) We often refer to, or hear, the word "trinity" in clerical parlance, and in layman's terms as well.<br />
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The mystery of the Trinity has baffled man, theologians and non-academics or layman, for centuries yet there really isn't any "plausible" explanation for the three in one truth of this Eternal God simply because it defies the human mind. How can there be only <strong>one God</strong> and yet <strong>He is three separate Persons</strong> Who are not the same? Logically and mathematically, this is an impossibility, isn't it?<br />
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The Bible teaches the existence of the Trinity. Most assuredly, God is three Persons and yet there is only one God. It is not within the scope of this particular blog to convince the reader of this. There are ample scriptures, as well as a plethora of writings and books on the subject, which should convince the willing heart that is open to God's truth to indeed accept the trinitarian nature of the Lord even if an individual cannot reason or figure it out. Basically, there are many things we must accept by faith even if we don't understand them, and the truth of the trinitarian God certainly falls into that category! Thankfully, God has given all humans (unbelievers included) a measure of faith. (Please read Romans 1:17; 12:3) (NOTE: The author of this blog judiciously reminds all readers to <em>"test the spirits to see if they be of God....."</em> [I John 4:1] <em> "But test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good."</em> [I Thessalonians 5:21] Do NOT believe something written here just because the author purports it as the truth. You, the reader, should settle anything and everything promulgated in this blog in your heart by searching out the scriptures and prayerfully meditating. This cannot be overstated! You, reader, are responsible for not being deceived!)<br />
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The Apostle Paul closes his second letter to the church in Corinth with the benediction posted at the top of this blog, II Corinthians 13:14. The King James Version of the Bible uses the word "communion" in place of "fellowship." The Greek word for "communion" is <em>“<strong>koinōnia</strong></em>” which means (1) fellowship, (2) association, (3) joint participation, (4) intercourse, (5) intimacy, and (6) the share of which one has in anything. Clearly, the implication is that all believers in Christ are to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit that is quite personal and intimate! Paul also bequeaths the love of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to the church, and to all believers today! Hence the question remains. If God the Father and God the Son are not here, but rather in heaven, how can we experience their love and grace if we do not have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? The question warrants thoughtful soul-searching, moreover especially for struggling Christians who cannot seem, despite themselves, to experience God's love and grace for whatever reason, and whose lives appear void of victory promised to all believers!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-60507982000960214812011-08-19T07:30:00.000-07:002011-08-20T08:22:33.701-07:00When in the Midst of Sheer Chaos and Crisis<em>David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.</em><br />
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<em>When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. <strong>So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.</strong> David's two wives had been captured--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. <strong>But David found strength in the LORD his God.</strong></em><br />
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<em>Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, "Bring me the epod." Abiathar brought it to him, and <strong>David enquired of the Lord</strong>, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" </em><br />
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<em>"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." </em>(I Samuel 30:1-8)<br />
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David finally reached the pinnacle of his wilderness experience as the Lord had prepared him to assume kingship over Israel. In I Samuel 16, the Prophet Samuel anointed him as king of Israel, a position that David would not assume for quite awhile since the Lord desired to test and refine him by placing David in numerous difficult situations, some even life-threatening! Yet despite great persecution and betrayal that almost defies human imagination, David grew in his faith and remained steadfast. <br />
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King Saul had tried repeatedly to kill David because of profound jealousy, knowing full well that David would eventually replace him as the king of Israel. Interestingly and significantly, David on two instances could have circumvented the process by killing Saul, yet he chose not to do so because he knew that Saul was still the anointed king of God's people. David knew the scriptures of his forefathers. <em>"It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." </em> (Deuteronomy 32:35) The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would avenge all wrongs committed against David and he rested in those promises although there were no doubt numerous times that he wondered if God had surely not forgotten him.<br />
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David returned to Ziklag where he and his two wives had been living for several years. Ziklag was in enemy territory, a place given to him by King Achish, a philistine king. (David had decided to settle there because he felt that he would finally be out of the clutches of Saul if he were in the enemy's domain.) The Amalekites, a vile enemy of God's people, had raided Ziklag, burned everything to the ground, looted the livestock, and had taken the woman and children. Obviously, at that point, David and his men had no idea if even any of their loved ones had survived the merciless onslaught.<br />
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Bleak as the whole scene presented itself, "fuel was added to the fire" when David's men decided to take their anger and frustration out on him: they were ready to kill the poor guy! After all, he was solely responsible for what happened, wasn't he? Despite everything, the scripture teaches us that <strong>"David found strength in the LORD his God</strong>." These are strong, powerful words that indicate to the reader the state of David's heart and how henceforth from that point he was prepared to assume the leadership of Israel, God's people. No, David didn't immediately become the king, as the scriptures clearly indicate. There was still a major battle to fight, because he <strong>chose</strong> to not only find strength in the LORD his God, but decisively <strong>sought</strong> the Lord to find out what God wanted him to do to rectify this horrific situation. David and his men would enter the camp of the Amalekites, slaughter them and reclaim all that the enemy had stolen from them. <br />
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Unquestionably, there isn't a reader of this blog that would deny that life is not quite difficult at times. In reality, for many it appears that life is unyieldingly complicated most of the time! We find ourselves in one quagmire only to find out that after one situation is resolved, we're in the middle of another hardship. Heaven forbid, sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of several dilemmas all at once! Thus is life. Though the difficulties we incur seemingly suggest that we do not have a choice regarding how we can respond, the truth cannot be denied. Indeed, we do have choices! We can choose to be like King Saul and become increasingly bitter toward the circumstances in which we find ourselves or we can choose to be like David and find strength in the Lord. Moreover, as the scriptures teach in 1 Samuel 30, we can go beyond that and seek the Lord for what He would have us do. His silence might suggest that we not do anything at any given point. Or, He may give us specific instructions regarding how to handle an adversity. Whatever the case, we can and must always trust His sovereignty. His way is always best.<br />
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There are <u>two</u> noteworthy things that David did when he returned to Ziklag only to find it completely decimated. <strong>Firstly, David found strength in the Lord his God.</strong> He didn't consult anyone or anything. He didn't fret or raise "Cain." He didn't express unspeakable doubts about his situation --there's nothing wrong with doing that-- nor did he blame God for his plight. He found strength in the Lord his God. What does that mean?<br />
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Finding strength in the Lord is a reality that is not based on a one-time event. Furthermore, it is not a mental ascension into the heavens by way of human endeavor. Rather, finding strength in the Lord comes "by practice" when we daily seek His face and learn to enjoy His presence. It is in the precious moments of intimacy with the Savior where we learn that certainly, we can trust Jesus in every situation of life --He becomes our strength, our solace, literally our everything! He infuses His strength into our inner man as we bask in His glory for He ministers to the deepest part of our being when we're in that secret place. The psalmist expresses this in God's Word. <em>"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." </em> (Psalm 42:7) <br />
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It cannot be overstated that enjoying God's presence takes practice on our part simply because our flesh doesn't want to submit to the presence of the Lord, and will resist Him all the way. The Bible alludes to how the flesh opposes God. <em>"The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."</em> (Romans 8:7-8) Fortunately however, once we get into a consistent habit of seeking His face (presence), it becomes quite natural as the flesh is forced into submission again and again. We'll then soon discover we cannot survive without regularly seeking the Lord!<br />
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<strong>Secondly, David made a conscious decision to seek advice from the Lord regarding how he should handle his grave situation.</strong> <em>"Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" </em> (I Samuel 30:7-8) We see that the Lord instructed him to proceed and chase the enemy. Noteworthy, David didn't just assume that he should pursue the Amalekites just because He had enjoyed the presence of the Lord. He specifically asked the Lord if he should go ahead after his enemies. (The Lord certainly reserved the right to prevent David and his men from perservering after their adversaries.)<br />
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Dear friends, God is constantly refining his people, you included! The Master Craftsman (Jeremiah 18:6) is always chiseling us not only for the purpose of conforming us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), but also for the intention of lovingly preparing us for bigger and better things in this life. David was anointed to be the king of Israel and would subsequently become the greatest king in that nation's history. Yet is was necessary for the Lord to realize a great work of preparation for the young man in order to prepare him for such an enormous task. And so it is with us, His saints today. God's Spirit, in accordance with the will of the Father (John 15:1-2), will surely take us to those places of life where utter destruction and decimation seem to be the ruling force, or even the norm. <strong>It is the Lord's will we see and experience that aspect of life. </strong>Why? Because it's there that the Lord refines us as we begin to realize that we can't save ourselves and so we trust wholly in His salvation. <br />
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Thankfully, we will discover that in God's divineness He will gladly and lovingly deliver us from the utter ruin of the situation --our Ziklag if you will-- if we'll allow Him! Throughout all the process the Lord desperately wants us to be acquainted with His presence and unfailing supremacy, that which will ultimately deliver us from the most utterly hopeless situation in which we could ever find ourselves. The end of Jonah's prayer expresses God's deliverance from the most seemingly impossible situations. <em>""When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, 'Salvation comes from the LORD.'" <strong>And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.</strong>" </em> (Jonah 2:7-10) <br />
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Dear Father in Heaven, today so many of your loved ones find themselves in terrible situations, Ziklags. Some are physically ill, some without jobs and adequate finances, some are experiencing the breakup of a marriage leaving them feeling rejected and hurt beyond words. Lord, some of your saints feel as if You're a million miles away and care nothing about them. The dryness of the soul is so profound that it feels as if one spark would ignite a devastating fire, one that would leave them completely whithered. Father, I pray that God the Holy Spirit would bring to all of these precious souls the reality of the comfort of God given us in Christ Jesus our Messiah, the Savior. May His peace flood us as we march through the pains of the experience You have us in. May the Spirit remind us of your gracious presence that You so long to imbue, and may He further instruct us with that which You desire us to know. Thank You Lord for conforming us into the image of Jesus. We joyfully look forward to the other side of the heartache when we'll be that much more perfect and ready for every good and perfect work you have for us! (James 1:1-2) In Jesus' Mighty Name I pray. Amen and amen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-62858192684740224122011-08-11T07:34:00.000-07:002011-08-22T10:40:00.364-07:00Use Your Own Weapons<em>David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."</em><br />
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<em>Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."</em><br />
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<em>But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."</em><br />
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<em>Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."</em><br />
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<em><strong>Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. </strong>He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, <strong>because he was not used to them. </strong> </em><br />
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<em><strong>"I cannot go in these," </strong>he said to Saul, <strong>"because I am not used to them. So he took them off. </strong>Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. </em>(I Samuel 17:32-40)<br />
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The Bible, as it conveys the epic tale of David and Goliath that many know from childhood, tells us that once King Saul released David with a blessing to fight Goliath, he dressed David in his own tunic and gave him some articles from his personal armamentarium. David tried walking around with this garb, but quickly realized that it didn't fit and that it would actually be a hindrance when he fought the giant. He expressed this to Saul, removed it all, and straightway chose out of a nearby stream five smooth stones and placed them in his pouch. The stones, along with a slingshot, became David's entire weaponry that he would use successfully against Goliath.<br />
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We Christians today find ourselves precariously surrounded by giants, just like the Israelites did. Unfortunately the giants we face are invisible to the naked eye and yet they're just as dangerous and terrifying as Goliath was to Israel. Giants of sickness, financial ruin, joblessness, addictions of all kinds, unhealthy and perverted relationships, divorce, betrayal, abuse, depression, to name a few of the many, often leave us frightened and impotent. Like the fighting men of Israel who endured great taunting at the voice of an immensely huge enemy, we find ourselves cowering in the shadows hoping these monsters will soon disappear. There is good news for the believer, however.<br />
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Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ! <em>"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." </em>(Romans 8:37-39) Regardless of whether your enemy is "external" such as unemployment, or if it's "internal" such as battling demonic influences, your victory was assured when Jesus died on Calvary's cross! This an irrefutable fact! BUT, there a catch that many saints miss.<br />
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Though Christ guaranteed our victory by His death, burial and resurrection, we cannot sit idly by. We must fight for what has been given to us. Jesus said, <em>"And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize--<strong>a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion</strong>]." </em>(Matthew 11:12, AMP) God gave victory to David <strong>before</strong> he fought Goliath, however David had to fight the battle in order to receive the blessing. Obviously, Goliath didn't just automatically die.<br />
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We saints must battle valiantly against our giants, and for that which is ours in Christ. Moreover, God has given us weapons to use so that we can always win! He has given us the Word (Bible) so we may discern and discover truth. We have praise which leaves the enemy defeated and confused. (Read II Chronicles 20:22-23 of how God confused the enemy that rose up against King Jehoshaphat after the king appointed men to praise the Lord before and during the battle.) The Lord has opened up the heavenly places in Christ allowing us to directly communicate with Him. Prayer is powerful. There are other weapons given God's people as well. The Apostle Paul writes, <em>"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have <strong>divine power </strong>to demolish strongholds." </em>(II Corinthians 10:4)<br />
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Most importantly, <strong>it is crucial to understand that the weaponry we utilize is ours and ours alone! We cannot use someone else's weapons to fight our personal spiritual battles!</strong> (This does not mean that the Lord cannot give someone else a word for your situation. He can and does do that, however that would be an exception rather than the rule.) David could not use King Saul's armor or any of his weapons to fight Goliath. As the scripture clearly indicates, Saul's protective weaponry would have been more impedance than help. So, what does this all mean for us as believers today?<br />
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The Lord gives us weapons to use against the enemy such as the Word, prayer, praise, etc. Further, He expects us to use them, otherwise we will exist in total defeat throughout this earthly existence or worse yet, our lives may be shortened unnecessarily! (Proverbs 3:16; 10:27; and there are many others!) AND, God the Holy Spirit desires to teach us how to use these weapons effectively as we spend time with Him in communion. Consequently, <strong>they become our personal armaments, tailor-made exclusively for each individual and for no one else. </strong> Simply, I cannot use your weapons; you cannot use mine, even though they are the same in nature.<br />
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Far too many believers today try to "ride to heaven" on the wings (successes) of others. Paradoxically, they spend an inordinate amount of time getting others to pray for them to the utter exclusion of praying for themselves. They may even seek a word from someone else regarding their personal circumstances when the Lord Himself would gleefully give them the word they need and desire. Beloved, please don't misunderstand. There's absolutely nothing wrong with saints helping each other. Indeed, we are to pray one for another, and bear one another's burdens in real life as well as in the prayer closet. (Please refer to Galatians 6:2, Ephesians 6:18-19, James 5:14-16, just to name a few.) With this in mind however, we must all take individual reponsibility for our own spiritual well-being. This cannot be evaded or forfeited to someone else.<br />
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When God was commissioning Joshua, He wanted Joshua to realize that He could not in the least rely on Moses because He was dead. (Joshua 1:1-2) Joshua had to pick up the torch and fulfill the divine plan which was to take Israel across the Jordan in the Promised Land. He would have to take personal responsibility and accountability. There was no one other than God upon whom Joshua could rely. Jesus tells the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, found in Matthew 25:1-13. The moment of reckoning had come; the bridegroom was getting ready to arrive. The five foolish virgins had no extra oil so they approached the five wise virgins and asked for some of theirs. The wise virgins were prepared and desired to remain that way so they refused to lend their oil for fear of running out, and rightly so! While the foolish virgins went to get more oil, the bridegroom came. (They had been lax with maintaining their supply of weapons, if you will.) Sadly, these foolish ones were excluded from the marital festivities.<br />
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The message is clear. David had a slingshot and five smooth stones. He could not use King Saul's weapons to battle Goliath. Ultimately, when the "rubber meets the road," we cannot rely on others to spiritually sustain us or fight our battles. We must develop a relationship with Jesus, our Savior, and allow Him by way of God's Spirit to teach us how to use the weapons He has already issued us. We will therefore then be totally equipped for battle against the giants in our lives. No less importantly, we will be ready and able to assist other believers as they develop and learn to use their spiritual weapons. Together in this ongoing warfare, we will present as the unified, undefeatable Church Triumphant of the Lord Jesus Christ, conquering all of our foes. <em>"They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses <strong>without breaking ranks</strong>. They rush upon the city; they run along the wall...." </em>(Joel 2:7-9)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-63762291846538023252011-08-07T17:22:00.000-07:002011-10-12T02:21:01.668-07:00Unnatural Separation<em>By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept</em><br />
<em> when we remembered Zion.</em><br />
<em>There on the poplars</em><br />
<em> we hung our harps,</em><br />
<em>for there our captors asked us for songs,</em><br />
<em> our tormentors demanded songs of joy;</em><br />
<em> they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"</em><br />
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<em>How can we sing the songs of the LORD</em><br />
<em> while in a foreign land?</em><br />
<em>If I forget you, Jerusalem,</em><br />
<em> may my right hand forget its skill.</em><br />
<em>May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth</em><br />
<em> if I do not remember you,</em><br />
<em>if I do not consider Jerusalem</em><br />
<em> my highest joy.</em> (Psalm 137:1-6)<br />
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This past June 20, Cafecita, our dog died. We knew she was going to soon because she had suffered from end-stage congestive heart failure for about two years. The last weeks before her death, she seemed to spiral downwardly at a faster rate. The Thursday before her passing, June 16, I had taken her to the vet's office to board her with the staff since we were going on vacation and could not take her along. (We were on vacation when she passed away.) I kissed her tenderly, told her I loved her and got in my car to return home. No sooner had I gotten out of the vet's driveway, I began to cry. Something or Someone inside me, the Holy Spirit I do believe, caused me to realize that I probably would not see Cafecita again.<br />
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Through the flood of tears I began to cry out to the Lord, telling Him that I was sick and tired of separation. I was tired of being separated from loved ones who had died and gone to heaven, those who had left me behind. And yes, I was sick of having to board Cafecita, of not being able to take her on vacations with us because some places did not accommodate pets. Somehow, the acute sense of separation brought out a deep cry in my heart that caused me to passionately call out to God Almighty in a way that I had not for a while.<br />
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The psalmist who penned psalm 137 described a time in history when Israel was in captivity in the foreign land of Babylon. They were far from their home in Judea and Jerusalem, and were struggling with being separated from all that was familiar. They remembered fondly the great City of Zion, the city that for centuries had been the habitat of the kings of Israel. The homesickness these people felt was so strong that they could not possibly beget music hence, they hung up their instruments and wept sorrowfully as they reminisced about their homeland. Despite that the Babylonians greatly afflicted God's people by demanding that they sing songs of Zion, the latter could not perform. Their duress was too great. The Israelites as prisoners were suffering from an unnatural separation. They were in a place they were not destined to be consequently, they experienced great affliction of the soul.<br />
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Saints, we, whether or not we recognize it, are in a similar position: we are in a foreign land unnaturally separated from God because of sin and its consequences. Many times we suffer homesickness, a longing to be reunited with the One Who made us, our Creator. Often it comes in the form of melancholy, and yet we may attribute our feelings to depression or some other mental anguish. Notwithstanding, these are natural responses. Note what the Bible says about Abraham, our father of faith<em>. "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land <strong>like a stranger in a foreign country</strong>; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. <strong>For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.</strong>" </em>(Hebrews 11:8-10) Clearly, Abraham, along with other great men and women of God, diligently sought a land that was not of this world. He also searched for this God Who even today longs --and eventually will-- to reveal His Glory to His beloved creation.<br />
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We believers need to rightly understand that as long as we dwell on planet earth, we will indeed love our spouses, children, parents, friends and others in our lives. This is right and natural. We are also compelled to live victoriously in the spirit of being more than conquerors through Him Who has loved us unconditionally. (Romans 8:37) We are able to do this because of the reality of sonship that God's indwelling Spirit brings to our hearts. (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6) Yet however, this does not negate our deepest longing to be at one with our God, the One Who died on Calvary's cross so that we mighty live forever with Him in glory. We would do well to acknowledge this as a fact so that we recognize the "tugging" that always is an undercurrent in the profound recesses of the heart.<br />
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Far too many Christians today are deeply entrenched in the things of this world. Too many are spiritually complacent while living out the "dream" of this earthly, temporal existence, short-lived though it be. Unfortunately this type of lifestyle with its corresponding mindset tends to squelch the heart's natural desires and thus precludes the ability to feel any separation from God. Moreover and sadly enough, many of these same people are terrified at the mere prospect of Jesus Christ returning to claim His Bride because that would prevent them from living their lives the way they would choose. (How incredibly selfish!) The scripture speaks of this attitude. <em>"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?" </em>(James 4:4-5) The truth cannot be denied. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is exceedingly jealous, and so much so that He deems His people adulterers if they esteem the world or anything in it greater than Him. This candid word must elicit a sobriety in the hearts of God's elect causing us to question ourselves. Do we truly long to see Christ return so we can be ultimately reunited with our Heavenly Father? Do we really feel any tugging in our hearts?<br />
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Saint, do you find yourself at times feeling nostalgia and not know why? Do you at times feel an unquenchable yearning for a place and you're not even sure where it is? There's no need to worry or fret. Just as the children of Israel were missing their patria, Jerusalem, that great city while they were in babylonian subjection, you're feeling a tugging for your heavenly home. There's a sense of an unnatural separation. The psalmist rightly expresses this life on earth while also yearning for that eternal home<em>. "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, <strong>whose hearts are set on pilgrimage</strong>. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. <strong>They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion</strong></em><strong>.</strong>" (Psalm 84:5-7) May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ by His indwelling Spirit pour out the pools of Living Water to refresh us as we go from strength to strength, until He calls us home and this unnatural separation ends forever.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-29133245901319892622011-07-30T01:47:00.000-07:002011-08-20T17:52:47.618-07:00Sitting at the Feet of Jesus<em>As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"</em><br />
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<em>"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."</em> (Luke 10:38-42)<br />
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It's quite amusing to even try to imagine what Martha was doing in her home the day she opened the door to Jesus. Since the author of this blog enjoys good food, he can only conceive that she was fixing a meal fit for a king. (No pun on words intended, but little did she really understand that this Jesus Who was coming for a visit was truly the King of kings!) The smell of lamb roasting slowly, mixed with the aroma of unleavened bread baking, would surely have created a wonderful savor wafting through the abode of the two sisters. Yum! But then too, Martha was no doubt consumed with overall household preparations to make sure everything was in its place for her "renowned" guest.<br />
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Jesus finally arrived and made Himself comfortable in the simplicity of this home. Without question, He was a gracious guest that would never have even slightly suggested that anything be out of order or in disarray in His hostess' house, even if it were a complete disaster. The Lord's focus during His ministry on earth was always people-focused. Mary must have sensed or knew this to be a profound truth and therefore decided to take advantage of it, and why not? This was a wonderful opportunity for her to listen to the words the Lord spoke, to absorb His wisdom and overall character. No one else is mentioned in scripture as being in the house other than the two sisters, so it's quite probable that she had a personal audience with the Lord for awhile.<br />
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Little imagination is required to understand that Martha kept herself consumed with business, notwithstanding the Lord's presence in her living area. The tasks before her, whether minial or not, robbed her of the joy of having God Almighty in her home as a guest. The tension and resentment mounted against her sister, Mary, until Martha finally snapped. Interestingly, though her anger was at Mary for the most part --no doubt she felt some annoyance at Jesus as well-- she aimed most of it at the Lord by chiding Him. "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"<br />
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Jesus didn't get flustered nor did He lash out back at Martha. He did however, firmly and lovingly remind her that Mary had chosen to sit at His feet and enjoy His presence, and that Mary's choice to do this was the better. Between hustling about to make sure all the many preparations were in order and sitting quietly at the feet of the Master, the latter was, and still is more preferable. Moreover, He of all people would not take that away from Mary by asking her to leave that place of quiet repose to go help her sister, Martha. Luke is silent regarding Martha's response to the Lord's chiding. We can only hope that she listened and heeded Jesus' words.<br />
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Beloved saints of God, in today's busy world we frequently find ourselves much like Martha, and can surely identify with her mindset. We are indeed doers. We like to consume our time by doing and doing and doing,,,,, <em>ad infinitum</em>. (We don't handle downtime very well.) In truth, there was nothing wrong with Martha preparing her home for the impending Guest. Today, there is nothing wrong with performing christian service in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we must ask, what is the issue? What is the inherent message of this story tucked in scripture?<br />
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We do things for Christ hopefully because we love Him and NOT out of some empty, Christian obligation. This is where a relationship with Jesus and religion in general part company, and take different paths. Those who are intimate with Christ, and love Him with every fiber of their being do things for Him because they choose to do so. We obey the Lord because we love and adore Him. Individuals steeped in religion do things for Christ because they fear Him or worse yet, they impose upon themselves some obligatory sense of responsibility that in reality is not given to them by the Holy Spirit. (Read the parable of the bags of gold in Matthew 25:14-30 and focus primarily on the third servant's mindset.) It is a duty they contrive within themselves, or issued to them by another hence, these same people tend to eventually burn out, and get angry with much resentment. <br />
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There is also another important lesson we must extrapolate from this message and it's simply this: enjoying the presence of God is far more important than doing things for Him! The Lord is ultimately far more interested in developing our character as we sit at His feet than He is in what we can do for Him. <em>"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."</em> (II Corinthians 3:18)<br />
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When we take time to enter into the glorious presence of the Lord, as the Spirit of God takes us to that place of great intimacy where Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, we are transformed little by little to look more like Jesus. Beloved, this is the very heart of God. This is His will for you and me today, and every day until time is no more for us, until we enter into the eternal realm. We will supernaturally conform to the image of Christ as we spend time with Him. The works we will then subsequently perform will have originated from a pure and undefiled heart, one that's in love with Jesus Christ and ergo impassioned to to see His glorious Kingdom advanced throughout the earth today.<br />
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Yes, Mary was right all along; she had the right idea. She spent those precious moments sitting at the feet of Jesus listening intently to every word that came from His lips. And during any time when silence would ensue, she was reaffirmed by Him touching her with His hands of love and compassion. Even in the silence there was power that was transferred from the Lord to this precious soul. She was eternally changed. And so it can be for us today as well. Can we carve out time to sit at the Lord's feet and enjoy His wonderful presence like Mary did? Yes! We can; we must!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-50012291554030871352011-07-23T07:01:00.000-07:002011-08-09T14:30:17.840-07:00The Necessity of Surrender<em>Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.</em><br />
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<em>Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers there came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. </em>(John 19:28-33)<br />
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Surrender is a powerful force, one that defies logic and imagination for it goes against the very grain of human nature. Survival of the fittest seems to be the driving energy of humanity, providing the backdrop behind how we operate in this life. We cling to and practice the seemingly timeless adages: "master of our fate" and "captain of our own ship." We insist on living our lives independently. It's our way or no way. The prophet Isaiah alludes to our sinful plight when He says<em>, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all</em>." (Isaiah 53:6) Sadly and tragically, many a time God, our Creator has no other choice but to let us sail our own ships hence determine our own destinies, saving that He take away our free will. (Thankfully, our rebellion was cast upon the Savior!)<br />
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Crucifixion was a brutish form of capital punishment employed by the Roman Empire, which was the supremacy in Israel when Jesus was on the earth. This type of capital punishment was grueling and ruthless wherein the victim literally died of asphyxiation. As gravity pulled the body downward, the chest cavity became smaller and smaller due to the arms being suspended by the nails. The victim could temporarily stave off death by pushing upward with the legs that were also nailed. We see in the above scriptures that when Jesus was crucified, a request promulgated by the Jewish religious leaders through Pontius Pilate asked that the bodies be timely removed from their crosses in order to not be displayed on a special Sabbath. In turn, this required a hastening of death for the victims. As a result, the roman soldiers broke the legs of the men who were crucified with Jesus. Upon approaching the Lord however, they noted He was already dead so it wasn't necessary to break His legs.<br />
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The Psalmist prophecied that the bones of the Messiah would in fact not be broken when He wrote, <em>"he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken."</em> (Psalm 34:20) Indeed, Jesus had not struggled, but had met His fate with a determination that He would fulfill the will of His Heavenly Father. <em>"....for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." </em>(Hebrews 12:2) Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, God in flesh taught us how to die so ultimately we might truly live!<br />
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Beloved saints of God, we struggle so hard in this life. We strive and labor to meet the numerous demands that too often, we place on ourselves. We walk around tired and weary, numb from being pulled in so many different directions. In truth, it is costly to be the captain of our own ship. And we must never ever deceive ourselves into foolishly believing that just because we are Christians that we are not guilty of running our own lives. Truthfully, we spend an inordinate amount of time planning, reasoning and plotting our futures.<br />
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It is the Father's will that we not just make it to heaven when we die, but that we succeed and do well in this life. And so in His divine love and mercy, He frequently takes us to a spiritual Calvary and lovingly crucifies us in order to purge those things in our lives that hinder our spiritual growth. (John 15:1-2) Consequently, the cross becomes the portal to real, genuine life, the abundant life to which Jesus refers in John 10:10<em>. "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life</em>." (John 12:24-25)<br />
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There are no shortcuts, no circumventions to the process of dying to self that we might live to God through Christ. If we are going to experience the kind of life for which we were created, we must die to the many aspirations and goals that too often become our agenda for existence. We must forfeit even our most intimate dreams for a successful life, so the life of Christ can rise up in us. Our will must cease to exist; it must become one with that of the Heavenly Father.<br />
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Are you hanging upon the cross today? Are you staring a shadow or figure of death in the face? Is your financial empire crumbling around you? Are all your hopes and dreams for a glamorous career dashed to pieces? Do you find yourself in the midst of a long drawn-out job that's draining the very life from your soul? Has the huge dream home that's taking every dime of your income become a prison of sorts? Are you in a relationship that's leading down a path to death? Worse yet, are you spending all your time and effort on making things happen in your life? Are you trying to make your ministry succeed? Are you attempting to seduce God into doing something for you, knowing all the while that that's not quite what He's got in mind for you?<br />
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God, help us to surrender our very lives upon the cross on which You've placed us. May we take one last breath and peacefully give up the ghost as Jesus did, so that we might truly live. And Father, if need be, mercifully break our legs so that the imminent death may come quickly. In Jesus' Name, amen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-48363066679938412192011-07-18T12:16:00.000-07:002011-08-24T11:52:43.003-07:00Gilgal: Roll Away the Shame and Reproach<em>At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gilbeath Haaraloth.</em><br />
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<em>Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt--all the men of military age--died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.</em><br />
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<em>Then the LORD said to Joshua, <strong>"Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you."</strong> So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. </em> (Joshua 5:2-9)<br />
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Gilgal was the very first place at which the children of Israel arrived once they crossed the Jordan River into the promised land. Anticipation of the unknown mixed with fear and trepidation were surely some of the emotions these chosen ones experienced as they felt the ground beneath them. But also, they were eye witnesses of the majestic miraculous of God as He parted the waters of the Jordan in order that they could ford across safely. Seeing this mighty miracle by the Hand of this God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, should have imparted a great measure of faith to aid in their conquest of the new land set before them. <br />
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Indeed, this was a new generation of Israelites coming into the promised land. Their forefathers had died in the wilderness after forty years of aimless wondering, decreed by God because of their unfaithfulness and rebellion. In light of this, those entering the promised land bore the shame and reproach of their parents who had been slaves in Egypt. The ceremony of circumcision realized at Gilgal was necessary in order to establish a memorial wherein God's people knew they were permanently free from any and all bondage their parents experienced as slaves in Egypt. Had the Israelites not experienced Gilgal, they could never have forged ahead with great victories in the promised land. It would have been literally impossible.<br />
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Beloved, we like the children of Israel, cross over the Jordan River when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. We go from the right side (death, flesh) to the left (life, spirit). Once in the promised land, our salvation is complete as far as rebirth is concerned. <em>"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." </em>(I John 5:11) Unfortunately, as the case often is, the mind still bears the brunt of the life we left behind on the right side of the river.<br />
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The prostitute still sees the faces of the countless men to whom she relinquished her body time and again on a bed of anonymity. The drug addict carries needle marks on the arms where veins used to be, an ever-present reminder of the numerous highs experienced. The alcoholic may still crave a drink in order to squelch feelings of helplessness and confusion. The fornicator is forever rejected by the ex-spouse and the children, despite giving up the sexual infidelity after salvation. The lesbian still is bewildered about feelings she daily encounters that contradict everything she knows is right. And so the list continues....<br />
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Lest we read the above list without finding our old identities there, the shame and reproach of any sinner's life is most assuredly relative, whether others perceive it as severe or not. All Christians enter the realm of salvation carrying burdens from our own distinct "Egypt." The memories of these experiences hinder us from moving forward into the promised land. Rather than progressing westwardly and claiming the infinite territory that God has given us in Christ, we spend countless hours reliving what was or worse, what could have been.<br />
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Brothers and sisters, God does NOT remember the life you had before you accepted Christ, the life you had on the right side of the Jordan! <em>"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." </em>(Romans 8:1-2) We must believe and appropriate this truth for our lives. The verity of the freedom we experience in Christ must serve as our Gilgal, circumcision experience, the eternal power of the cross to absorb confessed sin! The shame and reproach have been rolled away and were nailed to His cross. They're gone; we cannot afford to linger on these past experiences!<em> "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed</em>." (John 8:36) <em>"....He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood before us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." </em> (Colossians 2:13-14) Hallelujah! Glory to God! <br />
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Christians that continue to wallow in the spiritual mud of memories risk insulting God by rejecting His grace and mercy. Moreover, we become slaves of our past, a tragedy unparalleled other than going to eternal damnation when we die! Dear friends in Christ, God chose you and me before the foundation of the world to be His precious children. That being said, consider the following scripture: <em>"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be <strong>holy and blameless</strong> in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." </em> (Ephesians 1:4-5) The Lord keeps no record of our past wrongs. Nor should we!<br />
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Finally, we can go to Gilgal anytime we need and/or as the Holy Spirit prompts us, and allow the Lord to graciously roll away other kinds of painful memories. Many people suffer things as Christians that, if left unchecked, can build great barriers further hindering their advancement into the promised land. Christians suffer loses, rejection, death of loved ones, divorce, financial ruins, sickness, marital infidelity, etc. We are not exempt from suffering, however we mustn't ever let these trials and tribulations stop us from winning the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14) This was the Apostle Paul's attitude and must be ours as well. Our promised land is huge and sets before us. We have much conquering to do in this life!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-59353079589305724962011-07-13T18:10:00.000-07:002011-08-11T09:43:56.891-07:00Ebenezer: Stone of Help<div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The words to the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”</span></div><div style="background: white;"><br />
</div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Here I raise mine Ebenezer;</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hither by thy help I’m come;</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And I hope, by thy good pleasure,</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Safely to arrive at home.</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Jesus sought me when a stranger,</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Wandering from the fold of God’</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">He, to rescue me from danger,</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Interposed His precious blood.</span></div><div style="background: white;"><br />
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</div><div style="background: white;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I Samuel 7:12)</span></div><div style="background: white;"><br />
</div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God’s people, Israel had long been disobedient to the Lord by worshipping foreign gods since arriving in the Promised Land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their sin of idolatry again and again brought them into tremendous bondage and defeat by their enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Philistines won a great battle over the Israelites notwithstanding they even had the Ark of the Covenant (symbolic of the Lord’s presence [Psalm 99:1]) in the midst of the war camp!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The daughter-in-law of Eli, the overseer of the temple at Shiloh and Samuel’s predecessor, expressed the agony and horror of losing God’s presence at the end of the battle, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I Samuel 4:22) </span></div><div style="background: white;"><br />
</div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For about 100 years the Ark remained at Kiriath-jearim (“city of forests”) after seven months of being held in enemy territory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> But only after 20 years at Kiriath-jearim</span>, Israel began to lament the loss of God’s glory in their midst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prompted to repent by Samuel the prophet, God’s people were heirs to a great victory over their enemy when the Lord their God fought valiantly for them against the Philistines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was at this point that Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stone became the witness, a memorial to the faithfulness of God to His people by conquering the enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div style="background: white;"><br />
</div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For us who live in the dispensation of grace, the stone of Ebenezer is Jesus Christ Himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His victory at Calvary helps us to realize that the Lord has helped us beyond measure despite that we were lost and unable to help ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Romans 5:8)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, Jesus remains our Ebenezer through this life, for oftentimes we experience the power of the enemy, as well as defeats and disappointments that easily overwhelm and beset us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must frequently lay the stone of Ebenezer down as a memorial for what God has done in Christ, and what He will continue to do throughout this life.</span></div><div style="background: white;"><br />
</div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The true Ebenezer, the rock-solid Stone, Jesus Christ, the Son of God has fought mightily for His beloved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The victory is ours!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bible says, <em>“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Colossians 2:15)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We memorialize Him today through worship in spirit and truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Praise His mighty Name!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066072227237936246.post-11490331137781130302011-07-13T11:16:00.000-07:002011-07-13T11:16:45.311-07:00My Very First BlogThis is an experiment to see if my new blog will work!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2