Does this seem like an impossibility to you? Do you feel as though you’ve seen too much, done too much and had too much done to you to ever have a pure heart? God knows that I have felt this way for most of my life. Though you don’t know my heart, and though I can’t know yours, God knows. Indeed, it was God who described the condition of everyone’s heart.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10 NKJV)
So, knowing this, how could Jesus, bless those with a pure heart? Do they really exist? And, knowing this, how could He make it seem possible for anyone to achieve this? I’ve been dreaming about this message all night, as the Lord placed scripture after scripture into my heart, and if you’ve longed to see God, but despaired of it ever happening, because of the things you’ve done in life, have I got good news for you! For, as Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, butwith God all things are possible.”
Let’s look at King David. King David had it all. He loved the Lord, and God had blessed him with the kingdom of Israel, and the love of his people. He walked uprightly before God, and was seen on many occasions singing and dancing before the Lord. And yet, like you and me, King David’s heart was just as deceitful as our hearts are. Do you remember what happened?
During the time of year, when kings went to war, we discover that King David stayed behind, in Jerusalem. For whatever reason, David chose not to be where he should have been, and after waking from a nap, he walked out onto the roof and looked around. And while he was standing there, he saw a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.
Now, instead of averting his eyes from her and leaving his perch on the roof, David he sent a servant to find out who she was. After discovering that she was married, you would have thought that this man of God would have forgotten about her, but instead, he summoned her to his presence and committed adultery with her. Before too long, Bathsheba (the woman) informed David that she was pregnant.
It never occurred to David that he should repent, and ask for her husband’s (Uriah) or God’s forgiveness. Instead, he began to plot, to cover his sin. Have you ever been there? When you’ve sinned against God and man, have you tried to cover it up? Though it shames me, I’d be lying if I said that I’ve never tried to hide my sins.
David sent a message for Uriah to come home, hoping that he and his wife would have sex, and then Bathsheba could claim that their child was Uriah’s. However, it turns out that Uriah was a much more honorable man than David was, and he refused to enjoy the comfort and pleasure of sleeping with his wife, while his fellow soldiers were suffering in the midst of the war. David didn’t give up, though. He invited Uriah to dinner that evening, and got him drunk, hoping to get him to sleep with his wife, while under the influence, but even then, Uriah refused to betray his duty to his fellow soldiers.
So, rather than repenting and confessing his sin to Uriah and to God, David plotted another plan… one that involved Uriah’s murder. David sent Uriah back to the front lines, where the battle was the fiercest, and ordered the other men to be pulled back, so that Uriah would be killed in battle.
When Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, learned that Uriah had been killed in battle, she mourned for him. Then, once her period of mourning was over, David married her, and she became one of his wives. Before long, she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done. (1 Samuel 11 NLT)
Indeed, God was so unhappy about what David had done, that he sent Nathan, the prophet, to confront him with his sin. When he realized that Nathan speaking of his sin, David confessed and repented of it, and God forgave him. However, the consequences for David’s sin were great. (1 Samuel 12 NLT)Still, knowing the consequences of his sin, David prostrated himself before God, confessed his sin and repented.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. (Psalm 51 NKJV)
Beloved, oftentimes, we think that because our sins are forgiven, we shouldn’t suffer the consequences for those sins, but this isn’t true. Though Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, in this world, we still suffer sin’s consequences. Yet, if we truly repent, as David did, though we pay the consequences of our sin, we can still be washed clean, even as David was. Do you wonder if David will ever get to see God, because of his sin? I believe he will, for even in the New Testament, David is referred to as a man after God’s own heart.
And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ (Acts 13:22 NKJV)
Even after these terrible sins against God and man, David remained a man after God’s own heart. Doesn’t that give you hope? It gives me great hope. Yet, if what Jesus said is true, then how can our heart be made pure, so that we, too, can see God? We must do as David did, and repent and confess our sin to God…
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NKJV)
Do you want to see God? Then you must have a pure heart. How can you have a pure heart? Confess your sins to God, repent from them, and ask Him to cleanse your heart, just as David did, and your heart, beloved reader, will be made pure, and you will see God.
In a world filled with bitterness and injustice, it’s no accident that after sharing the beatitude about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Jesus followed it up with the beatitude on mercy…
6 Blessed are those whohunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.(Matthew 5:6-7 NKJV)
In this world, where mothers and fathers mourn the lives of their children, murdered by men full of violence, we need mercy as well as justice. In this world, where men, women and children are raped and tortured, we need both mercy and justice. In this world, where governments lie, cheat and steal from their citizens, we need mercy to go hand in hand with justice.
What is mercy anyway? For much of my life, I’ve confused mercy with forgiveness, but in this study, I was moved to seek out the biblical definition, as well as the world’s definition, and I was surprised to discover that mercy and forgiveness are two different things. Don’t get me wrong, forgiveness is as essential to our walk with Christ as mercy is, but Jesus addresses that elsewhere. So, for now, we are going to talk about mercy…
compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner.
the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing: an adversary wholly without mercy.
the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.
an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.
something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened.
According to Strong’s Lexicon, this is the Greek word translated as mercy in this scripture, and its definition:
to be compassionate (by word or deed, specially, by divine grace):—have compassion (pity on), have (obtain, receive, shew) mercy (on).
Beloved reader, in this world that often shows little to no compassion for those who are hurt and afflicted, Jesus commands us to be merciful. In this world of unrighteousness, we are to show mercy to our enemies, to our friends, to our family, to the poor and forgotten… Indeed, we are to show mercy to everyone we come in contact with.
Do you want to receive mercy? Be merciful. Show compassion on those who are less fortunate than you are. Show compassion to those who are more fortunate than you. Show compassion to all you come in contact with.
Think about it, even as He was suffering, hanging, naked and dying on the cross, Jesus looked down and saw those who had tortured and hung Him gambling over His clothing, and instead of calling on God to strike them dead (which justice surely demanded), He was moved with pity for them. Can you imagine feeling pity for your tormentors, in the midst of your suffering? Jesus did, and He cried out to His Father, not to condemn them, but to have mercy on them…
Then Jesus said, “Father,forgive them, forthey do not know what they do.”(Luke 23:34)
Beloved, if Jesus, who was and is wholly righteous, could have mercy enough on those, who yet tortured Him, to forgive them, how can we do any less? “But He is God,” you might say. “It’s harder for me to forgive, because I’m not God.” If you are truly a child of God, then His Spirit lives within you, and enables you to show mercy.
How much harder was it for Jesus, who knew no sin, to suffer at the hands of sinful man? How much harder was it for Him to have mercy on me, knowing how many times I have let Him down in the past, present and future? And yet, He continues to pour His mercies on us…
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. 17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. (Psalm 103:11-18 NKJV)
Beloved, this walk with Christ is not an easy one. We are tested and tried at every turn, just as Jesus said we would be. And yet, by His grace, and in His strength, we can run this race, for He will give us the endurance to see it through. It’s time for us to stop seeing everything through the eyes of the world, and start seeing things through the eyes of Christ.
Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Then you will be filled, as you show mercy to others. And as you show mercy to others, rejoice! For you are blessed, and you will receive that same mercy from the God of all mercy, and let’s not forget:
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV)
When Jesus was tempted by the devil, the prince of the air challenged the Prince of Peace (Shalom) to turn stones into bread, and this was Jesus’ response to him:
4 But Jesus told him,“No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 NLT)
Let’s think about His response. Jesus, the very Word of God, who created the universe and all that is in it, said that we need more than bread to sustain us. In fact, the Word said that our sustenance comes from every word spoken by God…
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-5 NLT)
It was through His Word, that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. It is in this Word that we live and move and have our being…
14 So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:14 NLT)
16 From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. (John 1:16-18 NLT)
It is by this Word that we live… This is the Word that we must feed on… It’s like going to an all you can eat banquet or buffet, only this food is good for you, and there are no calories!
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8 NLT)
Are there some who still say, “But I want some bread?” Then join me in this all you can eat banquet… For Jesus, the Word of God, is also the Bread of Life!
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now He offers you the true Bread from heaven.33 The true Bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. (John 6:32-35 NLT)
Just in case you don’t understand that your very life comes from Christ, He goes into even more detail…
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.48 Yes, I am the Bread of Life!49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died.50 Anyone who eats the Bread from Heaven, however, will never die.51 I am the living Bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live forever; and this Bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is My flesh.”
52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what He meant. “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.54 But anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.56 Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks my blood remains in Me, and I in him.57 I live because of the living Father who sent Me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on Me will live because of Me.58 I am the true Bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.” (John 6:47-58 NLT)
To make it clear, we are to feast on the Word of God, for this is where we will find life. And unlike the bread we feed to our flesh, you can’t overindulge on this Bread. This Bread of Life will fill us, and breathe new life into us. The Bread of Life won’t leave us feeling sick and bloated, no matter how much we eat of it. Instead, our strength will be renewed and restored…
Beloved, have you tasted this Bread of Life? Do you feast on the Word of God? Have you tasted and seen how good He is? If not, come to the banquet, and eat your fill, then have some more. For this is an all you can eat banquet, and as Jesus said, “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
I’ve lived in the same old farm house for the last thirty-one years. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s my home. When I’m at home, I know that I’m sheltered from the many storms that have blown through over the years. This old house has endured blizzards, hurricanes and tropical storms, yet it has stood firm, despite being more than seventy-five years old. That could be because the floor joists beneath this old house are whole logs (with the bark still on them), and there are actual 4″x4″ posts, (as opposed to today’s 4″x4″ posts, which are really only 3.5″x3.5″) in the walls, and the 2″x4″ boards truly are 2″x4″ as well, (not today’s 1.5″x3.5″).
At any rate, when I’m in my home, I feel safe and secure. If I’ve been out in the world, and someone hurts me, I long for the security of my home. Whenever I leave my home for a long period of time, I always feel great joy, when I return to the house I live in, because home is where my heart is.
House (Image Not Mine)
The same thing can be said spiritually and emotionally. Where we abide is where we live. Where do you live?
4 *Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it *abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you *abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who *abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.6 If anyone does not *abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.7 If you *abide in Me, and My words *abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
ménō, men’-o; a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):—abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), × thine own.
For many years, I lived (abided) in Jesus, and I was quite happy there. I’ve preached and shared the gospel with many people, and I’ve been blessed to rejoice in the salvation of others, who came to know and love Jesus. Yet, because we live in a fallen world, bad things happen, even when we’re in our homes, where we feel safe and secure.
Six years ago, my back started hurting, causing weakness and shooting pains in my legs. I’ve dealt with back pain my entire life, off and on, and when it started, I figured it was just another flare up, and soon I would be back to normal, but that’s not what happened. Before long, my back and legs were hurting constantly, and within a year, I had to stop doing prison ministry, and shortly thereafter, I had to leave my job, because I was no longer able to work. The constant pain began to consume me.
During the next six to eight months, my mother passed away, and my children and grandchildren moved far away, to other states. I fell into a deep depression. I was totally overwhelmed by the darkness of pain and depression, and my faith began to waver and wane. I was no longer abiding in Christ; I was now abiding in pain, depression, guilt and anxiety.
Because of the constant, chronic pain, I was unable to spend as much time as I wanted to spend with my mother before she died. And although I had shared the gospel with her many times over the years, I was unable to do so, while she lay dying, and I was consumed with guilt because of that. I questioned my own salvation. “How could God continue to love me, when I couldn’t even minister to my own mother?” I thought.
9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; *abide in My love.10 If you keep My commandments, you will *abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and *abide in His love.11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.14 You are My friends if you do what I command you.15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.17 This I command you, that you love one another.
Over the next several years, I continued to abide in pain and depression. I no longer prayed, because I was so disappointed in myself, and I was sure God was too. I no longer felt His presence. I simply lived in my pain and depression. This was now my new abode, and to be frank with you, I’ve been miserable.
Then, just this week, while reading, I was reminded of the scriptures above, and I heard the Lord whisper to my heart, “Abide in Me. Abide in My love.”He was telling me to live, dwell, endure, tarry, stand in His love; in Him! I still have the same physical pain, but I don’t have to live in and wallow in it. Instead, I choose to immerse myself in His love for me. His love didn’t stop because I didn’t share the gospel with my mother one last time before she died. My pain isn’t a punishment from God. It’s just a part of life in this fallen world.
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
Losing my mother, my chronic pain, and having my children and grandchildren so far away from me are just a few of the many sorrows and trials I will endure, but I don’t have to try to go it alone. Jesus tells me to take heart, because He has overcome the world. I’m not alone and unloved, for His love is unending, just as He is, for God is love (1 John 4:8b).
I am so very thankful to serve the God of all grace, who remains faithful to us, even in our frailties. Yes, I continue to have chronic, sometimes debilitating pain, but I don’t have to live in pain. Instead, while living with pain, I will live in Christ. Where will you live?
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!”
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure, like a pearl of great value… Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, Son of Man, King of kings and Lord of Lords, is the Treasure; He is that Pearl of great value! Now, when the merchant and the man discovered this great Treasure, (Jesus), what did they do? They sold everything they owned, so they could get that treasure. There was nothing more important to them than getting that Treasure, the Pearl of great value. Likewise, nothing should be more important to us than Jesus, our Pearl of great value…
23 Then He said to the crowd,“If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?26 If anyone is ashamed of Me and My message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in His glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.27 I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”
These words of Jesus are offensive to most people, including we, who call ourselves Christians. Instead of trying to follow Jesus on our own terms, we must do as He says…
23 Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make Our home with each of them.24 Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me.
Do you love Jesus? If you do, you will obey Him. If you don’t obey Him, then you don’t love Him. Do my words sound harsh? They’re not my words. Jesus said they’re not even His own words, but those of His Father.
Before you take offense at what I’ve written, I should let you know that it’s taken me almost a week to write about this Pearl of great value, because I’ve had to deal with the fact that I haven’t been treating Jesus like the Treasure He is, for far too long…
Father, please forgive me for giving up on You. Forgive me for doubting, Lord, help my unbelief! Please forgive me for ignoring You, Lord, my Pearl of great value. Forgive me, Lord, for trying to live on my own terms, and for refusing to carry my cross daily, following You. Forgive me, my Lord, for trying to hang on to my life as I wanted it to be, instead of giving it up for Your will, instead. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love. According to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out my transgressions, and cleanse me from my sins. Against You, and You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are just when You speak, and blameless when You judge…
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then, I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You!
As we study this parable about the treasure and the pearl of great value, the story of the rich young man immediately came to my mind. Do you remember how the young man questioned Jesus about how to obtain eternal life?
17 As Jesus was starting out on His way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to Him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
This man seemed to do everything right. He obeyed all of God’s commands, but when he stood before (Jesus) the Pearl of great value, he failed to recognize His worth. Although he was willing to obey God’s law, he was unwilling to give up his earthly treasures, unlike the merchant and the man, who discovered the buried Treasure and the Pearl of great value. Jesus, who felt genuine love for this man, even tried to make everything clear to him, saying that if he sold everything, he would have Treasure in heaven, but the man failed to recognize the Treasure(Jesus) speaking to him… and so, with a sad look on his face, the man walked away from the greatest Treasure he could ever hope for, because he already had so many possessions that he couldn’t bear to part from…
23 Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
Mark 10:23-27 NLT
Hear me now… People throughout the world are seeing Jesus’ miracles, signs and wonders, even in this day and age, while here in the United States, we see few, if any. Do you wonder why this is? It is because we already have so many treasures of our own, that we don’t hunger or thirst for that Pearl of great value. Even the poor of this nation, (and I am counted among the poor) are not truly poor in comparison to the rest of the world…
You see, though I have very little money to live on each month, it is still more than others around the world have… I still have plenty of food to eat… I have a car (it’s old, but it’s paid for, and it runs)… I have a computer… I have medical care when needed… Do you see? In this nation that I love, I lack for nothing that I need, and I praise God for that.
Yet, this fact remains. My poverty is not poverty as the world knows it. Because all of my needs were met when I was able to work, and now they are met by the government, to whom do I run, first, when another need arises? Who am I depending on? When my back pain became unbearable, did I turn to Jesus first? Or did I turn to the doctor? When the doctors could offer me no help for the pain, and offered instead, a very risky surgery that could do more harm than good, was I angry with the doctors? Or did I get angry with Jesus, that Pearl of great value, who still hasn’t healed me in the last four or five years?
Until right now, I haven’t even admitted this to myself. I stopped asking Jesus to heal me, because I didn’t want to be disappointed if He didn’t. So, I became more and more depressed, for the last four years, and my faith began to shrink. I just gave up on the great Treasure. Now, instead of praying regularly, I seldom bothered to talk to Him. Instead of enjoying His presence, I wallowed in my pain. Unlike Job, when I lost my health, I also lost much of my faith… much of it, but not all of it.
For the God who saved me many years ago, remained faithful to me, in spite of my unfaithfulness. Though I had lost hope in Him, in His great mercy, He restored my hope. Then, as I began this study, about the great Treasure, I was convicted, because I have neglected this Pearl of great value. How could I write about this great Treasure, when I have failed to fully appreciate His value?
For almost a week, I watched TV, played video games, and did what I could, to ignore this study. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to deal with the fact that I had not treated Jesus as the great and wonderful Treasure that He is. Then, yesterday, as I tried to nap, I heard a still small voice whispering to my spirit, and reminding me of other times when He’s healed me. In 2004, I had a hyperactive thyroid that was so bad, the doctor was talking about doing a procedure to burn out my thyroid gland. I was taking blood pressure medicine, and still my blood pressure was through the roof. I shook with tremors constantly. My heart rate was super high, and I suffered many other symptoms because of it, but I remember praying for God to heal me one night at church, and He did! To this day, my thyroid is normal, and so is my blood pressure, heart rate, etc.
As I thought of how the Lord has healed me in the past, I felt His presence strongly, and felt as though He was saying, “Trust Me. Ask Me to help you, and believe that I can and I will do it for you.” I had stopped asking Him to heal my back several years ago, after living with the pain for more than a year, because I couldn’t bear the thought of asking Him for this, and being disappointed. Instead, I chose to live with no hope, and without hope, there is only disappointment…
Then I began to wonder, “What if I’m the one who keeps derailing me? What if God is ready to heal me, but I keep giving up on Him, before He can act? What if He chooses not to heal my back? Does this in any way devalue Him? Is He not still, the great Treasure? Isn’t He still the Pearl of great value?”
There is much more to this study, but for today, I leave you with this thought… Is Jesus your great Treasure? Is He your Pearl of great value? Or do you, like I have done, treat Him as something of much lesser value?
33 Jesus also used this illustration:“The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
In the scriptures, yeast, or leaven as it is called in some versions, represents sin or evil, either by false teachers, or sin itself. In this study, we’re going to talk about sin, in the context of this parable…
Have you ever bought a bag of potatoes, and had one of the potatoes go bad? Within a few days, if that bad potato isn’t removed right away, the whole bag will rot, ruining all of the potatoes, and the stench permeates the air. The same is true for sin, which is why Paul rebuked the Corinthian church, in his first letter to them. At the time, there was a man in the church, engaging in sexual immorality, and Paul confronted the church for not only allowing this sin to continue in the church, but for boasting about it…
6 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.
The same is true for any sin in our lives. It starts out as a seemingly insignificant thing, but it grows at an alarming rate, often destroying not only person engaged in the sin, but many others as well. A good example of this is Adam and Eve…
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, I’m sure they never fully comprehended the devastation that would follow. Indeed, they probably didn’t even understand the full scope of how sin and death would soon ravage, not just them, but the entire earth. I’m certain it never occurred to either of them that their relationship would be harmed, when they determined to eat the fruit God had warned them not to eat. Yet, let’s look at what happened as a result of their sin…
The very first relationship that was harmed by Adam and Eve’s determination to sin, was their relationship with God, Who came to walk with them in the cool of the day…
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
Until that time, the man and woman had walked in the Garden of Eden naked and unashamed, but when they ate of the fruit, they immediately felt shame. In their shame, they hid from the God who created them, loved them, breathed His life-giving breath into them, and walked and talked with them. That one, seemingly insignificant sin (eating the forbidden fruit), destroyed their relationship with their Creator. Could it be that it wasn’t the act of eating the fruit, but the decision to disobey God’s command, that destroyed their relationship with Him?
When they disobeyed God, their own relationship was also spoiled. It would never be the same again…
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
Rather than simply answering, “Yes,” to God’s question, Adam immediately threw Eve under the bus, turning against this woman that he had recently rejoiced in, blaming her for his sin…
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
Now, just one sin damaged a relationship that had been perfect up until then. How could Eve look at Adam the same way? Imagine how betrayed she must have felt. Hadn’t Adam been right there with her, when she sinned against God? Had she twisted his arm? Why had he turned against her?
Additionally, not only was their relationship with God and themselves damaged, so too, was their relationship with God’s creation…
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the
woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.
Now, not only were their relationships damaged, but that one sin damaged the entire animal kingdom. No more would the serpent walk. It would now crawl on its belly. Instead of walking in peace with mankind, there would now be enmity between the woman and the serpent…
No longer, would there be only joy in childbearing. Because of their sin against God, Eve, and every one of her daughters thereafter, would labor and experience pain in childbearing, some even to the death. Surely, Adam and Eve never thought of this, when they disobeyed God’s command…
16 To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
I love how The Voice translates this verse. I think it reveals how devastating the consequences of Eve’s sin was to womankind, and the relationships of man and woman as well…
16 (to the woman) As a consequence of your actions, I will increase your suffering—the pain of childbirth And the sorrow of bringing forth the next generation. You will desire your husband; but rather than a companion, He will be the dominant partner.
How many women, since Eve’s day, have longed for a better relationship with their husbands? How many have sought and failed to find the perfect husband, to love them unconditionally, really listen to them, understand them and treat them as an equal partner? How many women, throughout the world, must bow to their husband’s every desire, no matter how egregious? How many women have been and continue to be beaten, abused and mistreated, as a direct result of Adam and Eve’s sin against God? I’m certain that neither of them foresaw the devastating results of their one “little” sin.
Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t believe that all of the evil that has fallen on the earth is the result of God’s punishment against mankind. To be sure, they were punished, but I believe God was also describing the consequences that their sin had set in motion. Indeed, even those words didn’t share the full scope of what would soon take place, not only in their lives, but in the lives of every other human, who would follow. When we sin, we have no idea how many people or how many generations will be effected by our sin…
17 And to the man He said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
Because of Adam’s choice, man would have to labor and sweat, to produce crops to eat. This would be no easy task for him, because now the ground was cursed. No longer would all of the soil be fertile. Now, man would have to plow and dig, hoe and weed to produce a crop. Eventually, locusts and grasshoppers would destroy crops, as well as floods and famines and other disasters. Man would have to fight the elements in order to provide food for his family, until the day he died. Then, he would return to the dust from whence he had come, and all of this, because he had chosen to eat the forbidden fruit.
Then, after clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins, they were banished from the Garden of Eden. No longer would they walk with God and talk with Him in the cool of the evening. No longer would they have access to the tree of life. Now, their lives would be filled with pain and toil, simply because they had chosen to eat the forbidden fruit…
I’m sure they never dreamed that their beloved son Cain, would kill his younger brother Abel, as a result of their sin. They never imagined that Cain’s descendants would be given to the same violence as Cain. They had no way of knowing that all of their descendants, except for Noah and his family would one day be wiped from the face of the earth, because their wickedness was so great. Because of one “little” sin, all of these things and more happened.
Look around our world today. Homosexuals are marrying one another, and brazenly displaying their sins publicly. Children rebel openly against their parents. Lies, murder, adultery, idolatry and all sorts of evil abound, as the love of mankind waxes cold, because of one little sin.
This is why Jesus and Paul compared sin to yeast. Only a little bit will spread through all of the dough. Do you have any sin in your life? Perhaps it’s just a “little” sin, but that “little” sin can have devastating consequences, and who knows how many people and generations will be effected by it.
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.9 But if we confess our sins to him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Despite mankind’s rebellion against Him, God hasn’t left us without hope. When He punished Adam and Eve and told them the consequences of their actions, He also made a promise…
15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
You see, because of the disobedience of one man, every generation thereafter, has suffered the consequences of his rebellion. Every single one of us has been born into sin. We all have a sinful nature, because of Adam and Eve’s one “little” sin. Yet, God, in His mercy, has given us the hope for redemption. He has made a way for us to walk with Him, and talk with Him, and to have everlasting life…
18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.”12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him.13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Beloved, today is the day of salvation. Don’t let sin destroy your life and the lives of who knows how many other people. Repent, and call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved.
31 Here is another illustration Jesus used:“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Some say that the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are two different things, but, if you examine scriptures, Jesus spoke of them interchangeably…
30 Jesus said,“How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?31 It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,32 but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”
18 Then Jesus said,“What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it?19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”
So, again, where or what is the Kingdom of God? How do we find it?
3 Jesus replied,“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
The first thing we need to understand about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, is that only those who are born again will be able to see and enter it. He also tells us that the Kingdom belongs to those who are poor in spirit…
3 “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are the poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].”
Jesus makes it clear in this verse that the poor in spirit (those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant) have the kingdom of heaven… He doesn’t say that the kingdom will be theirs, using the future tense. He spoke in the present tense, meaning this is already so.
Therefore, since Jesus tells us that we must be poor in spirit to receive the kingdom of heaven, and that we must also be born again, in order to even see it or enter it, we must be poor in spirit in order to be born again. For it is when I was poor in spirit, that I recognized my absolute need for a Savior. Because I am poor in spirit, I know that apart from Jesus, I can do nothing. I needed and I still need Jesus, and in order to be a part of His kingdom, I needed to be reborn. I was already born of water from my mother’s womb, so now, I needed to be born of the Spirit.
4 “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].”
It is because I was (and still am) poor in spirit, that I began to mourn (repent) of my sins, and I cried out to Jesus to forgive me and save me. In that instance, He heard the cries of my heart, and I was born again. He had not only forgiven my sins, He had also cleansed me from all unrighteousness. I was no longer the same. I had been transformed, not because of my goodness, but because of His mercy and goodness. Immediately, I became a part of the Kingdom of God, because His Holy Spirit came to dwell within me. For, His temple is not in a building made by human hands. According to His word, His temple is now within my body…
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
The kingdom of heaven is here on earth, among His children, who have been born of His Spirit. When two or more of us gather together in His name, He is here, in the midst of us. If you have been born again, you are a part of His kingdom, and you can see it…
So, what is this kingdom like???
31 Here is another illustration Jesus used:“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
Remember, in His other parables, Jesus said that the seed represents God’s word, and the crop that grows from it represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word, and produce a large harvest…
23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Therefore, the tiny little mustard seed represents the word of God, planted into the hearts of man. Then, that tiny little seed grew into an enormous tree, which represents the growth of the church. Think about it, on the day of Pentecost, there were only about one hundred and twenty (see Acts 1:15) Christ followers, but after the Holy Spirit blew in, settling on them in the upper room, they rushed out into the streets, rejoicing. Before the day was over, three thousand more believers had been added to their number (see Acts 2:41)! Everyday after that, more and more believers joined them, as the church continued to grow enormously (see Acts 2:46-47). Within a short time, the number of believers grew to five thousand (seeActs 4:4)! As people were healed and witnessed many miracles, signs and wonders, crowds of men and women began to believe (see Acts 5:14)! Indeed, as God’s message spread, the number of believers greatly increased. Even some of the priests became believers (seeActs 6:7).
The church grew amazingly fast, and amazingly large. Just look at how many people claim the Christian faith today. In fact, as that mustard seed grew into a huge tree, birds came and made nests in it… Do you remember that the birds represented the evil one, snatching the word away from the believers in the first parable we talked about inSowing Seeds Begins with Prayer?
Whenever scripture speaks to us in parables, they don’t change. For instance, leaven (yeast) always represents sin. The seeds in these stories, represents God’s word. Likewise, the birds represent the evil one. Whenever the word of God goes out, the enemy seeks to destroy it or snatch it away. In this case, we see that the enemy has built nests within the church. So, what does this mean?
In the parable we discussed yesterday, inThe Wheat and the Weeds Know the Truth, we saw that the weeds, which were planted by the evil one, grew up right alongside of the wheat (true believers). Likewise, today, we see the true believers (the church) represented by the mustard tree, and nesting within its branches, are the birds (those sent by the evil one, to snatch the word of God away from the believers). Do you wonder if this is even possible? Look at this warning from Jesus…
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.
There are deceivers in the church, right now. They are in the pulpits, on committees, and in the pews. Some may seem righteous, but their hearts are black. Therefore, it is vital that you know the Truth, and the only way to know Truth is by having a close relationship with Jesus. Talk to Him and study His word.
16 Rejoice always;17pray without ceasing;18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, “You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings.32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 NLT
15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
Beloved reader, if you walk in close obedience to Jesus, you will not be fooled by the birds in the tree. Even if you are momentarily fooled, God will open your eyes to the truth, and when He does, you must proclaim the truth of God’s word to others, so that they will not be fooled. I’m not telling you to kill the birds, because the Lord will remove them, when the time is right. I’m telling you to speak the truth in love and walk in truth.
15 But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.
15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.
24 Here is another story Jesus told:“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
We learned yesterday, from Sowing Seeds Begins with Prayer, that the good seed that was planted, represents the word of God that was planted in the hearts of people…
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.
Jesus is the word of God. He is the living, and the spoken word of God. Every scripture that has ever been inspired or God breathed, points us to Jesus. And Jesus made it clear that He is the only Way to God. He made it clear that He is the Truth, and that He is Life. Those who hear this and understand this, represent the good seed that the farmer spread onto the ground…
Let’s look at a portion of the prayer that Jesus prayed for those representing the good seed, on the night before He was crucified…
13 “Now I am coming to You. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with My joy.14 I have given them Your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.15 I’m not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do.17 Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your word, which is truth.18 Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.19 And I give Myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by Your truth…”
This is such an important passage for the good seed. Do you see what Jesus said? He gave us God’s word. He gave us Himself. When we become the good seed, by hearing and believing God’s word, He makes us holy.
Jesus knew that He would be crucified the next day, and so He asked the Father to make us holy by His truth. Do you remember who Jesus said the Truth is? God’s word, Jesus, is Truth. We become holy, good seed, by God’s Truth – Jesus…
25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
Who is the enemy of God? We all know that the devil is God’s enemy, but did you know that the devil isn’t God’s only enemy?
1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit He has placed within us should be faithful to Him.
42 Jesus told them,“If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on My own, but He sent Me.43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear Me!44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe Me!46 Which of you can truthfully accuse Me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe Me?47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
The weeds that were planted among the wheat or the good seed, weren’t just the devil. It included religious leaders, and people who call themselves men and women of God, though they really hate the truth. Paul even warned Timothy about this…
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
Beloved, Jesus didn’t tell these parables just because He liked telling good stories. He was telling them to prepare His people then and now, and to warn them. Today, in the church, (I’m not talking about the various buildings, where people attend services. I’m talking about the people themselves, who claim to be Christ followers.) there are many false beliefs and practices, which have sprung up over the last two thousand years, since Christ’s death and resurrection. Some false beliefs and ideas came from merging true Christianity with pagan practices. Others came from people trying to make Christianity more appealing to the masses, by ignoring obedience, and making Christianity more worldly. Still other false practices and beliefs came from the very pit of hell, in order to deceive the people of God.
Because of this, we have men and women in the pulpit, preaching lies to their congregations. Some deliberately deceive their followers, while others unwittingly do so, as they repeat the lies that they have been taught, ignorant of the truth themselves. That is why it is vital for each person to pray to the Almighty in Jesus’ name, asking Him to reveal the Truth to them. Also, when you read a book by a Christian author, or a post, such as this one, pray and seek the truth in the scriptures for yourself. I’m human, and though I don’t want to mislead anyone, I do make mistakes. See if what I’m telling you lines up with the word of God. Likewise, whenever you read something by any Christian author, see if it lines up with God’s word. Beloved reader, you don’t want to be mislead, because God isn’t going to separate the weeds (the deceivers) from the wheat (true Christ followers), until the last day…
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.
“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
The deceivers and the deceived continue grow along with the lovers and believers of the truth. Therefore, pray, study and read God’s holy scriptures, for in them, you will find the truth…
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.2 A large crowd soon gathered around Him, so He got into a boat. Then He sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
When Jesus walked the earth, fulfilling the Law and the prophets, He was here to seek and save those who were lost. Yet, He knew that He would soon be leaving the earth, and He needed to prepare His disciples to continue His ministry, when He was gone. Of course, He knew that we would have His Holy Spirit living within us, but there were still many things He needed to teach us about ministry. Therefore, He shared this parable with the people.
Later, after He explained why He spoke in parables to His disciples, (see Why Parables) He explained the meaning of this parable…
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
Have you ever tried to share the love of Christ with someone, and he/she just doesn’t get it? Even though the reality of Him is so real and so clear, this person simply can’t grasp what you’re saying. This has nothing to do with a person’s intelligence. I’ve known people who have read the bible from cover to cover, without ever hearing it speak to them. It often seems like the most logical people believe in the most illogical things. They’re more willing to believe in “coincidence”, rather than God’s answer to someone’s specific prayer. Or, they might believe in some unproved theory, such as evolution or a cosmic disaster from which life evolved, rather than seeing the evidence of God’s creative design.
The reason for the disbelief of many of these people is found in Matthew 13:18-19 NLT. Though they have heard the word of God, before it reached their hearts, the evil one came and snatched it away. It doesn’t matter how much knowledge a person has, if the word of God never reaches his/her heart. Therefore, don’t be discouraged when you meet someone like this, because you now know how to pray for him/her. Pray that God’s word would reach this person’s heart, and that its roots would grow deep…
20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
When I ministered in prison, I can still remember how mightily the Lord would work on the hearts of the women. I remember one woman, in particular, who was so on fire for the Lord, and when she was released, she asked me to come to her home and pray for her, her new home, and her children, which I gladly did. I took her to church with me, and she wept through the whole service. She was so thankful to God for setting her free, and so was I, but, within a month, she was using crack again, and prostituting herself. She ended up going to another prison. It broke my heart. I continued to pray for her for several years after this (I still pray for her, whenever I think of her, like now), and I visited her at the other prison, and again, after she was released from that prison. The last I heard, she was living with a man that she wasn’t married to, but she was no longer using drugs. Still, sadly, she also wasn’t walking with the Lord. Oh, she knew the Christian lingo, but the fruit she bore, told another story.
I was really discouraged by this, and yet, it’s clear to me now, that she represented the rocky soil spoken of inMatthew 13:20-21 NLT. Father, I pray, in Jesus’ name that You would break the rocky soil of my friend’s heart, until it is no longer hardened against Your word. And I pray, Lord, that You would once again sow the seed of Your word into her heart, so that those seeds would take root, and those roots would grow deep into her heart. Let faith grow strong within her, and rekindle the love and the joy she once felt for You, in Jesus’ name.
22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.
Have you ever met someone who worries about everything, all the time? As I read Matthew 13:22 NLT, my heart goes out to someone that I love dearly, and I’m moved to pray for this beloved person, for whom I haven’t known how to pray. In all honesty, I simply get so frustrated with this loved one, that I don’t even bother to pray. Father, forgive me for my impatience, and please touch the heart of this loved one, and remove the thorns of worry and anxiety that plague him/her constantly. Lord, just as You sent Your word and healed many others, I ask You to send Your word to my loved one, after the thorns are removed, and heal him/her, in Jesus’ name.
23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Of course, everyone wants to minister to someone who will truly hear and understand God’s word, but having lived with farmers for the last thirty-five years, I’ve learned a few things about soil. Did you know that not all soil is good for planting? Most times, soil has to be worked, fertilized and prepared for planting. Then, once it’s been planted, it needs to be weeded and tended. Knowing this, isn’t it just possible, that Jesus told this parable to the disciples (and to us too!), so they wouldn’t just give up on people?
Perhaps, we need to begin praying for God to work the soil of the hearts of those we love and minister to, so they will be prepared to receive the word of God, when it is planted…
I love the parables of Jesus. They give me something to ponder and pray about. My prayer is that my ears would not simply hear the words, but that I will listen to His words, heed them, and understand them. Father, open my ears, that I may hear. Open my eyes, that I may see, and open my heart and mind, so that I may understand Your words and live in obedience to them. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Jesus often spoke to people in parables, and His disciples asked Him why He did this…
10 His disciples came and asked Him, “Why do You use parables when You talk to the people?”
11 He replied,“You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.12 To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. 15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and let Me heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”
These words sound harsh to many, but they give me hope. Have you ever tried to share the truth of the gospel to someone, and no matter how clear it is to you, they just don’t get it? Indeed, they don’t even want to hear about this Jesus, who has captured your heart. Have you ever walked away from a situation like this, feeling like a failure? I have…
Yet, perhaps the failure wasn’t mine. Perhaps, in His great wisdom, this was part of the lesson that Jesus gave His disciples (that includes all of His followers), so that they would continue in the work that He gave them, even when they felt as though they had failed. I have shared the gospel with friends, family, people I love, and with enemies, sometimes, with great success. Other times, I’ve faced abysmal failure, which left me feeling ill-equipped and unworthy of sharing this Good News.
Yet, as I read these words of Jesus, my heart wonders, “Is it possible that they heard, but they didn’t listen? Could they have seen, and yet not seen?” Again, I am reminded of something else Jesus spoke to His disciples…
44 For no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me, and at the last day I will raise them up.
When I think of the prophets of long ago, crying out for the people of God to repent, they weren’t welcomed with open arms and open hearts. No, they were mocked, scorned and ridiculed, at best. Many were even assaulted, and murdered for sharing God’s Good News. Many were killed by the religious leaders of their day.
So, why is it, that I expect things to be easier for me? Why is it, that I expect the church to embrace me in love, when I don’t have any words that will tickle their ears? Though I speak the truth in love, most still don’t want to hear it.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and let Me heal them.’
Still, we must continue to speak the truth in love, and proclaim the good news whenever we are given the opportunity…
1 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when He comes to set up His Kingdom:2 Preach (proclaim) the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
Beloved, Jesus commanded all of us to go and make disciples of all nations. Every man, woman and child, who comes into a relationship with Jesus Christ has been given the honor and the privilege of sharing the Gospel with those we come into contact with. Therefore, let us not be discouraged when it seems that no one is listening, or that no one really cares. It is our joy and honor to speak the truth in love, and trust the Father to draw whomever He will to Jesus. It is also our privilege to call upon the Lord to open the eyes, ears, hearts and minds of those with whom we share the Gospel, and let Him reap the results.
I ministered in prison for ten years, and during that time, I saw many of the same women leave and return to prison again and again. Sometimes, I was certain they had finally seen the light, only to watch in sorrow, as they returned to prison again and again. Yet, I don’t believe my time there was wasted, because I only know what the Lord led me to speak and do. I don’t know who really listened and understood in their heart, but God does. My time wasn’t wasted, because I obeyed Him, and I drew closer to Him, as He filled my heart with love for the women I ministered to. We may never see all of the results of our labor, before our time in this life is finished, but let us be like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all of the prophets who have gone before us…
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Father, I pray that You would continue to give us, Your children, eyes to see and ears to hear You. Give us hearts that are willing to obey You and walk humbly with You, O Lord. Show us Your ways, and let us not look to the right or to the left, but help us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on You.
Please help us not to be discouraged by what seems like failure to us. Instead, give us a willing spirit to speak Your word in and out of season, no matter whether it is received by others or not. And when our work here is finished, Father, let us be able to join Paul in saying…
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.
The following post showed up on my daughter’s Facebook news feed the other day, and led to great discussion, and deep pondering:
“What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would His Word still be enough for His people to come together?”
—David Platt
“Christ calls men to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in His name.”
—Tozer
What if there was no stage? Why does there have to be a stage in ministry? Aren’t we supposed to be one in Christ?
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
— Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV
Jesus didn’t need to stand on a stage. He ministered wherever He went, and people listened, because they were hungry for the truth. He didn’t need an opening band to warm the crowd up. He warmed them with His love. Jesus ministered, not only on the temple steps, but in the streets, at funerals, wherever He went.
He didn’t preach nice ear-tickling sermons. He wasn’t politically correct. Indeed, society’s leaders hated Him, because He cried out against sin and injustice, and He spoke words that were contrary to their belief system. He offered them nothing of this world, and yet, people were drawn to Him anyway…
43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said.44 For no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me, and at the last day I will raise them up…”
— John 6:43-44 NLT
— Read John 6:20-70
Jesus didn’t depend on a contemporary worship service, or a charismatic speaker to draw the people to Him. He knew that only One could draw mankind to Him, and that was His Father. What makes us think, that with our many “programs” today, we can draw people to Jesus? Only God can do that, and while we may draw many people to our mega-churches or our mini-churches, we aren’t called to make church members of all nations, tribes and tongues.
We are called to make disciples (followers of Christ) of all nations, but how can we do this, if we are so focused on our various programs that we’ve lost sight of the only One who can draw people to Him? How can we make disciples of all nations, when we are busy building bigger and better churches? Didn’t Jesus command us to GO and make disciples of all nations? We can’t do that within the four walls of the church. We must go into the world, speaking the truth in love, as we follow God’s Holy Spirit, and allow our Father to draw men to Christ.
Yes, we must join one another in prayer, and disciple others, so that they, too, can go into the world, allowing God to minister through them, and draw still more to Christ. Entertainment is not necessary. Yes, it’s great to sing praises to the Lord. Scriptures command us to do so, but it is for His glory, not our own. It is to bless Him, not ourselves. We are called to worship Him, not to entertain ourselves.
Is it any wonder that more people are not drawn to churches? Much of what they receive in church, they can receive in the world. Our churches have become so comfortable with their traditions, and programs, that they no longer have room for the gospel of truth.
What if we went to church one Sunday, and there was no music or band playing? What if we went to church one Sunday, and there was no one on a stage? What if we went to church one Sunday, and the only words spoken were the words of God? What if we went to church and everyone humbled themselves and prayed, and repented of their sins, and sought God’s face? What if this became the norm? What if, after humbling themselves, praying and seeking God’s face, men and women left the building, going into the world, and making disciples of all nations… of this nation???
What if you, and I started this today, within our own home? Brothers and sisters, the people of this world want something genuine and real. I want something genuine and real, don’t you? I want to hear God’s voice, not another man’s voice. I want to walk in obedience to God’s will, not man’s whim, don’t you? What if God’s people, those of us, who call ourselves children of the Most High, would humble ourselves and pray and repent, and seek God’s face? What if we turned from our wicked ways? Is He not still the same God, who promised to hear from heaven and come down, and heal our land? If ever a nation needs healing, ours does!
Father, hear our cries, as we stop “doing church as usual.” Hear us, Lord, as we (I) humble ourselves before you. Lord, I seek Your holy face, and I turn from all my wicked ways. Forgive us of our sins, and heal our land. Lord, draw us closer to Jesus, and draw those who are lost, beginning with the leaders of this country, Father, to Jesus! Draw our families and our loved ones to Jesus, Lord. And also draw our enemies to Jesus, Father. Unite us with one mind, one body, and one Spirit, in Jesus’ name, amen.
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for His servant?”
So many of us are feeling very self-righteous during this current election season. We have the democrats, who are so full of themselves, as they decry the republicans for not caring about the poor, the elderly, and the minorities, though their actions against the very same speak volumes. Is Hillary truly for women and minorities? Or is she simply for herself? Open your eyes, friends!
Then, there are republicans, who are outraged that a criminal, such as Hillary Clinton, is running for office. After all, let’s really look at her track record. She claims to be a woman’s advocate, yet when her husband, Bill Clinton was charged with sexually abusing women, she did what men and women throughout the ages have done. She blamed the victims. And yet, how can the republicans truly be outraged by this, when their own frontrunner, Donald Trump, has a very similar track record to Bill Clinton. This man is no respecter of women, minorities or the poor!
So, instead of uniting in prayer, what do the men and women, of this country (who claim to be believers), do? We attack one another. We attack one another for being on the wrong side. The white Christians attack their black brothers and sisters for electing such an ungodly man as Barak Obama as president, and for looking to Hillary Clinton, who is equally ungodly and amoral, to answer their prayers for the good of this country, while the black Christians attack their white brothers and sisters for turning to the ungodly Donald Trump to make America great again.
Hear me, now. We’re each accusing the other of being ungodly, because we’re on the wrong side, but the fact is, that it’s entirely possible that we’re all on the wrong side. Neither Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, nor Donald Trump can make America great. Neither of them can deliver us from the evil that we see growing ever stronger all around us. Not one of them can set us on the right track. Furthermore, if you ask God whose side He is on, you are very likely to receive the same answer that Joshua received, when he met the commander of the Lord’s army…
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for His servant?”
So what can we do, to heal our land? Instead of taking sides, and expecting God to join ours, perhaps we should simply move to His side, and obey Him…
8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
I can’t make you or anyone else do what is right. I don’t have the power to change your hearts. I don’t even have the power to change my own wicked heart. Therefore, if there is to be any hope for me, for you or for our country, I must humble myself under the mighty right hand of God, and repent of my own sins. I must stop believing the foolish retoric taught by the modern church, misleading the people of God into thinking Christians should never suffer. Beloved readers, understand this – suffering is part of our calling…
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. 10 In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to Him forever! Amen.
This, dear brothers and sisters, is the ONLY hope for our country. Do you want the best for our nation??? Then let’s humble ourselves. Do you want to protect our nation’s children??? The pray and seek God’s face. Cast all your cares on Christ, because He cares for you. Stop looking at our brothers and sisters as enemies, because they don’t think like we do! The fact is, that NONE of us thinks like God, but He doesn’t see us as His enemies…
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Let us unite together, pray together, humble ourselves under God’s righteous right hand, and stand firm, and resist the devil, our true enemy, who is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking to destroy someone. Then, and only then, will he flee.
Do your problems seem insurmountable? Does it seem like you have a mountain of debt? You’re all alone? Nothing’s going right? Nothing will ever work out in your favor? Then I have a word for you!
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
The Lord has given me a word to share with all who are feeling depressed, overwhelmed, lonely, hurt, grieving and angry. This is a word for those who have given up. It’s a word for those whose problems have become impossible. Let those who have an ear, hear what the Spirit says.
The God I serve is holy and just. He is not a God who can’t hear. The answer to your problems is closer than you think…
11 “This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.12 It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’13 It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’14 No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
Your problems are not insurmountable. They are not as big as you imagine. Beloved children, the monster in your closet is only a shadow, and though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear not, for the Lord is with you. His rod and His staff will comfort you.
For just as Peter lost his focus when he walked on water, so you have lost perspective with your problems. The winds that night were fierce, stirring the waves up into a terrible froth, as their caps battered the boat the disciples were in. Yet, when Peter saw Jesus walking on water toward him, he forgot all about the violence of the winds and the waves. He only had eyes for His Lord and Savior, who was calmly walking on top of the raging sea, coming to them…
28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Think about it. The storm was impossible. The waves were high as they crashed into the boat, and the wind blew against them, battering their bodies and the boat. And while the wind blew the stinging needles of the salt water against their skin and their faces, Peter noticed none of it when he saw Jesus walking to them on the water. Indeed the wind and the waves were nothing to him in that instant, as he shouted across the water to Jesus.
28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Then, when Jesus told him to “Come,” Peter leaped out of the boat, and immediately walked on the water towards his beloved Savior. You see, in that moment, his focus was sharp, and his perspective was clear. For nothing is impossible with God. Peter knew that, perhaps better than anyone else, for he did what no man has before or since he and the Savior walked on water. Indeed, he was really doing it, until, for some reason, he took his eyes off of Jesus, and looked around, noticing, for perhaps the first time, since he had started his great adventure, that the wind and the waves were really whipping against him.
30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Can I tell you something, beloved? The wind didn’t just suddenly start in that instant, when Peter first noticed it. It had been blowing all along. The other disciples were already aware of this, and they were scared, which is why none of them cried out to Jesus to command them to come. Yet, though the wind was beating against him, Peter took no note of it, as long as he was focused on Jesus. Beloved reader, have you been like the rest of the disciples, focusing on the wind and the waves? Or are you like Peter, focusing on Christ instead?
We are all human, and sometimes our problems seem to loom so largely against us, yet, it is in these most difficult times that we must look away from the problem, and look to Jesus, the answer to all of our problems. Let’s look at the seraphim, who circle the throne of God day in and day out, 24/7…
It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the Temple.2 Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.3 They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!”
4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
These seraphim continuously cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!” What leads them to cry out like this continuously? They never stop calling out to one another about God’s holiness, no matter what else goes on at the throne of God…
6 One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.7 “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
8 Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed My servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
9 Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Now, we all know that Satan is the devil himself. We know that he’s a liar, and the father of lies. We know that he comes to steal from us, to kill us and destroy us. We know that it is this terrible beast, who is behind all of mankind’s troubles. We know that this old serpent lied to our forefathers, and deceived them into giving up their dominion over the earth. We know that he has led many men to do horrible things to one another. We also know that at one time, he was a big deal in heaven, until he rebelled against God, and led 1/3 of heaven’s angels in the rebellion against the Almighty. We also know that Satan is constantly appearing before God’s throne, accusing us day and night…
… For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
So, what do we do about it? Let’s look and see how the seraphim, those creatures who encircle God’s throne respond, when our accuser appears before the throne…
6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.
In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
Day after day, and night after night, the keep saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty…” When their enemy and ours approach God’s throne, they don’t even notice him, though they have numerous eyes, because to them, he is nothing in the light of God, and all of their eyes are fixed on Him alone. And beloved, it isn’t just the seraphim that have things in perspective. The 24 elders do as well…
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased.”
Beloved, I know we are at war. I know how the enemy is trying to tear you down, because his demons have been tormenting me as well, with pain, fear, poverty and depression, but the time has come for us to stand. We must remember that we are not alone in this battle, no matter how lonely we are.
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
10 In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.11 All power to Him forever! Amen.
Beloved, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you!!! Beloved, the word of the Lord for all of us is to refocus. We must stop focusing on our insurmountable problems, (for with God, all things are possible, even those things we think are impossible…) and look to Christ.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Finally, beloved brothers and sisters, as we stop focusing on our impossible problems, and gaze upon the author and finisher of our faith, it is important to remember how we overcome the accuser of the brethren, the enemy of our soul…
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,
“It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they have defeated him by the blood of theLamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Today is the day that millions of Christians around the world celebrate Christ’s resurrection. After suffering, bleeding, and dying for the sins of mankind, Christ descended into hell, to preach to those men and women who died in the great flood.
18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit.
19 So He went and preached to the spirits in prison—20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.
What a wonderful reason to celebrate! Jesus suffered and died for our sins (yours and mine) once, for all time, in order to bring us safely home to God. He suffered a physical death, and then He was raised to life in the Spirit. And because His love for mankind extended even to those who were dead, He even went and preached to those spirits who were in prison, every single man, woman and child, who had died in the great flood. The scriptures don’t say what came of that, and I’m not going to even venture a guess. All that I can say for sure, is that those lost souls were blessed to hear the Good News of the Gospel of Christ.
Now, you may be wondering what any of that has to do with us, and rightfully so. You see, even though this is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, I can’t help but think about the many people who are teetering on the edge of a great precipice. For, although many faithfully attend church on Easter Sunday, dressed in their beautiful new springtime fashions, and many claim to be children of God, how many truly do know Him? And does church attendance have anything to do with it?
The fact is that for many years, I went to church, took my children to Sunday School, was a fairly nice person, and whenever anyone asked about my religion, I said I was a Methodist or a Christian, even though I really had no relationship with Jesus. I did my best to teach my children right from wrong, and I went to church, because I thought it was good for my children. I didn’t go because I needed to go to church. I had no idea that I, like many of you today, was teetering on the edge of a steep cliff, ready to fall into the deep abyss of hell, below.
Beloved reader, do you know that it’s not enough to say you’re a Christian, if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus? It’s not enough to go to church every Sunday, or only on the special Sundays, if you have never asked Jesus to forgive your sins. Beloved, it isn’t enough to be a good person, because the fact is, that no one is good enough to be a child of God.
10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
Think about it, beloved reader. What would have been the point of Jesus suffering and dying for the sins of mankind, if we were already good enough to get to heaven without Him? If that was the case, He could have stayed in heaven, and we could have worked our way there. But that wasn’t the case, because as the scriptures clearly say, there wasn’t even one person who was good enough.
Therefore, knowing that none of us could come to the Father on our own, Jesus made the way open to people like you and me. He knew that based on our own merit, each and every one of us was condemned to death…
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Beloved, there is only one way to reach the Father, and that way is through Jesus Christ, His One and only Son. You see, long ago, before the foundation of the world, God, through Christ, made this way for mankind. Now, how is that for love? Before He made us in His own image, He knew we would sin and rebel against Him, and He could have just changed His mind and said, “Forget it. They’re too much trouble,” but He didn’t. Instead, He made a way for us, the Only way.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.
4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.
You see, beloved, God doesn’t care about your pretty new Easter outfit, or your new Easter bonnet. He cares about you. More specifically, He cares about your heart. Whom, or What do you love best? For that is your real God. Do you love Jesus? Or do you love family, friends, power or money more? Beloved, it isn’t what we call ourselves that makes us a Christian or not. WHO or WHAT we have placed first in our hearts that really matters.
Let me just briefly share with you the depths of God’s love for you…
16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Beloved, God has made the way of salvation very clear, and contrary to what many believe, there is NO other way. Therefore, if you are teetering on the edge, I beg you to cry out to Jesus! For if you teeter on the edge for too long, you may find that it’s too late.
If you were to put a price on yourself, what would you say you’re worth? Would you say you are worthy of all the love, joy and peace that every human longs for? Or would you say you’re worthless? How do you value yourself? Is your value based on what others say about you? Or is it based on what you think of yourself? Do you think more highly of yourself than you should? Or do you devalue yourself? How should we value ourselves?
It makes sense to look to the One who created us. He alone knows why He made us, and what we were made for. How does God, our Creator value us? In order to understand how God values us, it is important to know what our purpose is. What were we created for?
Bring all who claim Me as their God,for I have made them for My glory.It was I who created them.
We were created for God’s glory. Think about that. We weren’t created to be garbage thrown in a rubbish heap. We weren’t created to be nothing or no one. We were created for God’s glory. Do you know what that means?
It means that everyone who is reading this post right now, and struggling with his/her self-worth, must now realize that you were created for a great purpose. Dictionary.com definesglorythis way:
noun, pluralglories
very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown: to win glory on the field of battle.
something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride: a sonnet that is one of the glories of English poetry.
adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving: Give glory to God.
resplendent beauty or magnificence: the glory of autumn.
a state of splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.
a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.: She was in her glory when her horse won the Derby.
the splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven.
This is life-changing. If everyone, who calls themselves a child of God, could see themselves through His eyes, it could change the world. When I see that I was created to bring the glory to God that is due Him, it changes me. No longer am I content to remain stagnant, for I was created to give glory to God Almighty, my Creator, and the Creator of the universe.
I can no longer view myself as stupid or worthless, (things that others have said about me), because God created me to bring glory to Him, and how can something with no worth glorify God? Furthermore, how can something stupid accomplish the goal that God has set forth for him/her to accomplish?
What else does God say about our worth? Let’s begin at the beginning…
26 Then God said, “Let Us make human beings in Our image, to be like Us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
Beloved reader, you need to understand this, not only with your mind, but with your heart and soul as well. I don’t care if you were born with all of your limbs, some of your limbs, or none of your limbs. It matters not whether you’re as smart as someone else, or whether you’re a slow learner. It doesn’t matter if you like what you see when you look in the mirror, or if you don’t like it. None of these things matter, because YOU were created in the image of God. Do you understand this? YOU were created to give God glory, and He created YOU in His image. Therefore, when you look in the mirror, and hate what you see, you are not just hating yourself, you are hating the Creator who made YOU in HIS image. You not only see yourself as worthless, but you see your Creator as worthless, because YOUlook like HIM!
What else does your Creator say about your worth???
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!
Let’s really take the time to examine this passage, because it really shows our value in God’s eyes. In verse 13, we read that God made all of the delicate, inward parts of our bodies. He made the parts we can see, and the parts that can’t be seen. He made the parts we like, and He made the parts that sometimes bring us shame. He made every single delicate inward part of our bodies, and He labored over them too.
For those who have ever knitted anything, or tried to knit, you know that it is a labor intensive skill. In order to execute it properly, the one who is knitting must pay careful attention to each stitch, because just one slipped or missed stitch can ruin the entire piece. Not only must careful attention be paid, but the knitter must also possess a high degree of skill, for the project to turn out properly. Knitting is not something to be rushed through. It takes time, patience, and skill. Therefore, when you realize that God carefully knit you together in your mother’s womb, you realize that He was taking special care during the nine months that you were being created in your mother’s womb.
14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Just look at this! God wasn’t just making some simple little sweater, when He created you. He was creating a wonderfully complex being, unlike any other that He had created before. He was creating the unique individual that is you, and His workmanship on you (and me too) was marvelous! Go ahead. Look in that mirror again, and take a really good look at the wonderfully marvelous person that God created to bring Him glory.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Let this thought fill you. While you were being created in utter seclusion, God was watching over you. He saw you before you were born, and you were so precious to Him, that He wrote a book about YOU. He wrote about every single moment that would happen in your life, including this moment, right now, as you read these words. He didn’t just dictate what your life would be like. He wrote this book about you, because He knew you, and He knew the things you would go through, and the choices (both the good and the bad) you would make. He wrote this book, because you were so important, so valuable to Him, that your life was worth writing about.
17 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!
Understand this, beloved reader. God thinks about you – alot! In fact, He thinks of you so much, that His thoughts of you cannot be numbered, and each one of those thoughts are precious! In order for you to truly understand how important this is, let’s see how dictionary.com definesprecious…
adjective
of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.
highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality: precious memories.
dear; beloved: a precious child.
Beloved reader, God’s thoughts of you are precious, because you are of great value to Him. You are His precious child, created for His glory. Indeed, His love for you is so great, that He willingly sent His only Son to pay the penalty for your sins (and mine!). It was for you (and me too!) that Jesus willingly suffered, bled and died, so that we wouldn’t have to. Jesus went to death, hell and the grave, and on the third day, He arose from the grave, so that you and I could live eternally. And though it is appointed once for a man to die, judgment follows, and those who are called children of God, the ones whom He created for His glory, will arise to everlasting life…
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt. Not sure how to participate?
What does it mean to fight, and is there ever a good reason to fight? Is there anything worth fighting for? Or against?
There are several different definitions for the word fight, in dictionary.com. However, for the sake of this post, I will use the following definition:
We are currently living in a time, when many of the values that we hold dear in our hearts, are being turned upside down, and those of us, who call ourselves Christians, are expected to accept these changes silently. If we don’t, we run the risk of being labeled “intolerant,” “homophobes,” “bigots,” “haters,” or worse. So, we’re left with a question, “Do we strive and fight against these changes that seem to be inevitable, no matter what we do? Or do we meekly accept the changes that grieve our very souls, in order to keep the peace?”
I’ve thought and prayed long and hard about these things, and, no matter what the world thinks of me, in the end, I have to be true, not to myself, but to the God and Creator of the universe, the One whom I serve, and love with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. When I am at the end of life, here on earth, as we know it now, and I meet with my Father, face to face, I want to be able to look at Him and say, the same words that the Apostle Paul said at the end of his life…
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
So, what things are worth fighting for? Certainly the lives of those, who are unable to care for or defend themselves, specifically unborn children. Although, those who have been pro-choice have tried, for years, to claim that life begins only after a baby is born and takes his/her first breath, ultrasound and many other tests that are done routinely, prove otherwise.
Those of us who are pro-life, know that the instant the sperm fertilizes the egg, life begins, because in order to grow, something must be alive. We know this from a physical standpoint, when at 12 weeks, we are first able to hear the heartbeat of that unborn baby, and we know this from a spiritual standpoint, because scripture tells us of this fact…
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
According to the word of God, we live before we are even born, because He already knows us, even then. Now, whether someone shares my spiritual beliefs or not, is beside the point, because I believe this with all my heart, and because I believe this, I must fight for the life of every unborn child. An unborn baby is not merely a parasite, he/she is a living human. Therefore, according to the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, the fact is, that abortion is the murder of an unborn baby. Whenever someone snuffs out the life of the unborn child, you are stealing the very rights that every man, woman and child has been endowed with. With every life that has been taken by means of abortion, you are taking the place of their Creator, and saying that their life is not as important as the mother’s life. With each abortion, that is performed in this country that guarantees these rights, the child is denied the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These are the very things our forefathers believed were worth fighting for. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are God-given rights (They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…), NOT man-made rights. Therefore, mankind DOES NOT have the right to take away someone else’s rights, whether those of grown men and women, those of little children and infants, or those of babies, who have yet to draw their first breath, while they grow in the safety of their mothers’ wombs.
As a follower of Christ, I must fight the good fight for these precious children, who are unable to speak for themselves… Jesus made His love for children very clear, and He also made it clear that those who harm children have a heavy price to pay…
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them.3 Then He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me.6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Beloved readers, when I think of the millions of abortions that have been performed in the United States, since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, my heart breaks, because for every single one of those millions of unborn babies who was not welcomed into this world, millions of mothers, fathers, nurses and doctors were not only denying the children their right to live, they were also telling Jesus that He was not welcome in their lives either.
So we come back to the word fight. Are there things worth fighting for? Absolutely. It is certainly worth fighting for the life of every unborn child, who has yet to draw his/her first breath. Is there anything worth fighting against? Again, the answer is absolutely. Until we draw our final breath, we must fight against evil, no matter what form it takes.
We must fight against the evil of racism, whether it comes in the form of white men hating black, hispanics or other ethnic groups, or whether black men hate white men. For, no matter what form it comes in, racism is ugly, and those who hate others because of their skin tone, also hate the God and Creator, who created ALL MANKIND in His image.
We must fight against the evil of sin, in every form, because it, like cancer, kills. Until we draw our last breath, we must fight against hatred, bitterness, cruelty, and anger.
We must fight against anything that is detrimental to the family, as God created it to be. For, in order to truly create a family, there needs to be a father (a man), and a mother (a woman). Since the beginning of time, this has been the only way for a child to be conceived. Without a man’s sperm, and the woman’s egg joining, mankind will cease to exist, and the fact remains that no matter how man has tried to alter this fact, both a man’s sperm, and a woman’s egg are still required to create life, and it will always be this way, no matter how man may try to alter or procreate in other ways.
Perhaps many of you are now calling me intolerant, because I say that homosexuality and lesbianism are abhorrent to creation, because no matter what attempts they may make to change this, it cannot be done. Lesbian women still need man’s sperm cells in order to procreate, and homosexual men still need women’s eggs and their uterus, in order for procreation to occur. I didn’t design it this way, God our Creator did. In fact, the Apostle Paul felt that homosexuality was a battle worth fighting over, more than 2 thousand years ago…
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
Now, more than 2 thousand years later, this is still a fight worth fighting. Numerous children are being led astray by the lies the homosexual community spouts as they try to convince the public that homosexuality and lesbianism are normal, and should be accepted by all. Yet, the fact remains that this lifestyle is not, nor has it ever been normal or right. Those who choose to maintain this lifestyle choice do so, in rebellion to God, our Creator.
I’m sure that there are some, who are very angry and offended by what I have written here, but I don’t write these words to stir up strife. Let me be very clear to all who question my motives, I do not hate homosexuals and lesbians. Indeed, I love them, for they are men and women, just like those of us who do not participate in that lifestyle.
My children have done many things that I didn’t like, when they were growing up. Indeed, the truth is, that I hated some of the things they did, but I never once hated my children. I never once stopped loving them. The same holds true with those who call themselves gay. Although I hate the homosexual acts they commit, and though I abhor many of the things they say, I don’t hate them.
Perhaps some of you reading, think me intolerant, and you’re absolutely correct. As I have stated all along, in this post, there are some things that are worth fighting for, and some things worth fighting against. Homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism, beastiality, pedophilia and other sexually deviant practices are sin against one’s own body, and against the bodies of others, and should not be tolerated, much less encouraged, under any circumstance, and while I have breath, I will speak out against such practices, and I will write against them, because such lifestyles are unhealthy and deadly.
More importantly, I fight against these things, regardless of the consequences, because these practices are against God’s will, and when I stand before my maker one day, I want to be able to say these words to my Lord and Savior:
6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.
I’ve thought often about the legacy I will leave when I’m gone, especially as I grow older. I want to leave a lasting legacy of good. I don’t have to be remembered by a lot of people. What’s more important is that people remember that “Jesus Led Me All The Way.”
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
I want to leave my children and my children’s children the great gift of knowing and loving Jesus. I would be beyond happy, if when people spoke of me after I’m gone, they would say, “The only thing I can remember about Cheryl is that when she prayed for me, I felt the powerful presence of God.” It would bless me if someone said, “She reflected God’s presence in her life.”
As crazy as this may sound to some, I want to leave behind a world that hates me, not because I was hateful to the world, but let them hate me because they hate my Lord and Savior.
8 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first.19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you.21 They will do all this to you because of Me, for they have rejected the One who sent Me.22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.23 Anyone who hates Me also hates My Father.24 If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate Me and My Father.25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated Me without cause.’
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world.
I want to leave a legacy of honor and truth, not only to those who love me, but also to those who hate me. I want to share the unfailing love that I have received from God, to all that I come in contact, whether they return that love or not. My hope is that with each day and each year that passes, I will be more and more like Jesus, so that those who know me, will see past my flaws, and see Christ, who lives within me. Finally, when my time in this life is over, let this song be sung at my funeral, and let this phrase from the song, by Fanny Crosby, be written on my tomb: “Jesus Led Me All the Way”
Many believers are under the misconception that because we are saved by grace, obedience is no longer necessary. In fact, there are some who consider grace to be a license to sin. So, in response to these prevailing attitudes, I have a question… How important is obedience, really?
22 But Samuel replied,
“What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”
Yes, this is an Old Testament reference, but let’s not forget this fact; the New Testament God we serve, is the same God who was in the Old Testament, and He hasn’t changed…
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned My decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication.23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade.24 The people surrounded Him and asked, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe Me. The proof is the work I do in My Father’s name.26 But you don’t believe Me because you are not My sheep.27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me.28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me,29 for my Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.30 The Father and I are One.”
17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
You see, beloved friends, whether we lived in Old Testament times, New Testament times, or in the hereafter, God remains the same. Therefore, since God found obedience pleasing in Old Testament times, and since He hasn’t changed, then we can infer that God still finds obedience pleasing and that He always will. Furthermore, when we rebel against God by disobeying Him, then we have committed a sin as bad as the sin of witchcraft. And though we are saved by grace, through faith, (Praise God!), God still commands and desires our obedience.
Moreover, because Jesus and God the Father are One, then His commands are God’s commands, just as God’s commands are His. So, when we read Jesus’ words, we can also deduce that His words are God’s words, and it is the Lord who tells us:
Do you love Him? Then, you MUST obey His commandments. We don’t obey His commandments in order to be saved, because we know that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus…
8 God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Therefore, we respond to God with love, as a result of His wonderful gift of salvation to us, and if we love Him, then we will obey His commandments. What’s more, obedience is so important to Jesus, that He spoke to His disciples about it the night before He died…
I’ll ask you again. Do you love Jesus??? Let’s see what He says about love and obedience…
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love.10 When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!12 This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.14 You are My friends if you do what I command.15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me.16 You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name.17 This is My command: Love each other.
The scriptures are very clear. Obedience is absolutely necessary, if we love God. It’s not an option; it’s a requirement, not for salvation, but for remaining in God’s love. Think about it. If Jesus’ whole life was lived in obedience to God, then how can we even begin to think that we are exempt from obedience? Again, make no mistake, we must obey God, if we call ourselves His children…
46 “So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to Me, listens to My teaching, and then follows it.48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
21 “Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.22 On judgment day many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.’23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.’
Beloved friends, it doesn’t matter how eloquent a preacher is, if he doesn’t live in obedience to God, it means nothing. It doesn’t matter how much you talk about the love of God, if you don’t obey Him, you simply don’t love Him, and if you don’t love Him and obey Him, then how can you remain in His love? Do I sound harsh? These aren’t my words, or my interpretation of the scriptures. This is what Jesus said…
21 Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love.10 When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.
Beloved, here is the truth. If you have been saved by God’s grace, you can’t help but respond to Him in love, and the out-flowing of that love is the desire to please the One who loved us, while we were still lost in sin. When you truly love Christ, it isn’t a sacrifice to give up on our old ways. What becomes of utmost importance to us, is the yearning to live a life that brings glory and honor to Him, and disobedience no longer has any place in our lives.
Does this mean that we will never mess up again? Of course not! As long as we walk in this body of flesh, there will be times when we sin and fall short of God’s glory. The difference between one who lives a life of obedience for Christ, and fails from time to time, and one who refuses to live a life of obedience, is that the one will fall, repent, and cry out to God for mercy and help, while the other will justify his/her sin.
As you can see, beloved reader, obedience is not an option. It is vital to the life all who truly love Christ. So, let’s examine our own hearts and ask ourselves, “Do I really love Jesus? Does my love show in my obedience to His word?” Please join me in praying this prayer that David prayed…
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Ephesians 5:18-19 NLT
The first part of Ephesians 5:18, (Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life…”) is a no-brainer. We’ve all known and loved people who allow drunkenness to ruin their lives and the lives of their loved ones as well. Too much liquor over a short time, can at the very least, cause people to act foolishly, and at the very most, cause death, either from alcohol poisoning, or by drinking and driving. Drunkenness leads to a loss of self-control, and clouds one’s mind, leading to broken families, broken marriages and much pain, to oneself and to those who care about that person. This is a warning that all should heed.
… Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Ephesians 5:18b-19
… Be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. Be filled with the Holy Spirit… What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit and how do we get filled with the Holy Spirit? On the night before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples how to be filled with the Holy Spirit…
15 “If you love Me, obey My commandments.16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.17 He is the Holy Spirit, Who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.19 Soon the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live.20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.21 Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them.”
John 14:15-21 NLT
Let’s examine this passage closely, and see what Jesus says about being filled with the Holy Spirit. The very first thing we must do, according to Jesus is to love Him and obey His commandments. Let’s ask ourselves, “Do I love Jesus?” If we do, we will obey His commandments. These aren’t my words or interpretation, they are the words of Jesus…
15 “If you love Me, obey My commandments.
John 14:15 NLT
Those are powerful words. Obedience isn’t popular these days. Perhaps obedience has never been popular, but it is absolutely necessary, especially if we claim to love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? If you do, obey Him. Do you hate Him? Then don’t obey Him. It’s just that simple. Those who truly love Jesus, obey Him. Jesus makes this very clear to us.
22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
23 Jesus replied,“All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them.24 Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me.25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
John 14:22-26 NLT
A lot of people say they love Jesus, but their lives tell another story. All who truly love Jesus will do what He says. Again, those aren’t my words. They are the words of Jesus. Anyone who doesn’t love Him, will not obey Him. These words force us to examine our own hearts. Do I obey Jesus? Or do I rebel against Him? What are Jesus’ commandments? An expert in religious law once asked Jesus this question:
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied,“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40 NLT
Do we love the Lord, our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? According to Jesus, this is the first and greatest command. Therefore, if we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we will obey His commandments, and that means that not only will we love Him, but we will love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
So, who is our neighbor? When He was asked that question, by an expert of religious law, Jesus answered by telling him the story of the good Samaritan, who showed mercy to an injured man, who normally would have been his enemy; while those who should have loved him and cared for him, left him to die. (See Luke 10:30-37) Therefore, according to Jesus, our enemies are our neighbors, and we must show them love and mercy.
So, let’s ask ourselves, “Do I really love Jesus? Do I truly want to be filled with the Holy Spirit?” If your answer to these questions is yes, then we must obey His commands. We must love our neighbor and our enemy, as we love ourselves…
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.44 But I say, love your enemies!Pray for those who persecute you!45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.47 If you are kind only to your friends,how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Before we continue with our study of being filled with the Holy Spirit, let’s examine our own hearts. This command that Jesus gives us is not an easy command. It isn’t easy to obey this command to love our enemies.
I’ve heard many people preach and teach about loving your enemy, and I’ve heard a lot of false teaching about it, so I want to be sure that we truly understand Jesus’ command. The best example for knowing how to love our enemy comes from none other than Jesus. Let’s see how He handled His enemies, beginning with His betrayer, Judas Iscariot…
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to His Father. He had loved His disciples during His ministry on earth, and now He loved them to the very end.2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.3 Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God.4 So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist,5 and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.
John 13:1-5 NLT
Fully aware that Judas Iscariot had betrayed Him, Jesus still chose to lovingly wash his feet. Later, after the foot washing was done, Jesus spoke about His betrayer…
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats My food has turned against Me.’19 I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah.20 I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes My messenger is welcoming Me, and anyone who welcomes Me is welcoming the Father who sent Me.”
21 Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and He exclaimed,“I tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me!”
John 13:18-21 NLT
Think about what Jesus must have felt as He knelt down on His knees to wash Judas Iscariot’s feet, knowing that this man, whom He had loved and cared for, was His betrayer. What strength Jesus showed, in kneeling before him, and washing his feet, just as He had washed the feet of His other disciples. What kindness He showed Judas, by not revealing His betrayer’s identity to the other disciples…
22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom He could mean.23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table.24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s He talking about?”25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus responded,“It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.”And when He had dipped it, He gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him,“Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant.29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.
John 13:22-30 NLT
Whenever I read John 13, I can’t help but marvel at the great love Jesus showed to His betrayer. Although He knew very well that Judas was a thief (John 12:6), as well as His betrayer, Jesus treated Him with great lovingkindness and mercy. Just think about it, the closer you are to someone, the more painful the betrayal. Jesus loved His disciples like brothers, and this brother’s betrayal cost Jesus His life. Yet, even knowing this, Jesus didn’t shout his name out, so the other disciples would perhaps take care of Judas Iscariot on their own, and get rid of him, using any means necessary. Instead, Jesus lived what He taught. He lived a life of love and obedience.
What about you? Have you ever been betrayed? Have you been stolen from, lied to, used or abused? Do you love your abuser? Or do you hold on to your pain, hating those who have hurt you and betrayed you? Do you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Then choose to obey Jesus’ commandments, starting with His command to love…
Father, I pray that You would touch the heart of every person who reads these words, and that You would fill our hearts with Your love. Help us to love those who don’t love us. Help us to love those who love those who have harmed us. Help us to love others, just as You have loved us. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life. I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.” (Josh Duggar – May 21, 2015)
If you live in the U.S., and you have access to newspapers, magazines, the internet or television, then by now, you’ve no doubt heard about Josh Duggar’s shocking statement, in response to allegations of child molestation. Many people have commented and weighed in on this subject, with some valid points and some foolish ones. This is an extremely difficult situation, for the victims of Duggar’s actions, first and foremost. It is also extremely difficult for his parents, the siblings who weren’t molested, as well as Josh’s wife and children. Many people have already cast judgment on Josh Duggar and his parents, and while I can’t judge the Duggar’s hearts, what can be judged is their behavior at the time Josh molested five different girls, and their behavior now. In judging their behavior, let us remember that it is the responsibility of Christians, to help our brothers and sisters in Christ, when they fall into sin…
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.(Galatians 6:1 NLT)
20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”(Ezekiel 3:20-21 NLT)
As a former victim of child molestation, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on this indredibly painful topic. First, I’d like to address the announcement that Josh made. One thing that jumps out to me in his account is the fact that Josh appears to tiptoe around the subject. While he comes across as sounding regretful and repentant, there is a part of me that questions Josh’s sincerity. If you glance at Josh’s statement, he seems to address the issue, but read it again.
Never once does Josh confess his sin, which is all over the tabloids. Not once, does Josh admit to molesting anyone or committing incest, not to mention pedophilia. Instead, he merely says, “I acted inexcusably…” A teenager acting inexcusably could be guilty of any number of offenses, ranging from minor ones to major ones. Perhaps, you think I’m being too picky, and that Josh’s disclosure of his “inexcusable actions” is enough. However, the fact is that he hasn’t said enough. In his statement to the press, Josh never really confessed to the crimes of molestation, pedophilia and incest that he allegedly committed. Is it necessary for him to say the words? Absolutely. Just as an alcoholic needs to confess that he/she is an alcoholic, so too, a pedophile and a child molester must admit that he/she is a pedophile and a child molester.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NASB)
According to scripture, we must confess our sins in order to be forgiven. According to dictionary.com, the definition of confess is:
verb(usedwithobject)
to acknowledge or avow (a fault, crime, misdeed, weakness,etc.)bywayofrevelation.
to own or admit as true: I must confess that I haven’t read the book.
to declare or acknowledge (one’s sins), especially to God or a priest in order to obtain absolution.
(of a priest) to hear the confession of (a person).
to acknowledge one’s belief or faith in; declare adherence to.
to reveal by circumstances.
verb(usedwithoutobject)
to make a confession; plead guilty; own: to confess to a crime.
to make a confession of sins, especially to a priest.
(of a priest) to hear confession.
According to the above definition, when Josh Duggar gave his press report, he did not confess to, or own the crime he committed. He only admitted to acting inexcusably. Many of us have acted inexcusably, but our inexcusable actions did not include child molestation or incest. Josh Duggar needs to own and confess what he has done, without hiding behind words that are meant to minimize the crime, so that it doesn’t sound as bad as it is.
Another thing that greatly disturbed me when I read Josh’s statement was this comment:
“… I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life…”(Josh Duggar – May 21, 2015)
Perhaps you’re wondering how I could possibly find this statement disturbing, but I urge you to read his entire statement, and take note on whom he focused. Josh understood that if he continued down that road, he would end up ruining his life. He’s absolutely right. He may well have ruined his life with those actions, but what about the lives of his victims?
Regardless of whether he continued on that path, he certainly, at the very least, damaged the lives of his victims. And who, besides God and Josh, truly knows how many other victims there were? We do know that Josh’s actions have already harmed the lives of at least five, not including the rest of his brothers and sisters, his parents, his wife, and the babysitter and her family, as well.
I also found it terribly disturbing that in their interview on The Kelly Files, Mr. and Mrs. Duggar repeatedly minimized the seriousness of their son’s crime against his victims, two of whom were their own daughters!
J.B. Duggar: “… And the girls, we talked to them, and they didn’t know that anything had happened because they were asleep…”
Kelly: “Like when you went to bed at night during that time frame, were you scared? Were you worried? You know, he’s 14, he’s having this problem. What’s going to happen when we go to sleep?”
J.B. Duggar: “Right. Nothing ever happened like that again in the girls’ bedrooms after that.”
Kelly: “Ok.”
J.B. Duggar: “Ok. So, we had safeguards that protected them from that. But there was another incident where — two different incidents where the girls were, like, laying on the couch, and it was — he had touched, like, over the couch and actually touched their breast while they were asleep. And so –“
M. Duggar: “Over their clothes.”
J.B. Duggar: “– over their clothes. And so it was a very difficult situation. But as we talked to other parents and different ones since then, a lot of families have said that they’ve had similar things happen in their families. And so — I mean, this is, for us, of course, this is public shame that our son did this back 12, 13 years ago…”
J.B. Duggar: “… All of these — again, this was not rape or anything like that, this was like touching somebody over their clothes. There were a couple incidents where he touched them under their clothes, but it was like a few seconds and then he came to us and was crying and told us what happened, and it was after that third time he came to us is where we really felt like, you know what?…”
Kelly: “And we’ll going to get to that in one second. The subsequent incidents after the first one involved daughters who were awake, at least a couple of them?”
J. B. DUGGAR: “There was a couple, yes. And they didn’t really understand, though, what happened.“
Kelly: “Yes. What –“
M. Duggar: “It was more his heart, his intent. He knew that it was wrong. But in theirs they weren’t even aware. They were like, you know, it wasn’t — to them they didn’t probably even understand that it was an improper touch.”
Kelly: “I know that the ultimate one before you really got help involved a very young daughter, and I’ll avoid the age because I don’t want to identify anyone specifically, but a single digit. I mean, what was that like for you to hear? You know, one, you must have thought for some time this is a pubescent boy, I don’t know what he’s going through, but he’s testing. But when it moves to a young daughter –“
J. B. Duggar: “Right. At that point, that’s when we pulled him out of the house and we said, he can’t be here. And so, we pulled him out and then, he went through working with that man –“
Kelly: “Yes. He goes through counseling.”
J. B. Duggar: “Yes.”
Kelly: “And then when he was done with the counseling, this is not like a licensed therapist, it’s somebody, a Christian-based –“
J. B. Duggar: “Christian based. But I’ll tell you why.”
Kelly: “Treatment facility…”
Kelly: “… I’m asking you more as the father of your girls than as the father of Josh. You know, it must have been very hard to look at your little one and know the behavior had been ongoing, as difficult as your position was.”
J. B. Duggar: “Right. I was so thankful, though, that Josh came and told us. And our girls, even though this was a very bad situation, as we’ve talked to other families who have had, you know, other things happen, a lot of their stories were even worse…“
To read the entire transcript of the Duggar’s interview, please click this link:
The repeated minimization of Josh Duggar’s criminal actions against his sisters is disturbing. In much the same way that King David, of Old Testament times, ignored the brutal assault that his son, Amnon, committed against his half-sister, Tamar, the Duggar’s also appear to ignore and minimize the traumatizing effects of their son, Josh’s, sexual assault against their daughters. Indeed, protecting and defending their son’s reputation seems to be more important to them, than acknowledging the seriousness of the crime committed against their daughters.
As a matter of fact, the following statement, made by J.B. Duggar, shows just how out of touch with reality they are…
J.B. DUGGAR: I think you actually said pedophile, and a pedophile is an adult that preys on children. Josh was actually 14 and just turned 15 when he did what he did, and I think the legal definition was 16 and up for being an adult preying on a child. So he was a child preying on a child.
KELLY: You do not view Josh as a pedophile?
J.B. DUGGAR: No.
Just to clarify, Wikipedia provides this definition of pedophilia:
Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger.[1][2] As a medical diagnosis, specific criteria for the disorder extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13.[1] A person who is diagnosed with pedophilia must be at least 16 years of age, but adolescents must be at least five years older than the prepubescent child for the attraction to be diagnosed as pedophilia.[1][2]
While it may be true that Josh committed these crimes when he was between the ages of fourteen and fifteen, at least one of the children was more than five years younger than he was. Furthermore, what difference does one year or two make in a situation like this? Let’s remember that Josh molested one of his sister’s, who was under ten years old.
The Duggar’s appeared to be more concerned about the release of Josh’s records, than the crimes he had committed against his sisters. Quite frankly, this whole situation is troubling to me, though many Duggar’s fans claim that they are being unfairly attacked because of their Christianity. I’m a Christian, and I find both Josh’s actions and their response to his actions terribly troublesome.
I believe the Duggars mishandled this situation from the very beginning. Josh Duggar should be on the sexual predators list, just like all others who commit the same crimes. Also, because of the nature of his crimes, he should never be left alone with children, who are unable to protect themselves.
Perhaps you think I’m being too hard on Josh Duggar and his family, but I would suggest that they did not then, and still have not taken this situation seriously enough. I love the Lord, and I’m not questioning their faith in God, but consider this…
Suppose there was a really nice young man at your church, who taught Sunday School, or worked in the nursery, and his background was just like Josh Duggar’s? Would you, as a parent, feel comfortable leaving your children in the care of this man, who says he is a Christian, and he’s turned his life around, or would you remove your child from his class? Knowing this person’s background, I believe that any parent who left their children in the care of someone who had committed incest and pedophelia, would be grossly negligent.
Even if this person had totally turned his life around and given his heart to the Lord, I would not leave my child alone with him, because even after we are saved, we still struggle with temptation, and though I pray Josh has truly changed, to risk a child’s well being, when only God truly knows his heart would be a sin. You see, up until very recently, this was something that was hidden in the dark, and it wasn’t Josh who brought it into the light. He was content to leave it in the darkness, and because God hasn’t revealed whether or not it is now safe for Josh to be alone with children, I reiterate that it would be sinful and grossly negligent to leave a child alone with him.
Because of this scandal, TLC has now cancelled the Duggar’s hit television series, 19 Kids and Counting, and I believe it was the right decision. While I understand that many Christians love the Duggar’s show, and they see a double standard here, believing that this cancellation is an attack on Christianity, again, I disagree. Should the Duggar’s be held to a lesser accountability than other television stars, who have fallen in disgrace due to their sins? Should they be allowed to continue to air their show, when Bill Cosby, for instance, who has been accused of drugging and raping numerous women over the years, has had his syndicated series’ cancelled? I would have to say no.
Friends, let us remember that we, as followers of Christ, are held to a higher degree of accountability than the world is, and although we may have sinned and committed crimes before our salvation, we are not exempt from the consequences of those sins and crimes, just because we are born again. Accepting Christ as our Savior does not give us a “Get out of Jail Free” card. What we receive instead, is a much greater gift, instead. For, when we are saved and delivered from our sins, we receive eternal life, and a “Get out of Hell Free” card.
I won’t deny that this scandal tripped many triggers in me, due to my past. However, I’m not condemning Josh Duggar or his parents. I truly do pray that he has turned his life around with help from the Lord. I also pray that Mr. and Mrs. Duggar will stop minimizing the incest and molestation committed by Josh against their children and their babysitter, and face the true scope of their son’s sin, and the harm that was done to the victims, so that all of them can truly heal from their pain.
As for my fellow believers, let us all agree to pray for deliverance and healing for everyone who was involved in this crime, both the victims, their families, and the perpetrator and his family.
Last night, I had two different dreams, yet both had the same theme. The dreams were what I call “God Dreams,” because both dreams were scripture filled, and they dealt with spiritual warfare. I wasn’t sure if the first dream really was from the Lord or not, because it dealt with a friend, and usually, when I have a “God Dream,” I KNOW it is from the Lord. Yet even though I didn’t know for sure if it was a “God Dream,” I felt a strong compulsion to share it with my friend in writing right away, before I forgot it. I felt very strongly in my spirit that my friend was in danger and needed to be warned of this danger.
In the second dream, Abraham, Isaac and Israel were there, as were many others, including me, and we were all joined in an angelic battle against evil. I felt the darkness all around me, as many, who I thought were friends, who were saved, turned out to be evil. I remember battling against the evil, and many good people were killed. Even some of the angelic beings, who loved and served the Lord were killed. Yet, even so, it was during these battles that I witnessed many miracles, as the dead were raised, and some who were wounded, were instantly healed.
One thing I remember during this dream, which, like all dreams, seemed so real at the time, even though there was evil and darkness all around, I had no fear. Now, you should know that I do not consider myself to be a brave or courageous person. I DON’T like pain, and though I love the Lord with all of my heart, I am in no hurry to die. Yet, I waged war against evil in that dream, and I was fearless. Were there times when I was afraid? Yes, the war that was taking place was very real, and there were times when my heart would pound a little harder, but the Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew, and heard it said in my dream, over and over, “The battle is the Lord’s.”
I won’t share my other dream with you, because that wasn’t meant to be shared with anyone but her. However, suffice it to say that she, too, was in the midst of a spiritual battle.
I’ve thought of these dreams off and on all day, today, and I feel such an urgency within. Friends, I truly believe those dreams were meant to remind me, and now you, as I share this with you, that we are living in very dark times. We are living in a time and place that calls good evil, and evil good. We are living with those who call right wrong, and wrong right. We live among those who call the darkness light, and the light darkness, and there are too many, who call themselves children of the Lord, who don’t know the difference.
What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. (Isaiah 5:20 NLT)
Beloved reader, heed my warning. The time is upon us, when there are false teachers, false prophets and even apostates teaching false doctrine, and many are falling for it, because they do not KNOW the Lord. Oh, many know of Him, but they do not truly KNOW Him, because they don’t want to know Him.
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. (Psalm 103:7 NASB)
What about you? Do you know God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or do you simply know of Him? Do you know His ways? Or do you just know about the things that He’s done?
God calls Himself our husband. Jesus is the bridegroom, and we are the bride. I’ve been married for thirty-four years to the same man, and you know what? I KNOW him. I KNOW his ways. My husband doesn’t have to say a word to me, and with just one glance, I KNOW what he is thinking. We KNOW each other so well, that we finish one another’s sentences. I know what makes my husband smile, and I know what makes him angry. I know what makes my husband happy, and I know what hurts him. When my husband hurts, something within me hurts too, because I KNOW him so well, and I love him.
That’s the kind of relationship that God wants with each one of us. He wants to reveal His character, His intimate ways to us, not just His mighty acts. He wants us to feel His joy when a soul is saved, and He wants us to feel His pain, when someone is lost. He wants us to love what He loves, and to hate what He hates. Yet, sadly, most people will never know Him that well.
Instead, most will settle for a “prophetic word” from someone who may be nothing more than a glorified fortune-teller, wrongly called a prophet in the church. People like those prophets who prophesy “entrepreneurship” or “money in your future.” They like when people tickle their ears, and they believe what they want to believe. What about you? Do my words offend you? Beloved, I don’t want any false prophets tickling my ears. I want to know God so well, that when someone lies, I know it deep within my being. I want the truth, not a lie that gives me false hope.
I want to hope for what is real, and I don’t need someone to prophesy over me, because I KNOW the Lord, and HE talks to me. Does He talk to you? Or are you so busy listening to what your pastor says, that you can’t hear God? Pastors are meant to help us draw closer to God, NOT to take His place.
Do you know what His word says? Or do you only know what you’ve been taught that the word says? Beloved, I urge you to talk with God, listen to God, and read His word, so that you can begin to know Him and His ways. Don’t simply read what I write, or what some other author writes, or what some evangelist or worse yet, some televangelist says. We are ALL human. We ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God. We ALL get it wrong sometimes. SOME get it wrong ALL of the time, and if you don’t know God, you won’t know the difference. Someone could be “ministering” to you now, and because you don’t really know God, he/she could be leading you straight to hell. And understand this, my friend, YOU will be held accountable if you don’t know God, because God has given every one of us ample opportunity to know Him.
For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. (2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT)
Beloved reader, the dreams I had last night are a warning. Let he who has an ear hear that warning. The days are getting darker and darker, and there is a war taking place in the spiritual realm that most don’t even know of. That war is being waged for your soul and your spirit, and if you don’t know God, you don’t stand a chance. Do I sound melodramatic? Yes! I know I do, because it is THAT serious. Therefore, I will close with the words Moses spoke to the children of Israel before he died. And I pray with all my heart, that you would heed these words and choose life!
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
17 “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods,18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NLT)
As I sit here this Mother’s Day, with all of my children and grandchildren living miles and miles away from me, (some live 350 miles away, and the rest of them live more than 700 miles away from me), I am contemplating what it means to be a mother…
When I was a little girl, growing up, feeling unloved and unwanted, I dreamed of one day having children and a husband, who would always love me, no matter what. When I grew up, and became a mother, that dream changed… Oh, I still wanted my children and my husband to always love me, no matter what, but that was no longer my main goal. As I held both my son and my daughter in my arms after each one of them was born, I felt an overwhelming love for them, which cannot be described. Then, as I looked at the man that I had vowed to love, honor and cherish as long as we both shall live, I was awash with a flood of love for him as well. Suddenly, having someone to love me was no longer my priority. For, in an instant, God had changed the selfish longings of a little girl into an unselfish desire. Now, my number one priority was to make sure that my husband and my children always knew that they were loved, no matter what.
My son and daughter-in-law
In a world filled with condemnation and hatred, I’ve always loved my children, and I strove to ensure they knew that they were loved. When they sinned or did anything wrong, I always wanted them to know that although I hated their sin, I still loved them. When I was angry with them, still burning brightly within my heart was a deep, unending love for them. After all, these were my babies.
Like most mothers, I was and am very protective of my children. I struggle with the desire to shield them from all of the pain that every man, woman and child has endured, since Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, and yet, I know that this is foolish. For the scriptures make it clear that everyone must endure troubles, in order to grow endurance and to become complete in the Lord…
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. ~ James 1:2-4 NLT ~
At times, I have felt like a mama bear, protecting her cubs. There’s a built-in radar within me that KNOWS when someone is hurting one of my children, and nothing infuriates me more than to see my child in painl. So, just as a mama bear will attack anyone that may only seem to be a threat to her cubs, I have been known to do the same, spending my rage on the person(s) I deemed dangerous, only to look back on the situation, years later, and understand that there may have been an important lesson that God wanted to teach my child. Yet, rather than trusting in Him, with His unlimited power and love, to protect my children, I trusted in myself, with my limited mortal imperfections, and in the process, sometimes did more damage than good…..
One of the hardest, most painful lessons anyone, who desires to be a good and godly mother, must learn, is that our children, who are such a wonderful gift to us, are ours, only on loan. From the time we first hold our infants in our arms, we must remember to hold them lightly and gently. For if we hold on to them too tightly, we may squeeze the life out of them. If we look to the bible for examples of women, who were good mothers, the mother, who comes to my mind, is Hannah, mother of Samuel, the prophet of God.
Hannah was so desperate to have a child, that she cried out to the Lord, praying fervently. In her desperation, she made this vow to the Almighty…
And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to You. He will be Yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.” ~ 1 Samuel 1:11 NLT ~
When I think of Hannah’s desperation for a child, I remember when my husband and I decided to have a child. Would I be able to conceive a child? What if I couldn’t have a child? Did you experience that same desperation for a child? Does every woman that wants a child experience that desperation?
Look at the price Hannah was willing to pay just so she could have a child to lavish her love on. For, when Hannah held her beloved baby in her arms, she knew that she would only be able to hold him for a very short time. Then, she would have to relinquish him to her heavenly Father.
What pain intermingled with everlasting joy, Hannah must have endured, when her beloved baby, Samuel was born. As he suckled at her breast each time she nursed him, did Hannah contemplate that the time was nearing, when she would wean him, and she must let go of her hold on her beloved Samuel and release him to Eli, the priest and into God’s service? Mothers, as you hold your infants in your arms, and let them nurse at your breast, do you understand that each time he/she nurses, you are one step closer to letting go of him/her? With each new development, he/she achieves, holding his/her head up, cooing, laughing, you are one step closer to that moment, when you must relinquish your hold on your child, and let him/her go.
As I look at Hannah, I see much to admire in her. She longed for a child, so much so that she made a vow to give him back to God, if only He would give her this child. How exquisitely precious, yet painful it must have been as she held her child to her breast, knowing that as soon as he was weaned, she would keep her covenant with God, and return Samuel to Him. What bittersweet joy she must have felt, as she changed each dirty diaper, knowing that as long as he nursed and dirtied his diaper, he would remain with her. Yet when he was weaned, she must let him go.
Surely, she must have been tempted to “forget” her vow to the Lord, yet she remained true to her word, and her son grew to be one of Israel’s greatest judges and prophets. In her obedience and willingness to let go of her son, she enabled him to be all that he was created and called to be. How sad it would have been for both Samuel and Israel, if this brave and faithful mother had refused to let her son go! In refusing to let her son go, she could have ruined Samuel’s great destiny.
Then, there is the father of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, who let go of his beloved son, knowing that in doing so, his son would leave home and probably live a life of sin. Indeed, the son did exactly what his father had feared he would do. He squandered every penny of his inheritance on loose living and loose women. Then, after losing all of the money his father had entrusted him with, the son really hit rock bottom, living on the streets, homeless, because of his recklessness. Don’t you think the father grieved for his son, longing for him to return, so he could rest assured, knowing that his son was safe in his presence? Though the father longed for his son’s love and obedience, he let him go, just as God lets us go our own way. By letting his son go, the father won his son’s heart in the end, and his son returned a better man after living a sinful, adulterous life, because he was now humble and appreciative of his father’s love.
Mothers, when your child walks away from you, even though you know they’re walking into a life of sin, don’t be afraid to let him/her go. For the tighter you hold your child to yourself, the further you are pushing him/her away from you. Yet, by letting him/her go, you are giving God the opportunity to begin a good work in him/her, that He may not have been able to do, because you were always pushing Him away, as you tried to solve your child’s problems.
Are there other examples of mothers letting their children go? Sure there are! What would have happened if Mary hadn’t let go of Jesus? What would have happened if Elizabeth had refused to let her son, John live in the wilderness, wearing camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey? Beloved mothers, entrust your children to God, and let them go. As long as we try to hold on to our children, we deny them the right to grow up strong and whole.
Do I wish my children lived closer to me? Of course I do, but I choose to let them go where God leads them, and I trust Him to care for them and provide for their needs. After all, my Father can do a much better job in taking care of my children, than I can.
The evil all around us permeates the atmosphere, invading homes, neighborhoods, cities, towns, municipalities, states, regions and nations with fear and angst, deception and theft, as well as hatred and murder. From racist cops to criminals and terrorists, including many others in between, evil is all around us. How did this evil get here, and who is responsible for it?
While most people like to believe that mankind is basically good, with only a few who are capable of evil, I subscribe to another, less popular viewpoint. It is my belief that since Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, forbidden to them by God Almighty, the Creator of mankind, everyone birthed thereafter, was born with a sinful nature, which makes each one of us susceptible to evil. Indeed, as the knowledge of man increases, so does his capacity for evil, and it is the sin, into which we are all born, that destines us to death.
Many, who don’t ascribe to my views often pose this question to those who believe as I do, “If all of mankind is truly born into sin, then how can there be any good people? The answer to that question is that the Creator of all humanity has given everyone a free will, which enables them to choose whether to succumb to their sinful nature, or choose to do good. Furthermore, He gave people (who, because of their sinful nature, were all condemned to die once, and after that, receive judgment), the option to receive the free gift of salvation and redemption, if they would simply choose to have faith in Him and His Son, Jesus. However, as simple as that sounds, our humanity rebels against the notion that our salvation rests on something as simple as having faith in the One who created us.
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)
Adam’s single act of disobedience to God’s command led to the first murder, which, incidentally, was also the first death, when his and Eve’s firstborn son, Cain, killed his younger brother, Abel, in a jealous rage. I’m certain, that when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, in an act of rebellion against their Creator, they never dreamed that this single act of disobedience would lead to the devastating loss of not just one, but two sons. For when Cain slew his brother, Abel, not only was Abel lost to them, but Cain was as well, for the Lord punished him by cursing the ground he walked on, forbidding it to yield crops to him. He also banished Cain from the land, and condemned him to walk the land as a homeless wanderer. From Cain’s vicious and murderous attack on Abel, man grew more and more sinful, and more and more violent. If Adam’s one act of disobedience could have such devastating effects, that have continued to grow more and more horrible, with each generation that followed, how do we effect the world and the people around us, when we reject our Creator and His commands?
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV)
Because each of us is born with a sinful nature, sin is instinctual to us. Children need to be taught what good is, and how to do it. Yet, no one has ever had to teach a child how to sin, because that comes naturally to us. Have you ever noticed that when a child begins to crawl around and walk, discovering the world around him, he immediately begins discovering the many dangers around him? Though we try to baby proof our homes, there is always some danger that the toddler discovers, that causes our hearts to pound in fear for him. It is during this time, that we begin to tell the little one, “No,” and the child quickly learns what “No” means. However, although that child knows that it is wrong to touch certain objects or to go to certain places within (or sometimes even outside) of the home, for some reason, the child seems to gravitate towards those things. Did you ever wonder why that is? It is because that baby, just like every other baby born after Adam ate the forbidden fruit, is born with a sinful nature, and it is the responsibility of the parents and those who are involved in that child’s life to teach him what is good, and how to do good.
Though all of us have different weaknesses, every one of us has been guilty of some wrongdoing, and no one had to instruct us on how to do the wrong thing. Indeed, no one even needs to tell us that it is wrong. For just as we are all born with a sinful nature, we are also born with the knowledge of right and wrong, because God, in His infinite mercy, has written His law on the hearts of mankind, so that no one can truly say, “I didn’t know my actions were wrong.” In fact, that very law that is written on our hearts not only checks our actions, but even our very thoughts, so that we also feel guilty, when we are simply thinking about those things that are wrong.
14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know His law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
(Romans 2:14-15 NLT)
“If this is true,” some may ask, “then why do so many people commit such heinous crimes, without feeling any guilt?” The answer to this question is very simple, yet very profound. For although we may feel guilty when we first commit a sin, the more we engage in that or other sins, the less guilty we will feel about it, until, eventually, our conscience is seared.
12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. (Hebrews 3:12-13 NLT)
This is true for all sins, no matter how big or small they may seem to be. For God does not measure the size of a sin to determine one’s guilt or innocence. God hates ALL sin, because sin is deadly. It’s like cancer, killing and destroying every cell within us, until we, like every man, woman and child, since Adam sinned against God, finally die. For those, whose hearts are hardened against God when they die, there will be no other chance for redemption. Those, who choose to believe in their Creator, and His Son, Jesus, will receive eternal life, though their earthly bodies have died.
Yet, in spite of God’s great mercy and compassion on mankind, the overwhelming majority of mankind will choose to reject their Creator, choosing, instead, to follow their own sinful nature. Although God has written His law on the hearts of humanity, they will still choose to go to hell, rather than heaven. Indeed, despite the knowledge that is written on every heart, they will still choose to ignore that knowledge and follow the road to destruction. They even make jokes about it, saying, “Well, if I go to hell, I won’t be alone. All of my friends will be right there with me.”
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)
When I look at the world we live in today, it both saddens and sickens me to see how much evil has increased since I was a child. When I was a child, there were the occasional fights in school, talking too much in class and chewing gum. Most crimes were limited to big cities, which were far away, and though we had bomb drills, and lived during the Cold War, we had no fear, for who would ever be foolhardy enough to dare attacking us on American soil?
12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12 NLT)
Now, I am fifty-four years old, and in today’s world, children and their parents fear they might not come home from school, alive, each day. We now live in a world, where children plot and kill their parents, and where not only fathers, but also mothers, murder, abuse and molest their own children. There are also police, who are corrupted by power, and use it to commit violence and homicides against both innocent citizens and unarmed criminals, thereby violating their duty to protect and defend. Though they have made an oath to heal to the best of their ability, and to do no harm, doctors and nurses murder the very patients they have sworn to care for. Yes, things like this have been happening since Adam’s rebellion, yet it is becoming more and more prevalent, and the crimes that people commit against one another are becoming more and more heinous.
As we look at the evil all around us, and perhaps even within us, it would be easy to lose heart. Yet, the very God who created us, also loves us with an unfathomable love, and He knew, long before He created the heavens and the earth, that Adam would sin against Him, thereby ushering sin into His beautiful creation. Therefore, because sin is so deadly, God had a plan worked out for the redemption of mankind, who was created in His image, even as He breathed life into Adam and Eve.
For the penalty for sin is death, and because sin is so deadly, there are no exceptions. Whether you eat a forbidden fruit, or whether you destroy the life of another human being, the requirement for the atonement of sin is the death of the sinner, for the sins he has committed. Yet, despite the evil all around us, God’s love for mankind was so great that He made a way to redeem the life of man…
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)
God knew the depths to which the depravity of man would sink, still, even so, His love for us was so great, that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son, so that we could live. He knew that Nero would be born, and that he would commit terrible, torturous atrocities against those who followed Christ. He knew that Adolf Hitler would one day, destroy the lives of untold millions, and in the process, slay six million Jewish men, women and children. God knew that Osama bin Ladin would rise up and kill thousands, in the name of his false god, Allah, as he spewed out violence and hatred. God also knows that one day the antichrist will rise up against Christ and His people, torturing and killing countless men, women and children. Still, God chose to give the life of His one and only Son, so that you and I could live and be with Him in eternity. And don’t think that Christ had no say in the matter, for He made it very clear that His love, is so great, that He laid His life down for us willingly…
17 “The Father loves Me because I sacrifice My life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what My Father has commanded.” (John 10:17-18 NLT)
Yes, it is true that we live in a world with evil all around us, yet we don’t have to be discouraged or afraid. For Jesus has told us in His word that as long as we live here on earth, there will be pain and tribulation, but we mustn’t fear, for He has overcome the world. In fact, the word of God also tells us something else that many Christians in the western hemisphere have chosen to ignore…
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad – for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.
14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by His name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?”
19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you. (1 Peter 4:12-19 NLT)
Sadly, not only do these “leaders of the church” ignore this passage, they also accuse those who suffer of having weak faith, causing believers to doubt their own faith in God, sometimes even causing them to turn away from the Lord, because they feel hopeless. Those so called “leaders,” who make these false claims that someone’s suffering is their own fault, because a true child of God would claim healing and walk in it, will be held accountable for every false statement they have made in the name of God. Indeed, the blood of every man, woman and child they have caused to stumble and turn away from God, will be on their hands. For those who do these things, causing emotional pain and spiritual death, are just as evil as those who cause physical harm to another human being, and God will hold them accountable for every sin they committed in the name of Jesus.
As I stated earlier, there is evil all around us. The spirit of evil dwells in the hearts and souls of many men and women, and it also exists in Satan and his demons. Even so, when the enemies of our souls attack us, remember this, and take hope; though the evil all around us can steal our bodies and our minds, those who belong to Christ, should have no fear, for the evil cannot touch our spirits, which belong to Christ, and will one day arise from the grave in triumphant victory, clothed in our heavenly bodies. Therefore, when you read of evil in the news, or watch it on the television, fear not! For if God is for us, who can be against us?
The following is a letter that I posted on Facebook this morning, and I believe it’s important enough to post here as well, for it is vital to the life of our church and nation:
Greetings to ALL My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
To each and every man, woman and child, who has surrendered themselves to God in Christ Jesus our Lord, out of a heart filled with love and gratitude to our Savior, who willingly paid the penalty of death for your sins and for mine, I greet you in the name of Jesus. I’m writing this letter to you because my heart is filled with love and grief for the church, and for this beautiful nation that God has blessed us with. I have always felt honored and blessed to live in this great nation, which was founded on the principles that…
… all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… (Declaration of Independence)
I believe with all my heart that this is true, not because the Declaration of Independence says so, but because the bible tells me so…
26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. (Galatians 3:26-29 NLT)
Beloved readers, do you understand what this means? It means that once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you become a child of God and a joint heir with Jesus, Himself! It doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor, a servant or a king, black or white or any other shade in between, you are a child of God, who loves each of His children equally. It doesn’t matter whether you are very intelligent, or whether you have a learning disability, your Daddy (Abba/Father) loves you just as much as He loves His other children. It doesn’t matter if your parents loved you more or less than your siblings, because God is your Father now, and He is just. He loves you just as much as He loves me. He loves you just as much as He loved King David, the Apostle Paul, Peter, James and John. Do you understand?
If you understand this, you need to understand something else. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you become God’s child, you also gain some new siblings, who are also children of God. Do you know what this means? It means that you have brothers and sisters from every race and culture, and because they are your siblings, you have to love them, no matter what, because Daddy loves them, and if Daddy thinks they’re worthy of His love, don’t you think they’re worthy of yours too?
Now, I’ve told you that I’m writing this letter because my heart is filled with love and grief for the church, and for our wonderful nation, and I’ve established a very good case for why we should love ALL of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, so now, I’m going to take this love thing a step further, before I share my grief with you. Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, not only are we supposed to love our brothers and sisters, but according to the bible, we’re supposed to love our enemies too…
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48 NLT)
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT)
After reading these words of Jesus, it is very clear that God expects us to love each other AND our enemies. There is no wiggle room, no way to escape this. And, beloved reader, please allow me to make this perfectly clear, for it is of the utmost importance that you understand. Jesus isn’t saying, “Try to love your enemies.” He isn’t saying, “Love good people.” Jesus is COMMANDING us to LOVE our enemies. Do you still need more evidence?
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. 10 When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!12 This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:9-13 NLT)
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15 NLT)
Do you want to be forgiven? Then forgive ALL who hurt you. Do you want to remain in God’s love? Then love ALL mankind.
This brings me to the reason for my grief. We are all aware of the deep rooted racial anger that exists in our country. It is like a dark plague that is killing the church and this once great nation. You may ask why I say it is killing the church, and I will tell you, but first, I will remind you of my love for each and every one of you, my beloved readers, friends and enemies. Some may read what I am saying and take offense, and I can live with that. However, one of the things that truly grieves me is that some of my brothers and sisters in the Lord may take offense, and it is this very thing that is killing the church.
Let’s talk about what is going on in our country, not as black or white people, but as Jesus’ people, okay? You see, when we became children of God, we took on HIS identity. I am no longer defined by my race or ethnicity, and neither are you, brothers and sisters. I am now called “Christian,” and when I interact with people of the world, I want them to see Christ in me, not the white in me. Also, when I look at my brothers and sisters of different races, I don’t see the color or lack of color in them, I look to see the same Jesus, who lives in me, in them too. When I see the Christ in you, my beloved brothers and sisters, how can I help but love you?
Not only that, but when I look at those who don’t know Christ, it isn’t their color that I care about, it’s their heart. My heart is filled with love for those who don’t know Christ, because I know the One who could set them free from their anger and bitterness against people of different races. I grew up in a racist household, and I know firsthand that racism breeds bitterness, and that terrible root of bitterness chokes the life out of every other relationship the bitter person has.
Church, the reason I’m grieving is because WE are supposed to be different from the world. WE are the ones who are supposed to be setting the examples for the world, and yet, how many of us have found ourselves caught up in the anger that is all around us? How many of us are part of the problem, instead of trying to be part of the solution? What if God’s people united as ONE, just as Jesus prayed we would be, and what if we humbled ourselves and prayed, and turned from our wicked ways? And what if we joined together, seeking God’s face, and asking Him to bring unity and love to our land? I believe God would hear our cry and He would heal our land. Do you know why? Because the bible says so.
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)
But sadly, something is preventing us from uniting and praying together, and do you know what that something is? This may be offensive to you, but the words I write are written in love. My heart’s desire is for God to heal our land, and in order for this to happen, we must humble ourselves, but PRIDE is preventing this from happening. You see, there are some among us, who are proud of our race.
Now, I have to be honest with you, and if it offends you, I encourage you to study God’s word, and pray about it. You see, there are some white people who are proud of their lack of pigment. There are also some black people who are very proud of their dark pigment. Now, here’s where I stand on the matter. I’m white, but I’m neither proud nor ashamed of it. I didn’t choose to be white. In fact, I had nothing to do with it, because long before He laid the foundations of the earth, God had determined that I would be a white woman. He’s the One who carefully formed me, and knitted me together in my mother’s womb, and for reasons that only He knows, He didn’t bless me with as much melanin as some of my darker brothers and sisters. That’s okay. I don’t feel slighted. In fact, in the whole scheme of eternity, my lack of melanin, and someone else’s abundance of melanin is really unimportant. After all, the current tent that I dwell in is only temporary, and at nearly fifty-four years old, it’s starting to break down. In fact, one day in the not so distant future, it will finally wear out, and my spirit will leave this body. At some point in time that only God knows, I will eventually receive an eternal body (my forever body), which will never wear out and die, so why should I care about the color of my current flesh?
Indeed, people of God, why should any of us care about our skin tone? You don’t have to tell me the answer to my next question, but it is something you need to pray and talk to our Father about it. Do you have white pride? Do you have black pride? Are you prideful of your race? If so, you need to lay that pride aside and humble yourself and pray for forgiveness. You do know that Lucifer was cast down out of heaven, because he was proud of the body God had given him, right? Do you think that God likes racial pride? Think again. If you want something to boast about, children of God, boast about this:
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NLT)
14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. (Galatians 6:14-16 NLT)
Beloved children of God, it’s time for us to stop allowing our flesh to control our thoughts and our attitudes. It’s time for us to stop taking sides in the current trouble our nation faces. The fact is that there are good white cops, and there are bad white cops. There are good black cops, and there are bad black cops. There are good black men, who have been the innocent victims of bad white cops, and vice versa. However, there are also dangerous and criminal black men, who have attacked good white cops, and been shot in self-defense, and vice versa. So, what can we, as children of the Most High God, do to bring peace and righteousness to our land???
We can start by repenting of any pride that we may be clinging to. We can unite as One church in this battle for peace in our land – no more “white” churches or “black” churches. Let us come together as One people, not to preach or shout or argue about why “I” am right and “You” are wrong. Instead, let us come together as the sons and daughters of God, and let us humble ourselves, as Jesus did…
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, 8 He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:1-11 NLT)
My beloved brothers and sisters, do you want to heal our land and bring about a true and lasting peace? Or, do you want to hold on to your bitterness and anger? Do you want to prove that you are right, holding fast to your pride? Or do you want to surrender it to Christ and join together with ALL of your brothers and sisters, humbling ourselves and praying? Do you want people to see the black or white in you? Or do you want them to see the Christ in you? Are you willing to risk offending friends and family for the sake of the cross? Or are you ashamed of this gospel of peace?
Shall we teach our children to respect law enforcement officers and pray God removes the bad ones? Or should we teach them to rebel against the law? Shall we love our friends and hate our enemies? Or shall we love our enemies, with no regard to race, and bless them, as Jesus commanded? The choice is yours. Shall we choose a time to unite and come together to humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face? Or will we hold on to our bitterness and malice towards another race, refusing to forgive? The choice is yours. If you want to meet and join together, please leave a comment, and we can figure out where and when to join together and cry out to Jesus for our children, our law enforcement officers and our land.
In closing, I’d like to share the priestly blessing with each one of you. For not only are we children of God, but we are also a royal priesthood…
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”
In the blessed name of Jesus, I remain, Your Sister Cheryl
He heard the roar of the crowd from a distance, as the young donkey He rode, slowly trudged toward Jerusalem. He was a Man on a mission, and He was determined to accomplish that which He had been sent to do. Nothing or no one would stop Him. He would do just what He and His Father had planned to do before the foundation of the earth was laid. Indeed, for the joy that was set before Him, He would do what was necessary, enduring the pain, though He despised the shame of the cross.
Sitting astride the donkey colt, He quietly watched the throng of humanity, many dancing and shouting, and spreading their capes and coats on the ground before Him. Others cut palm branches off the trees and laid them on the ground, so that it appeared to be a predominately green carpet (much like today’s red carpet is used for special events and for special people to walk upon), inlaid with the colorful garments the people had laid down for the King of kings to ride upon.
As He observed the mass of humanity singing praises and dancing before Him, Jesus didn’t just see a crowd, He noticed each individual. He took note of the woman, whom He had healed from the issue of blood, rejoicing in His presence, and smiled gently at her. He saw Bartimaeus, nevermore to be known as Blind Bartimaeus, since Messiah had healed him, wildly waving his palm branch when Jesus came near. He then laid it down in front of Jesus, and prostrated himself to His Savior and Healer, in worship. Jesus grinned at his enthusiastic worship, filled with love for each and every one of His people, as they cried out to Him with fervor, shouting:
“Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
He knew that some genuinely thought that He was Messiah, but their faith was weak, and though they celebrated Him that day, they would revile Him in just a few days hence, and He felt a pang of pain in His chest. There were others who were roaring and rejoicing with the crowd that day, and caught up in the excitement of it all, but they never knew Him. Just a few days later, He knew that they too, would be caught up in the hysteria of another crowd, and then, they would no longer shout,“Hosanna (Save Now!) to the Son of David (the giant slayer)! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”On that day, these same people would shout,“Crucify Him! We will take responsibility for His death – we and our children!”Again, though the crowd rejoiced, Jesus’ heart was heavy. Though they had no way of knowing, He knew what was before Him, and how the journey, begun on this day, would end.
“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
“Rabbi (Teacher).“He heard the angry voices of the Pharisees, vying for His attention, and He fixed His saddened gaze on them.“Rabbi, rebuke Your followers for saying things like that!”He looked at each one of them, then, taking note of their self-righteous indignation, as they stood there piously, looking at Him and His followers with barely veiled contempt. His heart was especially heavy, as He gazed at these men, who saw, and yet didn’t see. Perhaps their situation was the most dire, for they acted so religious, but they rejected the power that could make them godly.
Image Credit: rl-blesses.tumbler
Sighing, Jesus replied to their angry demand,“I tell you, if they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”Then, as the little donkey on which He rode, drew closer to Jerusalem, the pain in His heart was too much to contain, and He wept. As he sat upon the little donkey, and stopped to look upon Jerusalem, God’s holy city, He spoke these words, though no one responded…
42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side.44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”
Then, setting His face like a stone, Jesus continued His trek into Jerusalem, and remembered the words of the prophet, Isaiah…
Because the Sovereign Lord helps Me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set My face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.
As I have read and reread the accounts of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, I’ve often wondered how He felt that day. He knew who He was and why He was there. He knew that by the end of the week, He would be tortured and hung on the cross to die a painful death. He knew that while the crowd was rejoicing, there were many, who wanted Him dead, perhaps, even some of those who rejoiced that day. What a great love He had (and has) for us, that He was willing to endure the pain and the shame of the cross, so that we might live!
I pray that you will be blessed and take the time to meditate on all that Christ did, and still continues to do for each one of us, as we remember His life, death and resurrection this week. God bless you!
He had never felt so dejected, so all alone before. Though he cried out to God over and over, He was silent. He was a strong and fearless man, as long as he was hearing the voice of God, and as long as His Spirit rested on him, but from the time of his arrest, YHWH remained silent, leaving him with nothing but time…
Time to reflect on his life and wonder, “Could it be that I misunderstood? Is it possible that I got it all wrong? El De’ot (God of Knowledge), please give me wisdom! Reveal the truth to me!” he cried in anguish, thinking back on his ministry.
He had heard of his destiny from the time he suckled on his mother’s breasts, as both parents shared the miraculous events leading up to his birth. His father, Zechariah, a priest of the Almighty, who served in the Temple, told John about his visit from Gabriel, one of YHWH Tzevaot’s (God of Hosts’) angelic warriors. It was Gabriel who informed Zechariah that he and his wife, Elizabeth, had found favor with YHWH, and that Elizabeth would give birth to a son, whom Zechariah was to name John. Gabriel also told his abba (father) that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth, and that he would bring joy to many.
“Adonai,” John whispered in the silent darkness of the dungeon, “from the time of my birth, I never so much as took a sip of wine or allowed any other alcoholic drink to pass my lips, according to the command Your angel, Gabriel gave to my Abba. I lived in the wilderness, and I cried out to the people, according to Your word:
“‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near…’(Matthew 3:2 NLT)
“And Adonai, I was fearless and bold, knowing I was doing what You had called me to do. When the Pharisees and Saducees came to watch me baptizing many in Your name, I cried out to them in righteous anger:
“You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be His slave and carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with His winnowing fork. Then He will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into His barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.(Matthew 3:7b-12 NLT)
“And El Shaddai, I was so certain, when I saw Jesus that day and baptized Him, that He was the long awaited One, but now, in this foul and wretched dungeon, I haven’t heard You speak to me, and my heart is heavy. Could I have been wrong? O YHWH! Speak to me, please!” Yet, though he cried out, there was no comfort to be found in that dreadful dungeon, where the only certainty seemed to be his impending death.
The nights were the worst, for it was then that the darkness was thickest, and it was then that the tormenting doubts were at their worst. During the days, there was a thin shaft of light that came through a small window, high above him. John tried to keep track of each new day, by that small bit of light, but as his strength ebbed, with little nourishment, and only a cup of water in the morning and at night, he lost all track of time.
One day, he heard the voices of his disciples, calling down to him from the small window above. Though he couldn’t see them, he rejoiced to hear their voices, picturing each one in his mind. His eyes filled with tears, as his disciples reported the many things that Messiah was doing. It had been so long since he had heard a report from Adonai, and as he listened to their report, John stood up and called two of his disciples by name, telling them, “Go to Jesus for me, and ask Him:
‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,or should we keep looking for someone else?'”(Matthew 11:3, Luke 7:19 NLT)
His disciples departed quickly, to do their prophet’s bidding, while John sank to the prison floor, and closed his eyes. Exhaustion overwhelmed him, and within minutes, he was asleep. It was dark, when he awakened. His throat was dry and parched, as though all of his saliva had been blown away in a desert sand storm. Disoriented, he shook his head, trying to see in the vast darkness, but there was only black all around him. He was unable to even see himself, let alone his surroundings.
“John!” he heard a familiar voice calling his name in the darkness, somewhere above him. “Are you in there John?” the voice of his disciple called, as John suddenly realized where he was and who was calling out to him.
“Yes!” he tried to shout, but his dry and raspy voice sounded more like the croak of a frog, than the shout of a prophet of God. “Did you find Him? What news do you bring? What did he say?” Closing his eyes, tears welled up in them once again, and John breathed a soft prayer to El Elyon (Most High God), “Please, El Roi (God who sees me), let this be the answer to my prayers.”
“We found the Rabbi (Teacher), John,” they spoke in unison, hoping John would find comfort in their message.
“Did you ask Him if He is Messiah or if we should look for someone else?”
“We did, John and Jesus told us to:
‘Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who are not offended because of Me.’ (Matthew 11:4-6, Luke 7:22-23 NLT)
“That’s all He said, John, nothing else. Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“No,” John said. “You’ve done enough. Thank you. Go quickly now, before someone discovers you here.” His disciples quickly departed, promising to come back to visit him again, as soon as they could.
Tears rolled freely down John’s cheeks, mingling with the mucous from his nose and falling to the dirt floor of the dungeon, as John whispered to himself,“The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. God blesses those who are not offended because of Me.“
John repeated the words again, smiling through the tears, “The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. God blesses those who are not offended because of Me.“
Rejoicing, John began to repeat the words of the prophet Isaiah, that his father, Zechariah had taught him so many years ago, when he was just a boy…
5 “And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. 7 The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. 8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. 9 Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. 10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness. (Isaiah 35:5-10 NLT)
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon Me, for the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.”(Isaiah 61:1 NLT)
Again, John repeated the message Jesus had given Him, laughing aloud as joy welled up within him, “The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. God blesses those who are not offended because of Me.
“El Chaiyai (God of my life), thank You. This poor man cried, and You heard me and saved me out of all my troubles. You sent Your word out to me, and it produced the fruits of joy and peace, accomplishing exactly what You meant it to accomplish, and it has prospered me.
“Thank You for Your lovingkindness in the midst of my weakness. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. God blesses those who are not offended because of Me. Adonai, I am not offended because of Messiah. I can now die in peace, because You have spoken to me in the depths of darkness and misery.”
I love this story of John the Baptist, because it shows his humanity. John was a strong and powerful man of God. Even Jesus, Messiah, the Son of the Living God, respected John. In fact, after John’s disciples departed to deliver Jesus’ message to him, Jesus said this about John:
“What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?25 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces.26 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.27 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,
‘Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, and he will prepare Your way before You.’
28 I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” (Luke 7:24-28 NLT)
Do you want to know one of the reasons I love this story about John the Baptist? It is because Jesus honored John by telling this to everyone afterJohn had asked if He was truly the Messiah. Jesus wasn’t angry when John, in a time of weakness, doubted.
Think about it, John’s father, Zechariah doubted Gabriel’s prophecy of John’s birth to him and his wife, and because of his doubt, Zechariah was made mute, until after John’s birth. I’m certain that his father must have shared this with his son, on more than one occasion, as he grew up, and now, John was imprisoned, and faced with his own doubts. In light of Gabriel’s response to his father’s question,“How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”(Luke 1:18 NLT)I wonder if John feared Jesus’ response to his question,“Are You the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”(Matthew 11:3, Luke 7:19 NLT)
It’s obvious that there is a difference in the questions that were asked. Zechariah’s doubt stemmed from the fact that he simply didn’t believe what Gabriel had told him. John’s doubt was different. He was at a low point in his life (Can you relate?), imprisoned and alone, no longer able to minister as he had been called to do, and in his weakness, he became uncertain. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe. He had lost everything, and that’s when he started to question.
Have you ever been there? I have. When I was no longer able to continue ministering in prison, because of my back problems, I had questions. If I could no longer work and no longer minister in prison, was my life over? Was I a disappointment to God? Had I imagined that I was called by God to minister? Like John, I struggled with these questions. And I cried out to God for comfort and reassurance, and for awhile, all I heard was silence.
There’s another reason why I love this story so much. The reason why this story blesses me is because of the way that Jesus answered John’s question:
4 Jesus told them,“Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—5 the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.6 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of Me. (Matthew 11:4-6, Luke 7:22-23 NLT)
Jesus could have simply replied, “Yes,” but I don’t think that would have assuaged John’s doubts. You see, John needed a word from God. He needed to hear the word from the Word. From the time he was in his mother’s womb, he had been filled with the Holy Spirit, and after his birth, I’m certain that Zechariah and Elizabeth shared God’s word with him, in preparation for the ministry he had been called to. Therefore, the only thing that could mend John’s broken heart and renew his hope, was the word of God. Knowing this, Jesus answered him by quoting Isaiah’s prophecy about Messiah’s coming.
It is the same way with me, and all who seek the truth. When I need the truth, I find it in God’s word. When I am anxious or fearful, I find peace in the word of God. When I am uncertain or unsure of what my next step should be, I find my answer in God’s holy word. For peace, joy, certainty and truth can only be found in the Word of God.
After having to give up my job and my prison ministry, I was crushed, because I thought God would no longer be able to use me if I was stuck at home. And then, I heard a message from the Lord, instructing me to begin writing again, something that I hadn’t had time to do for many years.
2 Then the Lord said to me, “Write My answer plainly on tablets,so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.”(Habakkuk 2:2 NLT)
I was excited to do what He had called me to do, and then this thought came to me, “I should start a blog.” Now perhaps that doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary to you, but at the time that thought came to me, I had no idea what a blog was. I had heard the word before, but no one had ever explained it to me, and I was never interested enough to know what it was, until the Lord placed it in my spirit to start a blog. Therefore, in October, 2012, I started a blog, and this has become my ministry.
Beloved reader, are you in a dark place right now? Do you have questions and uncertainties? If so, I encourage you to pray and seek your answers in God’s word. It is easier now, than ever before, to search for the answers you need from God’s word. You have only to use your favorite search engine online, and enter “Scriptures about _________.” You fill in the blank.
Also, you can read scriptures from just about any bible version you want at the sites listed below. There are many other sites as well, but the top three are ones that I use most frequently.
If you are looking for answers like John the Baptist was, or like I do, I encourage you to seek those answers in the word of God.
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.(Hebrews 4:12 NLT)
3 Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.4 Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
I absolutely refuse to watch TBN and many of the other “Christian” television stations. Does this shock you? At first, I thought there was something wrong with me, because many other believers love televangelists like Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes, Paula White, Joyce Meyer and so many others. Therefore, something has to be wrong with me, right?
However, as I searched the scriptures and compared the gospel preached by these people, to the Gospel of Christ, I discovered that they were preaching a false gospel. Not only that, but in addition to deceiving many good men and women who are seeking the truth, these false teachers and false prophets also fleece their followers.
5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
These men and women make the proud and boastful claim that they need your money in order to save a lost and dying world. However, when Jesus walked this earth as a man, He touched the hearts of a lost and dying world, without pilfering anyone for money. Furthermore, when the apostles went to Jerusalem, Judea, and the uttermost parts of the world, they did so without begging for money. Indeed, the gospel was shared by many of them, as they fled from persecution. Not only that, the Apostle Paul, who traveled through many countries, sharing the gospel to a lost and dying world, was careful not to be a financial burden on the people that he served…
17 If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust.18 What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News.
12 When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle. For I patiently did many signs and wonders and miracles among you.13 The only thing I failed to do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong!
14 Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don’t want what you have—I want you. After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children.15 I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.
9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.
You see, Paul wasn’t interested in how much money he could get out of believers; he wanted to win their hearts. Paul truly sought to save a lost and dying world. Today’s televangelists, evangelists, teachers and various other ministries could learn from his example. For though many of these ministries claim they want to seek and save the lost, their lifestyles paint a different picture.
Let’s look at Creflo Dollar, whose website, on Friday, March 13. 2015, announced a new project entitled, Project G650.
According to this video, the ministry’s current jet is over 30 years old and is now out of service. Therefore, they now need a new one, which will cost $65 million dollars. Really??? He and his ministry team aren’t able to fly commercial flights, like the rest of us???
In doing research on Dollar’s life and ministry, I discovered that his church began in the Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School cafeteria in 1986, to a congregation of eight. In the years following that, his ministry began to grow, and eventually moved to a chapel. Around this time, Creflo Dollar began preaching on the radio, and he began having four services on Sundays. The church continued to grow, from the tithes, offerings and donations they received from parishoners and people around the world, and World Changers Church International (WCCI) eventually built moved into the World Dome, a sanctuary that seats 8500 people, located in College Park, GA. This $18 million dollar church was built from the donations of many men and women, with no bank financing. WCCI also has a church in New York as well.
The ministry isn’t all that has prospered since its humble beginning; Creflo and wife, Taffi Dollar have also prospered. Though he has refused to disclose his salary for many years, it is estimated that Mr. and Mrs. Dollar’s net worth is $27 million dollars, much of which has come from the tithes and donations of many men and women like you and me.
When giving to a ministry, I want to be a good steward. I want to know that my offerings are going to help the needy, widows and orphans, as well as the disabled. I want to know that the money is being used wisely, according to God’s will, and not the will of a greedy man. I would be very angry to think that I have given money to bring the gospel of Christ to those who have never heard Jesus’ name, and to help those who in need of food, money and shelter, according to God’s will, only to find it has been used to line the pastors’ pockets.
2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.
8 Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid.
Pardon me, but I have to ask, how much of the money that is donated to the ministry, for the salvation of souls and to help those in need, is actually going to the needy? Dollar and his wife not only have a net worth of $27 million dollars, as I stated earlier, but he also owns two Rolls Royces, a $1 million dollar home in Atlanta, and a $2.5 million dollar home in Manhattan.
With all of this wealth, I find it very brazen for Dollar to ask 200,000 members to donate $300 so that he can get a new jet! After all, his wealth has come from the donations of many people who have a net worth of little or nothing, because he preaches a false prosperity message and claims that if his congregants will give at least ten percent of their income, they too will prosper. Frankly, with his wealth, Dollar can either purchase his own jet, or he can do as the rest of us do, and fly the friendly skies on a commercial airline!
Minister Creflo Dollar Attempts to Raise $65 Million to Purchase Private Jet
Beloved reader, true ministry begins with you and me, not with some preacher, who is more interested in what you can give him, instead of how he can help you. Do you want to reach a lost and dying world with the gospel? Then share the Good News with your neighbors, your coworkers, and the people you see on a day to day basis. Pray for them. Love them. Talk to them about Jesus, not about your church. This is how souls are won, not by sending your hard earned money to a charlatan who preaches a false gospel.
Finally, since I have shared my concerns about Creflo Dollar and his ministries and net worth, I would be remiss if I did not address one other scandal that was in the news in 2012. On June 8, 2012, Creflo Dollar was arrested for Simple Battery Family Violence and Cruelty to Children for allegedly throwing his fifteen year old daughter on the ground, choking her, punching her and hitting her with a shoe. The girl’s nineteen year old sister witnessed the alleged assault and told the same story her sister did, when questioned. Below is his daughter’s 911 call.
Dollar told a different story, stating that he and his daughter were arguing over a party that he said she couldn’t attend because of her bad grades. He stated that after entering the kitchen and asking why she was upset, his daughter was disrespectful to him, and he tried to restrain her. After restraining her, he said that she began hitting him, and he wrestled her to the floor and spanked her. Below is a copy of the actual police report for Creflo Dollar’s arrest:
On the Sunday following his arrest, Creflo Dollar spoke to his congregation, and listeners all over the world, about his arrest. Below is the video of his address.
Now, here is the issue I have with Mr. Dollar’s address… Firstly, I want to address the congregation’s response, when Dollar entered the pulpit. I was greatly disturbed by the standing ovation and the cheers and whistles that arose in support of him. With absolutely no evidence of his guilt or innocence, the congregation loudly cheered this man, who had been accused of abusing his daughter. The congregation gave no thought for the troubled teen. Now, please understand, when I refer to Dollar’s fifteen year old daughter as a troubled teen, I am in no way implying her guilt or innocence in telling the truth. Either way, this was a traumatic event, and anyone would be troubled by what allegedly happened. On the other hand, if she did indeed lie, as Dollar’s statements implied, she would still be considered troubled, for contriving a lie. In their loud cheers for her father, who was potentially her abuser, the congregation made it clear that she and her feelings were unimportant.
Secondly, I want to address the following statement by Creflo Dollar, by sharing his own words from this address… “I will never put any fault on my children as Jesus would never put any fault on me. I love her with all of my heart. Amen?”That statement, sounds as though it comes from a benevolent and loving father, doesn’t it? However, in keeping it in context with this very same address to his congregation, and all, throughout the world, who view this statement, I have to ask, who, then, if not his daughters, is he faulting? Certainly not himself!
“As everyone knows, raising children in our culture of disrespect, is a challenge and a responsibility for all of us who are parents.”
Isn’t this just another way of saying that his daughter was disrespectful, and in so doing, isn’t he putting the fault on her, something he said he would “never do”?
“The truth is, she was not choked. She was not punched. There were not any scratches on her neck, but the only thing on her neck was a prior skin abrasion from eczema. Anything else is an exaggeration and sensationalism.”
It was his daughter who called 911 and also reported to the deputy that she had been choked and punched. Therefore, isn’t this just another way of saying his daughter exaggerated and resorted to sensationalism (another way for calling her a liar)? Again, wasn’t this something he said he would “never do”?
“I mean, I can’t imagine. If I punched my kid, (emphasizes by punching open palm) I would hurt her. If I choked my kid, you would see visible signs on her neck. But to come and take a picture of a mark that’s been there for ten years, and not have enough intelligence to at least ask the parent what it is, is appalling.”
Let’s remember that Creflo Dollar had been accused, by his fifteen year old daughter of choking and attacking her. Don’t you think the officer asked the girl what the mark was from? Why would he ask the alleged perpetrator of a crime how she got the mark? How likely would he be to tell the truth? I wonder, how likely was he telling the truth in this statement? Also, let’s not forget that her nineteen year old sister corroborated her statement.
“Again, I would never approach one of my children to inflict bodily harm. I love my children enough to establish proper boundaries and help them make right choices.”
Again, he is implying that his daughters are lying about what happened. I do believe that he was trying to establish proper boundaries and help them make right choices, but I also believe that it is entirely possible he lost his self-control in the heat of the moment, and threw his daughter to the floor, choking, hitting, and punching her.
“I will never put any fault on my children as Jesus would never put any fault on me. I love her with all of my heart. Amen?”
His entire statement has one goal… to deflect the blame off himself, by placing the blame onto his daughter.
“I want to say this very emphatically: I should have never been arrested. Never! And when the facts of this come out, you will be appalled.”
Again, though he doesn’t actually say the words, his statement implies that his daughter lied about his assault on her.
“You’ve got to understand something. It’s not as much against me as it is against this message of grace. The devil knows in order to discredit the message, you have to first of all discredit the messenger…”
Here, Dollar implied that his daughter was used by the devil.
“… I want to close and I’ll have nothing else to say about this. I want to close in the book of Psalms, chapter thirty-five, and it’ll describe to you, what is going on. Verse eleven, Psalms thirty-five…
11 Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about. 12 They repay me evil for good. I am sick with despair. 13 Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. 14 I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother. 15 But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they slander me constantly. 16 They mock me and call me names; they snarl at me.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions! 18 Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people. 19 Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow. 20 They don’t talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who mind their own business. 21 They shout, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!”
22 O Lord, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Do not abandon me now, O Lord. 23 Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord. 24 Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles. 25 Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!”
26 May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor. 27 But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing his servant with peace!” 28 Then I will proclaim your justice, and I will praise you all day long. (Psalm 35:11-28 NLT)
Creflo Dollar continued, as though this next passage was a part of Psalm 35, but it wasn’t….
10 Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you; give justice to those with honest hearts. 11 Don’t let the proud trample me or the wicked push me around. 12 Look! Those who do evil have fallen! They are thrown down, never to rise again. (Psalm 36:10-12 NLT)
Now, as you read the scripture above, imagine that you are Dollar’s fifteen and nineteen year old daughters, who signed a witness statement against him. Certainly the pastor’s word, this “man of God” carries more weight than a disrespectful fifteen year old and her nineteen year old sister, who are both indirectly referred to as “malicious witnesses” accusing him of crimes he knows nothing about. After all, he has always taken care of them, even when they were sick, and he’s fasted and prayed for them, and look how they have repaid evil for his good. See how gleefully they have joined together attacking him? Because of their behavior, they have caused people he doesn’t even know to slander him…
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever had a pastor preach a message against you personally, but I have. I pray this has never happened to you, because there is nothing more painful than to have the word of God aimed as a weapon of destruction against you. It doesn’t matter whether you are truly in the wrong or not. It is painful to be exposed, and know that there are others who are listening to the sermon, who also know that the pastor is using you as an example. God’s word is not intended to be taken out of context to condemn or destroy someone else. As you read the scripture in the way Mr. Dollar presents it, he is the victim of a terrible injustice.
Finally, after praying for God’s intervention, just as David prayed against those who treated him injustly, Dollar curses his attackers (in this case, his fifteen year old and nineteen year old daughters, who called the police and signed the report against him) asking God to humiliate and disgrace them, and cover them with shame and dishonor. Regardless of who was speaking the truth, or who was lying, how do you think Dollar’s daughters felt as they listened to their father’s speech that morning? Do you think they were drawn to God? Or did they feel shamed and humiliated by Him?
The assault charges against Mr. Dollar were eventually dropped in January, 2013, in exchange for him attending a pre-trial intervention program, which included him attending an anger management program. In addition, Dollar had to pay $1,072 dollars in fees and court costs.
There are many reasons to be wary of this man’s teachings. His sermons usually revolve around a prosperity message with money and personal wealth as the focus. It’s the kind of message that people want to hear; the kind of message that makes them happy, but is it true?
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
This is why I strongly urge you, beloved reader, to seek God’s face. Study His word for yourselves. When someone preaches or writes a post (including me), read the scriptures to see if what this person is preaching or teaching lines up with what God says. Then, if it doesn’t, find someone who speaks truth, while you continue to study God’s word.
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
Finally, beloved reader, pay attention to the way leaders conduct themselves, when preaching, and when they’re not in front of a group. What does he/she like to talk about most frequently? If the person talks mostly about money, that’s because this is what is most important in his/her heart. How does he/she treat his/her followers? Does this person like to serve, or does he/she expect to be served? For a true leader will lovingly and joyfully serve his/her followers, expecting nothing in return.
18 But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles [him].
43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.
The scriptures above are the qualifications of a true leader, given to us by the King of all other kings, and the Lord of every lord. If the minister you have been following does not meet these qualifications, prayerfully seek one who does. This person should be willing to give to his/her followers, not to take. In light of this, where does Creflo Dollar fall in the spectrum? You decide.
16 There are six things the Lord hates —no, seven things He detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.
Is it me, or does it seem that lying has reached epic proportions? Think about it… Politicians (including the President), whom we vote into office, lie so much and so often, that we’ve come to expect it from them. Indeed, it has become the norm, and most people are seldom even shocked or angered when a politician is caught in a lie. And what about lawyers, who are supposed to be teachers and keepers of the law? Most are quick to lie, especially if it means winning their case. And what do we do, when we discover that someone has told yet another lie? Many just make jokes about it…
18 Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon 19 is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.
Let’s look at Brian Williams, NBC’s anchorman, who claimed that while he was in Iraq in 2003, his helicopter was shot at and hit by ground fire. However, this wasn’t true…
5 An honest witness does not lie; a false witness breathes lies.
Many people were outraged, when Stars and Stripespublished the truth, as reported by U.S. soldiers, who were actually involved in the incident, Williams claimed to have been a part of, and according to them, his helicopter was an hour behind the ones that were shot at. After being caught in his lie, Brian offered the following apology…
9 But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
I’m troubled by the fact that Williams didn’t apologize for lying or misleading the public. He merely apologized for making a mistake. Below is the definition for the noun, mistakeaccording to dictionary.com…
An error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment, caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.
A misunderstanding or misconception.
A mistake is unintentional, but he deliberately lied, and not just once either, though his apology seemed to imply that. The truth is that he has told this repeatedly over the years, on NBC’s Nightly News, in books, in print, and also in the above interview with David Letterman. With each telling of the story, it has evolved over the years, and Williams’ personal involvement in the shooting has grown from zero to hero, His apology seems very insincere too, because he never accepts responsibility for lying. Instead, after being caught in his lie, Mr. Williams confessed that he “made a mistake in recalling the events of twelve years ago…”
Now, as you might imagine, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly had something to say about Mr. Williams’ lie, near the end of one of his segments. Unfortunately, O’Reilly’s statement makes it sound as though ‘t Williams’ lie wasn’t a problem, but the fact that he got caught in his lie…
“He knows what he did was wrong, a lot of people exaggerate their life experience, and he did and he got caught.”
Of course, Bill O’Reilly has also been called out on several occasions recently, by former coworkers at CBS, who say that his claim of having been in the “war zone” during the Falklands war between the United Kingdom and Argentina in the 1980’s, is false. In fact, NO American journalists ever reached the war zone in the Falkland Islands and other territories in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, during the conflict. The difference between Mr. O’Reilly and Brian Williams, is that O’Reilly chose to attack those who called him out for lying, admitting to no wrong doing.
1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”
Within just a few days of the aforementioned scandals, we learned about yet another scandal, this time from one of the members of the President’s cabinet. While on CBS Evening News, recently, when a homeless veteran told V.A. Secretary, Robert McDonald, that he had been in the Special Services unit of the armed forces, McDonald replied, “Special forces? What years? I was in special forces.” Sadly, that turned out to be a lie…
McDonald’s lie was discovered and reported within days of Brian Williams’ scandal, and like Williams, Mr. McDonald publicly apologized… Furthermore, just as Brian Williams’ apology seemed insincere to me, Robert McDonald’s apology also seemed phony. For, just as Williams did not confess and apologize for lying, neither did McDonald, who claimed he had “incorrectly stated that I had been in Special Forces. That was inaccurate and I apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement.” According to this apology, McDonald was just trying to connect with the homeless man and while doing so, he misstated his military history. Really??? Give me a break!
In the midst of all these lies, the media is having a hey day, as they gather around the liars like vultures, ready to feast on the road kill. Meanwhile, the military and its veterans are outraged over the lies, and rightly so. The general public is also incensed over the lies, and I have to admit, I was too. Then, I started thinking…
How many of us have lied and justified or excused ourselves for doing so?
“It’s just a little white lie…”
“I only told a small fib…”
“I exaggerated about what happened…”
“I misspoke…”
Have you ever lied to your spouse or your parents about how much money you’ve spent on something or where you’ve been? Have you lied to your boss about why you really called out? Did you ever tell someone to say you weren’t home, so you wouldn’t have to talk to the person at the door, or answer the phone?
Have you tried to justify your lie, because you wouldn’t need to lie if that person didn’t always over-react to situations? Or perhaps you’ve excused yourself, because one little lie never hurt anyone… Maybe you’ve even told yourself it doesn’t really matter, because no one will ever find out about it anyway…
17 For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
Many of us become completely outraged, when someone lies to us. It also makes many of us furious, when someone like Brian Williams, Bill O’Reilly or Robert McDonald lies. After all, someone in their position should be credible, right?
As a child, I lied constantly. It’s true that I was abused as a child, and many times I lied for survival, but that doesn’t justify it or excuse it. In fact, the more I lied, the easier it got, and the lies grew. I lied so much, that I was often able to convince even myself that a lie was true. I lied to survive, and I lied about things that didn’t even matter. You see, when you tell one lie, you become enslaved to it, because one lie leads to another, then another, and so on.
I wish I could tell you that when I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, one summer, somewhere between the ages of eleven and fourteen, I stopped lying, but that wouldn’t be true. I will say that I tried really hard to stop lying, because I knew it was sinful, but lying was a stronghold in my life, and the harder I tried to stop lying, the harder it was to quit.
During my teenage years, I fell away from the Lord. I still believed in Him, but I was also filled with doubts about Him. You see, someone, who habitually lies, usually has a deceiving spirit within him/her, and not only does that spirit lead him/her to be deceptive; it also succeeds in deceiving the deceiver. So, basically, I was a liar who found it easier to believe lies rather than the truth…
I was around fifteen years old, when I stopped walking with the Lord, and for the next ten years, I chose to go my own way. I am so grateful that during the time I walked away from God, He never left me. When I lied, He continued to convict me of my sin. When I cussed and told dirty jokes, He was still there, reminding me that my behavior was sinful. When I was twenty-five years old, my son was three, and my daughter was a little over one, and I decided it was time to take my children to Sunday School, because they needed Jesus. I didn’t realize that I needed Jesus just as much or more than they did, but God knew. He also knew that before my children could know Him, I needed to know Him.
I hadn’t been bringing the children to Sunday School for very long, when I was asked to start teaching Sunday School. Now, in order to teach Sunday School, you have to prepare for it, and the way to prepare for it is to pray and read and study the bible. As I began to study the bible more and more, I realized how much I needed Jesus back into my life. Meanwhile, though I struggled to stop, I continued to lie, and since I’d rededicated my life to Christ, I was racked with guilt.
I hated lying by now, but I just couldn’t stop it, because I lived in fear. Looking back over my life, I understand that the biggest stronghold in my life, which led me to lie, was fear. When I was younger, I lied because I was afraid of losing my parents’ love, as they beat me and cursed me. As an adult, I lied because I was afraid of losing my husband’s love.
I remember fasting one Saturday, and going to church to be alone with the Lord, praying and preparing for my Sunday School class. As I was praying, the Lord pressed me to tell my husband about a secret I’d been keeping from him, but I was afraid he would leave me, so, I refused. I lived in such fear of losing his love, that I didn’t tell him, when some of our bills increased beyond what we were able to pay. Though he never abused me, I’d grown up in an abusive household, and I was terrified of losing him and being forced to live with my parents again. The Lord kept leading me to tell my husband about this, but I was afraid to trust Him, so I continued to refuse.
Then, a few days later, after a medical procedure, which left my husband feeling very sick, he began to talk about how much he loved me, and what a great wife I was. I told him to stop saying that, because I wasn’t a great wife. I told him I wasn’t even a good wife, but he just looked at me with love in his eyes and said I was a wonderful wife, and he loved me very much. Guilt and shame overwhelmed me, and I confessed everything to my husband, just as God had commanded me to do. After confessing my deception to my him, my husband looked at me through his eyes of love and told me not to worry. Together, we would take care of things.
After that day, I was no longer bound by fear and deception. Does that mean that I haven’t failed since then? No, I’ve lied since then, but I’m quick to confess and repent of my sins, and here’s the funny thing. I don’t lie now, because that sin no longer binds me. God set me free from fear that day, and I’m no longer afraid to tell the truth.
32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What about you, beloved reader? Before you get angry with those who lie and try to deceive us, have you examined your own heart? Are you free from deception? If so, praise God, and instead of being angry at people like Brian Williams, Bill O’Reilly or Robert McDonald, pray for them, and ask God to set them free from their fear of the truth, in Jesus name!
If you still continue to lie to people, especially those you love, ask God to deliver you from fear and deception, in Jesus’ name.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Please note ~ the following post deals with sexually explicit material that may be offensive to some, or may trigger others. However, my intent is not to offend or hurt, but to cast some light on a dark subject…
When the book came out, I was still working, and I remember many of my coworkers going on and on about “Fifty Shades of Grey,” and how good it was. Most would tell me how great it was, and then say, “But you shouldn’t read it, Cheryl. You wouldn’t like it.” Most of my coworkers knew that I was a minister of the gospel, and that I wouldn’t enjoy this kind of book. Most of my coworkers knew me well, yet I worked for a retirement facility, that employed more than two hundred people, so there were others, who were only casual acquaintances.
I remember this one woman who worked the evening shift. She usually came on duty just as I was preparing to leave for the day. One evening, before I left for the day, she stopped by the office, where I was working, to see if I knew where our boss was. After telling her, she turned to leave, so she could finish administering medications to the residents she was caring for, but suddenly, she spun back around, facing my office mate and me again, as she asked, “Do you read?”
“Well,” I jested, “we’re not illiterate.”
Laughing at my comment, the woman gushed, “Then you just have to read ‘Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s so good. It’s a love story with a little ‘soft porn.'”
After hearing so many people rave about this book, I was curious to know what the big deal was, and why so many people were talking about it. Therefore, I went online, and looked to see what it was about. Needless to say, I was shocked. After reading an overview of the book, I wondered how so many good people call this book good? Though it’s been touted as a “love story,” nothing could be further from the truth.
I really never thought too much about “Fifty Shades of Grey,” after that, until the movie was released, on Valentine’s Day, and yet again, people were boasting about this “must see” movie event, which raked in more money at the box office than any other movie has ever done. Numerous people, from all over, flocked to see this “romantic film.” Really??? Give me a break! I’ve remained quiet about the subject until now, but enough is enough, and if I don’t share what’s on my heart about this, I just might explode.
Therefore, let’s just call a spade a spade. While I haven’t read this book or seen the movie (nor do I intend to), I still know enough about it to comment on it. This serial (“Fifty Shades of Grey” is the first installment in a “Fifty Shades” trilogy.) is neither a love story, nor a romance. Hence, in order for us to determine if “Fifty Shades of Grey” is truly a love story or not, we must first know what love really is. To discover what love is, let’s look at the best definition of love that has been revealed to man…
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Now, let us look at “Fifty Shades of Grey,” in light of this definition… As we examine the relationship between the two main characters, Chrisian and Ana, it becomes obvious almost immediately, that there is no patience or kindness between the two. As Christian treats Ana as his personal sex slave, there is not romantic or loving about their relationship. It is both cruel and hurtful. These two characters are involved in an unhealthy relationship, instead of a healthy and loving one, where both people treat one another with respect and dignity. This is an abusive relationship where Christian domineers Ana.
I must say that I am really surprised that more Christians have not spoken out against this novel/movie, and I’m also surprised that most women’s rights groups seem to be uncharacteristically silent on the subject. Such an unhealthy relationship should be denounced for implying that women actually enjoy being tied up, beaten, and verbally, sexually and physically abused.
4 … Love is not jealous or boastful or proud5 or rude…
Love is not jealous… The main character, Christian, is jealous of other men who are a part of Ana’s life. Now, I’ll grant you that there are some women who think it would be nice if their boyfriend or husband was jealous of other men in their lives, but that’s because they’ve never actually experienced the jealousy of a lover.
Jealousy is ugly. Those who are jealous are mistrustful and resentful. Because resentment can quickly grow into hatred, it also often leads to violence. Many times, when a man is jealous of another man who is involved in the life of a woman he cares about, that jealous rage will be taken out on the woman that he supposedly cares about. Does this sound like love to you?
Love is not boastful. Someone who truly loves someone else will not flaunt his/her advantages to the one that he/she loves. The one who truly loves will not ever want to make his/her beloved feel as though he/she is unworthy.
Likewise, the one who truly loves, will not allow his/her pride to enter his/her relationship. The partner who truly loves, will be willing to humble him/herself to the other person. The one who loves will be willing to submit to the wishes of his/her beloved, just as the beloved will also be willing to do. True love is a partnership, in which both parties are willing to give 100% to their relationship. If only one party is willing to do so, then there is no relationship, for a relationship requires two people.
Love is not rude. Love would not even suggest that one partner submit to being tied up, whipped, gagged or sexually abused. Love understands that these actions constitute rape, which is a violent act committed against someone. Rape is not fun or sexy. It is extremely damaging and harmful to the victim, long after the act has occurred. Indeed, most people say that rape is not a sex act, but an act of violence. Violence is not love.
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
Love does not demand its own way. Women, girls, men and boys, hear me now. Love does not demand its own way. If someone truly loves you, he/she will not demand or insist that you participate or allow him/her to sexually abuse or exploit you. If this person truly loves you, he/she will accept it when you say, “No.” If the person you loves demands that you participate in sexually deviant acts, (any sexual act that is not condoned in the bible), even after you’ve said, “No,” then he/she does not love you.
If the person who claims to love you becomes angry or violent because you have told him/her, “No,” they are not treating you with love. If the person begins to list all of the times you’ve failed to do what he/she wanted you to do, this person is not acting in love. Instead, he/she is acting selfishly, which is the polar opposite of love.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
If the person who claims to love you takes pleasure in hurting you, (physically, sexually or emotionally), he/she is rejoicing about an injustice that has been done to you. This is NOT love. It is not fun. This is cruel and harmful to you. If the person you are in a relationship with does not rejoice in the truth of these words that I’ve written, then he/she does not truly love you.
Now, I’d like to share a few words with those of you who read the book and/or went to the movie, 50 Shades of Grey… How would you feel if your daughter, your sister or perhaps, even your mother was involved in this type of relationship? Would you talk to her about it? Would you worry for her safety? Would you worry about her emotional stability?
Or would you find it tantalizing? Would you think it was exciting and sexy? Would you encourage her to go ahead and do it, if she asked for your advice? Would you want her to tell you all about it for your pleasure?
If you would find it disturbing for your beloved daughter, sister, or mother to be involved in this type of relationship, then why would you take pleasure in a book or movie that celebrates this type of behavior? Suppose your daughter, sister or mother, knowing that you had read and enjoyed this book, shared that she was involved in a relationship like this? How would it make you feel? How could you argue against your loved one taking part in this?
Suppose your son, brother or father was involved in this type of relationship. Would you feel proud of him? Would you trust your daughter to be alone with him?
Maybe you’ve read what I’ve written here, and you think I’ve carried it to far. I don’t think so. This needs to be discussed. We need to examine our hearts, for none of us should take pleasure in these things. If this is something you wouldn’t want your loved ones to be involved in, then ask yourself why you’re involving yourself in it. For when you purchase books such as these or go to see this movie, you’re condoning it, and welcoming it into your own life.
Perhaps you’re angry at what I’m sharing. I can live with that. For the fact is, that there are young women, wives and girls who are involved in sick relationships like this, and they would give anything to get out of it, yet they are trapped. And then there are those who will copy what the movie or the book showed, and they will end up raping and hurting other women, and feel perfectly justified in doing so. After all, the movie implies that women like to be treated this way, and every man and woman who bought the book, or a movie ticket also signified this was okay. How would you like it if your spouse or boyfriend treated you like Christian treated Ana? By taking pleasure in this book and/or the movie with him, haven’t you sent that message to him???
Do you think I’m exaggerating the dangers of this movie? If so, I urge you to read this newspaper article taken from the Chicago Tribune on February 24, 2015, by clicking the link below:
Finally, I urge you, therefore, my beloved readers, to do something that many, especially those within the Christian community, are often reluctant to do. Talk with your children, both male and female, and let them know how much God values their lives. Let them know that they are worth too much to devalue themselves as someone’s sex slave or whipping boy/girl. Make sure they know how much God loves them, and how much you love them, and let them know that they will always have a safe place to come to, if they do get involved in an abusive relationship.
And if you, my beloved reader, have taken pleasure in this perverted story, you are not so far away from God’s mercy and grace that you cannot be forgiven. You have only to repent and confess your sins to Him.
9 But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
Forgive me for the delay in this study on Ephesians. Unfortunately, I’ve been under the weather for awhile. However, I’m feeling better now, and I’m anxious to get back to this study.
As you may remember, we’ve been studying Ephesians 1:5, as we discover what it is to be an adopted child of God. Today, we’re going to dig a little deeper into this study, and discover what it is to be a Child of the Promise. The Apostle Paul wrote these mournful words in his letter to the Romans, as he explained that to be a child of God, you must first be a child of the promise…
2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed His glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them His law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping Him and receiving His wonderful promises.5 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ Himself was an Israelite as far as His human nature is concerned. And He is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
6 Well then, has God failed to fulfill His promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!7 Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too.8 This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God.Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.
As we read Paul’s heartfelt statement regarding his Israeli brothers and sisters, we discover that being born a Jew does not ensure they are children of God…
30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God.And it was by faith that this took place.31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in Him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when He said,
“I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.”
Hallelujah! This is too important to miss. Not all Jews are children of God, because they are not children of the promise. In fact, Jesus informed the Pharisees that though they were Jews, and descendants of Abraham, they were not children of God…
38 “I am telling you what I saw when I was with My Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”
39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared.
“No,” Jesus replied,“for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.40 Instead, you are trying to kill Me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.41 No, you are imitating your real father.”
They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God Himself is our true Father.”
42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on My own, but He sent Me.43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear Me!44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies…”
Though His words were harsh, they were true. Instead of telling people what they wanted to hear, Jesus always spoke the truth. For though the Pharisees were descendants of Abraham, they were not children of God. They were children of the devil, who also rejects and hates the truth. This is true of all men, not just the Pharisees. If you are not a child of God, (a child of the promise), then you are a child of the devil.
Therefore, we need to know, (not just in our minds, but more importantly, we need to know within our hearts) what a child of the promise is. Let’s see what the word of God tells us about children of the promise…
30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God.And it was by faith that this took place.31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.32 Why not? instead of bytrusting in Him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when He said,
“I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble,But anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.”
According to this passage, children of the promise are those who have faith in Christ. Children of the promise know that we cannot get right with God by keeping the law. Children of the promise understand that apart from Christ, we’re not capable of keeping the law on our own. Therefore, a child of the promise must trust in Christ to make us right with God…
21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons,one from his slave wifeand one from his freeborn wife.23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of His promise.
24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants.The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia,because she and her children live in slavery to the law.26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27 As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”
28 And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.29 But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just asIshmael, the child born by human effort,persecutedIsaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.
30 But what do the Scriptures say about that?“Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritancewiththe free woman’s son.”31 So, dear brothers and sisters, we are notchildren of the slave woman;we are children of the free woman.
5 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
This scripture from Paul’s letter to the Galatians gives us a beautiful contrast between the children of the promise, and those who are not the children of the promise…
Children of the Slave Wife
Children of the Promise
Born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise…
God’s own fulfillment of His promise…
Live in slavery to the law…
Free from the law…
Like Ishmael, the child born by human effort…
Like Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit…
Persecute the children of the promise…
Persecuted by those who are enslaved…
Will not share the inheritance of the children of the promise…
Will receive the inheritance...
Tied up in slavery to sin and the law…
Free from slavery to sin and the law…
As you can see, the children of the promise, who are the children of God, are those who have faith in God, and also trust in Christ Jesus. Therefore, the question each of us must ask ourselves is, Am I a child of the promise? Or am I a slave to the law, as I continue to try to obtain God’s promise by trying to keep the law without trusting in Christ?
Father, in Jesus’ name, I pray that those who read and participate in this study would be children of the promise. I pray that You would draw each person to You, so that they could taste and see how good You are.
For those who lack faith, Lord, please give them the faith they need to believe that Jesus is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. For those whose faith is weak, I pray that You would strengthen it, and for those who already have strong faith in You, Father, please make their faith in You even stronger, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, make each one of us Your children of the promise. Help us to grow each day in our faith, so that we may bring glory and honor to Your name. Amen.
Yesterday, people from all over the world celebrated Valentine’s Day, the day of love, which begs the question, “What is love, anyway?”
Love is something that most human beings long for and seek for most of their lives. I truly believe that within every man, woman and child, there is a place within our hearts that needs to love and to be loved. There’s a place within us that longs to know and to be fully known, and yet despite our obvious flaws, still be loved completely…
Almost my entire life has bee spent seeking the love and approval of others… family… friends… strangers… and even enemies! Rejection from family, the ones who are supposed to love you no matter what, left me feeling alone and unworthy of love. All too often, I would prayerfully and tearfully ask God what was wrong with me. Why was I so unlovable?
Because of the pain I felt from the rejection of those family members, I was blind to those who truly did love me, just as I am. I was blessed with a husband and children who love me very deeply, and yet, I spent most of my life waiting for them to see the “real me”, which would cause them to reject me too.
As a child, I had to fight to win my parents’ love and approval, and unfortunately, all too often, I failed in my plight. As a result of this, I grew up feeling unloved. For I always did something terrible, which caused them to withhold their love from me.
Knowing how my family felt about me, I was certain that the God of heaven and earth, who knows all and sees all, could never love me. He has seen the best in me, and the worst in me. He knows every bad thing I’ve ever done and ever thought of doing. He also knows every bad thing that I will someday do, and so I was convinced that He couldn’t love me, until I began to hear His voice…
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
I had always felt ugly and defective, both inside and out. As a child, I had buck teeth and a curved spine, which caused me to have to wear a back brace for 23 hours a day. And yet now, the Lord was telling me that He had knit me together in my mother’s womb, and He had made me fearfully and wonderfully in His image. Even so, I still doubted that God could really love me. After all, I had grown up believing that I was unlovable, so how could He love me?
Long ago the Lord said to (Cheryl) Israel: “I have loved you, My (daughter) people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.”
I was amazed. How could the Lord of all Creation, the King of Glory possibly love me? And yet He not only loved me; He also drew me to Himself. What an amazing God and what an amazing love!
I accepted the great gift of His love, and yet, there was still the little girl within me that wondered, “If God had really loved me and chosen me from the foundations of the world, why had I always felt so unloved? Why had I always felt so alone? What was wrong with me?”
You see, I wasn’t questioning God’s goodness. I was questioning my own worth. I was certain there was something terribly wrong with me, something ugly and unlovable. Then, one night, as I was driving with my daughter, who was pregnant with her first child, while we were discussing baby names and their meanings, the Lord spoke to my heart…
Glancing at my daughter, as I drove, I suddenly said, “Do you know what Cheryl means?”
“No,” she responded, “what does it mean?”
“It means ‘Beloved,'” I replied.
“Yes, My child. Your name is Beloved, because you are My beloved. I loved you and chose you before the foundations of the earth were laid, and it is I who named you. For you are My beloved, and I have always loved you.”
Suddenly, everything made sense. I am lovable, because God loves me. I am worthy of love, because God has made me worthy, and if God has that kind of love for me, isn’t it possible that He loves you as well?
Now, my outlook has changed. After all, if God could love me so much, that He would sacrifice His one and only Son in exchange for my life, then how could I not love people, even my enemies, just as He did? Because He loves me so much, I can’t help but share His love with others.
So, what is this love that God has for us, and that He commands us to share with others? Paul, an apostle of Christ, and a great man of God, gives us a wonderful image of what love is, in 1 Corinthians 13…
13 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
As I was reading my last post, I was unsatisfied in my spirit. I felt that I hadn’t completely gone into what it is to be adopted by God, and I didn’t feel that I could move any further in our study, until we dig a little deeper into this subject. Therefore, while the last post served as an introduction of what it is to be adopted into God’s family, this post will delve into what it is to be God’s Child.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
Some versions of the bible say that God predestined us to be adopted by Him through Christ, so what exactly, does predestined mean? According to dictionary.com, the definition for predestined is:
todestineinadvance;foreordain;predetermine
Throughout the church age, there have been many arguments and splits within the church based on the doctrine of predestination. Many feel that if we are predestined to be adopted by God, then that negates our free choice. However, that just isn’t so.
When a couple decides to adopt a child, they predestine a child to become theirs. They then choose the child or children they want to adopt, and those children are predestined to become their children. So, after they adopt those children, they take them home and they shower them with love, raising them as their own. Perhaps some of those children love their adoptive parents, and they do their best to bless their parents for the rest of their lives.
However, a few of their adoptive children do not love their parents. They spend their childhood running away from their parents, and when they are grown, they leave their parents for good. It doesn’t matter to them how much love their adoptive parents gave them, nor do they care about their inheritance from them. They only seek to please themselves.
Now, I ask you, although these children were predestined to be adopted by their parents, did they have any choice about whether they would receive or reject the gift of love that was offered to them? In the same way, God decided, to adopt us into His family through Jesus, yet, just like any other adopted child, He allows each one of us the freedom to choose whether they will accept this wonderful gift of love He offers us, or whether we will reject it. What about you? Will you accept the gift of adoption He has offered you?
Before you decide, let’s discuss the benefits of becoming a child of God…
4 But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.5 God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children.6 And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir.
This scripture lists several the benefits of being a child of God. Firstly, it is important to understand that every man, woman and child is born in slavery. Does this sound crazy to you? Are you thinking, “Wait a minute! I live in a free country.” Perhaps you do live in a free country, just as I do, but it doesn’t change the fact that you, like me, are born enslaved. So, what are we enslaved to? We are all enslaved to sin.
Jesus replied,“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.”
As I’m sure you would agree with the scripture, everyone, including you and I have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. In fact, we are all born in sin. Did you ever notice that children don’t have to be taught how to misbehave? We have to teach them how to be obedient and how to behave properly, but sin seems to come naturally to them. This is because ever since Adam ate the forbidden fruit, all of his descendants (except for Jesus, the Son of God), are born as slaves to sin.
It all sounds pretty hopeless, except for one thing…
4 But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.5 God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children.6 And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir.
Do you see the wondrous news? At just the right time, God sent His Son to be born of a woman and subject to the Law. God sent Jesus to buy freedom for us, (you and me) who were slaves to the law and to sin, so that He could adopt us as His very own children.
Now this is important. When God adopted us as His own children, we were set free from our slavery to sin and the law. I am no longer a slave to sin, because Christ set me free, and then God, Creator of heaven and earth and all that is in them, adopted me as His daughter! Once He adopted me, He placed His Son’s Spirit within me, so that now, I realize that I am not the same. I am no longer unworthy, because He made me worthy of His love, His protection and His freedom. I now have a heavenly inheritance, because He loved me enough to make me His own dear child, just as Jesus is!
There is so much more to share about this adoption, and what it is to be a child of God. Please join me for the next post, when we will continue our study of what it is to be a child of God.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
For every heart that has ever been broken, destroyed by abandonment, rejection and betrayal, and for those that have not, you have been loved with an everlasting love before there was time. These words the Lord spoke to Israel are for all who will call upon His name:
Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.
Do you doubt that these words are meant for everyone who will call on His name? Not only did God love Israel with an everlasting love, He also loves ALL of mankind with a love so strong that He was willing to sacrifice His One and Only true Son for the sake of ALL of us.
For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Those who have been broken, abandoned, rejected and betrayed all long for that one thing. Whether you are willing to admit it or not, there is an ache deep within your heart, a longing for love that cannot be quenched. And how do I know this? I know this because I am one of the broken, abandoned, rejected, and betrayed, and my first memories are of a little girl who had a hunger for Someone to love me no matter how bad, or how ugly, or how undesirable and unlovable I was.
When I was very young, my mother and father divorced. After they divorced, I can count on one hand the number of times I saw my birth father again. Now that I’m an adult, I understand that my father’s abandonment was not because I was bad, ugly, undesirable or unlovable. Instead, it was his problem, but as a child, I believed every single one of those things about myself.
When I was around two and a half, my mother married my stepfather, a man that I grew up thinking was my daddy until right before I entered the first grade, and I had to learn how to write my name. You see, up until that time, I thought my name was Cheryl Mitchell, and I already knew how to write that, but now I learned that my real name was Cheryl Payne, and I didn’t really belong to the man I called Daddy. I wondered why God had made someone like me. You see, even then, I knew there was a God, and though I didn’t yet know Him personally, He knew me, for He was the One who had knit me together in my mother’s womb, and He had a plan for my life.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
I was one of those children that trouble seems to follow, or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I was the one following trouble. I hated school, from the first day I set foot there. It seemed like I was always in trouble once I was in school. When my parents went to parent/teacher conferences, they were told that I could do better if I would just apply myself. I always dreaded those parent/teacher conferences, which would lead to my parents’ cussing me and telling me how worthless and stupid and lazy I was, as they beat me over and over and over again. I was afraid to go to sleep at night, because they would come into my room over and over again throughout the night, until they went to bed, pulling me out of the bed and beating me yet again.
Cheryl – Grade 6
When I was in the sixth grade, I really did something stupid, You see, if I brought home a bad report card, I would receive several beatings, then be punished for the following nine weeks, until the next report cards were issued. My punishment consisted of being banished to my bedroom to study for those nine weeks. I was not permitted to go outside, receive phone calls, play or watch television during those long weeks. I was only allowed out of my room to use the bathroom, eat dinner, go to school and to go to church. I thank God for the church bus that would pick my sister and me up on Sunday mornings, because that was when I was able to laugh and sing and feel loved.
Anyway, when I was in the sixth grade, I received an “Inc.” (Incomplete) on my report card for not writing my fire prevention essay. Don’t ask me why I didn’t write it, because I honestly couldn’t tell you. I knew the incomplete was coming, but I didn’t worry about it until it was actually there, on my report card. When I saw that grade, I panicked, and then I got this “brilliant” idea. I had learned that if you licked the tip of an eraser, you could erase ink. As soon as I got home from school, before my parents came home, I did just that, and changed my grade from an “Inc.” to a “G” (the equivalent of an “A”). I actually got away with my ruse until nine weeks later, when report cards were once again issued.
In those days, we carried our report cards to each class and the teacher would call you forward and print your grade on the report card. My heart pounded all morning long, and through lunch, until it was time to go to my Language Arts class. By then, I was really worked up. I must have had millions of butterflies in my stomach – so many that I was beginning to feel ill. When my teacher called me, my whole body shook with fear, yet still, I walked forward to her desk. As soon as she took my report card out of the envelope, she looked at me and stated loudly, “You erased this!”
I looked behind me, hoping against hope that my classmates hadn’t heard her, but of course, all eyes were on me. I shook my head emphatically, as I looked her in the eye and whispered, “No I didn’t. You did. Don’t you remember? You accidentally put someone else’s grade on here, and you changed it,” but she wasn’t buying it.
“You erased this report card and I’m calling the principal.” With that said, she stood up and walked over to the intercom to call the principal. I was truly panicked by this time, and I didn’t care that my classmates were all staring at me as I cried and pleaded with her not to call the principal, but to no avail. She stood by the intercom and told the principal what I had done, and he hurried to our classroom, where I was weeping inconsolably, and pleading with her and then him not to call my parents.
At that point, I was such a wreck, that they sent me to the nurse’s office. The nurse tried to quiet me, and then she began prying into my business, asking why I was so afraid. She asked me if my parents beat me. Did they abuse me? As she questioned me, all of my fear now turned to anger and hatred, not against my parents, but against her. I was already in enough trouble, without her being nosy and trying to make things even worse for me. It wasn’t until nearly thirty years later, that I realized she wasn’t being nosy. She was trying to help me, but I was too blinded by fear and misplaced anger to realize it.
I thought about running away, but I didn’t know where to run to, and I was too afraid to do it. So, I just sat in my bedroom waiting until my mother came home at 6:00 that evening. By then, my fear had grown immensely, and with good reason. Soon, the bedroom door was opened, and there stood my mommy and my stepfather, whom I thought of as my daddy. My mother began shouting at me, and then my daddy began to speak, and the angrier she got, the louder she was, while the softer his voice got, the more I feared him. They told me how stupid and lazy I was. They said that I was worthless and nothing but trouble. And then, my daddy said the words that really crushed me, “I’m ashamed that anyone thinks you’re my daughter.”
Then they each took turns beating me, but as bad as the beatings were, the thing that still hurts, even now, at 53 years of age, were those words spoken by my “daddy,” the man I truly adored. I wasn’t angry at him or my mother, though, because they were right, I thought. I believed every single curse they spoke over me, and it took many years for the Lord to finally set me free from them. All night long, until she finally went to sleep, my mother would sit in the den smoking cigarettes and thinking about what I had done, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, again and again. Then, she would burst into my bedroom, snatch me out of bed and begin beating me again and again. I laid in the bed, shaking with fear, and crying, and it seemed like every time I would begin to doze off, my door would slam open, and I would be snatched from the bed and beaten again and again.
I was punished for the following nine weeks until the next report card was issued and my grades were good, but until then, I was berated over and over again. I wasn’t angry with my mommy and daddy though. I was angry with my teacher and myself. I hated her for many years, but I hated myself for many more.
On the church bus every Sunday, we would learn different scriptures, and one of the first ones I learned was John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Now, I remember my thoughts when I first heard those words, “For God so loved the world…”
“Yeah,” I thought, “but He doesn’t love me. He knows how bad I am. He knows everything about me, and there’s no way He could ever love me.”
It wasn’t until many years later, on a Saturday as I prepared a Sunday School lesson for children who were the same age that I had been when I first heard those words, “For God so loved the world…”that He revealed to me that those words included me too. While preparing a lesson on Psalm 139, as I read, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Cheryl, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. It was I who knit you together in your mother’s womb, and I knew every single day of your life before you were born, and I loved you.”
Beloved reader, can you believe that? Those words are not just for me. They’re for you, too. And get this, the very same God who knit each and every man, woman and child in their mother’s womb, decided long before then that He would adopt those of us who wanted Him to be their Daddy.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
Isn’t that wonderful? And do you know why He chose to adopt us? He didn’t do it because He pitied us, or because He felt like it was something He should do. No! He adopted us into His own family through Jesus because He wanted to do it! Not only that, it gave Him great pleasureto adopt us!!!
Beloved reader, has your heart ever been broken, abandoned, rejected and betrayed? Have you ever felt unloved and unlovable? Have you ever longed for a Daddy who would lavish His love on you, without feeling like you must earn His love? Do you have a hole in your heart that cries, just as mine did, “Please won’t Somebody love me, even though I don’t deserve it?”
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
Beloved reader, my whole life, I felt like I was nothing but a burden to my family, who I loved deeply. But I now have a Daddy who loved me long before He formed the earth, and He chose me to be His adopted daughter, because I bring great pleasure to Him.
I shared all of this with you, not to make you pity me, but so you can rejoice with me. For you see, I was always loved, even when I felt like no one loved me, and I am no better or worse than you. God loves you, just as much as He loves me, and if you want to experience that love, call upon His name. The following prayer that Paul prayed many, many years ago is the prayer that I now pray for every person who reads this post:
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.16 I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.17 Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.~ Ephesians 1:4 NLT ~
Are you as amazed as I am, at the lengths that God has gone to, in order to win our hearts and rescue us from sin? God looks at mankind, knowing that we are sinful from the time we are born. It’s our nature to sin, and God is fully aware of that…
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. ~ Genesis 6:5 NLT ~
Still, the Lord saw something in us that He loved. Despite the sin that enslaved and controlled each and every one of us, God saw something worth dying for. Doesn’t that amaze you? It blows me away! I know myself pretty well, and when I examine my own heart, I can’t imagine why anyone would be willing to die for me, let alone the Creator of the Universe, whom I’ve hurt too many times to count…
But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.~ Romans 5:8 NLT ~
I feel like jumping up and down for joy as I write and share these words with you. How exciting! In order to comprehend just how wonderful this is, we need to understand that God, also known as Yahweh, Adonai, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our Strong Tower, and by many other wonderful names, is holy…
No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God. ~ 1 Samuel 2:2 NLT ~
Now what is the importance of God’s holiness, and what does it mean to you and me? Firstly, Ephesians 1:4, the scripture we’re studying, tells us that God chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault. Therefore, we must know and understand what holiness is, so that we can be the people God chose us to be, in Jesus’ name…
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. Therefore, I have written the word and definition from the Hebrew translation. Obviously, holy in reference to the Lord, would be the definition Holy One, for He is the only God who is holy. Though other nations chose to worship other Gods, Yahweh alone was the only Holy One, and because of His holiness, He called His people to be holy like Him…
For I, the Lord, am the One who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy. ~ Leviticus 11:45 NLT ~
Now, the New Testament, unlike the Hebrew, was written in Greek, which was a common language, spoken by most nations at that time. Therefore, the Greek word for holyis hagios, which means:
most holy thing, a saint
Now, I know that some churches only refer to certain people as saints, after they have died, however, when we read God’s holy word in its proper context, it says that He chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. Sometimes, we miss out on what God is truly saying, because we listen to what “the church” tells us, without looking to see what God says in His word. According to Ephesians 1:4, God chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes… There was no gathering of apostles, priests, cardinals, bishops, priests, pastors or even the pope, who determined whether we were holy or saints. God alone chose us in Christ.
4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. ~ Ephesians 1:4 NLT ~
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. ~ 1 Peter 2:9 NLT ~
Beloved readers, do you see what God has chosen us for in Christ? He has chosen us – not just people who receive a title from mankind, but you and me to be a holy nation of royal priests, so that we can show others the goodness of God. According to the Hebrew and Greek definitions of holy, we have been chosen to be sacred, set apart from the world, and saints who are holy.
So, what does this mean to us? Firstly, I can be none of the things God chose me to be unless I am in Christ, for apart from Him, we can do nothing…
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:5 NLT ~
It is also very important for us to remember that God in Christ chose us to be His royal priesthood of saints, not us, and not anyone else, be it a preacher, priest or anyone else…
You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name. ~ John 15:16 NLT ~
Beloved readers, it is clear from the scriptures that we have been chosen to be holy (set apart, sacred, a saint), so that we can show others the goodness of God. Sadly, many people who call themselves Christian are no different than everyone else. The King James version of the bible declares that we are a peculiar people, and yet, if we live and behave as everyone else, how are we peculiar?
It’s really sad that you can often tell, just by looking at them or speaking to them, when someone is Islamic, because they often dress differently than us, and they live differently as well. Yet, with a few exceptions, most people could not tell if someone is a born-again Christian or not, because so many continue to live and do as the world does (i.e. – telling little white lies, gossiping, cussing, hating people who are different than they are, fearful of saying “Jesus Christ,” except when they are taking His name in vain…), and so the list goes on and on.
Beloved reader, please join me today and let each one of us examine our hearts, and let us also ask God to do so as well. This is a wonderful prayer that David prayed, and if we ask God to do this, He will be faithful to help us…
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. ~ Psalm 139:23-24 NLT ~
4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.~ Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT ~
Do you remember what it was like to play sports in school? I never did like gym class except for badminton and bowling. Running races was humiliating, because as tiny as I was at the time, I was equally slow. However, by far, the most degrading thing about gym class, was the team sports (i.e. – dodgeball, kickball, softball, basketball etc.), because that was when the gym teacher would choose team captains (always the most popular and athletic), who would, in turn, choose their teams. Of course, the team captains always chose the most athletic (because they wanted to win), and the most popular (because if the team captain wasn’t already one of the popular crowd, if he/she chose wisely, perhaps they would welcome him/her into their elite clan).
Now, I don’t know where you landed in the scheme of things, but I was neither popular, or very athletic. Therefore, I was usually one of the last ones chosen for a team sport. In fact, when the captains began choosing their teammates, I would often pray, “Lord, please let them pick me somewhere in the middle. Please don’t let them pick me last.”
Not only did I hate team sports, team projects were equally undesirable. You see, the brighter, more popular children would team up with one another. Those children who weren’t as intellectual also had their own cliques to work in, which still, left me the odd one out. I was just one of those children who don’t quite fit in anywhere, and even as an adult, I likewise, continue to struggle with feeling out of place.
That’s why I get so excited about this scripture…
4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.~ Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT ~
Do you see it? Before He made the world, God loved me and chose me! Praise God – this is one instance in my life, where I was among those who were picked first! What’s more, if you are born again, believing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, then you, too, can rest assured that as surely as God loved me and chose me before He made the earth, He loved you and chose you before He made the world. Isn’t that Good News?
Just think about it! When I was a child in school, it felt as though my whole world was broken all around me, every time I was rejected. Actually, even as an adult, it still sometimes feels that way, when someone rejects me…
And yet, if I put things in perspective, I gain a whole new insight that allows me to see things as they really are. Now, all of those soul crushing moments don’t seem as devastating, when I consider that the God and the Creator of the universe chose meto be His beloved daughter, long before He spoke all of creation into being. For you see, my present problems are nothing, when I fix m eyes on Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior…
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT ~
Now, when I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and think of how God chose me before He created the earth, Jesus reminds me of this…
16 You didn’t choose Me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name.17 This is My command: Love each other.
Isn’t that wonderful news? Jesus chose His followers. Are you one of Christ’s followers? If so, that’s because He chose you. Do you doubt me? The fact is that we wouldn’t even love Him or anyone else, if not for one thing…
Do you need more convincing? Well, beloved reader, it just gets better!
But you are a chosen people,the King’s cohanim (priests), a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. ~ 1 Peter 2:9 CJB ~
Do you see the beauty of it? Long before we were born, indeed, long before the earth was even created, God thought of each one of the men, women and children who would love and follow Him, and He chose us. He called us by our name, and do you know what we were chosen for? We were chosen to be holy and without fault in God’s eyes. We were chosen to be God’s chosen people, and not only that. We were chosen to be a royal priesthood (the King’s priests), in order for us to declare the praises of Christ, who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. We were chosen by God, because He loves us and it gave Him great pleasure to bring us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and adopt us into His own family.
4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.~ Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT ~
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.~ Ephesians 1:4 NLT ~
One of the things I love about the Lord is that He loved us even before He made the world. Isn’t that wonderful? Just think about what that means… Who knows how old the earth is? Only God truly knows, but before He even laid the earth’s foundation, long before the earth was ever formed, God loved us. Do you know what this means?
It means that even before the heavens and the earth were made, God loved us…
It means that before we were planted in our mother’s womb, God loved us…
It means that before our mother even knew we were planted in her womb, God loved us…
It means that before our eyes were opened in the darkness of the womb, God loved us…
It means that before we ever drew our first breath, God loved us.
It means that though we were born sinners from the moment we were conceived, God loved us.
It means that even though no one else does, God loves us.
So, you’ve heard this before, but what does it mean to you? Perhaps, like me, you’ve lived a lifetime feeling unloved, and even though you’ve heard that God loves you or Jesus loves you, you haven’t experienced it.
Believe me, I understand those feelings. I grew up in a home where I felt unloved and unlovable. I was always in trouble for something. Sometimes I got in trouble for things I had done, and many times, for things I hadn’t done.
I hated school. When I went to school, I was tormented by the other children. I had buck-teeth, and believe me, I was called every name you can think of. Not only did my classmates hate me, my teachers did as well, and when I went home, I felt no reprieve.
When report cards would be issued every nine weeks, my grades were often lower than what my parents expected of me. This doesn’t mean that all of my grades were terrible. They just weren’t goodenough. “C’s” were considered to be as bad as “F’s”, and if I received an “A” one marking period, and a “B” the next, I was subject to punishment.
Punishment for bad report cards was extreme. For a “bad” report card, both parents would beat me. Then, I would be banished to my bedroom for the following nine weeks. I was only allowed to leave my room to go to school, go to church on Sundays, and to accompany my parents when they went to visit my aunt and uncle. On those occasions, I was banished to the living room to sit by myself, while Mom and my stepfather played pinochle, and while my sister played with my cousins, who would take turns walking past me, to laugh and point at me.
When I was in the sixth grade, I had a pretty good report card, except for an incomplete in Language Arts. As an adult, I can see the stupidity in a plan I conceived, but at the time, I wasn’t thinkingabout the future or getting caught. I was just thinking about how I could avoid getting in trouble at that time. Therefore, even though the grade was written in red ink, I licked the tip of an eraser (a trick I had learned for erasing ink) and I erased the red “Inc.” for incomplete, and I changed the grade to an “A”.
I knew my mother would notice that the grade had been changed, so I blatantly lied, saying, “Mrs. Murray was looking at the wrong line and accidentally wrote someone else’s grade on my report card.” It’s nothing I’m proud of, but I was a believable liar, and so, I was free from punishment for the following nine weeks.
Of course, nine weeks later, we received our report cards again. Things weren’t computerized in those days. The grades on the report cards were handwritten. So, at the beginning of each class, we would read and work on lessons until the teacher called our name.Then, we would go forth, with report card in hand and the teacher would place your current grade on the report card.
Fear and dread filled my heart when I got to Mrs. Murray’s class, and it only grew with each minute that passed. Since my last name began with the letter “P”, I was one of the last students to be called forth to receive my grade. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest as I walked forward,
I was shaking all over as I handed Mrs. Murray my report card. I foolishly prayed that God would make her not notice what I had done, even though the evidence was very clear. As soon as she pulled my report card out of the envelope, she looked me in the eye and said so loudly that the entire class heard and every eye was on me, “You erased this report card.”
Fearful and ashamed, I whispered softly and desperately, “No Ididn’t. You did, don’t you remember? You accidentally wrote the wrong grade on here and you had to change it.” I was so scared and so embarrassed. The kids in my class already made fun of me, and I didn’t want to give them another reason to torment me.
“No, I didn’t change your grade,” Mrs. Murray stated very loudly. “You did, and I’m going to call the principal and have him call your parents.”
Every eye in the classroom was on me, but suddenly that didn’t matter to me. All that mattered was convincing them not to call my parents. “Please don’t call my parents,” I cried, as she walked over to the intercom and called the principal, once again telling what I had done in front of the whole classroom of students, who were snickering. Still, it didn’t matter, as long as I could convince them not to tell on me.
I begged Mrs. Murray notto tell on me, and when the principal came to the classroom, I begged him not to tell. The principal took me to the nurse’s office because I was so distraught, and she began to question me. “Cheryl, why are you so afraid for us to call your parents? Is everything okay at home? Are you afraid of your parents? Cheryl, do your parents beat you?”
As I sat there sobbing uncontrollably, I looked at the nurse with hatred. Then I responded angrily to her nosy questions, “I’m not afraid. I just don’t want to upset them. Everything’s fine. I’m not afraid of my parents. No, they don’t beat me,” I lied, answering all of her questions. I knew what she was up to. She just wanted more ammunition to get me into even more trouble than I was already in, and I wasn’t giving it to her. It wasn’t until many years later, when I was an adult, that I came to realize the nurse was trying to help me. She wasn’t trying to harm me.
When I got home from school that day at 3:30, I had to wait for two and a half hours for my mother to get home. I sat in my room, fearfully dreading her arrival, and the long wait only increased my anxiety. I knew what was coming, and I prayed God would protect me.
I was still in my bedroom when Mom got home. Dad (my stepfather) had gotten home an hour earlier, but he hadn’t said anything about report cards, and I certainly wasn’t going to bring that dreaded topic up. As soon as I heard my mother open the door my heart began to hammer my chest, and my whole body trembled. I could hear her talking to Dad about what I had done, but I couldn’t hear his response. That did not bode well, for when Mom was angry, she was loud and shrill, but the angrier Dad was, the quieter he spoke.
All too soon, I heard Mom’s feet stomping toward my bedroom, followed by the shuffle of Dad’s feet following her. Then, my door burst open and there she stood, with her eyes flashing in anger. Irealized it would be foolish to lie now, and so, when I was confronted with the truth about erasing my report card and changing the grade, I admitted that I had done it and I was sorry.
Mom and Dad were both cussing at me and telling me how worthless and stupid I was. Then one would beat me, while the other watched and waited for his/her turn. I had never seen such fury in Dad’s eyes before, as he told me that he did electrical work for the school, and that the principal was his friend. Then he spoke the words that just crushed me. For you see, though I was bruised and battered from the beatings, I eventually healed from them, but the verbal and emotional abuse took a lifetime to recover from. Indeed, it seems just when I think I’ve got it licked, those old feelings of worthlessness raise their ugly heads at me.
“I’m ashamed that Mac (the principal and my stepfather were friends) knows you’re my daughter. I wish I could tell him I don’t even know you and you’re not related to me,” my stepfather said softly and angrily. My birth father was like a stranger that wandered in and outof my life only a few times when I was growing up, and I loved my stepfather as though he was my daddy, and his words just crushed me. Then he beat me again.
After this, the first round, he and Mom left my room and Mom prepared dinner. I was summoned to the dinner table, even though I wasn’t hungry at all. “What’s wrong with your dinner?” one of them asked me.
“Nothing,” I replied, trying to swallow the big lump in my throat that wouldn’t allow me to eat.
“Do you think you’re too good to eat after your mother worked all day and then came home to fix your dinner?”
“No,” I choked out, as tears streamed down my face. I wasrewarded by another beating, though I can’t remember if one or both administered it, nor can I remember who did it. I was then sent to my room, which was a welcome reprieve for me, though not for long.
Within a few minutes, I heard the stomping sound of my mother’s feet coming toward me. I hurried up and sat up, just as the door burst open. I don’t remember what words were spoken to me, only that they hurt, and then I was beaten yet again.
Off and on all night, the door would slam open, and I would be cursed and beat. I was terrified of falling asleep, for fear that the door would bang open, and Mom would curse me and beat me again. And she did, over and over again, all night long. Sometimes, I would drift away into an exhausted sleep, only to feel my arm being grabbed, as Mom pulled me from the bed and beat me over and over and over again.
I was a nervous wreck, and I believed every curse they spoke over me. I was stupid, lazy, worthless and, unlovable. I was a whole lot of other things too, but they aren’t worth writing. You get the picture anyway…
So, I grew up feeling unloved and unworthy of love. I knew the scriptures that said God so loved the world, but I truly thought that meant everyone but me. Even when I married my husband, I believed that if he knew the real me, he wouldn’t love me. Like I said, I felt I was unlovable.
But, as I began to know Jesus more and more, I began to feel His love. Psalm 139 forever changed my life…
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and
knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter
seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the
womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had
passed.
17 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me! ~ Psalm 139:13-18 NLT ~
I remember preparing a Sunday School lesson for my students, based onPsalm 139, and though I had read this before, this time the words spoke to me. God had made all the delicate inner parts of my body, and He had knit me together in my mother’s womb. Suddenly, I began to see myself through God’s eyes, and not through the warped reflection of what others thought of me, nor even what i thought of myself. God makes all things good, and that included me, with buck-teeth, scoliosis, and all that made me the unique being that I am. Indeed, He saw me before I was even born, and His thoughts about me are not terrible, but precious. Though my understanding of God’s love continues to grow, back then, it was my first glimpse of His love, and for the little girl inside me, who always hungered for love, it began to heal some of my wounds.
Fast forward to five or six years later, my daughter (who waspregnant with her first child) and I were going for a ride, and as we rode along, we talked about baby names for her little girl. As we talked about the various baby names she was thinking of, she would share the meaning of those names.
Suddenly, I asked my daughter, “Do you know what Cheryl means? “When she said, “No,” I responded, “Cheryl means “Beloved.” It was then that I heard the Holy Spirit speaking to my spirit. “Beloved, I gave you that name before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. Indeed, before the foundations of the world were laid, I named you Beloved, for you are My beloved.
“When you were a lonely little girl crying and longing for someone to love you, I loved you. When you longed for your parents love, I loved you with a Father’s love for My daughter. When you thought no one would ever fall in love with you, I made you My bride. Child, I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself. ~ Jeremiah 31:3 NLT ~
Beloved reader, do you feel unloved and/or unlovable? If you do, rejoice, for God is no respecter of persons, He loves you just as much as He loves me, and who knows? Perhaps God had me share this lesson now, for such a time as this, so that you would know that God loved you, too, even before He created the world,
Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is a letter rich with power and meaning, for those who truly want to live the life that God has called us to. Therefore, we must make our way through it, slowly, pondering every golden nugget, so that we, like Paul, and so many other men and women, chosen by God before us, will come to say and mean, “For Christ I live, and for Christ I die.”Thus, we will continue our study from where we left off the last time, when we learned that we areBlessed With Every Spiritual Blessing in the Heavenly Realms...
The same scripture that tells us we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, also gives us the reason why we are so blessed, hence, we must examine this scripture more closely:
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realmsbecause we are united with Christ. ~ Ephesians 1:3 NLT ~
Did you see the reason for our blessings? We only receive those blessings when we are united with Christ. Therefore, in order for us to understand this and be united with Christ, let us first look in the dictionary to see what “UNITED” means…
1.made into or caused to act as a single entity: a united front.
2. formed or produced by the uniting of things or persons: a united effort.
3. agreed; in harmony.
Looking at these definitions of united, we can see that to be united with Christ is to act as a single entity. In order to act as a single entity, with Christ (or with anyone), we must know Him intimately, just as a husband and wife know each other. If we are strangers, or if we don’t know Him well, how can we act as a single entity with Christ? As we go about living our lives, remember, we are a representation of Jesus, acting in His name. Therefore, we must know Him well enough to know how He would act within the context of any situation you find yourself in, and the only way you can know that is to know Him intimately.
To be united with Christ is to be agreed and in harmony with each other, and to make a united effort. I can’t think of another that I would want to be in agreement or in harmony with, can you? To be agreed with Christ, we must know what we are agreeing with, and one of the best ways to know Him is through prayer and bible study. Remember, the bible is the Word of God, which is living and active. Unlike any other book that we may read, as you read and study God’s Word, you will come to know Him, and the more you know Him, the more you will love Him, which will make it easy to be agreed with Christ and in harmony with Him.
Beloved reader, please join me in a walk through some of the many scriptures on being united with Christ, so that you and I will be able to both understand, and walk in union with our Lord. Many times in scripture, followers of Christ are called the “Bride of Christ.” This implies that a wedding has taken place, and that Christ is our husband (or groom). According to scripture, this is a sacred union…
5 And He said, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”~ Matthew 19:5-6 NLT ~
Marriage between a man and a woman is part of a sacred covenant (a binding agreement between husband, wife and God. It is to last as long as both husband and wife are alive. If one or the other dies, the other spouse is free from the covenant and may marry again if he/she so desires.)
As it is when a man and woman marry, so it is, when we are joined in union with Christ Jesus, our Savior, except that thisis an eternalcovenant, which must never be broken. Therefore, just as it happens in a marriage between a man and a woman, there are many forces that will attempt to separate us from Christ, though God, our Father has expressly forbidden it.
It is equally important for us to understand that when we are united with Jesus, we are also united with God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and with all other believers. Therefore, we must do as the scriptures command…
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT ~
Beloved readers, it is when we (Christ’s church), separate ourselves from one another, with our different denominations and beliefs, or between the different cultures, ethnicities and races, that we become divided. Look at the scripture below, and see what Jesus said about this:
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”~ Matthew 12:25 NKJV ~
“As long as there are “black” churches, “white” churches, “hispanic” churches, “Baptist” churches, “Methodist” churches, “Pentecostal” churches, “Holiness” churches, etc., racism, bigotry, and prejudice will never end.”
Indeed, the fact is that as long as the church remains divided, SIN will always enter in through the divisions. There is a reason why there is so much sin within the church. (When I say the church, I am speaking of every man, woman and child who has been born again.) Therefore, as Jesus said, “A house divided against itself will not stand.”Beloved readers, I urge you to examine your hearts. How do you respond when people of a different culture or race come to your church? Do you welcome them, or do you ignore them? Be honest with yourselves.
When you meet someone from a different denomination, do you think you are superior to them? Do you sometimes feel that only your place of worship has all of the right answers, and that everyone else is all wrong? I remember attending a church, many years ago that didn’t believe in expressing their feelings, while singing or praying. Because I loved worshiping the Lord, I would lift my hands to honor Him. Many people who attended that church were irritated by my expression of love for the Lord, and one even commented with a sour expression on her face, “I think you need to go to a Pentecostal church!” I can smile at that memory now, but at the time, I didn’t even know what a Pentecostal church was, and the way she spoke those words, it sounded like she was cursing me.
I shared this because I want you all to be very careful of how you treat God’s children. Jesus told us that the two most important commandments are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The second one is to love your neighbor as yourself. I didn’t feel a whole lot of love coming from that person, when she made that comment to me. However, I did eventually go to a Pentecostal church, and I did feel much more at home there. Therefore, God took the comment she made to hurt me, and used it for my good.
It really doesn’t matter whether another believer is from another denomination. We really mustn’t allow that to separate us. For God didn’t intend for the Methodists to be united against the Baptists, or the Pentecostals to be united against the Roman Catholics. When the command to be united was written, it was written to all who believe in Christ. The author of Psalm 119 prayed a prayer for unity that would be good for all of us to pray…
Let me be united with all who fear You, with those who know Your laws. ~ Psalm 119:79 NLT ~
A church united with Christ, and thus, united together was so important to Jesus, that in His last prayer, on the very night He was imprisoned, before being crucified the next day, He prayed about it…
Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to You. Holy Father, You have given Me Your name; now protect them by the power of Your name so that they will be united just as We are.~ John 17:11 NLT ~
The early church knew the importance of unity, as they gathered together, in the upper room, praying and waiting for the baptism of the Holy Spirit…
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. ~ Acts 1:14 NLT ~
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ~ Acts 2:1-4 NKJV ~
I often wonder what the early church would think about the church today. Imagine one hundred twenty men and women all gathered together, with one accord. Just think about it. Below is the Greek word and definition for one accord, found in Strong’s Lexicon on Blue Letter Bible…
1. with one mind, with one accord, with one passion
“A unique Greek word, used 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to “rush along” and “in unison”. The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ’s church.”
When we read through the book of Acts, and see all of the miracles, signs and wonders that took place, it is important to note that believers in Jesus, both male and female were united. Their one focus was to share the Gospel of Christ, first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, next in Samaria, and finally, to the ends of the earth. They were all united in their purpose, in their faith, in their hopes and dreams. They were there to give glory to God in all that they did.
As we continue to ponder Strong’s definition of “one accord,’ we come to understand that these men and women were of one mind. This means that each one of them were focused on one thought; the thought of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who had promised that He would never leave them alone. They were waiting for the promised appearance of the Holy Spirit.
As it says in the excerpt from Strong’s Lexicon, everyone of these men and women were different, yet they shared one common goal. Their goal was to wait, as Jesus had commanded them to do, ..
4 Once when He was eating with them, He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before.5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”~ Acts 1:4-5 NLT ~
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”~ Acts 1:7-8 NLT ~
Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if plain, ordinary people, like you and me, got together, in obedience to Jesus’ command, and began to pray together. Would we see miracles, signs and wonders?
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ~ 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV ~
Why is it that Christians in third world countries see miracles, signs and wonders? After all, we hold conferences, revivals and crusades, so why don’t we witness and participate in the miracles, signs and wonders like they do and like they did in the gospels and the book of Acts? Could it be that in biblical times, and still in third world countries, the people were of one mind and one accord, as they humbled themselves and prayed, and sought God’s face?
Is it possible that we tend to walk in our own ways, rather than living united in Christ? Would it be truthful to say that instead of conforming and transforming into the men and women God created us to be, we’ve tried to mold and conform God into who we want Him to be? Have we placed Him in the box of our men’s and women’s conferences, praise-a-thons, crusades and revivals? Instead of praying and prophesying according to God’s will, are we praying and prophesying according to our own will, or the will of those we minister to? Perhaps this is why we aren’t performing even greater miracles, signs and wonders than what Jesus did, even though He promised that we would…
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”~ John 14:12 NLT ~
Beloved reader, if each one of us will live united in Christ, and seek to do His will and not our own, we will be of one mind and one accord. Then, we can ask anything of the Father in Jesus’ name, and it will be done, but apart from Him, we can do nothing…
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.6 Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.7 But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” ~ John 15:5-7 NLT ~
Beloved reader, my prayer for each one of us is that we would humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, and ask Jesus to not only be our Savior and Lord, but to show us how to live united in Him. Whenever the disciples were unsure about how to do something, they asked the Lord. They even asked Him how to pray! So, why shouldn’t w e ask Him to show us how to be and live united with Him?
Lord, I pray in Jesus’ name that You open the eyes of our hearts, and that you would teach us what it is to live in union with You. Show us how to submit ourselves to You, and to love You with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Show us how to pick up our cross and follow You, and show us how to count the cost, and then with full knowledge of what it will cost us to live in union with You, give us the will to say, “Yes!” to Your will and Your ways. And Lord, in the days ahead, help us to remain focused on You and the message You have given us from Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, and in the coming days, as we continue this study, give us a hunger and a thirst for more of Your word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realmsbecause we are united with Christ. ~ Ephesians 1:3 NLT ~
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your holy word, which is better than life. Lord, please open the eyes of our heart, so that we may see You in the fullness of Your glory. Father, please create in each one of us a willing spirit. Lord, let us be willing to not only learn Your word, but make us willing to apply Your word to our lives, for Your word is better than life itself. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
I’ve always said that Romans is my favorite book in the bible, but as I study Ephesians, I’m finding a lot to love in it, starting right from the beginning, when Paul first introduces himself, to when he shares God’s blessings with his readers…
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.~ Ephesians 1:3 NLT ~
Do you see it? God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us (Us, meaning we, His followers), with EVERY(EVERY means ALL) spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, because we are united with Christ. Does that excite you? It excites me! Just think about it, those of us who are born again believers, have ALREADYbeen blessed with these blessings, but sadly, many believers don’t even know this.
As I pondered that sad thought, another thought came to me… How many spiritual blessings do we have, then? Certainly, more than we can imagine…
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
That’s when the Lord placed it on my heart to examine the book of Ephesians, searching for every spiritual blessing that is listed therein, numbering them and including a link to the scripture references for each blessing. Paul’s epistle is not very long. It consists of only six short chapters, so imagine my surprise, when I discovered forty-two spiritual blessings in just this one short book (Alas, I am only human, and there may be more in there that I missed!). If I discovered that many spiritual blessings in this one shore book, how many more of these spiritual blessings are listed in the other sixty-five books? It’s mind boggling. As I searched out the blessings, I felt joy and peace settle on me. How great the love of God is for His people! Please take the time to click the links below, to discover where to find these spiritual blessings in Ephesians…
Isn’t it amazing to see how blessed we, the children of God are? As I read through the book of Ephesians, seeking the spiritual blessings that God, our Father has heaped on us, I couldn’t help but feel safe and loved…
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.~ Ephesians 1:3 NLT ~
Now, as you click each blessing that I’ve listed, you can read the scriptures from Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, and allow the Lord to minister to your spirit. I’ve been battling with depression for a few years now, yet, when I began this study of Ephesians, I could feel God’s peace that passes understanding settling within me.
Then, when I read that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, my spirit stirred within me. Yes, I’ve read that scripture before, but now, God’s Word, which is living and acting, prodded me to search this scripture out, and see what those spiritual blessings are, and how many of them were listed in this Epistle to the Ephesians that I was studying.
It’s taken me a couple of weeks (which is why I haven’t posted anything) to read through Ephesians, highlight the blessings, list the blessings, and create links to the scriptures that proclaim the blessings listed. I urge each one of you to read the green list of 42 blessings, taking the time to click on each blessing, which will link you to the scripture(s). As you read them, you can’t help but be blessed, knowing that God loves you so much that He gave you these blessings, plus many more.” In fact, though He alone knows how much He has blessed us, by reading these scriptures, you will at least begin to comprehend the magnitude of His love and His blessings.
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Beloved reader, are there times when you feel discouraged and alone? Are there times when that spirit of heaviness presses on you like an incredibly burdensome load that crushes your hopes and dreams? Do you ever feel like a failure, with nothing to show for your suffering?
If so, beloved reader, have I got some good news for you, if you are a child of God! Indeed, even if you aren’t yet a child of God, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, and you, too, will be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
Therefore, each one who has experienced hatred and rejection, can rejoice, because the first spiritual blessing in Ephesians, assures each one of us that We are LOVED.
Praise the Lord! Yesterday, I wrote an introduction to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and today, before we begin to really dig in to this message, we’re going to do an overview, of it and answer the five W’s about Ephesians. Therefore, let’s dig in and discover the answers to our questions.
Before we begin this overview of Ephesians, let’s ask our Father in heaven to open the eyes of our hearts…
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for leading us in this walk through Your word. I pray Lord, for each person who joins in this study of Ephesians, that You would open the eyes of our heart, and that as we begin to understand this message, our hearts would hunger to know You better.
Lord, I pray that we would love You more, and that we will gain wisdom through Your word. I also pray that as our love for You increases, our love for mankind would increase as well, in Jesus’ name. Lord, reveal Yourself to us through Your holy word in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Before we get started on the overview, I encourage you to read the book of Ephesians. It really isn’t that long (just 6 chapters), and it will help you to answer the five W’s for yourself. Below are the links to each chapter…
The above links will take you to Bible Gateway, and if you sign in, you will discover that there are many study tools that you may use. While I’m reading, I like to highlight the verses that answer the five W’s in one color. Later, I may go back and highlight the key verse in each chapter, or sometimes, key words. You can always undo this, if you like, but I find this method of studying really helps me. Therefore, I urge you to click the links above, and keeping in mind the five W’s we learned in yesterday’s Introduction to Ephesians, highlight your answers to those questions as you go along…
Who? Paul wrote the Ephesians Epistle (epistle is a letter) to the Ephesian believers…
Who wrote the book/letter?
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. ~ Ephesians 1:1a NLT ~
When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . ~ Ephesians 3:1 NLT ~
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ~ Ephesians 4:1 NLT ~
To Whom was the book/letter written?
I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. ~ Ephesians 1:1b NLT ~
And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. ~ Ephesians 1: 13 NLT ~
Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. ~ Ephesians 2:11 NLT ~
He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near. ~ Ephesians 2:17 NLT ~
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. ~ Ephesians 2:19 NLT ~
Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit. ~ Ephesians 2:22 NLT ~
When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . ~ Ephesians 3:1 NLT ~
… assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending His grace to you Gentiles.~ Ephesians 3:2 NLT ~
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ~ Ephesians 4:1 NLT ~
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. ~ Ephesians 5:1 NLT ~
What? Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians to both encourage the Ephesians, by reminding them that God chose them before the foundations of the earth were laid. He also wanted to encourage them to lead a life worthy of their calling. Also, by reinforcing how they were saved, and how they are to live as Christians, Paul also warns the Ephesian believers against false teachings, encouraging them to be ready to battle the enemy at all times…
What did the author hope to accomplish by writing this book/letter?
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. ~ Ephesians 1:4 NLT ~
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ~ Ephesians 4:1 NLT ~
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ~ Ephesians 6:12 NLT ~
When? Paul wrote this Epistle to the Ephesians between 60-62 A.D., while he was imprisoned in Rome.
When was the book/letter written?
When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . ~ Ephesians 3:1 NLT ~
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.~ Ephesians 4:1 NLT ~
I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for Him, as I should. ~ Ephesians 6:20 NLT ~
Where?
Where was the book/letter sent? As we stated earlier, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesian believers, where he had spent three years, establishing a church.
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. ~ Ephesians 1:1 NLT ~
Where was the book/letter written? As we’ve already established, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians from his Roman prison (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1 and 6:20).
Why? The purpose is so all of God’s children will praise and glorify Him.
Why did the author of the book/letter write it?
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago.14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.
This concludes the overview of Ephesians. We will begin studying Ephesians 1 in my next post, line by line and precept upon precept. I look forward to studying with you again soon! Meanwhile, please join me as we close this post with a prayer to the Almighty.
Father, thank You so much for sending Your word to us. I pray Lord, that You would speak to each person who reads and joins this study, and that we would be drawn ever closer to You. Holy Spirit, You are the great teacher, so please Lord, teach us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe.3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command. When He had cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave Him is greater than their names.~ Hebrews 1:1-4 — NLT ~
Many people in this world call upon the angels to help them. Many call upon gods created in the minds of men. Many others call upon idols created by the hands of man. And yet, there is one God and Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them. There is only one God and Creator of mankind and only one way to reach Him…
Jesus told him,“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” ~ John 14:6 — NLT ~
Why would someone call on anyone else for help? In my darkest hour, in those times when I am desperate for help, I want to be sure that I cry out to the One who can help me…
You see, the angels have to answer to God, so why would I go to them first, when He is the One who must give them permission to help me? For you see, it is Christ who created the angels, and not only did He create them, but they were created for His purpose…
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through Him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.~ Colossians 1:15-16 — NLT ~
20 Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out His plans, listening for each of His commands. 21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve Him and do His will! ~ Psalm 103:20-21 — NLT ~
You see, beloved readers, the scriptures make it very clear that the angels were created to serve God and to carry out His plans. Therefore, if I choose to worship the angels, and seek their help, rather than His, my cries for help will be fruitless. For His holy angels cannot act on my behalf, apart from His will, and the fallen angels, who serve Satan, desire to steal, kill and destroy all of mankind. Therefore, to call on any other name, other than Jesus, whose name is far greater than the angels would be foolish.
This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave Him is greater than their names.~ Hebrews 1:4 — NLT ~
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.~ Acts 4:12 — NLT ~
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:9-11 — NLT ~
You see my friends, when we need help and when we need salvation, to call on the angels would be foolhardy, because the only way to get any help at all is to cry out to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. For there is salvation in no one else. Indeed, the only way to God the Father is through Christ, and at His name, every knee will one day bow. That means that every angel, and even every demon will one day bow to Him. Even Satan, His enemy will bow down to Him one day…
So, in those times when we are weak, call upon Jesus, who is high above all else. In those times of dismay, cry out to Him for salvation. In those times of great joy and triumph, bow down to the Almighty God, and give Him praise and glory in Jesus’ name, for He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and He is far greater than the angels, and His name is far above their names!
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command. When He had cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave Him is greater than their names.~ Hebrews 1:1-4 — NLT ~
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.Enoch walked in close fellowship with God, until He took him… God spoke to Noah and told him to build an ark… God spoke to Abraham when He appeared before him as an angel of the Lord, promising to bless all of mankind through his Seed… He spoke to Moses through the fire of a burning bush, then later, He spoke to him audibly… God spoke to Joshua, encouraging him to“Be strong and courageous…”He spoke to each of the judges who were willing to listen to Him… He spoke to Samuel in the night, calling him by name,“Samuel! Samuel!”… He spoke to King David and to King Solomon… He spoke to Elijah in a still small voice…
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. God used to speak to His people through the prophets, but when Christ came, things changed. Now, He speaks to us through His Son, Jesus. Think about this, God speaks through the One who created the universe with Him…
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.~ John 1:1-5 — NLT ~
Beloved readers, do you get it? God speaks to us through the Word! He speaks to us through His Word! He, who spoke all of creation into existence… He who spoke our lives into existence, also speaks tous through His Son, the Word of God… He speaks to us through Christ, who “… radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God…”He speaks to us through Jesus, who“… expresses the very character of God…”God now speaks to us through His Son,“…who sustains everything by the mighty power of His command…”
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. 17 He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.~ Colossians 1:15-17 — NLT ~
How amazing and how wonderful that the God of the universe, the Holy One of Israel speaks to us through His Son and Heir, Jesus Christ, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords! What an honor this is! It used to be that He only spoke to prophets, but now, beloved readers, He speaks through His Son Jesus to ordinary people like you and me! Imagine, hearing the voice of God Almighty as He speaks to us through His Son!
“Oh,” some may say, “I’ve never heard God speak to me.” But according to His Word, He doesspeakto, through His Son. Could it be that those who don’t hear Him speak simply don’t recognize His voice? Let’s see what God’s Son has to say about this…
2 “But He who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. 3 To Him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice; and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”~ John 10:2-5 — NKJV ~
Do you see, beloved readers? If you are a child of God, (a.k.a. – a part of the Good Shepherd’s {Jesus’} flock) then when He speaks, you will recognize His voice. Indeed, He will call you by name, just as God called the prophet Samuel so many years ago, just as a shepherd calls his sheep. For Christ Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and He calls us by our name, and when He speaks to us, if we are truly one of His sheep, the Spirit within us compels us to follow Him and obey Him.
For you see, beloved reader, when Christ“… cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven…”This same Jesus, through whom God speaks to regular people like you and me, now sits at the right hand of Almighty God in heaven, reigning and ruling with His Father. Isn’t it wonderful and amazing to know that this same Jesus, who is far greater than the angels, and whose name is above all other names, would speak to someone such as you or me?
There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. ~ Acts 4:12 — NLT ~
9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.~ Philippians 2:9-11 — NLT ~
After reading all of this, what can we conclude from our study of the first four verses of Hebrews 1?
We can know that although God used to speak to us through the prophets, He now speaks to us through His Son, Jesus.
We know that Jesus is heir to everything, according to God’s promise.
We know that God created the universe through His Son, Jesus.
We know that Jesus radiates God’s own glory.
We know that the Son of God reveals the very character of God.
We also know that Christ sustains everything by the mighty power of His command.
We know that after Jesus cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
We know that God’s Son is far greater than the angels.
And finally, we learned that Jesus’ name, given to Him by God, is far greater than any other name in heaven, on the earth below, under the seas, under the earth, or anywhere else in the universe!
Hallelujah! Isn’t it amazing how much we learned about the Lord and how He speaks to us in just four verses? I can’t wait to continue with the next part!
Please bear with me, because I’m not sure how much writing I’m going to be able to do in the next few weeks, as my daughter-in-law (I will refer to her as my daughter from hereon, because that is what she is to me.) just had brain surgery, and I’m going to help care for six of my grandchildren. For those of you who have faith that our awesome and wonderful God and Father hears our prayers and answers them, I ask you to please pray for my son, daughter and children.
Please pray that my daughter heals quickly, and completely, and that she would know just how precious she is to her husband (my son), my husband and me, and everyone who knows her. Pray also that my grandchildren feel God’s love for them, and that they would see how awesome and mighty He is, as He heals their mommy. Please also pray for peace within their home, because this is such a difficult time for all involved, and we all know how the enemy likes to attack when everyone is at their weakest point…
Thank you to each and every one of you for your prayers and for your patience, as my posts for this Bible study will be worked around my beautiful grandchildren’s schedules, and you can imagine how busy my husband and I will be as we help care for those precious children!
Again, thank you and may God bless each one of you!
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe.~ Hebrews 1:1-2 — NLT ~
I love studying the Word of God, and the book of Hebrews is filled with so much wisdom. During my study of the Law, I was going to start in one of the later chapters of Hebrews, but the problem I ran into was that as I began to study that chapter, I felt the need to back up to the previous chapter, in order to keep what I was studying in the proper context. Then, when I went further back, I felt the Spirit stirring within me, urging me to start from the beginning of Hebrews. Therefore, beginning with this post, I’m going to study the book of Hebrews, and I’d like to invite you, my beloved readers to join me as we embark on a new adventure into the Word of God…
Many people believe that Paul was the author of the book of Hebrews, but the fact is that no one really knows for sure who the author was, because unlike Paul’s other epistles, Hebrews does not begin with Paul’s usual salutations…
1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach His Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through His prophets in the holy Scriptures…~ Romans 1:1-2 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.
2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.~ 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of His holy people throughout Greece.
1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ Himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe.~ Hebrews 1:1-2 — NLT ~
Every single book that is known to have been written by the Apostle Paul for sure, begins with a salutation introducing himself, whereas the book of Hebrews does not. While this doesn’t definitively prove that Paul was not the author of Hebrews, it does seem very unlikely that he did write it. It’s really not important who the human author of the book is. What’s important for everyone to know is that the book of Hebrews, like all other books of the bible, was written under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.~ 2 Timothy 3:16 — NLT ~
Now that we are armed with the knowledge that no matter who the human author was, we are assured that God inspired the book of Hebrews, let us move on to discover who this book was written for and why it was written…
Judging the book by its content, it appears that Hebrews was written to Jewish believers, as there are many references to the Torah. Also, judging by what is contained within this book, it was written to warn the Jewish believers not to fall away from Christ. Of course, since all Scripture is God-breathed, and therefore living and active, it can also be taken as a warning to all believers (both Jews and Gentiles) to remain faithful to God.
There is one final thing for me to cover in this introduction to our Hebrews Bible Study… When studying the Word of God, I usually like to try and answer the “5 W’s”…
Who — We’ve answered this question by discovering that although we are unsure of who wrote the book of Hebrews, we do know that it was originally written to Jewish believers, since there were many references to the Torah.
We can also deduce that although Hebrews was originally written to Jewish believers, it is equally important toall believers.
What — We know that we are studying the book of Hebrews, which is a part of the Word of God.
When — We know that the book of Hebrews was written before 95 A.D., because Clement of Rome quoted from the book of Hebrews in 95 A.D.
Where — Although it is not known where the book of Hebrews was written, it is thought that it was writtento Jewish believers in Jerusalem, though there is now no concrete evidence to support this supposition.
Why —As I stated earlier, it is thought that the book of Hebrews was written for Jewish believers who were in danger of turning away from their faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Though it may have been the author’s intent to write this letter as a means of warning Jewish believers, it is obvious that God intended this book to minister to many more, as Hebrews has become one of the foundational books used to teach and minister to all believers, both Jews and Gentiles.
As we join together, digging into this book, we’ll discover a wealth of wisdom and instruction, as well as the warnings therein. Therefore, please be sure to join me the next time, as we begin studying the book of Hebrews, starting with the first four verses. Until then, I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace. May God be gracious as He lets the light of His countenance give you peace, in Jesus’ name.
1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning He was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and He sat down and taught them. 3 As He was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do You say?”
6 They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so He stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”8 Then He stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
This story has always moved me deeply, but never more than now, after having watched,“The Stoning of Soraya M.”, a true story about an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery by her adulterous husband and stoned to death. As I watched this heartrending story of the atrocities committed in the name of Islamic law, I couldn’t help but think of a very familiar and similar story of the adulterous woman in the book of John. I also couldn’t help but think of the Mosaic Law, which carried the same punishment for adultery as the Islamic law, and compare it to the Law of the New Covenant, which those who are born-again now live under.
In this series, Live By the Law/Die By the Law, we have learned much about the Old Testament Law, as we examined whether we are called to Live By the Law and Die By the Law or not…
Image Credit: Anna Popescu
InLive By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 1, we learned that the Law does not have the power to save us, for salvation comes only by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
InLive By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 2, we learned that God gave the Jews Ten Commandments, (also known as the Law of Moses and The Old Testament or Old Covenant), and from these ten Laws, the Jews created 613 laws, (known as the Tradition of the Elders), which were meant to supplement the Law of Moses.
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”~ Exodus 20:2-3 — NKJV ~
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.”~ Exodus 20:4-6 — NKJV ~
Image Credit: Groupthink Rescue
InLive By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 4, we continued our in depth study of the Ten Commandments, starting from the third Commandment and ending with the tenth…
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”~ Exodus 20:7 — NKJV ~
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”~ Exodus 20:8-11 — NKJV ~
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”~ Exodus 20:12 — NKJV ~
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”~ Exodus 20:17 — NKJV ~
InLive By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 5, we discovered that the purpose of the Law was to show people their sins, and that it was only supposed to last until Jesus, the Christ came. It was never intended to be an eternal law.
Never did it become more clear to me just how very wonderful and merciful our Lord is than after I watched “The Stoning of Soraya M.”last night. You see, if we still lived under the Old Covenant, then not only would we be bound to obey every command, we would also suffer the punishment meted out for every command that we break… According to Old Testament Law, we would be subjected to stoning if we committed any of the following sins…
Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be put to death.~ Leviticus 24:16 — NLT ~
13 “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her 14 and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’ 15 Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. 16 Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. 17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. 18 The elders must then take the man and punish him. 19 They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver, which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her.
20 But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin. 21 The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.~ Deuteronomy 22:13-21 — NLT ~
2 When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violate the covenant. 3 For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden. 4 When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. 6 But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses. 7 The witnesses must throw the first stones, and then all the people may join in. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.~ Deuteronomy 17:2-7 — NLT ~
18 “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. 19 In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. 20 The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.~ Deuteronomy 21:18-21 — NLT ~
The examples above are just a few of the reasons that someone who lives under the Law of Moses and The Tradition of the Elders could be stoned. There are numerous other punishments and judgments meted out against those who break the Law, and each punishment seems quite harsh, especially to those with a western mindset. To those who reside in the Middle East, they are deemed appropriate. Indeed, as the movie,“The Stoning of Soraya M.”, revealed, these punishments are still leveled against people.
This is why Jesus’ response to the adulterous woman was considered to be so radical. Not only did He refuse to condemn her for the sin she committed, He turned the tables on those who wanted to condemn her with His challenge…
… “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”~ John 8:7b — NLT ~
Suddenly, instead of looking at this woman, who was caught in the very act of adultery, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees were forced to look inward, and examine themselves. No one knows what Jesus wrote on the ground, whether it was related to their accusation or perhaps their own sins, or not. All that is known, is that the powerful words He spoke forced each of her accusers to stop.
Who, among them, had the right to pick up a stone and throw it? Who, among them, could be brazen enough to cast the first stone, thereby administering the punishment she surely deserved, when by doing so, he would be declaring before God and his cohorts that he had never sinned? I can just imagine the youngest ones, full of zeal and self-righteousness, respectfully waiting for one of their elders to cast the first stone, so they too, could join in, only to witness each one drop his stone to the dry and barren ground, as the very oldest left with their heads bowed low in defeat and consternation. As each one of the elders left, one by one, the younger condemners were also constrained to realize that they had no more right to throw the first stone at the woman than their senior counterparts.
Now, in case you’re wondering where I’m going with this post, and how it ties in with the series Live By the Law/Die By the Law, please allow me to enlighten you. There are many, many men and women born-again believers who get caught up in trying to live by the Law. Now, please don’t misunderstand me, God loves it when we obey Him, but He does not love it when we get so caught up in trying to live by every jot and tittle of the Law, and we also place that demand on others. You see, living by faith and living by the Law may produce the same outward effects, but the difference between the two lies within the hearts of mankind.
1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the Law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the Law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.~ Galatians 3:1-7 — NLT ~
You see, one who lives by the Law does so because he/she is trying to gain the approval of God and mankind. One might try to obey every letter of the Law in order to receive the accolades of man. Or one may try to obey the Law for fear that if he/she doesn’t, he/she may lose his/her salvation. A person who lives by the Law may do so because he/she believes that he/she must be an example for others to follow. One who lives by the Law is usually self-righteous, and lacking humility, though this person may not even realize it. A person who follows the Law often sees the sin in others, and sometimes feels superior to those who just don’t “get it.”
10 But those who depend on the Law to make them right with God are under His curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the Law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of Law, which says, “It is through obeying the Law that a person has life.”
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the Law. When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing He promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.~ Galatians 3:10-14 — NLT ~
On the other hand, one who lives by faith walks in obedience because he/she loves the Lord, and it feels good to do those things that please Him. One who walks by faith does so regardless of what others may say. This person walks in the Spirit, doing those things He leads him/her to do, confident that he/she is a child of the Most High God, saved by His grace through faith. This person knows that his/her salvation has nothing to do with his/her behavior, and that he/she did not choose Christ because it was Christ who chose him/her. The person who lives by grace is humble, fully aware that he/she is no better than anyone, even the vilest sinner.
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the Law.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole Law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the Law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.~ Galatians 5:1-6 — NLT ~
Beloved readers, the whole point of this post and of this series, Live By the Law/Die By the Law, is that those who choose to live according to the Law rather than by the Spirit, must understand that they will then be judged according to the Law, and it is important to remember that there is no one who is righteous. Other than Jesus Christ, no one has ever obeyed the entire Law.
20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are.~ Romans 3:20 — NLT ~
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.~ Romans 3:21 — NLT ~
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.~ Romans 6:23 — NLT ~
Beloved reader, I am not saying that the Law is evil. What I am saying is that we must live by the Spirit, not by the Law. I’ll close with the following scripture, and I encourage you to pray about this post, and seek the Lord’s face regarding what we have studied here.
30 There is only one God, and He makes people right with Himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.~ Romans 3:30-31 — NLT ~
In Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 3and Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 4, we studied each of the Ten Commandments, and its meanings. We also examined our own hearts to see which of the laws we have been guilty of breaking, as I confessed to you that I have been guilty of breaking all of God’s Laws. Of course, I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but even if you have only ever broken one command of the Law of Moses, you’re just as guilty as I am, according to Scripture.
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. ~ James 2:10 — NLT ~
Before we move on with our study of the Law, I want to share a comment that I received in reference to the third commandment, from a fellow blogger and biblical teacher, Ben Nelson, author of the blog, Another Red Letter Day. The third commandment is,“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain,”and I offered up several examples of what it is to take the Lord’s name in vain. However, Ben offered an excellent example that I hadn’t thought of until I read his comment. In fact, for me, it was an “aha” moment, and because it is so prevalent among many people, I felt that it was very important to share his comment with you. Ben stated, “I have often thought along the lines that Taking the Lord’s name is when I take the name of Christ as my own – aka – i am a Christian, and then i live like the world – i have taken His name and polluted it before men.” I have nothing to add to this or take away from it. Ben is right, and this is an excellent example of how many people take the Lord’s name in vain. Indeed, it’s an excellent example of how I once took the Lord’s name in vain.
Now, in our continuing study of the Law, we’ve reached the point where we discover that each and every one of us is guilty of breaking the Law. Indeed, the Law’s purpose is to reveal our guilt, and it does this well…
Why, then, was the Law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the Law was designed to last only until the coming of the Child who was promised. God gave His Law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.~ Galatians 3:19 — NLT ~
Now, we must understand if we are to continue trying to follow the Law, or should we just cast it aside? Are we required to maintain the Law, in order to maintain our salvation? If we choose one, do we lose the other? How can we determine what we are required to do? What does the Word of God tell us about the Law?
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put My instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know Me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”~ Jeremiah 31:31-34 — NLT ~
According to this scripture passage, the Law of Moses was not an eternal law. It was only temporary, lasting until God’s new covenant was established. Also, according to Galatians 3:19, the Law was only designed to last until Jesus came.
14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.
16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality. 18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For He holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
20 You have died with Christ, and He has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.~ Colossians 2:14-23 — NLT ~
Beloved readers, don’t you see that the Law was given to reveal mankind’s sinful nature, but Jesus cancelled the record of charges against us, by nailing them to the cross? Think about this, the Law has NO power to save anyone. It is the blood of Christ that has saved us from bondage to sin and death, certainly not because we follow the Law.
Indeed, by following the rules of the world, we do no one any good, because these rules provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. As a matter of fact, it was Christ’s death on the cross that destroyed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles, and because of His death on the cross, those who believe in Him have been set free from the Law of sin and death. Therefore, why would His followers continue to subject themselves to the Law, which led to death?
14 For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.~ Ephesians 2:14-16 — NLT ~
7 The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. 8 Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? 9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! 10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. 11 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:7-14 — NLT ~
Beloved, does a veil cover your eyes? Do you see that the Law brings only death? If so, turn your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Look to Him for salvation, and love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. For those who truly love Christ and walk in His Spirit will obey His commands, which are to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we love Jesus and follow these commands, then we are following the Law that God has written on our hearts, rather than the Law written on stone tablets, which were destined to fade away.
Therefore, beloved brothers and sisters, will you choose to live by the Law and therefore die by the Law? Or will you choose to love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart, thereby fulfilling His Law? The choice is yours…
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are.~ Romans 3:20 — NLT ~
InLive By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 3, we studied the first and second commandments and how each one exposes the sin within us. In this post, today, let’s look at the other Commandments in light of the scripture above…
Exodus 20:2-17
~ 3 ~
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Okay friends, I’m sure everyone thought of those people who curse using God’s name, am I right? I don’t know about you, but I confess, that I was guilty of doing this before I came to the Lord, and even as a young Christian.
But, have I broken this commandment since then? Sadly, if I’m to be completely truthful, yes, but not by cussing using His name. To take God’s name in vain is so much more than using His name as an expletive. Have you ever spoken in His name, when He didn’t tell you to do so? Have you ever presumed to speak for Him, without His permission? Have you ever said, “O my God” or “Jesus”? Have you ever spoken His name thoughtlessly, without really thinking of Him at all? Have you ever prophesied to someone, telling them, “The Lord said…” when in reality, you didn’t Him speak?
My friends, all of those things are examples of what it is to take the Lord’s name in vain, and I confess to you that I have taken His name in vain, and I’m so thankful for His mercy on me.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
Well, my friends, have you ever or do you break this command? Now, I can just hear some people saying, “I go to church every Sunday, so this is one command that I don’t break.” But, I’m going to question that… Does going to church on Sundays equate to remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy?
When you get up on Sunday morning and get ready for church, how are you feeling? Do you awaken with joy in your heart, feeling well rested and thankful that this is the day that the Lord has made? As you’re preparing yourself for church, is there aught in your heart against anyone? As you are on your way to go and worship, have you already begun to worship? Are you thinking about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, or are you thinking of who you will see when you get there? Are you already singing His praises, or are you irritated with your children? As you enter into His sanctuary, were you glad when they said, “Let us go into the House of the Lord?”
While the service is going on, are you seeking the Lord’s face, or is your mind wandering? Are you intent on worshiping the Lord, or are you bored? As the word is being preached, are you thinking about what you’re going to have for lunch? When you leave the worship service, is your mind still set on the Lord, or are you thinking of other things? Do you spend the rest of the day resting and thinking of the goodness of God, or do you spend the rest of the day thinking of other things?
Honestly, in light of this, I seldom remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. How about you?
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
Now, maybe you’re thinking that this one doesn’t need any explanation, and perhaps you’re right. It’s easy to honor parents who were good to you, but what if you come from a dysfunctional family? How do you honor a father who abused you? How do you honor a mother who didn’t protect you? Or how do you honor a father who abandoned you? How do you honor a mother who turned tricks for a living?
Does it honor them to hold a grudge against them? Of course not. We all know that Jesus commands us to forgive others as our Heavenly Father forgives us. And what if you forgive your parents for hurting you, but they never repent of their behavior? Does it honor them for you to pretend the abuse never happened? Does it honor them for you to continue allowing them to abuse you?
Oftentimes, church leaders can harm those members who have been abused, by heaping guilt on them because they do not have a close relationship with their parents. Sometimes, they will insinuate that you haven’t truly forgiven them, because you don’t visit them or talk to them, and often, they will cite the fifth commandment when doing so.
I want to speak to those of you who want to do the right thing, and yet you struggle, because you don’t know how to honor parents who have been less than honorable. I speak to you as one who has struggled with the same issues. I loved my parents, despite years of abuse, and no repentance, and I forgave them. I spent many years apart from my parents, while much of my family judged me as a bad daughter, because they didn’t know of the abuse. The fact is they probably still feel that way, because most still don’t know.
So, how did I honor my parents? I honored them by staying away. I honored them by refusing to pretend the abuse didn’t happen. I honored them by respecting their wishes when my stepfather told me to leave and never come back. I honored them by staying away, so they wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable around me, and by staying away from the rest of the family and letting them believe the worst of me, so they wouldn’t turn against my parents.
I honored them by obeying the Lord’s gentle prodding to enter back into their lives the last couple of years they lived. I honored them by forgiving them each time they added to my hurt. I honored them by loving them, even though they never said the three words I desperately longed to hear, “I’m sorry, Cheryl.” I honor them by continuing to love them.
Is this how I recommend others, who have been hurt and abused by their parents, to act? Partially. I understand that every circumstance is different, and our heavenly Father understands that as well. My only two recommendations for you are to love and forgive your parents. By doing this, you honor them. As far as the rest goes, treat your parents as you would want your children to treat you, and by doing this, you will honor them, regardless of whether they are good or bad parents.
Have you broken this commandment? I did, many times, but by God’s grace, I learned to honor my parents.
I know, most of you think you haven’t broken that commandment, but I’ll be honest and confess to you that I have. In fact, you could say that I’m a serial killer, in light of these scriptures…
Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.~ 1 John 3:15 — NLT ~
21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.~ Matthew 5:21-22 — NLT ~
Beloved readers, are any of you as guilty of breaking this commandment as I am?
Beloved readers, before you say you haven’t broken this commandment, let’s look at Jesus’ definition of the command…
27 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ~ Matthew 5:27-28 — NLT ~
In light of Jesus’ definition of adultery, have you broken this law?
When I was young, I used to “borrow” my mother’s jewelry and makeup, and wear it to school. Whenever my conscience pricked me, I would reason that I was only “borrowing” her things, and that I would put it back. However, the fact is that I knew my mother did not want me to take her things, and if she ever found out, I would be toast. I knew that what I was doing was wrong, and I also knew that when you take something that isn’t yours, without the owner giving you permission to take it, then it is stealing.
I knew this, even though I wasn’t a Christian yet. I knew this because even though I didn’t yet know Christ, God’s law was written on my heart.
14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know His law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. 16 And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.~ Romans 2:14-16 — NLT ~
Not only that, when you work for someone, if you lie about the hours you work, it is stealing. If you spend the time you are being paid to work, doing other things, you are robbing the person who pays you. If you take anything that belongs to your place of employment, it is stealing.
Have you ever “borrowed” something without asking for the owner’s permission first? Have you ever goofed off or slacked off, when you should have been working? Beloved readers, that’s stealing. Have you ever broken this command?
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
Have you ever lied and said someone did something that they didn’t do? As a child, this was one of my worst traits. I can’t tell you the number of times that I blamed my younger sister for the things that I did. Of course I would excuse myself by reasoning that since she was the favored child, she wouldn’t be beaten or punished as severely as I would have been, but even though this may have been true, it couldn’t cleanse me from the guilt I felt for lying and bearing false witness against my sister. Beloved reader, has there ever been a time in your life when you bore false witness against someone else?
~ 10 ~
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Have you ever wanted something that belonged to someone else? Have you ever thought to yourself that the other person doesn’t deserve that treasure as much as you do? Beloved readers, that’s coveting. Have you ever broken this command?
In the last post and this post, we reviewed the Law of Moses, also known as the Ten Commandments, and I don’t know about you, but I’m guilty of breaking every single command. Indeed, every time I study the Ten Commandments, I realize once again, how terribly I’ve sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, just as this Scripture tells us…
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are.~ Romans 3:20 — NLT ~
Friends, the Law was never meant to save us. The reason God created the Law was to do exactly what it says in the Scripture above. It was meant to show us how sinful we are…
Why, then, was the Law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the Law was designed to last only until the coming of the Child who was promised. God gave His Law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.~ Galatians 3:19 — NLT ~
Beloved, the Law of Moses was only designed to last until the Child, Christ Jesus, came. My friends, He has come, gone back to heaven, and is coming again, and He fulfilled every single one of the Law’s commands. Therefore, what are we to do with the Law, now? Should we turn our backs on it and live in complete disobedience to it? May it never be! We’ll look for the answer to this question in Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 5.
Meanwhile, continue to seek the Lord, study His word, and pray fervently for Him to open the eyes of your heart, so that He will give you an understanding of His will for your life. May God bless you as you not only learn and gain an understanding of His word, but as you also apply His word to your life.
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are.~ Romans 3:20 — NLT ~
Image Credit: mk16-15evangelismteam.com
In my last post,Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 2, we learned that the Jews turned the Ten Commandments, (also known as the Law or the Law of Moses), into six hundred thirteen laws, known as theTradition of the Elders. Their purpose in creating all of these laws, as convoluted as it seems, was to protect the Ten Commandments. They purposed that following the Tradition of the Elders would ensure the people’s obedience to the Law of Moses. If you haven’t been following this series and would like to start at the beginning, please click,Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 1.
Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.~ Galatians 3:19 — NLT ~
In addition to learning about the Tradition of the Elders, we discovered the purpose for the Law, which is stated in today’s scripture,Romans 3:20, and also in the Scripture above… Today we are going to study the Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments as it is best known, while keeping in mind the Law’s purpose, which is to show people their sins. As we make our way through each of these commandments one by one, I encourage you to search your heart to see where you have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, while I search my own.
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
This is God’s first command, and sadly, I’ve broken this command too many times to count. You see, before I knew Christ, as my Lord and Savior, everything came before God, and the truth is that even as a born-again Christian, there have been too many times when I failed to put God first. In fact, the truth is that even now, after serving the Lord for many years, there are still times that I have to repent because I’ve put my own desires ahead of Him and His desires for me. Do you ever struggle with this command?
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments”
When I was younger, I struggled with the meaning of this Command. Was the Lord saying that it is a sin to draw, or carve or paint? After all, it seemed that His instructions were very clear and specific.“Do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…”Indeed, this is how this scripture has been interpreted by many people throughout the ages, and it sure seems to be the correct assumption, when you take this quote out of its context.
However, I always had a hard time believing that God hates art. After all, He is the giver of our gifts and talents. Now, as I grew in my love and knowledge of the Lord, I came to see that I was incorrect in the way that I had interpreted this verse. You see, this Command is not about the artwork as much as it is about the condition of the artist’s heart and/or the one who owns the art work. Let’s look at this Command again, in the whole context:
Image Credit: catholiccompany.com
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments”
Let’s also take a look at the Hebrew word translated as “carved image” in the New King James Version, and “graven image,”in the King James Version of the Bible:
Do you see the whole picture? God doesn’t hate artwork. He doesn’t hate knick-knacks, pictures, paintings, sculptures or statues. His concern and His Command was about our heart, and our relationship with Him. Do you remember what the children of Israel were doing while Moses was on Mt. Sinai getting the Ten Commandments from God? They were melting their gold and and pressuring Aaron to create a golden calf to worship instead of the Living God!
Do you imagine He didn’t know what was going on when He wrote that Command? Think about this, the same God who told the people not to create any images in heaven or earth, also Commanded the artists to create golden cherubim (which are in heaven) to go on top of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. He commanded the artists to create the menorah to resemble an almond tree with buds, branches and flowers (all of which are on the earth), and He commanded those who sewed the curtains and the veil of the tabernacle to weave angels into them.
Beloved readers, let’s examine our hearts. Do you, or have you ever worshiped any idols? Before you answer, let me share a few examples of idol worship with you…
Do you, or have you ever worshiped or prayed to any pictures, paintings or photographs?
i.e. — I’ve seen people who in the midst of a disaster, will risk their lives to save photographs of their loved ones. I may offend you by saying so, but this is an example of idol worship.
Do you, or have you ever prayed to or worshiped a carved or graven image?
i.e. — This would include praying to a crucifix, using rosary beads, a picture of anything or any one, including a picture of Jesus. Again, this may be offensive, but if you worship or pray to any man made image, this is idolatry, even if you say that you are worshiping Jesus.
Do you, or have you ever prayed or worshiped a loved one or created a shrine for your loved one?
i.e. — This too, may be offensive to many, but I must speak the truth. When a loved one dies, if we respond to his/her death by creating a shrine for them, and go to this place to pray to or talk to your deceased loved one, this too, is idolatry.
Perhaps you’ve done none of the above, but do you, or have you ever chosen to watch a program on t.v., or attend a sporting event, when you felt the Lord calling you to spend time with Him? If so, beloved reader, this too, is idolatry.
I don’t know about you, but in light of all this, I have to confess that I have been guilty of idolatry. You see, beloved reader, we’ve only looked at the first two commandments in the Law, and the Law has already shown me that I am a sinful woman in need of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. For He alone can set me free from the bondage of sin and death.
My friends, I don’t know if you have been born again or not, but, if you have broken God’s law, then you are in need of a Savior. We’ve only looked at two of the Ten Commandments, and I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of breaking both of those Laws, and here’s what the bible says about it…
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.~ Romans 6:23 — NLT ~
If you want to be set free from a life of sin and death, I urge you to call upon the name of the Lord, for whosoever calls upon His name will be saved. The bible tells us what we need to do…
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.~ Romans 10:9-10 — NLT ~
If you, like me are a Christian, who has sinned against God, repent and confess your sins to God, as He commands in His word…
But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.~ 1 John 1:9 — NLT ~
Thank you for joining me for Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 3, and I pray you will join me for Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 4, as we continue this study of the Law with the other Commandments.
This is my prayer for each one of us as we continue to study the Law… Father, I pray that as we study what Your word says about Your Laws, that You would open the eyes of our hearts, so that we would not only gain head knowledge. Let Your word be planted deep within our hearts, and help us to apply all that we learn from You and about You, so that we would walk in Your Spirit, and not in our flesh. I pray Lord, that you would take our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh. I also ask You to give each one of us a teachable spirit, so that we would not harden our hearts against You and the truth of Your word, because Jesus said that we will know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free… And whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. Father, I praise You and I thank You for all that You have done, for all that You are doing, and for all that You will do for each one of us as we continue in this study of Your Law and what it means to us. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
For the Law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. ~ John 1:17 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 1, we came to the conclusion that it is by God’s grace that we are saved through faith and not by our obedience to the Law. Otherwise, all would be condemned to eternal damnation, because no one aside from Jesus has ever been 100% faithful in obeying the Law, and the penalty for sin is death. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even one.” ~ Romans 3:10 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ~ Romans 3:23 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet, because of God’s great love for us, despite our sinful nature, Jesus, who was completely faithful in obedience to God’s Law, paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind, in order to redeem us from the Law of sin and death. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ~ Romans 5:8 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ~ Romans 8:2 — NKJV ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this, the second installment of Live By the Law/Die By the Law, I want to further study the Law and its purpose. Let’s begin by defining the Law. Throughout the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments, you will see references to the Law of Moses. This refers to the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on the stone tablets, while he was on Mt. Sinai.
These commandments were given to the children of Israel, (Israelites or Jews) and they were to live by these laws. Now, over time, the Jewish leaders and teachers of the Law took the Ten Commandments given to them by God, and created 613 laws, known as the Tradition of the Elders, which were supposed to help the people obey God’s Ten Commandments. In theory, if the people kept these rules, they would be obeying the Law.
Isn’t it just like mankind to take something holy and pollute it with our own wisdom? Perhaps their intentions were good in developing these additional laws for men to follow, in order to protect the Law of God, given to them by Moses, but the outcome was not good. You see, the Pharisees who created these additional laws were very strict about following them, down to the smallest detail. In fact, they were so careful to follow all of the rules, that they lost sight of the Law of God, which dealt with the hearts of mankind… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
37 As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited Him home for a meal. So He went in and took His place at the table. 38 His host was amazed to see that He sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! 40 Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? 41 So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
43 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. 44 Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”
45 “Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “You have insulted us, too, in what You just said.”
46 “Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. 47 What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago. 48 But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments! 49 This is what God in His wisdom said about you: ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’
50 “As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world—51 from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.
52 “What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” ~ Luke 11:37-52 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sadly, all of those religious laws created by the Pharisees only served to alienate the people from God. Instead of making it easier for the people to obey God’s original Ten Commandments, it only served to make obedience to God’s commands more difficult. The Law of Moses was complicated by the Pharisees’ additional six hundred thirteen laws.
When Jesus came along, He angered the Pharisees by speaking out against some of their foolish laws. Then, He took the Law of God, and simplified that which had been complicated by the Pharisees, dividing the Law into two parts. He revealed that the Law of God is summarized and divided into two parts. The first four commandments concern our relationship with God, while the second half of the commandments concern our relationship with mankind. The scriptures below show us how Jesus summed up the Law of Moses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ~ Mark 12:30-31 — NKJV ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You see, beloved reader, God’s Law was never about following ten rules or six hundred thirteen rules. God’s Law concerned the hearts of all mankind, and by obeying the first half of the Commandments, man could demonstrate his love for God. Furthermore, by obeying the second half of the Law, man would demonstrate his love for humanity, but sadly, because of our sinful nature, we are unable to follow the Law in its entirety, which is why Christ came to live, die and arise from the grave. He was and is our only hope for salvation and deliverance from the sin that binds each one of us.
For the Law was not given to the Jews to save them, for Christ is the One who saves. So, beloved reader, if the Law was not given to save mankind, why was it given? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why, then, was the Law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the Law was designed to last only until the coming of the Child who was promised. God gave His law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. ~ Galatians 3:19 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We know now that the Law was given to show people their sins. In Live By the Law/Die By the Law ~ Part 3, we’ll examine the Ten Commandments and see exactly how the Law still serves to show people their sins.
I pray that as we continue in this study, we’ll learn what it means to live in the love and liberty our Savior calls us to. May the Lord bless each of you, beloved readers, as you continue to grow in His grace.
Are Christians bound by the Law? What does it mean to be bound by the Law? Are those Christians who are Gentiles required to live by the Laws given to the Jews? What is the purpose of living by the Law? Are we required to live by the Law in order to be saved? When we fail to live by the Law, do we lose our salvation? Must we follow the Law in order to maintain our salvation?
Has anyone else ever grappled with these questions? When it comes to questions of such great import, I don’t like to rely on man’s answers, because man’s wisdom is finite, whereas God’s wisdom is infinite. Human words and beliefs are fallible, whereas God’s Word is infallible. We humans are corrupt, self-righteous, prideful, vindictive and sinful, whereas God is Good, Just, Merciful, and full of Grace and Love. The words of mankind have no power to change lives, and will soon fade away, whereas the Word of God is Living and Active, Sharper than any two-edged sword. His Word has the Power to change lives. His Word has the Power to save, heal and deliver.
Therefore, for those all important questions that I asked above, let’s look to God’s Word for the answers. Firstly, let’s start from the beginning, and work our way onward… Are we required to live by the Law in order to be saved?
8 God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beloved readers, the first all-important fact that you must know and understand is that God saves us by His Grace. Our salvation has NOTHING to do with how good we are, nor does it have anything to do with how many Commandments we have kept. Indeed, the salvation of mankind rests solely on God’s Grace and His great Love for us.
16 “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. ~ John 3:16 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ~ John 3:16 — NKJV ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beloved reader, take careful note of when God loved us and saved us. He loved us while we were still in the midst of our sins. Do you see? Christ died to save us while we were still sinners, breaking the Law. The fact is that we wouldn’t have needed a Savior if we were able to follow the Law ourselves. Indeed, my friends, even the Jews, (the ones to whom the Law was given), are unable to keep the Law. Therefore, why would I, a Gentile, think that I can either earn or keep my salvation by obeying the Law?
9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.
10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies. Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them. 17 They don’t know where to find peace.” 18 “They have no fear of God at all.”
19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. ~ Romans 3:9-20 — NLT ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” 13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. ~ Romans 3:9-20 — NKJV ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you see that according to God’s Word, NOONE can be made right with God by doing what the Law commands, because the Law simply shows us how sinful we are. Not only that, but the Law applies to those to whom it was given — the Jews, not the Gentiles. Furthermore, if the Jews, to whom the Law was given, were unable to follow the Law to the letter, why would anyone in the Church insist that the followers of Christ must live under the Law?
Beloved readers, please join me as we embark on a study of God’s word, so that we will know His Law and how it applies to us. The Word of God will have very little impact on anyone, unless we apply it to our lives. It is my hope that through this study, we will all come to a better understanding of God’s Word, His Law and His expectations for us. I pray that your roots will grow deep into His love and that you will come to understand, as all of God’s children should, how long and how wide, how high and how deep His love for you really is, though it is too great for any of us to fully grasp. I pray that as each of us delve into the Word of God, He will speak to us. I have no desire to tell anyone what to believe… instead, it is my heart’s desire that as we embark on this study, each one of you will listen, as His Word speaks for itself. I pray for all of this in the matchless name of Jesus. Amen.
45 Then, with the crowds listening, He turned to His disciples and said,46 “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 47 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
While Jesus was in the Temple, He watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
The other day, we started looking at this scripture passage, and we saw Jesus’ warning for His disciples to be careful of the teachers of religious law (scribes and Pharisees). Then He went on to list some of the things they were guilty of doing, such as parading around in flowing robes to gain attention and respect.
45 Then, with the crowds listening, He turned to His disciples and said, 46 “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.”
It’s funny. I never noticed this before, until my daughter-in-law and I were discussing this scripture passage… The very things that Jesus condemned in this passage are practiced in nearly every church here in the United States. I can’t speak for foreign churches, as I haven’t visited any foreign churches other than some in Haiti, when I was there on a mission trip, but from what I’ve seen in movies, I’d venture to say that they too, are operated in the same way.
Image Credit: Mike Dubose
How many ministers dress in elaborate flowing robes when they preach, rather than dressing as everyone else in the congregation? And think about this, how many pastors, evangelists and televangelists sit up in the front of their sanctuaries, in special, throne-like chairs, rather than in the same pews the rest of the congregation sits on? Did you notice that this was one of the things that Jesus condemned the teachers of religious law for, stating, “And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.”?
Image Credit: St. Landry Catholic Church
I can’t help but notice that the “messengers, pastors, prophets and evangelists,” who bring the word are given seats of honor in nearly every church that I’ve ever been in, how about you? And not only that, again, in nearly every church that I’ve been a part of, whenever there is a banquet or dinner, the pastor and his/her entourage are given seats at the head table. I’ve also noticed that all too often, while the other guests at the banquet must get up and fix their own plates, someone usually prepares the plates and serves them to the pastor, and his/her guests before everyone else is allowed to serve themselves. Don’t you find it ironic that the very actions Jesus found the religious leaders of His day guilty of, are the same ones practiced today, by Christian leaders, who claim to represent Him?
But that isn’t the only sin that has carried over into today’s church. Let’s examine the rest of this passage…
Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
While Jesus was in the Temple, He watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said,“this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Now, I know that most of you have heard this passage of scripture preached many times, as this poor widow is extolled for the great sacrifice she made for the Lord. The truth is, that’s how I’ve always heard it preached too, and I believed that the Lord was commanding us to give our all, like this poor widow. How about you? But then, my daughter-in-law shared some information with me that changed how I viewed this passage, and the sad thing is, that I could have understood this myself, if I had read this portion of scripture in its original context, as I teach others to do.
Image Credit: growingtogether.cc
Just to refresh your memory, the other day, I told you that the book of Luke was originally written as a letter or a report to a man named Theophilus, and when Luke wrote the letter, it did not have any chapters or verses. Therefore, there wasn’t the separation that we now see between Luke 20 and Luke 21. So, armed with this knowledge, let’s examine this passage as it was originally written, without stopping between chapters and verses.
After cautioning His disciples to beware of the religious leaders, who sought special treatment, and dressed to be noticed, Jesus then pointed out another, even more heinous sin that they were guilty of. For these religious leaders shamelessly cheated poor widows out of their property, while pretending to be pious by praying long prayers in public. The Lord has a special love for widows and orphans, and He hates to see them cheated…
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
You can see the love God has for widows and orphans, and yet Jesus makes it clear that the religious leaders of that day took advantage of them, often forcing them to lose their property. So, how did they force them to lose their property? With their long and flowery prayers, the scribes tricked those who were poor and needy into giving all they had to the Temple treasury, leaving them destitute.
Sadly, this practice continues in the church today, as pastors, prophets, evangelists and televangelists, continue to trick the poor and needy into giving their all to the ministry. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say that if you want your prayers answered, you must first “sow a seed.” Or else they make the claim that if you don’t give sacrificially to their ministry, you are robbing God. I’ve heard them say that how much or how little you give to their ministry is a reflection of your relationship with God. I’ve heard some encourage their congregations to borrow money or pay their tithes and offerings with a credit card, and it makes me sick! I’ve even heard some say that you will “lose your blessing” or even be cursed if you don’t give sacrificially to their ministry, and I ask you, how are these religious leaders any different than the religious leaders, whose very same practices Jesus condemned?
Image Credit: Bless India!
As for the poor widow who gave her all in her offering of the temple tax, do you really think Jesus was commending her actions, so that others would do the same? Or is it possible that as He was cautioning His disciples to beware of the religious leaders, He looked across the way, and saw this real life example of one of the widows, who was being robbed of her property, and pointed her out to them? How many poor and needy people do you know, who faithfully send money they can’t afford to the ministries of famous televangelists, who spend the money on their own lavish lifestyles, while they themselves, don’t even have enough to make ends meet?
How many people have taken money from the mouths of their own family, in the hopes that they can earn God’s favor by giving sacrificially? And how many have given their children’s inheritance to the church, because they were afraid of angering God? How many have lived and died with nothing, because the church duped them into doing as this widow did, while its coffers are full and running over? Do you really think this pleases God?
And do you really think we can earn His favor if we just give enough money to the church? Do you really believe that you, His beloved child will lose His favor and perhaps even be cursed if you don’t obey the commands of religious leaders to give to their ministries?
Beloved, don’t you know that just as we can’t earn salvation, neither can we earn God’s favor. If you are a child of God, you have His favor simply because you are His child, and He loves you. Look at these words that Jesus spoke…
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
Am I saying that God does not want us to give? Of course not! What I am saying is that you must stop listening to men and ask God what Hewants you to give, and to whom He wants you to give. And when you give, give cheerfully, because God has shown you what to give and to whom. Do not give because you are being pressured to do so by religious leaders. Instead, wait on the Lord and let Him direct your giving. And do not give because you want to earn God’s favor, or because you are afraid of losing His favor, because you can’t earn His favor with money or anything else. If you are a disciple of Christ, you have His favor simply because you are His child.
45 Then, with the crowds listening, He turned to His disciples and said, 46 “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 47 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
While Jesus was in the Temple, He watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Warning! Many readers may find the following post offensive as it goes against much of what many of us have been taught to believe. I make no apologies for this post, as I am staying true to the Word of God. And though it goes against what most of us have learned in the church, it is truth, and therefore, it must be shared.
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, “You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So, my friends, are you ready for some truth? Did you know that there is such a thing as “churchianity”, and that “churchianity” is much different than Christianity? Did you know that according to Wickepedia’s “Religion in the United States”, 73%-80% of Americans claim to be Christian? Now, I don’t like to be a harbinger of bad news, but the fact is that although many claim to be Christians, the truth is that there are fewer Christians than non-Christians — but don’t take my word for it. Look at what Jesus… Messiah… Son of God… the Christ… founder of Christianity, had to say about the subject.
13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”
21 “Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.’
So, beloved readers, as you can see from these scriptures, many who claim to be Christians don’t even know Jesus, and this includes many in the church. Now, armed with this knowledge, you have to begin to wonder, how much of what we have been taught to believe is what Jesus taught, and how much of it is simply the teachings of those who cast out demons in His name and perform miracles in His name, but in reality, they never even knew Him? And how can we — you and I — know the difference?
It starts in your heart. Do you know Jesus? I don’t mean do you know Him like you know President Obama, meaning that you know about Him or that you might recognize Him if you saw Him on the street. I mean — do you knowHim?
Let me explain it this way… In April, my husband and I will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary. I’ve lived intimately with that man for so long now that I know him inside and out. Yes, there are times when his response to something will surprise me, but for the most part, I know what he thinks about different subjects without him saying a word. I know what makes him angry and exactly what buttons to push if I want to get a rise out of him. I know how to make him smile, and I know how to make him laugh out loud. Sometimes, when he looks at me from across the room, though he doesn’t even say a word, I hear him saying, “I love you, Sweetie.” You see, after 33 years of intimacy, I knowmy husband.
This is how God longs for us to know Him. It is how He longs for us to know His only Son, Jesus, and how He wants us to know His Spirit. The only way we can know Him like this is to spend time with Him, by talking to Him, and by being still in His presence and waiting, listening for Him to speak to us. The only way we can know Him is to read His word, because though He spoke those words thousands of years ago, to many different writers, His word is living and active, and it still speaks to us today.
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Are we good so far? I haven’t said anything too offensive yet, have I? You see, before I can get to the meat of this subject, I had to lay the foundation first. For a large number of people in the church and out of it have deluded themselves into believing that being a Christian is nothing more than membership into the “right” church. Sadly, for most, church has become nothing more than being a part of the right club… Just as you have the Lion’s Club, the Moose Lodge, the Elk’s Lodge, the VFW, the Exchange Club, the Masonic Lodge and so many more exclusive clubs, so you also have your choice of the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Pentecostal Church, the Holiness Church, the Apostolic Church, the Church of the Brethren, the Church of Christ, the Berean Church, the Roman Catholic Church and so many other churches to choose from.
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And, just as the various clubs have different bylaws to follow, so also, the different churches have different rules and regulations for their members to follow…. For instance, some baptize by sprinkling water on the member, some baptize by pouring water on the member and others baptize by immersion. Some claim that you cannot be saved unless you are baptized, while others claim that baptism is merely an outward symbol of an inward change and that salvation can be had with our without baptism.
Some churches believe that when partaking of communion, you must only use unleavened bread, while others believe that only wafers will do, and still others believe that a whole loaf of bread should be passed around. Still other churches believe that you should only drink wine when taking communion, while others believe that to drink wine is sinful and only grape juice will do.
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There are some churches that believe that when you partake in communion, it is symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus that was shed for us on the Cross, while there are still other churches who believe that the bread and the wine actually become the body and blood of Christ when you partake of it.
So, my question is, with so many differing rules and regulations, which is right and which is wrong, and how can I know the difference? Am I practicing Christianity? Or am I practicing churchianity? Let’s begin by looking at the following scripture passage.
45 Then, with the crowds listening, He turned to His disciples and said, 46 “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 47 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
While Jesus was in the Temple, He watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Let’s begin to look at this passage bit by bit, starting at the beginning. The first thing to note is who was speaking, what they were talking about, when this happened, and where this took place…
One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to Him.
Who was speaking — Jesus
What was He talking about — He was teaching the people and preaching the Good News
When did this happen — One day
Where did this take place — In the Temple
Now, one important thing to notice is that the passage I am writing about, as well as everything else that happened in both chapters, is that it all took place on this “Oneday“. Right before Jesus warned the people to beware of these teachers of religious law, they had already tried to trap Him several times. I encourage you to read both Luke 20 and Luke 21 in their entirety, to get a clear picture of what was going on, when Jesus spoke to the people. Also, as you read these 2 chapters, keep in mind that when Luke wrote this book, he wrote it as a personal account to a man named Theolophilus, and there were no chapters and verses when he wrote it. Therefore, Luke 20 and Luke 21 both flowed together as a part of what happened “One day“.
With this in mind, we see Jesus addressing the people after the priests and the elders had come, challenging His authority, followed by the teachers of religious law (scribes and Pharisees) and their spies, who tried to trap Him into saying something against the Roman government so they could have Him arrested, then followed by the Sadducees (who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead), who tried to ensnare Jesus with a question about the resurrection. Boldly addressing each one of their attempted ruses, Jesus displayed both His wisdom and His authority, as He turned His focus on His disciples, warning them.
46 “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 47 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
Jesus warned His disciples to watch out for the teachers of religious law. Back then, the teachers of religious law were the priests and elders, the scribes, the Pharisees and the Saducees. Today, it could mean pastors, priests, bishops, elders, prophets, evangelists and televangelists, cardinals, popes and many other religious leaders. And how can you recognize those leaders that Jesus is talking about? He made it real easy for us to recognize them. They are the ones who like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings when they walk in the marketplace.
Think about some of those who love to preach in their flowing, lavish robes. Oh, they claim that they are their “priestly garments,” and that it is biblical, but is it really? (I warned you that I was going to offend some people and challenge your beliefs.) Only the levitical priests were ordered by God to wear specific robes, and those robes were not man made designs, but according to God’s pattern. “But,” you might say, “These robes show my office… my calling… my status… I am a royal priest…” Perhaps, but isn’t the same true of every Christian?
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
I’ve been told that I need to purchase a robe, so that when I preach the Word of God, I will look the part. Really? When Jesus, the Son of God preached the Good News, He didn’t have a special robe to wear. In fact, as we see here, He even spoke out against it. So I ask you, are those who wear these robes and demand that others wear them as well practicing Christianity or “churchianity”?
Before you get too angry with me, please note that I’m not saying that some of these people aren’t genuine Christians. Many are, but they, like all of us, have been misled about many things in the church. It’s time for Christians to wake up and begin practicing Christianity as Jesus taught us, and not the “churchianity” that the church has taught so many of us.
10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,
“Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
So, we see Jesus warning His disciples not to parade around in flowing robes like the scribes and Pharisees, so they can receive resectful greetings from people in the marketplace. How many preachers, evangelists and televangelists revel in the respectful adoration they receive from their followers, who dare not call them by name, but are instead required to address them as “Pastor… Prophet… Evangelist… Minister…?”
Far too many times, I’ve seen various ministers followed by an entourage of servants, expecting them to carry their bibles for them, as well as water and something to wipe the sweat from their brow. Some even expect their servants — er – followers — to wipe the sweat for them. How is it that Christ’s ministers, who are called to be Christlike, expect others to serve them, when Jesus came to serve others? Doesn’t anyone else see something wrong with this picture? Look at Jesus’ instruction to His disciples…
42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Now, my friends, if this was Jesus command to His disciples over 2000 years ago, and if He is the same, yesterday, today and forever, has this command changed? Of course not. Jesus calls us to serve, not to be served. He doesn’t want us dressing up in flowing robes, or the finest clothes, so that people will admire our finery, as we lord it over them and preach. He doesn’t want us preaching to draw attention to ourselves, rather, all focus should be on God. And understand this, God isn’t impressed by our flowery language, flashy robes and the things that impress people. He looks at our heart, and it is the love and passion for Him and for His word that draws Him to us.
Therefore, beloved readers, let’s ask ourselves, are we practicing Christianity or “churchianity”? Do you love Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Or do you love the attention you get when you stand before people, preaching and/or prophesying? Do you serve others? Or do you expect others to serve you? Do you follow Christ? Or do you follow those who walk around in their ostentacious robes, seeking the adulation of others? Do you follow those who expect you to serve them?
Beloved reader, I urge you to pray about the things that I’ve shared with you, and more importantly, see what God’s word says about them. Then, we’ll continue with part 2 of this series – Churchianity vs. Christianity.
Burning Fire Shut Up In My Bones 