Chapter four of John in the Bible starts off telling us how Jesus was baptizing followers Himself, rather than His disciples, and was being compared to His cousin John the Baptist and even confused with him. Jesus then left Judaea and went to Galilee through Sam-aria as it was in between. Jacob the Jew's ancestor had dug a well that was in that area and Jesus stopped there on the way. As He and the disciples had already come a good ways, they were tired and needed to eat something. Jesus' disciples left Jesus there and went into the town to buy some food for everyone.
In verse number eight of John chapter four, the Bible states that all the disciples had gone to town to buy food. Who then told John about Jesus being approached by this samaritan woman ? This had to have been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. This alone proves that the words of the Bible, at least in the writings of John, were given by God Himself for John to write down.
You might say, these things were relayed to John by Jesus Himself after the fact, but never does it say, the incident was relayed to John. It is written as though John was right there watching and heard every word. The whole account is backed up by the witness of the samaritan woman herself. She went into the town and told everyone who would listen about her meeting with Jesus and wanted them to come see Him. The disciples knew Jesus was talking with the woman because they saw them talking together on their return in verse 27.
The importance of all this is relayed in 1 Corinthians 15:14-17 where we find that if the the writings of John, if only a story written by a man telling of the life and resurrection of Jesus, are not considered to come from God and are suspect, then so is our belief that Jesus was risen from the dead, and the belief that we are saved by believing Jesus paid the price for our sin. Is our belief futile? Are we still floundering about condemned by our sins? This is where faith comes in.
We must either believe in Jesus as our true saviour, or say it is all just a very good story. The evidence seems to back up the belief that Jesus was a real person, and He really died on the cross. It also seems to back up the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. If you want to look only at the facts, they also seem to bear up the entire story. The New Testament, as we know it, is the best authenticated book in all history with over 260,000, documents in mans possession to document the books in there. Some people say why not some of the other writings from that period? They are not included, because the other supposed 'gospels' or stories are not authenticated by the facts, and do not line up with the books that are "in" the New Testament.
The Bible as we know it came from Martin Luther and William Tyndale, who took the known latin translations and left out the ones that could not be authenticated as being inspired by God, and made up the Old, and New Testaments as well as the Apocrypha, which tells of the time between the Old and New Testaments. The Apocrypha was dropped from the Bible we use around 1885, the official reason given was that the books of the Apocrypha were never part of the original Hebrew writings in the Old Testament, and they were in conflict with the writings of the Old Testament, as well as the fact that though the Old Testament is referred to many times in the New Testament, the books of the Apocrypha are never mentioned. There are many other reasons why these books were left out of our Bibles and there is not enough time for me to go into all of them.
Ultimately, we must either believe that these are the truthful inspired words of God the Creator in these books, or say we are lost in sin and will never be able to make ourselves good enough for God the Creator to accept. As with any addiction, the first thing we must do is admit we need help, we are hooked on being a sinner. We are hooked on sin. The main reason is self. We are hooked on ourselves and our wants and our needs. We ignore the affect our getting our wants and needs has on others unless they tell us. Jesus and His Father God want us to see the big picture, how our wants and needs affect other people around us. God the Father wants us to accept the free gift of forgiveness through the sacrifice His son Jesus made for us at the cross, and make ourselves available for His use in bringing others into His Kingdom.
If you are not saved, then I suggest you find a Church in your area, that is a Bible believing Church, and join up with them in your efforts to spread the Gospel of Jesus. It is up to the Holy Spirit to lead us where we should be, Not the world. If we claim to be saved, but are not led to be doing good works to spread the Gospel, then perhaps it is because of one of two reasons. One, we were never really saved by Jesus, or Two, we have become so numb to the spurring of the Holy Spirit, that we no longer feel when God leads us to do something. Either way, we must first admit,at least to God, that we have an addiction, then do our best to revive the relationship that God wants us to have with Him.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Casting Pearls - Walking in the Spirit
Walking is putting one foot in front of the other, staying straight on the path that God has laid out for us, not deviating to the left or the right. We are influenced to go off the path by the lusts of this world. Our flesh is the enemy. In the Bible we are warned in Galatians 5:16 to walk in the Spirit, we should let God through the Holy Spirit lead the way.If we walk the path behind the Holy Spirit, we will not be influenced by the flesh.
Our focus should be on Jesus, like Peter's was in Matthew 14:25-32 where he saw Jesus walking to him on the water in a storm. Peter asked to walk out to meet Jesus on the water. Jesus bade Peter to come to Him, and as long as Peter was able to stay above water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. As soon as Peter looked at the storm raging around him, notice Peter 'began' to sink. Note, Peter only began to sink not sunk. We once we step off the path of God begin to sink into the storm around us. If we quickly call on the Lord for help, we will find help from the Lord. Notice, as soon as Peter called out for help from Jesus that Jesus quickly took him by the Hand and led him back to safety. Just like Peter, we can sink into the waters of this world, as soon as we take our eyes off the things of God, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
The danger we face is ourselves. As humans, we are inclined to give in to the cravings of the flesh. As Christians, we must resist the cravings of the flesh and keep our eyes on the Good Shepherd who will never let us walk into danger. We only find ourselves in danger when we take our eyes off Him and leave the path. It only took a second of looking away from Jesus for Peter to begin sinking, and it will only take a second of our looking away from God to stray off the path.
As humans we are almost guaranteed to stray from the path. We must decide if knowing Jesus will save us from ourselves is enough. True salvation is evidenced by good works and continuous attempts at having a relationship with Jesus. If we show that we want to have a relationship, then Jesus will be more than happy to meet with us. Many people think, well I got saved and baptised, now I can live any way I want. But we must do our best to keep our eyes on Jesus and his word, if we are to remain above water. If we take our eyes off Jesus, we begin to sink. Some sink faster than others. Many of us think Jesus will pull us up at the last minute. Jesus doesn't say he will. He says, many will come to me and say ' I did this for you and that for you, and Jesus will say to them away from me I knew you not'. As is said by Jesus himself in Matthew 7: 22,23.
The signs of the end times are all around us, but we should not be afraid. Jesus has promised that He will always be with us even unto the end of the world. If not Jesus himself, then His Holy Spirit will be with us. Jesus is only one part of the whole of God. An egg is three parts, the shell, the yolk and the albumen. All three together make up an egg, but each plays an important role. If any one of these three parts were taken away, it would no longer be an egg. The three make a whole, so it is with God, there is the Father God, The Son Jesus, and The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost. These three make up the whole that is God. There are many examples in nature that make up the same thing, an apple, a peach, a peanut, a
Our focus should be on Jesus, like Peter's was in Matthew 14:25-32 where he saw Jesus walking to him on the water in a storm. Peter asked to walk out to meet Jesus on the water. Jesus bade Peter to come to Him, and as long as Peter was able to stay above water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. As soon as Peter looked at the storm raging around him, notice Peter 'began' to sink. Note, Peter only began to sink not sunk. We once we step off the path of God begin to sink into the storm around us. If we quickly call on the Lord for help, we will find help from the Lord. Notice, as soon as Peter called out for help from Jesus that Jesus quickly took him by the Hand and led him back to safety. Just like Peter, we can sink into the waters of this world, as soon as we take our eyes off the things of God, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
The danger we face is ourselves. As humans, we are inclined to give in to the cravings of the flesh. As Christians, we must resist the cravings of the flesh and keep our eyes on the Good Shepherd who will never let us walk into danger. We only find ourselves in danger when we take our eyes off Him and leave the path. It only took a second of looking away from Jesus for Peter to begin sinking, and it will only take a second of our looking away from God to stray off the path.
As humans we are almost guaranteed to stray from the path. We must decide if knowing Jesus will save us from ourselves is enough. True salvation is evidenced by good works and continuous attempts at having a relationship with Jesus. If we show that we want to have a relationship, then Jesus will be more than happy to meet with us. Many people think, well I got saved and baptised, now I can live any way I want. But we must do our best to keep our eyes on Jesus and his word, if we are to remain above water. If we take our eyes off Jesus, we begin to sink. Some sink faster than others. Many of us think Jesus will pull us up at the last minute. Jesus doesn't say he will. He says, many will come to me and say ' I did this for you and that for you, and Jesus will say to them away from me I knew you not'. As is said by Jesus himself in Matthew 7: 22,23.
The signs of the end times are all around us, but we should not be afraid. Jesus has promised that He will always be with us even unto the end of the world. If not Jesus himself, then His Holy Spirit will be with us. Jesus is only one part of the whole of God. An egg is three parts, the shell, the yolk and the albumen. All three together make up an egg, but each plays an important role. If any one of these three parts were taken away, it would no longer be an egg. The three make a whole, so it is with God, there is the Father God, The Son Jesus, and The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost. These three make up the whole that is God. There are many examples in nature that make up the same thing, an apple, a peach, a peanut, a
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Casting Pearls- What are you thinking?
In John 1:45 - 51 we see Philip, who has recently been called to become a disciple by Jesus, finding Nethanael sitting under a fig tree in the shade, pondering to himself. Philip then to Nethanael that he should follow him to see the man he is sure is the messiah, from Nazareth, and Nethanael's response of doubt that 'anything good could come out of Nazareth.
We observe then that Nethanael comes over to Jesus, who says to him,' Behold, an Israelite indeed,in whom there is no guile.' showing that as Jesus later says, that He even saw Nethanael under the fig tree, but that Jesus even knew what Nethanael was pondering about.
In Genesis 28: 11 - 16 where Jacob was dreaming about the stairway leading up to Heaven and seeing the Angels going up and down the stairway. Then Jacob saw the Lord at the top of the stairway and heard Him speak. Nethanael was pondering all this when Philip came up and summoned him to come see Jesus the Messiah. This is why Nethanael was immediately sure that this was the messiah because Jesus knew not only what he was thinking, but also where he was.
Jesus even went on to say that Nethanael would see, ' the Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of God'. This also referred to the verses in the book of Genesis Nethanael was pondering about.
In John 1:51 Jesus says 'Verily, verily I say unto you', and in the original greek the word used for you was a plural you, as Nethanael was not alone at the ascension of Jesus. We see this in Mark 16: 14-19 and Luke 24: 50-51,and Acts 1:4 Here we also see one of the few times Jesus refers to His human side by calling himself the ' Son of Man'. Jesus did this to emphasize that even as a man, the angels of Heaven would be ascending and descending on Him, and would be available to us as men as well.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Acts 2:2 and before in Acts 1:8 where the Holy Spirit came upon them with 'power' which is in the original greek 'dynomis' the greek word from which we get, dynamite. Ultimately, the Lord not only sees all we do, but knows all we think, so as the bible says in Phillipians 4:8 the Bible says for us think on these things, 'whatever is honest, and just and true, and pure, and lovely' , Meditate or think about these things. Keep your mind on these things as much as possible, and you will stay in the peace of God.
We observe then that Nethanael comes over to Jesus, who says to him,' Behold, an Israelite indeed,in whom there is no guile.' showing that as Jesus later says, that He even saw Nethanael under the fig tree, but that Jesus even knew what Nethanael was pondering about.
In Genesis 28: 11 - 16 where Jacob was dreaming about the stairway leading up to Heaven and seeing the Angels going up and down the stairway. Then Jacob saw the Lord at the top of the stairway and heard Him speak. Nethanael was pondering all this when Philip came up and summoned him to come see Jesus the Messiah. This is why Nethanael was immediately sure that this was the messiah because Jesus knew not only what he was thinking, but also where he was.
Jesus even went on to say that Nethanael would see, ' the Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of God'. This also referred to the verses in the book of Genesis Nethanael was pondering about.
In John 1:51 Jesus says 'Verily, verily I say unto you', and in the original greek the word used for you was a plural you, as Nethanael was not alone at the ascension of Jesus. We see this in Mark 16: 14-19 and Luke 24: 50-51,and Acts 1:4 Here we also see one of the few times Jesus refers to His human side by calling himself the ' Son of Man'. Jesus did this to emphasize that even as a man, the angels of Heaven would be ascending and descending on Him, and would be available to us as men as well.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Acts 2:2 and before in Acts 1:8 where the Holy Spirit came upon them with 'power' which is in the original greek 'dynomis' the greek word from which we get, dynamite. Ultimately, the Lord not only sees all we do, but knows all we think, so as the bible says in Phillipians 4:8 the Bible says for us think on these things, 'whatever is honest, and just and true, and pure, and lovely' , Meditate or think about these things. Keep your mind on these things as much as possible, and you will stay in the peace of God.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Casting pearls - Are we worshipping Baal?
We today are in danger of being in the same boat as the Baal worshippers of Elijah's time. You see, the Baal worshippers thought they were doing the right thing, while actually breaking the first commandment to have no other gods before the Lord our God. They thought they were worshipping God, all the while they were worshipping god. Let me explain, the word Baal has been widely corrupted in it's true meaning over the ages. All in an attempt by satan to confuse the sitituation. The word can be broken down like this, BA meaning 'god', and AL meaning 'the', so the Baal worshippers that Elijah dealt with claimed to be worshipping 'the god', while Elijah was worshipping the Lord Our God.
For years the people of Israel had been moving away from the worship of God to the worship of the creations of God,as we have done. The Baal worshippers 'thought' they were still worshipping God, yet they were worshipping God's creation instead. We are doing much the same thing today. All the environmentalists who worship the creation of God rather than the one who made it are missing the point. If we want to stop mankinds wasteful actions with the environment, we should call on the God who made the environment to stop them.
You see it all comes to dominion. originally man was given dominion over all of creation. After man brought sin and death into the world, man gave his dominion over creation to satan, thus man has abdicated his rule over creation to satan. Over the years we have changed the meaning of the Baal that the people worshipped to the God of the Rain. This was caused in part because of the drought that was going on at the time Elijah took on the Baal worshippers. Baal has also been said to correspond with satan or the devil, which is in some way true as Satan is the god of this world, The Lord God's creation.
Now that is not to say we are not in some way responsible for taking care of the creation that God has given us. Ultimately we are responsible to The Lord God who made this creation for using it to spread to the world, not that we need be responsible for taking care of it, but that we need be responsible for worshipping the one who made it and honoring Him by taking care of it.
In Elijah's time The Lord God had become fed up with the people putting His creation before Him, and was willing to use the priests of Baal as an example to the people of how fed up He had become. It is only a matter of time before The Lord our God gets fed up with us doing the same thing and punishes us.
As we do not see the United States mentioned directly in the prophecies of Revelation, I believe that we will no longer be a world force at the time of the end of the world. That is not to say that we will no longer be around, but the current world power we are, will no longer be true. Our time of prosperity is close to an end, and unless we quickly turn back to the God of Creation, there is no hope.It would be just like satan to attempt and trick mankind into worshipping the creation, or god of this world, instead of the God of Creation. All the negative publicity about GMO's and the Big Corporations use of natural resources for their monetary gain is only playing right into satan's hands. This is not to say that these things are not bad, but the focus should not be on God's creation, but on the God of Creation. God's power alone can show us the way to find the truth, and the way back to Him.
For years the people of Israel had been moving away from the worship of God to the worship of the creations of God,as we have done. The Baal worshippers 'thought' they were still worshipping God, yet they were worshipping God's creation instead. We are doing much the same thing today. All the environmentalists who worship the creation of God rather than the one who made it are missing the point. If we want to stop mankinds wasteful actions with the environment, we should call on the God who made the environment to stop them.
You see it all comes to dominion. originally man was given dominion over all of creation. After man brought sin and death into the world, man gave his dominion over creation to satan, thus man has abdicated his rule over creation to satan. Over the years we have changed the meaning of the Baal that the people worshipped to the God of the Rain. This was caused in part because of the drought that was going on at the time Elijah took on the Baal worshippers. Baal has also been said to correspond with satan or the devil, which is in some way true as Satan is the god of this world, The Lord God's creation.
Now that is not to say we are not in some way responsible for taking care of the creation that God has given us. Ultimately we are responsible to The Lord God who made this creation for using it to spread to the world, not that we need be responsible for taking care of it, but that we need be responsible for worshipping the one who made it and honoring Him by taking care of it.
In Elijah's time The Lord God had become fed up with the people putting His creation before Him, and was willing to use the priests of Baal as an example to the people of how fed up He had become. It is only a matter of time before The Lord our God gets fed up with us doing the same thing and punishes us.
As we do not see the United States mentioned directly in the prophecies of Revelation, I believe that we will no longer be a world force at the time of the end of the world. That is not to say that we will no longer be around, but the current world power we are, will no longer be true. Our time of prosperity is close to an end, and unless we quickly turn back to the God of Creation, there is no hope.It would be just like satan to attempt and trick mankind into worshipping the creation, or god of this world, instead of the God of Creation. All the negative publicity about GMO's and the Big Corporations use of natural resources for their monetary gain is only playing right into satan's hands. This is not to say that these things are not bad, but the focus should not be on God's creation, but on the God of Creation. God's power alone can show us the way to find the truth, and the way back to Him.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
CASTING PEARLS- Hospital for Sinners?
Many people refuse to come to church because the supposed saints who come to church are not being a good example of someone being lead by Christ in their daily lives. They refer to Christians as hypocrites, and are right to do so. We are not automatically perfect in all we do when we become saved. Mostly, it depends on how deeply we are willing to let Jesus into our lives. I'm afaid that many 'professing' Christians will receive the same response when they get to Heaven, "away from me for I knew you not". Church is best described as a Hospital for sinners, where we can meet together and make plans for reaching out to our communities and receive help in strengthening our own faith.
We are exhorted in the Bible to study and learn as much as possible about Jesus. It says in John 1:1 that 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.' If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and one third of the Trinity of God, then we also believe that Jesus is the Word that is God. In Matthew 22:29 We find Jesus revealing the truth to the Sadducees saying that they do not understand because they do not really know the scriptures or the power of God. The greek word used for power was 'dunamis' the word from which comes our word dynamite. It also states in the scriptures that 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness' in Romans 4:3 We can also find righteousness by showing faith in the promises contained in God's Word.
Most of all we can find approval in God's eyes by continually studying the word of God, as with most people we have a relationship with, we wish to spend as much time as possible with them, The way we can spend time with God, is to regularly and diligently study the Word. It was stated from Paul to Timothy in Paul's letter, 2nd Timothy 3:16 that 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.' Study and implementation of God's Word is the only way we can reach any hope of being Righteous in God's eyes. It is only through God's Word, and Jesus' blood, that we can even be clean enough for God to look upon us. If we think of ourselves as anything more than filthy rags in God's eyes, we are not even close. Every word in the Bible was given to the writers by God, and ordered by God, and used by God for our teaching, correction, and to instruct us how to live a Godly life.
That is why a church is not just a society of saints, but a Hospital for sinners. and the best prescription for each of us is the Word. God's Holy Bible. It will teach us how to live a righteous life, and will also warn us what to look out for in others. Will we still be fooled by others? Why yes of course, we will not be able to use the Word of God to protect us in life. However the Word can help us in how to react to others acting like heathens, and ignoring the teachings of God.
We are exhorted in the Bible to study and learn as much as possible about Jesus. It says in John 1:1 that 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.' If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and one third of the Trinity of God, then we also believe that Jesus is the Word that is God. In Matthew 22:29 We find Jesus revealing the truth to the Sadducees saying that they do not understand because they do not really know the scriptures or the power of God. The greek word used for power was 'dunamis' the word from which comes our word dynamite. It also states in the scriptures that 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness' in Romans 4:3 We can also find righteousness by showing faith in the promises contained in God's Word.
Most of all we can find approval in God's eyes by continually studying the word of God, as with most people we have a relationship with, we wish to spend as much time as possible with them, The way we can spend time with God, is to regularly and diligently study the Word. It was stated from Paul to Timothy in Paul's letter, 2nd Timothy 3:16 that 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.' Study and implementation of God's Word is the only way we can reach any hope of being Righteous in God's eyes. It is only through God's Word, and Jesus' blood, that we can even be clean enough for God to look upon us. If we think of ourselves as anything more than filthy rags in God's eyes, we are not even close. Every word in the Bible was given to the writers by God, and ordered by God, and used by God for our teaching, correction, and to instruct us how to live a Godly life.
That is why a church is not just a society of saints, but a Hospital for sinners. and the best prescription for each of us is the Word. God's Holy Bible. It will teach us how to live a righteous life, and will also warn us what to look out for in others. Will we still be fooled by others? Why yes of course, we will not be able to use the Word of God to protect us in life. However the Word can help us in how to react to others acting like heathens, and ignoring the teachings of God.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Casting Pearls - Do we want God back in our society?
The books of Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah were all in the same time frame as the exile of the people of Israel was coming to an end. The people had been in exile some 70 years as prophesied. The temple of God in Jerusalem had been torn down some seventy years earlier as King Nebucannezer had taken over the city. The King of Babylon had taken captive the brightest and best that Israel had to offer, and left the more uneducated, poor, common people to take care of the land. They had only to pay taxes to Babylon, but as the Temple had been torn down, and the priests had been taken into exile, they no longer had to sacrifice to God.
In these books we see not one but three different prophets had come forward from God to tell the people to rebuild the temple as the Israeli people were coming hame from exile soon. The new ruler in Babylon had given the go ahead for the rebuilding project. Haggi, was the man tasked by King Darius and God finishing the rebuilding of the Temple. Haggi was the forth prophet of God to come forward to rebuild God's temple. He and all the others met great resistance in their efforts to rebuild, from of all people the Israeli people themselves. They came after Nehemiah who rebuilt the walls and made Jerusalem safe again, even though he faced internal and external forces that tried to stop him.
They had gone through almost two generations in exile, and a very few people were still alive that remembered the Temple of God, or the sacrifices. The people could only see how rebuilding the Temple would make them have to start giving ten percent to God again, they seemed to forget the fact they would be free from the taxes of Babylon. The people of Israel were much like the people in the United States today. We have driven God out of our society and embraced things such as homosexuality, and abortion, and God has said in His word that Homosexuality and murder through abortion, are abominations in His sight. We as a nation, would have to give up these things to be able to turn back to God. The people only see what they must give up, rather than what they would gain by returning to the Lord.
In the song 'Basics of Life' there is a couple of verses that reflect this problem "We've let the darkness invade us to long, We've gotta turn the tide, there's no room for compromise."This very well explains where we are as a country. We as a nation have let the original intentions of our founding fathers go to the wayside, while embracing the evil that is presented to us. In many cases the change has been gradual in others much quicker. In both cases, The devil has used deception and delayed circumstances to get the new behavior accepted. Satan told Eve that if she ate the forbidden fruit that 'this day she would not surely die', she didn't think that a day to the Lord is as a thousand years, and from the point she ate of the fruit, she lived less than 1000 years. So God's statement that she would die that day was true, It was just one day to God not Eve. We continue to ignore the warnings of God at our own peril. If he takes His hand of protection off this nation, we will be in great trouble.
There is no room for compromise, the song says, and is true. We have gone so far that we think we can't get back, but with God leading the way, we can find our way back into His graces. We need to repent and turn around now, before we go further away. If we don't repent soon it may be too late for us.
In these books we see not one but three different prophets had come forward from God to tell the people to rebuild the temple as the Israeli people were coming hame from exile soon. The new ruler in Babylon had given the go ahead for the rebuilding project. Haggi, was the man tasked by King Darius and God finishing the rebuilding of the Temple. Haggi was the forth prophet of God to come forward to rebuild God's temple. He and all the others met great resistance in their efforts to rebuild, from of all people the Israeli people themselves. They came after Nehemiah who rebuilt the walls and made Jerusalem safe again, even though he faced internal and external forces that tried to stop him.
They had gone through almost two generations in exile, and a very few people were still alive that remembered the Temple of God, or the sacrifices. The people could only see how rebuilding the Temple would make them have to start giving ten percent to God again, they seemed to forget the fact they would be free from the taxes of Babylon. The people of Israel were much like the people in the United States today. We have driven God out of our society and embraced things such as homosexuality, and abortion, and God has said in His word that Homosexuality and murder through abortion, are abominations in His sight. We as a nation, would have to give up these things to be able to turn back to God. The people only see what they must give up, rather than what they would gain by returning to the Lord.
In the song 'Basics of Life' there is a couple of verses that reflect this problem "We've let the darkness invade us to long, We've gotta turn the tide, there's no room for compromise."This very well explains where we are as a country. We as a nation have let the original intentions of our founding fathers go to the wayside, while embracing the evil that is presented to us. In many cases the change has been gradual in others much quicker. In both cases, The devil has used deception and delayed circumstances to get the new behavior accepted. Satan told Eve that if she ate the forbidden fruit that 'this day she would not surely die', she didn't think that a day to the Lord is as a thousand years, and from the point she ate of the fruit, she lived less than 1000 years. So God's statement that she would die that day was true, It was just one day to God not Eve. We continue to ignore the warnings of God at our own peril. If he takes His hand of protection off this nation, we will be in great trouble.
There is no room for compromise, the song says, and is true. We have gone so far that we think we can't get back, but with God leading the way, we can find our way back into His graces. We need to repent and turn around now, before we go further away. If we don't repent soon it may be too late for us.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Casting Pearls- Faith or Mammon, Which do we serve?
In Matthew 6:24 we find that Jesus is telling us that we have a choice of serving God, or Money. EIther we serve one or the other, they are not mutually exclusive but both are very different. We must either serve one or the other. Which ever one we serve, we must HATE the other to serve the one. God's ministry must needs have money to reach out in this world, and if we love money, we HATE and shortchange God. God is the original maker of money, or mammon, and all things in this world, so you must love the maker or the thing he made. In 1Timothy 6:17 the Bible says to tell them that are rich in the things of this world, that they should not be high minded and trust in their riches, but rather trust in God who gives us everything we have. Or James 4:4 which states that we act like a cheating spouse when we give our allegiance to the things of this world instead of Christ. To love the things of this world that you have more than God, who made them, is the same as being an enemy of God's.
Then we go on to Matthew 6:25-28 where Jesus says that we should not worry about the things of this life. Our food, drink, and even clothes will be provided, if we only trust in the Lord and let Him have control. Jesus gives the examples of birds, and then later on of the flowers. neither really work or plant but both are well fed and clothed beautifully. If you think of the most finest dressed person you know, are the flowers not more beautiful than they are? Jesus gives the example of Solomon in verse 29 as he was the richest and most fancily dressed man from that time. In verse 30 Jesus says if God clothes even the grass in the field so beautifully and feeds it so well, when it will only be here for a short time then burned up or used as food for the sheep, do we not think He will not do the same for us? In Job 38:41 the Bible states that ' doesn't the Lord even feed the ravens and their young? If one of them were to cry out in hunger, God would even hear them. '
In verse 31, the Bible quotes Jesus as saying, that we should not take up our time even thinking on the food or clothes or drink for the day ahead, as will provide all we are in need of. Thinking and worrying about such things will not help us or anybody else, neither will it provide any of it for us. We see in verse 32, the Bible says, the things of this world is what the world seeks after, and we should keep our minds on God's riches and save up in our heavenly account instead of here. The things God provides to us here, in this life, are only to be used by us in the building up of God's kingdom, not ours. That leads us to verses 33&34 where Jesus says that we are not to plan for tomorrow or worry about it, not to say planning is a bad thing altogether, but if we worry about any of it we are showing a lack of faith in God! It is fine to plan if this and tis and this happen, then I'll do that, but don't let it become your sole focus. Let God be the one in control. Some people say I gave control of it to God and nothing great happened, well maybe you didn't give up complete control of things to God. Did you give up control of your funds, your things, yourself, Your provisions? the common theme in all these things is YOU! YOUr funds, YOUr things, YOUr provisions, YOUrself. The main problem with giving God control is YOU.
There was a man in England who was raised on the 'wrong side of the tracks' so to speak, named George Mueller 1805-1898, Who was not the greatest Christian to begin with, and even got in some trouble as a youth, then when he was a young man, he was sent to be trained in a Christian college by his father and try and become an evangelist, after going to college and not having enough money to pay the tuition he broke down and actually began to pray to the God who he had before just made fun of, Soon a knock came at his bedroom door and it was a servant of the proctor of the college, asking him to become a tutor and the job would pay enough to cover all his upcoming college expenses, This is when the trust in prayer to God began. Mr. Muller was known for having started over ten different orphanages with over Ten thousand children having grown up in them. He never ran an ad to hire someone or tried to get donations from people, he merely prayed for God to provide, and He did. The part in the Lord's prayer about give us this day our daily bread, was personified in his actions. For over forty years he ran the various orphanages and started almost 120, Christian schools which educated over 120,000 children. Never once asking anyone for funds or help with the exception only of God Himself. Later at the age of 70, having outlived his first wife and getting remarried, he began 17 years of missionary evangelism.
Mr. Muller traveled all around Europe and overseas to Canada and the United States, preaching and spreading God's Word. He paid his own fare for traveling from the unsolicited gifts given him on his travels, and even once or twice had someone pay for him to travel on to his next stop. In one well known and documented instance, Mr. Muller had the headmistress of one of the orphanages bring the some 130 children in to the dining room for breakfast, though nothing had arrived yet for them to eat. He prayed and thanked God for the food they were about to receive, and right after he finished praying, the doorbell rang, it was the local baker, who explained that he woke up a 3am feeling as though he should bake some bread and bring it to the orphanage. Soon afterwards a milk delivery man came up and said his wagon wheel had broken on his wagon and all the milk he had with him would ruin before anyone could come and fix it, so would they want five large canisters of milk which just filled 130 glasses. After breakfast each day was a time given to bible reading and prayer and every child upon leaving the orphanage, was given a small tin trunk with two changes of clothes and a Bible.
Would that we all had that kind of faith in God and all that He provides. If we can move YOU out of the way God is more than able to provide.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Casting Pearls- Striving
Striving is simply fighting with the urge to do or not doing something. The definition of striving is to contend, to fight for or against something. We all strive with God over things we want for ourselves, or others. We try to reason with God as to why He should be seeing or doing things the way we want them to be. In 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul, then known as Saul, was striving with Jesus. There are many examples in scripture, but first lets look at this one. If we look at the situations we face, we are supposed to to strive for Good Things, such as finding the narrow way, as in Luke 13:24, to get to Heaven through belief in Jesus Christ as our savior. We too often overlook the narrow way, for the easier to find wide path, which leads to destruction. This is why I believe that God left the fabled 'thorn in the flesh' of Paul's to remind him that he needed to continually call on God for help to stay on the narrow path.
In verse 7 we see Paul is telling us that he was given this thorn to not only keep him from becoming proud in his own abilities, but also to remind him that he needed God to help him avoid the traps of satan, trying to thwart him in his ministry to the gentiles. Many possible things have been discussed as being the possible 'thorn' he had trouble with, yet we are never told exactly what the thorn is. It is not really important what the thorn is, but what it was for.
Starting in verse 8 we see Paul 'beseeching' the Lord three times to remove this thorn. Paul doesn't just pray to be delivered three separate days, he spends three different 'seasons' in prayer to the Lord. Paul spends a good bit of effort on fighting this 'thorn' to no avail. Paul did great ministries and healing for the Lord, but when it came to his own infirmity, it appears he could do nothing. Paul received the answer to his prayer NO. Jesus Himself received the same answer to His request in Matthew 26:44, when He prayed for God to remove the cup from Him that He was to drink from. Jesus had strived in so fervent a manner, that He even began to sweat blood. Now Paul had not gotten that fervent in as short a period of time, yet he had been just as fervent three different times in his prayers. We are to bring anything we desire to the Lord just as fervently and believe that the Lord can help if it's in His will to do so.
We see further in verse 9 that Paul received an answer to his prayers, perhaps he had received this answer before praying the third time, and been unsatisfied with the answer. We do not really know. All we really know is that Paul received an answer. God had told Paul not to focus on the infirmity, yet let it be a witness of Paul's being able to continue on in the ministry despite the 'thorn'. God wants sometimes to use our infirmities to be a witness of His strength in us to overcome through the Lord's power.
Verse 10 says as much. We should glory in our infirmities and not in our successes. We should take pride not in our abilities, but in God's ability to overcome our weaknesses and use us despite them. So we need to strive to follow whereever God leads us not go where we want to go. Our desire should be to be in God's will no matter where it may lead us.
Do you feel as though life has become too mundane? Not exciting, no major trials you have faced recently? Then maybe you should ask God to help you to get in God's will so he can display the strength needed to make it through. If you have recently been through some major trials, thank God for His attempt to teach you. As we face hardships we learn from them that God can overcome, and so can we if we rest firmly in Him.
Whatever time we may have felt we lost in falling away from God, He can restore to us. In John 6:16-21 the disciples went across the sea of Galilee in a small ship at the Lord Jesus' request. When they were part way across a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. After they had struggled and strived with the storm for some time, they saw someone coming, walking on the water. At first they thought it might be a ghost, Then they recognized Jesus and after He climbed in their boat, He called for the storm to be still. The scriptures say that after Jesus calmed the storm, they were 'immediately' where they were headed. If we willing accept God's will in our lives, we will find ourselves put immediately in God's plan right where He wants us. All we need do is surrender our all to Him and not hold anything back.
We won't be where we want immediately, but where God wants us immediately. Later on in that same chapter of John, we see where the people who he had just fed were looking for Jesus, and saw though no other boats were missing, He was gone. Thinking maybe the disciples came back and got Jesus, they headed out to the other side of the lake to find Jesus. When they found Jesus, they asked Him, knowing He had not left on a boat, how had He gotten across. Jesus replied, " You seek me, not because you think it a miracle I am here, but because you filled your stomaches by the food I gave you". Just like them so many of us work hard in this life for the things of this world, all of which we must leave behind when we go. We are focused on what we receive, not on how we got it or who we got it from. The things of this world become more important to us than the person who made them for us.
With these and other passages in the Bible we see that it is our natural nature to strive with the things of God. We are of corrupted seed and this world that we live in is also corrupted due to the original sin of Adam. Our Church in America today is more than ever needed to influence societal thought toward the things of God. The morals embodied in the Ten Commandments, and to hold us back from going further toward the evil abominations that are spelled out in the Bible. The world wants to ignore what God has said, and we need to warn them that all they want is to be fed as the crowd was. They don't really want to hear the message that comes with it. There is no threat from us, just a promise from God Himself.
In verse 7 we see Paul is telling us that he was given this thorn to not only keep him from becoming proud in his own abilities, but also to remind him that he needed God to help him avoid the traps of satan, trying to thwart him in his ministry to the gentiles. Many possible things have been discussed as being the possible 'thorn' he had trouble with, yet we are never told exactly what the thorn is. It is not really important what the thorn is, but what it was for.
Starting in verse 8 we see Paul 'beseeching' the Lord three times to remove this thorn. Paul doesn't just pray to be delivered three separate days, he spends three different 'seasons' in prayer to the Lord. Paul spends a good bit of effort on fighting this 'thorn' to no avail. Paul did great ministries and healing for the Lord, but when it came to his own infirmity, it appears he could do nothing. Paul received the answer to his prayer NO. Jesus Himself received the same answer to His request in Matthew 26:44, when He prayed for God to remove the cup from Him that He was to drink from. Jesus had strived in so fervent a manner, that He even began to sweat blood. Now Paul had not gotten that fervent in as short a period of time, yet he had been just as fervent three different times in his prayers. We are to bring anything we desire to the Lord just as fervently and believe that the Lord can help if it's in His will to do so.
We see further in verse 9 that Paul received an answer to his prayers, perhaps he had received this answer before praying the third time, and been unsatisfied with the answer. We do not really know. All we really know is that Paul received an answer. God had told Paul not to focus on the infirmity, yet let it be a witness of Paul's being able to continue on in the ministry despite the 'thorn'. God wants sometimes to use our infirmities to be a witness of His strength in us to overcome through the Lord's power.
Verse 10 says as much. We should glory in our infirmities and not in our successes. We should take pride not in our abilities, but in God's ability to overcome our weaknesses and use us despite them. So we need to strive to follow whereever God leads us not go where we want to go. Our desire should be to be in God's will no matter where it may lead us.
Do you feel as though life has become too mundane? Not exciting, no major trials you have faced recently? Then maybe you should ask God to help you to get in God's will so he can display the strength needed to make it through. If you have recently been through some major trials, thank God for His attempt to teach you. As we face hardships we learn from them that God can overcome, and so can we if we rest firmly in Him.
Whatever time we may have felt we lost in falling away from God, He can restore to us. In John 6:16-21 the disciples went across the sea of Galilee in a small ship at the Lord Jesus' request. When they were part way across a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship. After they had struggled and strived with the storm for some time, they saw someone coming, walking on the water. At first they thought it might be a ghost, Then they recognized Jesus and after He climbed in their boat, He called for the storm to be still. The scriptures say that after Jesus calmed the storm, they were 'immediately' where they were headed. If we willing accept God's will in our lives, we will find ourselves put immediately in God's plan right where He wants us. All we need do is surrender our all to Him and not hold anything back.
We won't be where we want immediately, but where God wants us immediately. Later on in that same chapter of John, we see where the people who he had just fed were looking for Jesus, and saw though no other boats were missing, He was gone. Thinking maybe the disciples came back and got Jesus, they headed out to the other side of the lake to find Jesus. When they found Jesus, they asked Him, knowing He had not left on a boat, how had He gotten across. Jesus replied, " You seek me, not because you think it a miracle I am here, but because you filled your stomaches by the food I gave you". Just like them so many of us work hard in this life for the things of this world, all of which we must leave behind when we go. We are focused on what we receive, not on how we got it or who we got it from. The things of this world become more important to us than the person who made them for us.
With these and other passages in the Bible we see that it is our natural nature to strive with the things of God. We are of corrupted seed and this world that we live in is also corrupted due to the original sin of Adam. Our Church in America today is more than ever needed to influence societal thought toward the things of God. The morals embodied in the Ten Commandments, and to hold us back from going further toward the evil abominations that are spelled out in the Bible. The world wants to ignore what God has said, and we need to warn them that all they want is to be fed as the crowd was. They don't really want to hear the message that comes with it. There is no threat from us, just a promise from God Himself.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Casting pearls- What Should We Do With Our Talents?
What should we do with our talents?
In Matthew 25:14-30 we see Jesus telling His disciples that Heaven is like this parable. A ruler goes to a new kingdom but before he leaves he gives to his servants talents to use until he returns, just to see what they will do with them. The Lord gives to us all something in the way of talents, and we are responsible to Him for what we use them for, and if we use them for increase before the Lord returns. In this same way the parable of the talents refers to our circumstances today. Jesus is guaranteeing to return someday and when He does we will be responsible to Him for what we have done with the 'talents' Jesus has given to us.
It is also interesting that 'Talents' were a form of currency in those days as well as meaning 'natural abilities' in todays english. First we are told that this is a parable, or story, of the Kingdom of Heaven and this is what we should expect. We should be ready to account for the talents God has given us. The things we do for Jesus to help expand His Kingdom while in this world will be rewarded when we get to the next world. Only what we have done for Christ will last, everything else will pass away. The ruler will gave to them what was His for them to care for and increase.
We find then that unto the first servant the ruler gave five talents, the next servant two, and the third servant one. Now the third servant may have felt to be not as well trusted as the others since he only received one talent. But, as it turns out, the ruler may have withheld more for good reason. The ruler gave to them as he would, not as they could.
The servant who received five talents invested them and increased them by five more. Through this we see that we should attempt to at least double the talents given to us. If we don't at least try to use the talents given us, then we will be responsible to the Lord for not using the talents He left us. Now the Bible says that Jesus came not to do away with the law, but that through Him the law might be explained.
The second servant was given two talents and also doubled them, turning them into four talents. The ruler praised both servants and put them in charge of much in His new Kingdom since they did so well with the little they had here.
The third servant was not as productive as the other two, and weither due to his fear of the ruler, or his lazyness, he just buried the talent and never used it or increased it. If you or I were to go to a bank and open a savings account, even at todays low interest rates, we would expect after say ten years to get some increase in the money we put in there. But if after ten years the bank manager took us out back and dug up the money we had given him, and said he kept it safe there so we would never risk it being lost or misused, we would be mad with him at least.
The Bible says starting in verse 19-30 that the ruler, representative of Jesus, came back and expected an accounting of the servants. After a LONG time most likely when the servants had given up hope that the ruler would ever return, the ruler finally returned. So, to there surprise, the ruler returned and wanted His talents accounted for. The ruler started with the servant that had been given five talents, then went on to the one given two talents.
In Matthew 25:14-30 we see Jesus telling His disciples that Heaven is like this parable. A ruler goes to a new kingdom but before he leaves he gives to his servants talents to use until he returns, just to see what they will do with them. The Lord gives to us all something in the way of talents, and we are responsible to Him for what we use them for, and if we use them for increase before the Lord returns. In this same way the parable of the talents refers to our circumstances today. Jesus is guaranteeing to return someday and when He does we will be responsible to Him for what we have done with the 'talents' Jesus has given to us.
It is also interesting that 'Talents' were a form of currency in those days as well as meaning 'natural abilities' in todays english. First we are told that this is a parable, or story, of the Kingdom of Heaven and this is what we should expect. We should be ready to account for the talents God has given us. The things we do for Jesus to help expand His Kingdom while in this world will be rewarded when we get to the next world. Only what we have done for Christ will last, everything else will pass away. The ruler will gave to them what was His for them to care for and increase.
We find then that unto the first servant the ruler gave five talents, the next servant two, and the third servant one. Now the third servant may have felt to be not as well trusted as the others since he only received one talent. But, as it turns out, the ruler may have withheld more for good reason. The ruler gave to them as he would, not as they could.
The servant who received five talents invested them and increased them by five more. Through this we see that we should attempt to at least double the talents given to us. If we don't at least try to use the talents given us, then we will be responsible to the Lord for not using the talents He left us. Now the Bible says that Jesus came not to do away with the law, but that through Him the law might be explained.
The second servant was given two talents and also doubled them, turning them into four talents. The ruler praised both servants and put them in charge of much in His new Kingdom since they did so well with the little they had here.
The third servant was not as productive as the other two, and weither due to his fear of the ruler, or his lazyness, he just buried the talent and never used it or increased it. If you or I were to go to a bank and open a savings account, even at todays low interest rates, we would expect after say ten years to get some increase in the money we put in there. But if after ten years the bank manager took us out back and dug up the money we had given him, and said he kept it safe there so we would never risk it being lost or misused, we would be mad with him at least.
The Bible says starting in verse 19-30 that the ruler, representative of Jesus, came back and expected an accounting of the servants. After a LONG time most likely when the servants had given up hope that the ruler would ever return, the ruler finally returned. So, to there surprise, the ruler returned and wanted His talents accounted for. The ruler started with the servant that had been given five talents, then went on to the one given two talents.
In both cases the ruler praised the servants and put them in control of many groups in His new Kingdom. The ruler promises that the Joy of the Lord is waiting for both servants, meaning the rest in the Joy of Heaven, waits for them. Then the ruler gets to the third servant and he procedes to make excuses for doing nothing with the talet he was given. He used 42 words to make excuses while the others only used 15 or 16 to tell what they had done. Those who feel they need to make excuses for their actions will almost always use more effort to explain away their actions than those who agree to do right from the beginning. The third servant was told by the ruler that he was a lazy and slovenly servant and even the little that he had would be taken away and given to the productive servants. We need to get more productive in God's service, so when Jesus returns we will be able to say to him we have done much with the talents He left with us.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Casting Pearls- labels
We all know what a American is.
We all know what a Canadian is.
We all know what an Egyptian is.
But, what is a Christian?
A CHRISTIAN is defined as; Judgemental, homophobic moralist, who thinks they are the only ones going to Heaven, and secretly relish the fact that everyone else is going to hell.
Everything you thought about Christianity is wrong!
Christianity was at first a derogatory term used to describe Christ's followers who lived in and around Antioch as seen in Acts 11:26. These people followed the teachings of Christ and His disciples after Jesus was crucified and resurrected.
Approximately 70 to 80% of the people in the United States claim to be Christian, but the meaning of the term varies widely depending on who uses it. Most of these people can be divided into one of five catagories.
1) 19% say they are COMMITTED CHURCHGOERS, Often these people can be found in Church leadership roles or in some position in Church. They are regular Bible readers and Churchgoers.
20 20% say they are Professing Christians, While they have similar beliefs as the Committed Churchgoers, they are less committed to Church attendance or service. They tend to focus more on a personal relationship with Christ and less on Bible reading or sharing their faith, or service in the Church body.
3) 16% are Liturgical Christians, They say their regular Churchgoers, and they recognize the authority of the Church. They are mostly either Lutheran or Catholic and lean heavily on the traditions of the Church. They are not regular Churchgoers for the most part.
4) 24% Are Private Christians, They are by far the largest group, traditionally also the youngest segment, they have great spiritual interests, but not necessarily within the normal Church context, and they do not regularly come to Church.
5) 21% are Cultural Christians, who are God aware, but do not see Jesus as essential to their salvation. They affirm many things as controlled by God, but refuse to give up their own control to God.
We need to decide which type of Christian we want to be, or if we even want to be a Christian in the way the world sees them. So, my question is, do you want to be a Christian or a Disciple?
A Disciple is defined as a learner, pupil, follower, student, adherent, or apprentice. In John 13: 33-35 Jesus tells us we are to do something even more difficult than dying for God, we are called to LOVE one another. We are supposed to show love to our fellow man weither or not we think they deserve it. We should show love to even the unloveable, as God loved us and sent His son(John3:16) to sacrifice Himself and die so we might live in freedom of spirit. The Bible says in John 3:17 that Christ came not to condemn the world, but so that the (people of the) world might be saved. The Bible tells us in 1Peter 2:7-9 that the Commandments of God are not just for building us up, but also for causing us to stumble.
When you stumble, you suddenly look around you to see what caused you to stumble, and leave the lackidasical manner in which we have been walking along. Suddenly we can see clearly, all the things around us, and anything that may be in our immediate way. We tend to fall short of God's standards, much less our own. The word of God, the Bible, is to be a stumbling block for us to see the world around us more clearly, and through regular study of the Word of God, we will continually see the world through the Saviour's eyes.
We are also called in verse 9 of 1 Peter, to be peculiar people, defined as unusual, different, strange, odd, impractical, someone who acts like no one had ever thought of before. We are to stand out in the company of those around us. We are to cause others to want what we have.No matter how mean they are to us, or how bad they act, we are to show them the Love that we ourselves have received from God.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Casting pearls- tithing
Do you give ten percent of your income, things, time,attention, family time, to the Lord?
If you have a house, have you given ten percent of it's use to the Lord? If you have a car, have you dedicated ten percent of it's use to the Lord?If you have any free time away from work, have you dedicated ten percent of that time to the Lord? Heva you given ten percent of yourself to the lord?
Hebrews 7: 1-6, Ten percent of all we have is all the Lord God asks. He gave us all we have and all He asks is that we give ten percent back to support the Church of His children. Abraham gave ten percent of all he had to Melchesidek, who was the king of Salem at the time, because he was the priest of God the Lord in reverence for the priests blessing, as was further reenforced by 1st Samuel 8: 10-18, where Samuel warns that if he appoints a king over them, they will have to give this man ten percent of all they have above the ten percent they already have sworn to give the levites as priests of God most High. It was the policy of many contemporary kings in Canan to require ten percent from his subjects. Ultimately, we only have one King, Jesus, who requires us to consecrate ten percent of our time, energy, and money to God's service.
In Numbers 18: 25-28, Moses is instructed, by God, to tell the Levites, the jewish group called to be the priests of God, to not only gather a tithe from the people of Israel. But also, to take for themselves, ten percent of the people's tithe to live on. You can also see Hebrews 7:5. The Bible states in Leviticus 27:30 states that all we have belongs to God. In Numbers 14:22, the Bible says that we should give a tithe of all our increase. For without God giving us things and abilities in the first place, we would have nothing to invest and use to have increase. Matthew 23:23 The Pharasees are called hypocrites because they called themselves holy and good, while ignoring the other 'weighter' matters of the law of God. We do the same today, trying to appear good to those around us, while ignoring the more important things of God in our lives.
In Luke 18:10-14, The Bible tells us though a parable that Jesus tells, a pharasee and a publican both went to the temple to pray before God. Not only is the Pharasee wrong in his assumption that he is better than the publican. He is also wrong in assuming that he is okay in God's sight. Even if we tithe of all the things we possess , we still fall short of tithing everything if we don't give at least ten percent of ourselves as well. Before anyone can say, what about you, I am guilty of this as well.
Matthew 6:19-20 we are told, Do not put your focus on laying up of things for yourself here. Lay up riches in Heaven, where moth and rust will not destroy, We and all things in this world were made from dirt and rocks being formed into things we use, all things in this world will eventually go back to being the dust they came from. If your heart on the things of God, you will gladly help others in need and give freely of the gifts God has provided you.
The Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 13: 4-5 that Christ was crucified for us, through His meekness and humble nature, and yet He lives again through the power and strength of God. We can have that strength through Christ who strengthens us. So we are called to examine ourselves on a regular basis, to prove to ourselves and to God, that we are living still living for Him and not for ourselves. Without God, we will always fail the test. Yet in His meekness and strength, we will always prevail.
If you have a house, have you given ten percent of it's use to the Lord? If you have a car, have you dedicated ten percent of it's use to the Lord?If you have any free time away from work, have you dedicated ten percent of that time to the Lord? Heva you given ten percent of yourself to the lord?
Hebrews 7: 1-6, Ten percent of all we have is all the Lord God asks. He gave us all we have and all He asks is that we give ten percent back to support the Church of His children. Abraham gave ten percent of all he had to Melchesidek, who was the king of Salem at the time, because he was the priest of God the Lord in reverence for the priests blessing, as was further reenforced by 1st Samuel 8: 10-18, where Samuel warns that if he appoints a king over them, they will have to give this man ten percent of all they have above the ten percent they already have sworn to give the levites as priests of God most High. It was the policy of many contemporary kings in Canan to require ten percent from his subjects. Ultimately, we only have one King, Jesus, who requires us to consecrate ten percent of our time, energy, and money to God's service.
In Numbers 18: 25-28, Moses is instructed, by God, to tell the Levites, the jewish group called to be the priests of God, to not only gather a tithe from the people of Israel. But also, to take for themselves, ten percent of the people's tithe to live on. You can also see Hebrews 7:5. The Bible states in Leviticus 27:30 states that all we have belongs to God. In Numbers 14:22, the Bible says that we should give a tithe of all our increase. For without God giving us things and abilities in the first place, we would have nothing to invest and use to have increase. Matthew 23:23 The Pharasees are called hypocrites because they called themselves holy and good, while ignoring the other 'weighter' matters of the law of God. We do the same today, trying to appear good to those around us, while ignoring the more important things of God in our lives.
In Luke 18:10-14, The Bible tells us though a parable that Jesus tells, a pharasee and a publican both went to the temple to pray before God. Not only is the Pharasee wrong in his assumption that he is better than the publican. He is also wrong in assuming that he is okay in God's sight. Even if we tithe of all the things we possess , we still fall short of tithing everything if we don't give at least ten percent of ourselves as well. Before anyone can say, what about you, I am guilty of this as well.
Matthew 6:19-20 we are told, Do not put your focus on laying up of things for yourself here. Lay up riches in Heaven, where moth and rust will not destroy, We and all things in this world were made from dirt and rocks being formed into things we use, all things in this world will eventually go back to being the dust they came from. If your heart on the things of God, you will gladly help others in need and give freely of the gifts God has provided you.
The Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 13: 4-5 that Christ was crucified for us, through His meekness and humble nature, and yet He lives again through the power and strength of God. We can have that strength through Christ who strengthens us. So we are called to examine ourselves on a regular basis, to prove to ourselves and to God, that we are living still living for Him and not for ourselves. Without God, we will always fail the test. Yet in His meekness and strength, we will always prevail.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Casting pearls- Reading your Bible - Past mistakes
Why is it so important to read your Bible everyday? First off we should as in 2nd Timothy 2:15, Study to find ourselves approved unto God. And in Psalms 111:2 the Bible states that the works of the Lord are great, to be studied by all them that have great pleasure in them. Above all that, if we wish to have a relationship with someone, we spend time with them. Since we can't spend time physically with God, we should desire to do the next best thing and read the Holy Word, His Bible.
In Matthew 1:3-6 and 17 we tend to get bogged down in the begats, but even there God is trying to point something out to us. In these verses we see the lineage of Jesus up to David the King of Israel. The verses between 6 and 16 continue this litergy, but what stands out is that four women were mentioned in Jesus' lineage. It was odd,at that time, to even mention a woman in someones ancestors, as their name and wealth was not usually passed on through them. Yet, these four women were mentioned for a special reason. They were included to show us that no matter how rough a start we may have had, God could still use us to complete His plan. Also you will notice that the men mentioned are not the first born of their fathers. Since they were not the first born, the inheritance of their fathers was not guaranteed to them, so it proves that God was their cause for being prosperous. In some cases, such as Jacob's, it was only by subterfuge that he received his fathers blessing first. God used the people least likely to prosper here on earth, to bring His messiah, so we would see that God can make of us whatever He chooses.
First, in Tamar's place, she had been the wife of Judas' son Er. Er had died without an heir so she was given to Er's brother Onan. Onan perposely cheated her out of possibly getting pregnate by' spilling his seed on the ground' and therefor keeping her from conceveing . Onan also died without leaving an heir so Tamar was left in herr father-in-law's house until the next brother grew old enough for her to marry. The third bother Shurah was still not a man at that time(13). When Shurah finally reached 13, Tamar was not given to him but was forgotten, so she took it upon herself to carry on the lineage. Tamar pretended she was a prostitute and seduced Judas as he was was on his way back home one day. and she made him give her his staff and ring to hold until his servant returned with payment of a goat. When the servant returned, Tamar was gone and could not be found. Later, Tamar was found to be pregnate and Judas was going to have her punished and killed for sleeping with someone outside the family, until Tamar produced Judas' staff and ring proving that he was the father of the child.
All this story can be found in Genesis chapter 38, in the middle of the story of Joseph. Not because it is more important than Joseph, but because it had to do with the lineage of the messiah.
Next we have Rahab, she was a prostitute in Jericho and was living in a house bult into the outside wall of the city. When Joshua and the Israelites came up across the Jordan river and camped just outside the city. Joshua sent spies into Jericho to spy out the best way for the Israelites to attack them. The spies were almost caught, but were hidden by Rahab. For her help she was told to tie a red ribbon, or strip of cloth in the window the spies were let down from and she and her household would be spared when the Israelites attacked. Later, when the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, Rahab and her family were spared and joined up with the Israelites. She married a man named Salmon, and had a son named Boaz, who married the third woman in our list.
The next woman's name was Ruth, and was outwardly the most vertuous woman in our list. In fact other than the Proverbs 31 woman, she is the only other woman refered to in the Bible as a vertuous woman. Her problem was where she was from. She was from Moab, who were looked down upon by the Israelites because of their heritage, and the fact that they had been at war with the nation of Israel previously. The Moabites came from Lot after he had left Sodom and Gamorrah. Moab, their founder, was the son of Lot's daughter after the distruction of Sodom and Gamorrah. She thought the world was ending and everyone else was being killed, so she got her father drunk, and then slept with him. The resulting son was Moab, the product of incest, so the Israelites always looked down on them.
The last of the four women mentioned was Bathsheba, the wife of King David and mother of Solomon. She is refered to in the Bible as 'her that had been the wife of Uriah' to let us know that she had been David's wife through adultery, and then murder, commited by David, all in an attempt to cover up his sin. We all know of this story from VBS or Sunday School as children. Solomon later became one of the best known Kings of Israel and built the temple of God. Great can be our outcome when we allow ourselves to be used by the Lord for His purpose.
After all the begats, in verse 17 we see explained that fourteen generations were from Abraham to David, and fourteen generations were from David to the Exile of the Israelites in Babylon, and fourteen generations were from the exile to the birth of Jesus. All this was to show us that there was a unique plan in place for Jesus from the beginning of the Israelite nation, and that no matter how people might have messed things up with their problems and lusts for this and that, God was still able to make His plan work, and He kept it on track for over 6000 years, so what can we do do mess it up? No matter how bad these people were, God still used them for His devine purpose.
In Matthew 1:3-6 and 17 we tend to get bogged down in the begats, but even there God is trying to point something out to us. In these verses we see the lineage of Jesus up to David the King of Israel. The verses between 6 and 16 continue this litergy, but what stands out is that four women were mentioned in Jesus' lineage. It was odd,at that time, to even mention a woman in someones ancestors, as their name and wealth was not usually passed on through them. Yet, these four women were mentioned for a special reason. They were included to show us that no matter how rough a start we may have had, God could still use us to complete His plan. Also you will notice that the men mentioned are not the first born of their fathers. Since they were not the first born, the inheritance of their fathers was not guaranteed to them, so it proves that God was their cause for being prosperous. In some cases, such as Jacob's, it was only by subterfuge that he received his fathers blessing first. God used the people least likely to prosper here on earth, to bring His messiah, so we would see that God can make of us whatever He chooses.
First, in Tamar's place, she had been the wife of Judas' son Er. Er had died without an heir so she was given to Er's brother Onan. Onan perposely cheated her out of possibly getting pregnate by' spilling his seed on the ground' and therefor keeping her from conceveing . Onan also died without leaving an heir so Tamar was left in herr father-in-law's house until the next brother grew old enough for her to marry. The third bother Shurah was still not a man at that time(13). When Shurah finally reached 13, Tamar was not given to him but was forgotten, so she took it upon herself to carry on the lineage. Tamar pretended she was a prostitute and seduced Judas as he was was on his way back home one day. and she made him give her his staff and ring to hold until his servant returned with payment of a goat. When the servant returned, Tamar was gone and could not be found. Later, Tamar was found to be pregnate and Judas was going to have her punished and killed for sleeping with someone outside the family, until Tamar produced Judas' staff and ring proving that he was the father of the child.
All this story can be found in Genesis chapter 38, in the middle of the story of Joseph. Not because it is more important than Joseph, but because it had to do with the lineage of the messiah.
Next we have Rahab, she was a prostitute in Jericho and was living in a house bult into the outside wall of the city. When Joshua and the Israelites came up across the Jordan river and camped just outside the city. Joshua sent spies into Jericho to spy out the best way for the Israelites to attack them. The spies were almost caught, but were hidden by Rahab. For her help she was told to tie a red ribbon, or strip of cloth in the window the spies were let down from and she and her household would be spared when the Israelites attacked. Later, when the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, Rahab and her family were spared and joined up with the Israelites. She married a man named Salmon, and had a son named Boaz, who married the third woman in our list.
The next woman's name was Ruth, and was outwardly the most vertuous woman in our list. In fact other than the Proverbs 31 woman, she is the only other woman refered to in the Bible as a vertuous woman. Her problem was where she was from. She was from Moab, who were looked down upon by the Israelites because of their heritage, and the fact that they had been at war with the nation of Israel previously. The Moabites came from Lot after he had left Sodom and Gamorrah. Moab, their founder, was the son of Lot's daughter after the distruction of Sodom and Gamorrah. She thought the world was ending and everyone else was being killed, so she got her father drunk, and then slept with him. The resulting son was Moab, the product of incest, so the Israelites always looked down on them.
The last of the four women mentioned was Bathsheba, the wife of King David and mother of Solomon. She is refered to in the Bible as 'her that had been the wife of Uriah' to let us know that she had been David's wife through adultery, and then murder, commited by David, all in an attempt to cover up his sin. We all know of this story from VBS or Sunday School as children. Solomon later became one of the best known Kings of Israel and built the temple of God. Great can be our outcome when we allow ourselves to be used by the Lord for His purpose.
After all the begats, in verse 17 we see explained that fourteen generations were from Abraham to David, and fourteen generations were from David to the Exile of the Israelites in Babylon, and fourteen generations were from the exile to the birth of Jesus. All this was to show us that there was a unique plan in place for Jesus from the beginning of the Israelite nation, and that no matter how people might have messed things up with their problems and lusts for this and that, God was still able to make His plan work, and He kept it on track for over 6000 years, so what can we do do mess it up? No matter how bad these people were, God still used them for His devine purpose.
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