"Complete In Love"

"Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Ephesians 5:33) Now that we have had a chance to see what might be, we must be given an opportunity to know what Love is, and special we are in Him, and as Him! The point that Paul is making in this verse is one of association; in that we as the church are much like the wife is to her husband, just as the husband is as Christ is to the church. There is something special that happens when a man and a woman are joined together as one in marriage; although, much of that has been lost to previous relationships in modern times, and the beauty of what love is meant to be has been lost in wild flings and shattered experiences. For the man, his is one of being made complete; as in, having been been joined onto that which is of himself. I know that might sound strange to some, but the truth is, that there is a part of the man that was severed to make the woman; thus, the joining together of the two creates the one. It is this union that makes the man's obligation to the woman, one of loving her as himself, because she is of the man; strange as that might sound. Yet for the woman, she is captivated by the love of the husband, and thus her love is one of reverence, as one that has been joined to that from which she taken from. I know it might sound a little strange, but the union of a man and a woman is ordained by God for this reason. In like fashion, our union with Christ is much the same; whereby, His love for us is one of love for Himself, because we were severed from Him due to sin. And our love for Him is one of reverence, being joined to that from which we came. It is not that hard to understand if we can get past the idea of what it means to become One, and how Christ is the head of the church. I can imagine it; I just can't explain it well enough to share it in words. Nevertheless, we must know that the union which shall take place between the Lamb and His bride will be one of Love. And we will adore Him!!!

"Completeness"

"For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:30-32) "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." (Genesis 2:23) If we wanted to make a case for what I was speaking of yesterday, then it really wouldn't be to hard to put the evidence together; however, as I said, my focus is really on something else right now; which is 'Completeness'. That said, we must first see the connection between our redemption, the marriage of a man and woman, and the glorified church. The reason that this is important for us to realize, is that the completeness which takes place in heaven will be far more glorious than we could ever imagine. Last year I had a vision which was the catalyst to what the Lord had shown me of the connection that I spoke of yesterday; and within the vision that I saw, which occurred as I was meditating upon Isaiah 6:1, was the train of His robe that filled the temple; however, the train that I saw was not that of a robe, as we might picture a thick rich kingly robe to look like, but was that of a long and wide white bride's dress, which was gloriously displayed. As I gazed upon this glorious display, I was captivated by the treads of this beautiful garment, and was drawn into the patterns stitched into the fabric. As I looked deeper into the fabric, I saw a face that was looking back at me, which I then focused upon, which seemed to be like a flash of time; but as I looked upon the face, it was as if I had just looked in a mirror: it was me!!! Looking back to this vision, I have wondered about that position, and whether it was one that was of good standing, or that of poor standing; in other words, was it as an indication of being in the outer court, verses in inner court. The reason that I even wondered this, was because I was not necessarily the actual body of the bride, but was part of that which covered her body. However, I was still found in the temple; which for lack of a better word, was glorious, in and of itself! Then again, I wondered upon the whole church which shall be arrayed as a glorious bride; wondering what she will look like, and how we shall appear within her. And as Paul shared, from what I am sure was his own vision, Jesus is the head; placing Him as the First, and Him which holds first place; even within the body of His church, He is a member. It's just so complex!!! "For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And we are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:9 & 10)

"His Fullness" -2

"And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence." (Colossians 1:18) Two things are being made perfectly clear by this passage of Scripture; the first is speaking of Christ Jesus as the head of the church; the second has to do with Him as the beginning of all things, including the glorious Resurrection. When it comes to the church, spoken of as His bride, there is a mystery that will be revealed when we are in heaven concerning the church and what makes up the Bride of Christ. With that said, there is something to be said about His Fullness when it comes to His bride, and when we consider the union of man and wife. One of the definitions of 'fullness' is the word 'completeness'; which from the beginning of the creation of man and woman, represented what took place when they were joined together as one: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh". (Genesis 2:24) I know that I have shared on this before, but I think it fits into this discussion quite nicely; something that the Lord revealed to me about a year and a half ago, which shows the Gospel message within the story of Adam and Eve. Without getting to deep into this discussion, let me start by saying that I believe God's plan of redemption is illustrated in the creation of the woman; in that, God took from Adam a rib to make Eve, when He could have just made another mud pie from the dirt and breathed life into it. But instead, He took a rib from Adam, making the union of the man and woman a completed joining together of that which was separated. In like fashion, man was separated from God because of sin, much the same as the rib was taken from Adam to create the woman, there was a separation that took place, and the only way for there to be a union again was for the two to become one in marriage. The woman, Eve, is a representation of the church, in that she was the product of something separated from the man, Adam, who is the representation of Christ Jesus, who is God, and is the first of the Resurrection. The two shall be joined together, making both that which was separated and that which is God, One; therefore, there shall be a completeness in heaven as the Lamb and the Bride are made One... (It goes something like that; long story short...)

"His Fullness"

"And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." (John 1:16) One thing that can not be argued with when it comes to the character of God, is the fullness of His grace. So why then should we question the one who made the grace of God accessible to us? "For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of the cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Colossians 1:19 & 20) Paul is painting a very clear picture of who Jesus Christ is, while at the same time, he declares the fullness of what He has done. The magnitude of all that was done by His obedience unto the cross goes far beyond all that we know, or all that we could ever need to know. The mystery of how powerful a fullness we received, in that He was not just the manifestation of God, but was the fullness of God in the body of the man that dwelt among us; so much so, that His death upon that cross constituted the first and final payment for not only the sins of the world, but set the heavens in order also. We are talking about some mighty work; a work that can only be the work of the Creator of both heaven and earth! If we back up a few verses, Paul declares in his description of Jesus Christ, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist". (Colossians 1:15-17) This description matches that one from John that is given within the first eighteen verses of his Gospel; and yet, with these two very plain spoken descriptions, there are still those that will hold to their belief that Jesus could not be God. I believe that it is not because they cannot understand what is being said, but that they cannot see what is being said; plain and simple, they are blinded by something that is greater than them. Yet, this same spirit that has blinded them, has no power over those that are filled with the Holy Spirit, and no matter what deceitful logic is brought forth, we that are His church know who He really is, was, and always will be!!! The Fullness of God that has made us whole!!!

"The True Light" -3

Now, regarding this Light that John is speaking of in the first eighteen verses of his Gospel; as I have mentioned before, it is believed by some that John had wrote his Gospel starting around verse nineteen, and then placed an introduction at the beginning within the first eighteen verses. John's Gospel is the only one which begins with the story of Jesus Christ, not from the time He appeared on earth, but before there was any beginning whatsoever. If you really want some proof the Jesus Christ is God, and if you believe that the writings of John are correct, then there is no greater proof that can be given than in these first eighteen verses of the Book of John. In verse seven, John speaking of John the Baptist, writes, "The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe". The reason that this is so important to the defence of who Jesus was, is because of what the Light represents, and that within the context of this verse the 'Light' is God! John would later write in his epistles that "God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all"; a clearer definition of what the Light represents. If we look to the description of the very beginning of God's creation given in Genesis 1:1-4, we can see that the Light was the first existence of God, in that He said, "Let there be Light, and there was Light". The very first verse of the Bible is the summary of God's creation, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth", and then the following verses describe His process of that creation. To put this in a little better perspective, we could imagine that before anything else was formed there was Light; after which, God created the firmaments to divide the Light, thus creating the heavens and the earth. As we look to the description of what shall be in the 'new heaven and the new earth', which is given in Revelation 21:23, that there was no longer any need for a sun to give light, for God is the Light, which says, "and the Lamb is the Light thereof". John the Baptist described Jesus as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"; thus, bearing witness of "the Light". It really does not get any clearer than this!

"The True Light" -2

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) A good indicator of what changes a man from the state of darkness to Light, is the absolute power of God! As spoken so absolute to Mary by the angel Gabriel, saying, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37) If anyone should know, then Gabriel was one that had firsthand knowledge. I would like to think that I hold out for God to perform a miracle in my own life by healing my wife; and the day of the year which makes the most impact upon my disappointment is Christmas. Not just that I hope more on that day, because I do; but because that day is special for my wife and I, and was always a day that we loved to celebrate together as a magical day of Light. Bygones be bygones, on that day everyone was forgiven (if not just for that day), and everyone was given some sort of expression of the Love of God. I was so disappointed last night as I went to sleep, that I thought I would title today's blog "The Day After", and then speak about something which expressed how I hoped I would feel in the morning. However, as I started to type the title, God took over, saying, Not So Fast! And I realized something that is so vitally important to my life in Christ, which is that I have no reason to ever be disappointed with God! I might think that I have one when there is time for disappointment to take place, but who am I to tell God what to do, and then act as if He did not listen and do what I asked Him to do. Maybe you don't see it that way, because me asking for something, is not really like I told God to do it; right? Well, in my heart I was counting on it to happen, which is much the same as telling God to do it; because when He did not, then I was disappointed. On the other hand; His grace should be so special to my very world, which includes my circumstances and that of my wife, that disappointment is never even imagined in my heart or mind. As John so powerfully wrote, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth", to express the power of God's redemption, and how nothing that God does should be looked upon with disappointment. Jesus coming as "the only begotten of the Father" is the perfect example of God's 'one of a kind' way of doing things; in that Jesus was 'One of a Kind' in both who He was and how He was manifested among us. And yet, His suffering was God's plan for our redemption! Let me ask you something: Did Jesus get disappointed when the Father did not answer His prayer in the garden? or did He accept what was meant to be as the only true way? If you think about it, we tell God to do things more often than we might realize. But Truth, is something that goes far beyond what we think should or shouldn't be, because we see things with eyes that are clouded by this world, and the cares of this world; although some might deny that this is so in their life, till it becomes reality for them. Jesus was far greater at seeing the truth than anyone, yet He glimpsed at the cross being taken from before Him, if not just for a moment; and then realizing that it was the only way; thereby eliminating even a hint of disappointment to come, as He was nailed upon it... "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will be done, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)

"The True Light"

"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on His name." (John 1:9-12) Just in case you were feeling as though you might have been left in the dark, you must consider what it is that brings you into the Light. It is not your righteousness, nor even your desire to become righteous: "For all we like sheep, have gone astray". It is not that we have a desire to be holy, so we come to Jesus; it is that we come to Jesus, and then we will desire to be holy. Why? Because when we come to Jesus, we are made holy!!! "Power to become sons of God" is a term that represents immortality; which for those that do not know what that means, it means Eternal Life! Power to save; despite of the darkness; despite of ourselves! He is more than able to deliver us, if we will just believe in Him. Throughout the first opening verses of John's Gospel, he uses two main verbs to push home a point about this transformation of 'becoming something that one was not before'. This is the Gospel Message; the message proclaimed by the angel Gabriel to Mary, in that he said, "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God". Prior to that birth, all born of the women were considered sinners; conceived in sin, and born in sin. Even Mary herself was blessed to become 'something that she was not before', for as Gabriel put it, "Blessed art thou among women". Some religions take this saying a little too far, and some do not give Mary any glory at all; but the truth of the matter is, that even though the woman had brought sin into the world, it was now a woman that was bringing God into the world; so the point that Gabriel was making to Mary, was not that of being blessed above women, but that of saving face of the woman. Even according to Leviticus, the woman was considered to be unclean during and after pregnancy, because that which was within her was defiled and to be born a sinner; yet that which was in Mary was holy, and would be born without sin! This is also the Gospel Message that was proclaimed to the shepherds by the angels and a multitude of heavenly host, praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men". It's all about Jesus; not about us or what we have done, nor what we shall do; but about what He has done for us; we are the benefactors of His miraculous transformation, that we too can be miraculously transformed, in spite of ourselves!!! Even the darkest heart can be delivered into the Light, if they will just believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour!!! When the writer, John, proclaimed, "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world", he did so to include every sort of man and woman; be it they Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, strong or weak; some of all sorts, including those that do not think that they are worthy! So; as to the heart that might be trapped in even the darkest darkness, if they will just believe in Him, then they too will be saved!!! Not because of anything that they shall have done to make themselves righteous; that includes turning from their evil ways!!! They must come as they are and be transformed into a child of God! Then, and only then, will they have power to be sons of God. At which time, they will no longer desire those things which are evil, because they are transformed into the True Light; of which that darkness must flee!!! "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13) MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL...

"The Light Unto Man"

"In Him was Life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4) There are a dozen or more variations of the word 'light' that are given in the New Testament writings, some more bright than others. The meaning of "the light of men", for instance, is directed towards man and his ability to savour immortality; in other words, the eternal life was brought to light by Jesus Christ and made reality unto man. What are we really talking about, anyways? Is it not eternal life? If you became a Christian to have a better life here on this earth, you might have jumped upon the wrong train that just happened to be passing by; because the only thing that Jesus promises us for this life is the Holy Spirit. Other than that, He makes nothing else guaranteed except Eternal Life. But Rich; What about joy, peace, and all the other things which come from knowing Jesus? Oh yea, I almost forgot; those things which come from knowing Him, and from believing that He has given us eternal life; which therefore makes the cares, worries, deceases, and any other thing that might be associated with this world, of no affect!!! So, given your ability to believe that He has given you eternal life, has a great influence upon whether or not you will experience the joy and the peace that He makes available to you. Eternal Life is not earned! You either have received it or you have not; and the only way to know for sure, is to receive Jesus Christ into your heart; believing Him to have died for your sins; to have raised up from the dead, defeating death; and to have given you eternal life in Him!!! To better illustrate this point, we should look at the next verse in John's Gospel: "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5) The darkness that John is speaking of here is associated with unhappiness or ruin; it really speaks beyond what sin is, and deals more with the consequences of sin; which include things like death, decease, and unhappiness. Some people may have thought that this verse was proclaiming the power of the light over darkness; but it actually is the opposite, because it is saying that the darkness did not receive the light or admit the light. The darkness is here presented as being so thick that the light could not penetrate it. To better understand the darkness that can not be penetrated, we should understand why, which can be taken from the portion of Scripture where Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, saying, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19) Do you see the promise being smothered by the darkness? On the one hand we have the promise of Eternal Life; which brings with it the real joy and peace that can only come from knowing Life Eternal. Then, on the other hand, we have the darkness, which for a moment the light might have entered into, but had no ability to take over the darkness, because the darkness did not want to be removed. Therefore; the light which is to be onto the man as the ability to see eternal life, is not given that opportunity; hence, eternal life in Christ is really never realized; which means that real joy and real peace are not known...

"The Giver" -2

"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:6-8) If you want to really get the proof of who Christ Jesus was, there are plenty of verses available to point you in the right direction. But if you wanted to see why He had to make Himself so humble, like as in the form of a man, then you must realize what was to have taken place, and how it was that He would be placed upon a cross. No man, Jew or otherwise, would have placed Jesus upon the cross having known who He really was; and to think otherwise would only be foolishness. It was partly for this reason that He laid aside His Godly form; that those who were to crucify Him on the cross, would do so willingly, thinking that He was just a man who claimed to be something that He was not; thus the reason for His request, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". The plan was really quite simple, but also, so very complex! Simple, because of who man is, and how they would react to Him; complex, because of who He was, and all that was involved in Him becoming a man; something which we will really never fully understand until we stand with Him in glory. And yet, there is another reason also that He had to come in the form of a man, besides just to humbly be sacrificed; and it was because man had to be redeemed; being in the form of a man, He became Messiah, the delegate of the Father. The Messiah was the one who was to come, and to deliver His people from bondage; the one that many of the Jewish people and others are still waiting for to come; yet He came!!! Jesus Christ was not half man and half God; He was wholly man and wholly God!!! This is something which Jesus hinted to those that knew the Old Testament writings, as He said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39) The redeemer was standing among them, and they knew Him not!!! What a simple task to pull off with man, for He goes on to say, "I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye shall receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (John 5:43 & 44) Typical man seeking man's honour...

"The Giver"

As we approach the day in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord, I am thinking that it is fitting to share on the Giver of Life. There was something which Adam tried to make a point about, which is easy for someone to make a point on; as if to say that Jesus, being the gift that was given, was not really the Giver of Life, because it was the Father that gave Him to the world. Yes, it is true that the Father has given us His Son; which is made abundantly clear by the verse that we all know which proclaims this truth: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whomsoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." It is not hard to make the point about the Father being the giver of the Son, based upon the verse that we all know as John 3:16. However, the very next verse goes on to say further that, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." First off, I would like to remind anyone who may not know, who it is that is speaking these words, and to whom He is speaking; because Jesus Himself is speaking to a leader of the Jews, who was a man named Nicodemus. The reason that this is so important, is because of the message that Jesus is speaking about to a teacher of the Law; someone who not only taught the Law, but taught it to Pharisees, and oversaw the application that they gave to the Law. Therefore, it should not seem unusual for Jesus to be giving glory to the Father, being the Son, because of where the Father is, verses where He is at the time that He is speaking. And yet, in the process of making this declaration, He, being the Son, proclaims that the world "through Him", the Son, might be saved. If we skip ahead to chapter 17, which Adam made an unlikely reference to, we can see in verse five that Jesus, speaking to the Father, says, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was". The general premise of what Jesus is saying, is that He left the place where He was in glory, to come and take His place here in the form of a man, that He might do the work of the Father. Again, this is really not that hard to understand; that is, if we are willing to accept who Jesus was and is! That was the simple message that was portrayed in 'Toy Maker and Son'; because they illustrated so plainly how that the Two were together as the Toy Makers, prior to the Son becoming a toy, that He might save the toys that They had made, from their doom. So yes, the Father had given the Son, but the Son gave of Himself, being found worthy of all praise and honour, in so doing, and receiving glory in what He had done. You probably should have been there to see what I am talking about, because seeing it played out before you in such a simple way, really makes the point. And as they portrayed the look in the Father's eyes, as He looked upon what was done to His Son; wow, powerful stuff!!! But then, to see the look given to the Father by the Son, as the Son asked the Father, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"; such humility coming from the Giver of Life...

"His Gift" -7

As I was leading into yesterday, before I was sidetracked into speaking about failure; James made references to two different forms of the word 'gift' in his epistle to his Hebrew brethren, in James 1:17; and he does so without much distinction; at least not which is made clear in the text without some digging into the meaning of these two words. The two forms of 'gift' are the words 'dosis' and 'dorema'; where "every good gift" is 'dosis', and "every perfect gift" is 'dorema'. Even though James does not make much distinction with these two words, except with translators addition of good and perfect, there are what I would consider very big differences between the two; at least how I see it, but you may think differently! Paul uses the word 'dorema' as the gift he is speaking of in Romans 5:16, (as a matter of fact, these are the only two places that this word is used), and in Romans 5:16, it is translated "the gift", which speaks of that which Christ did for the sinner, justifying him! The word 'dorema' stands in near equivalence to the word 'charisma' found in Romans 5:15, which is translated "free gift". Okay, okay; what the heck is the big deal in these two different "gifts"??? Yes, I know you were probably asking that, and thinking, A gift is a gift? Right? Well the difference is that one is an intended gift, while the other is not just intended, but has with it the property of success, completeness; or better yet, a gift that comes with a definite result! In James, the gift that is intended is called the "good gift"; while the gift that has result is called the "perfect gift". Really, for the intention of this discussion, the main difference that I wish to speak of, is how "the gift" is received by the recipient. To try and put this in a way that I think we can easily understand, I would relate this to something in line with a promise and an actual assurance. On the one hand, we have a gift that promises certain things based upon the actions of those that are the recipient of the gift; while the other offers assurance that is not based upon anything other than the gift itself. A good example of a participatory gift would be the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whereby the receiver of such gifts are given them by asking, yielding, and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we were to associate the gift of grace in line with this form of a gift, then one would naturally assume that there is some sort of participation that is needed on the part of the recipient in order for this gift to be brought to completion. This is not what the gift of grace is all about!!! For the gift of grace is assured to us by what Jesus has done, and is only based upon receivership of the gift; by which, in the act of receiving it, there is 'Blessed Assurance!' That is what makes it a "Perfect Gift", because there is nothing required by the recipient, other than the act of receivership!!! Worthy or not, the gift of grace is given freely; however, it is 'the not' which takes place in our relationship with the Giver of this gift; for none are worthy, no, not one!!! And that is where I think many have it mistaken, in that they think they must be found worthy to receive this gift of grace; as if, by some action on their part, they will be found worthy of God's grace. But grace is bestowed upon us that are not worthy, and we know it!!!!!!!!

"His Gift" -6

We are almost there, of that I am sure! There are several different translations of words which can be used to express the word 'Gift'; all of which have pretty much one thing in common, and that is that they mean free. However, there are differences that make the gift given more powerful than others; which depending on your interpretation of what is being said, could make the difference between success and failure in justification from sin. Oh, how I wish that I could go back in time! To think about all the times that I have let the enemy get a hold in my relationship with my wife, or in my ability to be a strong spiritual leader to my family; this should not have been allowed!!! And to think, that the reason I did allow it to happen, was only because I accepted failure as part of who I am; thus, looking upon my own strength and ability, and not placing all my attention in the Grace of God!!! Yes, it's true that grace means unwarranted favour, and undeserved promises; however, there is a point where our unworthiness does not matter any longer, because His worthiness takes my place, and therefore what I think about myself does not really matter anymore. (As if that made any sense to anyone?) My point, in case you missed it, is that when we point our attention on our own frailties, we have taken our focus off the power of Jesus Christ and the gift that He has given us. Accepting failure is not a option that we should even consider, because He has not failed, and our life is now in Him!!! What we let happen in our relationships and in our families, is that we accept failure as part of this life; making it part of the journey, as if it is something that is part of who we are; is it??? Only if we let it be!!!! James 1:17 & 18 is a good illustration of what I am talking about, because within verse 18 are two different uses of the word 'gift' used. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His Own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." We are to be Holy and Set Apart!!! Not frail and subject to the failures that come with the teritory; but instead, we are to blaze a trail through the beaten teritory, as people that are more then conquerors in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master!!! Again, I want to make reference to a song by one of my favorite bands (Daniel Amos); the song is called 'Safety Net' and is from one of their albums released in the 80's. Within the song are lyrics such as "Strung out in the cradle of Grace" and "Shot like a bullet till Kingdom come"; lyrics which I have played over and over again in my mind, thinking about how we never really get it right, because our focus is on ourselves and not on Him! Paul made reference to something within his list of qualities that are to be counted as dung, in Philippians 3:6, which was his endeavor to persecute the church, and he used it as his example of zeal; meaning his passion for the law. This might be hard to grasp, but sometimes it is our zeal which gets us in trouble! It happens over and over again, because we start feeling stronger and stronger; so much so, that we find our self depending more on our own strength then on His; until we reach the point where we find that we have no strength at all; which is usually the point of failure...

"His Gift" -5

"Therefore, as by the offense of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (Romans 5:18) Last night I could not get 'Toy Maker and Son' out of my mind; over and over I kept seeing the play being played out; with each sequence, a new remembrance was brought forth. If you have never seen this play, then you should. Our church hosted this play about twenty years ago, and I was really impressed with the performance and the characters. The basic story that they put forth is quite amazing, and the simplicity of the message is so easy to grasp. However, Paul is talking about something here in Romans 5 that is not that easy to get a handle on, especially if you do not accept the fact that Jesus is God! Don't get me wrong, because I am sure that some think that they understand clearly what Paul is saying; however, if they do not accept that Jesus Christ is God, then they really can't see the gift clearly that Paul is talking about. For thousands of years there has been those that would try to portray Jesus as a man that had sinned. Most recently, those within the movie industry have tried in several different movies; sadly, many in the world had bought into some of those portrayals, and have even been heard spouting off some of those falsehoods. As I child, I was also mislead in this area, by those that had used the instance of Jesus chasing out the money changers from the Temple, as an example of Him being just a man, and therefore subject to anger, as are we. Anything to prove their point! Paul is not talking about just a righteous man, because he makes the point in verse one, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned". It is perfectly clear that Paul is saying that man cannot save man, because all have sinned. This might explain why works is so important to those that don't quite see who Jesus really is; since they really don't think that His sacrifice was sufficient to completely take away all sin, because they can't see the perfection that was in His sacrifice; therefore, they must be obligated to make up the difference by achieving good works that go along with His ransom sacrifice, as if they must participate in the cleansing process. That is not the point of the "free gift" that Paul is referring to; because, then that would make the gift not free, but subject to some kind of work, by which it is earned; therefore, making it not a gift at all, but a payment for doing works; of which no one can achieve the payment needed, because "our works are filthy rags unto God"!!!! (Oh! what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive!)

"His Gift" -4

"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord!!!" This is Paul's statement within the expression of the power of Jesus Christ compared to the power of his stature and gains (exclamations added). "The excellency of the knowledge", is debatable as to exactly what Paul is saying; if you do not consider the whole context of what points are being brought out. First off, Paul is speaking about rejoicing in Jesus Christ, not in works of the flesh; which he refers to as: "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit , and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Philippians 3:3) At first glance, our natural tendency is to make the "spirit" into the 'Spirit', as to assume that Paul is talking about our worship of God in the Holy Spirit; however, Paul is referring to our mind, or our rational spirit. What he is talking about here is the seat of our affections, emotions and passions; which are to be brought in line with our understanding that we spiritually helpless. It is then that we can begin to see Paul's point in "The excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ", because without Jesus Christ, we are broken and helpless, in every way. And the knowledge which Paul is speaking of, is the kind of knowledge which is established by the power of knowing; which takes us to greater understanding of who God is, and what He has done for us. Then, when we look at the word "excellency", we see a word that means 'far Superior', depicting the deity and the Lordship of who Jesus Christ is, of which Paul referrers to Him as, "My Lord". The word "Lord" used here is equivalent to the Old Testament word 'Jehovah', of which, the Watch Tower Tract Society has changed all the words 'Lord' listed in the Old Testament to 'Jehovah' where they are attributed to God. I find this very interesting, considering what the word 'Jehovah' actually is translated to mean 'The Lord'. Therefore; it really does not matter what you might think today about who Jesus is, because, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and in earth, and things under the earth; and every tongue should confess the Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father". (Philippians 2:10 & 11) So, whether you like it or not, Jesus Christ is Jehovah!!!!

"His Gift" -3

"Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh". (Jude 23b) As we ponder what His gift to us really means, let us not forget what a gift even is, and that it is not something that can be purchased. The grace of God is nothing that can be worked for, because it is something that can only be provided to us by God Himself though Jesus Christ our Lord. That is why He had to come and die for us, because we were hopeless to attain salvation on our own! Only God was worthy enough to pay the price for our sin; "for there is none righteous, no, not one". And yet He made a way for man to be redeemed unto Himself, by providing Himself as a sacrifice for our sin!!! Now then; seeing the great price involved in the provision for His grace to us, do we really think that anything we have done, or that we can do, can even come close to measuring up to that gift which He has given? Therefore, the only thing left for us to do, is to receive His gift to us with a heart of thanksgiving; accepting His free gift knowing that it is by nothing that we have done, nor nothing we can do, by which we are saved. As earnest as someone might be in there desire to work their way to heaven, or for righteousness, anyone who tries is the same as a thief and a robber. Cain too, was earnest in his sacrifice unto God; believing that God would have respect for his sacrifice, as he offered up the fruit of the ground of which he had tilled. As a matter of fact, it was his earnestness that cause his heart to hate his brother; not because his brother had done what was right and acceptable before God, but because his earnest sacrifice was not looked upon as acceptable, even though his involved more effort on his part to bring it about. This is why God warned Cain, when He saw that he was wroth, saying, "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (Genesis 4:6 & 7) There is an attitude that is developed in the heart of a man that says, I've come to far, and worked to hard for this to be worth nothing! Yet, if we consider for a moment what God has done for us; something which He had planned and worked on since the very beginning; before even man was created, God had established the way to redeem the man which He knew He was to create, and which He knew would fall in sin. Now that's a lot of hard work!!! "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eight day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I count loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as dung, that I might win Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:4-11)

"His Gift" -2

Looking a little deeper into the passages that were shared yesterday, they can be easily be taken to mean several different things. On the one hand, we are instructed by Jude to have compassion on some, while others require being pulled from the fire; at least this might be your first thought about his meaning. Was he speaking of something new, or was he continuing a previous point being made? Going back to verse 11, which is where Jude starts with "Woe unto them!", and prior to verse 14, which he speaks of the prophesy of Enoch, Jude is trying to illustrate a particular character to the persons that are deceived and who deceive others. Starting with "for they have gone in the way of Cain"; which was one who did not understand what a proper sacrifice to God involved, and then hated his brother for being right. Then moving to "and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward"; which is a reference in the New Testament as the symbol of false and seducing teachers. And then finishing with "and perished in the gainsaying of Korah"; which is speaking about full on rebellion against God, and the result of it. Jude then gives the character of who these are in the following fashion: "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever." (verse 12 & 13) After which, he begins speaking about the prophecy of Enoch and the Last Times; of which Enoch spoke about the Lord coming with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgement; from which he runs the topic to the things spoken of the apostles, about what is to be expected in the last times; and then from that, he speaks about what we as Believers are required to do for ourselves in the midst of a world filled with deceivers; which is to pray, keep ourselves in the love of God and look for the mercy of Jesus Christ unto eternal life. What in the world does any of this have to do with "His Gift"? I know that is what you are asking, because I have been asking it myself!!! Cain was mistaken about what a sacrifice unto God was all about, being that his was based upon works; yet Abel, his was a sacrifice of atonement; one in which he was asking for God to have mercy, while at the same time offering up to God a more perfect sacrifice, which involved the shedding of blood. The issue that set Cain off against his brother, was not that Abel was not any better than him, it was that God did not accept his sacrifice; making him then jealous of his brother, and hating him for getting it right; even though in his heart, Cain still thought his sacrifice was the better one, because it was based upon his works. Those that get who Jesus was wrong, will also misunderstand the purpose that He had to come; because it is not about what we can do, but is about what He has done...

"His Gift"

"And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." (Jude 22 & 23) As I was praying this morning, I again made the mistake of resting in bed while I prayed; not really the best way to wake up. The most important thing for us to remember at this time of the year, is what this thing called Christmas is all about. It's not about Santa, or Reindeer, or little elves with pointy ears; it's about the Gift that was given to us! As Adam started his comment, I was so pleased to see his excitement over the wonderful gift of our Lord Jesus Christ; but that excitement only lasted but a second, because, no sooner had I finished reading the introduction, was I made disappointed by his assertion that Jesus was not the creator. As I tried to illustrate yesterday in our Lord's prayer to the Father, He, being Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour gives eternal life!!! Now why would anyone want to challenge the very one who gives eternal life? He, also being Jesus Christ was given power over all flesh; which specifically means All Living Flesh, being that He came in the flesh. There is something that people like Adam need to understand about who Jesus was; because between the time that He lay in the manger, to His death on the cross, He was a man who walked the earth; however, His frailty was only governed by the flesh in which He dwelt. I can't wait to see what our new bodies will look like in heaven! Glorified bodies that they will be! And as I think of how they will look, I can only wonder if they will in one way or another be made of flesh? One thing for sure: they will no longer be spotted by sin!!! And, they will no longer be subject to decay or death! Now, who do you think will make us these New Bodies???

"THREE IN ONE"

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." (Jude 20 & 21) I can't think of a better way to end this debate, then to admit to you and everyone else that Jesus is the One and Only Son of God!!! True, true, true as can be; Jesus is the Son! He is the Second Person of the Three Person God!!! As Jude expounded in this power packed little epistle, "building up yourselves on your most holy faith" requires that we relate to and look to All Three of the Godhead Persons, because they are All Three required for our completeness in God! The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost are all One complete God; and as hard as that might be for some to swallow, it does not change Who They are, was and always will be! Adam, you used as a reference, 1 Corinthians 8:4 & 6 as the proof that the Father is the ONE GOD; listing also that which Jesus spoke in John 17:3 about "that they might know thee the only true God", which was part of His prayer in His final hours. Like I said yesterday, If you take these verses alone to mean what you think that they are saying, then you might be able to prove your point; however, no single verse is ever meant to be taken alone as the definition or the context of what is being said. I was told something a long time ago, and it has become my general rule of thumb: if a single verse is presented to me, I should always include at least three prior or the three after, or both, before I base an opinion of what that verse is saying. Sometimes the single verse can mean just the opposite of what you think that it does, if you do not combine it with the surrounding verses. This is one of the sharp differences that I can remember from studying with the J.W.'s as a child: they do not study the complete Bible. They study from their Scripture Studies, which are printed by The Watchtower Tract Society; and in the process of their studies, there is a Scripture reference given, at which time they stop, look it up in their New World Translations Bible, and then agree that the Studies are correct. Quite amazing how easy it is to convince someone truth, without actually using the Whole Truth of God!!! First off, the point that Paul was making in 1 Corinthians 8:6, was about touching those things that are sacrificed to idols, and about having a clear conscience, whether with your self or with others. The reference that Paul was making about "But to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him", was to illustrate whom we are to worship, because in the verse prior to this, he states, "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many, and lords many; but to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him." Do you see how including the previous verse can bring new meaning? Now, concerning John 18:3; which is the beginning of Jesus praying to the Father, as he is about to give His life for you and me. Again, you cannot just take a single verse or two, and make a doctrinal case with it. Verse three, taken by itself, can mean just about whatever you want it to mean, depending what definition you are looking for; for He says, "And this is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ , whom thou hast sent." Let's try again, but this time, try taking in the magnitude of this prayer, remembering that Jesus is about to give His life, and be humiliated and scourged for us! This time let's take the first five verses together as one!!! "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given Him (being the Son) power over all flesh, that He (being the Son) should give eternal life to as many as Thou (being the Father) hast given Him (being the Son). And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on earth: I have finished the work which thou hast gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." So there!!!

"Wow, O Wow!"

If you would take a moment and continue to read what Jude says about what shall happen to those that are deceivers of the faith, you might think that he was a little upset over something. He starts out saying, "I would put you in remembrance, though you once knew this,"; as if to say, You should know what I am talking about, and then he goes on to name off all those that have been stricken by God for leading others into into rebellion, believing not in the power of The Almighty God. A word to the wise, Don't mess with God's Word for your own personal gain! "But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit." (Jude 17-19) The word that Jude uses 'sensual', as has it has been translated, is not a word of honor; it is taken from the word 'Psuchikos' which means animal like in nature, and in reference to men, it is to invoke that they are governed by the fallen instinct of man, verses the Spirit of God, in the case Jude is referring to. Yet, before this, Jude says, "they separate themselves", which is a term that involves making their beliefs the only truth, and spouting that their sect or belief is the only real way to eternal life; even though, their belief is based upon false teachings. Does this remind you of any organizations? This is really the reason that so many are caught up into false religions, and that they fear to be cast out; for fear of being taken out of the only way to salvation, they are held there by a doctrine that teaches them not to doubt what they are told. We that are true Believers know better, in that we know to question anything that man says, and measure what we are told by the Word of God. If it does not line up, then we don't accept it; period!!! Which brings me to your third and fourth references; ones which taken by themselves could lead someone to believe what you are saying is true. However, you are forgetting one very important factor in your quest to make a point: Jesus humbled Himself to be a man, that He might redeem mankind unto Himself!!! (A quick point to you that might be stuck on just one of my postings: to get to the main page which lists over 700 of my posts, you can click on Rich and Marianne which is shown within our picture, or you can type Rich and Marianne in most search engines, and the main page will be listed near the top. FYI)

"The Only Wise God" -2

Alrighty then; let's not forget the fact that Jude has referred to our Saviour as God, let alone "the only wise God; but I am sure that you have some reason that this is the case; Right? I know that what I am about to say might cause some out there to take offense, but none the less, it must be said. Jude knew a thing or two about how the enemy of our Lord likes to work. First off, you must realize why it is so important that Jesus was not just God's Son, but was in fact, God manifested in the flesh! The primary reason was that man had already been defeated by the enemy, which was the result of the first Adam; by whom, mankind was separated from God in a chain reaction from birth. It was only possible to break that chain by the birth of Jesus being born without the seed of man, but instead, by the seed of God. This was not just an ordinary child that was born to a virgin, but was in fact the very Son of God. I am sure that we can agree on that, Right? I hope you said yes, and now we can move on to the next point? And because He had no earthly father, two very important things were set in motion by His birth: one was that the curse which was passed down from the seed of Adam had been broken; and the second, was that God had been manifested in the form of a man. That is where I might have lost you, but just in case you are still with me on this, my next question would be, How many Gods are there? For if Jesus was born God in the flesh, then how is God one, if it were not for the fact that God is more than one? Now, take the word 'Only' into this debate, and what you have now is a stand alone picture of God, because we know that the Father and Jesus can not both be 'Only' if they were not One! And now we come to the part of offense; for the reason that this is too hard for the average person to accept, is because, for one, our human minds cannot consider such a complex relationship, without the enabling of the Holy Spirit. And it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that this truth can be revealed in us, and is kept in us, by Him who dwells within us; that being the very Spirit of the Living God; of which He is also God. Therefore, those that do not see the Truth, do not possess the Holy Spirit within them! I am sorry if that offends you, but it is the truth!!! But sadly, there is another spirit which I believe has captured your soul; and this one is no gentleman! He is no doubt the spirit of the Antichrist, and he is not nice, nor does he play nice, because he is the enemy of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jude, who no doubt was also numbered among the physical brothers of Jesus Christ, as he starts his letter with this identity, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James"; addresses the danger in how the Antichrist works, and the importance of our need to contend for the faith. This he does in his second paragraph, which we show as verses 3 & 4: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ". This is not just some doctrinal differences that Jude is speaking of, but malice, with the intent to maim!!!

"The Only Wise God"

"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 24 & 25) If ever there was someone who had a heart against those that teach false doctrines, it was Jude. A small Book, but filled with boldness towards the truth. To your second piece of evidence, which I must admit, defiantly makes me wonder what you believe death means, and if you think that it means life stops; Do you? Let me see; the way you put it was: "Whilst in contrast, Jesus was dead." And then you listed Revelations 1:18 as your evidence to support your point. Let's examine this a little, shall we? Starting in verse 10, John speaks about being in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and then he hears a voice behind him, as a trumpet, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia;". At which time John tuned to look upon Him which spake, and after turning and seeing what he saw, he fell at his feet as dead! The description of what he saw gives no justice to the majesty of what he actually saw, of that I am sure; there are some things that you just can't put into words. But, as John lay there as a dead man, Jesus laid His right hand upon him, saying, "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and I have the keys to hell and death." The word 'hell' that Jesus is speaking of is 'hades', and is a place that held disembodied spirits of the unrighteous and righteous separated from the body at death up to the time of Christ's resurrection. If you really think that The Lord Jesus Christ laid dead in the tomb for three days, then you are greatly mistaken! Acts 2:27 shows us that Jesus was in hades upon His death, which is referred to as hell by the translator's of the K.J.V. of the Bible. Let me take this to another level, by saying that, although the man Jesus did die upon that cross, before His head could even complete dropping, upon His death, The Lord Jesus was in 'hades' giving comfort to the saints that were waiting for His arrival. "The Only Wise God" that Jude is referring to, is given that title because of experience! Much the same as Jesus uses the description of Who He Is and Was in Revelations 1:18; depicting His wisdom in death, as well as in His Resurrection from the dead, and even that of hell; to which He says, "I have the keys to hell and death". "O death, where is thy sting." Do you really know what that means???

"JESUS IS LORD" (you think!)

"I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Jesus Christ, who before Pontius Pelate witnessed a good confession; that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in His times He shall show, Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the Light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:13-16) I was really scratching my head on this one, Adam. You have started your defence with something that really puts forth the fact that Jesus was and is God; even though, I'm sure you were trying to make some kind of point about Jesus not having immortality because He died on the cross; weren't you? First off, I want you to know something about the death of Jesus on the cross: death did not hold Him!!! And besides that, Jesus needed to go visit those that were in Hell (not the lake of fire), for they had been waiting for Him to show up and visit with them for three days. The Scripture that you specifically quoted was 1 Timothy 6:16, drawing my attention to the fact that "He alone possesses immortality", and then adding "it is His to give!" I am trying to understand what kind of point that you were trying to make with that statement, because Paul is making a point to Timothy about being strong in the faith, and laying hold of eternity; which means taking ownership of eternal life (for you that are in Adam land). The greatest example that Paul could give Timothy of this ability was Jesus, who happens to be "the Author and Finisher of our faith"(Hebrews 12:2). It was how He gave witness of His immortality before Pontius Pilate, in that He refused to be let go when Pilate told him that he had the power to crucify or release Him; even going a step further, by telling Pilate, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." (John 19:11) Pilate did not like being told that he had no power, therefore, Pilate sought to release Him, but that was not to be. Paul's point to Timothy was about the eternal perspective that Jesus kept, even at the hint of being let go, He pushed onward to the cross; why??? Because, because, because; His death meant LIFE!!!!!! (Some times you have to see it, to believe it; you figure that out on your own! Just read verse 16 again, about a thousand times!!!)

"THE PROOF"

I do not need to research for answers, nor do I need to seek out truth, because the Truth lives in me, and the Truth is the proof!!! The truth is the proof: that is the words that have kept ringing in my mind all night long, as if to continue to enforce in me the mystery of the Trinity. Something that is not really a mystery at all to those that believe, but is merely a fact of the way things are in the character of who God really is. As is verified in the product of all of God's creation; everything that has been made by Him is three, even down to the smallest of particles! When it comes to the human body, we are born, we live, and then we die; which does not begin to show what I am talking about, but I thought I would just throw it out there. Something that I learned a long time ago, and that I have carried deep within my soul for the last thirty years, is the fact that in the nature of God, it is not a matter of plus and minus, but of multiplication and division. It's not one plus one plus one equals three; but rather, one times one times one equals One!!! For with God, He alone, who created everything from the vastness of space, to the very distance between space and matter, has not only verified Who He is by His creation, but continues to hold it together by His very Word!!! Say what you will about what you think that you know, but the product of His creation is the proof of Who He is, time and time again!!! "Come and let us reason together" the Lord would say, "Come and consider the handiwork of My creation", you who doubt the existence of a trinitarian God! "Is there anything that is beyond My power and might?" How can anyone even consider to doubt who God is, or what He is capable of doing? Not that there is any reason to doubt Him, or that He is a Triune God; as a matter of fact, there is reason not to doubt it, once you consider all that He has made; especially when it comes to the creation of man! "Let Us make man in Our image" was the words of God as He considered forming man from the dust of the ground in His own likeness. If you could just consider what that means, and reason that in your mind; just that alone should instruct your thinking to what the God's character consist of; for He did not make a Holy man, but Adam was fallible and subject to failure, of which he had proven. Therefore, the image that God was speaking of must have been one of substance and not of qualities. Man was created body, soul and spirit. Three distinct parts that made one human-being. It was the spirit of man that became separated from God at the fall of man; which was due to the fact that man's spirit was connected to the Spirit of the Living God, who is Holy, and of which no sin can dwell. Sin separated man from God's Spirit, due to the fact that God is Holy, and no sin can dwell within Him. What was left, was the physical body of man and his eternal soul; the soul that had been created by the very breath of God; of which, that eternal soul was destined to live on, in separation from a Holy God. There was only one way for God to correct this situation, and that was to make way for a second Adam, one which was Holy, and could redeem man unto Himself; by way of being Holy, as only He is Holy, yet in the body of a man!!! Why must God come and die upon the cross? Is that the question that you ask? For no other reason than to redeem man unto Himself!!!! For He alone is Holy, and He alone was able to make a way for man to become infallible! That is what Grace is all about!!! Grace is God's way of providing unto us a way to be Holy and to reconnected onto Him in a way that we could never do by ourselves! Again; let me repeat something that I have said before: Grace continues where mercy leaves off!!! Yes, it's true that He came to die for our sins, that is God's mercy; but Grace provides for us to be taken beyond redemption, and to be given a place within the Holiness of God...

"Yes!!! Dialog!!!"

Finally, after almost two years, I finally have some dialog with this blog. Don't get me wrong, I have had some privately between me and friends, but Adam, you have given me a great chance to dive deep. As I have said before, this subject of whether or not Jesus is, was, and always will be God, is very important to me. I do not mind referring to Jesus as the Son of God, nor did He mind using that name for Himself; as a matter of fact, He refereed to Himself more as "the Son of man", being that He was the Messiah. Being in the form of flesh, Jesus was subject to the same things that we as men are subject to, including death; the difference being, that Jesus has raised up from the dead! In John 2:19 Jesus gives an example of the power given to Him over death, even that of His own death. After having cleared the money changers from the temple, the Jews asked Him, "What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?" To which Jesus replied, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." This He said referring to His body and how He would rise from the dead in three days, after He had been crucified. Now then, my dear friend Adam; the Gospels are given to us in four Books, all of which do not lie, nor do they not alien themselves which each other; although, many have tried to prove that there are contradictions between some of their writings. Mark and John are probably the two that get the most attention, because John focuses on the deity of Jesus Christ, showing Him as God; while Mark gives us more of the human side of who Jesus was, relating Him towards man for the benefit of mankind. Just because Jesus was a man, born into this world (by a virgin!!!), does not mean that He had given up all of His Godly properties, nor did His death on the cross void His being He whom He said that He was!!! I am not sure if I have seen the video that you are referring to, but I can assure you of one very important thing: if that video tries to portray Jesus as just a man, and denies that He was God in the flesh, then it is not worth me or anyone else watching!!! Besides that, I have learned something over the last thirty years; something that is important for anyone that wants to stay strong in the truth of God's word: Don't study false teachings!!!! Period!!! At one time I thought it was okay to do this; mostly because I was relating it to the counterfeit money idea, and how you should study what a counterfeit looks like, so that you will know one when you see one. This does not hold true to God's word! We must study the Word of God to know God's Word; then when false teaching are presented to us, we shall know that they are false, and that they should not be listened to. If the video that you are talking about claims that Jesus was not God, then I would recommend you either burn it, or send it back from which it came...he knows who he is...

"He is I AM" -3

"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelations 22:12 & 13) Again we can see here at the end of God's word, there is another proclamation of who Jesus is, this time it is given in association with His soon return. I do not pretend to be a Bible Scholar, but according to my interpretation of what is being said, Jesus is reassuring us that He is coming back very soon, that He has rewards to give out, and just in case you may have forgotten, He is God! Not a whole lot of mystery in those statements. Still, I am sure that there are those who are not convinced, and some that probably never will be, at least not until judgement day; which will be the day that anyone who did not believe, shall confess that Jesus is LORD! We don't have to go far away from this chapter to find further proof that Jesus is who He said He was; because if we go back to Revelations 21:22-23, we can see what shall be within the Holy City, and the description of God that is given. First of all, I must take us back to what we established several days ago, God is One; He is one God; there is only One God; any way that you want to say it, it must be established. Now, the two very distinct pictures that are given within these two verses, are given to give the reader an illustration of God dwelling with men, and what that will look like. In verse 22, there is the illustration of the temple, which John states, "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." This is more important than you might realize, because this temple that is missing, is to be the place of worship to God, much like a place where you would go and worship, a place wherein God dwells. The thing that sets this apart from a normal place to worship is the fact that the place is not present, but instead, God is the temple therein; adding to that, the description of who God is, which is "The Lord God Almighty and The Lamb". And, if that does not quite do it for you, then looking at verse 23, we see the source of Light within the city: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof." Again, let me remind you how God is One; which in the case of the verse above, we see that the glory of God is what gives light to the city; that glory of God being the Lamb, who is Jesus! I Know that this will not convince my J.W. friends, because they are held onto by a spirit that is greater than them. And until they open up there hearts and let Jesus inside, they will continue to be trapped in the situation of being held captive by the spirit that denies who Jesus really is. It is really not a question of being provided proof, it is a heart condition that must be dealt with; before the brain will accept the truth, the heart must be willing to receive it. That was how it was for me, over thirty years ago. I had no hope or real peace, because I, like many of those that are trapped in bondage, was held by that spirit that continued to keep me from seeing The Lamb of God for who He was and is. A Lamb that was not just given by God, but was God who manifested Himself as a Lamb to be slaughtered for our sins; something that can only be received by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And, as I was so prompted, I did not shut my heart to the truth, but willingly, opened up my heart and let Jesus come inside. Only then could I see the Truth; and the Truth set me free!!!!

"He is I AM" -2

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14) The AM in the statement of God to Moses is a verb, and it is the Hebrew word 'Hayah, which means to exist, to be; to become, to come to pass; to be done, to happen, to be finished. The key to the meaning of Jehovah/Yahweh is undoubtedly found in this verb. Perhaps, "I AM THAT I AM" should be translated "I am He who is", or "I am He who exists". The reason that this presents such an interesting principle to who Jesus is, is because this is a verb; which for a gentle reminder to those of us who have not been in school for several decades, it means that it is an action word; which shows action or state of being. Contrast this to the statements made by Jesus to John in Revelations 1:17 & 18, "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Three times in the first chapter of Revelations, Jesus declares Himself as "The Alpha and Omega"; "The Beginning and the End"; "The First and the Last". There is really no way to deny what is being said here by Jesus Himself, yet this too is turned into a product of manipulation by those that do not accept that Jesus is God. One way that they try to accomplish this, is by stating that Jesus was the first of God's creations, which therefore makes the point of His origin at the beginning; however, "The Alpha and Omega" is the part which they avoid speaking about, because what it represents is eternal existence, meaning, that He had no beginning and has no end! The Father and the Son have always coexisted together, and Jesus was not generated from the Father as His Son, but that They have always been together as ONE. What this does to the true meaning of "First and Last, Beginning and the End", is to make these statements take on the meaning 'To have been the source of all creation', or 'The one who brought everything into existence'. Looking back to the word 'Hayah' and the reason that it is the verb that it is, is because it is timeless; unlike a noun, which expresses truth or existence of something, be it a person, place or thing; what this word does is go way beyond existence, expressing eternity, which has no beginning and no end. Again; this is not too hard to comprehend! If Jesus has made such a bold statement of who He is, then there must be something to what He is saying! He is clearly not saying what He is saying at the beginning of Revelations just to make Himself seem important, nor is He trying to establish what His order in creation was; but He was making the point of His eternal existence, plain and simple; much the same as God did when He told Moses who He was, and what to tell the children of Israel. They are One in the Same...

"He is I AM"

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:56-58) Here is the thing that we must know about Jesus, He is who He said that He was! "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." (Deuteronomy 6:4) It is really not that hard to understand; He was not a god, He was Thee God!!! If the Lord our God is a jealous God, then why would He allow anyone to take His place? Having had many conversations with those that do not believe that Jesus was, is, and always will be God, I have heard every sort of angle to how they bend the Scriptures to defend their belief. Yet, the proof of the whole counsel of God will continue to prove them wrong; which is part of their problem, in that, they do not accept the whole counsel of God, only those parts that agree with what they say; and if they cannot ignore that parts that are undeniable, then it is changed to suit their needs. For example; when the Word of God, spoken of in John 1:1, is shown in the simplest language to be God, and then Jesus is declared to be the Word of God, they change the meaning to be a god; and then they verify this misnomer by stating that Satan is referred to as the god of this world. When in reality, the only reason that he is given such a title is because he is the creator of evil and the father of lies; hence, he is the one who is responsible for this fallen world. Jesus, on the other hand, is of God, of which there is no denying. And because He is of God, then He cannot be classified as a god without changing the description of who God is, because there is only one God. The reason that the Jews were so bent on having Jesus killed was because of who that He said that He was, because He claimed to be God; and the charges of His claim, He did not deny, nor could He. So, either Jesus was a liar, or He was who He said that He was! The main reason that this is such an important issue, is due to the great sacrifice that God would go to, to redeem fallen man; a sacrifice that involved the giving of Himself for our salvation. Do you see the Love that was given in that? Can you see how much God loves us? I think part of the problem that they have, is that they cannot see the Love of God; they see God as the mighty judge of their eternal souls, and then, they see Him providing a Son to be the ransom on a cross (or a stake in their case) for our sins; as if God were a monster that would not only have asked Abraham to kill his son, but had no problem doing the same to His own. There is a definite fear that is present in their hearts and minds when it comes to their approach to God, and it is not a good fear; it is a fear that says, God has already judged me and found me lacking, therefore, my only hope is try and be righteous; then, maybe, just maybe, I will be worthy of inheriting this world, in the last day. This blog today has my heart broken for so many people that I know who are trapped in that belief; as if they can not deny what they have been told, for fear of losing whatever righteousness that they have already gained. This is no joke!!!

"No Doubt About Him"

"The Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:2 & 3) I can get very passionate about this subject; mostly because of how I was deceived as a child, and the great revelation that I had at my conversion. I have spent many a day on the front porch arguing with those that peddle The Watchtower Tract Society wares, trying to convince them that they have been deceived, with only a few temporary success stories. There is a spirit that is very much alive in that organization, as well as others, which firmly denies the deity of Jesus Christ; and I truly believe that it is the spirit of the antichrist. John spoke about this same spirit in 1 John 4:3, which at that time had convinced many that Jesus had not come in the flesh, but that He was just a spirit and was not subject to the temptations and desires of mortal men. In this same line of deception, were those that taught that Jesus Christ did not raise from the dead in His body, but had raised up in the spirit only, taking on many different forms, as He moved among those that did not know who He was, or recognize Him. Today, there are those that go as far as to say that Thomas cursed, as he said, "My Lord and my God", after having placed his finger in His nail pierced hand and his hand in His side. After which Jesus responded, "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe". It is my opinion that Jesus was addressing two very important issues with His answer to Thomas; the first one being that He had raised in the flesh, the other, more important one being, that He was indeed God! Another, issue that comes from this meeting with Thomas (John 20:24-29), was how Jesus appeared in the room with all the disciples, seeing that the doors were shut. To which, I would like to make a simple observation: that Jesus, being God, the Creator of all things, has control over everything in which He created; the elements, human life, space and time; you name it, and He has shown the ability to control it. Therefore, isn't it safe to say, that since we are molecular in our physical forms, He being in control of all the molecules, could pass through any surface. If He could do that, then would it leave a mark? let's say, like on the cloth that was wrapped around Him in the tomb? Just sayin....

"Yes Indeed, Jesus Is God!"

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Yesterday I had the chance to share something that changed my life over thirty years ago, and it had to do with the deity of Jesus Christ. Being raised in a J.W. home for most of my childhood, I was taught that Jesus was not God, but more in line with that of a mighty angel; as a matter of fact, Michael the arch angel, as strange as that might sound. The day that I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, a Four Square Church group came to the facility that I was at, to do the Sunday Service in a faculty cafeteria. I had no intention on going to church that day, or any other; having been sickened by religion and the institutions that have sprung from it, I had my Bible and felt that was all that I needed. There must not have been much of a turnout that morning, because ten minutes before the service was to begin, the Chaplin made an announcement over the loudspeaker, asking for some men to come down. I will never forget that voice, as he was very old, and it sounded as if it was his last request, as he said, We have a great group here today that has come to share with you; so please come down. And so I went. The preacher was a middle aged black man, slender, and slightly greying; an average looking man, who did not appear to be all that spiritual; at least not at first. I do not remember how his sermon started, or even what verses he had opened up the service with; what I do remember was his watch, as he took it off, explaining in the simplest terms, as he held it up for all to see, saying, Do you see this watch? this watch tells me that somewhere out there, there is a watchmaker; and you, and me, and all that we see, tells me that there is a Creator; and I am here today, to tell you that, that Creator is Jesus Christ! At which time he preceded to read from several different Scriptures that all declared Jesus as the Creator of all things. Then, as a master surgeon, that preacher used his scalpel to carve away at my stony heart; declaring Jesus, the Creator of the universe, placing Himself upon a cross to die for me. Up to that day, I had thought that Jesus was created by God to be a sacrifice for our sins; much the same as God had created everything else, He created an entity to be a ransom for our sin. My heart was broken into a thousand pieces, as I pictured Jesus on the cross; and for the very first time, I saw Him as the Creator. "God will prepare Himself a sacrifice for us", took on a whole new meaning! And then yesterday, as I was asked, Why would God need to come Himself to die on the cross? I was taken back to that day, remembering what I saw, and how that God alone is Holy and without sin. There was no other way for God to provide a perfect sacrifice, then to provide Himself, for He alone is without sin... "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"Alive Unto God"

"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." (Galatians 2:19) It's not really a matter of the law being our enemy, or even an opposition to our life in Christ; it's that the law provides us the dependency upon God's grace and mercy; hence, the desperate need for the salvation that is only available through Jesus Christ. In a manner of speaking, Paul is making a point about the law being the preceptor to salvation; the schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. To put it another way, might be to say that the law shows us what we cannot be, or our lack of ability to fulfill the righteousness of God; making us dead, as to have no more dependence upon mere legal righteousness for justification and salvation than a dead man would have; it no longer matters! However; to be alive unto God, that in and of itself is a whole other issue, because what Paul is speaking of now constitutes a manner of living. To live unto God, means to be devoted to Him, to live conformably to the will, purpose, precepts, and example of God. Other examples of this can be found in Luke 20:38, where Jesus is speaking of the resurrection of the dead, and Romans 6:9-11, where Paul compares the resurrection of Jesus unto God the Father, to our life in God. In Luke 6:27-40, Jesus was approached by 'The Sad Guys', who wanted to test Him on the resurrection, saying that seven brothers who had all died trying to raise up seed by one woman, who also then died, yet, who's wife would she be in the resurrection? To which, Jesus turned their question around to show them, that did not believe in the resurrection, how that there is no other way to be drawn unto God other than the resurrection from the dead, dead meaning of this world. And, Jesus goes on to say in verse 38, "For He is not God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him". Meaning, that those that are counted worthy of obtaining life after death, are living unto God in a manner that specifies that they have their life in Him. Which is the same thing that Paul approaches in Romans 6:9- 11, where he shows Jesus being raised from the dead, to die no more, making death no longer an issue; and then showing how the death He died for sin, put sin to death, in that His resurrection left sin in the grave, along with death. And in verse eleven, Paul makes our comparison to this, by saying, "Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." The key is in our approach!!!

"Perfect Balance" -5

"For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2:18-21) Another sleepless night! It started with a vision of someone walking a tightrope; if it was me or not, I could not tell; all that I knew, from that point on, was that I was trying to figure out what was on either side of that rope. Maybe I was focused on the wrong thing? Instead of being worried about what was on either side of the rope, likened to a song that was stuck in my head about 'one sides ice and one is fire', I should have focused more upon the rope! Pretty much the most narrow path that you can ever walk upon, and yet it is not impossible for those that have the ability to perform it. Some will even have the courage to perform it without the use of a net; although, I think that they might have a safety wire attached to them; you just wouldn't know it unless they fell. However, in the case of this vision, I believe that the rope is meant to represent Jesus Christ; being the narrow path that must be walked upon. And yet, in so doing, He will hold our feet to that rope in such a way, that it is not impossible to walk. And then there was one more element to this vision, one which really had me going, which was the 20 foot staff in the hands of the person walking that tightrope. What could this be? was the question that kept passing from pillow to pillow all night. The word 'frustrate' that is used in Galatians 2:21 is the word 'atheteo', which is a word that means to displace, abolish, or get rid of. If you know anything about walking a tightrope, or have ever witnessed it being done, then you know how important it is for the person walking that rope to have hold of the staff, and to keep it centered with his body and his body centered with it. This is what grace is to our life in Christ! It is like the staff to tightrope walker, and something that we can never displace, abolish, or get rid of; because if we do, then we will realize the other definition to frustrate, the one that is given in Webster's: To Defeat!!!

"Perfect Balance" -4

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32) The truth that Jesus is speaking about here is the same truth that Paul is speaking of in Galatians 3:1. This is a truth that sets us free from the law, works of the law, and the sin associated with it's judgements. Here is the thing about this truth which both Jesus and Paul are speaking of, is that the truth does not really come to us by hearing or reading the word of God. Let me explain what I mean. In John 8:43, Jesus is speaking to those that did not believe on Him, saying, "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word." The concept put forth by Jesus to those that did not believe in Him was quite similar to what I was sharing yesterday about my reading the Bible before and after being saved; before salvation, it did not make a whole lot of sense, but after salvation, it became alive in me. The first thing that must happen in us to begin to understand what the word of God means, is that we must open up our heart to the truth before we can even understand what those words, spoken or read, even mean. Again, there is only one way to open our hearts to the truth, and that is to allow Jesus in! The believing part is where it starts; which is why Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed"; with the general understanding that they were showing themselves to be followers of Jesus, and that to continue, they do so as a pupil, learning from the word that is revealed to them. Really, the most important point to what Jesus is saying, has to do with the truth; which sometimes is hard for many to accept, because the truth only comes by The Truth being present in our lives; The Truth being Jesus Christ!!! And yet, there is one exception to this rule, and that is at the time just prior to our salvation. This is a very critical moment in our lives, where we are given a glimpse of the Truth by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, which is usually associated with the hearing of the Gospel message. It is in this critical moment that our heart is prepared to receive Jesus Christ; it is where He stands at the door of our heart, knocking for us to open up our heart and to let Him in. In that moment, our heart is prepared by the Truth being revealed to it; a truth which is undeniable and is witnessed by our eternal soul, which cries out for it to be received. The reason that our soul has such a desperate cry for the Truth, is because of it's eternal nature; being an eternal soul which lives on and on beyond the life that is within this body, it searches for the key to it's existence; and when that is revealed to it, it is in the moment that the soul cries out, THIS IS IT; ACCEPT IT!!!!

"Perfect Balance" -3

Jesus, speaking to the Jews that believed on Him, said, "If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31 & 32) Yes indeed, the reading of His word is very important to a balanced walk; this, there is no denying. And yet, there are those that would corrupt this basic need with strong assertions that the word of God is hard to read; as if you needed to have an interpreter to guild you through the passages of His word. Well, I am in agreement to a certain extent. Before I was saved, I would read the Bible always; faithfully reading before going to bed and after waking up; making the early morning the most important reading time of all. There was always a Holy Bible in our home, and when I say Holy Bible, I mean the big giant one that you usually have on display. Currently, I think that I have two; one which we had before we were married, and the other we received as a wedding gift. Just prior to getting saved, which was in the month of September 1981, I was then reading a Gideons pocket Testament, and I was reading it all day long. I had started serving a one year stay in the L.A. County Jail in the middle of June, and had requested a Bible as soon as I arrived, and that is all that they could find. It was adequate, but far less noble to what I was use to reading out of; but at least the words of Christ were in red. From the middle of June, up to the time that I accepted Jesus into my heart, I had probably gone through that pocket Testament at least twelve times from cover to cover; even all the extra stuff in the front and back. I also remember having a Chick tract in it as a bookmark; which just so happened to be the one called 'The Fool', which was about a king who was dieing and sent his jester out to find the biggest fool in the world; which turned out to be the king, because he would not receive Christ into his heart before he was to die. Anyways; my point is, that no matter how much reading of God's word I had accomplished, it never really mattered to my heart until after I opened it's door and let Jesus in. Oh, I would gleam little bits of information here and there; mostly historical stuff about events and places; but never really anything that came alive in me. After accepting Jesus into my heart, every verse was as if I had never read it before and had taken on a life that was in agreement with a new life that was living within me. So, yes we do need an interpreter, but He is not a mortal man, a prophet or a Pope appointed by men; nor is He a panel of prophets, set up over masses to give guidance into the Scriptures. He is the Spirit of the Living God, which opens up every word, and speaks directly to our very souls. There is something that is key in what Jesus is saying in the verses that are shown above, which is that we must continue in His word, because His word is not subject to interpretation; it is alive within us that are His...

"Perfect Balance" -2

Oddly enough, the word "obey" that Paul uses in Galatians 3:1 has a slightly different meaning than what you might think; at least it did for me! At first reading of this verse I naturally took what Paul said as him questioning a lack of action, saying, "that ye should not obey the truth". Another one of these tricky words that mean far more than our English language can explain in just one word. The word is 'peitho' which has overlapping meanings regarding persuasions; both to persuade another and to be persuaded. It is one thing to obey because you are told to do this or that, but it is something altogether different to obey because you are persuaded and firmly confident of the truth. This is what I was trying to get to yesterday about the way I felt trying to persuade those that would not listen; not that I had to convince them or else, but that they needed to receive the truth or else; because if they did not, they were headed for hell. Paul uses this expression in 2 Corinthians 5:11 with regard to persuading men: "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men". The application here is much more of a lifesaver than someone who is obligated out of the fear of the Lord judging you for not trying to convince others; it is not dismissed entirely, but still, the motivating factor is more, How can I let them go, knowing what I know? Then, in that case, there is a moral sense of obligation, which can then become a deep and reverential sense of accountability to Jesus Christ, especially if we do not try to save a life. In Galatians 3, Paul is focused on why the Galatians would feel lead to try and be justified by the Law, having received such a mighty deliverance from the bondage of sin by faith in Jesus Christ. The point being, that once they received salvation and were adopted into the family of Abraham, they needed not take up the traditions and practices of the Jews, as if they needed to perfect something that was started by their metamorphose. It was not a case of doing what feels right, but doing what others say is right; and in this case, it was the Mosaic Law; which is not a bad thing to follow for those that follow it, but it is not what guilds the heart of us that are saved, because we are guided by faith. Faith that is placed firmly in Jesus Christ, who was and is the manifestation of God's love; giving us a sense of obligation to love not only Him who has saved us, but those also that must be saved. As far as the traditions and other legal issues go, they are worked out in our individual hearts as the Lord speaks to each and every one of them. Being filled with the Holy Spirit can have a very powerful effect on things which are right and wrong for us; taking on a whole new reason to be obedient: I am persuaded where I must be at all times; which is in the Light!!!

"Perfect Balance"

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:1-3) I know that I can get caught up in certain topics more than others; sharing the gospel is one that gets to me every time. I think the reason that it does, is because I started off by sharing with everyone that I could, and now, well let's just say that it's a little more selective. I remember having very lengthy debates with several of my Christian brothers about the topic of 'casting my pearls among the swine', where they would tell me to not try and be so persuasive to those that would not listen, but to just walk away if they did not receive my witness; as if I was casting my pearls among the swine in so doing. But me, being as hard headed as I am, pressed on, believing instead that this meant for me not to leave the treasure that was inside of me at their feet, and walk away discouraged and defeated. This is something that caused many hours of spirited debate. At one time, I was like the pesty guy who knew not when to quit; if you didn't like what I had to say today, then you could count on me being back tomorrow! In the passage that Paul had written to the Galatians, there is a very general theme to his message, and it has to do with Jesus Christ being the source of all that we say and do. If anyone was to try and tell me that I could not try to persuade someone who would not listen, because that would be 'casting pearls among the swine', then I would just laugh and say, I am not letting go of these pearls! The main reason for this attitude that I had, was that what I was doing was not because I needed to try and persuade someone to believe, but that I needed to share what was inside of me; even if that might be rejected, I believed that the gospel message was stronger than the most hardened inmate. Here is a real funny thing that I witnessed the other day, when I went to our local Post Office on Thanksgiving Day, there was a J.W. standing out in front with his literature for all to see; the funny thing was, that there was no one around to see them. He might have had better luck if he was standing in front of Wal Mart or Best Buy. Having been raised in that cult, I am well aware of what it is that motivates them to do what they do; which is to do a work for the sake of doing a work, not to share the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ...