Hello folks, today too I came across some interesting scripture. Let’s check it out.

Isaiah 59:15-21

The Lord has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice. 16 He is astonished to see that there is no one to help the oppressed. So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory. 17 He will wear justice like a coat of armour and saving power like a helmet. He will clothe himself with the strong desire to set things right and to punish and avenge the wrongs that people suffer. 18 He will punish his enemies according to what they have done, even those who live in distant lands. 19 From east to west everyone will fear him and his great power. He will come like a rushing river, like a strong wind.

20 The Lord says to his people, “I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins. 21 And I make a covenant with you: I have given you my power and my teachings to be yours for ever, and from now on you are to obey me and teach your children and your descendants to obey me for all time to come.”

To start with, what is striking is the word astonished in verse 16. You tend to ask your self, how could possibly God be astonished, when He knows everything of the present, past and future. What is intriguing is that there is a very similar instance when Jesus Himself was astonished. Check out Luke 7:1-10, just as the God of the Old Testament was astonished about there being no one to help the oppressed, in the same way the God of the New Testament (Jesus) is astonished that this Roman Officer, who has done so much for the Jewish people (oppressed under the then Roman rule), would have so much faith in Jesus. Doesn’t this give you a kind of inkling that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament?

Luke 7:1-10

1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. 5 He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, 7 neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. 8 I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned round and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

10 The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

Note: verse 8, shows that the Holy Spirit led the Roman officer to know that Jesus mission of Salvation for men was in submission to the will of His Father. Hebrews 2:9 does say that for a while Jesus was made lower than even the angels, so that he could die for sins.

Coming back to Isaiah 59, verse 16 (So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory) talks about God Himself saving His people. Jesus shed His own flesh and blood. He being God had to die so that he could destroy death Himself, so that those who believe in Him could live in union with Him forever.

Isaiah 25:8 (Prophesized by the prophet Isaiah that the Lord Himself would destroy death)

The Sovereign Lord will destroy death for ever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone’s eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The Lord himself has spoken!

Hebrews 2:14 (fulfilled by Jesus-Sovereign Lord)

Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death,

God alone could destroy death; the wages of sin is death. The only way God could snatch His people from the power of death, is if He Himself took upon all sin and entered the realm of death & then destroyed it.

Romans 6:23

For sin pays its wage death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

A penalty is always dearer than the normal charge. The normal charge was that all mankind would endure hell forever. The penalty was that God the creator Himself would give up His heavenly existence, become man & endure suffering till death. The ransom for sin was the life of the creator for the lives of the created. The life of Jesus (through whom all that exist has been created [John 1:3, Rom 11:36, Col 1:16]) for the lives of God’s people (believers in Jesus).

Coming back to Isaiah 59, verses 17-19, refers to Jesus’ second coming. You must understand that since this (Book of Isaiah) is prophesy we are talking about, it need not necessarily mean that this prophesy go in order from beginning to end of time because in verse 20 of Isaiah 59 God (Jesus) goes back to talking about His first coming to Jerusalem and saving those who repent of their sin

Luke 5:31-32

31 Jesus answered them, “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call respectable people to repent, but outcasts.”

Matthew 1:21

She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”

Luke 2:36-38

36-37 There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only seven years and was now 84 years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshipped God, fasting and praying. 38 That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.

Let now check the amazing parallel between verse 21 of Isaiah 59 and a few scriptures from the New Testament

Luke 22:20 (Jesus Words to His disciples during the last supper)

In the same way, he gave them the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is God’s new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.

Note: The covenant God makes with His people (Isaiah 59:21) is the one mentioned in Luke 22:20 that will save people from their sins as per Isaiah 59:20. Scripture says that a life of being is in its blood (Gen 9:4, Lev 17:11, Deut 12:23), so this New Covenant is sealed with the life of God the creator Himself. This is the most powerful of all covenants that God has made with man.

Matthew 28:18-20 (this is the commissioning God prophesied through Isaiah in Isaiah 59:21: Here is Jesus after His resurrection)

18 Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”

By Fergus Davar (Saved by HIS grace), just a pen in His Hand.

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(1 John 2:15 KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John uses a strong prohibition; “??? ?????????”Love Not the world! The world here doesn’t mean God’s creation but the sinful pleasures that are in the world due to sin. Christians are loving the things that are in the world and not the Creator of the world. We are in love with material things and conforming ourselves after the things of the world.

(Romans 12:2 KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

What does Paul mean when he tells us not to be conformed? The Greek word here is suschematizo; not to conform with this age, that is, do not fall in with external and fleeting fashions of this age nor be fashioned to them, but undergo a deep inner change by the qualitative renewing of your mind.

(1 John 2:16 KJV) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The sinful desires of the flesh, eyes, and the pride of life are not out from (ek) God but they are out from (ek) the world. These sinful desires are not from our heavenly Father they come from a different origin, the world. There is a reason that John gives us such a strong prohibition against these lust.

(Mark 4:19 KJV) And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

The anxieties and the troubles of this world, the deceitfulness, deception, or pleasure of riches; meaning wealth, abundance of external possessions. The KJV translates “and the lust of other things” but the Greek “???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ???????????” Lit. and concerning the rest of the desires. It talks about these desires entering in, how do they enter in? They enter in through the mind and when they do they crowd out or choke utterly the divine seed of the word sown in the mind. Then the person becomes unfruitful or metaphorically, not yielding what it ought to yield.

James 4:1-10 [Warnings Against Loving The World]

(James 4:1 KJV) From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Our love for the world brings wars and fighting among us; Let’s look closer at this Scripture the word “whence” means of place, from what place, of origin of source, or from what author or giver. So what source does these fightings come from? We know by God’s Word that He doesn’t bring strife or confusion among His children. This love for the world causes fights because of our desires for pleasure, lust, enjoyment, or desires for pleasure it is not from God. These lusts war in our members like a soldier would fight or strategize against his enemy.

(James 4:2 KJV) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

James tells us the reason we don’t have answers to our prayers, “ye lust, and have not:” we are lusting after the wrong things we kill [Lit. to commit murder] and we desire or we are filled with jealousy are to burn with zeal; to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, or anger. We can’t obtain by this kind of behavior because it is against the will of God, James puts it simply, “ye have not, because ye ask not.”

(James 4:3 KJV) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

James tells us the reason we don’t receive he says, “ye ask amiss” this comes from the Greek word, “kakos”; badly, wrongly, wickedly, sick; to speak ill of, revile, one, or with bad intent. A lot of times because of our love for the world we tend to ask God for things of this world and our intentions are not for God’s glory or for the use of the ministry but for the fulfillment of our own desires. We ask for these things so that we may consume or waste “it” upon our own lusts.

(James 4:4 KJV) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Because of a love for the world James calls them adulterers he goes on to say don’t you know that if anyone becomes a friend to the world then they are an enmity with God. The last part of this verse is what I find to be interesting, “whosoever therefore will be a friend to the world is the enemy of God.” This comes from the Greek word, kathistemi, and here it is in the third person and it means that God will appoint, ordain, or make the person who is a friend of the world His enemy, Do you want to be God’s enemy? So what’s is the way to stay God’s friend and not His enemy?

(James 4:7 KJV) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Submit, this word is an act of submission to be obedient to God and then we must do one more thing, resist the devil. We must set ourselves against, oppose, withstand, and resist the devil, this shows us that the source of our love for the world’s sinful desires is Satan, the god of this world. When we resist the devil he will flee from us, this word flee means he will escape, avoid, disappear, flee from fear or threatening danger. All we have to do is submit to God and resist the devil and he will run from us, or the Holy Spirit that is in us, as in terror because he knows who we belong to because our Father can beat him up!!

My name is Byron Register I am a preacher or the Gospel and love to teach the Bible.

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A really short devotional type piece written for you.

When your mind is going FIVE (or more) directions at once  take authority over your mind in Jesus name and command your mind to come into submission to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Take authority over the things in your life which are defeating you.

Prayer: Father I want to glorify You. I need your help. AMEN

Christ in us is the hope of glory. Fruit bearing glorifies Him.

Authority in Jesus comes in various ways:
1.    Fasting  deny your flesh and Christ comes forward
2.    ”Word of God” is a feast  stand on the Word  claim those promises  let His Word change you
3.    Prayer  don’t just ask, get a notebook and listen to Him  write it down
4.    Praise
5.    Thankfulness
6.    Service  being available to be obedient
7.    Giving

Romans 5:3-5 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (NKJV)

Written by Marijo Phelps in January 2010 partially from notes taken in June 1980 speaker Edie Patterson.

About Self

Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news

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To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:7 KJV

How do we communicate with our loved ones when they live miles away from us?   Telephone, cell phone, text messages, emails, online chat rooms, and real letters that about sums it up.  Those are most of the methods today for parents and children to communicate after they have moved away from each other, for friends to keep in touch after leaving for college, and for long distance lovers who may have met online in the first place.

That’s how my second wife and I met  on an internet Christian dating site.  It turns out that we lived three hours away from each other, but we got so easily hooked on each other, that we didn’t let that stop us from getting to know each other, fall in love, and eventually get married.  We know very well the various methods of communicating with the one we love long-distance-style.

And communicating long distance is the only way that God can maintain a relationship with the ones He loves here on earth.  His method was love letters  a little more of the old fashioned kind.  Now even though God only wrote one known segment of the Bible with His own finger  when He revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses (Exodus 31:18; 34:1)  He still is the one responsible for writing all the letters in the Old Testament and New Testament.  He carefully crafted what we know as 66 separate love letters to humanity over a period of many centuries.

Aside from the little help He gave Moses that time, he used a more modern technique for getting things on paper the rest of the time.  Like a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) dictates letters to secretaries or administrative assistants, God communicated His messages of love to humanity through prophets and apostles.  They wrote it all down for Him by whatever standard means of writing they each had available to them in their day (stone, clay, papyrus, etc.).

My beautiful wife and I developed the foundation of our relationship through long distance communication.  And not everything we talked about to each other involved romantic gestures.  We showed how much we loved and cared for each other by sharing everything about ourselves.  We talked about our childhood, our teen years, our college days, our previous marriages, our children (we have two each), our parents, our relatives, our backgrounds, our experiences, our churches and faith, our personalities, likes and dislikes.

And not everything in the Bible talks specifically about God’s love for us.  He has maintained His long distance relationship with us by writing all about the different aspects of His character and how He has intervened in the lives of humanity from the creation of Adam to beyond the life of Jesus Christ when He walked the earth.  He directed His own administrative assistants in each time period to prepare a record of the events of their day, so that we could learn by their examples how to draw close to our Creator  the One who made us and loves us (I Cor. 10:1-6; Gal. 3:24,25; James 5:10; I Peter 2:21; Jude 1:7).  And “we love him, because he first loved us” (I John 4:19) KJV.

Not everything we read in the Bible will warm our hearts like a good romantic love letter.  But not everything we read from our girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, or wife gives us goosebumps either.  It just depends on what message needs to be said at the time from the one that we love.

A lot of people don’t want to believe the Bible because there are too many rules.  It’s in our instincts to do what we want, no matter what anybody else says.  But there have always been standards in every aspect of life.  That is what keeps up the balance.  Parents have to set rules for their children; Employers have to create handbooks of conduct for their employees; Governments legislate laws to help citizens live in peace with each other and respect each other’s lives and property; lovers also need to develop standards in their relationship so they know what to expect from each other, and how to keep a strong partnership.

That is one of the reasons that the Bible has been written.  God is like a Father, a Boss, a President, a Husband.  He had to create guidelines for us to keep us close to Him, even if the only relationship we could have with Him all our lives is long distance.  “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:  and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (I John 5:3,4) KJV.  That is, following God’s rules is not as hard as it may seem, not when we have really developed a true respect for who God is and realize how he wants to simply keep up a relationship with His people.

My wife and I have standards for our relationship, and we desire to please each other.  We love each other very much and don’t want to hurt each other.

Of course no one perfectly follows God, and no one has a perfect marriage, and no one is a perfect child.  But taking a stand on what we believe in is still important.  Our lack of perfection does not mean that God and the Bible is false, that our marriage has failed, or that our parents are imposters.

I’m not an archaeologist or any other science expert.  I’m not a specialist in hieroglyphics or any other ancient language.  And I didn’t major in ancient history either.  My purpose in this book is to show how God’s administrative assistants  prophets and apostles  gave God the credit for the things that they wrote.  That is the easiest way to believe the Bible at face value.  From there, it’s simply up to each of us whether or not to believe them.

Just like a couple in a long distance relationship arranges to meet in person to strengthen their love, God made a visit to earth some 2000 years ago to solidify His relationship with humanity.  He came in the form of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:20-23; Philippians 2:5-11).  The Bible was given life by Jesus Christ, whose divine Title is the Word of God:   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   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 1:1,14) KJV.  God inspired or breathed out life into scripture (II Timothy 3:16) through His Word Jesus Christ.

God’s administrative assistants were clear to show throughout the many books of scripture that each member of the Triune, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit-played equal parts in transmitting divine words to them as the writers of God’s long distance love letters to humanity:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.   I John 5:7, KJV

The rest of this book is Bible-reference-packed!  That’s because God’s secretaries credited God with their words all over the place in the Bible, and also confirmed each other’s writings across eras of time.  If you already believe God’s Word, this quick and to-the-point book will give you a greater confidence in your faith plus many handy quotes you can share with others.  If you have doubts about the divine truth of scripture, I hope that the upcoming confirmations will overwhelmingly convince you that the Bible is indeed the very word of God, and that it will make a great difference in the rest of your life.

(This article comes from the introduction of an ebook by the same name – written by Jeffrey Gante, aka The Masked True lovers.)

The Masked True lovers is the pen name for Jeffrey and Jamie Gante, webmasters of a website where they share their long distance love relationship and compare it with a relationship with God.  http://www.long-distance-love.com/Jeffrey-and-Jamie-Gante.html

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One of Jesus’ more cryptic sayings appears in two of the four gospels, Matthew 12 and Mark 3, where he drops a disturbing reference to an “unforgivable sin,” which he describes as “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” A lot of the Christians I know have wondered – some just once, some in daily terror – whether they have committed this sin, and whether they will find themselves unexpectedly shut out of an eternal reward after a lifetime of following God in vain. I would like to explore the issue a little, using Scripture to define “blasphemy” and then demonstrating that blasphemy against the Spirit is not something any Christian can commit.

First, Matthew 12 and Mark 3 tell of Jesus casting a demon out a man. The Pharisees object, arguing that Jesus is only casting out demons through the power of Satan. Jesus reminds them that if Satan were casting out Satan, that wouldn’t be very efficient, and Satan couldn’t stand under those conditions. However, this story also appears in Luke 11, except that there, Luke makes no mention of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He just leaves that line out of Jesus’ monologue. Whatever Jesus was saying about the topic, it can’t have been too terribly important if Luke didn’t even bother including it. It wasn’t a major component of Jesus’ theology, and neither should it be an important part of ours.

With that said, what exactly is blasphemy? Most people have a general idea of what it means, but asked to define it, we stumble a bit. Let’s turn to Scripture for an answer. Paul uses the term in Romans 2, quoting Isaiah: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” However, if you flip back to Isaiah 24:5, which Paul was quoting, you’ll find that it doesn’t contain the word “blasphemed” at all, but “despised.” Paul considered those two words to be the same thing. To blaspheme something is to despise it.

That still may not be very helpful to you, so let’s go to the beginning of Isaiah, 5:24, where the prophet accuses Israel: “They have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” This is a Hebrew poetic technique called parallelism, repeating something for emphasis. The way Isaiah used the words, “rejecting” and “despising” are the same thing, which means that “rejecting” and “blaspheming” are the same thing as well. So, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit means to reject it – not just once, but a lifelong pattern.

See, the Holy Spirit works on all of us before we are saved. Go back to the first chapter of Romans, where Paul says, “What can be known about God is plain to everybody, because God has made it plain to them.” How does God make things plain? By using the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts. So, if you have the Holy Spirit working on your heart (everybody does), and you spend your whole life rejecting it and never embrace it, then you are guilty of what Jesus called “the eternal sin.” You have rejected, despised, and blasphemed the Holy Spirit.

If, however, you are a Christian, then it is already impossible for you to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, because you have already not-rejected it. In Ephesians 1, Paul says, “when you believed in Him, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” At salvation, God’s Spirit comes to live inside us, dwelling in our hearts and “giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases God” (Philippians 2).

So, if the Holy Spirit is in your heart, how could you blaspheme the Holy Spirit by rejecting it? How can the Holy Spirit reject itself? Just like Jesus said, Satan cannot cast out Satan. Likewise, the Spirit cannot blaspheme the Spirit. If you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believed in your heart that God raised him on the third day, then the Holy Spirit is guaranteeing your salvation, your eternal inheritance, and you can’t commit the unforgivable sin.

I don’t think Jesus meant for his words to strike terror into the hearts of Christians for centuries to come; he was merely stating an obvious fact, which is that a person who lives on earth as if God does not exist will live eternally as if God did not exist. Those of us who live on earth as if God does exist will experience an eternity in which we commune with him and each other the way we would have on earth without the influence of sin. That’s all his words mean.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin, is not something you can accidentally commit. Despising and rejecting describe a lifelong pattern, not a one-time action. If you are reading this and have trusted God for salvation through Christ’s blood, it is impossible for you to commit it, because God has guaranteed your salvation by that same Holy Spirit. God cannot reject his own. Upon your salvation, you were made into a new creation, clothed with Christ’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5) and made perfect in God’s sight. He can’t reject his own Spirit inside you, any more than Satan could cast out demons. As long as you are reading this, if there is breath in your lungs, there is still time to take hold of salvation and guarantee that eternal reward by trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus. If you already have made that trust, then be content that the Holy Spirit inside you has already claimed you for God.

Jim Barringer is a 26-year-old writer, musician, and teacher serving at The Church of Life (.com) in Orlando, FL. More of his work can be found at facebook.com/jmbarringer and ExtantMagazine.com.  This work may be reprinted for any purpose so long as this bio and statement of copyright is included.

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Aside from being forgiven and made new by the Lord Jesus, what could be more important that the choice of the person you plan to spend the rest of your life with?  God is totally able to guide you the right direction. Seek Him early, before your emotions get involved and cloud up the picture! Seek Him before you even meet “that guy”. Pray, pray, and pray some more. Something this life impacting deserves much focus in prayer.

Daughter, in Me shall you find your rest. In Me shall you find your peace/composure. In Me shall you find your love/delight.
I am moving in your heart day by day recreating it in My love. I speak peace, be still to your fears and desires. Know My timing, My will are perfect. There is a plan for you and him. You know not who he is but he is in My plans and tender care.
Delight now in Me and yet forsake not the friends I’ve given to you, My beloved. I cling not to you for Me alone but desire to reach out to you through My Body with My arms extended and My hands stretched out.
Balance is the key. Seek Me, press in as you are. Minister My Word and love those around you. I shall set you free in Me. Selah.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV)

Psalm 147:11
the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. (NIV)

Psalm 20:4
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. (NIV)

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. (NIV)

Psalm 118:5
In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. (NIV)

Psalm 142:7
Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. (NIV)

Prayer: Thank You Lord for perfect timing. Thank You for Your Body to be arms extended and hands stretched out to each other. Help me to never even think or hesitate from saying “yes, Lord, yes.”  And thank You for Mick and our 24 plus years of marriage! AMEN (Poem obviously written WAY after the word above was laid on my heart!)

(C) Marijo Phelps all rights reserved. Use with proper credits.

About Self

Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news

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Is Earth only 6,000 years old? Honestly, I don’t believe that it is. However, there is a clear implication that mankind’s period of self-government is to only last 6,000 years (whether lunar or solar is not entirely certain). This testing period follows the same general test periods as Moses and the first three kings of Israel. Just as Moses could not enter into the Promised Land and just as Solomon would be the last king to rule over a United Kingdom, so to must the rule of mankind’s self-governance come to an end. As I like to keep things brief, I will only address certain aspects of this particular question.

Before addressing certain verses in support of the above, I will remind the reader that just as the first Adam was created on the sixth day, so to was Yeshua crucified toward the end of the sixth day. Just as mankind will have been given the opportunity to try self-governance for 6,000 years, so to will Yeshua arrive at or toward the end of that period and we will have 1,000 years of rest and joint rulership during the Millennium. It is important for one to keep these facts in mind. Now, we will look at some verses.

Genesis 6:3 (KJV)

3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

The above verse brings to light three separate facts

1) The Lord made this determination in the 480th year of Noah’s life.

2) A hint as to how long Moses would live.

3) Number of Jubilee cycles since Adam that man would be allowed to self-govern.

It is to the last of the above that I wish to direct the reader to. A Jubilee cycle was 50 years. Thus 120 Jubilee cycles would yield a period of 6,000 years. That is the amount of time that God would “strive with man” before establishing His Kingdom on Earth for eternity. Let’s now look at another verse which lends support to the 7-day-7,000-year pattern.

Psalms 90:4 (KJV)

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

We have six days of creation and 6,000 years of governance. We have the seventh day of rest (Sabbath) and the Millennium (1,000-year rest). Let’s look at another verse.

II Peter 3:8 (KJV)

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The verses in Psalms and II Peter are similes utilized by the respective authors. The verses certainly do a fine job of illustrating the eternal nature of God as well as His patience and forbearance with mankind. Further, the verses point out that God does not forget His promises, but that humans and God do not view “time” in the same manner. However, the verses also hint at the pattern previously mentioned. Let’s look at some final verses in Revelation (I will just reference the applicable portion of each verse).

Revelation 20:2,3,4,5,6,7 (KJV)

2 and bound him (Satan) a thousand years

3 till a thousand years should be fulfilled

4 and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5 lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

6 and shall reign with Him (Christ) a thousand years.

7 when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed

After Revelation 20:7, Satan is loosed for one final try to get mankind to go astray. There will be one final great battle. After comes the Final Judgment wherein Satan, death, hell and all those not written in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire. However, the one thing that should “jump out” at the reader of Revelation is that the phrase “thousand years” is mentioned six times before the Final Judgment and the establishment of God’s Kingdom for all eternity!

Copyright 06 Aug 2009 by Daniel S. Farnstrom

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Are you walking on water in the middle of the storm or are you going through fiery trials thinking you are ready for the burn unit, maybe a little bit of both is happening to you right now. During the time I was thinking about this and bringing things before the Lord I was particularly concerned about a friend. Many other times in my walk with the Lord I found myself in the trial and tribulation department. This study can apply to both situations. I think I can be pretty sure when I say that if you are a born again believer you definitely know there IS a battle, and then you hear His still, small voice whispering in your ear:

My child, think it not strange the fiery trials you’re going through. Remember Peter, as he kept looking up to Me, did what was humanly impossible through the power of My Holy Spirit. You cannot walk on top of the stormy waters but for Me. Yet I can take your hand and you shall walk in a new dimension; one humanly impossible, as I, Your Lord lift you up.

Come unto me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest/renewal/restoration. I shall lift you up if you relax in My arms. Yield, snuggle in My everlasting arms, have a good cry, pour out your heart to Me, my daughter. I LOVE you. I weep with you and I desire to release you into that peace and joy you long for in your walk/life.

Dwell in/on My Word. Praise Me. I shall change your heart and circumstances beyond what you can believe or hope. Run to your Father and let it all out. I AM the burden bearer. Press in as never before. I AM victory lift up your arms/eyes to Me. I shall release you both. Selah.

Have you ever wondered what kind of man James was? I certainly have when I read some of his writings. James 1:2 starts out his part of the Bible with a bang. Notice he didn’t say, hang on, this will not last for long or your character is being perfected through this. What kind of man could say “count it all joy whenever you face trials of many kinds?” Who did he know that helped him be this radical? What had happened in his life for him to be able to make this very abnormal assertion? Actually, he knew the same Lord and savior that, gulp, we do, the Lord Jesus Christ who was fully human and fully God. Oh, my.

I am not sure how this affects you but I could tell you a bit about me. Yes, times of trials get a bit less daunting over the years. Not because I am so wonderful or incredible but because He is. I have seen that Jesus is faithful, creative, takes my hand and walks me through. I will readily admit that I do not get up in the morning when I am facing something daunting and shout “goodie, a chance to rub off some of those lumps and bumps in me.” I sit and wonder what kind of a character transformation it would take to make me thing differently, yes, I know Jesus is more than able. “Yes, I have been through the fire before and He has brought me through. Sometimes I feel I am “retaking” the midterm for Patience 101 over and over and over, how about you? And that is just one example.

Then we take a look at Peter. Did I mention that having Peter in my Bible gives me hope? Well, it does. Good old “open mouth and insert foot” Peter. Yes, I definitely claim him as my brother! In this instance he was the only one in the boat who stepped out and walked towards Jesus.

Matthew 14:30 states that Peter (my brother) got out of that boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus! Then he began to look around at the wind and was afraid and began to sink but at least he cried out “Lord, save me!”. During the storm he knew where to turn, to Jesus. Yep, I am proud to call him my big brother and continue to learn from him all the time.

Psalm 146:8 is full of promises for us telling how the Lord gives sight to the blind. I suspect that it is not only referring to physical sight here but also spiritual sight. I have been SO blind. Since I gave my heart and life to Jesus I have been getting better and better eye exams each year. Physical eye exams and certainly spiritual.

Have you ever heard it taught that if you come to Jesus all your problems will be solved? Well, David, who was a man after God’s own heart had a different view of this all. In Psalm 18:6 he spoke of being in distress. No, that is not a “negative confession”, that is David speaking truth and reality. Yes, David was distressed BUT he knew where to go for help in his distress. “I cried to my God for help”. We cannot do it all ourselves, we were not made to be self sufficient but to need our God. Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. And then David said something wonderful. God heard him. Just as He will and does hear us.

No wonder David’s response in Psalm 61:4 is that he longs to dwell in God’s “tent” forever and take refuge in the shelter of God’s “wings”. He knew from experience where his place of rest was and so can we.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says “come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” To me, this verse amplifies and affirms what David was saying in Psalm 61.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, please be with my sister and be the lifter of her head. Help her draw even closer to You through this trying time. Thank You for Your wisdom and comfort for her. Help me to be your arms reached out and your hands extended and show me what that means. AMEN

(C) Marijo Phelps all rights reserved. Use with proper credits.

About Self

Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news

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Hi folks, it’s nice to write again. This Sunday (October 4, 2009) my Church had a Gospel Sunday. We were asked to invite some friends. I invited the people from my city. The Word today was focused on complete freshers, those who are struggling just to believe that God exist.

Now for those who don’t believe in God. This may happen when people go through hard times in life but I will tell you this they will come to the conclusion that God does not exist when they are out of the bad situation. They somehow fail to see who was instrumental in pulling them out. I say instrumental because God often uses the environment around His people to help them out. As my Pastor rightfully puts it there is never an atheist on a sinking ship except may be in the movies. Even an atheist will say yes to God in a dire situation but when he is out of that situation he forgets God because of his own pride to stick to his notions & he will make himself believe that it was just a coincidence or he got lucky or he had some good people to rely on. He thinks everything worked in his favour without God something like a diesel engine running without diesel. Without God nothing happens & nothing exists.

Now let us consider Science, Science is something that shows the splendor in all of God’s creation. So that we may stand in awe of God & give Him glory. Let me give you an example; consider our computers I am sure that most of you would have your own desktop or laptop. Now you may have had a computer for so long that you may have lost your enthusiasm for your computer. However if anyone were to take you through the science behind your computer, like showing how millions of semiconductors fit into your processor, which is just the size of a potato chip or showing how all the information in the books that students carry in those bulky bags can be accommodated in a memory chip the size of your thumbnail or showing you the science behind wireless data transfer via Bluetooth. If I were to help you understand this, you would be intrigued but you would not give glory to man. I have never come across man glorifying man because of technology that man made. Man may say that he is not satisfied because there is much more to learn and make but deep within man knows that what ever he has learnt has come from God. Man has never been self sufficient that is why man is never satisfied when he relies on himself. Coming back, just as the knowledge of how your computer is made and how it work, helps you appreciate technology. In the same way we, this world with every thing in it & the universe help us see the splendor of God and so give Him glory.

Genesis 1:1 says that in the beginning God created the heavens and earth. Now to tell you about the science of the universe, I were to compare my planet Earth to the Sun, it would be like comparing my city Mumbai to the state Maharashtra that it is in. It would be like the size of a really small coin. That is the same way the Earth is compared to the Sun. Now if I were to compare the size of the Sun to our Solar System, the Sun would be a very small fraction of the entire Solar System. The Sun would probably be like another small coin in our Solar System. For those of you who need some school brush up, I would like to tell you that the Solar System is one where we have our Sun in the center and the plants with their moons revolving around the Sun. I think its time for me to tell you of the measurement that is used for telling distance between stars. The measurement is called light-years. The speed of light is 3X(10

meters per second, which is some amazing speed. Think of this, light takes just 8 minutes to go from the Sun to the Earth, which is roughly 93 million miles. So just imagine the distance light would cover in one whole year & that is called 1 light-year. Just like our Solar System, there are many other Solar Systems that together form one Galaxy. The Galaxy that holds our Solar System is called the Milky Way. Do you know what is the diameter of our Galaxy (Milky Way)?, it is 100,000 light-years. Now just like our galaxy there are millions and millions of other galaxies holding their own solar system. Can you imagine how big that is? I can’t but this is just the known universe. The telescopes that we have today can only look this far. As Physics says that the universe is ever increasing, I cannot comprehend, when it will be, that we will be able to see, the entire universe, which also is small fraction of God’s creation.

Now from all of the above we may feel so insignificant because even if we were to use the latest and best microscopes and look only at the known universe then to you would not find you of me. I would like to quote to you something from Isaiah 40:25-26.

Isaiah 40:25-26.

To whom can the holy God be compared? Is there anyone else like him?

Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name!

His power is so great not one of them is ever missing!

I would also like to quote Psalms 8:3-4.

Psalms 8:3-4

When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you have set in their places-

what is man, that you think of him;

mere man, that you care for him?

I would like to also add that God did not give any stars or any of those huge galaxies a soul but only to man so that God may have an eternal relationship with man. It was man whom God created in His own image.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

You may now ask me, how can someone who is immortal spend eternity with someone who is mortal, who lives not more than a hundred years? Well the answer is in Jesus, it was the sin of man that caused man to bring death upon himself. So God knows all this ahead of the beginning of time and plans to free man of his sin but God is just and the price of sin must be paid. The only way out for man to spend eternity in heaven with God is for him to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You see Jesus existed before the beginning of time before any creation, he is the begotten Son and God & he is God in union with the Father & the Spirit, who together exist as One. The Bible says that there is not a thing in all creation that is perfect in the eyes of God. The only thing that is perfect is God Himself. So only God could be that perfect, spotless & sinless sacrifice for all sin, this called for the Son of God to come to earth as man, fully man but still fully God & die on the cross for man’s sins. This way Jesus humbled Himself and made Himself that perfect sacrifice for sin so that man believe and spend eternity with God. Where else can you find such love?, only in Jesus no where else.

Philippians 2:8

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Just imagine the creator of all things that existed, exist & will exist paid the price of your sin with His own life. Here is scriptural proof showing Jesus as a creator of all things.

Hebrews 1:2

has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

So if there is anything in your life that has made you consider believing in Jesus, then you may say this with so much faith that you believe it beyond your own existence. You may say I come to you God and I humble myself before you, I put all my trust along with my sin and hard times, all my trust I put in the Son of God Jesus. I hold on to only you O Jesus, you are my lone salvation.

One last piece of scripture,

Hebrews 1:3

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

You can see from the above that Jesus holds up the whole universe just by the power of His Word. If He can do that He can definitely hold you up no matter what your problems are.

By Fergus Davar (Saved by HIS grace), just a pen in His Hand.

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Hi people, I am back but this time I will be talking about something that may not go down very well. So keep a glass of water by your side.. lol. Well today to I will be talking about what was preached to me by another pastor. The stuff makes sense and is what the real world is about.

Let’s dwell on John 3:16.

16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

Now it is said that God loves the whole world & the rest means what it says but does this mean that the whole world is saved, that is the whole world goes to heaven. Well my first answer was that anyone from anywhere in the world, who puts their trust in Christ are those who are saved but I was off the mark. The verse says that God loved the world and so the question is, will the whole world be saved? There were some who brought in the notion of free will, that is if WE CHOOSE to accept Christ then we are saved. Man .were they of the mark!!! If a person has the ability to choose Christ and be saved, then read Rev 7:10, it shows that Salvation comes from God and not from man’s ability to choose.

Rev 7:10

They called out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!”

From 1Corinthians 15:57, you will know that Salvation comes from God only through Christ. So the question is, is Salvation in Christ something that we approach & accept by ourselves or are we chosen to be saved? Let check some scripture below.

John 6:37, 39, 44, 65 (Words of Jesus)

37 Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me,

39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me; and I will raise him to life on the last day.

65 And he added, “This is the very reason I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father makes it possible for him to do so.”

Well I knew that if God WILLED that a person to be counted among his people then there was no stopping Him. That person, even if he were the worst of sinners would have transformed. This is exactly what happens when we experience Jesus in our lives. Coming back, the reason why there are some who accept Christ and some who don’t is because we are all enslaved to sin, we cannot see the saving grace that is in Christ unless God lifts that blind fold from our eyes.

As it is written in Matthew 13:13-14 & 16, here Jesus talks to his disciples and lets them know how privileged they are to understand Him. Unlike the people who hear his teaching and either don’t understand or make a false doctrine out of it.

Matthew 13:13-14 & 16

13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. 14 So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:

‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;

they will look and look, but not see,

.

16 “As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear.

Isaiah 6:9-10 (God is talking to Prophet Isaiah)

9 So he told me to go and give the people this message: “No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening.” 10 Then he said to me, “Make the minds of these people dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so that they cannot see or hear or understand. If they did, they might turn to me and be healed.”

So my friend you see those who choose to accept Christ, do not do so by their own will or decision. As for those who may say that they accepted Christ on their own, I would like to say that God chose you and counted you among his people before the beginning of time, a time when you did not exist to say that you accepted Christ on your own. Here is some scriptural support.

2 Timothy 1:9

He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

1John 4:19

We love God; because he loved us first.

Revelation 13:8

8 All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.

Revelation 17:8

That beast was once alive, but lives no longer; it is about to come up from the abyss and will go off to be destroyed. The people living on earth whose names have not been written before the creation of the world in the book of the living, will all be amazed as they look at the beast. It was once alive; now it no longer lives, but it will reappear.

Now you may tell me that what about those who show themselves to accept Jesus (may be on impulse or because they had a Christian upbringing) & then fall out of the Faith of Christ? Well I would like to tell you here that each and every single person that has been given to Jesus by his Father is accounted for. The person who falls out was never a part of His people. I have mentioned some supporting scripture below.

John 6:39 (Jesus is talking)

39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day.

John 18:9 (He is Jesus)

He said this so that what he had said might come true: “Father, I have not lost even one of those you gave me.

John 10: 25-30

25 Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The things I do by my Father’s authority speak on my behalf; 26 but you will not believe, for you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father’s care. 30 The Father and I are one.”

So you see there will be not a single person lost to darkness, to whomever God chooses to show his saving grace through his Son.

Here is some more scripture talking about God’s chosen people

Deuteronomy 7:6

6 Do this because you belong to the Lord your God. From all the peoples on earth he chose you to be his own special people.

Acts 13:48

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord’s message; and those who had been chosen for eternal life became believers.

1Peter 2:9

But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.

Revelation 17:14

They will fight against the Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called, chosen, and faithful followers, will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.”

Now for some scripture showing (God’s love for his people) / (Jesus’ love for his sheep),

John 10:11-16

11 “I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep. 12 When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hired man runs away because he is only a hired man and does not care about the sheep. 14-15 I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them.

16 There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become they will become; one flock with one shepherd.

Matthew 18:12-14

12 “What do you think a man does who has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep. 13 When he finds it, I tell you, he feels far happier over this one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost. 14 In just the same way your Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost.

I hope you guys now know how privileged you are to be counted among God’s people only through Christ.

So my friend if you come across a situation where someone does not accept Christ in his life, then what we need to do is pray for that person either in that persons presence or not, who knows may be what you have said to him will be the seed of the Gospel that will take root in him in time. May be the very reason you are preaching Jesus to him is because God has chosen him to be one of His people & and there is no other way if God Himself wills for something. God will open his eyes.

I would like to highlight a piece of Old Testament scripture showing God opening peoples eyes to show them something that cannot see on their own. The verse is about when Hagar was in the desert, she and her son Ishmael were crying because they were lost in the wilderness of Beersheba without water. God heard the boy’s cry and opened Hagar’s eyes to see something she could not find on her own.

Genesis 21:19

19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went and filled the leather bag with water and gave some to the boy.

I would also like to add that we are not a chosen few but a chosen many.

Mark 10:45 (Son of Man refers to Jesusfully Man and fully God)

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Finally I would like to say that there are many of God’s people (all over the world), who still have to hear the Gospel (God’s Word).

Luke 10:2 (He is Jesus)

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

So let us not as sit back and relax thinking . God doesn’t need me to do His work (preach the Gospel & make disciples of the nations), if has chosen people to be saved then who can stop that. Well it is not for us to decide whom God has accepted. As Pastor Rick Warren puts it, if a man was sick with a terminal disease and you had the ONLY medicine that will save his life then it would be a crime to hold your self back from giving him that medicine. So it is the same with the message of the Gospel (Jesus), which needs to be preached to EACH & EVERY person for the salvation of his/her soul.

By Fergus Davar (Saved by HIS grace), just a pen in His Hand.

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Deuteronomy 8:18

But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

a. [NIV] But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

1). Establishing the Covenant is the goal and thus God gives the ability to get wealth in order to achieve it.

2). God giving me the ability to get wealth is an act of God in establishing the Covenant in my life.

1.”But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God”

a. When we forget God we will walk in

disobedience.

1). Psalm 78:5-7 “For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

That the generation to come might know [them, even] the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:”

2). Psalm 78:9-11 “The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;

And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.”

b. This exhortation was given in light of their prosperity, in light of their ability to be blessed materially. The surrounding verses before and after shed much light on this verse.

1). Deuteronomy 8:11-17 “Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;

And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.”

2. “for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth”

a. power [3581 * kowach] [Strong's :to be firm, vigor, force, capacity, means produce, ability, might.]

b. An important part of this is that God is not against people being rich as long as we don’t forget following his commandments.

3. “that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”

a. There are two lines of thought that could apply in this verse. In these lines of thought we have the three Biblical reasons for money.

1). The first line of thought is that by giving his people the ability to make wealth he was establishing his covenant.

2). The second line of thought is that God will give his people the ability to make wealth so that they will give into the kingdom so that his covenant is spread through out the land.

b. The three reasons for money.

1) Give to the needy.

a). Ephesians 4:28 “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

2). Provide for our own

a). 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12 “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”

3). Establish the Covenant

a). Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

My name is Don Costello. Ever since I received Christ in November of 1976 I have had a passion to study and know God’s word.My wife Melissa and I have 5 children.

My e-mail address is costello.don@gmail.com

I have a blog located at:

http://www.theophilus-loverofgodsword.blogspot.com/

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The October days are here,

We reflect on two Apostles

“he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off”

Homily

Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB

Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)

Mill Valley, CA USA

(North of San Francisco)

Wednesday Eucharist, October 28, 2009

Deuteronomy 32: 1-4

Ephesians 2: 13-22

John 15: 17-27

Psalm 119: 89-96
In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Words from Deuteronomy, and they well describe the words an Apostle speaks. An introduction to this Homily about Apostles:

Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak

Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

May my teaching drop like the rain,

My speech condense like the dew;

Like gentle rain on grass,

Like showers on new growth.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD;

Ascribe greatness to our God!

The Rock, his work is perfect,

And all his ways are just.

A faithful God, without deceit,

Just and upright is he
The October days are here, Fall is here, the season of change–for winter is coming and at this time we look to see the light change. Days grow shorter. The weather is cooler here north of San Francisco in Mill Valley, and it is sometimes necessary to turn the heat on in the evening.

Last night was like that, colder, and as I thought of God and reflected on what it meant to be an Apostle, my mind was infected with the change of weather and light, even the darkness that now has gathered at this early yet still into the evening hour of the day.

I thought and my heart said they are Apostles who spoke of God, spoke to and into the world, and gave us hope, having been commissioned by Christ himself when alive. Almost mythical in dimension, they are separate from the special yet regular disciple. When sent out into the world to speak the Good News Apostles had that wonderful and special spirit upon them: The Holy Spirit. They are the special disciples of Christ, extraordinary and unique in the history of the world.

Today I speak of Saint Simon, the Zealot, and Saint Jude. Lesser known Apostles, but still of that special group so filled with the Spirit of God and willing to bring their holiness and message, as messengers, out to the world itself:

Mankind was waiting to hear, though they knew them not, they knew the Lord Christ not, they knew the Good News not.

Heralds is what they were, and their spirit lives still, renewed through generations and remembered generation by generation.

Let us speak briefly of these two men on their special day when we celebrate them.

Here we are on this day remembering Simon.

Here we are on this day remembering Jude.
Jude is the only Apostle I can remember who has a special place in the world of print, for you can find him in the classified section of newspapers. Albeit a small place, a small advertisement, but the heart that placed the ad offers a public message bringing the word vibrantly if almost unknown in its content to the greater world. It is a message of last hope, a message of Gospel dimension in 6 point type, so is a prayer to Jude.

First, what are these small prayers, these pleas for help in the last moments and days of hope, directed in plea to Jude for aid.

In that 6 point type are even there building blocks of the Church?

As Origen writes in a homily on the Book of Joshua, “Like living stones, let ourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

So his quote from the Bible goes in his message, “in this building of the Church there must also be an altar. From this I conclude that those of you who are ready and prepared to give up your time to prayer, to offer petitions and sacrifices of supplication to God day and night, such people I say will be the living stones out of which Jesus will build his altar.”
Jude is little known, but famous too as last to be noticed, for in history he was confused with Judas, so as overlooked and almost forgotten, he became the Saint for those of lost causes and final hope appealed to in time of (needed) prayer, prayers given in their offering petitions and sacrifices of supplication to God.

It is a quiet and not so directly proactive an Evangelical way of Apostleship for which Jude is best known, but he is in this way of the Lord building the Church.

Jude: known as patron saint of lost causes.

As for Simon the Zealot, the book, “Celebrating the Saints,” says:

There is no indication in the Gospels whether Simon moved from the Zealot party to be a follower of Christ or, on the other hand, if after the resurrection he became a supporter of that group seeing it as a response to God’s call to proclaim the Kingdom.

Again, Origen urges us to be stones as were the Apostles, stones for God

united in belief and purpose, let us hope that God may find us stones fit for his altar.

Simon the Zealot, not to be confused with Simon Peter, was an Apostle who built the Church. As we move towards the end of the Church year and a remembrance of All Souls and All Saints, as we see the light change and remember soon those who have died, the words of Psalm 119 commemorating this day are a reminder of Simon the Zealot’s devotion and the will of God:

The LORD exists forever;

Your word is firmly fixed in heaven.

Your faithfulness endures to all

Generations;

You have established the earth, and

It stands fast.

By your appointment they stand today,

For all things are your servants.

Is it not a comfort, these words of the Psalm?

The Church lives.

The LORD exists forever.
This is where the power of that word spoken by Simon the Zealot and Jude came from. Their words came from Christ in a commissioning:

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

That beautiful section of John is worth a look, it is John 1: 17-27. It concludes:

“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these known that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Apostles are a glorious group, and they were faithful and zealous in their mission. As the Collect of the day says, let us pray,

so we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

These lovely words from Ephesians make a better ending to this Homily than anything I could write. Do these words not say what the Apostles did for all of us:

So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God

The Lord bless us and keep us. Amen.

The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. Amen.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.

Peter Menkin, an aspiring poet, lives in Mill Valley, CA USA where he writes poetry. He is an Oblate of Immaculate Heart Hermitage, Big Sur, CA and that means he is a Camaldoli Benedictine. He is 63 years of age as of 2009.

Copyright Peter Menkin

http://www.petermenkin.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

Hi people I am writing again. Yes, this to is from a sermon I heard today at Church by a visiting Pastor. The Word today is from the book of Job from the Old Testament of the Bible. I have previously written using extractions from the book of Job but that was on a different topic “God is Sovereign”, this time the aim is to show you how to trust God even in the face of trouble. I will use this  man of God, Job for an example.

The Job in the Bible was a very wealthy man with 7 sons and 3 daughters; he had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and many servants. The Bible says that he was the greatest man in the east. Now there was a day where all the supernatural beings who served God, assembled before God & among them was Satan. God asked Satan as to what he was doing? and Satan’s reply was roaming around aimlessly (doing nothing for God). Then God boast of his servant Job to Satan but Satan tells God that the only reason Job was faithful to Him was because he was richly blessed but if all he had were to be taken away then he would curse God. God hears this and to show that Satan is wrong .again, he allows Satan to take charge of all that Job has but warns Satan that he should not harm Job. Now let’s see how this takes its toll. A messenger comes in and tells job that the Sabeans robbed all the donkeys, & killed the servants that were ploughing the nearby field with oxen. Before the messenger even finishes saying everything another servant comes in and says that lightening struck all his sheep & shepherds and killed them all. Before even he could finish, another servant comes in saying 3 bands of Chaldean raiders attacked and killed all the servants present there and then and robbed the camels. As though this could not get any worse, while this servant was still speaking another servant comes in and tell job that his children were feasting at his eldest son’s house and a strong wind came in and brought the whole house down killing them all. Just imagine this happening to you or me. If I were to loose all that I had even my children if I had any, I would have lost my mind. Whoever would have been left in my family would have had to put me in the mad house. But let me quote to you Job’s reaction.

Job 1:20:22

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.

21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Satan then had to go about his usual day to day task of eating his own words, as Job was still upright. Satan later in the book of Job, attacks Job and Job breaks out with severe skin disease and gets sores all over his body. Job’s friends are of no comfort at all to him, in fact they tell Job and he is paying for the sinful life that he is living. Let me quote to you part of Job’s answer to his friends. Here Job is talking about God.

Job 23:8-14

8 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him;

9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.

10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

11 My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.

12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

13 But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.

14 For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.

You can see form verses 8-9 that Job subconsciously admits that he does not know what God is doing. However from verse 10 Job consciously knows for sure that God knows the Job’s plight right there and right then & Job is going to come out of all this as precious as gold because he is in God’s hands. Now, I would like to draw a parallel between Job 23:8:14 from my Old Testament & Luke 8:4-15 from my New Testament. Let me quote Jesus’ Word from Luke 8:4-15 for you.

The Parable of the Sower

4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable:

5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.

6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,

10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.

14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

You can see from Luke 8:8, Jesus says that “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. Now common sense

will tell you that it does not literally mean what it says. It is the people who “listen” to Jesus’ word and put it into work in their lives that are said to have “ears” because these are the people who “listen & obey”. Now you cannot say that you are “listening” if there is no reaction to what you have heard. Also listening to Jesus, is listening to God because Jesus is God in union with His Father and the Spirit. Let’s now go back to the book of Job, Job 23:11-12 will show you how Job had “ears” (listened & obeyed). You can add 2 and 2 and see that Job obeys the word of Jesus. You may come up to me and say “hey there is no Jesus in the book of Job or in the whole Old Testament for that matter” & my reply to you will be that you know God just as well that the people of the Old Testament, check Jeremiah 4:22 or let me show you the same in the book of Job itself. From Job 23:8-9, you can see that Job, in search of spirituality moved forward backward right and left but Job could not see God or even learn of what he is doing or even know (perceive) God. So you see Job did not know the identity of God but he knew that God was with him and that is why Job says in verse 11 that he has followed God every step of the way and never gone astray. From verse 12 you can see how seriously Job takes God’s word. Even though Job may not know God’s unique identity, God talks to Job because that is how God intends to let Job know that God is leading him. From Luke 8:11 you can see that the seed is the word of God. Now to show you that the Sower of Seed is Jesus as God Himself & not as a mere messenger, let me quote to you Luke 6:46-49.

Build Your House on the Rock

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

You can see from verse 46, Jesus again raising the issue of he who has ears let him hear. Verse 47 will show you that Jesus is taking the “ownership” of what he says, as he says “my words” and shows that he is not speaking as a messenger or prophet but is speaking as God Himself. You may have got the gist of the story or Job by now. Even though disaster struck him, he held on to the word of God. You can also see from Luke 6:48 the example of a person you holds on to the Word of Jesus, disaster strikes but the man still stand because he “listens & obeys” the Word of Jesus. Job from the Old Testament is an example of a man in Luke 6:48 who built his house on Jesus’ Word & Jesus is that same God in Old Testament whose Word Job treasured more than his own food as in Job 23:12.

I would also like to quote to you from my Bible to show you Jesus’ love for His people. Jesus shows how much he loves His people through this parable. To keep you informed parables are earthly stories that Jesus often used to explain spiritual realities of the Kingdom of heaven to the people.

Luke 15:8-10

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

To conclude, I would like to show that Job was blessed even more than previous, for holding on to Jesus and following him closely. Job came through all of this as gold (Job 23:10).

Job 42:10-17

The LORD Restores Job’s Fortunes

10 And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.

12 And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.

14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.

15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations.

17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

By Fergus Davar (Saved by HIS grace), just a pen in His Hand.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

Part 1: You Feed Them

Matthew 14:13-21

As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessaryyou feed them.”

“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

“Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

Jesus had heard the news of John the Baptist and went to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where He was headed and followed him on foot.

Jesus had compassion on them and healed the sick. John 6:2 states that the crowd followed Him because of the miracles He continually performed. So many times we seek after the signs and wonders. We have to see to believe. Oh, if we could only learn to just trust in God.

Mark 6:34 explains that Jesus stated that these people were like sheep without a shepherd so He also began teaching them many things.

Jesus went up on the mountainside on the far side of the Sea of Galilee. The disciples told Jesus it was getting late and to send the crowd away that they may obtain food.

Matthew 14:16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary- you feed them.”

Now I know that I have read this passage many, many times before. Every Christian has heard the story of Jesus feeding the multitude. Even the many unbelievers have heard this scripture. Admittedly, this time when I read it, I looked at it in a completely different light. I have never really thought of the part that said, “you feed them.”

“You feed them.” A command to the same disciples who in Mark 6:20 just returned from a ministry tour and had explained to the Lord all they had taught and done while gone. They would seemingly be perfect candidates to work such a miracle. This was a test of faith. Jesus was standing there beside them, they were not alone. The Son of God Himself was therepresent! Would there be any hesitation?

I have thought several times while rereading the passage of scripture, what would I do in this situation? How would I react to a command of the Lord as great as this? How much faith do I really possess? I would love to think I would jump straight up and get to the mission at hand but I tend to look at the size of the situation, the size of the need, and allow that to hinder my work for the Lord. I am ashamed of that fact but I realize I am not the only one who needs to learn to trust God. Not simply trust God with some things but in all ways, in all areas. I have to learn to stand on the promises of God for the Bible tells us in Numbers 23:19 that God is not a man, so he does not lie.

In John 6:5-7 Jesus actually asked Philip “where are we going to buy bread for them to eat?” This scripture says that Jesus was testing Philip, for He already knew what he was going to do. Philip said even if they worked for months they wouldn’t have enough to feed the multitude. Not even 200 denarii would be enough (1 denarius=1 days wage/200 denarii=$40).

John 6:8-9 tells us that Andrew saw a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish, but wondered how this meal for one would benefit so many people.

We see here that Andrew and Philip, Christ’s own chosen Disciples, who have walked with the Lord, seen first-hand the many miraculous works of the Lord Jesus and still lacked the faith to act at Jesus command to feed the multitude. They let the size of the need decrease their faith. They were looking how big the mountain was, instead of realizing how big their God is. They were looking at this through carnal eyes and not from a spiritual standpoint.

Matthew 5:17 “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

This declaration exclaimed a complete lack of faith. They were looking at this visible value as insignificant and useless. Don’t we often look at what we have to offer God as worthless or insignificant when it comes to working for the Lord? We seem to forget He can use whatever or whomever He wants to fulfill any purpose He wishes. Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that through His mighty power at work within us He can accomplish infinitely more than we can think or ask.

Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world, is anything too hard for me?

Matthew 5:18 “Bring them here,” he said.

Christ says, “Bring them here.” He spoke this as a command. Up to this point the disciples allowed doubt to creep in and hinder their work for the Lord. They were looking at their abilities and immediate physical resources and not the God of which all things are possible.

I am sure the Lord was disgusted at their lack of trust. I just picture Him like a parent of a child who gives up too easily when learning something new or difficult and they just aren’t getting it. The parent steps in and finally says, bring it to me. Kind of like, “when will they ever learn?”

Matthew 5:19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.

Jesus blessed the meal, gave thanks to God and gave the bread to the disciples to distribute it to the people. This reminds me of faith without works is dead. I believe it was necessary for the disciples to actually be involved in this work. It wasn’t enough for them to see Jesus working this miracle but they needed to actually put faith into action.
Matthew 14:20-21 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

Five thousand men, excluding women and children were not just fed but were full and satisfied. The disciples picked up twelve baskets full of leftovers. How amazing is our God? He is not just a God that makes provisions but is a God of abundant blessings!

I believe it was necessary for the disciples to collect the abundance of leftovers to strengthen their faith, to show them yet again, that no situation or circumstance is too big for God to handle. Jesus wanted them to be part of this amazing move of God, to make it personal and more real to them. Any time we see healings, experience provisions, witness deliverances, etc. our faith is increased.

Jesus Christ was right there with them, just as He is with us. We may not be able to physically see Him as the disciples did that day, but we must know that when He tells us to feed, speak, or act in faith that He will be with us. He wanted the disciples to act with full unwavering faith. He wants exactly the same thing for usto act with full unwavering faith.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

Part 2: The Storm

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

“Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Matthew 14:22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.

The word immediately specifically stands out to me here. Immediately after this miracle of feeding the multitude, Christ insists that the disciples get into the boat and sail across the lake.

This could be for several different reasons. First of all Jesus wanted to be alone to pray. Second, Christ knew what was lying ahead for the disciples at sea and He knew that their faith had been increased by the miraculous event that has just taken place. By personal experience, after being involved in a mighty move of God, there seems to be a greater courage and boldness that follows. So if they immediately left, their faith would have been at a heightened state.

Matthew 14:23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

Here we notice Jesus went to pray in solituderemoving first every distraction.

We all need to have our alone time with God in our prayer closets, seeking earnestly, sincerely, laying every hindrance aside, focusing on the Lord. The Bible mentions that when we pray in secret that we will be rewarded openly.

Another reason Jesus sent the crowds away is mentioned in John 6:14-15. The people saw the miracles that Jesus performed and they were proclaiming that He was the Prophet who came to the world and that they might make Him king of which would be inappropriate and His true purpose for coming to this corrupt world had not yet been fulfilled.

Matthew 14:24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

It is now dark and the disciples are in a storm at seain a battle, trial, a storm of life, unable to see clearly, distracted.

Strong winds blowing all aroundresistance, opposition, pressure from the enemy.

Heavy waves pounding on every sidepulled in different directions, confused, being tossed around unwillingly, up one moment and down the next.

Battling the enemytrying to stay afloat, trying hard just to keep head above the water, trying not to sink at the hand of the enemy, allowing fear and anxiety to rise up, maybe trying to fight by oneself?

Now this is exactly like the devil to come in after an awesome move of God, when faith is increased to throw some type of distraction, hindrance, stumbling block, placing some weight upon you to overshadow the marvelous work of the Lord. Or maybe Satan will try to remove that increase of faith you just grabbed on to before it could sink in, by planting doubt, fear, worry, intimidation, or anxiety full force at you! Absolutely disgusting!

Matthew 14:25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.

I read where the disciples were approximately 3-4 miles out at sea. Jesus came walking on the water.

Matthew 14:26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

Think about thisthese same disciples just witnessed an amazing event, actually participated in it and now at the first sign of trouble, their faith is once again found lacking! They were not just lacking in faith but were fearful, actually terrified. They were once again so distracted by the situation that they allowed fear to grip hold of them to the point that they couldn’t even recognize the Lord.

Christ’s own disciples did not recognize Him? The devil had put temporary blinders on them to fog their judgment, their clarity. The devil is still using the same tricks as he did thousands of years ago. He is trying his best to keep us distracted, fearful, confused, blinded, intimidated to the extent that we can’t recognize when God wants to speak to us, speak through us, lead us, help us. The devil attempts to take our focus off of our wonderful Savior, the Word of God, and stand on His every promise.

Satan knows if he can keep us looking at the storm or battle before us we won’t hear Christ speak”Don’t be afraid, Take courage. I am here.”

Matthew 14:27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

This verse is a promise of God. What a promise! Help us to stand on Your promises.

Joshua 1:9 This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Matthew 14:28-29 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

How often do we question, Lord is that really you? Peter is encouraged knowing Christ is there and his faith is immediately increased. This sounds like the majority, up one moment and down the next. Why are we like that? Why do we allow our faith to be as unsettled waves tossed about in the sea? Because it is a lot harder to walk by faith and not by sight. It is human nature to some degree to want the tangible. Christians must learn to die to the carnal ways of thinking, learning to be spiritually minded, strong, unmovable, and unshakeable.

Peter got out of that boat and walked on the water! He did try, which is more than many can say. After all, Peter was the only disciple who even attempted such a great act of faith. People only want to speak of him sinking but at least he got out of the boat to start with.

Matthew 14:30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Verse 30 reminds us that Peter did take his eyes off the Lord and began to sink. That is precisely what happens to us, when we take our eyes off of the Lord. Those times when we allow the devil the opportunity to plant doubt and allow our guard to drop, even for a moment. That is all it takes to start sinkinga moment. Give NO place to the devil!

When we allow the devil to plant that spirit of fear in our minds, we will not be able to accomplish the purpose God has for us. We won’t have the courage to step out of the boat to start with, let alone walk on the water.

We must keep focused on Christ, placing full trust in Him. And although we don’t physically see His presence, have the faith to know HE IS THERE! HE IS THERE!

Matthew 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Jesus grabbed him when he began to sink. When Peter realized he needed the Lord, he asked for help and Christ was there to lift him up. Thank you Lord for being an ever-present help in times of trouble that when our faith does waiver, You are there to pick us up. It is a shame we have to keep being taught this lesson over and over.

Jesus asked him why he had such little faith. Why did he doubt Christ?

Jesus is asking us the same question every time we doubt Him and His promises. Whether it is be to witness, give a message, pray for the sick, sing a song, write an article, teach a lesson, or preach a sermon, if we truly want to please the Lord, we must learn to trust. We have to learn to walk by faith. We have to rebuke fear, doubt, worry, etc. We have to be obedient regardless of the appearance of the situationeven if it is moving out of our comfort zone and on to the waves of the sea. Even though Peter did sink, he briefly got to walk on the water with Lord, Wow!

Matthew 14:32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

Notice here that the wind stopped. The enemy had no authority or power over the Lord. The Lord was in full control. Christ can speak to any storm, Peace be still and the waves and seas will obey his command.

Psalms 56:9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know; God is on my side!

Matthew 14:33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Then and only then the disciples worshipped. Think about this, only after the storm ceased did they worship the Son of God. Wonder what would have happened if they would have started worshipping during the storm.

Now the disciples say “You really are the Son of God!” This blows me away. How many times did they have to see the Lord move before they would make this proclamation? This is the same group of apostles that had already been out telling about the Lord. Seriously, do we as Christians not do this same thing? We tell everyone about the Lord, teach about Him, sing about Him, Praise Himbut He is constantly having to prove Himself to uswe have a lot to learn from this passage!

Prayer:

I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me. Lord help us to praise and worship you regardless of the situation or storm we may face. Let us not delay praises until the end of the storm but let us worship you at all times, for you are worthy, for You ARE the Son of God and our magnificent, holy Savior!!! Help us not to doubt Your precious Word, for You are a God that doesn’t lie, and You can be trusted to keep Your promises. Increase our faith and when the storms of life are raging around us let us not waiver or fear, but be steadfast, unmovable, strong, and determined. For You said You haven’t given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. Forgive us for doubting You Lord. You don’t deserve that and I am so ashamed of my behavior. Please give us strength to replace our weaknesses. Keep us on guard and aware of the tricks of the enemy and let us not give him any door of opportunity to enter or allow him a foothold. We will walk in victory!! Hallelujah!! In Your precious name we pray, amen.

I have been a Christian for 19 years. I am one of the Sunday School teachers at our local church. I enjoy Bible study and growing in the knowledge of God’s word. I literally want to soak up God’s Word like a sponge.

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Satan has used the same 4 lies to enslave man throughout all time.

1. You shall be as gods or be gods

Genesis 3:4-6 (New International Version)

4″You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Now all cults teach either that we are gods or “god is us and we are god” or that we can become gods.

2. Rejection of moral absolutes (god didn’t really mean that.)

Genesis 3:1

[ The Fall of Man ] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

All is relative to the situation situational ethics and rejection of moral absolutes (Nietzsche)

3. You shall not die

Genesis 3:4

4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.

Reincarnation ideas are taught now, same lie and totally opposes resurrection.

4. You shall know good from evil (enlightenment or cosmic consciousness)

Genesis 3:5

5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Pantheism is taught now in many Eastern religions the belief that god is everything – the belief that God and the material world are one and the same thing and that God is present in everything.

Lucifer (one of Satan’s names in the Bible) means “light bearer”

2 Corinthians 11:10-15

10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. 11Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (NIV)

Know the REAL (Jesus) and you will recognize the counterfeit.

Satan’s rebellion is spoken of in Isaiah 14. The whole chapter is full of incredible “word pictures” and Isaiah 14:12-14 captures the essence of Satan’s rebellion and fall.

12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Freedom is the power to be able to do what you ought.

New Age and Hinduism are parallel entities. New Age philosophies are coming into the church and not being recognized as unscriptural.

2 Timothy 2:15 (New King James Version)

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (King James Version)

15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We need to make sure we are in God’s Word and learning.

Mark 13:22

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the electif that were possible.

1 Peter 3:15

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

(C) Marijo Phelps all rights reserved. Use with proper credits.

About Self

Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE