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Deuteronomy 29 A Covenant Together

4/1/2016

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The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29
​Deuteronomy 29
The Lord has brought you through everything you have been through, trials, suffering, need, and provision so that you can be the person you were born to be, the person He called you to be. Verses 1-4 read,
These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.
2 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 3 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.
Before Salvation, we do not have the ability to truly grasp who God is, who we are in respect to Him, and the depth of the Gospel. We hear the message, we are invited to enter into fellowship with Him and we either have faith or do not. But every moment leading up to that point God has been calling you. He has been there waiting for you to come to the point of decision. You have lived in slavery. You have the chance to grasp ahold of The Gospel and proclaim Christ.
Believer it is then that we wander the wilderness, following the Lord, learning, and becoming the sons and daughter of God or following our own hearts and remaining wanderers. It’s funny how we can experience the same things and some clearly see God’s loving hand while others only see the circumstances. Verses 5-9 read,
I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. 6 You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. 7 And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
The wilderness is not easy, but we are not there alone. God is with us, He goes before, He stands behind, He walks beside, and He teaches and guides. He has provided our every need while we walked. He fought the enemy and with each step He has made the obedient and acquiescent into His image. We can’t see Him perfectly yet, but we know one day we will. In the mean time we keep on following, keep on obeying and keep on glorifying.
Look at what God has done for you. Consider His awesome provision and protection. Remember you were once a slave, pitiable and poor. Now, Believer, you are the noble son or daughter of the King of kings, you are a holy nation, a royal priest, you are the temple of the LORD! You have become an entirely new person. Or have you? If you are still the same person you used to be, maybe you are still a slave to the prince of the world, stubbornly refusing to accept the truth before you. You stand at the gateway from your old life to eternity, the choice is yours. Verses 10-15 read,
“You are standing today all of you before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel,11 your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,12 so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, 15 but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.”
The covenant, the agreement we enter is not just you and God, me and God, and him and God. It is us together and God. We are responsible for ourselves and we are responsible for one another. We too often say, “That’s his business, it’s between him and God.” The thing is, if we are a body and all members of one another, then we are in a relationship together with God. My actions affect you. Yours affect me. Colossians 3:12-17 reads,
 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
 
We are responsible to pay attention to those among us. What is their spiritual condition? Have they stayed an infant in Christ these last few years? Have they become burdened under an attack they have not shared? Are they even saved? If you love them, you care and you want the best for them. Pay attention. Just because they’re in church with you doesn’t mean they are one of the church. Their blind stubbornness will absolutely affect their eternity and it may very well affect the eternity of outsiders as well. Verses 16-19 read,
“You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. 18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, 19 one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.”
 
Do you love them enough to want good for them? Do you love them enough to want eternal life for them? Those who reject Christ need to be given the chance to accept Him and if they continue to reject Him, if their obstinate rebellion will not give in, it is better to let them be out in the world than contaminating the body with lies and sin. Verses 20-28 read,
“The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. 22 And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— 23 the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— 24 all the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 26 and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. 27 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land ,bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, 28 and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.’
That may seem harsh, but we can trust God to be God. We don’t save, He does. How deeply do you care about the heart condition of the brethren and the lost? If we really care sometimes we have to do the difficult things.
1 Corinthians 5:1-7 reads,
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
 
If his heart is not so immovable and he is able to listen then it doesn’t have to go that far. In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus said,
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
Allowing those people to stay in the body sends the wrong message to everyone. The person assumes his sins are acceptable to God. Outsiders see that God does not have an impact on the saved, they’re just like them. The church becomes accepting of sin and before long it is not one man but 20 and then 50 and so on, who are living in the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit.
God’s Word has a purpose. His revelation has a reason. His desire will be accomplished and the how is not up to us. Verse 29 reads,
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
God brought you to salvation, Believer. Do you trust He can bring others to eternal life as well? He is the Lord your God.
 
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Deuteronomy 26 Why Should You Give God the Tithe?

3/30/2016

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Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. Malachi 3:10
​Deuteronomy 26
Do you know why you tithe, why you offer the firstfruits to The Lord? I think it is important to know the reason behind the actions we take. Blind worship leads to worshipping who you do not know. And I’ll be honest, up to now, the reason I have tithed has been because it is a commandment and I am showing my faith and obedience to God by trusting Him to be my God. But today, I realize that is not the main reason the Lord wants us to give Him our firstfruits. We are supposed to give to Him with a certain attitude. Verses 1-4 read,
When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
The first part of our response to God is an acknowledgement that God has saved us and brought us into The Promised Land. We give to Him, because He gave to us. The Promised Land is the eternal life the Lord gave us, it is the new life in Christ. Whatever work we do from the point of salvation on is for Him, for the Kingdom of God. Our jobs, our family life, our church life, and our recreational life all take on new purposes to glorify God. The result of our work, the fruit is God’s. We acknowledge it is He who does the sowing, the reaping, the saving, the healing, the transforming, and everything else and that we are given the honor of being the vehicle of His hands. 1 Corinthians 10:31 reads,
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
The reason we give our firstfruits to God is in response of what He has given us and who He has made us to be. Verses 5-11 read,
And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. 11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
 
Are you the same person you were when you were saved? I hope not. God took you and sanctified you, He set you apart like He set Abraham apart. He took you out of slavery, through suffering, and brought you to eternal life. He miraculously saved you. Each time we give, we respond to God and say, “You gave me all this, you saved me, you transformed me, so I am giving back to you the firstfruits of your harvest.” Tithing is a joyful experience. God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 reads,
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever.”

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
 
Sharing the fruits of labor with those who need it is a reason to feast with them. God did not give us our money and provision for us alone. He gave it to us, the Levite (who represents the church and clergy), and the sojourner, the wanderer who has not yet made it home. He gave us all He has so that we can be generous to the poor, the church, the lost, and so that we could enjoy it too. Verses 12-16 read,
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
 
When we give, we are supposed to make sure we have already dealt with the sin in our lives. God doesn’t want the tithes of the lost. He doesn’t need their money. When they give it is out of self-veneration not worship to God. When we give, it is not to make us good. It is not a guilt offering. It is because God made us righteous, because we were cleansed by Jesus blood, and indwelled with the Holy Spirit. God does not forgive sins because we give; we give because He forgave our sins. And He tells us to ask for blessings when we give! Seriously! We don’t give because He will bless, but He does bless us when we give with the right attitude and reasons.
Giving our firstfruits is our response to The Lord for giving us His firstfruits. He gave His only begotten Son, so we could become His sons and daughters. He imbued us with His Nature. He made us new. He brought us out of slavery, through suffering in the wilderness, to eternal life. He gave us everything and we respond to Him by giving back the first and the best. We acknowledge it is not ours and not for us alone. It is His and for His glory, to make Him known. Yes, we do it because He commanded we do it, but we do it knowing the reason and purpose. Verses 16-19 read,
This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.
 
Believer, you are God’s treasured possession. He has made you holy as He is holy. You are meant to stand out in the world because of your love, devotion to the Lord, and your faith. Giving Him His tithe shows the world how great He is, how cherished you are and beloved they are.
The tithe is more than something we do each paycheck; it is a joyful response to the Lord for who He is and who He has made you to be. It provides for the poor and for the clergy. It shows your faith and proves you are adored by The Lord. It gives people a picture of salvation and makes The Lord known. Believer, I encourage you, the next time you put your check in the plate, or click “pay now” for your tithe to remember who God is and who He has made you. I encourage you to prayerfully acknowledge your gratitude and awareness of the miracle of salvation. I encourage you to remember your money and provision are not for you alone. It is for you, the church, the sojourner, the widow, the poor, and the orphan. It is for God’s work and He has given you the honor of participating in it. Let it be a celebration for God’s fame and glory.
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Deuteronomy 12 Worship The Lord Your God, not Worship the Lord, You’re God

3/5/2016

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And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47
Deuteronomy 12
There seems to be a common thought today that it does not matter how or where one worships God; however and wherever one chooses to worship is okay. This is the excuse for going to the beach, the farmer’s market, the theme park, or anywhere else instead of fellowshipping and studing the word of God. Which of the activities that you are doing are constituting your worship? Is it buying tomatoes, jogging, pushing your child on a swing, or eating ice cream? I have worshipped at the beach, on a hike, or sitting on the front porch. I have done things at the farmer’s market, the theme park, and the restaurant that would please God. I do strive to live a life of worship. But living a life of worship does not preclude The Lord’s commands regarding worship.
Under the Old Covenant there were specific rules for worship and under the New Covenant there are still some commandments that pertain to worship. The Lord knew Israel would be tempted to worship in ways that were abhorrent to Him. He had laid down the Law very specifically and now He had Moses remind Israel about the Law before they went in to take the Promised Land. Verses 1-7 read,
“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2 You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place.4 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. 5 But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, 6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.”
First Israel had to destroy every vestige of idolatry in their new country. They had to completely obliterate all the altars, Asherim poles, and idols. You and I too when we come to the Lord are to abolish our old way of life, our idolatry, remove ourselves as regent of our heart and make Jesus the Lord of our lives.
Israel was told that there would be one place of worship, one city where God would put His name and he would inhabit that place. That was where they would place the Tabernacle and worship. I can hear you protesting now, “but today believers are the Temple of God!” Yes, that is true, we are. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says,
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
You are God’s holy temple but that doesn’t mean that you can call any practice you do, worship. A temple can be desecrated with unholy practices. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 says it this way,
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
You can go into the world and you can eat what you like and do what you like, beneficial or detrimental and not be defiled. Other people cannot defile you. You can defile you though. Jesus explained it this way in Matthew 15:16-20,
“And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
Your words, your choices, your actions can defile you. Your heart can defile you. What you say and do reveals who sits on the throne of your heart, The One True God or you. If you sit on the throne, you are desecrating the temple with idolatry. The world says, “If it’s right for me, it’s right.” That is the I-theism of Satanism. If you think something is right, it does not make it right. God is The LORD. There is one Truth, one Way, and one Life; He is Jesus Christ. How can there be multiple truths? Verses 8-19 read,
“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11 then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. 12 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.13 Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, 14 but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.
15 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the deer. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, 18 but you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place that the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake.19 Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.”
God gave you His name. He indwelled you. He gave you His rest. He chose to make you His Temple. And so anywhere you go can be a place of worship and should be. Worship is meant to be joyful. But it is also meant to include certain aspects. We bring the Lord offerings. We bring sacrifices. In Hebrews 13:14-18, the author wrote,
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.”
Praise, doing good, and sharing are sacrifices pleasing to God. All those things require “one anothers” to do. Who are we acknowledging Christ to if we are alone? Furthermore, the author tells us to obey and submit to leaders. We have to be in a local body to have leaders to submit to.
Many things we do can be done as worship, but not every act is an act of worship. Calling an act worship doesn’t make it worship. As you play beach volleyball are you really worshipping the Lord? Is riding a rollercoaster an offering to God? Is reaching the finish line of a race truly exalting the Lord? None of those things are sinful. The sin comes when you tell yourself that you are worshipping God by doing them. Some of those things can be worship, but don’t lie to yourself about it. You can’t lie to God about your motivations, don’t lie to yourself.
Even eating a meal can be worship to God. Slapping a ritually spoken “God bless this food” doesn’t make it worship, but the attitude it is done with. But there are some aspects of worship that must be done as The Lord prescribed or they become twisted into idolatry. Verses 20-28 read,
 “When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. 21 If the place that the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, then you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. 22 Just as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it. The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 25 You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26 But the holy things that are due from you, and your vow offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to the place that the Lord will choose, 27 and offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat. 28 Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.”
So going to the beach instead of church is not worshipping the Lord. Going to the beach as church can be worship. Since you are the Temple of God, you can bring the holy things with you. You can bring your offerings and sacrifices with you and do them at the beach, on the mountain, or at a park. Why is going to any of those places instead of church not worship? Because the Lord has set and approved certain acts of corporate worship and He expects us to worship together regularly. Hebrews 10:19-25 describes a lifestyle of worship.
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
We are also given guidelines for the way our corporate worship should flow. Read it and consider if you are obeying your Lord when you skip church to worship the Lord elsewhere. 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 reads,
“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,”
Acts 2:42-47 also describes the way fellowship should look. We are expected to be devoted to the teaching of the apostles (the scriptures), fellowship, breaking of bread (The Lord’s Supper), and prayers.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
It is too easy to think that because we are the temple of God we can do whatever feels right and call it worship. Putting the sun, nature, a comfortable bed, or a TV show ahead of The Lord and the fellowship of brothers is worshipping those things. It is idolatry. Verses 29-32 read,
“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”
Get rid of every last trace of idolatry, of your old self and do not give into the world’s idea of worship. The world is not your church. The beach is not your temple. The Lord is not in the forest. He is either sitting on the throne of your heart or you are. Be careful. Look how easy it is to accept false doctrines as true, how long before worshipping the way the world worships becomes something as monstrous as sacrificing children or as detestable as sex slavery? Don’t even look into why Joe Schmo says he can worship his god anywhere because the whole world is the temple of god.
Believer, consider who it is you are worshipping. Are you an I-theist, doing what pleases you or are you a child of God doing what pleases your Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and Wonderful Counselor?
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You are Never Alone

10/29/2015

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Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
I’m not sure about you but there are times when I feel very alone. I feel the need to talk to someone and can’t think of a solitary person to call. It is a lie, that I am alone. It is an attack the enemy tries on me time and again. But I know the truth. Believer, I hope you know the truth too. You are not alone. Is the enemy telling you that you have no friends. He’s a liar,  
In John 15:14-16 Jesus said,
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”
Consider that! Jesus Christ, The Lord of Heaven and Earth, the One True god and King of kings not only calls you a friend, but He chose you to be His friend. And God is always with you. No matter what you go through or what you do, God will never abandon you. You may walk away from Him, but He won’t give up on you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 records that promise.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
God is holding onto you. You are safe in His Hands. And there is nothing and no one that can force you away from Him. In John 10:27-30, Jesus said,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
You can talk to Him anytime.  God is always there for you. He wants you to talk to Him. He understands and He wants to help. In Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus is described as our High Priest, those verses say,
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
God is with you, not just close to you, not only near to you but actually in you! John 14:15-20 reads
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
That is amazing! Believer, you do not have to feel alone, God is with you. He is in you and you can talk to Him anytime about anything.
I am not knocking the importance of friends or fellowship. The Bible has a lot to say about that as well. You are an important part of the Body of Christ, the church. You have Sisters and Brothers all over the world. We are commanded to love one another, (John 13:34-35), hangout with one another, praise God together, go to church together, (Hebrews 10:24-25), help each other (Galatians 6:2), and be united in mind and Spirit. (1 Peter 3:8).
If you do not have a church family, you are missing out on a huge part of your Christian walk. I encourage you to find a church and become a part of them. My church family are some of the most important people in my life. We don’t just meet once or twice a week for “church”, we enjoy life together. They are my friends, my brothers and sisters, they are people who I could not live without.
Don’t give into the lie of loneliness, when the fact is, as a child of God, you are NEVER alone. And if you are not content with having The Lord of Lords as your friend, you will never be content with anything. This is a beautiful promise, and truth. Praise God for His friendship.
 
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1 Thessalonians 3 You are not Meant to Walk Alone

8/27/2015

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Iron sharpens iron,     and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 On photo of Merri and Me by Donna Campbell
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 On photo of Merri and Me by Donna Campbell
1 Thessalonians 3

Believer, you are not meant to go it alone. Following Christ and walking in the Spirit is meant to be done with other believers. New Christians especially need to become a member of a faith community. We have a duty to those people who we have led to Jesus to disciple them. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our fellow believers to be together in a community to teach one another, edify one another, and over all love one another.

When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he was torn up about not being able to go to them and disciple them. He understood the need for teaching, guidance, and mentoring of believer to believer. Paul knew it was important to send someone to the churches he had planted. And though he couldn’t go himself, he sent Timothy.

Why do we need fellowship of believers? There are a few reasons. The first is we suffer. Verses 1-4 read,

“Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.”

When we suffer, whether physical illness, oppression, spiritual battle or anything else, fellowship with other Spirit-filled people comforts us and lets us see the bigger picture. Our suffering doesn’t (or at least shouldn’t) bring others down and cause them to suffer as well. Camaraderie lightens our burden helps us get through it, and teaches us and our church.

When you are going it alone and you suffer, there is no one there to give you the wisdom of The Holy Spirit when you can’t hear him through your pain. There is no one to share the load with you. A new believer can become so discouraged that he doesn’t let the Word of God take root in his heart. He can choose to reject Jesus because he doesn’t understand that we all suffer or why he was being attacked. The person led to Christ yesterday but not given a church body is left an orphan who has a slim chance of maturing to the image of Christ. Verse 5 reads,

“For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.”

The church at Thessalonica needed mentoring and so do every one of us. Paul needed Christian partners and so do we. Paul sent Timothy to the Thessalonians to ensure they were maturing, and probably to set up a system of leadership in the church and ensure they would continue to grow in Christ. When Timothy returned to Paul, he had good news. Verses 6-8 read,

“But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.”

We need each other to teach one another, to get to know God more and more. Verses 9-10 read,

“For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?”

Proverbs 27:17 says it this way,

“Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.”


We need each other because our corporate prayer, worship, and studying blesses The Lord and blesses us. We can see what Jesus is doing in our lives and the lives of one another. Our thanksgiving, worship, praise and prayers increase exponentially. As our love for God increases so does our love for each other. It all multiplies by leaps and bounds when we are in it together.  Verses 11-13 read,

“Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”

We are waiting for Jesus to return, we are waiting for New Jerusalem, but we have eternal life now. One day we will be perfected, but now we walk in increasing glory of Jesus. We do that together, not alone. The Holy Spirit is in us, making us a union that cannot be easily broken. When we are together He is that much more among us.

When a person is walking alone there is no one to comfort, encourage, edify or work with. If he has a question he can ask God but will He recognize the answer? Or will the father of lies answer first and lead the person further away from Jesus. Who will keep him accountable?

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Psalm 84 The Honor of Being in the Presence of The Lord.

8/13/2015

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Psalm 84

In the days of the Old Covenant, being in the courts of God meant coming close to Him, worshipping, and hearing His Word. The closest they could come to God was the courts of the tabernacle or temple. The priests could go closer, and only the high priest could enter God’s presence very carefully. Only the prophets could hear from The Lord and translate His words to the people.

Today, believers are in the presence of God all the time! He indwells us, He surrounds us, He is with us. But even though He is always with us, we may not choose to acknowledge it by entering His courts, by entreating Him, worshipping Him, and listening to Him. It is a wonderful privilege to enter His courts.

Not just anyone can enter the king’s courts, they have to be invited. Even those closest to the king, their wife or their child, have to be called into his presence. Our King Jesus invites everyone into His courts, but how few hear the summons? How few take the honor seriously and enter by His invitation? Verses 1-2 read,

“How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.”


The first thing I note in these verses is God referred to as The Lord of Hosts, The God of Angel Armies. I picture Him as supreme above the fearsome multitudes of angels, our noble Warrior King. Properly replying to His summons requires us to want to enter His courts. When we first came to the Lord, we longed for Him. We were desperate for Him. We understood the difference between life with and without Him. We should keep that same love for Him now that we had then. He has not become any less the Living Dynamic Loving Lord, it is us who became less eager and determined. Jesus spoke through John to the church in Ephesus about this in Revelation 2:2-7, verses 3-5 of that passage say,

“I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

If we have forgotten our original passion for Christ, perhaps we need to reflect on our sin and on His passion for us. Our sins were enough that He endured horrific torture and terrible death for us. Our Warrior King, our Noble Holy Righteous King put aside His rights as God so that we could enter His courts and make our home with Him. Verses 3-4 read,

“Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah”


God’s house, Bethel was originally the place where Jacob met with God. (Genesis 28:18-22). It was not just a place, it was Jacob’s mindset of peace and relationship with God. Then God’s house became the tabernacle. His presence rested on the Mercy Seat of the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:33-34). When the temple was built, the Lord resided there. (1 Kings 8:10-13). But today, God’s house is not a place or a building. God lives in His children, the hearts of the church. God’s house is not a church building, God’s house is His church. We are His dwelling place. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 says,

“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”


And in eternity, in New Jerusalem, He will be with us and among us as well. Revelation 21:2-4 describes it,

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Sin is now the only barrier between people and God and for the believer, He has eradicated sin forever! Nothing stands between us. We are in His presence. That calls for joyful worship, jubilant praise, and glad thanksgiving.

Does it bolster your faith to know that no matter what The Father is with you, regardless of circumstances, Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, and whatever happens The Holy Spirit will never leave you? Knowing that fills us with joy and even in the most difficult situations, we are strong, not because of our own strength but because of The Lord, our King, our Almighty. We can persist not because of our own perseverance but because of our Father, our Savior, our Comforter. Verses 5-9 read,

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.


8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!”


Do we ever have to wonder if God hears our prayers? No, of course He hears them, He lives not only in Heaven, but within our hearts and spirits, where our prayers originate. He hears them before we have spoken them. He knows the words before we form them and even if we never can manage to put words to our cries. Isaiah 65:24 says,

“Before they call I will answer;
    while they are yet speaking I will hear.”


When we pray, God doesn’t look at us and see our corruption, He looks at us and sees the face of Jesus. He looks at us and sees Jesus’ righteousness. Jesus is our mediator, our intercessor between us and The Father. 1 Timothy 2:3-6 says

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time”

Think back to before you were saved. Consider your happiest moments from those days. Do they compare with the unadulterated joy of worshipping the Lord? Does the happiness of that time match the exquisite bliss of salvation?  Verses 10-12 read,

“For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you!”


Believer, I encourage you to remember the perfect delight and fiery elation of salvation. Consider what an honor it is to be in the court of the King of kings. Reflect on the immense privilege of not only being with God in His house, but actually being His dwelling place.

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Philippians 1:1-11 When One Suffers, We All Suffer. Pursue Godliness Together.

4/11/2015

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Philippians Chapter 1 Verses 1-11

Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi begins with an affectionate note. Verses 3-5 reads,

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

Paul not only thinks about the church but whenever he does, he prays for them and thanks God for them. Do we do that for one another? Regardless if we know the intimate details of a brother’s life, we can and should pray for him. We are one with our fellow brothers and sisters united in Christ and partners in our mission to make disciples.

We know too that our brothers and sisters are suffering. We know that because they are on the same path we are, and it is filled with suffering, trials, hardships, and other tribulations meant to transform us, strengthen us, and glorify Jesus. The encouragement we can give to one another is priceless. It is such a good thing to know we are not alone in our struggles and someone is praying for us.

Those struggles have a purpose. They mature us and strengthen us in Christ, they bring us closer to the Lord and they transform us to His image. Verse 6 reads,

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

It is a good work that the Spirit is doing in us. That work ought to be evident. One day that work will be completed. We will be completely transformed in an instant, but for now we praise God, we rejoice that we are being transformed. Each day we are more mature, steadfast, patient, kind, joyful, and loving. Each day we look a little more like Jesus.

That is part of the grace we received from God. He forgave us. Jesus covered us in His righteousness. And the Spirit conforms us to Jesus. When one of our fellowship suffers, we suffer with him. When another rejoices we rejoice with her. We are one, united and sharing the same Spirit, God’s Awesome Holy Spirit.

Paul was in prison. Prison was a horrible place to be, yet he understood the reason he was there and he was acutely aware of all the good coming from it. He also knew that his beloved children in the churches he had planted loved him and were praying with him. The church at Philippi was not in prison but they like Paul used the situation to grow closer to God and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Verses 7-8 say,

“It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

The church was one with Paul and because of that he knew that they suffered with him over his imprisonment and they understood the good coming from it. He also knew that they were not letting his punishment stop them from defending and confirming the gospel, in fact they used Paul’s incarceration to uphold and prove the Gospel.

Paul encouraged the church to actively and deliberately pursue godliness. Verses 9-11 read,

 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

As the Spirit transforms us, we show more and more of the characteristics of Jesus that we call the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of righteousness. But we have to exercise those traits to show them. We have be patient, we have to have faith, and we have to be kind. These are intentional choices made possible because we have the Holy Spirit and we have God’s grace, and Jesus’ righteousness. Paul encouraged the church to abound or overflow, proliferate and thrive in love more and more.

He also included that that love should be accompanied by knowledge and discernment. Knowledge of God and His word is key to being able to love like He does. Discernment is vital to our maturity and to remaining steadfast and on the right path. It keeps us following the truth and revealing the truth instead of falling victim to heresies.

We, the church are united. We, in our local church are knit together tightly. We are responsible for one another. We are not all at the same place on the road to maturity. Some of us have more discernment, some have studied the Bible much more, and some know God on a much deeper level than others. Since we flourish in love for one another, we aren’t going to allow the weaker to follow the wrong path because their wisdom or discernment isn’t as developed as ours. We are going to trust the elder when he exhorts us, teaches us, and guides us.

Remember, we are in this together. If one of us is suffering, we all are. We all face trials of various kinds. We have one another. We pray for one another, we cry with one another, we rejoice with one another. We grow together increasing ever more in love, knowledge and discernment. We are not alone. We have one another. We have our Lord.

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2 John 1:1-3 To Love One Another in Truth, One Must Be Part of a Church.

1/24/2015

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2 John Verses 1-3

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be a part of a wonderful living church. My brothers and sisters in Christ are there for me through everything I go through, just as I strive to be there for them through their struggles. Because God is in us, when we come together the Spirit is able to minister to each of us in multilayered ways. He does His work from within us as well as through our fellow believers. Iron sharpens Iron.[1] He uses our brothers and sisters to encourage, exhort, teach, comfort, speak, and otherwise love in all the ways that Jesus loves.

Believer, if you are not part of a local church, you are missing out on a great deal of what it means to follow Jesus. You are missing out on chances to mature, glorify, serve, comfort, and love and be loved.

In John’s second epistle John addressed his letter to the elect lady and her children. Many people believe he was writing to a church. I believe this is probably the case, perhaps a woman who hosted a church in her home and the many spiritual children born from God’s love exercised through it, or perhaps some of her physical children who also were believers.

He begins the letter with the address and an encouragement.

“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.”

John loved this lady and her children in truth. That is He loves her genuinely through the truth of Christ. Not just as a spoken token of affection, but concretely. And John added, not only he loved her that way, but also all of those who know the truth, the actuality of Jesus Christ, God, our Father, and His awesome Holy Spirit.

Why and how could he claim that not only he loved her in just a deep way but also speak for the rest of the believers? Because He knew the same Spirit that abided in him, also resided in the other believers. Because the truth, that same truth I just described, abides in us and will be with us forever. That is God! God abides in us because His truth abides in us.[2] We believe what He says about Himself, because He made us able to understand and believe. Because He is in us, we can and do love all the brothers and sisters in Christ. We recognize each other through the Spirit and we love one another. We love one another not through spoken tokens of affection but in truth, in reality.

Solid love is demonstrated through grace, mercy and peace. God gave them to us in love and we share them with one another through Him.

Grace is receiving something good we do not deserve. Grace is forgiveness and acceptance regardless of doing a single thing to warrant it. If we have received grace, we ought to be graceful toward each other. What right do we have to expect someone to merit our love when we did nothing and could do nothing to earn God’s love?

Not receiving something bad that we do deserve is mercy. God doesn’t condemn us, even though we deserve it. How can we blame and punish one another when God doesn’t condemn us?

Peace is a relationship of unity and harmony, joined together as one. We are at peace with God, through Christ. We are one with Him and we are supposed to be that united with one another. We are one body, one Spirit with one God.

I urge you today, if you do not have brothers and sisters in Christ to share your life with to find a local church and join it. Live fully the life God means for you to live. I exhort you, if you are a member of a local body to love your brothers and sisters in truth, fully, actually and actively. You can’t walk as Jesus walked if you walk alone. Jesus didn’t. God Himself exemplifies this is His Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Spirit.



[1] Proverbs 27:17


[2] Isaiah 65:16, John 14:16, John 16:13


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Ephesians 5:22-33 Wives submit to your own husbands is just the beginning of the story.

11/3/2014

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This chapter section is entitled “Wives and Husbands” and I know that I personally have skimmed it because I didn’t feel it pertained to me since I am single. But it does affect me. I know some people who felt it did concern them but misused it, or ignored it because they didn’t like what it said. But they are reading it through fleshly eyes and not spiritual eyes.

Verses 22-24 read,

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”

Are the more barbarous husbands cheering? Are the feminists groaning? Let’s dig in together and find out what this means. Verse 32 reads,

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

God gave us marriage as a picture of Christ and the church. The church is often referred to as the Bride of Christ. We are His beloved bride and He is our Redeemer and Bridegroom. So when wives are commanded to submit to their husbands as the head, they are being commanded to reflect the relationship they have with Christ.

Does Jesus order us about and make life difficult? Does He shout and yell to get His way? Does He force His will on ours? Never. Submission to Christ is easy, because we know He loves us deeply and completely. We know He wants what is best for us. We let Him do the leading, because He is leading us into a deeper relationship with Him, He is leading us to a place of spiritual purity, and He is leading us down a path that requires a guide. We couldn’t go there without Him.

We serve Him out of joy and gratitude. We gladly do what we can for Him. He gives is gifts, we use them for Him. We honor Him as our Lord and leader. We don’t nag. We don’t tell Him His ways are wrong. We lean on Him and depend on Him. Are you doing the same for your husband? Do you openly listen to him and follow his lead?

It is easier for us to grasp the idea of submission when we can see a concrete example of it. Marriage provides that illustration. When you are married, you understand that you have to give up many of the desires you had before you joined your life to another. You get better goals in return. Did you always want to visit Machu Picchu when you were single? Getting married meant that you might have had to sacrifice that dream because your budget couldn’t save for a home and travel to exotic places. You gave up Machu Picchu and took the family to Disney World instead. Would you really rather have remained single and childless in order to see some mountain? Disney World with your husband and children is probably something you would never give up now, even if you never thought you wanted it before.

Submission to Christ is like that. We give Him the reigns of our lives. We find that things we used to want get changed and we want what He wants. He gives us new, better, different opportunities and experiences we would never have known before we followed Him. I lived my life desperate to be a wife and mother. But in submission to Jesus that dream dissipated and now I am an author, I have a street ministry, a blog, a volunteer position, and the honor of helping my parents in their home. Had I been married, I couldn’t have done any of those things the way I do them now. My old goal is gone replaced with a better path.

The Neanderthals that quote verses 22-24 to their wives like to ignore the next section. While wives are told to submit to husbands as the church to Christ, husbands are commanded to love their wives like Christ loves the church. To me, it seems the husbands have much more to do and live up to in this relationship. Verse 25 reads,

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”

How did Jesus love the church? He gave up His godhood and humbled Himself to be born a man. He lived perfectly. He served people. He sacrificed His life. Husbands do you love your wife like that? Are you the king of your home, expecting to be treated as such? Or are you like Jesus humble and gentle and serving? Do you endeavor to imitate God and follow Jesus completely so that you can lead your wife properly? Are you your wife’s redeemer? Do you protect, rescue, and provide for her completely? Does she need to nag you? Or do you actively listen to her and give her what she needs (including your friendship)?

Jesus’ love for us sanctified us and made us able to receive the rewards of the promise of eternity. His love for us made us like Him, perfect and without blemish. Even though we are flawed, Jesus love sees us through the cover of His blood and we are made worthy to have a relationship with God.

Jesus’ love for us guides us into more wisdom and conformity to His image. The longer we are in the relationship, the more we look like Him and behave like Him. Do you act and behave in a way that you want your wife to act? Do you lead by example?

Jesus’ love leads us into a continually deepening relationship with Him. His love is so big, so all encompassing and amazing. His love causes us to love Him more and more. Husbands, does your love for your wife cause her to love you more every day or make her regret the choice to marry you? Do you speak together often? Do you watch out for her, keep her safe and provided for? Jesus’ love for you does that, your love for your wife should be the same.

Are you and your spouse united completely? Are you so united that you are one flesh and inseparable? Verses 28-31 read,

“In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Under the old covenant a man could divorce his wife if he chose to. Under the new covenant Jesus in Matthew 5:31-32 says, “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Under the new covenant, there is no divorce except for sexual immorality. You cannot be separated from communion with Christ and you cannot be separated from your spouse. Rather than divorce, you forgive, you work through the problems. You work out your marriage with sweat and perseverance. You can’t throw it away. Sexual immorality is grounds for divorce because sexual immorality is a sin against oneself. But even in that case, Jesus doesn’t divorce us. In fact in John 8:1-11 Jesus forgave an adulterous woman. In His example even adultery should be forgiven and divorce shouldn’t happen.

Jesus’ love forgave every sin and every flaw and sees us as perfect. Husband, does your love of your wife forgive her completely or does it hold onto infidelities and other transgressions? If it does then you are not loving your wife as Jesus loves you. For a more complete look at what Jesus love for you looks like read 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

Verses 32-33 end this chapter,

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband”

Both husbands and wives have an active role in the relationship with one another. Just as in our relationship with God, we and Jesus have active roles. Submit to Jesus. Respect Him. And remember that you are the temple of God. He resides in you and you are the demonstration of Jesus to the world. So love others the way Jesus loves you.

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Ephesians 2:11-22 If you are united with Christ, you are united with the church. 

10/26/2014

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Ephesians 2 11-22

Believer, you are one with Christ. You and He are united. When He saved you, He put you to rights with Himself and bonded you with God. Now that you are reconciled to God through Christ, you are also joined with fellow believers as one. You are one of God’s children, His chosen people. You have become part of Israel. 1 Peter 2:9 reads,

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

That was not always the case. At one time we were separated from God, estranged from Christ, and apart from God’s people. Ephesians 2: 12 remind us of that.

“remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

We were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. We had no understanding of what it meant to belong to God. We had no hope without the promise of Jesus and His new covenant, a covenant that made a new nation for God, a new Israel out of the previous one. A commonwealth is a nation or state founded on law and united by an understanding and an agreement or covenant for the common good of the people. A commonwealth does not submit to an earthly king or government. It is governed by the people. Israel, God’s chosen people was founded on God’s law and given the freedom to govern themselves. When Jesus came and made a new covenant, the foundation of law did not change it was realized and He made a way for all people to choose citizenship amongst God’s nation.

Although the laws still stand, all the intricate rules and edicts added to those laws were abolished by Christ. Even better, Jesus made it possible to follow the law which is nearly impossible to follow by simplifying it for us. He reminded us that all the laws hinge on Loving God wholly and loving others wholly. (Matthew 22:36-40).

Verses 13-16 read,

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

Because we are able to be members of this commonwealth together, Jesus dissolved the walls that used to come between us. We are not separated by our differing cultures. Our backgrounds cannot divide us. We are a new race, God’s chosen race. We are united, wedded to one another and indivisible. When we cloud this unity by trying to rebuild the walls that Jesus destroyed, we are doing the work of the enemy. The little differences that come in and create division accomplish Satan’s desires and keep us from working toward the common good and God’s desire to bring all people to Salvation.

Keep in mind that salvation not only brings us peace with God, but it brings us peace with one another. He means for us to be united. How can we not be? We share a Father. We have a mutual King in our Lord Jesus. We have one Spirit. When you disrespect your Brother, you disregard God. You forget that His Spirit is him and insult the Lord. You are the temple of God. We are the temple of God.

God’s plan for us is communal as well. While He has very individual relationships with each of us, He has a corporate relationship with us as well. We are meant to grow together, work together, love one another, and love others together. We come from many different backgrounds but we all have the same future and same hope. Verses 17-22 read,

“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Don’t affront God by discounting the unison and harmony He gives us with one another. Just as we are united with God, He has bonded us to one another. So remember John 13:34-35.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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