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God so Loved Judas that He Gave His Only Begotten Son

2/4/2017

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But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,     slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.  Psalm 86:15
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15
​Have you read recently the story of Jesus washing the feet of His twelve chosen disciples?  It is recorded in John 13:1-20
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
 
Washing the feet of the twelve was a demonstration of love, humility, and service for us. An example that we should be willing to do what Jesus did. Here was God Almighty and He removed His garments and bent down and one by one washed the feet of the disciples. Those feet were caked with mud made up of dirt, dust, and excrement of various animals and people. The Son of God removed His garments and did the job saved for the lowest of house slaves. His heart must have swelled with love for each one as He carefully cleaned the filth from each one of His beloved friends’ feet. He knew that this was His last night of freedom and then He was going to be arrested and killed. His heart must have been broken with the sorrow of leaving these men who had been His close friends for three and half years.
The part that gets me is that Jesus washed Judas’ feet with just as much love and care as He did for other friends. Jesus’ deep love is so evident in this passage. He knew that Judas was going to betray Him. Yet, He washed his dirty dung covered feet. He loved Judas very much. He loved all the disciples. He washed all their feet knowing that each one of them was going to deny Him, betray Him, or abandon Him that night. He still loved them. If Judas had done what the other disciples did and come to God for forgiveness with repentance, he would have been forgiven just like the rest of the twelve. God did not reject Judas; Judas rejected God.
There is a myth based on Dante Alighieri’s Inferno that Judas resides in the deepest circle of Hell, a place reserved for the most evil sinners. According to the story, Judas is considered to be the vilest, most malevolent of any human. But Jesus loved Him dearly. Jesus loved him enough to die the most agonizing death known to mankind for him.
Think of the most evil person you can imagine. Is it a pedophile, a mass murderer, the corrupt dictator of some country, is it someone who hurt you in some horrific way? Now, realize this; God loves them profoundly. He loves them so much that He took off His Divine Robe and stepped into humanity and lived, died, and resurrected for that person to cleanse them of the filth of sin.
God is merciful, compassionate, and loving. One day His love will culminate in Justice as He avenges those of us who became His Bride. But He is mercifully and patiently waiting, giving them the chance to repent because of His deep love. If Holy Awesome God loves the wicked, what right do you and I have not to love them? Romans 5:5-8 reads,
and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Imagine if you could go through life and see people the way God sees them. Maybe you would see the man who is rude to you as a beloved masterpiece of the Creator who has no idea that Jesus is real and has never been shown mercy. You might see the self-righteous woman who spits hateful words at you as the broken and lost child who doesn’t know that the Father longs to be her All in All. Perhaps you would see that controlling and cruel boss as the man who was never disciplined with love and doesn’t know that Jesus loves Him and lived and died and lives again for Him. God loves them just as much as He loves you. He has given you the authority and power to love them as He loves them, to reveal Jesus Christ to them, and to give them the opportunity to accept Salvation. In Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
It’s not easy to love people who hate you. When an enemy makes you scrub the toilet, it is not easy nor pleasant to scrub the whole bathroom. When a person hurts you, it’s hard to hold back retaliation to the point that you even leave yourself open to him. Yet all these things are what Jesus wants from us, because He did it and does it. Jesus stood before Herod and Pilate and didn’t answer back or call the angel armies down on them; He let them call Him names, accuse Him of blasphemy, rip out His beard, and beat Him. Jesus loved Pilate and Herod just as much as He loves you, Billy Graham, or Mother Teresa. Who are we to think we are better than the LORD and hate someone He created? 1 John 4:7-12 says it like this,
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
God loves you. He adores you. He cherishes you. Nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:37-39). Once you were lost. Once you didn’t know Jesus wanted to be your Savior. He loved you then and He loves you now. Ephesians 2:1-10 reads,
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
 
If Jesus could love Judas so much, can’t you and I love the person who just wished a curse on us with vile language? If Jesus loves us, even though our sin required a death sentence, what right to we have not to love others?
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Traits of God Part 1: Love

7/26/2016

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Give thanks to the God of heaven,     for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:26 On photo of Shining Sun by Angie  Majewski
Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:26 On photo of Shining Sun by Angie Majewski
​Today we begin our study regarding the traits of God. The first characteristic that comes to mind for many is God’s love. That is not surprising since God is love.  1 John 4:8 reads,
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
When we put that verse into context we see even more about why love is such a significant aspect of who God is. 1 John 4:7-13 reads,
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
Without God, we cannot truly love, because love is from God. God proved his love, demonstrated it to us, when the Father sent His only Son so that we could live. John 3:16-17 says it this way,
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
 
We didn’t earn that salvation, we didn’t love God and He decided to reward that love. No, He loved us first, before we even heard of Him. He loved us before we were born. He loved us and came into the world to pay the price of our sin so we could live and so we could know Him. We didn’t have to stop sinning first before He loved us. He loved us already. Romans 5:6-11 in The Message describes it like this,
Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!
One thing that this relationship with God allows is our transformation to be like Jesus. Look back to 1 John 4:11-13, it reads,
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
 
The Father loves us so much, He sent His Son to give us life. Jesus loved us so much He was willing to die for us. The Holy Spirit loves us so much He is enmeshed with us to transform us into the image of Christ. If God loves us so much, we ought to be able to love each other, especially since his Spirit is in us making it possible. It is through our love of one another that people will recognize Jesus in us. It is through our loving that people will come to call on Jesus and be saved. John 13:34-35 reads,
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.
 
God’s love is pretty amazing. His love is perfect. It is something we all aspire to while we are here on this earth. And if we are able to love the way God loves, we won’t break any of God’s laws (Matthew 22:38-40). But how does God love? What is perfect love? I know you think you’ve read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a a million times, but read it again. Consider each phrase and ask yourself if you live up God-love or if you fall short in some areas. And know this, we all fall short of God’s perfection, but He loves us enough to forgive us by Jesus’ blood (Romans 3:23-25).
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
 
God’s love is powerful. It saves, as we have read above. 1 John 4:15-21 describes some of what God’s love does.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
 
We abide in Jesus and are perfected (we are made more and more like Jesus). We gain confidence and know that we have nothing to dread on Judgement Day. God’s love casts out fear. We have nothing to be afraid of and nothing to worry about. Romans 8:37-39 says,
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
Isn’t that awesome? Nothing can separate you from God’s love! Nothing can make God stop loving you. Not the devil, not another person, and not you. NOTHING! So today Believer, consider God’s love, bask in it and thank Him for His everlasting and steadfast complete love. And most of, pass it along to others.
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1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Please God More and More

7/21/2016

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And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment Philippians 1:9
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment Philippians 1:9
​1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
What is a life pleasing to God? As followers of Christ for? We desire to please God, but what is it that pleases Him? Today’s devotional answers that question. I’ve got good news, it is not a difficult thing to please God, who loves you so much. And wat God wants is not a secret. Verses 1-2 read,
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
 
What is it that God wants? He wants us to walk in His commandments. Leviticus 26:3-4 reads,
If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, 4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
This passage goes on to talk about all the great things God will do for us if we would only walk in His commandments. Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He left the apostles and disciples instructions for what He wanted from them and from us, He gave us what we call the Great Commission. A commission is an assignment, an official job or directive to be carried out. Our commission is recorded in Matthew 28:18-20.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
 
This is the job we have been given. Some of us do this, some of us don’t. Most of us leave this job to a few of us. Maybe we don’t feel qualified to go make disciples, maybe we don’t know what or how to teach them because we don’t know what Jesus commanded us to do. So let’s look at some of what Jesus commanded and taught us. Clearly we can’t cover everything in a morning devotional. But I trust you read your Bible every day and you will continue to read Jesus instructions for your life. The gospel of John is a great place to begin and Matthew chapters 5-7 are a great place to study. This is what we call the Sermon on the Mount and it can teach you things that will knock your world upside down. So this morning I will look at just a few of Jesus’ commandments for us. First we will read what Jesus said was the greatest commandment. He said there were actually two commandments to be obeyed because they are like one another, meaning that obeying one means we need to obey both. Matthew 22:37-40
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
He said that all the law and prophets, the entirety of Scripture was dependent on these two commandments. If we keep these two commandments we are pleasing God and we are walking in God’s commandments. I know though there are people who can get hung up on loving your neighbor. Who is your neighbor? (He answered this question in the parable of the Good Samaritan) They get caught up on the loving yourself part and elevate that above everything else the commandment says. Jesus know people would do that too. So He simplified the command for us. He took out he question of who our neighbor is, He took out the question of what it means to love. In John 15:12-17 Jesus said,
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.15 No longer do I call you 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. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
Some of the other commandments Jesus gave us that help us to be disciples and teach others to be disciples are to take the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:18-20). Pray (Matthew 21:13). Wait for His return (Matthew 24:42-44). And take care of the church, and the poor and those in need (John 21:15-16, Matthew 21:31-40). But above all of these commandments we are commanded to love as Jesus loves.
Following these commandments does more than we can imagine. They are key to making disciples of others but they also further our walk with God and please Him in a way that goes beyond our obedience. Verses 3-8 read,
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
 
It is God’s will for us to be sanctified. That means we become more and more righteous like Jesus, holy and noticeably different from the world. To not become more like Jesus, to stay where we are is to transgress, that is do wrong against our brothers and sisters. And who in the world will care to be like someone who is no different than they are?
How are we sanctified? How do we know if we are progressing forward in our walk with Jesus? How is your self-control? Is it better than it was yesterday? Can you leave that chocolate, cigarette, sex, or whatever your vice is, alone? Can you say no to it and mean it? Your self-control and ability not to give in to your passions and stomach are a thermometer of your maturity (sanctification) in Christ. We should always be moving forward. Verse one said we ought to be doing so more and more. Another thermometer of our sanctification is how we are keeping Jesus commandment to love one another. Verses 9-10 read,
Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,
 
Paul urges us to love one another more and more. Remember love is not just a mushy gushy feeling. You can tell me you love me all you want but unless there is some tangible evidence, unless there is some action on your part, your “love” means nothing to me. So are we loving more and more? Are we laying down our lives more and more? Are we giving, providing, bearing one another’s burdens, and supporting one another more and more? James 2:14-17 describes it this way,
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
 
Our tangible love, our ever-increasing sanctification, our faith is exhibited in the lives we lead. People shouldn’t look at our lives and think we are the same as they are Partying in the world or that we concerned with filling or lusts, desperate to fill our stomachs, or worried about anything. They should look at us and see quiet goodness, people who love another so that we have no unmet needs, people who are rejoicing in the Lord. Verses 11-12 read,
and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
 
This is what pleases God. Are we becoming more and more like Jesus every day? Are we loving one another more and more every day? Are we living quiet respectful lives which give people in the world nothing to accuse us of? If not, then right now, right here is the perfect time and place to start becoming more and more.
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1 Thessalonians 2 Evangelism: a Way of Life

7/1/2016

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I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 2 Corinthians 12:15
I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 2 Corinthians 12:15
​1 Thessalonians 2
Sharing Christ with people is more than telling someone a preplanned or memorized speech. Although if you do even that, I commend you for your effort to share the Gospel. We share Christ with people by the way we live our lives, offer ourselves, and love people. It is important that we understand the Gospel, are able to present it and defend it, but it is more important that we are able to live it.
When Paul went to Thessalonica, he did more than enter the city square and give a spiel. He showed up and represented Jesus Christ. This chapter describes how he did that and offers us guidance in sharing Jesus with whomever the Lord puts in our path. Verses 1-2 describe how Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica.
For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.
 
The Lord had ordained them to go to the city, they knew that it was not going to be fruitless. They went with a purpose, to share God’s Word. Paul live his life with that purpose. And that is never futile, even when we don’t see the results. Isaiah 55:10-11 says it like this,
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

 
It was not an easy task either. Paul said they had been shamefully treated at Philippi and went to Thessalonica anyway and didn’t have it any easier there. Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail in Philippi. Even through all the trouble there, people including Lydia and their prison guard had accepted Christ (Acts 16). In Thessalonica, many people were converted but the Jewish people became outraged and threated Paul and Silas’ life to the point where they had to be sent out of the city in the middle of the night to save their lives and the lives of the believers (Acts 17:1-10). But that conflict made the sincerity and zeal for the Gospel of Christ that much more apparent. Nothing would deter Paul from getting the truth to the lost.
Nothing has to deter us from sharing Jesus with anyone. What excuses do we use? It might be uncomfortable? The person may not want to hear it? They or we are busy? Jesus laid down His life in agony so you could be saved. Paul and every other apostle suffered prison and torture so people could be saved. All the apostles except for John were martyred in horrific fashion for the sake of the Gospel. Do you think maybe you and I can handle a person thinking we’re stupid or annoying in order to give them a chance to know the hope of Jesus and the love of their Father?
Verses 3-6 read,
For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.
 
Paul and Silas didn’t share the Gospel for their own glory. They didn’t do it so they would look good. Paul wasn’t saying to himself, “I want to be known as the greatest Christian of all time.” It is likely that Paul never even knew the great impact he had on Christianity. He certainly wasn’t being rewarded or made rich from his efforts.
I’ve seen so many people who have ministries and I wonder if they are doing that work to glorify the Lord or themselves. Although, God will use them for His purposes and doubtlessly there are people saved and helped through them, it seems to me that because they have become about themselves instead of Jesus. For some people ministry becomes about how great they are not about how great God is. If I can see that, I think that the deceived of the world see it too and they are not interested in hearing from a person who wants to glorify himself.
I picture a scene from Evita in which Eva Perón is building orphanages and giving charity to the needy of Argentina but it is all in her name, for her fame, and the sake of husband Juan Perón. The people receiving that charity were made to feel humiliated in order for Eva Perón to feel exalted. When we put ourselves in Jesus’ place of honor instead of exhibiting His humility we are not presenting the true Christ.
Presenting the Gospel is at its heart presenting Jesus. We should be the image of Christ to those around us. That means we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and expressing Him in His fruit and the picture of love read about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians 5:22-23,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
 
And the portrayal of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a reads,
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
 
Verses 7-8 describe what this meant to Paul,
 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Paul and Silas did more than preach and speak. They lived among the people, they formed a relationship with them. They shared themselves. They earnestly loved them. As they lived, they exemplified Christ. They didn’t behave in the flesh, they lived in the Spirit. Verses 9-12 read,
 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
There was no asking people to stop living one way, while they lived another. They lived in a way that no one could charge them with wrong. There was no way someone could accuse them of wanting money, lying, stealing, slothfulness, greedy, or immoral. They lived out the fruit of the Spirit and love and in that way they could exhort and encourage the new believers to walk in Christ.
Paul practiced what he preached. That is how and why the Thessalonians who accepted Christ could accept Him. They could believe the Gospel because they saw it being lived out. They could grow in Christ even when they had to send Paul and Silas to Berea because they could look at the churches around them and follow their example. They could see the difference between a Spirit-filled follower of Christ and the Pharisees of Judaism who hated Jesus.  Verses 13-16 read,
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
 
Paul didn’t simply make sure they were saved and abandon them. He kept tabs on them, he sent Timothy to check on them and he wrote them letters. He planned to come see them again. He maintained a relationship with them to ensure they were staying on the path of truth and not falling for the lies that would certainly be coming their way. Verses 17-20 read,
 
But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
 
Love is why we share Christ. Jesus’ glory and the glory of the kingdom of God is why we share the Gospel. The hope of eternity is why we follow Jesus and invite as many who will follow with us.
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1 Thessalonians 1 Genuine Encouragement Has Tangible Effects

6/30/2016

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But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13
​1 Thessalonians 1
Today, we will begin reading 1 Thessalonians. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica in Macedonia to encourage and exhort them after hearing Timothy’s report of the church from his visit (Acts 18:5). Verse 1 reads,
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
 
The letter was from Paul, Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy, who at the writing of this letter had been working with Paul about a year or so. Paul addresses the church and reminds them they are the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are supposed to remind each other who we are. We are the church, we are not the world. We are only the church because the Lord has saved us and made us the church. Paul also told the church he prayed for them. Verses 2-3 read,
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
As the church we should be praying for one another and we should encourage each other by that. Paul told them he prayed for them and was thankful to God for them. He could see the work of God active in their lives. He could see the evidence of their faith, the work of their love and the persistence of their hope. Those evidences are tangible. Do people know about your faith, love, and hope because it is apparent in the way you live your life and affect the kingdom or do they know about it because you tell them? Saying I love you is very different from actually loving. Saying you have faith is not the same as exercising that faith. James described it this way in James 2:15-17,
 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
 
As Paul taught this church, he gave them the positive reinforcements they needed to know they were on the right track. So we as a united church ought to do for one another. If we follow Paul’s example we can let each other know, “I’m praying for you, brother. Your hard work is not going unnoticed. I am inspired by your faith.” What does it mean for you, when you hear encouragement like that? Imagine what genuine assurance does for others as well.
We are the church, not by accident, not by chance but by the will of God. Verses 4-7 read,
 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
 
Do you know how special it is to be among God’s chosen? Believer, we are not among the world any longer. We heard the Gospel, we believed it, and we accepted it. We are not like the world or in the world, we are in the church and so we should look and behave like Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Those who are more mature should be training the less mature. We should be supporting one another in our walk in Christ.
As we live that way together making disciples of each other, we grow and the word spreads. People outside the local church take note and we encourage more believers. The word also spreads to others. The world takes note, they see the Gospel lived out, they hear it and they have a chance to accept God’s election on their lives and believe. Verses 8-10 read,
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
 
Genuine love, faith, and hope lived out among us has an impact. When we palpably and substantially love each other, when we care enough to encourage and exhort one another it doesn’t stay within our little groups, it spreads exponentially.
Jesus is returning one day. I believe it is going to be soon. But regardless how little or much time there is, there are too many people who have not heard the Father’s call, known the love of Jesus or seen the work of the Holy Spirit. We can change that by intentionally and sincerely living out our faith, love, and hope.
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Genesis 3 God’s Perfect Love seen in The Fall

6/3/2016

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He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19
He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19
​Genesis 3
The account of The Fall illustrates God’s deep and absolute love of us, His masterpiece of creation. In chapter two before woman had been created God told Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). After God made the woman chapter 2 ends with verse 25.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
There was no need for them to be ashamed because they didn’t know good and evil, only good. They were living in perfect harmony with God. There was no need for them to hide anything of themselves from each other or from God. They had no sin.  Chapter 3 verses 1-6 reads,
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
 
The serpent was craftier than any other animal on land. Satan chose to enter into a snake because the snake was cunning and deceitful. Snakes are excellent at hiding, laying in waiting for their prey, and scaring people. Now at this point serpents were different than they are now, they probably had legs or some other way of moving that didn’t require them to slither on the ground and they didn’t yet eat meat. No humans nor animals ate meat yet (Genesis 1:29-30).[i]
Satan enters into beings that will suit his purpose. He needed the serpent’s deceitfulness because he needed to deceive Adam and his wife with a clever ruse. Both Adam and the woman were there, but the serpent addressed the woman. The serpent began with a question, one which would lead the woman to engage him because she would want to correct him in order to point out how good God is. The serpent said, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” The serpent knew this wasn’t true but knew the man and woman would want to argue for God’s sake.
Isn’t that how he often engages us? An enemy of God, a false teacher, false prophet, or person in a false religion will state some obviously wrong doctrine, and there we are the “good Christians” defending God as if God cannot defend Himself.
And of course the woman answered the serpent and corrected him, “We can eat from any tree but that one because if we eat it, we’ll die.” Now she was engaged in the exchange. So the serpent said, “No! God’s deceiving you! If you eat this you won’t die, you’ll know what He knows and you’ll be like him!” Why didn’t Adam speak up for his wife at this point? God had told Adam His commandment, Adam had told his wife. Why didn’t he take his wife’s hand and take her far away from the serpent? Because he was listening, he was interested, he was just as involved in the conversation as she was.
So then the couple looked at the tree in a new light. It was the same tree they saw every day, but now they saw it through deception and temptation. It looked like something to be desired. They wanted to be like God and they ate.
And sure enough, they knew both good and evil and they began to die. Before they ate the fruit, they would have lived eternally, never dying, not even aging. But they traded immortality for mortality. They traded righteousness, which made them like God for the knowledge of good and evil which they thought would make them like God. Verses 7-10 read,
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
 Their eyes opened and they became responsible for right and wrong. They had been naked all along but now their eyes were open to their sin, and they were ashamed. They had to hide their nakedness from one another and they had to hide it from God.  They were afraid. God knew what they had done and where they were but in His kindness, He called to them and let them come to Him and confess. Verses 11-13 read,
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The man blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. How did God respond to each of them in this sin? First, He had to give them the consequences of the sin. He had to discipline them because He loved them. God disciplines those He loves (Proverbs 3:12). Verses 14-16 record the serpent’s curse.
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

 
The snake who let Satan enter him was cursed. He lost his legs or whatever other form of mobility he may have had and had to slither across the ground. There was enmity between him and the woman and all mankind after her.  At this point in history there was no enmity between any other creature and man.[ii] Who do we blame for sin? We blame the serpent for tempting the woman. The serpent has become synonymous with temptation, sin, and evil. The serpent can be crushed by man stepping on his head, and the serpent can injure and some can poison man by biting his heel (where he can reach). Likewise Jesus Christ the man crushed Satan on the cross and Satan does his best to injure and poison mankind. He is powerless to do more than try and hurt children protected by the Holy Spirit.
Verse 16 is God’s discipline of the woman,
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
    and he shall rule over you.”

Not only was childbirth, which is such an honor of being woman made into something very painful, but women do long for their husbands. Women have a desire to please men and because of that they often take a subservient role to men. Many women dress provocatively to tantalize men. The desire seems to go both ways. Men lust after women and women after men. Verses 17-20 read,
 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
 
In a relationship with God, we know that God is our All-Sufficient All-Powerful Provider. Outside that relationship we struggle and work, we sweat and toil to provide for ourselves. Men especially feel the need to provide, to solve every problem, and to do things for themselves.
The results of eating the fruit were also death. Man was created from the dust and after his death his body slowly becomes dust again. It was at this point that the woman got her name. She would have to suffer in childbirth, but she was honored as a mother and named Eve.
God did these things because He loved Adam and Eve but He didn’t stop there. He loved enough to meet their every need, even the ones that arose from their own sin. Verse 21 records an act that can be so easily overlooked but it is an expression of deep love.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
They were naked and they were ashamed. God gave them clothes to take away their shame. Where did God get the skin that He used to make clothes for Adam and Eve? He spilled the blood of an animal. He made them clothes, not just loin cloths but clothes. He forgave their sin. Zechariah 3:4 is just one of the many verses in the Bible that refer to new clothes in place of old as representing forgiveness of sin. It reads,
And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
God was not finished expressing His love, even in the light of Adam and Eve’s sin. Verses 22-24 read,
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
What looks like part of a punishment to some was really an act of love and protection. If man lived forever with the ability to sin, he would forever be separated from God, forever living under the curse of sin. He forever protected mankind from eating from the Tree of Life and living eternally without Jesus. What a wonderful God!
And in case you are curious, we will one day have access again to that Tree. When we are united forever with The Lord in New Jerusalem on the New Earth, The Tree of Life will be there, on the banks of the River of Life and we will be free to eat of it, because we will be perfect, no longer under the curse of sin You can read about it Revelation 2:1-3.
This chapter gave us so much to consider. So reflect. Remember God loves you deeply. He wouldn’t discipline you if He didn’t. What seems bad can be good, and what is difficult can bring honor. God loves you enough to make a way out of sin and shame. And lastly, look at your relationship with Satan. If there is one there. Stop it. Do not engage with the deceiver any more. Jesus doesn’t need you to fight the devil or defend Him to the enemy. He already defeated Him. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).


[i] People were given animals as food after the Flood per Genesis 9:2-3

[ii] Genesis 9:2-3 after the flood is the same time when there was fear and enmity between animals and humans
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1 Peter 3 Distinguished by Love and Humility

5/25/2016

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
​1 Peter 3
As Christians, we are not “of this world.” We are called, sojourners, exiles, citizens of Heaven, a peculiar people, and a holy people. We are different and we are meant to stand out by our difference. Our distinction is not supposed to be by the t-shirts we wear or the bumper sticker on our cars, it is in our behavior, attitude, and love. We understand the profundity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are supposed to be like Jesus, not like the world.
The world is all about self-sufficiency, self-efficacy, pride, and strength. But the kingdom of God isn’t about that all. We depend on The Lord. In the kingdom of Heaven it is Jesus Christ we long to exalt. Even though He is God, He lived as the exemplification of humility. We point the world toward Jesus by living as He lived and loving as He loved. 1 John 2:9-11 reads,
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
One way the world should see how peculiar we are is in our relationships with one another. Verses 1-7 reads,
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
 
The world’s idea of the marriage relationship, at least according to TV sitcoms is one of mutual battling of the wills, compromise, and a game with only one winner. Husbands on TV are power hungry buffoons and wives are manipulative shrews. While TV exaggerates for laughs, I do think that the world sees marriage as a struggle of control. But marriage in the kingdom of Heaven is the opposite. It is an example of our relationship with Jesus Christ, where the wife can submit, that is yield her will to her husband because she trusts his deep love for her. She knows he would never hurt her or desire anything bad for her. The husband can love his wife with an absolute, profound love because she is a precious gift from God, the weaker vessel, like a treasured Ming vase or beautiful Fabergé egg.
Women, being the weaker vessel is a beautiful thing, a compliment, not something to be ashamed of. Women are more sensitive. They are able to sympathize much more than men. It enables them to nurture, meet unstated needs, and care. It also means their hearts are more easily broken, and they should be handled with care. God sanctifies, that is matures men by asking them to love and care for the fragility of the women’s hearts. He sanctifies women by asking them to trust their hearts to men. Our sanctification comes through the exercise of that mutual submission and love both in marriage and in the church. Verses 8-12 read,
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

 
People of the world take notice of real humility because it is so very different from what they understand as the road to success and a happy life. They pay attention to lives lived in an effort to do good, to obey Christ, and live so very differently than they understand. You see, the world is all about self-seeking, even in good deeds they honor themselves. But the kingdom of Heaven does good to honor Christ. In the kingdom of Heaven, good deeds are done as a natural expression of the Holy Spirit not as a way to earn good things for ourselves.
The world may want to hurt you if you go around proudly protesting everything about what you view as evil. I saw a post this morning hatefully declaring transgender people as insane. While we may see the brokenness of a person hating themselves to such a degree, the world doesn’t see it and arrogantly spouting statements like that is a very worldly thing to do. Do you imagine any person would come to Jesus because you tell him he’s an idiot? Those actions deservedly bring on fights and hate. Love would befriend that hurting soul. Love would teach him that God created him beautifully and that God loves him. Who could protest that? Who would want to hurt someone who did that? Verses 13-17 say,
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.
There might be people who still want to cause you to suffer even when you do nothing to them. We do not purposely go looking for hate. There are enough people who hate God already, we cannot give them reason to despise Him.  The world is enslaved to Satan and most of them don’t have any idea about it. We can recognize Satan’s voice implanting thoughts in our minds, they don’t! So there will be those who want to hurt us for Jesus’ sake. Let it always be that and never because we warrant it.
Jesus suffered horrifically and He was completely innocent. He was put to death in the most torturous kind of death imaginable, not because he deserved it, but because we deserved it. He took it gladly. He never defended Himself. He endured it. If He underwent such awful suffering for us, we can withstand suffering for the sake of the lost too. When they see the hope in us that we don’t lose no matter what they do, they will notice, and they may even ask. That is when we offer a defense, not a defense for our bad actions, but a defense for the love and hope of Jesus Christ, a defense of the faith and the Gospel. Verses 18-22 read,
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
 
Jesus saved us from death. Just like Noah and his family were saved from the destruction the rest of the world experienced, we were saved from eternal death. The water of baptism is not what sanctifies or changes us, it is the choice to submit to God and ask Him to change us which allows Him to do it. After we are born again, we are new. We are no longer who we used to be like the world. We stand out. Our new character, our submissive spirit, grief for the world, meekness, desire for righteousness, mercy, purity, peacemaking and endurance that distinguishes us (Matthew 5:2-11). It is our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control which points the world to Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23).
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Romans 14 Christianity is not About What One Eats or Drinks

5/19/2016

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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. Philippians 1:6
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. Philippians 1:6
​Romans 14
As Christians we are each different. We are quite unique. We all have varying experiences, histories, maturity, personalities, gifts, and talents that make up who we are. But the most important aspect we need to remember about one another is that each of us was called by the LORD, chosen by Him, and is loved by Him.
In our local bodies we will find people who because of various reasons are susceptible to certain strongholds. One brother cannot watch movies with any sexual content, he considers it sinful and those films call to his flesh; he abstains from all movies rated PG-13 and above. Yet for another brother he has no problems seeing those movies and enjoys them. One sister feels that drinking alcohol at all is detrimental to walking in the Spirit, while another enjoys a glass of wine with dinner each night and has no problems with alcohol.
We’re all different. Walking in the Spirit with Jesus is not about things like drinking or refraining from drink, it is about a transformative relationship with Almighty God our Creator. But too often we take our eyes off Jesus and place them on one another, judging each other for our personal choices, abstentions, or leniencies. Boy, the adversary loves it when we argue over silly things like that, especially when one of the participants of the quarrelling is a new or less mature Christian. Verses 1-6 read,
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
 
I know a beautiful woman of God who fasts every Sabbath Day. She honors the Lord each Friday evening through Saturday evening by refraining from food and spending hours in prayer. I know another amazing woman of God who celebrates the Sabbath on Sundays by making those days a special holiday full of good meals, family time, and prayer and worship. A third friend, celebrates every day as the Sabbath and doesn’t believe in designating only one day each week to be holy. All three of these women do what they do to honor God. Each one is glorifying and exalting the Lord, celebrating Jesus Christ and living out the Holy Spirit in her unique way.
What a waste of time it would be for the friend who fasts on the Sabbath to convince the friend who celebrates every day as the Sabbath that she is wrong and vice versa. The only result of that contention would be disunity, ill-feelings, guilt, and possibly temptation to indulge the flesh in any number of ways. Who are we to pass judgement on one another’s service to the Lord? We are in this together! One body, one Spirit and one mission. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 reminds us that our diversity does not have to separate us from one another. In fact our diversity works to unite us further.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
 
We are not walking alone. The Lord gave us to one another. We need to respect God’s Lordship. We need to trust that God can and does save, that He will conform each of us to His image, and that He is not fooled by the deceivers among us. Verses 7-12 say,
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
 
We are not alone. We have a responsibility to one another and in love we want the best for each other. If I know that my brother finds rated R movies tempt him to gratify the flesh, I will not see those films with him, talk about them with him, or try to convince him that it isn’t sinful. What is sinful for him, is not the same as what is sinful for me. My strengths and weaknesses are different than his. For me to talk about the latest Robert Rodriguez movie around a brother who grew up around violence and is vulnerable to those images would be to hurt his walk with Jesus. Where is the love in that? Verses 13-15 reads,
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
 
I enjoy hard driving rock music. But some of my brothers and sisters in Christ consider the music I listen to as sinful. One brother finds when he listens to certain music it changes his mood and takes his focus off Jesus. That music doesn’t have that effect on me. Quite the opposite, that music allows me to express a passion for God, His ministry, and His love in various ways and connects me to Christians in a way that traditional Christian music does not. I have seen the good work this music has played in lives of young people who would never have listened to something more mainstream. My music choice is not better than my friend’s, it is different. My choice helps leads me to worship God, his choice leads him to worship God. Both choices are good. Fighting over it is futile. Verses 16-19 read,
 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
 
Christianity has nothing to do with whether we worship with hymns or modern music or no music. It has nothing to do with whether we drink wine or juice, cola or water. Christianity is about our relationship with the Lord, one another, and the world. My walk with God, my faith is between me and God and it will affect the people around me. If I live in the Spirit, you will be able to see the results of that in the way I live. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us how a Spirit-filled person looks.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
There are no dos and don’ts in there. It doesn’t say the fruit of the Spirit is veganism, carnivorous diets, abstaining, indulging, shouting, or whispering. The dos and donts come in the description of love we read in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
 
The dos and don’ts there are not a list of rules but a description of an attitude, a description of Jesus and how our transformation will make us behave. It doesn’t say, love doesn’t listen to an upbeat, it reads “love does not insist on its own way.”  If I trust God to be God for me, shouldn’t I also trust Him to be God for you? What will my insistence that my way is the right way do to my sister who feels that eating pork is sinful? God’s taking care of her transformation, and He is taking care of mine. What if instead of wasting time arguing over whether or not we can add bacon to a sandwich, I make us both a tomato and lettuce sandwich or we pray for one another, or I spend time getting to know her? If I try and coerce her to do something she considers a sin, I will hurt her. I will present her with a false image of God, cause her pain, guilt, and shame, and lead her away from the Lord rather than build her up and grow closer to Him. Verses 20-23 read,
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
God is doing a good work in you, and He is doing a good work in your brothers and sisters (Philippians 1:6). Who are we to doubt His ability to save them? We are all different, beautifully unique and woven together into a magnificent tapestry which paints a picture of The Lord to the world. Let’s show them His awesome love, amazing strength, and perfect grace instead of our own agendas, feelings, and liabilities.
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Romans 12 Let’s be Marked as Jesus’ Disciples Because of our Love not our Protests

5/17/2016

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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.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. 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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35
​Romans 12
What does a Christian life lived by faith under God’s grace look like? How does the Christian follow Jesus and not the Law? Walking in the Spirit with Jesus is characterized by love. It is a life that chooses to exude the character of God, who is Love (1 John 4:8). Love is a tangible choice which affects every action, interaction, and reaction.  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).
The world tells us to look out for ourselves, to stand up against those who do us wrong with anger, fists, and shouting. It tells us to be offended by everything that disagrees with us and to whine as loudly as possible about the offense. But that isn’t love. Love is more effective than bellyaching over affronts. Love leads people to The Lord, teaches them who He is, and shows them His grace and mercy. Love involves our entire being, heart, soul, strength and mind. Verse 1-3 read,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Whether among the church or not, believers are not supposed to consider themselves as better than other people. That’s how the world does it. Each person fights and claws their way up and exalts himself. We know we’re not better than anyone. We were all born the same, in need of Christ.
The church is made up of many diverse people. Each has her own personality, experience, set of gifts and talents, and level of maturity. There is no one among us who is better than any other. Can you look down on a brother or sister because their gift is generosity and yours is service? Is the brother who prophesies more needed than the sister who administers? The church needs each one! Verses 4-8 read,
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
We are marked by our love. Love is how we are recognized as belonging to Jesus. Jesus said it this way in 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.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We are supposed to be so united, so bonded to one another that we are like one body with one purpose, one Spirit, and one Lord. We each have functions connected to our gifts. If God has given you the gift of intercessory prayer, He means for you to pray for people. The church needs you to be a prayer warrior. The world needs you to be a prayer warrior. If He gave you the gift of prophecy, what good will you do the church or the world if you keep your mouth closed? It takes faith to exercise your gifts. It requires love to use your gifts for the building up of the church. Let’s love one another so deeply that the world takes notice. Let’s stop crying about being offended by words, laws, and attitudes and love people like Jesus loves people. Verses 9-13 read,
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
What if we outdid each other in respect, love, and service instead of looking for glory for ourselves? What if we loved each other so deeply that we responded with empathy, mercy, and grace instead of hurt feelings? The world would see Jesus alive in us. They would want to know more about how we are who they see. Currently, I don’t think the world looks at Christians and sees love. They see believers as self-righteous, judgmental, hateful, moaners who would rather fight over public bathrooms and the definition of marriage than choose mercy.
We are not better than anyone else. We know we didn’t save ourselves it was God’s graciousness that saved us and brought us where we are. I know if I’m living my entire life as worship that it extends beyond the few hours each week I am in church. If I am loving God with my entire life then I am loving others as He loves me. Why should I let a person who doesn’t know the Lord offend me? How could his opinions, which are based on all he knows hurt me? He doesn’t need my tongue clicking, judgement, or droning on about how offended I am; he needs Jesus. That means he needs me to love him as Jesus loves him, as Jesus loves me. Verses 14-21 read,
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Is your life marked by love or by law? Do you check off every sin you see your brother or a stranger committing? The lost sin, they live in sin; we cannot judge them for that. Your brothers and sisters are not under the law and so they cannot sin (Romans 5:13, 1 Corinthians 6:12). If they are walking outside the will of God in the flesh, then gently restore them (Galatians 6:1-2) but remember you are not to think more highly of yourself than you ought. You were brought to life from death, just like them. You may be further along in your transformation than they are and you may not be. It is the Lord who saves you and who saves them.
Let your life be marked by love. Let the Holy Spirit be who you are. What if we stopped being offended and started loving instead? What if we met the needs of the people in the world instead of shaking our heads in disgust? It is my active and concrete love that should tell people I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, not my T-shirt, bumper sticker, or protest sign.
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Romans 11 God Loves the Lost as Much as He Loves the Saved

5/16/2016

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For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29
​Romans 11
It is a privilege to be saved, but it is not a reason to be arrogant. We may boast, but we cannot boast in ourselves. We can only boast in Jesus Christ. He saved us, we didn’t. It was God’s great boundless grace which saved us, not our work but His.
Yet, I have seen and maybe I’ve felt it at sometimes, Christians who act as if the world is made up of fools and that as God’s children they are better than the world. I get weary of seeing the hateful messages from people who proclaim Christ yet elevate themselves and degrade the lost. It is not love to demean people and we are supposed to love (John 13:34-35). Some people who claim to be Christians use religion as an excuse for anti-Semitism and other bigotries. God is not an anti-Semite, He does not hate the Jewish people. He chose them. He calls them His treasured possession. Look what He says about Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
 
If we truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, then we will cherish what and who He cherishes. Some people claim God rejected Israel when they rejected Him. But that is a fallacy. It is a lie to keep our focus on honoring ourselves and dishonoring others instead of honoring The LORD. Paul says it like this in verses 1-6,
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
 
The Lord has always kept a remnant of Israel for Himself. From Elijah and the seven thousand to Paul, Peter, James, and John to people like me the Jewish believers who live today. God chooses and calls whom He will and He will show His grace and mercy on whom He chooses (Exodus 33:19). Salvation is His. The Lord has His reasons, His ways are not our ways; His thinking is much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). He has a plan. He is the beginning and the end and He knows the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13, Mark 13:32). Isaiah 46:9-11 reads,
  remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have purposed, and I will do it.

 
It is wonderful to be saved, but we didn’t save ourselves. Our part in salvation was submitting to God. God did and does the rest.  God called us and opened our eyes to the Jesus. Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead for us. The Father adopted us. The Holy Spirit indwells and transforms us. Do you know that even the people who rejected Christ, who couldn’t see the truth of who He is played a part in making the way for salvation open to you? Verses 7-16 read,
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that would not see
    and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and bend their backs forever.”

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
God adores us and He chose us, but He loves the lost too. We are not more worthy than they are. We are not better. God allowed us to come to know Him and He wants them to come to know Him too. He is calling them. They are lost in unawareness of who The Lord is. Their eyes are closed and their hearts are hard, just like ours used to be. Was it hate and humiliation that brought you to God? Did someone argue about how right they were and wrong and stupid you were to tell you about the love of Jesus? Did name calling bring you to the point where you called on Jesus’ name? Of course not. It was love in action that broke your stone heart. It was the Word of God lived out that made the scales fall from your eyes.
We were not always adopted into God’s family. God transplanted us from the princedom of the world into the Kingdom of Heaven. He made us a part of Him. In John 14:18-21 Jesus described the unity with God like this,
“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. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
The Son is in the Father, believers in the Son, and the Son in believers. It is a concept that is beyond our human thinking, one that hurts my head when I try to envision it. Paul used one of Jesus’ favorite illustrations to describe it, that of the branches and the vine (Matthew 21:33-46, John 15:1-11). Verses 17-24 say,
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
 
God grafted you in. He didn’t have to. He broke of some of the natural branches and put you in their place. Do you realize that He could have made salvation come by birth if He had chosen that way? He could have said all of Jacob’s descendants and no one else would be saved. But He gave the whole world the opportunity for salvation through Jesus Christ. It is God who made the way for you to know Him. It was not and is not us. Verses 25-27 read,
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
    he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

If some of Israel had not rejected Jesus as Messiah, would the Gospel have ever made it to gentiles? If the Pharisees had not been so set on saving themselves through the law, would the apostles have spread the Word of God to the world? Verses 28-32 read,
As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
 
God chose Israel and called them His treasured possession; He has not changed His mind. God cherishes them. We are not better than anyone else. Our salvation has nothing to do with our own efforts. The Lord cherishes you as well. He has chosen to heap grace and mercy on you. He has called you 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. (1 Peter 2:9). He has called you friend (John15:15). He has called you sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). Do not forget that. God has not and will not change His mind! We may not understand why God does what He does, but we don’t have to understand it, we only need to trust Him. Verses 33-36 read,
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
 
You were made from God, through Him and for Him and so was Israel, every lost person, every single person on this earth. Give God the glory for who you are, not yourself.
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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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    October 21st 2015
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    September 27th 2015
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    "There Is No God."
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    Whitewash
    White Wash
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    Why Did Noah Take 7 Pairs Of Clean Animals On The Ark?
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