Tag: jesus

God’s name should be treated with highest reverence and not used in a casual or foolish, disrespectful way. Exodus 20:7

Exodus 20:7 Amplified Bible

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who [a]takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].

Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The Third Commandment states: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Exodus 20:7.”

God’s Name is special because it carries the personality of God.

The Name in Bible times was more than a personal identification.

It represented the whole person, with his personality, will, gifts, ideas, etc.

This is why some people had their names changed when they went to a transforming experience. The person changed, so the name changed.

Matthew 16:13-20 Amplified Bible

Peter’s Confession of Christ

13 Now when Jesus went into the [a]region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  16  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.”  17 Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I say to you that you are [b]Peter, and on this [c]rock I will build My church; and the [d]gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ]. 19 I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth [e]will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth [f]will have [already] been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He gave the disciples strict orders to tell no one that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

The Name of God here in the third commandment involves the whole Trinity, God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Let us see what this Commandment teaches us.

What if we were to take a poll asking people which of the Ten Commandments they regard as the least significant, I wonder if the “winner” would be the third.

When compared to false gods and graven images, the third command doesn’t seem like such a serious offense. But if the one who wrongly uses the name of God incurs guilt, then it must be important—and we need to understand why.

Scripture is crystal clear that God’s name is most precious and most powerful.

One place where we see this is in the encounters between God and Moses.

In Exodus 33, Moses asks God to reveal His glory.

His request invites a death sentence because it is not possible to see God’s glory and live.

But God graciously grants the request in a way that prevents Moses’ demise, for He demonstrates His glory not by a physical manifestation but by revealing His name:

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious” (Exodus 34:6; emphasis added).

His name reveals His character, which in turn reveals His glory.

Earlier, in Exodus 3, God had revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush.

Moses had been tasked with a weighty mission and wanted to know what to say when people asked who had sent him.

God told Moses to say, “I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).

By using a form of the verb to be to name Himself, God declared that He is self-existent, self-sufficient, and sovereign, depending on no one and nothing. Who else can claim such a name?

In declaring and disclosing Himself, God does not merely identify Himself; He reveals the wonder of who He is.

So to misuse God’s name is to misunderstand His greatness and glory.

Only when we grasp this can we understand why the third commandment is so significant.

In what ways, then, might we break this commandment?

For one, we break it every time we use God’s name to strengthen our vows and promises, bringing down the name of divinity in order to make ourselves sound more believable (James 5:12).

We also blaspheme God when we use His name in anger, in arrogance, or in defiance of who He is.

We misuse His name when we utter falsehoods and use it to back them up.

Perhaps closer to home, in every worship service we attend where we worship God with our lips only and not from our heart, we break the likewise third commandment.

Only when we see the glory of God’s name and when we use it in praise, love, prayer, obedience, and gratitude do we gain more insight, understand why our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9, KJV, emphasis added).

His name is to be forever hallowed because it proclaims who He is, reveals His character, and is a strong refuge for all who call on it (Proverbs 18:10).

And it is to be forever hallowed in the lives of His people—including in your life, as you bear the name of Christ and take it on your lips with reverence and love.

In the name of God, the father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Pray,

Psalm 20 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 20

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 send thee help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 remember all thy offerings,
and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart,
and fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners:
the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.

6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed;
he will hear him from his holy heaven
with the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen:
but we are risen, and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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You are not to make any idol or image of other gods. In fact, you are never to make an image of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. Exodus 20:4

Exodus 20:4-6 The Message

4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

I often wondered how the ancient Israelites could be so daft.

They took a rock or a piece of wood, carved an image on it, and then bowed down to it as a god. Really?

Then, on a whim, I checked my wallet. Money is made from paper, which is made from wood pulp. I looked around my neigh­borhood. The houses are made of wood and stone. Maybe the only difference between us and ancient idol worshipers is that our idols today could have a longer production process.

It is disturbing to realize how good we are at making idols. We can make them out of any physical thing. We can even create them out of thin air.

For example, we can claim to be righteous on the basis of our political views.

We can worship a sports franchise. We can devote our lives to the service of a corporation. Such idols are also known as ideologies, or “isms.”

Our ability to create such fraudulent gods is unlimited. Anything that we attach our ultimate desires into, whether physical or conceptual, can be an idol, a god.

But these idols are not the Lord God, the one who delivered Israel from Egypt, the one who freed us from our slavery to sin.

Only this God moves through history with his people.

This is the one who created us.

We cannot and must not create another.

No Image Engraved or in Mind

Exodus 20:1-6 The Message

20 1-2 God spoke all these words:

I am God, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of a life of slavery.

3 No other gods, only me.

4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I’m unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

If the first commandment—“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3)—deals with the object of our worship, the second commandment deals with the manner of our worship.

What the second commandment tells us is that it is not enough that we worship the correct God; we must also worship Him correctly.

The clear and immediate meaning of the command is that God is to be worshiped without any visual symbols of Him.

Why the prohibition? Because God is spirit: infinite and unfathomably great.

No physical representation could ever do justice to His glory and grandeur.

The problem with statues, shrines, and pictures is not that they don’t look good but that no matter how good they look, they will inevitably blur the truth about God’s nature and character.

Such images tend to distract us from worshiping the true and living God, instead leading them to worship whatever representation is before them.

Yet the second commandment takes us beyond mere images and idol-making and into our own thought life. Our hands may be innocent of making graven images, but our imaginations seldom are. Any conception of God in our minds and hearts that is not derived from Scripture runs foul of this command.

When God gave instructions for the building of the temple, He ordered that the ark of the covenant, on which His presence would dwell, should reside in the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:34).

What was inside the ark? Perhaps most significant is what was not in it: it contained no visible representation of God.

Instead, there were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.

It was as if God was saying to His people, as He says to us, Don’t look for Me in shrines, paintings, or statues. I’m not there. Look for Me in My word.

And so we take our cues from God.

If we want to worship Him—if we want to meet with Him and know what He is like—we must conform our minds to His word.

Our own attempts to conceive of God wholly apart from divine revelation will invariably fail.

He has published His truth in His word, and so we are to tether ourselves to what is revealed there.

What’s at stake in this is the integrity not only of our worship but also of our lives—because when people go wrong in their worship, they end up wrong in their living.

Anything and anyone that encourages us to worship the correct God incorrectly will prove to be a detriment to our spiritual growth.

What a tragedy it would be to embrace an image and miss the person of Christ, to sit at a shrine and miss the Savior, to worship a misconception and too, fail to know Jesus. Instead, resist the urge to reshape God in your image or conform Him to your own image, and be sure to know Him as He has revealed Himself.

In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit,

Pray,

Psalm 24 The Message

24 1-2 God claims Earth and everything in it,
    God claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
    laid it out on River girders.

3-4 Who can climb Mount God?
    Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
    only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
    women who won’t seduce.

5-6 God is at their side;
    with God’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
    to God-seekers, God-questers.

7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
    King-Glory is ready to enter.

8 Who is this King-Glory?
    God, armed
    and battle-ready.

9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
    King-Glory is ready to enter.

10 Who is this King-Glory?
    God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
    he is King-Glory.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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You shall have no other gods before Me But the hearts of men and women aren’t so easily instructed nowadays. Exodus 20:1–3

Exodus 20:1-3 Revised Standard Version

The Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Perhaps the most basic truth about the God of Scripture is He is the only one.

There is no other.

This truth ought to simplify things for us because it teaches us that there is only one who is the worthy object of our love, loyalty, and devotion. But the hearts of men and women are not so easily instructed.

And so it is necessary for God to give us the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The danger is not that there are actual other gods for us to worship but that we have a proclivity for making them.

On first glance, this first command is straightforward.

To live for a god other than the true God would be like taking a second spouse while your first spouse is still alive and still happy to be your spouse.

Worse, it would be like taking a second spouse who is in truth a figment of your imagination. It would be a breach of an exclusive relationship.

We must not kid ourselves that we are immune from the possibility of breaking this commandment.

Many of us read it and picture people bowing down before statues or going through elaborate rituals, and those mental images assure us that we’re not in danger of violating it.

Yet the commandments are not restricted to outward actions but also relate to the disposition of our minds and hearts.

From this perspective, we may not be as far from those mental images as we assume. We may not have statues to which we bow down, but maybe we have segments of our lives that we keep away from God, preserving them under the authority of some other little “deity”—ourselves, perhaps.

Ask yourself: “Do I joyfully acknowledge God’s comprehensive claim on my life? Is God in charge of my family, my work, my relationships, my money, my dating, my use of time?” Take a close and honest look to see if there are portions of life you try to keep from Him.

In addition to keeping things away from God, another form of danger is functionally replacing Him.

When we put our family, our job, our hobbies, or anything else in the place that is God’s alone, we violate the first commandment.

To the degree that we allow anyone or anything besides obedience to God to direct our course day to day, we defy His law.

So we are not so safe from the possibility of breaking this commandment as we may think!

While we must acknowledge the truth that there is one God, we must also beware our own ability to put things in His place.

If we do not daily submit ourselves to Him and entrust the entirety of our lives to Him, something will take His place.

We are made to worship.

The question is, are you going to worship the living God or are you going to pretend there is another?

In the name of God, the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Pray,

Psalm 23 Revised Standard Version

The Divine Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2     he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;[a]
3     he restores my soul.[b]
He leads me in paths of righteousness[c]
    for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[d]
    I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff,
    they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely[e] goodness and mercy[f] shall follow me
    all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    for ever.[g]

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Managing Chronic Grief: For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, my bones wasting away. Psalm 31:9-10

Psalm 31:9-10 New American Standard Bible

9 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my guilt,
And my [a]body has wasted away.

The Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Within the Christian community, grief can be a topic put on the back burner.

Many of us are taught that as Christians, we should always be happy—no matter what.

Even if a parent, sibling, or spouse has suffered greatest loss, has passed away, we should still be happy all the time. Anything less would be fully unbiblical, right? This, as a 100% wrong mentality, needs to be vigorously challenged, eradicated from the church, and the body of the Christian community itself. 

Nowhere in the Bible are we told we must be happy all the time. We should always be joyful, but joy and happiness are not the same thing. Even though many people use these words as synonyms, they are not the same. With Jesus as our Lord, joy is always present in our hearts because it is based on him not us.

Happiness, on the other hand, is fleeting and is based on our circumstances.

Grief is a very authentic something that can take a lifetime to fully process.

If the church cannot help Christians when they first experience the death of a loved one, then how will they, are they going to be able to support someone who is chronically managing grief?

Seeing things from the other person’s perspective can definitely help cultivate some very deep  measures of compassion, care, and understanding for others.

Even if someone has never experienced grief of their own, they need to try to do their best to truly connect with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are going through this troubling time.

Instead of insensitive comments, such as “Oh, you’re still not over that?” We need to truly begin to understand others and truly meet them where they are.

It is essential for us to be a shoulder to cry on, a support system, and a safe place for them.

As someone who struggled with chronic grief, I can share with you that it is not an easy journey. Some days are better than others, but the bad days are severe.

I developed grief after the close together passing (4 1/2 month) of my mother and father, and I had great difficulty truly moving forward from their passing.

I don’t have much in common with people my own age because most of them haven’t witnessed the death of both their parent coming so tightly together.

While everyone my age had gotten married, started families, and moved into their own homes, I was sitting on my bed in a dark room, crying myself to sleep.

If you find yourself in a similar position, know you are not alone. There are Christians across the world who can relate to what you are going through, and Yeah! God understands your pain. Take solace in His love, comfort, and grace.

One Day We Will Rejoice

The Lord tells us, “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). 

Jesus is referring to His own death and how His disciples will see Him again. We experience grief over many things, yet the most common is the death of a loved one. Take your rest in the Lord’s words that there will be rejoicing in the future.

Now is our time of grief, but our grief will not last forever. While we might struggle with grief for our entire lives, we will not suffer from it for all eternity.

One day, our grief will be taken, God will welcome us home with open arms.

In the name of God, the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

In all humility, Pray …

Psalm 42 Complete Jewish Bible

Book II: Psalms 42–72

42 (0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:

2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?

4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.

6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”

12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Is the Church Itself an Impassable Barrier? “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge.” Luke 11:52-54

Luke 11:37-54 New King James Version

Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers

37 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. 38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of [a]greed and wickedness. 40 Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But rather give alms of [b]such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the [c]best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, [d]scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

45 Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

46 And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

53 [e]And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, 54 lying in wait for Him, [f]and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, [g]that they might accuse Him.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The religious leaders’ role was to explain the Scriptures to those with limited access and literacy.

However, they made Scripture difficult to understand and impossible to apply.

The Amplified Bible adds, “by your flawed interpretation of God’s word and your man-made tradition.”

The critical role of Clergy, Pastors and Teachers is to diligently study the Holy Scriptures, to make God’s Word easy to understand and apply without adding unnecessary traditions and using complex jargon that isn’t so widely known.

In our Gospel Narrative from Luke, Jesus spoke pointedly and critically against the leaders of God’s people in that day. Instead of helping their people to draw near to God and enjoy his blessings, the leaders put up significant, erroneous barriers through their traditional legalistic, self-serving practices.

Sadly, throughout history, some churches and church leaders, Seminaries have taken liberties with their interpretation, translation, instruction of the Word of God, and blocked access to spiritual life for people and have even abused people.

End-Times and Woke Institutions

As we approach the end of the ages, we know from Scripture that faith will grow cold (Matthew. 24:2) and that there will also be an increasing number of false teachers saying what our itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy. 4:3).

In that regard, if we believe we are truly in the end-times, then logically one should be extra cautious about the latest views on Biblical Christian theology.

Are seminaries, like other educational institutions, becoming more radical and extreme in their views? Are some of the esoteric discussions centered around a culturally based reinterpretation of Scripture resulting in a weakening of its relevance or application in today’s deteriorating society? Are seminaries prone to the same “wokeness” that is infecting other institutions of higher learning? 

We often hear of such cases in the news today. Corrupt leaders put big cultural barriers instead of biblical bridges in front of people. As God’s people who make up the church today, we must stay diligent educated in the Word if God, teach and admonish and correct each other, repent of these errors and sins, being sure we have measures in place to prevent them from happening again, and be agents of reconciliation, prayer and healing unto people who have been hurt.

Know someone? Have you been hurt by the church or its leaders? If so, you may be big time hesitant to participate in the life of a church. That’s understandable.

What can you do?

Here are some suggestions:

2 Timothy 2:14-19 Amplified Bible

An Unashamed Workman

14 Remind the people of these facts, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good, and [upsets and undermines and] ruins [the faith of] those who listen. 15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 16 But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have deviated from the truth. They claim that the resurrection has already taken place, and they undermine the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God [which He has laid] stands [sure and unshaken despite attacks], bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord stand apart from wickedness and withdraw from wrongdoing.”

(1) Keep your focus on God, Jesus Holy Spirit himself, especially through prayer and Bible reading.

(2) Ask God to provide a few caring Christians with whom you can fellowship and grow spiritually; they can be a helpful bridge.

(3) Through a Christian counselor, seek healing and strength to forgive.

(4) Remain open to a time when you can fully participate in a healthy church again.

(5) Study … Study …. Study …. Study ….

Unfortunately, some who are new to Christianity have the genuineness of their faith squelched, watered down by a group desire to be religiously superior.

Rather than encouraging, helping, and blessing those who are newer in the faith, these folks seeking superiority turn faith into legalism and corrupt the Good News message of Jesus. The way they live their religion on their college background drives away people who are seeking God and breaks the Good News message of those who are new to the faith or corrupts the faith of the matured.

Let’s always make sure that we don’t impose demands God doesn’t require.

Even more, when folks have areas where they need to grow in their obedience to God, let’s be there to help, not to criticize.

In the name of God, the father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Pray together …

Psalm 119:1-16 English Standard Version

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

Aleph

119 [a] Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
    to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
    when I learn your righteous rules.[b]
8 I will keep your statutes;
    do not utterly forsake me!

Beth

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
    all the rules[c] of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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I have already taken refuge straight to the arms of God. Why would I run away when you shout, run into hills, hide in caves, hike to the mountains? Psalm 11

Psalm 11 Complete Jewish Bible

11 (0) For the leader. By David:

(1) In Adonai I find refuge.
So how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains!
2 See how the wicked are drawing their bows
and setting their arrows on the string,
to shoot from the shadows at honest men.
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”

4 Adonai is in his holy temple.
Adonai, his throne is in heaven.
His eyes see and test humankind.
5 Adonai tests the righteous;
but he hates the wicked and the lover of violence.
6 He will rain hot coals down on the wicked,
fire, sulfur and scorching wind
will be what they get to drink.
7 For Adonai is righteous;
he loves righteousness;
the upright will see his face.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

We live in a day and age when the foundations of our biblical faith and the fabric of godly living are being systematically attacked by every quarter of society and dismantled in all areas of life. The unalterable truth of God’s Scriptures is now too easily discarded, modified by liberal ‘Christians’ and evolving atheists alike.

Governments in general, and our society at large, are systematically smashing down all the cornerstones, all the strongest foundations of truth and the time-honored institutions of God.

They are being replaced with rational relativism, a hatred of all that is good, a distortion of all that is true, a celebration of all that is evil, a contempt for our Heavenly Father, a rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, a dismissing of the Holy Spirit, a disdain for salvation, and an insatiable desire to relegate the glorious gospel of grace into the furthest anonymity and annals of a forgotten history.

Often, good men despair as the floodgates of apostasy sweeps through the Church worldwide and the destruction of all godly foundations and biblical truths are being successfully dismantled and systematically destroyed by a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, Holy Spirit dismissive, lustful sinful world.

Often, the desperate, despairing, defeated cry of the righteous is: “If the strongest, truest foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

However, that is to take this verse out of context and to superimpose our own flawed, unscriptural, human viewpoint and fallen imagination over the eternal truth of God’s Word.

The message of this Psalm is confidence in God and an unshakable faith in the eternal plans and purposes that He Himself ordered in the council chambers of heaven before the world began, and the Word of God is settled in heaven.

We are not to: “Flee as a bird into the mountain,” but to place of refuge, trust in God. We are not to fly in to despair when the wicked flourish, secretly fire their satanically inspired arrows of destruction at the heart and minds of the upright.

We are not to tremble at what man can to do, for our hope is in the Lord Who made heaven and earth and Who has already determined that the wicked will receive their just portion at the hand of a just God, and a righteous Judge.

The Lord is in His holy temple and He tests each one of us in the furnace of affliction so that when we have been tried we will come forth as pure gold.

David reminds us that the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness, and He watches over the upright in heart.

And in His grace, He uses all things together for our eternal good and for His greater glory, even the disruptive terrible things happening in the world today.

We must never forget the Lord hates wicked and prideful men who celebrate evil through satanic violence and gross ungodliness, and the day is coming when they too will all stand before His Great White Throne of judgement and each will receive “the just fruits of their labors” according to their work.

The Lord alone knows how to deliver the righteous from trials, but He also, exclusively reserves the day of judgement for all the wicked to be punished.

No matter what circumstance we face in life, our hope is in God and our trust is in His unshakable Word of truth.

When our hearts start running straight to fear of what is coming on the world or we continually shout out in despair: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Let us bring back to mind the unchangeable Word of God and the many faithful precious promises that are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ.

Let us stand fast on the eternal truth of the glorious gospel of grace in these increasingly evil days, and let us remember that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

In the name of God, the Father, and God the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.

Pray,

Psalm 46 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 46

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Breaking Bridges, Building Barriers; Envy, Mixed Up Motives, proclaiming Christ from those selfish ambitions. Philippians 1:15–18

Philippians 1:15-18 New Living Translation

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The March of the Gospel

In this missionary letter to the Philippian church, Paul gets real. Though he shares encouraging news, the whole picture is not all rosy. The motivations some people had for sharing the gospel were downright bad—were driven not by good will so much as by rivalry and a desire to stir up trouble for the apostle.

The wrong motives of other people didn’t become the determining element in Paul’s attitude, however. Their selfishly motivated preaching did not keep him awake at night nor mar his true commitment to seeing the kingdom advance.

He passionately wanted the true gospel to be preached, so he wasn’t primarily concerned about the reasons others had for preaching, as long as they were still preaching Christ. His concern was for the Lord’s glory to be paramount, not for his own stature or even for his safety.

Perhaps we find ourselves relating to Paul, surrounded by those who share God’s Word, who share stories, their witness, their faith, out of false motives.

Then we will spend a ridiculous amount of time and effort and resources trying to debate, nit pick, critique, criticize whether or not their Christianity is valid.

But if we allow these failings to determine our own attitude or actions, we will risk spiritually crippling ourselves.

We will spend too much of our time and energy either constantly questioning the intentions of others or continually refuting, rebutting what they’re doing.

That would be to give the devil a great gain, in that we would then be distracted from our own covenant summons to proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

It’s a huge temptation!

But Paul didn’t fall into that trap.

It is true that “where God sends reformation, Satan works deformation.”

What God builds, Satan seeks to destroy.

When God leads people forward in his grace, Satan tries to push them back into misery.

Yet this truth also remains: The forward march of the gospel cannot be stopped!

The assaults against the gospel are many.

For Paul, they included his imprisonment, and envy and rivalry among fellow missionaries, and the use of Jesus’ name for self-promotion.

For us, it may be the rejection of Christ as the only true Savior, or it may be a matter of giving in to the mixed-up moralities of our time.

But there is good news. The forward march of the gospel cannot be stopped!

Satan’s goal is to push us back into the cesspool of shame, the dungeon of guilt, the prison of fear.

But, to paraphrase a line from a Hollywood movie, that’s a “whole lot of ugly coming from a parade of stupid.”

The forward march of the gospel announces that Jesus bore our human shame, removed our guilt, and freed us from sin’s punishment.

He daily parades his love in order to nourish life.

Nothing can ultimately stop the forward march of the gospel.

There is great joy, then, for all who keep in step with Jesus.

Alternatively, you and I may wrestle with our own wrong motives for sharing the gospel.

One of the most significant challenges we all face is the potential for dreadful self-centeredness and pride.

Even in hard core, hot button, contentious matters of our faith, we will often wrongly want others to recognize us, and so we do the right thing but for all of the wrong motives, reasons (or, more usually, a mix of right, wrong reasons).

At the same time, we would find that envy prevents us from rejoicing in the fruitfulness of another’s life and ministry. But thanks be to God: He still uses broken vessels like us to carry forth the great gift of His Gospel message.

So, like Paul, fix your eyes on the goodness of Jesus and the advancement of His gospel, no matter the circumstances surrounding you or the flawed motives you suspect in others or see in yourself.

Seek to set aside your own pride and ambition so that your greatest concern will be the Lord’s glory—and as you do so, continue to share Him with those around you. What matters most is that Christ is preached, and in that we can all rejoice.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:105-112 The Message

105-112 By your words I can see where I’m going;
    they throw a beam of light on my dark path.
I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back
    from living by your righteous order.
Everything’s falling apart on me, God;
    put me together again with your Word.
Adorn me with your finest sayings, God;
    teach me your holy rules.
My life is as close as my own hands,
    but I don’t forget what you have revealed.
The wicked do their best to throw me off track,
    but I don’t swerve an inch from your course.
I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—
    what a gift! And how happy it makes me!
I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—
    I always have and always will.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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‘It feels like it has been an Eternity!’ Praying to better Trust God’s Timing during our LONG seasons of waiting. Ecclesiastes 3:11-13

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Complete Jewish Bible

11 He has made everything suited to its time; also, he has given human beings an awareness of eternity; but in such a way that they can’t fully comprehend, from beginning to end, the things God does. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them to do than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. 13 Still, the fact that everyone can eat and drink and enjoy the good that results from all his work, is a gift of God.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

There are so many profound truths throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, and Ecclesiastes 3:11 is a great reminder of God’s perfect timing. So often in life, we put a prayer in motion for exactly how we want and envision things to work out.

We think we’ve got things figured out, like we know what’s best for our future.

We pray and we pray!

We wait and we wait!

We are good and pious Christians and we believe we have a strong relationship, a strong connection to God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Except … How long are we actively, patiently, genuinely ‘waiting for the Lord’ before our prayers begin to sound like: “Lord, exactly how long is eternity?”

In our frail humanity, it’s easy to forget that God’s perfect timing for our lives can turn out to be completely different from what we imagine as being right.

In Isaiah 55:8-9, we’re told,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Our thoughts and ways are always vastly different from our Lord’s, aren’t they?

I also really like how Ecclesiastes 11:5 talks about the wonders of God: “Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.”

How many times have you and I been in a fluid situation, prayed and prayed, anticipated how circumstances would work out, as though we were in control?

How many times do you and I think that we are the one who’s in control, that we can climb any mountain with your own joy and our own strength, that we can persevere better and change someone’s heart through your own actions?

Faith Under Pressure

2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

9-11 When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don’t ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that’s a picture of the “prosperous life.” At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.

12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

16-18 So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. (The Message)

The reality is, if we are 1% patient enough to accept that God is in control, it’s a real reality check for us that only through Him we accomplish anything at all!

In Matthew Henry’s commentary, he says the following about Ecclesiastes 3:11:

“Every thing is as God made it; not as it appears to us. We have the world so much in our hearts, are so taken up with thoughts and cares of worldly things, that we have neither time nor spirit to see God’s hand in them. The world has not only gained possession of the heart, but has formed thoughts against the true beauty of God’s works.”

When I find myself getting impatient or experiencing disappointment, or when things don’t work out as I think they should, it’s a great reminder to look at verses such as Ecclesiastes 3:11 about God’s promise of His perfect timing.

It may not make sense right now, but try praying, believing, God’s got a reason.

Our task, like Job, is to continue praising Him even when things don’t make sense, and to continue trusting Him and growing our Faith. “Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.” [Job 5:9]

Job experienced more echelons beyond hardcore testing circumstances and situations throughout his life, yet he never once questioned what God was doing. He knew God had a plan and would work every thing out in His timing.

Job 19:13-29 The Message

I Know That God Lives

13-20 “God alienated my family from me;
    everyone who knows me avoids me.
My relatives and friends have all left;
    houseguests forget I ever existed.
The servant girls treat me like a deadbeat off the street,
    look at me like they’ve never seen me before.
I call my attendant and he ignores me,
    ignores me even though I plead with him.
My wife can’t stand to be around me anymore.
    I’m repulsive to my family.
Even street urchins despise me;
    when I come out, they taunt and jeer.
Everyone I’ve ever been close to abhors me;
    my dearest loved ones reject me.
I’m nothing but a bag of bones;
    my life hangs by a thread.

21-22 “Oh, friends, dear friends, take pity on me.
    God has come down hard on me!
Do you have to be hard on me, too?
    Don’t you ever tire of abusing me?

23-27 “If only my words were written in a book—
    better yet, chiseled in stone!
Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life—
    and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth.
And I’ll see him—even though I get skinned alive!—
    see God myself, with my very own eyes.
    Oh, how I long for that day!

28-29 “If you’re thinking, ‘How can we get through to him,
    get him to see that his trouble is all his own fault?’
Forget it. Start worrying about yourselves.
    Worry about your own sins and God’s coming judgment,
    for judgment is most certainly on the way.”

Wherever you are today, however like Job you feel like, whether you’re waiting, wondering, or worrying, or anxious take heart. God’s perfect timing is worth the wait! God is in control, and He hath made every thing beautiful in His time.

Restoration will come to you …

An over and above abundance of Blessings will shower down upon your life … (Job 42:7-17)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27 New King James Version

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

14 Wait[e] on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Someone is bound to ask you: Just what is so “good” about The Good News? Titus 2:11-14

Titus 2:11-14 New King James Version

Trained by Saving Grace

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

What are your thoughts about this statement?

Living into God’s Great Commandment; The grace that saves is the grace that works through our relationship with ourselves, with neighbors and with God.

When we hear the Gospel or the Good News, what comes to our mind?

Do we think of a heavenly real estate deal that after signing up we are now assured of a place in heaven?

Do we think of a divine fire insurance that after putting our name on the dotted line we can now heave a deep sigh of relief because we are skipping hell?

Is it as simple as ABC?

Accept Believe and Confess?

Is that all there is to the Good News?

In studies of contemporary religion in America, sociologists have found a disturbing trend among teenagers.

For them, “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem…

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.” [1]

[1]“Death by Deism” by Collin Hansen (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/aprilweb-only/116-11.0.html?start=1)

Simply put, relationship with God became a religion about Him.

But I think that point of view is not just held by teenagers and it is not just found among Americans. Is that it? Is that what the Good News is all about?

So, when that one person asks; What’s so good about the Good News, anyway?

Of course, when we put our faith in our Lord Jesus as Savior, we have eternal life. But there’s more to the Good News than just making sure we would enjoy heaven and won’t endure hell.

Yes, when we believe, we will find peace. But the Good News is not just about peace. It’s not at all just about feeling good. There’s more to the Good News than that. There’s more to it than just making a decision for Christ and then proceeding with our lives as usual. So, what’s so good about the Good News?

Titus 2:11-14 gives us the answer.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Here we see that the reason the good news is good is because the Good News involves all aspects of our life.

Why? Because the grace that SAVES is the grace that WORKS.

In the Greek, Titus chapter 2 verses 11 to 14 are actually one long sentence.

Titus was the pastor of the church in that place called Crete.

The Cretans or those who live in Crete have a bad reputation.

In Titus 1:12, we read that “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’”

Now that they became believers, they should live differently. But there are some people who “claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are so detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

There are people like that today. People who claim they are believers yet we wonder as we look at their lives if they really are believers. Now before we think I am referring to that person to your left or to your right, consider first if the person sitting where you are seated right now is genuinely a Christ follower.

First, let us talk about the grace that saves.

Verse 11 tells us, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” Circle the phrase “the grace of God.”

Grace is God’s kindness that He freely gives us even if we are not worthy to receive it.

His grace “brings salvation”.

We read this in Ephesians 2:8-9. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

We can’t do anything to earn salvation.

It is only made possible by grace not by good works.

We receive it through faith in our Lord Jesus.

If that is not clear enough, look at Romans 11:6. “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

Grace is God’s gift. If you have to pay for a gift, if you have to earn it, you wont, if you have to deserve it, you never will. (Romans 3:21-24) it’s no longer a gift.

We are saved by grace, not by works.

What does it mean that “the grace of God… has APPEARED to all men”?

We got the word “epiphany” from the Greek word used here for “appeared,” which either means “the sudden realization or leap in understanding” or “the appearance of manifestation of God.”

In the Greek, it means “the dawning of light upon darkness” or “to become visible or known.”

But the grace that appeared here is not just an idea we suddenly understood.

Paul used the same Greek word in verse 13: “the glorious APPEARING of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”.

Here in our context, the grace that has already appeared refers to our Lord Jesus.

Verse 11 talks about His first coming and verse 13 refers to His second coming.

He is grace in the flesh.

When we talk of grace here we are talking of a person, not a principle.

We don’t just talk about the Lord.

We connect with Him.

That’s what so good about the Good News. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion… an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

Here He is called “our great God and Savior”. This is one of the clearest and strongest verses to prove that Jesus is equal with the Father, that He is God.

Some people would say that “great God” refers to the Father and “Savior” refers to the Son. But it did not say “our great God and OUR Savior”.

If the verse is phrased as such, that would mean that Paul was referring to two persons. But it says “OUR great God AND Savior.”

Literally in the Greek, it goes like this: “the great God and Savior of us Jesus Christ”. Thus, it refers to one person, “Jesus Christ”.

Jesus was not the Father but He is equal with God. And the fact that He is God means that He is Lord, the Master and the Boss of our entire lives.

Verse 14 tell us Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Note that it says He “gave himself for us”.

He voluntarily gave Himself for us.

People did not have to force Him on the cross.

He willingly died for our sins.

Circle the conjunction “to.” It can be translated “in order that” or “so that.”

It gave us the reason why Christ gave Himself for us. He did it in order that He can “redeem us”.

In the Greek, the word “redeem” means “to obtain release by the payment of a price, to ransom”.

For slaves, that word is very precious.

We are no longer bound by sin or wickedness. Christ has set us free.

He Himself is the ransom.

We deserve death.

But He died in our place.

We can’t save ourselves.

He saved us.

Notice here too He Himself redeemed us from sin with Himself as the price for Himself. That other than redeeming us from wickedness, another reason He gave Himself for us is “to purify for himself a people that are his very own”.

Literally, “his very own” is “his own possession”.

We now belong to Jesus.

He Himself redeemed us from sin with Himself as the price for Himself.

We are now His prized possessions Who would do His bidding.

It is clear here that there is a dual purpose why Christ gave Himself for us.

It is “to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

He saved us from wickedness or bad works.

And He saved us for good works.

Underline the last clause: “eager to do what is good.”

The word “eager” means we are to be zealous in doing what is right.

We are to be passionate for good works.

Good works do not save us.

But once we are saved, the moment we belong to Him, that means He saved us for good works – living into and outward from God’s Greatest Commandment. 

Matthew 22:34-40 Revised Standard Version

The Greatest Commandment

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad′ducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 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.”

Let us now talk about the grace that works.

Grace makes works possible.

Note that “the grace of God… teaches us”.

It means that grace instructs or disciplines us.

It is like how a parent trains a child.

Grace leads, guides and directs us to do good works.

We can’t accept Christ and still live the way we once lived.

Now that we are in Christ, we live according to His ways on His terms.

If a person claims to be a believer and yet we don’t see any change at all in his life, we have reasons to doubt his claim.

I am not saying that we become sinless but we look at our lives and see that we sin less.

That’s why the book of James tell us “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead… faith without deeds is dead.”

If Jesus is our Lord, we are to obey Him.

The call to faith in Christ is the call to follow Him.

That’s a pattern in the book of Titus.

In his greeting to Titus, Paul talked about “the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness”.

Later, in Titus 3:8, Paul gave this instruction to Titus:

“I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.”

So, the grace that saves is the grace that works.

It’s not that we need to become holy and pure by our own efforts in order to earn salvation.

Rather, the salvation Jesus freely gives to us also teaches us and forms us into people who live holy lives out of gratitude.

Salvation comes first, and holy living is a result.

The good news for people every­where is that Jesus gives salvation to all who confess with all their It’s not that we need to become holy and pure by our own efforts in order to earn salvation. Rather, the salvation that Jesus freely gives to us also teaches us and forms us into people who live holy lives out of gratitude. Salvation comes first, and holy living is a result.

The good news for people every­where is that Jesus gives salvation to all who confess with their whole heart their belief in him. But the good news gets even better. In addition to giving us salvation, Jesus gives us new life right now.

The gospel is not just about living with God after we die; it’s also about living in holiness and purity with God right now. We can receive the grace of holy living as we follow Jesus each day. believe in him. But the good news gets even better than that. In addition to giving us salvation, Jesus gives us new life right now.

The gospel is not just about living with God after we die; it’s also about living into and outward from our holiness and purity with God right now. We can receive the grace of holy living as we follow Jesus each day if we’ll accept it.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let’s Pray,

Psalm 119:1-16 Revised Standard Version

The Glories of God’s Law

119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways!
4 Thou hast commanded thy precepts
    to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
    in keeping thy statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
    having my eyes fixed on all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with an upright heart,
    when I learn thy righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe thy statutes;
    O forsake me not utterly!

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart I seek thee;
    let me not wander from thy commandments!
11 I have laid up thy word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed be thou, O Lord;
    teach me thy statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
    all the ordinances of thy mouth.
14 In the way of thy testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on thy precepts,
    and fix my eyes on thy ways.
16 I will delight in thy statutes;
    I will not forget thy word.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: The Importance of our acknowledging HIS story as being everyone’s story. Deuteronomy 4:7-10

Deuteronomy 4:7-10 Complete Jewish Bible

7 For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as Adonai our God is, whenever we call on him? 8 What great nation is there that has laws and rulings as just as this entire Torah which I am setting before you today? 9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won’t forget what you saw with your own eyes, so that these things won’t vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren — 10 the day you stood before Adonai your God at Horev, when Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.’

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The title of my devotion today is “Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: The critical Importance of acknowledging HIS story (God’s story) as everyone’s story.”

This effort is my contribution toward the celebration of Black History Month.

In the US of America, February is the month when we celebrate Black History.

This celebration originally began as Negro History Week in 1926 and took place during the second week of February as it coincided with the birthdates of both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

In 1976, the bicentennial of the United States, former President Gerald R. Ford expanded the week into a full month.

In doing so he said the country needed to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout history.”

While Black History Month has been heavily criticized by both black people and people of other races for its unfairness in devoting an entire month to a single group of people, there are significant lessons to be learned from remembering our history, especially as it relates to everyone’s faith, hope and love in God.

During this celebratory month we have the opportunity to share stories, reflect on our rich history (good and bad and devastating) and remember the highest of prices paid by others for us to have the privileges of community that we have.

Celebrating this month gives us the opportunity to remember the best of our history and culture while remembering that it is HIS Story and OUR history.

The remainder of This month I pray that you to really take some time and think about what we have and the rather ugly road travelled and how we all got here.

Talk to some older folks and listen to their stories as they tell you what was available to them sixty years ago, hear the stories they were told by their parents and grandparents and what “life” they had experienced “back then.”

When we hear and understand their stories we can hopefully, prayerfully and humbly, appreciate their sacrifices so we would have more what we have today.

As I said, history is first and foremost HIS (God’s) story we have a long history of active participation and it cannot be remembered if we do not talk about it.

So today, we are going to examine active passive hindsight, and insight and foresight, how our acknowledgement and understanding of HIS story impacts our own story as we try to learn how we live in community today and tomorrow.

Let’s start with a review of the definitions of hindsight, insight and foresight.

Hindsight is “the ability to understand a situation or event after it has already happened or developed.”

It’s our ability to remember what has happened previously which gives us the opportunity to learn from those past experiences.

An example of this is someone learning from a past mistake.

They experience the failure, look back on it and learn from it.

The process and learning from past experiences give us what we call insight.

Insight is discernment; “the ability to see clearly and intuitively into the nature of a complex person, situation or subject.”

Insight actually encompasses both hindsight and foresight. Foresight is “the action of predicting what will happen or what needs to happen in the future.”

It’s the ability to see what is coming.

Foresight moves us forward into taking an action and it makes sure we do not get too complacent, comfortable about taking that action. It demands we move.

Working together, hindsight, insight and foresight allows us to learn from the past, adapt to the present and plan for our future.

Think of it like this, a person with no foresight, hindsight or insight goes for a walk in the street. They see a car coming. They stay in the street. The car keeps coming and they remain in the street. The car runs over them. They had no foresight, hindsight or insight which led them to get out of the way of the car.

When they get out of the hospital, they decide to go for another walk.

This time, however, after getting run over by a car, they learned some things.

First they have foresight. They know that cars move on the streets and they should really anticipate seeing them. Secondly, they have hindsight as they reflect on getting run over by a car previously and take precautions to ensure it does not happen again. Lastly, they have insight as they decide the best way to go for the walk is to stay on the sidewalk, being more aware of their fragility.

Now, these three working instantaneously together, keeps the person safe.

But let me be clear, there are many people walking on this earth with no sight.

These people see the car coming; get run over by the car; forget what it felt like the first time to get run over; and continues to walk in the middle of the street only to be run over again. If not learning from out past we are like this person walking down the middle of the street repeatedly getting run over by cars.

Having hindsight, insight and foresight keeps us from constantly getting run over by life’s circumstances.

I want to share with you why the understanding of our history is so important.

Turn to Deuteronomy 4:7-10.

“For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today? Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

Now turn over to Deuteronomy chapter six and let’s begin with verse six.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-12)

Moses brought the people together to give them the laws of God, with clarity and a conviction that spoke to the hearts of everyone.

In chapter four Moses told the people to remember and to teach their children otherwise they would forget.

In chapter six he goes a step farther.

He tells them to diligently teach their children.

That word diligently means to show persistence and hard word work in doing something.

In other words, Moses was telling the people to make teaching their kids about everything God had done for them as an “daily at every opportunity” priority.

He told them to talk about what God had done and His laws when they sat in their homes, when they walked down the street, when they went to bed and when they got up.

The image that he was painting was that they should always (persistently) be teaching their children and their children’s children about God and everything He had done for them. They were to always be talking about it. Finally he told them that they should write the words on the doorposts of their homes and on their gates. This was to ensure that the words were forever before their eyes.

We need to teach our history so that those who are enjoying the fruits of those who went before them understand the price that was paid.

You see, there are many making good money and we never once picked cotton.

We live in nice homes in mixed subdivisions (not on the other side of the railroad tracks as the old people used to say) and we are treated as equals.

We don’t recall those times when many people were not allowed to own homes.

We can eat at any restaurant that we choose (as long as we are willing to pay for it) don’t remember the signs that said go around to the back door to be served.

There are many of us who go shopping wherever we want and try on all the clothes in the stores and do not remember the times when many were not allowed to try on clothes unless it was purchased from a black owned store on the farthest outskirts of town stocked with out of date second hand fashions.

There were many who never voted because they never had the equal right to vote or because of Jim Crowe laws, they (ballots) were segregated, tainted.

Because voting was something already available to some of us when we reach the appropriate age, the high importance of equal access was utterly lost on us.

There are many of us who approach learning as if learning is a chore because we do not remember a time when blacks were not allowed to go to the same schools as white children to learn – do we recall when President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce school desegregation?

There are some of us who to this day who dislike other races because we do not remember those of other races who stood, marched and died with us during the Civil Rights movement so we could all have everything we have access to today.

Mark 3:31-35 Amplified Bible

31 Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.” 33 And He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For [a] whoever does the will of God [by believing in Me, and following Me], he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Galatians 3:28-29 Amplified Bible

28 There is [now no distinction in regard to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you [who believe] are all one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority]. 29 And if you belong to Christ [if you are in Him], then you are Abraham’s descendants, and [spiritual] heirs according to [God’s] promise.

https://blackhistorymonth.gov/

https://www.history.com/news/little-rock-nine-brown-v-board-eisenhower-101-airborne

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/black-history-month

The Origins of Black History Month

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 133 Amplified Bible

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 
It is like the precious oil [of consecration] poured on the head,
Coming down on the beard,
Even the beard of Aaron,
Coming down upon the edge of his [priestly] robes [consecrating the whole body].
3 
It is like the dew of [Mount] Hermon
Coming down on the hills of Zion;
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forevermore.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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