I Corinthians 2:15-16
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For, Who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? (Isaiah 40:13) But we have the mind of Christ.
We "have the mind of Christ," which enables us to understand and evaluate all things of this World accurately. But the "natural man" has not "known the mind of the Lord," this "mind of Christ," Who is the Lord; so the natural man cannot understand the spiritual man.
More and more I have observed in this World system, that those who do not know the Lord, in not being able to understand spiritual realities, tend to be afraid of what they do not understand; and this fear is bringing more and more anger toward God's people.
Anger is increasing, and being promoted by our Enemy and those who are subject to our Enemy's influence. He knows his time is short, so is furiously working hard to not only kill, steal and destroy, but also to eliminate God's influence by negating His Word and persecuting His people. I expect this to continue to increase, as God has told us in His Word. But I also pray for my land, my country, that God's righteousness would return to our Government, leading my people toward God and His ways, before the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
A Human Point Of View
Mark 8:33
"Get away from Me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."
Jesus' words here to Peter reveal that there are two opposing viewpoints, human and God's. Peter was thinking only on the human level, the reasonable thinking processes that wanted to defend Jesus from being taken and executed. Common sense would demand this. But God's view was that Jesus came to this Earth, becoming human, in order to be His sacrificial Lamb to die in payment of our sins.
We know that Jesus was tempted in every way we can be tempted, and His strong language here to Peter indicate that He was strongly tempted to let Peter fight for Him, to deliver Him from this consequence. His prayer in the Garden, repeated three times, shows us that, in His flesh, when it really came down to it, He really didn't want to have to go through this horrendous, grisly, painful process of dying for us, but He knew that there was no other way to redeem us. Only this would have the power and authority to remove the sins and the state of sin that separates us from God. Only this would allow us to be with Him for all eternity. So He prayed, "Not my [human] will, but Yours [ours from all eternity] be done." That's how much He loves us!
May we endeavor to think God's thoughts, through the Spirit Who lives in us, instead of succumbing to the reasonable, common sense, worldly way of thinking.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"Get away from Me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."
Jesus' words here to Peter reveal that there are two opposing viewpoints, human and God's. Peter was thinking only on the human level, the reasonable thinking processes that wanted to defend Jesus from being taken and executed. Common sense would demand this. But God's view was that Jesus came to this Earth, becoming human, in order to be His sacrificial Lamb to die in payment of our sins.
We know that Jesus was tempted in every way we can be tempted, and His strong language here to Peter indicate that He was strongly tempted to let Peter fight for Him, to deliver Him from this consequence. His prayer in the Garden, repeated three times, shows us that, in His flesh, when it really came down to it, He really didn't want to have to go through this horrendous, grisly, painful process of dying for us, but He knew that there was no other way to redeem us. Only this would have the power and authority to remove the sins and the state of sin that separates us from God. Only this would allow us to be with Him for all eternity. So He prayed, "Not my [human] will, but Yours [ours from all eternity] be done." That's how much He loves us!
May we endeavor to think God's thoughts, through the Spirit Who lives in us, instead of succumbing to the reasonable, common sense, worldly way of thinking.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Old Age In The Lord
Psalm 92: 12-15
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, "The Lord is just! He's my Rock! There is no evil in Him!"
These are wonderful promises for those who are getting "up in years." To flourish and grow strong, and still produce fruit after many years, vital and green. Trees can live hundreds of years, growing ever larger and more beautiful. I pray that I will continue to grow in the Lord, that I will never give in to "old age," always seeking a deeper understanding of God's Word. And to be able to share God's Truth with an ever wider audience, who will participate with me in this profitable and fruitful study.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, "The Lord is just! He's my Rock! There is no evil in Him!"
These are wonderful promises for those who are getting "up in years." To flourish and grow strong, and still produce fruit after many years, vital and green. Trees can live hundreds of years, growing ever larger and more beautiful. I pray that I will continue to grow in the Lord, that I will never give in to "old age," always seeking a deeper understanding of God's Word. And to be able to share God's Truth with an ever wider audience, who will participate with me in this profitable and fruitful study.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 7, 2016
Number Our Days
Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days (Teach us to realize the brevity of life).
O my Father, teach me to be constantly aware of how precious each moment is that you grant me to live. Help me to consider each day as an irretrievable gift from You to spend--not waste--doing the things You have planned beforetime for me to do, to accomplish Your plans for my life, plans for my good, that further Your great Plan of the Ages, and will bring glory to Your Name.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Teach us to number our days (Teach us to realize the brevity of life).
O my Father, teach me to be constantly aware of how precious each moment is that you grant me to live. Help me to consider each day as an irretrievable gift from You to spend--not waste--doing the things You have planned beforetime for me to do, to accomplish Your plans for my life, plans for my good, that further Your great Plan of the Ages, and will bring glory to Your Name.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, Conclusion
John 17: 24-26
We will now see Jesus' conclusion, His summary of His prayer:
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am,
Jesus wants us to be with Him, wherever He is or will be; He wants us to be beside Him, He wants us to spend all our time with Him. That's how much He loves us. He wants us to joy and rejoice with and in Him in the Love that pervades everything He is and does.
and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me
To rejoice in His value, His worth, His importance, His magnificence.
because You loved Me before the creation of the world.
His glory, what gives Him that value, worth and importance is the Love that the Father has given Him, since before He decided to create. Love is what gives value and worth.
Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me.
Those in the World System have no idea of Who God is, or what He is like. Jesus came from the Father, and knows Him intimately. And we who belong to Him understand that the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world to save us.
I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known
Jesus has revealed to us Who He is, Who the Father is, and Who the Holy Spirit is; and He will continue to reveal this to His own throughout all the ages He calls people out to Himself, through His Holy Spirit Who He sends to live in us.
in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.
It's all about Love. Love is the center of Who God is and what He does. God loves Himself in His three persons, the Family, the Community that is our One God. And He loves His creation, all He has made. He loves Mankind, and gives us the choice whether to love Him back.
Jesus is praying for all of us, every one of us who has chosen to seek Him and to believe His Truth. He wants all of us, from His apostles and disciples through the ages to each of us today, to believe, to trust in the exact same Truth He taught His followers when He walked this Earth. He wants all of us to be one in our love for Him in believing Him, and our love for one another. This love is our basis of and foundation for all we believe, trust in and do in our moment-by-moment daily lives.
God's Truth sets us free from all the lies and deception all around us. What we believe and trust in affects how our daily lives function, whether we do well or are enticed to make poor choices. Jesus saves us from the punishment for our sins, but not the consequences of our decisions. These consequences are to teach us to obey His ways, the principles He has given us in His Word, the Bible.
Jesus asked His Father to protect us (v. 11), so that we can all be one. Let us all decide to formulate our thoughts around what is true, just, honest, pure, lovely, of good reputation, virtuous and worthy of praise (God's thought-list, Philippians 4:8), so we will view others in a positive frame of mind and love them with God's love in us, and choose to obey all God wants us to be and do.
Let's all be one, doing our best to "keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; in the one spiritual body; all being called in the same Hope; in One Lord, one Faith, the same spiritual Baptism [in being immersed into the same Body], into One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:3-6). Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
We will now see Jesus' conclusion, His summary of His prayer:
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am,
Jesus wants us to be with Him, wherever He is or will be; He wants us to be beside Him, He wants us to spend all our time with Him. That's how much He loves us. He wants us to joy and rejoice with and in Him in the Love that pervades everything He is and does.
and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me
To rejoice in His value, His worth, His importance, His magnificence.
because You loved Me before the creation of the world.
His glory, what gives Him that value, worth and importance is the Love that the Father has given Him, since before He decided to create. Love is what gives value and worth.
Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me.
Those in the World System have no idea of Who God is, or what He is like. Jesus came from the Father, and knows Him intimately. And we who belong to Him understand that the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world to save us.
I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known
Jesus has revealed to us Who He is, Who the Father is, and Who the Holy Spirit is; and He will continue to reveal this to His own throughout all the ages He calls people out to Himself, through His Holy Spirit Who He sends to live in us.
in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.
It's all about Love. Love is the center of Who God is and what He does. God loves Himself in His three persons, the Family, the Community that is our One God. And He loves His creation, all He has made. He loves Mankind, and gives us the choice whether to love Him back.
Jesus is praying for all of us, every one of us who has chosen to seek Him and to believe His Truth. He wants all of us, from His apostles and disciples through the ages to each of us today, to believe, to trust in the exact same Truth He taught His followers when He walked this Earth. He wants all of us to be one in our love for Him in believing Him, and our love for one another. This love is our basis of and foundation for all we believe, trust in and do in our moment-by-moment daily lives.
God's Truth sets us free from all the lies and deception all around us. What we believe and trust in affects how our daily lives function, whether we do well or are enticed to make poor choices. Jesus saves us from the punishment for our sins, but not the consequences of our decisions. These consequences are to teach us to obey His ways, the principles He has given us in His Word, the Bible.
Jesus asked His Father to protect us (v. 11), so that we can all be one. Let us all decide to formulate our thoughts around what is true, just, honest, pure, lovely, of good reputation, virtuous and worthy of praise (God's thought-list, Philippians 4:8), so we will view others in a positive frame of mind and love them with God's love in us, and choose to obey all God wants us to be and do.
Let's all be one, doing our best to "keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; in the one spiritual body; all being called in the same Hope; in One Lord, one Faith, the same spiritual Baptism [in being immersed into the same Body], into One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:3-6). Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, Part 4
John 17:20-23
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one,
Wow, Jesus prayed not only for those disciples who walked with Him, but He looked down the corridor of Time and saw all of those through the centuries who would come to Him through the words the disciples wrote, which became the New Testament. Jesus wanted all of us to believe the same Truth He taught His followers who walked with Him in Palestine.
There is no "New Christianity" that is the Truth Jesus taught; that sounds like a "new gospel," something different than what the Church taught from the beginning on the Day of Pentecost. Paul wrote to the Church at Galatia that they were "turning to another gospel--which is really no Gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from Heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!" (Galatians 1:6-9).
Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us
God is in perfect agreement with Himself: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. And He wants us also to be in perfect agreement with Him, in believing and trusting and living out all that He has given us in His Word, not adding anything to it or taking anything away from it.
Written language is "words that stay," (to quote a line from The Dark Chrystal movie). Words that are written down do not change their meanings, if they are understood according to the writers' intentions. And if these intentions are changed by someone else, then the truth of them is removed and the new meanings are deceptive. This applies to every piece of written material, whether it is ancient Egyptian, original Parchments, our American Constitution, or our Bible.
Jesus tells us why He wants us to be in agreement with Him:
so that the World may believe that You have sent Me.
No one alive has any excuse for not believing God. The Creation itself testifies to God's divine nature and eternal power (Romans 1:19-20). And when Jesus' Body on this Earth, His Temple built of Living Stones, is in agreement with Who God is and what He has said, believing it and trusting in it and living it out in our love for him and one another, then the World around us will know for a certainty that Jesus did come, even if they refuse to believe it.
I gave them the Glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one--I in them and You in Me--so that they may be brought to complete unity.
The glory: the dignity, the integrity, the honor of the Truth. Jesus wanted us to be confident in our Faith, having the complete, finished Bible, and each one of us trusting in the same Truth. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the Church on this Earth, all One in faith and doctrine.
Then the World will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
The center of it all is Love. God is Love, He loves what He has made, He loves His own Son, and He also loves us with that same Love. It's Love that makes the world go 'round, and our Love for one another will demonstrate God's love to the World.
This prayer is the most important passage in the whole Bible to show us Jesus' heart for us, God's concern for our good. And it's all about Love.
We will study through the Chapter on Love, after we see the conclusion of this prayer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one,
Wow, Jesus prayed not only for those disciples who walked with Him, but He looked down the corridor of Time and saw all of those through the centuries who would come to Him through the words the disciples wrote, which became the New Testament. Jesus wanted all of us to believe the same Truth He taught His followers who walked with Him in Palestine.
There is no "New Christianity" that is the Truth Jesus taught; that sounds like a "new gospel," something different than what the Church taught from the beginning on the Day of Pentecost. Paul wrote to the Church at Galatia that they were "turning to another gospel--which is really no Gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from Heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!" (Galatians 1:6-9).
Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us
God is in perfect agreement with Himself: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. And He wants us also to be in perfect agreement with Him, in believing and trusting and living out all that He has given us in His Word, not adding anything to it or taking anything away from it.
Written language is "words that stay," (to quote a line from The Dark Chrystal movie). Words that are written down do not change their meanings, if they are understood according to the writers' intentions. And if these intentions are changed by someone else, then the truth of them is removed and the new meanings are deceptive. This applies to every piece of written material, whether it is ancient Egyptian, original Parchments, our American Constitution, or our Bible.
Jesus tells us why He wants us to be in agreement with Him:
so that the World may believe that You have sent Me.
No one alive has any excuse for not believing God. The Creation itself testifies to God's divine nature and eternal power (Romans 1:19-20). And when Jesus' Body on this Earth, His Temple built of Living Stones, is in agreement with Who God is and what He has said, believing it and trusting in it and living it out in our love for him and one another, then the World around us will know for a certainty that Jesus did come, even if they refuse to believe it.
I gave them the Glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one--I in them and You in Me--so that they may be brought to complete unity.
The glory: the dignity, the integrity, the honor of the Truth. Jesus wanted us to be confident in our Faith, having the complete, finished Bible, and each one of us trusting in the same Truth. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the Church on this Earth, all One in faith and doctrine.
Then the World will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
The center of it all is Love. God is Love, He loves what He has made, He loves His own Son, and He also loves us with that same Love. It's Love that makes the world go 'round, and our Love for one another will demonstrate God's love to the World.
This prayer is the most important passage in the whole Bible to show us Jesus' heart for us, God's concern for our good. And it's all about Love.
We will study through the Chapter on Love, after we see the conclusion of this prayer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 4, 2016
Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, Part 3
John 17:13-19
I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them.
Jesus is known as a "Man of Sorrows," but if His life was all sorrows He would not have attracted followers; who wants to hang around a sad sack? Jesus attended the parties, He told jokes; maybe He wasn't the "life of the party," but He knew how to have fun. In the Old Testament He told His people to come to His House (Temple) three times a year for a week-long party! That's what a feast was, a party.
Now Jesus is going to leave Earth, His work here was being completed and finished, but He wanted to make sure to tie up all the loose ends before He left. It was very important to Him to have His followers know the Joy of the Lord in their lives. "The joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10) that we will need in our battles with the evil one, our enemy, just as "for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross" (Hebrews 12:2).
I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
He knows that His joy is what we will need when we face the hatred of the world. Jesus was not of this world, because He came down from Heaven and took upon Himself a human body (Isaiah tells us that the child was born, but the Son was given in 9:6), and as He has caused us to be "born of God," we are not of this world, either. In the world we tend to be afraid of what we don't understand, and in our fear we hate it. The world does not understand spiritual truths, that is where the hatred comes from. That's why the world hates us. We need His joy to counter these attacks.
My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Jesus does not ask the Father to take us out of the world, because He has purpose for us here in the world, to spread His Gospel throughout the world, to find the lost lambs and carry them into the fold. So He wants the Father to protect us from the onslaughts of our enemy while we carry out His mission here.
Sanctify (make separate) them by (to live in) the Truth; Your Word is Truth.
Jesus is asking the Father to separate us from the deceptions of the World by believing and trusting and living according to the Truth of the communication He has given us, His Word. Only the Truth of His Word is strong enough to keep us from being pulled away from what is right by the lies of this world we live in.
As You sent Me into the World, I have sent them into the World. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus has separated Himself from the World so that we, also, will really be separated and protected from the evil and destructive ways of this World.
Jesus is doing everything He could possibly do for us, in His love for us, and wanting us to spend a joyous eternity with Him.
Let us continue our study of this wonderful prayer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them.
Jesus is known as a "Man of Sorrows," but if His life was all sorrows He would not have attracted followers; who wants to hang around a sad sack? Jesus attended the parties, He told jokes; maybe He wasn't the "life of the party," but He knew how to have fun. In the Old Testament He told His people to come to His House (Temple) three times a year for a week-long party! That's what a feast was, a party.
Now Jesus is going to leave Earth, His work here was being completed and finished, but He wanted to make sure to tie up all the loose ends before He left. It was very important to Him to have His followers know the Joy of the Lord in their lives. "The joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10) that we will need in our battles with the evil one, our enemy, just as "for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross" (Hebrews 12:2).
I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
He knows that His joy is what we will need when we face the hatred of the world. Jesus was not of this world, because He came down from Heaven and took upon Himself a human body (Isaiah tells us that the child was born, but the Son was given in 9:6), and as He has caused us to be "born of God," we are not of this world, either. In the world we tend to be afraid of what we don't understand, and in our fear we hate it. The world does not understand spiritual truths, that is where the hatred comes from. That's why the world hates us. We need His joy to counter these attacks.
My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Jesus does not ask the Father to take us out of the world, because He has purpose for us here in the world, to spread His Gospel throughout the world, to find the lost lambs and carry them into the fold. So He wants the Father to protect us from the onslaughts of our enemy while we carry out His mission here.
Sanctify (make separate) them by (to live in) the Truth; Your Word is Truth.
Jesus is asking the Father to separate us from the deceptions of the World by believing and trusting and living according to the Truth of the communication He has given us, His Word. Only the Truth of His Word is strong enough to keep us from being pulled away from what is right by the lies of this world we live in.
As You sent Me into the World, I have sent them into the World. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus has separated Himself from the World so that we, also, will really be separated and protected from the evil and destructive ways of this World.
Jesus is doing everything He could possibly do for us, in His love for us, and wanting us to spend a joyous eternity with Him.
Let us continue our study of this wonderful prayer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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