Philippians 2: 6, 8
Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped ... He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus knew before He came that He would have to die. That's the only way anyone is able to get out of this World.
Before this Earth was created, the Triune Godhead decided what He would do when Mankind sinned.
"Then Elohim said, Let us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26).
Then the Second Person of the Godhead reached down, got a handful of dirt, and ...
"And the LORD God formed Man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7).
So the LORD God assumed full responsibility for Mankind, knowing that we would sin, and He would only be able to take us to live with Him where He is by coming to us as one of us, in order to cleanse us, so that we would be fit to live with Him where He is.
By becoming the Lamb of God, the personal Sacrifice that we each would need to wash away our sins with His Blood, He would cleanse us of every stain and spot, making us blameless to dwell with Him in Heaven.
This is the only way we can go to Heaven. Jesus knew this. In His humanity, he didn't want to have to go through with it, and prayed in the Garden that if there was any other way, to not make Him do it (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36). But He knew there was no other way, and submitted to the Father's will, that He had agreed to before the beginning.
Jesus had to face death in order to conquer it, and He was Resurrected with a new kind of life, no longer subject to death.
Now He can call us, who have accepted His sacrifice as our own, to that same Resurrection life, our bodies changed to be like His, either from the grave or without having to die, if we live to that Day of His Glorious Appearing. Then we also will no longer be subject to death, and we will live with our Lord, face-to-face, forever.
That's why He came. And He is coming again. Soon.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
"Never Again"?
Deuteronomy 19: 19-20
... Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. And the rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
God is such a good Father to us. He has laid out His laws and statutes and regulations, and He has provided enforcement so that there would be accountability and consequences for not obeying Him.
All so that the rest will hear and obey, and God would then be able to bless them.
We prevent God from being able to bless us by our own sin--our own stubbornness and rebellion. But when consequences are dramatic and immediate, then we gain the fear and respect and awe of God to impel us to obey. Then we can receive good things from His hand again.
O my Father, show us how to promote Your righteousness in our society, so that we will be able to receive Your good in our government and in our Nation, live in peace and freedom; and You will receive the glory!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. And the rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
God is such a good Father to us. He has laid out His laws and statutes and regulations, and He has provided enforcement so that there would be accountability and consequences for not obeying Him.
All so that the rest will hear and obey, and God would then be able to bless them.
We prevent God from being able to bless us by our own sin--our own stubbornness and rebellion. But when consequences are dramatic and immediate, then we gain the fear and respect and awe of God to impel us to obey. Then we can receive good things from His hand again.
O my Father, show us how to promote Your righteousness in our society, so that we will be able to receive Your good in our government and in our Nation, live in peace and freedom; and You will receive the glory!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Be Careful
Deuteronomy 16: 12
... And you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
Proverbs 1: 7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
O my Father, You are the Source and Fountainhead of all Truth, all true knowledge, in every category.
Only a right relationship with You can open our minds and hearts to receive and accept Your Truth.
Even when You grant us Your knowledge and an understanding of Your ways, we still need to "be careful" in order to actually live, doing what You have told us.
We never just fall into doing what is right, we always need to pay attention to what we're doing, what we're saying, and how we're allowing our thought processes to flow.
We constantly need Your Spirit, Father, to fill us and direct our steps, so that we will be able to stay straight on that path You have set our feet upon, not turning to the right-hand nor to the left.
Help me, Father, to walk with You, my Lord and my Guide, not wandering off or pulling away. Hold my hand tightly, that I not be drawn away by the crowds of the World pressing in.
And may You receive all the credit, all the glory, for what Your are doing in and through me, throughout all the World, and into Your glorious Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... And you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
Proverbs 1: 7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
O my Father, You are the Source and Fountainhead of all Truth, all true knowledge, in every category.
Only a right relationship with You can open our minds and hearts to receive and accept Your Truth.
Even when You grant us Your knowledge and an understanding of Your ways, we still need to "be careful" in order to actually live, doing what You have told us.
We never just fall into doing what is right, we always need to pay attention to what we're doing, what we're saying, and how we're allowing our thought processes to flow.
We constantly need Your Spirit, Father, to fill us and direct our steps, so that we will be able to stay straight on that path You have set our feet upon, not turning to the right-hand nor to the left.
Help me, Father, to walk with You, my Lord and my Guide, not wandering off or pulling away. Hold my hand tightly, that I not be drawn away by the crowds of the World pressing in.
And may You receive all the credit, all the glory, for what Your are doing in and through me, throughout all the World, and into Your glorious Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, August 27, 2018
So That God May Bless You
Deuteronomy 13: 6-11; 14: 29
If [anyone, even] your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or your wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, ... do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. ... Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
...So that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
God left no doubt or ambiguity as to what His laws were, and He required that they be enforced with a strong hand. Why?
God instituted Capital Punishment for Capital offences. When sentences are carried out in a timely fashion, then the rest of society will know where the boundaries are and the consequences for overstepping them, and will comply. That brings order to the society. And He can give us His abundant blessings.
When we are in tune with God and His ways, then we are available to receive from His hand all the good He wants to give us. When we rebel against Him and chase after other, worldly pursuits, we cut off that connection to God, and can receive nothing from Him.
That's why our Nations have such troubles: We have turned away from God as a Nation, and are therefore under His curse!
You must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt (13: 15-16).
God is deadly serious in what He says. When we listen to what He says, believe that He means it, and obey Him in following His ways; then He shows Himself to be very kind and generous and showers upon us abundant blessings.
But if we decide we know better, or have a better idea than His command, that shows that we have listened to the lies of the enemy and been deceived, to our own destruction.
O my Father, Thank You for Your faithfulness to Your Word. Thank You that we can depend on You to do exactly what You have said You would do, for good and also for bad.
You have given us a free choice to decide what we want, but we don't have a choice when it comes to the consequences of our decisions. Father, lead us, teach us Your wisdom to research the consequences of our possible choices and decide on what You would have us do, to get the very best outcome. And then we will get the benefits and You will get the glory.
And Father, protect Your own. Bring us out of the "city" that is ready to be destroyed, that we not be partakers of her sins or receive any of her plagues (Revelation 18:4).
Bring us out and bring us in, Father, into Your glorious Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
If [anyone, even] your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or your wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, ... do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. ... Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
...So that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
God left no doubt or ambiguity as to what His laws were, and He required that they be enforced with a strong hand. Why?
God instituted Capital Punishment for Capital offences. When sentences are carried out in a timely fashion, then the rest of society will know where the boundaries are and the consequences for overstepping them, and will comply. That brings order to the society. And He can give us His abundant blessings.
When we are in tune with God and His ways, then we are available to receive from His hand all the good He wants to give us. When we rebel against Him and chase after other, worldly pursuits, we cut off that connection to God, and can receive nothing from Him.
That's why our Nations have such troubles: We have turned away from God as a Nation, and are therefore under His curse!
You must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt (13: 15-16).
God is deadly serious in what He says. When we listen to what He says, believe that He means it, and obey Him in following His ways; then He shows Himself to be very kind and generous and showers upon us abundant blessings.
But if we decide we know better, or have a better idea than His command, that shows that we have listened to the lies of the enemy and been deceived, to our own destruction.
O my Father, Thank You for Your faithfulness to Your Word. Thank You that we can depend on You to do exactly what You have said You would do, for good and also for bad.
You have given us a free choice to decide what we want, but we don't have a choice when it comes to the consequences of our decisions. Father, lead us, teach us Your wisdom to research the consequences of our possible choices and decide on what You would have us do, to get the very best outcome. And then we will get the benefits and You will get the glory.
And Father, protect Your own. Bring us out of the "city" that is ready to be destroyed, that we not be partakers of her sins or receive any of her plagues (Revelation 18:4).
Bring us out and bring us in, Father, into Your glorious Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Do Not Add Or Take Away
Deuteronomy 12: 32
Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Proverbs 30: 6
Do not add to His Words lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.
Revelation 22: 18-19
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City, which are described in this book.
God is serious about what He wrote to us. He told us everything we need to know to live our lives in this World in a godly and righteous way, and we need every word. He didn't put in anything superfluous, and He means every word.
The principles we learn in studying His Word apply to every circumstance we may face, every situation we could ever encounter in life.
We get into trouble whenever we either add something He didn't intend, or deny and leave out something He said or commanded.
O my Father, thank You for giving us Your written Word. Thank You that it is complete and finished. Father, strengthen us to be very careful to do everything You have told us to do, and not just talk about it, living our lives according to Your ways in everything we do.
Help us, Father, to be very careful, purposeful, and intentional to obey You. Let us not naturally fall and slip into error, into sin. Teach us to be very careful to do Your will, Your way.
Father, continue to wake us up to what is going on in the World around us, teach us how to promote Your righteousness in our society, and to build toward Your Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Proverbs 30: 6
Do not add to His Words lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.
Revelation 22: 18-19
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City, which are described in this book.
God is serious about what He wrote to us. He told us everything we need to know to live our lives in this World in a godly and righteous way, and we need every word. He didn't put in anything superfluous, and He means every word.
The principles we learn in studying His Word apply to every circumstance we may face, every situation we could ever encounter in life.
We get into trouble whenever we either add something He didn't intend, or deny and leave out something He said or commanded.
O my Father, thank You for giving us Your written Word. Thank You that it is complete and finished. Father, strengthen us to be very careful to do everything You have told us to do, and not just talk about it, living our lives according to Your ways in everything we do.
Help us, Father, to be very careful, purposeful, and intentional to obey You. Let us not naturally fall and slip into error, into sin. Teach us to be very careful to do Your will, Your way.
Father, continue to wake us up to what is going on in the World around us, teach us how to promote Your righteousness in our society, and to build toward Your Kingdom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, August 25, 2018
What Does God Require?
Deuteronomy 10: 12-13
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your own good?
For our own good! God wants to bless us with good. He has designed into this Earth everything everybody will ever need to enjoy an abundance of prosperity, if only we would respect God as God and obey what He tells us to do.
No one who buys a new car has a problem with obeying what the book in the glove-box says to do, concerning care of the vehicle. It only makes sense to follow the manufacturer's instructions so that this automobile will give you good service for the life of the vehicle.
Our Manufacturer has also given us His instructions to follow. And when we live our lives according to His ways, the result will also be that our lives will give us many years of good living.
But this World around us, our enemy the devil, and our own flesh all contrive to deceive us into thinking contrary to God's ways (Ephesians 2:1-3). Even our own hearts lie to us (Jeremiah 17:9). So I can't even trust my own thinking or logic.
I must consult my Maker's Book for instructions on how to live. I must let Him love me with His unmatched, eternal, unlimited, and unconditional Love; I must believe what He says about me so I can love myself; I must love Him back above all else; and I must display His love in all my relationships and dealings with others.
Then I will be obeying all the laws He gave us to guide us (Matthew 22:37-40).
This is everything God wants of us. Just to recognize Who He is, to know Him, to love Him back, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Simple, but not easy.
To live above with saints we love,
O won't that be glory!
But to live below with saints we know,
Well, that's a different story!
So we need God's Holy Spirit living in us, making our dead spirit alive, and teaching us God's Truth as we read and study His Word. So we can relate to those we are related to, and to deal with those we have dealings with, in Love.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your own good?
For our own good! God wants to bless us with good. He has designed into this Earth everything everybody will ever need to enjoy an abundance of prosperity, if only we would respect God as God and obey what He tells us to do.
No one who buys a new car has a problem with obeying what the book in the glove-box says to do, concerning care of the vehicle. It only makes sense to follow the manufacturer's instructions so that this automobile will give you good service for the life of the vehicle.
Our Manufacturer has also given us His instructions to follow. And when we live our lives according to His ways, the result will also be that our lives will give us many years of good living.
But this World around us, our enemy the devil, and our own flesh all contrive to deceive us into thinking contrary to God's ways (Ephesians 2:1-3). Even our own hearts lie to us (Jeremiah 17:9). So I can't even trust my own thinking or logic.
I must consult my Maker's Book for instructions on how to live. I must let Him love me with His unmatched, eternal, unlimited, and unconditional Love; I must believe what He says about me so I can love myself; I must love Him back above all else; and I must display His love in all my relationships and dealings with others.
Then I will be obeying all the laws He gave us to guide us (Matthew 22:37-40).
This is everything God wants of us. Just to recognize Who He is, to know Him, to love Him back, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Simple, but not easy.
To live above with saints we love,
O won't that be glory!
But to live below with saints we know,
Well, that's a different story!
So we need God's Holy Spirit living in us, making our dead spirit alive, and teaching us God's Truth as we read and study His Word. So we can relate to those we are related to, and to deal with those we have dealings with, in Love.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, August 24, 2018
Power To Make Wealth
Deuteronomy 8: 17-18
You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."
But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who is giving you power to make wealth,
in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your forefathers, and as it is today.
When it comes to financial matters, God has given us so many practical principles to observe and follow, many of which don't even seem to relate to money.
Yet when we set out to know His ways and His attitudes, and we determine to obey His commandments, laws, and rules, then we naturally prosper as the result.
Even when people do not acknowledge God at all follow His ways in loving one another, they also prosper, because that is how He designed our World to work.
Wealth is not static, not a set sum, that for some to have they must deprive others. No, wealth is made, it grows with the integrity of those who follow God's ways, and is to be enjoyed by all the people.
But even if some could manage to acquire ownership of all the World's resources for their own use, what would it profit them, if they only have it the few days of this life, and lose out on the eternal forever ahead of us all?
O Father, wake up Your Church! Continue to wake up Your Church! Wake us up to follow Your ways to love You and our neighbor as You love us, and to prosper to finance the coming of Your Kingdom.
Father, You know that our enemy is funding His minions to promote all kinds of perversions and twisting of Your beautiful Truth, making it into disgusting and despicable immitations to deceive and destroy the masses.
What You have told us to expect in the Last Days is all coming to pass right now. Please protect Your children, Father; so that even though a thousand perish at our side, and ten thousand on our right hand, it will not come near or touch us at all (Psalm 91:7-8).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."
But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who is giving you power to make wealth,
in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your forefathers, and as it is today.
When it comes to financial matters, God has given us so many practical principles to observe and follow, many of which don't even seem to relate to money.
Yet when we set out to know His ways and His attitudes, and we determine to obey His commandments, laws, and rules, then we naturally prosper as the result.
Even when people do not acknowledge God at all follow His ways in loving one another, they also prosper, because that is how He designed our World to work.
Wealth is not static, not a set sum, that for some to have they must deprive others. No, wealth is made, it grows with the integrity of those who follow God's ways, and is to be enjoyed by all the people.
But even if some could manage to acquire ownership of all the World's resources for their own use, what would it profit them, if they only have it the few days of this life, and lose out on the eternal forever ahead of us all?
O Father, wake up Your Church! Continue to wake up Your Church! Wake us up to follow Your ways to love You and our neighbor as You love us, and to prosper to finance the coming of Your Kingdom.
Father, You know that our enemy is funding His minions to promote all kinds of perversions and twisting of Your beautiful Truth, making it into disgusting and despicable immitations to deceive and destroy the masses.
What You have told us to expect in the Last Days is all coming to pass right now. Please protect Your children, Father; so that even though a thousand perish at our side, and ten thousand on our right hand, it will not come near or touch us at all (Psalm 91:7-8).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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