I Peter 1: 10-12
As to this salvation,
The Salvation we just went over yesterday, in the verses just preceding these.
the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,
Those ancient writers who penned the prophesies so long ago. They wanted to know what they were writing about.
seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating
The Spirit of Christ was telling them what He would do when He came. The Son is our Christ, who is the Lord God of the Old Testament, and the High Priest and Sacrifice of the New Covenant.
as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
He told them in advance of His coming, so that they would recognize Him when He came and fulfilled all these laws and prophesies. He laid it all out for them.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you,
They knew that they would not live to see the fulfillment of what they were writing, so they weren't doing it for themselves or the people of their time, but their future time, when we would be living.
in these things which now have been announced to you
Now all these things that were written so long ago have been presented to us.
through those who preached the gospel to you
Our pastors and missionaries and teachers today are preaching and teaching us how Jesus came the first time and fulfilled what He had told the ancient prophets to write.
That He was our Personal Sacrifice given in the Law who suffered the execution death of a criminal to pay our debt. That's the first part of the prophesies.
The second part is that He rose from the dead, and received the Kingdom from His Father: the glory that follows the suffering.
by the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven--
The same Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Prophesy, is the same Spirit of Truth who taught the Prophets of Old, and who lives in us today to teach us these Truths.
--things into which Angels long to look.
Even God's holy Angels in Heaven are curious about how God's love for us planned out all these things and is carrying out His plans in accomplishing all the things that must be done to redeem this fallen race of Man.
The Angels are watching us, too. Watching how God is redeeming us from the foreclosure our enemy tried to pull over on us, buying us out of the eternal debt we owe for sin, paying off our mortgage in full. This is amazing.
That this sorry race of Mankind would get itself into such a pickle, to rebel against our very Source of Life, and get caught in a trap that snares us so hopelessly that there is nothing we can do no matter what we try.
Then our Hero steps in "at the last minute" and pays off our debt for us, breaks the chains that hold us fast, releases the trap that holds us securely, and washes us from the mud and grime and filth we are mired in.
Then He sends His Spirit to actually live inside our spirits, to keep us, and hold us accountable, and strengthen us, and change us. He is molding us, day by day, moment by moment, into the very image of the Son of God--His character of holiness and honor and glory!
This is incredible! No wonder the Angels are interested in seeing how this is all working out. We who had no hope at all, now have the hope--the certainty--of what we don't even see yet, all done for us! All we need to do is cooperate with Him!
That's the rub. If we don't even want to come to God, He won't force us. If we don't want His will, He lets us have our will.
But when we realize we can't do it, we're weak and need help; when we search for Him and seek Him honestly, then He will be found of us. He is searching for us, we're the ones who are lost! We are the lost lambs, caught in the thicket, and He comes and finds us and untangles our lives.
O my Father, You are Amazing! You are Incredible! You are so far beyond all the superlatives I can think of!
Your wisdom and discernment and cleverness has planned out this whole route. Your imagination is fabulous! All You need to do is to Say it, and it is!
And the Word You Said is Your Son, the Living Word (John 1:1-5). And You gave Him the authority, the Lordship over all You have made.
He was born as a Man, and given the Name Jesus. Now we have a face to put to our God. And He is our example, to show us who You are, and teach us Your order that You put into this Creation. First He suffered, then He receives the glory.
And we also, walking in His steps, accept (not welcome or desire [Gethsemane]) the problems, hardships, disappointments, and sorrows this World throws at us. We lean on You, Father, for the strength and perseverance to wade through all the stuff of life. And we learn the lessons they all teach us ("Well, I know not to do THAT again!" "Oh, THAT'S how I can get it done!").
And when we are finished with our course, and have matured to the degree You intend for each of us, then You will take us Home. And our Graduation will be when Jesus returns to this Earth to receive and set up His Kingdom here.
We will be raised, our mortal bodies taking on immortality, our flesh bodies being changed into spiritual bodies, and we will receive our rewards.
Rewards! For what You have done for us and in us and through us. You, Father, have done it all, yet You will reward us! Wow! You are so generous, Father, so gracious, so stupendous! Marvelous are Your works!
Father, I am eagerly anticipating what You have promised us! Please find all of Your little lost lambs who are still out there, on mountain crags, caught in thickets.
Send Your workers into Your missionary fields to find them, having compassion, ... and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 22-23). Give us the courage and boldness to do this, so that all the lost sheep will be found and brought into the safety of the Fold.
That there be One Fold and One Shepherd, that Your House will be full, every place at Your Banquet Table filled.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim in every language, that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign King over all Creation, to the glory of God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, July 12, 2019
Thursday, July 11, 2019
What Is Our Living Hope?
I Peter 1: 3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We give credit to God the Father, the great God and Originator of the concept of Creation, the Head over all; who is Father to our Lord Jesus, our Christ.
who according to His great mercy
It is the Father's mercy that does not give us the punishment we deserve.
has caused us to be born again
We receive our physical life from our mothers when we are conceived and born. But we are born with dead spirits, so we need to receive spiritual life, too. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born again," spiritually (John 3:3-7).
to a living hope
The World sees hope as a wish, but our hope in the Lord is alive, it's knowing we can trust Him to do what He says He will do, He will keep every promise. Our hope is knowing that we just haven't seen it yet.
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we know that everything He said is True, and we can trust Him implicitly. It's not blind faith, because we can see spiritually what the physical eye cannot. Because He lives I can face tomorrow.
To obtain an inheritance
An inheritance is received after the death of the one we inherit from. Jesus died, and we stand to inherit all His riches. We have already received this inheritance, we just don't see it yet.
which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in Heaven for you,
Everything in this World is temporary. It wears out. It breaks down. It decays. Science calls it the Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy. It is the curse God put on the whole Universe as the consequence of sin. Because it is damaged, it must be done away with, so that the perfect can come in.
The inheritance we have is not damaged, it is perfect, so God is keeping it safe for us with Himself where He lives, ready to give it to us at the right time, when we're ready for it.
Who are protected by the power of God
To make sure we will get it, He is protecting us, too, so that we will not miss receiving what He has already given to us, by His great power.
through faith
Through our trust, our reliance on Him.
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We have already been saved from the power of sin over our lives right now. This Salvation that we will experience is when God Redeems us out of this body of mortal flesh by changing it into a spiritual body, transforming us to be like Jesus in His Resurrection Body. Because He rose, we also will rise.
In this you greatly rejoice,
Anticipating this, we can feel happy, we can rejoice in knowing it's there waiting for us, we can be joyful in realizing what God has already prepared for us to enjoy.
even though now for a little while, if necessary,
Regardless of the circumstances we may find ourselves in right now.
you have been distressed by various trials,
These Jewish Christians don't fit into either the Jewish society of their relatives, or the Gentile society of their neighbors. So they are vulnerable to mistreatment and persecution for being "different."
Just like when we live as Christians in the midst of our secular societies today.
So that the proof of your faith,
If our faith is genuine, we truly are trusting in God and Jesus' Sacrifice on our behalf; then no matter how others treat us won't matter or turn us away from God's ways in contrast to the World's ways.
being more precious than gold which is perishable,
The most valuable substance we have on this Earth has always been gold. But gold is of this Earth, so will one day be consumed by the fire of God.
Our faith is more precious, has greater worth and value than anything on this Earth or in this World. We are more precious and we have greater worth and value than anything else God created including His holy Angels.
even though tested by fire,
Just as gold is refined by fire, so we also are tested by the refining fire (not consuming fire) of trials and sorrows and troubles.
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
For the purpose of refining us, our lives, our attitudes, our thinking processes; so that it will be right and proper for us to receive all the honorable and valuable things He has already given to us, that we will experience when He returns. When He comes back to set up His Kingdom on this Earth, every eye will see Him, He will be manifested to the whole World, the whole Universe! And we will be with Him!
And though you have not seen Him, you love Him,
Even though we have not seen Him with our eyes yet, we know him; and to know Him is to love Him, because He is Love and we cannot help but love Him back!
and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,
Even though we still haven't seen Him with our eyes, we still trust Him and lean on Him and depend on Him. In my weakness I must rely on His strength.
you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
The joyfulness we can enjoy right now cannot even be put into words!
Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
We can experience this joy as the result of knowing that we are seen of God right now as already finished with this schooling and graduated into the position of kings and queens ruling the New Heaven and New Earth in the authority of King Jesus.
Our souls are mentioned here, because that is where our minds and emotions reside, from whence come our attitudes and lifestyles. Our hearts are the wellspring from which our lives come (Proverbs 4:23).
When Jesus "saves your soul," He saves all of you: your body, your soul, and your spirit. We are three-part beings, made in the image of God, and we are not complete without all three parts.
Paul said that to be without the body is to be unclothed, and we don't want to be naked, but to wear the spiritual robe of our glorified, spiritual body (II Corinthians 5: 1-4).
So the Blood of Jesus shed for us, sprinkled upon the sides of His altar, the Cross, has such high value that He cleansed our whole selves, and bought the whole Universe. That's why He came. And that's why the Father put it all in His hand to own. And that's why He rules.
O Father, You are the Great Originator. O Lord Jesus, You are the Savior and Redeemer and King over all. O Spirit, You are the Holy Being who lives in us, the Power that gives us victory over sin, and teaches us God's ways, and has sealed us up from ever getting lost or losing out on what God has planned for us.
O Holy Trinity, You are our Great God! There is no other! There could never be any other that could in the least even compare with You! You have shown us how to think, how to live, how to worship You, how to see ourselves as You see us, how to humble ourselves beneath Your great Awesomeness!
You have done it all: You thought it all up, planned it all out, took care of every exigency, wrapped it all up in Your mercy and grace, and finished it to the very end. And now we are watching You work it all out in the line of Time.
When Time is no more for this Universe, then You will go on to make other Universes and Worlds and Creations from Your limitless imagination! Forever and ever and ever.
You have told us that His Kingdom will never stop increasing! (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We give credit to God the Father, the great God and Originator of the concept of Creation, the Head over all; who is Father to our Lord Jesus, our Christ.
who according to His great mercy
It is the Father's mercy that does not give us the punishment we deserve.
has caused us to be born again
We receive our physical life from our mothers when we are conceived and born. But we are born with dead spirits, so we need to receive spiritual life, too. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be born again," spiritually (John 3:3-7).
to a living hope
The World sees hope as a wish, but our hope in the Lord is alive, it's knowing we can trust Him to do what He says He will do, He will keep every promise. Our hope is knowing that we just haven't seen it yet.
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Because Jesus rose from the dead, we know that everything He said is True, and we can trust Him implicitly. It's not blind faith, because we can see spiritually what the physical eye cannot. Because He lives I can face tomorrow.
To obtain an inheritance
An inheritance is received after the death of the one we inherit from. Jesus died, and we stand to inherit all His riches. We have already received this inheritance, we just don't see it yet.
which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in Heaven for you,
Everything in this World is temporary. It wears out. It breaks down. It decays. Science calls it the Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy. It is the curse God put on the whole Universe as the consequence of sin. Because it is damaged, it must be done away with, so that the perfect can come in.
The inheritance we have is not damaged, it is perfect, so God is keeping it safe for us with Himself where He lives, ready to give it to us at the right time, when we're ready for it.
Who are protected by the power of God
To make sure we will get it, He is protecting us, too, so that we will not miss receiving what He has already given to us, by His great power.
through faith
Through our trust, our reliance on Him.
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We have already been saved from the power of sin over our lives right now. This Salvation that we will experience is when God Redeems us out of this body of mortal flesh by changing it into a spiritual body, transforming us to be like Jesus in His Resurrection Body. Because He rose, we also will rise.
In this you greatly rejoice,
Anticipating this, we can feel happy, we can rejoice in knowing it's there waiting for us, we can be joyful in realizing what God has already prepared for us to enjoy.
even though now for a little while, if necessary,
Regardless of the circumstances we may find ourselves in right now.
you have been distressed by various trials,
These Jewish Christians don't fit into either the Jewish society of their relatives, or the Gentile society of their neighbors. So they are vulnerable to mistreatment and persecution for being "different."
Just like when we live as Christians in the midst of our secular societies today.
So that the proof of your faith,
If our faith is genuine, we truly are trusting in God and Jesus' Sacrifice on our behalf; then no matter how others treat us won't matter or turn us away from God's ways in contrast to the World's ways.
being more precious than gold which is perishable,
The most valuable substance we have on this Earth has always been gold. But gold is of this Earth, so will one day be consumed by the fire of God.
Our faith is more precious, has greater worth and value than anything on this Earth or in this World. We are more precious and we have greater worth and value than anything else God created including His holy Angels.
even though tested by fire,
Just as gold is refined by fire, so we also are tested by the refining fire (not consuming fire) of trials and sorrows and troubles.
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
For the purpose of refining us, our lives, our attitudes, our thinking processes; so that it will be right and proper for us to receive all the honorable and valuable things He has already given to us, that we will experience when He returns. When He comes back to set up His Kingdom on this Earth, every eye will see Him, He will be manifested to the whole World, the whole Universe! And we will be with Him!
And though you have not seen Him, you love Him,
Even though we have not seen Him with our eyes yet, we know him; and to know Him is to love Him, because He is Love and we cannot help but love Him back!
and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,
Even though we still haven't seen Him with our eyes, we still trust Him and lean on Him and depend on Him. In my weakness I must rely on His strength.
you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
The joyfulness we can enjoy right now cannot even be put into words!
Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
We can experience this joy as the result of knowing that we are seen of God right now as already finished with this schooling and graduated into the position of kings and queens ruling the New Heaven and New Earth in the authority of King Jesus.
Our souls are mentioned here, because that is where our minds and emotions reside, from whence come our attitudes and lifestyles. Our hearts are the wellspring from which our lives come (Proverbs 4:23).
When Jesus "saves your soul," He saves all of you: your body, your soul, and your spirit. We are three-part beings, made in the image of God, and we are not complete without all three parts.
Paul said that to be without the body is to be unclothed, and we don't want to be naked, but to wear the spiritual robe of our glorified, spiritual body (II Corinthians 5: 1-4).
So the Blood of Jesus shed for us, sprinkled upon the sides of His altar, the Cross, has such high value that He cleansed our whole selves, and bought the whole Universe. That's why He came. And that's why the Father put it all in His hand to own. And that's why He rules.
O Father, You are the Great Originator. O Lord Jesus, You are the Savior and Redeemer and King over all. O Spirit, You are the Holy Being who lives in us, the Power that gives us victory over sin, and teaches us God's ways, and has sealed us up from ever getting lost or losing out on what God has planned for us.
O Holy Trinity, You are our Great God! There is no other! There could never be any other that could in the least even compare with You! You have shown us how to think, how to live, how to worship You, how to see ourselves as You see us, how to humble ourselves beneath Your great Awesomeness!
You have done it all: You thought it all up, planned it all out, took care of every exigency, wrapped it all up in Your mercy and grace, and finished it to the very end. And now we are watching You work it all out in the line of Time.
When Time is no more for this Universe, then You will go on to make other Universes and Worlds and Creations from Your limitless imagination! Forever and ever and ever.
You have told us that His Kingdom will never stop increasing! (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Our First "Mother's Milk"
I Peter 1: 1-2
Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ,
This is Peter who denied Jesus three times, and was restored on the shore of Lake Tiberius when Jesus fixed them breakfast after their night of fishing.
And Peter is the one who stood up and preached to the Jews in Jerusalem who had gathered from all parts of the known world for the Feast of Pentecost, and three thousand people became Believers, some of whom were from the areas mentioned next.
To those who reside as aliens, throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
These are Jews who lived in these Gentile areas. These are areas that are to the North and East of where Paul took his missionary journeys, so their faith came from being in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, when they heard Peter's sermon; and those who believed through them.
who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
When the Father, the Son, and the Spirit decided to create, and that they would give Mankind a free choice, that is when the Father decided that those who would want to come to Him would be the ones who would be saved. He knew our names even then.
by the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
It is the Spirit who sets us apart to understand God's call and come to Jesus.
to obey Jesus Christ
Jesus is our Christ, and He is also the Law-Giver of the Old Testament. He knew what He would do, so He told His people so they would recognize Him. When the Spirit opens our eyes, then we can see that Jesus is our Savior, and turn to Him.
and be sprinkled with His Blood:
When we turn to Jesus, we realize that He is our personal Sacrifice who took our place in death, and His Blood that sprinkled the sides of His altar, the Cross, will not just cover, but wash away all our sinfulness. Both the sins we are guilty of, and our very sin-nature we are born with naturally.
May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
This is Peter's greeting to these scattered Messianic Jews. It's only the very beginning of his letter to them. This is Peter's "Dear Brothers."
All the things Peter described here only constitute the first step, the birth of the new baby.
These are things we need to understand first, the "mother's milk" to nourish us as we grow into the toddlerhood of our spiritual life. As we learn to walk in the knowledge of God, we will progress along the path God has put our feet on, that narrow path that leads to glory.
O my Father, thank You so much for knowing us, and loving us, and choosing us out of the World, so we can be born into Your own family. Thank You for the new identity You give each of us, to learn to live as Your children, the children of the Great King.
Father, hold our hands as we travel this road with You, learning who You are, and who we are now. Help us to pay attention to Your lessons, to learn how to think Your thoughts and have Your attitudes and views.
Keep us from going back to our old ways, Father. You have given us Your own Spirit to live in us to strengthen us, so we have no excuse.
Thank You for Peter, Father. Thank You for Jesus who Loves us more than we can imagine; to leave his glory in Heaven with You to be one of us, so that He could make us fit to live with You. You didn't want Heaven without us, so You did everything possible so we could be able to be with You.
Father, Your plans for each one of us brings us through all the trials, troubles, and sorrows this World can throw at us, but Your Spirit in us encourages us and strengthens us and enables us to carry on, to push through, and to gain the victory.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ,
This is Peter who denied Jesus three times, and was restored on the shore of Lake Tiberius when Jesus fixed them breakfast after their night of fishing.
And Peter is the one who stood up and preached to the Jews in Jerusalem who had gathered from all parts of the known world for the Feast of Pentecost, and three thousand people became Believers, some of whom were from the areas mentioned next.
To those who reside as aliens, throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
These are Jews who lived in these Gentile areas. These are areas that are to the North and East of where Paul took his missionary journeys, so their faith came from being in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, when they heard Peter's sermon; and those who believed through them.
who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
When the Father, the Son, and the Spirit decided to create, and that they would give Mankind a free choice, that is when the Father decided that those who would want to come to Him would be the ones who would be saved. He knew our names even then.
by the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
It is the Spirit who sets us apart to understand God's call and come to Jesus.
to obey Jesus Christ
Jesus is our Christ, and He is also the Law-Giver of the Old Testament. He knew what He would do, so He told His people so they would recognize Him. When the Spirit opens our eyes, then we can see that Jesus is our Savior, and turn to Him.
and be sprinkled with His Blood:
When we turn to Jesus, we realize that He is our personal Sacrifice who took our place in death, and His Blood that sprinkled the sides of His altar, the Cross, will not just cover, but wash away all our sinfulness. Both the sins we are guilty of, and our very sin-nature we are born with naturally.
May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
This is Peter's greeting to these scattered Messianic Jews. It's only the very beginning of his letter to them. This is Peter's "Dear Brothers."
All the things Peter described here only constitute the first step, the birth of the new baby.
These are things we need to understand first, the "mother's milk" to nourish us as we grow into the toddlerhood of our spiritual life. As we learn to walk in the knowledge of God, we will progress along the path God has put our feet on, that narrow path that leads to glory.
O my Father, thank You so much for knowing us, and loving us, and choosing us out of the World, so we can be born into Your own family. Thank You for the new identity You give each of us, to learn to live as Your children, the children of the Great King.
Father, hold our hands as we travel this road with You, learning who You are, and who we are now. Help us to pay attention to Your lessons, to learn how to think Your thoughts and have Your attitudes and views.
Keep us from going back to our old ways, Father. You have given us Your own Spirit to live in us to strengthen us, so we have no excuse.
Thank You for Peter, Father. Thank You for Jesus who Loves us more than we can imagine; to leave his glory in Heaven with You to be one of us, so that He could make us fit to live with You. You didn't want Heaven without us, so You did everything possible so we could be able to be with You.
Father, Your plans for each one of us brings us through all the trials, troubles, and sorrows this World can throw at us, but Your Spirit in us encourages us and strengthens us and enables us to carry on, to push through, and to gain the victory.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Final Instructions
Hebrews 13
Let love of the brethren continue.
Go on loving each other as you have been doing.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Always be kind to everyone, even those you don't know. You could make a new friend, or even interact with one of God's messengers from heaven! Who knows.
Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them,
Prison ministries do much good, giving hope to those who had thought themselves too far gone.
and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
When a body-part hurts, the whole body suffers. We are all one body in Christ.
Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Marriage has become a contentious issue in our day, but God does not change, nor do His standards. Marriage is one flesh, like plugging a toaster into the outlet. It's a physical act that two of the same gender cannot accomplish.
God will judge those who perform the "marriage act" outside of the marriage bond, whether it is between two unmarried persons, or with someone who is not your spouse.
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have;
This is a trap that easily can snare any of us at any time. Be careful that your desire to make money is not your goal in itself, for it will never satisfy. It is only a tool, the more you have the more you can do. But it is the doing, not the having that counts.
for He Himself said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"
Jesus promised to provide everything we need to do everything He wants us to do. Let's not desire more than He knows we can handle safely.
so that we confidently say,
Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
Those who teach you God's Word, who shepherd you, who lead you in how to think and how to pray, are under greater scrutiny. We all live in glass houses, we are watched by all. So we have a higher degree of accountability to the Lord.
If your leaders are living godly lives, with godly attitudes; then take their example and follow them as they follow Christ.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Jesus does not change. God does not change. His standards and goals do not change. He is still God over all, and rules all sovereignly, to further His plan along toward its conclusion day by day and moment by moment in our lives.
Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
This is interesting. Today there are those who propose to gain good health by partaking of only certain kinds of nourishment, in order to experience emotional and spiritual benefits. But this is only physical. Physical health is only a small part of our whole beings. We need to focus on what is real Life, which Jesus said is spiritual. Our hearts and souls and spirits are what give life to our bodies, when the spiritual leaves the body, the body is dead.
So we are to take care of our bodies, but our main focus is our emotional and spiritual health.
We have an altar from which those who serve the Tabernacle have no right to eat.
He's talking about the priests that served in the Old Testament Tabernacle.
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the High Priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp (Leviticus 16: 27).
The bodies of all the animals that were offered for sin offerings were carried outside the camp and burned up.
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own Blood, suffered outside the gate.
So Jesus, also, since He shed His Blood as our sacrifice for sin, died outside the city gates.
So let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
Those who carried the animals outside the camp had to bathe and wash their clothes before they could come back into the camp (Leviticus 16: 28). So we also, who come to the foot of the Cross in repentance, are being cleansed by His Blood, to be fit to enter into the City.
For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the City which is to come.
We are only here in this World temporarily, the city we live in now will not last. We are looking forward to that City made without hands, the City of God, where He lives. So we are to hold this World's goods lightly, sending our wealth ahead of us, for our Eternal "retirement"!
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His Name.
A sacrifice is something we "give up," so praise is a sacrifice when we don't feel like praising, when things around us are not going well, and we'd rather complain. Praising Him out loud instead releases His power into the situation.
And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
If we're sharing out of our abundance, it's not a sacrifice.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.
Did you realize that God holds your leaders responsible for how they lead you? If you are a leader, are you leading with drawing or with pushing?
Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable to you.
Are you following cheerfully, or grudgingly? If they are getting "bad vibes" from you, you're only hurting yourself.
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.
Yes, pray for all your leaders, and me, too. We are confident that we are leading according to God's will for us and you, and we are trying to do our best with this important job. We really need God's strength and discernment to do it.
And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.
The writer of this epistle wants to accomplish everything he needs to do, so that he can go back home to these people he pastors. So he tells them to pray all the more for him to do that.
And as the writer of this blog, I am also asking you to pray for me, because I must seriously depend on Him for the ability to even do this.
Now the God of Peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the Blood of the eternal Covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
(We have previously spoken on all these concepts.)
Equip you in every good thing to do His will,
We must be willing to go outside the box to learn new ways when necessary, but God will be faithful in teaching us, so we can accomplish everything He wants done.
working in us that which is pleasing in His sight,
"It is God who works in us to both will and to do according to His good pleasure"! (Philippians 1: 6). God's Holy Spirit in us changes our minds and renews our thinking processes, to think the way He thinks, to reason by His reasonings, and to therefore do what He finds is fun! And we will have fun, too!
through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Only because Jesus did it all for us! Praise His holy Name!
But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
So take to heart this whole Epistle, for it is only one letter. Think about all the things written here, all the concepts we need to understand so we can live our lives as His royal children, manifesting His holy character in our attitudes and accomplishments.
Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.
Here's news, that Timothy isn't in prison any more!
Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
Grace be with you all.
Say "hello!" to everyone there, and everyone here in Italy (where the writer is?) says "hello!" to you, too.
Now walk in God's grace, and notice His blessings every day!
O my Father, You are so good to us all! You have sent Your own, onlybegotten Son to be our Lord and our Christ, to be our Savior and our King, our High Priest and our Sacrifice.
Father, You are our source of everything we are and need. Please strengthen Your children as we live in this World, this "vale of tears." Send Your Word out over the World, by the hand of Your workers, going and sending and teaching and broadcasting Your precious Seed of the the Gospel.
And may all Your little lambs who are still caught in the thickets and snares of the World and the devil be released from the bonds of deception that have lied to them and made them empty promises.
Bring them all into the safety and joy of the fold, that there be One Fold and One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus of Nazareth is our Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign King of the Universe, and our Messiah and Redeemer; to the glory of God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Let love of the brethren continue.
Go on loving each other as you have been doing.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Always be kind to everyone, even those you don't know. You could make a new friend, or even interact with one of God's messengers from heaven! Who knows.
Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them,
Prison ministries do much good, giving hope to those who had thought themselves too far gone.
and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
When a body-part hurts, the whole body suffers. We are all one body in Christ.
Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Marriage has become a contentious issue in our day, but God does not change, nor do His standards. Marriage is one flesh, like plugging a toaster into the outlet. It's a physical act that two of the same gender cannot accomplish.
God will judge those who perform the "marriage act" outside of the marriage bond, whether it is between two unmarried persons, or with someone who is not your spouse.
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have;
This is a trap that easily can snare any of us at any time. Be careful that your desire to make money is not your goal in itself, for it will never satisfy. It is only a tool, the more you have the more you can do. But it is the doing, not the having that counts.
for He Himself said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"
Jesus promised to provide everything we need to do everything He wants us to do. Let's not desire more than He knows we can handle safely.
so that we confidently say,
The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?When we know that God is with us, helping us, then we are invincible. Mere man can do nothing to deter God from working out His plans for us, we need only to keep our eyes on our Lord Jesus.
Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
Those who teach you God's Word, who shepherd you, who lead you in how to think and how to pray, are under greater scrutiny. We all live in glass houses, we are watched by all. So we have a higher degree of accountability to the Lord.
If your leaders are living godly lives, with godly attitudes; then take their example and follow them as they follow Christ.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Jesus does not change. God does not change. His standards and goals do not change. He is still God over all, and rules all sovereignly, to further His plan along toward its conclusion day by day and moment by moment in our lives.
Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
This is interesting. Today there are those who propose to gain good health by partaking of only certain kinds of nourishment, in order to experience emotional and spiritual benefits. But this is only physical. Physical health is only a small part of our whole beings. We need to focus on what is real Life, which Jesus said is spiritual. Our hearts and souls and spirits are what give life to our bodies, when the spiritual leaves the body, the body is dead.
So we are to take care of our bodies, but our main focus is our emotional and spiritual health.
We have an altar from which those who serve the Tabernacle have no right to eat.
He's talking about the priests that served in the Old Testament Tabernacle.
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the High Priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp (Leviticus 16: 27).
The bodies of all the animals that were offered for sin offerings were carried outside the camp and burned up.
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own Blood, suffered outside the gate.
So Jesus, also, since He shed His Blood as our sacrifice for sin, died outside the city gates.
So let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
Those who carried the animals outside the camp had to bathe and wash their clothes before they could come back into the camp (Leviticus 16: 28). So we also, who come to the foot of the Cross in repentance, are being cleansed by His Blood, to be fit to enter into the City.
For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the City which is to come.
We are only here in this World temporarily, the city we live in now will not last. We are looking forward to that City made without hands, the City of God, where He lives. So we are to hold this World's goods lightly, sending our wealth ahead of us, for our Eternal "retirement"!
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His Name.
A sacrifice is something we "give up," so praise is a sacrifice when we don't feel like praising, when things around us are not going well, and we'd rather complain. Praising Him out loud instead releases His power into the situation.
And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
If we're sharing out of our abundance, it's not a sacrifice.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.
Did you realize that God holds your leaders responsible for how they lead you? If you are a leader, are you leading with drawing or with pushing?
Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable to you.
Are you following cheerfully, or grudgingly? If they are getting "bad vibes" from you, you're only hurting yourself.
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.
Yes, pray for all your leaders, and me, too. We are confident that we are leading according to God's will for us and you, and we are trying to do our best with this important job. We really need God's strength and discernment to do it.
And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.
The writer of this epistle wants to accomplish everything he needs to do, so that he can go back home to these people he pastors. So he tells them to pray all the more for him to do that.
And as the writer of this blog, I am also asking you to pray for me, because I must seriously depend on Him for the ability to even do this.
Now the God of Peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the Blood of the eternal Covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
(We have previously spoken on all these concepts.)
Equip you in every good thing to do His will,
We must be willing to go outside the box to learn new ways when necessary, but God will be faithful in teaching us, so we can accomplish everything He wants done.
working in us that which is pleasing in His sight,
"It is God who works in us to both will and to do according to His good pleasure"! (Philippians 1: 6). God's Holy Spirit in us changes our minds and renews our thinking processes, to think the way He thinks, to reason by His reasonings, and to therefore do what He finds is fun! And we will have fun, too!
through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Only because Jesus did it all for us! Praise His holy Name!
But I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
So take to heart this whole Epistle, for it is only one letter. Think about all the things written here, all the concepts we need to understand so we can live our lives as His royal children, manifesting His holy character in our attitudes and accomplishments.
Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.
Here's news, that Timothy isn't in prison any more!
Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
Grace be with you all.
Say "hello!" to everyone there, and everyone here in Italy (where the writer is?) says "hello!" to you, too.
Now walk in God's grace, and notice His blessings every day!
O my Father, You are so good to us all! You have sent Your own, onlybegotten Son to be our Lord and our Christ, to be our Savior and our King, our High Priest and our Sacrifice.
Father, You are our source of everything we are and need. Please strengthen Your children as we live in this World, this "vale of tears." Send Your Word out over the World, by the hand of Your workers, going and sending and teaching and broadcasting Your precious Seed of the the Gospel.
And may all Your little lambs who are still caught in the thickets and snares of the World and the devil be released from the bonds of deception that have lied to them and made them empty promises.
Bring them all into the safety and joy of the fold, that there be One Fold and One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus of Nazareth is our Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign King of the Universe, and our Messiah and Redeemer; to the glory of God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, July 8, 2019
Sinai Versus Zion
Hebrews 12: 18-29
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to a darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
He is referring to Mount Sinai (See Exodus 19:12-13, 16), when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, the Ten Commandments).
And to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them
The people were so terrified, they told Moses, "Don't let God talk to us, or we'll die!" (Exodus 20:19).
For they could not bear the command,"If a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned."
God told Moses that anyone, man or beast, would have to die if they touched the Mountain that God was on. They would be so affected by the Presence of God on the mountain that it would be fatal, and they would have to kill them by throwing stones or shooting arrows, but if they touched them they would be affected, too. This was serious business. Our God is dangerous.
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, "I am full of fear and trembling."
But Moses moved past his fear when he went up into Mount Sinai to receive the Law.
We don't have to approach this terrifying scene. Instead, we will face a much different and even (dare I say?) fun experience:
But you have come to Mount Zion
Mount Zion is completely different from Mount Sinai.
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
This is the place where God lives.
and to myriads of angels,
These are God's holy Angels, who chose to remain faithful to God. Uncountable.
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven,
This probably refers to us as Christians who have been known of God from before Creation, listed in His Book! Jesus is called the "firstborn of every creature," because He is the Creator of every kind of creature, and "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:15-17).
and to God, the Judge of all,
The Maker and Owner of all, would naturally be the one to Judge, too.
and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Who are the righteous but those who Jesus' Blood has cleansed white as snow, as though we'd never sinned. And when we've learned all our lessons here, we will be resurrected into bodies like Jesus' Resurrection body: perfect.
And to Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant,
Jesus is the Mediator, the only go-between that can go between us and God. He brought us this New Covenant to replace the Old Covenant.
and to the sprinkled Blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
The Blood Jesus sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, was God's own Blood, with unlimited value.
All these are parts of what we can look forward to. Encouraging, not terrifying.
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.
The One who is speaking now is Jesus, Resurrected and risen into Heaven now.
For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on Earth,
The Voice of the Lord God on Mount Sinai.
Much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from Heaven.
Jesus is the Lord God of the Old Testament, and He is in Heaven now.
And His voice shook the Earth then,
The Lord God's voice shook the whole area around Sinai, an Earthquake.
but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will shake not only the Earth, but also the Heaven."
Not only the ground we stand on, but the whole Universe, next time.
This expression, "yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
All the created Universe will be done away, for it will flee away from the face of the one who sits on the Great White Throne (Revelation 20: 11).
Therefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken,
The New Heaven and the New Earth will not be like the Heaven and Earth we know now. There will be no Second Law of Thermodynamics to break down or wear out anything in this Eternal Kingdom.
let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
God has done so much for each of us and all of us. When we realize how good He is to us, we will be overwhelmed with gratitude to him. And to serve Him, realizing what a God we have with reverence and awe!
For our God is a consuming fire.
He is very dangerous. We cannot come face to face with Him in our mortal fleshly bodies without being totally consumed. That is why we must be cleansed, so that our bodies can be changed from these frail bodies of flesh into spiritual bodies (see I Corinthians 15: 35-58).
O my Father, thank You so much that You are careful with us, and You warn us to be very careful in approaching You, not underestimating You or taking You for granted! You are a Consuming Fire!
Yet You allow me to approach You in the authority of Christ as Your child, to curl up in Your lap and be embraced in Your Loving arms!
Father, teach us the difference between a Sinai experience compared to a Zion experience of You, even though You are the same God in both these places on Earth.
To the ungodly and the wicked, You are a consuming fire; and to Your children whose names You have recorded in Your book, You are a "doting parent" who will expend the most extravagant expense for Your children.
Those who rebel against You and refuse to recognize Your authority will be fitted with bodies suitable for the rigors of the Lake of Fire to pay their debt of sin through all of eternity (The "second death," Revelation 20: 14).
And those who seek You and are found of You will be equipped with bodies suitable to withstand Your extreme Light and Being, and enjoy Your presence forever (The "First Resurrection," Revelation 20: 5).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to a darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
He is referring to Mount Sinai (See Exodus 19:12-13, 16), when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, the Ten Commandments).
And to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them
The people were so terrified, they told Moses, "Don't let God talk to us, or we'll die!" (Exodus 20:19).
For they could not bear the command,"If a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned."
God told Moses that anyone, man or beast, would have to die if they touched the Mountain that God was on. They would be so affected by the Presence of God on the mountain that it would be fatal, and they would have to kill them by throwing stones or shooting arrows, but if they touched them they would be affected, too. This was serious business. Our God is dangerous.
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, "I am full of fear and trembling."
But Moses moved past his fear when he went up into Mount Sinai to receive the Law.
We don't have to approach this terrifying scene. Instead, we will face a much different and even (dare I say?) fun experience:
But you have come to Mount Zion
Mount Zion is completely different from Mount Sinai.
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
This is the place where God lives.
and to myriads of angels,
These are God's holy Angels, who chose to remain faithful to God. Uncountable.
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven,
This probably refers to us as Christians who have been known of God from before Creation, listed in His Book! Jesus is called the "firstborn of every creature," because He is the Creator of every kind of creature, and "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:15-17).
and to God, the Judge of all,
The Maker and Owner of all, would naturally be the one to Judge, too.
and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Who are the righteous but those who Jesus' Blood has cleansed white as snow, as though we'd never sinned. And when we've learned all our lessons here, we will be resurrected into bodies like Jesus' Resurrection body: perfect.
And to Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant,
Jesus is the Mediator, the only go-between that can go between us and God. He brought us this New Covenant to replace the Old Covenant.
and to the sprinkled Blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
The Blood Jesus sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross, was God's own Blood, with unlimited value.
All these are parts of what we can look forward to. Encouraging, not terrifying.
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.
The One who is speaking now is Jesus, Resurrected and risen into Heaven now.
For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on Earth,
The Voice of the Lord God on Mount Sinai.
Much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from Heaven.
Jesus is the Lord God of the Old Testament, and He is in Heaven now.
And His voice shook the Earth then,
The Lord God's voice shook the whole area around Sinai, an Earthquake.
but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will shake not only the Earth, but also the Heaven."
Not only the ground we stand on, but the whole Universe, next time.
This expression, "yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
All the created Universe will be done away, for it will flee away from the face of the one who sits on the Great White Throne (Revelation 20: 11).
Therefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken,
The New Heaven and the New Earth will not be like the Heaven and Earth we know now. There will be no Second Law of Thermodynamics to break down or wear out anything in this Eternal Kingdom.
let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
God has done so much for each of us and all of us. When we realize how good He is to us, we will be overwhelmed with gratitude to him. And to serve Him, realizing what a God we have with reverence and awe!
For our God is a consuming fire.
He is very dangerous. We cannot come face to face with Him in our mortal fleshly bodies without being totally consumed. That is why we must be cleansed, so that our bodies can be changed from these frail bodies of flesh into spiritual bodies (see I Corinthians 15: 35-58).
O my Father, thank You so much that You are careful with us, and You warn us to be very careful in approaching You, not underestimating You or taking You for granted! You are a Consuming Fire!
Yet You allow me to approach You in the authority of Christ as Your child, to curl up in Your lap and be embraced in Your Loving arms!
Father, teach us the difference between a Sinai experience compared to a Zion experience of You, even though You are the same God in both these places on Earth.
To the ungodly and the wicked, You are a consuming fire; and to Your children whose names You have recorded in Your book, You are a "doting parent" who will expend the most extravagant expense for Your children.
Those who rebel against You and refuse to recognize Your authority will be fitted with bodies suitable for the rigors of the Lake of Fire to pay their debt of sin through all of eternity (The "second death," Revelation 20: 14).
And those who seek You and are found of You will be equipped with bodies suitable to withstand Your extreme Light and Being, and enjoy Your presence forever (The "First Resurrection," Revelation 20: 5).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, July 7, 2019
They Are Watching Us!
Hebrews 12: 1-17
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
This must be all the saints that were mentioned in the last chapter. This encourages me, that those who went before us are able to look down on us to see how we're doing. But they don't have anything more to do with what goes on in the World any more, their time here has passed (Ecclesiastes 9: 5-6).
let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,
Encumbrances are those things that are burdensome, useless, or superfluous; a weight that we don't need to carry. And sin is described here as a snare that we get our foot caught up in and as a result we're tied up. Let's lay aside these things, and not hold on to them.
and let us run with endurance the race that us set before us,
We are seen here as athletes running a race. Runners never wear or carry anything that would slow them down at all. They strip down to their running shorts and leave their water bottles at various points along the way. Totally unencumbered.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
Jesus is our example, our model. As He left Heaven to come to Earth as one of us, He is the originator and He is also the finisher of what we believe. The beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13). We trust Him to have done everything that is needed for us. He is the Creator; He plotted out the whole Plan of the Ages with His Father and the Spirit; He is the Lord God of the Old Testament who gave the Law and told the Prophets what to write; He came personally to this Earth, becoming one of us, to fulfill everything He said He would do; and He will return again to finish everything He said would happen. He is the Beginning and the Ending of our whole story.
who for the joy set before Him
What was this joy? We read in His High Priestly prayer: Father, I will, that they also, who You have given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory ... (John 17: 24). He came to be with us where we are, now He wants us to be with Him where He lives, and to share in His glory.
There was only one way we could do that--for Him to cleanse us and make us new. For Him to:
endured the Cross, despising the shame,
Jesus asked three times in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Father to not make Him go through this, if there could be any other way. But He knew there was no other way. This was the Plan, and He had agreed to it. He was the only one who could do it. So He submitted His will to the Father's will, and did it.
and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.
He became for a little while lower than the Angels, and submitted Himself to be executed as a criminal, taking our place in death to pay our debt in full. Now He is risen to the glory of Almighty God, to rule at the Right Hand of God the Father on His Throne.
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Think about how much Jesus had given up, and how much He suffered; we will never have to face or endure even a tiny fraction of what He went through. And He did it. So He will also strengthen us to be able to go through whatever we may face in this life.
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
His readers have not yet faced such harsh persecution as to be put to death yet. So they and we need to steel ourselves now before the hard persecution hits, so we will be strong to not break or waver when it comes.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
It is to learn the lessons He is teaching us. But if we're not experiencing anything like slander or malicious gossip or other adversities, then maybe we need to examine if we really are born into His family, because:
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
God is our good Father, He is a perfect Father, who only has our good in mind.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
Our human fathers tried to teach us to do right, and we respect them for it, because that showed their love and care for us. How much more does God Love us and care for us?
They disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
Our fathers sometimes disciplined us for selfish reasons, too, in anger or looking only at their own reputation. God doesn't need to worry about His reputation, He will take care of that; He is looking to mold and make us into the image of His Son, who shares His glory. And He wants us also to share in the glory of His authority, as His kings and queens, governing under King Jesus.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;
Yeah, it hurts!
yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
But if we take it to heart and see it as learning to do better, then we won't have to go through that lesson again, going on to the next one. And when we're learning everything He wants to teach us, then we'll be a force of good in the World around us, promoting the peace that comes from doing right. And we will eventually be prepared to graduate, and be awarded our rewards and our positions in glory.
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak, and the knees that are feeble.
And make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Don't look down on one another because we're not perfect yet! We all have weaknesses in different areas. Hands, knees, feet, are all different parts of the body with different abilities. If I am strong in one area, I'm probably weak in another. And you are, too.
So we are to help one another: where I am strong and you are weak, then I am to strengthen you in that area; and you can help me where I'm weak and you are strong.
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
We need to try to get along with everyone, as far as we can, without compromising the Truth that leads to the Lord. Our witness is powerful, in that no one can argue that we didn't have the experience of being confronted by the Lord. Only explanations and interpretations are subject to dispute.
But sanctification as spoken of here has the definition:
See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God;
We must all examine ourselves to make sure that we understand and apply to our thinking processes to be able to reason through the whole Grace idea: that it is a free gift from God that we can do nothing at all to earn.
that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
Be careful that any resentment or anger or disappointment be dealt with; so it won't fester into a root of bitterness that would cause the kind of trouble that draws others away into error.
That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. (Read Genesis 25: 29-34 for this story.)
Esau is called godless because he had no regard for the promise God gave to him in being the first-born of his father Isaac. He didn't care if the Messiah would come from him or not, he didn't care about God at all. He was godless.
For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. (Genesis 27: 34 tells us this.)
He found no place for repentance, because he couldn't change the past. He had already legally bartered away his birthright, and that bargain stood. So he could not have the blessing, either, that went with the birthright.
Even though Isaac didn't know Esau had thought the birthright was worthless, God did. Then, when Esau wanted the blessing of material prosperity, it wasn't available to him, having already rejected the spiritual promise.
This is a strong warning to us, too. Although Jesus' Blood cleanses us of all sinfulness, we still live in this World, and the consequences of past choices and decisions still affect us. We still suffer the results of bad decisions we make, so we need to be careful to make good decisions.
God uses these consequences to teach us to make better choices in life. And the great cloud of witnesses who are watching how we are doing, are, doubtless, cheering us on to do right. Even though they don't do anything to affect anything here any more, they can still "sit in the stands" and root for us.
When we realize this, we can take their encouragement as an extra incentive to do right and make our choices in life with godly wisdom.
O my Father, You are such a wonderful Father to us! You Love us with Your unconditional Love that wants only good, the very best, for each of us, and You were willing to pay the highest price for us!
O Father, help us to understand Your great Love! Help us to comprehend how huge and magnificent is Your power and authority, and how enormous is Your Being! This whole Universe You made resides inside You, we are Your imagination--if You were not thinking about us, we would not exist!
Father, You have told us all the stories of those who went before us, that would teach us the consequences of the kind of decisions we make. You have demonstrated for us in these ancient people how good choices bring great blessing, and how foolish choices produce suffering and poverty and sicknesses.
You want us to cooperate with how You made this Earth to work, so that we would build our World on it rightly. But we, as a human race, were deceived into all kinds of detours and side-roads that lead away from the good You want for us.
But when we reject the spiritual dimension, or embrace "the dark side" instead of Your Light, then we build our World in unrighteousness, and suffer the consequences as a society.
You save us one-by-one, because You see each one of us. But when You have saved each one out of each society who seek You, then You will judge that Nation. Not just as You have in the past, as Nations have vanished from the rolls of history; but with the Sword of the Spirit that proceeds from the mouth of King Jesus, His Word that cuts them into ribbons. (see Revelation 19: 11-18, and 14: 20.)
Father, help Your children to discern what is worldly from what is godly. This World we built here, and our enemy who works against us, and our own human flesh, all three of these do their darndest to draw us off that straight and narrow path You have set our feet upon.
Teach us Your ways, Father; even down to the most subtle shade of good, compared to the foolishness that resides in our own hearts.
Hold my hand firmly, Father, that I will learn all the nuances of Your will for me, to walk confidently in Your footsteps.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
This must be all the saints that were mentioned in the last chapter. This encourages me, that those who went before us are able to look down on us to see how we're doing. But they don't have anything more to do with what goes on in the World any more, their time here has passed (Ecclesiastes 9: 5-6).
let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,
Encumbrances are those things that are burdensome, useless, or superfluous; a weight that we don't need to carry. And sin is described here as a snare that we get our foot caught up in and as a result we're tied up. Let's lay aside these things, and not hold on to them.
and let us run with endurance the race that us set before us,
We are seen here as athletes running a race. Runners never wear or carry anything that would slow them down at all. They strip down to their running shorts and leave their water bottles at various points along the way. Totally unencumbered.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
Jesus is our example, our model. As He left Heaven to come to Earth as one of us, He is the originator and He is also the finisher of what we believe. The beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13). We trust Him to have done everything that is needed for us. He is the Creator; He plotted out the whole Plan of the Ages with His Father and the Spirit; He is the Lord God of the Old Testament who gave the Law and told the Prophets what to write; He came personally to this Earth, becoming one of us, to fulfill everything He said He would do; and He will return again to finish everything He said would happen. He is the Beginning and the Ending of our whole story.
who for the joy set before Him
What was this joy? We read in His High Priestly prayer: Father, I will, that they also, who You have given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory ... (John 17: 24). He came to be with us where we are, now He wants us to be with Him where He lives, and to share in His glory.
There was only one way we could do that--for Him to cleanse us and make us new. For Him to:
endured the Cross, despising the shame,
Jesus asked three times in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Father to not make Him go through this, if there could be any other way. But He knew there was no other way. This was the Plan, and He had agreed to it. He was the only one who could do it. So He submitted His will to the Father's will, and did it.
and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.
He became for a little while lower than the Angels, and submitted Himself to be executed as a criminal, taking our place in death to pay our debt in full. Now He is risen to the glory of Almighty God, to rule at the Right Hand of God the Father on His Throne.
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Think about how much Jesus had given up, and how much He suffered; we will never have to face or endure even a tiny fraction of what He went through. And He did it. So He will also strengthen us to be able to go through whatever we may face in this life.
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
His readers have not yet faced such harsh persecution as to be put to death yet. So they and we need to steel ourselves now before the hard persecution hits, so we will be strong to not break or waver when it comes.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives (Job 5:17).He is saying that what they and we are experiencing now, the stuff that the World throws at us because we are Christians, is being used by God in our lives to discipline us, to teach us to do what is right, to be strong against the wrong, with the attitude of doing what benefits all of us in the long run.
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
It is to learn the lessons He is teaching us. But if we're not experiencing anything like slander or malicious gossip or other adversities, then maybe we need to examine if we really are born into His family, because:
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
God is our good Father, He is a perfect Father, who only has our good in mind.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
Our human fathers tried to teach us to do right, and we respect them for it, because that showed their love and care for us. How much more does God Love us and care for us?
They disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
Our fathers sometimes disciplined us for selfish reasons, too, in anger or looking only at their own reputation. God doesn't need to worry about His reputation, He will take care of that; He is looking to mold and make us into the image of His Son, who shares His glory. And He wants us also to share in the glory of His authority, as His kings and queens, governing under King Jesus.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;
Yeah, it hurts!
yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
But if we take it to heart and see it as learning to do better, then we won't have to go through that lesson again, going on to the next one. And when we're learning everything He wants to teach us, then we'll be a force of good in the World around us, promoting the peace that comes from doing right. And we will eventually be prepared to graduate, and be awarded our rewards and our positions in glory.
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak, and the knees that are feeble.
And make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Don't look down on one another because we're not perfect yet! We all have weaknesses in different areas. Hands, knees, feet, are all different parts of the body with different abilities. If I am strong in one area, I'm probably weak in another. And you are, too.
So we are to help one another: where I am strong and you are weak, then I am to strengthen you in that area; and you can help me where I'm weak and you are strong.
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
We need to try to get along with everyone, as far as we can, without compromising the Truth that leads to the Lord. Our witness is powerful, in that no one can argue that we didn't have the experience of being confronted by the Lord. Only explanations and interpretations are subject to dispute.
But sanctification as spoken of here has the definition:
to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.So unless we are purified and freed from all sinfulness, we are unable to see the Lord God. He is so pure that not even a shadow of a stain of any sin can stand before Him without being consumed. That's why Jesus came. To purify us.to purify or free from sin.
See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God;
We must all examine ourselves to make sure that we understand and apply to our thinking processes to be able to reason through the whole Grace idea: that it is a free gift from God that we can do nothing at all to earn.
that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
Be careful that any resentment or anger or disappointment be dealt with; so it won't fester into a root of bitterness that would cause the kind of trouble that draws others away into error.
That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. (Read Genesis 25: 29-34 for this story.)
Esau is called godless because he had no regard for the promise God gave to him in being the first-born of his father Isaac. He didn't care if the Messiah would come from him or not, he didn't care about God at all. He was godless.
For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. (Genesis 27: 34 tells us this.)
He found no place for repentance, because he couldn't change the past. He had already legally bartered away his birthright, and that bargain stood. So he could not have the blessing, either, that went with the birthright.
Even though Isaac didn't know Esau had thought the birthright was worthless, God did. Then, when Esau wanted the blessing of material prosperity, it wasn't available to him, having already rejected the spiritual promise.
This is a strong warning to us, too. Although Jesus' Blood cleanses us of all sinfulness, we still live in this World, and the consequences of past choices and decisions still affect us. We still suffer the results of bad decisions we make, so we need to be careful to make good decisions.
God uses these consequences to teach us to make better choices in life. And the great cloud of witnesses who are watching how we are doing, are, doubtless, cheering us on to do right. Even though they don't do anything to affect anything here any more, they can still "sit in the stands" and root for us.
When we realize this, we can take their encouragement as an extra incentive to do right and make our choices in life with godly wisdom.
O my Father, You are such a wonderful Father to us! You Love us with Your unconditional Love that wants only good, the very best, for each of us, and You were willing to pay the highest price for us!
O Father, help us to understand Your great Love! Help us to comprehend how huge and magnificent is Your power and authority, and how enormous is Your Being! This whole Universe You made resides inside You, we are Your imagination--if You were not thinking about us, we would not exist!
Father, You have told us all the stories of those who went before us, that would teach us the consequences of the kind of decisions we make. You have demonstrated for us in these ancient people how good choices bring great blessing, and how foolish choices produce suffering and poverty and sicknesses.
You want us to cooperate with how You made this Earth to work, so that we would build our World on it rightly. But we, as a human race, were deceived into all kinds of detours and side-roads that lead away from the good You want for us.
But when we reject the spiritual dimension, or embrace "the dark side" instead of Your Light, then we build our World in unrighteousness, and suffer the consequences as a society.
You save us one-by-one, because You see each one of us. But when You have saved each one out of each society who seek You, then You will judge that Nation. Not just as You have in the past, as Nations have vanished from the rolls of history; but with the Sword of the Spirit that proceeds from the mouth of King Jesus, His Word that cuts them into ribbons. (see Revelation 19: 11-18, and 14: 20.)
Father, help Your children to discern what is worldly from what is godly. This World we built here, and our enemy who works against us, and our own human flesh, all three of these do their darndest to draw us off that straight and narrow path You have set our feet upon.
Teach us Your ways, Father; even down to the most subtle shade of good, compared to the foolishness that resides in our own hearts.
Hold my hand firmly, Father, that I will learn all the nuances of Your will for me, to walk confidently in Your footsteps.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Heroes Of Faith
Hebrews 11
This Chapter has been called God's "Hall of Heroes of Faith."
It begins with the definition of Faith, as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Then it continues with recounting the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Children of Israel, Joshua, Rahab, and Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the Prophets, and unnamed saints who did great exploits, all through faith. And, although they were treated with cruel mockings and scourgings, bonds and imprisonment, destitute, afflicted and tormented, the world was not worthy of them.
They all went through all these things, trusting God to fulfill His Promises. But none of them received what was promised yet, because:
God would not be finished with showing Mankind who He is, until His Son came to fulfill all the Law and Prophets and Psalms to be our Lamb of God and High Priest.
In Jesus we have the perfection that God has planned for us all. And now He is saving His children, birthing us into His own Family, finishing His Plan of the Ages and making complete everything in this Earth and Universe.
O my Father, You are so great, You are so good, You are so mighty and strong and determined. You planned everything out in detail before You created, and You have been carrying out Your plans through the Age of this Universe, using the "free will" of Mankind to push it along.
If You give someone an opportunity to do something great for You, You will reward them. But if they refuse, then you will use someone else, but that one will suffer loss of reward.
And You are also using all the evil people who rebel against You, they are pushing Your program forward, toward the final conclusion. You are sovereign, my Lord and Maker, and what You will is what will be done, in every realm.
And every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Christ and Lord God Almighty and Sovereign King over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
This Chapter has been called God's "Hall of Heroes of Faith."
It begins with the definition of Faith, as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Then it continues with recounting the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Children of Israel, Joshua, Rahab, and Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the Prophets, and unnamed saints who did great exploits, all through faith. And, although they were treated with cruel mockings and scourgings, bonds and imprisonment, destitute, afflicted and tormented, the world was not worthy of them.
They all went through all these things, trusting God to fulfill His Promises. But none of them received what was promised yet, because:
God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.God would not make everything complete until Jesus came, and we also, through faith, believed God.
God would not be finished with showing Mankind who He is, until His Son came to fulfill all the Law and Prophets and Psalms to be our Lamb of God and High Priest.
In Jesus we have the perfection that God has planned for us all. And now He is saving His children, birthing us into His own Family, finishing His Plan of the Ages and making complete everything in this Earth and Universe.
O my Father, You are so great, You are so good, You are so mighty and strong and determined. You planned everything out in detail before You created, and You have been carrying out Your plans through the Age of this Universe, using the "free will" of Mankind to push it along.
If You give someone an opportunity to do something great for You, You will reward them. But if they refuse, then you will use someone else, but that one will suffer loss of reward.
And You are also using all the evil people who rebel against You, they are pushing Your program forward, toward the final conclusion. You are sovereign, my Lord and Maker, and what You will is what will be done, in every realm.
And every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Christ and Lord God Almighty and Sovereign King over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
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