Deuteronomy 28:14 reminds us, “… thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ” But, “the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath.” v. 13. We walk circumspectly; we walk in love. We walk in His light; we walk by faith. We stand in liberty; we put on the armor of light — in patience we possess our souls. We walk, not as the Gentiles, in the vanity of their mind — we neglect thoughts and paths that minister questions, that end up in circles, or unresolved conflicts. If we walk to please people, we become slaves to them. The right pathway is one which glorifies God only. Is that path proceeding to…
Category: <span>Walk, for Christians</span>
John 8:31 -12 teaches us: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. “ Sadly, others, in 2Timothy3:7 were: ” Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” New Testament writers faced falsehoods of all kinds. The subtlety of Gnosticism was addressed often by both Paul and John. Gnostic elites claimed to own “salvation by knowledge.” Their name which means, “good knowledge” implies this. .newadvent.org “A gnostic learner entered a knowledge-path which would lead to a deeper knowledge which could not be attained to without the path, since indeed, the leaders had not even seen it in totality as of yet. So a gnostic is on a path of “knowing.” Of course there was some promise of a future “utopian” ideal which…
Colossians 2:9-10 teaches, “For in him (Christ), dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ‘ A difficult passage, what does it mean for us? John Gill explains the theology of it: “the manner in which fullness dwells in Christ, is “bodily”; not by power, as in the universe, nor by grace, as in the saints, nor by any glorious emanations of it, as in heaven, nor by gifts, as in the prophets and eminent men of God, nor by signs symbols, and shadows, as in the tabernacle and temple, but, essentially and personally, or by personal union of the divine nature, as subsisting in the Son of God to an human body, chosen and prepared for that purpose. In addition Christ has: a reasonable human soul; which is the great mystery of godliness, the glory of the Christian religion, and what qualified Christ for, and recommends him…
Colossians 3:3 teaches, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” “Ye are dead,” grammatical tense-wise consists of an (Aorist, active voice, indicative mood of reality). Aorist tense is a picture tense. Look at the picture and see the dead person. See the dead you. Active voice means you did it — you died. Indicative mood means “it’s for real, you really died at some point in time. Clear? Your life is hid. This is a Perfect tense — past action with present and continuing results. Passive voice — you didn’t hide yourself, another hid you. Indicative mood — yes again, all is a reality. Another hid you eternally for real. Okay? “with Christ in God” To quote A.T. Robertson, “locked “together with” (sun) Christ, “in” (en) God.” “No hellish burglar can break that combination.! Thanks Lord for the hiding place. It covers our life.…
Belonging? to be suitable, appropriate, or advantageous, to be in a proper situation. to be the property of a person or thing to be attached or bound by birth, allegiance, or dependency to be a member of a club, organization, or set The very human desire to belong has been recognized since the garden of Eden, as our first parents forfeited ‘belonging’ for personal advantage. Enacting their ‘unbelonging’ experiment by defying their Maker, Adam and Eve discovered fear and hiding, a covert strategy for life. As their guilt filled nature developed under this false cover — through their offspring — so all of its malignancy’s many squirms and weasels came out. All of us have paid severely, victims of other’s deviations — victims of our own frightful hearts. James 4:1-2 explain this further: “What causes wars and contentions among you? Is it not the cravings which are ever at war…
Traveling this week to Africa for missions trip. I will be gone for two weeks. Many thoughts accompany me as I prepare. I think of Moses famous line in Exodus 33: “…If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” Exodus 33:15 Moses had the assuring Word of God’s presence from the previous verses, nevertheless, he repeated back to God how much His grace was desired and needed. Moses was seeing that to have found grace in God’s sight means that God would surely accompany them on the journey. Something undeserving to Moses could not be compromised — otherwise — not going! I wondered about how much of this sense formed my mindset. Did I expect this grace? Could I leave without it? Funny that I would compare my little adventure with the great Moses. Regardless, deeply worked into Moses psyche, appeared a desparation — “without…
In Revelation 5 a Lamb prevails worthy to open the 7 sealed scroll. This Lamb had been slain, an obvious reference to Christ Himself, who rose from the grave. In Revelation 6 the seals are one by one removed from the scroll, thus opening it. At the opening of the first seal appears a white horse. The horseman held a bow and a crown — he went forth conquering. At the next opening, the second, came a red horse. This rider was enabled to take peace from the earth, to kill one another. He was given a sword. The third seal was opened and came a black horse, he carried a scale of balances. A shout, “A quart of wheat for a shilling, and three quarts of barley for a shilling; but do not injure either the oil or the wine.” A fourth seal and fourth horse, pale, had…
1Peter 1:3-5 teaches, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Friends, our salvation accords with His abundant mercy, pardon not deserved but undeserved by us. Can we imagine this realm of existence? “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” Psalm 147:11 Hope births in the comfortable confines of mercy, steady as a rock, as secure as resurrection, defying death; mercy rejoices over judgement. Folks, in mercy/resurrection, a conscience freeing world excluding judgement, and an eruption of confidence…
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1Timothy 3:16 “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” 1 Timothy 3:9 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians 1:26 – 27 Many are the mysteries. The gospel, the second coming of Christ, the rapture of the Church, partial blindness to Israel are some of these. Also there is the mystery of iniquity, which does already work in 2 Thessalonians 2:9. Though many mysteries abound, many also are revealed to…
Not always, but occasionally, “over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go,” sadly detours us onto unfamiliar routes. Sometimes these alternate routes are well marked and eventuate easily to the more familiar paths — But then, maybe not. We wish for a safe and clearly defined trail, one with landmarks along the way. However, this day we go down a ‘never-before’ gone road, and to add to the suspense, it is turning twilight, soon to be fully dark. Apprehension bids us: should we stop, ask for directions, pray, or all of the above? We may find ourselves just short of panic. Let’s pause. As much as we disdain the thought of these real-life detours, they occur. Jesus teaches his disciples in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many…