Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. John 15:3 Water baptism is such a blessed celebration in our churches because it visibly demonstrates the great inner transformation that happens to us. When we understand that we have been buried with Christ in his baptism of death, and we go down in that water, we are, in effect, saying to the world, thanks be to Jesus Christ, that old nature, that old creation , that old life with all of its mistakes and failures, that old life with everything that went on, has been separated from me forever and ever and ever. It’s gone and I believe it, and I accept it. It is buried. It is buried forever. Then our coming out of the water depicts our exit from the old life and our entrance in the ever new, eternal life God has given. Dr.…
Tag: <span>cross of Christ</span>
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils…” “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron, ” 1Timothy 4:1-2 Sometimes I am taken mentally with a bombardment of regret. It seems, in these times, that I could easily emote remorse for every conversation, every activity of yesterday, even the day before or many days before that. Soon I am reviewing my whole life with a hyper-critical evaluation. The “over-run” results in one sad person. I slowly descended from carefree liberty in my thought life to an inward-turned mindset which reeks with inadequacy. I am being seduced. But, somehow the critical eval bears the flavor of truth; indeed some of it may actually measure up as accurate. O no! Friends, what has gone wrong? Perilous times, brothers and sisters, perilous…
“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1Corinthians1:23 -2:2 “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14 We preach Christ and Him crucified? Without this real historic event of 2000 years ago, our life remains in shambles; because when He died,…
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God”, Hebrews 4:14 I’m listening to a song entitled “Almost Home.” Yes us believers are almost home. However, Jesus is passed into the heavens, already. Oh, our Savior and destiny-carrier is seated in Heaven at the Father’s right hand. We, in Him, are there with Him. Nevertheless, we must put on our helmet, “the hope of salvation” — because we still must endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ down here. “Let us hold fast our profession.” The verse completes itself with, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;” Isaiah 63:9 reiterates, “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them,…
What am I going to do this year? The question runs In my mind In circles. The year is new and I just feel like I must make some resolutions, So let me think… what does a resolution mean? “The act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc.: an answer or solution to something. : the ability of a device to show an image clearly and with a lot of detail. Merriam-Webster I was encouraged by the definition but with dejection I mused, we can only look through a “glass darkly.” One day we will see God face to face, but not now; not this year; not in this lifetime. Nevertheless, I think I have hit on something. “The only thing you know Is that God knows what he’s doing.” “God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you who…
God’s psychology equals a bloody cross. On that cross died the man, Sin — a brazen serpent, a sick head, faint heart, wounds, bruises and putrefying sores. On that cross died an old man, an old sin nature, a wounded Adamic life. On that cross died a fight to stay alive, a desperately wicked heart, a deceivable bent. On that cross died a self-witness of sinful identity, less than perfect psyche, unbalanced soul. Jeremiah_15:18 tells us, “… my wound is incurable, which refuses to be healed.” Psychology may tell us, “Time heals all wounds.” Some psychologists don’t. Psychology may tell us, born innocent, you were wounded as a child. The devil may tell us, “Something has been taken from me that I cannot live without.” The devil may tell us, “There is no way out of my experience.” The Bible tells us our former existence is blotted from God’s memory.…
“Lighten my eyes.” “The prayer from Psalm 13 rests upon the profound conviction that Jehovah is the fountain of life, and that only by His continual pouring of fresh vitality into a man can any eyes be kept from death.” comment from “Expositors Dictionary”. Fresh vitality? From the fountain of life? Meaning? I’m a realist and fresh vitality means stimulating, invigorating, exciting, gushing, energizing stuff; my best picture stands me under a waterfall of delicious and fresh spring for drinking and bathing, playing and splashing. Does the psalmist have this in mind? Yes, but: The eyes create the problem, they need brightened. They might die. Matthew 6:22 tells us, “The light of the body is the eye, if that eye be single, thy whole body is full of light! Okay? What’s single eye? liberal, generous, and bountiful, simple, clear, not looking two ways. Contrasts the evil eye or “Bad” eye. John…
“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2 “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.”Matthew 24:43 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10 The “chronos,” or times and seasons hardly involve the believer in Christ, because its high time for us. We watch and wait every day. For the thief? No, thieves…
“For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. … And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…” Hebrews 9:26=28 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth Romans 10:4 “But the end of all things is at hand.” 1 Peter 4:7 Have you ever thought about life this way: it ended before I was born? It ended 2000 years ago when a man shouldered it to ultimate oblivion. That man was Jesus Christ. What ended? — the cursed life, sin’s nature, death’s reign, the shadowy perspective, the religious searching for God. These all ended at the judgment, the one…