We face perilous times. These times include harassments, distractions, risks and threats. However these perils are nothing more than statues on a lawn, pictures on a door, costumed children at our house for “trick or treat.” Though very real to those who “keep” their life, they fade away to those “losing” their lives — to those “dead” and hid with Christ in God. see Colossians 3:3. Let’s consider 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ overmasters us, the conclusion at which we have arrived being this–that One having died for all, His death was their death, and that He died for all in order that the living may no longer live to themselves, but to Him who died for them and rose again. — Weymouth translation. You see, ” For, with me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” was Paul’s striking testimony in Philippians 1:21. He saw…
Category: <span>Walk, for Christians</span>
” In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways.” Judges 5:6 Matthew Henry makes an observation about what this verse meant: First it meant “No trade. For want of soldiers to protect men of business in their business from the incursions of the enemy, and for want of magistrates to restrain and punish thieves and robbers among them (men of broken fortunes and desperate spirits, that, having no employment, took to rob on the highroad)….” Secondly, “No travelling. Whereas in times when there was some order and government the travellers might be safe in the open roads, and the robbers were forced to lurk in the by-ways, no, on the contrary, the robbers insulted on the open roads without check, and the honest travelers were obliged to sculk and walk through by-ways, in continual…
Rom 14:1-4 teaches, ” Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eats herbs. Let not him that eats despise him that eats not; and let not him which eats not judge him that eats: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judges another man’s servant? to his own master he stands or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. “ Rom 14:17 for the reign of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit; Paul addresses the strong in faith by saying to them in jist, “Their “strength” in Christ was never to be ungentle; never to be “used like a giant’s.” It was to be shown, first and most, by patience. It…
Peter beckoned the Lord, “bid me come unto thee on the water.” He too walked on the water. “But when he saw the wind forcible, he was afraid; and beginning to sink; he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” “Instantly Jesus stretched out His hand and caught hold of him, saying to him, ‘O little faith, why did you doubt?’” When boisterous winds cause our undergirding to swirl, please remember the outstretched arm of Jesus. Friends, our lives include miracles on the upside, but fallings on the down. To know beforehand that Christ’ open hand of rescue awaits my down-plunges, is an absolute essential for any “success” I may gain. Consider Psalm 37:23-24 “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” ESV Jeremiah 10:23 teaches “I know, O Lord, that…
On our Romans 7 discourse, Expositors comments, “…it is the cry of a human soul, if ever there was a personal cry. the passage betrays a kind of conflict far deeper and more mysterious than merely that of “I ought” with “I will not.” –It is a conflict of “I will” with “I will not”; of “I hate” with “I do.” Romans 7:19 illustrates this, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. “ Troublesome, the divided mind looks like this: On one hand, we want to do good. On the other hand, however, evil over-rules the good intentions, resulting in injurious or bad actions. Perhaps we determine harder to do the good we want. Before long we witness the weakness of our will as we surrender again to that troublesome, pernicious, destructive, baneful display. We need an…
Eve was the mother of all living. Many years later, one of those “living,” Mary, became the mother of Christ — and the mother of all those living in truth. That truth, enduring for all generations, has seen many an opposing foe. However that truth cannot be extinguished, it marches on and on. John, who had received the book of Revelation contained in our Bible, wept in chapter 5 at the prospect of a certain scroll, one held in God’s hand, going unopened. He wept at the possibility of truth stifled in time, reality extinguished for the redemption of mankind, past, present and future. But, in Revelation 6 a seal is opened of that scroll of heaven. The Lamb has prevailed to open the scroll, it’s seals are removed one by one. Upon the opening of seal #1, “…behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a…
God’s love covers a multitude of sins. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it. Proverbs 16:14 A person brings in a propitiation, anger is pacified. Yes, the sin, the offense, the fault — he removes it from the equation. There is no imputation of sin. God has called us to a tender reply, even a show of weakness. It repels the malignant part in the other, as it sides with the sinner, not to condone his sin, or sinful behavior — but to identify with it as also me-owned, admitting fulness of potential to self-display the very same sin — at any moment. I have always been amazed at God’s words to Cain in Genesis 4:6; “‘Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen? ” YLT. Cain displayed dismay, even anger and sorrow at the rejection by God of his…
Restoration must be included in all of a Christian’s thinking, since he or she will need it many times. Psalm 23 teaches us that God “restores our soul.” In Psalm 51:12 David prayed after he had fallen into sexual sin. God had sent Nathan the prophet to David in an effort at restoration. David was living in denial. Nathan told David a story of deceit and abuse — and then came the words to David. “thou art the man.” from 2 Samuel 12. It worked, and David prayed to God: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: “Restore unto…
The perfect love of Jesus casts out fear. 1John 4:10-18 makes this clear. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “We love because he first loved us. “v19 ESV Propitiation? “ …the scriptural conception of the verb is not that of appeasing one who is angry, with a personal feeling, against the offender; but of altering the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship.” quote is from Vincent “Word Pictures.” Christ, our sin-bearer, altered the character of sin by becoming sin for us, and taking it to a bloody cross, so sin died. Access to the Father resulted. So: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever…
Sin describes a continual attempt at hitting a target but a constant missing of that target. More than isolated failures ,sin actually combines the stigma of “missing the mark” with every thought or subsequent action which proceeds from an unregenerate person. It always misses because it can only function from its inherent nature — one tainted by the power of self-perception and adding self-evaluation to all of its functioning. This “conscience” of man, which was added to mankind at the fatal eating of the knowledge tree in the garden, gave man a scale of “good” versus “evil” for all future self-evaluations. So, this moral compass of man, conscience, educates itself with childhood taboos, classroom ethics, family rules, church taught laws and guidelines, cultural “yea and nay” and of course the guide of economic living — the model of finding provision for food and shelter. All of these are necessary paths…