What you are saying about Israel is so telling. They had the Law and the words of the prophets, They had the status as God's favored nation. They had the history of God doing nighty miracles that none of the idols ever could do.
But they failed miserably to live up to God's will in what He commanded of them. But along with the civil and moral laws, God had instituted sacrifices for the people to offer to God to take care of their sin. This was to show them that they NEED a sacrifice for their sins because it was clear that they could not keep their end of the covenant, that is perfectly obeying the law. Yet, they came to depend on the sacrifices of sheep and bulls to take care of their sins instead of depending on God to provide the forgiveness in the Messiah. They opted for religious observances and could not look past them to see that they pointed to Jesus.
But, in Jesus, we have the ultimate best for us. In Him is created a new humanity that is changed from what they were before they believed. Redemption includes this, not just to restore us to pre-fall holiness, but to advance us into a life of victory over sin and death through Jesus' death and resurrection. We are a new creation, not like Adam, who turned away from God. We have turned to God in Christ and in doing so we are kept in fellowship with God by the righteousness of Jesus imputed upon us.
Hallelujah! for that. And on top of that, our Paradise will be with Jesus in heaven where no corruption will ever enter again. So much better that Adam's paradise!
Well spoken, Jesus came to redeem all of creation from the curse pronounced on the world in Genesis. The work of the cross didn't just redeem us, Christ came to redeem all that was created. Romans 8:21-23. The commandments weren't set forth to do that. The commandments were to show the need for redemption.
The commandments given didn't say keep the commandments the best you can.
The second you broke any one of them you were forever lost if there was no sacrifice that could take away sin. Hebrews 10:1-5.
It was the sacrifices that pointed to Christ that made atonement for those sins.
Israel having God in their midst with all the providence showed the world that the heart of man is incurably wicked.
The law showed that there was a need of a savior that could regenerate the believer and give a new heart and life.
The commandments are Holy and was given to a nation that was set apart to show man with God in their midst was nothing like God being "IN" them.
This section of the chapter explains how the meat (grain) offering should be made when one is consecrated to be high priest. The high priest will take 7 days to be set apart (consecrated to God) for this lifelong service. Beginning on the 8th day he will begin t offer this grain offering morning and night for as long as he serves as the high priest. He will make a sort of pancake out of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour and oil. He will bake it and place it on the altar where the morning and evening sacrifice is burning. The pancake is to be burnt up completely with no portion kept for the priest to eat.
This may be showing us that Jesus, as our eternal high priest offered Himself (the bread of life from heaven) completely to the Father. He held back nothing, but His offering of himself was totally given over to the Father in order to give life to believers. At the Last Supper, Jesus referred to the bread of Passover as His body, given to take away the sins of all mankind, except He Himself was sinless. As our High Priest, the efficacy of His offering of Himself is eternal, never failing to be sufficient for the remission of sins for all who believe.
The keys, the Greek word Kleis, are not actual keys in a physical form, it is the power and authority to open and shut. The first of the verse "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold I am alive for evermore". Jesus conquered death because He was sinless, Acts 2:24, and the devil/Satan who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Satan), Heb. 2:14-151 John 3:8.
Romans 8:10-11 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
My understanding is Jesus was in the tomb/hell for the three days and He did not ascend to the Father until He rose from the tomb. John 20:17, Jesus ascended to the Father and presented himself and was accepted by God the First Fruits of them that slept. He returned and met the women on the road going to tell the apostles and they could then touch Him, Matt.28:9.
Dear Prosperity, as to your question about the disciples celebrating Pentecost. I think that they did this because when they were with Jesus He celebrated all of the Jewish feasts. They were following His example, since they were Jews, too. There was nothing wrong with Jesus' disciples celebrating these feasts, but also nothing meritorious either. Years later, Paul meets with the church in Jerusalem to counsel together about what Gentiles are to do concerning Jewish Law. The determination was that Gentiles did not have to keep Jewish Law with a few exceptions.
As the church grew throughout that first century it became more and more compiled of converted Gentiles rather than Jews. So, in his epistle letters Paul says to not let anyone judge you as to whether or not one celebrates the traditional Jewish feasts, Sabbaths, and holy days. So, all Christians are to decide for themselves if they will celebrate any, all, or none of these observances of days and seasons. Whatever one chooses is acceptable, being part of the liberty we have in Christ. What matters is a clear conscience before God.
Hi Estelle, the trinity (or Godhead) is mentioned in verses like 1 John 5:7.
The Godhead is mentioned in verses like Romans 1:20.
The KJV doesn't have the word trinity, but "Godhead" and uses 'we' and 'us' plural in places even though God is one. Galatians 3:20
Some unfortunately use this as a weapon to attack who God is, so its worth noting that the word Bible isn't in the Bible either, but that doesn't mean it isn't one. The KJV doesn't have the word demons, but that doesn't mean there's no demons. It doesn't have "labor", "encouragement", "suicide", "anxiety", "honor", but they are still real and true subjects discussed within. So for any onlookers with questionable motives in their heart, this busts one of the most common strawman arguments dishonestly made against God.
This Psalm is a continuation from Psalm 42 with the same author(s) according to experts on the subject. We see here a continuing sense of alienation from God as well as an unknown nation and their affects. It is unclear in these verses if there is a specific forced diaspora to other parts of the country or other nations. Clearly this was before the time the Kingdom was completely rendered; although it was near and David's sins had incurred promises from Nathan the Prophet that God was about to send enemies; and the continued rebellion of Solomon would end the united rulership of the nation under kings permanently.
As others have mentioned; there are continuing exhortations to trust God in these Psalms; despite the feeling of estrangement from His presence. In Lamentations in particular we can see how the writer agonized over the state of Jerusalem when the sufferings to come were considered. This was true of the book of Jeremiah itself; as well as Daniel. There was always a realization of the sin of the individual (such as Isaiah in the presence of God); as well as the sins of the nation as a whole (seen in Daniel's prayer when the 70 years were up when he acknowledged that despite God's promises they had been in rebellion and unrepentant much of that time). We learn from this that in the end His promises to us will be fulfilled; as well as for all of God's people. We understand that He chastises His people as individuals as well as the nation of Israel in particular which will occur in the Tribulation to full fruition once national repentance ensues (see the last few chapters of Zechariah).
One issue these writers wouldn't have is that of ancestor worship seeing how God's wrath had come on their father for rebellion against God. Such destruction as Jesus illustrated when the tower of Siloam came down; and Pilate's offering was tainted with blood of innocent Jews is the fate of all of us; in our sins we all perish apart from Christ's atoning blood.
Prophets and Teachers are distinct from one another but both minister correct? This is my opinion of course . in basic terms, a prophet is one through whom revelation is given, while a teacher is one who explains revelation.
Since Phillip was an evangelist who had four virgin daughters which did prophesy . this to me suggests evangelism , ministering , leadership in the Church .
A prophet is a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God. While a teacher is someone who educates emphasis on school. They both educate the difference, one gets you ready for this life while the other prepares you for the after life. Prophet and Teacher Barnabas, and Simeon Acts 13 in the church in Antioch both minister to the Lord were separated and sent out by The Holy Spirit and they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: This further suggests they both preached the word of God in the Church .
Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." 'Creature, or creation' as the Greek suggests applies to all who need to hear & respond to the Gospel. My own thought is that by using this word, 'creation', the implication is that the Gospel needs to reach all parts of the world, to every nation & tribe.
Hi Jag. This is a very sad indictment against a Church that was vibrant for the Lord & had a great love for the saints ( Ephesians 1:15,16). Now about thirty years later, Jesus speaks to the Apostle John from Heaven, that the Church at Ephesus which was once well commended by Paul & recognized by the Lord ( Revelation 2:2,3), had given way to a lifeless orthodoxy in belief, in service & in love for each other.
When a Church degenerates to such a state, Jesus feels the pain as when a spouse becomes unfaithful & looks aside to other suitors. But the Lord is gracious to allow them to reconsider their backsliding, repent & return to their first love. Even though there may have been individual believers that were true & faithful to the Lord (Who was their first love: 1 John 4:19), when those who ought to have been keen to arrest any departure from their relationship to Jesus have been negligent, then the Church as a whole will be judged & the faithful would do well to depart from their midst, finding food for their souls elsewhere.
Heavenly Father, we come to You today in the name of Jesus and ask that You will repair Charles' vision. Thank You for always hearing our prayers and always answering in the best way for us. Amen.
Tiffany, I pray that God will bless you now as you engage in a move to a new home and new circumstances. May He give you a truly fresh start, guiding you every step of the way and clearing out the path He lays out for you so that You can walk in His ways and will. I pray that You will listen for His voice and only follow His speaking to you. I pray that you and your household will be safe, healthy, harmonious, faithful, and Spirit led always. Amen.
I am not sure how the divisions of the Psalms relate to the Pentateuch but I heard they were in five sections. At any rate; this begins the first one that is NOT written by David. The sons of Korah were descendants of those destroyed in the rebellion by God therefore were grateful to have a place (see 1 Chronicles 9:19 for their place as doorkeepers in the House of God).
The first two verses echo the popular song "As the deer panteth for the water". The rest of the Psalm seems to contain a desire to appear before God (v. 3); and considering Him in a dispersed situation (v. 6). It seems like a diaspora; although the details are missing. The Psalmist (or multiple "sons" of Korah) seem to be taunted by the enemies as to where God is in verse 3 and 10. The author(s) of the Psalm also ask themselves and cry out to God the same plea in verses 5 and 9.
The last verse of the Psalm shows how praising God raises the condition of the soul from all sorts of despair. This is good to remember whether it is in suffering the perishing of the old body in 2 Cor. 4:16; facing martyrdom ( Philippians 1:21); or just the stresses of everyday life. Thankfully; as God states emphatically in Ezekiel 18:20. The sons are not to bear the guilt for their father's sins. This also; of course shows us that just because our parents may be a Pastor that we are not specially privileged in any way. Matthew 23:15 gives that principle to the Pharisees; whose physical descendancy from Abraham didn't give them any spiritual value without true faith. Praise the Lord for His grace toward the sons of Korah who didn't rebel.
Salvation is a gift from God, given to us because He is gracious and merciful. We receive salvation by faith-believing that God has indeed brought about salvation to those who believe in Jesus and His work to save us. This means believing that the eternal Son of God took on a human body and nature, though being God, and was born of a virgin (Mary), lived a life in perfect obedience to God, thus fulfilling completely any and all laws God has spoken to mankind, suffered in His body, soul, and spirit on the cross, having been crucified, He died, paying the just penalty for all the sin of mankind and accepting upon Himself all of the wrath of God that is due all of mankind for our sins, was buried and stayed dead physically for three days. His soul and spirit went to the abode of the dead. before dawn on the third day, He rose bodily from the dead by the power of God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and Himself, God the Son. He appeared to His disciples many times, and ascended into heaven, taking His rightful place at the right hand of the Father.
Beverly, believing that these things really did happen to and in Jesus is necessary. But in addition, we, by faith, call on the name of Jesus and agree that He saved us from our own sinfulness, forgives us all of our sins, gives us new life (His) that is eternal, and will spend eternity with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit after we die.
Beverly, if you believe in Jesus and in all that He did as our Savior, then you can be assured that you are saved and that the Father has chosen you and drawn you to Jesus. No one can snatch you from Him. He will preserve you in faith in this life because He will not lose even one whom the Father has given Him. Praise be to our amazing God!
In our saved new life, we will certainly desire to live in faith and obedience to Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and helps us through God's grace. yet, as long as we are in this life with our sinful nature, we will sin.
Dear Kim, I am praying with you for these things tonight. Thank you for bringing these needs forward to us. We are glad to pray for you and your family. May God give you and yours mercy and answers to Your needs. Amen.
Hello Daddy, Jesus entered the abode of the dead, which was Paradise for the righteous and Hades for the unrigheous. He did not take the keys from Satan. He already had these since He is sovereign. The Scriptures do not say that Satan ever had these keys. Aslo, Satan is not in Hades or hell. He is prowling around earth seeking to see who he can rob, steal, and kill. he was cast down to earth, not to hell.
There are those who prescribe to this "Dominion Theory". I do not. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Satan has dominion of the earth or that he took it from Adam when Adam sinned. He IS called the "god of this world", not that he is in any true sense a god because there is only One God. But he is called the god of this earth because over the span of history, every person has sinned and thus become enslaved to our sinful nature where Satan could tempt us and devise schemes to keep us from turning to God. Therefore, to those who do not repent and turn to God in faith, Satan is their "god", whether they actually worship idols or not. He is an idol to those who remain in disobedience and unbelief and he does exercise some power over them.
But God has all the dominion. He is sovereign and Satan can only do what God allows him to do. God is his maker and can not be overthrown by Satan.
When Jesus was dead, His soul went to Paradise, as He promised the thief on the cross. He preached in both Paradise and Hades to all who had lived and died before He did so that all would hear the gospel and either be saved for their faith and rise with Jesus and be brought to heaven or remain in Hades for their unbelief and eventually be condemned to hell at the last judgment.
It has always been God who has the keys to death and hell as well as heaven. Satan never has had these. Keys represent authority. power, and dominion. God has never relinquished these to any creature. He is the ultimate and sole Soverign of all creation, both in the spiritual and earthly realm.
I am in harmony with these verses. I do think we are to keep the commandments Jesus has given us. We are not to lead anyone into disobeying His commands. And that His commandments are to be kept by those who love Him.
What I was speaking to was that no one can every earn any merit towards salvation or right standing before God from obeying Him because, even when we wish to do so and fight against sin, we will still sin, which disqualifies us from being righteous on our own.
Thankfully, Jesus is our righteousness. He has imputed to us His perfect life and had all of our sin imputed upon Him on the cross. What a scandalous exchange this is! But it wins for us a victory that is priceless and sure.
I do think that believers should make every effort to live a life of obedience in all respects. The commandments of God tell us what God knows is truly good and right. We should want to live the way the commandments instruct us to because they are all wise and good for us to obey. We should also want to obey from the heart, not just outwardly, as the commandments speak about actions. We should want to have right motives and intentions, but above all we should do everything out of love, which Jesus said was how we fulfill His commandments. Paul instructs us to do this, too. ( Ephesians 5:2; Romans 13:8-10). Every command of God that we obey is following this way of life Jesus and Paul is telling us about.
So, let love be our aim in all things, in thought, words, deeds; in motivations, desires, affections; and in what we choose not to do. Love is the answer to all of our obedience. And this love comes to us from God first which then we love Hi:16m and one another. 1John 4 is such a wonderful chapter to read concerning this.
I hope you have a good evening. And feel free to respond back to me.
Just finished making green tomato pasta sauce using the remaining tomatoes from our garden. Never made this before. Turned out GREAT! Even my chef son loved it.
Been praying for the election. I can't believe how our country has been changed in just 2 short years. But I do believe that God can turn things around for our country. I do believe that the U.S.A. was brought about in order to be a blessing to the world. It is my hope that we will be a country that is able to bring good to its own citizens and to other countries.
I hope others will be praying with me over the next 24 hrs.
Dear Heavenly Father, we bring before You the U.S.A. as we elect who will be our representatives tomorrow. we come before You in the name of Jesus, our Perfect Representative, and ask the You will bless our country in our elections. We ask that You will turn around the hearts and minds of so many who are bent on being rebellious to Your ways in so many areas of our lives. We ask that You will weed out corrupt government representatives and bureaucrats and that You will foil any plans to defraud citizens' votes by cheating, deception, illegal measures. We ask that every person's vote will be counted accurately and counted only once. We ask that You stay the outbreak of any violence that may present if groups do not get the results they wish for. We pray that illegal attacks and defamation of people will be turned away. We ask that there will be a victory for the upholding of human life and individual freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. We ask that those elected tomorrow will be moved by You to serve You in faith and in good conscience.
Father, thank You for having Your covering over our country through very perilous times and preserving our rights that come from You ultimately. Thank You for the guidance You have provided our country for centuries and for bringing about just ends to so many situations. Father, we do trust that Your hand is in this. Amen.
Okay. I understand what you mean but why did Christ Himself say this;
Matthew 5:19
In Revelation 12:17, we see that the dragon went to make war with the woman's seed (metaphorically Israel) and they keep The Commandments.
Furthermore, in 1 John 2:3-4, John states that only those who keep God's Commandments actually know Him. The Law is still in effect. If not, how do people differentiate between right and wrong ?
My understanding is that Jesus fulfilled all of the Law perfectly and fulfilled all of the prophecies concerning the first coming of the Messiah. Also, he abolished the curse of the Law for those who believe in Him. So, we are freed from having to fulfill the law perfectly and from receiving the curse of the Law for not obeying God perfectly.
Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. ( Matthew 5:17)
Colossians 2:14 says that "..you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has me made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that were against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." is speaking of the debt of our sin (the handwritten note that keeps an account of all of the ways we have disobeyed the Law of God) being removed from us and no longer applies to us. We are forgiven completely and the sins we the debt against us that the law requires for disobedience, which is death, has been wiped out and nailed to the cross in the body of Jesus, our perfect sacrifice, who alone can remove this debt that deserves the wrath of God upon us.
Elsewhere, Paul says that the law is holy, righteous and good, but our sinful nature is against obeying the law and so we cannot ever be justified by the law. The law will always condemn us. But to live by the Spirit and not by the flesh, we will be given the power to live godly lives.
Paul was not saying that we are no longer responsible to live morally godly lives, rather, we are, by being dead in Christ and then risen in Him, we have resurrection power to live by faith, believing that anything we do that is morally right is done by the Spirit within us and not by our carnal fleshly nature. God is working in and through us by grace to live according to the Spirit who will always want us to do what is morally right and to obey God
If Christ came and did away with The Law as some people teach, why were The Apostles celebrating Pentecost in Acts 1 after Christ had already ascended into Heaven ?
What you are saying about Israel is so telling. They had the Law and the words of the prophets, They had the status as God's favored nation. They had the history of God doing nighty miracles that none of the idols ever could do.
But they failed miserably to live up to God's will in what He commanded of them. But along with the civil and moral laws, God had instituted sacrifices for the people to offer to God to take care of their sin. This was to show them that they NEED a sacrifice for their sins because it was clear that they could not keep their end of the covenant, that is perfectly obeying the law. Yet, they came to depend on the sacrifices of sheep and bulls to take care of their sins instead of depending on God to provide the forgiveness in the Messiah. They opted for religious observances and could not look past them to see that they pointed to Jesus.
But, in Jesus, we have the ultimate best for us. In Him is created a new humanity that is changed from what they were before they believed. Redemption includes this, not just to restore us to pre-fall holiness, but to advance us into a life of victory over sin and death through Jesus' death and resurrection. We are a new creation, not like Adam, who turned away from God. We have turned to God in Christ and in doing so we are kept in fellowship with God by the righteousness of Jesus imputed upon us.
Hallelujah! for that. And on top of that, our Paradise will be with Jesus in heaven where no corruption will ever enter again. So much better that Adam's paradise!
Well spoken, Jesus came to redeem all of creation from the curse pronounced on the world in Genesis. The work of the cross didn't just redeem us, Christ came to redeem all that was created. Romans 8:21-23. The commandments weren't set forth to do that. The commandments were to show the need for redemption.
The commandments given didn't say keep the commandments the best you can.
The second you broke any one of them you were forever lost if there was no sacrifice that could take away sin. Hebrews 10:1-5.
It was the sacrifices that pointed to Christ that made atonement for those sins.
Israel having God in their midst with all the providence showed the world that the heart of man is incurably wicked.
The law showed that there was a need of a savior that could regenerate the believer and give a new heart and life.
The commandments are Holy and was given to a nation that was set apart to show man with God in their midst was nothing like God being "IN" them.
That's what's available today.
God bless.
This section of the chapter explains how the meat (grain) offering should be made when one is consecrated to be high priest. The high priest will take 7 days to be set apart (consecrated to God) for this lifelong service. Beginning on the 8th day he will begin t offer this grain offering morning and night for as long as he serves as the high priest. He will make a sort of pancake out of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour and oil. He will bake it and place it on the altar where the morning and evening sacrifice is burning. The pancake is to be burnt up completely with no portion kept for the priest to eat.
This may be showing us that Jesus, as our eternal high priest offered Himself (the bread of life from heaven) completely to the Father. He held back nothing, but His offering of himself was totally given over to the Father in order to give life to believers. At the Last Supper, Jesus referred to the bread of Passover as His body, given to take away the sins of all mankind, except He Himself was sinless. As our High Priest, the efficacy of His offering of Himself is eternal, never failing to be sufficient for the remission of sins for all who believe.
The keys, the Greek word Kleis, are not actual keys in a physical form, it is the power and authority to open and shut. The first of the verse "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold I am alive for evermore". Jesus conquered death because He was sinless, Acts 2:24, and the devil/Satan who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Satan), Heb. 2:14-15 1 John 3:8.
Romans 8:10-11 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
My understanding is Jesus was in the tomb/hell for the three days and He did not ascend to the Father until He rose from the tomb. John 20:17, Jesus ascended to the Father and presented himself and was accepted by God the First Fruits of them that slept. He returned and met the women on the road going to tell the apostles and they could then touch Him, Matt.28:9.
God bless,
RLW
As the church grew throughout that first century it became more and more compiled of converted Gentiles rather than Jews. So, in his epistle letters Paul says to not let anyone judge you as to whether or not one celebrates the traditional Jewish feasts, Sabbaths, and holy days. So, all Christians are to decide for themselves if they will celebrate any, all, or none of these observances of days and seasons. Whatever one chooses is acceptable, being part of the liberty we have in Christ. What matters is a clear conscience before God.
The Godhead is mentioned in verses like Romans 1:20.
The KJV doesn't have the word trinity, but "Godhead" and uses 'we' and 'us' plural in places even though God is one. Galatians 3:20
Some unfortunately use this as a weapon to attack who God is, so its worth noting that the word Bible isn't in the Bible either, but that doesn't mean it isn't one. The KJV doesn't have the word demons, but that doesn't mean there's no demons. It doesn't have "labor", "encouragement", "suicide", "anxiety", "honor", but they are still real and true subjects discussed within. So for any onlookers with questionable motives in their heart, this busts one of the most common strawman arguments dishonestly made against God.
God bless.
As others have mentioned; there are continuing exhortations to trust God in these Psalms; despite the feeling of estrangement from His presence. In Lamentations in particular we can see how the writer agonized over the state of Jerusalem when the sufferings to come were considered. This was true of the book of Jeremiah itself; as well as Daniel. There was always a realization of the sin of the individual (such as Isaiah in the presence of God); as well as the sins of the nation as a whole (seen in Daniel's prayer when the 70 years were up when he acknowledged that despite God's promises they had been in rebellion and unrepentant much of that time). We learn from this that in the end His promises to us will be fulfilled; as well as for all of God's people. We understand that He chastises His people as individuals as well as the nation of Israel in particular which will occur in the Tribulation to full fruition once national repentance ensues (see the last few chapters of Zechariah).
One issue these writers wouldn't have is that of ancestor worship seeing how God's wrath had come on their father for rebellion against God. Such destruction as Jesus illustrated when the tower of Siloam came down; and Pilate's offering was tainted with blood of innocent Jews is the fate of all of us; in our sins we all perish apart from Christ's atoning blood.
Prophets and Teachers are distinct from one another but both minister correct? This is my opinion of course . in basic terms, a prophet is one through whom revelation is given, while a teacher is one who explains revelation.
Since Phillip was an evangelist who had four virgin daughters which did prophesy . this to me suggests evangelism , ministering , leadership in the Church .
A prophet is a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God. While a teacher is someone who educates emphasis on school. They both educate the difference, one gets you ready for this life while the other prepares you for the after life. Prophet and Teacher Barnabas, and Simeon Acts 13 in the church in Antioch both minister to the Lord were separated and sent out by The Holy Spirit and they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: This further suggests they both preached the word of God in the Church .
When a Church degenerates to such a state, Jesus feels the pain as when a spouse becomes unfaithful & looks aside to other suitors. But the Lord is gracious to allow them to reconsider their backsliding, repent & return to their first love. Even though there may have been individual believers that were true & faithful to the Lord (Who was their first love: 1 John 4:19), when those who ought to have been keen to arrest any departure from their relationship to Jesus have been negligent, then the Church as a whole will be judged & the faithful would do well to depart from their midst, finding food for their souls elsewhere.
Heavenly Father, we come to You today in the name of Jesus and ask that You will repair Charles' vision. Thank You for always hearing our prayers and always answering in the best way for us. Amen.
What is first love refereed to by the Lord?
Whta is the meaning of creature in above ?
I am not sure how the divisions of the Psalms relate to the Pentateuch but I heard they were in five sections. At any rate; this begins the first one that is NOT written by David. The sons of Korah were descendants of those destroyed in the rebellion by God therefore were grateful to have a place (see 1 Chronicles 9:19 for their place as doorkeepers in the House of God).
The first two verses echo the popular song "As the deer panteth for the water". The rest of the Psalm seems to contain a desire to appear before God (v. 3); and considering Him in a dispersed situation (v. 6). It seems like a diaspora; although the details are missing. The Psalmist (or multiple "sons" of Korah) seem to be taunted by the enemies as to where God is in verse 3 and 10. The author(s) of the Psalm also ask themselves and cry out to God the same plea in verses 5 and 9.
The last verse of the Psalm shows how praising God raises the condition of the soul from all sorts of despair. This is good to remember whether it is in suffering the perishing of the old body in 2 Cor. 4:16; facing martyrdom ( Philippians 1:21); or just the stresses of everyday life. Thankfully; as God states emphatically in Ezekiel 18:20. The sons are not to bear the guilt for their father's sins. This also; of course shows us that just because our parents may be a Pastor that we are not specially privileged in any way. Matthew 23:15 gives that principle to the Pharisees; whose physical descendancy from Abraham didn't give them any spiritual value without true faith. Praise the Lord for His grace toward the sons of Korah who didn't rebel.
Salvation is a gift from God, given to us because He is gracious and merciful. We receive salvation by faith-believing that God has indeed brought about salvation to those who believe in Jesus and His work to save us. This means believing that the eternal Son of God took on a human body and nature, though being God, and was born of a virgin (Mary), lived a life in perfect obedience to God, thus fulfilling completely any and all laws God has spoken to mankind, suffered in His body, soul, and spirit on the cross, having been crucified, He died, paying the just penalty for all the sin of mankind and accepting upon Himself all of the wrath of God that is due all of mankind for our sins, was buried and stayed dead physically for three days. His soul and spirit went to the abode of the dead. before dawn on the third day, He rose bodily from the dead by the power of God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and Himself, God the Son. He appeared to His disciples many times, and ascended into heaven, taking His rightful place at the right hand of the Father.
Beverly, believing that these things really did happen to and in Jesus is necessary. But in addition, we, by faith, call on the name of Jesus and agree that He saved us from our own sinfulness, forgives us all of our sins, gives us new life (His) that is eternal, and will spend eternity with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit after we die.
Beverly, if you believe in Jesus and in all that He did as our Savior, then you can be assured that you are saved and that the Father has chosen you and drawn you to Jesus. No one can snatch you from Him. He will preserve you in faith in this life because He will not lose even one whom the Father has given Him. Praise be to our amazing God!
In our saved new life, we will certainly desire to live in faith and obedience to Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and helps us through God's grace. yet, as long as we are in this life with our sinful nature, we will sin.
Hopefully these are helpful
There are those who prescribe to this "Dominion Theory". I do not. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Satan has dominion of the earth or that he took it from Adam when Adam sinned. He IS called the "god of this world", not that he is in any true sense a god because there is only One God. But he is called the god of this earth because over the span of history, every person has sinned and thus become enslaved to our sinful nature where Satan could tempt us and devise schemes to keep us from turning to God. Therefore, to those who do not repent and turn to God in faith, Satan is their "god", whether they actually worship idols or not. He is an idol to those who remain in disobedience and unbelief and he does exercise some power over them.
But God has all the dominion. He is sovereign and Satan can only do what God allows him to do. God is his maker and can not be overthrown by Satan.
When Jesus was dead, His soul went to Paradise, as He promised the thief on the cross. He preached in both Paradise and Hades to all who had lived and died before He did so that all would hear the gospel and either be saved for their faith and rise with Jesus and be brought to heaven or remain in Hades for their unbelief and eventually be condemned to hell at the last judgment.
It has always been God who has the keys to death and hell as well as heaven. Satan never has had these. Keys represent authority. power, and dominion. God has never relinquished these to any creature. He is the ultimate and sole Soverign of all creation, both in the spiritual and earthly realm.
I am in harmony with these verses. I do think we are to keep the commandments Jesus has given us. We are not to lead anyone into disobeying His commands. And that His commandments are to be kept by those who love Him.
What I was speaking to was that no one can every earn any merit towards salvation or right standing before God from obeying Him because, even when we wish to do so and fight against sin, we will still sin, which disqualifies us from being righteous on our own.
Thankfully, Jesus is our righteousness. He has imputed to us His perfect life and had all of our sin imputed upon Him on the cross. What a scandalous exchange this is! But it wins for us a victory that is priceless and sure.
I do think that believers should make every effort to live a life of obedience in all respects. The commandments of God tell us what God knows is truly good and right. We should want to live the way the commandments instruct us to because they are all wise and good for us to obey. We should also want to obey from the heart, not just outwardly, as the commandments speak about actions. We should want to have right motives and intentions, but above all we should do everything out of love, which Jesus said was how we fulfill His commandments. Paul instructs us to do this, too. ( Ephesians 5:2; Romans 13:8-10). Every command of God that we obey is following this way of life Jesus and Paul is telling us about.
So, let love be our aim in all things, in thought, words, deeds; in motivations, desires, affections; and in what we choose not to do. Love is the answer to all of our obedience. And this love comes to us from God first which then we love Hi:16m and one another. 1John 4 is such a wonderful chapter to read concerning this.
I hope you have a good evening. And feel free to respond back to me.
Just finished making green tomato pasta sauce using the remaining tomatoes from our garden. Never made this before. Turned out GREAT! Even my chef son loved it.
Been praying for the election. I can't believe how our country has been changed in just 2 short years. But I do believe that God can turn things around for our country. I do believe that the U.S.A. was brought about in order to be a blessing to the world. It is my hope that we will be a country that is able to bring good to its own citizens and to other countries.
I hope others will be praying with me over the next 24 hrs.
Dear Heavenly Father, we bring before You the U.S.A. as we elect who will be our representatives tomorrow. we come before You in the name of Jesus, our Perfect Representative, and ask the You will bless our country in our elections. We ask that You will turn around the hearts and minds of so many who are bent on being rebellious to Your ways in so many areas of our lives. We ask that You will weed out corrupt government representatives and bureaucrats and that You will foil any plans to defraud citizens' votes by cheating, deception, illegal measures. We ask that every person's vote will be counted accurately and counted only once. We ask that You stay the outbreak of any violence that may present if groups do not get the results they wish for. We pray that illegal attacks and defamation of people will be turned away. We ask that there will be a victory for the upholding of human life and individual freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. We ask that those elected tomorrow will be moved by You to serve You in faith and in good conscience.
Father, thank You for having Your covering over our country through very perilous times and preserving our rights that come from You ultimately. Thank You for the guidance You have provided our country for centuries and for bringing about just ends to so many situations. Father, we do trust that Your hand is in this. Amen.
Matthew 5:19
In Revelation 12:17, we see that the dragon went to make war with the woman's seed (metaphorically Israel) and they keep The Commandments.
Furthermore, in 1 John 2:3-4, John states that only those who keep God's Commandments actually know Him. The Law is still in effect. If not, how do people differentiate between right and wrong ?
My understanding is that Jesus fulfilled all of the Law perfectly and fulfilled all of the prophecies concerning the first coming of the Messiah. Also, he abolished the curse of the Law for those who believe in Him. So, we are freed from having to fulfill the law perfectly and from receiving the curse of the Law for not obeying God perfectly.
Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. ( Matthew 5:17)
Colossians 2:14 says that "..you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has me made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that were against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." is speaking of the debt of our sin (the handwritten note that keeps an account of all of the ways we have disobeyed the Law of God) being removed from us and no longer applies to us. We are forgiven completely and the sins we the debt against us that the law requires for disobedience, which is death, has been wiped out and nailed to the cross in the body of Jesus, our perfect sacrifice, who alone can remove this debt that deserves the wrath of God upon us.
Elsewhere, Paul says that the law is holy, righteous and good, but our sinful nature is against obeying the law and so we cannot ever be justified by the law. The law will always condemn us. But to live by the Spirit and not by the flesh, we will be given the power to live godly lives.
Paul was not saying that we are no longer responsible to live morally godly lives, rather, we are, by being dead in Christ and then risen in Him, we have resurrection power to live by faith, believing that anything we do that is morally right is done by the Spirit within us and not by our carnal fleshly nature. God is working in and through us by grace to live according to the Spirit who will always want us to do what is morally right and to obey God
If Christ came and did away with The Law as some people teach, why were The Apostles celebrating Pentecost in Acts 1 after Christ had already ascended into Heaven ?