Are you now censoring the FIRST AMENDMENT and serving ANTICHRIST in promoting the godless material interests of carnal men spiritually blinded by "the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life? You will be found yourselves fighting against God, a warning issued by Gamaliel, a Pharisee, under whom, the Apostle Paul, was "advancing in Judaism," sum of which, the Apostle Paul, uttering God's prophetic eternal Words of Spirit and Life in Christ Jesus, aptly, calls "dung" or "refuse?" "Ye err greatly in not knowing the Scripture and the power of God!" ***
I actually found the Book of Jude part on this story, just now:
Context Summary
Jude 1:5-16 describes the nature, errors, and fate of false teachers plaguing the Christian church. Jude's readers seem to have been acquainted with Israel's history. This passage references Old Testament events to help explain the apostates' sins, the danger they pose, and how the Lord will punish them. Jude references the unbelief of Israel after the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt, rebellious angels, the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the dangers of allowing such people to mingle with other believers.
Chapter Context
Jude's brief letter describes men at their worst and God at His best. Believers are already on the victorious side! Those who mock God's truth and who follow their own desires all while claiming to be Christians, are the most dangerous kind of unbelievers. These persons pose a danger to themselves and to any Christians they might influence. In response, Christians need to focus on understanding the truth of God's written Word and submitting to His will.
Jude 19 and what was the strife about - In Reply on Genesis 1:2 - 3 years ago
It's possible I remembered a different tussle someone had with Satan. I know there's a 2nd incident in Daniel. Where Gabriel was bringing an answer to Daniels prayer, and Michael had to fight principalities to get Gabriel through. Amazing when you consider it.
You're right in the point that Moses was already buried, and Michael was sent to guard the burial place. The point being that Satan wanted to use the body for idol worship or another reason? Here's part of the commentary on that:
" The key point here is that Michael, despite being a powerful being himself, refused to slander the Devil. This proves the arrogance of the apostates Jude is discussing. They are so conceited that they're doing what even an archangel won't!
Moses, Israel's leader during the exodus from Egypt, was buried by the Lord in an unknown place ( Deuteronomy 34:1-6). According to the traditional account, Michael and the Devil had engaged in a dispute about the burial of Moses' body, but Michael would not slander the Devil. Instead, he yielded to God's authority by trusting Him to rebuke the Devil. We do not know the details of the dispute, but God may have assigned Michael with the task of guarding Moses' grave, and the Devil may have wanted to steal Moses' body to make it an object of worship."
Evidently it would be better to Google the History of Jude 1, and see what New Testament conflict he was having with the locals. I'll get back to you.
And thanks so much for bringing this to my split attention. Today my electric company swears I cancelled my service after the ice storm, a month ago. I didn't. They Couldn't resolve that they made an error; so I had to tell them I was going elsewhere to get service, which I did. Sounds similar to Michael & Satan, lol.
Hi Mishael, I have read many of your posts and you help lead many on their search for the truth including me. I do have a question; I have heard others say that Moses was taken to heaven. I don't know if what you said about Michael was sent to collect Moses' body, meant the same. This is not to debate or dispute it is just a question I have you may can help with. Jesus is the Firstfruits of those that slept, and by scripture it is clear Jesus was the first that gives us hope.
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Romans 8:11 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.
How can anyone have been resurrected or overcome death before Jesus? Thanks Ron
I think maybe the scripture you seek is in Jude chapter 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Comment: I believe this shows that Michael was sent by the Lord to collect the dead body of Moses
I'm not sure I would say that the King James is the only correct Bible. There are some who are "King James" only and won't even get into a biblical conversation with anyone who doesn't use the KJV. I've read through this thread and there are some great responses. Chris has shared so much good information.
Personally, for me, the KJV is my choice. I do trust some of the other versions, but not all of them. I still like to do side by side comparisons between various bibles. We all have to decide for ourselves which version we want, and what it is we are looking for when we choose, whether it be easy to read, accurate, or whatever the case might be.
We have to keep in mind that whatever version we choose, they are all translations. Some might say that the KJV is the most accurate translation, but how do we know that unless we know the Greek?
Something that is interesting to note is that the King James was written without copyright. I think every other translation has copyright. This tells me that if I chose to write a bible, I would have to change the wording from the other copyrighted versions.
As far as I know, there are no two translations that are word for word. The problem we run into is once the wording starts to change because it has to, it can totally change the true meaning of the text. That's something we have to be careful about.
As for the Greek, I have learned to read Greek the same way I would read English. I do read from the Textus Receptus at times. Greek is such an exact language, and I think that's why the Lord chose that language for the New Testament because it is full of doctrine and teaching. God chose an exact language for that. English is a very general language and I think it's why we have so much division in the body of Christ today because we can't agree on what our English text is saying.
Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Lord in your years in the ministry. May the Lord continue to bless you!
Obviously, I can't speak for "so many people" who believe this, & only for myself. Though I would think that some of the points given may well be what these others are accepting. I won't give any expansion on my points as that would take up several pages, but just to list some, in support of the KJV.
a. In doctrine, there has been no demonstrable error with a fuller, doctrinally superior text.
b. In accuracy, it is a literal translation, gives person distinction, i.e. first, second, third person (as also seen in some other languages), use of italics, & no quotation marks (as they're not in the original languages).
c. In style, complex compound sentences aren't split into smaller sentences, Hebraic expressions are preserved, the Greek word order & tense is followed more closely (Jesse, if he reads this, can shed more light on this as he is proficient in Greek), & it maintains the poetic nature of the Scriptures (found in books such as Job, Psalms, Proverbs, etc.).
d. In background, though the state of the soul of King James has been questioned, he did pursue his quest for a Bible that was not like the prevailing Geneva Bible & one that had to be accurate & true to the original manuscripts. The KJV is free from modernist bias, and its translators were highly proficient in Hebrew, Greek & Latin and of course, in English.
Those are just a few points why I believe in the great worth of the KJV. But as I've said in other comments, I would rather that a person read another 'easier' version of the Bible (such as NASB, NKJV) to learn its Truths, than to not read it at all leaving him bereft of God's Word for him. Blessings to you, dear brother; hope you're doing well & strong in spirit.
I don't think we who stick to the KJV bible would say it is the "only correct" one. It is the most accurate English translation from the Hebrew(OT) and Greek(NT) texts we have today. I'm not going to go so far as to say it is 100% accurate as I have seen subtle differences here and there going through the Hebrew and Greek texts. Although I will say it is probably more than 95% accurate and I am no scholar in translations. We must give credit to the 50+ highly respectable scholars who took years to translate the original Holy Scriptures to the first printed English Bible which is the 1611 KJV. The normal KJV is noted as the Oxford 1769 version. The only differences from the 1611 version are updated spellings, the letter "J" which was not yet in 1611, and some capitalization changes. Though it is word for word. Unless anyone else knows of any other differences.
A couple details for you about the changes made to the modern Bible from the KJV. Anywhere between 7 & 25 entire verses and 2,000 to 7,000 words removed. Then between 3,000 and 10,000 words added in some translation. Words changed. The KJV Bible having over 780,000 words it may not seem to be much. Though some of the things they remove and change are very important.
As I myself was led to Jesus Christ from I think a NASB Bible. Then seeing how much better the KJV was that is all I read now.
It is the most accurate English translation we have of the Word of God. If anyone has any questions about something it would be better to ask another, or search for details, rather than just dis-regard the KJV because it is not like "modern" people speak today.
Like stated it's not the "only correct" one it's the most accurate one in English. There has to be a best version of the English Bible and the KJV holds the crown.
Read the bible the book of Matthew chapter 17 v 15-21 Matthew chapter 4 v 23-24 Mark chapter 5 v 1-20 Luke chapter 8 v 27-36. In the name of Jesus Christ.
If the Father's spirit is all good and the darkness brings forth evil, then Mathew has to be true that if there is darkness at all in us it is all darkness. If the Fathers spirit is in us it is all light.
The stress of other's are on their faces as l walk by. I try to bring God's love to them with caring and kindness. But so far away they look at me, as a stranger to beware.
Have they not seen in the Bible that Jesus will be right next to them carrying their problems.
Prayer to Him for help will bring your Angel close to you with protection from the Light of our HEAVENLY Father. Our light that shines in us will be close by in trouble of our enemy. What looks impossible in the world's way of thinking becomes possible in the Heavens above. Our God is a awesome God. His strength can knock any evilness close by. Stand strong now with the Spirit that dwells in you. Reach up to Heaven. Ask for help. You will feel His presence close around you protecting you. Spoken from someone that has walked alone learning the hard ways and writing them down. Now l look back and understand how l got my strength to help others in these evil, lonely days. My body is weak-- but my spirit of the Light l carry in me is STRONG!!!
You will need to view Creation and its details from a Hebraic (or "Ancient Ee") perspective as many of the scientific truths get lost in foreign thought (i.e. Westernized). For example, the true Hebrews (Ee peoples -many of which currently dwell in West Africa and their Bantu diaspora in South Africa) show evidence of a "flat earth" and closed "dome" system design to the world. Writers like Albert B. Ellis unwittingly showed that this belief was held among the Ee peoples when he studied them during the late 19th century. See the first page of Chapter 3 of his book titled "The Ewe Speaking People's of the Slave Coast of West Africa." Although the Ee had fallen into idolatry (as prophesied would happen to this chosen people- Deut 32:16-17) long before A.B. Ellis' exposure to their culture, some core Torah (Mosaic) based beliefs and customs were certainly apparent among them. In short, the original cultural perspective of truth sheds a critical light on Scriptural science so that it may be distinguished from unfounded secular pseudo-scientific beliefs. All knowledge has a context. Scriptural Science has a cultural-spiritual context which must be considered.
Hello, science supports the Bible's account of creation and vice versa. There is lots of scientific evidence of events of the Bible like the creation, flood, archeology from Bible times, dates, times, family history. If a book was fake it would be sparse on detail, but the Bible is filled with huge detail and the dates and timelines have all proven to be accurate and credible.
But there's a difference between real science and fake 'science' which is just a label some use for their religion. There are plenty of scientists who believe in God and creation. But some will believe theories with zero evidence and call it science, because they got a bachelor's degree and feel their opinion somehow matters more. Most are just uncomfortable with the idea that an intelligent being created them so they do mental gymnastics to try to explain away God. They don't believe an accident made a Picasso painting, or an accident designed a building, but when it comes to something far more intelligent and complicated, they blindly say it was unintentional accident. Without evidence they believe their life is the result of an accidental explosion. But that is not scientific, because life from an explosion has never been witnessed and cannot be reproduced. The brightest minds on earth cannot produce life manually, nor through an explosion, so the idea that an accident caused it violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Yet, people still believe it on faith (religion) despite zero evidence, and say it's science, but it isn't science.
I am a Christian, and am currently reading Genesis. How do we Christians differentiate between what God is sayingabout creation and what science is saying about evolution. Your advice is appreciated.
They die in the twinkling of an eye, that means instant death and resurrection. One will have to be changed to immortality in order to enter into heaven.
I would just like to make a little comment on your post. God, as I observed many times in the Bible, is a God of order. He creates and make everything in its likeness. However, man is the only thing God created in HIS image and also HIS likeness. See the difference? IMAGE and LIKENESS is for mankind and only LIKENESS for the animals and the plants.
This should let us know we are very special to God. Could this "our likeness" be referring to the HLOY TRINITY even though holy trinity is not in the Bible? I think so. God bless you
Anthony ,im sorry you are struggling ,being human is hard work ,all Christians sin ,we try not to but it doesnt matter how many times you have read the Bible
,how often you have prayed ,how many years you have been a Christian ,for me the best thing is to read around the same time every day ,when i know i will be alone or at least have quiet in my house ,my minnimum is one chapter a day ,mostly i read a lot more chapters than that but sometimes im tired or my mind is distracted so i just read one ,pick a time and place everyday ,relax and enjoy ,once you get going you wont want to stop ,theres so much good stuff in there it really is a feast for your soul ,dont be too hard on yourself ,God loves you very much .
You got to make up your mind to give God some time.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15
A dear friend of mine gave me a Bible years ago and on the inside cover he wrote "This book will keep you from your sin, or your sin will keep you from this book."
It makes a lot of sense. What you're saying also makes sense. When we give in to our fleshly desires, we find ourselves distanced and not interested in the things of the Lord.
I've learned over the years that we make decisions based on what we love the most. The Lord may be drawing us to study his word, but there's something else we want to do.
We have to make the choice. Who or what do we love the most? One of the most profound things Jesus said is that if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
That word deny in the Greek text is the word ARNEOMAI, and it means to reject. We are to reject our fleshly desires and follow Christ.
Again, we follow what we love the most at any given time. Do we really love the Lord when we say we do?
Jesus gave us the command to follow Him. We have to decide. Are we going to follow, or are going to go our own way?
I pray that the Lord will draw you to His word and give you the hunger that can only be satisfied by remaining in His word, and that through His word, you might grow in Christ abundantly!
Many conversion experiences begin at Calvary. Mine did. Jesus died carrying my sins to death on the Cross. God turned away from the Sin (my sin) until His Lamb's sacrifice was complete. For a while it was dark and hopeless, but the work of my repentance and restoration was complete. Jesus went into rest, into His Sabbath and in my converted new born heart, I with Him. On the following day, He arose from the dead, laid aside his napkin and went to meet His brethren, my brethren in Christ, and I in my converted new born heart followed Him to where the brethren meet.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, Which wert and art, and evermore shall be.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Tho' the darkness hide Thee, Tho' the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see, Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee Perfect in power and love, and purity.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, Holy, Holy!
Merciful and Mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity! AMEN.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."Joh 1:1-3
"[He] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:" Col 1:15-16
So let's just imagine the Godhead among Themselves agreeing with Each Other, "Let US..." And then God The Son executed Their plan. Each member of The Trinity is fully God: God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Spirit; Three distinct Persons in ONE Divine Essence or Being.
God The Son, Jesus, is the revelation to mankind of the invisible God.
"And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."Joh 17:5
Context Summary
Jude 1:5-16 describes the nature, errors, and fate of false teachers plaguing the Christian church. Jude's readers seem to have been acquainted with Israel's history. This passage references Old Testament events to help explain the apostates' sins, the danger they pose, and how the Lord will punish them. Jude references the unbelief of Israel after the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt, rebellious angels, the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the dangers of allowing such people to mingle with other believers.
Chapter Context
Jude's brief letter describes men at their worst and God at His best. Believers are already on the victorious side! Those who mock God's truth and who follow their own desires all while claiming to be Christians, are the most dangerous kind of unbelievers. These persons pose a danger to themselves and to any Christians they might influence. In response, Christians need to focus on understanding the truth of God's written Word and submitting to His will.
None of this fits in with Michael the Archangel.
You're right in the point that Moses was already buried, and Michael was sent to guard the burial place. The point being that Satan wanted to use the body for idol worship or another reason? Here's part of the commentary on that:
" The key point here is that Michael, despite being a powerful being himself, refused to slander the Devil. This proves the arrogance of the apostates Jude is discussing. They are so conceited that they're doing what even an archangel won't!
Moses, Israel's leader during the exodus from Egypt, was buried by the Lord in an unknown place ( Deuteronomy 34:1-6). According to the traditional account, Michael and the Devil had engaged in a dispute about the burial of Moses' body, but Michael would not slander the Devil. Instead, he yielded to God's authority by trusting Him to rebuke the Devil. We do not know the details of the dispute, but God may have assigned Michael with the task of guarding Moses' grave, and the Devil may have wanted to steal Moses' body to make it an object of worship."
Evidently it would be better to Google the History of Jude 1, and see what New Testament conflict he was having with the locals. I'll get back to you.
And thanks so much for bringing this to my split attention. Today my electric company swears I cancelled my service after the ice storm, a month ago. I didn't. They Couldn't resolve that they made an error; so I had to tell them I was going elsewhere to get service, which I did. Sounds similar to Michael & Satan, lol.
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Romans 8:11 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.
How can anyone have been resurrected or overcome death before Jesus? Thanks Ron
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Comment: I believe this shows that Michael was sent by the Lord to collect the dead body of Moses
I'm not sure I would say that the King James is the only correct Bible. There are some who are "King James" only and won't even get into a biblical conversation with anyone who doesn't use the KJV. I've read through this thread and there are some great responses. Chris has shared so much good information.
Personally, for me, the KJV is my choice. I do trust some of the other versions, but not all of them. I still like to do side by side comparisons between various bibles. We all have to decide for ourselves which version we want, and what it is we are looking for when we choose, whether it be easy to read, accurate, or whatever the case might be.
We have to keep in mind that whatever version we choose, they are all translations. Some might say that the KJV is the most accurate translation, but how do we know that unless we know the Greek?
Something that is interesting to note is that the King James was written without copyright. I think every other translation has copyright. This tells me that if I chose to write a bible, I would have to change the wording from the other copyrighted versions.
As far as I know, there are no two translations that are word for word. The problem we run into is once the wording starts to change because it has to, it can totally change the true meaning of the text. That's something we have to be careful about.
As for the Greek, I have learned to read Greek the same way I would read English. I do read from the Textus Receptus at times. Greek is such an exact language, and I think that's why the Lord chose that language for the New Testament because it is full of doctrine and teaching. God chose an exact language for that. English is a very general language and I think it's why we have so much division in the body of Christ today because we can't agree on what our English text is saying.
Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Lord in your years in the ministry. May the Lord continue to bless you!
a. In doctrine, there has been no demonstrable error with a fuller, doctrinally superior text.
b. In accuracy, it is a literal translation, gives person distinction, i.e. first, second, third person (as also seen in some other languages), use of italics, & no quotation marks (as they're not in the original languages).
c. In style, complex compound sentences aren't split into smaller sentences, Hebraic expressions are preserved, the Greek word order & tense is followed more closely (Jesse, if he reads this, can shed more light on this as he is proficient in Greek), & it maintains the poetic nature of the Scriptures (found in books such as Job, Psalms, Proverbs, etc.).
d. In background, though the state of the soul of King James has been questioned, he did pursue his quest for a Bible that was not like the prevailing Geneva Bible & one that had to be accurate & true to the original manuscripts. The KJV is free from modernist bias, and its translators were highly proficient in Hebrew, Greek & Latin and of course, in English.
Those are just a few points why I believe in the great worth of the KJV. But as I've said in other comments, I would rather that a person read another 'easier' version of the Bible (such as NASB, NKJV) to learn its Truths, than to not read it at all leaving him bereft of God's Word for him. Blessings to you, dear brother; hope you're doing well & strong in spirit.
I don't think we who stick to the KJV bible would say it is the "only correct" one. It is the most accurate English translation from the Hebrew(OT) and Greek(NT) texts we have today. I'm not going to go so far as to say it is 100% accurate as I have seen subtle differences here and there going through the Hebrew and Greek texts. Although I will say it is probably more than 95% accurate and I am no scholar in translations. We must give credit to the 50+ highly respectable scholars who took years to translate the original Holy Scriptures to the first printed English Bible which is the 1611 KJV. The normal KJV is noted as the Oxford 1769 version. The only differences from the 1611 version are updated spellings, the letter "J" which was not yet in 1611, and some capitalization changes. Though it is word for word. Unless anyone else knows of any other differences.
A couple details for you about the changes made to the modern Bible from the KJV. Anywhere between 7 & 25 entire verses and 2,000 to 7,000 words removed. Then between 3,000 and 10,000 words added in some translation. Words changed. The KJV Bible having over 780,000 words it may not seem to be much. Though some of the things they remove and change are very important.
As I myself was led to Jesus Christ from I think a NASB Bible. Then seeing how much better the KJV was that is all I read now.
It is the most accurate English translation we have of the Word of God. If anyone has any questions about something it would be better to ask another, or search for details, rather than just dis-regard the KJV because it is not like "modern" people speak today.
Like stated it's not the "only correct" one it's the most accurate one in English. There has to be a best version of the English Bible and the KJV holds the crown.
Revelation 22:18-19.
God Bless.
The stress of other's are on their faces as l walk by. I try to bring God's love to them with caring and kindness. But so far away they look at me, as a stranger to beware.
Have they not seen in the Bible that Jesus will be right next to them carrying their problems.
Prayer to Him for help will bring your Angel close to you with protection from the Light of our HEAVENLY Father. Our light that shines in us will be close by in trouble of our enemy. What looks impossible in the world's way of thinking becomes possible in the Heavens above. Our God is a awesome God. His strength can knock any evilness close by. Stand strong now with the Spirit that dwells in you. Reach up to Heaven. Ask for help. You will feel His presence close around you protecting you. Spoken from someone that has walked alone learning the hard ways and writing them down. Now l look back and understand how l got my strength to help others in these evil, lonely days. My body is weak-- but my spirit of the Light l carry in me is STRONG!!!
Maybe only you do. God and His word of are all people need. Romans 1:20 God bless.
But there's a difference between real science and fake 'science' which is just a label some use for their religion. There are plenty of scientists who believe in God and creation. But some will believe theories with zero evidence and call it science, because they got a bachelor's degree and feel their opinion somehow matters more. Most are just uncomfortable with the idea that an intelligent being created them so they do mental gymnastics to try to explain away God. They don't believe an accident made a Picasso painting, or an accident designed a building, but when it comes to something far more intelligent and complicated, they blindly say it was unintentional accident. Without evidence they believe their life is the result of an accidental explosion. But that is not scientific, because life from an explosion has never been witnessed and cannot be reproduced. The brightest minds on earth cannot produce life manually, nor through an explosion, so the idea that an accident caused it violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Yet, people still believe it on faith (religion) despite zero evidence, and say it's science, but it isn't science.
I would just like to make a little comment on your post. God, as I observed many times in the Bible, is a God of order. He creates and make everything in its likeness. However, man is the only thing God created in HIS image and also HIS likeness. See the difference? IMAGE and LIKENESS is for mankind and only LIKENESS for the animals and the plants.
This should let us know we are very special to God. Could this "our likeness" be referring to the HLOY TRINITY even though holy trinity is not in the Bible? I think so. God bless you
,how often you have prayed ,how many years you have been a Christian ,for me the best thing is to read around the same time every day ,when i know i will be alone or at least have quiet in my house ,my minnimum is one chapter a day ,mostly i read a lot more chapters than that but sometimes im tired or my mind is distracted so i just read one ,pick a time and place everyday ,relax and enjoy ,once you get going you wont want to stop ,theres so much good stuff in there it really is a feast for your soul ,dont be too hard on yourself ,God loves you very much .
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15
A dear friend of mine gave me a Bible years ago and on the inside cover he wrote "This book will keep you from your sin, or your sin will keep you from this book."
It makes a lot of sense. What you're saying also makes sense. When we give in to our fleshly desires, we find ourselves distanced and not interested in the things of the Lord.
I've learned over the years that we make decisions based on what we love the most. The Lord may be drawing us to study his word, but there's something else we want to do.
We have to make the choice. Who or what do we love the most? One of the most profound things Jesus said is that if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
That word deny in the Greek text is the word ARNEOMAI, and it means to reject. We are to reject our fleshly desires and follow Christ.
Again, we follow what we love the most at any given time. Do we really love the Lord when we say we do?
Jesus gave us the command to follow Him. We have to decide. Are we going to follow, or are going to go our own way?
I pray that the Lord will draw you to His word and give you the hunger that can only be satisfied by remaining in His word, and that through His word, you might grow in Christ abundantly!
:)
Reginald Heber 1783-1825
(42 years)
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, Which wert and art, and evermore shall be.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Tho' the darkness hide Thee, Tho' the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see, Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee Perfect in power and love, and purity.
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, Holy, Holy!
Merciful and Mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity! AMEN.
Who is The Creator, according to The Scriptures?
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."Joh 1:1-3
"[He] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:" Col 1:15-16
So let's just imagine the Godhead among Themselves agreeing with Each Other, "Let US..." And then God The Son executed Their plan. Each member of The Trinity is fully God: God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Spirit; Three distinct Persons in ONE Divine Essence or Being.
God The Son, Jesus, is the revelation to mankind of the invisible God.
"And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."Joh 17:5
One God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity.