LEARNING DAILY

Amos 1:6-7, Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom. But I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza, which will devour its palaces.”

The war between Gaza and Israel is certainly on people’s mind today and raising questions about its relationship to Bible prophecy. I have been considering this like you might be and can tell you I don’t know. I have read some literature relating this to Psalm 83 where we are told of a conspiracy formed against Israel – we will have to watch and see.

I have found that Gaza has been mentioned in the Bible no less that twenty times; Gaza was not mentioned in a favorable light in any of these Scriptures. The prophet Amos was told to speak against the wickedness of Gaza. The people were brutal and cruel in their behavior toward others, especially Judah. Gaza was the capital of the Philistines; it was where Samson went to be with Delilah, and you know the result of that situation. Eventually, God used Samson to destroy the leaders of the Philistines. One other portion of Scripture, in Acts 8, Philip is sent by the Lord to an Ethiopian eunuch who is on the road going from Jerusalem to Garza. The Ethiopian is saved and baptized as a result of that meeting. Joel Rosenberg comments that from this event we can know that God loves the people of Gaza. However, they must repent and turn to Jesus Christ, or they will face judgment.

 I want you to go to Psalm 83 with me for a few minutes. Please read, research, and meditate on this as I give some thoughts. The nations that this Psalm states will form a confederacy are areas all around Israel. These modern-day nations are Jordan, Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and Iraq. If you read the Psalm, you will see God is telling us that the people who live in these areas hate Israel and the Jewish people. They hate the God of Israel. “For behold, Your enemies make a tumult, and those who hate You have lifted up their head’ (v. 2).  Verse 4 goes further, “They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’” The group named Hamas continue to show the cruelty and brutality that the prophet Amos mentioned. The reports and photos coming from their invasion of Israel would support what the Psalmist and Amos wrote. Would you agree that Hamas desires to do what the psalmist wrote in verse 4? There actions would seem to be very clear. Do I believe that all the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip believe as Hamas? Probably not. Yet, it is clear that those who support what is happening will lose. Hamas is attacking God’s chosen people.

God’s ultimate desire is that people – all people – would repent and follow Him. Psalm 83:15-18 reminds us of this. “So pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord are the Most High over all the earth.” Our prayer should be for Israel and for the people of Garza to repent from their hatred and follow the soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords.  

 LEARNING DAILY

Colossians 2:16-17, So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival, or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ,

The message this weekend included several forms of “isms”; these are patterns of thought about people trying to gain favor with God by “doing different things” they thought would bring them to higher levels of spirituality. Pastor Newton used the verse above to discuss legalism which he defined in the Listener Guide as “the religion of human achievement”. He went on the say that legalism was “spirituality based on what we did or did not do”. Regarding one’s relationship with God, it refers to the attempt to earn God’s acceptance by following a set of rules.

The verse above begins with the word “so”; other translations use the word “therefore”. When we see these words used, we need to refer to previous verses. When we go back and read those verses, we see that Paul explained that our relationship to God is through Christ and not through anything we do, eat, drink, or festival we keep. Jesus Christ has removed the penalty for sin when we accepted Him and He destroys the forces of evil when they come against us (Colossians 2:13-15). There were those in Colosse that were telling Believers they had to fallow certain rules and follow certain rituals in order to be saved. Pastor Newton said that the people who tried following these rules and rituals and people today who “spend their time trying to get to God while living for the applause of people” need to stop. No one can gain God’s acceptance by following rules. God comes to us just as we are and He saves and cleanses us. It is not some man-made religion or set of rules that does this – only God can change us. We need to allow Him to change us! The change in us will cause us to live the way He wants us to live – by faith in Him!

Paul stated that the Old Testament legal requirements were “a shadow of things to come”. The law was a hint of what was to come – Jesus Christ. The Law was not superior to Jesus just like a book is not superior to the author (I found that in my research and thought it was good!). Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law not to abolish it in Matthew 5:17. In the verses of the Sermon on the Mount He went on to explain the principles behind the Law that had been given. Jesus said when we do these things they begin in our heart. Other verses in Scripture tell us sin begins when we choose to give into our temptations or our thoughts (James 1:14-15). We know the Law, but what about the principles behind it?

Be careful when people try to hold you to a set of “dos and don’ts”, a set of rules. They do not bring anyone closer to God. Walking a narrow way into God eternal kingdom is about allowing the Holy Spirit to cleanse Believers of unrighteousness, conforming us to be like Jesus. He comes to us as we are, saves us and changes us into His image. To be identified with Him is enough. None of us is perfect yet; each of us is a “work in progress” (Pastor Newton). What the Bible says we are to follow is for our benefit; we follow His Word not to look good in the eyes of others but knowing there are spiritual and moral boundaries Believers must follow as they walk the narrow way.

 

LEARNING DAILY

Romans 8:16-17, The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Believers, you and I are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit is given to us to help us walk on the narrow way into eternal life in God’s kingdom. The Father loves us and adopts us as His children; He loves us and creates in us the confidence to call Him “Abba Father”.  “The term “Abba” is Aramaic, meaning “Father”. Jesus used it to refer to His heavenly Father. It expresses a depth of intimacy, deep emotion, earnestness, warmth, and confidence by which the Spirit of adoption causes us to cry “Abba Father”. Two sure signs of the Holy Spirit’s work within us are the spontaneous cry to God as “Father” and the spontaneous obedience to Jesus as “Lord” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible).

Paul is also telling us in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit helps us communicate with God. We can cry out to Him as “Abba Father” on a basic level; and He hears us! That just amazes me. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray even when we do not know what to say (Romans 8:26-27). When Paul writes, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit” he is writing that the Holy Spirit is communicating to us that we are God’s children, and we belong to His family. This is certainly not because of any effort on our part; it is because of God’s love for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ told us that the narrow way would be not easy path to walk. Jesus suffered while on earth; He was misunderstood and persecuted. He also said that those who follow Him would be misunderstood and persecuted because He was. This comes as a result of our declaration of faith, our relationship with Him, and a refusal to conform to the world’s standards. Being saved and changed by the Lord Jesus Christ is not something to just be glad we are saved from the horrors of an eternity in hell. No, we should realize that we, as Believers, are heirs with Christ to the glorious kingdom of God. This is not only a future happening, we can experience glimpses of His kingdom now. That experience may be partial now, but the full revelation of heaven is coming soon! Be ready and stay ready now so you don’t have to get ready later (Dr. Ed Newton).

Being an heir with Jesus is God’s gift to us as His children. He has every right to treat us differently. It is because of His great love for us that we are able to walk a narrow way to His kingdom. There is no greater gift available to us. That gift may come with suffering as mentioned earlier. It may come as we deal with dying to self or outright persecution from a sin-filled world. That little word “if’ is interesting. If we suffer because we are centered in Jesus Christ, it is not the end of the story. We may suffer for a time but the result is we are glorified with Christ. Our eternity is with Him and the joys of eternity with Him will be greater than anything we might experience while we walk the narrow way.

Be encouraged today that the difficulties we experience along the narrow way as joint heirs with Jesus will be worth it as we step into eternity with Him.

 

LEARNING DAILY

Romans 6:6, Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. (New Living Translation)

What does the “old self“ mean? It “refers to the Believer’s unregenerated self, the person he or she once was, the life once lived in sin. This old self has been crucified with Christ on the cross in order that the Believer might receive a new life in Christ and become a new person” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible).  The old self desires power, approval, prestige, comfort and will try to fulfill these desires in any behavior (usually sinful) necessary.

Paul began Romans chapter 6 by asking if those who have been saved by faith should continue sinning in order to increase God’s grace in their lives. The answer is certainly no; only a perverted logic would argue that continuing in sinful behavior would somehow honor God (David Jeremiah Study Bible). Paul answered his questions by saying when we trusted Jesus to save and change us, we died with Him in a spiritual sense, and were resurrected spiritually to a new life. Paul would write this in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”.  Did you catch it” It is because of God’s mercy and His love for us that He saves and changes us, saving us from our sin. It is important that we understand it is our sins that separate us from God and cause us to walk on either a broad way or a narrow way.

Paul wants us to know that when Jesus Christ saves us, we also go through a crucifixion; it is a spiritual crucifixion where the “old self”, the one that existed in sin and self-centeredness was spiritually crucified the same way Jesus was physically crucified on the cross. We accept this through faith and God puts the “old self” to death. The notes in the David Jeremiah Study Bible tells us, “Christ’s death was the Believer’s death; His burial the Believer’s burial; His resurrection the Believer’s resurrection.”

Go back the verse from Romans and know that God is telling all Believers that “We are no longer slaves to sin”. That means that sin in our lives has been reduced to where it is disabled and no longer has power over us; it is no longer in charge of us. But be careful! That does not mean sin has been annihilated. We can never be forced to sin anymore, but the “want to” is still hanging around. Think of it this way. As a “slave to sin” the slaveowner coerces us to sin, to fulfill all the lusts we have. But because of the cross, Jesus Christ has defeated the slaveowner. He can no longer force us to sin.  But we can volunteer, so to speak, to sin. Find 1 John 1:9-10 and read what it tells us. Believers still live imperfect lives. Our lives are just not marked with persistent and deliberate sins.

Romans 6:11 tells Believers to, “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but be alive to God in Christ Jesus”.  Believers must change the way we think about ourselves; we are no longer to rely on our own abilities and to be self-serving. We are to be dead to ourselves and alive to being who Jesus Christ wants to be, who we are in Him. Our sinful nature can no longer force us to sin. We must continually remind ourselves that we are a new creation in Jesus Christ and no longer serving an old master. Believers have been set free to become all the Jesus Christ wants us to be. That is a wonderful privilege to know and to live by!

 

LEARNING DAILY

John 15:15, No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. Jesus

I have either read or heard somewhere that a person has only a handful of true friends; all others would be considered acquaintances or those you are friendly with. A true friend has many characteristics such as seeing those things in us that are not very attractive – they love us anyway. They may even point out those things to help us work on them. A true keeps us humble helping us remember where we came from. A true friend shows up when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. A true friend cheers us on no matter what the situation is. Those friendly with us might cheer us on but secretly don’t want us to succeed more than them. A true friend makes their friendship a priority when times are busy. A true friend wants us to be better or we want them to be better. We might even want to be like them (not be them) because they are a role model.

You get the idea, right? I have been very fortunate over the years to have those I call true friends. I have worked with them and in most cases I am fortunate to call them brothers in Christ as well. It seems that circumstances in life have caused us to drift apart, seldom seeing each other but they are still true friends. That is special and a privilege!

Read the verse from John again. Jesus is calling His disciples – He includes all who have been saved by Him today – “friends”. I wonder if this term for us is due to the rest of the statement which includes communication. He is saying that He talks to us (today) through His Word, informing and instructing us about walking with Him on a narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom. He does so in a way a true friend would talk to us and not is a harsh dictatorial manner with harsh commands. He speaks to us with in a gentle but firm way to keep us on the narrow way, a manner that supports and encourages us. When we fall, He encourages to get back up. When we take our eyes off of Him, His hand is there to take ours and help get our eyes back on Him. Jesus does all those things that a true friend does for us. This supports what He was saying about the branches and the vine. Through God the Father knowledge and love flow to Christ who keeps them flowing to us. We are to pass that knowledge of God and His love (His Word) on to others.

John 15:13 states one more thing about a true friend. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay your life down for his friends.” We hear this statement referring to our willingness to give our lives in the service of Jesus Christ. It certainly does refer to His obedience to hang on a cross for our sins. But perhaps there is more to this verse. In verse 12, Jesus told us “to love one another as I have loved you”. We are to follow Jesus in our love for others; we do that by abiding in Him. The ultimate act of this is to be willing to offer our life, as He did, for others. That takes us back to being a friend of Jesus. We might never be asked to give our physical life for another, but it might mean being a true friend to another in their time of need. That might not mean some great act or gesture. It does mean abiding in the love of Christ, doing whatever needs to be done to be a true friend to another. That is a consistent moment -by-moment approach to being Christlike in our walk on the narrow way. Is that not why He chose each of us? Is that not why He reveals to each of us the mysteries hidden from the world as we study His Word -- so we can share with others? As we are called His friends, we know the truth of His gospel and do as He commands. He walks with us as we do, giving encouragement and support just like we give and receive from our true friends.

I am so thankful for my true friends; I owe you so much. I am thankful to You Lord Jesus for saving, changing me, and never giving up on me!

John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.”  Jesus

Who does God say that you are? You are the branches of the vine. What does that mean?

Jesus said that He is the true vine in John 15:1 meaning that He is the source of all life. This is the seventh time in the gospel of John that Jesus referred to Himself as “I am”; by doing so He is referring to His divinity. In John 15:1-8, Jesus is referring to how God relates to mankind. The listeners would know that the Old Testament referred to Israel as a vine; “Israel’s purpose in the Old Testament was to bear the fruit of justice and righteousness” (David Jeremiah). God would be the vinedresser (V.1) who would relate to Israel much like one grows, and takes care of their plants. He would prune and remove the branches of the plant that were dead or not producing fruit. It is clear from Jesus that the branches were to grow and be a productive part of the plant (vine).

In this analogy, when Jesus refers to the “branches in me” (v. 2), He is not referring to those who are saved. There are branches in the vine who seem to be connected to the vine but are not – they are not producing fruit and will not bear fruit so they are removed or taken away by the vinedresser. This is done to make more room for those connected to the vine in order to grow and produce more fruit. I believe that this would represent people today who “attach” themselves to the church but are not connected to the real Source of life. God knows and will eventually remove the false branches and discard them.

Those who have said the words of saving grace and meant them (Sunday’s message) are being changed, being cleaned (v.3) to be a productive branch in the vine. Jesus tells us we are not one of the dead branches and not losing our salvation because we are connected to the vine. Being productive is not a prerequisite to be part of the vine; it is the result of being part of the vine. To bear fruit, spiritual fruit, one must be obedient to the Word of God and be walking on the narrow way to eternal life with Him. The fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians 5:22; He is not talking about wealth, reputation, success or even a life without difficulty.

As Believers, we are to “abide” in Jesus and He will “abide” in us; we are to remain in Jesus Christ. The branch only has life as long as it is connected to the vine and the life of the vine flows through it, so Believers have Christ’s life only as His life flows through them. We remain in Him by keeping His Word continually in our hearts and minds and making it our guide for our actions and words. We make time for communion with Him in order to draw our strength from Him. We allow His love for others to flow through us; we forgive them for what they have done against us and others. We do all we can to resist all sinfulness by being led by the Holy Spirit. We have a joyful heart (v. 11) when life brings us disappointment and sadness. Joy does not mean we feel happy but rather we have peace in all situations knowing God sees all and is in control of all. His perspective of circumstances is different from ours.

Spiritual fruit is the result of being connected to Jesus, the true vine. Without remaining in Him and relying on His power, His strength, His guidance, we can do nothing. So we spend time with Him, stay in His Word, and be obedient to Him as we walk with Him on a narrow way into eternal life with Him. Let me say, it has been quite an adventure!

God wants each of us to know we are a branch in the vine! 

 

LEARNING DAILY

Today’s blog will be a little different in appearance. I wrote down several statements/questions from the message and thought I would react to them. There was a guest speaker who shared from his testimony and several things just seemed to jump out at me. Perhaps someone reading one of these thoughts needs to be encouraged today.

Genesis 6:4, There were giants on earth in those days, and also afterwards…..

This comes from one of the songs sung which had the following lyric. “I may not face the giant Goliath but I have my own giants (That might not be the exact words, but it is close.).  There were immediate thoughts about things going on in my personal life that came to my mind. We all face those things, those circumstances that just seem too big for us to handle. Imagine David standing before Goliath with a slingshot and some rocks. By himself, he was absolutely no match for this huge individual that caused fear to run through the entire Israelite camp. Whatever it is that you are facing that is so overwhelming that facing it alone will defeat you? Like David, we do not have to face that circumstance alone; make sure you face it with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the same God who was with David and who performed every other miracle found in the Bible. That’s why we read/study/meditate on the Word of God. He is still doing the miraculous, still changing lives, still concerned with each one of His children as they face the difficulties and trials of living our lives for Him. God is still the same doing for His people today what He always has been doing!

Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Jesus)

When the speaker asked this question, my mind started to consider just what this meant for me. I pray that you consider asking what this means to you. What is most important to me? Is becoming more and more like Jesus more important that what others think about me, or what possessions I have, or how much money I have?  I believe this question Jesus asked is very relevant to our lives today. Where is your heart? The question centers on what is important to us and where we will spend eternity. You can keep your worldly interests and lose your soul, suffering because you are separated from God or you can live your life walking the narrow way with your faith and desire centered in becoming like Jesus Christ. Let me be clear – you can have wealth and riches and fame and walk on the narrow way; Let your heart and soul be centered in living for the One who saved you rather than for riches and fame. Use what God has blessed you with to serve Him. It makes no sense to me to spend your entire life gaining more and more only to spend eternity in suffering due to being separated from God.

1 John 2:6, He who says He abides in Him ought to himself to also walk like He walked.

The speaker asked the question, “What can I do to be more Christlike?” He went on to say that “kindness and grace is a magnet”. In other words, as we show kindness and grace to others, we show the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ to others. We all have heard the phrase “random acts of kindness”. When we show kindness to others who have not asked for it, it draws others to us, to want to know what is different about us; that gives each of us the chance to share the love of Jesus through both our acts and our words. I need to look for more opportunities to do this; I want to be better at showing kindness and grace because that is what Jesus did.

Luke 5:32. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Jesus)

At the end of his message the speaker gave the invitation for people to give their life to Jesus Christ to save and change them. He said two things. One, the invitation to become a Christian was not about bad people becoming good; it was about dead people becoming alive. Before accepting Jesus Christ as Lord, a person was “walking a broad way that led to destruction”. When Jesus saved us we began to walk that narrow way leading to His eternal kingdom. The speaker’s second question was, “You prayed the prayer, but did you mean it?” I would follow up that question with, which road are you walking today? Are you doing what you can to become who the Lord Jesus desires you to be? Only you can answer that question – I leave you to ponder that.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 John 1:12-13, But as many receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of the blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 These verses might summarize the entire gospel. All who receive the offer to be saved and changed through Jesus Christ, by faith, become children of God. Notice John writes it is a right, an entitlement to become the children of God by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and walking with Him as our Lord. Because we become part of His family, we receive spiritual honors. Becoming part of God’s family means we have spiritual power; the power to trust in who Jesus Christ is, His sacrifice, and His salvation.

 Being “born again” is not a natural occurrence. It happens only through the pain and suffering Jesus Christ went through on the cross of Calvary. It is not something that happens because a person “wills it to happen”. Being “born again” happens entirely on the work of God and according to His will. There is nothing a person can do, cannot be good enough on their own to get into heaven. It is entirely due to placing one’s faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ while hanging on the cross.

 I remember taking my grandchildren to the neighborhood pool during the summers. They enjoyed getting in the “baby pool”. They could get in and out of it, splash and just have fun. Getting them in the “big pool’ was a little different. I would get in the water and they would be on the side of the pool. I would tell them to jump and I would catch them. For a little one it would take a lot of faith and trust that I would catch them. After quite a bit of coaxing, they would jump and I would catch them. Each time I would get a little further back; they would jump and I would catch them. But I let them drop a little deeper into the water before I caught them. There would finally come that time that I would catch them but let them go under the water. It was a process of faith and trust and the belief I was  there to make sure all was okay.

 Being a child of God is based on my belief that He is good and faith and can be trusted to “catch me” as I walk the narrow way He wants me to walk. I trust Him to supply all my needs because He said He would – just like I said I would catch my grandchildren when they jumped. Because I am a child of God, I have access to His throne of grace, at any time and from any place. Because I am a child of God, he is transforming, changing me through the Holy Spirit to resemble Him and to look like the rest of His family. I am no longer a part of the world even though I live in it; therefore, I no longer belong to the devil’s family.

Because I am part of God’s family, I am no longer alone. I have brothers and sisters who are in Christ all around me. Plus, God is always with me, walking with me as I go through every circumstance in life. Because I am a part of God’s family, I have a purpose and play a part in this thing we call life. God created all things and because of that I am safe and secure in Him.

 Because you have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, you too are part of His family. What a true blessing it is to walk together into His kingdom.

 LEARNING DAILY

 

Ephesians 1:4, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

 Colossians 3:12a, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,

 1 Peter 2:9, You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 When I consider who God says we are I first think of being chosen by Him. You are chosen! To be chosen means that God loves each of us and chose us to be holy and without sin. Ephesians 1:4 tells us He did this “before the foundation of the world”. He chose us to be part of His family through the acceptance of His Son Jesus. Because time is no barrier to God, He knew who would say yes to the salvation Jesus Christ offers through the cross of Calvary. Since we are chosen, we are chosen for specific purposes; as God’s children we are to share the Good News of the gospel and use the gifts and talents He has given us to bring honor and glory to God in all we do.

 Do you remember the time you and your group of friends were getting ready to play a particular team sport? Do you remember two captains being selected and each one picking players to be on their team? That may or may not bring good memories for you. Players were chosen according to their abilities and how they would fit into the team being chosen. Every person who wanted to participate would be selected. Those who did not want to play did something else. That is sort of like walking with God; all who want to participate are chosen to do their part within the body of Christ as they walk a narrow way. Those who do not want to participate in the body of Christ, well, they continue to walk on a broad way that leads to destruction.

 Being chosen comes with some important responsibilities. We are to be obedient to Him. We are to be holy or “set apart”. Believers are to be “set apart” not because of their own good deeds but because of the work of God within us. We are to live our lives in a way that is “without blame”, on a narrow way to His kingdom. We are to have a compassionate heart, being concerned for others because of the love of God in us rather than our lives being self-centered and selfish. We treat others with kindness. We walk in humility because of what the Lord Jesus has done for us and in us, recognizing that He is utmost in our lives and left alone we are nothing. We are to be gentle or meek with meek meaning we control our actions and tongue rather than using them to abuse or take advantage of others.

 In contrast to those who reject Jesus Christ, Peter describes those who accept Him as their Savior and Lord, the chosen ones.  God called the people of Israel His chosen people. The true Church today is also chosen; the Church has not replaced the Jewish people. The true Church, those people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior has been called to be “set apart” from other people. As a “royal priesthood”, we have direct access to the Father; we have no need for anyone to mediate for us like the priests did during the Bible. The importance of this is that we are to declare His praises, His greatness. This is not some duty we do. We do so because He is worthy! He has called us out of darkness, the darkness of sin and a meaningless life. We are no longer walking on a broad way destined for an eternity apart from Him. No! He has called us into His marvelous light, to be His people and to walk a narrow way into an eternity with Him in His kingdom.

 That ought to just make you want to shout praises and thanksgiving to the King of kings and Lord of lords!

 

LEARNING DAILY

Psalm 92:1-2, It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare your lovingkindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night,

Matthew Henry wrote in his commentaries, “It is a privilege that we are admitted to praise the Lord, and hope to be accepted in the morning, and every night; not only on sabbath days, but every day, not only in public, but in private, and in our families. Let us give thanks every morning for the mercies of the night, and every night for the mercies of the day, going out, and coming in, let us bless God”. I do like the thought that we bless God for the “mercies of the night”. I do not do that but it makes sense that we are thankful for waking up to a new day.

Can we ever be thankful enough for what the Lord has done for us. He has saved us from eternal life in hell and He is in the process of changing us to enter eternity in His kingdom. Consider, again, what He has done for you. How can we not consider given worship to Him? Okay, that is from a song and I have been wanting to work it into a blog!

I wonder if our day would change any – at least our attitude – if we woke up with a thankful heart, declaring God’s lovingkindness to us. Just acknowledging Him and His presence in our life would create an attitude of thanksgiving! The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6-7, that when we make our requests known to Him with thanksgiving “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. That acknowledgement of God’s involvement should be accompanied with our prayer time first thing in the morning. Read again what happens when we know we are walking with God during the day – His peace guards our hearts and minds, giving us comfort and encouragement. Is there anyone of us that does not need that?

There is something else promised to us in the verses from Philippian. We are not to worry which is the opposite of being peaceful. When we are “anxious and think on destructive thoughts, those thoughts choke out the word of God and abandon trust” (David Jeremiah). We need to begin our day singing praises to the Lord and declare He is the Lord of our life and thank Him for His presence to help us walk the narrow way.

Do not forget to declare how faithful he has been to you during the day each night. We can remember His great mercies extended to us during the day and declare that His grace has been sufficient to meet our needs during the day. The longer we walk with Him on the narrow way to His kingdom, we must not take this for granted. It can be easy to do so; I speak from experience. In the days we live in, we must seek the peace only Jesus Christ can give. We must recognize that He is always with us and that His love is active in our lives. We can do this by giving thanks and singing praises to His name both in the morning and in the evening! I am going to do better!

In the coming pages of the blog, I want to encourage you with who God says you are.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Thessalonians 2:7-11, For the mystery of unrighteousness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all the power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

A few days ago, I wrote about the “mystery of unrighteousness” in the world right now.  I would like to continue this today. The “man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, will be empowered by Satan to do signs and lying wonders to deceive many. Those deceived will perish because they have not received the truth of Jesus Christ to be saved. With all the power this individual will have, he and his terribly wicked ways will be defeated when the King of kings and Lord of lords descends from heaven to earth to “consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming”. You can read about this in The Revelation 19:11-21.

 

Paul tells us that it is Satan that brings this man into power and enables him to do false signs and wonders. Again, The Revelation tells us what these signs and wonders are in chapter 13. These things are counterfeit given to cause people to believe this man is the Messiah. Satan has always tried to deceive people. He has been too successful beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; his deception has caused many to perish and will continue to do so until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have been saved have received the Holy Spirit to help them discern evil and defend them against Satan’s deception. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that Satan “has blinded those who do not believe to keep them from seeing the gospel of the saving power of Jesus Christ”; only the grace of God can open the eyes of the blindness in unbelievers.

 

Paul tells us what happens to those who refuse to believe, those who are left behind when the rapture occurs and are left to face the tribulation. This is a time of great rebellion against God when the man of lawlessness will rise to power. To those who are not Christians, God will send a strong delusion so they will follow the false teachings of the man of lawlessness. The rejection of truth will always cause sinners to accept false teaching; here Paul is telling us that those left behind will accept the lie that the man of lawlessness is the Messiah.

 

How does the truth reach those left behind if Christians are taken out of the world? God will raise up 144,000 Jews who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to evangelize the lost. He will also send two faithful witness to evangelize for three-and one-half years. They will be killed and raised from the dead. Yes, people will be saved during the tribulation. Yet, those who refuse to believe show the condition of the human heart. The destiny of those who refuse to accept the Lord and His teaching after the rapture are condemned. Because they delight in unrighteousness, their destiny is one of suffering – for eternity. We must continue to pray for those who continue to live in deception that their eyes would be open and would pray for God’s forgiveness. Time is running out!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Colossians 2:6, As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

 

At the beginning of the weekend’s message, we were told to think back to when we gave our life to Jesus Christ, for Him to save us and change us. Do you remember the time when you did that? I remember the third week of June 1976 when I asked Jesus to come into my life to save and change me.  I had read a book about how everything ends up. It said God wins and whoever was not with Him loses. That’s all it took. Jesus saved me and He certainly changed me! Please know that the Holy Spirit had been working on me for a long time, drawing me to that decision. As Andre Couch sang, there were no bells and whistles, no jumping over pews or running down the aisle – just Jesus and me! 

 

What is your story? How has He changed you? Do you know that Jesus saved you when you placed your faith in Him, believing He had the power to do that. You did not have to do anything, do no special works and nothing special to please God in order for Jesus to save you. You only had to come to Jesus with “empty hands and nothing to offer” (David Jeremiah). False teachers of Paul’s day and teaching even today emphasize works and personal sacrifice for salvation. Yes works are important; they are the results of our salvation through Christ not the requirements for salvation.

 

Paul writes to the people of Colosse and to us today that since we accepted Christ in faith, we should be walking with Him by faith as well. We are to think and act like Him as well! If you have been reading this blog for long, you know the heart of these writings is to encourage me and each reader to walk with Jesus on the narrow way he said would be full of trials and difficulties. In order for us to do that, we need to have deep roots in Jesus, be built up in him, and we must be established in faith. That means our walk on the narrow way must be firmly centered on Jesus – not ourselves. If our walk is not centered in Jesus, it becomes centered on us and our performance, what we want others to see about us.

 

The walk we walk after asking Jesus to save and change us is a choice. We can choose to follow in the footsteps of our Savior, making Him our Lord also. Following in His footsteps is to choose to have Him be the motivating factor for our choices and the direction we walk. Or we can choose to walk after our own desires, trying to show others how good we are. If we choose to follow our own will, we are headed to hearing on the day of judgment that He never knew us (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

We are “established in the faith” by reading/studying/meditating on God’s Word. The pastor called it “God’s textbook”. How do you begin to walk and think as the Lord wants you to if you do not get into the textbook to see what it says? Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Bible is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword”. The Bible, the Word of God helps us to judge our inner life, helps the Believer to know the difference between what our flesh (our old life) is and what is of the Spirit (our new life in Christ). How important is this as we walk in these dark, evil days when deception abounds? We must know the Word of God so we can walk the narrow way into eternal life in God’s kingdom. Deception is all around us. But the Good News, the Best News ever (from a song) is that we can know the difference between good and evil because we walk on a narrow way led by Jesus Christ, the soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Thessalonians 2:7-11, For the mystery of unrighteousness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all the power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

It might take several days to understand what these verses are telling us. Paul is writing to the Church the events that must take place at the end of days before the Lord Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth. He begins with a mystery, the mystery of unrighteousness. He wrote this during his day – what would he write about the unrighteousness we see in the world today. I have written this before; Paul thought the last days were occurring during his lifetime. We must be in the last of the last days! Believers, you better be ready for the rapture of the Church because the trumpet could blow at any time, calling us to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds. Look around and see that there is no mystery about unrighteous living in the world today. If it disgusts me, can you imagine the disgust of our heavenly Father!?

 

This mystery of unrighteousness will only become worse and worse after the Church is removed from the earth and the “lawless one”, the one called the Antichrist, is revealed. The Holy Spirit is the Restrainer; after the Church is removed, He is still on earth but no longer convicting of sin through Believers who have been removed. [I always get in trouble about this – I hope I have explained the role of the Holy Spirit at this time correctly] The “lawless one” is energized by Satan’s power, performing signs and wonders that resemble what Jesus did while on earth (David Jeremiah Study Bible). The purpose of this is to take the place of Jesus Christ in the minds of people while trying to draw the people left behind to follow him. God knows the evil that exists on earth now. Know that He is restraining the evil we see right now. Can you imagine what it will be like when He no longer restrains the evil we see? We need to be thankful for His restraining power in the world today.

 

With the restraining power of the Holy Spirit reduced the Antichrist comes on the scene with Satan’s power, performing his miracles and wonders. This person is a powerful political figure who will control the political and economic affairs of the entire world. He will demand the entire population of the world to worship the beast; it is a death sentence to those who will not do this. However, after Satan and this “lawless one” have done their work of deceit and evil, they will be overthrown by the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the seven years of tribulation.

 

My thought for today is triggered by the terrible evil that has become prevalent in the world right now. It will become much worse after the Church is taken out of the world. I am thankful I will not be here when evil and darkness become worse!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 5:20, Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 

I heard Glenn Beck say the other day something like it was time to take a stand. It does not matter whether you think positively or negatively about him, he is right! It is time for Christians to rise up and take a stand for the truth of Jesus Christ and the Word of God! I hear too much and read too much of the evil that exists in the world. Yes, evil has always been with us due to the fall of Adam and Eve. Everything is out in the open; no one is trying to hide anything. Drag queens are in the public classrooms, are being hired as school administrators, and any parent that raises an objection is considered to be a domestic terrorist. Elementary school age children are being told they can consider themselves to be any gender (or anything else they consider themselves to be) they want; they are being aided in their beliefs without parental knowledge or consent. Parents are being told they have no say about what is happening at school.

 

Israel has been attacked by evil. There are those in our government who have spoken out against Israel defending their country. They have said Israel has no right to fight back against those attacking the country. Come on people! What are you thinking?

 

The prophet Isaiah shouts at us, today in a very loud way.  “Woe to those who call evil good”! “Woe” is a term that indicates judgment. There is a day when those who think evil is good and good is evil will be judged.  Falling into the judgment of a holy and righteous God is not a good thing when death and final judgment comes. Let me remind you there are a lot of different paths to choose in life. There is the kingdom of self or the kingdom of God. We either choose a broad way to walk which leads to destruction or we choose to walk on a narrow way which leads to life even though it is difficult. The broad way is to choose a self-centered way that chooses to follow Satan and produces bad fruit or chooses to do the works Jesus Christ desires, producing good fruit. We choose between walking in the light or walking in darkness.

 

The world we live in is in rebellion against God; this can be seen in a terribly wrong perspective and a world with a messed-up view of morality. The evidence is shown by people who are glorifying lifestyles and promoting behaviors the Bible calls sin. That comes from the idea that people believe they are able to determine what is right and wrong. We know from the study of Judges that people will do what is right in their own eyes when God is not on the throne of their lives.

 

There are so many issues today that are against Biblical teachings; Believers need to take a stand for what God’s truth speaks about. In the process of doing so expect to be called out or mocked. You will be called intolerant. Read 2 Timothy 3 which tells us what the end of the times will be like. John 3:19 explains what is happening today, “And this is the condemnation that light [Jesus Christ] has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

 

As Believers, we must stand for truth every day. I do not know what that means for you. I ask you to spend some time with the Lord, asking Him to reveal to you what you can do. Pray also for the courage and obedience to do what He reveals to you. Pray that you walk firmly on the narrow way, being a light to all who see you; be prepared to share about the light that is within you. Read/study/meditate on the Word of God to keep you out of doctrinal error and false teaching. Knowing the truth will help you know something is wrong when you encounter false teaching. Maturing in your faith through an intimate knowledge of God’s Word and living your life accordingly is essential in the days we are living in.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

1 Corinthians 2:9-10, But as it was written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

 

The apostle Paul borrowed from the writings of Isaiah when writing this letter to the Corinthians. Isaiah wrote this at a time when the people of God had begun the follow false gods and engage in the rituals of the pagan people around them; yet there was a remnant who remained faithful to the Lord. Isaiah wrote to encourage them to continue to look for the coming Messiah and to know that God had many blessings for those who remained in their faith. His encouragement was to wait patiently and confidently for God’s intervention in the events going on around them. Isaiah wanted the faithful remnant to persevere in their faith, hope, love and continue doing good works through Him.

 

Paul used Isaiah’s words to express the same thought to Believers of his day. They hold true for us as well. Through Paul and other writers of the New Testament, God revealed additional insight about Himself, the narrow way we are to walk, the promises of walking with Him and the promises of eternal life with Him in His kingdom. Yet, with all the wisdom we have from His word about Him, there is much about His wisdom and glory that remain hidden and unknown to us by our limited mind.

 

We do know that God has promised wonderful things, things we cannot even imagine, for those who love Him and faithfully follow Him. The Lord Jesus Christ said He was going to prepare a mansion for us. I am not sure I can even imagine what that could be like. The revelation gives us glimpses of what this will be like and those glimpses are wonderful. But, again, this is limited and we must be careful about anything or anyone telling us that we will become equal to God or anything that He has chosen to be a mystery. I guess I am trying to caution again trying to understand God and what He has for us with only human knowledge and understanding.

 

In verse 10, Paul writes that what God has for us (verse 9) can only be understood by revelation through the Holy Spirit. Verse 12 tells us, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given us.” God’s wisdom cannot be understood with human wisdom’ God’s wisdom must be revealed to humanity in order to be understood and believed by us. This is not some mechanical process. God reveals truth about His Word, His promises, our future with Him through the Holy spirit. On our own, we question the how, the why, the possibility, etc. We must accept all by faith! Every person who is saved and changed by faith is given the Holy Spirit. Through Him we are given the ability to understand spiritual things, things not understood with our natural senses.

 

Our Father in heaven wants His faithful followers to know truth about His Son and what it means to be a part of His family. He wants us to look forward to the blessing that are ours because we are a part of His family. With everything going on in the world right now, allow the Holy Spirit to remind you that we are not of this world. We are living right now as part of the kingdom of God and heaven is our hope, our home.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

James 1:2-4, My brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

 

The song during worship this weekend stated, “Jesus didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus You brought heaven down”. It was originally sung by Hillsong Worship with the title What a Beautiful Name. “What a wonderful name it is – Jesus Christ, my King”! “Nothing compares to the name of Jesus”! “You have no rivals; You have no equals. What a powerful Name it is – the name of Jesus”! For those who truly believe these words, what else can happen but to worship Him?

 

The message this weekend was about the testing that comes our way and “what God brings our way, He uses to produce good in our lives” (Dr. Ed Newton, Lead Pastor at Community Bible Church).  So the words of the worship song give us assurance that God knows exactly what He is doing and what we need to grow our faith and to keep us walking the narrow way into eternal life in His kingdom. James gets right to the point when he tells us we should find joy in the things that happen to us! I wonder how many of John’s readers found a lot of comfort in reading those words. I wonder how many of you reading those words are really excited about reading them. In order to find any comfort, one must read the last two verse written above. James did not tell his readers to be happy over the things that come their way. He told them to be joyful, to think of the situation as something to rejoice over. We need to do the same. There are many things we cannot control that happen to us; we can control how we react or what we think about the circumstance. We can think this is a bad day and mope around. Or we can think this is bad, but we will get through it and be stronger as a result of going through “it”.

 

Why would God tell us to consider our trials with joy? Let’s consider this with another question. How does God desire that we walk with Him? Is it not in faith? Should we not respond to the circumstances we face with trust that He knows what we face, and He is in control of the situation. James’ writing is concerned with God’s followers to have a deep faith in Him. That faith is to walk humbly with Him during all times, good and bad alike. Is it not how each of us came to Him, in faith that He has the desire and the power to save and change us? We need to continue that walk of faith and trust each day, in every circumstance and situation, growing in that faith. James tells us when that trial comes to consider it a joyful opportunity to grow in our faith. Those times of struggle can be times we draw closer to Him, drawing on Him, trusting Him to get us through the situation. When we choose to draw closer to Him, He provides the patience, the steadfastness we need to continue to trust Him. These moments are what helps our faith and trust in the Lord and to grow our faith.

 

Trials grow our faith! From God’s perspective, growing in our faith is more important for us than going through life without them. I do not remember asking for more wind sprints during or at the end of practices for various sports. They usually hurt a little. However, as time went on, they did become easier and the benefit from doing them became evident when the games began. Walking the narrow way with Jesus Christ might be difficult, but I can only see the benefit of doing so when I think about walking into eternity with Him.

 

James stated no one should try to make it a point of their lives to avoid trials. No, he wrote that we should allow trials to have their way in our lives because they cause us to mature spiritually and faith to grow. When a person can trust the Lord completely, no matter how terrible or difficult the trial, he/she will become mature spiritually and complete. None of us are there yet; but every Believer is on their way. When trouble comes our way, let us consider them an opportunity for great joy and through them to glorify and honor our heavenly Father.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

James 5:16, Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

 

There is a reason for confession. It isolates the wrong behavior and recognizes it as sin. Until the sin is confessed, it cannot be forgiven (David Jeremiah). I doubt many of us confess our sinful behavior to others – too much pride is involved and no one wants others to know that they sin. Sin must be confessed to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. He sits at the side of the Father as our Advocate, our defense attorney, who reminds Him that we have believed in Him and our sins have been forgiven. We must confess sin when it is committed. He knows we will not live our lives sinless because we are human. Lack of confession blocks the healing power of God. James is encouraging all believers to express their needs and dependence upon God through prayer. In previous verses, James has emphasized responding to troubles by praying to God, responding to good things by praise and worship, and calling for the elders of the church to pray for us when sick or in need.

 

I have written the last part of James 5:16 in bold print to emphasize what I believe to be another promise from God in His Word. What is fervent prayer? May I suggest that it is setting ourselves apart from all others, shutting ourselves up with God until He brings peace to the need we have come to Him with. May I ask when was the last time you spent all night in prayer crying out to the Lord, “wrestling” with Him for healing, wisdom, revelation, deliverance, purity, or to be Christlike in your behavior, thought life or anything else? There is no condemnation in that question. When I point the finger at anyone, I have four pointing back at myself!

 

Pastor Ed Newton has stated several times lately that “Everyone wants the anointing but not the brokenness that comes first”.  David Wilkerson has written, “People want prosperity and security, the blessings, but are not willing to take a stand [for Christ]”. What are they saying that must be taken away from this page of the blog? My interpretation is true Believers must seek God in earnest in order to see what God has for them. God wants each of us to take the necessary time, earnestly seeking Him because he loves us so much. Understand the power of prayer! Go back and read James and see he is emphasizing that the earnest, forceful, heartfelt prayer will produce great results. This does not require any of us be super great Christians; each of us must know that prayer is important to God. He hears us when we pray; I wonder what he does when we go to Him in earnest prayer, determined not to leave His presence until that need is met. Prayer must become a priority in our lives! The prayer, the earnest, forceful prayer of a righteous person (one who is walking the narrow way in faith and being led by the Holy Spirit) is powerful and effective.

 

Let me give you an example. A former student was being led to start a church. He was not sure what God’s will was regarding this. He was leading a group of 50 or so in Bible study every week. I kept telling him that he already had a church. But he took the time to get alone with God to fast and pray until God gave him clarity about what he was to do. He started the church. The first Sunday over 200 people showed up. Several years later the church is debt free, and the church attendance has caused him to go to two services. Blessing upon blessing has occurred because he earnestly sought God and continues to do so.

 

What would the Church be like today if we confessed our sins, our needs to one another? What would the Chrich be like if each of us would earnestly seek God first and His righteousness? What if we would stand on the Word of God as David Wilkerson suggests and earnestly seek God as James suggest? Do you remember the page of the blog that spoke to asking, seeking, and knocking? God’s Word all works together, doesn’t it?!

 

LEARNING DAILY

Psalm 57:2 I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. 

David prayed for safety; he also acknowledged God’s power and authority. When he prayed that God “performs all things” he is giving God the credit for making all things happen. That does not mean God does everything in the way David wants; it is saying that David knows his life is the result of God’s will and His involvement in his life.

David knew God was in control of all things, including his life. Because of that, David knew God would fulfill all His promises and His will in his life. As Christians we must know and believe God will fulfill His will in our lives and fulfill every promise He has made to us. Philippians 2:13 reminds us of this, “for it is God who works in you both to His will and to do for His good pleasure”. “His grace works in the lives of His faithful followers to produce in them both the desire and the power to do His will” (Living in the Spirit Study Bible). We just need to be obedient and walk with Him in faith.

David Wilkerson wrote the following in a devotion many years ago. I would like you to read it and know that God is faithful to us. He wants to accomplish His will in our lives. Wilkerson’s writing is a great reminder that God loves you very much.

I believe in a God who performs,
Who can deliver my feet from falling
And sustain me through every calamity.
When I am afraid I will trust in Him.
He will deliver my soul in peace
From the battle that is against me.

I will call on God
And He will save me.
He will bottle my tears
And mark my every step.
When I cry to Him,
My enemies will be turned back
Because God is for me.
In Him I put my trust.
I will not fear what man can do unto me;
My heart is fixed.
I will sing and give praise;
My soul shall be satisfied.

He will bring me through fire and flood
Into a desired haven.
He will cause His face to shine upon me
And daily load me with His benefits.
His face He will not hide,
But will hear me speedily.
He will never put me to confusion,
For He has given commandment to save me—
Because God is for me.