Setting the obvious aside, the circumstances aside, the preaching of the word is freedom. It is not always as we deem it, immediate, fast food, American Style; but it will not go out void, if it does indeed go out.
So what am I saying? I’m saying there is a cost involved with delivering the most precious gift ever given man, the word of God. Yes, one could be put in prison for delivering its message, yes one could be stoned or beaten, or ousted from their family; that is the obvious. That is the “what is right before our eyes” result, but God’s word is eternal and will live on in the earth longer than humans do. Those who deliver it, no matter what, are called “faithful”. They paid the price to deliver God’s package.
So many times we work ourselves up to even share or deliver what has responsibly been given us to deliver, only to find that after we’ve delivered the message we see no outward result. It’d be nice if it just so happened that when we finally come to the point of opening our mouths boldly, it somehow held some sort of instantaneous rewards for us. But, the reward of our boldness delivered is for God, and it may not be for the here and right now. He requires those who call themselves His to open their mouths.
If we are truly His, this is who we are and what we do. If we do not, we are not, His. If our actions of behavior are not consistent with the living of His words, we also are not solidly His.
His word is exactly like a seed, when we speak we plant His seeds in the earth. We are Sowers, and seed casters. If we want a crop, we’ll sow. The word has freely been given us, so we have as much seed as we desire to sow, the more one sows the more God reaps! If we do not see immediate results, we understand that that’s ok, it is a seed. Go by and water it a bit, and let time pass while the Son shines on the spots that we sowed and watered, it will grow; that’s for sure.
It may be no faith was applied, and some impatient person uprooted the seed before it’s time with words contrary to faith in what was sown, unless demonic presences dig up what was sown. Faith must be applied and then the seed must be nourished with faith and guarded with faith.
If we sow in a person, believing for that person, we are faithful to boldly speak, yet we see no instant response, Be very careful to not walk away saying, “Well, nothing happened there.” Leave the seed there in faith, saying something like- “Well I didn’t see anything happen, but faith is not based in what is seen, it is based what and Who is not seen, and I believe God is great enough to make a plant out of the seed I just planted for His kingdom!”
The men were put in prison for preaching, and while they were not physically around speaking further, the words they spoke still had power. God’s word is oh so powerful when spoken!
When spoken it opens doors, heals, delivers, and saves. We are here, and alive in this time period, to speak His word, for the release of His power in the earth.
There is no other name in all the earth by which men can be saved, none except Jesus! That is a BIG aspect of our faith that differentiates between other faiths. There are other faiths, other religions that have good characteristics, but there is no other name. There are faiths that are noble, seemingly represent god-like principles, but the core system is not THE Name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is the name above every name! This is what makes Christianity The truth. I’ve heard people say, their faith is not bad, and they are right, there is good found in their faith, the only real bad thing is that the good people of that faith are not saved without Jesus being their Lord, their source. Even good people perish; for eternally speaking, there is none good but God and only through His Son’s sacrifice and faith in it, can anyone escape judgment.
The religious people had a hard time with this, because they did a lot of “good” things. The problem with man’s own goodness is it is not what God has set up, it is what man has set up. It is not what God has initiated and defined, but what man defined. If man serves a faith of his own definition, he is serving man. If he serves the faith God has initiated as a response to God’s definition, then he will be saved. Man cannot save himself. He may want to, try to, and think he can, but it is impossible. May as well stop exerting efforts on that, for it will not happen.
The reason man would stop the seed of God from being cast in the earth would be pride and rebellion. Where does pride and rebellion come from? Who do we serve? A god that tells us not to speak the Lord’s name or the name of His Son? Better evaluate that one. What is that rooted in? Self or man exaltation? Is man Lord? If he does his own will he is. Who do we serve? We serve whom we obey.
We cannot stop speaking His name till our time is out here, till we die physically. These disciples were more than willing to die if they had to for the planting of Holy Seed. They knew the Master Creator’s name personally. How could they NOT speak it?
Do we know Him like that?
Why do nations and people rage over this? It is a war of lords and kings. Who gets the throne, or who wants to try. No use trying, He has the throne and will give thrones to whom He so pleases, to those who are faithful. You cannot earn a place with God, you must know Him and make Him known; there is NO other way!
Who do we know of that tried and is still trying ignorantly to exalt his throne above the Most High? He is a spirit of anti-Christ, we need to be aware and kick that spirit out of our homes, thoughts, and actions! We are engaged in warfare, who are we fighting, who do we serve, who’s side are we on? All imperative questions for the new year.
Any traces of pride, rebellion, uprising against God, in-dependence, we should be on the vigilant look-out to come against it like violent men (I’m talking about personally, in our own thoughts and actions). We should never actively or willingly participate in these. The more aware we become, the less we’ll participate in its subtlety. We won’t be sucked in or serve it unknowingly. To not know is to perish. Be responsible, and know on purpose. Be a disciple, be an army member! Volunteer for God’s side.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
The Rock Church of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading for Today Avts 4
1 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the leading priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees came over to them. 2 They were very disturbed that Peter and John were claiming, on the authority of Jesus, that there is a resurrection of the dead. 3 They arrested them and, since it was already evening, jailed them until morning. 4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so that the number of believers totaled about five thousand men, not counting women and children. F17
5 The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. 7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of our nation, 9 are we being questioned because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, 'The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.' F18 12 There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them." 13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14 But since the man who had been healed was standing right there among them, the council had nothing to say.
15 So they sent Peter and John out of the council chamber F19 and conferred among themselves. 16 "What should we do with these men?" they asked each other. "We can't deny they have done a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We'll warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus' name again." 18 So they called the apostles back in and told them never again to speak or teach about Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard." 21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign – the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying, 'Why did the nations rage? Why did the people waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.' F20 27 "That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 In fact, everything they did occurred according to your eternal will and plan. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. 30 Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God's message with boldness.
32 All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had. 33 And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great favor was upon them all. 34 There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them 35 and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need. 36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means "Son of Encouragement"). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles for those in need.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F17: Greek 5,000 adult males.
F18: Ps 118:22.
F19: Greek the Sanhedrin.
F20: Ps 2:1-2.
The New Living Translation
5 The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. 7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of our nation, 9 are we being questioned because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, 'The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.' F18 12 There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them." 13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14 But since the man who had been healed was standing right there among them, the council had nothing to say.
15 So they sent Peter and John out of the council chamber F19 and conferred among themselves. 16 "What should we do with these men?" they asked each other. "We can't deny they have done a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We'll warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus' name again." 18 So they called the apostles back in and told them never again to speak or teach about Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard." 21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign – the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying, 'Why did the nations rage? Why did the people waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.' F20 27 "That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 In fact, everything they did occurred according to your eternal will and plan. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. 30 Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God's message with boldness.
32 All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had. 33 And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great favor was upon them all. 34 There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them 35 and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need. 36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means "Son of Encouragement"). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles for those in need.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F17: Greek 5,000 adult males.
F18: Ps 118:22.
F19: Greek the Sanhedrin.
F20: Ps 2:1-2.
The New Living Translation
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to Acts 3 Today
What was different that specific day when Peter & John passed by the gate Beautiful for the umpteenth time? Was it the beggar who had some new tone of voice, or Peter and John’s confident boldness in the Holy Ghost Who they had recently received?
They were the different ones. Same men, but changed men. The word says that when we receive the Holy Ghost we will be witnesses. Ever feel intimidated to “be a witness”? They had no second thoughts or questioning thoughts that day. They had God’s own Holy Spirit alive in them overflowing out of them, and He did what was needed, with no wonder if it was what to do or not.
“Get up and walk man!”
They now knew as never before what was given them in the work of the cross. They knew firsthand, by God’s Spirit in them, that their Lord had laid down His whole life for people such as these. Their new confidence was in the power of the Spirit of God and Christ! They were one in and through vision and action this day.
As Peter helped this lame man up, so the Holy Spirit helps us with the weaknesses we used to have that prevented His ministry from being worked through us. He lifts us up to see from a new perspective of compassion and Holy boldness.
This sign wrought by their hands opened up a whole area of opportunity for the gospel. We need to be instant in season, and out of season, ready to be tools to open new doors for the gospel that we’ll easily walk through. We open these doors by our obedient boldness, when we move out in faith and action, God meets us there! We move, he heals, we speak, He saves. We move he does the miraculous.
Peter used this as a platform to preach to a multitude. Many were saved, by the obedient touch of one man at the gate beautiful.
What do you have? The very Power and presence of the Spirit of God, the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead! Yes that Mighty Working power!
They were the different ones. Same men, but changed men. The word says that when we receive the Holy Ghost we will be witnesses. Ever feel intimidated to “be a witness”? They had no second thoughts or questioning thoughts that day. They had God’s own Holy Spirit alive in them overflowing out of them, and He did what was needed, with no wonder if it was what to do or not.
“Get up and walk man!”
They now knew as never before what was given them in the work of the cross. They knew firsthand, by God’s Spirit in them, that their Lord had laid down His whole life for people such as these. Their new confidence was in the power of the Spirit of God and Christ! They were one in and through vision and action this day.
As Peter helped this lame man up, so the Holy Spirit helps us with the weaknesses we used to have that prevented His ministry from being worked through us. He lifts us up to see from a new perspective of compassion and Holy boldness.
This sign wrought by their hands opened up a whole area of opportunity for the gospel. We need to be instant in season, and out of season, ready to be tools to open new doors for the gospel that we’ll easily walk through. We open these doors by our obedient boldness, when we move out in faith and action, God meets us there! We move, he heals, we speak, He saves. We move he does the miraculous.
Peter used this as a platform to preach to a multitude. Many were saved, by the obedient touch of one man at the gate beautiful.
What do you have? The very Power and presence of the Spirit of God, the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead! Yes that Mighty Working power!
The Rock Church of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading for Today Acts 3
Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar
Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk!”
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
Peter Preaches in the Temple
12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
17 “Friends,[c] I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’[d] 23 Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’[e]
24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25 You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants[f] all the families on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”
Footnotes:
Acts 3:6 Or Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Acts 3:6 Some manuscripts omit get up and.
Acts 3:17 Greek Brothers.
Acts 3:22 Deut 18:15.
Acts 3:23 Deut 18:19; Lev 23:29.
Acts 3:25 Greek your seed; see Gen 12:3; 22:18.
Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk!”
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
Peter Preaches in the Temple
12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
17 “Friends,[c] I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’[d] 23 Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’[e]
24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25 You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants[f] all the families on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”
Footnotes:
Acts 3:6 Or Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Acts 3:6 Some manuscripts omit get up and.
Acts 3:17 Greek Brothers.
Acts 3:22 Deut 18:15.
Acts 3:23 Deut 18:19; Lev 23:29.
Acts 3:25 Greek your seed; see Gen 12:3; 22:18.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to Acts 2 Today
How can man be Christian, One’s who are like Christ is, without the empowerment of God very own Spirit life? How can man ever be perfected without the purifying Spirit of Christ alive within? How could man ever speak as God (Father-Son and Holy Spirit) without His Spirit indwelling?
I have a hard time understanding man trying to be at least as good as God is on his own, without God’s Almighty help. The Father sent Jesus to enable us to be right, which is way better than just being good. I don’t want to settle for the mediocre when God Himself gave man the very Helper to complete Him in every way.
It is /was not good for man to be alone. I will send a Helper to complete Him.
If we say, “Oh that’s ok Lord, I don’t really need the overflow of Your spirit alive and operating in me”, we’re on our own, and that’s a very dangerous place to be in. Man without God (Father-Son & Spirit) is dead.
Do you remember the betrayal? Do you remember that betrayal is refusal, denial, and rejection? God makes an offer, and man takes options. It’s like we know better what we need than God does. Do we? Or do we just somehow think we do? Wow!
I’m amazed at how I myself have thought. “Oh, that’s ok, I’ll just try this out myself first Lord, I’m good on my own.” There’s an influence there, and it is not a godly one. When I look at it now, I think, Lena, WHAT were you thinking – I’m good, on my own, by myself, with my own efforts. NO, I need help! Jesus said, I’m leaving this place and I’m gonna give you what prophets spoke about for years, the very promise you’ve been waiting for and did not know it! Here He is! Your Helper, Help Meet, Completer.
The real problem is the same one the disciples had, they thought the promise was something afar off, something else. It was Christ able to be alive inside of any human that would allow Him to be. It was not only believing on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, but the very reception of the indwelling power of His spirit. The opportunity to truly be One with God.
Remember the disciples were waiting for Christ to form a physical army and bring this thing down. They, as we also do, looked for an outward change, while God was saying don’t look too far off, the change will be inward and start inside of you!
You’ll speak differently if you allow Him to fill you. You’ll astound yourself and not understand right away, but by revelation, imperative revelation, you’ll see more and more to understand!
Speak in unknown tongues? Yes and amen. It is as the Lord would have it.
Here’s the coolest scenarios:
We have a Children’s Church pastor whose wife speaks 4 languages. Her native tongue is Brazilian, and then she learned Espanol when she met her husband. She had to learn that language and it was hard, but she did and acclimated to his language. He was from Cuba, but lived in the USA, so they moved and lived in USA and they both had to speak American-English. She is amazing; she speaks clearly, all 3 languages! She was sharing one day, how she lives here and so speaks as we do to have communication with us, in respect for us. Then she said at times she and her husband speak Spanish at home, and that is a comfort to him, being it is his native language, but when her brother comes to visit and he walks in a room, her heart becomes light, “Ahhhh, he speaks in a way that is like me, he speaks my language, I don’t even have to think about it, when we speak. I have so much joy!”
Her fourth language is that of the Spirit, that of the Spirit of God and Christ, that of the Holy Spirit. She did not learn this language, she received it, and it was a gift to her from her Father. He can speak like her, with her, through prayer in whichever of the 3 languages she desires to speak that day, but when through the spirit she speaks as her Father speaks, in His own “native” language, the language of the spirit, of His home, of His heart, He has a welling of joy inside. He says, “Ahhhh she speaks just like Me!”
We never have to ever speak like God and He’ll still hear our prayers etc, but what Joy when we choose to speak as He’s gifted us to speak. When we receive His gift.
Jesus told the disciples to wait for the gift from the Father, they waited 7 weeks, 49 days for God’s day of Jubilee, when man would turn around and speak as God speaks in the earth!
God will use it and us as He desires to when we yield to His Spirit. If He desires to manifest a wonder and have man understand man, we can open our mouths and allow Him to use us that way, as He desires and wills. Or we can pray and speak mysteries to God Himself, stirring up revelation within us, building a most holy faith, we can pray in ways we have no idea about, by yielding to His Spirit in us. We are His vessels of honor or dishonor. It is up to us if or how we can be used. God needs men to surrender to His Divine plan. It won’t happen without us; in fact it will be prevented from happening if we resist; and yet for those who yield, the eternal blessings are far beyond the joy and immense love we experience here.
Being filled with God’s Spirit transforms us from one man to another. “They are drunk!” No, they are filled and changed!
When God desires to pour out, you could move out of His way, if you want to and your container (your person) could miss out, stay emptied, or you could wait for Him, as a waiter serves a patron, ready for what He wants to give you, and ready for what he wants us to give Him. Ask, believe, and receive.
What should we do after hearing these things?
"Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I have a hard time understanding man trying to be at least as good as God is on his own, without God’s Almighty help. The Father sent Jesus to enable us to be right, which is way better than just being good. I don’t want to settle for the mediocre when God Himself gave man the very Helper to complete Him in every way.
It is /was not good for man to be alone. I will send a Helper to complete Him.
If we say, “Oh that’s ok Lord, I don’t really need the overflow of Your spirit alive and operating in me”, we’re on our own, and that’s a very dangerous place to be in. Man without God (Father-Son & Spirit) is dead.
Do you remember the betrayal? Do you remember that betrayal is refusal, denial, and rejection? God makes an offer, and man takes options. It’s like we know better what we need than God does. Do we? Or do we just somehow think we do? Wow!
I’m amazed at how I myself have thought. “Oh, that’s ok, I’ll just try this out myself first Lord, I’m good on my own.” There’s an influence there, and it is not a godly one. When I look at it now, I think, Lena, WHAT were you thinking – I’m good, on my own, by myself, with my own efforts. NO, I need help! Jesus said, I’m leaving this place and I’m gonna give you what prophets spoke about for years, the very promise you’ve been waiting for and did not know it! Here He is! Your Helper, Help Meet, Completer.
The real problem is the same one the disciples had, they thought the promise was something afar off, something else. It was Christ able to be alive inside of any human that would allow Him to be. It was not only believing on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, but the very reception of the indwelling power of His spirit. The opportunity to truly be One with God.
Remember the disciples were waiting for Christ to form a physical army and bring this thing down. They, as we also do, looked for an outward change, while God was saying don’t look too far off, the change will be inward and start inside of you!
You’ll speak differently if you allow Him to fill you. You’ll astound yourself and not understand right away, but by revelation, imperative revelation, you’ll see more and more to understand!
Speak in unknown tongues? Yes and amen. It is as the Lord would have it.
Here’s the coolest scenarios:
We have a Children’s Church pastor whose wife speaks 4 languages. Her native tongue is Brazilian, and then she learned Espanol when she met her husband. She had to learn that language and it was hard, but she did and acclimated to his language. He was from Cuba, but lived in the USA, so they moved and lived in USA and they both had to speak American-English. She is amazing; she speaks clearly, all 3 languages! She was sharing one day, how she lives here and so speaks as we do to have communication with us, in respect for us. Then she said at times she and her husband speak Spanish at home, and that is a comfort to him, being it is his native language, but when her brother comes to visit and he walks in a room, her heart becomes light, “Ahhhh, he speaks in a way that is like me, he speaks my language, I don’t even have to think about it, when we speak. I have so much joy!”
Her fourth language is that of the Spirit, that of the Spirit of God and Christ, that of the Holy Spirit. She did not learn this language, she received it, and it was a gift to her from her Father. He can speak like her, with her, through prayer in whichever of the 3 languages she desires to speak that day, but when through the spirit she speaks as her Father speaks, in His own “native” language, the language of the spirit, of His home, of His heart, He has a welling of joy inside. He says, “Ahhhh she speaks just like Me!”
We never have to ever speak like God and He’ll still hear our prayers etc, but what Joy when we choose to speak as He’s gifted us to speak. When we receive His gift.
Jesus told the disciples to wait for the gift from the Father, they waited 7 weeks, 49 days for God’s day of Jubilee, when man would turn around and speak as God speaks in the earth!
God will use it and us as He desires to when we yield to His Spirit. If He desires to manifest a wonder and have man understand man, we can open our mouths and allow Him to use us that way, as He desires and wills. Or we can pray and speak mysteries to God Himself, stirring up revelation within us, building a most holy faith, we can pray in ways we have no idea about, by yielding to His Spirit in us. We are His vessels of honor or dishonor. It is up to us if or how we can be used. God needs men to surrender to His Divine plan. It won’t happen without us; in fact it will be prevented from happening if we resist; and yet for those who yield, the eternal blessings are far beyond the joy and immense love we experience here.
Being filled with God’s Spirit transforms us from one man to another. “They are drunk!” No, they are filled and changed!
When God desires to pour out, you could move out of His way, if you want to and your container (your person) could miss out, stay emptied, or you could wait for Him, as a waiter serves a patron, ready for what He wants to give you, and ready for what he wants us to give Him. Ask, believe, and receive.
What should we do after hearing these things?
"Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Rock Church of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading for Today Acts 2
The Holy Spirit Comes
1On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus' resurrection, F6 the believers were meeting together in one place. 2Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, F7 as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. 6When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7They were beside themselves with wonder. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, 8and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! 9Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" 12They stood there amazed and perplexed. "What can this mean?" they asked each other. 13But others in the crowd were mocking. "They're drunk, that's all!" they said.
Peter Preaches to a Crowd
14Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn't true! It's much too early for that. People don't get drunk by nine o'clock in the morning. 16No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel:
17 'In the last days, God said,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
upon all my servants, men and women alike,
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon will turn bloodred,
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.' F8
22"People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23But you followed God's prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to the cross and murdered him. 24However, God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life again, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25King David said this about him:
'I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is filled with joy,
and my mouth shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead F9
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
and you will give me wonderful joy in your presence.' F10
29"Dear brothers, think about this! David wasn't referring to himself when he spoke these words I have quoted, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David's own descendants would sit on David's throne as the Messiah. 31David was looking into the future and predicting the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying that the Messiah would not be left among the dead and that his body would not rot in the grave.
32"This prophecy was speaking of Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and we all are witnesses of this. 33Now he sits on the throne of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,
'The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in honor at my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.' F11
36So let it be clearly known by everyone in Israel that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified to be both Lord and Messiah!"
37Peter's words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"
38Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles F12 —all who have been called by the Lord our God." 40Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, "Save yourselves from this generation that has gone astray!"
41Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all. 42They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer.
The Believers Meet Together
43A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. 45They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. 46They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F6: Greek When the day of Pentecost arrived. This annual celebration came 50 days after the Passover ceremonies. See Lev 23:16.
F7: Or in other tongues.
F8: Joel 2:28-32.
F9: Greek in Hades; also in 2:31.
F10: Ps 16:8-11.
F11: Ps 110:1.
F12: Greek to those far away.
1On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus' resurrection, F6 the believers were meeting together in one place. 2Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, F7 as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. 6When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7They were beside themselves with wonder. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, 8and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! 9Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" 12They stood there amazed and perplexed. "What can this mean?" they asked each other. 13But others in the crowd were mocking. "They're drunk, that's all!" they said.
Peter Preaches to a Crowd
14Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn't true! It's much too early for that. People don't get drunk by nine o'clock in the morning. 16No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel:
17 'In the last days, God said,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
upon all my servants, men and women alike,
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon will turn bloodred,
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.' F8
22"People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23But you followed God's prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to the cross and murdered him. 24However, God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life again, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25King David said this about him:
'I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is filled with joy,
and my mouth shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead F9
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
and you will give me wonderful joy in your presence.' F10
29"Dear brothers, think about this! David wasn't referring to himself when he spoke these words I have quoted, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David's own descendants would sit on David's throne as the Messiah. 31David was looking into the future and predicting the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying that the Messiah would not be left among the dead and that his body would not rot in the grave.
32"This prophecy was speaking of Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and we all are witnesses of this. 33Now he sits on the throne of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,
'The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in honor at my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.' F11
36So let it be clearly known by everyone in Israel that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified to be both Lord and Messiah!"
37Peter's words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"
38Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles F12 —all who have been called by the Lord our God." 40Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, "Save yourselves from this generation that has gone astray!"
41Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all. 42They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer.
The Believers Meet Together
43A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. 45They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. 46They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F6: Greek When the day of Pentecost arrived. This annual celebration came 50 days after the Passover ceremonies. See Lev 23:16.
F7: Or in other tongues.
F8: Joel 2:28-32.
F9: Greek in Hades; also in 2:31.
F10: Ps 16:8-11.
F11: Ps 110:1.
F12: Greek to those far away.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to Acts 1 Today
The author of Acts is Luke the Apostle, a medical Dr. by position and trade, a follower of Jesus.
I think sometimes we tend to stereotype Christian followers. We think thoughts like, if I didn’t have this job, or family life, or if I were a full time, paid, minister, I’d be a disciple. Can you imagine being a Dr., and being a disciple? It is NOT impossible. Discipleship is so much within the heart and mind of an individual. It’s not found in what we do, it’s who we are, in what we do. We can be doing almost anything for a career and be a disciple.
Order of priorities in any life deem how close of a relationship we have with God.
Everyone who ever works has some type of “down time”. The world says recreate/ It amazes me how well they choose the verbiage on that one, for God Himself said to re-create, it’s just not unto self, it’s unto Him. What are we re-creating? More of my like-kind? That’s what we’re created to do, but we have to ask am I personally reproducing more world-kind or more kingdom-kind.
The world wants men, women, and children to be its disciples. It teaches, trains, conditions, disciplines, and buys its way into the drawing of our souls, and since we only have so much capacity for so much input, we can become a disciple of the world very, very easily.
Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ are disciplined, because they decide to be, on purpose. It does not happen automatically to the chosen lucky ones. Those who followed Jesus left other priorities to follow Him. There was a high price to pay and a great cost of self involved, but anyone and everyone no matter what race, background or position, CAN be a disciple, if he really wants to!
That’s the key, how much does one want to? It shows in what we decide to spend our lives on, what we do for recreation, where we go when we have the time, etc. Our actions speak way louder than our words. We can do whatever we want to. What do we really want to do? How do we vacate? What do we spend our free time on?
We have an elder at our church who used to say this a lot. We have liberty to go and do just about anything we please, who decides? I do. So she said there’s a motto, “Others may, but (before God) I may not” It’s not like what I choose to do or not do in participation in kingdom life is making me more righteous or that that which I avoid is even sin. Yet if I choose a higher call, it could be like sin to me.
“Others may, but I may not.” Discipleship, the life of a self-disciplined one, a recruit who volunteers and follows is optional, and costs a great deal, but it is a higher call.
What exactly is the restoration of His kingdom? The disciples who followed Jesus wanted Him to physically overthrow the present day government. They wanted Him to tear down the religious fortresses of their day and He says to them, “Wait to receive the power!” They may have thought, wow Lord why do we get to be the ones who’ll build an army to overthrow the governments, and do it here and now without You!
Many times what man thinks and what God purposes and defines are not on the same page. We’ve got to get on the same page as God. With the Holy Spirit in us we can do that very thing! The establishment of His kingdom starts within individual people’s hearts. If it is not there first, then there is really no establishment. The root system is false. What better strategy than to have God reign from the inside out, talk about overthrowing a government. How about a self government change? WOW, THAT is what discipleship is ALL about!
Jesus said, go make Disciples. Go make self governors, who will allow the power of God to be established inside of their own hearts. They’ll allow God to do His will on the inside of their persons. They’ll allow God to tell them what they should do, They’ll allow God to think and live and move in them. There’ll be little Jesus’ throughout the whole earth, a recreation of Sons of God. That’s the plan, but who is willing to be overthrown? This kingdom only recruits volunteers, those who want to allow the overthrow for the overflow.
That’s not an easy consideration. Ya mean someone else will tell me what to do? I don’t like that. That’s why you are still not a disciple.
America, the land of the free…freewill exercise has been the kingdom of God’s worst enemy. God can use a people who’ve been under other’s rule more than people from an independent country. Those people know what it is to be used and to be made to serve, and in that they can recognize truth. We have too many choices allotted us and are purposely under the rule of no one but our own choosing. That is and has been so dangerous. It has veered generations straight towards hell, with its mouth wide open in welcoming reception.
What will it take for man to get into unity with God? Death of self will. Yielding, submission. All unpleasant words to the American vocabulary. There were 120 people in one place and they became unified, because God needed them to be for His purposes to come forth and manifest themselves in tangible human people! What did it take? What will it take for us? God is waiting, it’s our move! The move that’s on, is one for unity.
I’ve watched Christian people make stands. Let’s use Christian music as an example. One congregation uses one style, another uses a different style. They are both used for worship, but one won’t budge to worship as the other, why not? Is it not worship? Who chooses? Aha, that’s quite possibly the deal. If I choose it, I’ll worship to it, if another tells me what to worship with, I won’t budge. That is immaturity and will never bring us into unity.
Of the table of the Lord, Paul says, “I hear there are divisions among you, how can that be? ” (Amongst those who believe in the same God and are here to bring His manifestations) It’s as easy as a decision away, Why would I unify with different people? So God can have His way!
Have you received the Holy Spirit? It is the very beginning of receiving Christ as a person inside of each of us. If we have not received Him, we’ve only received 2 parts of the 3 part person of God. We’ve not obeyed Jesus in His co-mission. You can explain that away as much as you’d like, but the words says, “do not quench (reject) the Holy Spirit”. Not receiving Him, for whatever reason, is rejection of Him, In reception of Him is where the power of God meets up with humans and begins to unify us in love.
Do you speak about Christ freely? You are a fountain of God when you have His Spirit alive in you. Are you bold in Spirit? This is a very character trait of our Lord. If one of us won’t receive Him, allow Him to overthrow us and rule, someone will. God has a work to do, If I won’t engage in it, someone will. He’ll look until someone who believes and receives Him says, “Yes Lord, Amen”.
I think sometimes we tend to stereotype Christian followers. We think thoughts like, if I didn’t have this job, or family life, or if I were a full time, paid, minister, I’d be a disciple. Can you imagine being a Dr., and being a disciple? It is NOT impossible. Discipleship is so much within the heart and mind of an individual. It’s not found in what we do, it’s who we are, in what we do. We can be doing almost anything for a career and be a disciple.
Order of priorities in any life deem how close of a relationship we have with God.
Everyone who ever works has some type of “down time”. The world says recreate/ It amazes me how well they choose the verbiage on that one, for God Himself said to re-create, it’s just not unto self, it’s unto Him. What are we re-creating? More of my like-kind? That’s what we’re created to do, but we have to ask am I personally reproducing more world-kind or more kingdom-kind.
The world wants men, women, and children to be its disciples. It teaches, trains, conditions, disciplines, and buys its way into the drawing of our souls, and since we only have so much capacity for so much input, we can become a disciple of the world very, very easily.
Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ are disciplined, because they decide to be, on purpose. It does not happen automatically to the chosen lucky ones. Those who followed Jesus left other priorities to follow Him. There was a high price to pay and a great cost of self involved, but anyone and everyone no matter what race, background or position, CAN be a disciple, if he really wants to!
That’s the key, how much does one want to? It shows in what we decide to spend our lives on, what we do for recreation, where we go when we have the time, etc. Our actions speak way louder than our words. We can do whatever we want to. What do we really want to do? How do we vacate? What do we spend our free time on?
We have an elder at our church who used to say this a lot. We have liberty to go and do just about anything we please, who decides? I do. So she said there’s a motto, “Others may, but (before God) I may not” It’s not like what I choose to do or not do in participation in kingdom life is making me more righteous or that that which I avoid is even sin. Yet if I choose a higher call, it could be like sin to me.
“Others may, but I may not.” Discipleship, the life of a self-disciplined one, a recruit who volunteers and follows is optional, and costs a great deal, but it is a higher call.
What exactly is the restoration of His kingdom? The disciples who followed Jesus wanted Him to physically overthrow the present day government. They wanted Him to tear down the religious fortresses of their day and He says to them, “Wait to receive the power!” They may have thought, wow Lord why do we get to be the ones who’ll build an army to overthrow the governments, and do it here and now without You!
Many times what man thinks and what God purposes and defines are not on the same page. We’ve got to get on the same page as God. With the Holy Spirit in us we can do that very thing! The establishment of His kingdom starts within individual people’s hearts. If it is not there first, then there is really no establishment. The root system is false. What better strategy than to have God reign from the inside out, talk about overthrowing a government. How about a self government change? WOW, THAT is what discipleship is ALL about!
Jesus said, go make Disciples. Go make self governors, who will allow the power of God to be established inside of their own hearts. They’ll allow God to do His will on the inside of their persons. They’ll allow God to tell them what they should do, They’ll allow God to think and live and move in them. There’ll be little Jesus’ throughout the whole earth, a recreation of Sons of God. That’s the plan, but who is willing to be overthrown? This kingdom only recruits volunteers, those who want to allow the overthrow for the overflow.
That’s not an easy consideration. Ya mean someone else will tell me what to do? I don’t like that. That’s why you are still not a disciple.
America, the land of the free…freewill exercise has been the kingdom of God’s worst enemy. God can use a people who’ve been under other’s rule more than people from an independent country. Those people know what it is to be used and to be made to serve, and in that they can recognize truth. We have too many choices allotted us and are purposely under the rule of no one but our own choosing. That is and has been so dangerous. It has veered generations straight towards hell, with its mouth wide open in welcoming reception.
What will it take for man to get into unity with God? Death of self will. Yielding, submission. All unpleasant words to the American vocabulary. There were 120 people in one place and they became unified, because God needed them to be for His purposes to come forth and manifest themselves in tangible human people! What did it take? What will it take for us? God is waiting, it’s our move! The move that’s on, is one for unity.
I’ve watched Christian people make stands. Let’s use Christian music as an example. One congregation uses one style, another uses a different style. They are both used for worship, but one won’t budge to worship as the other, why not? Is it not worship? Who chooses? Aha, that’s quite possibly the deal. If I choose it, I’ll worship to it, if another tells me what to worship with, I won’t budge. That is immaturity and will never bring us into unity.
Of the table of the Lord, Paul says, “I hear there are divisions among you, how can that be? ” (Amongst those who believe in the same God and are here to bring His manifestations) It’s as easy as a decision away, Why would I unify with different people? So God can have His way!
Have you received the Holy Spirit? It is the very beginning of receiving Christ as a person inside of each of us. If we have not received Him, we’ve only received 2 parts of the 3 part person of God. We’ve not obeyed Jesus in His co-mission. You can explain that away as much as you’d like, but the words says, “do not quench (reject) the Holy Spirit”. Not receiving Him, for whatever reason, is rejection of Him, In reception of Him is where the power of God meets up with humans and begins to unify us in love.
Do you speak about Christ freely? You are a fountain of God when you have His Spirit alive in you. Are you bold in Spirit? This is a very character trait of our Lord. If one of us won’t receive Him, allow Him to overthrow us and rule, someone will. God has a work to do, If I won’t engage in it, someone will. He’ll look until someone who believes and receives Him says, “Yes Lord, Amen”.
The Rock Church of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading for Today Acts 1
1 Dear Theophilus:In my first book F1 I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. 4 In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. 5 John baptized with F2 water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6 When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?" 7 "The Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. 8 But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. 10 As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!"
12 The apostles were at the Mount of Olives when this happened, so they walked the half mile F3 back to Jerusalem. 13 Then they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here is the list of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together continually for prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15 During this time, on a day when about 120 believers F4 were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows: 16 "Brothers, it was necessary for the Scriptures to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided the Temple police to arrest Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17 Judas was one of us, chosen to share in the ministry with us." 18 (Judas bought a field with the money he received for his treachery, and falling there, he burst open, spilling out his intestines. 19 The news of his death spread rapidly among all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means "Field of Blood.") 20 Peter continued, "This was predicted in the book of Psalms, where it says, 'Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.' And again, 'Let his position be given to someone else.' F5 21 "So now we must choose another man to take Judas's place. It must be someone who has been with us all the time that we were with the Lord Jesus – 22 from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us into heaven. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus' resurrection." 23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they all prayed for the right man to be chosen. "O Lord," they said, "you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25 as an apostle to replace Judas the traitor in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs." 26 Then they cast lots, and in this way Matthias was chosen and became an apostle with the other eleven.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F1: The reference is to the book of Luke.
F2: Or in; also in 1:5b.
F3: Greek a Sabbath day's journey.
F4: Greek brothers.
F5: Pss 69:25; 109:8.
The New Living Translation
6 When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, "Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?" 7 "The Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. 8 But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. 10 As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!"
12 The apostles were at the Mount of Olives when this happened, so they walked the half mile F3 back to Jerusalem. 13 Then they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying. Here is the list of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together continually for prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
15 During this time, on a day when about 120 believers F4 were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows: 16 "Brothers, it was necessary for the Scriptures to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided the Temple police to arrest Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. 17 Judas was one of us, chosen to share in the ministry with us." 18 (Judas bought a field with the money he received for his treachery, and falling there, he burst open, spilling out his intestines. 19 The news of his death spread rapidly among all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means "Field of Blood.") 20 Peter continued, "This was predicted in the book of Psalms, where it says, 'Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.' And again, 'Let his position be given to someone else.' F5 21 "So now we must choose another man to take Judas's place. It must be someone who has been with us all the time that we were with the Lord Jesus – 22 from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us into heaven. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus' resurrection." 23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they all prayed for the right man to be chosen. "O Lord," they said, "you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25 as an apostle to replace Judas the traitor in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs." 26 Then they cast lots, and in this way Matthias was chosen and became an apostle with the other eleven.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F1: The reference is to the book of Luke.
F2: Or in; also in 1:5b.
F3: Greek a Sabbath day's journey.
F4: Greek brothers.
F5: Pss 69:25; 109:8.
The New Living Translation
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to John 17 Today
For an enhanced defining of this Prayer of Oneness, please read the story to yesterday’s post (1-2-07 Lena’s Discipleship Journalin’).
Jesus came to open a door of authority. Authority has to do with authorship. Who is the author of life? Who is the author of death? Death and life are now opportunities we all have each and every day. The word says, today I set before you death and life blessing and cursing, you choose life that you and your seed will live!
Before Jesus the earth was bound up, unable to be released into the choice of true life, eternal life. After Jesus did His sacrificial work, and rose from the dead we all are only a freewill decision away from having eternal life And nullifying the power of eternal death against us.
He took a key out of the hand of satan, a key Adam had freely given him through deception. Jesus took it back and has now offered it to each man, each new Adam.
Without those keys, it was impossible to be made right with God. Now each person has that opportunity. With the authorship defined and the authority taken back, man can choose life eternally which are determined by all actions lived out in the here and now.
His work was not magic in nature, it was not a wand He took back, it was a scepter He earned, and keys He gave to us!
We do not have to receive Him. Of course if we do not, we die eternally. That should kind of change our “have to’s” into “want to’s”
Eternal life is to know Him. Know is an intimate word. How much do you “know” Him? Like do you know His name, or His family members? Do you know what He likes and does not like? Do you know who He loves, what He loves and hates? Do you know His scent, His thoughts, His mind and heart? Are His and your words the same words? Relationship and closeness are what bring this intimate knowing. Without it, Jesus will have to say, “No, Father, I don’t know them.”
He’ll know who are truly His and who are their own. Those who choose their own way, and who keep to themselves privately, won’t be known by Him.
Those who truly know, Him can’t keep to themselves, for they’ve tasted of the One who gives life and true love and there is none like Him. This shows those who know. They can’t stay away.
“Father help them stay, keep staying, know and keep knowing more, through relationship. Help them spread the knowing to others through relationship also.”
“Father, keep them safe from the evil one while they are in the world. Separated from sin while in the world, rather than separated from You by knowing sin. Keep them choosing Holiness, desirous of depth of relationship with You, Lord and the execution of Your will.”
Jesus prayed this way for all who would ever believe. That’s you and I. He prayed this for disciples (to be made).
There are Believers- those who’ve tasted, like what they tried and are still trying Him on for size. They fit God and His requests of them into their schedules; if it fits they’ll do it, in the following of someone who follows Christ. If it doesn’t fit in they don’t do it. They cannot yet be counted on for anything in the army of God, for they are still courting God! Still deciding. Many say they have decided, but if they had they’d be a disciple, and disciples do not still choose for themselves.
Then there are Disciples- those who’ve chosen already, their word is yes or no. They know He’s chosen them, to be in His army. They are under His discipline. They submit themselves from underneath. They don’t have to be dictated to too much, for they’ve volunteered even though they were recruited. They follow someone, as Elisha followed Elijah. He burned bridges, sacrificed his oxen, and left nothing for him to go back to. He said, “I’m all in” and meant it. It was not at all convenient for him ever, but he made the proper adjustments, did what it took to follow a man of God and see what He saw, taking on a double portion and wearing His mantle.
Then there are Christians- those who have followed others in faith and are wearing that mantle of distinction. Signs and wonders follow them, for they’ve followed Christ in human form. The anointing is on their lives and others see that. They do not have to call themselves anointed, it is indisputable, others label them this way.
These, believer/disciple/Christians, who grow and do not refrain from the deeper knowing and demonstration of Him OVERCOME! They are over comers, they wear the crown of life, they are like Christ. They have testimony of the blood of the Lamb of God, they love not their own lives even unto the death. They “Just do it”! Nikeo
How does one experience such perfect unity? Same revelation that drives, same passion, the same breath, living for the same thing. The same Creator God _ Lord Master, we serve, because we love, ravished by His love.
Jesus came to open a door of authority. Authority has to do with authorship. Who is the author of life? Who is the author of death? Death and life are now opportunities we all have each and every day. The word says, today I set before you death and life blessing and cursing, you choose life that you and your seed will live!
Before Jesus the earth was bound up, unable to be released into the choice of true life, eternal life. After Jesus did His sacrificial work, and rose from the dead we all are only a freewill decision away from having eternal life And nullifying the power of eternal death against us.
He took a key out of the hand of satan, a key Adam had freely given him through deception. Jesus took it back and has now offered it to each man, each new Adam.
Without those keys, it was impossible to be made right with God. Now each person has that opportunity. With the authorship defined and the authority taken back, man can choose life eternally which are determined by all actions lived out in the here and now.
His work was not magic in nature, it was not a wand He took back, it was a scepter He earned, and keys He gave to us!
We do not have to receive Him. Of course if we do not, we die eternally. That should kind of change our “have to’s” into “want to’s”
Eternal life is to know Him. Know is an intimate word. How much do you “know” Him? Like do you know His name, or His family members? Do you know what He likes and does not like? Do you know who He loves, what He loves and hates? Do you know His scent, His thoughts, His mind and heart? Are His and your words the same words? Relationship and closeness are what bring this intimate knowing. Without it, Jesus will have to say, “No, Father, I don’t know them.”
He’ll know who are truly His and who are their own. Those who choose their own way, and who keep to themselves privately, won’t be known by Him.
Those who truly know, Him can’t keep to themselves, for they’ve tasted of the One who gives life and true love and there is none like Him. This shows those who know. They can’t stay away.
“Father help them stay, keep staying, know and keep knowing more, through relationship. Help them spread the knowing to others through relationship also.”
“Father, keep them safe from the evil one while they are in the world. Separated from sin while in the world, rather than separated from You by knowing sin. Keep them choosing Holiness, desirous of depth of relationship with You, Lord and the execution of Your will.”
Jesus prayed this way for all who would ever believe. That’s you and I. He prayed this for disciples (to be made).
There are Believers- those who’ve tasted, like what they tried and are still trying Him on for size. They fit God and His requests of them into their schedules; if it fits they’ll do it, in the following of someone who follows Christ. If it doesn’t fit in they don’t do it. They cannot yet be counted on for anything in the army of God, for they are still courting God! Still deciding. Many say they have decided, but if they had they’d be a disciple, and disciples do not still choose for themselves.
Then there are Disciples- those who’ve chosen already, their word is yes or no. They know He’s chosen them, to be in His army. They are under His discipline. They submit themselves from underneath. They don’t have to be dictated to too much, for they’ve volunteered even though they were recruited. They follow someone, as Elisha followed Elijah. He burned bridges, sacrificed his oxen, and left nothing for him to go back to. He said, “I’m all in” and meant it. It was not at all convenient for him ever, but he made the proper adjustments, did what it took to follow a man of God and see what He saw, taking on a double portion and wearing His mantle.
Then there are Christians- those who have followed others in faith and are wearing that mantle of distinction. Signs and wonders follow them, for they’ve followed Christ in human form. The anointing is on their lives and others see that. They do not have to call themselves anointed, it is indisputable, others label them this way.
These, believer/disciple/Christians, who grow and do not refrain from the deeper knowing and demonstration of Him OVERCOME! They are over comers, they wear the crown of life, they are like Christ. They have testimony of the blood of the Lamb of God, they love not their own lives even unto the death. They “Just do it”! Nikeo
How does one experience such perfect unity? Same revelation that drives, same passion, the same breath, living for the same thing. The same Creator God _ Lord Master, we serve, because we love, ravished by His love.
The Rock Church's of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading for Today- John 17
The Prayer of Jesus
1 After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
6 “I have revealed you[a] to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;[b] now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me.[c] I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Footnotes:
a. John 17:6 Greek have revealed your name; also in 17:26.
b. John 17:11 Some manuscripts read you have given me these [disciples].
c. John 17:12 Some manuscripts read I protected those you gave me, by the power of your name.
1 After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
6 “I have revealed you[a] to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;[b] now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me.[c] I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Footnotes:
a. John 17:6 Greek have revealed your name; also in 17:26.
b. John 17:11 Some manuscripts read you have given me these [disciples].
c. John 17:12 Some manuscripts read I protected those you gave me, by the power of your name.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Lena's Journalin' to 1 Cor 1 Today Father Make us One as We are ONE!
Boasting can be both righteous and unrighteous. One’s basis is pride, the other praise. One self-exaltation, the other worship of the Highest.
Pride is the #1 culprit of sin and separation.
Why should we be aware of and cut off the power of arguments and dissentions? They have the same root purpose as pride, to separate.
God is all about Unity, Unifying as One.
God is and was always One. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. Three, but One. Different, yet the same. The Same in purposeful existence.
Same reason, same pursuit, same heart, same love, same life. Same.
Everything at the time before the fall of Lucifer was also One and the same. The Same. ALL the same. Same purpose of existence. Same = One.
Harmony, Unity. Angels, spirits, God; all One. There was no word “two”, notta word other than “One”. “Two” would be an enemy.
An enemy arose in that place of One, but only for a mere moment. It arose against One, against God, The Father, God the Son, God the Spirit and all that were One- Unified. It rose up against Same.
It said, “Not Thy will, but mine be accomplished”. It said, “Two” where there was only One.
It fell down, severely, for Two could not ever be where One dwells.
There was catastrophe, darkness, an abyss - Two came away from One. Darkness was over Two. Two was darkness.
God who is One could not stand separation, could not stand Two where there was One. Two could not have any place to rule with One; so it fell way down, it ruled in a dark place, the place wherein it fell. It had taken 1 3rd of the heavenly host with it. It was rebellion manifest ruling the rebellion.
One must do what One will do, repair, restore One.
So God (One) took the dust of the earth, formed a man, breathed into Him the breath of Father, Son and Spirit - One life, down where there was Two, God made One man. Then He said no, no; it is no good for the One to be alone, so He made another like Him, there was a picture in that place for an enemy to see. The One became Two, but the Two would become One, through these, in this place. There was a fix, a plan of restoration and the repair of One.
THIS IS THE WARFARE we are engaged in today as Christians who are One with Christ. So, Jesus prayed, “Father make us ALL One (again)!”
He knew what He was saying, when He prayed that way.
One Spirit, One heart, One purpose, One mind, One heart, One person. One. The restored kingdom, no more darkness here, but light on purpose.
He could have said, “Lord may they see what we have provided for their will to choose. May they want what We want, the restoration of all things. May they live for what We paid for. May they see what We see, One from Two, because of a decisive commitment to that cause, the cause of One. No matter what. May they end strife. May they never give any place to self exaltation and pride. May it be their enemy, as it also is our enemy. May they never take him in!
Father make us One.”
Pride is the #1 culprit of sin and separation.
Why should we be aware of and cut off the power of arguments and dissentions? They have the same root purpose as pride, to separate.
God is all about Unity, Unifying as One.
God is and was always One. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. Three, but One. Different, yet the same. The Same in purposeful existence.
Same reason, same pursuit, same heart, same love, same life. Same.
Everything at the time before the fall of Lucifer was also One and the same. The Same. ALL the same. Same purpose of existence. Same = One.
Harmony, Unity. Angels, spirits, God; all One. There was no word “two”, notta word other than “One”. “Two” would be an enemy.
An enemy arose in that place of One, but only for a mere moment. It arose against One, against God, The Father, God the Son, God the Spirit and all that were One- Unified. It rose up against Same.
It said, “Not Thy will, but mine be accomplished”. It said, “Two” where there was only One.
It fell down, severely, for Two could not ever be where One dwells.
There was catastrophe, darkness, an abyss - Two came away from One. Darkness was over Two. Two was darkness.
God who is One could not stand separation, could not stand Two where there was One. Two could not have any place to rule with One; so it fell way down, it ruled in a dark place, the place wherein it fell. It had taken 1 3rd of the heavenly host with it. It was rebellion manifest ruling the rebellion.
One must do what One will do, repair, restore One.
So God (One) took the dust of the earth, formed a man, breathed into Him the breath of Father, Son and Spirit - One life, down where there was Two, God made One man. Then He said no, no; it is no good for the One to be alone, so He made another like Him, there was a picture in that place for an enemy to see. The One became Two, but the Two would become One, through these, in this place. There was a fix, a plan of restoration and the repair of One.
THIS IS THE WARFARE we are engaged in today as Christians who are One with Christ. So, Jesus prayed, “Father make us ALL One (again)!”
He knew what He was saying, when He prayed that way.
One Spirit, One heart, One purpose, One mind, One heart, One person. One. The restored kingdom, no more darkness here, but light on purpose.
He could have said, “Lord may they see what we have provided for their will to choose. May they want what We want, the restoration of all things. May they live for what We paid for. May they see what We see, One from Two, because of a decisive commitment to that cause, the cause of One. No matter what. May they end strife. May they never give any place to self exaltation and pride. May it be their enemy, as it also is our enemy. May they never take him in!
Father make us One.”
The Rock Chirch of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading - 1 Corinthians 1
Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.
2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth,[a] to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus,[b] just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters,[c] by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,[d]” or “I follow only Christ.”
13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
The Wisdom of God
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”[e]
20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,[f] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[g] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,[h] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”[i]
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 1:2 Corinth was the capital city of Achaia, the southern region of the Greek peninsula.
b. 1 Corinthians 1:2 Or because you belong to Christ Jesus.
c. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Greek brothers; also in 1:11, 26.
d. 1 Corinthians 1:12 Greek Cephas.
e. 1 Corinthians 1:19 Isa 29:14.
f. 1 Corinthians 1:24 Greek and Greeks.
g. 1 Corinthians 1:26 Or high born.
h. 1 Corinthians 1:28 Or God chose those who are low born.
i. 1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer 9:24.
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.
2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth,[a] to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus,[b] just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters,[c] by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,[d]” or “I follow only Christ.”
13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
The Wisdom of God
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”[e]
20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,[f] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[g] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,[h] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”[i]
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 1:2 Corinth was the capital city of Achaia, the southern region of the Greek peninsula.
b. 1 Corinthians 1:2 Or because you belong to Christ Jesus.
c. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Greek brothers; also in 1:11, 26.
d. 1 Corinthians 1:12 Greek Cephas.
e. 1 Corinthians 1:19 Isa 29:14.
f. 1 Corinthians 1:24 Greek and Greeks.
g. 1 Corinthians 1:26 Or high born.
h. 1 Corinthians 1:28 Or God chose those who are low born.
i. 1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer 9:24.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to John 13 Today
Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom…once a day is gone, it is gone forever, it can never be relived or redone.
Jesus knew not only the day, but also the hour. He knew. Do we? He had a time here on earth for a purpose, so do we. The sooner we catch a hold of that and engage in it, the less time we’ll waste at it.
There is a time to live and a time to cease from living (here on earth), There is eternal death and eternal life, both are eternal. We began eternal and end this life passing on to our eternal destination. What we did here, determines where we are there. These days are to decide and then to help others decide, whatever effort that takes.
That’s what life’s purpose here is all about. There really is nothing else here to live for, really. Things, such as a career pursuit to make a name for one’s self or to get rich in goods or to be worldly successful, that are of purposes outside of the purpose of opening up new avenues of gospel message influence, is vanity. After we cross over to the other side of eternal vision, we’ll wonder why we spent so much of our lives on what we spent it on. We’ll wonder why we worked so hard for physical goods and spent our lives getting things, while we ignored or stepped on people to do so. We’ll see all we worked for burn up like smoke, except that which we spent our lives on for eternity.
Let’s get it now, that way there will be no regrets that way later on. We can see with vision now, as Jesus did, we can know the number of our days or what our days are numbered for.
Jesus showed the disciples the full extent of His love, the Love of a Father who sent Him to do so. Do we show our disciples the full extent of our love? Do we love? Do we have disciples?
As Jesus was leaving the earth there were a few things He left us with –
1- Love one another, as I have loved you, in laying down my life for you, love, wash as I would wash, give yourself up as I am.
2 - Then He said, Receive the very Spirit that lives in Me as a member of the Godhead. Wait and receive the Holy Spirit, who will help you be who I am, while I’m not there with you.
3 - Lastly He said, Make disciples.
As He did we are also to do. Do you have spiritual disciples? To have some, one must first be one. Are you a disciple? A disciplined learner? A student of God’s word, accountable to another who is more learned in the word and the spirit than you are? Do you look up in accountability, or do you only fellowship and give account to those who are at the same level as you?
Jesus said if I do not wash you, you have no part in Me.
The first step of an eternal life walk and of being a disciple is to be washed by His blood. Only a spotless Lamb could be a sacrifice. We are all living sacrifices unto God, holy, acceptable and well pleasing in His sight, if we are washed by the blood we can also wash with the blood. Do you ever allow another to see your dirt and wash you? Are you that close, that open with anyone, or do you defend your rights to be dirty?
Are you willing to take the cup of blessing and the bread of life? At what cost? Have you given your life over to it, a willing sacrifice upon God’s holy altar, or do you come and go as you please? Doing whatever you deem right or wrong on your daily path? Can anyone else tell you where to go or not go?
We receive Him, but it is because He already summonsed us to Himself. It’s not like it was our great idea and we have accepted Him. He died for us, accepting us. Without that acceptance we are dead in our trespasses and sin. Our exchange is a passionate one. We give our whole lives as appreciation of this righteous action. There is no other proper response. We can’t just try out some of this faith walk.
This year God is asking Christians.
Are you for Me or against Me?
Are you all in or just some in?
Are you a whole heart or a half heart?
Do you give your all to Me or just some?
Do you know He’ll pass those by who still have the spaces reserved for responses to other lovers? He has a plan, an accomplishment, it’s like an interview, He’s got to choose those whose hearts are a flaming fire, burning for His will. God’s will is not a sample platter, we can take and leave some.
With great anguish one was separated out, one who would betray Him. God hates separation. He despises it. Separation is the very reason Jesus came. It is excruciating to His heart of love. Hatred, strife, contention, rebellion, and sin all separate. He came to destroy this work and its power to take us out of His hands.
His death nullified this power and took its rights away from our enemy, now the only part still left to deal with is inside of our own personal hearts and freewill choices. If we want to we can stay separated. If we choose that, He’ll honor it and pass us by, not insisting on His own ways.
Anyone who welcomes My messenger, welcomes the one who sent Him….
How many people who bear the name of Christ, as messengers of God Himself, who are leaders, preachers, teachers, who have chosen Him, have we rejected? Maybe it was because we didn’t like how they speak, what they said, how they said it, or something in their lives we saw.
This is very serious. It gives us a so called excuse to not be a disciple, and there is no excuse for that. God does not take excuses on this and validate them at all. No excuse is valid where being a disciple is concerned. David was a disciple of Saul! God used Saul to discipline and teach David forming the character of Christ in his life. We do not pick and choose our natural family and those who God places around us to tutor and govern us, why do we think we can choose who spiritually trains us? That is deception, watch out for it.
Betrayal is mere denial. Even Peter denied-betrayed Christ, he just repented. John asked, “Who is it Lord?” Hey it could be you, it could be me. I don’t even know my own heart, which is why I stay close to Him, so He can keep showing me the dirt and washing me clean.
Your love for one another will show the world I am who I and you say that I am. It’s a love for those God chose for us to be around, the ones we did not choose for ourselves. It is a love for the tutor who is so unfair, the one we are a disciple of who we are being made uncomfortable by. It is a love that goes beyond the touchy, you make me feel so good, phase. It’s a love that stays when things are not so pretty, when I’m challenged to change who I was for who He is. That love will confound the world. They already know physical “love”, they already know sensual “love”, they have it down sometimes seemingly better than we do. The love they don’t know is one without conditions, the one that does not deserve love, the one that is based on covenant rather than contractual commitment.
Dying for Him, means living for Him here now. Don’t leave your post, go away from your assignment. Don’t skip class today. Become a disciple. That will take the death of self, for someone else will tell you what to do, and you won’t initially like it, unless you see beyond into eternity!
Jesus told a disciple that whenever he was a young man he could go wherever he pleased, do what he wanted. Lead himself, even decide what he’d do spiritually speaking, but when he got older (in his faith walk) others would lead him and tell him what to do, it would be like they were binding his hands and feet, leading him this way and that. That would be the sign of his growth from a young man into a developed son.
God sent His Son to save the world, now He’s looking for sons who will be led by the direction of others. That is a sure sign of growth. Independence and rebellion have no place where God is taking us this year!
Are you coming with us? Disciples follow. Come follow Me….says the Lord (Be aware, I’ll ask you to follow a human being.)
Jesus knew not only the day, but also the hour. He knew. Do we? He had a time here on earth for a purpose, so do we. The sooner we catch a hold of that and engage in it, the less time we’ll waste at it.
There is a time to live and a time to cease from living (here on earth), There is eternal death and eternal life, both are eternal. We began eternal and end this life passing on to our eternal destination. What we did here, determines where we are there. These days are to decide and then to help others decide, whatever effort that takes.
That’s what life’s purpose here is all about. There really is nothing else here to live for, really. Things, such as a career pursuit to make a name for one’s self or to get rich in goods or to be worldly successful, that are of purposes outside of the purpose of opening up new avenues of gospel message influence, is vanity. After we cross over to the other side of eternal vision, we’ll wonder why we spent so much of our lives on what we spent it on. We’ll wonder why we worked so hard for physical goods and spent our lives getting things, while we ignored or stepped on people to do so. We’ll see all we worked for burn up like smoke, except that which we spent our lives on for eternity.
Let’s get it now, that way there will be no regrets that way later on. We can see with vision now, as Jesus did, we can know the number of our days or what our days are numbered for.
Jesus showed the disciples the full extent of His love, the Love of a Father who sent Him to do so. Do we show our disciples the full extent of our love? Do we love? Do we have disciples?
As Jesus was leaving the earth there were a few things He left us with –
1- Love one another, as I have loved you, in laying down my life for you, love, wash as I would wash, give yourself up as I am.
2 - Then He said, Receive the very Spirit that lives in Me as a member of the Godhead. Wait and receive the Holy Spirit, who will help you be who I am, while I’m not there with you.
3 - Lastly He said, Make disciples.
As He did we are also to do. Do you have spiritual disciples? To have some, one must first be one. Are you a disciple? A disciplined learner? A student of God’s word, accountable to another who is more learned in the word and the spirit than you are? Do you look up in accountability, or do you only fellowship and give account to those who are at the same level as you?
Jesus said if I do not wash you, you have no part in Me.
The first step of an eternal life walk and of being a disciple is to be washed by His blood. Only a spotless Lamb could be a sacrifice. We are all living sacrifices unto God, holy, acceptable and well pleasing in His sight, if we are washed by the blood we can also wash with the blood. Do you ever allow another to see your dirt and wash you? Are you that close, that open with anyone, or do you defend your rights to be dirty?
Are you willing to take the cup of blessing and the bread of life? At what cost? Have you given your life over to it, a willing sacrifice upon God’s holy altar, or do you come and go as you please? Doing whatever you deem right or wrong on your daily path? Can anyone else tell you where to go or not go?
We receive Him, but it is because He already summonsed us to Himself. It’s not like it was our great idea and we have accepted Him. He died for us, accepting us. Without that acceptance we are dead in our trespasses and sin. Our exchange is a passionate one. We give our whole lives as appreciation of this righteous action. There is no other proper response. We can’t just try out some of this faith walk.
This year God is asking Christians.
Are you for Me or against Me?
Are you all in or just some in?
Are you a whole heart or a half heart?
Do you give your all to Me or just some?
Do you know He’ll pass those by who still have the spaces reserved for responses to other lovers? He has a plan, an accomplishment, it’s like an interview, He’s got to choose those whose hearts are a flaming fire, burning for His will. God’s will is not a sample platter, we can take and leave some.
With great anguish one was separated out, one who would betray Him. God hates separation. He despises it. Separation is the very reason Jesus came. It is excruciating to His heart of love. Hatred, strife, contention, rebellion, and sin all separate. He came to destroy this work and its power to take us out of His hands.
His death nullified this power and took its rights away from our enemy, now the only part still left to deal with is inside of our own personal hearts and freewill choices. If we want to we can stay separated. If we choose that, He’ll honor it and pass us by, not insisting on His own ways.
Anyone who welcomes My messenger, welcomes the one who sent Him….
How many people who bear the name of Christ, as messengers of God Himself, who are leaders, preachers, teachers, who have chosen Him, have we rejected? Maybe it was because we didn’t like how they speak, what they said, how they said it, or something in their lives we saw.
This is very serious. It gives us a so called excuse to not be a disciple, and there is no excuse for that. God does not take excuses on this and validate them at all. No excuse is valid where being a disciple is concerned. David was a disciple of Saul! God used Saul to discipline and teach David forming the character of Christ in his life. We do not pick and choose our natural family and those who God places around us to tutor and govern us, why do we think we can choose who spiritually trains us? That is deception, watch out for it.
Betrayal is mere denial. Even Peter denied-betrayed Christ, he just repented. John asked, “Who is it Lord?” Hey it could be you, it could be me. I don’t even know my own heart, which is why I stay close to Him, so He can keep showing me the dirt and washing me clean.
Your love for one another will show the world I am who I and you say that I am. It’s a love for those God chose for us to be around, the ones we did not choose for ourselves. It is a love for the tutor who is so unfair, the one we are a disciple of who we are being made uncomfortable by. It is a love that goes beyond the touchy, you make me feel so good, phase. It’s a love that stays when things are not so pretty, when I’m challenged to change who I was for who He is. That love will confound the world. They already know physical “love”, they already know sensual “love”, they have it down sometimes seemingly better than we do. The love they don’t know is one without conditions, the one that does not deserve love, the one that is based on covenant rather than contractual commitment.
Dying for Him, means living for Him here now. Don’t leave your post, go away from your assignment. Don’t skip class today. Become a disciple. That will take the death of self, for someone else will tell you what to do, and you won’t initially like it, unless you see beyond into eternity!
Jesus told a disciple that whenever he was a young man he could go wherever he pleased, do what he wanted. Lead himself, even decide what he’d do spiritually speaking, but when he got older (in his faith walk) others would lead him and tell him what to do, it would be like they were binding his hands and feet, leading him this way and that. That would be the sign of his growth from a young man into a developed son.
God sent His Son to save the world, now He’s looking for sons who will be led by the direction of others. That is a sure sign of growth. Independence and rebellion have no place where God is taking us this year!
Are you coming with us? Disciples follow. Come follow Me….says the Lord (Be aware, I’ll ask you to follow a human being.)
The Rock Church's Daily Bread Reading John 13 Today!
1 Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. F65 2 It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him. 6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, "Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You don't understand now why I am doing it; someday you will." 8 "No," Peter protested, "you will never wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "But if I don't wash you, you won't belong to me." 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, "Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!" 10 Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, F66 to be entirely clean. And you are clean, but that isn't true of everyone here." 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, "Not all of you are clean." 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17 You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
18 "I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scriptures declare, 'The one who shares my food has turned against me,' F67 and this will soon come true. 19 I tell you this now, so that when it happens you will believe I am the Messiah. 20 Truly, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me." 21 Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, "The truth is, one of you will betray me!" 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 One of Jesus' disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. F68 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. 25 Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus said, "It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce." And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, "Hurry. Do it now." 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, "The time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my glory, and God will receive glory because of all that happens to me. 32 And God will bring F69 me into my glory very soon. 33 Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me – just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
36 Simon Peter said, "Lord, where are you going?" And Jesus replied, "You can't go with me now, but you will follow me later." 37 "But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. "I am ready to die for you." 38 Jesus answered, "Die for me? No, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F65: Or He loved his disciples to the very end.
F66: Some manuscripts do not include except for the feet.
F67: Ps 41:9.
F68: Greek was reclining on Jesus' bosom. The "disciple whom Jesus loved" was probably John.
F69: Some manuscripts read And if God is glorified in him [the Son of Man], God will bring.
NLT
18 "I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scriptures declare, 'The one who shares my food has turned against me,' F67 and this will soon come true. 19 I tell you this now, so that when it happens you will believe I am the Messiah. 20 Truly, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me." 21 Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, "The truth is, one of you will betray me!" 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 One of Jesus' disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. F68 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. 25 Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus said, "It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce." And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, "Hurry. Do it now." 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, "The time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my glory, and God will receive glory because of all that happens to me. 32 And God will bring F69 me into my glory very soon. 33 Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me – just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
36 Simon Peter said, "Lord, where are you going?" And Jesus replied, "You can't go with me now, but you will follow me later." 37 "But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. "I am ready to die for you." 38 Jesus answered, "Die for me? No, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F65: Or He loved his disciples to the very end.
F66: Some manuscripts do not include except for the feet.
F67: Ps 41:9.
F68: Greek was reclining on Jesus' bosom. The "disciple whom Jesus loved" was probably John.
F69: Some manuscripts read And if God is glorified in him [the Son of Man], God will bring.
NLT
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to Deuteronomy 11 Today
We have tasted and we have seen the goodness of God in the land of the living. Now think about it. Even if everyday was sheer misery for us in this life now and it was hard to find any “blessings”, God has been good. He sent His Son, to become a man as we are, suffer greatly for our sins, as a scapegoat for us, one who took our places in the punishment we owed God Himself; He did it because of love, willingly. He laid down His own blessed life as a Son on the Throne of God’s power, authority, dominion and glory. God did that so we who would believe in, rely on, and serve Him now, would be with Him forever in the “place” called eternity, which begins when we do, and continues on forever.
This life is literally a vapor, whatever happens here is a puff of wind. The only significant thing is whether we believed, received, and lived for Him here and how many others did we lead towards Him. The rest - the ins and outs, the ups and downs, the backs and forths, the pain or sorrow, or joy, will quickly pass away. The goodness we’ve seen is the greatness of the very feat of God, who came to earth in the form of His Son Jesus. This is all the goodness we need.
We who have revelation, have seen this. It is greater than the parting of the Red Sea! It is greater than any wilderness experience. Jesus Christ the Savior of the World, the Lover of God and man! A miracle has happened, Christ can come live inside of human beings in the form of the spirit of God who takes what was eternally dead and makes it eternally alive! Wow! God is Good. If we never taste of any natural goodness at all, we can see this and it can lead us to obey Him all of our days as a human being.
Now listen though, those who’s loving response is obedience to Him, have a promise for blessing. Many times there is no blessing, because there is no obedience. Obeying one’s self is not obeying God. Obeying what we believe or desire to be God, is also not going to be blessed.
Living long is essential to the obedient- There will be more time to exemplify His love and show a hurting world His praise, demonstrated through righteous obedience. There is more time for the obedient ones to be who they are in Christ around a myriad of others. There is more opportunity for that proven, tested and tried person to show others what is truly important and real.
Please be careful when you read of idolatry as you read a Bible passage. Don’t be so quick to skip over its red flag. An idol is anything that comes first in ranks of priority above God! Any person can be an idol unto themselves. If what I want to do, comes first place above what God wants me to do, that’s idolatry. If any other person in my life takes first place above what God wants me to do, if I spend a heap of time on them, and spend none on Him or His work, I’m serving an idol. If my work, my physical and mental labors take first place above God, I’ve made an idol.
Why would God so bless those who obey? Why would He want them to expect and insist upon their blessings, like long life, abundance without toil, etc? Because of His work. One needs to be healthy to live long well and still have enough of them to do His work. If I go to work, toil in painstaking agony and produce very little, I’ll probably have very little to give if any for what He’s desired me to give to my world, in the form of representation of Him. If working to eat is easy, I’ll have a lot leftover and will share my food etc, thus creating and environments for family and the further demonstration of Him.
Notice when we put work first as an idol, we serve it more and we toil more and have misery. If we feel ourselves toiling, we may want to ask – “Lord, have I put anything else above You?”
This is such a great rundown of How to live this way even while doing necessary things in life. While we do those necessary things (like cleaning house, mowing grass, etc) we speak of the Lord, we include our family members in the help with us and we speak of Him again. Day and night while we do the work we need to do, we demonstrate Him in the work, we speak of Him in the work, We honor Him by working well in the work. He is glorified and He has first place. We do the work as unto Him, we won’t do it instead of Him.
We get to choose blessing or curse. God gave us that right. Be very careful not to blame God for curses. This is immaturity. Maturity takes blame, realizes the mistakes we make are from choices we make, and to change the outcome we learn from the mistaken choice we made, and go on living differently, listening to the Lord, giving Him first place in every decision, obeying Him in the first place.
It is always good to have checkpoints in our daily walk. Honesty evaluations. Am I obeying God? Am I doing what He wants, what He said. Do I love Him more than any other thing I’m involved in? Do I love who He loves on purpose? If I do, I will not offend, or be so easily offended. I must be care-ful to obey. That means I need to purpose to do it, be willing to have it checked on, knowing I’m doing it right, the way He has stated and be willing to change whatever will bring me into further obedient action as a representative of Him.
This life is literally a vapor, whatever happens here is a puff of wind. The only significant thing is whether we believed, received, and lived for Him here and how many others did we lead towards Him. The rest - the ins and outs, the ups and downs, the backs and forths, the pain or sorrow, or joy, will quickly pass away. The goodness we’ve seen is the greatness of the very feat of God, who came to earth in the form of His Son Jesus. This is all the goodness we need.
We who have revelation, have seen this. It is greater than the parting of the Red Sea! It is greater than any wilderness experience. Jesus Christ the Savior of the World, the Lover of God and man! A miracle has happened, Christ can come live inside of human beings in the form of the spirit of God who takes what was eternally dead and makes it eternally alive! Wow! God is Good. If we never taste of any natural goodness at all, we can see this and it can lead us to obey Him all of our days as a human being.
Now listen though, those who’s loving response is obedience to Him, have a promise for blessing. Many times there is no blessing, because there is no obedience. Obeying one’s self is not obeying God. Obeying what we believe or desire to be God, is also not going to be blessed.
Living long is essential to the obedient- There will be more time to exemplify His love and show a hurting world His praise, demonstrated through righteous obedience. There is more time for the obedient ones to be who they are in Christ around a myriad of others. There is more opportunity for that proven, tested and tried person to show others what is truly important and real.
Please be careful when you read of idolatry as you read a Bible passage. Don’t be so quick to skip over its red flag. An idol is anything that comes first in ranks of priority above God! Any person can be an idol unto themselves. If what I want to do, comes first place above what God wants me to do, that’s idolatry. If any other person in my life takes first place above what God wants me to do, if I spend a heap of time on them, and spend none on Him or His work, I’m serving an idol. If my work, my physical and mental labors take first place above God, I’ve made an idol.
Why would God so bless those who obey? Why would He want them to expect and insist upon their blessings, like long life, abundance without toil, etc? Because of His work. One needs to be healthy to live long well and still have enough of them to do His work. If I go to work, toil in painstaking agony and produce very little, I’ll probably have very little to give if any for what He’s desired me to give to my world, in the form of representation of Him. If working to eat is easy, I’ll have a lot leftover and will share my food etc, thus creating and environments for family and the further demonstration of Him.
Notice when we put work first as an idol, we serve it more and we toil more and have misery. If we feel ourselves toiling, we may want to ask – “Lord, have I put anything else above You?”
This is such a great rundown of How to live this way even while doing necessary things in life. While we do those necessary things (like cleaning house, mowing grass, etc) we speak of the Lord, we include our family members in the help with us and we speak of Him again. Day and night while we do the work we need to do, we demonstrate Him in the work, we speak of Him in the work, We honor Him by working well in the work. He is glorified and He has first place. We do the work as unto Him, we won’t do it instead of Him.
We get to choose blessing or curse. God gave us that right. Be very careful not to blame God for curses. This is immaturity. Maturity takes blame, realizes the mistakes we make are from choices we make, and to change the outcome we learn from the mistaken choice we made, and go on living differently, listening to the Lord, giving Him first place in every decision, obeying Him in the first place.
It is always good to have checkpoints in our daily walk. Honesty evaluations. Am I obeying God? Am I doing what He wants, what He said. Do I love Him more than any other thing I’m involved in? Do I love who He loves on purpose? If I do, I will not offend, or be so easily offended. I must be care-ful to obey. That means I need to purpose to do it, be willing to have it checked on, knowing I’m doing it right, the way He has stated and be willing to change whatever will bring me into further obedient action as a representative of Him.
The Rock Church Of Daytona Beach's Daily Bread Reading for Today- Deuteronomy 11
1 "You must love the LORD your God and obey all his requirements, laws, regulations, and commands. 2 Listen! I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the LORD your God or seen his greatness and awesome power. 3 They weren't there to see the miraculous signs and wonders he performed in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his land. 4 They didn't see what the LORD did to the armies of Egypt and to their horses and chariots – how he drowned them in the Red Sea F26 as they were chasing you, and how he has kept them devastated to this very day! 5 They didn't see how the LORD cared for you in the wilderness until you arrived here. 6 They weren't there to see what he did to Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab, a descendant of Reuben) when the earth opened up and swallowed them, along with their households and tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7 But you have seen all the LORD's mighty deeds with your own eyes!
8 "Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and occupy the land you are about to enter. 9 If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants – a land flowing with milk and honey! 10 For the land you are about to enter and occupy is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and dug out irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 It is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain – 12 a land that the LORD your God cares for. He watches over it day after day throughout the year! 13 "If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul, and if you worship him, 14 then he will send the rains in their proper seasons so you can harvest crops of grain, grapes for wine, and olives for oil. 15 He will give you lush pastureland for your cattle to graze in, and you yourselves will have plenty to eat. 16 "But do not let your heart turn away from the LORD to worship other gods. 17 If you do, the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and your harvests will fail. Then you will quickly die in that good land the LORD is now giving you.
18 So commit yourselves completely to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors. 22 "Be careful to obey all the commands I give you; show love to the LORD your God by walking in his ways and clinging to him. 23 Then the LORD will drive out all the nations in your land, though they are much greater and stronger than you. 24 Wherever you set your feet, the land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. F27 25 No one will be able to stand against you, for the LORD your God will send fear and dread ahead of you, as he promised you, wherever you go in the whole land.
26 "Today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! 27 You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today. 28 You will receive a curse if you reject the commands of the LORD your God and turn from his way by worshiping foreign gods. 29 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land to possess it, you must pronounce a blessing from Mount Gerizim and a curse from Mount Ebal. 30 (These two mountains are west of the Jordan River in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley, F28 near the town of Gilgal. They are located toward the west, not far from the oaks of Moreh.) 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to occupy the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you are living in that land, 32 you must be careful to obey all the laws and regulations I am giving you today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F26: Hebrew sea of reeds.
F27: Hebrew to the western sea.
F28: Hebrew the Arabah.
The New Living Translation
8 "Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and occupy the land you are about to enter. 9 If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants – a land flowing with milk and honey! 10 For the land you are about to enter and occupy is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and dug out irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 It is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain – 12 a land that the LORD your God cares for. He watches over it day after day throughout the year! 13 "If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul, and if you worship him, 14 then he will send the rains in their proper seasons so you can harvest crops of grain, grapes for wine, and olives for oil. 15 He will give you lush pastureland for your cattle to graze in, and you yourselves will have plenty to eat. 16 "But do not let your heart turn away from the LORD to worship other gods. 17 If you do, the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and your harvests will fail. Then you will quickly die in that good land the LORD is now giving you.
18 So commit yourselves completely to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors. 22 "Be careful to obey all the commands I give you; show love to the LORD your God by walking in his ways and clinging to him. 23 Then the LORD will drive out all the nations in your land, though they are much greater and stronger than you. 24 Wherever you set your feet, the land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. F27 25 No one will be able to stand against you, for the LORD your God will send fear and dread ahead of you, as he promised you, wherever you go in the whole land.
26 "Today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! 27 You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today. 28 You will receive a curse if you reject the commands of the LORD your God and turn from his way by worshiping foreign gods. 29 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land to possess it, you must pronounce a blessing from Mount Gerizim and a curse from Mount Ebal. 30 (These two mountains are west of the Jordan River in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley, F28 near the town of Gilgal. They are located toward the west, not far from the oaks of Moreh.) 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to occupy the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you are living in that land, 32 you must be careful to obey all the laws and regulations I am giving you today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F26: Hebrew sea of reeds.
F27: Hebrew to the western sea.
F28: Hebrew the Arabah.
The New Living Translation
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' Today to Hebrews 4
This is Big Giant; people seeking venture, all out for the venture for peace. Rest and peace. Because of the misery we are tired, worn out, we have done a whole lifetime of our own laboring and living out the consequences of paying for our own sin and bad choices or trying again and again to be or do good, etc., Many even speak of death as being some sort of relief, and it can be. Be careful though, for without Christ it would be the very beginning of torments, total and eternal unrest. Even grave markers say, “rest in peace”, but the only true and eternal peace is authored in our service to our Maker.
God’s rest is not what we’ve related rest to be, it is so much more. We need to allow God to define His words to our spirits and go beyond our mind’s-eye view. His rest is when we do His work. When we live for His work in the earth. He is at rest then. We enter into His rest. We cease from our own push and shove to “get ahead” if there is any “ahead”. Most of the time our own labors result in what is likened to running in place or being in a hamster cage on a rodent wheel. We go no where and accomplish very little.
When I say very little, I don’t mean there’s no accomplishment. I mean eternal accomplishment is the only true accomplishment. All else will pass away as soon as we do, most we have worked for will go to the dump and be burned. What is eternal is what is worth living and working for, it is where we spend our lives on what really counts.
Who is disobedient to God? Let’s not skip over this one too quickly. Many times when the word says something such as this we tend to point a righteous finger at who we perceive to be heathen. The word is 80% of the time speaking to Christians, not heathen, or those who don’t even know God. Anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall….Israel is the church! It is NOT the heathen. The word today is speaking about people who consider themselves righteous!
Love obeys. Obedience is the greatest expression of love. Love does the will of others. Love says, I do have a will, but I choose to do the will of another because I really love. I do what hurts me, rather than hurting myself. I take hurt upon myself, rather than allow someone else to be hurt by me. I’m not self preserving. I’m others protecting, to keep them in and heading towards the will of their Father.
What is the last thing you felt the Holy Spirit tell you to do? De-junk and simplify your life? Be kind to someone specific? Be committed to a church body and its work, no matter how inconvenient it may be for you? Did He ask you to pray more, read more, lay down some things you like to do for what He’d have you replace it with? Has he been trying to tell you what to do at every turn? Did you ever pray, “Lord lead me”? Has he been trying to?
We have opportunities to obey God in these things and put weight behind our words to Him, such as, “I love you Lord”.
Remember Lord is Master. Lord is King. Lord gets His way, if He is Lord. If He’s not, someone is, it may very well be you. Even if only in your mind or heart, it may be.
Ya know even if you do not believe or embrace these teachings, they will be required of you. It’d be better to set ourselves inside of them than to disregard them and have a hefty bill to pay when we stand before God later on.
One day, could be today for each of us, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
God’s rest is not what we’ve related rest to be, it is so much more. We need to allow God to define His words to our spirits and go beyond our mind’s-eye view. His rest is when we do His work. When we live for His work in the earth. He is at rest then. We enter into His rest. We cease from our own push and shove to “get ahead” if there is any “ahead”. Most of the time our own labors result in what is likened to running in place or being in a hamster cage on a rodent wheel. We go no where and accomplish very little.
When I say very little, I don’t mean there’s no accomplishment. I mean eternal accomplishment is the only true accomplishment. All else will pass away as soon as we do, most we have worked for will go to the dump and be burned. What is eternal is what is worth living and working for, it is where we spend our lives on what really counts.
Who is disobedient to God? Let’s not skip over this one too quickly. Many times when the word says something such as this we tend to point a righteous finger at who we perceive to be heathen. The word is 80% of the time speaking to Christians, not heathen, or those who don’t even know God. Anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall….Israel is the church! It is NOT the heathen. The word today is speaking about people who consider themselves righteous!
Love obeys. Obedience is the greatest expression of love. Love does the will of others. Love says, I do have a will, but I choose to do the will of another because I really love. I do what hurts me, rather than hurting myself. I take hurt upon myself, rather than allow someone else to be hurt by me. I’m not self preserving. I’m others protecting, to keep them in and heading towards the will of their Father.
What is the last thing you felt the Holy Spirit tell you to do? De-junk and simplify your life? Be kind to someone specific? Be committed to a church body and its work, no matter how inconvenient it may be for you? Did He ask you to pray more, read more, lay down some things you like to do for what He’d have you replace it with? Has he been trying to tell you what to do at every turn? Did you ever pray, “Lord lead me”? Has he been trying to?
We have opportunities to obey God in these things and put weight behind our words to Him, such as, “I love you Lord”.
Remember Lord is Master. Lord is King. Lord gets His way, if He is Lord. If He’s not, someone is, it may very well be you. Even if only in your mind or heart, it may be.
Ya know even if you do not believe or embrace these teachings, they will be required of you. It’d be better to set ourselves inside of them than to disregard them and have a hefty bill to pay when we stand before God later on.
One day, could be today for each of us, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The Rock Church's Daily Bread Reading for Today
Hebrews 4:1 God's promise of entering his place of rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to get there. 2 For this Good News – that God has prepared a place of rest – has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't believe what God told them. F20 3 For only we who believe can enter his place of rest. As for those who didn't believe, God said, "In my anger I made a vow: 'They will never enter my place of rest,'" F21 even though his place of rest has been ready since he made the world. 4 We know it is ready because the Scriptures mention the seventh day, saying, "On the seventh day God rested from all his work." F22 5 But in the other passage God said, "They will never enter my place of rest." F23 6 So God's rest is there for people to enter. But those who formerly heard the Good News failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering his place of rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David a long time later in the words already quoted: "Today you must listen to his voice. Don't harden your hearts against him." F24 8 This new place of rest was not the land of Canaan, where Joshua led them. If it had been, God would not have spoken later about another day of rest. 9 So there is a special rest F25 still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who enter into God's rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world.
11 Let us do our best to enter that place of rest. For anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall. 12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. 13 Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done. 14 That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
________________________________________
FOOTNOTES:
F20: Some manuscripts read they didn't share the faith of those who listened [to God].
F21: Ps 95:11.
F22: Gen 2:2.
F23: Ps 95:11.
F24: Ps 95:7-8.
F25: Or Sabbath rest.
The New Living Translation
11 Let us do our best to enter that place of rest. For anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall. 12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. 13 Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done. 14 That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.
________________________________________
FOOTNOTES:
F20: Some manuscripts read they didn't share the faith of those who listened [to God].
F21: Ps 95:11.
F22: Gen 2:2.
F23: Ps 95:11.
F24: Ps 95:7-8.
F25: Or Sabbath rest.
The New Living Translation
Friday, December 29, 2006
Lena's Discipleship Journalin' Today to Hebrews 3
Let’s address the falsehood of “Once saved, always saved”, today.
Let’s go back to the original scripture most salvation prayers come from. Romans 10:9-10. 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Beware, for the word “confess” here is much more than we would think in present day United States-ese.
It means to adhere to (until the end). Stick with it, stay. A word uttered by a living voice, word embodied (meaning the way we know it was spoken is we see the action that tells us of the word). We add weight to it by living it out, which validates it in us. We maintain its usefulness and value.
The passage also says, confess “Jesus is Lord”, not merely acknowledge Him as Savior.
It means you choose to live as though He is Your Master, and you are the servant. Live as though you are inside of a committed relationship with Him, forever, a relationship that never ends, a never exiting relationship, where there’s mentally and physically no way out, with no desire to ever be anywhere else.
If we live this way, we will be saved!
God was angry with them…why? They did not uphold their end. They did not uphold the covenant promise of commitment to Him forever. They acted in love with themselves or with others.
They did Not enter in to the rest! They disobeyed.
Disobedience is the exact enemy of love. Rebellion is an enemy of commitment. When one makes commitment with another, they take on the enemies of the other. Rebellion and disobedience are God’s mortal enemies. If we are His and in covenant with Him, they have also now become our enemies. We cannot bed down with the enemies of our lover/friend. If we do, we betray our lover. This makes God mad. Mad enough to nullify our own promise made to Him to stay with Him forever. We are the ones who do that. He stays, forever. We choose to fellowship Him or others. It is our choice. If we choose to live for and with God’s enemies that is spiritual adultery.
Adulterers were judged severely, because God wants us to see how serious it is to break covenant. Adulterers were stoned, signifying death of a covenant with eternal damnation to follow lest one repent, meaning – turn back to the covenant.
This is a daily covenant. I renew it by action everyday. Today I hear and heed His voice. Today I live for Him, hating His enemies enough to not live with or eat with or sleep with them, no matter what.
I love right, I hate wrong, as God defines it, and my relationship with God grows in love. Rooted and grounded.
Let’s go back to the original scripture most salvation prayers come from. Romans 10:9-10. 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Beware, for the word “confess” here is much more than we would think in present day United States-ese.
It means to adhere to (until the end). Stick with it, stay. A word uttered by a living voice, word embodied (meaning the way we know it was spoken is we see the action that tells us of the word). We add weight to it by living it out, which validates it in us. We maintain its usefulness and value.
The passage also says, confess “Jesus is Lord”, not merely acknowledge Him as Savior.
It means you choose to live as though He is Your Master, and you are the servant. Live as though you are inside of a committed relationship with Him, forever, a relationship that never ends, a never exiting relationship, where there’s mentally and physically no way out, with no desire to ever be anywhere else.
If we live this way, we will be saved!
God was angry with them…why? They did not uphold their end. They did not uphold the covenant promise of commitment to Him forever. They acted in love with themselves or with others.
They did Not enter in to the rest! They disobeyed.
Disobedience is the exact enemy of love. Rebellion is an enemy of commitment. When one makes commitment with another, they take on the enemies of the other. Rebellion and disobedience are God’s mortal enemies. If we are His and in covenant with Him, they have also now become our enemies. We cannot bed down with the enemies of our lover/friend. If we do, we betray our lover. This makes God mad. Mad enough to nullify our own promise made to Him to stay with Him forever. We are the ones who do that. He stays, forever. We choose to fellowship Him or others. It is our choice. If we choose to live for and with God’s enemies that is spiritual adultery.
Adulterers were judged severely, because God wants us to see how serious it is to break covenant. Adulterers were stoned, signifying death of a covenant with eternal damnation to follow lest one repent, meaning – turn back to the covenant.
This is a daily covenant. I renew it by action everyday. Today I hear and heed His voice. Today I live for Him, hating His enemies enough to not live with or eat with or sleep with them, no matter what.
I love right, I hate wrong, as God defines it, and my relationship with God grows in love. Rooted and grounded.
The Rock Church of Daytona's Beach's Daily Bread passage for Today Hebrews 3
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God F16 and are bound for heaven, think about this Jesus whom we declare to be God's Messenger and High Priest. 2 For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully and was entrusted with God's entire house. 3 But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a fine house deserves more praise than the house itself. 4 For every house has a builder, but God is the one who made everything. 5 Moses was certainly faithful in God's house, but only as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 6 But Christ, the faithful Son, was in charge of the entire household. And we are God's household, if we keep up our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.
7 That is why the Holy Spirit says, "Today you must listen to his voice. 8 Don't harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested God's patience in the wilderness. 9 There your ancestors tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. 10 So I was angry with them, and I said, 'Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.' 11 So in my anger I made a vow: 'They will never enter my place of rest.'" F17 12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. F18 Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 But never forget the warning: "Today you must listen to his voice. Don't harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled." F19 16 And who were those people who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Weren't they the ones Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn't it the people who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he vowed that they would never enter his place of rest? He was speaking to those who disobeyed him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter his rest because of their unbelief.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F16: Greek And so, holy brothers.
F17: Ps 95:7-11.
F18: Greek brothers.
F19: Ps 95:7-8.
The New Living Translation
7 That is why the Holy Spirit says, "Today you must listen to his voice. 8 Don't harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested God's patience in the wilderness. 9 There your ancestors tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. 10 So I was angry with them, and I said, 'Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.' 11 So in my anger I made a vow: 'They will never enter my place of rest.'" F17 12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. F18 Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 But never forget the warning: "Today you must listen to his voice. Don't harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled." F19 16 And who were those people who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Weren't they the ones Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn't it the people who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he vowed that they would never enter his place of rest? He was speaking to those who disobeyed him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter his rest because of their unbelief.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTES:
F16: Greek And so, holy brothers.
F17: Ps 95:7-11.
F18: Greek brothers.
F19: Ps 95:7-8.
The New Living Translation
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