Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Acts 11:1-30 -
Peter Explains His Actions
1Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers F52 in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 2But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, some of the Jewish believers F53 criticized him. 3"You entered the home of Gentiles F54 and even ate with them!" they said.
4Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. 5"One day in Joppa," he said, "while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. 6When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of small animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds that we are not allowed to eat. 7And I heard a voice say, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.'
8"'Never, Lord,' I replied. 'I have never eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws. F55 '
9"But the voice from heaven came again, 'If God says something is acceptable, don't say it isn't.' F56
10"This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven. 11Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying. 12The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry about their being Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon arrived at the home of the man who had sent for us. 13He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, 'Send messengers to Joppa to find Simon Peter. 14He will tell you how you and all your household will be saved!'
15"Well, I began telling them the Good News, but just as I was getting started, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. 16Then I thought of the Lord's words when he said, 'John baptized with F57 water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to argue?"
18When the others heard this, all their objections were answered and they began praising God. They said, "God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of turning from sin and receiving eternal life."
The Church in Antioch of Syria
19Meanwhile, the believers who had fled from Jerusalem during the persecution after Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the Good News, but only to Jews. 20However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to Gentiles F58 about the Lord Jesus. 21The power of the Lord was upon them, and large numbers of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
22When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw this proof of God's favor, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And large numbers of people were brought to the Lord.
25Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to find Saul. 26When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching great numbers of people. (It was there at Antioch that the believers F59 were first called Christians.)
27During this time, some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings to predict by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) 29So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters F60 in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. 30This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.
FOOTNOTES:F52: Greek brothers. F53: Greek those of the circumcision. F54: Greek of uncircumcised men. F55: Greek anything common or unclean. F56: Greek `What God calls clean you must not call unclean.' F57: Or in; also in 11:16b. F58: Greek the Greeks; other manuscripts read the Hellenists. F59: Greek disciples; also in 11:29. F60: Greek the brothers.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’~
I love this chapter. I love change, because God calls for us to change and the more we change the more we get to look like and be like He is, the more we lose ourselves in His image. I love it when we find out we were incorrect in our thinking it is so refreshing to know we still have time to change it and correct our pathway, the direction we were headed in and veer off correctly that we’d not go off some cliff somewhere and ask God to save us from the place we found ourselves sin. It is such the grace of God to tell us of an area we need to change in, to save us from cliffhanging experiences ahead of time. I love God’s word. I love when he shows me about change.
Then there’s the notion of staying put, staying put is great if we have changed and are staying put in God’s image and likeness. It is terrible to have that same idea about staying put in a bad place, wrong attitude, or an incorrect direction. You will be guaranteed to go off cliffs and then you will be the one who will need to swallow the pride that placed you there as you call out for his grace to now save you. He is so faithful, as long as you are still alive and will call out to Him, he will save you from whatever place you find yourself in.
Having a strong will is only great when it is the same will as God. If it is ones’ own will do be or do something, that strong will, will take you far from God’s kingdom plan for life.
Peter was a strong willed and opinionated person. He was great for God, but his insistence needed to be steered towards God’s will. It is funny we all do what he did here. We insist on what we’ve known as true, before we ask if it was really true. We’ve had ideas that have come from organization or tradition, but just because they were passed down to us does not mean they were God’s truth.
This new truth presented Peter came against a principle that was passed down to him for ages, just ages. His thinking really had to change. Tradition takes a back seat to the voice of God, but one must be in a place to hear that voice!
The laws of God were implemented till faith came. Peter knew that time as a child, but as a man peter had met faith, now he needed to realize that this is the truth the word spoke of, in His time , in His day and embrace it’s changes by faith.
'If God says something is acceptable, don't say it isn't.'
Oh boy, this is such a hard one on tradition. I use it as a gage. If the word being preached to me offends me initially, like I rise up immediately (as Peter did) and want to contest the words I’m hearing. I wait on it, I take it before the Lord, I ask Him to give me the new truth, that I must not have seen before. I use this as a gage for the recognizing of the need for change. The flesh rises up against the knowledge of God, if I feel my flesh rise up against the knowledge of God I know something is in need of adjustment, so I ask God to help me adjust.
We’re all somewhat as Peter is, remember his name means Rock and on this Rock Jesus will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it! Amen!
Being, believing, receiving, changing by faith in His word, and in His voice. That’s how to live this spirit filled life!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
Lean's Journalin' to Acts 10 Today's DB
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Acts 10:1-48
Cornelius Calls for Peter
1In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2He was a devout man who feared the God of Israel, as did his entire household. He gave generously to charity and was a man who regularly prayed to God. 3One afternoon about three o'clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. "Cornelius!" the angel said.
4Cornelius stared at him in terror. "What is it, sir?" he asked the angel. And the angel replied, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed by God! 5Now send some men down to Joppa to find a man named Simon Peter. 6He is staying with Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore. Ask him to come and visit you."
7As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
Peter Visits Cornelius
9The next day as Cornelius's messengers were nearing the city, Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10and he was hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat them."
14"Never, Lord," Peter declared. "I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws. F48 "
15The voice spoke again, "If God says something is acceptable, don't say it isn't." F49 16The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven.
17Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found the house and stood outside at the gate. 18They asked if this was the place where Simon Peter was staying. 19Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, "Three men have come looking for you. 20Go down and go with them without hesitation. All is well, for I have sent them."
21So Peter went down and said, "I'm the man you are looking for. Why have you come?"
22They said, "We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout man who fears the God of Israel and is well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to send for you so you can go to his house and give him a message." 23So Peter invited the men to be his guests for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some other believers F50 from Joppa.
24They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for him and had called together his relatives and close friends to meet Peter. 25As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell to the floor before him in worship. 26But Peter pulled him up and said, "Stand up! I'm a human being like you!" 27So Cornelius got up, and they talked together and went inside where the others were assembled.
28Peter told them, "You know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure. 29So I came as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me."
30Cornelius replied, "Four days ago I was praying in my house at three o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31He told me, 'Cornelius, your prayers have been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! 32Now send some men to Joppa and summon Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore.' 33So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now here we are, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you."
The Gentiles Hear the Good News
34Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality. 35In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36I'm sure you have heard about the Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what happened all through Judea, beginning in Galilee after John the Baptist began preaching. 38And no doubt you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him.
39"And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by crucifying him, 40but God raised him to life three days later. Then God allowed him to appear, 41not to the general public, F51 but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name."
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who had heard the message. 45The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too. 46And there could be no doubt about it, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked, 47"Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?" 48So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.
FOOTNOTES:F48: Greek anything common and unclean. F49: Greek "What God calls clean you must not call unclean." F50: Greek brothers. F51: Greek the people.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. For more information about the NLT, please click here.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Has God ever upset your religious thinking? Have you ever allowed His spirit to change your mind?
Do you have some old ways of thinking and doing things that if asked to change them, you’d be a bit shaken?
Some of our thinking needs to be shaken up. Every time we sit under the word of God being preached or taught to us, we should be in a place where we are willing to see something differently than we have before. It is prejudices that would cause us to sit under the word of God and act as though we are judges in a debate. The word is not up for debate. When it comes through people, it is up for discussion. The discussion would be for further reception, not for argument’s sake.
How do you come when you come to a meeting that will have the word of God presented to you? Do you come with an attitude of, “prove it to me”, or one of “I can’t wait to hear what God is saying to me”? Do you want God’s word to change you? Or do you want to change the person who is speaking?
What happens to you when you don’t understand an idea presented? Do you get mad and want to argue, or do you think about it a lot and ask questions in the way a pupil would ask a teacher? The Holy Spirit has been given to us by God, as our teacher, we can ask Him anything and he’ll instruct us through the word of God.
Cornelius was raised with a few great ideas about God’s words, or of what he believed were God’s wishes. God was setting him up to show him further truth and to add clarity.
Notice Cornelius heard about the change in prayer. Also Peter heard about Cornelius’ coming while in prayer. Revelation for change will come inside of our conversations with God. If you hear a new kingdom idea, take it to the Lord in prayer, ask Him to reveal the truth to you and research His word, before contesting it.
Seeing clearly that God is no respecter of persons is such a spirit revelation. There are only two nations, the nation of unbelievers and the nation of believers in Christ. The nation of darkness and the nation of light, and we’re not talking skin color. We’re talking eternal life or eternal death. Race has nothing to do with it, really, except being of the race of Adam or of Jesus Christ, there are only two races!
Daily Repetitive Verses
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Acts 10:1-48
Cornelius Calls for Peter
1In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2He was a devout man who feared the God of Israel, as did his entire household. He gave generously to charity and was a man who regularly prayed to God. 3One afternoon about three o'clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. "Cornelius!" the angel said.
4Cornelius stared at him in terror. "What is it, sir?" he asked the angel. And the angel replied, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed by God! 5Now send some men down to Joppa to find a man named Simon Peter. 6He is staying with Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore. Ask him to come and visit you."
7As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
Peter Visits Cornelius
9The next day as Cornelius's messengers were nearing the city, Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10and he was hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat them."
14"Never, Lord," Peter declared. "I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws. F48 "
15The voice spoke again, "If God says something is acceptable, don't say it isn't." F49 16The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven.
17Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found the house and stood outside at the gate. 18They asked if this was the place where Simon Peter was staying. 19Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, "Three men have come looking for you. 20Go down and go with them without hesitation. All is well, for I have sent them."
21So Peter went down and said, "I'm the man you are looking for. Why have you come?"
22They said, "We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout man who fears the God of Israel and is well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to send for you so you can go to his house and give him a message." 23So Peter invited the men to be his guests for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some other believers F50 from Joppa.
24They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for him and had called together his relatives and close friends to meet Peter. 25As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell to the floor before him in worship. 26But Peter pulled him up and said, "Stand up! I'm a human being like you!" 27So Cornelius got up, and they talked together and went inside where the others were assembled.
28Peter told them, "You know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure. 29So I came as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me."
30Cornelius replied, "Four days ago I was praying in my house at three o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31He told me, 'Cornelius, your prayers have been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! 32Now send some men to Joppa and summon Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore.' 33So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now here we are, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you."
The Gentiles Hear the Good News
34Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality. 35In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36I'm sure you have heard about the Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what happened all through Judea, beginning in Galilee after John the Baptist began preaching. 38And no doubt you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him.
39"And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by crucifying him, 40but God raised him to life three days later. Then God allowed him to appear, 41not to the general public, F51 but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name."
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who had heard the message. 45The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too. 46And there could be no doubt about it, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked, 47"Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?" 48So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.
FOOTNOTES:F48: Greek anything common and unclean. F49: Greek "What God calls clean you must not call unclean." F50: Greek brothers. F51: Greek the people.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. For more information about the NLT, please click here.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Has God ever upset your religious thinking? Have you ever allowed His spirit to change your mind?
Do you have some old ways of thinking and doing things that if asked to change them, you’d be a bit shaken?
Some of our thinking needs to be shaken up. Every time we sit under the word of God being preached or taught to us, we should be in a place where we are willing to see something differently than we have before. It is prejudices that would cause us to sit under the word of God and act as though we are judges in a debate. The word is not up for debate. When it comes through people, it is up for discussion. The discussion would be for further reception, not for argument’s sake.
How do you come when you come to a meeting that will have the word of God presented to you? Do you come with an attitude of, “prove it to me”, or one of “I can’t wait to hear what God is saying to me”? Do you want God’s word to change you? Or do you want to change the person who is speaking?
What happens to you when you don’t understand an idea presented? Do you get mad and want to argue, or do you think about it a lot and ask questions in the way a pupil would ask a teacher? The Holy Spirit has been given to us by God, as our teacher, we can ask Him anything and he’ll instruct us through the word of God.
Cornelius was raised with a few great ideas about God’s words, or of what he believed were God’s wishes. God was setting him up to show him further truth and to add clarity.
Notice Cornelius heard about the change in prayer. Also Peter heard about Cornelius’ coming while in prayer. Revelation for change will come inside of our conversations with God. If you hear a new kingdom idea, take it to the Lord in prayer, ask Him to reveal the truth to you and research His word, before contesting it.
Seeing clearly that God is no respecter of persons is such a spirit revelation. There are only two nations, the nation of unbelievers and the nation of believers in Christ. The nation of darkness and the nation of light, and we’re not talking skin color. We’re talking eternal life or eternal death. Race has nothing to do with it, really, except being of the race of Adam or of Jesus Christ, there are only two races!
Daily Repetitive Verses
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Today's DB 1 Peter 1 w/ Lena's Journalin'
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
1 Peter 1:1-25 -
1I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. 2God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!
A New Life
3What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, 4including a future in heaven--and the future starts now! 5God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all--life healed and whole.
6I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. 7Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
8You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him--with laughter and singing. 9Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
10The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. 11The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it--that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. 12All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves--through the Holy Spirit--the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!
A Future in God
13So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. 14Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. 15As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. 16God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
17You call out to God for help and he helps--he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. 18It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. 19He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. 20And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately--at the end of the ages--become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. 21It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
22Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. 23Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! 24That's why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;Grass dries up, flowers droop,
25God's Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Ever felt alone, excluded, abandoned?
If you are in Christ, the Bible says you are NOT alone. Yes, you may validly FEEL alone, but when feeling that way, an enemy is lying to your soul. It is a lie. God says that He will never leave or forsake us. That is the truth. God’s word is truth, THE truth, no matter what we feel or what we’re thinking may be true, but really is not truth.
I bet these early Christians felt very alone, exiled to places where they couldn’t share their faith. They’d just found faith in the Truth (Truth is a person, not an idea), and when they finally found themselves inside of a true and living God, they were now taken captive? When they were freed from spiritual bondage, now they were arrested for it? Come on, right, wasn’t that seemingly backwards? I bet their thoughts could have run wild, with abandonment, etc. The thing is/was they knew Truth as a person, the person of Christ. They knew of His integrity, they knew of His unfailing words to them. What He said He did, period. It did not matter what it looked or felt like.
Thy word IS truth. Let God be true and every man be found a liar. Rom 3:4 Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth.
The truth is, everything that does not match up to God’s word is a lie. That’s a whole lot of lies going around isn’t it? Exactly. John 10 says the thief, the devil, came into this world uninvited, and snuck in a way not provided to him by God. Jesus came in invited, He IS THE WAY. John 8:44 says he (the thief, the devil) has always been a liar and no truth dwells in him at all. If he’s on a mission against God and all that is God, why would he tell truth? Especially if he’s not truth at all?
So, the point?
Yes, persecution of your faith in God will come, to test your faith to see if it is a genuine faith based on knowing God personally, or seeing if your knowledge of Him is just a good idea.
So you profess Christ and are arrested for it. Do you still profess Christ? You profess Christ and people laugh and mock at you, do you still profess Christ? You profess Christ and you don’t feel the ooey gooey blessings and warm fuzzies, in fact now you feel alone, because all of your friends think you are a weirdo, is it worth it? These things are the test of your faith. If your faith has not been tested, it is not true, yet. If you truly believe your life will eventually prove it through testings.
Our Pastor’s wife said to us this week, that the warm fuzzies leave us and the ease of things doesn’t stay so easy as we grow up in Christ. If we want it easy forever, we aren’t wanting to grow up. God wants us to grow up and take a hold of our faith, a living faith in a living God, let it be tested, to see that it is real and really growing. The world is groaning, crying out for reality, truth, eternity. We are the examples of it to the world!
Be holy, as he is Holy, Let His holiness live in your body, Your mind, your spirit, demonstrate His love, His life. Be a Christian, don’t just look or act like one. Be Christ, the best example of Him this world you live in has yet to see!
Go all the way, begin today!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
1 Peter 1:1-25 -
1I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. 2God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!
A New Life
3What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, 4including a future in heaven--and the future starts now! 5God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all--life healed and whole.
6I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. 7Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
8You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him--with laughter and singing. 9Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
10The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. 11The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it--that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. 12All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves--through the Holy Spirit--the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!
A Future in God
13So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. 14Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. 15As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. 16God said, "I am holy; you be holy."
17You call out to God for help and he helps--he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. 18It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. 19He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. 20And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately--at the end of the ages--become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. 21It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
22Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. 23Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! 24That's why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;Grass dries up, flowers droop,
25God's Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Ever felt alone, excluded, abandoned?
If you are in Christ, the Bible says you are NOT alone. Yes, you may validly FEEL alone, but when feeling that way, an enemy is lying to your soul. It is a lie. God says that He will never leave or forsake us. That is the truth. God’s word is truth, THE truth, no matter what we feel or what we’re thinking may be true, but really is not truth.
I bet these early Christians felt very alone, exiled to places where they couldn’t share their faith. They’d just found faith in the Truth (Truth is a person, not an idea), and when they finally found themselves inside of a true and living God, they were now taken captive? When they were freed from spiritual bondage, now they were arrested for it? Come on, right, wasn’t that seemingly backwards? I bet their thoughts could have run wild, with abandonment, etc. The thing is/was they knew Truth as a person, the person of Christ. They knew of His integrity, they knew of His unfailing words to them. What He said He did, period. It did not matter what it looked or felt like.
Thy word IS truth. Let God be true and every man be found a liar. Rom 3:4 Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth.
The truth is, everything that does not match up to God’s word is a lie. That’s a whole lot of lies going around isn’t it? Exactly. John 10 says the thief, the devil, came into this world uninvited, and snuck in a way not provided to him by God. Jesus came in invited, He IS THE WAY. John 8:44 says he (the thief, the devil) has always been a liar and no truth dwells in him at all. If he’s on a mission against God and all that is God, why would he tell truth? Especially if he’s not truth at all?
So, the point?
Yes, persecution of your faith in God will come, to test your faith to see if it is a genuine faith based on knowing God personally, or seeing if your knowledge of Him is just a good idea.
So you profess Christ and are arrested for it. Do you still profess Christ? You profess Christ and people laugh and mock at you, do you still profess Christ? You profess Christ and you don’t feel the ooey gooey blessings and warm fuzzies, in fact now you feel alone, because all of your friends think you are a weirdo, is it worth it? These things are the test of your faith. If your faith has not been tested, it is not true, yet. If you truly believe your life will eventually prove it through testings.
Our Pastor’s wife said to us this week, that the warm fuzzies leave us and the ease of things doesn’t stay so easy as we grow up in Christ. If we want it easy forever, we aren’t wanting to grow up. God wants us to grow up and take a hold of our faith, a living faith in a living God, let it be tested, to see that it is real and really growing. The world is groaning, crying out for reality, truth, eternity. We are the examples of it to the world!
Be holy, as he is Holy, Let His holiness live in your body, Your mind, your spirit, demonstrate His love, His life. Be a Christian, don’t just look or act like one. Be Christ, the best example of Him this world you live in has yet to see!
Go all the way, begin today!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Colossians 2 Today's TRC DB w/ Lena's Journalin'
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Colossians 2:1-23 -
1I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone.
2I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. 3All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! 4I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."
5I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.
From the Shadows to the Substance
6My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. 7You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
8Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. 9Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. 10When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
11Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders-not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. 12If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. 13When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive--right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross. 15He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
16So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. 17All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.
18Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. 19They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
20So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? 21"Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!" 22Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? 23Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
~Lena’s Journalin’ ~
The power of influence, how far reaching is it? Paul is speaking to people he’s never met and his Christian influence is reaching them in the deepest core of who they are. That same gospel message is impacting the world we live in, in our day. Now that’s one powerful influence.
Did you realize your influence is just as great, either for God or for other things?
I remember hearing a leadership principles teacher of our day, state a statistic on the power of influence and it made me think and also desire that the influence I have, be of the gospel nature. It caused me to want to be changed by God’s spirit inside of me and to show forth and demonstrate that change to as many people as God would desire to reach. The statistic was, that one introverted person will have influence of 10,000 people in their lifetime! Talk about stars of the sky and sand of the sea! Woo Abraham, maybe that isn’t such a far out there thought.
From yesterday and the day before continued….
Another difference between Pharisaical religion and inward Christianity. One is based on the exaltation of me, for my good and my good looks (haha), while Christianity is all about God, His will, His work, His purpose, His love. One is knowing of, the other is knowing.
Ever know of someone? Then know someone else? Is there a difference?
Religion tells us it’s ok to know of God and Jesus and somehow be sanctified in knowing a little bit about them, just like knowing where the bank is or the color of so and so’s car. That does not suffice with God who is relational and is calling human beings into and intimate and personal relationship with Him, and with His will.
How can one pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven”, if one does not know the will giver or the will? If we knew ahead of time we’d be the executors of a certain person’s will who was about to pass on, would we not get to know of their wishes that we may execute them with the greatest authority based upon personal knowledge to do so?
Guess what? With God, we are will executives. Executors of His will. He expects us to bring His will into the earth realm. All the years we’ve recited that prayer, God’s been waiting for us to do the prayer. The prayer is for us, that we’d get a revelation of why we’re here and what we’re to do, that we’d have a desire arise in us to know the will, by knowing the “man”.
Don’t you love this verse? Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Who is this verse for? Who is it speaking to? Me, that‘s who, not my neighbor, but yes my neighbor, through my demonstration of doing the will of God myself. As I lead others will follow the will.
The only way to increase is to grow, the only way to grow is to move forward, leave something behind to become something else. Diapers to panties, bottles to cups, fingers to forks…Aren’t you thankful you are no longer in diapers? But when your mom was trying to tell you you’d like it better you protested, threw fits, didn’t want change etc…Wow, huh? What about bottle weaning, mom’s? Is that easy or fun? How much crying happens?
By the way, when this passage protests others telling us what to do, or says don’t allow such and such, the protest and the rebellion, is against evil. It is pointing out how adamant against evil’s works and how adamant against anything that takes us away from our focal point of true unhindered growth in Christ we should be, keepers of the guard. It is not promoting rebellion or resistance to the things that are of God. Sometimes when we read we put everything in the thinking pot and don’t differentiate at all. The word of God must be rightly divided.
Our world has been infiltrated with an independent and rebellious spirit, because of that we just need to keep ourselves in check, making note that we’re not having the same worldly attitude against God, His words and those who present His words to us in our Christian walk.
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Colossians 2:1-23 -
1I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone.
2I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. 3All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! 4I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."
5I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.
From the Shadows to the Substance
6My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. 7You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
8Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. 9Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. 10When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
11Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders-not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. 12If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. 13When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive--right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross. 15He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
16So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. 17All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.
18Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. 19They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
20So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? 21"Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!" 22Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? 23Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
~Lena’s Journalin’ ~
The power of influence, how far reaching is it? Paul is speaking to people he’s never met and his Christian influence is reaching them in the deepest core of who they are. That same gospel message is impacting the world we live in, in our day. Now that’s one powerful influence.
Did you realize your influence is just as great, either for God or for other things?
I remember hearing a leadership principles teacher of our day, state a statistic on the power of influence and it made me think and also desire that the influence I have, be of the gospel nature. It caused me to want to be changed by God’s spirit inside of me and to show forth and demonstrate that change to as many people as God would desire to reach. The statistic was, that one introverted person will have influence of 10,000 people in their lifetime! Talk about stars of the sky and sand of the sea! Woo Abraham, maybe that isn’t such a far out there thought.
From yesterday and the day before continued….
Another difference between Pharisaical religion and inward Christianity. One is based on the exaltation of me, for my good and my good looks (haha), while Christianity is all about God, His will, His work, His purpose, His love. One is knowing of, the other is knowing.
Ever know of someone? Then know someone else? Is there a difference?
Religion tells us it’s ok to know of God and Jesus and somehow be sanctified in knowing a little bit about them, just like knowing where the bank is or the color of so and so’s car. That does not suffice with God who is relational and is calling human beings into and intimate and personal relationship with Him, and with His will.
How can one pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven”, if one does not know the will giver or the will? If we knew ahead of time we’d be the executors of a certain person’s will who was about to pass on, would we not get to know of their wishes that we may execute them with the greatest authority based upon personal knowledge to do so?
Guess what? With God, we are will executives. Executors of His will. He expects us to bring His will into the earth realm. All the years we’ve recited that prayer, God’s been waiting for us to do the prayer. The prayer is for us, that we’d get a revelation of why we’re here and what we’re to do, that we’d have a desire arise in us to know the will, by knowing the “man”.
Don’t you love this verse? Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Who is this verse for? Who is it speaking to? Me, that‘s who, not my neighbor, but yes my neighbor, through my demonstration of doing the will of God myself. As I lead others will follow the will.
The only way to increase is to grow, the only way to grow is to move forward, leave something behind to become something else. Diapers to panties, bottles to cups, fingers to forks…Aren’t you thankful you are no longer in diapers? But when your mom was trying to tell you you’d like it better you protested, threw fits, didn’t want change etc…Wow, huh? What about bottle weaning, mom’s? Is that easy or fun? How much crying happens?
By the way, when this passage protests others telling us what to do, or says don’t allow such and such, the protest and the rebellion, is against evil. It is pointing out how adamant against evil’s works and how adamant against anything that takes us away from our focal point of true unhindered growth in Christ we should be, keepers of the guard. It is not promoting rebellion or resistance to the things that are of God. Sometimes when we read we put everything in the thinking pot and don’t differentiate at all. The word of God must be rightly divided.
Our world has been infiltrated with an independent and rebellious spirit, because of that we just need to keep ourselves in check, making note that we’re not having the same worldly attitude against God, His words and those who present His words to us in our Christian walk.
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Mark 7 DB w/ Lena's Journalin' Today
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Mark 7:1-37 -
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
1One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. 2They noticed that some of Jesus' disciples failed to follow the usual Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3(The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, F26 as required by their ancient traditions. 4Similarly, they eat nothing bought from the market unless they have immersed their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremony of washing cups, pitchers, and kettles. F27 ) 5So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony."
6Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
7 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' F28
8For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions."
9Then he said, "You reject God's laws in order to hold on to your own traditions. 10For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.' F29 11But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, 'Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I could have given to you.' F30 12You let them disregard their needy parents. 13As such, you break the law of God in order to protect your own tradition. And this is only one example. There are many, many others."
14Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. 15You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do! F31 "
17Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made. 18"Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you? 19Food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again." (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)
20And then he added, "It is the thought-life that defiles you. 21For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
24Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. F32 He tried to keep it secret that he was there, but he couldn't. As usual, the news of his arrival spread fast. 25Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. She had heard about Jesus, and now she came and fell at his feet. 26She begged him to release her child from the demon's control. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27Jesus told her, "First I should help my own family, the Jews. F33 It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs."
28She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are given some crumbs from the children's plates."
29"Good answer!" he said. "And because you have answered so well, I have healed your daughter." 30And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
31Jesus left Tyre and went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. F34 32A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. 33Jesus led him to a private place away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting onto his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue with the spittle. 34And looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Be opened!" F35 35Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!
36Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news, 37for they were completely amazed. Again and again they said, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even heals those who are deaf and mute."
FOOTNOTES:F26: Greek washed with the fist. F27: Some Greek manuscripts add and dining couches. F28: Isa 29:13. F29: Exod 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16. F30: Greek `What I could have given to you is Corban' (that is, a gift). F31: Some manuscripts add verse 16, Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand. F32: Some Greek manuscripts add and Sidon. F33: Greek Let the children eat first. F34: Greek Decapolis. F35: Greek text uses Aramaic "Ephphatha" and then translates it as "Be opened."
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
From yesterday’s Journalin’.
Another way to gage whether you or I am more like a Pharisee than like a disciple, is offense. Are we offended by the Bible or the people of God who preach it to us? If when we sit under the word of God, we pick apart the preacher with a fine toothed comb or pick out area’s that they are ungodly or constantly question a teacher’s words, we are dealing with that which opposes humility, which is pride.
Pride is like the #1 enemy of God. The Pharisees dealt with pride big time. Pride tries to tell us no one knows more than we do, and that we have some knowledge about everything, enough to judge most situations and rise above most knowledge with opinions. If one of our root issues is pride, we are ever looking for wrongs in others or the things they work with. “Your disciples don’t wash like we do, why? Notice the critical spirit trying to point out the sins of others? This is quite dangerous where close fellowship with the Holy Spirit is concerned. When one is always looking for something to point out somewhere that may be off or wrong they are dealing with pride and self exaltation. Self exaltation will purposely show the faults of others, to elevate self. Maybe not “intentionally”, but this is the way to expose this. If this is a symptom, there is that root problem and if one is willing God can help one uproot this trait and root on purpose.
Remember Lucifer? What was his declaration before God’s Throne? I will ascend above and be as the Most High? He was saying he didn’t agree with God that God was #1. He didn’t agree with God that there was only One like Him, nor did he agree enough to bow before Him any longer, bowing would show that he was believing there was one greater than himself.
So God set up a specific instruction to men, who are His created lovers. There shall be no other god’s before Me, not even the god of personal opinions.
Many times sin is hidden to the sinner, masked over as a family trait or whatever. This is the shadow that needs light shown on it. God’s word is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our pathways. If one is walking out a spiritual journey, breaching in the gap between men and God, they will purposely walk in the light of truth. They will want shadows of death exposed to them that they may see clearly where they’ve been walking and where they are going.
So light says, ok that symptom is a symptom of self exaltation, having another god before God and of pride, all of which are God’s enemies. WOW, I now see that. Lord, please forgive me for participating in that. Since I’ve done these things as habits in life and even my dad and granddad were also exercised in this same trait, it may be hard for me to keep seeing it. Help my eyes to stay opened to truth, and help keep my heart after the desire for more truth, more truth than just this issue. Lord, I’ve got to depend on Your help to see this and not participate in it’s pull on my life anymore.
So I start to be critical, because I’ve been doing it for years, the Holy Spirit reminds me of the trait, I come against that by blessing with my mouth, out loud, in an area I would have criticized or added my own opinion to. I ask God for the right words of blessing. I read His word further to see more of this truth and encouragement to walk in its ways. I’m open to the scrutiny of His words to change me through revelation. I believe for His power to deliver me from evil. I pray about it in Jesus’ powerful name, expecting the Holy Spirit to keep showing me and leading me out of the bondages of this sin.
That is so opposite ignorance of God’s words and religious activity. I’ve entered into spiritual warfare, Divine combat. I’m overcoming my own and God’s enemies over my life, breaking down walls and removing ancient gods set up for me and my children.
Remember an attribute of a disciple is you come closer to the teacher and inquire of what he’d said that you did not “get”. What a contrast to criticizing what was said and never asking the teacher what they meant. A disciple is not asking in debate, he’s inquiring for more, to see what he’s not been able to see. He is humble enough to think in his own heart, hey that contradicts my initial response and opinion, maybe I need to open my heart, to a foreign-to-me idea and get closer to God’s heart so I can hear it beat.
The Pharisee was wanting everyone to believe he was right and there was no proving of wrong, it was all a contest of wills. The disciple receives what he may not yet have seen or known. One is open to God, the other ultimately is deceived into subconsciously think he is god.
If you knew, as you now do today, that a pharaseeitical spirit is against God, would you not be on watch to guard yourself of that spirit? Would you not set up a guard about your own spirit to disallow him into your thoughts and into your heart?
That is spiritual warfare, being on guard of self, and disallowing anything that rises against your God and his wonderous work of growth in you, to have any place in you. How would you know what to guard your person from? All of that is found inside of the word of God and inside of the fellowship of those who love Him and serve Him with all of their hearts. The key is to guard oneself first and govern ones self first, that others may be led into self government by your example and later on, also your teaching. We are all teaching by example. The Pharisees governed others, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally rather than governing their selves first. They thought they were already governed and already perfected, not embracing the thought of continually humility and perfection as a process.
It is only by being found in another that we’re made perfect and through the One man Christ, we are made perfect, not on our own, but by His great grace and tremendous sacrifice of love for us.
Come in a bit closer, disciple of the Lord. Can you hear His heart beating for you?
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Mark 7:1-37 -
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
1One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. 2They noticed that some of Jesus' disciples failed to follow the usual Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3(The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, F26 as required by their ancient traditions. 4Similarly, they eat nothing bought from the market unless they have immersed their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremony of washing cups, pitchers, and kettles. F27 ) 5So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony."
6Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
7 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' F28
8For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions."
9Then he said, "You reject God's laws in order to hold on to your own traditions. 10For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.' F29 11But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, 'Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I could have given to you.' F30 12You let them disregard their needy parents. 13As such, you break the law of God in order to protect your own tradition. And this is only one example. There are many, many others."
14Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. 15You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do! F31 "
17Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made. 18"Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you? 19Food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again." (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)
20And then he added, "It is the thought-life that defiles you. 21For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God."
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
24Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. F32 He tried to keep it secret that he was there, but he couldn't. As usual, the news of his arrival spread fast. 25Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. She had heard about Jesus, and now she came and fell at his feet. 26She begged him to release her child from the demon's control. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27Jesus told her, "First I should help my own family, the Jews. F33 It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs."
28She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are given some crumbs from the children's plates."
29"Good answer!" he said. "And because you have answered so well, I have healed your daughter." 30And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
31Jesus left Tyre and went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. F34 32A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. 33Jesus led him to a private place away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting onto his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue with the spittle. 34And looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Be opened!" F35 35Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!
36Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news, 37for they were completely amazed. Again and again they said, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even heals those who are deaf and mute."
FOOTNOTES:F26: Greek washed with the fist. F27: Some Greek manuscripts add and dining couches. F28: Isa 29:13. F29: Exod 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16. F30: Greek `What I could have given to you is Corban' (that is, a gift). F31: Some manuscripts add verse 16, Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand. F32: Some Greek manuscripts add and Sidon. F33: Greek Let the children eat first. F34: Greek Decapolis. F35: Greek text uses Aramaic "Ephphatha" and then translates it as "Be opened."
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
From yesterday’s Journalin’.
Another way to gage whether you or I am more like a Pharisee than like a disciple, is offense. Are we offended by the Bible or the people of God who preach it to us? If when we sit under the word of God, we pick apart the preacher with a fine toothed comb or pick out area’s that they are ungodly or constantly question a teacher’s words, we are dealing with that which opposes humility, which is pride.
Pride is like the #1 enemy of God. The Pharisees dealt with pride big time. Pride tries to tell us no one knows more than we do, and that we have some knowledge about everything, enough to judge most situations and rise above most knowledge with opinions. If one of our root issues is pride, we are ever looking for wrongs in others or the things they work with. “Your disciples don’t wash like we do, why? Notice the critical spirit trying to point out the sins of others? This is quite dangerous where close fellowship with the Holy Spirit is concerned. When one is always looking for something to point out somewhere that may be off or wrong they are dealing with pride and self exaltation. Self exaltation will purposely show the faults of others, to elevate self. Maybe not “intentionally”, but this is the way to expose this. If this is a symptom, there is that root problem and if one is willing God can help one uproot this trait and root on purpose.
Remember Lucifer? What was his declaration before God’s Throne? I will ascend above and be as the Most High? He was saying he didn’t agree with God that God was #1. He didn’t agree with God that there was only One like Him, nor did he agree enough to bow before Him any longer, bowing would show that he was believing there was one greater than himself.
So God set up a specific instruction to men, who are His created lovers. There shall be no other god’s before Me, not even the god of personal opinions.
Many times sin is hidden to the sinner, masked over as a family trait or whatever. This is the shadow that needs light shown on it. God’s word is a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our pathways. If one is walking out a spiritual journey, breaching in the gap between men and God, they will purposely walk in the light of truth. They will want shadows of death exposed to them that they may see clearly where they’ve been walking and where they are going.
So light says, ok that symptom is a symptom of self exaltation, having another god before God and of pride, all of which are God’s enemies. WOW, I now see that. Lord, please forgive me for participating in that. Since I’ve done these things as habits in life and even my dad and granddad were also exercised in this same trait, it may be hard for me to keep seeing it. Help my eyes to stay opened to truth, and help keep my heart after the desire for more truth, more truth than just this issue. Lord, I’ve got to depend on Your help to see this and not participate in it’s pull on my life anymore.
So I start to be critical, because I’ve been doing it for years, the Holy Spirit reminds me of the trait, I come against that by blessing with my mouth, out loud, in an area I would have criticized or added my own opinion to. I ask God for the right words of blessing. I read His word further to see more of this truth and encouragement to walk in its ways. I’m open to the scrutiny of His words to change me through revelation. I believe for His power to deliver me from evil. I pray about it in Jesus’ powerful name, expecting the Holy Spirit to keep showing me and leading me out of the bondages of this sin.
That is so opposite ignorance of God’s words and religious activity. I’ve entered into spiritual warfare, Divine combat. I’m overcoming my own and God’s enemies over my life, breaking down walls and removing ancient gods set up for me and my children.
Remember an attribute of a disciple is you come closer to the teacher and inquire of what he’d said that you did not “get”. What a contrast to criticizing what was said and never asking the teacher what they meant. A disciple is not asking in debate, he’s inquiring for more, to see what he’s not been able to see. He is humble enough to think in his own heart, hey that contradicts my initial response and opinion, maybe I need to open my heart, to a foreign-to-me idea and get closer to God’s heart so I can hear it beat.
The Pharisee was wanting everyone to believe he was right and there was no proving of wrong, it was all a contest of wills. The disciple receives what he may not yet have seen or known. One is open to God, the other ultimately is deceived into subconsciously think he is god.
If you knew, as you now do today, that a pharaseeitical spirit is against God, would you not be on watch to guard yourself of that spirit? Would you not set up a guard about your own spirit to disallow him into your thoughts and into your heart?
That is spiritual warfare, being on guard of self, and disallowing anything that rises against your God and his wonderous work of growth in you, to have any place in you. How would you know what to guard your person from? All of that is found inside of the word of God and inside of the fellowship of those who love Him and serve Him with all of their hearts. The key is to guard oneself first and govern ones self first, that others may be led into self government by your example and later on, also your teaching. We are all teaching by example. The Pharisees governed others, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally rather than governing their selves first. They thought they were already governed and already perfected, not embracing the thought of continually humility and perfection as a process.
It is only by being found in another that we’re made perfect and through the One man Christ, we are made perfect, not on our own, but by His great grace and tremendous sacrifice of love for us.
Come in a bit closer, disciple of the Lord. Can you hear His heart beating for you?
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Lena's Journalin to TRC's DB reading for the day Matthew 15
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Matthew15:1-39
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
1Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus. 2"Why do your disciples disobey our age-old traditions?" they demanded. "They ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat."
3Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4For instance, God says, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.' F78 5But you say, 'You don't need to honor your parents by caring for their needs if you give the money to God instead.' 6And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment of God. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
8 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.
9 Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' F79 "
10Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. 11You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do. F80 "
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?"
13Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be rooted up, 14so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch."
15Then Peter asked Jesus, "Explain what you meant when you said people aren't defiled by what they eat."
16"Don't you understand?" Jesus asked him. 17"Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands could never defile you and make you unacceptable to God!"
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21Jesus then left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Gentile F81 woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter has a demon in her, and it is severely tormenting her."
23But Jesus gave her no reply—not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to leave," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging."
24Then he said to the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel—God's lost sheep—not the Gentiles." 25But she came and worshiped him and pleaded again, "Lord, help me!"
26"It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs," he said.
27"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table."
28"Woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30A vast crowd brought him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical difficulties, and they laid them before Jesus. And he healed them all. 31The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking around, and those who had been blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the road."
33The disciples replied, "And where would we get enough food out here in the wilderness for all of them to eat?"
34Jesus asked, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" They replied, "Seven, and a few small fish." 35So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37They all ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! 38There were four thousand men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
FOOTNOTES:F78: Exod 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16. F79: Isa 29:13. F80: Or what comes out of the mouth defiles a person. F81: Greek Canaanite.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Do we love and serve God with our heads or our hearts?
Is our “Christianity” something else we do or another thing we add in to our lives or is it who we are?
New Age Philosophy it is quite a wide road of travel. The way is very broad in that anything and everything pretty much goes, it is all acceptable. Your god my God, our god and me god, anything that works for you is ok, accepted and embraced. One problem is Jesus said, “I Am The Way The truth The Life and no one comes to the Father (God) except through Me”. We can’t come by finding our inner self, or getting in touch with the universe or accepting anyone and everyone’s faith.
It was told me that when a person goes into a country such as India and speaks to its countrymen about Jesus, they must be very, very specific with those they are sharing truth with. If they are not clear, the countrymen might mistake them and adopt Jesus as one of their many gods, embracing Him as a deity, and a great man, yet He will find a place on the mantles with everything else that they worship. They actually embrace Him and accept Him alongside all else they embrace and accept.
The 10 commandments are clear and say, “You shall have No other gods; before Me” (Jehovah, the One and only God) Well this also goes for us here in the USA, is our god truly God or do we serve others? If we go to church because we are being told it is a good thing and that we feel a certain obligation to come and check in with the Christian family every once in awhile, we may as well stay home. Church is like a little village scene at Christmas on our mantle, it doesn’t mean a whole lot to us. We’ve adopted it in, as one of the many good ideas in life.
That is what the Pharisees did. When we read the Bible we think, those Pharisees, they did not understand, but do we understand?
Are we 22nd century Pharisees? Or are we disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ?
A disciple is one whose mind is in the position of learning and training, of hearing, and being informed, putting into practice what God is saying in His word, by action. Contrary to a Pharisee, who seemingly was one who was learned, but the air they portrayed was more for their own self exaltation. They gloated in the keeping of specified rules, saying the rules were God’s rules, all the while the infliction and policing of these rules were to show themselves wise in the eyes of others and somehow more perfected which elevated them as “holy”.
Where God’s commands and rules are for the benefit of the doer, not for God’s benefit alone.
The Bible again says “To make disciples”, not converts, a disciple places themselves in the position of a learner of love, one who is open to God’s commands, one who listens for the sake of doing and becoming as God is, in His very own image.
So are you a disciple? Or a Pharisee? One is a “Christian” outwardly where it might look good, for the other they are being changed into Christ’s image inwardly, beginning with the heart.
Are you always right, argumentative, knowing everything about everything, extremely opinionated? Do you go to church and hear truth, but expect others to live up to it, maybe even calling them hypocrites, if they don’t, while you yourself don’t even do the part that was given to you by God?
Don’t we all “fall” under that kind of sway? I know I have.
We’re in such a serious day and time, we’ve got to humble ourselves and become teachable once again, breaking down our prideful walls and submit ourselves to God’s simplistic words we’ve been lacking in obedience to. We need to become brave and ask God to show us something to do, that He’s probably already told us, and then petition Him to give us the strength to go ahead and do it.
Only then will we kill the religious giant in our individual lives and conquer the call and pull of the natural blood, sin nature and our world’s call upon us to be just like “Mikey” or “Brittany” or whoever else.
How many times have we blamed God for the messes we are in actually thinking that He’s inflicted some kind of punishment on us?. That is just such incorrect thinking. It is the very thinking that God’s enemy wants young believers to have. If we turn to God, the enemy’s ok as long as he can lie to us and turn us back away from God. One way he does this is to make us believe God is not for us, all the while he is the one afflicting and tormenting us and then he’ll do it in the name of God, meaning he lies and causes us to put the blame on God!
It is time to rise up and insist on what Jesus paid for. This gentile woman did just that. Even the Lord told her what she was asking for was not something readily given to heathen people, but she insisted, persisted in faith. How many times do we stay with our faith on something, insisting, without an inch of wavering? Did you see this woman waver? She persisted in what she believed and God honored her faith in Him. Awesome, huh?
What did Jesus die for, for you? It is yours for the taking, the deal is you have to rip it out of the enemy’s hands. To do that you must know it belongs to you, then your spirit man must rise up and with the strength of Jehovah take a hold of God, make a covenant exchange, put His armor on, and go headlong into the enemy’s camp if need be and get back what is yours without being talked out of it belonging to you. You must deafen your ears to his lies and believe in God’s words about you and over you.
It is God’s words that heal. Are His words your words? Do you believe them as though they were/are your very own? Should be, He gave them to us, for us to use and then backed it up with His power in us by the Holy Spirit.
Listen, it can actually take a lifetime to get this and walk in it, but as you can see here, this is for the getting the taking and the giving. God is leading us to the place where we can get it, then we can insist on it for ourselves and take it as our own. The best part of all, thought is where we turn around and be as He is, giving it to the world. That’s the part He is leading us all into. If we know that that is the goal, or the degree we’re to have, why not plug in and go for the gold, and not miss the mark by spending our whole lives just mottling through trying to get it for ourselves?
There are multitudes to feed on only a little of what we have been given. Give thanks, break it and distribute.
It is so the time. I beg of you, know the times, the days and the hours, they are very serious times.
Pharisee or disciple, you decide.
Come follow Me and I will make you______________ ____ ________.
The key word is “you”.
Then find someone who follows Christ and follow them and they follow Christ, become a disciple, the keywords are, “you – become”
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Matthew15:1-39
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
1Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus. 2"Why do your disciples disobey our age-old traditions?" they demanded. "They ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat."
3Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4For instance, God says, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.' F78 5But you say, 'You don't need to honor your parents by caring for their needs if you give the money to God instead.' 6And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment of God. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said,
8 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.
9 Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' F79 "
10Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. 11You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do. F80 "
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?"
13Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be rooted up, 14so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch."
15Then Peter asked Jesus, "Explain what you meant when you said people aren't defiled by what they eat."
16"Don't you understand?" Jesus asked him. 17"Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands could never defile you and make you unacceptable to God!"
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21Jesus then left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Gentile F81 woman who lived there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter has a demon in her, and it is severely tormenting her."
23But Jesus gave her no reply—not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to leave," they said. "She is bothering us with all her begging."
24Then he said to the woman, "I was sent only to help the people of Israel—God's lost sheep—not the Gentiles." 25But she came and worshiped him and pleaded again, "Lord, help me!"
26"It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs," he said.
27"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even dogs are permitted to eat crumbs that fall beneath their master's table."
28"Woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30A vast crowd brought him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical difficulties, and they laid them before Jesus. And he healed them all. 31The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking around, and those who had been blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the road."
33The disciples replied, "And where would we get enough food out here in the wilderness for all of them to eat?"
34Jesus asked, "How many loaves of bread do you have?" They replied, "Seven, and a few small fish." 35So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37They all ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! 38There were four thousand men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
FOOTNOTES:F78: Exod 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16. F79: Isa 29:13. F80: Or what comes out of the mouth defiles a person. F81: Greek Canaanite.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Do we love and serve God with our heads or our hearts?
Is our “Christianity” something else we do or another thing we add in to our lives or is it who we are?
New Age Philosophy it is quite a wide road of travel. The way is very broad in that anything and everything pretty much goes, it is all acceptable. Your god my God, our god and me god, anything that works for you is ok, accepted and embraced. One problem is Jesus said, “I Am The Way The truth The Life and no one comes to the Father (God) except through Me”. We can’t come by finding our inner self, or getting in touch with the universe or accepting anyone and everyone’s faith.
It was told me that when a person goes into a country such as India and speaks to its countrymen about Jesus, they must be very, very specific with those they are sharing truth with. If they are not clear, the countrymen might mistake them and adopt Jesus as one of their many gods, embracing Him as a deity, and a great man, yet He will find a place on the mantles with everything else that they worship. They actually embrace Him and accept Him alongside all else they embrace and accept.
The 10 commandments are clear and say, “You shall have No other gods; before Me” (Jehovah, the One and only God) Well this also goes for us here in the USA, is our god truly God or do we serve others? If we go to church because we are being told it is a good thing and that we feel a certain obligation to come and check in with the Christian family every once in awhile, we may as well stay home. Church is like a little village scene at Christmas on our mantle, it doesn’t mean a whole lot to us. We’ve adopted it in, as one of the many good ideas in life.
That is what the Pharisees did. When we read the Bible we think, those Pharisees, they did not understand, but do we understand?
Are we 22nd century Pharisees? Or are we disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ?
A disciple is one whose mind is in the position of learning and training, of hearing, and being informed, putting into practice what God is saying in His word, by action. Contrary to a Pharisee, who seemingly was one who was learned, but the air they portrayed was more for their own self exaltation. They gloated in the keeping of specified rules, saying the rules were God’s rules, all the while the infliction and policing of these rules were to show themselves wise in the eyes of others and somehow more perfected which elevated them as “holy”.
Where God’s commands and rules are for the benefit of the doer, not for God’s benefit alone.
The Bible again says “To make disciples”, not converts, a disciple places themselves in the position of a learner of love, one who is open to God’s commands, one who listens for the sake of doing and becoming as God is, in His very own image.
So are you a disciple? Or a Pharisee? One is a “Christian” outwardly where it might look good, for the other they are being changed into Christ’s image inwardly, beginning with the heart.
Are you always right, argumentative, knowing everything about everything, extremely opinionated? Do you go to church and hear truth, but expect others to live up to it, maybe even calling them hypocrites, if they don’t, while you yourself don’t even do the part that was given to you by God?
Don’t we all “fall” under that kind of sway? I know I have.
We’re in such a serious day and time, we’ve got to humble ourselves and become teachable once again, breaking down our prideful walls and submit ourselves to God’s simplistic words we’ve been lacking in obedience to. We need to become brave and ask God to show us something to do, that He’s probably already told us, and then petition Him to give us the strength to go ahead and do it.
Only then will we kill the religious giant in our individual lives and conquer the call and pull of the natural blood, sin nature and our world’s call upon us to be just like “Mikey” or “Brittany” or whoever else.
How many times have we blamed God for the messes we are in actually thinking that He’s inflicted some kind of punishment on us?. That is just such incorrect thinking. It is the very thinking that God’s enemy wants young believers to have. If we turn to God, the enemy’s ok as long as he can lie to us and turn us back away from God. One way he does this is to make us believe God is not for us, all the while he is the one afflicting and tormenting us and then he’ll do it in the name of God, meaning he lies and causes us to put the blame on God!
It is time to rise up and insist on what Jesus paid for. This gentile woman did just that. Even the Lord told her what she was asking for was not something readily given to heathen people, but she insisted, persisted in faith. How many times do we stay with our faith on something, insisting, without an inch of wavering? Did you see this woman waver? She persisted in what she believed and God honored her faith in Him. Awesome, huh?
What did Jesus die for, for you? It is yours for the taking, the deal is you have to rip it out of the enemy’s hands. To do that you must know it belongs to you, then your spirit man must rise up and with the strength of Jehovah take a hold of God, make a covenant exchange, put His armor on, and go headlong into the enemy’s camp if need be and get back what is yours without being talked out of it belonging to you. You must deafen your ears to his lies and believe in God’s words about you and over you.
It is God’s words that heal. Are His words your words? Do you believe them as though they were/are your very own? Should be, He gave them to us, for us to use and then backed it up with His power in us by the Holy Spirit.
Listen, it can actually take a lifetime to get this and walk in it, but as you can see here, this is for the getting the taking and the giving. God is leading us to the place where we can get it, then we can insist on it for ourselves and take it as our own. The best part of all, thought is where we turn around and be as He is, giving it to the world. That’s the part He is leading us all into. If we know that that is the goal, or the degree we’re to have, why not plug in and go for the gold, and not miss the mark by spending our whole lives just mottling through trying to get it for ourselves?
There are multitudes to feed on only a little of what we have been given. Give thanks, break it and distribute.
It is so the time. I beg of you, know the times, the days and the hours, they are very serious times.
Pharisee or disciple, you decide.
Come follow Me and I will make you______________ ____ ________.
The key word is “you”.
Then find someone who follows Christ and follow them and they follow Christ, become a disciple, the keywords are, “you – become”
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Happy Easter's Daily Bread From Rock Church's Daily Suggested Reading Schedule w/ Lena's Journalin'
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
John 3:1-24
Living as Children of God
1See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!
But the people who belong to this world don't know God, so they don't understand that we are his children. 2Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.
4Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. 5And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. 6So if we continue to live in him, we won't sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.
7Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil.
9Those who have been born into God's family do not sin, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they have been born of God.
10So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God's commands and does not love other Christians F8 does not belong to God.
Love One Another
11This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right. 13So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, F9 if the world hates you.
14If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15Anyone who hates another Christian F10 is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them. 16We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters.
17But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help—how can God’s love be in that person?
18Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. 19It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, 20even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. 23And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24Those who obey God’s commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us.
FOOTNOTES:F8: Greek his brother. F9: Greek brothers; also in 3:14, 16. F10: Greek his brother.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
God’s love is unconditional, in that He loves us just as we are and that unconditional love draws us towards Him, filling in the gap that sin made. Sin is a gap maker. It makes a gap in the pure unhindered fellowship of God and man. The point of being rid of sin is to become closer and more intimate inside of the love of God. Rather than feeling judged by the revelation of sin, one can welcome its exposure knowing that fellowship is going to be being restored to our Father the only one who truly eternally loves us so.
God’s love cannot be earned by being good or doing things just so, it is an eternal love that loves no matter what. Yet there are conditions to kingdom blessings of life and great fellowship with God.
It’s like saying, “Hey Tommy, don’t touch the stove honey, it is hot.”
Telling Tommy it is hot is not judgmental in nature, it is protective, it is wisdom given by an older more experienced persons, because the person loves them enough to not allow hurt and pain to come.
The conditions in God’s word are this way and the responses from us are our expression of trust and love for God. When a well meaning Christian says you ought to attend church every Sunday and on Wednesdays also, and cell groups too, they are watching for your soul to be kept inside of Christ. They are loving you protectively.
If you don’t do these words they’ve brought your way, it may not be well with you, you may find yourself spiritually weakened and then later on wonder why. If you are at church on Sundays, Wednesdays and cell groups and your teacher tells you, you ought to read you Bible everyday, along with other exhortations from God’s word for growth, they are promoting your spiritual growth and bringing you to a place where God can use you, which is also bringing you into the reason for even being alive here.
The more you join into the fellowship of the body and learn to know God more and love His people more, the more you’ll have been glad when your time is over here that you did, you’ll leave here with no regrets. The body of Christ’s ministry to you is to lead you to a place of a fulfilled life with no regrets.
When our understanding is completely clear to us, we will want to have known Him more and have made Him known more, we’ll realize that is why we were here.
I was thinking about the love of people, mostly conditional, yet in Christ we are relearning how to love one another without condition. Rebellion says, do not tell me the stove is hot. Wow, then go ahead and get burned and marred and possibly die before the time that you were able to find out why you were here on earth and come into your God purposes. This is how absurd it is to not listen to Godly wisdom. The world is trying to say, if we are being told what to do and how to act we’re not being loved. Wow, what a deception.
When you call out to your child telling them to stay away from the street, are you judging them and loving them conditionally? Isn’t that ridiculous? It’s as ridiculous as us saying people in the churches are judging us when they help us identify sin and save our souls from hurt, pain and eternal judgment.
I was also thinking of how there are people who love to be around people, but say they hate the people in the church. If we hate the people in the churches, we hate God, because this is His body, no matter how imperfected it presently is. They are His children and that is a key word there- children. Children are growing up and do misbehave at times and are doing things unlike their father until they grow up. It is so time to take responsibility for ourselves and begin to show growth, that growth may be nurtured in others also. The church people are being perfected in Christ, by the grace of God and need forgiveness as much as any non church person does.
The difference is they are on an eternal journey. The difference for those who have truly decided with an open eye is, sin will no longer be allowed to be their Master, and if really growing up in Christ they are serving God intently. When we serve God intently, we do not participate in the service of sin, we forsake it on purpose. Some in our churches, are coming and as they hear we pray someday they will get that one, about true love reciprocated. Changing Masters, on purpose.
Not all who come to our churches know this yet, not all know Him yet, not all are saved yet, not all are obedient to Him or His will yet, but I praise God they/we are coming together, maybe our love for Him will show them how much this love can draw them away from Sin’s grip of bondage and the lies it’s had in keeping them slaves!
No we’re not perfect, we’re being perfected In Him, if found in Him, being perfected, if staying in Him, being seen by Him as He is.
Happy Easter!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
John 3:1-24
Living as Children of God
1See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!
But the people who belong to this world don't know God, so they don't understand that we are his children. 2Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.
4Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. 5And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. 6So if we continue to live in him, we won't sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is.
7Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil.
9Those who have been born into God's family do not sin, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they have been born of God.
10So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God's commands and does not love other Christians F8 does not belong to God.
Love One Another
11This is the message we have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right. 13So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, F9 if the world hates you.
14If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15Anyone who hates another Christian F10 is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them. 16We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters.
17But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help—how can God’s love be in that person?
18Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. 19It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, 20even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. 23And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24Those who obey God’s commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us.
FOOTNOTES:F8: Greek his brother. F9: Greek brothers; also in 3:14, 16. F10: Greek his brother.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
God’s love is unconditional, in that He loves us just as we are and that unconditional love draws us towards Him, filling in the gap that sin made. Sin is a gap maker. It makes a gap in the pure unhindered fellowship of God and man. The point of being rid of sin is to become closer and more intimate inside of the love of God. Rather than feeling judged by the revelation of sin, one can welcome its exposure knowing that fellowship is going to be being restored to our Father the only one who truly eternally loves us so.
God’s love cannot be earned by being good or doing things just so, it is an eternal love that loves no matter what. Yet there are conditions to kingdom blessings of life and great fellowship with God.
It’s like saying, “Hey Tommy, don’t touch the stove honey, it is hot.”
Telling Tommy it is hot is not judgmental in nature, it is protective, it is wisdom given by an older more experienced persons, because the person loves them enough to not allow hurt and pain to come.
The conditions in God’s word are this way and the responses from us are our expression of trust and love for God. When a well meaning Christian says you ought to attend church every Sunday and on Wednesdays also, and cell groups too, they are watching for your soul to be kept inside of Christ. They are loving you protectively.
If you don’t do these words they’ve brought your way, it may not be well with you, you may find yourself spiritually weakened and then later on wonder why. If you are at church on Sundays, Wednesdays and cell groups and your teacher tells you, you ought to read you Bible everyday, along with other exhortations from God’s word for growth, they are promoting your spiritual growth and bringing you to a place where God can use you, which is also bringing you into the reason for even being alive here.
The more you join into the fellowship of the body and learn to know God more and love His people more, the more you’ll have been glad when your time is over here that you did, you’ll leave here with no regrets. The body of Christ’s ministry to you is to lead you to a place of a fulfilled life with no regrets.
When our understanding is completely clear to us, we will want to have known Him more and have made Him known more, we’ll realize that is why we were here.
I was thinking about the love of people, mostly conditional, yet in Christ we are relearning how to love one another without condition. Rebellion says, do not tell me the stove is hot. Wow, then go ahead and get burned and marred and possibly die before the time that you were able to find out why you were here on earth and come into your God purposes. This is how absurd it is to not listen to Godly wisdom. The world is trying to say, if we are being told what to do and how to act we’re not being loved. Wow, what a deception.
When you call out to your child telling them to stay away from the street, are you judging them and loving them conditionally? Isn’t that ridiculous? It’s as ridiculous as us saying people in the churches are judging us when they help us identify sin and save our souls from hurt, pain and eternal judgment.
I was also thinking of how there are people who love to be around people, but say they hate the people in the church. If we hate the people in the churches, we hate God, because this is His body, no matter how imperfected it presently is. They are His children and that is a key word there- children. Children are growing up and do misbehave at times and are doing things unlike their father until they grow up. It is so time to take responsibility for ourselves and begin to show growth, that growth may be nurtured in others also. The church people are being perfected in Christ, by the grace of God and need forgiveness as much as any non church person does.
The difference is they are on an eternal journey. The difference for those who have truly decided with an open eye is, sin will no longer be allowed to be their Master, and if really growing up in Christ they are serving God intently. When we serve God intently, we do not participate in the service of sin, we forsake it on purpose. Some in our churches, are coming and as they hear we pray someday they will get that one, about true love reciprocated. Changing Masters, on purpose.
Not all who come to our churches know this yet, not all know Him yet, not all are saved yet, not all are obedient to Him or His will yet, but I praise God they/we are coming together, maybe our love for Him will show them how much this love can draw them away from Sin’s grip of bondage and the lies it’s had in keeping them slaves!
No we’re not perfect, we’re being perfected In Him, if found in Him, being perfected, if staying in Him, being seen by Him as He is.
Happy Easter!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
TRC DB Psalm 122 w/ Lena's Journalin'
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Psalms 122:1-9
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."
2 And now we are standing here inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a well-built city, knit together as a single unit.
4 All the people of Israel—the LORD's people— make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD as the law requires.
5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, "Peace be with you."
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Wow, I just realized I didn’t send this, this morning!
Happy Resurrection Eve.
Were you ever glad to have gone to God’s house?
Is God’s House and your house the same house?
Is your house God’s house also? The one you live at, or the one you just visit?
Are you God’s earthly temple, His house of prayer?
Does going to or being at or being God’s house make you glad?
It makes God glad for sure, for sure.
Jerusalem means place of peace.
Are you at peace?
With yourself?
With others, and with God?
All the way or some of the way or any of the way?
Jerusalem, is the place of peace.
We’re standing there, inside of the place of the gates of peace.
The people who are at peace assemble together, they get together and stay together, they work and live together under the same purposes that they are serving and their so tightly joined, that they appear to be as one man.
The One man, Jesus, who’s body they are.
That place, unity, is a good place to go.
Why would I become a part of this, peacemaking venture? Why would I care to associate with this?
Why would I promote her purposes and pray that they come to pass, nurturing her and bring her into a place protected?
It is what pleases God.
We, together, unified, please God.
Come, let US go to the house of the Lord, for it is the Lord’s Day Today!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Psalms 122:1-9
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."
2 And now we are standing here inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a well-built city, knit together as a single unit.
4 All the people of Israel—the LORD's people— make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD as the law requires.
5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, "Peace be with you."
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
~Lena’s Journalin’ ~
Wow, I just realized I didn’t send this, this morning!
Happy Resurrection Eve.
Were you ever glad to have gone to God’s house?
Is God’s House and your house the same house?
Is your house God’s house also? The one you live at, or the one you just visit?
Are you God’s earthly temple, His house of prayer?
Does going to or being at or being God’s house make you glad?
It makes God glad for sure, for sure.
Jerusalem means place of peace.
Are you at peace?
With yourself?
With others, and with God?
All the way or some of the way or any of the way?
Jerusalem, is the place of peace.
We’re standing there, inside of the place of the gates of peace.
The people who are at peace assemble together, they get together and stay together, they work and live together under the same purposes that they are serving and their so tightly joined, that they appear to be as one man.
The One man, Jesus, who’s body they are.
That place, unity, is a good place to go.
Why would I become a part of this, peacemaking venture? Why would I care to associate with this?
Why would I promote her purposes and pray that they come to pass, nurturing her and bring her into a place protected?
It is what pleases God.
We, together, unified, please God.
Come, let US go to the house of the Lord, for it is the Lord’s Day Today!
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Today's TRC DB Revelation 2 w/ Lena's Journalin'
Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Revelation 2:1-29 -
To Ephesus
1Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights' circle, speaks:
2"I see what you've done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can't stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. 3I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.
4"But you walked away from your first love--why? What's going on with you, anyway? 5Do you have any idea how far you've fallen? A Lucifer fall!"Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I'm well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.
6"You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too.
7"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'm about to call each conqueror to dinner. I'm spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God's orchard."
To Smyrna
8Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:
9"I can see your pain and poverty--constant pain, dire poverty--but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan's crowd.
10"Fear nothing in the things you're about to suffer--but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing--ten days. It won't last forever."Don't quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.
11"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death."
To Pergamum
12Write this to Pergamum, to the Angel of the church. The One with the sharp-biting sword draws from the sheath of his mouth--out come the sword words:
13"I see where you live, right under the shadow of Satan's throne. But you continue boldly in my Name; you never once denied my Name, even when the pressure was worst, when they martyred Antipas, my witness who stayed faithful to me on Satan's turf.
14"But why do you indulge that Balaam crowd? Don't you remember that Balaam was an enemy agent, seducing Balak and sabotaging Israel's holy pilgrimage by throwing unholy parties? 15And why do you put up with the Nicolaitans, who do the same thing?
16"Enough! Don't give in to them; I'll be with you soon. I'm fed up and about to cut them to pieces with my sword-sharp words.
17"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'll give the sacred manna to every conqueror; I'll also give a clear, smooth stone inscribed with your new name, your secret new name."
To Thyatira
18Write this to Thyatira, to the Angel of the church. God's Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this:
19"I see everything you're doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.
20"But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? 21I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. 22I'm about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. 23The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I'll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don't impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what's coming to you.
24"The rest of you Thyatirans, who have nothing to do with this outrage, who scorn this playing around with the Devil that gets paraded as profundity, be assured I'll not make life any harder for you than it already is. 25Hold on to the truth you have until I get there.
26"Here's the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You'll rule the nations, 27your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you--28and with it, the Morning Star!
29"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
The Lord knows all we do and have grown up to become a part of in the service of the kingdom of God, all of our newly adopted justified thoughts of right living and how we pursue holiness etc. In the momentum and magnitude of that growth of Godly knowledge, He is saying, “Wait just a minute, stop and remember where you came from. You were once a participator of evil works yourself, you were once in an unredeemed state of sinful behavior and were sin’s slave to unrighteousness. Do you remember when you first realized this and saw that I sent my Son, Jesus, to save you out of the miry clay pit? Remember how you felt about Me then? Oh so grateful, oh so overwhelmed by My extended unconditional love for you personally? Now that you’ve grown up in a few areas and know so much, try to remember this first love we started this journey of faith and holiness on, why you are even on the pathway. It is and was because of My great love for you and for the world, and this is why you responded to that Divinly inspiried love. I breathed into you new life. I breathed into you new when all there was hope of was the old life’s reward, which was death. One who has been rescued by the life of My spirit is forever grateful, not caught up in so much busyness, the realization of the life given takes precedence.”
“Do I still take precedence in the midst of all you now know about Me? Do you still love Me as the greatest thing that has ever happened to you? Now that you know so much, do you seek Me as much? What about the times we get to have together, are we growing apart while you are busy with My stuff, or do we get away alone at all?”
“I still love you, I love you as much as I did love you, that’s one thing you can count on, the same love I had for you when I rescued you is the same love I have for you now.”
“What about you, is it the same for you, or has it maybe grown and been enhanced by matured relationship? Conquerors go home with the prize, I am the prize. Please, in the end go home with Me! The only way that will happen for you as humans who have a certain lifespan and live effected by your outward world, is to strengthen your love, your deep relational mature love for Me, spending time with Me, you’ll be able to really get to know who I am. The world has tried to taint our deep relationship from growing up to where you can see Me as I truly am. Unless you come closer, become more intimate, you’ll not ever see that. You won’t get more than a glimpse of My heart. If you can’t see the inside of My heart, you’ll not be able to overcome in this world, you just won’t. The enemy even knows that and so he plots to busy, busy you further and further away from the revealing of my heart for you and for the ones who are all round you and who I want to rescue.”
The words to the Smyrna church are very real to us in our very near future now. If one is listening they cannot and will not ignore the warnings put out by a very loving God. When the Lord asks us to pray more, read our Bibles more or go to church to learn more, He is not trying to control us as we’ve known men to control people, though we’d be quite wise if we’d allow Him to control us in anyway he’d like.
One thing I’ve learned about rebellion, is it is not in any way shape or form an attribute of the godly. If I see rebellion rise in me, it is a flashing red light that there is something at work in me that is against God. It may be at work on the inside, an intruder. If you knew an intruder was in your house ready to steal and take away what was dear to you, would you nor intervene? Intervening against rebellion is imperative to kingdom living. A way I “rebel” against rebellion, is I recognize it as so. Like if someone tries to tell me what to do and I don’t like it. I get away from the person at some point and go before God. Now I see what’s up, rebellion is rising in me, that must mean it is trying to work in me. So in spiritual combat armor I arise, I allow God to arise and cause the enemy of rebellion to flee, by purposely doing what I was asked to do that I “felt” was controlling me beyond my comfort zone.
The enemy does not know what to do with that one, he’s astounded, because I’ve not acted that way before, I’ve given in, served rebellion as my god and went with it’s flow rather than the flow of the spirit. He becomes confused by me that I did not rise up with a flesh and blood argument to tell the controlling “persons” they can take their rules and ……he’s amazed that I don’t argue and stand up for my God-given rights. He can’t understand how I finally got saved!
Our Father God is building us up for our future, without learning to truly hear His voice we’ll not be able to do anything with or for Him in the near future. If we don’t have His words in us, we may not be able to get them and read them on paper and so we’ll have missed out.
If we do not realize how much He truly loves us, if we don’t deal with the rebellious seeds within, allowing God’s spirit to search into our deepest parts we may blame Him for the evil that will come to test our faith, but we’ll be all wrong! It will be our bad. He who is listening, please rise up and make your mind your servant, your body your slave and do what God has been so graciously warning us to do. Don’t wait another minute, please, I beg you.
“Come away with Me My love, come away”, says the Lord.
“Rid your lives of idols that stand in-between you and I getting to know one another deeply.”
“Study My word as one who knows a test is coming.”
“Lay down worldly entanglements, things that call for your time, My time with you. Things that call for your affection to be turned elsewhere. Crucify your flesh’s cry for more stuff, more clout, more prestige. It will not get you anywhere with Me, only further and further away. A place I cannot bear for you to be in.”
“Even the things you do for Me that you thought were “good things”, but are just fillers-in to keep you busy and distracted from My throne call, lay them down Martha and become Mary. It is past time.”
Recognize, take Responsibility, Repent, Remove, Resist/ Renounce, Replace/Restore your fellowship and love with God.
Notice the Lord gives the conquerors more of Himself, more of His word, as manna from heaven. Heavenly words on earth. We cannot find and keep our faith in God outside of His words. He is found inside of His words.
The biggest warning is about His word
Amos 8:11"The time is surely coming," says the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12People will stagger everywhere from sea to sea, searching for the word of the LORD, running here and going there, but they will not find it. 13Beautiful girls and fine young men will grow faint and weary, thirsting for the LORD's word. 14And those who worship and swear by the idols of Samaria, Dan, and Beersheba will fall down, never to rise again."
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.
Revelation 2:1-29 -
To Ephesus
1Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights' circle, speaks:
2"I see what you've done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can't stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. 3I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.
4"But you walked away from your first love--why? What's going on with you, anyway? 5Do you have any idea how far you've fallen? A Lucifer fall!"Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I'm well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.
6"You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too.
7"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'm about to call each conqueror to dinner. I'm spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God's orchard."
To Smyrna
8Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks:
9"I can see your pain and poverty--constant pain, dire poverty--but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan's crowd.
10"Fear nothing in the things you're about to suffer--but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing--ten days. It won't last forever."Don't quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.
11"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death."
To Pergamum
12Write this to Pergamum, to the Angel of the church. The One with the sharp-biting sword draws from the sheath of his mouth--out come the sword words:
13"I see where you live, right under the shadow of Satan's throne. But you continue boldly in my Name; you never once denied my Name, even when the pressure was worst, when they martyred Antipas, my witness who stayed faithful to me on Satan's turf.
14"But why do you indulge that Balaam crowd? Don't you remember that Balaam was an enemy agent, seducing Balak and sabotaging Israel's holy pilgrimage by throwing unholy parties? 15And why do you put up with the Nicolaitans, who do the same thing?
16"Enough! Don't give in to them; I'll be with you soon. I'm fed up and about to cut them to pieces with my sword-sharp words.
17"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'll give the sacred manna to every conqueror; I'll also give a clear, smooth stone inscribed with your new name, your secret new name."
To Thyatira
18Write this to Thyatira, to the Angel of the church. God's Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this:
19"I see everything you're doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.
20"But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? 21I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. 22I'm about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. 23The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I'll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don't impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what's coming to you.
24"The rest of you Thyatirans, who have nothing to do with this outrage, who scorn this playing around with the Devil that gets paraded as profundity, be assured I'll not make life any harder for you than it already is. 25Hold on to the truth you have until I get there.
26"Here's the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You'll rule the nations, 27your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you--28and with it, the Morning Star!
29"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."
Copyright Statement: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageThis edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~
The Lord knows all we do and have grown up to become a part of in the service of the kingdom of God, all of our newly adopted justified thoughts of right living and how we pursue holiness etc. In the momentum and magnitude of that growth of Godly knowledge, He is saying, “Wait just a minute, stop and remember where you came from. You were once a participator of evil works yourself, you were once in an unredeemed state of sinful behavior and were sin’s slave to unrighteousness. Do you remember when you first realized this and saw that I sent my Son, Jesus, to save you out of the miry clay pit? Remember how you felt about Me then? Oh so grateful, oh so overwhelmed by My extended unconditional love for you personally? Now that you’ve grown up in a few areas and know so much, try to remember this first love we started this journey of faith and holiness on, why you are even on the pathway. It is and was because of My great love for you and for the world, and this is why you responded to that Divinly inspiried love. I breathed into you new life. I breathed into you new when all there was hope of was the old life’s reward, which was death. One who has been rescued by the life of My spirit is forever grateful, not caught up in so much busyness, the realization of the life given takes precedence.”
“Do I still take precedence in the midst of all you now know about Me? Do you still love Me as the greatest thing that has ever happened to you? Now that you know so much, do you seek Me as much? What about the times we get to have together, are we growing apart while you are busy with My stuff, or do we get away alone at all?”
“I still love you, I love you as much as I did love you, that’s one thing you can count on, the same love I had for you when I rescued you is the same love I have for you now.”
“What about you, is it the same for you, or has it maybe grown and been enhanced by matured relationship? Conquerors go home with the prize, I am the prize. Please, in the end go home with Me! The only way that will happen for you as humans who have a certain lifespan and live effected by your outward world, is to strengthen your love, your deep relational mature love for Me, spending time with Me, you’ll be able to really get to know who I am. The world has tried to taint our deep relationship from growing up to where you can see Me as I truly am. Unless you come closer, become more intimate, you’ll not ever see that. You won’t get more than a glimpse of My heart. If you can’t see the inside of My heart, you’ll not be able to overcome in this world, you just won’t. The enemy even knows that and so he plots to busy, busy you further and further away from the revealing of my heart for you and for the ones who are all round you and who I want to rescue.”
The words to the Smyrna church are very real to us in our very near future now. If one is listening they cannot and will not ignore the warnings put out by a very loving God. When the Lord asks us to pray more, read our Bibles more or go to church to learn more, He is not trying to control us as we’ve known men to control people, though we’d be quite wise if we’d allow Him to control us in anyway he’d like.
One thing I’ve learned about rebellion, is it is not in any way shape or form an attribute of the godly. If I see rebellion rise in me, it is a flashing red light that there is something at work in me that is against God. It may be at work on the inside, an intruder. If you knew an intruder was in your house ready to steal and take away what was dear to you, would you nor intervene? Intervening against rebellion is imperative to kingdom living. A way I “rebel” against rebellion, is I recognize it as so. Like if someone tries to tell me what to do and I don’t like it. I get away from the person at some point and go before God. Now I see what’s up, rebellion is rising in me, that must mean it is trying to work in me. So in spiritual combat armor I arise, I allow God to arise and cause the enemy of rebellion to flee, by purposely doing what I was asked to do that I “felt” was controlling me beyond my comfort zone.
The enemy does not know what to do with that one, he’s astounded, because I’ve not acted that way before, I’ve given in, served rebellion as my god and went with it’s flow rather than the flow of the spirit. He becomes confused by me that I did not rise up with a flesh and blood argument to tell the controlling “persons” they can take their rules and ……he’s amazed that I don’t argue and stand up for my God-given rights. He can’t understand how I finally got saved!
Our Father God is building us up for our future, without learning to truly hear His voice we’ll not be able to do anything with or for Him in the near future. If we don’t have His words in us, we may not be able to get them and read them on paper and so we’ll have missed out.
If we do not realize how much He truly loves us, if we don’t deal with the rebellious seeds within, allowing God’s spirit to search into our deepest parts we may blame Him for the evil that will come to test our faith, but we’ll be all wrong! It will be our bad. He who is listening, please rise up and make your mind your servant, your body your slave and do what God has been so graciously warning us to do. Don’t wait another minute, please, I beg you.
“Come away with Me My love, come away”, says the Lord.
“Rid your lives of idols that stand in-between you and I getting to know one another deeply.”
“Study My word as one who knows a test is coming.”
“Lay down worldly entanglements, things that call for your time, My time with you. Things that call for your affection to be turned elsewhere. Crucify your flesh’s cry for more stuff, more clout, more prestige. It will not get you anywhere with Me, only further and further away. A place I cannot bear for you to be in.”
“Even the things you do for Me that you thought were “good things”, but are just fillers-in to keep you busy and distracted from My throne call, lay them down Martha and become Mary. It is past time.”
Recognize, take Responsibility, Repent, Remove, Resist/ Renounce, Replace/Restore your fellowship and love with God.
Notice the Lord gives the conquerors more of Himself, more of His word, as manna from heaven. Heavenly words on earth. We cannot find and keep our faith in God outside of His words. He is found inside of His words.
The biggest warning is about His word
Amos 8:11"The time is surely coming," says the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12People will stagger everywhere from sea to sea, searching for the word of the LORD, running here and going there, but they will not find it. 13Beautiful girls and fine young men will grow faint and weary, thirsting for the LORD's word. 14And those who worship and swear by the idols of Samaria, Dan, and Beersheba will fall down, never to rise again."
Daily Repetitive Verses:
John 3:17
You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.
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