If everyone knew what the dead know, the whole world would be worshipping Jesus. Author Unknown
Category: Soul Purification
The World and Us
I found this note while reading Luke 16: 13-15 the other day. As born again believers, the Lord Jesus Christ is to be “Lord” of our lives. The world system, which is controlled by Satan, is continually trying to impose its value system on us. In James 4:4 the Bible tells us that friendship with the world is hostility toward God. He compares it to a wife or husband having an affair thereby being an adulteress. James goes on to say that he who wishes to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God.
Sometimes we are so entangled in the affairs of the world that we do not recognize it for what it is. The kingdom of the enemy of God. May the Holy Spirit show us today if we are in an adulterous affair with some aspect of the world.
In closing, I share Luke 6:46 with you. The scripture that God used to rip the deception off our minds and show us we were lost and bound for hell. The Lord Jesus said “Why do you call me Lord Lord and do not do what I say?
Pay Close Attention To Yourself
Carl
Apostle Peter’s Advice On How To Have A Good Life
“For he who desires to be loving life and to see good days, let him stop the natural tendency of his tongue towards evil, and the natural tendency of his lips to the end that they speak no craftiness, but let him rather at once and once for all turn away from evil and let him do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, because the Lord’s eyes are directed in a favorable attitude towards the righteous, and His ears are inclined into their petitions, but the Lord’s face is against those who practice evil things.” (I Peter 3: 10-12 quoting Psalm 34: 12-13) (Wuest Fuller Translation)
A Prayer: Father God I present myself to You as one alive from the dead and the members of my body as instruments of righteousness. Forgive me where I have sinned with my mouth. Thank you for your Spirit which gives me the desire and power to obey your Word. By your power I purpose to glorify the Lord Jesus today and everyday with my words and actions. Thank you my old sinful nature will not be master over me because of what You and the Lord Jesus have accomplished and my faith in what you have done. In Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen
A Secret of Christian Happiness
“Truly, Truly, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.”
Lord Jesus – John 13: 16-17 -emphasis added
This is applicable to the commands of Christ in general. Note, though it is a great advantage to know our duty, yet we shall come short of HAPPINESS if we do not do our duty.
Knowing is in order to doing; that knowledge therefore is vain and fruitless which is not reduced to practice; nay, it will aggravate the sin and ruin, Luke 12: 47-48; James 4:17.
It is knowing and doing that will demonstrate us of Christ kingdom, and wise builders. See Psalms 103:17-18.
It is to be applied especially to this command of humility and serviceableness. Nothing is better known, nor more readily acknowledged, than this, that we should be humble; and therefore, though many will own themselves to be passionate and intemperate, few will own themselves to be proud, for it is as inexcusable a sin, and as hateful, as any other; and yet how little is to be seen of true humility, and that mutual subjection and condescension upon which the law of Christ so much insist!
Most know these things so well as to expect that other should do accordingly to them, yield to them, and serve them, but not so well as to do so themselves.
Author: Matthew Henry
May your blessedness or happiness abound more and more as you daily do your Christian duty of serving/obeying our Great God and our Master Jesus in the power of His Holy Spirit, keeping yourself clean from the defilement of your daily walk by the cleansing power of the precious blood of Jesus. See I John 1: 4-10.
Happiness to you!
Carl
Who Is Jesus?
Jesus died. He rose from the dead. And the world changed forever.
But what’s the significance of these events? Why did Jesus die, and what does His resurrection mean? How has the world changed?
When we think about someone’s death, we can’t really appreciate its significance unless we know who we’re talking about. The significance of Abraham Lincoln’s death can only be fully felt when we understand who Lincoln was—and the same goes for other historical figures. Their lives changed the world, and their death did too.
From a purely historical point of view, there’s no one in human history whose life changed the world more than Jesus. More biographies have been written about Him than any other person (Lincoln is second). Indeed, the original four biographies of Jesus, collected together in the New Testament gospels, are a large part of why the
Bible is the number-one-selling book every year. In fact, The New York Times Best Seller ignores the Bible; otherwise, it would top the list every week.
No one’s teaching has had a deeper impact on culture, politics, morality, justice, philosophy, and human character than Jesus Christ’s. Two thousand years later, He’s regularly quoted (consciously and unconsciously) even in our increasingly secular world. His moral teaching likewise forms the bedrock for billions around the world –such as the Golden Rule and the importance of compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. Indeed, Jesus continues to set a standard that our modern world fails to live up to. How well do we love our enemies? Do we pray for those who persecute us?
And all of that is only taking into account the Jesus of history. What about when we consider who He was according to His own claims? According to Jesus and His first followers, He wasn’t an ordinary man. He was God’s appointed king who came in fulfillment of promises made centuries before. He came to reveal God to us through His own embodiment of the divine nature. He was, and is, God the Son, who by His own claim existed from the very beginning. He’s the One through whom His Father created the entire cosmos – including the humanity of which Jesus Himself chose to partake. If these claims are believed, there can be no question that Jesus was the most significant man who ever walked the earth.
When we realize that the One through whom humanity was crafted died as a man, we begin to see the depths of this event. In fact, once we understand who Jesus is, we shouldn’t at all be surprised that He would rise again from the dead. The truly remarkable thing is that He died at all! How could the Author of life be put to death? How could the Creator be killed by His own creation?
The answer is love. As the Apostle John says, “God is love.” (I John 4:8) and the gift of His eternal Son is the ultimate demonstration of His love. Jesus chose to take up human life and to lay down His life so that we broken, rebellious, proud human beings might be brought into loving relationship with our heavenly Father –our Maker and our Judge. If Christmas celebrates God’s gift of Jesus into our world, Easter celebrates what that Gift came to do. He came to die that we might live. His death spells our life because of who He is. He’s God Himself come to us as one of us so that He might bring us home with Him.
If Christ’s death can only be appreciated by understanding who He is, so too His resurrection from the dead. Lazarus was raised from the dead (by Jesus), but his resurrection did not change the fate of humanity. So why did Christ’s change humanity? For starters, Lazarus had to die again one day. His resurrection didn’t permanently overcome death. It didn’t destroy death. But when Jesus was resurrected, He overpowered death. He conquered the last great enemy of humanity—death itself. That is why Jesus will never die again, unlike Lazarus. He rose victorious over death, and death no longer has any claim on Him. Death could literally not hold Him down.
While death still has its way with us, Jesus promised through Him death would not have the last word. No one who hopes in Jesus will stay dead. He promised that one day He’ll call each of us by name. He’ll call us out of our graves, and we’ll literally live again. Our bodies will be resurrected like His. Death will have no further claim on us. Death will die.
That is why that first Easter was the most important weekend in human history. God remade humanity in three days through the death and resurrection of one man. The ultimate man died the ultimate death so that our ultimate fate would be eternal life with Him.
This Easter let’s pursue Jesus, the One who first came in pursuit of us.
Source: Con Campbell, vice-president of global content, Our Daily Bread
Dear Reader, this article was written for Easter but I encourage you to pursue Jesus today. If you do not know Him as Lord and Savior, ask Him today to save you from your sins, to forgive you, and become your Lord and Savior. He will not fail you or reject you. Enter His rest and cease from your works to be good enough or religious enough to earn His favor. We all are sinners in need of His mercy. He will not reject you. Turn to the Living Son of God today and be saved for eternity.
All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. Quote from Jesus — John 6:37
Carl
Have A Desire For God?
Desire is not merely a simple wish; it is a deep seated craving; an intense longing, for attainment. In the realm of spiritual affairs, it is an important adjunct to prayer. So important is it, that one might say, almost, that desire is an absolute essential of prayer.
A sense of need creates or should create, earnest desire. The stronger the sense of need, the greater should be the desire, the more earnest the praying. The “poor in spirit” are eminently competent to pray.
Hunger is an active sense of physical need. It prompts the request for bread. In like manner, the inward consciousness of spiritual need created desire, and desire breaks forth in prayer. Desire is an inward longing for something of which we are not possessed, of which we stand in need –something which God has promised, and which may be secured by an earnest supplication of His throne of grace.
Desire is the will in action; a strong, conscious longing, excited in the inner nature, for some great good. Desire exalts the object of its longing, and fixes the mind on it. It has choice, and fixedness, and flame in it, and prayer, based thereon, is explicit and specific. It knows its need, feels and sees the thing that will meet it, and hastens to acquire it.
Spiritual desire, carried to a higher degree, is the evidence of the new birth. It is born in the renewed soul:
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
The absence of this holy desire in the heart is presumptive proof, either of a decline in spiritual ecstasy, or, that the new birth has never taken place.”
“Bless are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
These heaven-given appetites are the proof of a renewed heart, the evidence of a stirring spiritual life…spiritual desires belong to a soul made alive to God. And as the renewed soul hungers and thirsts after righteousness, these holy inward desires break out into earnest, supplicating prayer.
One might well ask, whether the feebleness of our desires for God, the Holy Spirit, and for all the fulness of Christ, is not the cause of our so little praying, and languishing in the exercise of prayer? Do we really feel these inward pantings of desire after heavenly treasure? Do the inbred groanings of desire stir our souls to mighty wrestlings? Alas for us! The fire burns altogether too low. The flaming heat of soul has been tempered down to a tepid lukewarmness. This, it should be remembered, was the central cause of the sad and desperate condition of the Laodicean Christians, of whom the awful condemnation is written that they were “rich, and increased in goods and had need of nothing,” and knew not that they “were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind.”
Again: we might inquire–have we that desire which presses us to close communion with God, which is filled with unutterable burnings, and hold us there through the agony of an intense ands soul-stirred supplication? Our hearts need much to be worked over, not only to get the evil out of them, but to get the good into them. And the foundation and inspiration to the incoming good , is strong, propelling desire. This holy and fervid [i.e. very hot] flame in the soul awakens the interest of heaven, attracts the attention of God, and places at the disposal of those who exercise it, the exhaustless riches of Divine grace.
The dampening of the flame of holy desire, is destructive of the vital and aggressive forces in church life. God requires to be represented by a fiery Church, or He is not in any proper sense, represented at all. God, Himself, is all on fire, and His Church, if it is to be like Him, must also be at white heat. The great and eternal interests of heaven-born, God-given religion are the only things about which His Church can afford to be on fire. Yet, holy zeal need not to be fussy in order to be consuming. Our Lord was the incarnate antithesis of nervous excitability, the absolute opposite of intolerant or clamorous declamation, yet the zeal of God’s house consumed Him; and the world is still feeling the glow of His fierce, consuming flame and responding to it, with an ever-increasing readiness and an ever-enlarging response. ” Source: The Necessity of Prayer – Edward M. Bounds, p. 44-48
Father, we praise your name. Please increase our desire for You. Set our souls aflame for You and Christ. Forgive us for our coldness and lukewarmness. Forgive us where we have let the “worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things” choke out your word in our lives and make us unfruitful. Cause us to be consumed with your zeal so that we may be pleasing to you and effective in witnessing to this lost and adulterous generation. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
Running in the Right Direction
“A dear friend of mine who was quite a lover of the chase, told me the following story: ‘Rising early one morning,’ he said, ‘I heard the baying of a score of deerhounds in pursuit of their quarry. Looking away to a broad, open field in front of me, I saw a young fawn making its way across, and giving signs, more-over, that its race was well-nigh run. Reaching the rails of the enclosure, it leaped over and crouched within ten feet from where I stood. A moment later two of the hounds came over, when the fawn ran in my direction and pushed its head between my legs. I lifted the little thing to my breast, and swinging round and round, fought off the dogs. I felt, just them, that all the dogs in the West could not, and should not capture that fawn after its weakness had appealed to my strength”. So is it, when human helplessness appeals to Almighty God. Well do I remember when the hounds of sin were after my soul, until, at last, I ran into the arms of Almighty God.” — A.C. Dixon – The Necessity of Prayer by Edward M. Bounds (1976)
Yes, lost soul or hurting Christian, run in the right direction…into the arms of Almighty God. Oh, how we are tempted to run to some temporary crutch that sin tells us will solve our problem, make us happy, but it is deceit. We were all created to worship and serve God Almighty and we will never be truly happy or fulfilled until we are properly related to Him. Jesus Christ died on the Cross and was raised from the dead so that we could be reconciled to this holy, loving God.
“He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” Romans 4:25,5:10-11
Yes, run to Him today.
Thy Hand
"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord", and Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin." King David in Psalm 32:3-5
God Almighty is the perfect Father to His children, the born again ones. In love He disciplines us for our good so we can share in His holiness (Hebrew 12: 5-12). He also desires to spend time with us, to fellowship with us. The Creator and Sustainer of all things wishes to spend time with us, His redeemed, yet still flawed creatures.
In this Psalm David describes how miserable he was when he did not confess his sins to the Lord. His body was wasting away through his groaning all day long. The literal translation says ” My life juices were turned into the drought of summer” (v4). All because “day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me” (v4).
Are you groaning? Is your vitality dried up? Are your life juices all dried up? Are you miserable? Is some unseen pressure bearing down on your soul day and night? Could Almighty God’s hand be heavy upon you like it was on King David?
If your a biblically born again believer, before you increase your daily vitamins/ supplements or tack on another 15 minutes of exercise in an attempt to relieve this miserable condition, answer this. When was the last time you confessed your sins to God?
Your choices are to stay proud, rebellious and miserable or humble yourself, confessing and forsaking your sins. I promise you, cleaning the slate will turn your groaning into joy. Do not let any sin come between you and your God. He wants to fellowship with you. We must fellowship with Him. He is our life.
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
What say ye?
Carl
Before I Was Afflicted
Suffering – it’s never pleasant, and we do our best to avoid all forms of it, but suffering is inescapable in this fallen world. The biblical view is that believers should expect sufferings, not simply because they live in this fallen world, but because God uses various forms of afflictions to discipline us, test our faith, and cause us to have an eternal perspective. As a result of false teaching, many have the view that all suffering is a sign of deficiency at our end of the equation. What should be seen as a privilege (suffering that God permits us to endure) is seen as a curse. Suffering that God permits his children to endure, is not harmful, but beneficial. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”(Psalm 119:67).
—Rick Becker, who with his brother minister in apologetics in South Africa
From Berean Call
Evidence of The New Nature
“Entrance into the Kingdom of God is by the new birth, Matthew 18:3; John 3:5, for nothing that a man may be by nature, or can attain to by any form of self-culture, avails in the spiritual realm. And as the new nature, received in the new birth, is made evident by obedience, it is further said that only such as do the will of God shall enter into His Kingdom, Matthew 7:21….
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old And New Testament Words – kingdom, p.344 (Emphasis added)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Lord Jesus Matthew 7:21
Let us pray for ourselves as Paul did for the Colossians: that we ” would be filled with the knowledge of His will in spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that” we ” may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” Colossians 1:9-10
Since someone not versed in true, biblical salvation may be reading this, let us share what Paul said about not being saved by good works:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
When we come to Christ as lost sinners, trusting only in His finished work on the cross, He causes us to be born again (John 3: 1-16). He gives us a new nature that is radically different from our human, sinful nature. Plus, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. We can now conduct ourselves in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4) and “do the will of the Father ” through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit Who works in us “to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). The good works come after we are born again and not before.
Obedience is now a natural characteristic of our lives and disobedience is unnatural. The Christian is not perfect (sinless) but God begins a process of removing sin from His life which will go on until he departs this earth.
Glory be to God for His great plan of salvation!
If you are not born again as the Bible teaches in John 3:1-16, please ask the Lord to save you from the guilt and penalty of your many sins and to make you a new person in Christ Jesus. You will never regret it.
Blessings of God on each of you! Thank you for your valuable time. Carl
Whitewashed… or Washed White…
There are a lot of people whitewashed with religion who are not washed white in the blood of Christ. This is indeed a true saying. Nicodemus was a most religious man, but he needed to be washed white. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee” said the Saviour, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) And when Nicodemus expressed his surprise at the Lord’s teaching, he was met by the solemn declaration, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:7) You may be respectable, moral, upright, kind, amiable, and religious, without being washed white in the precious blood of Christ. (I Peter 1:19; I John 1:7).
A professing Christian was awakened out of her slumber of death in a very remarkable way. A high Church dignitary advised her to burn some Gospel tracts given to her by a relative. As she watched the destruction of one of them, her eye caught the words of one of the pages, “I was going respectably and religiously to hell.” The Holy Spirit revealed to her the fact that though she was “whitewashed” she was not washed white; that, in fact, she was “going respectably and religiously to hell!”
The Lord Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7: 13, 14) Multitudes throng the broad way, some on the clean footpath, and others on the dirty footpath. Few find the strait gate; they mistake other gates for the strait one. Some mistake ‘religion’ and ‘churchanity’ for Christ and Christianity.
Which road is the reader traveling — the broad or the narrow? Which class do you belong to —-the whitewashed or the washed white? Are you regenerated? Have you been ‘converted’ to, and by, God? If not, hearken to Christ’s declaration: “Except you be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). If you have never experienced this great change, you are an unsaved, unsanctified, unforgiven soul. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be cleansed from every stain (Acts 16:31). — A.M.
A tract from Pilgrim Tract Society, Randleman, NC 27317. Contributions send tracts to many nations. Send postage for 100 samples of tracts)
For more information on the Narrow Way, please search this blog for the “Narrow Way”. It is our most read post. Thank You.
Above All Things
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” Proverb 4: 23
The writer of Proverbs warns us about the importance of what goes into our heart or inner person, the true ‘you’. “…with all diligence…” is also translated “above all things…”. Above all things we should watch over our heart for from it flow the springs of life!
He then goes on to tell us how to guard and examine our hearts. He uses such terms as “put away”, “put…far from you”, “watch”, “do not turn”, and then in another verse he tells us to “turn”. In other words, it is our responsibility to be pro-active in watching over our heart. A passive mind and will is the enemy of our heart and the welcome mat to our sinful nature and demonic intrigue.
First he warns us about our “mouth” and “lips”. “Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious lips far from you.” (verse 24) If we wish to know what is in our heart, all we need to do is listen to the words coming out of our mouth. The words of our mouth reveal the content of our heart. If we find evil (i.e. bitterness, deceitfulness, lying, boasting, etc.) pouring out of us, we need to find the root in our heart and remove it by repentance based on the word of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, he warns us about what we are paying attention to. Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.” (verse 25) Paul told Timothy to play close attention to himself and we need to do the same. Does good and noble things have our attention or are we fixated on worldly and sinful things? Do we like to tip toe into satan’s territory, exposing ourselves to his snare. If our attention is drawn to worldliness and sin, we need to determine where this is coming from in our heart and deal with it.
Thirdly, he warns us about where our thoughts and corresponding actions are taking us, are we walking in fellowship with Lord Jesus or are we on the path of the wicked? Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil. (verse 26-27) If we look honestly at the fruit of our lives, what path does it show we are own? Are we becoming more like Christ or more like the world? Or are we just wallowing around in complacently, worldliness and lukewarmness?
Paul, a brother who once found himself on the wrong path, tells us in 2 Corinthians 7 that we need to be perfecting holiness in the fear of God. The healthy, profound, adoring, awed respect (reverential fear) of the Lord teaches us to hate evil and to keep His commandments. Obedience is how we show our love for Him. (John 14: 21). By removing evil from our heart we become more “holy” or “set apart” unto the worship and service of God. I Corinthian 1: 2 tells us this is what God the Father through Jesus Christ has called us to. We are “saints by calling”.
So above all things watch over your heart, that hidden person who you truly are. That is the person the Holy Spirit sees and we need to see ourselves as He sees us. Thank your heavenly Father that His goal is to cause us to walk in agape love that flows from a pure heart, a clear conscience and sincere faith (I Timothy 1:5). If we obey His word in the power of the Holy Spirit this will be accomplished and our heart will be purified (I John 3:3 & 1 Peter 1:22). Thank you, Father God.
Carl
Food For Your Inner Man
“As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time unless he eats, so is with the inner man. What is the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God-not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe. No, we must consider what we read, ponder over it, and apply it to our hearts.” ― George Muller (The Autobiography of George Muller). From Berean Call
Little Children and The Kingdom of God
But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Lord Jesus to the parents of the little children- Luke 18: 16-17 (emphasis added)
This morning the pastor shared this Scripture in his sermon and it reminded me of the following statement by the commentariat Matthew Henry:
“The Holy Spirit is given to us to make us like little children.”
What a great truth to live by. May we become like little children in our relationship with our Heavenly Father; trusting, believing, receiving from and loving Him, as little children in relationship with their earthly fathers.
Carl
The Way of A Fruitful Life
“Let any one who has a garden ask the gardener what makes the plants grow so luxuriantly, what makes them produce such sweet and pretty flowers. He will answer, ” The warm summer sun and the damp dew of evening, the cold north wind and the drenching rain, — these all help forward the growth of your plants. Were it not for each, the flowers would not be so bright and blooming.”
Just so it is with the children of God, who are called “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.” Sometimes they are in trouble; affliction of some kind comes upon them, which tries them, and makes them to grow in faith and patience. Then, again, the Lord raises them up, causing his face to shine upon them, just as the sun warms and revives the earth when the winter is past.
Oh, yes, the Lord’s people require both the north and the south wind to blow upon them, that they may bring forth much fruit to the glory and praise of God.
“Awake, O north wind; and come thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” (Caut. iv, 16)”
From Martin Luther edited by Miss Whately (1897)
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12: 11)
May the blessings of God be upon your life as you experience all the trials and tribulation that living in this world brings. May your “garden” bring forth much fruit.
Carl
Wisdom Calls – The Conclusion of All Things
King Solomon, aka “The Preacher”, gives you and I hard-earned advice on what is important in living out our life. Being very, very rich and not always obedient to the Lord, Solomon investigated all of life’s pleasures and came to the following conclusion.
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14
Now let’s look at the Amplified Bible’s translation of the same Scripture. The richness of the Hebrew amplification is stunning and far reaching when you apply it to the way you live your life. The authors of the Amplified Bible say that this is what a Hebrew person understands when he reads this Scripture.
All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil. [Matt. 12:36; Acts 17:30, 31; Rom. 2:16; I Cor. 4:5.]
Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14
Take a few moments and dwell on this Scripture. It is worthy of your pondering and meditation.
A short definition of the fear of the Lord is a healthy, overwhelming, profound, adoring, awed respect of the Lord. It is not a negative practice. As a matter of fact, Scripture tells us it is our treasure. We will discuss that later.
May we New Testament believers follow Apostle Paul’s instructions:
“THEREFORE, since these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God. ”
2 Cor. 7:1 Amplified Bible
Thank you for your time and interest. Comments welcome!
Be blessed and protected in Christ Jesus!
Carl
The Blessed — According To Psalm 1
While antiquing with my wife I found a small, black, worn book on a piece of furniture which turned out to be The Amplified Old Testament (Part Two- Job to Malachi – 1962) The translation’s purpose is “intended to reveal, together with the single English equivalent to each key Hebrew word, any other clarifying shades of meaning that many have been concealed by the traditional word-for-word method of translation.”
Martin Luther, who “spiritualized Germany and made the German language” with his translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, stated this about the Hebrew Scriptures:
“The words of the Hebrew tongue have a peculiar energy. It is impossible to convey so much so briefly in any other language. To render them intelligibly we must not attempt to give word for word, but only aim at the sense and the ‘original Authors] idea.” (Table Talk)
Evidently, the Hebrew language contains so much more in one word than our English language. Similar, I guess, to the Greek language in which the New Testament was written.
With this in mind, I wanted to share with you Psalm 1 out of the Amplified version so you can enjoy all of the shades of meanings. We recently shared a post on Christian meditation entitled …the righteous will flourish like a green leaf which was based on Psalm 1. Enjoy. Carl
“Blessed –happy, fortunate, prosperous and enviable–is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly (following their advice, their plans and purposes), nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful and the mockers gather.
But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law –the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God — he habitually meditates, ponders and studies by day and by night. [2 Tim. 3:16; Gal 3:1-29; Rom 13:8-10]
And he shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the streams of water, ready to bring forth his fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not fade or wither, and everything he does shall prosper and come to maturity. [Jer.17:7, 8.]
Not so the wicked — those disobedient and living without God are not so. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked, those disobedient and living without God, shall not stand justified in the judgement; nor sinners in the congregation of the (consistently) righteous — those who are upright and in right standing with God.
For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the (consistently) righteous; but the way of the ungodly — those living outside God’s will — shall perish, end in ruin and come to nought.
Is The New Spirituality Correct About The Existence of Sin?
New age gurus, spirit guides, higher selfs, Ascended Masters, Cosmic Christs, “Master Jesus”, and other spirit entities teach their adherents that there is no sin, the person controls their destiny, and, since the adherent is god himself (so they teach), there is no coming judgement for sin only evolving into a higher plane of being.
This is a great deception like has never been seen in the western world before. Tens of millions, both religious and non-religious, are believing these doctrines of demons. Pew Research Center’s survey (December 2017) found that 60% of self-identified American Christians held at least one New Age belief. The evil spirits who masquerade as these entities know the truth. They are leading these people to the same destruction that awaits them.
To counter the New Age lies about there being no “sin” and “future judgement”, please consider the following:
- There is a Day of Reckoning
- There are Books containing the record of our sins.
- You can pay for your own sins.
- There is a better way.
THERE IS A DAY OF RECKONING
The truth is that there is a judgement of the dead. The following biblical Scriptures give us a glimpse of this yet to come event:
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” Revelation 20:11-12
And
I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire.
A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:9-10
This is the Great White Throne Judgement at the end of time. Holy God is the Judge and “thousands upon thousands” holy angels are attending Him. The others are the physically dead who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior.
There are several books present. One is the book of Life which contains the names of the redeemed. These are the saved who have trusted in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. His death on the cross paid for their sins. This book will be opened to see if the person’s name is listed as “redeemed”.
THERE ARE OTHER BOOKS CONTAINING RECORDS OF OUR SINS
The scripture also says “and books were opened”. What are these books? Well, these books contain our sins, more specifically our ungodly deeds. Not only our ungodly deeds though but our ungodly words also. Listen to Jesus’ half-brother Jude and Jesus Himself:
“Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,
to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14-15
Concerning our “words” Jesus Himself said:
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36
So God has a record of not only a person’s ungodly deeds but his ungodly words also. Not only does “sin” exist, but there is a Holy God who is keeping track of each person’s “sin”. That is very sobering. Every ungodly thing you or I have ever done or said is written down in heaven.
Just think about standing alone before the Holy God of all creation and His Holy Host and being judged. All of our sinful deeds and words being revealed in such an pure and holy company and we’re having to answer for our actions!
THERE ARE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES IF YOU PAY FOR YOUR OWN SINS
This judgement will be a horrible for the person who has rejected Christ’s atoning sacrifice for their sins. There is no way of escape. The person is already physically dead and the “second death” now looms before him. Payday has come.
“For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23
Since the person has rejected God’s payment for their sins, now they have to pay. He rejected God’s Love Gift to the world that paid for the world’s sins.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3: 16-17“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:8-10
This very Judge the person is standing before is the very One who was in-Christ on the cross reconciling the world to Himself. In other words, the Judge has already paid for the person’s sins but they rejected this free gift of salvation.
“… that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” II Cor. 5:20
All hope will now flee away. Despair. Terror. No ONE will escape.
The consequence of choosing to pay for your own sins, is to experience the “second death”. At the end of the person’s judgement and his guilt has been proven before a Holy God and the host of heaven, an angel will come forth and cast the person into the lake of fire where they will spend eternity.
This is how people will pay for their sins if they reject Christ.
This lake of fire was created by God for the devil and his angels, not man. God never intended for man to go there. This is what the new age spirit guides, Ascended Masters, higher selfs, false prophets and other spirit entities do not want you to know.
BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son in to the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. John 3:16-17
Lord Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and God sent Him into the world for this purpose.
…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Therefore, repent (change your mind) of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today and be saved from the wrath of God that is coming. When I did this earlier in my life, God had an angel write in my sin account, PAID IN FULL BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.
Listen to what a murderer who repented and was saved, said about this:
And when you were dead in your transgressions…He made you alive together with Him, having FORGIVEN US ALL OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14
Do you want your “certificate of debt” to be cancelled? Or do you want to stand before a Holy God and pay the “certificate of debt” yourself with your eternal well-being?
Flee to the cross of Jesus Christ. The proof that God accepted His sacrifice for your and my sins is that He raised Jesus from the dead. He is now interceding for the believers in heaven.
Put your trust in what He did for you. Ask Him to save you and forgive you for all of your sins. And to come into your life and be your Lord.
The evil spirits that are deceiving millions in the New Spirituality or New Age movement know all of this. That is why they are working such deception and taking millions of souls captive through their lies. They know what awaits them, they can not repent and be saved.
But you can. Seize the opportunity before it is too late.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.
“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Romans 4:7-8
May your sins be covered by the precious blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Carl
YOGA: Is It Exercise or Religion – Does It Matter
(Pastor John Lindell of the 10,000 member James River Church in Ozark, Missouri recently preached a sermon on New Age practices including yoga. I applaud Pastor Lindell for having the conviction to address New Age or New Spirituality practices that are deceiving Christians and our fellow Americans. Following is a booklet entitled YOGA: Is It Exercise or Religion – Does It Matter by Ray Yungen from Lighthouse Trials. I pray the article answers questions some are having about this seemingly innocent practice. God Bless. Carl)
“It is a moment that troubles me even now. Once, when I was giving a presentation at a Christian college about New Age spirituality, I noticed a student roll her eyes when I mentioned the term, Yoga. It was a small gesture, yet it spoke volumes—as if to say, “Give me a break! It’s just exercises!” I surmised from her response that she was a Yoga practitioner or had at least been exposed to the subject and believed that participation in Yoga had no negative impact on one’s spiritual life. After all, the young lady was attending a Christian college, so she likely presumed she was discerning enough to know whether a practice was pagan or not. But she gave no biblical evaluation of Yoga, and rather wordlessly defended it. Unfortunately, this trend to accept Yoga and other New Age practices has only continued to accelerate within Christian colleges, ministries, and even churches.
Just Exercise?
Currently, an estimated 24 million people in the United States are regularly involved with some form of Yoga.1 In the town where I live, the high majority of health clubs, including the YMCA, YWCA, and the local community college, offer Yoga classes. According to a new survey by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease and Prevention, nearly ten percent of U.S. adults and three percent of children participated in yoga in 2012.”2 Most of these adults may be vaguely aware of the Hindu component of Yoga but see that as being irrelevant to taking Yoga classes. Many people doing the asanas, or postures, seem to feel that these exercises are devoid of any religious connotation.”
The Power of The Gospel: “Such Were Some of You”
The apostle, Paul, today will give us insight into how God’s power can deliver people from bondage. I pray this blesses you and yours.
[9] Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, [10] nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. [11] Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. …
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NASB (emphasis added)
In this scripture Paul is writing to the Corinth church in Greece. He is telling them people who practice certain sins will not “inherit the kingdom of God” or in today’s vernacular, “will not go to heaven when they die”.
This Corinth was the “new” Corinth created by Roman Emperor Julius Caesar as a retirement city for veterans of his Roman legions. The “old” Corinth was destroyed a hundred years before by Emperor Achaiacus, for rebellion and its citizens were sold into slavery. It was this “old”Corinth that contained the temple of the goddess Aphrodite, with its 1,000 – 10,000 (the number varies) temple prostitutes. In Paul’s day it was still a very immoral, wicked city. In the Hellenistic Greek world, the term “Corinthian” was associated with whore mongering and prostitution.
Into this immoral culture came Paul, preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world; the Light shining in the darkness. Through His preaching, the power of God was released and many pagans trusted in Christ for salvation. As a result of their faith in Christ, they were born again.
Being born again CHANGED them. CHANGED them from the sinful people he had listed in verse 9 and 10. He says of them in verse 11:
“Such were some of you….”
God working in their lives caused:
Adulterers to quit sleeping with other people’s spouses and to become faithful to their spouse.
Fornicators stopped sleeping around, instead learning to possess their own vessel (body) in sanctification and honor (I Thess. 4: 4 ) and glorifying God in their bodies (I Cor. 6: 20).
Idolaters stopped worshipping demon inspired false gods and started worshipping the one and only True God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Homosexuals stopped sleeping with men and recognized the God-given natural function of the female (Romans 1: 7), in a marriage context.
The effeminate men quit playing the part of the female in the homosexual relationship and became the men God created them to be.
Thieves stopped stealing from others and started giving to others.
Drunkards stopped abusing alcoholic drink, resulting in soberness.
The covetous changed from “acting unethically to obtain more,” to being satisfied with what they had. They probably became givers.
Swindlers stopped extorting people to obtain money and other things. These also probably became givers.
Revilers stopped speaking rudely of others, maligning people’s character.
Paul goes on to say that this CHANGE happened in the Corinthians because when they were born again God did three things to each one of them. He:
1. “…washed…” them – Titus 3:5 says the following
“He saved us ….. by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
2. “…sanctified…” them – God set them apart from sin to Himself resulting in a willingness to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. They separated themselves from sin and grew in personal holiness.
3. They “…were justified..” – based on their faith in Christ, God declares them righteous before Him. They received the Holy Spirit in themselves.
CHANGE came in these people’s lives (and ours) because they were “washed, sanctified and were justified”. It is the work of a loving, forgiving God who loved us enough to send His Son to the Cross for our sins so we could be saved from the guilty and penalty of our sins and be CHANGED.
In closing, the Shantung revival in northern China (1920 – 30s) was a work of the Holy Spirit. He used a Miss Marie Monsen, a Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran, to awaken the missionaries and the Chinese church.
She asked everyone she met if they had been born again. As you can imagine, many missionaries and church members were greatly offended. But God used this and her teaching on sin to remove the blinders from the church members. Many were just religious and had never been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore, they had not CHANGED.
Others realized that at some point in their Christian walk, they had stopped confessing their sins; thereby, stopping the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The CHANGING had stopped.
You see, being religious will not really CHANGE you. In Colossians 2:20-23 Paul is speaking about religious decrees (don’t eat this, don’t touch this, etc.) and he shows the futility of such man-made religion in verse 23:
“These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self -abasement and severe treatment of the body, BUT ARE OF NO VALUE AGAINST FLESHLY INDULGENCE.” (Emphasis added)
Trusting only in the work of Christ on the Cross can break the bondage in a person’s life. Jesus said you MUST be biblically born again to experience victory over fleshly indulgences. Paul, in our opening scripture is saying that the Corinth believers used to be controlled by fleshy indulgences but God CHANGED them. They, like many church members and pagans today, were practicing many forms of sexual sin and other wicked things but God set them free from their bondage.
Have you been CHANGED, my friend? Have you been biblically born again through faith, and faith alone, in the work of Christ! If you have not, today is a good day to ask Jesus to save you from your sins and to be washed, sanctified and justified by the Holy Spirit.
Don’t settle for “religion” or the “traditions of men”. The Lord Jesus is vastly different from “religion”. He is True Life and Freedom.
Carl
Psalm 119: 38 