The Holy Spirit is God; this is important to keep in mind because it means that, as God, the Holy Spirit is sovereign and free to act in whatever ways he chooses to act. We see his sovereign freedom in passages like John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Here, John uses a pun with the word “wind” which in Greek is the same word for “Spirit.” Likewise, with regard to Spiritual gifts, Paul says in 1 Cor. 12:11, “All these [gifts] are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” The Holy Spirit decides how he will act, where he will go, whom he will bring to life, and to whom he will give certain gifts. This is important to emphasize at the outset because I think this explains the variety of “conversion stories” in the book of Acts. Thus, it is relevant to the issue of the so-called “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Technically, the phrase “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is never used in the New Testament. Rather, John the Baptist predicts that one will come after him who will baptize “with” or “in” (I list “with” or “in” because the Greek preposition can mean either one, and I’m not sure which is the better way to understand it in these contexts) the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; as a side note, this is one of the rare truths about Jesus taught in all 4 Gospels!). To what does this refer? The book of Acts mentions this language specifically only twice. In Acts 1:5, as he ascends to heaven, Jesus tells his disciples that they will be baptized “with” or “in” the Holy Spirit “not many days from now.” It seems clear enough that he is referring to what will take place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The second reference to this event is in Acts 11:16, where Peter remembers this promise of Jesus (recorded in Acts 1:5) as he reflects on and reports about the salvation of (Gentiles) Cornelius and his family. He says in Acts 11:15, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning,” which I think is a reference back to Pentecost.

But, how are we to understand what happened at Pentecost? When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his imminent departure, he promised them that he would send the Holy Spirit to be in them (John 14:16-17). He seems to indicate here that this would be a new experience for them, that the Holy Spirit was not “in” them, but that he will be in them later. I think this is what happens in Acts 2; the Holy Spirit came to them, “and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). I think we can understand the language of “filling” here as a reference to the Holy Spirit taking up permanent residence within the disciples. The Spirit chooses to manifest his presence in them by empowering them to speak in tongues (which, by the way, is surely a different experience than is being discussed in 1 Cor. 12-14). Now, notice, after Peter’s speech, when 3000 people “received his word and were baptized,” the text doesn’t mention that these 3000 began speaking in tongues. That could be significant. The next time in Acts we read of people receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking of the Samaritans in Acts 8:14-17. Philip had preached the gospel to these Samaritans, and many believed and were baptized, but the Holy Spirit “had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16). So, apparently, the apostles expected there to be some evidence that these believing Samaritans had received the Holy Spirit, but there was nothing. Perhaps they expected speaking in tongues; it’s hard to say. Peter and John come over to Samaria, prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit, and laid their hands on them. While they were laying their hands on these believers, “they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). So, in Acts 2, the Spirit explodes on the scene, you might say as an uninvited, though welcome, guest. In Acts 8, with the Samaritans, Peter and John lay their hands on believers, and then the Holy Spirit comes, and apparently manifests his presence in some way. Moreover, in Acts 8, Philip apparently only baptized these Samaritans in the name of Jesus. I suppose this is to be contrasted with the “formula” given in Matt. 28:19: “in the [one] name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Now, I think Peter here gives us a reminder of the Spirit’s freedom and sovereignty in this passage. When Simon the magician begged to purchase the power seemingly exhibited by the apostles, Peter chastises him, saying, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8:20). Not only does this remind us that the Holy Spirit’s presence in a believer’s life is a gift, it reminds us that Peter and John’s hand-laying did not cause the Holy Spirit to come. For whatever reason, the Holy Spirit chose to come (and apparently make his presence known to them in some way Luke chose not to tell us) after they prayed and when they laid hands on these believers. In Acts 11:44, Peter doesn’t even finish his sermon when the Spirit decides to enter Cornelius and his household and again manifested himself in some way that Peter knew it had happened. It could go on with examples of how this plays out, but I’d better move on to Acts 19!

So, in Acts 19, Paul encounters some “disciples” who seem a little confused or misinformed. Notice he doesn’t identify whose disciples they are. Back in Acts 18, we meet Apollos preaching in Ephesus, and we find out that “he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). Then, Priscilla and Aquila “took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). We’re not told exactly what they taught him, but we can probably safely infer that they explained to him that John’s baptism was no longer significant (more on that momentarily). So, perhaps these “disciples” Paul encounters in Ephesus were actually disciples of Apollos (or perhaps, less likely, they were actually disciples of John the Baptist himself, still lingering around several years after John was executed). Thus, Apollos had only taught them about the significance of John’s baptism, not knowing any more than that himself. We’re not given the entirety of the conversation, but apparently in speaking with them something cued Paul to the fact that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Notice also that he obviously thinks this is not right and that he expected that they should have received the Holy Spirit “when they believed” (Acts 19:2) this is one of the many occasions where the KJV has mistranslated a very important participle!). When they tell him that they’ve never heard “that there is a Holy Spirit,” I think they probably mean that they hadn’t heard that the Holy Spirit had been given (they wouldn’t be very good Jews even if they didn’t know the Holy Spirit existed!). It’s interesting that his immediate question (apparently) in response to this is to ask about their baptism. Then, Paul “explains the way of God more accurately” (to borrow the phrase from Acts 18) by explaining the significance of John’s baptism in light of Jesus’ death and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus” (Acts 19:4). So, John’s baptism, as I understand it, functioned as a symbolic act showing that a Jewish person was repenting of their sins and looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. Baptism is always a symbolic act, but it can symbolize different things. John’s baptism was to signify repentance and a purification from sin and, more importantly, to point forward to the actual availability of repentance and cleansing from sin that Jesus would provide. These disciples (apparently) got the point, and then “were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5). Recall back in Acts 8, merely being baptized in the name of Jesus seemed to be presented as a deficiency or a problem, but here it’s exactly what needed to be done. And the Holy Spirit chooses to come on them and manifest himself by the believers’ speaking in tongues and prophesying (Acts 19:6). Now, were these “disciples” Christians when Paul meets them? I (somewhat more tentatively) say that they were not believers or saved at that point. I think it’s best to understand the book of Acts as a whole indicating that a person is not a Christian or a genuine believer if the Holy Spirit does not dwell in that person. Likewise, Paul’s letters I think are fairly clear that the Holy Spirit brings a person to life, transferring him or her from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus, graciously empowers belief in the individual, and immediately takes up residence in the believer and begins his transformation of the believer into the image of Jesus.

To sum up, then, what does it mean to be baptized “in” or “with” the Holy Spirit? It seems to refer to the Holy Spirit’s entering and settling into a believer. I don’t think we can perceive a pattern that the Holy Spirit must fit into for when or how he enters the believer, and I don’t think we can perceive a pattern that the Holy Spirit must fit into for the way he might manifest his presence in a believer’s life. Also, it’s important to highlight that baptism, with regard to the Holy Spirit, is being used as a metaphor, and since actual baptism with water was associated with cleansing or purification, I wonder if we ought to understand cleansing as a part of this issue. In other words, when the Holy Spirit “baptizes” a person (or when Jesus baptizes a person with the Holy Spirit), fundamentally it means that the Holy Spirit cleanses that person by moving in and cleaning house, we might say.

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

Black Friday. Those two words can either instill fear and loathing or anticipation and glee. Whichever one, it will get you thinking about the deals you could possibly get for the upcoming “big day”. Christmas is now just around the corner and we find ourselves emerged in chaotic schedules. Family get-togethers, church programs, school programs, holiday parties, and of course, time trying to find the “perfect” gift for each one on our list. With all that is going on we can easily become distracted by all the lights and tinsel and forget why we’re doing all that we are. We can simply began looking at all the decorations and forget the directions our hikes are taking.

Can you remember the “best gift” that you ever received at Christmas? Whether you were young or old. Do you remember it? Probably. Most of us have a fond memory or two of a Christmas past. Now, can you remember EVERY gift you’ve ever received? I don’t necessarily have a problem remembering what I received last year, but 20 years ago? I have no idea. I remember getting socks every year from one of my grandmothers; I remember eating the candy that another made every year, and I remember once getting a camera. But I can not tell you much beyond that. But I have to tell you, my memory is horrible! Ask my husband! I have a hard time telling you what we did last weekend, let alone small details from years ago.

Memories of what I have gotten others however, is a little more stuck in my mind. See, I had more invested in those gifts. Not just monetarily speaking. I thought about what they would like, tried to imagine how they would use it, and searched until I found the “perfect” one. Sometimes I even made it myself. I remember sitting up stitching, cooking and putting everything together. I invested a little of myself in each gift, and it didn’t matter if I received anything back. My gift was seeing their reaction and how they used it.

Though I do love to give gifts, I really do appreciate those I receive. My memory may be horrible, but I do remember those things given to me from loved ones throughout the last few years. I remember most of what my husband has given me at Christmas, and especially what my children have. But how often do I think about and remember the gifts from God himself.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11

How many gifts has he given each one of us? I could write forever and not name them all. Mainly, he gave us the gift of Jesus born as a babe in a manger, who lived without sin or blame and died for each and every one of us. A horrible, painful death that he didn’t deserve, but did so because he loved us all. The gift of his grace and mercy none can ever repay. Then, not only did he do this, but he sent us another gift. Himself. His Holy Spirit. He again came to us and lives inside our hearts. How amazing is that! Sadly, at times I look past this. I take it for granted and don’t realize the precious gift given to me everyday!

You see, I do have a light that lives in me. This treasure I have inside that will never see moth or rust, decay or death. It can never be stolen by thieves or cut out. Though my body may break, it will not leak out. And with this precious gift, I can see the heart of God. This gift he has given guides me on my journey, whispering “caution” and “danger up ahead”. He tells me when I’ve done wrong, when my attitude isn’t what it’s supposed to be and when I need to just turn around and go back to make something right. I may have Jesus’ hand, but his Holy Spirit is my compass.

In Acts chapter 2 starting at verse 38 Peter says: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The gift. What an awesome thing.

When I married my husband, I gave him all of me. Pieces of myself that will never belong to another person in this world. Isn’t it amazing that God does the same with all of us. He is so big, so mighty and so loving that he gives us each himself. His Holy Spirit. His gift to us. The only thing we must do…. is open it! And with this one, you don’t have to wait until Christmas morning!

TODAY’S VERSE
“I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.”
Ephesians 1:16-17 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Spiritual wisdom and insight. It is perhaps the most important trait we could ask God for. It was so important that Paul prayed constantly that God would give it to the church. When God asked Solomon to ask for anything he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom in order to rule the people. God was happy with this decision and gave Solomon “a wise and understanding heart.” We need no less. Everyday we face circumstances and make decisions. How often have we relied on our own understanding instead of seeking God and the wisdom that He has? James tells us that if we are lacking wisdom all we need to do is ask God. David tells us not to lean on our own understanding but seek God and He will direct us. Today, ask God for wisdom. Ask Him for insight and understanding. Seek Him, talk to Him, listen to Him and He will give you all the wisdom you need.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, I come to You asking for Your wisdom and insight. Guide me, direct me, give me all the wisdom I need to make it through this day. In Jesus’ name.
AMEN

______________________________________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

 CLICK HERE to go to our BLOG Walking the Talk, and find out ways to help others.  

 Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual GIfts Test and Workbook  

Do you want to know how to be a Child of God? CLICK HERE to find out how

Deuteronomy 28:2 (NIV) ~ All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God. 

All these blessing will come upon you and accompany you when you obey the LORD your God. Such a simple verse to understand yet, the outworking of this verse for many people seems a difficult price to pay. In a nutshell, obedience brings the blessings. 

What are “all these blessings”? Well, let us take a little look and see from Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26:  God’s blessing inside the city, God’s blessing in the country, God’s blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks; God’s blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God’s blessing in your coming in, God’s blessing in your going out.  He will grant you peace, and five of you will chase a hundred and one hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. God will look on you with favour, God will keep His covenant and you will walk with your head held high. God will grant you abundant prosperity; you will always be on top, for it is God’s will for you to be the head and not the tail. 

Just imagine all these blessings are waiting to not only come upon you, but also accompany you, all the days of your life, if you would simply obey His covenant. His covenant blessings are conditional, when you do your part and walk in obedience to God, God will honour His part and allow all these blessings to come upon you. 

My friend, oh, for grace to trust Him more. Lord, as we obey and walk in your truth may all these blessings come upon us. Lord, open the floodgates of heaven and let your blessings pour down upon us, so that all these blessing can wash over every area of our lives. Grant us Your favour and let all these blessings come upon us, and accompany us, all the days of our lives for now and ever more, thank you Lord. 

God bless you my friend, Matthew

Monday 30th November 2009

Annual Bible Reading Plan: Dan 8:1-27, 1 John 1:1-10, Psalm 119:153-176, Prov 28:23-24

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

There is a real need in the Body of Christ for Pure Theology. Pure Theology is that which accurately represents the true nature and character of God, which enables individual believers to “see” God as He is and not represented with some human bias. Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees and Sadducees was that they made the people to be slaves to the minute details of the Law, thus representing God as a demanding despot rather than a covenant lover. Church history has been littered with such impure teaching as men have fought to gain control over individuals, Churches, even whole denominations.

All impure Theology has to do with control. Even in our own lives we are forced to fight the reasoning’s of our natural minds which endeavors to fashion an image of God that is liberal or convenient. Our minds want to exercise control rather than submit to the Word, if we allow it, our image of God will be “altered” and our theology will become selective, in order to allow certain behavior. Though we might be wholly convinced that we are worshiping God, we will not be worshiping the God of the Bible who is characterized very differently in the Word. There can be no “private interpretation of Scripture”. 2 Peter 1:20 We understand of course that Satan is the foundational author of impure theology, for it was he who first tried to misrepresent God when he reasoned with Eve in the Garden.

The most insidious images though are created by teachers who have ulterior motives to manipulate and control those who live under their leadership. We can wonder how ordinary people can end up in cults like the one in Waco, but once we understand the operations of those who peddle impure theology to gain control, we can see how separation and delusion can flourish and grow. Once God is represented a certain way, and a leader is designated as an exclusive Divine “Prophet” deception will sweep people away. Most impure theology is far less extreme than this example. Most has to do with legalism, guilt, tradition, excusing a teacher’s unbelief,  or sometimes elevating their experiences to some kind of level of “divine revelation”. The end result is the same, however, God is misrepresented and another image manufactured.

The Answer to Impure Theology is Jesus. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” Heb 1:3 John tells us that “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” John 1:17-18 Jesus said “He who has seen Me has seen the Father;” John 14:9

From these Scriptures we see the Truth. Jesus is God. He is the literal mirror image, or exact representation of God. In seeing Jesus, we see the Father, nothing is hidden, nothing is added or taken away. Jesus has made the Father known to us. Therefore we can declare that any representation of God that does not line up with Jesus is impure theology. We need to see Jesus as He truly is – the final word on God, the final communication, the real picture. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that all past communications through men were incomplete, but the communication through Jesus is complete. We really need to meditate on the truth that if we have seen Jesus we HAVE seen God.

It may be simplistic, but how, for example,  can we know for a fact that God does inflict sickness on people? Easy, we look at Jesus. We ask, did Jesus make anyone sick? Of course not – He healed the sick and declared that He came to destroy the DEVIL’S works – forever characterizing sickness as an evil propagated by the enemy. That is because He is Jehovah Rapha – God who is the Healer (Ex 15:26) in the flesh, nothing added, nothing taken away – how can He be anything other than who He has declared Himself to be in the Word? He is the Lord who changes not! (Mal 3:6) When we apply this simple rule to every teaching – how does this representation of God line up with who we know Jesus to be – we can discern truth from error.

The pure in heart – those who desire to see God as He really is, those who do not come to God “for something” or come trying to find another representation of Him, to allow them to live life on their own terms, those who do not seek to manipulate or control others – these will be able to “see” God in the face of Jesus.

Oh that the Church would see Jesus and embrace Him in His fullness and have done with the wisdom and reasoning’s of men. That Church would be pure – and powerful.

Daily Read (Isaiah 64-66)

Scripture:
Isaiah 66:9 ‘Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?’ says the LORD. ‘Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?’ says your God.”

Observation:
In the last chapter of the book of Isaiah, God speaks out about the rebirth of the Jewish nation and how all the nations of the earth will come to Jerusalem to worship and honor the Lord. He speaks of rebuilding his chosen people as a nation, as they once were under the kingship of Saul, David, Solomon, etc. The nation will be born in one day (verse 8), which was May 14, 1948. That day the nation of Israel was reborn.

Application:
God spoke to the body of believers at Word of Life International Church and told them that they were like an expectant mother in the birthing process. She is a mother in her third trimester. In the fall of 2007 a prophecy was given to Pastor Jeff Jacob from the book of Isaiah to lengthen the cords of our tent (Is. 54:2-3) because we were growing to grow as a church. God confirmed that word to pastor just the other day in our daily wash on November 25, 2009. The Lord gave me the prophecy of giving birth in our congregation in relation to the vision that God gave to pastor about the “bee hive”  coming to fruition.

God told our pastor that he would start a church in northern Virginia near an international airport and would be launching missionaries and ministers out of our congregation to reach the peoples of the world. Our church has been sending individuals to Africa and Latin America and other regions of the world as emissaries of the Lord spreading the good news of the gospel. God showed Pastor Jeff in a vision that we would be a beehive with ministers coming to and going out of our local body taking the Word of God to the ends of the earth.

What makes this situation interesting is that our church was called to be a church of the nations, for the nations, and to the nations. We are like our names states – international. We have congregants from over 20 nations represented in our midst. There are Indians, Pakistanis, Cameroonians, Kenyans, Sierra Leonians, Ghanans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Liberians, Guatemalans, Filipinos, Italians, Germans, Poles, and others. We are comprised of the nations with a heart for the nations and go to serve the nations.

The point of this daily wash today is a confirmation of the vision and prophecies given to Pastor Jeff and the prophecy given to me. God doesn’t close up the womb at the time of delivery when the time to bear the child has come. When God’s timing for something to occur has come, it will come to pass. Did we not learn just three days ago (11/26/2009) that Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” The Word of the LORD to us today is that the time has come. The long-awaited birth of Pastor’s vision has come. In the coming new year 2010, we, as a congregation, will give birth to the beehive that will launch the ministerial careers of numerous emissaries of God’s Word. These people will not just be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor-teachers, they have received the same call of the prophet Jeremiah -

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations….You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you see, [Word of Life International Church]?’ ‘I see the branch of an almond tree,’ I replied. The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.’ ” (Jeremiah 1:5-12)

In the year 2010 there are about 5-7 people scheduled to be credentialed with the Assemblies of God as ministers at the certification and license levels. This is a first for the body of  Word of Life in its 8 year history. We were to accelerate in 2008 the pace at which we trained up new leaders and ministers in the church, and we have been learning to do things on God’s time in 2009. We will see the work begin in 2010!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!! GLORY TO THE LIVING GOD!!!!!

Prayer:
Father, I know that You’re a God who is always on time. You’re never late or lacking. You’re true to Your Word. The words You have spoken to our local body have arrived and are coming to fruition. Thanks for being the faithful God. We celebrate and shout because of the Lord our God! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

.

Scarcely had I passed them when I found Him whom my soul loves.

I held Him, and would not let Him go…

Song of Solomon 3:4

.

When the Bride (the church and the individual believer), in her search for her lover (Jesus), finally finds Him, she held Him.

Here, she did not just greet Him, shake His hand, or give Him a quick, friendly hug. She held Him.   She did not engage Him in conversation, peppering Him with a list of prayer requests or petitions.   She did not question Him.  She just held Him.  She did not politely courtesy, she did not stand afar off, she did not care if others saw her approach Him in public.  She did not follow protocol.  She held Him.   She held Him.  She held Him.  She held Him.  She held Him.  And she would not let Him go.

Notice that the Bride did not fear Him. The Bride had no doubt who she is in her relationship to Him.  She did not have to speak a word or ask for permission.   She knew Him, and she knew that He loved her.   There was nothing tentative about the Bride’s action.  She was confident in love.

In our personal times of trial and pain, we cry out to Jesus, and to Father God, to hold us.   We beckon the Holy Spirit to comfort us.   In difficult circumstances, it is essential that we rush into the loving, tender arms of Father God, into the gentle embrace of Jesus, and not slip out of the security of His presence, for His Name is a strong tower that the righteous run into (Proverbs 18:10).

However, there is a big difference between coming to God in brokenness, and coming to God in hot pursuit of intimacy.   In our weakness He holds us and heals us with His love.   In our passion we hold Him and minister to Him with our love.  Unashamed, the Bride expresses her wild affection for her lover, without waiting for Him to initiate their interaction.  She is not passive, but aggressive in romance!

It is easy to picture God holding us, but us holding God?   Yes, God desires to be held!  Are we confident in love?  Or do we still come into His presence tentatively?  Intimacy produces boldness, and Jesus is not anticipating a shy Bride!   Let us become confident lovers of God.   As we hold Him in our arms, we know exactly how He feels about us.

The first time I woke up Sunday morning, I was thinking maybe I should not drive. I went back to sleep and woke up at 8AM.  Usually night sweats happen early in the night. This time I soaked me and the bed in the morning. I took a shower and was soooooo weak and out of breath, but figured I should go to church.

I had a heck of a time getting in the van. I think it got a foot taller! I made it to Lake Placid and was VERY surprised to see that’s what happened to our snow….they got it. Not a speck of snow here in Bloomingdale. The van is not working well. All that money and it’s in worse shape! The transmission is screwed up. I have to rev the engine to get it to shift up. I am not happy with the mechanic

As soon as I got out of the van I felt worse than I had while driving. This time my dizziness and weakness went right to the pit of my stomach. I spent the whole time there desperately trying not to barf. My face and tongue were doing the fasciculation thing….twitching like crazy and forming a sea of lumps and bumps on my tongue. That feels really weird! My muscles don’t work right when that is going on. My eyes almost shut and this time my mouth and eyes were watering. Oh, sooooo queasy

Just like last time I went to church, it was all I could do to make it to the end of Sacrament Meeting. I burped and hiccuped ALL the way home. Made myself a sausage patty and pancake and slept a few hours. Before I fell asleep, I gave in and turned on my baseboard heater for the first time this season.

Woke up weak and confused. What’s with the confusion now days? It happens more often than not that I can’t remember what day it is or where I am. Creepy.

I can’t remember if I have mentioned my arms. My upper arms have gained a lot of weight in a couple of weeks. They also hurt A LOT. Most nights the pain from my arms and legs makes it hard to sleep. I hope this is all stuff related to myasthenia gravis that will improve with IVIg. To try to describe it, it’s as if my muscles do not have enough strength to do what I ask of them and when I keep trying anyway, it’s as if my muscles are tearing like cheap cheesecloth. Fun, huh?

Geeze! Too hot in here! I wonder what I am used to? With the thermostat on 60 I’m burning up. So…I put it on 50. MG makes me turn into jello when it’s “hot”. With the little ceramic heater I was only warming my feet. At the moment, the whole apartment is warm from just the bedroom baseboard heater.

I am exited to explore in depth the doctrine of Charity, which is the pure love of Christ or the way Christ loves us.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Verses 1-3 tell me how important Charity (Love) is. If we spoke with the tongue of angels or had the gift of prophecy or understood all mysteries, if we don’t have charity then we are as nothing. We need to have charity more than all knowledge or all faith. We can give away everything we have to feed the poor or sacrifice our bodies to be burned but if we don’t live with charity then it is for nothing. If we have all kinds of great gifts bestowed upon us or do any number of great things we are “nothing without charity”. We can’t base our salvation on just one or two things we have to include Charity or it is all in vain.

What is charity? Charity in verse four is broken down in specific attributes so that we may fully understand what charity is.4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Verses 8-13 further illustrate how important Charity is in our lives by comparing it to other important aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Moroni 10:46-47

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail — 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.This additional Christian Scripture passage adds to the importance of charity and teaches us more about Charity. All things must fail but Charity will never fail. This would indicate to me that we should invest much effort and prayer into obtaining the gift of charity so that it fills our sould and heart to overflowing. Verse 47 tells us that we must pray with all the energy of hear to be filled with this love.

This passage also teaches us that Charity is the pure love of Christ and when He comes again the second time if we are filled with Charity we shall be like Him. Charity is a purifying force as well.

So what exactly is Charity that it is so important? Charity is the “Pure Love Of Christ”. So when you read the word “Charity” substitute the phrase “pure love of Christ”.

Suffereth Long
The “pure love of Christ” suffereth long.

What does “Suffereth long” mean? In short “suffereth long” means patience. Consider the verse 1 Peter 3:20 In part that verse says “when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah…” We also know that mankind was extraordinarily wicked in the days of Noah. God was very patient having Noah call them to repentance before the destruction of the flood. One of the online dictionaries defines “long-suffering” as: “patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship”. There again is the word “patience”. Part of the pure love of Christ (Charity) is patience.

This means that we need to have patience. Patience toward who? We are told to have Charity like Christ does and Christ is patient towards all mankind so that implies that we should also have patience towards all mankind and especially those close to us in our own life like our spouse and children and those people we interact with on a daily basis but not to exclude all others.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord exerts all the patience He can toward us so that we may have as much time possible to repent and turn to Him.

Is Kind

“The pure love of Christ” is kind.

The one of the online dictionaries suggest that “Kind” means: Affectionate, loving. Of a sympathetic or helpful nature. Of a forbearing nature. Gentle. Arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance (a kind act). To give pleasure or relief.

A good or benevolent nature or disposition. A loving person. Having, showing or proceeding from benevolence. Considerate, helpful, humane, mild, gentle, loving or affectionate.

Forbearance means “To be tolerant or patient in the face of provocation.” An abstaining from the enforcement of a right. “A creditor’s giving of indulgence after the day originally fixed for payment.” This descriptions of the word “Kind” certainly sound Christ-like. This kind of kindess is what we should be striving for, even praying for.

Envieth Not

“The pure love of Christ” envieth not.

Envy means a painful or resentful awareness of something enjoyed by someone else as well as a desire to possess the same thing the other person has. So if Charity Envieth not then we should not be resentful toward others but rather we should be happy for the things others possess and share their joy. We cannot envy someone if we have the pure love of Christ in our hearts. We need to have joy in others successes and achievements. If everyone “envieth not” think of the drop in the crime rates.

Vaunteth Not Itself

“The pure love of Christ” vaunteth not itself.

“Vaunt” means to brag or to make a vain display of one self? We should not draw undue attention to ourselves. When we brag about ourselves we are setting ourselves up to appear to be better than others. God loves us all the same. He doesn’t love whatever sin or misdeed we may be involved in but He loves us all the same. We should not seek to make ourselves appear to be better than each other.

Is Not Puffed Up

“The pure love of Christ” is not puffed up.

Puffed up means to speak or act in a scornful, conceited, or exaggerated manner. We should just be ourselves or we should be the person we are trying to be as we seek for Charity in our lives. We need to be humble (teachable) and sincere. If we are locked into Charity as a way of life then we would have no insecurities and have no need to be conceited.

Doth Not Behave Itself Unseemly

“The pure love of Christ” doth not behave itself unseemly.

Unseemly means not according with established standards of good form or taste. In other words we should be vulgar or crude.

Seeketh Not Her Own

“The pure love of Christ” seeketh not her own.
To “seek not her own” means being selfish. Anyone who has Charity or seeking Charity is not selfish. We should repent for any selfish behavior and strive to not be selfish.

Is Not Easily Provoked

“The pure love of Christ” is not easily provoked.

Is not easily made mad or one who is slow to anger. Not resentful. If we considered the life of Christ he was very slow to wrath. The only time he showed wrath was when the money changers we disrespecting the Temple. Even when Christ was be unjustly tried for made up crimes he was not provoked. When He hung from the cross, rather than be mad he ask Heavenly Father to forgive the soldiers who were torturing Him.

Thinketh No Evil

“The pure love of Christ” thinketh no evil.

Evil is the opposite of righteousness. Charity does not think of things contrary to righteousness. Ask yourself what is evil and think the opposite. Think of virtuous thoughts. Ask yourself what would Jesus think about and think likewise.

Rejoiceth Not In Iniquity But Rejoiceth In The Truth

“The pure love of Christ” rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth.

Iniquity is both sin and behavior directly in opposition to righteousness. Charity finds happiness in the truth or rejoices in the truth. Thinketh no evil and Rejoiceth Not in iniquity go hand in hand or are companion virtues. Don’t think evil thoughts and do not rejoice in inquity. Do we watch movies or read books where we find ourselves rooting for the bad guy? Is that Charity?

Beareth All Things

“The pure love of Christ” beareth all things.

What does it mean to “Bear”? Looking up the word “bear” on several online dictionaries came to the following conclusions:

To make one’s way steadily especially against resistance. Continuing firm or resolute through trials and difficulties.

To put up with something trying or painful.

The terms Suffereth (Suffer) and Beareth (Bear) are synonyms in parts of their meanings but they also have some differences in their definitions. From what I can ascertain The phrase “Suffereth Long” is more to do with patience. The phrase “Beareth All Things” deals mainly with faithfully overcoming trials and adversity.

Believeth All Things

“The pure love of Christ” believeth all things

This phrase “believeth all things” has to do with faith. Charity, the pure love of Christ wouldn’t teach to believe all things regardless. For instance. Do we believe the God created the earth or do we believe in junk science that the earth was created from a big bang?

Do we believe God created Man in His own image or than man evolved from apes? We don’t believe all things spiritual and worldly but rather “believeth all things” is to have firm religious faith. To accept the gospel as true, genuine or real. Furthermore it means to have assurance or faith in righteousness. Trust in God. To have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something. If that thing doesn’t have goodness of efficacy then it is evil and not to be trifled with.

Other definitions of “Believeth all things”: To have confidence in the truth,

Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

2 Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

Hopeth All Things

“The pure love of Christ” hopeth all things.

To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. For instance, to look to Christ for ones salvation. To place trust in or rely in. We need to trust in Christ that He will do what He says he will do. To look to the Gospel of Jesus Christ with confidence.

Endureth All Things

“The pure love of Christ” endureth all things. Here is what some online dictionaries defined Endure as.

To undergo a hardship without giving in. To suffer or endure a great pain. To remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding. To bear without resistance or with patience.

To support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently. The life of Christ is a perfect example of enduring all things.

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

November 29th starts this seasons devotions:

These are from the booklet we use at our church

The First Week

The Prophets

On the fourth Sunday before Christmas, light the prophet’s gold candle. Have family members read Scripture passages, then sing a carol, and give thanks to God. This short service is repeated each evening during the week with only one candle lit.

Sunday

Isaiah 60:1-5:

Hebrews 1:1-4:

Monday

Isaiah 7:10-14:

Micah 5:2:

Luke 2:4:

Matthew 1:18-23:

Tuesday

Isaiah 9:1-7:

Matthew 4:13-16:

Wednesday

Isaiah 42:1-7:

Matthew 12:15-21:

Thursday

Zechariah 9:9:

Matthew 21:1-3:                                                                                                                                                                                       Zechariah 11:12-13:

Matthew 27:3-10:

Friday

Isaiah 53:

Matthew 27:12-14:

John 19:36-37:

1 Peter 2:20-24:

Saturday

Zechariah 12:10:

Joel 2:28:

2 Peter 1:16-21:

Carols: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” ; “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” ; “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People”

The more charismatic/pentecostal church that I’ve been at the past couple weeks have taught me a few things. First off, they’ve kind of killed a lot of my understanding of church, especially when it comes to structure.

I have had probably 15 classes in my college career that focused so much on “how church should be done” or the structure of things, and while that’s all good and what-not, I’ve kind of gotten to a point where I could care less. It’s not that structure isn’t important, I mean even the charismatics have one, but it’s okay for them to interrupt it if God speaks to them to do so. They also could care less about time restraints…

Which is quite against my nature I have come to realized.

For example, we were supposed to start at 10:00 which was when we all got together to pray for the service and something inside of me kept yelling: “Come on! We have to play! We have to play!” So I’m trying to learn to shut up and forget about these time restraints. And even though we were only supposed to play for 40 minutes, I think we probably played for about an hour by the time it was over (although part of it was us playing behind someone who was talking).

The charismatics are also more open to handing the mic over to people. Creepy right? I mean, God forbid someone other than the pastor says something about Jesus! People just walk up, grab the mic, and start talking about some kind of vision or word the Lord gave them or share a good story or testimony.

See, the thing is that I’ve been trying to find the proper structure for God to work in for years now, rather than let God BE the structure. And really, He doesn’t have that much of a structure. He’s rather spontaneous.

Also, someone came up and told the church that they were going to be taken to the next level in supernatural and people seemed really stoked about it. And I could probably say that some of them were confused about it. Around this time someone was crying and yelling very loudly. I believe he was doing so in tongues (or I just couldn’t make out what he was saying).

Some lady at the end of the service was either prophesying over us or blessing us (probably both I think). She was asking that oil would be poured out over us and soak us so that we would be so slippery that the enemy would just slip right off of us (oil is used much in the Bible for annointing). It put quite an interesting image in my head. She also mentioned that God was going to release a Heavenly song in each one of us. It sounds like we might get the band together now to start writing some music.

While she was blessing/prophesying, one of the things she said that stuck out to me was that “we had to walk in straight paths.” Or in other words we needed to stay away from sin and not let it allow us to stumble. But note this: she told us nicely. I felt at that moment that she was looking into my soul and seeing all the crap there, and yet didn’t condemn me for it. Instead it was like a… holy rebuke of some sort. Whatever it was, God spoke to me in that moment in love and conviction. Or lovely conviction! Something I am not used to.

In all honesty, I am the greatest condemner of myself. Churches have emphasized sin in a way that hasn’t helped either. And so I occassionaly get caught up in a depression caused by my own condemnation when a lot of times God is trying to just take that stuff from me. Why is it that we want to keep all that crap with us all the time rather than give it away?

Maybe you know what I’m talking about. If you do, I have a video I will be working on over the next week or so that I hope will help you get rid of all that crap. But first, I must retrieve my camera footage from some people who grabbed it after I forgot it at church a week ago.

I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as I hope to grow more in the ways of the Spirit. I’m also interested to see what exactly He is doing with music in my life. In all honesty, I was starting to lose a passion for music over the past year or so and yet, for whatever reason, it has entered back into my life in a bigger or at least more meaningful way than ever before. So God, whatever it is You’re doing, do it. Don’t let me get in the way.

Text: Eph. 1:13-4; Acts  18:24 – 19:6

       Yesterday, my beautiful bride and I decked our home with all the fancies of the Christmas holiday!  Among the decorations is a nativity set that I purchased for Elizabeth while I was in Israel several years ago.  The wooden scene showcases all the “staple characters” of the Christmas story: Joseph and Mary, the baby Jesus, three wise men, a shepherd, some livestock and an angel carved into the stable.  Such is “the cast” that we sing about in our Christmas carols and relive in our Christmas plays.

       Yet, as you look deeper at the panorama of this beautiful Christmas scene, there are a number of characters in the background that appear to have fallen through the celebration cracks.  Perhaps this Christmas, we might allow the spotlight of God’s Word to illuminate a few of these unsung heroes.

       The greatest of these background characters is really not a background character at all.  As I read the Holy Christmas Story, four lead roles appear in my mind: Jesus, the Gift of Christmas; God the Father, the Giver; Believers, the recipients; and the Holy Spirit; the Mailman who brought this gift into the world. (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35)

       As Christians, what is this “Joy To The World” that we celebrate during the Christmas season?  Our joy is Jesus…that He, being human through Mary’s seed, could “walk in our shoes” and identify with our weakness.  Yet, through the perfect seed of God the Holy Spirit, Jesus was able to pay the price tag that sin demanded for our souls…the shedding of perfect and innocent blood.  It was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus was born without the legally-inherited sin of the human father, and therefore, He alone was able to purchase our freedom from sin.  Not only was He able, He was also willing!  (John 10:17-8)

       We celebrate Christmas because the “God-Man” was born into our world to be our Savior, and this was only made possible through the working of the Holy Spirit.  Some 2,000 years ago, through the unsung Mailman delivered Jesus into the world through Mary!

       Paul understood the need of the Holy Spirit, and he wasn’t about to let this need go unaddressed in his letter to the Ephesians.  In fact, he mentions the Holy Spirit in every chapter of his epistle.[i]  This was such a “hot topic” for Paul that the ground-breaking of his 3-year ministry to the Ephesians would be to make sure they received the Holy Spirit.  When he arrived in Ephesus in Acts 19, the first question he asked the Ephesians was in regards to the Holy Spirit: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (19:2)

       What is it about the Holy Spirit that was so fundamentally vital to Paul’s ministry?  Simply put: the greatest need in the world is for people to see Jesus, and it is only through the Holy Spirit that this can truly happen.  The Holy Spirit was sent to take the things of Jesus and make them real to us. (1 Cor. 2:9-16)  When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He sent His Spirit to come and dwell within us.  If you believe on the Name of Jesus Christ, then you have the promise that the Spirit of Jesus literally LIVES INSIDE YOU!  (1 Cor. 3:16)

       He lives to teach us the things of Jesus (John 14:26); to give us the help & comfort of Jesus (John 16:7); to convict us of the sin that separates us from Jesus (John 16:8); to guide us in the truth of Jesus (John 16:13-4); to pray for us in our weakness (Rom. 8:26-7); to fill us with the joy, peace, hope and power of Jesus (Rom. 15:13); and, as a spirit, He has the power to dwell in every believer (Psalm 139:7-8) fulfilling the promise of Jesus that He will be “with you always…” A promise that Jesus, in the flesh, could not have fulfilled.  (John 16:7)

       This Christmas season is a perfect time to examine your life.  Have you asked Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord?  Have you been experiencing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in your life, making you look more like Jesus?  God’s greatest gift at Christmas so many years ago was the gift of His Only Begotten Son, through the Holy Spirit.  Now Jesus’ greatest gift to us is the gift of His Holy Spirit to live inside of us so that we don’t have to go through life alone.  And Jesus continues to hold this gift out for you… It’s yours for the taking today.  But tomorrow may be too late.  “Now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor. 6:2) This is one gift that shouldn’t wait for Christmas!

Study the Bible to show yourselves a true workman of God able to rightly divide the word of truth.  Remember, coveting is strictly against the Ten Commandments; and Jesus said, if you break the least of my commandments (which include the ten commandments) you are guilty of breaking them all.

The Gentile Christians are guilty of coveting the Jews.  In short, apply the teachings of good judgment and justice, as recorded in the Bible, and testified to by Jesus, and you shall be saved.

Now, if there be anyone else out there, that is struggling with Christianity, or Judaism, or right from wrong, or any other philosophy, or religion, and you feel you must understand more, then get in touch with us.  We will not demand you convert to anything, nor do anything, but if your spirit is searching for the truth, then you will know the truth when you hear it, because your conscience (who is Jesus the Holy spirit) will let you know it is the truth.

It then becomes your responsibility to the God who created you to accept that truth and reject whatever old idea is contrary to the truth and you shall be saved!  Even if the ideas in your head are part of the religion you inherited from birth.

And if anyone troubles you, pray to God, who is the avenger of all who call upon Him in their time of need.  Pray they would be saved also.  I will leave you Christians with this thought, whether you are a Jew or Gentile.

If you are moved toward hatred or disgust toward anyone who will not receive your religious message and believe they can only be saved by saying they believe in Jesus, then you had better realize that the spirit in you is different than the spirit who was in Jesus.  Then you need to focus on 2 Corinthians Chapter 11 verses 1 to 4, which explains how you got the wrong spirit.

Jesus was never angered or disgusted by the people who refused His message to believe in God; neither did Jesus wish them any harm when they nailed him to the cross; but He prayed to God for their sin to be forgiven.  In fact, His teachings were just the opposite.

Therefore, if you experience feelings to the contrary when your message is rejected, it is you who need the physician.  For Jesus said, the day will come when they will kill you and believe they do God a service, but I have not taught you such…

Remember what the Lord told Abraham: I will bless him that blesses you, and I will curse him that curses you.

It is all about love!! May our Father’s HOLY Spirit bring more love!!! How powerful is that?

 “The Pentecostal power, when you sum it all up, is just more of God’s love. If it does not bring more love, it is simply a counterfeit.”
—– William J. Seymour (quoted in “Apostolic Faith”)

Hebrews 3:1 (NIV) ~ Fix your thoughts on Jesus.

Five times in Scriptures the word “fix” is used by God to give us direction. God gives us a clear direction to keep our focus fixed upon His will; for us to permanently maintain our focus, our centre of attention, firmly on God.  

1. Deuteronomy 11:18 (NIV),”Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.”   

Here, we are admonishes to keep our hearts and minds, our intellect and the very fibre of our being, always feasting on the word of God, constantly meditating on His word and doing His will.    

2.  Proverbs 4:24-31 (NIV), “Fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

This verse cautions us to keep our direction on the right path, to follow only His ways, to not be side-tracked by distractions, but to stay on the firm path of the King’s highway.  

3.   2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV), “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

This is a reminder to keep looking through the eyes of faith to God, and the things of heaven. For the things of this world will pass, but the eternal things of God will never fade or pass away. Keep you focus in the centre of His will.  

4.  Hebrews 3:1 (NIV), “Fix your thoughts on Jesus.”

Your thoughts can be the hardest battleground to fight for. Nevertheless, when you keep your thoughts fixed on Jesus, He will guard your heart and mind and keep you pure. When we fix our thoughts on Jesus, we do not dwell on the negative things of this world, but rather the positive attributes of the Kingdom of God.  

5. Hebrews 12:2 (NIV), “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”

There is no one more beautiful than Jesus to fix your eyes upon. Let us fix our eyes on His ultimate sacrifice on the cross of Calvary for our sins. Fix our eyes upon His glorious resurrection; fix our eyes upon Jesus, the Lover of our souls. Fix our eyes upon Jesus to be saved, healed, delivered and set free. Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus in our time of need. Fix your eyes on Jesus at all times. 

My friend, as the Bible says in five different occasions, each with a practical and life-changing meaning, “Let us fix” our hearts, our minds, our gaze, our thoughts and our eyes constantly upon God’s word, the things of His kingdom, His direction, things that are eternal in heaven, but most of all, let us fix our eyes on Jesus and never take them off Him. 

Michael Frye once wrote these wonderful words all about Jesus being the centre, with our eyes, thoughts, hearts and minds fixed upon Jesus. 

Jesus, be the centre, be my source, be my light, Jesus,
Jesus, be the centre, be my hope, be my song, Jesus,
Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus.

God bless you my friend, Matthew

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”—Ephesians 2:1

OUR TRANSLATORS, as you observe, have put in the words “hath he quickened”, because Paul had thrown the sense a little farther on, and it was possible for the reader not to catch it. The have but anticipated the statement of the fourth and fifth verses: “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.”

Here is the point.

God has quickened us, who were dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead. We were full of vigour towards everything which was contrary to the law or the holiness of God, we walked according the course of this world; but as for anything spiritual, we were not only somewhat incapable, and somewhat weakened; but we were actually and absolutely dead. We had no sense with which to comprehend spiritual things. We had neither the eye that could see, nor the ear that could hear, nor the power that could feel.

We were dead, all of us; and yet we were not all like one another. Death may be universal over a certain number of bodies, and yet those bodies may look very different. The dead that lie on the battle-field, torn of dogs or kites, rotting, corrupting in the sun, what a horrible sight! The corpse looks like life still; yet is your beloved one in the coffin as dead as the mangled bodies on the battle-field. Corruption has not yet done its work, and tender care has guarded the body as yet from what will surely come to it; yet is there death, sure, complete death, in the one case as well as in the other.

So we have many who are lovely, amiable, morally admirable, like him whom the Saviour looked upon and loved; yet they are dead for all that. We have others who are drunken, profane, unchaste; they are dead, not more dead than the others; but their death has left its terrible traces more plainly visible.

Sin brings forth death, and death brings forth corruption. Whether we were corrupt or not, is not a question that I need to raise here; let everyone judge concerning himself. But dead we were, most certainly. Even though trained by godly parents, though well instructed in the gospel scheme, though saturated with the piety that surrounded us, we were dead, as dead as the harlot of the street, as dead as the thief in the jail.

Now, the text tells us that, though we were dead, yet Christ has come, and by his Spirit he has raised us out of the grave. This text brings us Easter tidings; it sings of resurrection; it sounds in our ear the trumpet of a new life, and introduces us into a world of joy and gladness. We were dead; but we are quickened by the Spirit of God.

I cannot help stopping a minute to know whether it is so with you, my dear hearers, and praying that what I might have to say may act as a kind of sieve, separating between the really living and those who only think that they are alive, so that, if you have not been quickened, if you are only “a child of nature, finely dressed,” but not spiritually alive, you may be made aware of it. If you have been quickened, even though your life be feeble, you may cry to the living God with the “Abba, Father,” which never comes from any lip but that which has been touched and quickened by the Holy Spirit.

Excerpts from Life from the Dead, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon (March 13th, 1890)

Based on a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott at the October, 2009 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Click on Mormonmom to see my other Teachings for our Times (TFOT) lessons.

Opening Hymn: Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah

Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk on Acquiring Spiritual Guidance, was inspiring, uplifting and filled with instructions that each of us can apply in our daily lives.  Earlier this year, the General Relief Society Presidency directed each of us to seek our own personal revelation as we strengthen our ward and stake Relief Societies, I felt this was timely information coming now from Elder Scott.

One of the key doctrines that drew me into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is that of personal inspiration/revelation.  We have the Spirit as our guide for ANY concern we have in this life.  That is a great comfort, but, like many of the blessings given to us from our Heavenly Father, it must be honed, practiced, and used regularly.

Joseph Smith said, “Follow the influence of that Spirit, and it will lead you into all truth, until by and by, it will BECOME in you a principle of revelation.”  In other words, second nature to you.  Elder Scott testifies that this is the true source of peace and happiness.

Learning how to be led by the Spirit takes a strengthening of faith in our Father and in Jesus Christ.  It is not a casual expectation, but a purposeful period of growth. Let me take a minute to talk about “The Spirit”. As far as I’ve been able to learn there are three ways to understand the term ‘The Spirit”:

1. The Light of Christ
Everyone is given the light of Christ as a Child of God.

2. The Holy Ghost
Many religions reference the Holy Ghost.

3. The Gift of the Holy Ghost
Reserved for those who receive the ordinance of baptism by those having authority to confer the gift. This gift isn’t enjoyed in its fullness until fire and the Holy Ghost baptize the recipient.

Back to Elder Scott’s talk. After noting that in times past if one sought guidance they would turn to mentors or advisors, the information overload that is a characteristic of our time, means turning to others for advice can be a very risky proposition. As a digital marketing executive, I often use the analogy ‘it’s like drinking from a firehose’ to describe this phenomenon. Think about it – so much information, but none of it is filtered or curated. Who do we trust?

Rather than bemoaning the plight of the times we live in, we should welcome the excuse to turn our eyes upward for inspiration. Elder Scott seems to be saying that humans as trust agents will always be inadequate and that we will be better served by seeking to commune with the Lord directly through appealing to the Holy Ghost.

Think about this for a minute – our Father has created a condition where we, of necessity, are more dependent upon the Spirit to guide us through the vicissitudes of life. Therefore, we are led to seek personal inspiration in life’s important decisions.I loved this thought! Personally, it has been a year of uphill trials. I do not know where I would be without specific guidance that I have received through the relationship I have personally developed with my Heavenly Father that allows me the blessing of personal answers and spiritual guidance.

Discussion:

• What can you do to enhance your capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life?
• What are the principles upon which spiritual communication depends?
• What are the potential barriers to such communication that you need to avoid?

Elder Scott admits that learning to consistently recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit, distinguish them from one’s own impulses and desires, and act courageously to fulfill them are accomplishments that we would be lucky to achieve in a lifetime. However, Elder Scott clearly believes that developing these skills is necessary. And perhaps most importantly, in these times of information overload, his recommendation  sounds achievable through the examples he offers us.

He notes the Prophet Joseph Smith’s instruction to John Taylor to begin each day with prayer – being grateful for another day our Father has granted us.

President John Taylor wrote: “Joseph Smith, upwards of forty years ago, said to me: ‘Brother Taylor, you have received the Holy Ghost. Now follow the influence of that Spirit, and it will lead you into all truth, until by and by, it will become in you a principle of revelation.’ Then he told me never to arise in the morning without bowing before the Lord, and dedicating myself to him during that day.”

Which is, in these hectic latter days, counsel that many of us can overlook in the daily haste to satisfy the necessities of temporal life. For example, if I’m woken up by my 3 y.o. doing the potty dance, after I escort her to do her necessary business, she’s hungry, so I start breakfast. Then, like mothers (and fathers) around the world every morning, we are joined by 2 more sleepy towheaded children and somewhere in the blur of showering, breakfast being eaten, teeth being brushed, hair being combed, clothes being put on, lunches being prepared, and busses arriving – it is all to easy to forget that morning prayer of thanksgiving. What I’ve learned to do is have the scriptures in the kitchen, so that a verse or two can be read during the “Waltz of Chaos” in the morning to ensure we all have the right start to the day.

Elder Scott uses two lessons as examples to illustrate his message. In the first, a humble Priesthood leader taught a lesson from his heart. The content of the lesson was less memorable than the impression the leader gave that promote spiritual guidance:  humility, intense desire to communicate truths, pure love of the Savior, as well as those who are taught, sincerity, pure intent, love, and spiritual strength. The spirit was present and powerful as this man struggled to express himself within the church.

In the second example, Elder Scott attended a Sunday School class where the teacher was using the fruits of his education and study to share insights into the lesson, less from a desire to inspire his pupils and more from what Elder Scott interpreted as pride — of a desire to impress his fellow congregants with his knowledge.

By keeping his lesson simple and focusing on his testimony of his ministry, the priesthood leader impressed Elder Scott with his sincerity and emotional depth. By contrast, the intellectual approach of the Sunday School teacher left Elder Scott irritated and bored. I was intrigued by the difference here between the emotional and the intellectual – this contrast exists in our brains (right-vs-left), between our ‘brains’ and our ‘souls’ between men and women. It plays out every week at church, every month of our life.

There isn’t any particular resolution to it – it’s just the way we are. As a teacher, I am always striving to embrace the humbleness of the Priesthood Leader’s approach. I try to be both emotionally fulfilling and intellectually enlightening in my approach. But I’m also cognizant of the fact that many of you have forgotten more about the gospel, church doctrine, lessons of our Presidents, General Conference talks and the like than I will EVER KNOW, even if I focused my studies on these topics for the rest of my life. So I try to infuse my lessons with whatever material I can bring from my experience and knowledgebase to further enlighten each of you (and me) and bring relevance to my ability to teach for our times.

And yet, the more important message here from Elder Scott seems to be that either course can invite the Spirit.

In the case of both lessons, Elder Scott felt the promptings of the Spirit. He stopped paying attention to his immediate surroundings and started listening to and interacting with the voice of God. Whether interested or biding his time, Elder Scott felt the Spirit in both examples and chose to listen to it instead – to be taught by the Holy Ghost – instead of from the content of the lesson being provided to him.

The manner in which Elder Scott recorded his personal inspiration is interesting, perhaps mostly because it follows the pattern that Joseph Smith seemed to follow with his revelations. Once written, the revelation was examined to see if it conformed to the mind and will of God and changes could be made. It speaks to the imperfection of human intermediaries and the humility needed to keep at revelation until one is certain they have gotten it right.

And, much like Joseph Smith, Elder Scott teaches that:

A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus [TPJS, p. 151]

Paying attention to the first promptings is valuable not for the promptings, but because it indicates an openness to the process of revelation. Just as it is important for the teacher to be prepared spiritually to guide, the students to be open spiritually in order to receive guidance.  He gives us ten things we should do as listeners:

1. Attend class prepared, with a readiness to learn
2. Be aware of impressions that may come
3. Write them down as soon as possible
4. Ponder what you have written
5. Study the meaning
6. Pray to the Lord, and review what was taught, and what was learned
7. Wait for a feeling of peace and confirmation
8. Thank Heavenly Father for the guidance
9. Ask: “Is there more to learn?” You probably will have additional impressions, but it takes courage to ask.
10. Repeat the process from beginning to end as many times as is necessary.  Elder Scott says, “Had I not responded to the first impressions and recorded them, I would not have received the last, most precious guidance.”

Here is an important warning.  “Satan is extremely good at blocking spiritual communication.” We have all been sidetracked by the destroyer.  “The Lord will not force you to learn.  You must exercise your agency to authorize the Spirit to teach you.”

As church members we’re taught that acquiring the gift of the Holy Ghost is the most important thing we can do. Everything else is subservient.

Elder Scott encourages us to practice, have patience, and be aware.  Inspiration comes to us in different ways.  By following the above ten steps, realize the unique way Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit communicate with you.

Elder Scott then launches into a critique of pornography, highlighting in particular the potentially corrosive effects of pornography on family relations. Perhaps more importantly, he discuss its effect on the soul. He notes that the adversary is at pains to induce “individuals, through temptation, to violate the laws upon which spiritual communication is founded.”

The notion is that Satan achieves his goal if “he is able to convince them that they are not able to receive such guidance from the Lord.” The presence or absence of revelation in the life of the individual is presented, in this talk, as the surest means of judging one’s current standing with the Lord.

Returning to those two lessons, the point appears to be that whether or not you are someone who prefers the intellectual or the emotional, putting yourself in the right place at the right time indicates a willingness to receive revelation. The ongoing debate regarding the superiority of one or the other approach to faith, to scripture or to life is shown to be entirely beside the point. Whether you are interested or bored by the lessons offered, your involvement in the process seems to be considered sufficient sacrifice for God to honor it with those first intimations of revelation, if such is appropriate.

What you do with that appears to be far more important than learning the signs of the times or historical facts. Not that either of those is bad, but they seem to be goals secondary to our involvement in the church.

Finally, it is worth noting that, for those ensnared in pornography or other damaging, compulsive behaviors, Elder Scott’s first advice is to re-establish communication with God. I believe this concept of exercising our agency to authorize the Spirit to take part in our lives is a huge part of prayer. God won’t interfere in our lives without our consent, he is that mindful of our agency. We must pray and ask for his influence and hand in our life.

Elder Scott counsels us: The inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit can be overcome or masked by strong emotions, such as anger, hate, passion, fear, or pride. When such influences are present, it is like trying to savor the delicate flavor of a grape while eating a jalapeño pepper. Both flavors are present, but one completely overpowers the other. In like manner, strong emotions overcome the delicate promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Remember the Jalapeno & grape analogy — be more aware of what you surround yourself with and how any negative emotions can block out the positive and good all around you.

Without the Holy Ghost we cannot receive the necessary experiences to have a relationship with Christ. We can study the scriptures, listen to the words of the living prophets, and thereby intellectually learn of Christ, but we won’t be able to experience Christ until we qualify for the Holy Ghost.  The challenge we have as followers of Christ is to diligently seek for the Holy Ghost. It’s not easy to acquire and maintain this gift, but the Lord is merciful to those who work at it.

Intellectual conversion to Christ is fragile, Spiritual conversion to Christ will ground and root us. And offer us the foundation for personal revelation, which is, the most important lesson of all.

Discussion

(Time permitting — we ran out of time due to the discussion questions raised earlier in the lesson. If we had the time, I would have divided the class into thirds, selected a spokesperson for each group and handed them a quote and question for them to discuss and present back to the Relief Society):

1. However, it is my judgment that there are many members of this Church who have been baptized for the remission of their sins, who have had hands laid upon their heads for the gift of the Holy Ghost, who have never received that gift, that is, the manifestations of it. Why? Because they have never put themselves in order to receive these manifestations. They have never humbled themselves. They have never taken the steps that would prepare them for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Therefore they go through life without that knowledge, and they have not the understanding. Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1958, p.21 – p.22

Question: “How do we draw a balance between spiritual self-reliance and relying on the Spirit?”

2. D&C Section 84: 45-46 says: For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spir, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

Questions: What the difference is between being “guided by the Holy Ghost” (for those who have been told to “receive the Holy Ghost” by the laying on of hands) and being “guided by the Light of Christ”?

How can one discern whether an answer has come through the Light of Christ or the Holy Ghost?  What difference does it make?

3. “I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear. ” D&C 38:30

Questions: What does it mean to be self-reliant in spiritual things?

Why is it important to be spiritually self-reliant?

In closing, God very much wants to help us but we must show our sincerity by being faithful to the knowledge he gives us. His plan is amazing. It helps us navigate the temporal reality but it also builds our soul for eternity. I never want to lose my sense of awe over the workings of God in my life and in the world at large.

I leave this lesson with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I lost my wallet tonight after quite a hectic and rather bothersome couple of hours. I was really upset and frankly losing my mind for a bit, realizing that someone probably stole it. I had to call all my cards and cancel them and now I’ve got to reorder a bunch of stuff and I’m still a bit irritated right now.

But then when I got back to school, still in my irritated state, it went through my head that “I can’t believe someone would take something that’s rightfully mine.”

Then it occurred to me (perhaps through the Spirit) that it was something I do all the time. I made a commitment to God to be rightfully His. I made a commitment to die to myself and who I am, yet I still live my own way and do things outside of what he would like. I steal myself.

In all honesty, I was praying that my wallet would be teleported to my dorm room from wherever it was

*CORRECTION: It is now about 20 minutes later. Because I’m done freaking out, I found it. Right at the front of my car. I vaguely remember putting it there but I don’t know why. Maybe God made me do it to teach me this lesson

Daily Read (Isaiah 61-63)

Scripture:
Isaiah 61:10 “I celebrate and shout because of my LORD God.”

Observation:
In the opening of the 61st chapter is one of many prophecies from Isaiah concerning the Messiah. This particular prophecy is one that Jesus quoted about Himself. He stood up one Sabbath in a synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah what we know as verses 1 and 2 (Luke 4:17-20) and  He said, “”Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus had come to fulfill the Word of the Lord given through the prophet, Isaiah. 700 years or so after the words were spoken, they came to fruition. The Messiah had come to do the following: preach the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the prisoners, recover the sight of the blind, release the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Application:
I don’t know about you, but reading again the words of Isaiah about what the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One was coming to do for all of mankind is more than enough for me to “celebrate and shout because of my LORD God.” There was a time in my life when I was poor, not in material things, but more so devoid of joy and the wellness of life. There was a time in my life when I was a prisoner, and slave, to the sin life I lived. There was a time in my life when I was blinded to the truth of the good news of the gospel. There was a time in my life when I was oppressed by the devil and his minions because I gave them a hold on my life by the sin I committed. There is a time in my life when I can proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor in my life. That time is now.

I am no longer poor, imprisoned, blind, or oppressed. I am free from the bondage of sin and am able to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor because of the work of the cross and the price in blood that Jesus paid to set me free from the curse of sin. When I was a sinner running around living life any way that pleased me, I entombed myself in the dungeon of sin. I shackled myself to the curse of sin and the law. For we have to remember that the law was created for the sinner not the righteous, which we become only through the grace of God the Father. The law mirrors the sin in us, and it is that same sin, which give the law its power.

Paul taught us that where there is no law there is no sin. If there were no sin in the world, there would be no need for the law. The law is righteous and is the Word of God. However, in the frailty that is humanity we are unable and incapable of keeping the law in its entirety. It is physically impossible for humans to do so. Therefore, we need a saving grace given to us by God and received by us through faith. This grace is God’s unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor upon us. We only receive because God has given it to us. Had He not chosen to extend us His mercy and grace because of His undying love for us, we would all die a sinner’s death and be tormented in hell for eternity, which is eternal life in a deadly sense.

If you have been saved by the blood of the lamb, that is enough and should be enough to cause celebrate and want to climb the top of Mount Everest or broadcast via satellite across the globe with the loudest shout possible because of the goodness that the Anointed One has done for you and me. He has set us free from the curse of the law by becoming the curse for us. He has saved us from an eternal life of death and torment in a fiery grave where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. He has given us the gift of eternal life and a reward to be given for the work we do for Him in this present age. He defeated Satan and redeemed from a fate reserved for the adversary and the demons. He pardoned you from this sentence. He made you a new creature devoid of the burden and enslavement of sin. He has renewed your mind and given you His mind. He has hidden us in His identity and dwells inside each of us through the Spirit of the living God.

What more will it take to cause you to shout it out loud to everyone you know, meet, greet, and encounter the good news of the gospel and what it can do for them? If it has done all this for you and me, then we have a huge obligation and duty to share this goodness with someone just like someone did for us. We should and need to be giving freely that which was given freely to us. We should overflowing with a well-spring of living water from inside now that we have tasted of the living water that quenches the thirst for righteousness. Somebody give Him praise and glory in the house of God, today!

Prayer:
Father, just the mere fact that I have been given a second chance at life by You is more than enough to cause me to shout out loud that You are my LORD God! May the joy of the Lord that is my strength well up such tremendous joy inside of me that I would be unable to keep quiet about the goodness of the Lord and be the salt and light of the world that drives people to You. Your Spirit is the only One who can cause people to cross my path at the exact planned moment, but I must be willing and ready to respond to Your prompting. Help me to become more and more attuned to Your Spirit and calling each day. I want to be Your biggest and loudest megaphone the world has ever heard. Not that I may be seen and heard but that I may announce to the world the greatness of my God and the vast goodness He has bestowed upon His people. Thank You! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

www.blogsurfer.us

If you read what I’ve written up until now, you probably dismiss me as something of a crackpot and I probably would dismiss what I’ve said too.

I’ve written about Satan and the effect that I believe he has on many things in daily life and significant events; however there’s of course a flaw in my theory; where’s God in all of this?

Well He is where He always is; He’s up in Heaven watching. Satan doesn’t do anything beyond what God lets him do. God lets him do all sorts of things however, Satan runs this world because God said so.

So…lets take a look at this.

In my own case, I was a Christian and found it extremely odd that I could have this torment that I was experiencing at the same time. Satan had a strategy with me; he pretended he was God.

…and God let him.

How can that happen?

Well, we make a lot of assumptions about God. We believe that God has some sort of duty or obligation to take care of us on this earth. He doesn’t HAVE to though, and that’s the point.

God is concerned about Souls in Heaven; earth could be a great place if you are blessed by God, however that is simply an option and not anything that God is required to do. He more than willing to let people suffer on earth and call it a test for Heaven. God requires that He be first, if He’s not He will eventually (or in my case not eventually at all) force you into a decision.

God or the world? Take your pick…

I was told by a voice, a voice I was under the assumption was God, to give my 2 children away. 2 kids that I had custody of and had raised myself for years. And you know what? I did it. I gave them to their mom, because a voice told me to.

Now I don’t have to define for anyone how sick that is; but when you believe it’s the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something and you don’t do it, things get rather intense.

Later, after this was all done, my pet voice told me some other things and those things wound up not being the truth. Then based on a verse in Hebrews stating that it is impossible for God to lie, I realized that I was dealing with something completely different than what I thought I was. It was either my own psychosis or it was Satan.

That did nothing to solve the problem though; I had signed away custody of my own children. This is where Christianity gets turned into a weapon. Jesus said if someone asks you for your coat, to give it to them. Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler to give away everything he owned…or else!

What if someone came to your door and asked you for your house?

What if someone came to your door and asked you for your kids?

I’ll tell you, in my case, I never got my kids back. God never cared what happened to me. He could have, but He isn’t required to. He isn’t required to prevent it, and isn’t required to give you something or someone back to replace what’s gone. It’s His option, and His alone.

Shame on me for being so gullible, and I won’t argue that. Christianity messes with people’s minds though in how extreme it capably can be, and also the madness of realizing that Satan actually reports to God. Here’s some examples:

Satan walks up to God and tells Him basically that Job only cares about God because Job’s been blessed. God could truly care about Job’s life and tell Satan “No” and to go away; however instead God takes the possibility seriously and tells Satan that he can do all sorts of nasty things to Job; but he can’t kill him.

So that’s what happens. Job loses riches, loses cattle, actually LOSES HIS CHILDREN all under this dare that Job will stay faithful to God through this suffering.

Then, when Job basically tells God “this sucks”, God goes on pretty much of a rampage. Tells Job everything that He has done and is capable of, and to paraphrase He pretty much tells Job that “I’m God, I can do anything I want…too bad. “

Job passes the test, doesn’t curse God and gets double of everything back. Well, not really everything. Kids aren’t like weebles, you don’t replace one with another one. His kids that died, died. When it was the birthday of one of Job’s kids, I’m sure he still grieved even though he had new kids. So yes, God did take Job’s kids from him and they didn’t come back.

Notice something else in the story of Job though. God told Satan what he could do, and WHAT HE COULDN’T DO. Satan couldn’t say F*** you God, I’m going to kill him anyways. When God set a limit, it was followed. Satan reports to God, there’s no other way to reason that point…I mean what if Satan defied God; if you were Satan wouldn’t you say something to the effect of “Or what, you’re going to throw me in Hell?” Notice, he didn’t say that at all.

Now the notion of God treating people with respect and fairness. One of the ways in which people seem geniunely befuddled about God is in the notion of not being able to comprehend John 3:16 vs. Romans 9:13.

John 3:16 is “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 9:13 says that Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

Athiests just love this stuff, because God is a hypocrite, right?

Well no it’s actually pretty simple. God promises everyone the chance at eternity. Choose Jesus, choose Salvation; keep God first in your heart, love your neighbor as yourself and you go to Heaven.

No exceptions. Pharoah, Judas, every person that ever has or ever will live gets that same promise of Jesus and eternal life. No one is damned to Hell, it’s punishment for not choosing God and everyone has the option.

And yes, I know all about the elect and the elect is a SPIRIT that will not let those imbued stray from God or the truth. It’s like winning the lottery, virtually no one has that spirit, for the rest of us it’s our own free will, it’s the equivalent of having an angel inside of you that won’t let you wander too far from God. To those people, they get the full actual truth. Heaven matters, life doesn’t. Period, the end.

The rest of us have to choose that, with help maybe but we don’t have the angel that won’t let us walk away. How many people are the elect? Well let’s see, once upon a time God killed off everyone on earth except Noah and his family, so obviously there weren’t very many elect walking around back then. Plus, if this was all pre-ordained why would God be mad at people? It’s His own fault for Him not putting more elect on earth. Right? No, man has free will for the most part…

So Salvation, meaning Jesus Christ and Heaven, is a viable promise that applies to everyone as representative of God’s love.

So how could God hate?

He hates behaviors as all of us already know, He hates people by mistreating them on EARTH.

How did God hate Esau? He told Rebekkah before either Jacob or Esau was born that Esau would serve Jacob. Against custom. Against the rules of the land.

He did not say Esau couldn’t be saved. He did not say Esau wouldn’t be blessed even, but Jacob was getting something Esau was entitled to. God was abusing Esau, he was mistreating him intentionally, He was hating Esau. He doesn’t say “so what”, He comes right out and says “I hate you”. On earth…

Jacob flat out lies to his father to get Esau’s birthright, God looks the other way. God’s will came to pass through Jacob breaking one of God’s commandments. At Esau’s expense.

Then afterwards, God sends an angel to wrestle with Jacob and clean him up of his deceitful nature; but God doesn’t give Esau the birthright, does He? Jacob keeps it, God’s will came from sin. That’s how Esau was hated, God’s basically being enough of a man to acknowledge that and also to warn everyone in Romans 9 that He does have the capability to allow people to be mistreated on earth for His own purposes. Now of course God doesn’t tempt sin, so who did? Ding ding, Satan did. Satan works for God.

Now let’s look at Jesus and Judas. Do you think Satan understands what Jesus purpose on earth is? Of course! So why does Satan enter Judas to have him betray Jesus? Isn’t that sort of a stupid thing for Satan to do?

Why doesn’t Satan jump into Judas, have him run a thousand miles in the other direction and then drown him in a lake? Anything to keep scripture from being fulfilled.

No that’s not his strategy, because there doesn’t seem to be any option. What if Judas said no to betraying Jesus? What if Pilate said no? Would God have just shrugged and said “Oh well, maybe later”. It’s obvious that this had to happen, and if anything Satan’s only real effort came in trying to stop Jesus from actually pulling it off.

Satan reports to God…he does what God lets him do.