Back to Basics

(Bible passages in this post taken from the King James Version)

Sometimes we need to revisit the basics, especially when many pastors are, for the most part, not teaching it anymore.

 Today I'll touch on #1, hearing the word.

The passage that Romans 10:17 comes from is talking about reaching out to Israel, and the fact that other nations are actually being blessed by the fact that Israel rejected the Messiah, and that the Lord will use it to provoke Israel to jealousy.

 Romans 10:13-21  

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

 and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

 and how shall they hear without a preacher?  

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? 

as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!   

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. 

For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?   

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  

But I say, Have they not heard? 

Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.  But I say, Did not Israel know? 

First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.  

But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.  

But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. 

Although I agree with the above tidy little synopsis of what needs to happen in order to be saved, there is much, much more that is going on in the process that goes beyond human ability to perform. Not all who hear the truth receive it, and yet all who hear it receive it with gladness. It is  a paradox.

Act 28:26-28  Saying, Go unto this people, and say, 

Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; 

and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:   

For the heart of this people is waxed gross,

 and their ears are dull of hearing, 

and their eyes have they closed; 

lest they should see with their eyes,

 and hear with their ears, 

and understand with their heart, 

and should be converted, 

and I should heal them.   

Be it known therefore unto you, 

that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, 

and that they will hear it.

There it is again, the emphasis of the truth spreading to other nations as a result of Israel's neglecting to receive it, having hardened their hearts to the act of hearing from the Lord. Something else that is given in this passage is the fact that there are two types of hearing: 1. hearing that hears and 2. hearing that doesn't hear. 

There is a supernatural element (and let me be clear when I use the word "supernatural" it isn't in a new age magical sense of the word) that involves a proper searching, a heart that is humbled before God receives from Him, whereas a haughty, self-righteous, self-promoting, self-centered heart hardens itself against what God says, and even though persons with hard hearts hear the words, those words do nothing to enrich those prideful, selfish, hardened persons hearing them. We have all been there haven't we? I know that I have been there. There have been several occasions that people reached out to me with God's word to me, and those words fell on my deaf ears that couldn't hear Him, couldn't penetrate my hard heart. But when the Lord did it, I wasn't even looking for Him at the time, yet He softened my heart to hear a family that reached out to me in love. He opened my deaf ears to hear for the first time the words that I in my worldly wisdom had scoffed at. Yes, it was supernatural, it was a miracle, but it was such a quiet one, one that had no magical, dazzling, spectacular special effects to bring everyone around to gasping in excited exclamations of wonder. It was a very quiet and humble miracle, just like all other miracles that humbly meet us every day, the ones we for the most part take for granted. 

With eyes to see and ears to hear, the commonplace, the every day things, take on special significance of the many wonderful blessings, miracles, that Jesus performs for us on a continual basis, by which He sustains our lives...until it is time to go to be with Him, or, for those who have not received, have continued to harden their hearts, have continued to insist they know better than the God of the Bible, those will be eternally without Him, only having their own tormenting thoughts to keep them company throughout eternity.   

We can go back and forth, and round and round, whether it ends up being God's fault that many never hear in the saving sense of the word, or whether it is man's fault (false teachers not getting the true word out and rebellious hearts rejecting the truth when it is correctly presented) and I have settled it in my own mind that God knows perfectly what He is doing and He doesn't make mistakes. Man does make mistakes, every day, anyone who does not agree with that fact is very deluded indeed. So in my humble estimation of who is at fault, I would never be so presumptuous as to say it is God who is to be blamed for people going to hell. 

Another factor that needs bringing up in the matter of hearing the truth is prayer. We need to pray for our unsaved loved ones, friends, family, and even strangers who cross our paths. Many pray for frivolous things, or even things that are  not frivolous such as the health and temporal well-being of others, which may or may not receive an answer to the petitioner's liking. Much better to pray for something of eternal significance; the salvation of the lost. That is something of eternal value, all the rest will eventually fade and die anyway. When our prayers for the lost together with the true word going out to them reach the lost via the Holy Spirit of God, a revival of God's quiet and humble miracle of salvation can ignite in the lives of the hearers, having their ears opened by the true and powerful living God, to whom all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Next time I'll tackle #2.

Seeing Contradictions Where There Are None

Great sermon by R.C. Sproul, in this sermon he asks the question: "Why (in our natural state) do we hate what God says?" Great question, one that he touches on but requires years of personal reflection and study (and to study this honestly one has to submit to the Lord in careful Bible study, daily study) to answer for yourself. In seeing what atheists and "former Christians" amuse themselves with saying, I see right away where and how they misuse what the scriptures say. Why do they do that? Interesting question. Somewhat of a side note on what R.C.Sproul mentions in this sermon is what is told us about Ahab, and I want to zero in particularly what happens to Ahab at the end of his life, and how it meshes with what the true prophets of God had told him would happen about his death. One prophet had mentioned that the dogs would lap up his blood at a pool where he had someone put to death so he could steal his property. Another prophet of God told him he would die in battle. It seems like a contradiction to the untrained eye...but how it plays out in real life solves this in the fact that Ahab does indeed die in battle, his blood pours out all over the chariot he is riding in, so his servants take the chariot and wash out all Ahab's blood at the very pool where he (Ahab) had shed the blood because of greed and covetousness. No Contradictions, both true.
edit: I can no longer find the R.C. Sproul sermon, but this short clip talks a bit about what can be seen as Bible contradictions...but are they really?
Anyway, I hope you take the time to listen to this:

Morning and Evening Readings...

My morning and evening bible readings (I've been reading the Bible in the mornings and at bedtime since beginning of the year) have been a blessing. I'm in the book of 1 Kings right now, and notice things I haven't noticed before. The Bible is such an amazing and miraculous book! I am so humbled by all of the wisdom and paradoxes that are laid out for us to ponder and pray about. Until this reading I thought that the widow who gave Elijah the bread (her last) got bread and oil for the rest of her life. On this reading I see that the reason she was out of bread was because of the severe drought, and Elijah told her that the flour and oil would replenish itself UNTIL it rained again:



1Ki 17:14  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 

https://wonderingpreacher.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/elijah-and-the-widow-of-zarephath-a-prayer/

Hearing God's Voice

There are many that claim they hear from God these days. They claim to have received a "word of prophecy" or something like that and the proof is in the pudding. We can compare what they say with what the Bible says, and then if it is inconclusive we can say "I'll wait and see and whether I believe them or not God is always true."

Dr. Peter Masters who preaches at the Metropolitan Tabernacle of London England expounds on hearing God's voice in this message:

The Gifts of the Spirit Part 1

Whether you are a Cessationist or a Charismatic, you will (I hope) enjoy this dialogue on the subject. I myself do not go so far as to label myself a Charismatic nor a Cessationist. I agree that the Lord by His Spirit can do all things that are needful to truly and powerfully bring His chosen into the family of God. I find in the gospel of John that it is the Holy Spirit who brings all things Jesus said to our remembrance.

When I think of a scripture that is an answer to something that is arbitrarily believed contrary to what the scriptures actually say, I know it is the Spirit of God teaching me what to answer in due season, and that He gives me the discernment that is needed to know the difference between right and wrong teaching also corroborated with looking to what the Bible says on these things just as the Bereans made sure what was being taught lined up with scripture.

I think both sides of this debate have persons who we can agree tend to "go too far" in either direction of for or against. I think there are indeed charlatans on the side of the charismatic side, but that there are also deceivers on the cessationist side, and stifle the Spirit of God, and therefore to only disagree with a position because you have interacted with some of those deceivers and not because of having a direct and fully formed basis for that position by careful study in the matter is somewhat shortsighted.

Having given as a small introduction a few things as I understand them on this topic, I give you this debate to pray about and may you be blessed by the discussion and may they be for further study and prayer in your life and the Lord's developing His gifts to His current disciples in the faith, as He determined beforehand to do for His people, and for the truth He has revealed in His word to reach all those that are to be found in Him.

Neglecting So Great a Salvation

I've heard many objections to the reality of hell. Here are a few:

1. God cannot be a good God and send people to hell

2. It is only for the angels who sinned not for people

3. It is not a literal place, it is only symbolic, people will just disappear and the eternal aspect of it is they will be eternally nothing, their suffering and gnashing will be an eternal fact of the past, but will forever attest to their once having been, and forever having disappeared.

4. Hell only means "grave". It is from a word that translates to mean "the grave". If you believe Jesus, and truly take to heart what Jesus says about hell, you would know that it does mean that the person has died and their mortal body has gone to the grave...but it goes further, there is an immortal portion that goes deeper and further and lower than simply a hole in the ground.

Jesus said none of those things. The Bible reveals that it is a place, a real place, and that there will be angels who get sent there, but that there will also be people that will get sent there...and Jesus said MANY will go there, that few will go the narrow road that leads to eternal life and many will go the wide path to eternal destruction.....

Questions and Answers

Continuing with my Voddie Baucham binge I came upon this sermon and I am in awe of how much the Lord has blessed me through this sermon...even though the message is the same one (God never changes) Voddie is so gifted in breaking open the Truth of God's word to the understanding afresh.

In this sermon he asks life's 4 basic questions, and then answers these questions with "the world view" and then answers them with what the Bible says. Amazing grace, ever more and more amazing.

The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

In the days of Ezra the walls of the city of Jerusalem were broken and Ezra asked the king, Artexerxes, to rebuild the walls of the city. When the walls were restored, Ezra gathered the people (Nehemiah 7:5) because the Lord put it on his heart to record them by their geneologies. While they were gathered there he read the book of the law to them. I love what it says in Nehemiah 8:8 :

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (ESV)

The words of the law were explained clearly so the people understood exactly what was being said...and it caused the people to weep, because they understood the words of the law and recognized their fallen condition. But Ezra told them not to weep because the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemian 8:10)

When we understand the Bible correctly, it causes us to see our sinfulness and it is not pleasant to see that ugly condition. There are many ways to react to this understanding....

Faith and Trust

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (KJV)

I was thinking about these two words today. They go together, don't they? The faith that we have in Jesus comes from developing a relationship of trusting Him. It is the belief that what He says is true, whether other people believe Him or not, whether it seems to make sense to us or not, an assurance and a conviction that He is and does all the things that are written about Him and more. He is more real and true than anything we now experience as real and true in this world of shadows though we only "see" Him in what He does for us...IF we have the eyes to see. He provides for all that we need, and even those in deepest poverty have all that they truly need in Him because the suffering that they now have to suffer will be turned to joy as they are the first and most honored of His brothers and sisters in His kingdom though at this time, in this world, they are the last, the bottom of the barrel. He asks those who have more to show their trust and devotion to Him by providing food and raiment to those who don't have much here. That is how we "the bride" care for His home on earth, to care for His children in need...to pray for those who are lost, and blind, and needy.

The Book of Acts

I just completed reading the book of Acts of the Apostles...again....and it was great to read it anew. There is so much packed into every verse in every book of the Bible that you cannot "get it" all in one reading, and often on the first reading you may focus on minor points that have no bearing on the main thrust of the message, and link various of these minor points together incorrectly and make a mess of the message, lol. That is why it takes years and several readings, and the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit, Who doesn't give us everything in one dose.

On reading it this time, I focused in on what the apostles were saying. What was their message? They were telling the people what they had witnessed in Jesus the Messiah, and that they were direct witnesses of His resurrection from the dead.

Here is a video of a young minister (he looks like a kid to me) expounding on the book of Acts. One thing that I enjoy from his message is the fact that many (just like the people of Jesus and Paul's day) were only interested in miracles and signs. This young minister, Caleb Schaller, says (24 minutes in) "the miracles were to confirm the message" (Acts ch 16) and "Christianity with no miracles would still have the message of sins forgiven through Christ, Christianity with miracles but no message would have very little to offer." Excellent point.

God Feeds the Ravens...

I love the way Pastor Dykstra preaches. He speaks honestly, and exposes that what God does is so different from how we would do it. He points out that the Bible says that God feeds the ravens, but doesn't do it in a way that we feed our pets. He makes the food available, and the ravens have to expend some energy to get it. God's love also requires something from each of us.

Listen to the whole sermon here:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=923121784410

Yes He is merciful and kind, and yes He is HOLY (a very important part of God that many would rather forget about).

This sermon talks about worrying, the sin of worrying. We all do it, so don't flatter yourself thinking that you don't, lol. We all do it, me too, guilty. Thank the Lord, He provides these councils to help us not to hurt us. When we worry, we hurt ourselves. Everything He tells us about sin reveals that we abuse ourselves with our sin in one way or another. He shows us our sins not to be angry at us or because He hates us. He hates sin. He hates sin because sin destroys us. When He spanks us, it isn't because He is a hateful and angry God. Why is that our first reaction? Because we have a convoluted perception of who God is, and that He does what He does not because He loves punishing us, but because He loves us and wants to prevent us from heading for even greater harm.

 He requires something from us. Perfection? No.

 Trust.

 Trust gets rid of worry. Trust even in the most difficult of times. Trust even when everyone hates us or want to kill us. God still provides us through anything we will go through in this life, and in ways that we often don't give Him credit for because He provides for us indirectly. Trust that even though standing for what is right will get us hated, even by the most "loving" people....and God will see us through.

The Lord is Good

...and in my flesh dwelleth  NO GOOD THING (except God, His Holy Spirit, so I don't get credit for that):

  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.   For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Romans 7:18-19

That is the reason Jesus came to earth. He is the ONLY good person, truly good, that ever came to earth. He saves us from this terrible place, but while we are here we still deal with our sinful flesh, and the only good in us is what He does through us, and that comes from Him, not us, or we wouldn't need Him.

So when I feel terrible, or feel guilty, or depressed, I'm not even getting a fraction of what would be just punishment for me. It reminds me that I am sinful, that I am but flesh, and it reminds me that God alone is good and every man (including me) is a liar, a fraud, and every day when I sense the sinfulness of my flesh, it is because I know that what the Bible has already told me about it is true, and that one day the Lord will remove what He is creating in this dying sack of rotting flesh, what He has paid for with His life, even though I did not deserve it, not before being saved, and not now, after being saved. I cannot, and that isn't beating myself up, that's just being honest with myself, before God, and being thankful that He would love even such a wretch as I am.

Memory

image link

As I get older, my memory seems to get worse and worse. Sometimes I'll be in cleaning in one room and realize that I need something that is in another room, but by the time I reach the other room the reason for going there completely escapes me.

Often I ponder how the memory works. Having taken anatomy and physiology courses, I know about the scientific explanations for these things; the firing of synapses, the storing of information in long-term and short-term memories, and how a song or a fragrance can suddenly bring to mind something that happened so long ago that you are surprised by it's sudden recollection...

But why do I suddenly recall a verse that Jesus spoke which has been lovingly recorded into our Bible, remembering the exact words at a time when I need them the most? Like when a temptation confronts me and suddenly the verse:

1Corinthians 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

enters quietly "out of nowhere"....really? Out of nowhere? Or is it MY wondrous ability? This incredible brain that I have in my head, capable of retrieving at any instant beyond my conscious control, vast stores of knowledge, and because my brain knows that I am a Christian, MY BRAIN chooses from it's memory banks the correct Bible verse to bring to mind at that moment I NEED it the most? Is that how it works? Is that what the Bible tells us? Or does God still speak to His own today...and do most of His own take the credit for it for being so self-righteous that such spiritual thinking comes so easily of our own ability to make it so?

The gospel of John tells us:

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Oh, yeah, the Holy Spirit...I remember Him! He is God! And He still speaks to us, even today, when many say that God is silent and only speaks while we are reading what we read in His word, the Bible. True, the Holy Spirit does reveal His word to us while we are reading His word. But He also reminds us of the things He has said in His word. 

Does this make me arrogant? To think that I am so precious to God that He would speak to me, to remind me of His caring for me, His words of comfort, and caution, and love? No. It humbles me. It reminds me that I can do nothing of myself. It reminds me of how dependent I am of Him, and how much He cares for me. 

I am grateful that I am getting more and more absent minded, because it serves as a reminder of how much I need Jesus, need His Comforter, His Holy Spirit, Who reminds me of His love and protection over me.

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.   

My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.   

I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.   

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 

  

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.   

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!   Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles,

 shalt quicken me again, 

and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 

Thou shalt increase my greatness, 

and comfort me on every side. 

Psalm 71:14-21

How Deep Does God's Grace Reach?

image link (be sure to check out this link)

Or an alternate title for this post is:

Quit Trying and Trust

How deep is my sin? How deep is your sin? God's love and grace and forgiveness reaches as deep, and deeper than that!


Kent Clark is my pastor. My dear hubby and I found him through Sermon Audio, and have had the fortune of being able to visit his congregation a couple of times to hear him in person. He teaches about God's grace...and only that...Grace, Grace, Grace... and you'd think that would get tiresome and repetitive, but it isn't. God's grace is glorious, amazing, and so much greater than your sin or mine. It IS all about God's grace.

In the following Sermon Audio selection, Kent preaches on an introduction into the 5 points of Calvinism, about our sin, the complete horror of how deep and terrible and disgusting to God our sin is, how it reaches even into and beyond our genetics, and therefore SALVATION is ALL ABOUT HIS GRACE, and has nothing to do with any of our ability to do anything. We cannot even look up without HIS GRACE. His strength is what strengthens us. His glory empowers us. His mercy forgives and reaches out to us.

Check my pastor out here:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=222121111157

Isn't God's grace AMAZING?

Praying for Lucy Part 2

After being in a coma for 5 days, she came out of the coma last Monday (they thought it might be meningitis with fevers topping 104 F!), and here she is today!

AWESOME! 

THANK YOU JESUS!

No Arms, No Legs, No Worries Mate!

Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs. He tried to take his life when he was eight years old, but found that he couldn't do it. He realized that God had a plan for his life, and allows the Lord to use him to inspire others. :)

Seeds

Link to photo

1 Corinthians 15:35-50 (NIV)

There is someone that is near and dear to me that is approaching her final days in her mortality. When I visited with her recently, I was reading 1 Corinthians and when I got to the above passage, the words it spoke rang out to me so clearly.

This body is only a dying shell, the hull for something the Lord is doing inside of us while we are yet here. It is the outer chrysalis that the caterpillar is being transformed into something different, away from fleshy eyes, that can only be viewed with “the eyes of the spirit” (those who have eyes to see). I often forget that, and place so much importance on the things that are dust and vanishing away.

Verse 37: When you sow (a seed) you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as He has determined, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body.

Just like a butterfly looks nothing like the caterpillar that was before that miraculous transformation, so we too will be nothing like our former selves, which will have died literally and completely. The resurrection body will be a complete redo, not just a makeover. The whole thing will be torn down, and something new will be made with all new materials. The Spirit seed that was planted inside this dying hull will be what causes the transformation.

Verse 58: Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I remember being very young, looking at a Dutch magazine. There were 9 pictures (very nicely done artworks) of a little girl planting a seed into a terracotta pot filled with rich black earth in the first picture. The next 7 pictures show the child intently gazing at the pot for any sign of growth, and with each succeeding picture she seems to grow more frustrated and impatient, until in the final picture she has dug up the seed, dirt is all over the counter, and the young lady is holding the seed between her dirty thumb and forefinger, examining it for any sign of growth.

That's me.

I am so impatient in regards to my own and other people's spiritual condition, and have an unnecessary impulse to look for any sign of growth or change. God is doing something, He promised He would. It is something that defies our earthly understanding and impulses. It is miraculous and wonderful. It is something I want to see right now, but “digging up the seed” only retards the process. I have to trust, and rest, and rely on Jesus, and know that He will keep all of His promises IN HIS TIME, and all my trying to see how and why and when only causes me to take my gaze off of the WHO.

 Jesus.

He is sufficient, and the rest He has promised to already have taken care of, and will be revealed in His time.

(The verses in this post have all been from the NIV version. It isn't my favorite version, but it is the version of my study Bible that I got when I worked at a Bible bookstore.... and I'll emphasize again that although it isn't my favorite version, this passage seems to come alive for me much more in the NIV than the KJV does.)

Conversations With Jesus Part 3

Recently there has been a bit of a disagreement on DebbieLynne's blog about the topic of whether Jesus actually communicates with His saints in ways other than (through divine intervention of His Holy Spirit)  through hearing His voice from the pages of His book, the Bible, and then only during the time while one is reading.

To give a bit of personal background, I have never been in the "Charismatic movement", and what little I have seen and heard from them directed me away from their forms of worship and teaching. I did come from a very legalistic upbringing, then married a Mormon and was involved in that cult for a few years, and then out of that frying pan into the fires of the New Age Movement, out of which the Lord Jesus by His mercy saved me.

DebbieLynne maintains (as many people do) that Jesus does not talk to people in any other way except through His book only during the moments we are actually reading, and to say that He speaks to us in our spirit at other times, is not only inaccurate (or downright false) but very dangerous and misleading, and causes one to only depend on oneself and one's own feelings, etc.

I admit (and also admitted to DebbieLynne) that there are many persons with false agendas who write books to make money that have come up with all kinds of schemes to manipulate God into speaking to us in any way possible, and they are often those who are influenced by pagan types of mysticism and false worship. However, one must be careful when trying to avoid the false, to not thereby go to the opposite extreme and call anything that might have a faint resemblance to the false also false (thereby "throwing out the baby with the bathwater", as the saying goes).

There always is that danger of when trying to avoid something that we know is wrong, of then going to the opposite end of that spectrum in order to avoid making the same mistake. If, however, by doing so, one then blocks out the Holy Spirit's promptings, or even worse, call His promptings "satanic deceptions", we have a problem.

Mar 3:22  And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
Mar 3:23  And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
Mar 3:24  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Mar 3:25  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Mar 3:26  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
Mar 3:27  No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Mar 3:28  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Mar 3:29  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Mar 3:30  Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Yes, I have seen the above verses used by charismatic "healers" to hide behind, but truly God will judge them, and we have no need to be fearful because of them, and then avoid the above counsel because it will then make us like them. The above counsel IS in the Bible, and Jesus did have it there for a reason. There is a warning there about attributing what is given by God  to the devil. Let us instead be discerning, and thankful to God, for His goodness, and His mercy, and His Holy Spirit who leads us and teaches us. He is not limited in how He chooses to interact with us, His sheep, who hear His voice, and are called by His name. He doesn't require us to do any "quiet listening rituals" or whatever, to hear Him.

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26  But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 

Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Joh 14:25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.



I'll try not to make this a "hobbyhorse issue" of mine. ;)

Conversations With Jesus Part 2

The past couple of months....well, actually, the past couple of years, have been difficult and challenging for me. It seems to have intensified for me in the recent weeks, and true, I may be bringing alot of this onto myself still a sinner, saved by God's mercy and grace.

Yesterdays post included many scripture passages which spoke about the topic of prayer, and although I bolded some of the words, I didn't add any of my own thoughts to it, mainly because my thoughts have been especially difficult to communicate lately. There's more that I can say about that but I'll say it with this:

Jer 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
Jer 20:10  For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. 



I fully feel these words.



So last night I was thinking about a couple of people in my life with whom things came to an ugly head, and the headache that was pounding ever more painful in my head (have had a headache since Friday morning, today it's much better, thank the Lord!) also brought to my mind someone dear to me who is suffering from brain cancer and the pain she must be going through. Then there was a darkness so thick that it was darker than the room, like a light had turned off inside my head, a darkness you can feel, oppressive and thick. As it encompassed me the thought: "be prepared to die". I was a little frightened at first, and then remembered the verse that I was studying in an article yesterday:

 1Th 5:4  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Even though I sensed darkness all around me, I know I am not "of darkness", it can surround me but not overtake me. Then it passed.

This morning, I wanted to do something, to continue conversations with two persons that are primary sources of difficulty right now...persons that have made it known to me that they want nothing to do with me...and I still want to "fix" the situations myself. Sigh. And I had determined that I would attempt to continue to try....and the thought: SHE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU stopped me....(both situations involve women and this counsel would apply to each one) and I stopped to think...and remembered to pray for my "enemies"...

and

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

I'm not saying that I didn't deserve rebuking, I probably failed the "speak the truth IN LOVE" admonition, miserably...so I kept trying to clarify with "what I meant was.."...and although true, of course it didn't work, sigh, but only made each one respectively, angrier. Yeah. However, there it is....so pray....trying to sit on my hands to prevent my doing what I want to do, which doing would only pick at the wound. They have kicked me out of their town, so to speak:

Mat 10:14  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.


Not to kick sand in their face, but to shake it off, so I don't continue to carry my hurt, my disappointment, my anger, or any other ugly things that can be clinging to me that would effect my walk, to shake it off, and then move on....let it GO....ok, definitely need the Lord's help with that one, lol. I can be like a pit bull when it comes to letting things go. Sheesh.


So I'm praying for "my enemies" that the Lord will reveal Himself to them in their hurting, and that they may come to fully know the true grace and mercy that flows from His throne, that they may

be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col 1:9)

and that
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in [them] (2 Thes 1:12)

......and leave those requests with Him, to be fulfilled as He sees fit, in HIS time and HIS way, not mine. :)

 

Conversations With Jesus

Something that DebbieLynne said recently about scripture being copyrighted had me a bit confused, but perhaps the newer versions do have some sort of copyright on them, so all the verses I will present will be from the King James Version, which I do believe has no copyright issues attached.

Image link

I was going to add my thoughts about prayer along with Bible text, but I think it probably best to let the Bible speak for itself on this topic. There are a few other posts where I touch on the topic:

Psalm 23

The 23rd Psalm Revisited

Prayer of the Synergist

Joseph's Troubles

 This is just a beginning point, and is by no means exhaustive. Here are some verses that mention things which we can pray for others and also what we might ask the Lord for ourselves:

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

 

Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

Luk 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

Luk 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye

might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Col 1:10

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Col 1:11

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

Col 1:12

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

(pray):

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Th 1:11 Wherefore also we pray always for you,

that our God would

count you worthy of this calling,

and

fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness,

and

the work of faith with power:

2Th 1:12

That

the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you,

and

ye in him,

according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Ti 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where,

lifting up holy hands,

without wrath and doubting.

Heb 13:18 Pray for us:

for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted?

let him pray.

Is any merry?

let him sing psalms.

Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you?

let him call for the elders of the church;

and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Jas 5:17 Elias was
 a man subject to like passions as we are, 
 

and he prayed earnestly

that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 
 

Jas 5:18 And he prayed again,

and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. 

 Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, 
that we may obtain mercy, 
and 
find grace to help in time of need.