WALK IN THE WORD, NOT THE WORLD

     My friends, when you hold the Bible in your hands, you are holding something supernatural. Your Bible contains truth that will both reveal and destroy the power of iniquity and Mystery Babylon in the life of anyone audacious enough to believe it. Yes, your Bible holds the power of God and the words of God; it reveals the very nature of the Kingdom of God. Your Bible will feed your spirit man, open your eyes to spiritual realities, and teach you how to leave Babylon behind and walk in God's Kingdom alone. Your Bible should show the wear of extreme use, the tear stains of repentance and transformation, and a life that no longer walks according to the course of this world or according to the prince of the power of the air that works in the hearts of the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2). The "Prince of Preachers," Charles Spurgeon, was spot-on when he proclaimed, "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't."

--Dr. Michael Lake, from The Sheeriyth Imperative

SEARCH THE WORD FOR MEANING

 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. - Proverbs 25:2

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

Right from the start, I want to stipulate that my mental vocal-tone is gentle and my purpose for commenting about that particular verse -- Love your neighbor as yourself -- is ... well, that comes toward the end...

A funny thing happens often these days if a Bible-believing person goes against the cultural norm of a person's I-did-it-my-way "Christianity" by bringing to their attention how "their way" may not be God's way, according to His Word: They often come back with, "You're not loving your neighbor as yourself, as you should, and that's also in the Bible."

True. Galatians 5:14, to be specific. 

But as so often happens, too many forget that no verse is a stand-alone; every verse fits into the larger context. For example, what comes before and after Galatians 5:14? Let me assist by sharing an easier version to read from the Complete Jewish Bible, translated by David H. Stern. I used this version because it's closer to the original meaning of the language and cultural idioms of the time in which it was written--which matters, and Stern is a renowned Hebrew scholar and translator.

Starting with Galatians 5:13, we read:

13 For, brothers, you were called to be free. Only do not let that freedom become an excuse for allowing your old nature to have its way. Instead, serve one another in love. 14 For the whole of the Torah is summed up in this one sentence: “Love your neighbor as yourself”;[a] 15 but if you go on snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other!

16 What I am saying is this: run your lives by the Spirit. Then you will not do what your old nature wants. 17 For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.

19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things.

24 Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. 25 Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day.

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

But don't stop there, continue with Galatians 6:1-10...

6 Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won’t be tempted too. 2 Bear one another’s burdens — in this way you will be fulfilling the Torah’s true meaning, which the Messiah upholds. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is fooling himself. 4 So let each of you scrutinize his own actions. Then if you do find something to boast about, at least the boasting will be based on what you have actually done and not merely on a judgment that you are better than someone else; 5 for each person will carry his own load. 6 But whoever is being instructed in the Word should share all the good things he has with his instructor. 7 Don’t delude yourselves: no one makes a fool of God! A person reaps what he sows. 8 Those who keep sowing in the field of their old nature, in order to meet its demands, will eventually reap ruin; but those who keep sowing in the field of the Spirit will reap from the Spirit everlasting life. 9 So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don’t give up, we will in due time reap the harvest. 10 Therefore, as the opportunity arises, let us do what is good to everyone, and especially to the family of those who are trustingly faithful.

What -- and who -- does the apostle Paul mean by "those who are trustingly faithful," because we don't want to guess or leave anything out (again), do we? After all, look at ALL that's left out of the whole message of Chapter 5--it doesn't start and stop with verse 5:14. Vital information follows, information too many forget or fail to be aware of, information that completes what's being conveyed. The best way to identify this meaning ("trustingly faithful" and who it refers to) is to start at the beginning of Galatians and read all 6 chapters. Here's the link so you can do that:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+1&version=CJB

It's been said: "It takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian," though I don't readily recall who said it. People who freely use Galatians 5:14, ignore or don't know the rest of it, and usually recite it because they are defending their or the rights of a person to continue in his or her sin, called sin by God, though the world may have even made it legal. And their approval -- which they mean to be loving by -- is not an example of Christian/Messianic love. Jesus came here to save people from the prison of sin and the wages of sin, and from the Adversary's clutches and deceptions that lead to eternal death in Hell. 

If you think my posting this is unkind or unloving or stern, I invite you to read 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 at

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+5&version=CJB

The only reason any of us believe that it's more loving to allow others to die in their sin is because we have believed a false Gospel and in a false Jesus. The God of the Old Testament is the same Jesus (God) of the New Testament -- and God does not change. [For intelligent, qualified, thoroughly researched understanding of Scripture, I invite you to check out Dr. Michael Lake's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/biblicallife/videos ]

I remember while in college, I got out of a class on the first floor and went to the restroom on the third floor before my next class. My mirrored reflection showed ink on my face. Not one friend, acquaintance, or stranger had brought this to my attention. And that was just ink that washed off fairly easily. I ask you to ponder this: Is it more loving to let someone die in their sin by keeping silent or risk angering or losing them for a while in this life so a seed is planted that Holy Spirit nurtures within them to save them for God's Kingdom? If God commands us to speak His Truth to power, how much more so to those we love or know He does? However, this doesn't mean to nag them. Tell them once, then pray and trust God. 

May the peace of the Lord our God be with you. 

 

There Is Only One Side for A True Christian

 If we're not on God's side, we're on the wrong side.

We Are More

 Are you more focused on the empty cross and suffering than on the Empty Tomb and the Victory?

Who Wants A Makeover?

Many would go to a makeover artist and surrender completely, saying, "Make me into a new creation." God is the greatest makeover Artist from eternity past to eternity future.

                                            Painting title: Prince of Peace *** Artist: Akiane

In Ezekiel 13:10-14, God used an example to make a point, stating that people who build a wall with faulty mortar (or none) and then whitewash it to fool others into believing the wall is solid won't, of course, fool Him. He told the people through His prophet Ezekiel that He'd send stormy weather that would knock down such a wall and reveal its lack of foundation and, therefore, lack of lasting strength and value (I'm paraphrasing).

When I read this, several thoughts came to me at once.

1. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between knowing about God and being in an intimate relationship with Him. Kind of like the difference between an external makeover with a haircut and maybe some cosmetics or doing what's needed to start your makeover from the inside out (becoming a clean temple where God's Holy Spirit can live, as well as make you healthier).

2. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between a preacher giving congregants "feel-good" words that "tickle" their ears or feeding them the word of God as it appears in the Bible, and as He commanded shepherds to feed their flock (His flock). Remember, God said He has a BIG problem with anyone who changes even one jot or tittle of what He wrote. There are many individuals, including in pulpits, doing exactly that these days. As Jonathan Cahn said, "Do not bend the word of God to fit your life. Bend your life to fit the word of God."

3. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between a minister providing entertainment to churchgoers or calling down the Glory of God so as to fill the people with Holy Spirit refreshment they can then share with others when they leave the building.

4. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between congregants showing up at church expecting to be fed or bringing their portion of the Bread of Life with them.

5. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between an individual or family having the appearance of a relationship with God (cosmetic only) or being strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Do we have a wall of faith built with strong mortar? Is our faith foundation strong in the Lord--strong enough to keep covenant with Him by keeping His commandments, commandments He made a point to state in both the Old Testament and the New Testament? (By the way, it takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian.)

Or is our faith and relationship actually loose stones and whitewash?

What's a good way to check this, you ask?

When you say or do anything that goes against God's way and will--if you do anything at all that He labeled as a sin or transgression in the Bible--do you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit? I mean, really feel it? That's also a good way to know if you're truly saved or not: Holy Spirit conviction vs. silence.

If God said it's a sin and you do it anyway (or someone says it's okay and even passes a law saying it's okay), and you feel no conviction from the Holy Spirit, you're following the king of the other kingdom. Unless that's the king you choose to serve and the kingdom you wish to spend eternity in, forever separated from our loving Father, it's best if you run straight to the Makeover Artist of All Time and have a talk with Him.

What is a makeover, anyway? It's a revival of sorts, isn't it? The thing about revival is that it has to start with repentance, followed by a sincere effort to do only that which supports the new image. If--make that when--we stumble, we are to repent and start again. And, God doesn't expect us to do this on our own. We can't. We need Him to help us. Ask--and you shall receive.

Here's something wonderful and encouraging to keep in mind:
Those who are called by His name are God's possession, and He is our portion.

May God shine His face upon you and yours today and everyday.

Are You Clear or Confused about What’s Going on These Days?

One of my consistent prayers is this: “Lord, give us a discerning heart so that we are not deceived by others or by ourselves.” I also pray that He increases our vision so we see the truth, increases our hearing so we hear the truth, and increases our understanding of His truth.

  

Sorry to say it, but we can be a pretty gullible people at times. In fact, a lot of the time. One of the greatest seductions of the current era is that we are the power, rather than that we can be like Jesus, who came to Earth in the flesh, not as God, but as a man with the power of God within Him, through the grace of God our Father. Remember: Jesus is God, but He didn’t act as God while here. He always turned to and gave tribute to the Father as the one providing everything He needed and the power to do everything He did, and did this because He wanted us to know—it was imperative that we understand—we can do the same things He did, through the grace of the Father. He told us this was true, and He meant it. He was our perfect example. But, most of us didn’t grasp that, for a variety of reasons. Yep—more deception.

That seductive deception I refer to above is a whole other topic I intend to comment about at some other time. But I will say this: If you pay attention, you’ll see the deceptions all around us. We’re being fed these deceptions, especially children, who are so open to influence. And these deceptions move us away from God’s truth in tantalizing increments. Unless we’re paying attention and know what to look for.

This morning I caught the last 10 or so minutes of a program called The Key That Unlocks the Bible. The minister kept talking about the key of David that Christ gave to His disciples and His Church (which is us). I looked up the Web site: https://www.thetrumpet.com/programs/key-of-david/latest and found the 27-minute program on the Home page, along with ways to get the two writings he mentioned—for no cost. One is, of course, The Key of David (176 pages). The other is The True History of God’s True Church (233 pages). You can either download these books or get them mailed to you. I like to turn pages and have a tangible book I can retrieve from my shelves, so ordered them. In other words, I’m suggesting them rather than recommending them, since I haven’t as yet read them.

The minister pointed out that Jesus warned us about deceptions and the great deception: “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” ~ Mark 13:22-23

If current events trouble you, right down to that, yes, thorny issue called climate change, read Mark, chapter 13, in its entirety. Jesus laid it all out for us. One truism has been espoused, but in a different context than I intend: If you want to change the world, start with yourself. From the biblical perspective, if you want to help save others, start with yourself. Pay attention to how you’ve been deceived (and still are), and in what way you’ve espoused these deceptions—likely unknowingly. I speak from experience here, as one deceived by all the New Age proclamations and falsehoods. Ask the Lord to inform you. Knock and the door will be opened to you. But you have to walk in willingly.