It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Archive for August, 2015

God’s Grace

24       GOD’S GRACE

Grace is giving when it is not deserved. God is gracious and God is kind. God is gracious to the underserving and the unthankful he is gracious to us. To be gracious is to show kindness and favor to someone who has not earned it. Grace is having unmerited favor with God for Him to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Grace was displayed when God paid the debt we owed, was bankrupt to pay and was given eternal life.

Mankind was created to live forever in this world and man’s spirit, which came from God, will live for eternity. Mankind has a soul, a mind and will and his body was formed from the earth. Therefore, Man is spirit, soul and has a body this is the tri-being God created. It was God desire that man was to replenish the world with God’s splendor, wonder, magnificence that is glory. God’s glory is our created, continued purpose on earth, to multiply and create people who look like God and an earth that looks like heaven.

 

Exodus 34: 6-7 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.

 

God will show compassion and be gracious to those who receive God’s provision and yet the guilty will not go unpunished. This sounds like an oxymoron, a seemingly self-contradiction in this statement. God has given us the ability to choose, a will to decide to accept the provision of Jesus as our way of escape from the penalty of rebellion or to reject Him. The word has been given as the light of God to a dark world. Man can again choose life or death. Those who choose Jesus accepts God’s provision and payment for their sin and in this God shows mercy and loving kindness. Those who reject and rebel against His provision, they will be required to stand before God in judgement for themselves and their guilt will not go unpunished.

Those who accept the Blood of Jesus for their payment of sin are no longer under the curse of the law. The generational curse flows from generation to generation for those who continue in disobedience. Those who refuse Jesus rebel against God, by denying Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, their sins tend to escalate through the future generations.

God not only loves us as His creation but He adopted us into His family through Jesus. There have been many children conceived naturally by “accident” but an adoption is always deliberate and intentional. Sometimes society labels adoption as a lesser thing, another lie from Satan. In God’s eyes and the eyes of the parents who seek an adoption, it is a wonderful thing to be chosen. Many times adoption can be a long drawn out process but it speaks to the love and commitment the adoptive parents have for the child. Jesus went through a long painful process of being born and the death of the cross, so that we can become sons of God. God is kind to His children and His creation. He is gracious to us and His love is seen because He gave us His Son so we, through faith in Jesus, may be called children of the Most High King.

 Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

God made provision again, in that He gave His Word for us to again obey. As in the beginning God gave mankind His word, to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God sent The Word in the body of Jesus for us to obey. A new commandment Jesus gave us was to love one another as have loved you.” Man had only one thing to do in the beginning and man has only one thing to do today. To become love in the earth and to show that love is the fulfillment of all the law. If we love God, we will obey Him by loving others as Christ loved us and put others before ourselves. Jesus is the same, the Word in flesh, the truth and the light of God.

John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

John 1:16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 

The old covenant and law given through Moses was performance based, thou shalt not or thou shalt! God knew man, in his fallen nature, would be unable to live up to law. God gave the law so man would see his need for a Saviour. God provided Jesus as that Saviour and the payment for our sin. Jesus was the only one who could live a life perfectly and He chose to die for our sins. Jesus took our sin; He took the death and wrath of God that we deserved. He took our place as sin so we could have a place as sons’ of God. God the Righteous Judge must execute judgement against sin and the penalty for sin is death. Jesus paid our sin debt of death on the cross. We each have a choice to stand before God for ourselves or accept Jesus as our Lord and sin payment, our Saviour to stand before God for us. That is Grace, giving us mercy and abundance we did not deserve and could not earn.

 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

Salvation is free for us to receive but it was at a costly price for God and Jesus. The death of God’s Son on the cross and the total separation of Jesus from His Father was a high price to pay for our salvation. Yet the love of God compelled Him to lay down His life for humanity. We cannot earn our salvation; it is a gift from God. To think that with our works we can satisfy God’s wrath or judgement is nothing but pride and self-righteousness trying to prevail, but it will fall short.

A Righteous Judge must judge justly; sin must be punished. God must keep His word. “The wages of sin is death.” At the cross, God’s Justice, God’s Grace and His mercy came together in the person of Jesus. He who knew no sin, who never sinned, became sin so we could become the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus. We are made righteous through faith in the completed work of Christ. That is all God asks, that we honor His Son and accept His completed work on our behalf. Many have refused this priceless gift and stood in pride to their own destruction.

Ephesians 1: 4-8a For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to son ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.

 

Ephesians 2: 3-9 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast

 

It is by God’s grace we are saved; it is a gift from God. We can choose to accept it or reject this awesome gift. God made provisions for us before the foundation of the world to provide redemption and forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus. We all deserve the wrath of God for the rebellion and sin we have committed but because of God’s great love and grace toward us, He offers eternal life and salvation through faith and obedience to Jesus.

No sin will go unpunished someone will pay! God’s Word is true the penalty of sin is death. The choice is ours, to accept Jesus as our Savior and let His death represent us before God or to stand before God on our own. It is only our pride that prohibits us from humbling ourselves before God and accepting Jesus.

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The Deception of Satan

There are two world systems in the earth, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Light. Both systems are available to mankind but he must decide which will reign over him in time, thoughts and even his destiny. It is important to see how these two world systems operate and influence humanity. Satan is known as the father of lies, being full of pride and he wants to instill fear in humanity.

Satan deceived mankind in the Garden of Eden and still has not changed his tactics or deception to try and cause mankind to doubt God and His love for us.

The simple plan of God from the beginning was for man to rule and reign in the earth.  It was Satan who came to kill man, steal his inheritance and destroy his destiny. He tried to derail God’s plan with treason, causing man to believe a lie rather than God’s truth but God had a greater plan. The enemy is doing the same thing today; he lies and tries to have us believe his lies rather than God’s truth and faithfulness.

Jesus is known as the Prince of Light, The Word of God and He operates in faith. God is an all seeing and all-knowing God and He knew Satan would attack man and cause him to fall. God also had pre-planned a solution that would reconcile man back to Himself.  God was not taken by surprise at attack against humanity but He made provisions for it.

The attacks on us today and things we are going through they do not take God by surprise. He has made a way of escape from every situation.  However, we must be willing to take that way of escape even if it means us fleeing the situation.  Some may think their “pride” is at stake and do not want to look bad in front of others. It takes humility to trust God even in the face of ridicule.  Pride is a powerful tool that the enemy uses because he knows it was pride that lead to his fall. We can trust God with our lives, homes and families because God loves us.

 

I Corinthians 10:12-13                        So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. NIV

 

Before the foundation of the world was laid, we were chosen by God to be in the family of God.  Jesus paid the price for our sins and the treason we committed against God. Jesus brought us back into the family of God and brought His kingdom to earth. That is the Good News of Christ; the kingdom of heaven is now available to us on earth. The kingdom of heaven is mentioned more than any other subject in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus preached, the good news of the kingdom of heaven is at hand and is now available to all humanity. This is the gospel of Jesus that the kingdom of God has arrived on earth.

I Peter 1: 17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Jesus preached, “Repent,” which means, change the way you think. Jesus is saying, because God’s kingdom has returned to mankind on the earth we can change the way we think about life and ourselves. Jesus tells us what the kingdom of God is like and how we are to operate in this new kingdom. Jesus taught in parables that most people did not understand and many still do not. But, for His disciples, those who sought and asked for the meaning of the parables, it was revealed to them. It is the same today. Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock and when we ask for wisdom God will give it to us. God is ready to answer our prayers and the word tells us we have not because we do not ask God or we ask with the wrong motive.

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

James 4:3       You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Mankind was made in the image of God and was the pinnacle of all God’s creation and yet mankind still fell in the Garden of Eden.  Jesus came to do what we could not do for ourselves, live a perfect life. He died for all humanity and those who accept Jesus as Lord are transformed into a new creation, sons of the Most High God. We become joint heirs with Christ, children of the King of Kings and adopted into the family of God!  Before the fall we were God’s highest creation, but now we are adopted into the family. What the enemy meant for evil worked for our good and God’s glory.

We are now in a much greater state of value as sons of God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are then accepted as the beloved children of God. God has placed us into an even higher position, into the household of God as His dear children.

II Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

We are living so beneath our value and purpose. We have been tricked, bamboozled and hoodwinked into believing the enemy’s lie about us rather than God’s truth. The world has told us we are not good enough, smart enough or of the right social or economic status. Then the enemy tries to sell us on his lie and tells us we are sinful, no good and unworthy of God’s love. But Jesus came so we may know the truth; God so loved this world He sent His Son to die for us that we may have His abundant life.

At the end of the Civil war all slaves were set free and yet many stayed enslaved in their minds and physically. Some were not told the truth and others did not believe the truth. Many lack knowledge of the change in events. They did not know they were freed and some were lied to and deceived by their owners. No matter the reason they all were still enslaved.

The enemy has deceived many into believing God does not care and he wants to keep them blind and in darkness so they do not recognize their freedom and the love of God. To keep them from knowing who they really are in Christ. They enemy knows what a person thinks of themselves will eventually become their reality, even if it is not true. Jesus’ first sermon told us to “repent,” or “change the way you think” for the kingdom of God has arrived. We no longer have to live in the state of slavery to sin and the lies of this world. .

II Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV

We must change the way we think about ourselves and God. When we change what we believe about ourselves we will change our actions. Then we will change how we act or react to situations. We will no longer see ourselves as an accident, a mistake or believe we are less than others or worthless. We will change the way we think about ourselves by knowing and believing what God’s word says about us. We will no longer believe the lies that say we come from animals and therefore we will act like animals. We will believe God’s truth of who we are, children of the Most High King. We are made new in the sight of God by faith in the Blood of Jesus and His completed work.

Most of us live this life blinded to the light of what God’s word says. We live ignorant to the life we have in Christ. Jesus came as a man to live this life so we may have a new life in His strength.  He paid our sin debt by dying on the cross, rising from the dead and placing us into the kingdom and family of God.

A baby when he is born has to learn how to crawl, walk and talk in the new life apart from its mother’s womb. When we are born again we are babes born into a new life in Christ. We too must learn how to grow and navigate this life. God tells us we are to grow by the sincere milk of the word of God.

We are to learn how to grow into the mature Christ followers in all areas such as, integrity, honesty, forgiveness, giving and loving others. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, we become a new creature in Christ. The old way of thinking must change for us to change the way we live. It is God transforming us into the image of His dear Son. But it starts in the mind and spirit and then works out into the physical and natural and we become the new creation God created us to be. We are not only a new creation but we are now citizens of a new kingdom and we are ambassadors for our Sovereign King in this kingdom. We should want to represent Him well.

 

II Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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The True Gospel

The word gospel means good news.  Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom of God returning to the earth!  The Good News is also knowing we can now live in this new Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can have a new citizenship with privileges that come with receiving Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The gospel or good news that Jesus spoke of was the kingdom of heaven is now available to man on earth. It was not about where you go when we die but how to live on earth an abundant kingdom life.

When words are used routinely in a different way, the meaning of these words can often evolve into a completely different meaning. For instance the word “gospel” is a term used synonymously with “how to go to heaven.” The actual word gospel comes from a Greek word; to announce a good message or good news. Jesus’ message is we can live in a different kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 4:16-17 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” NIV

Matthew 4:23      Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

The first thing Jesus said when He started His public ministry was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Many believe that the word repent means to feel sorry or remorseful, that is not the true definition.  Repent means to change the way you think. Jesus is saying we no longer have to live the way we do or think the way we do, in hopelessness. The Kingdom of God is again available to man on the earth though our relationship with Christ.

Before Jesus came into the world, people lived in darkness as a result of Satan’s lie and him obtaining dominion over the earth.  The knowledge of sin and death came because of what Satan had done.  Jesus, the Great Light, came to give man another way of living.  Jesus preached the kingdom of God is at hand, it is near.  We no longer have to choose to live in this darkness of sin but we can choose life through Christ.

Jesus’ message was “Repent” (change the way you think).  We no longer have to live in darkness, or ignorance.  Jesus came to set us free from our sins so we could have life and have it more abundantly. Thankfully we no longer have to believe what our culture, society or the things Satan says about us, if we choose to believe God and what His Word says. After all we are children of the Most High King, forgiven of sin. It is a choice that each individual must make.

We are faced with the same choice Adam and Eve made in the garden. Who will we listen to? Who will we allow preeminence over our lives and thoughts? Satan and the things he says and what the world says about us or The Word of God.

Deuteronomy 30:19               This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live KJV

We must understand that Satan tricked man in the Garden of Eden; he took from man the authority God had given him in the earth.  Jesus came and defeated Satan, at the cross, and took back what had been stolen. The Light of God was restored to mankind. Satan was known as the prince of darkness but JESUS is King of kings and the Light of the world.

That indeed is the Good News!!!!!!

Ephesians 2:2-5          Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But 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, (by grace ye are saved;) KJV

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me

 

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One World – Two Kingdoms

22           One World, Two Kingdoms

 

One major fact we must come to know is there are two world kingdoms vying for our time, attention and destiny. There is the fallen kingdom of this world that is influenced by the fall of mankind and sin. There is also the kingdom of God that Jesus returned to the earth and we must learn how to operate in the kingdom of God through His principles. God created mankind to be kings over His kingdom on earth and to bring Him Glory. The enemy deceived mankind and stole the authority that was given by God. With the fall, Satan began to reign in the earth with lies and deceptions. Jesus came and restored the kingdom of God back to humanity on the earth. This is what the New Testament is about, the restoration of the Kingdom of God on the earth and the adoption of mankind into the family of God.

 

Many people think God lost the battle in the garden and that Satan was the victor causing man to fall. Some people even blame God for not stopping Satan and allowing these bad things to happen to us. God was not surprised not was He defeated. What the enemy meant to be a destructive end to mankind the prize of God’s creation, God used to make man into an even more glorious design, man was not able to be children of God! As beautiful and magnificent as mankind was in his created state cannot compare to becoming a child of God. Though many of us do not operate in the understanding and knowledge of who we are in Christ, it does not negate the fact that we are more than conquers and we have the Spirit of the living God inside us, having accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We are joint heirs with Christ and through many lack the knowledge of the power and authority it is there none the less.

Matthew 4:17,                  From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.       

Matthew 10:7                    As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

 Ephesian 2:2              in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Colossians 1:13                 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

 

To understand the kingdom we must know God’s original intent and purpose for all humanity. Then we can better understand our individual purpose in the world. We each have been given a life to bring glory to God and to establish His kingdom on the earth. The choice of what we do with our lives is ours to make. Jesus came and re-established God’s kingdom on the earth, a spiritual kingdom that man can now have access and operate in while living on the earth.

 

Jesus’ first message was Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent is from the Greek word, metanoeo that means, to think differently, to reconsider, or to change the way you think. It is important to understand the true message Jesus preached so we can share the same message. If we are confused with the message, we will be confused with our purpose and how to live in the Kingdom God, which He has given.

 

The enemy is an adversary he tries to keep people confused, in darkness, angry and to refuse to forgive so they will not operate in God’s kingdom life and His principles, which are love, peace, patience and forgiveness.

Genesis 1: 26- 28          Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

 

God created man to rule and to reign over all His creation for His pleasure to bring the glory of God in the earth. Jesus came to restore us from a fallen position that we may once again reign, to have dominion in the spiritual kingdom of God.  In the Word of God, we see we must not allow situations and circumstances dictate our action, only the word of God. This is how we bring glory to God; it is by living above our circumstances in life. This is not to say we will not go through some difficult times. Many people in the Bible had difficult times but overcame them through their belief in God’s promises. We too will come through difficult times and most times we become a better person, a more mature person after having gone through those life challenges. We learn how to operate in God’s kingdom principles and God receives the praise for His faithfulness.

There is a battle of two worlds and each is trying to dominate, to have dominion on the earth.  That is why we see such havoc in the world. There is a worldly system that Satan has influenced to deceive mankind and tricked people into committing treason against God. The enemy came to kill, steal and to destroy the highest of God’s creation, mankind, the one who was created to reflect God’s image. He will use anything he can to divided mankind, be it religion, culture or just the color of their skin.

It is satanic attack to have such hate rise in a person that it would cause them to kill a brother. This story is so familiar; Cain killed Able out of pride and jealousy wanting to be seen as the best. There are many people who are still destroying others because they look different, believe different and all this is because of a perverted since of self.  Self-preservation has become the first law of the fall of man rather than the commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us. We were created to be the love of God and to display this love in the earth.

The kingdom of God on earth has been established through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. The first message Jesus gave was about the kingdom of God, it is at hand, and you can touch it and receive it. He began describing what the kingdom of God was like and how to operate in it. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. The world wants us to focus our actions on going to heaven after we die, while losing all hope for the present. God want us to bring heaven to earth by the way we live so our actions will reflect God’s kingdom principles on the earth changing the world into a kingdom that looks like God’s kingdom in heaven.

God’s original purpose for mankind was for the world to reflect the glory of God. God created mankind in His image and told man to multiply and increase in number so that the people who look like God will rule the earth as God rule the heavens.

These two different kingdoms are trying to establish their realm and domain in our lives, our homes, our families and society to extend their kingdom in the earth. We will make a choice consciously by accepting the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus or unconsciously by do nothing and therefore living in the kingdom of darkness. We are citizens of one of these two kingdoms, the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. Our life choices will reflect which of these kingdoms will reign in our lives.

 

Genesis 2: 27-28               So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground

 Matthew 6:9-13                This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

 

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Proverbs 25:2 For God’s Glory and For Man’s Honour!

Proverbs 25:2

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2 is the reason for this blog, to bring glory to God and so the kings (God’s people on the earth), may obtain honour. God calls us kings and priest but many of us are living beneath our calling and without honour because we haven’t searched our concerns in God’s word. This blog will be a journey, a searching of matters that are hidden in the Word of God.  We pray we will bring practical insight and put to practice what we’ve learned.

I Peter 2:9-10     But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Revelation 1: 5-6              and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Let’s start by agreeing typical blogs are sometime short and entertaining. This blog is for information and reference therefore, some topics were more detail than the average blog. However, our goal is to be concise.  This blog is to bring glory to God and for us to receive information and direction on the things God would have us to share. The intent is to post at least once a week, if the Lord wills, this will give us time to digest the topics.

Just as most things of great value take time and effort to cultivate, so are the deeper things of God. The more common things, which are of lesser value, are those things that are easily found. To obtain a jewel of great worth one must put forth more effort.  We want to accomplish the same with these posts, to dig for the greater and deeper things of God. We will discuss overarching principles of thought and hope to clarify concepts which are vital to us living the kingdom life God created for us.

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Humble Yourself

In some previous posts we jumped right into some major areas and schemes that Satan uses against man. Things such as anger and un-forgiveness, these things can keep us so tied down with hate that we would be unable to move forward. In the post on forgiveness we went through a process, ten steps to help us identify the source of our hurt, anger and then showed how to release it into God’s hands. Understand this was a process to humble ourselves before the Lord and not for God to feel sorry for us. God is not moved by emotion but has respect for His Word. He is faithful and just to hear us when we humble ourselves before Him.

Psalms 34:18       The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalms 51:17       My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Proverbs 29:23    A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

James 4:10          Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

The ten steps had more to do with us being humble before God and being honest with ourselves. Again, this was not about our emotions or us crying out to make God pity us.  God is not moved by our feelings. God is moved by what is in His Word. What we did was line us up with God’s Word and humble ourselves before the Lord. This enables us to receive what God has already provided, forgiveness for those who wronged us. This is why we seek out what God says on any matter so that we may operate in His truths.

The success or failure of our forgivingness is based on our trust in God’s word. We seek God as an act of our will, knowing God is faithful to His Word. The Old Testament was given as an example for us to see how people engaged God and His Word. The New Testament proclaims Jesus and shows all He restored to mankind, giving us the keys to the Kingdom of God which we are now part of through faith in Jesus Christ.

 Galatians 2:16     Now that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

Psalm 91: 14-16   Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

I John 1:9            If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

God is faithful to His Word and when we learn how to trust and operate in His Word we will see the power of God’s kingdom working in and for us.

 

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