Tag Archives: God the Father

Study to Show Yourself Approved . . .

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Holy Spirit Cathedral (Minsk), Belarus

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It is not God’s will that we study Him so as to dissect His Holy nature.  It is, rather, His will that we study Him so that we might learn to do His Holy will.  Many fall into the trap of learning about God.  Just as a student may enter college and learn to enjoy learning so much that they forget that they are learning so that they can become productive in their society.

As we study the Lord so intently, let us continually consider that what we learn is only valuable if we apply it to the world around us.  Let us learn to listen to the activity of the Holy Spirit within us.  He will lead us from one glory to another as we listen and do.

May God bless this message to all HIs people, and to those who are becoming aware of a calling within their soul.  By the Holy name of Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

Led to Hope

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The Transfiguration Lodovico Carracci 1594

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We are often led astray by the teachings of men.  Drawn by the promises of glittering greed, we wander off the path to seek the things we learned were precious from the time we were born.  But that is not the teaching of God to His holy people.

Let us be led astray from the ways of this world to the path of God.  Drawn by the promise of things that never fade in their beauty, let us wander into the path to seek the things precious that are the things of the godly wise.

Let us allow ourselves to become enthralled at the lovely God we serve through Jesus, our Lord.  May we consider that everything held precious by man will rot before the Holy Fire that is God.  And may we learn to love sitting midst the consuming flame that is the law of God.

The Letter.

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The First Letter

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There is something I feel compelled to address.  I confess that, though I understand the subject, I’m at a complete loss as to how to begin or where to take the reader.  So I will call upon the Holy Name of the Lord Jesus to speak through me in this matter.

 

I came across a letter I had written in my days of abject sin.  As I read it I realized that this was from my hand.  Embarrassment, humiliation, and fear gripped me as I read the words.  In my mind I considered the blessing that through Jesus’ sacrifice the Father would not read this letter to my face.  The letter would have angered me if I had thought it came from another man.  But it was me.

 

Fear swarms like hornets around the heart of a man who comes to an understanding of his own unholy folly.  And while there is comfort in the forgiveness of Christ Jesus, there is still that morbid consideration plaguing the heart in regard to “what if”.  What if I had not known the Gospel?  I would have stood before the Holy Lord of Life and given account of myself naked of defence.

 

I appeal to all who read this to consider what you have done in your life with a sober judgment.  Without the Grace of God in Jesus, you will stand alone against the One who has never broken His Holy ways.  If you are a Christian, consider how precious the Lord’s gift of forgiveness is, that He has promised that those who put their trust in Him will never be brought to shame.  If you are not a Christian, please consider that every idle word you have ever spoken will be brought up before your face.  You will most certainly give account of yourself to a pure and all powerful God.

 

The details of the letter pale against the over riding message of the coming judgment.  That letter is only one of thousands, perhaps millions, of things I would have stood judgment over.  What hope is there outside of the salvation of Jesus?  NONE!

 

By His Grace.

 

Behold! I am to Blame

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Finger pointing

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“Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”  I believe this.  I know this puts all the burden on us to obey.  But God’s grace covers us while we struggle with our failings.  He calls us to a life free from sin.  But covers us while we accomplish.  He is not unjust in His judgment of us.  We are indeed the ones at fault.  But look at His love to lift us from death to life.  I can’t blame anyone or anything for who and what I am, or was.  Accepting this is fundamental to salvation through Jesus.

Today’s teachings in the world speak of us as victims.  God does not look at His people like that.  He rightly judges us guilty.  Yet He offers a way out.  Jesus never taught that we were victims.  He taught that we were sinners from birth.  How often he told us to repent of our sins and live a life pleasing to His Father in Heaven.  Today, we hear that we can’t hope to rid ourselves of this burden of foolishness.  It was not so in Jesus’ teachings.

I am the one to blame for all my sins.  Jesus is the One who forgives them.  Forgiving them does not mean they didn’t happen.  And forgiveness doesn’t mean that I am innocent, or that I am a victim of things beyond my control.  “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”  Live with that truth or suffer as a victim.  Fight against what does not please the Father, or suffer the life of a sinner.  He gives us everything we need to over come.

By His Grace.

A Dream

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English: At work in the metal shop making engi...

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I had a dream that the Lord Jesus came to a place on earth in my time.  He came to a place where men worked with metal.  Other than that, I don’t remember a whole lot about the dream.  But I am struck by something important.

The Lord was very intent on doing whatever He came here to do.  He didn’t come to sign autographs on pictures or baubles and trinkets.  He didn’t come to be lauded as the Lord of Life.  He came to accomplish something the Father had sent Him to do.  He had little to say to anyone.

I am struck (once again) by the single-mindedness of the Lord Jesus.  He lives forever to do the will of the Father in heaven.  We are told that He is not a respecter of men.  Which means that the Lord Jesus will never consider the will of anyone as more important than the will of the Father.  It is to our advantage to remember that with a great clarity.  It is not we who manipulate the Lord.  It is our duty to obey in all things.  We are the ones created.

I believe it will be the unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit that will amaze us on the day we see Him face to face.  The Lord is Holy.  That is to say, He is set apart for the purposes eternal.  Though He works with us in our daily lives, He is completely focused on what is perfect and will last forever.

For now we see people dividing the Scriptures as they please.  They pray and speak as if they have some special in-road to the Lord Most High.  In a sense, the Lord laughs at those who make such claims.  For the desires of God are not like the desires of man.

By His Grace.

Slaves to Freedom?

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Old Leg irons

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All men want freedom to do as they please.  And look how we balk and complain when we are forced, by any means, to do something we don’t want to do.  Listen to how many grumble as they are required to end their weekend and serve others on Monday morning.   Listen to them as 5 pm comes nearer.  Listen how they cheer as the moment comes near for them to be released back to their “freedom”.

Billions have lived their entire life chained to the will of others.  We called them slaves and prisoners; the masses of men, women, and children who lived under the horrible hand of someone else’s ideals.  It was the life they knew from birth to death.  Did they complain also?  Of course they did!  But they were not able to gain even one second of freedom more than the one allowed who ruled over their very breath.

It is not acceptable before God to grumble at restrictions placed on you.  It is honorable, however, before God to accept these restrictions with a certain joy; knowing that we are but a short number of years in this place of testing.  I know I speak the truth in this.  Yet I also know I will find myself grumbling today because I am forced to wait for someone else as they push their way in front of me.  How pitiful is man that he should know to do good yet not be able to find the ability to do it.

Christians are those who are learning to submit to the absolute rule of the One who made them.  We serve Jesus because He shows us that He knows what is best.  We love, because He first Loved us and gave His life for us.  He has said, “Whoever would be first will be last”.  And He has said, “”If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  24  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.  25  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self ?” (Luke 9).

Men crave freedom.  Jesus tells us clearly that freedom in Christ Jesus is not the freedom of man.  We are set free, not of submission as a slave, but set free to serve as a slave to righteousness.  So let us consider how to spur ourselves and others into a life of service to the Most High God through the Spirit.  Jesus plainly said to us that He would ask the Father and the Spirit would be sent to His people to guide us into all righteousness.  Are you a willing participant in the things of God through Jesus?  Or are you still looking to be set free, as men count freedom?