The Just (Righteous) shall live by Faith!

Today staying home with my 13 year old, we read the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, a chapter he picked as it was part of his routine bible reading. For the first time the caption of this blog sank into me as we read this chapter. The verses were,

"And a righteous person will live by faith.  But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away." - Hewbrews 10:37-38

The chapter was about Christ's sacrifice for all humanity, and how it takes away our sins and gives us the privilege of being the sons and daughters of God. The chapter also encourages Christians to persevere in their daily walks to live a life that honors this savior and God. The scriptures, in light of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday that was celebrated this past weekend by Christians all over, just seemed to hit the point.

Who are the "Righteous"? The book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 25, gives a definition of the "Righteous." It states, "For we are righteous when we obey all the commands of the LORD our God has give us."

Really! Is that at all possible? To obey all the commands of the LORD, at all times! Walk in perfect obedience to God! Recently, another scripture read during our family prayer was an eye opener. In 1 Kings 9:4, we read that God said the following to Solomon, "As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness [righteousness per KJV] as David your father did always obeying my commands and keeping my laws and regulations then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: 'You will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' "

God used David as an example of a person with "integrity" and "godliness." The same David who has had so many short comings in his life before his God! I found that to be incredible!  Yet it filled me with so much hope!  This God is so full of compassion, mercy, kindness, goodness, and love. The way God looks at us is so very different than those around us.  We will not get such treatment from the humanity around us.  We are imperfect creatures, always reacting to the situations we find us in; sometimes the worst in us comes out. Yet there is hope in the sacrifice of Christ!

Chapter 10 of Hebrews encourages us to persevere in the face of adversity. Have faith in the promises of God when circumstances are not favorable.  When prayers seem unanswered, continue to have faith in an all sufficient, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God to see our predicament in life; to know what's best for us and act in time to continue to mold us for an eternal life with him.

If God called David a man of integrity and godliness, you and I who have been redeemed through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's Cross, how much more will this God consider! Let not setbacks in our life separate us from this God, but with renewed hope hold on to the promises of God and continue in faith. God bless you and keep you and me!

Give me Faith - Elevation Worship

Great beginning... Ignominious ending! A lesson from the life of King Saul

There are days when the little that I know about myself, makes me question if I will finish this race and be able to say as Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7.  Then, I tell myself to trust the Lord for the Bible says, "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." - 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Few days ago during our nightly family prayer, the scripture we read and discussed was from the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 31. In there we read of the death of King Saul. A very ignominious end to a king who was chosen by Jehovah and anointed by his prophet Samuel to rule over the Israelites. The very first king for the people of Israel! We read, under attack from their enemies, the Philistines, Saul was pinned down and wounded severely.  Also, his three sons were killed in the intense fighting between the Philistines and Israelites. Wounded severely, with no way to escape, Saul committed suicide by falling on his own sword rather than fall into the hands of his enemies alive.  The Philistines cut off his head and mounted his body along with the beheaded bodies of his sons as war trophies outside their city gates.

When we go back to the earlier portions of the book of 1 Samuel, we see the making of the first king of Israel (chapters 8 onward).  Appointed and anointed by God, we read of a naive, scared young man turning into a great fearless warrior and leader for the Israelites. One of his greatest victories was against a huge army of Philistines that Saul fought with mere 600 soldiers (the same enemy that gave him his final defeat!). The Lord gave him victory! We read, "Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel's throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction - against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines.  And wherever he turned he was victorious.  He did great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them." - 1 Samuel 14:47-48.

Saul became the king at age 30 and ruled the nation of Israel for forty-two years. - 1 Samuel 13:1.  As he grew in power and stature, we see the character traits of Saul developing; and they were not pleasing to God. He was selfish, arrogant, lustful, prideful, impatient, petulant, and disobedient to God.  How could the chosen one of God have such character flaws ???

God had predicted that the Israelites would ask for an earthly king just like all the other nations around them at time. He had prepared for his people to succeed by establishing guidelines for them to follow when it happened. In Moses' book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17, verses 14-20, we read God telling Moses, "You will soon arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and you will conquer it and settle there. Then you may begin to think, 'We ought to have a king like the other nations around us.'  If this happens, be sure that you select as king the man the LORD your God chooses.  You must appoint a fellow Israelite, not a foreigner.  The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself, and he must never send his people to Egypt to buy horses there, for the LORD has told you, 'You must never return to Egypt.' The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.  When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy these laws on a scroll for himself in the presence of the Levitical priests.  He must always keep this copy of the law with him and read it daily as long as he lives.  That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of this law. This  regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens.  It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way.  This will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel."

What we realize as we read the book of 1 Samuel is that as Saul's fame, stature, and power grew, he failed to acknowledge the LORD for who He is! Meanwhile, his successor, King David, though with some of Saul's same character flaws, was keen on acknowledging God for being God! Where Saul was blatantly disobedient to God and defiant when confronted by Prophet Samuel, David acknowledged his sins and made reparations to God and man. We see the inner working of David's mind and heart as he wrote in Psalms 19:12-13, "How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  Keep me from deliberate sins! Don''t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin."  In Psalms 139:23-24 we read David's prayer, "Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

It is not so much that we will always be obedient to God's laws and and never fail, rather what matters to God is our free will choices and intentions of our heart.

Lauren Daigle - Trust in You

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me...?

"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" we read in the book of Matthew 27 and Mark 15, Christ cried out in anguish as he hung on Calvary's cross, which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

I wondered, why was the plea of the Son of God in the final moments of his life not, "My Father, my Father, why have you forsaken me?" Instead, it was "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.?"

Here was the plea of every man in his desperation. Here was the cry of desperation from every man, woman, and child at the lowest point in their lives. Here was my cry when I'd been down and out.

Who was this man hanging on the cross crying out - My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

If only we could see him through the eyes of Prophet and Apostle John as he wrote the book of the Revelations - the fearsome and awesome God in whose presence one day we will stand!

If only we could see through the eyes of Prophet Daniel - a God most adored by hundreds of millions of angels!

If only we could see through the eyes of Prophet Isaiah - a holy God in whose glorious presence the mighty Seraphims covered their faces and feet with their wings as they flew and worshiped him in a loud chorus, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty. The whole earth is filled with his glory!"

If only we could see through the eyes of Prophet Ezekiel - a God who reigns in indescribable majesty and glory!

If one would look with a little care through the lens of the old testament prophets, he was also the ever merciful God, who even today pursues his love - you and I - at any cost even as we have prostituted ourselves to every lustful desire of our evil heart.

Jesus did call out to his father - at the garden of Gethsemane before the trial and suffering began, he cried out "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." (Mark 14:36) But his Father, God the creator of you and me, rejected his son's plea on behalf of his creation (we) by not taking the cup of suffering away from his son.  Rather he let him face the suffering that was our cup to drink, for our sins. His sacrifice was the price paid for you and I to be called the sons and daughters of the most high God.

On Calvary's cross Jesus was not the God who by his God nature somehow lessened his pain and suffering, but endured it all as a man who had lost complete and total control of his situation and had none to turn to for a little solace.

Here was the holy, glorious, awesome, and mighty creator of whom Apostle Paul summarized in the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, "Because God's children are human beings - made of flesh and blood - Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death." Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and life. The one who believes in me will live, though he dies." (John 11:25)

David's prayer of praise

In the book of 1st Chronicles we find the prayer of David, a man whom power, prestige, fame, wealth, countless success on the battlefield and his peoples' adoration for their king did not corrupt when it came to his relationship with his God. In chapter 29 we read that he was a leader who lead by example. Today when our leaders mostly practice "Do as I say, don't do as I do," it is refreshing to see David led by example. Don't get me wrong, David was a man with many shortcomings, but when it came to his relationship with God, he knew exactly who he was and who his God was. David never forgot that he was the forgotten shepherd boy, whom God brought out of obscurity and ignominy, and made him one of the greatest kings of Israel who united the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Here is his prayer of praise from 1 Chronicles 29:10-20,

10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.

16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.

18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.

 May God's Word be a lamp unto our feet.

Elevation Worship - I will look up

Is a nominal Christian life enough?

As I was reading the parable of the three servants in the book of Matthew, chapter 25, from the Bible, this question came to mind - Is a nominal christian life enough?

Parable of the Three Servants:

14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Would living a clean life without committing major crippling sins out of the fear of God be enough for a Christian? Would not that be the same as the servant who was given the one bag of silver (one talent), who buried it out of fear that should he lose it, his master would punish him. For he saw his master as a harsh man who liked to get a return without sweating his own brow. Isn't God, though just, harsh out his justness, for he punishes man for his sin? When we see the outcome for this servant though he had preserved his masters bag of silver, he had not lost a single piece and returned it in kind to his master upon his return, I am afraid a nominal Christian life is not enough. The master had left the shares of silver with the three servants for a very long time. Two of them successfully doubled the shares given them. One kept it intact. The master's response to the one who kept the talent given him intact was that he had ample time to get even a small return, if only the servant had just deposited the silver in a bank.  The interest over the long period would have given his master some increase.

Getting through each day as a Christian is not enough. A Christian has to bring some increase for his master, even if it is a nominal increase for the kingdom of God. You may not be a great speaker, nor a great writer;  your people skills may be lacking; you may not be much of an influence in your community; you may lack self esteem and lacking in faith. Yet there is something you can do for the kingdom of God in a small way. Jesus Christ came in to this world to pay a very steep price for our freedom from the bondage of sin. He died for us, rose from death  and returned to heaven as our high priest, pleading mercy on our behalf. One day he will return to collect the dividends.  What have you done with the talent of silver given to you?

HRockChurch - Set my heart on fire

Divorce and Remarriage - A position paper by the General Presbetery of the Assemblies of God

While this blog is intended to be a testimony to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, at times I will be posting information that is relevant to a Christian in general. The below two paragraphs are a quote from the full text of a Position Paper published by the General Presbetery of the Assemblies of God Church. My personal belief is that a Christian should never entertain the thought of divorce, should never consider divorcing their spouse, for God hates divorce. Both spouses should work towards resolving their differences and continue in the marriage for the sake of their family.  But, what is a person to do if the other person walks out of the marriage? Below is a quote from the text to which a link is provided further down where you can access the complete position paper that outlines the Church's position on Divorce and Remarriage...

Jesus made explicit what was previously implicit, “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Matthew 19:6; cf. v.8). Divorce was not a part of God’s original intention for humanity. His purposes in marriage are hindered when the marital covenant is deliberately broken. The divine purpose can only be realized as the husband and wife subject themselves to Christ and each other, as described in Ephesians 5:21-31.

God’s hatred for divorce, however, is not to be interpreted as condemnation of those who themselves are not at fault, but have been divorced and victimized by the ungodly actions of their spouses. The divorce laws and teachings of the Old Testament were designed to add a measure of protection for the innocent, not to heap guilt upon the victims of circumstances over which they had little or no control.

http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/position_papers/pp_downloads/pp_4189_divorce_remarriage.pdf

A teaching video by the Casting Crowns for their video 

The Casting Crowns - it's a slow fade

Hope for the hopeless

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the holy days.  Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.  Crowds of sick people - blind, lame, or paralyzed - lay on the porches.  One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?"

"I can't sir," the sick man said, "for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up.  While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me."  Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk."

Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking! - John 5:1-9

There are times when it seems time stands still. The future seems oh so bleak. Nowhere to go, and life's headed in a downward spiral. No one to pull you out. No one to turn to. No one who cares. As you stand and look around, it seems there is always some one getting blessed, it's just not you. The man by the Bethesda pool seemed to be just such a person who saw his life slipping away without any chance of pulling himself into the pool when the angel stirred the water so that he may get his healing. "I can't sir, for I have no one to help me in to the water. While I am trying to get there, someone ALWAYS gets in ahead of me," he answered to Christ's inquiry if the man wanted a healing.  Thirty eight years is a long time to be sick, and lying by the side of the pool, he watched others get healed.

I wondered about the physical condition, appearance, odor around this person who had been lying by the pool of Bethesda for a long time. No one to care for him. No one who cared about him. Why did Christ pick him to speak to out of the crowds of sick -  blind, lame or paralyzed - who lay there on the porch of the Bethesda pool? No matter what the reason, the fact is, Christ showed pity on him!

After healing the man Jesus told him, "Now you are well; stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you." - John 5:14.  In the Old Testament we read God spoke to Moses as he passed in front of him, "I am the LORD, I am the LORD, the merciful and gracious God.  I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness.  I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.  Even so I do no leave sin unpunished, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations." - Exodus 34:6-7

God calls out to his creation, "Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping and mourning.   Don't tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful.  He is not easily angered.  He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you." - Joel 2:12-13

He gives hope to the hopeless!!

Evangelist Lee Stoneking at the United Nations