Just sharing.

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God Has Adopted Us As Dear Children Glorious Blessings Are Ours: God Has Adopted Us As Dear Children _______________ I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born. Jeremiah 31:9 KJV _______________ Doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. Isaiah 63:16 KJV _______________ But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are all the work of Thy hand. Isaiah 64:8 _______________ God Loves You! "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:16-18 NIV _______________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?”

Job 38:16

Some things in nature must remain a mystery to the most intelligent and enterprising investigators. Human knowledge has bounds beyond which it cannot pass. Universal knowledge is for God alone. If this be so in the things which are seen and temporal, I may rest assured that it is even more so in matters spiritual and eternal. Why, then, have I been torturing my brain with speculations as to destiny and will, fixed fate, and human responsibility? These deep and dark truths I am no more able to comprehend than to find out the depth which coucheth beneath, from which old ocean draws her watery stores.

Why am I so curious to know the reason of my Lord's providences, the motive of his actions, the design of his visitations? Shall I ever be able to clasp the sun in my fist, and hold the universe in my palm? yet these are as a drop of a bucket compared with the Lord my God. Let me not strive to understand the infinite, but spend my strength in love. What I cannot gain by intellect I can possess by affection, and let that suffice me. I cannot penetrate the heart of the sea, but I can enjoy the healthful breezes which sweep over its bosom, and I can sail over its blue waves with propitious winds.

If I could enter the springs of the sea, the feat would serve no useful purpose either to myself or to others, it would not save the sinking bark, or give back the drowned mariner to his weeping wife and children; neither would my solving deep mysteries avail me a single whit, for the least love to God, and the simplest act of obedience to him, are better than the profoundest knowledge. My Lord, I leave the infinite to thee, and pray thee to put far from me such a love for the tree of knowledge as might keep me from the tree of life.

 

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Five Insights Christianity Brings to Politics
The relationship between Christianity and politics is a complex one. The Church has played a mixed role in the history of political liberty to be sure. At times it has suppressed political, religious and economic liberty. Yet despite that, and unserious caricatures of history from secularists like Steven Pinker, Christianity has been one of the most important forces for liberty and the idea of a limited state. Though Christianity is not a political program it nevertheless gives us a certain way of thinking about the state and the role of politics.

It is important to note that a Christian vision of government is not simply a secular vision of government with religion sprinkled on top. Secularism is not neutral. A Christian vision of government is grounded in key theological and philosophical ideas about the nature of God and reality, the importance of justice, the value of freedom, the role of the family, and a rich understanding of the human person as created in the image of God, made for flourishing, and called to an eternal destiny.
The question is, how do these things play out in our understanding of politics?
I will introduce five of the most important ideas that the Christian tradition contributes to the foundation for political liberty. But before I do, it is important to be clear that while Christianity gives us key insights into politics, Christianity is not a political program with specific policy recommendations. There is no single Christian model of government. Christians can hold a variety of political positions and can disagree about many things. What Christianity provides is an orientation—a foundation of how to think about politics and government—one that more often than not speaks about the limits of what politics can accomplish.

The State is Not Divine
The first element of a Christian vision of government is that the state is not divine. In fact, the whole idea of the limited state is intrinsically connected to the Christian tradition. Why? Because Christianity de-sacralizes the state. The state no longer has a sacred character.
As Lord Acton points out, when Jesus said: “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what it God’s” his words were revolutionary. They also have profound implications of how we understand the state. Not everything belonged to Caesar. In antiquity, as Lord Acton wrote:

The vice of the classic State was that it was both Church and State in one. Morality was undistinguished from religion and politics from morals; and in religion, morality, and politics there was only one legislator and one authority.

There was no moral appeal beyond the state because Caesar and Pharaoh were divine.
But Christianity says no: The state and its leaders are not divine, and while they deserve respect, they do not stand above natural or divine law. Christianity reminds us that the state’s agents are sinners just like the rest of us.

This does not mean that Christians view the state and politics as evil, or even a necessary evil. Contrary to James Madison, even angels would need some government even if it were only for coordination and to decide which side of the angelic road to drive on. For Christianity, politics plays an important role, but it is a limited one. Christians view the state as important for coordination, administration of justice, and security and defense. But the state is not the source of truth and law.
To be clear—this does not mean that Christians throughout the ages have always respected this. There have been times when Christians—Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox have all politicized religion and abused political power in the name of religion.
There is always a temptation to divinize the state, to create a new Tower of Babel. This is a recurring motif, from the ancient kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria and Rome, in modern times with the French Revolution and its ideological descendants, the 20th century totalitarians, and contemporary technocratic state.

Christians have not been immune to the temptation to lift the state beyond its proper place. The temptation for Christians is not to divinize the state, but to politicize religion and look to the state to implement doctrine and other tenets of their faith as policy—or even go so far as to compel belief. But this is a departure from the original vision of Christianity and its intrinsically voluntary character. This does not imply secularism or that there is no place for the church to guide and influence the moral character of the state. But the attempt to compel belief turns Christianity into a political ideology which undermines the very nature of Christianity and ultimately leads to unbelief. As Joseph Ratzinger has noted, there have been periods where the church and state blended “into one another in a way that falsified the faith’s claim to truth and turned it into a compulsion so that it became a caricature of what was really intended.” Nevertheless, despite these failures the distinction between the claims of God and Caesar, remain. The nature of Christianity cannot accept a totalitarian state that tries to pull every aspect of life under itself.

The State is Not the Final Arbiter of Justice
The second main element, and a related one, is that the state is not the final arbiter of justice. The state is bound by the same moral laws as individuals.
Christianity rebukes the idea that the dictator or the majority determines or equals truth and justice. Some things are intrinsically wrong, and no state power or majority vote can make this not so. Because of this, human law must always be subordinate to divine law and natural laws. As Augustine, Aquinas, and the vast majority of thinkers in the Christian tradition have always held: an unjust law is no law at all.

Central to the Jewish and Christian idea of justice is that justice must be impartial. This idea is found throughout the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. As Leviticus 19:15 states:

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

This is the foundation for the idea of the rule of law—as opposed to the rule of men. Law must not be arbitrary. It must be fair, accessible, and offer citizens due process. The idea of impartiality is essential and is easily lost. It differs from the crony capitalist practice of giving benefits to the rich and well connected, and from much of the contemporary social justice idea that the poor should get special treatment at the expense of justice.

The Common Good
The third major element of a Christian vision of government is the commitment to the common good. The common good consists of the political and the social conditions that enable individuals, families, and communities to “reach their fulfillment.”
It is important to note that the common good does not equal the good of the state. Individuals are not simply cogs in the machine of the state. Further, the community cannot be reduced to the political community.

This is a common error. Nor does common good equal the greatest good for the greatest number. It is not simply more efficiency or more pleasure. It is rooted in a rich concept of the good life, always keeping in mind the eternal destiny of the person.
The state plays an important role in promoting the common good but cannot do everything. Its main role is in helping to create the conditions where people can flourish and to assist when necessary. As Thomas Aquinas explains, “It is contrary to the proper character of the state to impede people from acting according to their responsibilities—except in emergencies.”

A Community of Communities
This leads to the fourth main contribution: the importance of families and a rich and varied civil society.
Human persons are not radical individuals. We are social beings and flourish in community. We are born into families and into cultures, and flourish in communities. At the heart of society is the family. The family is the fundamental unit of society. While the state recognizes the family and has a place in regulating it, family is not simply a construct of the state. It is a natural community and a biological and sociological reality that exists prior to the state. This is one reason why the attempts to redefine marriage is an overreaching of state power and ultimately a totalitarian act. The state acts as the arbiter of reality itself. If biology can be redefined, what possible limits remain?

A Christian vision of government recognizes both the independence and social dimension of the family and its need to have space to flourish and live out its responsibilities. As Robert Nisbet and others have noted, the Christian vision of the family in politics sits in between the all controlling paterfamilias of Rome and the radically individualist nuclear family of modernity. Basic social and political issues such as education and private property are embedded in a robust role of the family. In education, the parents, not the schools, government, or churches are the primary educators of the children. In Rerum Novarum Pope Leo XIII grounds his discussion of private property not simply in economic or political terms, but in the light of the family.

While families are essential, they cannot flourish on their own. The common good requires rich and varied civil society or what Alexis de Tocqueville called “intermediary institutions.” These include civic and neighborhood groups, churches, mutual aid societies, charitable organizations, schools, and various types of sodalities and voluntary organizations that solve social problems and build community.
One way to think about civil society is as a community of communities that promote the common good and encourage solidarity and human flourishing.

A Naturally Anti-Utopian Creed
The fifth idea, and one of the most important elements of the Christian vision of government is anti-utopianism.
The Christian tradition affirms the goodness of man, but it also recognizes the reality of sin. We are capable of great good. We are also capable of profound evil. This means that we need a government to protect people from harm and to punish evildoers. But it is equally important that we place limits on rulers.
As Lord Acton famously observed, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The Christian vision of government is deeply skeptical of any utopian visions. It recognizes that we cannot create a perfectly just social order. Politics has an important role, but it is limited in what it can accomplish. As Joseph Ratzinger explained in his essay, “What is Truth, The Significance of Religious and Ethical Values in a Pluralist Society”:

It is not the task of the state to create mankind’s happiness, nor is it the task of the state to create new men. It is not the task of the state to change the world into Paradise. Nor can it do so . . . If it behaves as if were God . . . this makes it the beast from the abyss, the power of the Antichrist.

Politics cannot solve the fundamental problems of suffering, evil, sin, and death. We cannot be redeemed by the state or technology, or the dictator or the majority. This anti-utopianism is not pessimism or apathy in the face of injustice. Nor is it false optimism that things will get better. What anti-utopianism does is put politics in its proper place and warns us that we cannot create perfect justice. In his Truth and Tolerance, Ratzinger also observed:

Within this human history of ours the absolutely ideal situation will never exist and a perfected ordering of freedom will never be achieved. An ordering of things that is simply ideal; that is all around right and just will never exist. Wherever such a claim is made, truth is not being spoken. Belief in progress is not false in every respect. But the myth of the liberated world of the future in which everything is different and everything will be good is false. We can only ever construct relative social orders which can only ever be relatively right and just. Yet this very same closest possible approach to true right and justice is what we must strive to attain. Everything else, every eschatological promise within history fails to liberate us, rather it disappoints and therefore enslaves us.

This is only a brief introduction to the Christian tradition and its implications for politics. There is of course much more to say and lots to discuss and debate. But at the core of the Christian vision of government is the human person created in the image of God. The purpose of politics is to serve man, not for man to serve the state. The Christian vision of government places politics in the context of our human freedom, the call to human flourishing, and in the light of our eternal destiny.

 

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Glorious Blessings Are Ours: Free Access to God The Creator and Sustainer of all things But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Ephesians 2:13,18 NIV _______________ All of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. As a soothing aroma I will accept you Ezekiel 20:40b,41a NASB _______________ In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Ephesians 3:12 KJV _______________ Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

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“If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

Galatians 5:18

We who looks at his own character and position from a legal point of view, will not only despair when he comes to the end of his reckoning, but if he be a wise man he will despair at the beginning; for if we are to be judged on the footing of the law, there shall no flesh living be justified. How blessed to know that we dwell in the domains of grace and not of law! When thinking of my state before God the question is not, “Am I perfect in myself before the law?” but, “Am I perfect in Christ Jesus?” That is a very different matter.

We need not enquire, “Am I without sin naturally?” but, “Have I been washed in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness?” It is not “Am I in myself well pleasing to God?” but it is “Am I accepted in the Beloved?” The Christian views his evidences from the top of Sinai, and grows alarmed concerning his salvation; it were better far if he read his title by the light of Calvary. “Why,” saith he, “my faith has unbelief in it, it is not able to save me.” Suppose he had considered the object of his faith instead of his faith, then he would have said, “There is no failure in him, and therefore I am safe.”

He sighs over his hope: “Ah! my hope is marred and dimmed by an anxious carefulness about present things; how can I be accepted?” Had he regarded the ground of his hope, he would have seen that the promise of God standeth sure, and that whatever our doubts may be, the oath and promise never fail. Ah! believer, it is safer always for you to be led of the Spirit into gospel liberty than to wear legal fetters. Judge yourself at what Christ is rather than at what you are. Satan will try to mar your peace by reminding you of your sinfulness and imperfections: you can only meet his accusations by faithfully adhering to the gospel and refusing to wear the yoke of bondage.

 

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Time for Courage





In Rev. 21:8 we read, “But for the cowardly… their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” It is interesting to me that cowardice is the first item on a list that goes on to include murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, and idolaters, among others. This is because John was writing to Christians who were going to need courage in order to endure suffering and remain faithful to Jesus. Courage continues to play a key role in Christian faithfulness to this very day.

Safety in Numbers

Human beings are social creatures. Even a hard-core introvert like me still feels the need to be part of a social group. There is something hardwired into our psyche that drives us to seek acceptance by a peer group. Once we’ve achieved good standing in the group, we’ll typically protect it whatever the cost.
I’ve heard people say that social affirmation stimulates certain chemicals or hormones in the body that make us feel good. Evolutionary biologists suggest that this evolved as a self-preservation mechanism. Primitive humans were safer in large groups, so the body evolved a mechanism that rewards individuals with “happy feelings” when they experience affirmation from the group. This affirmation and its corresponding happy feelings motivate the individual to maintain his or her good standing in the group. This, in turn, keeps the individual safe.

I don’t know enough about biology to affirm or challenge these explanations. I cite them only to illustrate that the power of group acceptance is universally recognized. As such, great effort has been made to explain the phenomenon. Whatever its origin and whatever purpose it serves, our natural instinct is to find safety in a group. Most people will maintain that safety at any cost. When safety is threatened, fear of loosing the security of the group will drive people to do whatever is necessary to reestablish their standing in the group and by extension, their safety.

Affirmation, Acceptance, and Fear of Alienation

The biggest threat to group safety is the group itself. If the group determines that one of its members is no longer welcome, it will expel the undesirable member. This member will find himself or herself in a very vulnerable, perhaps dangerous position. Perhaps there is some truth to the primitive human explanation. A person alone in a dangerous world of predators and limited resources probably wouldn’t survive long.
In 21st century America, we don’t live in that kind of dangerous world. Nevertheless, something compels us to establish and maintain group safety. Instinctively, we seem to know that our status is always precarious. Acceptance by the group must be maintained.

For modern humans, group acceptance is generally a matter of affirmation. Group identity is defined by acceptance and affirmation of a common set of values. Good standing in the group is maintained by regular demonstrations that reaffirm the group values. The member that fails to make the necessary demonstrations, or worse openly challenges the group values runs the risk of censure. This may eventually lead to alienation and expulsion from the group.

Interestingly, most groups appear to be reluctant to lose their members. When a member begins to exhibit attitudes and behaviors that deviate from group norms, the group will use a variety of tactics to redirect the individual back toward the norm. Shaming, mockery, threats, and even violence may be employed to correct the deviant. Expulsion is typically a last resort. The larger the group, the greater the sense of security. By contrast small groups feel vulnerable to large groups. Loss of membership makes the group more vulnerable and undermines its sense security.

Courage over Group Safety

Self-preservation is the most basic of human instincts. It’s so powerful that it takes a conscious and concerted effort to overcome it. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courage is the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. It implies a firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty.
Since group acceptance works hand in hand with self-preservation, it is easy to see why people are so reluctant to jeopardize the standing within their social group. These are two very powerful impulses with strong emotional drives. This also explains why courage is necessary when one must make a choice that will result in loss of group acceptance.

Courage engages when one concludes that there is a greater good, a higher right action or correct belief, than the instinct for self-preservation. It’s a settled disposition that one develops through training the mind and emotions to value something more than safety. Thus, courage walks hand-in-hand with knowledge and wisdom. The belief and the will to act in line with a higher good must be stronger than this powerful instinct of self-preservation. Only courage can overcome the need for the safety of the group.

Courage v. Defiance

It’s this sense of greater good that differentiates courage from mere defiance. For some, their sense of identity is built around flipping the bird to social norms and conventions. Individuals who share this value form their own groups that reinforce these attitudes and behaviors. Sadly, the norms of the group are actually still determined by society at large. For such people, everyday is opposite day. There is no originality to their values, no sense of greater good. There is only reaction. Their identity could be anything, so long as it breaks from social norms. Even more sadly, many confess Christ for this reason alone.

The defiant are often praised as courageous. However, there is an important difference. For the courageous, as already noted, the source of their courage is their conviction that there is a greater good that supersedes self-preservation. By contrast, the defiant engage in a form of narcissism that artificially inflates the ego. They interpret their defiance as evidence of their superiority to the masses. All of life is reduced to not yielding to the crowd. Identity is based solely on rejection.

Christian Courage

This brings us back to Rev. 21:8. John uses strong language to describe those who lacked the courage to publically proclaim faith in Christ. He calls them “cowards.” Not surprising coming from a guy who, along with his brother, was called a “son of thunder.”
The primary form of persecution and suffering for Christians in the first century was social isolation. Exclusive allegiance to Christ as lord frequently resulted in suspicion, fear, and hostility from one’s social group. Then, as now, mockery, threats, and violence were used to get these deviants back in line with civil society. Those who wouldn’t were outcasts.


Back then, Christians were more vulnerable than modern Americans. Without their social network, they would have had great difficulty supporting themselves and their families. Beyond this, just like us, they simply desired the approval of their peers. Additionally, they hoped to improve their financial situation and social standing. Being socially marginalized made all these things impossible.
Outside of America, these conditions continue to this very day. Around the world, Christian brothers and sisters daily have to decide between group safety and the public proclamation of their allegiance to Christ. They have to develop a settled disposition that it’s more valuable to proclaim Christ than to enjoy the safety and comfort of the group.

The Need for Church

The church is like other social groups. Its identity is grounded in its members’ shared commitment to the lordship of Jesus Christ. However, it’s more than merely a social group. It’s the kingdom of God. We’re a group defined by the reign of God.
Christians have an obligation of love. We are to live as a new group that provides its members with the safety they desire. Each of us has had to act courageously, to renounce our former group allegiances. That courage must be rewarded by acceptance into this new group organized around our shared confession.

Since God’s people will always be outnumbered, courage will still be a necessity. The group that opposes us is larger than ours. Therefore, we need to spend as much time together as possible and spur one another to greater acts of courage.
Let’s continually remind one another that, though the lake of fire awaits the cowardly, the courageous will ultimately conquer the world. When Jesus returns, he will bring his kingdom with him. As members of God’s household, we will inherit the kingdom. Encourage one another with these words.

 

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Make Courageous Commitments



“But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.” Ruth 1:16–18

Pray
Lord, open my eyes to your truth and help me understand and obey your precepts.

Observe
Each day, we are given twenty-four hours to work with. But we often try to squeeze something into every crevice of our day, leaving only enough time to sleep, so we can get up tomorrow and do it all over again.
When making commitments, we need to be mindful of where they fit into our overall goals, objectives, and schedules. And we must consider how they fit into God’s overall plan and purpose for our lives. Once we’ve prayerfully considered these factors and are confident in our chosen direction, we must then avoid procrastination and take action. All the while, we should be diligent to analyze and prioritize our commitments on a regular basis, avoiding anxiety and maintaining balance in our everyday lives and schedules.

In the book of Ruth, we encounter a daughter-in-law who boldly makes a life-changing commitment to her deceased husband’s mother. Ruth had married into a family that worshiped the one true God, and when it came time for her to make the choice to return to her family and the gods they served or travel with her mother-in-law to an unfamiliar land, she chose her commitment wisely.

Courageously analyze and prioritize your commitments by asking yourself the following questions.
1. What commitments have I made?
2. What commitments do I need to make?
3. Are there any commitments I need to eliminate?
4. How dedicated am I to my commitments?
Prayerfully analyzing your commitments can mean the difference between success and defeat, peace of mind and exhaustion.

Interpret
God will give us everything we need to make courageous, God-honoring commitments. He promises to be with us along the way and will bless us in response to our dedication.

Apply
Analyze and prioritize your commitments today. Make the ones God is encouraging you to make, eliminate the ones he’s encouraging you to eliminate, put aside procrastination, and take action.

Pray
Father, give me wisdom and discernment regarding my commitments. Help me discern areas of my life where I am overcommitted or under committed. Grant me the ability to eliminate commitments that are not within your will and establish ones that honor you.

 

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The LORD reigns forever; The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD , have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:7-10 NIV _______________ The LORD is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land. O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror. Psalm 10:16-18 NASB _______________ May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works. He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke. Psalm 104:31,32 NKJV _______________ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:15-17 KJV _______________ Glorious, eternal life belongs to those who belong to Him! Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

 

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“There is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.”

Jeremiah 49:23

Little know we what sorrow may be upon the sea at this moment. We are safe in our quiet chamber, but far away on the salt sea the hurricane may be cruelly seeking for the lives of men. Hear how the death fiends howl among the cordage; how every timber starts as the waves beat like battering rams upon the vessel! God help you, poor drenched and wearied ones! My prayer goes up to the great Lord of sea and land, that he will make the storm a calm, and bring you to your desired haven!

Nor ought I to offer prayer alone, I should try to benefit those hardy men who risk their lives so constantly. Have I ever done anything for them? What can I do? How often does the boisterous sea swallow up the mariner! Thousands of corpses lie where pearls lie deep. There is death-sorrow on the sea, which is echoed in the long wail of widows and orphans. The salt of the sea is in many eyes of mothers and wives. Remorseless billows, ye have devoured the love of women, and the stay of households. What a resurrection shall there be from the caverns of the deep when the sea gives up her dead! Till then there will be sorrow on the sea.

As if in sympathy with the woes of earth, the sea is for ever fretting along a thousand shores, wailing with a sorrowful cry like her own birds, booming with a hollow crash of unrest, raving with uproarious discontent, chafing with hoarse wrath, or jangling with the voices of ten thousand murmuring pebbles. The roar of the sea may be joyous to a rejoicing spirit, but to the son of sorrow the wide, wide ocean is even more forlorn than the wide, wide world. This is not our rest, and the restless billows tell us so. There is a land where there is no more sea—our faces are steadfastly set towards it; we are going to the place of which the Lord hath spoken. Till then, we cast our sorrows on the Lord who trod the sea of old, and who maketh a way for his people through the depths thereof.

 

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The Lord Lives! Fear Not! I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. Psalm 34:4-7 KJV _______________ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NIV _______________ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Revelation 1:17,18 NASB

 

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“The exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.”

Ephesians 1:19, 20

In the resurrection of Christ, as in our salvation, there was put forth nothing short of a divine power. What shall we say of those who think that conversion is wrought by the free will of man, and is due to his own betterness of disposition? When we shall see the dead rise from the grave by their own power, then may we expect to see ungodly sinners of their own free will turning to Christ. It is not the word preached, nor the word read in itself; all quickening power proceeds from the Holy Ghost. This power was irresistible.

All the soldiers and the high priests could not keep the body of Christ in the tomb; Death himself could not hold Jesus in his bonds: even thus irresistible is the power put forth in the believer when he is raised to newness of life. No sin, no corruption, no devils in hell nor sinners upon earth, can stay the hand of God's grace when it intends to convert a man. If God omnipotently says, “Thou shalt,” man shall not say, “I will not.”

Observe that the power which raised Christ from the dead was glorious. It reflected honor upon God and wrought dismay in the hosts of evil. So there is great glory to God in the conversion of every sinner. It was everlasting power. “Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” So we, being raised from the dead, go not back to our dead works nor to our old corruptions, but we live unto God.

“Because he lives we live also.” “For we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God.” “Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Lastly, in the text mark the union of the new life to Jesus. The same power which raised the Head works life in the members. What a blessing to be quickened together with Christ!

 

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Why We Fear Change Change is the best and worst thing about being human
Change is the best and worst thing about being human
Everything is so wonderfully unstable. We are constantly longing for change, for growth, for betterment. And yet, at the same time, we find a way to loathe it. We are scared of change. We are afraid of what it means for us. Why are we so terrified of something we long for so deeply?



The Unknown
When we desire change, what we really want is more control. We want to be able to make things work out the way we want them to work out. Yet, even that, scares us. We are afraid to get what we want.
The reason is clear. We are afraid of the unknown. It is the mystery of life that intrigues and terrifies us. Our discontent and lack of control are braided together tightly. We are afraid that change will make things worse. We can’t, after all, control everything.
And so, we end up sticking with the devil we know. The only thing that scares us more than change is the idea that change will make things worse. What if the change doesn’t work out? The familiar suddenly seems manageable when faced with the worst case scenario of something new.

The Consequences
Another reason we are afraid of change is that we are scared of what comes with it. The catch. The baggage. The responsibility we’ll have to take. What we really want is for our circumstances, mood, etc. to change without costing us anything. But there is something deep within us that knows this is not how things work.

We don’t want to change ourselves. We want all the reward with no risk, but change doesn’t happen that way. We end up staying the same because, once again, the unknown consequences of change frighten us into submission. Like a turtle retreating into its shell, we avoid the dangers that come from change.

Every action requires a response. It is a ripple that creates consequences. These quickly start to drift further and further from our control. And it is that reality that keeps us from the changes we ought to make. The consequences of our change, especially the idea we have to own those consequences, keeps us from pursuing transformation.

The Mourning
We are obsessed with safety. It is a form of control. And the first thing we need to do to make positive change is face the reality of today. Staring the current self in the face terrifies us. It makes us feel seen and known in the worst way.


We like ourself, at least to some degree. Even if it is a small glimmer that just likes our own misery. Fear keeps us shackled to the old things. We know we will miss them. Our addictions have given us some jolt of excitement – either adventure or safety – and letting go of them means losing what has been constant and familiar. Even if our constant is toxic, it will be mourned when missed. That is just the way we are. Change requires us to go through the mourning before stepping into a brighter tomorrow. And some of us can’t stand the idea of detoxing from our current lives.
The choice becomes painfully clear: which matters to us most – our fear of change or desire for it? In the end, we are the “X” factor. We are the ones who make the decision about whether we will grow or stay the same, whether we will face the consequences of change or be stayed by fear.

 

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He has prepared wonderful things for us! However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV _______________ "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. Isaiah 65:17 NASB _______________ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1,2 NKJV _______________ "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Revelation 1:18 NASB _______________ Glorious, eternal life belongs to those who belong to Him! Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

 

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“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment.”

Revelation 4:4

These representatives of the saints in heaven are said to be around the throne. In the passage in Canticles, where Solomon sings of the King sitting at his table, some render it “a round table.” From this, some expositors, I think, without straining the text, have said, “There is an equality among the saints.” That idea is conveyed by the equal nearness of the four and twenty elders.

The condition of glorified spirits in heaven is that of nearness to Christ, clear vision of his glory, constant access to his court, and familiar fellowship with his person: nor is there any difference in this respect between one saint and another, but all the people of God, apostles, martyrs, ministers, or private and obscure Christians, shall all be seated near the throne, where they shall for ever gaze upon their exalted Lord, and be satisfied with his love. They shall all be near to Christ, all ravished with his love, all eating and drinking at the same table with him, all equally beloved as his favourites and friends even if not all equally rewarded as servants.

Let believers on earth imitate the saints in heaven in their nearness to Christ. Let us on earth be as the elders are in heaven, sitting around the throne. May Christ be the object of our thoughts, the centre of our lives. How can we endure to live at such a distance from our Beloved? Lord Jesus, draw us nearer to thyself. Say unto us, “Abide in me, and I in you”; and permit us to sing, “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.”

O lift me higher, nearer thee,
And as I rise more pure and meet,
O let my soul's humility
Make me lie lower at thy feet;
Less trusting self, the more I prove
The blessed comfort of thy love.

 

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If This Bible Hero Could Get Past His Past, Anyone Can






The Apostle Paul was a prolific church planter and missionary, planting churches all throughout the Roman Empire. Paul would then write letters to keep up with and instruct these churches, and these letters have been preserved for 2000 years as part of our New Testament. Here are some of the most famous quotes from the Apostle Paul, and how he continues to inspire Christians today:
I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4
Those verses and so many more continue to inspire Christians today, so it’s real easy to assume that the Apostle Paul was always a rock solid Christian, probably grew up in Sunday School, loved youth group, went to a Christian college and has been changing the world ever since.

But when we first find Paul, then known as Saul of Tarsus, he was a violent persecutor of the Christian movement. Saul grew up as an extremely devout and religious Jew, and he correctly saw Jesus as a threat to the established religious Jewish temple system. So after the resurrection, when the disciples wouldn’t stop talking about their claims to see the resurrected Jesus, Paul led the charge to persecute them. In fact, the first Christian martyr, died at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders, and Saul was central to his killing. Here’s what happened next:

And Saul approved of their killing [Stephen]. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Acts 8:1-3

This wasn’t Saul persecuting Christians in the media, calling them names or trying to shut down their buildings. This was Saul ripping apart families and putting people in prison. People died because of Saul. And then Jesus personally recruits Saul to start playing for the home team. Jesus appears to Saul, and Saul is so convinced that Jesus actually rose from the dead, proving that he was everything he claimed to be, that he gave his life to Jesus, changed his name from Saul to Paul, and the rest is history.

But, it’s not quite as easy as that. Have you ever done something from your past that you regret, something you wish you could go back and change? How many of you would like to have your high school years back? How many of you would like to have your 20s back? Your first marriage back?

As legitimately painful as that all is, I hope none of you ever have to deal with what Paul dealt with. Paul literally had blood on his hands. Paul killed people. More than that, Paul killed Christians before he became one. Do you think Paul needed freedom from the guilt and shame from his past? You better believe it! And he obviously found that freedom, because of how much inspiration he still gives us today. If God can help a murdered like Saul find freedom in Jesus, and not only that, redeem his life to inspire generations of Christians for the next 2000 years, there is absolutely nothing you cannot come back from.

For years, perhaps you’ve been disqualifying yourself from God’s love, God’s forgiveness, from God’s redemption because you’ve convinced yourself that what you did was too horrible, too unforgivable. Do you know what Paul would say to that? He would say, “Is that all? Come back to me after you’ve killed dozens or hundreds of people, then we can talk about how you can still find freedom and forgiveness and redemption in Jesus.”

So this is for every single person, no matter what you’ve done. Freedom is for everyone! Here’s a great summary of what drove Paul in freedom:
One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

 

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Now is the Day of Salvation We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, NOW is the accepted time; Behold, NOW is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:1,2 NKJV _______________ Since we have NOW been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:9-11 NIV _______________ There is therefore NOW no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1,2 NKJV _______________ Glorious, eternal life belongs to those who belong to Him! Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

 

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“Evening wolves.”

Habakkuk 1:8

While preparing the present volume, this particular expression recurred to me so frequently, that in order to be rid of its constant importunity I determined to give a page to it. The evening wolf, infuriated by a day of hunger, was fiercer and more ravenous than he would have been in the morning. May not the furious creature represent our doubts and fears after a day of distraction of mind, losses in business, and perhaps ungenerous tauntings from our fellow men?

How our thoughts howl in our ears, “Where is now thy God?” How voracious and greedy they are, swallowing up all suggestions of comfort, and remaining as hungry as before. Great Shepherd, slay these evening wolves, and bid thy sheep lie down in green pastures, undisturbed by insatiable unbelief. How like are the fiends of hell to evening wolves, for when the flock of Christ are in a cloudy and dark day, and their sun seems going down, they hasten to tear and to devour. They will scarcely attack the Christian in the daylight of faith, but in the gloom of soul conflict they fall upon him. O thou who hast laid down thy life for the sheep, preserve them from the fangs of the wolf.

False teachers who craftily and industriously hunt for the precious life, devouring men by their false-hoods, are as dangerous and detestable as evening wolves. Darkness is their element, deceit is their character, destruction is their end. We are most in danger from them when they wear the sheep's skin. Blessed is he who is kept from them, for thousands are made the prey of grievous wolves that enter within the fold of the church.

What a wonder of grace it is when fierce persecutors are converted, for then the wolf dwells with the lamb, and men of cruel ungovernable dispositions become gentle and teachable. O Lord, convert many such: for such we will pray to-night.

 

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How The Trinity Works In Our Salvation
J


We are saved by the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, but the other members of the Trinity are also at work in our salvation.
The Father
How does the Father work with the Son and the Holy Spirit in our salvation? Jesus mentions the Father’s role when He says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44). To make it even clearer, He says “that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:65), so it is not we who found God (Who was not missing!), but God found us; He called us.

Salvation is not a decision we make. It is an act of God upon those whom He brings to repentance and faith (Acts 5:11, 11:18; 2 Tim 2:24-26). Jesus assures believers that “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). It is the Father’s promise to deliver you into the kingdom as Jesus again says, “this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:39). Twice in three sentences, Jesus says that “All” will come to Him and of all given to Him (Jesus), so not one will be lost, as a result of the Father drawing us to Christ. Think of it this way; God thought us; God sought us; God caught us; God bought us; and God taught us. It’s all about God and not about us (Psalm 115:1).

The Son
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples were always concerned with where they’d be ruling in the coming Kingdom, but Jesus told them that they had it all wrong. Here is the Living God, Jesus Christ; the omnipotent God, telling them that “even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). They thought like most of the world thinks; the greatest person is the one with the most servants, but Jesus flips that on its head, saying that “whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:44). The Apostle Peter could not be clearer about how Jesus Christ brings salvation to the sinner. Peter says “that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold” (1 Pet 1:18). All the wealth in the universe would not be sufficient to redeem even on sinner. It took “the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet 1:19) to redeem us. There was absolutely no other way (Acts 4:12).

The Spirit
The Holy Spirit has a special role as He seals us for eternity, just as a letter from a king had a wax seal on it, and anyone who was unauthorized to open it would meet a certain death. Only those who had the authority could open it, and in this case, it was the Lamb of God. The Apostle Paul says that God has “predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:5), and “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph 1:13).

The Holy Spirit was how God quickened us to new life and birthed us from above (John 3:3-7). Every believer should think back and remember that “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—“ (Eph 2:1-2). In fact, “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:3), and without hope. So what changed? It was the fact that “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:4-5).

Lazarus could not have resurrected himself any more than we could have quickened ourselves to new life in Christ. The work of the Spirit is also found in the Word of God, since “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16), and no prophecy, and I would say, no Scripture would have been written except for the Spirit of God. Scripture was never “produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:21), and the Word of God is living and active, and discerns the innermost “thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12), revealing to us what sin is (Rom 7:7; 1 John 3:4). The Spirit of God brings home the fact that we are sinners and we need saving. Jesus, speaking of the coming Holy Spirit, said that when He comes, “he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8), and that is just what He’s done to untold numbers throughout the ages.

Conclusion
The Trinity are always in perfect agreement with one another. All Three are working together in our salvation, so all Three Persons of the Trinity are actively involved in our redemption. The Father calls us or draws us to Christ, and as Jesus said, all that He draws, will all be delivered to the Son. The Son saves us; giving His perfect, sinless life of obedience as a ransom for us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins, making us aware of our need for Christ through His inner work, and through the outer Word, the Word of God. It is the Word of God, shared by a person of God, with the Spirit of God, to birth a child of God, through the Son of God and for the glory of God.

 

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Live in Him! For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:19-20 _______________ But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:26b-28 ESV _______________ So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1,2 MSG

 

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“Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies.”

Psalms 5:8

Very bitter is the enmity of the world against the people of Christ. Men will forgive a thousand faults in others, but they will magnify the most trivial offence in the followers of Jesus. Instead of vainly regretting this, let us turn it to account, and since so many are watching for our halting, let this be a special motive for walking very carefully before God.

If we live carelessly, the lynx-eyed world will soon see it, and with its hundred tongues, it will spread the story, exaggerated and emblazoned by the zeal of slander. They will shout triumphantly. “Aha! So would we have it! See how these Christians act! They are hypocrites to a man.” Thus will much damage be done to the cause of Christ, and much insult offered to his name. The cross of Christ is in itself an offence to the world; let us take heed that we add no offence of our own. It is “to the Jews a stumblingblock”: let us mind that we put no stumblingblocks where there are enough already. “To the Greeks it is foolishness”: let us not add our folly to give point to the scorn with which the worldly-wise deride the gospel.

How jealous should we be of ourselves! How rigid with our consciences! In the presence of adversaries who will misrepresent our best deeds, and impugn our motives where they cannot censure our actions, how circumspect should we be! Pilgrims travel as suspected persons through Vanity Fair. Not only are we under surveillance, but there are more spies than we know of. The espionage is everywhere, at home and abroad. If we fall into the enemies’ hands we may sooner expect generosity from a wolf, or mercy from a fiend, than anything like patience with our infirmities from men who spice their infidelity towards God with scandals against his people. O Lord, lead us ever, lest our enemies trip us up!