The Fear of The Lord Is - Part 2: The Instruction of Wisdom

 Proverbs 15:33

The fear of The LORD is the instruction of wisdom;

 and before honour is humility.

    With Wisdom as our Teacher, our Instructor, The Fear of The Lord is taught to us. We learn from The Holy Spirit how to Fear The Lord God: with a humble heart and an attitude of humility. 

    A humble heart submits to God. Surrendering the self to The Almighty, we become His servants: we say what He wants us to say in The Way that He wants us to say it; we go where He wants us to go when He wants us to go; we do what He wants us to do when He instructs us to it. We are obedient to The Spirit's nudge and whisper. 

    A heart that is humbled before God is malleable. God is able to mold it, form it, and transform the heart into a heart that resembles His heart. Having surrendered ourselves to His grace and great love we find ourselves changed 'from glory to glory' according to His Word, His Will (His Purpose), and His Spirit. [2 Corinthians 3:18].

    The instruction of wisdom directs us to read our bibles for ourselves. It leads us to seek out The Truth of God's Word and helps us to understand and know what God has to say to us each day. As the risen sun falls across our sleepy eyes, we thank God for another day to serve Him. We read that His Word is brighter than the sun, and the moon, and the stars: It is The Light which causes all shadows and darkness to flee. [Revelation 21:23].

    Having The Light of God's Love living in us and we in Him, we refuse to submit to the forces of darkness any longer. We have turned our backs on sin and its cohorts and turned our faces to The Light of God's Word. Our hearts change first, then our thoughts, then our tongues, and finally our actions. In a split second sometimes, but usually over the course of our lives. 

    We are not intentional hypocrites: we are works in progress. But our hearts belong to God through faith in His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. Him coming to live in our hearts is the first change and instantaneous upon confessing Him to be Lord and Savior: Lord of our lives, Savior of our souls. [Romans 10:9, 10].

    At some point in our lives, whether here or on the other side of eternity, the humble of heart will be rewarded by God. It is God who rewards the humble heart. 

    Proverbs 22:4

By humility and the fear of The LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

    And what is more rewarding to the Christian's humble heart than the riches of heaven, the honour of heaven, and the life eternal in heaven? Nothing. Though God may reward some folks with riches in this life, He does so knowing that it will be used for His glory. Some have honour in this life, some live long lives. How God rewards the humble is how God wants to reward the humble. It is not of our choosing, for then the ugly head of pride would be the designer and not God Himself. 

    Let us hold onto a deeply reverent awe, fear, of The Lord God, and thereby gain heaven's riches itself as our reward. The best reward is knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, Friend. That's my riches of heaven. Is it yours?

The Fear of The Lord - Part 1

 

Psalm 111:10
The fear of The LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endures for ever. 

    Besides this reference in Psalm 111:10, the phrase "the fear of The LORD is" is found throughout the Scriptures. And it is either preceded by an action or it precedes an action. [I have found about seven verses using that exact phrase "the fear of The LORD is".]

    Here in Psalm 111:10, "the fear of The LORD" precedes an action; in point of fact, three actions:

(1) The beginning of wisdom is obtained through it

(2) A good understanding is gained through obedience to God's commandments

(3) His praise endures for ever

THE BEGINNING

    The beginning is always the best place to start. No one ever won a race by starting at the end or the middle. Reading the end of a good book first is never quite as satisfying as beginning with the first chapter and taking that journey the author takes with you to reach the end. 

    I like the first line of Moby Dick. "They call me Ishmael." The narrator never really says who he is: we just assumed his name is Ishmael. But then he goes on to tell us a whopper of a tale. It is a momentous beginning of a seafaring journey to catch an elusive white whale. But I like the beginning of the Bible, too. (It also has a better ending).

    In the beginning. Also a repeated phrase. Not just in Genesis 1:1, but in John 1:1. In the beginning God. The Author reveals God in all of creation, including the first people. He created all things in the beginning with His Son and His Holy Spirit. Genesis 1, 2; John 1:1-3. He is The Beginning. 

    The beginning of wisdom is to recognize/acknowledge/know that GOD IS GOD and there is no other god. [Isaiah 45:21; Isaiah 43:10]. Seeing there is no other god than GOD, we also know that it is foolishness to worship that which does not exist. For how can a nonexistent deity answer the cries of the human heart? Any prayer and worship extended to manmade gods is idol worship, saint worship, ungodly worship. 

    The beginning of wisdom is to fear God with a godly reverence: a deep, God-centered, God-focused attitude of worship. To Him we direct our praise. To Him we extend our love and devotion. Not just for what He has done for us, but just because HE IS GOD and HE IS OUR GOD. 

    We choose to fear THE LORD GOD because The Wisdom of His Holy Spirit resides in us and calls us to deeper worship and a deeper/closer walk with our Lord and Savior. 

A GOOD UNDERSTANDING

    Do you have a good understanding of God's commandments? You do, if you are obeying them. Obeying them in the fear of The LORD is vital to a strong relationship and a steadfast faith-filled walk with The LORD. Many are they who can recite the first ten commandments. Many can also study them thoroughly and exposit on them. But, sadly, not many of these will obey them. 

    Some see God's commandments as irrelevant in today's world. They are not the first to believe such lies, nor will they be the last. Those who mock God now and show Him irreverence in their lifetimes will not be laughing when God judges them. They need to repent and turn to God before it's too late. Come to Jesus and Live. God's Word is always True, and therefore it is always relevant and not outdated. 

    Ecclesiastes 12:13

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

HIS PRAISE ENDURES FOREVER

    The word 'praise' in this verse is the word 'TeHillah', which means 'hymn, song of praise, to laud (extol the praises of ). From Genesis through  Revelation people have been praising God's Name. Were I to list one verse from every book of The Bible, we would have 66 verses telling us not only to praise God, but how to praise God. My challenge to you is, can you find one verse in every book of The Bible to give you a total of 66 verses of praising God? And are you willing to share what you have discovered here? 

    Every journey starts with one step and ends with one step. It is all the steps in the middle that determine where we take our last step. Let's make that first step matter. 

The Beginning of Praising God

Genesis 4:26

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon The Name of The LORD.

The Middle of Praising God

Psalm 150:1

Praise The LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament (the visible arch of the sky)!

Revelation 22:3

And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of The Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve (worship) Him.

Thank You - Instant Replay

 This is the second study I did when I first started writing my studies out on here. I hope you enjoy it. (From March 2, 2012)

    Thank you. How many times do we say this to one another? More than can be numbered? Or less than a handful? Do we mean it when we say it? Or is it automatic (thanks)? Sarcastic (Gee, thanks.)? Questioning (thank you?) 

     Why do we say "thank you"? We say 'thank you' to show our appreciation for the service which has been rendered us. Whether the words are said to the waitress, the clerk, the minister or the teacher, we say them. 

     If we are merely being polite, the words do not really resonate from our hearts. It is etiquette and nothing more. If we are being sarcastic, we are not really exhibiting thankfulness, we are showing them that they have no value to us and do not appreciate their service. If we question the sincerity of their work, we reveal our inability to say 'thank you'.

     Since we appear to have difficulty saying 'thank you' to each other, it must be really hard to say 'thank you' to God. How sad is that? There are so many, many things to be thankful to God for every single day that it would more than fill our waking hours to be thankful for them. We usually generalize our thankfulness, when we tell God how much we are thankful to Him for. 

     When we pray over our meals, saying grace, we thank God for the food placed before us; thank God for the hands that prepared it and ask Him to bless those hands. We ask God to bless the food to the nourishment and healing of our bodies, that we might continue to serve Him when He calls us. We thank God for the blessings of the day. In Jesus' Name. Amen. 

     The blessings of the day is a generalization. And that is, for most of us, the one time of day we are saying 'thank you' to God. But for my husband and I, thankfulness to our God is spread out throughout our day. God applies His love to us through His Word and we apply His Word to our lives. Beginning with our mornings: O give thanks unto the Lord, for His mercy endures forever. This line of thankfulness is repeated 8 times in the Book of Psalm. (Psalm 105:1; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,9; 136:1,2,3,26) 

     In fact, the words 'thank(s) thanked thankful thankfulness thanksgiving(s)' appears in the Bible (KJV) 137 times. Of these 137 verses referring to 'thankfulness' in all its forms, 131 tell us to give 'thanks' to God. And they tell us how and why to give 'thanks', also.

John 11:41      the why      "because You heard me"
Romans 1:8     the how       "through Jesus Christ"
1 Corinthians 1:4     the why     "always on your behalf"
1 Corinthians 14:18     the why     "that I speak in tongues"
Philippians 1:3      the why     "upon every remembrance of you"
1 Thessalonians 1:13     the how     "without ceasing"
1 Thessalonians 1:13     the why     "because the Word of God was received and applied"
2 Thessalonians 1:3     the how     "always"
2 Thessalonians 1:3     the why     "your faith grows exceedingly and your love for one another is in abundance"
1 Timothy 1:12     the why     "Jesus Christ enabled me, because He counted me faithful, and put me into the ministry"
2 Timothy 1:3     the how     "I serve with pure conscience"
2 Timothy 1:3     the why     "without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and day"

2 Chronicles 5:13     the how     "the singers and the musicians sang and made noise as one voice"

2 Chronicles 5:13     the why     "He is good: His mercy endures forever"

2 Chronicles 5:13, 14     the result    "the glory of the Lord filled the house so full, there was no room in it for anyone else"

2 Samuel 22:50     the why    "therefore (because He has delivered me from my enemies v49)

2 Samuel 22:50     the how     "I will sing praises unto Thy name"

1 Chronicles 16:8     the why     "make known His deeds among the people"

I Chronicles 16:34     the why     "for He is good; for His mercy endures forever"

1 Chronicles 16:35     the why      "He is the God of our Salvation, our deliverer, He gathers us together"

1 Chronicles 16:41     the why     "because His mercy endures forever"

1 Chronicles 25:3     the how     "musicians handpicked by the king to give thanks to the Lord and to praise Him"

2 Chronicles 31:2     the how    "appointed by the king to minister the offerings, give thanks and praise the Lord"

Ezra 3:11     the how     "sing together"

Ezra 3:11     the why     "because He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel"

Ezra 3:11     the how     "with a great shout"

Ezra 3:11     the why     "because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid"

Nehemiah 12:24, 31, 38, 40     the how     "upon the walls, the gates and to the towers"

Nehemiah 12:43     the why     "so that the Joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off"

Psalm 6:5     the how     "alive"

Psalm 6:5     the why    "because I have life and everything that life entails"

Psalm 18:49   the why      "v48 He delivers me from my enemies, lifts me up above they that rise against me: delivers me from the violent man"

Psalm 18:49     the how     "among the heathen, sing praises unto Thy name"

Psalm 30:4     the why     "at the remembrance of His holiness"

Psalm 30:12    the why    "v11 You turned my mourning into dancing: You removed my grief, and girded me with gladness"

Psalm 30:12     the how    "to the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. I will give thanks forever"

Psalm 75:1     the why     "for Your name is near Your wondrous works declare"

Psalm 79:13     the why    "we will show forth Your praise to all generations"

Psalm 92:1-4    the why     "v2 to show Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night" "v4 You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work: I will triumph in the works of Your hands"

Psalm 92:1-4     the how     "v1 sing praises to Your name" "v3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery, upon the harp with a solemn sound"

Psalm 97:12     the why     "at the remembrance of His holiness"

Psalm 105:1     the why     "make known His deeds among the people"

Psalm 106:1     the why     "for He is good: for His mercy endures forever"

Psalm 106:47     the why     "to triumph in Your praise"

Psalm 107:1     the why     "for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever"

Psalm 118:1, 29     the why     "for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever"

Psalm 119:62     the why     "because of Your righteous judgments"

Psalm 122:4     the why     "unto the testimony of Israel" (the commandments of God)

Psalm 136:1-3,26   the why     "for He is good: for His mercy endures forever"

                              ~ Have you ever read this chapter? There are 26 verses and each verse ends 

                                             with "for His mercy endures forever" ~

Daniel 6:10     the how     "facing Jerusalem, praying on his knees 3x day, in supplication (making his needs known before God)"

Daniel 6:7     the why     "disobeying the king's order to worship a different god than our God would cause the king to send that person to their death in the lions' den"

Matthew 15:36     the how     "simply"     the why     "to feed the need"

Luke 17:15, 16     the how     "with a loud voice glorified God" and "fell on his face at Jesus' feet"

Luke 17:14, 15     the why    "healed completely of leprosy"

Luke 22:17, 19     the why   "Christ declaring that both cup and bread were representative of His body and His blood and that when we take them it is a remembrance of Who He is and What He did for us"

Matthew 15:36     the how     "simply"     the why     "to feed the need"

Luke 17:15, 16     the how     "with a loud voice glorified God" and "fell on his face at Jesus' feet"

Luke 17:14, 15     the why    "healed completely of leprosy"

Luke 22:17, 19     the why   "Christ declaring that both cup and bread were representative of His body and His blood and that when we take them it is a remembrance of Who He is and What He did for us"

1 Corinthians 15:57     the why     "God gives us the victory {over death and the grave} through our Lord Jesus Christ"

2 Corinthians 2:14    the why     "Who always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes known the sweet taste of His knowledge by us to every place."

2 Corinthians 9:15     the why     "for His unspeakable gift {every good and perfect gift [James 1:17] is from God)"

Ephesians 5:3, 4    the why     "because an unclean life and unclean words do not adorn the saints of God" v2 "walk in love, as Christ loves us, and gave His life for us an offering and a sweet smell to God"

Ephesians 5:20   the how     "always"    the why     "for all things unto God and the Father"

Colossians 1:3, 4     the why     "praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of His love which you have for all the saints"

Colossians 1:12     the why     "God has qualified us to partake in the inheritance of the saints in light"

Colossians 3:17    the how    "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus"

1 Thessalonians 1:2-4   the why    "making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of our God and our Father; knowing beloved brethren, your election of God."

1 Thessalonians 5:18     the why     "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"

2 Thessalonians 2:13     the why     "because God has chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth"

1 Timothy 2:1     the why     "intercede on everyone's behalf"

Hebrews 13:15   the how"     offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually"

Revelation 11:16, 17   the who "the 4 and 20 elders" the how   "falling on their face and worshiping before God"   the why   "because God has taken to Himself His great power and has reigned"

    The remaining verses are in regards to the word 'thanksgiving(s)'. All of which are offered up to God individually. It is by our choice, our will, our decision. Each time the word 'thanksgiving' is mentioned it is with sacrifice, with praise, with singing, with offerings. 

     However, each of the preceding verses are also instructive verses. They tell us how the person gave thanks AND why the person gave thanks. We, too, are instructed even now; for the Word of God is constant, never changing, ever flowing. As we apply these truths to our lives, we learn to embrace God not from a distance, but ever nearer and nearer. 

     Thank You, Lord, for saving a wretch like me. For loving me so much You died for me, then fought death, hell, and the grave and overcame them for me. For loving me enough to create in me a clean heart every time I fall short of overcoming temptation. For filling me with Your Holy Spirit, Who comforts me and guides me in all Your ways. For giving me a desire to draw close to You, so close that our hearts beat as one. For using me in Your kingdom, to lead other people to Your well of Living Water, which flows from the throne of God. Thank You, Lord, thank You so much.

    Psalm 136:1 sums it all up quite nicely:

O give thanks unto The LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever.

The Atoning Sacrifice - Living For Jesus

 

1 John 2:2

He Himself is The Atoning Sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

The Atoning Sacrifice: Propitiation: sin offering/Christ's atoning blood that appeases (averts) God's wrath, on all confessed sin. 

     Only confessed sin is forgiven. We must confess all sins to God when we admit that our thoughts, and our actions, and our words have sinned against His Word. 

     His Word was nailed to a cross. His Word was beaten, bruised, and marred beyond recognition. His Word forgave the men who had done these things to Him and put Him on that cross. 

     His Word ministered to the lost, the found, the seeker, the dying, the dead, the weak, the hungry, the imprisoned, the homeless, the poor, the wealthy, the forsaken and the sick. 

     His Word is The Atoning Sacrifice Who died on the cross bearing the weight of sin of the whole world: from Adam until the present day and the future day. He died so we could live. 

     Live in Him and He in us. Live a life worth living. A life of hope of a resurrected life eternal through Him. A life of peace that passes understanding. A life which expresses joy in our salvation through the blood which He shed on Calvary. A life which is committed to obeying God's commandments with love and faithfulness. 

    Do you have this Life in Christ living in you? Do you want it? Come to Jesus. And Live. 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Marjorie Van Hoef 

Diving Into Surrender - The Color of Worship - The True Worshipper

 John 4:23

"But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship The Father in spirit and in truth: for The Father seeks such to worship him."

    While searching for photos or pic to align with this post, I stumbled across a NASA Science page on the colors of the ocean, with the help of the Holy Spirit. He is, after all, my Guide. See, I always thought that the deeper the ocean, the darker the green. I knew that some oceans were blue near the top, but I had believed that all oceans are eventually green after that. But the deeper you get into the ocean, not only is there less color, there is less light.

     Turquoise Plankton in the water reflect the light of the sun.

    Azure How many plankton living in the water decides what color the water is.

  Green Black Light Absorbed and light reflected.

Blue-Green Spiral  Type of plankton reveals color of water. In this photo, two types caused the blue-green effect. The spiral is because they are alive and in motion. Pretty cool, huh? This is my favorite.

    There is an emerald rainbow around the base of the throne of God. Revelation 4:5 "And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." Ezekiel 1:28 "As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of The LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake." John 4:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

     In the previous verse, John 4:23, Jesus stated not only that the true worshippers worship The Father in spirit and in truth, but that this is the worshipper God is seeking, or looking for. Am I that true worshipper yet? Are you that true worshipper God is seeking? What does it take to be a true worshipper of God?

💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙

     The true worshipper walks in The Spirit, not in the world. In other words, he walks the walk. Romans 8:4 "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after The Spirit.". 
     The true worshipper not only walks in The Spirit, but lives in The Spirit. Galatians 5:25 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in The Spirit."
     The true worshipper rejoices in Jesus, and trusts Him. Philippians 3:3 "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in The spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."
    The true worshipper has a circumcised heart and lifestyle. Colossians 2:6-23 and Colossians 3, but just let me whet your appetite with the first few verses in it. You can continue in your own Bible, okay? Colossians 2:6-11 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus The Lord, so walk ye in Him. (7) Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (8) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (9) For in Him dwells all the fullness of The Godhead bodily. (10) And you are complete in Him, which is The Head of all principality and power: (11) In Whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.
     These scriptures are speaking to the Christian, the person who repents of their sins and accepts the forgiveness of God for such. So, we see here that the true worshipper to whom Christ is referring to in John 4:23, is a Christian not just in name, but in heart and mind and spirit, which make up the soul of a person. In John 3:3 Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born again. What follows in John 3:4-21 is Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.
     As we have already covered what it means to be Christian, we will continue from here to verse 7 in Colossians 2. This verse tells us that the Christian is also not a newbie, or newly born again Christian, but one whose faith is visible to others, a Christian who is always thankful for everything in their lives. But it is hard to be thankful for every little thing, isn't it? Unless you determine to be thankful; having that "Gratitude Attitude". Verse 8 warns us to be careful, and not believe those who would turn us away from the truth of God's Word according to their logic and flattery. Verse 9 reveals to us without reservation that Jesus Christ is the fullness of The Godhead: God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit.
      Verse 10 reminds us that we are complete in Him. Which is what He prayed for in the garden of Gethsemane, later on in this book: John 17:21 "That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, are in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." Finish reading this chapter through verse 26, it's really awesome how every Word of God comes together when the Holy Spirit is active in your Bible studies.
     Verse 11 tells the Christian that God circumcises the heart, not the body. Ezekiel 11:19, 20 "And I will give them a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh. That they may walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God." Ezekiel 36:26 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep my judgments, and do them."
     The true worshipper is strong in The Lord, strong in The Spirit, strong in The Word. Their heart is focused on the things of God, not on the things of this world. The true worshipper reads their Bible for to profit the soul, not to seek monetary gain. The true worshipper surrenders not only their heart to God, but their whole life. And having surrendered one's heart and given one's life to worship and thankfulness, the next goal is to see the glory of God face to face. It is not just this side of heaven we are to worship God in, but the other side of heaven, also.
     Where are the true worshippers?

Warrior of The Word - Feet Like Hinds' Feet

2 Samuel 22:34

He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

From The Topical Lexicon:

Natural Characteristics of the Doe

The doe embodies agility, grace, alertness, lightness of step, and maternal instinct. In the rugged hills of ancient Israel these traits were easily observed, making the animal an apt metaphor for eloquence, sure-footed security, gentle beauty, and the mysterious timing of birth. 

    This, too, should be the description of a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. 

    We are to walk in agility. Our steps cannot falter, nor be hesitant: we walk by faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. We doubt not,nor do we waiver in our faith. 

    We walk in grace, God's merciful grace given through Jesus Christ. We walk in The Spirit of God, Who leads us up the mountains we must climb and through the valleys in which we journey, and at time rest in. 

    Our senses are alert to our surroundings at all times. The predator of our souls is always looking for ways to bring us down and take us out. Because we have faith in our Lord we trust where He leads us. Our feet walk in the Light of His Love. 

    And we raise our children to follow Jesus. We want them to know this wonderful grace which God has given us. We encourage them to seek out God in His Word and believe for themselves this wonderful Name of Jesus which has filled us with such Joy and wonder in His Salvation. The thrill of leading our children to Christ and seeing them believe and be baptized is unlike any thrill you will ever have known before. 

    Fortunate are we to see hinds' feet in our mentors. The elders we have cherished and loved through the years have walked these valleys and mountains before us. Their collective wisdom and gracious words have led us to Christ, Whom we have believed for ourselves. Now, many of us are the elders, for most of mine have gone to their eternal rest. 

    We must make sure that our hinds' feet walk where Jesus walks. Our words must be gracious and saturated with the love of God. We speak tactfully, but truthfully. We respond to the seeker who seeks The Truth of God's Word with the wisdom we have acquired through our years of walking closely with our Savior. That they, too, might choose to step out in their faith and stroll across life's journey with us. 

    Have you ever read the book "Hinds' Feet in High Places"? I might still have a worn copy on my bookshelf. But I highly recommend it. It's a good read. 

    

The Promises - Salvation For All

 

Acts 16:31

They replied, “Believe in The Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.”

The Promise: Believe in The Lord Jesus Christ The Reward: Salvation for you and everyone in your household who believes.

John 1:12, 13

But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 10:9, 10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

    Salvation is a result of justification. Romans 10:10 declares that believe is made by our hearts and we are justified. But we must speak "Jesus is Lord" with out mouths for salvation to take place. I am aware that speaking cannot be possible for many who have a physical handicap, but God knows our hearts and He knows our handicaps.

    The dying criminal on the cross, though he had not an opportunity to live for Christ, with his dying breaths declared that "Jesus is Lord". The other criminal who died in his sins refused to believe and not once did he ever declare that "Jesus is Lord". The promise of salvation from the punishment of sin was given to both, but only one received it; only one believed it; only one spoke His Name; only one went to Paradise with Jesus. [Luke 23:39-43].

    Salvation was proffered. It was rejected. It was received. Not just on that day, but many days before and thousands of days after. Salvation through Jesus Christ is still offered to everyone. Are you going to receive it, believe it, and claim it? Or are you going to deny it, refuse it, and die without it?

    Each of us must make that decision, make that choice. Come to Jesus.

“Believe in The Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Clothed In Righteousness-Put On Christ

 

The desires of the flesh bring about our downfall. The desire of The Lord Jesus Christ is to raise us up with Him.

Putting on Christ requires us to believe in The Name Above All Names [Philippians 2:9] and to speak out our belief on His Name by acknowledging that Jesus Christ Is Lord.

Acts 16:31 (AMP Bible)

And they answered, “Believe in The Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”

Romans 10:10

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 13:14

But put on The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (desires).

    See? How hard was that? The most difficult part of any journey is the first step. The first step in becoming a Christian, a Christ-follower, is to believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord. Truly believe it in our own hearts. And then speak our belief in His Name out loud, whether we shout it, whisper it, mouth it or speak in our normal voice, "JESUS IS LORD", we are proclaiming that we believe what we have said.

    It is the second part of being clothed in His Righteousness that many walk away from. Choosing to be obedient to God's Word and remove the lures of sin from our presence. It is not that we can't partake of the things we used to do and say, it is that we don't want to do those things any more.

    For we are aware now that those things we used to do have kept us from the presence of God. And we like being here in God's kingdom. We prefer to Live For Jesus now, instead of for the devil. We have made our choice, a sound decision, with sober minds, to follow Christ.

    Should He choose to lead us back to where we came from it will only be because He knows we can go back without falling back into our old ways. We go back to bring the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ to the ones we left behind. We don't want our former companions to die in their sins without giving them the opportunity to know Christ Jesus as their own Savior and Lord.

    We speak The Name of Jesus Christ to our families; and even when they disown and ridicule us for loving Jesus Christ so much, we persevere in our course to draw ever closer to Him. We have the knowledge that God will answer our prayers for them to know this same joy we ourselves have now.

    For years my Mom wanted me to stop pursuing this idea of being a preacher. Until she picked up her family Bible and read it for herself. And then she gave her heart to Jesus Christ. She told me once that she thought she was saved until she read that she wasn't. So she gave her heart to Jesus. And that was that.

    Then she stopped insisting that I quit my faith. We got to share daily Bible verses that were inspiring us to live for Jesus and be better people. Not long after that leukemia hit her body fast and hard; and she died. But she died knowing Jesus as her Lord and Savior. And she's with Him in heaven even now. No more aging, no more sickness. Only Eternal Life.

    I sang Jesus to my Dad. I sang of His saving grace to any who would receive it. I sang of His death and His resurrection to all who would believe it. And my Dad believed and got saved. He, too, is with Jesus Christ. And someday I'm going to be reunited with them and everyone else who has believed on The Name of Jesus Christ for their salvation, and followed through in life, living for Jesus.

    It is never too late to clothe one's self in Jesus Christ. Not in this life. When we take our final breath, then it's too late. Now is the time. Today is the day. Come to Jesus and Live.

Just As I Am I Come To Thee

{Dedicated to Kathy Spencer. Written while I was doing a study on holiness}

Just as I am I come to Thee.

I come to the cross Where You died for me

I fall on my knees At Calvary

It’s there that Your blood Is applied to me

Just as I am I come to Thee

And I give You my heart

Which was broken for You

Fix it, fill it and break it anew

Do as You will, I will follow You

Just as I am I come to You

I come to the tomb Where they buried You

I come to the grave Where Your linens lay

I come to the garden To hear You speak

Just as I am I come to Thee

And I give You my heart

Which was broken for You

Fix it, fill it and break it anew

Do as You will, I will follow You

Just as I am, Just as I am, Just as I am

I come to Thee

 

    

 

Justified By Faith

 

Galatians 3:8, 9

And The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles (any non-Jew) by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed."

So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS of FAITH

Romans 4:11, 12

And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 

And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 

    It is the heart that needs circumcision. The unbelieving heart is uncircumcised: its intents are hidden in darkness. But when the circumcision from God comes on the heart of the person who believes by faith in The Son of God, then Light opens up the heart and Love comes to live there, the Love of God which is written on our hearts by The Power of The Holy Spirit of God.  

    Circumcision is painful and bloody. Being a woman this is a physical pain I do not know personally, but have heard the cry of the newborn when it happens to them. So, too, the newly born in Christ have circumcised hearts. The blood from The Lamb of God, which was shed for us, is sprinkled across our hearts, washing away our sins and breaking the chains of sin which had bound us. 

    No longer do we walk in the darkness of our hearts: we are born anew, born again, into the family of God: we are His sons and His daughters--we walk in newness of life. The New and Living Way of Life in Christ is ours now. 

JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

Romans 3:29, 30

Is God The God of Jews only? Is He not The God of Gentiles, too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, Who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 

Galatians 2:16

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 

Romans 9:8

That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 

    It is faith in the promise of God which is saving faith. For Christ is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. The promise: Genesis 17:19 "But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.” 

    The promise is to the seed of Abraham, not the children. For the seed of Abraham are the people who believe God and obey/follow His Word. Many are they which say they believe in God, but few are they who say they believe God. For we who know God exists also know that God's Word is Faithful (unchanging) and True (genuine, sincere). Abraham was given the promise from God and believed it. Those who follow Abraham but not God are not the seed of Abraham, though they may be his descendants. 

    It is the same when we come to Jesus. We have acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord. We believe that He died on the cross and rose from the dead. We confess our belief in public and are baptized into God's Name, Christ's Name, and The Holy Spirit's Name. We are children of the promise, for we came by way of faith. 

    Children of the curse are outside the promise. It is a hard fact for many to swallow, but only because they refuse to believe God and His Word. It is only when a person born under the curse of sin accepts by faith Jesus Christ as God's Only Begotten Son that the curse is lifted and the promise is given. And we have all been born under the curse of sin because we are all Adam's descendants. 

    Sin came when Adam didn't listen to God. That's rebellion. That's outside the promise because the promise is given by God and Adam didn't listen to God. Not listening to God is not believing God. Not believing God is not believing God's Word.        Not believing God and His Word puts a person outside the promise of redemption through Jesus Christ. For Christ is God's Word wrapped in flesh. (Luke 1:35; John 1:14). And He is God's Servant through His obedience in saying what God wanted Him to say and doing what God wanted Him to do. (John 7:16; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10). Jesus is God's Only Begotten Son. (John 3:16; Romans 8:32; Galatians 4:4, 5; 1 John 4:14). 

    But when a sinner (one born under the curse) believes and receives Christ Jesus as Lord [of their lives] and Savior [of their souls], then we are no longer cursed but now we are saved! We have been born again. How awesome is that? How wonderful that God would send His Only Begotten Son to save such wretches as we are. Children born outside the promise but able to receive it because we believe it. 

    While only a small percentage of my dna reveals that I am a descendant of Abraham, it is not that which brings me into God's family. It is my faith in Christ Jesus and believing that He is Who God says He is that saves me. John 1:12, 13 "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."