Flesh or Spirit

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Flesh or Spirit

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8 5:-8

This is the USA today. We are consumed with fulfilling the desires of the flesh.  From an early age, we are taught to seek our own fulfillment.  From plastic surgery to the next mood altering drug. We preach self-expression, self-actualization, self-development, self-fulfillment, self, self, self. The antithesis of living for the flesh is living by the Spirit of God and living to please Him. Why should we live by the Spirit of God and not fulfill to our selfish desires? It is the only way to receive the desires of your heart and not the desires of the flesh.  The desires of the flesh are fleeting, empty and temporal. The desires of the Spirit are permanent, pleasing, fulfilling and uplifting.  

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Would You Go?

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Would You Go?

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12 1:4

Seventy-five years old! I am sixty years old. I have absolutely no intention of starting over in a land I have no knowledge of. I have no intention of starting over in a land I know.  At my age, you start thinking of downsizing not starting over. Even with all the promises of God, at age seventy-five would I pack up my family and go? Would I hit the road without a roadmap or destination? Solely based on the belief, I have heard the word of God. If God were to tell me that now would I go? The point is, He is.  For some of us, He is asking us to do exactly that. For others, He is asking you to do something else but be assured He is asking something of you.  For me, He has a particular call right where I am. It requires just as much faith for me as it did for Abram. The promises, blessings, and protections are the same. Will we acknowledge the call will we pack up and go whether figuratively or literally?  "So Abram went" will you go? Will you go forth and receive the blessings that are promised to you in the promised land of God's calling?

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Who is The Liar?

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Who is The Liar?

22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22-23

This is one of those uncomfortable Bible verses we would rather not confront. We would prefer to keep it quiet. It is unsettling, uncomfortable to think that anyone who denies the deity of Christ is diametrically opposed to God.  We want to believe that those who are our family and friend's can somehow be accepted by God while they are in direct opposition to Him.  We want to believe that there is a provision we are not aware of that will allow them to be with God. We want there to be a way that is not consistent with His word that will allow them to be saved. However, my friends, there is no other way. We will all, friends and family face God on judgment day and those that have denied Christ will be denied by God.

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The Spirit of God

Something to think about.

 

 

The Spirit of God

 

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

This exhortation, suggestion command is very difficult to follow.  Primarily because we have delegated the spirit of God to a vague window of existence.  We acknowledge His existence, but we deny His involvement.  We know that He existed before the world began because the Bible in Genesis has him hovering over the earth. Genesis 1:2 We know we were promised the Holy Spirit by Christ.  Acts 1:4 We know that He lives in us. 1 John 4:4 I could go on and on with biblical reference about the person and the work of the holy spirit. But would it make a difference? To be lead by the spirit of God and to walk in the Spirit of God requires more that acknowledgment and acceptance. It requires obedience and submission.  Without the outpouring of the Spirit of God Christianity may have died on the cross with Christ. This is why Christianity is under attack now. Because we have denied the power of God through the Holy Spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit alive and influential in our lives all we do is thrash about. Without any ability to influence the world around us.

6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:5-7 

A Spiritless Christianity is a powerless Christianity. 

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Christianity is Not Free.

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Christianity is Not Free.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 1 John 4:15

There was a time not so long ago when making this statement was not offensive or at least threatening.  That period of time was an anomaly as Christians have been martyred for centuries. There are people being killed, imprisoned and tortured for believing "that Jesus is the Son of God."  Our beliefs are being challenged in every arena of life not because they are wrong. But because they are true. The truth is not a barrier or an impenetrable wall of defense. It is a light in the darkness under assault from forces which are determined to snuff it out. If you are like me and believe that "Jesus is the Son of God" expect opposition. Currently, the opposition in the USA is in the form of ridicule and disrespect. As is happening now, we are being instructed to keep our mouths shut to speak of Christ in private quarters only. Unless there is a revival orchestrated by God. The next generation of Christians in this country will be the first to experience all-out persecution on our shores. 

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When I was a Child

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When I was a Child

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13 (NLT)

I have always wondered how do you know that? We hear of conclusions based on supposed facts. For instance dog behavior. You have a dog expert, and he or she explains how a dog behaves. As if they had a conversation with the dog and the dog told them. Or in a crime drama, the pursuer determines without question why the serial killer, killed. The pursuer identifies some perceived injustice done to him in his childhood.  The fact of the matter is that we make decisions and come to conclusions based on limited and flawed data.

That is what this verse is saying, we do not have all the facts. We are as children not completely aware of our surroundings. We behave as if we have a complete picture of God as if we understand the laws that correspond to His existence. Yet, we don't. He has not revealed all of Himself to us, He has revealed as much as we can understand. There will come a time when He will reveal Himself to us. It will not be at this present time in this body or in this reality.

How do I know that you might ask? Because I believe in the Bible as the word of God and it promises us as much.

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One Body

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One Body

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12

What this verse is saying is that it takes all of us to make up the body of Christ. Are we the body of Christ? Are we working in unity to contribute to the growth and function of the body of Christ? Or are we still behaving as independent agents? When the world looks at us, do they see the face of Christ or the ambitions of man? Do they see the love, leadership, passion, forgiveness, and the salvation of Christ? When the world looks at us, they need to see Christ, not anything else. Only as a unified body will we be able to show the wondrous glory of God. Only when we come together and use the gifts He has entrusted to us will we be able to represent Him as the body of Christ. 

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Bears You Up

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Bears You Up

19 Blessed be the Lord,

who daily bears us up;

God is our salvation. Psalms 68:19

 

Every day in ways seen and unseen the Lord our God protects provides and directs our lives. We don't always see it, or we may not realize it until we look back but the loving hand of God is always there to help us on this journey of life.  It is God who lifts us up every day. He is with us in every situation to help us and guide us. He is our constant salvation. The key to this immeasurable blessing is for you to choose to follow His path.

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Encouraging One Another

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 Encouraging One Another.

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

We've all heard it, I don't have to go to church to be a Christian. Why then did God institute corporate gatherings? In the old and new testaments, the people gathered together at predetermined times to be taught, educated, and uplifted in the word and ways of God.  We were not created to be spiritual isolationist. We were designed to be bound together in love for our God.  Not even in Christ did we see the totality of God. We need each other to stay faithful to be educated and grow. To reach the purpose God has provided for us. We were made to help each other along the path of life. Without each other, we will end up creating a path that will not lead us to Christ, salvation or joy. We will end up lost.

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“Truly you are the Son of God”

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“Truly you are the Son of God.”

³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:33 (NIV)

After walking on the water and calming the storm the disciples on the boat wordship Jesus and recognize Him as the Son of God.  We have written records of the life and and work of Christ. We have the documented death and resurrection of Jesus Christ . We have testimonies of what Christ has done in the lives of His disciples of old as well as present day followers. There is no viable evidence that He is not who his witnesses say He is. His claims and promises have never been disprove or negated. What more has to happen before you will say “Truly you are the Son of God.”

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His Love Endures Forever

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His Love Endures Forever

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever. Psalms 136:26

In every verse of Psalms 136, it ends with "His love endures forever." The writer was emphasizing regardless of the situation Gods love endures forever.  But what if God's love were a situational, temporary, or conditional how would that change your view of God? If you had to earn Gods, love how would that affect you and the way you respond to God. We easily accept that the love of God is everlasting without considering what it would be like if it weren't.  I can't imagine what chaos would be caused if God's love were anything but everlasting.  The everlasting love of God provides us with an immovable bedrock of security on which we can build our lives; without it, we exist on the constantly shifting sand of insecurity. I thank God that "His love endures forever."

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Endless Possibilities

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Endless Possibilities


12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2 12-13 

There is a space, a divide between us who believe in Christ and those who don't. We who do, can hear and understand what God has said and is saying. those that don't, though hearing can not comprehend what the Lord has said and is saying.  The bridge that reaches across that divide is the Spirit of God He is the one that opens our minds to understand the call, will, purpose, glory, love, and sovereignty of God.  Without the Spirit of God, the world is left lost abandon and confused because it can never understand the way the world works. They're missing the most vital part, the Spirit of God which makes the world make sense. Without it we are, but a mass of humanity headed for our inevitable self-destruction. The Spirit of God opens our minds to the reality of a future with a God of boundless, endless beautiful possibilities.

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Under Authority

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Under Authority   

8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” Luke 7:8

Under authority, a foreign concept for us today. We are all about rights, self-determination, and individual freedoms it is almost impossible to breach the idea of doing someone else's will. That is exactly what the centurion is saying. He knows what it is to obey.  Are we under authority? As Christians are we obeying the word and will of God? Are we ready to go when He says go? Are we ready to come when He says come? Are we ready to do what He says when He says do this? Are we under authority? In 1 Samuel 15:22 it says "To obey is better than sacrifice." We Christians need to obey more sacrifice less. Go when commanded come when called and do when instructed. We need to submit to the authority of Christ in or lives.

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The City of God

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The City of God. 

⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4New International Version (NIV)

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. Revelation 21:21

Here are two references to the city of God. In one we find the ceasing of pain, sorrow, and death, in the other you see the city designed with precious stones.  The promise of God is a place filled with security, love,  peace, and abundance. Is there any other offer that is more appealing? Substantiated by the fact, the fact of the resurrection.  The best the world has to offer does not compare. 

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Unconditional Love

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Unconditional Love 

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 

I have heard of Gods unconditional love all of my Christian life though I understood it intellectually it wasn't until I had a grandchild that I actually understood it. 

I have a grandchild she is 18 months old, and she does this most amazing thing. She does this all the time, but it is particularly overwhelming when she does it at church. My daughter takes her to the nursery at church for the services. We go to a large church, and we have a separate section for the nursery. They have a double door that leads into the nursery rooms, and they have a double door at the other side for an exit.  So you go in one door and come out the other. Every Sunday my daughter dresses her child in a beautiful dress, and my grandchild looks like the quintessential 18-month-old.  As we wait for them to come out of the double doors from the nursery, we wait with great expectation. They come through the doors, and my grandchild looks for her grandma, and when she spots her, she throws her arms open and runs as fast as her little legs can carry her almost stumbling, squealing with joy, laughing and almost crying with expectation into her grandma's arms.  Why is that amazing you might ask? When you look at it in context, it is the perfect picture of unconditional love. That little girl comes out of that nursery running to her grandma saying with her body gestures and squeals; I love you, I love you, I love you.  Her Grandma is waiting for her with open arms saying I love you; I love you, I love you. They love each other without reason they love each other because they both exist. There is nothing that little girl can do that will make her grandma love her more, and there is nothing that her grandma can do to make my granddaughter love her more. For this short period of time before life dims this picture of love, it is a perfect demonstration of God’s love for us. The difference is God will always be standing with His arms open wide beckoning us to come into His perfect, loving, protective arms.

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Simplicity

Sometimes to think about.

Simplicity

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:3

At times the simplicity of the Bible is overwhelming in is naked and piercing truth.  If you love someone, you will not cause them harm. If you look at the unrest in our society, in our personal relationships. If you look at the pain and sorrow caused in all forms from every spectrum, it is due in large part because of the utter absence of love.

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All Scripture

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All Scripture

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

We have people who question the veracity and the originality of the scriptures. Claiming the written word has been tainted, changed or influenced by transmission, translation and out and out conspiracy. All of these accusations are based on an incorrect understanding of God. God who created the universe is capable of maintaining His word intact throughout the generations.  The idea that God inspired people to write His instruction manual and then left it to be changed and manipulated is ludicrous. God's word "is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," because He has taken special care to ensure that it has remained unchanged by the passions, ambitions, and manipulations of man. It is Gods word and not mans word as such He will never let the world be without it. God will not allow His divine word to be replaced by a polluted counterfeit production of Man. 

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Sharper

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Sharper

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Have you ever wonder why the reaction to the Gospels is sometimes visceral?  Maybe because the word of God cannot be bargained with. It always brings you back to truth. It is alive and relentless in its exposition of truth. It cuts through the layers of deception and exposes the lies we dilute to our selves with. It lays bare the inconsistencies of our thoughts and points to the one true God.  Maybe because it exposes to ourselves the shallowness of our selfless sinful intent.
The word of God can will also show you His redemptive, restorative grace. It shows you His longsuffering patience It shows you His amazing love. It shows you the life He offers you. The word of God is the fork in the road with with redemption, salvation, grace, love and joy on one side. the other road is the lost life you've chosen.

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The Lord Bless You

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The Lord Bless You

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26

This blessing God spoke over Israel through Aaron is uplifting, motivating and generous.  What we seek in this life is contained in the first words of these verses,  "The LORD bless you and keep you." What I seek in this life is the blessings of God and His protection which is what he has given us as per the first verse. Then He goes beyond that and gives us peace.  God gives us all who call upon Him these blessings, but we have to accept them. If you don't let go of what you have, you can never receive the blessings God has for you and His blessings are always better.

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Number Our Days

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Number Our Days

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalms 90:12

Do you know when you will die? Obviously, the answer to that question is unknown. So this verse at first glance may not make sense. What would be the point in numbering our days? As I get older and realize there are fewer days in front of me than those behind. I now understand this verse.  The point of this verse is to remind us that our days are numbered that our life has an expiration date. From that knowledge, we can then set out to live a life of value, joy, and purpose. Wisdom in this sense refers to making your life count for you, not anyone else, you. Are you living a life of joy, meaning, purpose? It is your life and your days are numbered.

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Walk With the Wise

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Walk With the Wise.

20 Walk with the wise and become wise,

for a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20

This appears to be a pretty simple proverb. Associate with wise people, and you will acquire wisdom. That is what it means if you take it at face value. The book Proverbs speaks of wisdom, but it refers to wisdom dispensed by God to man. Yes, wisdom is shared by man but true wisdom comes from our infallible God. So if you want the wisdom of God, seek out those that have received the wisdom of God that you to may receive and declared that which is wise.

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