The Other Side of the Coin Part Three

Something to think about

The Other Side of the Coin Part Three

1“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Deuteronomy 28:1-14


Is God alive? That question is at the core of "obey the voice of the Lord your God." If God is alive, then He has a voice if not he doesn't have a voice. God is alive He is just as alive today as when He created everything.  He is speaking today just as he has in times past. In all of the ways, He spoke to us in the past. He speaks through prophets, teachers, dreams, and visions. He speaks to individuals individually corporately through organizations. He is very much involved in communicating with humanity. If this is true why do we have such a hard time hearing Him?

It is because we don't know His voice. We have become so accustomed to being distracted we know longer recognize His voice or believe He speaks. We have made His voice background noise much like our society and television. Many people turn on the television not to be entertained or informed but merely to hide from the silence. White noise is what we prefer to our thoughts.  We have become afraid of silence. We constantly have some kind of sensory interruption rather than sit in silence and listen. There is so much screaming for our attention we tune out much of it. We become adept at hearing only what we will allow in. It is either the familiar or outlandish that attracts our attention.  The noise is so constant that when silence does occur it is so loud as to be frightening. Then we turn to our favorite noise once again.


To hear God, there are a few things you must do. First, you must believe He still speaks to humanity. Secondly, you must know what his voice sounds like. This is remarkably simple. God spoke and still speaks through His word, the bible. You want to hear from God get to know His voice. Read your bible. Thirdly be still. Stop and spend time, focused purposeful time with God. He will communicate with you in many ways. Sometimes it will be through reading the bible. Sometimes it will be when you pray, Sometimes when you are listening to a sermon. Sometimes it will be through dreams and visions. How do you know it is a word of God? The word of God is always consistent with itself.


God will only reveal what you need to know for the next step, not the complete journey. Like Moses, he will guide you step by step turn by turn until you wake up one day and you're in the promised land. Why doesn't God reveal everything at once? Because if He did, we would shrink back with fear. Because His vision and purpose for us are larger than anything, we can think, imagine or conceive.


God is still speaking, but we have to clear the clutter. Silence the opposing noise keeping us from hearing His voice. He will not scream at you, but He will always speak to you. You have to learn to listen.

Leia Mais…

The Other Side of the Coin Part Two

Something to think about

The Other Side of the Coin Part Two

1“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Deuteronomy 28:1-14  

The promises in Deuteronomy verses 28:1-14 are some of the most inspiring, exciting, motivating of the entire Bible.  But as with many of God's promises, there are conditions. First is "observe carefully all His commandments", second is "obey the voice of the Lord your God."  

Moses is speaking to the offspring of the liberated people of Israel.  They are about to enter the promised land.  He is giving them instructions on how to be blessed. Some of the pertinent facts to know is that there are 613 commands in Judaism.  I am not a scholar of Jewish law so I cannot attest about when these laws were given. I know that by this point they had been given the ten commandments. But to be blessed we understand the requirement is they obey the all the commandments. Secondly to be blessed you needed to  "obey the voice of the Lord your God." This second presupposes God will speak.   

How does that apply to us today? We Christians of all denominations accept the bible to be the inspired word of God.  Which means even though God allowed man to write it. At its essence and core, it is God who through His holy spirit directed and insured His will be conveyed.   

In John 1:1 John states everything that was created was created by Jesus. He literally puts Jesus at the beginning of creation and recognizes Him as being the cause of creation.  

 ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:9 (NKJV)  Jesus is saying if you see me you see God the father. Claiming He is one with God.

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  Matthew 1:20 The Angel of God is telling Joseph, His wife is carrying the son of God. 

These scriptures and many more point to the deity of Jesus.  This is important because if we accept that Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are one. Then we understand that Jesus is the one who inspired the writer of Deuteronomy.

The Pharisees and Sadducees, asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-39 Jesus answered the question with an old testament law.
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 2 with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 

We understand the one answering the question is the one that wrote the law.  And He answers it with the same law He had written thousands of years before. With this concise answer, He brings an end to legalism by stating "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” The one that wrote the law is now telling them how to fulfill the law. 

The promises of Deuteronomy are available to you. Because Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Spirit in unison, as the Trinity have said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  He is saying if you do these two things you will not only fulfill the letter of the law but you will also fulfill the heart of it as well.  What he is saying is there is no sin in love. If we love as God loves we will not sin.

The promises of Deuteronomy 28:1-14 are available to anyone who will "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

Leia Mais…

The Other Side of The Coin

Something to think about.

The Other Side of The Coin 

15“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Deuteronomy 28:15-68 

 

I've probably lost my audience with the way I began this post.  In modern America and maybe throughout the world it has become somewhat taboo to discuss the fulness of God. However, I am not one who agrees with that sentiment. So I need to share with you the other side of the coin. 

 

If you look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14 you will find some beautiful promises of God for His people. They are entirely uplifting inspiring and motivating. The problem is we stop after verse 14. 

 

We don't read the rest because from verses 15 - 68 are the most depressing, fearful and negative promises of God.  We tend to think all the promises of God are positive. Or at least that is the way we would like to think of God. We want to think of Him as being benevolent in all situation altruistic in all His actions. We want God to be one-sided. 

 

I urge you to read the rest of Deuteronomy what you will find is a mirror of our society.  It does not matter if we chose to remain ignorant of our complete God or not, His word will prevail.  You will see where the curse of God has come to pass not only in our society but throughout the world. The unspoken prevalent ideology of the day is. From sin, good will happen. We think we can ignore the word of God and it will be alright it will be okay.  

 

Let me state this plainly no good can come from sin. Regardless of how you dress it up parade it in with intellectual, emotional, and self-righteous support sin is sin, and no good can come from it. As individuals, we must quit diluting our intellect by accepting sin as anything other than sin.  The curse of God will follow and fall upon those who persist in their sin. Read the reference in  Deuteronomy see if you can get to the end of the chapter. This is no joke. It reads like our headlines. The horrible things that are occurring throughout the world. Are a result, not of God but of humanity ignoring God. 

 

The sovereignty of God will not be laid aside by the whims of man. Your choice to ignore Him will not delay or obstruct His will. You will reap the rewards of your decisions. Positively or negatively the will of God will prevail, and there is nothing you or I can do about it. There are two sides of a coin. Look at both decide which side you want to be on.   

Leia Mais…

On the Road to Damascus

Something to think about.
On the Road to Damascus

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Acts 9:1-3

This is the famous story of Saul's conversion to Christianity. Saul who is later renamed Paul is on his way to persecute those who believe in Jesus. He is headed down a road with a definite destination with a definite purpose full of self-righteousness. He is headed in the wrong direction. He is headed down a path that is in direct opposition to where he wants to be. He is persecuting Christians because he believes they are opposing and denying God. He is doing it in defense of God. He believes that in incarcerating Christians, he is doing Gods will.  

Before we became Christians, we were not so different from Paul. Though we do not, in this day in this country incarcerate people for being Christians. We were headed down the wrong road for the wrong reason. Saul regardless of his reasoning is headed in the wrong direction. He is not working on God's side he is working against God. We, before Christ were on our way to Damascus. We were on the wrong road for the wrong reason to accomplish the wrong goal. 

We are not Paul we will not write parts of the New Testament. We will not be quoted around the world. But our conversion to Christianity is just as miraculous as Paul's.  We all have to have an encounter with Jesus for our conversion to be accomplished. Every one of us must have a personal interaction with Christ for a conversation to occur.  It is not just an intellectual realization of truth it is a personal connection with the risen savior. We all have to make contact with Jesus. It is no different for any of us. Without, an on the road experience, none of us will meet Jesus.  

The conversion of Saul was personal, powerful and intimate. It was not an experience born of mysticism. Your contact, connection with Christ must have a tangible permanent effect on your life. It is not something you can walk away from and remain the same. If you leave as you came, you did not make the connection. When you meet Christ, you will in some way leave changed, made new, born again.

Leia Mais…

Blind With Eyes That See

Something to think about.

Blind With Eyes That See

⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
⁶ That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other; Isaiah 45:5-6 (NKJV) 

 8 Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! Romans 1:20

Humanity has a problem. It is self-inflicted blindness.  As a species, we choose to ignore the evidence and search for the impossible. Everywhere we turn we find evidence of our creator, but we are not satisfied with it. We want to ignore the truth of creation in favor of an ideology developed by man. It is interesting to me that humanity dismisses creation but accepts the concepts of fallible man.  

What I find most interesting about the concepts of man is. There is no one that can combine all of the knowledge man. We have a vast array of specialties in the studies of life. Not one of these specialists say they have the full knowledge of every field. They all have specific knowledge in their respective fields but have limited or are ignorant of other areas. Yet they make assumptions based on their sole specialties about the origins of man. I have never heard of any explanation of the first cause, what started it all. I am aware of many theories on the beginning of man but nothing that makes logical sense.  

Except for Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, God....,  An entity outside of our existence. With the power, intellect, and resources to create all we see, feel, hear, and know.  Maybe one of the reasons humanity refuses to believe this explanation is because it is outside our ability to define. We can't understand how something comes from nothing.  Therefore we dismiss an entity that can create something out of nothing. In order for something to be created out of nothing, it would have to occur outside our rules of existence.  Because our rules of existence are based on cause and effect. We are forced to look outside our boundaries to find out how. When we look outside our accepted rules of existence (cause and effect)  we end up at Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God.....

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Nothing Hidden

Something to think about.

Nothing Hidden

¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13

If you ponder the beginning of this verse, you will arrive at astonishment, you'll be amazed and in awe of God.  Every creature is naked and uncovered before God. God is so inconceivably powerful that every creature that has ever lived is bare before Him. There is not one that can hide from Him. What kind of power is that? How is it possible that God sees us all so completely as to be entirely naked. It is a power that can only be completed understood when God restores the earth. 

Every knee shall bow. We will all stand before Him on the day of judgment, we shall all give the account of our lives. He will pass judgment on the entire world. He alone is the judge of all life. What power is that? 

We confer power upon individuals through systems. Our president is elected, dictators are supported.  Military power is a combined submission to a central idea. No power on this earth is derived from itself it is always accumulated through the will and support of people. Regardless of the government, there are aways systems created through which the power is exercised. The authority will cease to exist when the systems designed to support that authority vanish. 

This is not the case with God. His power is not derived from the support of others. His power is derived from Himself. He is power. In the book of Genesis, it says he spoke the world into existence.  He did not direct anyone or anything to do anything He merely spoke it, and it happened. The point is He does not depend on anyone or anything to carry out His will. He causes things to happen, to come into existence solely by the power within Him. This concept is foreign to us because there is virtually nothing we can do that is not person dependent. All people in power political, military, business, education are all dependent upon those who fulfill their will. 

We cannot bend the will of God we cannot force His Hand we are impotent to remove His commands. Since He is not dependant on any source for anything nothing is able to assail Him. He is singular in His power. His power is what keeps the universe in place His power is what keeps the blood following through your veins. It is His power that enables you to think. It is His power that allows you to question Him. You are alive because of the power He has within Himself to create life. His power is complete, and we are naked before Him. 

Leia Mais…

New Creation

Something to think about.
New Creation
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 

This verse was a conundrum for me as a new believer. Yes, I had been born again as Jesus told Nicodemus.  But I did not feel or recognize anything as being knew. All of the old ways of my life were still in effect. I continued to drink, smoke, curse and lived an ungodly life. I was not instantaneously transformed into this new creature, yet that is the claim of this verse.  I did not know how to reconcile the verse with the reality. Is the bible pie in the sky? Is it making claims which are untrue? I felt like, I most certainly was not a new creation.

It took years for me to be able to see that the day I accepted Christ into my life, a new life had actually begun.  All things from that point on had indeed become new. Old things had passed away, and new things had taken their place.  What I had not realized, what I was not aware of was that a new heart was placed in me. That an infant had been born, that needed to be fed, nurtured, lead, taught and loved. Everything was new because everything I had to learn, was something I had not previously known.

The only difference between being raised by your natural parent and being raised as a new creation in Christ is. A natural parent will not give you a choice because they realize that an infant or even a teenager will not always make the best decision.  Being brought up in Christ is always a decision you make.  Christ always asks you to follow He does not command. He will always tell you the best way to do, live, act, love, but it will always be up to you to follow. You are a new creation, but your growth, development, and maturity are not based on time it is based on choice. You can be a new creation for fifty, sixty, seventy years. You can remain a baby.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11 (KJV) 

In Christianity maturity is a choice it does not happen with age. When I was a child (new believer) I thought the primary purpose of Christianity was to benefit me.  I now realize that is a truth. The closer and more in line and aligned I get to Jesus the better it will be for me.  Following Jesus is self-serving. You can not help profiting personally by following Jesus. It is not possible. There is nothing you can do for Jesus which will not result in blessing. For all of you who are saying "but," if the blessing is not apparent in this life it will be in the next.  Christian maturity leads you to the knowledge that in all things God will defend, protect and secure His children. We are blessed because we are His. All things are new because you now belong to the God who is infinite in power, wisdom, and sight. All things are new because if you choose to learn what God wants to teach, you will grow into the new creation He intended for you to be. In choosing God, you chose eternal life with Him which is only available to those who become a "New Creation."

My advice to you after years of making the wrong choices choose to learn what God wants to teach you. The old you will thank you more than you will ever imagine.

Leia Mais…