Jesus' Words in Red

Many Bibles have the words of Christ printed in Red.  I have heard preachers say, "Read and study the words in red."  They are basically saying that the words of Jesus have more power and authority than anything else found in your Bible.  After all, since Jesus is God those words should carry more weight than what some minor prophet said.  Wrong!

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"  2 Timothy 3:16

Look at your Bible.  Look at the words written there.  Those words were not from the writer but from God.  God breathed those words exactly as He desired them to be written.  The writer might be Moses, Isaiah, Amos or Luke, but it was God and God alone who is responsible for what is written.  It is a paradox but it is true.  The writer's manner of speaking is found in the writings but the words are purely from God, and perfect.

The words of Jesus are from God but the words in black are just as authoritative as those in Red.

Photo Credit: bible and ballcap (4) by Eric Golub

Rest. God Commands Us to Rest.

This message is directed at those who work hard to minister to God, but we all need to learn why God gave us Sabbath Rest.

Some of us do not need to rest simply because we don't do anything, but I know of a few people out there in ministry, that might be burning themselves out.  Some may be in full-time ministry every day 24/7, and some may be working full time at a secular job and trying to minister when not at work.  I admire both of these ministers of God because they are true workers who sacrifice all for the sake of the Gospel.

One of God's commandments is to have a day of rest and yes, that even means from ministry.  A good example of why God wants you to rest if found in Leviticus 25:4.  In this verse, it tells the Hebrew nation to work the land for six years and on the seventh to let it go fallow.  Do not plant or harvest from that land.  Why? It needs to rest.

When you continually plant a crop on land, the nutrients are taken out of the ground and it will produce less and less.  To let it rest a year allows those nutrients to get back into the ground and refresh it so that the field can again be fruitful.

When we work seven days a week in ministry we are taking spiritual nutrients out of ourselves and our work produces less fruit and the job requires more and more of us to keep it going.  God commanded us to rest so that the Holy Spirit can refresh us and make our lives more fruitful.

A Sabbath rest is not a useless time of doing nothing.  It is a time given to God so that our lives are more fruitful and filled with the Spirit of God.

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The Awe of YHVH

In the Old Testament, YHVH is the personal name of God.  It can be found 6800 times and it is so sacred to the Jews that when talking about the name of God the say, "Hashem" (the name).  We have lost how to properly pronounce God's name because the vowels are inferred.  Only the High Priest would utter His name on Yom Kippur.

The name of God is so Holy that the very people of God would not even utter it under their breath.  In Hebrew, God's name is called "the ineffable name"  The name that is so great that it is never to be uttered.  The Jewish tradition is to substitute the word "Adonai"  (my lord) in its place when reading the Torah. When not reading the Torah they will simply refer to God's sacred name as "Hashem" (the name).

We have lost the Awe of God.  There were times when going to church meant dressing up in your best, but now we go in tattered blue jeans and t-shirts.  Swearing and cursing were never heard in public and you could be fined or locked up for it.  Cursing the name of God is found in our songs, movies, TV shows, and even in church sermons.

When we think of God do we think of a big buddy who throws His arm around us and says, "Ah shucks, ya shouldn't say that."  How holy is your God?

God commands respect.  God created you.  He is the one who holds your life in His hand.  He is the omnipotent one, the omniscient one, and the omnipresent one.  He alone is self-sufficient, needing no one outside of Himself to survive.   Hashem is AWESOME!!

"No one is like you, LORD: you are great, and your name is mighty in power."  Jeremiah 10:6

Photo Credit: DSC00638 by nathan_gamble

Thanksgving

We are so blessed where I live in the United States.  Today we celebrate Thanksgiving which began back in 1621 with the first Thanksgiving.  What we do not think much about is that the first Thanksgiving was after a disastrous winter.  One hundred and two pilgrims set off for the new world and after that first winter, only fifty-one still survived.  During that first winter, they suffered from diseases, scurvy, lack of shelter and hunger.

Some people might think that the pilgrims should be angry with God.  Everyone had suffered so much and half of the people died.  Only four of the married wives survived.  That first year was a time of great sorrow and yet, in the end, they held a three-day feast to give thanks to God.  They had invited the Indians to their feast and thanked them for their help, but they knew God was the one who had brought them help when they needed it.  God was the one who saw to it that their harvest was plentiful.  God was the one who blessed them with life.

The pilgrims could identify with Jeremiah in Jeremiah 33:11  "...Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for His mercy endureth forever:..."

Jeremiah was the prophet who told Israel that because of their sins, Babylon would come to kill and conquer Jerusalem.  Their king would be blinded and taken away to Babylon.  The people would die horrible deaths and the living would wish they had died.  But with all the gloom and doom that Jeremiah spoke of he still blessed the Lord as good and merciful.  Jeremiah knew that even in times of disaster, God would be watching over them and see them through all of it.

God did see the pilgrims through those rough times.  God was watching over those pioneers to the New World.  Their descendants live today among us because of the merciful grace of God.

Perhaps you are going through times of distress and don't know where to turn.  I urge you to be like the courageous pilgrims and trust God to watch over you and see you through those times of trouble.  Give thanks today that God is faithful and merciful.

God deserves our praise and thanksgiving even in times of trouble.

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Awake Sleeper and Discern the Times

This could be the most important post I write.  People I see around me think the world is getting worse but tomorrow will be like today for me and every day after will be just the same.  It will not affect me. That is a deception which Satan has foisted upon us.

In Matthew 16:2-3 Jesus scolds the Pharisees for not discerning the times which they lived in.  The signs were there to show that the Messiah had come and he was Jesus who stood before them.  There are even more signs of the times today that Jesus is going to return very very soon.  It is true we do not know the day or hour but this is the season of his return.

The Middle East is in turmoil. The nations of Ezekial 38 are shaping up for war.  There are rumors of wars, with battles going on now like never before.  Any day now we might hear that the prophecy of Isaiah 17:1 has been fulfilled and Damascus is gone.  Today much of it is in ruin but soon the Bible says it will be completely gone.

Does this sound like today? "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5

No, it has not been like this before, because now it is worldwide.  The United States is one of the most guilty, but every other nation is not far behind.  What are we to do?

"But if the watchman sees the sword coming, and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand." Ezekiel 33:6

Are you a Christian?  If so then you are a watchman.  You are to be watching the signs of the times, not to figure out when the rapture will occur, but to warn others of the coming tribulation.  God calls upon you to cry out to the world their need for Jesus so that they might escape the coming judgment. I have only mentioned a small number of signs found in the world today.  There are many more and all of them cry out to us that the time is short and the harvest is ripe. 

God is calling you to wake up and prepare the way of the Lord, for he is coming soon.

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When did Jesus Become High Priest?

I read something that said Jesus became High Priest when he was baptized.  It kinda made sense, but I didn't feel right about it. It was like the Holy Spirit reminding me not to just accept what someone says. If Jesus became High Priest when John the Baptist baptized him, why is it that Ananius called the High Priest in the Gospels? I would think it would say something like he acted as the High Priest.  Also for Jesus to be the perfect sacrificial lamb for our sins the High Priest must offer him up, which Ananius did.

I couldn't take what someone said as the truth, so I had to research it for myself.  I found what I believe to be the answer in Psalm 110: 1-4. There are a couple of interesting things mentioned here.

In verse 4 Yahway God is speaking to Jesus saying, "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.'"  This verse has God the Father pronouncing Jesus, who has just been resurrected, to be High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, who had no previous priest before him.  This is where I believe Jesus became High Priest for us all in the New Covenant.

In verse 1 it says, "The LORD (Yahway God) said to my Lord (Jesus Christ), "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."  I find it interesting that the priests were commanded to always stand when performing the office of the priesthood, but the Father tells the son to sit.  That is because the sacrifices of the old covenant were never enough and had to be performed time after time.  The sacrifice of Jesus for our sins was a one-time event which covered all sins past, present and future.  It would never have to be done again so Jesus could sit down.  His work was done.

What I learned the most from this is that I can never trust the experts, the teachers, the preachers or anyone else.  I must always check the word of God and listen to what God has to say.

Photo Credit: Model of Aaron in High Priest garments by FotoGuy 49057

Not All Things are Possible for God.

I have heard the question, "Can God make a rock that He can not lift?"  Of course, if you answer 'yes' or 'no' it means that something is impossible for God.  Let me first tell you what is possible for God and then what is impossible for God.

God is powerful enough to speak a word and the Universe comes into existence.  God can also speak a word and destroy it all.  God has the ability to hear everyone who thinks little of God and a lot of themselves.  The people who insult Him, use His name as a curse word and blaspheme Him.  God could easily squeeze their pride-filled heads and pop their little brains like pimples.

God has the power to promise you anything and then go back on His word.  God is easily powerful enough to backstab, murder and destroy anyone He wants.  God has the ability to crush you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  God is all-powerful.  There is nothing at all too big for all-powerful God to accomplish.  He is great enough to do every good or evil act you can ever imagine.  There is nothing stopping God except....

God is too patient and merciful to kill everyone who blasphemes or insults Him.  He wants to see them live and repent of the things they say.  God is too faithful to break any promise He makes.  He is love and could never destroy anyone unless His sense of justice demands it.  Those who never turn from wickedness are justly condemned and even then God's heart breaks for their lost souls.

God can do anything except defy His holy nature of love, joy, peace, patience, compassion, honor, justice, grace, righteousness, holiness, kindness, and all that is good.  The only power great enough to stop God is God.

A better question to ask is "Can God lift me up to the rock that is higher than I?"  What do you think God's answer is to that question?  Just ask Him.

"...Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2


"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;  My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

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