Shalom,
Do you ever wonder why some of the people you share the Gospel with just don't see it? One of the reasons is found in Paul's first Epistle (letter) to the Corinthians:
1 Cor 1:18 (KJV)
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
The preaching of the cross, the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ sounds like "foolishness" to the world! That is the Greek word, moria, which means: silliness, absurdity. But to those of us who have received Jesus as our Lord and personal Saviour, the "saved", which is the Greek word, sozo, which means: to save, deliver, protect, heal, make whole, make well, it (the Gospel) is the "power", the Greek word, dunamis, which means: miraculous power, ability, might , strength, of God! The Amplified Bible says it very well:
1 Cor 1:18 (AMP)
18 For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.
Those in the world without Jesus cannot understand the Word of God:
1 Cor 2:14 (KJV)
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The Amplified Bible is also very good here:
1 Cor 2:14 (AMP)
14 But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
Don't try to teach an unbeliever the things you are learning from the Word of God. In order for them to understand what you are talking about, they first have to be born again. They must receive Jesus of Nazareth as their Lord and personal Saviour. When they do, the Holy Spirit of God will recreate their dead human spirit into a live human spirit in the image of God himself! THEN they can understand the Word of God because they will have the Teacher Himself living in them! What should you do then? Share the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ. That every person has missed it at least once in their lives.
Rom 3:10 (KJV)
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Tell them that the price to be paid for that sin (even if it is only ONE sin!) is death. Not physical death, but eternal separation from God:
Rom 6:23 (KJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death...
But also tell them that the price for their sin has already been paid:
Rom 6:23 (KJV) ...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let them know that they must believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for their sin, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven. When they believe that in their heart, they can pray this prayer (as an example):
Almighty God, I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for me, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at Your right hand. I accept and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I invite Him to come into my heart and become Lord over my life. I thank You now Father, for welcoming me into Your family. You are my Father. I am Your child. Jesus is my Lord! Amen.
Then they will be a new creation:
2 Cor 5:17 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
NOW they will be able to understand the deeper teachings of the Word of God! Have them check out the beginning lessons on this blog and also go to the The Spoken Word Church website (link at left) to find out more about the Word of God! What a powerful Minister of Life you have become!
Shalom in Him!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Shalom,
Have you been tempted lately to get into worry or fear over things going on in the world or over problems you have been facing? I want to share some very specific instructions with you from the Word of God:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (KJV)
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
We're going to dig into these verses a little to see just exactly what we are being instructed to do. First of all we are told to "humble" ourselves. This is the Greek word, tapeinoo, which means to bring low. Notice that is goes on to say to humble yourselves. That means that no other person can do this for us. How low do we bring ourselves and just what does that mean? We're told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God Himself. That actually sounds like a very safe place to be! And we see that it says that when we do this, "He (God Himself) may exalt", the Greek word, hupso, which means: to exalt or lift up (to an elevated place), in "due time", the Greek word, kairos, which means: the proper time, the set time (the right time!).
But the instruction doesn't stop there! We are then instructed to be "casting" the Greek word, epirrhipto, which means: to throw upon, to cast upon and comes from the Greek word, rhipto which means: to fling, to toss, to deliberately hurl, all of your care on Him because He cares for you! Let's look at those same verses in the Amplified Bible:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (AMP)
6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,
7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
Our instructions just got a little clearer, didn't they? We are to cast every care on Him. Everything that would bring worry, guilt, condemnation or fear on Him! He can handle it! He's God! Let Him be! He wants to be! The more that you know the Word of God, the easier it will be to trust Him for all things in your life. Get to know Him so you can trust Him more. And it's not just a good idea, it's a command! Just do it! You'll be glad you did!
Shalom in Him!
Have you been tempted lately to get into worry or fear over things going on in the world or over problems you have been facing? I want to share some very specific instructions with you from the Word of God:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (KJV)
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
We're going to dig into these verses a little to see just exactly what we are being instructed to do. First of all we are told to "humble" ourselves. This is the Greek word, tapeinoo, which means to bring low. Notice that is goes on to say to humble yourselves. That means that no other person can do this for us. How low do we bring ourselves and just what does that mean? We're told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God Himself. That actually sounds like a very safe place to be! And we see that it says that when we do this, "He (God Himself) may exalt", the Greek word, hupso, which means: to exalt or lift up (to an elevated place), in "due time", the Greek word, kairos, which means: the proper time, the set time (the right time!).
But the instruction doesn't stop there! We are then instructed to be "casting" the Greek word, epirrhipto, which means: to throw upon, to cast upon and comes from the Greek word, rhipto which means: to fling, to toss, to deliberately hurl, all of your care on Him because He cares for you! Let's look at those same verses in the Amplified Bible:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (AMP)
6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,
7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
Our instructions just got a little clearer, didn't they? We are to cast every care on Him. Everything that would bring worry, guilt, condemnation or fear on Him! He can handle it! He's God! Let Him be! He wants to be! The more that you know the Word of God, the easier it will be to trust Him for all things in your life. Get to know Him so you can trust Him more. And it's not just a good idea, it's a command! Just do it! You'll be glad you did!
Shalom in Him!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Shalom,
We will be looking at a verse from the Gospel of John today:
John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
What was Jesus saying here? Let's break it down a little. Jesus, in answer to Thomas' question, is declaring something about Himself that we as believers need to have settled as absolute Truth in our hearts. He said that He is the "way", the Greek word, hodos, which means: a road, the route, the mode, the means; the "truth", the Greek word, alethia, which means: true, truly, truth, verity (the quality or state of being true or real); and the "life", the Greek word, zoe, which means: life in the absolute sense, life as God has it in Himself. Then He goes on to say that "no man", the Greek word, oudeis, which means: not even one (man, woman or thing), none, nobody, nothing; cometh unto the Father but "by", the Greek word, dia, which means: through; me.
What Jesus is saying here is that there is NO OTHER way to get to God except through Him. Through believing that Jesus, the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) came to this earth, died on the Cross for our (yours and mine) sins, rose again from the dead and is now alive and sitting at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven. Through receiving Him as our personal Saviour and confessing with our mouths that He is our Lord! You need to understand this so that you can share this with the unbelievers that you come in contact with. If you believe that, but have never received Jesus as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour, then I invite you to pray this prayer right now:
Almighty God, I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for me, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at Your right hand. I accept and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I invite Him to come into my heart and become Lord over my life. I thank You now Father, for welcoming me into Your family. You are my Father. I am Your child. Jesus is my Lord! Amen.
You have just taken the only way there is to get to God the Father and to have Heaven as your home when you leave this earth! Now you need to get into the Word of God so you can find out all that God, in His great love for you, has provided for you! You need to get into a good local church where they teach the Word of God boldly, uncompromisingly, precisely and accurately so that you can continue to grow up as a believer. Check out The Spoken Word Church website through the link on the left. If you're in our area, come join us. If you're not, then please contact us and we will get you in contact with a Bible teaching church in your area. It's vital for you!
Shalom in Him!
We will be looking at a verse from the Gospel of John today:
John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
What was Jesus saying here? Let's break it down a little. Jesus, in answer to Thomas' question, is declaring something about Himself that we as believers need to have settled as absolute Truth in our hearts. He said that He is the "way", the Greek word, hodos, which means: a road, the route, the mode, the means; the "truth", the Greek word, alethia, which means: true, truly, truth, verity (the quality or state of being true or real); and the "life", the Greek word, zoe, which means: life in the absolute sense, life as God has it in Himself. Then He goes on to say that "no man", the Greek word, oudeis, which means: not even one (man, woman or thing), none, nobody, nothing; cometh unto the Father but "by", the Greek word, dia, which means: through; me.
What Jesus is saying here is that there is NO OTHER way to get to God except through Him. Through believing that Jesus, the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) came to this earth, died on the Cross for our (yours and mine) sins, rose again from the dead and is now alive and sitting at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven. Through receiving Him as our personal Saviour and confessing with our mouths that He is our Lord! You need to understand this so that you can share this with the unbelievers that you come in contact with. If you believe that, but have never received Jesus as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour, then I invite you to pray this prayer right now:
Almighty God, I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for me, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at Your right hand. I accept and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I invite Him to come into my heart and become Lord over my life. I thank You now Father, for welcoming me into Your family. You are my Father. I am Your child. Jesus is my Lord! Amen.
You have just taken the only way there is to get to God the Father and to have Heaven as your home when you leave this earth! Now you need to get into the Word of God so you can find out all that God, in His great love for you, has provided for you! You need to get into a good local church where they teach the Word of God boldly, uncompromisingly, precisely and accurately so that you can continue to grow up as a believer. Check out The Spoken Word Church website through the link on the left. If you're in our area, come join us. If you're not, then please contact us and we will get you in contact with a Bible teaching church in your area. It's vital for you!
Shalom in Him!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Shalom,
I hope you have been spending time meditating on the Word of God! Remember that meditation means to think about, talk about (to yourself and others), pray about, the Word that you read and study. Allow the Holy Spirit, Who is your Teacher, to let you in on what the Word is really saying! So many believers I know don't spend the time they need allowing the Holy Spirit to make the Word come alive to them. They settle for letting some person tell them what it means. That person is sometimes one who doesn't know or believe the Word themselves. At The Spoken Word Church, we have been told from the very beginning NOT to believe everything we hear in church, but to go home and check it out in our own Bibles. That's what the Bereans did (Acts 17:10-12)! They didn't take any one's word for it, they studied the Word of God for themselves to see if it was so! Let's look at some verses from Psalm 37 today:
Ps 37:3-5 (KJV)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
One of the ways that I like to study and meditate the Word is to do word studies. Some Greek or Hebrew words that have been translated into English no longer have the same meaning today that they did when the translators were working. Doing word studies with a good Greek or Hebrew Dictionary (depending on whether you are studying in the Old Testament or the New Testament) will show other shades of meanings that you may not have thought about before. Add that to listening to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God will have so much more meaning for you than it did before! Take these verses from the King James Bible in Psalm 37. Having done previous word studies, I have found that the Amplified Bible shows a little clearer meaning:
Ps 37:3-5 (Amplified)
3 Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
We see that to trust means to lean on, rely on and be confident in the Lord! Now that I know what trust means, I find that I really need to get to know the Lord better so that I can have confidence in Him and His Word. Then I see that to commit my way to the Lord means that I have to roll all of my care over on Him! I can't continue to worry about things and try to figure out how it's all going to work. That's HIS job! I need to "trust" in Him!
See how rewarding study can be?! You now know more about how God's Word works than you did before! Now comes the obeying part! Just remember, HE will bring it to pass!
Have fun meditating on your daily Bible reading. If you don't have your own plan, check out The Spoken Word Church site to the left and use ours. It's very important to feed on God's Word every day! Remember what Jesus said:
Matt 4:4 (Amplified)
4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. [Deut 8:3.]
Shalom in Him!
I hope you have been spending time meditating on the Word of God! Remember that meditation means to think about, talk about (to yourself and others), pray about, the Word that you read and study. Allow the Holy Spirit, Who is your Teacher, to let you in on what the Word is really saying! So many believers I know don't spend the time they need allowing the Holy Spirit to make the Word come alive to them. They settle for letting some person tell them what it means. That person is sometimes one who doesn't know or believe the Word themselves. At The Spoken Word Church, we have been told from the very beginning NOT to believe everything we hear in church, but to go home and check it out in our own Bibles. That's what the Bereans did (Acts 17:10-12)! They didn't take any one's word for it, they studied the Word of God for themselves to see if it was so! Let's look at some verses from Psalm 37 today:
Ps 37:3-5 (KJV)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
One of the ways that I like to study and meditate the Word is to do word studies. Some Greek or Hebrew words that have been translated into English no longer have the same meaning today that they did when the translators were working. Doing word studies with a good Greek or Hebrew Dictionary (depending on whether you are studying in the Old Testament or the New Testament) will show other shades of meanings that you may not have thought about before. Add that to listening to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God will have so much more meaning for you than it did before! Take these verses from the King James Bible in Psalm 37. Having done previous word studies, I have found that the Amplified Bible shows a little clearer meaning:
Ps 37:3-5 (Amplified)
3 Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
We see that to trust means to lean on, rely on and be confident in the Lord! Now that I know what trust means, I find that I really need to get to know the Lord better so that I can have confidence in Him and His Word. Then I see that to commit my way to the Lord means that I have to roll all of my care over on Him! I can't continue to worry about things and try to figure out how it's all going to work. That's HIS job! I need to "trust" in Him!
See how rewarding study can be?! You now know more about how God's Word works than you did before! Now comes the obeying part! Just remember, HE will bring it to pass!
Have fun meditating on your daily Bible reading. If you don't have your own plan, check out The Spoken Word Church site to the left and use ours. It's very important to feed on God's Word every day! Remember what Jesus said:
Matt 4:4 (Amplified)
4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. [Deut 8:3.]
Shalom in Him!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Shalom,
I want to look at the Psalm from yesterday's Bible Reading plan:
Psalm 33 (Amplified)
1REJOICE IN the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you upright in right standing with God]; for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart].
2Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; sing praises to Him with the harp of ten strings.
3Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully [on the strings] with a loud and joyful sound.
4For the word of the Lord is right; and all His work is done in faithfulness.
5He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.
6By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storage places.
8Let all the earth fear the Lord [revere and worship Him]; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
10The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nought; He makes the thoughts and plans of the peoples of no effect.
11The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart through all generations.
12Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His heritage.
13The Lord looks from heaven, He beholds all the sons of men;
14From His dwelling place He looks [intently] upon all the inhabitants of the earth--
15He Who fashions the hearts of them all, Who considers all their doings.
16No king is saved by the great size and power of his army; a mighty man is not delivered by [his] much strength.
17A horse is devoid of value for victory; neither does he deliver any by his great power.
18Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness,
19To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
20Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield.
21For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted (relied on and been confident) in His holy name.
22Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You.
I really like the Amplified Bible for this Psalm because it shows the real meaning for the words righteous, fear (of the Lord) and blessed! Meditate on this Psalm and you will have a very clear picture of what has happened to our nation. You will also see what we need to do to be pleasing to God, as individuals and as a nation.
Shalom in Him!
I want to look at the Psalm from yesterday's Bible Reading plan:
Psalm 33 (Amplified)
1REJOICE IN the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you upright in right standing with God]; for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart].
2Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; sing praises to Him with the harp of ten strings.
3Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully [on the strings] with a loud and joyful sound.
4For the word of the Lord is right; and all His work is done in faithfulness.
5He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.
6By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storage places.
8Let all the earth fear the Lord [revere and worship Him]; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
10The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nought; He makes the thoughts and plans of the peoples of no effect.
11The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart through all generations.
12Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His heritage.
13The Lord looks from heaven, He beholds all the sons of men;
14From His dwelling place He looks [intently] upon all the inhabitants of the earth--
15He Who fashions the hearts of them all, Who considers all their doings.
16No king is saved by the great size and power of his army; a mighty man is not delivered by [his] much strength.
17A horse is devoid of value for victory; neither does he deliver any by his great power.
18Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness,
19To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
20Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield.
21For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted (relied on and been confident) in His holy name.
22Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You.
I really like the Amplified Bible for this Psalm because it shows the real meaning for the words righteous, fear (of the Lord) and blessed! Meditate on this Psalm and you will have a very clear picture of what has happened to our nation. You will also see what we need to do to be pleasing to God, as individuals and as a nation.
Shalom in Him!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Shalom,
Just a note to say that this blog has been on hiatus do to vacations, family time and out of town trips. It is expected to be back up in a couple of days. In the meantime, check out The Spoken Word Church site to the left for some teaching, audio sermons and links to other blogs. You'll also find the Bible Reading Plan that was mentioned in a previous post so you can continue your own meditation on God's Word!
Shalom in Him!
Just a note to say that this blog has been on hiatus do to vacations, family time and out of town trips. It is expected to be back up in a couple of days. In the meantime, check out The Spoken Word Church site to the left for some teaching, audio sermons and links to other blogs. You'll also find the Bible Reading Plan that was mentioned in a previous post so you can continue your own meditation on God's Word!
Shalom in Him!
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