Have you thought of yourself as being born for such a time as this? If you have been raised with a lot of self-condemnation, inferiority and rejection you might think of yourself as a nobody. Someone whom God has overlooked. You might believe that you are a nothing in His sight. If you are struggling in your self (flesh) to overcome your weaknesses and be a better person, believe me, I have tried and it is futile. The self life is very strong and only the power of the cross will separate you from it.
The self life is our sin nature that we were born with and we sin because we are sinners. But the good news is that our Creator knew that Adam would sin and that we ALL would fall into his transgression. It is like putting a black sock into wash load of white sheets and the wash comes out gray.
You might be thinking, that is me, I am GRAY. But is that the truth? It is the truth, if you are STILL in your sin of Adam. But you don't have to stay there. There is the Good News. Jesus did not take the gray sheet and make it white! He literally tore it to pieces and created a brand new white sheet!
You are I are NEW wine skins. The Holy Spirit could never be poured into an old wine skin. Impossible. When we begin to REALIZE that we are new wine skins, that we are not JUST a sinner saved by grace, but a new creation, a creation THAT HAS NEVER BEEN BEFORE, the world grows strangely dim. We have been recreated for a greater purposes than this world will ever know, because "Greater is He in us then He who is in the world."(1 John 4:4). "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph: 2:10)
The Lord declares of us today, that we are His delight and beloved sons and daughters. He DOES NOT see our sin, but sees us through Christ colored glasses. The more we accept ourselves as Jesus accepts us, the more I believe that we will sin less and love one another more. If Jesus sees us in His blood, ought we not see our brothers and sisters the same? 2 Peter 4:8 says," Love covers a multitude of sin". By faith, The SINNER has died in Christ Jesus. We are NOW identified in Christ death, burial and resurrection. Sin no longer has dominion over us. St Paul understood this well when he said,"Now if I do, what I do not want, it is NO longer I who do it, but SIN that dwells within me." Romans 7:20. Sin may be ever present, but we don't have obey it.
The blood of Jesus continuously forgives us,washes us, and cleanses us day after day. The gift of repentance is a rich blessing when we fall and it is important to remember that God still LOVES us, when we do fail. He will pick us up and set us back on the road, because we are His children and we have been born for such a time as this to bring glory to God in our Nation and to draw all men unto Him.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
New Beginnings, According to God's Math
Recently I was reading an article on numbers in the bible. I found it very interesting and I thought you might find it fascinating also. God does nothing by accident nor has he created an accident. You and I are NOT accidents no matter what we think about ourselves or what others tell us. God has a purpose in all that He does and creates. But what about why He created mathematics?
God's mathematics is amazing. Take the number 8 for example. Often the number 8 stands for new beginnings which seems to be the case in the first place we find the number 8. It is with reference to Noah--there were 8 people on the ark and of course they were the seed stock of the new population. Another 8 reference
to new beginnings is found in Leviticus 8 when the first high priest was consecrated. Afterwards he was commanded to stay in the tabernacle for seven days and then go out on the 8th day to begin his priestly duties. The next time we see evidence of 8 being symbolic of a new beginnings is when Samuel anointed Jesse's 8th son and that was David.
Some say that the number 8 not only stands for new beginnings but also can symbolize divinity. When the name Jesus is assigned Greek numerical values, the total is 888. Considering that "Jesus" in Hebrew means salvation (new birth), we see both divinity and new beginning. It's interesting to me that the Transfiguration was 8 days after speaking to the disciples about the coming kingdom (Luke 9), and that God spoke to Abraham on 8 occasions, It was also 8 days after the resurrection that Jesus allowed Thomas to touch Him and this was probably about Thomas taking on new faith and starting a new empowered life.
Then we come to Romans Chapter 5:1-11. We find 8 new conditions that come to the believer as a result of the new birth. (Interesting to read) 2 Peter 1:4-8 also describes 8 promises to those who have become partakers of God's grace. Two more instances that are interesting are found in John 2 where the word "born" is used 8 times in the first 8 verses and finally in John 4 where the word "water" is used 8 times in verses 7-15.
Other 8's include the fact that the Israelites were encamped in 8 specific groups around the taberancle while they were out in the wilderness. There are 8 instances where people were raised from the dead mentioned in God's word. The feast of tabernacles is 8 days long. Elijah performed 8 miracles, (and after Elisha prayed for a double portion, he performed 16 miracles). There are 8 references to the Old Testament in Revelation chapter 1. There were 8 writers of the New Testament, and Jewish boys were commanded to be circumcised on the 8th day. I am sure that if an in-depth number study was done, the biblical number eight would become even more intriguing.
We all know that 666 is the number for man and that one day the Anti Christ will demand that number to be placed on our foreheads,
and we as believers are to reject it. God's math is fascinating, but only one number is really important, the number 3. Just think about that!!
I received this information from an article written by Les Feldick Ministries, "Through the Bible". He is a dear brother and a faithful bible teacher.
God's mathematics is amazing. Take the number 8 for example. Often the number 8 stands for new beginnings which seems to be the case in the first place we find the number 8. It is with reference to Noah--there were 8 people on the ark and of course they were the seed stock of the new population. Another 8 reference
to new beginnings is found in Leviticus 8 when the first high priest was consecrated. Afterwards he was commanded to stay in the tabernacle for seven days and then go out on the 8th day to begin his priestly duties. The next time we see evidence of 8 being symbolic of a new beginnings is when Samuel anointed Jesse's 8th son and that was David.
Some say that the number 8 not only stands for new beginnings but also can symbolize divinity. When the name Jesus is assigned Greek numerical values, the total is 888. Considering that "Jesus" in Hebrew means salvation (new birth), we see both divinity and new beginning. It's interesting to me that the Transfiguration was 8 days after speaking to the disciples about the coming kingdom (Luke 9), and that God spoke to Abraham on 8 occasions, It was also 8 days after the resurrection that Jesus allowed Thomas to touch Him and this was probably about Thomas taking on new faith and starting a new empowered life.
Then we come to Romans Chapter 5:1-11. We find 8 new conditions that come to the believer as a result of the new birth. (Interesting to read) 2 Peter 1:4-8 also describes 8 promises to those who have become partakers of God's grace. Two more instances that are interesting are found in John 2 where the word "born" is used 8 times in the first 8 verses and finally in John 4 where the word "water" is used 8 times in verses 7-15.
Other 8's include the fact that the Israelites were encamped in 8 specific groups around the taberancle while they were out in the wilderness. There are 8 instances where people were raised from the dead mentioned in God's word. The feast of tabernacles is 8 days long. Elijah performed 8 miracles, (and after Elisha prayed for a double portion, he performed 16 miracles). There are 8 references to the Old Testament in Revelation chapter 1. There were 8 writers of the New Testament, and Jewish boys were commanded to be circumcised on the 8th day. I am sure that if an in-depth number study was done, the biblical number eight would become even more intriguing.
We all know that 666 is the number for man and that one day the Anti Christ will demand that number to be placed on our foreheads,
and we as believers are to reject it. God's math is fascinating, but only one number is really important, the number 3. Just think about that!!
I received this information from an article written by Les Feldick Ministries, "Through the Bible". He is a dear brother and a faithful bible teacher.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A Murmuration, a Divine Mystery
This is 2 minutes long. It is another mystery of Creator God, Elohim: No one knows why they do it.
Yet each Fall, thousands of starlings dance in the twilight above England and Scotland. The birds gather in shape-shifting flocks called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia to escape winter's frigid bite. Scientists aren't sure how they do it, either. The starlings' murmurations are manifestations of swarm intelligence, which in different contexts is practiced by schools of fish, swarms of bees and colonies of ants. As far as I am aware, even complex algorithmic models haven't yet explained the starlings 'aerobatics, which rely on the tiny bird's quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions-and-predators-in the giant flock.
Despite their tour de force in the dusky sky, starlings have declined significantly in the UK in recent years, perhaps because of a decline in suitable nesting sites. The birds still roost in several of Britain's rural pastures, however, settling down to sleep (and chatter) after their evening ballet.
Two young ladies were out on a late afternoon canoe ride and fortunately one of them remembered to bring her video camera. What they saw was a wonderful murmuration display, caught in the short video.
I couldn't help but think, "Lord, you created theses starlings to praise and dance before you to express your glory." ENJOY!!
http://vimeo.com/31158841
Monday, July 2, 2012
Arrows that fly by day
When I think of the arrows that fly by day, it makes me think of WORDS. How many times have words just come out of your mouth and like arrows have been shot out into the air, sometimes intentionally out of control, causing pain and suffering. We used to say as kids," Sticks and stones will break my bones, but WORDS will never harm me." Is that really true? I don't think it is.
Words are powerful. God created the universe by speaking words, and we are like little creators, created in His image. Our God created SOMETHING out of NOTHING, but we create SOMETHING OUT OF SOMETHING. It first has to be created, then we can create something. God created speech to bring forth LIFE not death. But because of the Fall, our words now can really create DEATH. They can deeply wound a human heart and often we don't even know that we have done it. Or we can speak LIFE and bring happiness to someones heart.
As I was pondering this thought, I thought to myself, "Satan speaks words too, and if we believe them, they too, will come true." Jesus said "to bring very thought into the captivity of Christ." Satan will try to make us believe, that his thoughts are ours. He will try to put words into your mouth that you will begin to think are true, but they are NOT the word of God. Don't believe that every thought is from God or from yourself.
I am so grateful for the body of Christ. We can encourage one another when we hear a brother or sister confess a lie about themselves that we know by the scripture is not true. It usually will come in a form of condemnation, a feeling of guilt, or some false accusation. By the grace of God , we don't have to listen to those words that create death, but believe the truth of God's word and live.
For instance, Satan will make you think that the Lord does not care about you, or is punishing you, or that you're not acceptable unless you have confessed all your sins. It will go on and on. He will try to destroy your faith with lies.
One of the greatest truths that set me free and that keeps me free is
'if God's word said it, then it is settled. I believe it and my mind has to submit to the Word of God.
His WORD began to break and expose every lying and accusing arrow that tried to destroy my faith. I had this mental picture of Jesus breaking the arrows before they hit me. It was like He stood in front of me, protecting me from Satan's accusations. "Now, the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the ACCUSER OF THE BROTHERS, (and sisters) has been thrown down". Revelation 12:10. In Luke 10:17, my favorite, Jesus is speaking to His disciplines and for us TODAY, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpent and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Never the less, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Don't let Satan try to convince you that those WORDS were only for His disciplines then and not for us today. ARE WE NOT HIS DISCIPLES TODAY? When Jesus said "It is Finished", He meant it. Satan has no authority over us. Jesus is Lord.
We don't have to receive ever again Satan's arrows of accusation. We are free and the WORD OF GOD WILL NOT RETURN VOID. We are more than loved by the one who created us, who continuously pours out His love and forgiveness all day long. Believe and be healed from any arrows that have afflicted your heart, in the name of Jesus!!!
Words are powerful. God created the universe by speaking words, and we are like little creators, created in His image. Our God created SOMETHING out of NOTHING, but we create SOMETHING OUT OF SOMETHING. It first has to be created, then we can create something. God created speech to bring forth LIFE not death. But because of the Fall, our words now can really create DEATH. They can deeply wound a human heart and often we don't even know that we have done it. Or we can speak LIFE and bring happiness to someones heart.
As I was pondering this thought, I thought to myself, "Satan speaks words too, and if we believe them, they too, will come true." Jesus said "to bring very thought into the captivity of Christ." Satan will try to make us believe, that his thoughts are ours. He will try to put words into your mouth that you will begin to think are true, but they are NOT the word of God. Don't believe that every thought is from God or from yourself.
I am so grateful for the body of Christ. We can encourage one another when we hear a brother or sister confess a lie about themselves that we know by the scripture is not true. It usually will come in a form of condemnation, a feeling of guilt, or some false accusation. By the grace of God , we don't have to listen to those words that create death, but believe the truth of God's word and live.
For instance, Satan will make you think that the Lord does not care about you, or is punishing you, or that you're not acceptable unless you have confessed all your sins. It will go on and on. He will try to destroy your faith with lies.
One of the greatest truths that set me free and that keeps me free is
'if God's word said it, then it is settled. I believe it and my mind has to submit to the Word of God.
His WORD began to break and expose every lying and accusing arrow that tried to destroy my faith. I had this mental picture of Jesus breaking the arrows before they hit me. It was like He stood in front of me, protecting me from Satan's accusations. "Now, the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the ACCUSER OF THE BROTHERS, (and sisters) has been thrown down". Revelation 12:10. In Luke 10:17, my favorite, Jesus is speaking to His disciplines and for us TODAY, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpent and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Never the less, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Don't let Satan try to convince you that those WORDS were only for His disciplines then and not for us today. ARE WE NOT HIS DISCIPLES TODAY? When Jesus said "It is Finished", He meant it. Satan has no authority over us. Jesus is Lord.
We don't have to receive ever again Satan's arrows of accusation. We are free and the WORD OF GOD WILL NOT RETURN VOID. We are more than loved by the one who created us, who continuously pours out His love and forgiveness all day long. Believe and be healed from any arrows that have afflicted your heart, in the name of Jesus!!!
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