For ye were sometimes darkness
Ephesians
{5:8} For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light
{5:9} (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
{5:10} Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
You were sometimes darkness.
We're all sinners. We all embraced darkness to some extent. Some more than others. But you know what. Whether you are or were in darkness just a little while, or whether you were in darkness for years and years, the darkness is just as black, no sin is gray, it doesn't exist in varying shades going from black to white. We are in darkness or in light.
Think about it. If I am darkness for a half an hour, and you are darkness for a minute, we are both the same in that we were darkness.
Sin is like that. We tend to place degrees on sin. Big sin, little sin, acceptable sin, unacceptable sin, sins that skirt the line between acceptable and unacceptable.
Does it really matter?
Sin's darkness in us condemns us whether we are in darkness for many years or just a day. Whether our sin was as dark as murder or just a murderous thought. It's all darkness, all sin.
For ye were sometimes darkness.
The darkness that we are doesn't have to be overwhelming, it could be something as simple as a single bad act, if that bad act is horrific enough it can weigh as heavily upon you as a million bad acts, or maybe a lot of little sins we think don't way heavy are heavier than a lot of giant sins. Sin is sin is sin...is sin.
Satan wants us to be darkness, children of darkness, he wants us to love darkness rather than light. We look at blatent sinners and can't understand how they can love being children of darkness and yet we don't realize the sins we cling to, though different, fill us with darkness too.
We have to be light in the Lord. Children of light.
We were all sometimes darkness. All of us. But asking Jesus to be our Savior, asking Jesus to forgive us we are asking Him to make us children of light, his children. We need to walk as children of light. The darkness will try to drag us down every opportunity it gets. The darkness will tell us that we'll never be *good* enough to be children of light. We have to cling to Jesus and His righteousness, He is the light and if we cling to Him trusting in Him to save us from the darkness we are His children.
Sin is a horrible, horrible thing. Sin separates us from God. God made a way for us to be forgiven. We can't forgive ourselves, we can't save ourselves, we have to cling to the One who can save us and become His children.
Satan would have our sinfulness weigh us down and steal all hope from us. Satan will try to convince us that we're too sinful to ever be saved. Satan will bring to mind all the evil we've ever done when we were 'sometimes darkness', and he doesn't want us to be light in the Lord. Satan will try hard as he can to convince us that its impossible to be light in the Lord, to walk as children of light. We have to admit that we were sometimes darkness, admit it, don't deny it not even to ourselves, don't try to excuse it away, we have to recognize that the dark we were, and the dark that still tries to drag us down is a darkness that the light of Christ can destroy. The power of Christ to turn darkness to light is found in the sacrfice He made for us. He died because of the hold the dark has on us. He died to bring light to us. His light, not ours. We are only light IN the Lord, not of ourselves. We can only hope to be light in the LORD. We can't be light of ourselves, we can't. We can recognize that the dark would only have us embrace the dark, that the dark hates the light, and choose to be light in the Lord, through His grace, not because we are light of ourselves, we'll never be LIGHT enough of ourselves, NEVER. Only in Christ are we children of light. If we hope to walk in the light all on our own we're going to be very disappointed, very, very disappointed.
Ephesians
{5:8} For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light
{5:9} (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
{5:10} Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and all righteousness and truth!
Walking in the light of the Lord, being children of light we will produce fruit from that walk- that fruit is from the Spirit who comes to us from Christ and enables us to be His children to walk in that light, and the fruit is recognized in all goodness, all righteousness, and all truth. Proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
Glory be to God that we don't have to live in darkness, that we don't have to be dark, that we can choose to be children of light in Christ. We have to walk as we are children of light, no matter how much Satan beats at us trying to wear us down, to depress us, to get us down into the dumps so far we don't think we can ever climb out. Satan will tell us we CAN'T walk as children of light, that we're not good enough, we're not LIGHT enough, and you know what...
... he's right.
WE can't, not on our own. Thank God for Jesus Christ our Savior, we don't have to try to walk as children of light on our own, we can't. When Satan tries to convince us the dark is better, that we can't be children of light we have to cling to Jesus, cling to our Lord, trust in our Lord and walk AS children of light anyway, no matter what Satan is doing to discourage us. We have to admit we are no good, that yes, we've done horrible things, that we've walk in the dark but no longer. Through Christ we are going to walk as children of light in Christ, not alone, not of our own accord, our sins are forgiven and Christ is our Lord and Savior through Him and only through Him will the Spirit dwell in us and the fruit of the Spirit exist.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”- Isaiah 1:18
11/09/09
Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Faithful and true.
The two things we need - faith and truth.
Believing in things unseen, believing in God even when we do not understand a single thing we have faith. Believing in the truth and what is the truth, Jesus is the truth.
In all our lives there can be so much confusion, so much controversy and things we don't understand at all whatsoever but by faith we can please God. Trusting in God, trusting in all that God is. Having faith in God beyond all understanding. Knowing the truth is found in Christ.
All else will fail. It will. Make no mistake. A mistake lies in thinking that things won't fail here and now on earth. The mistake lies in believing that life should some how be fair, that because we believe in God we should have it just a little bit easier now. The truth is that Christ suffered and we should expect nothing more. Seriously. People talk of prosperity and such and say if only you believe, and to trust in God things will get better, but if we are going to trust in God we have to expect that our road we have to walk here and now will not be easy, will not be better. The only thing we can hope to get better is our faith. The only thing we can strive for is a strengthening of our faith through each trial and not a weakening of it as Satan seeks. Every single trial thrown at us whether it's a trial that lasts a single day or one that last years, is set up to either weaken or strengthen us. We cry no fair, God shouldn't allow this to happen and as soon as that thought crosses our mind we are allowing the trial to weaken us, we are allowing Satan to slip in with the doubts about the love of God. When he slips that in the door is open for it to grow.
Faith beyond any doubt no matter what happens. May God grant us this faith and help us to find a growing faith through every trial big or small so that we may live in the truth of Jesus, of Christ's righteousness and not our own. Through Him, in Him, now and forever. By the grace and mercy of our Lord!
Amen.
11/09/10
11/09/11
Psa 87:1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
Psa 87:2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Psa 87:3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah
Zion (Hebrew) (also transliterated Sion, Tzion or Tsion) is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem.[1][2] The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE. It commonly referred to a specific mountain near Jerusalem (Mount Zion), on which stood a Jebusite fortress of the same name that was conquered by David and was named the City of David. The term Tzion came to designate the area of Jerusalem where the fortress stood, and later became a metonym for Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem and generally, the World to Come.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion>
2Sa 5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
Jerusalem is mention 767 times in the Bible. Clearly it is of great importance. We've been studying Jerusalem a bit in connection with God's people. We've looked at Wikipedia information on Jerusalem and it give a lot of its history.
Undisputedly Jerusalem has been a very important place for a very long time.
Today they say this--
Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions— Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem>
A holy city to THREE major Abrahamic religions. Only one of those religions recognizes the Son of God as Savior and that's Christianity. The two other major religions are therefore worshipping a false god, not Abraham's God at all.
Abraham who lived such an important foretelling of our Savior's sacrifice knew of God's promise given in the garden of Eden to Adam and Eve. He knew this--
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
A hatred would exist between the seed of the Serpent (Satan) and the seed of the Woman (God's people) The seed of the Serpent would bruise the heel of the of the seed of the Woman. But the seed of the Woman would bruise thy head of the seed of the Serpent.
One would triumph over the other. Our Savior would triumph over Satan.
Abraham knew there was an enmity between the chosen of God and Satan. By Faith Abraham lived listening to God, following His commands. By faith Abraham offered Isaac- but to what end?
Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Heb 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Now it's important to note that Isaac wasn't Abraham's only son- Ishmael was.
Gen 16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
So when we read this-- 'By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son', what does it mean? Isaac was the son of PROMISE.
Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Abram hearkened to the voice of his wife, not the voice of God. God did not tell Abram that His seed would come through an Egyptian handmaid. Ishmael was MAN'S doing, not God's. Ishmael was NOT the promised seed.
Gen 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Gen 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Gen 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
Gen 17:22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
Sarah was way past childbearing age.
Abraham wanted Ishmael to 'live' before God- to be God's promised seed.
God wanted Sarah to bear the promised son. God wanted the MIRACLE of a barren womb to be filled miraculously through HIS power and HIS power alone! Through that miracle child the covenant would be established not through the child born through man's contriving.
Ishmael would be blessed and fruitful- having a great nation as well but that nation would not be God's promised nation. The great nation that would come from Ishmael would not have the covenant promise.
Isaac was born - the miracle son, the ONLY begotten son - the son of promise.
Jesus was born- the miracle son, the ONLY begotten son - the son of promise!
Isaac was offered as a sacrifice (ONLY the hand of God staying Abraham's stopped Isaac from dying.)
Jesus was offered as a sacrifice.
Abraham knew that this great sacrifice He was being told to make was important and it is still important today.
So when I say this--
Jerusalem- a holy city to THREE major Abrahamic religions. Only ONE of those religions recognizes the Son of God as Savior and that's Christianity. The two other major religions are therefore worshipping a false god, not Abraham's God at all.
I'm speaking TRUTH! While the other two religions lay claim to Abraham, they refuse to lay claim to the Son of God, the ONLY begotten Son of the Father! Isaac typified our Savior in more than one way and yet those other religions refuse to acknowledge this, they refuse to see in the prophecies of God the fulfilled coming of the Messiah, the fulfilled death of the Messiah, the fulfilled resurrection of the Messiah, they close their hearts to the truth and hold fast to lies and deception.
Yes, Jerusalem is a holy city, and isn't it just like Satan to want what is God's so much so that he in his prince of this world way has established TWO major religions opposing the ONE true religion- the religion the comes from recognizing God's Son as Savior. Am I saying all who are Christian's are automatically saved? NO! No more than all who have been proclaimed to be God's chosen of the old covenant were saved because they were of that religion. There are certain undeniable truths that cannot be forsaken, truths our Savior lived when He walked the earth, and we must have these truths if we are to be His, fully His.
Jerusalem was mourned by Jesus, a lot of those who clung to the old covenant were destroyed in Jerusalem when it was destroyed- prophesized by Jesus.
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
There were NATURAL branches- those chosen to be God's people, those of the Jewish nation direct descendents of Abraham. There were branches GRAFFED IN- those who are not descendents of Abraham, but rather from the Gentiles.
Jesus KNEW His people would reject Him no matter what miracles He performed, their hearts were hardened against Him. Jesus would call ALL men unto Him.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Jesus knew that the city of Jerusalem would remain important until His return and He told us to watch the signs. We are watching and by the grace of God we are being guided to understand all that He would have us know, have us realize concerning His soon return. We don't want to be deaf, dumb, and blind, our hearts hard to the truths of our Savior. He would have us watch, He would have us pray. He didn't want us to ignore the sign He gave to us. May we continue on in His love, living our lives as He would have us do so- fully in His love- preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to all we can, bringing the good news of Salvation in Christ, through Christ's righteousness.
Lord help us because without Your help we have no hope, all our hope is in YOU.
Guide us Lord, let the Holy Spirit touch our hearts, opening our understanding all so we can be Yours as fully as we can be through You.
In Your love!
Amen.