And his name that sat on him was Death
Revelation
...
And when he had opened the fourth seal
I heard the voice of the fourth beast say
Come and see.
And I looked,
and behold a pale horse
and his name that sat on him was Death
and Hell followed with him.
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword,
and with hunger,
and with death,
and with the beasts of the earth.
...
Jesus opened the fourth seal of the very special book and the fourth beast - the beast like a flying eagle with six wings and covered in eyes back and front- told John to come and see. John looked and saw another horse and this one was the color of pale, not white, but pale. There is no purity here but rather something off color. Recently a doctor saw a friend of mine and immediately noticed how 'pale' he was. To the doctor's trained eye he knew something was wrong instantly where I only partially suspected something was off color. Why was my friend so pale? Because he was extremely sick. When we see someone who is off color- or pale we suspect that there is something wrong. Sometimes it's as simple as having a fright, but more oft than not it's because there is sickness involved. This horse John see's is pale and the rider was named Death. Death! Aren't the majority of sickly people laying upon their deathbeds on the pale side? Seriously. The very ill have that look about them don't they? If you've no first hand experience such as working in a nursing home, or a hospital, or even nursed someone at home who was dying you might not know for yourself personally but surely most people have seen movies with such scenes in them where an actor is made up to be dying and one of the first things happening when applying that camera makeup is working on making that person's complexion pale- sickly. The same with the tortured and wounded, rarely will they simply just look fine other than their wounds. Those horribly abused and near death, those who are awfully sick, they look sick and when we say they look sick we instantly mean off color- pale. Is it any wonder Death is the rider of this time period shown? That Hell(in the margin of the Bible is the word 'the grave'), that the Grave followed Death?
During this period of time the false church is fully entrenched in peoples lives and reigning with an unbelievable power over people. The papacy with it's church/political dual purpose in existing corrupted the purity of any that would be truly God's people. Mingling the pure message of Christ's love and redemption with so much that is worldly clearly shouts falsehood. The papacy during this period had great authority in many, many ways and during that time just as it says- 'And power was given until them over the fourth part of the earth' surely this papal power held such authority and they were able to kill with the sword, with torture such as hunger and yes, the beasts of the earth. For when the civilized powers are gone what remains but beasts to rule? And in another note- during this time the Black Death came into play killing millions and millions of people and what brought the black death but black rats carrying the disease carrying fleas.
Yes, during the middle ages the papacy reached the height of it's power and wield it's awful authority by order of inquisitions and it also suffered it's eventual downfall as the end of this time period drew nigh in the 1500's and the birth of Protestantism began.
To read a bit more on the suject go here- http://www.heijira.com/em_lecture_4.html
No, Protestantism didn't immediately squash the papacy but it had it's beginning there in the 1500's after a terrible reign of rulership for over a thousand years. That the papacy wasn't fully squash until 1798 it's downfall can be noted as beginning in the 1500's.
This fourth horse truly did bring with it the rider called Death and the Grave most certainly followed.
May the Lord bless and keep us as we continue our study, realizing how truly separate God's way is from man's. Jesus did not wield power and authority by any force whatsoever, in fact He acted the part of the Lamb being led to the slaughter only unlike our animal lambs, Jesus was fully aware of the death that awaited Him and He didn't offer any protest at all. He didn't cause an uprising of followers to wage war on the corruption around them, He encouraged love of enemies, doing good to those who misuse you- hate you- despise you and all His followers were to follow that example of His and where can you find that in any way with the things the papacy has done under the guise of being Christ's church? May we today recognize the truth of Jesus' love and call to us to follow Him and know that all else even with it's disguise of purity and goodness is filled with evil and there will be those who cry out to Jesus about knowing him but in truth He will call back He knew them not. May we not be among those, but be safely in the kingdom as true followers of Jesus' love, covered in His righteousness by His mercy, His grace towards us sinners who beg forgivness and repent of all that would keep us from His love, from His knowing us.
Amen.
9/9/10
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Have you ever had a lot to say to someone but you dreaded it because you know that someone isn't a very good listener? How many people are dull of hearing? There are books written on the subject of becoming a good listener. Just a quick check with google came up with these three titles-
Becoming a Good Listener
The Value of Being a Good Listener
About Being a Good Listener
If anything this tells us that people aren't good listeners and NEED to be taught to be good listeners. Shouldn't we be raised to be good listeners? Isn't this something we should teach our children? That old listen to your elders and so on? People have LOST the ability to be good listeners because our minds are just churning with thoughts and no sooner than we think them we believe those thoughts need to be voiced out loud because what we think is important, right? We want to be heard. We want to tell OUR side of the story, we want to get OUR point across. Our ideas are valuable aren't they? We are so darn busy being concerned about OUR selves that we don't listen, really listen. We might skim listen and we might skim listen a lot! What's skim listening? Just what it sounds like. We skim the talking of others by just listening to bits and pieces while we concentrate also on our replies to what they're saying EVEN if they're not finished speaking. We get the gist of what someone is saying and that's enough, right? We think on our feet, we're ten steps ahead of the next person, we're on the ball, we are multi-taskers and we're good at it, proud of it! We award people that can talk around others, that can get people to do what they want as they talk to them. Sales people, con artists, scammers all have this ability and we applaud them when they're legit sales people who break no laws when they're using their ability to persuade. We feel cheated when we are unlawfully conned. What people don't always realize is that a con artist and sales person while they talk a great game are also listening to us for various clues so they can use their scheming ways in a personal manner. They listen.
Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Hard to be uttered, why? Because you are dull of hearing.
Why speak if no one is going to listen? Why talk if you have no one to hear? It's like talking to no one if you talk and talk and no one listens, isn't it? Have you ever seen the glazed eyed look of others when you're going on and on as you talk? Or do you get that glazed look right when you start to speak, because people are instantly UNINTERESTED in anything you have to say. They assume before you even get going that you're not going to have anything to say that will interest them. They won't have to care about what you're saying, so why bother wasting time listening.
Hard to be uttered, because you are dull of hearing.
Do you ever get to the point where you don't want to bother speaking because you know others are DULL OF HEARING, that they don't want to listen to what you're saying, that they could careless about what you have to say- no matter how important?
Here we are being told that they want to talk of MANY things about our Savior. There are MANY THINGS to say but they don't want to say them because those they are wanting to speak to don't want to listen. How tragic, how very, very tragic to know that people don't want to hear many things about their Savior. Today we could go on the crowded street and try and take a poll asking people if they want to hear about Jesus their Savior and how many people would really want to stop and listen? We don't really know do we but we can imagine, can't we? Not many. Then or now, it's the same. We are DULL of hearing.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Babies are unlearned and can't eat solid food. Babies are unlearned and while babies have an excuse for their behavior, we don't. Adults who are still drinking formula and not solid food are oddities, it's unheard of (outside of illness and such). We are expected to drink our milk as babes and then as we grow start eating solid food. We are not expected to just keep on drinking milk and never transition to solid food. Spiritual milk is for babes, those new to the knowledge of the Lord and in need of much learning of the very basics of Salvation through our Lord and Savior. Spiritual meat is what comes next. We aren't expected to continue just drinking the spiritual milk endlessly, but we are expected to learn the deeper things. We are to live our entire LIVES devoted to our Savior and we have an amazing book of learning to guide us, a book that is miraculous that offers us milk to start with and meat as we continue on in our spiritual life. People like to ignore the meat and just keep taking in the milk, they don't want to have to chew, just be fed the easy liquid with no chewing involved, no energy expended, no more than what they believe is necessary to stay spiritually alive. We need strong spiritual meat to live spiritually if we are to grow spiritually at all and not remain babes, stunted in our spiritual growth.
Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age- even those who by reason of USE have their senses EXERCISED to discern both good and evil.
Yet…
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
You are old enough to teach others and yet you now need to be taught again. This isn't a good thing! We can't endlessly be taught and never learn enough to teach. All through our maturing years we are required to be learning in some sort of learning environment, school, homeschool, as we are growing up we are to be learning to become knowledgeable adults expected to LEARN things. When we encounter adults that don't have the knowledge they were supposed to have been taught when they were young we don't look upon them favorably do we? You should KNOW better by now. And maybe, just maybe there is an excuse for their not knowing, but what if there isn't one?
We must read this…
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
We don't want to be unskillful in the word of righteousness- that word is JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, OUR SAVIOR! Salvation is found in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of our Lord! If we are unskillful in the word of righteousness we know little of salvation. We need to exercise our senses, our spiritual senses need to be exercised - we need to constantly be learning and growing in knowledge of our LORD and we will be able to DISCERN good and evil. We NEED this ability to discern because there are way too many people who have lost the ability of discernment and they honestly believe that evil is good, and good is evil. It's an honest belief to them because they have NO ability to discern, they've not grown in the knowledge of our Lord's righteousness but they just keep drinking the milk of their spiritual youth, their growth stunted their spiritual life no longer truly living.
Please Lord, please help us to grow in Your word of righteousness! Help us Lord to eat the spiritual meat You offer to us. Help us to grow in knowledge of You. Help us LISTEN and not be dull of hearing.
By Your grace, Your mercy, Your Love!
Amen.
9/9/11
Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
The heavens
declare the glory of God.
When we read of
amazing celestial occurrences how can we NOT acknowledge the glory of God, the
Creator of all things?
Some scientists
and self-obsessed people who believe only in their own imaginings and supposed
superiority like to take these wonders and try to use them as proof God doesn't
exist, that God did not create all things. They whittle away at things, breaking
them down until they believe they can be creators themselves. They go to great
lengths to make advancements in science that give them the sense of being able
to create things, when in truth all the things they are manipulating- every
atom, every neutron, every particle they have anything to do with at all- are
all from God. They did not, they COULD NOT have come from nothing!
Everyone knows that NOTHING can only produce NOTHING. You can't take
absolutely nothing and have something, it's impossible.
People talk about big bangs, but don't stop to ask themselves where the
bangs came from, assuming they just exist without any question. Their belief in
things just scientifically occurring is ludicrous but they refuse to understand
that, they refuse to reduce everything to the NOTHING that would have to exist
and leave it at nothing. They introduce that first something and as soon as they
do that- as soon as they say something has come from nothing then they have to
explain where that something came from because it could not come from nothing.
No, they never take it back far enough, instead they just make it older and
older and older. Trillion, zillions of years old and such. Yet for something to
exist it had to be created by someone, by something.
God who is from everlasting to everlasting, God who always has been and
always will be, God the Creator of ALL things is the something that without
question exists first and it is GOD who has created every single thing in
existence. From all the things He
has provided for us we create things we love to declare we've created, when in
truth we only take the things God has provided and we manipulate them. Without
God providing those things we would have nothing to manipulate. I could make a
wonderful cake, but I couldn't do it without every single ingredient that goes
into creating that cake. Those ingredients taken back to their primary state of
existence were not created by man. The seed planted in the ground was NOT
created by man- even if it's been manipulated by man's tampering.
These are all
facts, irrefutable facts.
So yes, when I
read of an amazing celestial occurrence I can't help but acknowledge the glory
of God IN that occurrence. DNA
building blocks found in meteorites is all from God!
That news points me towards God, not away from Him. God is the Creator of
that meteorite, God is the Creator of that DNA.
Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psa 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night
unto night sheweth knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor language, where
their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the
earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle
for the sun,
Psa 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of
his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
Psa 19:6 His going forth is from the end of the
heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the
heat thereof.
PRAISE GOD OUR
WONDERFUL CREATOR!!! In Him is
all life, its beginning and its end!
All GLORY to our
God, our King, our Creator now and forever!
Amen.
9/9/11
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
(KJV)
Psa 119:18 Uncover mine eyes, and I behold wonders
out of Thy law. (YLT - Young's 1898 Literal Translation)
Psa 119:18 Open my mind and let me discover the
wonders of your Law. (CEV -
Contemporary English Version)
Psa 119:18 Open my eyes, so that I may behold
wonderful things out of Your Law.
(MKJV- Modern King James Version)
*******
Thy Law, Your
Law, God's Law.
Ask most people
to name one law and they won't hesitate to tell you one, why? Because most
people know what laws are and know at least one if not several. I'm not talking
about God's law, but laws we have in our society today.
Ask them to name a universal law - a law they believe to be one all
people everywhere should keep and do you think they'd have an answer? I do. And
I believe that most people would quickly respond that murder is universally
wrong and unacceptable for all people everywhere.
Let's look at the
United Nations for a moment-
"For
the United Nations, the rule of law refers to a principle of governance in
which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the
State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally
enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with
international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures
to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the
law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law,
separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty,
avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency."
(S/2004/616)
Report
of the Secretary-General on the
Rule
of Law and Transitional Justice in
Conflict
and Post-Conflict Societies
Pasted
from <http://www.un.org/en/ruleoflaw/index.shtml>
This organization
mentions 'the rule of law'.
Man has introduced laws in each of their societies and the United States
was formed on the principle of separating Church (God) and State (Man). One of man's laws was the freedom for
man to worship as they please.
However God's laws would NOT be a part of societies law because that
freedom to worship as you please opened the door wide to the freedom of
worshipping any god, in any manner.
This isn't to say that our puritanical society didn't frown on those who
they claimed were of the devil, however today people are allowed to worship the
devil all they want without any interference from society.
With God stripped from our laws our society quickly became one that
apostatized from God. So many love
to gloat that America was founded upon believing in God, in Christianity. They point to the U.S. Capital
buildings and how their design is largely filled with references towards
God. They do this as if that meant
they were God fearing men that founded our nation. In truth no truly God fearing
person would set up a society that took God out of the law. Seriously, it
doesn't work that way.
Look at Muslims
for an example their law is filled with their religious beliefs and they're very
proud of that fact. They've built a society on their beliefs. Is it any wonder
many find their faith enticing? Seriously, it offers something that all the
democracies in the world can't offer even though it's a false religion if you
truly believe in God and God's word as given to us in the Bible, His most Holy
Word.
I hear this a lot
-that we have to thank God we live in a place that allows religious freedom and
yet something doesn't set right. I need to thank God that I live in a society
that has taken Him out of their laws.
I probably sound ungrateful and I don't mean to be, I am grateful I am
free to worship as I choose but at the same time there is a great sadness inside
that I live in a society that shuns God in its government.
I long for the
day I live with God under His laws, a world ruled by Him and His love and out of
that love ruled by His laws. Truly
God's laws are wondrous more so than any law, any man may ever create.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
There are
WONDROUS things in the law of God! WONDROUS! Wonderful things, there are wonders
in the law of God! May our eye be
opened to these wondrous things.
Only when we can see the wonder of God's law will we truly have the
spiritual sight our Lord wants us to have. God did NOT create the laws to oppress
anything good in us, not one single thing. For those who find oppression under
the law of God as if it was created to prohibit us from living our lives to the
fullest, they do not know God at all!
Wondrous things
are found in God's law.
Let's read the
law--
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before
me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of
them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the
LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his
name in vain.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all
thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of
the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that
thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbour.
Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
*******
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou
me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into
life, keep the
commandments.
Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices
and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according
to the commandment.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin?
God forbid. Nay, I
had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the
law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Jas 2:10 For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of
all.
Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit
adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou
kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that
shall be judged by the law of liberty.
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law.
*******
Wonders in God's
law, wonderful things in God's law.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
I had not known
sin but by the law.
There is such
beauty in that statement. ONLY One
who loves us would give us laws. It's true. Can you even imagine being condemned
and not even knowing why? Sentenced to death but never ever told how you could
have prevented that death sentence.
Wouldn't you want to know why? Let's imagine a police officer yanks you
off the street and throws you into jail and the next thing you know without any
trial, without even being told what your offense is you are condemned to die.
You can't tell me you wouldn't be demanding to know what was going on right from
the start, from that first moment the police officer yanked you off the street.
You'd ask and if you didn't receive an answer you'd ask again, over and over and
at some point it's certain you'd start yelling, demanding to know why, demanding
to know what you did wrong. Can
you even imagine being told you have to be put to death and NEVER being told
why? Seriously, try to imagine it, put yourself in that position. You are being
strapped to the gurney, IV's are being put into your arms, poison is all set to
flow into your body to end your life and you lay there unable to do anything
about it and clueless as to the why of it all. There is NO love at all and truly
a dictatorial rule is in place under that sort of set up, yes?
God loves us. God
wants us to know HOW we sin. God
wants us to realize that we are in fact sinners, and yes, as sinners we deserve
death. We are DEPENDENT upon God
for life! We are DEPENDENT upon God for RIGHTEOUSNESS!
We are DEPENDENT upon God for salvation! We are shown the law, shown
God's love, God's perfection and we are told to keep the law- THEN and this is a
most important 'then'- THEN we are
shown a way to stay God's chosen people in the event we sin, in the event we
break that law. The way is through our Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The
only way we can keep the law is through our Savior, through His amazing LOVE.
The Creator of the law of love.
While the law is
truly wondrous revealing God's love for mankind, mankind has tried to turn it
into something to be abhorred, something to shun.
I truly do not
want to be a part of this world under Satan's rule. I want to be a part of God's
world under my Savior Jesus Christ. My Savior was not of this world ruled by
Satan, and neither am I. And while I must live in this world by the grace of
God I can be kept from the evil of this world.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
Please Lord open
my eyes wide so that I may see the wonders in Your law!
Help me to desire to keep Your law through You, by You, the whole law now
and forever.
By Your wondrous
LOVE!
Through Jesus
Christ my Lord and Savior forever and ever!
Amen.
...
And when he had opened the fourth seal
I heard the voice of the fourth beast say
Come and see.
And I looked,
and behold a pale horse
and his name that sat on him was Death
and Hell followed with him.
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword,
and with hunger,
and with death,
and with the beasts of the earth.
...
Jesus opened the fourth seal of the very special book and the fourth beast - the beast like a flying eagle with six wings and covered in eyes back and front- told John to come and see. John looked and saw another horse and this one was the color of pale, not white, but pale. There is no purity here but rather something off color. Recently a doctor saw a friend of mine and immediately noticed how 'pale' he was. To the doctor's trained eye he knew something was wrong instantly where I only partially suspected something was off color. Why was my friend so pale? Because he was extremely sick. When we see someone who is off color- or pale we suspect that there is something wrong. Sometimes it's as simple as having a fright, but more oft than not it's because there is sickness involved. This horse John see's is pale and the rider was named Death. Death! Aren't the majority of sickly people laying upon their deathbeds on the pale side? Seriously. The very ill have that look about them don't they? If you've no first hand experience such as working in a nursing home, or a hospital, or even nursed someone at home who was dying you might not know for yourself personally but surely most people have seen movies with such scenes in them where an actor is made up to be dying and one of the first things happening when applying that camera makeup is working on making that person's complexion pale- sickly. The same with the tortured and wounded, rarely will they simply just look fine other than their wounds. Those horribly abused and near death, those who are awfully sick, they look sick and when we say they look sick we instantly mean off color- pale. Is it any wonder Death is the rider of this time period shown? That Hell(in the margin of the Bible is the word 'the grave'), that the Grave followed Death?
During this period of time the false church is fully entrenched in peoples lives and reigning with an unbelievable power over people. The papacy with it's church/political dual purpose in existing corrupted the purity of any that would be truly God's people. Mingling the pure message of Christ's love and redemption with so much that is worldly clearly shouts falsehood. The papacy during this period had great authority in many, many ways and during that time just as it says- 'And power was given until them over the fourth part of the earth' surely this papal power held such authority and they were able to kill with the sword, with torture such as hunger and yes, the beasts of the earth. For when the civilized powers are gone what remains but beasts to rule? And in another note- during this time the Black Death came into play killing millions and millions of people and what brought the black death but black rats carrying the disease carrying fleas.
Yes, during the middle ages the papacy reached the height of it's power and wield it's awful authority by order of inquisitions and it also suffered it's eventual downfall as the end of this time period drew nigh in the 1500's and the birth of Protestantism began.
To read a bit more on the suject go here- http://www.heijira.com/em_lecture_4.html
No, Protestantism didn't immediately squash the papacy but it had it's beginning there in the 1500's after a terrible reign of rulership for over a thousand years. That the papacy wasn't fully squash until 1798 it's downfall can be noted as beginning in the 1500's.
This fourth horse truly did bring with it the rider called Death and the Grave most certainly followed.
May the Lord bless and keep us as we continue our study, realizing how truly separate God's way is from man's. Jesus did not wield power and authority by any force whatsoever, in fact He acted the part of the Lamb being led to the slaughter only unlike our animal lambs, Jesus was fully aware of the death that awaited Him and He didn't offer any protest at all. He didn't cause an uprising of followers to wage war on the corruption around them, He encouraged love of enemies, doing good to those who misuse you- hate you- despise you and all His followers were to follow that example of His and where can you find that in any way with the things the papacy has done under the guise of being Christ's church? May we today recognize the truth of Jesus' love and call to us to follow Him and know that all else even with it's disguise of purity and goodness is filled with evil and there will be those who cry out to Jesus about knowing him but in truth He will call back He knew them not. May we not be among those, but be safely in the kingdom as true followers of Jesus' love, covered in His righteousness by His mercy, His grace towards us sinners who beg forgivness and repent of all that would keep us from His love, from His knowing us.
Amen.
9/9/10
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Have you ever had a lot to say to someone but you dreaded it because you know that someone isn't a very good listener? How many people are dull of hearing? There are books written on the subject of becoming a good listener. Just a quick check with google came up with these three titles-
Becoming a Good Listener
The Value of Being a Good Listener
About Being a Good Listener
If anything this tells us that people aren't good listeners and NEED to be taught to be good listeners. Shouldn't we be raised to be good listeners? Isn't this something we should teach our children? That old listen to your elders and so on? People have LOST the ability to be good listeners because our minds are just churning with thoughts and no sooner than we think them we believe those thoughts need to be voiced out loud because what we think is important, right? We want to be heard. We want to tell OUR side of the story, we want to get OUR point across. Our ideas are valuable aren't they? We are so darn busy being concerned about OUR selves that we don't listen, really listen. We might skim listen and we might skim listen a lot! What's skim listening? Just what it sounds like. We skim the talking of others by just listening to bits and pieces while we concentrate also on our replies to what they're saying EVEN if they're not finished speaking. We get the gist of what someone is saying and that's enough, right? We think on our feet, we're ten steps ahead of the next person, we're on the ball, we are multi-taskers and we're good at it, proud of it! We award people that can talk around others, that can get people to do what they want as they talk to them. Sales people, con artists, scammers all have this ability and we applaud them when they're legit sales people who break no laws when they're using their ability to persuade. We feel cheated when we are unlawfully conned. What people don't always realize is that a con artist and sales person while they talk a great game are also listening to us for various clues so they can use their scheming ways in a personal manner. They listen.
Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Hard to be uttered, why? Because you are dull of hearing.
Why speak if no one is going to listen? Why talk if you have no one to hear? It's like talking to no one if you talk and talk and no one listens, isn't it? Have you ever seen the glazed eyed look of others when you're going on and on as you talk? Or do you get that glazed look right when you start to speak, because people are instantly UNINTERESTED in anything you have to say. They assume before you even get going that you're not going to have anything to say that will interest them. They won't have to care about what you're saying, so why bother wasting time listening.
Hard to be uttered, because you are dull of hearing.
Do you ever get to the point where you don't want to bother speaking because you know others are DULL OF HEARING, that they don't want to listen to what you're saying, that they could careless about what you have to say- no matter how important?
Here we are being told that they want to talk of MANY things about our Savior. There are MANY THINGS to say but they don't want to say them because those they are wanting to speak to don't want to listen. How tragic, how very, very tragic to know that people don't want to hear many things about their Savior. Today we could go on the crowded street and try and take a poll asking people if they want to hear about Jesus their Savior and how many people would really want to stop and listen? We don't really know do we but we can imagine, can't we? Not many. Then or now, it's the same. We are DULL of hearing.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Babies are unlearned and can't eat solid food. Babies are unlearned and while babies have an excuse for their behavior, we don't. Adults who are still drinking formula and not solid food are oddities, it's unheard of (outside of illness and such). We are expected to drink our milk as babes and then as we grow start eating solid food. We are not expected to just keep on drinking milk and never transition to solid food. Spiritual milk is for babes, those new to the knowledge of the Lord and in need of much learning of the very basics of Salvation through our Lord and Savior. Spiritual meat is what comes next. We aren't expected to continue just drinking the spiritual milk endlessly, but we are expected to learn the deeper things. We are to live our entire LIVES devoted to our Savior and we have an amazing book of learning to guide us, a book that is miraculous that offers us milk to start with and meat as we continue on in our spiritual life. People like to ignore the meat and just keep taking in the milk, they don't want to have to chew, just be fed the easy liquid with no chewing involved, no energy expended, no more than what they believe is necessary to stay spiritually alive. We need strong spiritual meat to live spiritually if we are to grow spiritually at all and not remain babes, stunted in our spiritual growth.
Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age- even those who by reason of USE have their senses EXERCISED to discern both good and evil.
Yet…
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
You are old enough to teach others and yet you now need to be taught again. This isn't a good thing! We can't endlessly be taught and never learn enough to teach. All through our maturing years we are required to be learning in some sort of learning environment, school, homeschool, as we are growing up we are to be learning to become knowledgeable adults expected to LEARN things. When we encounter adults that don't have the knowledge they were supposed to have been taught when they were young we don't look upon them favorably do we? You should KNOW better by now. And maybe, just maybe there is an excuse for their not knowing, but what if there isn't one?
We must read this…
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
We don't want to be unskillful in the word of righteousness- that word is JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, OUR SAVIOR! Salvation is found in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of our Lord! If we are unskillful in the word of righteousness we know little of salvation. We need to exercise our senses, our spiritual senses need to be exercised - we need to constantly be learning and growing in knowledge of our LORD and we will be able to DISCERN good and evil. We NEED this ability to discern because there are way too many people who have lost the ability of discernment and they honestly believe that evil is good, and good is evil. It's an honest belief to them because they have NO ability to discern, they've not grown in the knowledge of our Lord's righteousness but they just keep drinking the milk of their spiritual youth, their growth stunted their spiritual life no longer truly living.
Please Lord, please help us to grow in Your word of righteousness! Help us Lord to eat the spiritual meat You offer to us. Help us to grow in knowledge of You. Help us LISTEN and not be dull of hearing.
By Your grace, Your mercy, Your Love!
Amen.
9/9/11
Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
The heavens
declare the glory of God.
When we read of
amazing celestial occurrences how can we NOT acknowledge the glory of God, the
Creator of all things?
Some scientists
and self-obsessed people who believe only in their own imaginings and supposed
superiority like to take these wonders and try to use them as proof God doesn't
exist, that God did not create all things. They whittle away at things, breaking
them down until they believe they can be creators themselves. They go to great
lengths to make advancements in science that give them the sense of being able
to create things, when in truth all the things they are manipulating- every
atom, every neutron, every particle they have anything to do with at all- are
all from God. They did not, they COULD NOT have come from nothing!
Everyone knows that NOTHING can only produce NOTHING. You can't take
absolutely nothing and have something, it's impossible.
People talk about big bangs, but don't stop to ask themselves where the
bangs came from, assuming they just exist without any question. Their belief in
things just scientifically occurring is ludicrous but they refuse to understand
that, they refuse to reduce everything to the NOTHING that would have to exist
and leave it at nothing. They introduce that first something and as soon as they
do that- as soon as they say something has come from nothing then they have to
explain where that something came from because it could not come from nothing.
No, they never take it back far enough, instead they just make it older and
older and older. Trillion, zillions of years old and such. Yet for something to
exist it had to be created by someone, by something.
God who is from everlasting to everlasting, God who always has been and
always will be, God the Creator of ALL things is the something that without
question exists first and it is GOD who has created every single thing in
existence. From all the things He
has provided for us we create things we love to declare we've created, when in
truth we only take the things God has provided and we manipulate them. Without
God providing those things we would have nothing to manipulate. I could make a
wonderful cake, but I couldn't do it without every single ingredient that goes
into creating that cake. Those ingredients taken back to their primary state of
existence were not created by man. The seed planted in the ground was NOT
created by man- even if it's been manipulated by man's tampering.
These are all
facts, irrefutable facts.
So yes, when I
read of an amazing celestial occurrence I can't help but acknowledge the glory
of God IN that occurrence. DNA
building blocks found in meteorites is all from God!
That news points me towards God, not away from Him. God is the Creator of
that meteorite, God is the Creator of that DNA.
Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psa 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night
unto night sheweth knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor language, where
their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the
earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle
for the sun,
Psa 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of
his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
Psa 19:6 His going forth is from the end of the
heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the
heat thereof.
PRAISE GOD OUR
WONDERFUL CREATOR!!! In Him is
all life, its beginning and its end!
All GLORY to our
God, our King, our Creator now and forever!
Amen.
9/9/11
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
(KJV)
Psa 119:18 Uncover mine eyes, and I behold wonders
out of Thy law. (YLT - Young's 1898 Literal Translation)
Psa 119:18 Open my mind and let me discover the
wonders of your Law. (CEV -
Contemporary English Version)
Psa 119:18 Open my eyes, so that I may behold
wonderful things out of Your Law.
(MKJV- Modern King James Version)
*******
Thy Law, Your
Law, God's Law.
Ask most people
to name one law and they won't hesitate to tell you one, why? Because most
people know what laws are and know at least one if not several. I'm not talking
about God's law, but laws we have in our society today.
Ask them to name a universal law - a law they believe to be one all
people everywhere should keep and do you think they'd have an answer? I do. And
I believe that most people would quickly respond that murder is universally
wrong and unacceptable for all people everywhere.
Let's look at the
United Nations for a moment-
"For
the United Nations, the rule of law refers to a principle of governance in
which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the
State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally
enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with
international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures
to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the
law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law,
separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty,
avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency."
(S/2004/616)
Report
of the Secretary-General on the
Rule
of Law and Transitional Justice in
Conflict
and Post-Conflict Societies
Pasted
from <http://www.un.org/en/ruleoflaw/index.shtml>
This organization
mentions 'the rule of law'.
Man has introduced laws in each of their societies and the United States
was formed on the principle of separating Church (God) and State (Man). One of man's laws was the freedom for
man to worship as they please.
However God's laws would NOT be a part of societies law because that
freedom to worship as you please opened the door wide to the freedom of
worshipping any god, in any manner.
This isn't to say that our puritanical society didn't frown on those who
they claimed were of the devil, however today people are allowed to worship the
devil all they want without any interference from society.
With God stripped from our laws our society quickly became one that
apostatized from God. So many love
to gloat that America was founded upon believing in God, in Christianity. They point to the U.S. Capital
buildings and how their design is largely filled with references towards
God. They do this as if that meant
they were God fearing men that founded our nation. In truth no truly God fearing
person would set up a society that took God out of the law. Seriously, it
doesn't work that way.
Look at Muslims
for an example their law is filled with their religious beliefs and they're very
proud of that fact. They've built a society on their beliefs. Is it any wonder
many find their faith enticing? Seriously, it offers something that all the
democracies in the world can't offer even though it's a false religion if you
truly believe in God and God's word as given to us in the Bible, His most Holy
Word.
I hear this a lot
-that we have to thank God we live in a place that allows religious freedom and
yet something doesn't set right. I need to thank God that I live in a society
that has taken Him out of their laws.
I probably sound ungrateful and I don't mean to be, I am grateful I am
free to worship as I choose but at the same time there is a great sadness inside
that I live in a society that shuns God in its government.
I long for the
day I live with God under His laws, a world ruled by Him and His love and out of
that love ruled by His laws. Truly
God's laws are wondrous more so than any law, any man may ever create.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
There are
WONDROUS things in the law of God! WONDROUS! Wonderful things, there are wonders
in the law of God! May our eye be
opened to these wondrous things.
Only when we can see the wonder of God's law will we truly have the
spiritual sight our Lord wants us to have. God did NOT create the laws to oppress
anything good in us, not one single thing. For those who find oppression under
the law of God as if it was created to prohibit us from living our lives to the
fullest, they do not know God at all!
Wondrous things
are found in God's law.
Let's read the
law--
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before
me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of
them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the
LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his
name in vain.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all
thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of
the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that
thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbour.
Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
*******
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou
me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into
life, keep the
commandments.
Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices
and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according
to the commandment.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin?
God forbid. Nay, I
had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the
law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Jas 2:10 For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of
all.
Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit
adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou
kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that
shall be judged by the law of liberty.
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law.
*******
Wonders in God's
law, wonderful things in God's law.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
I had not known
sin but by the law.
There is such
beauty in that statement. ONLY One
who loves us would give us laws. It's true. Can you even imagine being condemned
and not even knowing why? Sentenced to death but never ever told how you could
have prevented that death sentence.
Wouldn't you want to know why? Let's imagine a police officer yanks you
off the street and throws you into jail and the next thing you know without any
trial, without even being told what your offense is you are condemned to die.
You can't tell me you wouldn't be demanding to know what was going on right from
the start, from that first moment the police officer yanked you off the street.
You'd ask and if you didn't receive an answer you'd ask again, over and over and
at some point it's certain you'd start yelling, demanding to know why, demanding
to know what you did wrong. Can
you even imagine being told you have to be put to death and NEVER being told
why? Seriously, try to imagine it, put yourself in that position. You are being
strapped to the gurney, IV's are being put into your arms, poison is all set to
flow into your body to end your life and you lay there unable to do anything
about it and clueless as to the why of it all. There is NO love at all and truly
a dictatorial rule is in place under that sort of set up, yes?
God loves us. God
wants us to know HOW we sin. God
wants us to realize that we are in fact sinners, and yes, as sinners we deserve
death. We are DEPENDENT upon God
for life! We are DEPENDENT upon God for RIGHTEOUSNESS!
We are DEPENDENT upon God for salvation! We are shown the law, shown
God's love, God's perfection and we are told to keep the law- THEN and this is a
most important 'then'- THEN we are
shown a way to stay God's chosen people in the event we sin, in the event we
break that law. The way is through our Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The
only way we can keep the law is through our Savior, through His amazing LOVE.
The Creator of the law of love.
While the law is
truly wondrous revealing God's love for mankind, mankind has tried to turn it
into something to be abhorred, something to shun.
I truly do not
want to be a part of this world under Satan's rule. I want to be a part of God's
world under my Savior Jesus Christ. My Savior was not of this world ruled by
Satan, and neither am I. And while I must live in this world by the grace of
God I can be kept from the evil of this world.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law.
Please Lord open
my eyes wide so that I may see the wonders in Your law!
Help me to desire to keep Your law through You, by You, the whole law now
and forever.
By Your wondrous
LOVE!
Through Jesus
Christ my Lord and Savior forever and ever!
Amen.