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Archive for January, 2012

By Him All Things Were Created

17 Jan

Yesterday we talked about the image of the invisible God.  That’s part of who Jesus is.  In verse 16 of Colossians 1 we read.

Colossians 1:16 – 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

In the next verses we see that Jesus is the Word and the Light which we spoke about yesterday.

John 1:1-5 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

In Genesis 1:26 God was getting ready to create man and what did He say?

Genesis 1:26 –  26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

No God does not have a mouse in His pocket.  Jesus helped Him make the creation along with Him.

Jesus is the Word, Jesus is the Light, and Jesus is the Son who is God in the Flesh.

I believe many people struggle because they don’t know is Jesus is.

 

The Image Of The Invisible God

16 Jan

Colossians 1:15 – 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

That He is.  You want a picture of God, then visualize Jesus.

John 14:7-11 –7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

Jesus is God in the flesh, part of the Trinity.

This takes us to the second portion of our scripture, the Firstborn over all creation.

Genesis 1:1-3 – 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

What is the light the sun?  No that doesn’t work because the light above was created on the first day. We read this just a little further down the chapter.

Genesis 1:14-19 – 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

So what is the light?  Or should we say who is the Light?

John 8:12- 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

To be able to see Someone that is big enough to create the universe would be hard to do.  However, God gave us His Son, which is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and God in the flesh.

Tomorrow we will add Colossians 1:16 into the mix.

 

Quick Thought Paraphrase Of The End Times

12 Jan

Of course there is a lot to the End Times, but if people just understood some of the basics they would see what’s coming on.

The devil wants to be like the Most High. Christ is coming back to rule and reign with His Kingdom on this earth for 1,000 years.

Since the devil wants to be like the Most High, he wants to rule on his own throne on this earth.

That’s where we’re heading. The world is coming together paving the way for a one world ruler. He will control commerce, communication and will want to be worshipped or you’ll die. The devil wants it to happen and God is going to allow it to happen.

Since people have been rejecting God from the beginning for so long, He takes His own out and lets the others finally have their wish.

They are going to find out that the devil doesn’t make the kind of fair ruler they envisioned while at the same time the world gets the wrath of God and from the Lamb. Those who continue not to repent to God and accept the Mark and their allegiance to the devil will have proven just how against God they really are.

Then Jesus comes back cleans house and begins His rule on this earth.

There is thousand times more besides that, but not a bad short paraphrase of the near future.

 

Whoops this was for tomorrow and I hit the post instead of save.  Well since there were two today this one is for tomorrow.  God Bless.

 

 

Who Says You Can’t Legislate Morality?

12 Jan

Every law in the books is someone’s idea of a rule that was voted on or enacted and is being pushed on the public.

Who says you can’t legislate morality.  You can’t kill someone, it’s against the law.  That’s legislating moral law.  You can’t drive 100 MPH because you can kill someone or injure them.  That’s legislating morality.

So why do we hear you can’t legislate morality so often?

The truth is as Christians, Non-Christians, or even Christians that don’t like rules don’t what morality pushed on them.  They don’t want Christian or Bible principals to legislate them the truth be known.

No drugs.  That’s moral issue.  Don’t steal from people.  That’s moral issue.  Don’t sexually abuse others.  That’s a moral issue.

There are laws in the books to protect others out there in the name of morality and moral living.

I go nuts anymore when I hear someone say it.  It’s just not true.

You can legislate immorality also.  We are seeing more and more of that every day in the courts.

Every law in the books is someone’s idea of how life should be lived.  God wants order and laws.  Likes them so much He created one Himself.  Just because Jesus fulfilled the law doesn’t mean the commandments don’t have the same meaning.  God hasn’t changed His mind on how man should live.  He still wants us to obey.

Numbers 23:19-19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

The minds of Americans have been attacked with sayings and words.  It has been a successful propaganda.  When they tell you, you can’t legislate morality, they mean they don’t want you to legislate morality.

 

No Temptation Beyond What You Can Bear

11 Jan

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 – 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

He never allows us to be tempted beyond what we can bear.

Our Lord gives us the power to say no to our sinful nature.  However, he still knows there are some areas that we would struggle if faced.

If your downfall is squandering money, I don’t believe the Lord is going to put a lot of it in your lap.  Now you might chase after it and bring it in yourself, but I believe we will be held accountable for what kind of stewards we are in all areas.  So would the Lord set you up for failure if He knew you couldn’t handle it and had to hold you accountable later?  I don’t think so.

I think He protects us from ourselves a lot in many different areas.  Yet many times we still frantically try to get ourselves out from under His umbrella in certain areas and then Bam!

Resisting temptation builds strength.  Hardships build strength and character in our lives and He knows which ones will and which ones would be too much for us.  He loves us.

There’s a way out and the first step is to quit making excuses.  Start realizing you have the power in God that you need and turn away.

The reason we are going to be rewarded and held accountable is because there is a right way.  It’s His way.  The only way to know His way is to know His Word.

 

What If I Were To Say I’m Coming Over?

10 Jan

Let’s say we’re supposedly good friends and I told you I’m coming over.

Then let’s say your response is, ”Oh, I hope you don’t right now.”

So I ask you why?

You tell me you’re too busy.  You have a lot of plans.

So I ask, “Well when should I come?”

You say, “How about when I’m on my deathbed. “

This happens every day with people who declare they are Christians and that Christ is the most
important person in their lives.

Yet Christ says I will return for my Church…. my love.

So is the correct answer from His love supposed to be , “Ah, I’m not ready for that?  Also things are going to well down here, can we put that off?”

The Lord is coming back and if someone doesn’t want Him to show up because they are too busy with their worldly life, I don’t think that’s going to be a good thing at all.  It’s totally the Lord’s call, but I know I can visualize that scenario and I don’t want to be in that camp.

This may have been referring to the Jewish people at the time, but how much worse for the Church who should now have learned from it.

Luke 14: 16-23- 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

There are so many constant warnings for us in the Word.  Study it regularly.

 

Meaningless

09 Jan

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 – 1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 “Meaningless!  Meaningless!” says the Teacher.  “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
3 What does man gain from all his labor 
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.

The bad thing about a bucket list is people live their life like there is nothing in the future to live for.  Is this what God is trying to portray?

No!  This is a lack of faith to not believe what God has promised for those who love Him.

Matthew 10:39 – 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

This world will pass away and so will the meaningless things we do in it that don’t pertain to God.  Heaven isn’t eternity of sitting around in a retirement home bragging about how great you scored in your earthly life.  It’s a chance to show the Lord you love Him and you can be faithful in your eternal relationship with Him.

 

Proverbs 8:17

06 Jan

Proverbs 8:17 –  17 I love those who love me,
   and those who seek me find me.

It speaks alot.

I don’t know about you, but everday I see less and less people seeking the Lord.

Seek the Lord and you will find Him.  With that comes wisdom of life, because the Lord is Wisdom.

 

Reality

05 Jan

Romans 11:33-36 – 33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!  34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?”  35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Man is pretty arrogant in our fallen state.  The God that can number the hairs of 7 Billion people in the world right now is a little bigger than we are.  He’s a lot more important than we are.  So how come people get selfish and only care about themselves?  Part of the fall.

How great that such a magnificent God would not only love us, but love us enough to die for us even when were rebellious.

He’s Big, were little.  He’s Good, we’re not without Him.

As humans we need to know our place.  He’s God, were not.  Sorry New Agers or Hindus.  If you’re seeking yourself, your missing the God who made it all.

 

Who or What Are You A Slave Too?

04 Jan

Romans 6:16 – 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

You’re a slave to someone or something.

People who are unsaved are slaves to sin.  There are a lot of people who seek God that are still choosing to be a slave to sin.  We choose.  It can be very hard to the point of addiction, but we still choose.  The reason we choose is because Christ has given us victory so we can say no.

Romans 6:17 – 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.  

A slave of righteousness!  Now that’s a good title.  We need to work as hard as we can for our Lord and righteousness.  Taking a stand against what we know is wrong, because we love our Lord.