Laziness and sabbatical

I have been suffering from my own laziness the past week. I have been neglecting my housework and the love tanks of my children to lay around on the couch. I have been listening to sermons by others in place of doing my own Bible studies. There are several excuses I could site for the reason for my laziness but I know that God could overcome them if I would just move my body and trust Him to supply the energy. I know He has many times in the past so there really is no excuse for it.

Anyway, I know I am in the middle of a study on the fruit of the spirit but I am going to have to put that on hold for a bit. Starting Sunday I am going on a 30 day sabbatical from the internet. I am going to allow myself to check my email and read the daily paper each morning but nothing beyond that. I will be keeping a paper journal during that time and may transfer it here after the 30 days is up if the Lord calls me to share it. My focus over the next 30days will be to meditate on the Psalms to improve my worship, to establish better prayer time, and to learn to give EVERTHING over to the Lord joyfully.

I’m going to fight tooth and nail against mediocrity. I see so many people with a fire for the Lord only to see it eventually fizzle out. I don’t believe this has to be the case. I think we just aren’t fighting hard enough to keep our faith ablaze.

“ Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.”

Problem with "Left Behind"?

I know this is off subject. I'm not quite done reading all my verse on joy. The family has been under the weather lately. I found these verses in 2 Thessalonians and felt they were important enough to share even if they are off topic.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Strong words and ones I have never looked closely at before. In the "Left Behind" series my favorite parts where when people came to Christ but these verses clearly state that those who heard the truth and denied it will have past their opportunity for grace. I always wondered, how on earth could people still not believe after the rapture happens just like we have been saying it would? Anyone who ever heard a Christian tell them about this upcoming rapture would have to be saved at this moment. You just couldn't deny it any longer. These verses clear that up. It is a sad fact, but those of you out there who are thinking, "Well if all the Christians disappear one day, then I'll believe." must realize you cannot count on this. The time of the rapture will be like death to some, no turning back.

"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;"(Matt 12:39) Seek Him before it is too late.

Memory verse for week 3 of March

Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

Fruit of the spirit part 3 (love part 2)

There is no better explanation that love is an action not a feeling, than when you study how we are to love God. First of all the entire first part on love must be included here. Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” After all, why are we here? If it were merely for our own salvation He would have taken us home the moment we asked for His grace. We are here to serve others, to be fishers of men, and in doing so we serve Him as well.
Joshua 22:5, “But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” To keep His commandments is to love Him. Jesus says this again in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” In my study on the shield of faith I discovered that Jesus’ commandments were the old commandments and more because true brotherly love goes far beyond the 10 original commandments.
Matthew 10:37-39, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” No, our God is not a selfish God who cares only for His worship and not for our loved ones salvation. He is not willing that any should parish. I think this verse is here because sometimes we get the idea in our heads that we are trying to save someone in particular so much that we abandon Gods way and revert to our own. The problem with that is WE don’t save anybody. God says love Him first. In loving Him first and doing what He asks of us we will have a greater chance of reaching our loved ones for Christ. His way may seem harsh and unloving at times but we are to trust Him. “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” What would be involved in carrying a cross? Pain, ridicule, abandonment, humiliation, and exhaustion are just a few that come to mind. Whoever decided that if you have trouble in your life you aren’t walking with the Lord right, could not have been reading the same Bible as I do. Job was described as perfect and upright. Paul was stoned almost to death and thrown in prison more than once. That cross is heavy indeed but it is lighter than satans (Mat 11:30) and when it is for the Lord our God we can rejoice in it (Matt 5:11-12). Who else is able to rejoice through difficult times but the children of the one and only God? No one, what a privilege! “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Losing our life is what we struggle against when we are called to give our all to Christ. What we need to realize is that what we are holding so tightly to isn’t our life at all. Our true life is waiting to be given to us by our Saviour.
This brings me to the benefits of making this effort to love. Love brings; faith (Gal 5:6), grace (Eph 6:24), His mercy (Ex 20:6), His love (Prov 8:17), crowns (James 1:12, 2 Tim 4:6), a kingdom (Matt 25:34), “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. There are probably many, many more I could find but I should say these are good enough for me.

Fruit of the spirit part 2 (love)

Mark 12:30-31, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” I am going to start with the second commandment, brotherly love.
Romans 12:9-21, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
I found a long list of the qualities of love. There are probably many more but these are the ones I have been able to come up with so far. Love is not jealous, prideful or selfish (1 Cor 13). Love is work (1 Thess 1:3), patient, kind, slow to anger (1 Cor 13), better than wealth (Prov 15:17), forgiving (Col 3:13), and sincere (1 John 3:18, Rom 12:9). Love does not gossip (Prov 17:9), rejoice in iniquity, behave unseemingly, think evil, or fail (1 Cor 13). Love does hold accountable (Heb 12:11), meet needs (1 John 3:17), sacrifice liberty (Gal 5:13), rejoice in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things (1 Cor 13)
So who are we directed to love? Luke 6:31-35, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”
Doesn’t that seem almost impossible at times? I have found four things to remember that will help me to accomplish this sometimes difficult task. The first one is pretty self-explanatory Leviticus 19:18, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” Luke 6:31, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” The second is to put yourself in their shoes. Deuteronomy 10:19, “Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Thirdly, submit it to the Lord. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Since bitterness is my struggle I have had to put 2 Corinthians 10:5 to good use in my life, “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” If I am to truly love even those who seek to destroy me, I must first rid my thoughts of anger and replace them with forgiveness.
The last tool for brotherly love is to think eternal. Matthew 25:34-40, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Look forward to this day with Christ when your efforts will be rewarded by being put with the sheep.
This last scripture reference brings us right to love part 2. Brotherly love is an important aspect of loving God.

Fruit of the spirit (part 1)

Galatians 5:22-23’ “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Since an important part of examining our faith (2 Cor 3:5) is knowing our fruit (Mat 7:20) I decided my next study should be about these fruits.
First of all, in order to bear fruit you must first be born again. John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” As I have posted already in the second part of the shield of faith study, when we are born again we are given the free gift of imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness which is the ability to walk in the spirit rather than the flesh (Rom 8:4), to put on a new man (Eph 4:24) I found a few more verses in Philippians where it is revealed that these fruits are defiantly part of this imparted righteousness “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:11) “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” I think this verse is saying that the fruit we bear is for the salvation of others. As we have read before in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” seeing the difference God has made in our lives is how we testify to others of the truth of Christ. I believe this fruit is what makes us a peculiar people.
The first fruit listed is love. I have been studying love from the Bible for a few days now and still am not ready to write about it and move on to joy. It might have to be in two parts like faith was. I should have at least one part done in the next few days.

Memory verse for week 2 of March

This new memory verse comes from a new habit I m forming for my children. From now on when I tuck them into bed and say prayers I am tacking on this verse.

Numbers 6:24-26, "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

Spring is here!!!

Probably not to stay but I'll take what I can get. I haven't written much because the Lord has blessed me with a few days break from the whipping winds of Minnesota winter and I have been out side enjoying it with the chilens.

Speaking of Chilens, I'm reading a great book right now I would love to recommend. The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman.

My next study is going to be on the fruit of the spirit but it will probably be a few days before I get a paper written.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!

Armor of God part 7 (sword of the spirit)

Ephesians 6:13-17, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

So, I made it finally to the last piece of armor mentioned in these verses, the sword of the spirit/Word of God. I figured our best example of how to use this sword would have to be the temptation of Jesus in Matthew chapter four. I have made several observations about the three temptations satan put before Christ and how Christ handled them. How did satan tempt Jesus? The first was with pride. In verses 3 and 6 he asks Him to prove who he is. The second thing he tries to use is the physical needs of the body and chooses the thing Jesus appears to weakest to at the moment, food. Third, in verse 6 he tries to use Gods own Word to make Jesus stumble. The fourth and last attempt toward tempting Christ is his use of greed. If I look at my life and the people around me I can see that satan still uses these four basic tactics in his temptations of us today.
Next I looked at how Jesus responded. First of all, what he didn’t do was defend Himself. This sticks out to me most because I have always felt this need to defend myself and it is something I have been trying to learn to let go of. Exodus 14:14 tells me that I need to let God be my defender. The second thing I noticed is that Jesus spoke the Word with authority. “It is written” and basically since it is written that is that and the end of the discussion of the matter, the final authority is the Word. Luke 4:36, “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.” Thirdly, He uses scripture that fits the situation. If we are to do this scripture memorization is important. I have started to write down scripture as I come across it. I have a couple of notebooks that I keep nearby when I do my Bible studies and I write down the verses that speak to me or that I think might help someone else. The fourth observation I made about how Jesus handled satans temptations is that He repeatedly rebuked satan, He waited until the last temptation to command satan to leave Him. I think He waited in order to allow satan to reveal to us his mode of attack.
There is one more thing I wondered about when reading about Jesus using the sword of the spirit against satan. Was he quoting scripture to satan or to Himself? In verse 7 He seems to be speaking to satan, “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” But the scripture He quotes in the verses before and after seem to me to be speaking to His flesh not satan. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Mat 4:4) “for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Mat 4:10)
I think this is the explanation of what twoedged means in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Not only can the Word of God cut away the attacks of satan but it can also show us the intents of our hearts and cut away the parts of our flesh that are in conflict with our spirit.
So that concludes my study on the armor of God. You may notice that our backside would remain uncovered. This is addressed in Isaiah 58:8, “thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward (rearguard).”

Armor of God part 6 (helmet of salvation)

Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation,”

This is going to be a more in depth analysis of what I touched on briefly in update, which is the imputed righteousness of God, the free gift of saving grace, the only means of salvation. It is impossible to put any one piece of the armor of God to use if you do not first belong to God. This armor is just not available to you until you have been born again.
The first step to receiving salvation is recognition of your sin. Matthew 19:16-17, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 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.” He didn’t say just wait a little while and I’ll die for you then you believe in me and you will be saved. What Jesus did was point the man to the Ten Commandments that he had not kept. In doing this he was basically trying to get this man to recognize his sin. He said no one is good but the God. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
What are the Ten Commandments? Exodus 20:3-17, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 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: 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; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 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. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 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.”
We may say, “Well I could have taken the Lords name in vain a few times but I have certainly never murdered someone.” It doesn’t matter. If you break on commandment, you break them all. James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
We may say, “I am basically good, I don’t deserve hell.” How could we possibly know that for sure? Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” I often wonder about when I was living according to the flesh how many times I deceived myself into thinking I was doing something good when in fact it was evil. How many times did something happen that seemed bad but in the end turned out to be for the better. The point is, only God is good. If any good is done through us it is just that, through us by God. It is not of our own volition.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Second to knowing you are a sinner in need of grace is believing in Jesus Christ as your one and only savior. Knowing that Jesus Christ is who he said he is. He is not just a prophet from history but the true son of the most holy God. That he was sent here as a perfect sacrifice for our sins and that in his death and resurrection he gave us the ability to die to our flesh and be born again into the spirit. You must be willing to present yourself a living sacrifice, knowing that only by Gods grace and guidance can his perfect will for your life be realized. Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Once you know your desperate state away from the grace of God you need to openly and humbly admit this in prayer and ask for the grace of Jesus to cover your sins. Invite the Holy Spirit to reside in your heart as a guide to keep you in the will of God. I’m not going to give you some word for word prayer to recite. Ask God what he wants you to say and he will write it on you heart.
Once you have done this, go to work putting on the full armor of God for the battle that lies ahead.

Armor of God part 5 (shield of faith part 2)

This is an examination of the examination in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
Why is it important to examine ourselves? Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” I for one want to make absolutely sure that I am not one of the many who think they are in the book of life and tragically find out in the end they are not. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Knowing you are approved unto God does not come by a feeling, it comes by knowing what the Word of God says. He has given us this perfect instruction manual and if we come to the end of our mortal life and find ourselves built upon sand when the instructions called for rock we will have only ourselves to blame.
So how does the Bible say we are to know we are truly a child of God? You know because you are a new man. Romans 6:1-6, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Is this to say we will never sin? No, 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” There is a difference in committing a sin and living in or being a servant to your sin. Romans 6:12-13, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Jesus came and died for us, not because the laws of God were bad and needed to be abolished, but because in our present state of slavery to our flesh it was impossible to follow Gods law. When Jesus died and rose from the dead he gave us the free gift of the imputed righteousness of God. That is the covering of our sins by Gods grace and mercy. But when we sincerely repent of our sins and ask for the Holy Spirit to enter our lives we are not only given the imputed righteousness of God that saves our souls but we are also given the imparted righteousness of God to continually perfect us to his will. Recognizing this imparted righteousness is how we know we have been given the imputed. Romans 2:14, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:” Romans 7:6, “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:23-25, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 8:1-5, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
So how then do you know you are walking in the spirit and not in the flesh? This brings me first of all the the verses in 1 John that I had trouble with 1 John 2:7-8, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” I found in Romans 13:9-10, “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” The new commandment of love is the same as the old. It’s like the old hymn we used to sing “They shall know we are Christians by our love.” Even so WE shall know we are Christians by our love and we already established in the first part of neo-evangelicalism that love is not the same as flattering.
There is another way to know we are truly saved and that is by our fruit. Romans 6:21-23, “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Examine your fruit, do you bare the fruit of the flesh, Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Or the fruit of the spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
In, closing a reminder, do not seek your salvation by these things but only seek to RECOGNIZE your salvation by these things. Romans 9:31-32, “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;” Only by putting you faith in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can you walk by the spirit and leave your slavery to flesh behind you.

Memory verse for week 1 of March

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139: 23-24


Rejoice and be glad, for this is the day that the Lord has made.

Update

I don't even know if anyone is following along with me on this study of the armor of God. I haven't gotten any comments so I think probably not but I am going to give an update just in case.

The subject of faith is just so big and this examination takes some time and patience to understand fully. It is important and I don't want to be to quick to post something for fear it may be wrong or not the whole story. I do know some definite points that I think we all know. I have started with 1 John and have read it a few times doing my best to clearly understand every word. Some things are clear and there is no dispute. First is a recognition of our sin (1 John 1:8-10) second is a belief in Christ and His blood being shed for our salvation (1 John 4:15)
You may say that I have gotten that backwards and that first should be Christ but what brings us to Christ but the knowledge of our filthiness. When someone asked Jesus in Matthew 19:16-17 what good thing he must do to have eternal life Jesus didn't say believe in me, He said that no one but God is good and pointed him to the commandments he hadn't kept.

My trouble with 1 John as a complete guide to how we examine our faith is chapter 2 verse 7-8. I think the key to understanding the whole book lies in these verses. "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth." What does he mean when he says it is not new commandment and then in verse 8 says it is. When he says the beginning does he mean the beginning of the old testament or the new beginning with the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

He has impressed upon me to read James and Romans so that is were I am going now.

Feeling, Faith, and Fact

I got this in an email the other day and thought it was cute.

Three men were walking on a bridge, Feeling, Faith and Fact; when Feeling took and awful fall and Faith was taken back. So close was Faith to Feeling that he stumbled and fell too, but Fact remained and pulled Faith back and Faith brought Feeling too.

Still working on the second part of my study on faith. This one is taking a little longer because I needed an extra day of rest this week.

Armor of God part 4 (shield of faith part1)

Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Faith is more than just belief alone. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” James 2:19. One man put it this way, “Faith involves trust and reliance. I may "believe" that a stool can hold me. I exercise my faith in the stool when I rely on it by sitting on it!”
Matthew 6:30-31,33, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? ………But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The greatest chapter I have found so far on the subject of faith is Hebrews 11. It starts out in chapter one telling you just what the definition of faith is. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Then there are several examples of great faith. Abraham; Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Moses; Hebrews 11:25-26, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
One of the most interesting examples is Jericho; Hebrews 11:30, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.” This to me is one of the greatest examples to us that we are to trust Gods way to accomplish a task, even if it seems ridiculous.
All through the Bible we see that faith is not just a belief but an exercise of trust. Not just lip speech that God can do anything but living as if He can.
It is a matter of looking to the eternal not the temporal. That is what our sermon was this last Sunday. Our pastor held up two bills. One was a “$1,000 bill” and one was a “$10,000,000 bill” he said, “If I were tell you that you can either have this $1,000 bill now or this $10,000,000 bill in a year with another $10,000,000 every year after that, what would you take? “ He continued to explain that we would all wait a year and although we had nothing that whole year, what would our attitude be? We would be joyous!!!
The shields of the Roman soldiers were often damaged. They were always doing repair work on them before battle. In the same way we are not to ignore the health of our faith.
We are to pray, and thank God for what he has done for us. In doing so we remind ourselves of the power he has had in our lives in the past and keeps us from forgetting to trust Him for the future. Col 2:7, “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Philemon 1:6, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” 1Tim, 4:6, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”
That last verse adds another tool for repair to our shields, the Word of God. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Another important way of keeping our faith strong is by not only our membership in a local church but our involvement as well. The roman shields had on the side of them hooks. They used these hooks by huddling close together and hooking their shields together to form a sort of impenetrable tank. We accomplish this in our churches by sharing our gifts (Rom 12), praying for each other (1 Thess 3:10), and comforting each other Romans 1:12, “That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”
Another way our faith is strengthened is by the testing of God. We all know the story of Job but there are many more examples of this. One of them is the first chapter of James. James 1:3, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
Lastly we are called to test ourselves to see if we are even in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” If we are not in the faith to begin with there is no way of accomplishing any of the above mentioned areas of growth. I’m sorry if I have to leave you hanging there. I have some idea of how we test ourselves but I haven’t done a sit down and dig for the answer study on what the Bible says about the matter. Actually, I came across a few aspects of faith that need a further study so this may have to be a 2 parter.