Gal 4:23-29 KJV 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
There are two seeds, 1st born Ishmael and 2nd born Isaac. One was created in bondage, under the old man Abram, the other created in freedom (promise), under the new man Abraham. All in the 1st born Adam nature will die, all in the 2nd born Christ nature will live. Two seeds throughout the whole bible, one must die so the other can live. This is the gospel, lived by Christ and preached by the Apostles; death, burial and resurrection. Act 2:38-39 KJV Then Peter said unto them, Repent (death), and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (burial), and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (resurrection). For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Jhn 3:3-8 KJV 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Have you been born again?
Submitted by: Tina Marie
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Diary of A Mad Scientist
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an
offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those
that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever
will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake
shall find it. - Matthew 16:23-25
Our church has begun its own "Biggest Loser" program and well the second weigh in has come and gone. The scales were pressured and the numbers were tallied. Some of the losers left excited and some left discouraged. I have to say, as an outsider, its been a pretty interesting week of watching 'the game'. I have had opportunity to hear what people say and how they were approaching the contest. To me, I found many to like mad scientist as they work hard to create a 'diet' plan or an approach to losing weight. Many remind me of the old Frankenstein movies where the crazy scientist runs around in the laboratory like a crazed mad man as he works to create his masterpiece. To hear the words of people as they craft a plan has been interesting, because most plans, though not all, seem to work specifically with this principle in mind..."What can I do to lose the most amount of weight with the least amount of effort!" Like mad scientists, they roam throughout the lab, looking for ways to procure their delusion of winning $500 by doing as little work as possible. In their crazed glassy eyed dash, the first big avoidance in the creation of their 'diet' plan is to avoid exercise at all costs! Exercise to most people these days is death knell of a happy life. To exercise would be tantamount to the torturing of a POW! The vision of not only making the time for exercise but putting one's body through such a rigorous course is too painful to even contemplate. It is far easier to take the path of least resistance to the platform of victory. I will spend a hundred dollars on the no workout magic pill diet plan before I spend one drop of sweat from my brow!
Yes, my friends, this is the cry I have witnessed with my own ears and have seen with my own eyes. As it is in the natural so it is with the spiritual! Most of the losers want to keep as much of their old lifestyle and believe they will lose the necessary weight to win the prize. Is this not the same game the serpent plays with people in church? We work hard at learning what is the minimal God wants us to offer and then, within this context, try to stay within the category of 'saved'. Like mad scientist we hear the expectation of the Word and then craftily begin to create our own spiritual diet to salvation. Its the same old story, rather than our lifestyle being adjusted to fit God's salvation plan, we work diligently to fit God's salvation plan to our lifestyle. Is this not the nature of the flesh? To find out what the minimum requirements are and then straddle that fence like a high wire dare devil! We do this naturally and we do this spiritually! Its the way and approach of the flesh. We work hard at putting our faith in man made idols and habits that have done us no good throughout the years. We just believe somewhere, someday down the road it will pay off. Like the cancer industry taunts us with the idea a cure is just around the corner and we continue to give more and more money to a lost cause, we wade out deeper and into the depths of despair truly believing our ship will come one day! Call it pride or stupidity or both, the serpent has us believing, in the end, our way will pay off!
Yesterday, there were some that received the immediate effects of serpent's laziness, because that's what it all really boils down to...just plain laziness. Some weighed in and had gained weight, which in the long run is good. Why? Well, there's no fooling them. The gig is up! Its very clear they must change or nothing good will happen. But for those who lost weight, doing as they have said, 'absolutely nothing', the deception can be devastating in the long run. The serpent has beguiled them into believing they can remained doing things the same way and still lose weight. Is this not the definition of insanity? Doing the same behavior over and over and expecting different results! In the long run...or should I say, at least over the next eighteen weeks...the truth about no behavior change will become more and more evident as the days pass by. If you truly want to 'win' the contest, it will come at a cost. There will be a cross carried and price will be paid!
Submitted by: Elder David Green
Our church has begun its own "Biggest Loser" program and well the second weigh in has come and gone. The scales were pressured and the numbers were tallied. Some of the losers left excited and some left discouraged. I have to say, as an outsider, its been a pretty interesting week of watching 'the game'. I have had opportunity to hear what people say and how they were approaching the contest. To me, I found many to like mad scientist as they work hard to create a 'diet' plan or an approach to losing weight. Many remind me of the old Frankenstein movies where the crazy scientist runs around in the laboratory like a crazed mad man as he works to create his masterpiece. To hear the words of people as they craft a plan has been interesting, because most plans, though not all, seem to work specifically with this principle in mind..."What can I do to lose the most amount of weight with the least amount of effort!" Like mad scientists, they roam throughout the lab, looking for ways to procure their delusion of winning $500 by doing as little work as possible. In their crazed glassy eyed dash, the first big avoidance in the creation of their 'diet' plan is to avoid exercise at all costs! Exercise to most people these days is death knell of a happy life. To exercise would be tantamount to the torturing of a POW! The vision of not only making the time for exercise but putting one's body through such a rigorous course is too painful to even contemplate. It is far easier to take the path of least resistance to the platform of victory. I will spend a hundred dollars on the no workout magic pill diet plan before I spend one drop of sweat from my brow!
Yes, my friends, this is the cry I have witnessed with my own ears and have seen with my own eyes. As it is in the natural so it is with the spiritual! Most of the losers want to keep as much of their old lifestyle and believe they will lose the necessary weight to win the prize. Is this not the same game the serpent plays with people in church? We work hard at learning what is the minimal God wants us to offer and then, within this context, try to stay within the category of 'saved'. Like mad scientist we hear the expectation of the Word and then craftily begin to create our own spiritual diet to salvation. Its the same old story, rather than our lifestyle being adjusted to fit God's salvation plan, we work diligently to fit God's salvation plan to our lifestyle. Is this not the nature of the flesh? To find out what the minimum requirements are and then straddle that fence like a high wire dare devil! We do this naturally and we do this spiritually! Its the way and approach of the flesh. We work hard at putting our faith in man made idols and habits that have done us no good throughout the years. We just believe somewhere, someday down the road it will pay off. Like the cancer industry taunts us with the idea a cure is just around the corner and we continue to give more and more money to a lost cause, we wade out deeper and into the depths of despair truly believing our ship will come one day! Call it pride or stupidity or both, the serpent has us believing, in the end, our way will pay off!
Yesterday, there were some that received the immediate effects of serpent's laziness, because that's what it all really boils down to...just plain laziness. Some weighed in and had gained weight, which in the long run is good. Why? Well, there's no fooling them. The gig is up! Its very clear they must change or nothing good will happen. But for those who lost weight, doing as they have said, 'absolutely nothing', the deception can be devastating in the long run. The serpent has beguiled them into believing they can remained doing things the same way and still lose weight. Is this not the definition of insanity? Doing the same behavior over and over and expecting different results! In the long run...or should I say, at least over the next eighteen weeks...the truth about no behavior change will become more and more evident as the days pass by. If you truly want to 'win' the contest, it will come at a cost. There will be a cross carried and price will be paid!
Submitted by: Elder David Green
Sunday, July 13, 2014
To whom then will ye liken God
[Isa 40:10-18 KJV] Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
To whom then will ye liken God?
Today we have so much imagination filling our minds that this picture of God is fuzzy. Imagination, yes, from Hollywood, to books, news papers, to traditions and even academics in schools across the world. When was the last time you sought out why you do something? Each person creates who they are based on what they believe, either by experience (which is the strongest teacher) or by being taught it. If you live in an area that winter comes along, you'll see, if not be one of those that do it. Before you leave to go anywhere you warm up your vehicle. Some will do it because they want a warm car to get into, some will do it because they understand that the oil lubricates the engine when its warm preventing damage and others just don't warm up their car because of the time or effort to do it, perhaps there are many reasons to do so or not it. The person making the choice is basing it on what they have been told, learned or didn't learn (ignorant) and believed it.
My question now comes to you directly. What have you learned about God? And who taught you it?
Are you looking at your parents, teachers, friends or maybe some reading you did?
Most of the trails the Israelites ended up in was because they forgot who God was. They looked at what other nations were doing. They took their own counsel and the hand me down traditions from their fathers.
Time and time again God sent them a Prophet to show them the error in their ways. That error was easily found in their scriptures. But they went about doing what everyone else did, live without examining the why behind it. The very God who called them out to be His people, they forgot Who He was. They likened Him unto the gods of the nations.
God spoke very plainly to Job and see how He questioned him..
[Job 38:1-4 KJV] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Who darken your mind or in our modern language, who lied to you? Its time you put aside the imaginations of this world and seek Me out in truth of Who I am. God continues in Job and Job repents.
Jesus came down here and died on a cross to have a relationship with His creation. Now is the time to seek Him out in truth. If you can compare Him to the other gods of this world, keep looking because you will not be able to compare the true Jesus to any other god of this world.
Submitted by: Tina Marie
To whom then will ye liken God?
Today we have so much imagination filling our minds that this picture of God is fuzzy. Imagination, yes, from Hollywood, to books, news papers, to traditions and even academics in schools across the world. When was the last time you sought out why you do something? Each person creates who they are based on what they believe, either by experience (which is the strongest teacher) or by being taught it. If you live in an area that winter comes along, you'll see, if not be one of those that do it. Before you leave to go anywhere you warm up your vehicle. Some will do it because they want a warm car to get into, some will do it because they understand that the oil lubricates the engine when its warm preventing damage and others just don't warm up their car because of the time or effort to do it, perhaps there are many reasons to do so or not it. The person making the choice is basing it on what they have been told, learned or didn't learn (ignorant) and believed it.
My question now comes to you directly. What have you learned about God? And who taught you it?
Are you looking at your parents, teachers, friends or maybe some reading you did?
Most of the trails the Israelites ended up in was because they forgot who God was. They looked at what other nations were doing. They took their own counsel and the hand me down traditions from their fathers.
Time and time again God sent them a Prophet to show them the error in their ways. That error was easily found in their scriptures. But they went about doing what everyone else did, live without examining the why behind it. The very God who called them out to be His people, they forgot Who He was. They likened Him unto the gods of the nations.
God spoke very plainly to Job and see how He questioned him..
[Job 38:1-4 KJV] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Who darken your mind or in our modern language, who lied to you? Its time you put aside the imaginations of this world and seek Me out in truth of Who I am. God continues in Job and Job repents.
Jesus came down here and died on a cross to have a relationship with His creation. Now is the time to seek Him out in truth. If you can compare Him to the other gods of this world, keep looking because you will not be able to compare the true Jesus to any other god of this world.
Submitted by: Tina Marie
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Sennacherib whose crying now
How many times do situations around you demand your attention, give you promises of either demise or grandeur and takes your attention away from trusting in God.
[Isa 36:4-7 KJV] And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? I say, sayest thou, but they are but vain words I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
Thinking of how this army came in and spoke out very loudly against the truth. The city was besieged by an army in whose chief speaker spoke with confidence and power. They shouted out against what the people believe in, which was that God was on their side. As a child of God trying to wade through the pressures of life and the tug of war to look at the situation verse at the promises God gave you, Sennacherib speaks loudly. Looking at Isaiah 36 and 37, we read this story and forget it's there for us today. The king of Assyria sent in an army to convince king Hezekiah to give in and serve him. Think of the king of Assyria as anything from drinking, drugs, to loss of job, death in the family, your health, wanting friends or marriage and on and on. The things in your life that cry out, don't trust in God, come follow me instead.
Take the example that Hezekiah did and write a letter to the Lord with what the enemies are telling you and take it to prayer.
[Isa 37:14 KJV] 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
Its time to understand that if you are Holy Ghost filled, baptized in Jesus name and following after the one true living God, Jesus Christ; then you are His and He takes these attacks personally.
[Isa 37:6 KJV] 6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
Then hold fast to the promises of God, for in one night all your enimies can be destroyed.
[Isa 37:36 KJV] Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses.
If Sennacherib is screaming lies in your life and the symptoms are crying out, stop and tell that situation that you are a child of God and these things are coming against God....Stand in faith knowing that Sennacherib is going down...the sword is swinging in Jesus name!!!
Submitted by: Tina Marie
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Fearfully Made
Psa 139:14 KJV 14 I will praise
thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and
that my soul knoweth right well.
We are fearfully and wonderfully
made. The God of all heaven and earth, out of His own spoken creation; the
earth, He created us with His hands. He reached down into the lowest point,
dust, and formed man. He then breathe life into him and called him a son. He
gave him the ability to be in His image and likeness. To create his own world
and judge. But with this also came consequences to those things. This is Gods
world, His creation and we are borrowing everything during our lifetime here.
He established laws and righteousness. He gave this knowledge to Adam. He
taught him the way things work, the nature of beasts, and His own personal
character. How do I know this, Adam named the animals according to their
character. Adam knew how the earth worked, from seasons to planting, the circle
of life. Adam also knew to obey God was pleasing to Him. Adam had a
relationship with God and walked with Him daily. God hearing Adam's longing for
companionship as God Himself also desiring this, created a woman for him. Taking
her from his very side so that Adam would understand the connection between
them. Its a love story like no other.
Isa 44:24 KJV 24 Thus saith the
LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that
maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth
abroad the earth by myself;
Genesis is the very story of what
Jesus came here to do. God came down in a body to restore relationship with His
bride, the church. As He took Eve out of the side of Adam, Jesus took the
spiritual Eve, His bride, out of His side through the blood and water that
flowed from it.
Jhn 19:34 KJV 34 But one of the
soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and
water.
Jesus told Nicodemus how to get into
the church (bride of Christ).
Jhn 3:5 KJV 5 Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
A natural birth has both water and
blood. So does the spiritual birth. The church is the greatest womb on the
earth with (water) baptism in Jesus name and in filling of the Holy Ghost
(blood).
Fearfully made. Many today teach
that God loves you and accepts you just the way you are. No need to change, you
are saved by grace alone. Done deal and heaven bound as long as you have
accepted that Jesus died on the cross for you.
Lets look at this for moment. Do you
realize that you, yourself don't live by that standard? If you had a friend
that you always caught lying about you or things, you simply don't trust them.
After continued practice and even warning them that if they don't stop, your
friendship would be over, it comes to an end.Yes you accepted their friendship
in the beginning, but since they never changed, your relationship comes to an
end.
Gen 6:3 KJV 3 And the LORD said, My
spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his
days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
1Co 9:27 KJV But I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Paul a great preacher, apostle and
writer of the new testament could become a castaway?? Yes.
Next thing to think about, where is the water and blood birth in that teaching?
Now God does allow us to come to Him
the way we are, but He doesn't want you to leave Him the same way and you
wouldn't if He was able to "get His hands on you".
Gen 2:7 KJV And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul.
Remember God wants to form you into
His image.
Do you realize that the church is
the womb today. The preaching is His hands stretched out to touch you and make
you in His image? Do you understand that this is His world and His ways are
right? He doesn't have to accept you? That He can put your soul in hell and He
would be justified by doing so?
Job 28:28 KJV And unto man he
said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is
understanding.
Psa 19:9 KJV The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 111:10 KJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Pro 1:7 KJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Psa 19:9 KJV The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 111:10 KJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Pro 1:7 KJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Mat 10:28 KJV And fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him
which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The fear that is written here is
about understanding who God is and what He is able to do. This knowledge gives
you a respect for Him. From this respect comes power and a relationship that is
literally out of this world. How is that possible? You understand what Adam
forget, to obey God pleases Him. You enter into relationship when you please
Him. Then He teaches you everything you need to know. He shares His creation
with you and how it all works. He provides for you and takes care of your needs
because He has become a husband and lover of your soul. You endure as Moses
endured, as seeing him who is invisible. You are not just wonderfully made, but
when you add the correct fear to it; you are fearfully and wonderfully made in
His image.
Submitted by: Tina Marie
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