Tag: children of God

51.c. Wilderness – 15.i. “Chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession”

 

 

Deu 14:1-2  “You are the sons of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

 John 1:12    But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

 Jeremiah 3:19   “‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.

 1 Thessalonians 4:13     But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

“The cutting of the body and the shaving of the head were common mourning rites in the ancient Near East and are referred to in many places in the Old Testament (Isaiah 3:24; 15:2; 22:12; Jeremiah 16:6; 41:5; Ezekiel 7:18; Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16).” (Thompson)

 Among Christians today, there is something wrong if our burial customs are just as the rituals of the ungodly. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:13: But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. We may certainly mourn the passing of our loved ones, but as those who have eternal hope in Jesus, we should be different in our mourning. (Guzik)

Ye are not only the creatures, and the offspring, but the peculiar people, the worshippers, the servants, and those of you that are truly pious, the adopted children of Jehovah, the one living and true God, who is your God in covenant; and therefore you should not dishonour him, your heavenly Father, nor disparage yourselves, by unworthy or unbecoming practices. (Benson)

God’s people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. (Henry)

Ye are the children of the Lord your God,…. Some of them were so by the special grace of adoption, and all of them by national adoption; which was the peculiar privilege of the people of Israel, and laid them under great obligation to honour and obey the Lord their God, who stood in the relation of a father to them, and they of children to him. (Gill)

The Israelites were not only to suffer no idolatry to rise up in their midst, but in all their walk of life to show themselves as a holy nation of the Lord. (Keil)

38.x. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God”

 

From Compelling Truth

 

Judges 15:14   But the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon Samson

Psalm 51:11  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

1 Chronicles 12:18  Then the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty

1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Ezekiel 11:5   Then the Spirit of the LORD came on me, and he told me to say:

John 14:17   the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Ephesians 1:7   In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

Colossians 1:27   To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1 John 4:15   If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

Titus 3:5   he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Romans 8:15–17  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3:1–8   Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

1 Corinthians 2:12  What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Romans 8:14  For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Galatians 5:22–23   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Romans 8:26  n the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

1 Corinthians 12:13   For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God taking up permanent residence in the heart of those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would come intermittently upon the saints, empowering them for service but not necessarily remaining with them. The Spirit “rushed upon” Lehi  and “clothed” Amasai. The Spirit was with David and able to be removed from him, and the Spirit “fell upon” Ezekiel and spoke to him . The Spirit, who had once been with King Saul, “departed from” him, removing His influence and guidance from the king .

It wasn’t until Pentecost that the Spirit began to indwell those who belong to God through Christ. Jesus predicted the coming of the Spirit who would live within His people, as well as the new role the Spirit of Truth would play in their lives. Prior to the resurrection and Pentecost, the Spirit was with the disciples and influenced them, but He did not yet indwell them, as Jesus explained to them: “he dwells with you and will be in you”. John 7:39 explains further: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

The apostle Paul reiterated the same truth about the Spirit’s indwelling: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”. Because believers have been purchased for God by the blood of Christ, shed on the cross for our sins, our bodies become a living temple where the Spirit of God resides.

The image of the believer’s body being a temple is reminiscent of the Old Testament tabernacle, in which the Spirit of God lived. There, God’s presence would appear in a cloud and meet the high priest, who came once a year into the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest brought the blood of a slain animal and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. On this special day, God granted forgiveness to the priest and His people.

The Jewish temple in Jerusalem no longer exists. Now the believer in Christ has become the inner sanctum of God the Holy Spirit, as the believer has been sanctified and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. In fact, Scripture also says that the believer is the dwelling place of all three Persons of the Trinity. Along with the Spirit, Jesus Christ is in us, as is God the Father.

The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is many-faceted. First and foremost, the Spirit creates new life in believers (), producing the same new birth Jesus spoke of in . The Spirit confirms to us that this new birth is real and that we truly belong to God (). He also imparts to believers spiritual gifts to be used to build up the body of Christ and glorify God (1 Corinthians 12:4–11). Further, as the author of Scripture through the writers He inspired (), the indwelling Spirit helps believers understand what He has written and how to apply it to daily life ().

Other functions of the indwelling Spirit include interceding for believers in prayer, leading us in the ways of righteous living, producing His fruit in our lives, and installing believers into the universal church of Christ, also called the baptism of the Spirit.

One of the indwelling Spirit’s most encouraging functions is to seal believers for eternity by placing His own mark upon us. Doing so assures our arrival in the Lord’s presence when we die (Ephesians 1:13–14, 4:30). The Holy Spirit’s presence within us is the guarantee that we have been purchased by Christ and redeemed from our sins. We can never lose our position as a prized possession. Until we die, the Spirit remains within us, renewing and sanctifying us, comforting us in trials, and sustaining us in afflictions. With the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are never alone, never lost, and never without His power.

35.n. “So that the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

 

 

 

Genesis 3:17  And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

 Romans 3:19   Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

 Jeremiah 7:23-24   But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’  But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.

 Isaiah 24:5-6    The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.  Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.

 Ecclesiastes 1:2-3   Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.  What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

 Ecclesiastes 1:13-14   And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

  Romans 8:20-22   For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

 Job 1:21   And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Eve was deceived but Adam was not.  He chose to willingly disobey God’s command.  Such is life.  We either are deceived like Eve or we willingly, like Adam, choose to disobey God. Being given the free will to choose does not remove the consequences of choosing paths apart from God’s desire and purpose for our lives. Our single purpose is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.  Anything short of this by deception or willingly disobedience is sin against God, our Creator. Neglect, complacency, or flat-out rejection and denial of God is no excuse. If we neglect, become complacent, reject, or deny God’s Word, if we do not see it as food for our soul and water for our hearts and minds, if we find little to no time for His word in our lives, if we allow the busyness of life to consume our minds and time, if we desire more of what this world has to offer rather than honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ we deceive ourselves into a false sense of security willingly in disobedience to God our Creator. We choose every day that which does or does not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. It was in paradise Adam and Eve chose to sin.  How much easier is it to sin in this world full of deception and lies.  Satan still tries to deceive by claiming that the things of this world are much sweeter and gratifying than the things of God. Lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and ears are all deceptive temptations placed before each person every second of their lives. These deceptively lead people to conclude self-worth, self-reliance, self-gratification, self-grandeur, self-pleasing, self-satisfaction, self-justification, self…………….. is more worthy and satisfying than following after God. 

Do we think for a second that half-hearted head nods toward things of God honor and glorify Jesus Christ? Do we think Godly words from our lips that never reach our hearts and minds honor and glorify Jesus Christ? Do we think being lukewarm is better than cold to things of God? It is safe to say that your life will reflect that which fills it. Do we think for a moment that God does not see through and know our neglect and complacency toward Him in our thoughts, words, and actions? Do we think we can bluff God with our lack of commitment or half-hearted commitment? When our hearts desire and seeking is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ, it is then the deceptions of this world will not only become apparent but more importantly, they will have less and less influence in our lives.

27.c. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance”

 

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 1 Corinthians 6:11    And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

 2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

 James 4:4     You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 Isaiah 30:1    “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

 1 John 5:4   For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

 1 Peter 1:14   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

 John 8:44   You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 1 John 5:19   We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

 1 John 3:10    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil

Though, as Christians, we are now alive, we must never forget where we came from. We were dead in trespasses and sins. There are many kinds of life: vegetable life, animal life, mental life, moral life, and spiritual life. A being might be alive in one sense but dead in another. To be spiritually dead does not mean that we are physically dead, socially dead, or psychologically dead. Yet it is a real death, a “dead death” nonetheless. “The most vital part of man’s personality – the spirit – is dead to the most important factor in life – God.” (Wood) “Not in a moral sense, nor a mental sense, but in a spiritual sense, poor humanity is dead, and so the word of God, again and again, most positively describes it.” (Spurgeon) We err if we think that dead in trespasses and sins says everything about man’s lost condition. It is an err because the Bible uses many different pictures to describe the state of the unsaved man, saying he is: Blind,  A slave to sin, A lover of darkness, Sick, Lost, An alien, A stranger, A foreigner, A child of wrath, and Under the power of darkness.

Every single person was born out of and into sin. All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Everyone ever born has been born into sin.  Through birth, we have were born into death and destruction and if God’s righteousness was a line we not only have crossed it, but we continually challenge its boundaries. We are born on the other side of God’s perfect, holy, and righteous standards through our sinful birth. We lived in sin, we embraced it and did not even give it a second thought.  We followed after the course of this world and the prince of lies, Satan.  We followed after it and sought it and its pleasures, wants, and desires. Granted we were born into sin, inherited from Adam, but Satan adds to this sinful nature the temptations and influences through deception and lies to do even more ungodliness. He influences and convinces us that pride, self-worth, self-centeredness, self-reliance, lust, worldly satisfaction, worldly pleasures, and immoral things are not only right but through them, we will gain purpose and meaning in life.  Such is the life of the “dead in their sin” mankind. Those born again must never forget where they came from. Those who are made alive must remember that we were very comfortable in this old life just as a dead person would be comfortable in a coffin. We are alive in Christ and there ought to be a strong urge to escape the confines of the coffin and leave it behind. We used to respond to Satan’s temptations, influence, and guidance.  We ought to be growing and maturing in things of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.  We ought to be able to discern the things of God and the lies of Satan.

One of Satan’s lies is that he would have us believe that all are children of God, hell is only reserved for really bad people, and as children of God, all good people go to heaven, confusing what it means to be a child of God.  In one sense we are, He is our common creator.  Satan will throw clouds of doubt over the need to be born again, the need for Jesus Christ, the coming judgment, heaven, and hell.  There ought to be a big difference, a change, a new way of thinking, living, and doing when we are born again.  The problem is we are continually tempted to choose the worldly and fleshly over the things of God.  We choose to seek what the world has to offer more than desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. 

Another of his lies is that there is no God and all there is to life is what we take from it. We live, we die, the end. Believing in either one of these lies has eternal consequences, eternal hell.  We are to remember this is not only how we once lived, but this is what we have been saved from through the grace and mercy of God.  What manner of person ought we to be in light of this?

27. “And I thought you would call me, My Father”

 

Ephesians 1:5 In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

 Daniel 4:35  all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

 Romans 8:29-30   For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

 Jeremiah 3:19   “‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.

 John 1:12   But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

 Philippians 2:13     for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

He predestined, According to His will, He called, He justified, He glorified, He works in you, He gave, He foreknew, and He has blessed us. If you were asked why God created?  Why did He create all there is?  Why did God do this if He foreknew the outcome?  There are a host of other questions but that certainly is being asked by souls every day.  God is God and for us to think we have the mental capacity to understand more than a thimble worth of knowledge about Him in an ocean of who He is we are more than foolish.  We know He is holy, righteous, loving, full of grace, mercy, and love. We know that He sent His only son to bear our sin burdens on the cross and redeem us from eternal hell at the proper time. How can we even grasp the laws that govern time, space, earthly, heavenly, eternity, etc….We can’t.  We try as hard as we might but at the end of the day, we aren’t really any closer to having this understanding.  I have heard people reject the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ because they don’t believe there is a living God because Their god would act differently.  There would be no sickness, death, wars, or famine.  Their god would not dream of creating sinful man., sickness, death, pain, suffering……  

Here we read of God foreknew, God, predestined, according to His will.  My God, and hopefully yours too is awesome in power, strength, wisdom, knowledge, grace, mercy, and love.  His plans are perfect.  His ways are Holy.  His creation points toward Himself as the author.  His will can never be questioned because His purposes are right and true and holy.  

How should we act when we know the creator of all there is and ever will be has called us to Himself so that through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, we are set free from the judgment and penalty of sin.  I can think of nothing worse than a person who has been given a glimpse of God and an elementary understanding of the need for salvation, and knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then reject God and Jesus without a second thought.  I guess I can think of something else that is worse.  Those who have tasted of the love of Jesus Christ and choose to neglect God’s Word and deafen their ears to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Blessed are those who hear His calling and believe in Jesus Christ for they are sons of the Most High.  In all you say, think, and do make sure that it honors and glorifies Jesus Christ.  Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

19.v. “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Romans 18:18   For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

 2 Corinthians 4:17-18  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

 Colossians 3:4  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 2 Thessalonians 1:7-12     and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels  in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,  when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.  To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,  so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 2 Thessalonians 2:14   To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 1 Peter 5:1    So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be reveale

 1 Peter 4:13    But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Paul was not ignorant or blind to the sufferings of human existence. Yet he still considered that the future glory far outweighed the present sufferings.  Without a heavenly hope, Paul considered the Christian life foolish and tragic. Yet in light of eternity, it is the wisest and best choice anyone can make. (Guzik) 

God has put this glory into the believer right now. In heaven, the glory will simply be revealed. “The glory will be revealed, not created. The implication is that it is already existent, but not apparent.” (Morris)  “Creation is not undergoing death pangs… but birth pangs.” (Morris)

It is in the waiting we currently find ourselves.  We wait for the Glory of Jesus Christ to be revealed and in this revealing we also.  Creation has waited since the beginning of time for this revealing to come.  Our wait is but for a moment.  Our wait is to be in the hope and assurance of this revealing Glory of Jesus Christ and our eternal lives with Him forever and ever.  Let us not get weighted down by trials, troubles, and the chaos of this life.  Keep your eyes on Jesus, look full into His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and grace.

17.k. “Let no one deceive himself.”

John 11:45  Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

 Proverbs 26:12    Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

 Isaiah 5:20-23    Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!  Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,  who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

 1 Corinthians 1:20   Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

 1 Corinthians 3:18-19    Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

The words and works of Jesus divide humanity between those who believe and those who reject. There were some who saw both the power and sympathy of Jesus yet responded by working against Him. Some that had seen even this miracle steeled their hearts against it, and not only so, but conspired the destruction of this glorious Savior!

The religious leaders privately admitted that Jesus performed signs that authenticated His claim to be Messiah and God. As Jesus claimed, His works did bear witness to Him. First, they opposed Jesus because they weren’t convinced He was the Messiah. Now they opposed Jesus because they were convinced that He was the Messiah. They denied and opposed Him.  They were afraid of His influence over people and their loss of influence. They knew the logical response to the witness of the signs, wonders, works, and words of Jesus was to believe in Him. “If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him.” The high priest unknowingly prophesied. “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

The Word of God proclaims the wonders, signs, words, and works of Jesus Christ.  And just like during the life of Jesus, people believe and reject and deny the truth of it.  Some deny Him within their heart but do not speak of it.  They float along in life never giving thought to what they have rejected. They trust in their good works rather than the Savior.  At some point, they may have heard the Gospel presented in such a way that their heart was softened and their mind was given a full understanding of the offer of salvation and redemption.  Yet they chose to reject that offer.  Others deny Him openly and with great disregard of who it is they are rejecting.  They spit on the grace, love, and mercy of Jesus Christ.  In the end, all who have inwardly and outwardly rejected Jesus Christ will suffer eternally in Hell for this rejection.  Now is the time of salvation.  If the Gospel of Jesus Christ is offered to you, do not reject it.  Surrender to it and cling to it.  Your eternal life depends upon it.

You meant it for harm

Psalms 119:153  Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise!  Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.  Great is your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to your rules.  Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies.  I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.  Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love.  The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

1 Peter 4:12–16  Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad

Matthew 5:10–12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward

1 Peter 1:6–7  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory

Philippians 2:14–16  Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life…

Trust in the word of God is forged in the real world, a world full of trials, troubles, persecution and those who wish us harm.  “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

One of the most potentially defeating aspects of being a Christian is wanting to be in control when things in and around our lives are out of control.  It seems as though we take aim at that which is troublesome with our own mind, wisdom, power, and strength, when in fact, these trials and troubles are indeed not ours to fight.  On our own and in our own strength we can do little to have lasting victory or any victory at all.  Fear of the unknown outcomes seem to drive us to thinking we need to go it on our own.

God is in control even when things seem so out of control and we fear the unknown future.  And, yet what trumps that fear and evil is knowing that, no matter what comes, God is in control. Waiting for His perfect timing and trusting in Him allows us to confidently say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Being able to wait on Him is a testimony to faith, trust, hope and reliance in Jesus.    He loves us.  He wants what is best for us. He will never leave us or forsake us. He has plans and purpose for our lives.

Mind set on this world

 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.”

John 8:43  Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

John 8:47  Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Isaiah 44:18    They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

Hosea 14:9     Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Micah 4:12    But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan,

Isaiah 6:9     And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Jeremiah 6:10     To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.

Romans 8:7     For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 John 3:10    By this it is evident who are the children of God,

1 John 4:4    Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

In these scripture we see there are those who hear, listen, and seek God.  There are also those who do not.  It is important to know that the people who were not listening we God’s chosen, the Israelites. These are the ones who had seen the hand of God first hand or had heard first hand what God had done and what He expected.  These were people who either chose to honor, serve, obey and follow God or Not.  I fear we take to lightly this life and walk with God.  We become complacent and neglect our walk with Him until something in this life overcomes our ability to cope and then we run to Him.  This should not be the way our life of service to God is lived out. Give thought to: What does it mean to seek God with your whole heart, mind and soul?  What does a life look like that humbly serves, honors, obeys, and follows God?  Our walk with and service to God is not to be taken lightly.  Spend time in His word.  Seek to know and understand Him and His purpose for you.

This little light of mine

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

John 1:9  The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 6:32    Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

John 14:6     Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Isaiah 49:6    he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

John 12:46    I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

1 Thessalonians 5:4    But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.  For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

The true light is given to everyone – Jesus said “I am the way the truth and life.  No one comes to the father except through me.” “For God so loved the word that He gave His only Son, who so ever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life”.  This light is given by and through the love of God.   The world/culture and satan will say things to diminish this light.  Remember the song – “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine” – “Not gonna let satan blue it out, I’m gonna let it shine.”  Each day we have opportunity to live in this light, reflect this light, and point people to this light.