Gideon

3 minutes ago, ChickenCoop said:

It was manmade in a bioweapons lab in wuhan China 

Can you show the evidence supporting  this? From all I have read from the medical professionals, with no bone to pick in the political process, they feel certain that it was not bioengineered. To make a statement as if it is a fact sounds more like an assumption, not a fact. 

blessings, 

Gids

On 8/2/2020 at 9:14 PM, Roy B. said:

Why is it that Christians don't share their struggles with fighting sin?  It seems I'm battling sin every hour of everyday and other Christians I know never seem to have a problem.

Would it not be more in line with the promises of God to share how we successfully manage to walk as overcomers?  

Has God not promised to keep us from falling? Has He not given us shields of faith that He promises will quench all the fiery arrows of the enemy?  Did He not assure us that He would never allow us to be tempted above our ability to resist? That He would make a way of escape when the temptation comes in hot and heavy so that we might be able to weather the storm and come out still holy on the other side? 

May I applaud you as to your honest question? Such probing honest is rare these days. it makes people uncomfortable... even accused. But should it not be the question that is on all of our hearts, especially given the lateness of the hour and the temptations that seem to increase in both their numbers as well as their intensity on a daily basis? 

Why, in almost every post here, do we find every subject known to man discussed to death, except the one subject that should be on our hearts, which is how to walk in the victory He  clearly promised us? 

I pray no readers, nor yourself, sees this post in any way other than the intent of my heart.... which is to cry out declaring that God.... the God we serve, the God we love, is not a man that He should lie. It is flat out impossible. He says whst He means and means what He says. 

If He has told us His will is that we know how to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor, if He has told us that we are to bring every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ, and then given us His assurance.... His promises... that He will indeed cause us to walk as obedient children, delivered from the power of darkness.... should we not be found crying out as to HOW to walk with our foot on sin's neck, and not visa versa? He has indeed declared these things but up till now, on our part..... silence. . 

Is it actually possible to walk in victory over the world, the flesh and the devil, despite our innate weaknesses, our humanness? Is grace simply there to forgive us when we do not measure up? Is our walk destined to be a carrot on a stick approach to holiness, where we never actually get to eat the carrot? Can a man or woman actually walk holy in this life? God says we can. And what shall be our response? 

Why are we found in the position we seem entrenched  in? Why do we find ourselves imprisoned, yet somehow happily content, living out our lives in Romans 7, yet convincing ourselves  we live in the benefits of chapter 8.

How hard it is for us to admit our walks profess otherwise, to finally agree that we do not possess.... yet...... the heart that Paul did.... his desire, his desperation to walk pleasing to God despite his humanness. He cried out that he was a wretched man, trapped and imprisoned by sins big and small. We, on the other hand, have patted ourselves on the back, telling each other no one is perfect and after all, we are only human. 

Why did Paul graduate to Romans 8, while we sit still imprisoned in defeat, even if it is forgiven. Why? Paul had come to the place he HATED himself..... his old carnal nature. His disobedience. His selfishness. His inability to love as God has asked of us. He wanted to, desperately. But how to perform it, he found not. We are simply not seeking such a place, because we do not believe it possible. 

How did he differ from our current state we find the church in? He refused to lower the standard that God desires.... and can make us into...holy  children. He refused to limit grace to being just a covering for our continued sins. He refused to believe that the God who declared Himself our deliverer could not, or worse, would not, actually  deliver us from evil, just as He taught us to pray. 

May we all, everyone who loves the Lord in sincerity, come to the blessed point that they refuse to accept that sin must be our master till death does what that blood of Jesus cannot. It is time we believed our God, no matter what it does to our theology, 

Blessings to you for the cry of your heart. God is about to do a miracle among us. Our eyes will witness the church arising from the ashes of religious observances, endless doctrinal debates and sin ruling over us, and become the bride of Christ resplendent in holiness, without spot or wrinkle. Are we ready? He is.

Gideon

The whole topic of Calvinism vs. Armenianism is, I believe, ultimately a smokescreen from the enemy. We are, by the authority of God's Word, to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure. We must beware grabbing hold of a doctrine to convince us of our salvation. Our assurance is meant to come from God Himself. Is that not wonderful? 

Our calling is not a call to get our doctrine right on who is saved and who is not. The point of this is ultimately a call to each individual believer to make sure THEY are saved, by God's hand unmistakenly  seen in their lives, as He assures us Himself that we are His sons or daughters.

"Therefore brethren, give diligence all the more to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things ye shall never fall.

            2 Peter 1:10 

So the Bible tells us that giving all diligence is certainly a key piece of our being assured of our salvation. It is a clear exhortation to not assure ourselves that we are Heaven-bound  simply because we "feel" saved, or because we said the prayer of faith one day a long time ago. To each one of us, we have a God-given responsibility to examine ourselves whether we truly "be in the faith", which is expressed  by what God is doing in our lives, both in our relationship with Him as well as our relationship with this world and those who live in it. 

How important it is, especially in these uncertain times, to understand what God has spoken. 

A good tree WILL produce good fruit.

This is not a call to try harder to "be good" or to try our best to bear more fruit. We cannot do either. To see this done, we must learn the how of abiding in Him, for He is the potter, not us.  He alone can cause the transformation inside us. He is the husbandman, and our dependance must be on Him to sanctify us, and to make us His own.

Does this mean we can never be sure as to our eternal salvation? Not at all. There is total security to the believer, but belief was never meant to be a one time thing. It was meant to be a living lifeline to God through our abiding in Jesus.  Our faith is meant to grow as we grow up into Him in all things. So what must we do to be saved? We must believe ON Him, which is a moment-by-moment Christ-in-us relationship. Believing IN Him is going to cause many to assume they are safe when in fact they may not be at all. 

So what do we do, if, after an honest examination of our lives and our relationship with the Lord, we do not see the mark of Jesus on our thoughts, our deeds, and what we have declared by our actions to be our treasure? First, may I assure those who truly do so, the fact that you did so is a great indicator of your heart wanting the right relationship with God and He  will move mountains to see you find your way. 

Then what? Ask. Ask Him to lead you into all truth. Ask Him to show you HOW to walk where you are transformed, bearing fruits that testify to your calling and election. He will not disappoint. 

blessings, 

Gids

7 hours ago, LadyKay said:

It all seems so pointless. No one here wants to look at their selves and consider for a moment that maybe they are wrong about something.  Everyone believes they have all the right answers and no amount of facts, history, or reasonable conversation will change anyone's mind on anything.   So why do I bother going through the trouble of searching facts and data to show to someone who just posted nonsense when in the end. They just carry on with their same nonsense? And all I did was waste my time. 

I hope you reconsider. I like your posts and you seem even keeled. We have not had too much interaction, but when I see a post of yours pop up, I am drawn to read it. I wish I could say the same for all posters but thst is not the case. ?

blessings, m'Lady

Gids

6 hours ago, JTC said:

Since I haven't had the flu in over 25 yrs I don't get the yearly vaccine.

I was the same way.  I am 71 and my wife is 68. Neither of us had ever had the flu till last December. Never had a flu shot. I will never miss another. I was moserable for overca month. My wife developed pneumonia and was hospitalized for 8 days. 

They say the real issue is that you can get both the flu and covid at the same time and it will multiply your chances of dying many fold. My wife is a cancer survivor and has been thru chemo and her immune system is shot. If she gets covid, she will most likely not make it. So, we take major precautions. Getting a flu shot is an easy one. 

blessings, 

Gideon

On 7/29/2020 at 3:23 PM, JTC said:

I'm asking a serious question here. Until this year I never even thought about The Left then the virus happened and now violence. I hear talk of the Left but who would they be?  Obviously they are fanatics, possibly even crazy people. But I also consider the Nazis of WW2 to be crazy fanatics.

Let me hear what some of you have to say.

If we think about it, each party, the Democrats (left) and the Republicans (right) have their "platform".  These are basic tenants and policies they support.  
 

How is it that people line up totally on one side or another? For instance, I hate abortion. In this area, I am leaning right. I also hate to see immigrant families ripped apart, locked up, simply because they want a better life for their families. Christian compassion overrides everything there for me. Thus, on this area, I lean left. 

To vilify any who do not accept all the tenants  of their party of choice to me is simply short sighted and seems, well.... lazy. Most do not vote for the man and his character means little. What matters to most to these is.... are they Democrats or Republicans? Sad but true.

I do not want to seem critical of you, brother,  It is just that the  thought of labeling all left leaning people as 'obviously fanatic' is just as prejudiced as people who hate others simply because of their race. And those on the left could retaliate with their belief that all right leaning people are against the poor and worship money. Satan has divided us into "camps" and the hatred is flowing. Let us flee all of it.  We are better than that. If Jesus were here, would he be joining one or the other?  I suspect he would be fashioning a whip and turning over the tables of money changers, lol.

As believers, we are told we are not citizens of this world, but rather simply passers-through. I believe we must be very careful as to joining in the hate fest, no matter which side we may  find ourselves on. Our job is to love everyone, even if we disagree with their actions or their platform. 

This is but the beginning. At some point, no matter which side we may be touting, the day will come where those we have aligned with will  come for us. We will finally see that the forces ruling this world are ALL against the kingdom of God. Now is the time we need to put into practice being wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. 

blessings, 

Gideon

1 hour ago, Alive said:

Gideon--you need to be very careful here--you are treading on dangerous ground. So you are saying that you have some private revelation that upturns the teaching of Grace in the scriptures. Would you like to explain this? As I have said to you in the past, you take on a great deal of potential trouble when you speak in this way as though you have some authority.

Brother, I have made it clear before and I will again. I am nothing. In my flesh, I suspect am worse than most here. Perhaps all. 

Fourteen years ago, bound by sins I could not conquer void of any perceptible fruits of the Spirit, having been a follower of the Lord for 38 years with little if anything to show for it, I cried out to God that His way was right, but that I had found it too high, too hard, impossible to walk in for any length of time, and after trying sll that I knew to walk worthy of the name of Jesus, I simply had nothing else I knew to walk in victory. 

There  was but one thing I refused to let go. I refused to believe that grace somehow simply lowered the standard God had set for us. If God was the God who cannot lie, and He is, and He had promised grace would lift us up to walk in victory, then real overcoming victory MUST be true, and available to even the weakest among us and that included the wretch that I was. 

The Bible clearly tells us that real grace teaches us "that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we are to live soberly, righteously and justly in this present age."  We are exhorted to keep our bodies under, to walk in holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. Yes, thank God He has made provision for us IF we slip, but He promised to cause us to walk obediently, and boy, did I desperately need that. 

 I was caught in a net, a trap from which I was unable to escape. I simply could not lower the standard that tells us "Let all who name the name of the Lord depart from iniquity." Yet at the same time, I was unable to find the path to do so. 

I was of all men most miserable, the poster boy for Romans 7. One night fourteen years ago, the Lord had mercy on my sin-sick soul and He appeared to me.... visibly, and spoke to me, yes, audibly. He shared with me the truth I had missed, and had been blind to my entire Christian life. It is this message that activates the power of God towards us and allows us to walk whwre our hearts longs to walk, pleasing Him, all day, every day. 

You mention it is "upturning the message of grace in the scriptures".  My response is that in truth, it magnifies grace to a level we did not know possible. The promises are all there, right in front of our noses. The fact we do not see them being fulfilled in our lives should give us pause but we have been fed a spiritual diet that somehow makes the promises of God of none effect, so we have walked on in our defeat, thinking this is the sole purpose of grace. 

We do the best we can, and grace makes up the difference, right?  But brother, this is grace for new converts becoming established in the faith, not for those who have walked many years as His disciples. Grace.... real authentic Bible grace.... promises to change us, to free us, to cause us to will AND to do of His good pleasure. 

Brother, I fully understand when teaching seems to come out of left field, our defenses kick in. This is honorable, but the flock needs protection from wolves and the wiles of the enemy. However, this is also an important point needing to be examined, as the church as a whole is struggling with sin, carnality, worldliness,  dissension, and is setting a poor example to the world as to how much the Lord can transform a man from sinner to saint. 

We have made Romans 7 the best God offers in this life, and multitudes are now found living at ease in Zion, with their old natures fully intact and unchanged.  How few  there are who are imprisoned by sin and the flesh and who possess the same hatred for their failings that Paul did. We are told that  godliness with contentment is great gain. But sadly, for most of the church today, we have tried to become content while inwardly believing godliness and purity are unattainable. We try to find rest for our ouls but there isxalways a nagging uncomfortableness about our walk and failure is far more the experience of most rather than walking in victory as an overcomer, 

Should this not bother us? Is forgiveness the best grace can do? Does God need death to accomplish in us what His Spirit indwelling us cannot? Should it not be obvious to us that we are in dire need? I pray we do not let preconceived notions rob us of what the grace of God is offering us. 

God has told us that in the last days, His children will overcome by combining the blood of the Lamb with the words of their testimony. And what shall our testimony be? That we are just sinners saved by grace but not delivered from evil by it? Shall we not cry out to the Lord to enlarge our heats that we might believe what He has clearly promised us.... walking in victory over the world, the flesh and the devil? 

I promise this to any desperate enough to do so. God will hear your cry and grant you the faith to believe. Believe what? Believe ....

that He can.... and will..... keep us from falling.

that we are no longer in the flesh and that we owe it nothing.

that it is no longer us that live and  we... the old us, is actually  dead and our life is hid with God in Christ. 

that our shields of faith WILL quench all the fiery arrows of the enemy. 

that He will not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear and that we WILL take the way of escape He always offers us. 

that He has delivered us from the power of darkness. 

that as the master potter, He WILL cause us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 

that we can resist the devil steadfast in the faith and that he WILL flee from us. 

The church of the book of Acts was blessed to receive the early rain. Here at the end of the age, we are the blessed generation destined to receive the latter, and praise God, the latter will be greater than the former! 

Jesus is returning for a bride without spot or wrinkle,  not for a body found divided into 500 sects and divisions, each one thanking God they possess the real truth, yet each still controlled to one degree or another by their fleshly nature. The truth is, if we are to see grace fully manifested in our lives, the truth must possess us, not visa versa.  How is that possible? We need to put off our old nature, laying no more claim that that is us.  It WAS us. 

Who are we? New creatures.  Victorious overcomers. And when we finally see our need for such a testimony, when our hearts hunger after pleasing God more than our daily bread or yielding to our secret sins, when we finally come to see our old nature is the root of our failures and lay the axe to the root of the tree, putting off the old rebel usurper by an act of audacious faith, the bad fruit finally stops growing, and is miraculously replaced by fruits of the Spirit instead.  

To those who do so, not caring for the cost to their reputation, determined to walk in obedience despite their weakness, looking unto God to do the changing,  they will see their  God roll up His sleeves and  show us what real grace is capable of doing in a man's life, if only he simply believes..... and asks. That, dear brother is real grace.

blessings, dear Alive 

Gideon

5 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

I never fail to be uplifted by the message you share, @Gideon. It's no small matter to walk in that which our Lord ordained before the foundation of the world --- God's will for us --- and so I pray that what I write might uplift those who choose to read. 

There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Neither is there fear, doubt, double-mindedness, nor a shadow of turning. We can be assured that such things are the carnal fruit of this flesh we struggle against, fodder for the enemy of our souls to fashion into weapons at every turn.  There's no denying the effectiveness of our resident weakness in casting about stones to stumble upon but here is where the wisdom of Almighty God makes fools of the wise and brings the mighty low:

In weakness the power of Christ is perfected. The flesh is weak but remember the words of our Lord, assuring us that the spirit is willing!

This is what we face in the present age.

• The flesh, vis a vis the carnal union of mind and body
• The fallen world which produced us, bereft of faith and unbelieving in every way, a consequence of the great falling away 
• The dark powers and wicked principalities which rule over this world of flesh
• The evil one who was a liar and sinner from the beginning
• Our resident weakness which can be rightly understood as the cross we're called to bear
• The scattering of the Lord's flock which took place after He ascended to sit with our Father upon His throne

Ah, but seeing as how God is for us who can possibly stand against us?

• He who is within us is greater than this flesh...
• Our Lord Jesus Christ has overcome this world of the falling away...
• The Lamb of God subjugated the wicked ones in high places, placing them underneath our feet...
• The evil one is desperate knowing that his appointed time is short...
• As our Lord overcame so shall we overcome...
• When our Lord returns as He ascended, He will gather us unto Him!

Nothing is impossible in Jesus Christ. We who are in Christ move in two different realms --- this world of the perishing and that place which is referred to as "the heavenlies" in scripture --- just as the Word made flesh did when He walked this Earth long ago. We remember His promise to send the Comforter and so we're not alone by any means... the Lord is with us always! Cast aside the dross of condemnation and exchange it for the conviction of this faith which was delivered once and for all. The Lord is coming and those who cling to Him won't be caught unawares by His arrival.  
 

I am so glad you are posting again my friend. I hope this finds you well. You are always a blessing to me. 

Gids

I pray it does, even if temporarily some might not see it as such. 

If you have found the truth that God will actually cause us to walk in full obedience, praise God, and you should rejoice that such a place is not only possible, but also shared for others who still struggle with sin wnd self control. 

If however, you have not found such a place, may I encourage you to seek God on the matter?  He will not disappoint. 

blessings, 

Gideon

Well this ought to be interesting, right? LOL.  Here we go. 

In these recent years, there has evolved an understanding of grace and what God asks of us that is quite different than what is seen in the Bible itself. We have been taught that we are saved by grace without the need to DO anything, and thus assumed therefore that God thus asks nothing from us. We are wrong. We are saved UNTO good works. 

But this create a huge dilemma in our minds, for we know how weak we are. What we as His pwople are about to be awakened to is how strong God is willing to be IN us. 

Jesus tells us to be holy as He is holy. Is holiness possible? Absolutely.  However, unbelief has gripped us and we have erroneously concluded real holiness is impossible this side of Heaven. Why? Because when we hear to word 'DO', we think it is by our efforts, by our power, we must do these things.  And  because we are still walking with fleshly bodies,  we have been taught that despite our best efforts, we cannot ever be fully obedient to God's leading inside us. 

And because of this erroneously assumption, modern  Christianity tells us there is not one thing we need to do except wait for Heaven.  Yet God tells us that to whom much is given  much is required.  Who is right? 

How do we account for the obvious contradictions here? If we are saved by faith, not by any works we can do, then does it not follow that we do not need to DO anything? Can we not just go to church, read our Bibles occasionally, generally be nice people, and it's all good? Not according to the Word. 

Why would Jesus tell us that we are His friends  if we DO the things He commands us?  And if there are things we need to actually DO, how do we not fall into the trap of  legalism, and end up as slaves to our weak efforts, always coning up short, and end up feeling condemned, having to work for our salvation and yet unable to do what God asks? 

How do we  align the conflict we seem to find with Paul's grace by faith, not by works and James' faith without works is dead?  For if we cannot come to the answer, and must choose one or the other, concluding that two apostles of the Lord were in direct disagreement as to salvation, how can we ever have real trust in the inerrancy of the  Bible itself?

If all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is to be profitable to lead us into all truth, we must know one thing. The conflict is not in the Word, but our understanding of it. But where? 

Where is the root of our misunderstanding as to our being asked to DO in the Word? I believe it is in our failure to DO the one thing Paul exhorted us to do in Romans 6. Here he tells us the glorious truth that when Jesus died, so did we. Our old nature does not need to die. We need to die to it!  As well, Paul tells us the deep truth that when Jesus rose from the dead, we too rose with  Him as new creatures. We do not need to grow from being dead to being alive. We ARE new, right this very minute. 

The problem is, we have stopped there and not done what Paul tells us we must  DO with these two great truths in order to see their power activated in our lives. We must appropriate these truths as OUR truths. We must put off our old nature, believing we are no longer that incorrigible rebel. We must hold up our shield of faith that right now, this very minute, we possess new natures, freed from the power of the devil. 

Saints, we were never meant to be "pew sitters". God desires our walk with Him to be an active 'yoking together' of us with God through the Holy Spirit. God moves, we move. As God is, so are we in this world. This is what is meant by being one with Him, by abiding in Him. This is how we walk where we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. This is where we DO, not because of some legallistic requirements, . but because God actually causes us to walk in full obedience. Wow! 

Is this actually possible? Is such a walk promised in His Word? Absolutely, and we are about to re-discover the fullness of whst is included in our new covenant.

"‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you.

A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 

In these last days, God is beginnig to awaken us to the joy of walking as obedient overcomers, and how even the weakest among us will walk there.  Despite our fleshly bodies still clamoring for attention, we are told clearly that we are no longer in the flesh and owe it NOTHING. We are new natured people, temporarily housed in fleshly bodies. We are not saddled with the impossible task of bringing it into subjection by our diligence and efforts. 

No, praise God, He has made a new way, the way of faith, where we stand on the truth that the old us is dead. Our job? To keep it under. The difference may seem small, but it is huge. In the one, we are in the valley, trying to fight the enemy encamped on the  high ground. We are trying to gain the victory. 

Ahhh, but in the other, we are planted on the highway of holiness, not by our efforts but by faith in what Jesus a tually accomplished for us, and to our amazement and delight, we will find that DOing is not a requirement, but a promise! We will discover that walking as obedient children and bearing fruits for the world to see is our birthright. It comes with the territory. Glory!

blessings, 

Gideon

30 minutes ago, vic66 said:

We must repent of the sin of adultery  forsake

Give it up, the wages of sin / adultery is death

But the gift of God is eternal lift you can't have both.

We must do that with unbelief as well. We are limiting tbe Holy One of Israel, refusing to believe we are new  creatures with new natures. knock off some rotten apples may seem like the. correct solution, but the problem is, the tree will just crank out more, maybe different ones, hut still sin. 

Until we come to finally HATE our old nature and its constant bringing forth bad fruits, divorce included, and lay the axe to the  root of the tree of self by reckoning it dead, we will simply sit here debating one another with our religious wisdom and the world will continue to refuse to listen to us or seek the Savior, because rhey do not see Him IN us, divorced or not. 

blessings, 

Gids

5 hours ago, vic66 said:

if you break of the sin of remarriage while you first covenanted marriage spouse is still alive there is forgiveness.

but if you remarried in second marriage  while first married spouse is alive then your sin remains (no forgiveness)

6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

⁴ 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.

⁵ For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

⁶ 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.

⁷ For he that is dead is freed from sin.

⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

¹¹ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

¹⁵ What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

¹⁶ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

¹⁷ But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

¹⁸ Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

¹⁹ I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

²⁰ For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

²¹ What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

²² But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

For those who know me, Iin no way am advocating for sin. But your solution does not get to the root of the problem. It would cause untold pain to children of second marriages and ahipwreck what little faith people now are clinging to. It would be a tornado crushing and extinguishing  the small flickering ember of light that remains in the body as we know it now. 

What is the solution? Get to the root of the cause. Self love, never dealt with, must die and it is done in but one way.... escaping the old nature. Until this is done, your solution is simply a legalistic appeasement that would not please God at all. The solution to a tree producing bad fruit is not to sit there with a Bible baseball bat that whacks every fruit that does not measure up to the "standard". That is how attempting to adhere to the law does things. And.... it simply does not work. Hearts are still impure. 

The real solution is laying the axe to the root of the bad tree. The bad tree..... our old nature..... must die and praise God, Jesus made a way for each one of us to rid ourselves of self's demands. Having our old man die when Christ died is wonderful accomplished fact, indeed, but.... BUT..... it does not profit us until we, by faith, grab hold of that truth and appropriate it as ours.... a done deal. 

Why do people resist such a simple solution? Many simply do not see their old nature as a bad thing. They think "Well, yes, I am not perfect, but I am a good person and after all, I am only human. At least I am not as bad as _______________?" They are wrong. 

Jesus said we could not be His disciples until we finally came to HATE our old man. It is a supplanter. A rebel. A self-loving person who obeys when it is convenient and disobeys when it feels like it. It CANNOT love God with all its heart, for it loves itself more. It cannot love others as it loves itself for it loves itself more. And it must die. 

When we finally break before God, look at our divorce statistics in the church, our porn issues, our materialism issues, our worldliness issues, our contentment without godliness, our lukewarm going-through-the-motions churchianity,  our excuses for allowing sin to remain in our daily lives,  and our hearts finally break before God, and draw near to Him to truly be changed into new creatures, He will not fail to plant faith into the heart of every child who seeks Him, who desires His will to rule over them. 

When the Spirit is again outpoured on a broken and humbled church, divorce will simply no longer be an issue. Neither will porn or any of the other sins currently afflicting the healed-only-slightly  church. 

Huge changes are coming. The hearts of God's children are about ro be brought to their knees. But when that finally happens, the outpouring of the book of Acts will have nothibg on us.... nothing. 

blessings to you, Vic

Gids

8 hours ago, Jedi4Yahweh said:

Brother, Paul said "BE NOT DECEIVED" into thinking you can live in sin and enter the Kingdom of God. 

God's Commandants are not a burden to those that are saved. Its are curse to those who ignore & break his laws and dont repent while claiming to know Him.  They are his instructions for living godly.   Is it okay to server false gods? worship Idols? Commit adultery and sexual sins? Dishonor your Parents? Murder? Cheat/steal? Lie against your neighbor? Blaspheme HIS name? NO!!! If you think its okay to do these things and think your going to enter the Kingdom of God then you have been deceived..not my words but Paul's.

 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. - 1Co 6:9-10 KJV

 

Brother, I never said it is ok to sin. I said the law is unkeepable. It demands, yet does not empower. If the law could have been kept, as you say, there was no reason in the world for Jesus to die. 

A man can keep the 10 Commandments his entire life and still be a mean-spirited self-loving man. The Pharisees are a good example. They did not see they needed Jesus living inside them, causing them to love others as they loved themselves, in order to truly fulfill the law. 

Yes, the church is a mess. We are taught that being a Christian delivers us from having to walk righteously. Yes, we are supposed to give it effort, but hey, after all, we are only human, right?  We do not see that if Christ is truly living inside us, He promises to cause us to obey Him, to fulfill the demands of the Law. 

We have not been taught the second half of the gospel. Yes, Jesus forgives. We have that one down pay. But Jesus also cleanses us, transforms us, fills, us, delivers, us, sets us  free indeed by imparting His nature inside us. 

I pray you give heed to what I am sharing with you. By driving people back to the law, no one will truly get free. Oh, they may not break the 10 commandments, but their hearts will still be bound by self. They will not love others with agape love. 

How do we get to this place where we actually are kept from sinning? Filled with love.... God's love? We must escape our old carnal nature.... and we can! We put it off by an act of faith and cloth ourselves with our new man, for it is this nature that God can cause to obey Him. The best of our man can do is try to fulfill the law. 

The law demands but does not empower. But God is even now awakening us to how amazing, how wonderful, how powerful the new covenant really is. In these last days, His bride, the church, is going to awaken from her sleep, and shine as a beacon of light so that those in the world who love the light will come to Christ. 

These verses I share are where we now are. We are the ones these hard-to-hear but wonderful words are for. Amazing things are about to happen. 

blessings, 

Gideon

. “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went.

And I will sanctify My great name which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them;

and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God , when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. “

‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you.

A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. “

‘I will also save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

Then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!

Ezekiel 36:20-23,25-27,29-32 

On 7/12/2020 at 11:46 PM, Jedi4Yahweh said:

Did Paul teach and keep the Ten Commandments? Let us exam:

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. - Gal 5:19-21 KJV

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. - 1Co 6:9-10 KJV

**Paul specifically names the breaking of SIX of the Ten Commandments -- IDOLATRY, ADULTERY, STEALING, MURDER, COVETING, HAVING NO OTHER GODS (Which is Idolatry & witchcraft) and says those who do those things WILL NOT inherit the Kingdom of God and warned "BE NOT DECEIVED" by thinking you can do this things and still enter the Kingdom of God.  Lets exam further.

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, - Col 3:5-9 NKJV

**Paul names and condemns disobedience to TWO more of the Ten Commandments -- bearing FALSE WITNESS or LYING, and taking God's name in vain through blasphemy and filthy talk.  This makes EIGHT of the Ten Commandments Paul teaches to that we are required to keep and says the wrath of God is coming upon those who do such things.  Let us exam further.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." - Eph 6:1-3 NKJV

**HONOR YOUR PARENTS is one of the TEN COMMANDMENTS that Paul taught to keep.  That makes NINE of the TEN COMMANDMENTS that Paul taught that to keep.

**This leaves one more Commandment which is Keeping the Sabbath Holy (Set-apart).  Did Paul teach or exemplify that we are to keep the Sabbath?  Let us see.

And Paul went in, AS WAS HIS CUSTOM, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, - Act 17:2 ESV

So He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as HIS CUSTOM was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. - Luk 4:16 NKJV

And he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue EVERY Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. - Act 18:4 ESV

**Paul just like Jesus went to synagogues ON THE SABBATH DAY.  Therefore Paul kept the Sabbath set-apart just like Jesus.   Paul said to follow his example as he follows Christ's example.

Imitate me, just as I also [imitate] Christ. - 1Co 11:1 NKJV

**That makes TEN for TEN of the TEN COMMANDMENTS that Paul taught.  Paul taught we are to obey the Ten Commandments just as Jesus and the rest of the Apostles taught.

John the Apostle:

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ... Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. - 1Jo 2:3-4, 7 NKJV

By this, we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. - 1Jo 5:2-3 NKJV

Peter the Apostle:

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. - 2Pe 2:21 KJV

James the Brother of Jesus, Disciple and Church leader/Apostle:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues [in it], and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. - Jas 1:22-25 NKJV

If you really fulfill [the] royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one [point], he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. - Jas 2:8-12 NKJV

Jesus:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ... Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.- Jhn 14:15, 21 ESV

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. - Mat 5:17-20 NKJV

And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"... He said to him, "if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." - Mat 19:16-17 NASB

Revelation:

Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. - Rev 14:12 KJV

Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. - Rev 22:14 KJV

 

So you would have us go back under the hard task master, where if you break one commandment, you are guilty of violating all of them? Paul called it the curse of the Law for a reason. 

The truth is, under the new covenant, God has promised to cause us to obey Him. Why do we not see this taught in our churches, or walked out for the lost to see? We do not yet believe it possible. Yet. ? 

blessings, 

Gideon

11 hours ago, Episcopius said:

And OF the Lord.

But I merely point out that there are differences between the approaches of James and Paul while the thrust of this thread seems to be "no, there are not any differences between Paul and James".

I feel the differences should be acknowledged, looked at, realized.

 

Pointing out differences between Paul and James is not the same as casting doubt over the scriptural message James brought that faith without works is dead. It is inspired scripture and yet the best you could do is to reluctantly refer to James having "some  good stuff".  

If the Word of God is conflicted, we are all in trouble. If in our minds we think we see a conflict, then the solution is not minimize the one we do not agree with but to get down on our knees and pray for understanding so that the conflict is undone and harmony restored. 

There is not one gospel for Jews and another for Gentiles. We are all made one in Jesus.  

Do you believe what James tells us is true and inspired by the Holy Spirit?  Or do you see Paul and James disagreeing on such an important point? 

I have seen some refer to themselves as "Pauline" disciples, and attempt to reduce Peter and James to second rate messengers of God. Do you know what Paul himself  said about these? They are yet carnal.

What James is telling us SHOULD raise red flags, for he is telling us that if we are correctly plugged into Jesus, fruits WILL come forth. If they do not, something is askew.

It is this that many refuse to acknowledge, and in order to stop the light from searching our hearts, the easier solution is just to cast doubts on the author, which in my opinion is what you have done. 

blessings,

Gids 

3 hours ago, Marathoner said:

No disagreement exists between the epistle of James, the volume of Paul's writings, and the words of our Lord Himself. To couch it simply the works of our faith are thus: that we obey the Son of the living God. We love the Lord and serve Him alone, forsaking the cares of the world and this flesh which is perishing. The latter is by far the greatest challenge we face on the narrow path but take heart because Almighty God remembers that our frame is dust. Nothing is impossible in Christ Jesus: His yoke is easy and His burden is light!

An excellent contribution by Gideon and if I have anything to add in the wake of his timely exhortation, it's this: never forget the prayer of our Lord as recorded in the 17th chapter of John. This is who we are.

"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

"As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

"And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."

(verses 15-23)

Thank you for your words of encouragement and I pray they bless whoever is reading them. 

To those taking the time to read the words being shared here, I fully realize that having to be confronted by truths of our salvation and what it actually costs us is not pleasant, especially after living under the illusion that we have to do absolutely nothing and all is well because God sees us as Holy.

Satan will whisper that if you choose to throw yourself into the fray, to fully submit to the One who bought us with His own blood, to fully seek His face, making Him, and His will, your treasure, you will be miserable. May I humbly remind you that he is a liar? There is no doubt we all face a tough choice in our own personal valley of decision. Our carnal nature, self, chafes and wants to run. It is the most natural of reactions. 

But you must finally get this truth embedded deep within you. That carnal nature, the old you who likes the freedom to choose to sin or to resist (and so often chooses the former)..... are you listening here? That man, that woman is NOT you. That WAS you. 

When Jesus died, He took that old man with Him on the cross. That man died, just as Jesus did. Why do you still operate under his power, still serving self, still yielding to sin, still unable to bear fruit or to love others as Jesus desires of you? Simply because of your unbelief. 

So how do you get to the point you can actually believe the old you, what the Bible calls your old man, really and truly IS dead..... not dying ever so slowly, but DEAD?

Step 1: You first have to come to hate him. He is a usurper. He is a rebel. He loves himself first and foremost. He is sworn to serve the god of this world, and can never truly obey God, because the flesh is enmity with God and they that are still in the flesh CANNOT please Him. A crisis point awaits all who would finally walk in the Spirit, those who will be caused to obey Him all day, every day. The crisis point hurts. BUT, once you break, and cry out for deliverance from that wretched man, and God drops the faith into your heart that you are... not will be but ARE... new? Joy, true amazing joy and peace liek a river will flood your soul. 

Step 2: Once yuor ground had been plowed and your heart softened to receive what God longs to give you..... the faith to actually believe it is no longer you that live, but Christ who now lives in you.... do we just wait around like the lame man at the pool for the angel to stir the waters? NO! We act. We step out of our boat of safety... and misery.... and reckon it to be so. We appropriate the truth of who we are as OUR possession. We do not hope we will become new. That is hope, not faith. 

No,  we declare to God the truth of His Word. We do not wait for feelings. The feelings will come, trust me. LOL. We declare.... and I have found out loud is best.... that we are no longer old natured people but made every whit whole. We are delivered from  the power of darkness. We are one with our Father. And we yield ourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, not as those needing to die.

Step 3: We fight. It is a wonderful thing to escape the wilderness of unbelief and enter the land of promise. But just like with Joshua, there are enemies whose sole purpose is to pry the words of your testimony out of your mouth. What do you do? Resist him, steadfast in the faith, and what has God promised you? Satan will FLEE from you! 

Now, IF you slip back into sin, it was not that your declaration of faith was faulty. It was not that you were too weak. There is but one reason, Your shield of faith was too small. How do you make it bigger? Continue to believe you are new! if you have slipped in sin, confess it, repent of it, and then hoist your shield of faith again as to the truth of who you are.... a brand new creature, a set-free child of the King, an overcomer of all satan and this world can throw at you. 

And to your amazement, even after a slip, you will rise up even stronger in faith. Your shield gets bigger! 

Yes, there is a good fight of faith to wage, and all of us are called to it, but we know.... not hope but KNOW... that as we endure, trusting that what God has promised us is true, we find the end result will be the same. We become established in the faith, unshakeable. Glory! 

blessings to all, from the weakest to the strongest, for God is about to roll up His sleeves and show us what He is actually capable of. We will be amazed, blown away, not only because it will dwarf what we thought God will do, but because He will be doing it through US! 

Gideon

Just now, Episcopius said:

Apology accepted.

 

? Bless you. 

Gids

35 minutes ago, Episcopius said:

I am not sowing any seeds of doubt and resent the accusation.

 

Brother, you may not see it as such. However, in your very first post, this was your response.

Look at the intro to James' letter.

I'm a Gentile.

Seems not addressed to me.

But it's scripture, has good stuff in it - I heard Luther called it an epistle of straw

You could have very easily simply stayed on the thrust of the post. Failing that, you could have simply stated that the book of James is scripture and has "some good stuff" in it.

However, first, you implied what James shared was not applicable to you or any other gentiles, and then threw in the kicker that Luther called it an epistle of straw. Why the need for such a comment? If that is not sowing seeds of doubt that we need to take James's words as the Word of God, rhen your understanding of sowing seeds of doubt and mine are not the same. 

If you disagree with what I shared in my Op, no problem. If you agree, great. But what you posted simply ignored why the post was shared to begin with and chose to go on a tangent. I would rather keep it on track if you do not mind, forcit is an important subject that needs our addressing.  

blessings, 

Gids

1 hour ago, Episcopius said:

I do not say that the two apostles were "in disagreement as to the very basics of our Christian faith", but I look at James throughout all his life as scripture presents it.

Wasn't he present trying to go get Jesus thinking Jesus had a screw loose, leading to "who is my mother and my brothers?"

So James was not a disciple during Jesus' ministry.

Yet he soon becomes one of the PILLARS in Jerusalem.

He is not fully WITH THE PROGRAM about Gentiles, affecting even Peter who had the "don't call common what I have cleansed" vision.

I do not minimize clear disagreements between James and Paul.

Even James' "compromises" set forth in Acts 15 council - Paul goes against later saying "eat whatever is sold in the shambles".

There are disagreements between Paul and James, and it is unwise to ignore them as we chew our straw and tread the grain.

 

 

 

No, brother. You are sowing seeds of doubt that we a children of God in tbe 21st century can take ALL of the words God has given to us in the New Testament to lean upon them fully for understanding, exhortation and, where the case may arise, correction. 

There are no "minor" epistles. Either all scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for correction and instruction in righteousness, or none of it is.  Once cracks in our dam of truth are accepted that hold back unbelief, we risk being swept away by our interpretations of who was and who was not more inspired. 

The main thrust of my post stands as is. To bring doubt upon the validity of the author is but a smokescreen, a diversion, an easy way to escape having to own up to examining ourselves whether we truly "be in the faith" as to whether the shoe fits us or not. 

blessings, 

Gids

26 minutes ago, Episcopius said:

I suspect that, too, gids, in any case, it is up to you to reconcile Paul with this "right strawey epistle"

 

I have no issues reconciling Paul and James. All James was doing is clarifying that IF we get saved by faith alone correctly, good works WILL flow. 
 

The fact that for many, the transformation is not occurring, even after decades of walking as believers, is a mountain sized red flag, but instead of investigating, we have rather erroneously concluded that two apostles were in disagreement as to the very basics of our Christian faith.  

Thank God, He is about to open our understanding to why there is,  in fact, no conflict at all between the two. And when we see it, and  walk on it, we will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

blessings, 

Gideon

8 minutes ago, Episcopius said:

I would not say that the gospels were written to non-Gentiles.

Luke, especially, a Gentile himself, addresses Theophilus - whether that is a real person, or "lover of God" - Luke addressed both his gospel and Acts to Theophilus, whom many think was an actual person and a Gentile.

Luke and Acts are a good chunk of the NT. My Bible is getting thicker.

 

Perhaps it would be good if we became like oxen and began to eat the words God offers us through James that Luther referred to as "straw".  ?

All scripture is profitable, amen? 

blessings, 

Gids

3 hours ago, TheBlade said:

Song playing "No one like our God". Faith with out works. So many times I read these things posted in forums. Yet.. what is FAITH.. what is WORKS? Again s many times its just left hanging. Even within your post there is doubt and yet you talk of faith and works? Praise GOD

See I know what my GOD says about me. I AM the righteousness of God. I am in right standing with my Father through Christ Yeshua. I have the mind of Christ who thought it not robbery to be called equal with God. I have His Joy.. His peace, His strength, His armor and  He up holds me with His right hand of righteousness. Best news ever..  The fights already been won. (love that song playing) Its what He says about me.. its always FAITH! And my brother faith works both ways. If you keep calling those things that be not as though they were and you shall have it. I mean about the 30+ "we".

This next part.. lts like.. no matter what you say.. TAG YOUR IT! haha pfft

Gid.. in love..  you added to the word of God. No where in Rev 3 14-22 do we see or is it even hinted at "grace". That city was very rich.. that Church was very rich and they had need of nothing. The fact Christ told them to what? Buy from me " gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear," Again.. nothing about "grace only" Christ spoke exactly what He meant. There is no "well He could have also meant". No.. We know this Church. Now if you want to say some today are lukewarm.. amen. But it was unwise to add to that book something He never said. To then inject  your own personal believe about grace into Rev 3 14-22 to His Children.

The Father is doing so many wonders in the world. So many are coming back to God.. putting Him first. Repenting of the past.. the Church becoming what it once was. Millions of millions getting born again. And yet hundreds of thousands being persecuted and killed. The out pouring of the holy Spirit....its happening. Whats happening today was not of God.. oh but WOW how its being used for HIS GLORY! More praying coming back to Him.. SO AWESOME!

 

Thank you Blade for your perspective. 

As to the Laodecians, you are assuming it was all about money. It is not. It is about a spiritual attitude that declares "I have need of nothing." Let me just say here that we disagree. 

As to the church doing wonderfully, do you know when we will absolutely know that to be true?  God spoke in Ezekiel 36 that the heathen will know that He is the Lord, when He shall be sanctified in us before their eyes.... visible holiness, palpable fruits. When men exclaim to one another "Behold how they love one another", we will know we as His bride are where we are supposed to be. When men blurt out in fear "They that have turned the whole world upside down have come here also!" we can be assured Fod is indeed moving again amongst us. 

We cannot  escape the need for broken hearts. Individually, a man can most certainly be full of joy, living as an overcomer, victorious over the world, the flesh and the devil, but God never meant us to be healthy arms or legs or big toes. Overall, His church is divided, carnal, contentious, shallow, worldly and filled with hypocrisy.

Despite our denial of need, the truth is that we are in no way ready to meet our savior. Brokenness must come if we are ever to lay bare our hearts and seek for God to fulfill His promises to us to transform us as ONE body into a vessel fit for His use. Right now, we are far more like the builders of tower of Babel, each speaking bis own 'Christian dialect', chafing at other brothers  for not seeing things as clearly as we do.

The tower must come down. The first tremors, shakings of our foundations that are not fully Christ Himself, , are now beginning. More will soon follow, even by year's end.  Our pride and contentment without godliness must be replaced by humility, meekness and a deep hunger to see Jesus glorified in both our words as well as our actions. 

We are about to see with our own eyes, and yes, praise God, be a part of, the greatest move of God in history. The time of the harvest approaches. Let us, as Paul exhorts,  lay aside everything that would hinder us to be used by our God to fulfill His purposes for us, through us. Amen and amen. 

blessings, 

Gids

3 minutes ago, Episcopius said:

"This is the work of God; that you believe in the one that He is sent"

PISTEUO -believe, PISTIS = Faith

Faith can be said to be a WORK; based on what Jesus said.

And yet people say "Oh, no, Faith is not a work!"

 

Anyone who has truly entered his good fight of faith will back that up. Growing our faith is not easy, but the reward is well worth it. 

Gids

7 minutes ago, Episcopius said:

Look at the intro to James' letter.

I'm a Gentile.

Seems not addressed to me.

But it's scripture, has good stuff in it - I heard Luther called it an epistle of straw

 

Well, then you can carry a very thin Bible, which is really convenient, seeing that all the gospels were not written to gentiles either. ? If Luther said that, i suspect his mind has now been changed. 

blessings, 

Gids