7-14 Our Continuing Series on God Is Love and on Building Our Relationship With God, Neighbor and Self Continued from Part 1
[25] Praise God! Here we are again! Another day to rise and shine and give God the Glory, Glory! I do hope you make use of our Morning Praise and Worship Videos. Such a beautiful way to start the day! When you lift Jesus up, He can't help but Lift you up in return!

It's like seeing that special Uncle when you were a kid, when he would come around you would yell out Uncle Bob! Uncle Bob, Hey it's Uncle Bob and he would pick you up and swing you around and you'd be laughing and having such an uplifting time. Or it could have been Dad. It is the same principle but is even better. This one lifts up our Lord and Savior who then lifts up our Spirit which in turn gives us the strength to face another day with Victory in sight! Isn't that amazing? Well, yes and no. It is amazing that it is true and no, it is not amazing because it is the same way God works in all His ways. Put Him first in all things and everything else will fall into place, sooner or later. Ouch.

As you know, this is a continuing study that I call lessons. The reason I call them lessons is because I went through most of them personally and learned my lesson by going through the purifying fires. By doing so, I came out the other end a wiser and more prudent man then I was before I went through the fires. Now I am here to try and educate as many as I can to avoid the pitfalls that I stumbled into blindly, or when I was just plain, fool hardy.
It does make for a good teacher at times though. ;-)

Yesterday we finished with Hebrews Chapter 12. Who would have thought that we could have used the whole chapter in our study. As promised, we will be going straight into the Epistle of James, the brother, or half brother of Jesus. I love this Epistle as I love all the Epistles. I have found that the Lord has had me teaching mainly via the Epistle and then the four Books of the Apostles. Of course I've taught from Acts, etc. But the main thrust has been to the church.

James the brother of Jesus was not a believer in Jesus as the son of God; John 7:2-5
2Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.
3His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
4For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
5For neither did his brethren believe in him.

Not until James saw Jesus after the Resurrection, 1 Cor 15:7
7After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

And when he was present on the day of Pentecost, Acts 1:14;
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Many do not believe Jesus even had brothers and think Mary was a Virgin and stayed a Virgin. Not true as you can see from the Word of God.

James went on to become a leader in a church in Jerusalem; Acts 12:17, 15:13

12:17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

James as you will see refers to himself as, servant of his brother. He was martyred in AD62.

The purpose of the Epistle is James writing as a Pastor to encourage the importance of faith being put into practical action. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

There is more I would like to share about the Epistle of James before we go on.

You will note the new artwork for Part 2 of our continuing Lessons, it will become clear why this artwork was chosen. The Epistle is full of indirect references to the Sermon on the Mount.


I particularly like the Epistle because James goes right to the matter of things. He sees things as black or white. He jumps from one subject to another and he illustrates them graphically. My kind of guy. you could say.

Beginning in Chapter 1:1, James refers to the twelves tribes scattered among the nations and in 2:2 says they meet in a synagogue. This tell us that he was speaking to Hebrews who had become converts and was teaching them the ways of Christ. They also were not financially well off.

Much like we are taught the ways of Christ when we become Believers and convert to a new life and mind, going from certain death and hell to life eternal with a living and Loving God.

God Bless you. Our study will continue tomorrow.



7-15 The Epistle of James

[26] Blessings all! I don't know about you but I am excited about starting in on the Epistle of James, often referred to as the Proverbs of the New Testament. Somethings we will be speaking about might seem redundant at first but stay with me. You will find it is not. It's just another side of the prism of the Word of God. As you recall, we spoke about how multifaceted God is. His Word is not just black and white when it comes to life. Though it is black and white when it comes to Truth.

We will be speaking about the purpose of Tests in the next 11 verses and going through the Testing of our Faith through to Chapter 2:26. One might ask, "Why must we go through tests? Why must we go through testing of our Faith? I could answer that in a few sentences or we can experience it through our lessons and receive understanding and knowledge which is the way I prefer to learn.

You have heard me mention the next few verses many, many times since I founded God & Country back on Jan 2nd at the original site. Now we will get into the workings of the Word of God.

James:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations;

James, the half brother of Jesus, as Pastor of a church in Jerusalem is ministering to the congregation of members of the twelve tribes (who have converted and become followers of Jesus) via a letter.

These words of instructions are as relevant today as they were in the days that James wrote this letter to the congregation.

Count it all joy; when we fall into diverse, many or manifold temptations? That's a pretty odd statement there. Why would he want us to count it all joy? Let's look at that word in Greek, maybe it will shed some light on the subject.

COUNT - middle of a (presumed) strengthened form of (ago); to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figurative to deem, i.e. consider :- account, (be) chief, count, esteem, governor, judge, have the rule over, suppose, think. —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Sounds to me like we are to take rule of the situation, rather then let the situation take rule over us. Or is that just my assumption?

And what of the word joy in Greek?

Joy - from (chairo); cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight :- gladness, × greatly, (× be exceeding) joy (-ful, -fully, -fulness, -ous).—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Ah, make it all a delight, or at the very least, be calm in it. Not above in the word Count the words I underlined.
So we are to take control over the situtation for the following reasons;

3 Knowing this, that the trying (trial) of your faith worketh patience.


worketh; Greek
from <G2596> (kata) and <G2038> (ergazomai); to work fully, i.e. accomplish; by implication to finish, fashion :- cause, do (deed), perform, work (out).—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

patience; Greek
from <G5278> (hupomeno); cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy :- enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting). —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Paraphrased: Knowing this that the trial of your faith fashions constancy.

OK now, I used Strong's, as I have from time to time or I could have used my own words. I guess I just want to show how intense the Word of God is. We read it, way too often glossing over it with a, "Oh, right, I understand that" and move on, when in reality we are just taking in words and not meaning.

After reading the paraphrased verse we see that it says in the Greek, that the trial of our faith fashions constancy.
As you can see it reads differently but the same, just a different angle in the prism of the Word of God.
So the trying of our faith, which by the way, will constantly occur, works patience which in turn leads us to the next verse.


4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Perfect work;
from <G5056> (telos); complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with <G3588> (ho)) completeness :- of full age, man, perfect.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Entire;
from <G3650> (holos) and <G2819> (kleros); complete in every part, i.e. perfectly sound (in body) :- entire, whole.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Wanting;a primary verb; to leave, i.e. (intransive or passive) to fail or be absent :- be destitute (wanting), lack.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Nothing;
a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between <G1519> and <G1537>)—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Praise God! No wonder Paul Rejoiced so much! No wonder we see so many Woe-is-me Christians failing in life and failing as witnesses for the Glory of God. They do not know how to take the test. They haven't been exercising their senses by reason of use, as I have taught before.

These tests, these trials are here to build up our faith, our patience, our constancy, our Christian growth, our maturity, our moral character, our sound minds, our wanting nothing! All you have to do is rejoice knowing by doing so you will not only pass the test/trial but also have the Victory. All in Christ Jesus.

Can you see the simplicity in it? Why do we allow our minds to make it so complicated with, "I cant's" and "it won't work" and, "Oh, it hurts too much right now, I'll do it later" or any one of a dozen other excuses.

Redemption is NOW. Salvation is NOW. Deliverance is NOW! We have it in our power NOW! Do not put it off. We have been given the power and the authority in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in Jesus Name. Amen.

God Bless. Our studies will continue tomorrow.



7-16

[27] I'm losing count here! Praise God! I pray you all had a great day in the Lord; that you were Blessed in your coming and going and that you leaned not on your own understanding but, acknowledged the Lord in all things. Hopefully you did. I often times forget, thankfully He has Blessed me with His Holy Spirit who is quick to remind me that I am thinking with a carnal mind again.

Not that my thoughts are bad, they are just not the thoughts of the way God would have me consider a matter. Whatsoever matter it might be, such as bills. Lost another clump of hair today before I realized, He has never let me down before. Seems at times he would be late but the bottom line was, He was never late. Of course, my wife and I didn't help matters out much by putting ourselves in the position we found ourselves in. Then like little babies go crying to God to bail our butts out. Lord, how childish we still are at 30 years in the Lord.

Here you thought I had all the answers huh? Just because someone seems to have the answers doesn't mean they operate in them.
WOW! Now that was heavy! That statement is an old 1980's term meaning, deep, awesome, truthful, obvious but goes right over ones head. Of course when we used that term, we were often under the influence of something or other. Thank you Jesus for Redemption and Salvation.

We know 1 Cor 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

If we take the above verse, 1 Cor 13:12 and look at it as a verse for today and just for today, we can see it this way. We see the darkly in that we read it and have a basic knowledge and understanding of the Word. But then, face to face with the Word in a situation in our lives. We only know it in part. Once we have stood upon that Word and not wavered from that Word or our Faith in the Word, but walked in it; then we know the Truth of the Word as well as we know ourselves. That is when we know the, "I know that I know". That is when we can not be persuaded from our Faith because we lived through it and came out a changed person by the power of the Word of God and our efforts, (works) being applied to His Word.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Why? Because when Jesus was Crucified, the curtain was rent and all believers are now able to go to the Throne Room of Grace and receive of God the Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding we need to complete the tasks set before us. It shall be given him (us), is a statement.

It is time for me to share one of my little testimonies. Many of you can attest to the fact that I can be pretty straight forward with the Truth.
I always try to be loving and kind when I minister. But, there comes a time when enough is enough and the person needs to face the facts and deal with them themselves. Phil 1:12b work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

As I have stated numerous times I was heavily involved in a church ministry as an Elder, teacher, etc. I often had people come to me and ask for prayer. Praise God, I consider it an Honor to be asked to pray for someone and take it very seriously. These people are putting their trust in me that I will offer up my prayers to the Lord in one mind and one accord with them and reach the Fathers heart.

There were, as there are in every church congregation I have ever run across, two or three people that would come to me every service, sometimes 3 times a week and ask me to pray for them. As requested I would. Then one day it hit me. Why? Why should I be praying for this brothers problem 2-3 times a week, week after week and he is still bound up in that problem?

Maybe he isn't doing his part? The next time he came up to me for prayer, I refused him. He looked at me with mouth agape. In total shock and then I spoke to him lovingly. I explained that we prayed constantly for three to four months for the exact same problem but he had yet to be released. He was not demon possessed nor was he tormented. He just wouldn't give up his carnality and wanted me and anyone else to pray it away.

Brothers and sisters, it doesn't work that way. Unless of course it is a demonic power at play, which I have run across on more then one occasion.
See the verse above. If you need a way out of your situation or you need guidance, which we all do, when ministering to someone, ask and ye shall receive. You can bet it will be a lot better then any advise you or I could come up with.

I was on the phone today, I use my speaker phone so I can still do some work on the computer. As I was chatting with someone about some things that were going on in their lives, nothing personal per se my wife was there and the caller knew and said, "Hi Pat"! Yada. yada.

After explaining the dilemma they were in, my wife had to run out with my son. Well, wasn't long before my wife calls, breaking into another phone call I am in and tells me, "Tell so and so to contact her Representative, that is what he gets paid for"! Bingo! She nailed it. I called back, gave the info and now we will see what happens.

What I am getting at is this, "Ask, and ye shall receive". my wife, God Bless her, is my helpmate and my soul-mate. The one God has put me together with. We have gone through so many various storms in our lives that we have had to tie ourselves to the mast to stay together and go down with the ship if need be.

She has what I lack. She senses things that I don't. I have discernment in certain areas, she has it in others. But we believe God answered prayers through my wife for someone who is at their wits end and gave them the answer to solve their problem. Why? Because that person admitted they needed help before man and before God and went to the Throne Room and asked for help and it came through in a way none of us expected. But, then again, isn't that the way God works sometimes?

God Bless you all.

Phil 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

So we shall move forward from our Lessons of the past so that we may press forward for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
In this case though, we will not forget those things, the Lessons which are behind us but will carry them along with us and walk in them daily. Right? Oh, sure Emil, everyday. <Smile, God Loves you>.

We grow daily, dieing to self and growing in Christ by the Grace of God which was a Gift given to us by God Himself. Amazing, just think of that. The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth of all things that are. He gave each one of us the free Gift of Grace. And, as we learned last night, freely gives us more anytime we need it. What a Mighty and Wonderful God we serve. And yet, we find ourselves so reluctant to serve Him at times. So many excuses pop up for us not to do; this or that, go, here or there; say, "God Loves you" or "I love you" or "I am sorry" or "I forgive you" or "You know, that hurt". I could go on and on. Then there are the times when we give up all our authority in Christ because we allowed ourselves to be intimidated by someone or something or, even ourselves. But I am here to tell you there is a way, a better way, a way to achieve and over come.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Faith here in Greek is Pistis meaning = truth itself :- assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
Nothing wavering in Greek is Diakrino meaning = hesitate :- contend, make (to) differ (-ence), discern, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Now in truth, I really do not have to go to the Strong's Concordance to explain this but some people enjoy learning the meanings of some of these words. Others get use the NIV or some other version of the Bible and say, Emil, why do you stick with the Old King James Version? In Truth? If I wanted to read a story, I would just go buy a book. No, not me, I want to dig, dig, dig and then, dig deeper. Must be the Italian in me.
The KJV makes me seek His word out, my favorite being my 1967 version of the Scofield Bible. Though I can barely read the font size anymore.
But it seems to know just what page to open up to when I am looking for a scripture verse. :-)

Back to our Lesson, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea with the wind and tossed.


I live right on the Great South Bay on the South Shore of Long Island. I grew up on the North Shore of Long Island. I guess you could say, I am surrounded by water and know the effects of the wind on water. On some days, I can feel the sea spray off the bay which is 400 feet from my house and I can see the white caps going from right to left, fore to aft, (that's boat talk there) and virtually in every direction. Anyone that lives anywhere near water knows what I am talking about and can relate to this scripture verse in the sense of a wave in the sea as the wind blows.
The windier it is, the more tossing of the seas, as we see in scripture when Jesus is sleeping in the boat and His disciples are fearing for their very lives.

With that kind of attitude, do you think they would receive anything from God? Not until they woke Him up. I can see it now. Jesus sleeping comfortably in a corner of the boat, the waves beating against the boat, Peter the mighty fisherman, in fear of his life and the disciples woke Jesus (Matt 8:26) and He said. "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith"? Note the words he used, ye of little faith. During a storm!!!!

We will continue with our Lesson tomorrow, I prayer you were Blessed today.

God Bless you all.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We'll make this as clear as possible so we don't take it the wrong way. I went to Strong's and the following is what I gleaned. Again, this is for those that wish to have the factual proof via Greek terminology, etc.

Double Minded = dipsychos—two-spirited, i.e. vacillating (in opinion or purpose) :- double minded.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

This means someone that can not make a decision for themselves or keep to a decision they already made, (See Peter walking on water then taking his eyes off of Jesus).


Unstable = akatastatos - (as a negative particle) and a derivative of <G2525> (kathistemi); inconstant :- unstable.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Basically, it is someone that can't make up their mind and by doing so, can't please God because without Faith, you can not please God. If you can not please God because you are not walking in faith, then don't expect to get anything from him. Simple as that.

Proof you ask? Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I would like you to note the, "rewarder of them that diligently seek him" part of the scripture, for therein is your answer; keeping your faith in His Word, clinging to your faith and not walking by sight but, by faith. Then God will reward them that diligently seek Him for what? Answer: All our needs, as we read in our past Lessons; going to the Throne Room for the Grace that is needed. When we open our mouths without fear, He will fill them with the correct words; taking the authority in any given situation. Teaching a Bible Lesson when the waves are lapping at your knees but you know your God is faithful and true to those that diligently seek Him and His Holy Spirit will provide the teaching for the day, as He always does. Thank you, Jesus.

God Bless you all. Continued tomorrow Lord willing.


7-20

[30] Praise God! Here we are, Monday morning for many of us. Some in other parts of the world, may be reading this in the middle of the night on Sunday or others might be reading it next week. The important thing is that we come together in one mind and one accord in our spirit at the end of the Lesson so that we all might grow in Christ and be more Christ-minded and less carnal-minded.

Oh! How wonderful it is to be called a Son or Child of God! And, how much more wonderful it is to behave like one! It is, as I have said numerous times, that we have such an awesome God!

He has taken:

1. The time to leave us the written Word of God to feed us daily...........Give us this day our daily bread..........our manna from Heaven.
2. Given up His Son, the Sacrificial Lamb who shed His blood for our sins........though our sins were as scarlet they shall be white as snow..
3. The Holy Spirit that leads us into all truths.
4. Jesus His Son, the Living Word of God who abides in us as we abide in Him.
5. Fellowship with the Saints of God, you and I who lift one another up in Prayer and edification in all things.
Being of one mind and one accord in Christ Jesus.
6. Power, to step on serpents heads and on scorpions and on all the powers of Hell.
7. Faith!
8. Grace!
9. Mercy!
10. Love!
11. Redemption!
12. Salvation!
And, so much more; so much to be thankful for; for living an overcomer's life, for eternal life, for a Victorious life!

So, what do we have to complain about?

Maybe if we were all a bit more thankful for what He has given us, then all the things that trouble us, like the songs says, grow strangely dim.

In verses 7 and 8, we spoke on being double minded and not receiving anything from God because we were indecisive in all our ways. We could not just pray and believe and leave it with God without taking it back and worrying about it again when the winds started blowing and the storms started up once more. That is a sign of not having enough faith. As we know, without operating in faith, we can not please God. So, in turn, we do not receive the promises of God.

9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

The best way to explain verse 9 is to provide more scripture, I recommend you read the full text and not just what I am about to post. This concerns the Church or, the Body of Christ, His Bride.


1 Cor 12:23-26
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked:
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.

E.G.: The members of the Body humble themselves to those that are most in need, so that those of low degree may rejoice in that they are exalted. Remember, the Lord tells us, to be greatest in the Kingdom of God. We have to be least and serve all. For the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Never, ever exalt yourself in any given situation unless you don't mind having the Lord knock you off your high horse. We are here to serve the Lord and ALL that He brings across our path. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.


Isaiah 57:
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

10a But the rich, in that he is made low. Exalt the lowly, humble the exalted. Making us all on the same level all children of God all of the same worth to God; none more valuable then another. All loved with the same Love, none respected above another for our God is not a respecter of persons. He sees us through Jesus. The Holy Spirit, His Word and our relationship working with our Faith and works will change us slowly into the image of God. Not until we are with the Lord will we reach perfection but we are to strive for it here on earth as it is in Heaven.

12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Amen.

To be continued.




7-25

[31] Wow, this is strange, it felt really odd trying to start my latest lessen at the NING site in that little window so I had to come over to the old site to continue my Lessons. We have new readers and I pray they have taken the time to read the prior Lesson so they can see what this series is all about. In Short it is about;
God, your neighbor and yourself and the relationship with each one and how to grow in each one, daily.

We never stop growing, ever. If we ever think that we have gotten to that point in life; that we have become all knowing and are above anyone else in any form of knowledge, we have committed sin. The sin of Pride and a heart that devises wicked imagination. Why? Because one is then operating in the flesh and not in the Spirit because (John 6:63) it is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

If we read back over the Lessons, we taught on many things including the Chastening of the Lord and used Hebrews 12 and broke down each verse and went into depth on the meaning of each verse and how it effects our lives when we apply it. Now, our applying it on our own, will not do us that much good unless we apply it with the help of the Lord. This is where repentance and humbling ones self comes into play; two other subjects we have touched upon in our Lessons.

As you can see, if you have not read the Lessons, you've missed quite a bit. One of the things you've missed is that there is no preaching. We are now in the Epistle of James and have gone through the first 12 verses dealing with Faith. I do add other scriptures to back up my Lessons but not all the scriptures. Or, I would find myself going off into the distance on another teaching all together, which I was known to do when I taught in Church and Home Groups. Thankfully, it was all by the Spirit of God, for without Him, I am at a total loss. Praise God.


James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

How many times have we heard people say, God is tempting me, in order to test me through this trial. No way. God allows us to go through trials so that we can be strengthened and grow in our patience and other attributes but He Himself does not Tempt us. (see prior lessons)

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Ah, so who is to blame here? If it isn't God then it must be Satan. Nope. The Word of God doesn't say that here. Does it? OK, I can see some shaking heads out there. You are thinking, "The Serpent in the Garden beguiling Eve" aren't you? That first sin there. Yes, that first sin and then Adams. Since then, we were dressed in skins and lived in that sinful nature. What did we look like before that? Makes me wonder. Created in God's image. Today we are new creatures becoming more Christ-like everyday. (Well, at least I hope we are.) And, Christ had a sinless nature even while "Dressed" as a man (he came in the flesh). I wonder what we'll look like with our glorified bodies? I image we will be in the image of God, again. Now, there's some meat to chew on.

OK. So it's man's own nature that draws Him/Her to their own lusts; booze, sex, drugs, rage and so on... and then, enticed. I don't see God anywhere in that verse, do you? But He's in there, just not being put to use... yet. That's where our Will or God's Will comes into play. Also His Grace, which is free to all that ask for it; to overcome temptation. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

Enticed: meaning... Beguiled, Allured. Interesting word isn't it? Look "enticed" up in Greek.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

OK. Now we get to the "nitty gritty" of the workings of temptation. I think I warned you that you haven't seen a teacher quite like me.

This is a very powerful verse. I so often marvel at how we will read a verse of scripture and think, "OK, I got it" and then move on and not take in the whole Truth nor the meaning of the verse. I'm not implying that I'm the only one that understands it. Millions of believers do. But, then there are millions who don't.

The description is that of reproduction bringing forth a "being." Then, when that being has run it's course, it ends in death. Am I saying that sin has life? Yes. Reread verse 15. When you conceive something, it brings forth life. And when that life is finished, it brings forth death. (Sin has a lifespan, and during that period of time we are in sin, it is alive, and we are living in it.) Now, before we move on, I have one more thing I'll like to point out.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, against principalities, against powers, against the rulers, the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12 So even though it's lust that conceives sin, it is STILL a spiritual battle.

How is Lust conceived? By entertaining the thought!

Get rid of it, right away!

Go to the Throne Room of Grace and ask the Father who liberally gives us the grace to overcome that lust, right then and there! NO "ifs", "ands" or "buts" about it. For once it is conceived, it WILL bring forth SIN.

Now, as the scripture goes on to say, once sin is finished; we got drunk; we went surfing the net for porn or worse; we lost our temper and took a swing at someone; or cursed them out; or one of so many other things, only each one of us might know. Sin will bring forth death.

Death? Yes. Spiritual death, for sure. We are now hiding behind the bush (or fig leaves) so the Lord doesn't see our nakedness. We're riddled with guilt because the Holy Spirit is convicting us. We might be too proud to confess our sin. Or, we might be deceived by the father of lies, and not even think it is worth repenting over. After all, we have such a loving God and He is so forgiving.

We are wrong on all those counts, other than that we have a loving and forgiving God. Oops, I just started preaching. The very worst of it all is, we just might die in that sinful state. We got drunk, or we lost it and went out because we were lonely or angry and needed or wanted company that just so happens to have a knife on them. Or we threw caution to the wind and did whatever on a whim, not caring about the consequences. Need I go on? These are only some of the results of sin conceived by Lust, not to mention total ruination of our lives, families, professional careers, and yes, even ministries. We see it everyday on TV.

We, as Christians are NOT above it. Why? Because as Paul said, (paraphrased) I am of the flesh and the more I do not want to do these things, the more I find myself doing them. This is why it is so important to be spiritually-minded and not carnally-minded when reading the Word of God and walking with the Lord daily. We can not have one foot in the world and one foot in the Spirit. In whatsoever we do, do it as unto the Lord.

Praise God. I only have three verses left but I feel the Lord telling me to put them off and finish them tomorrow night. And possibly I should also move on to the next section of James. Obeying the Word.

Be Blessed. Good night!

To be Continued.

7-27-09

[32] Praise the Lord, it's a new day and a new day means new beginnings. That's right, each day we get to start all over again! Doesn't that sound great? Oh come on. I can hear some of those groans all the way over here. It's not that bad. Really, it's not! We have Resurrection Power within us! That is if you have Christ abiding in you. If you have Christ abiding in you, you have Resurrection Power to give you renewed life every day.

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Is that a great thought though!? Jesus came to give us life and not only that but, more abundantly! Sounds good doesn't it? Now why did I use that word again? What word? Sounds. Because so many of us just hear the words in our minds but not our hearts. How do we get that Word into our hearts? By reading it. Well, not quite just reading it, it's all in the approach of how we read it. Have we prayed first for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we might grow and not so that we might use it to teach others where they are going wrong. Right there is where many people who want to go into the Ministry go wrong. What they end up with then is a lot of memorized head knowledge. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away 2 Tim 3:5

OK, so we go to the Word in prayer as we all know, (Please, do not go playing Bible Roulette, [closing your eyes, saying, Lord, what Word do you have for me opening the Bible, opening your eyes and seeing, He was crucified upside down]). It takes, seeking His face, seeking for treasure, seeking answers. All that seeking mean, looking, digging, studying, working at.

A wise father will not just give His children everything they want or even need. A wise father knows they will have to work for things in their lives to truly appreciate their worth. So, if you want to know the Truth of the Word of God, you have to Work at seeking His face and then, in most cases you will find yourself having to live through it. Why? To truly understand how it works. When you come out the other side of the Word, you really understand what it means.

I am going to have a hard time not going into a study on the next verses I post.

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

When we read the Word in the proper heart, we receive it into our heart the Lord said,

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Remember the Word of God says, I will no longer write in stone but, in the Fleshy tablets of the heart. Other scripture speaks of fallowed ground receiving the seed. Now bear with me here one moment. Have you ever noticed that the Fruit never looks like the seed?

Did the risen Christ look like the Crucified Christ? I know when I was saved, my whole countenance changed. But, I was a pretty rough character back then.

What I am bringing out is, we often think we know, as I said in prior Lessons, what the Word of God says and what it means. Until, we go through our trials and tribulations and use His Word by walking in Faith and applying His Word. Then we see the complete Truth of the Word of God. That is when we have become True Witness of His Glory, Honor and Power. Before that, in truth we were false witness and only relating what others were telling us in scripture, which is fine in itself but, we were not eyewitnesses to these Miracles. Until we have gone through the Fires that refines us and burns off the dross that we live through we can not be true witnesses to the Glory, Honor and Power of the Word of God. We might have knowledge of His Word and Understanding but not the fullness of it. Living through the Word of God will allow us to be purer by the Power of the Word of God.

And that is something no power on earth can ever take away from you. It has been burned into your very being, heart and soul. It is you and you are it. If you abide in me and I abide in you.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Of His own will, He knew us before He knitted us in our mothers womb. He begat us with the WORD OF TRUTH (how can we not Love Him and want to do all for Him) so we can be a kind of first fruits of His creations.

Remember this, our God is a God that multiplies. He expects us to multiply. Both physically and Spiritually.

God bless you.

I've always loved this last verse here. Whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty and stays in it will not be a forgetful hearer but a doer. That person will be Blessed in His deeds!

This is the point I have been driving home since Lesson one and will be diving home until the Lord calls me home. How to be Victorious Christians no matter what the circumstances are. No matter what is going on in your life, believe me on that one; no matter what is going on with our Country, do what God says to do and we will have the Victory. Do what we think we should do and we will lose every time and we will wonder why we didn't get that coffee we asked for.

God Bless you all.

To be continued.

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8-2-09

[35] Good day all! We've all heard the adage, " Another day, another dollar". Today I say, " Another day, another Holler"! Hallelujah! A day closer to His return. A day to die a bit more to self and to be more like minded to Christ! I think that is reason to shout. If not it might be time to do some more self evaluating.

One might ask me, do you really do all this self evaluating you tell us we should do? I will answer in the affirmative. My assistant like me using words like that, in my own terminology? "You bet". "Why"? "Because I always find myself falling short of the Glory of God". I need to do self evaluating because I am dealing with God's People here and I must be in the right place so He may work through me as the vessel that I am. Chipped, cracked, worn but still able to carry the water and wine for the Lord.

What I say goes for anyone that truly wants to minister for the Lord and not for self or just to spout scripture. If one can't explain the working of the scripture or the Life of the scripture beware. There I go again, veering off. We were talking about examining oneself, again. This is a daily, nah, continual ritual (I hate using that word) we go through.

Why did I say that? No, that is not a question I am asking you, it is a question we all ask ourselves many times in a day.
What did I do that for? Again, another question we ask ourselves, after the fact. If only we could anticipate the future we would not have to ask these questions would we?

One might ask, "How can I anticipate the future"? My response. "Read the Bible", it's all in there, especially in the Epistles. Also in Proverbs, you will find the answers to most of the tings we come across in life. Things we have to deal with. Now understand, they may not be exact but the principles are. This is how you anticipate the future by looking into the past and using that advise in our lives daily and not waiting until we need it.


James 1:26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Religion = from a derivative of <G2357> (threskos); ceremonial observance :- religion, worshipping.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
Vain = from the base of <G3155> (maten); empty, i.e. (literal) profitless, or (special) an idol :- vain, vanity. —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

When men take more pains to seem religious than really to be so, it is a sign their religion is in vain. The not bridling the tongue, readiness to speak of the faults of others, or to lessen their wisdom and piety, are signs of a vain religion. The man who has a slandering tongue, cannot have a truly humble, gracious heart. False religious may be known by their impurity and uncharitableness. True religion teaches us to do every thing as in the presence of God. An unspotted life must go with unfeigned love and charity. Our true religion is equal to the measure in which these things have place in our hearts and conduct. And let us remember, that nothing avails in Christ Jesus, but faith that worketh by love, purifies the heart, subdues carnal lusts, and obeys God's commands.—Matthew Henry Concise

I decided to go with the Matthew Henry commentary because it says it all. It may not be in my words but many of our readers have hear me speaks these same things over the course of these Lessons and other teachings I have given. Either way. It is the Word of God and all in anticipating what is to come and how to deal with it before it happens. In other words, Examine yourself continually so that you might not be one who is a seemingly religious man/woman who can not control their tongue, speaks evil or gossips and so on. These are signs of vain religion or being of the flesh which profits nothing.

Our true religion is equal to the measure in which these things have place in our hearts and conduct. And let us remember, that nothing avails in Christ Jesus, but faith that worketh by love, purifies the heart, subdues carnal lusts, and obeys God's commands.—Matthew Henry Concise

To be continued staring in James 2

Be Bless.

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8-3-09

[36] Praise God, I am starting this lesson at 4:24 am. You never know just what sets the Spirit off sometimes. I had quite a busy day and have been here at the keyboard for 14 hours now with just a dinner break. But that's OK. I enjoy serving the Lord though I get into some people's way. Such is the way it is while doing God's works. I have taught on the vision I had of the Church and my question to the Lord and His reply, "Son, I work each stone one against another so that they fit perfectly together and the mortar that binds these stones together is Love".

So, there are times that the Lord will rub us up against one another, how we deal with it is the test. In our last Lesson we taught on pure religion. Now, we are moving on into James chapter 2 and the test of Brotherly Love. The first 13 verses are dedicated to brotherly love. I will be sharing along the way my personal testimony on brotherly love and how the Lord opened by eyes to achieving and retaining brotherly love. Some here already know that testimony on attaining Liberty and living in Liberty. I believe we spoke about it in the earlier Lessons.

James 2:

1My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

As the Word says, God is not a respecter of persons.

1 Sam. 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Have not the faith of our Lord...meaning have the same as our Lord concerning respect of persons. As we can see in 1 Sam. 16: God didn't have Samuel look at the outward countenance of the large Eliab but instead the Lord had Samuel look over ten (10) others before David was brought before him. As we know, He was the anointed one and the chosen one for God knew his heart.

How do we get to know the heart of man, the inner man, not the outward appearing man? I say by first knowing ourselves and what is in our hearts. Jesus' heart is pure, the Holy Spirit is Pure, when one is in the anointing and has the gift of discernment the Holy Spirit works through that person.The person might not be pure nut his/her heart is right before God.

2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

Hmmm, now that is pretty straight forward and something I thing we all need to look at ourselves about. I'll bet everyone of us, myself included can and will say, I'm not like that. I can count a hundred times I helped out the one without. True but, but how many times didn't we? How many times in a job situation, for instance, where we wanted to impress our superior did we snub a poor man in vile raiment? Let's all be honest with ourselves. We have all done it a time or two or a dozen. That doesn't make us evil, none caring Christians, only humans. And, our human nature, as Paul said, paraphrased, takes over.

Yes, in times like those we have been partial to ourselves, I can't get out of the car to help because it's raining too hard, or, because you never know what they might do now a days. Problem is, people won't even use their cell phones to call it in.

Concerning the becoming judges of evil thoughts...when we start thinking more about the impression we want to make then on the impression we can make in someones life, we are judges of evil thoughts because we are thinking self and as we know, the father of lies was thinking self when he was cast out of heaven with one third of the angels.

Praise God, he is good and wants only the best for us but, if what He gives us is not shared with others then we will lose what he has given us. In the Kingdom of God, if you want to gain, you must give out. the more you give out, the more you receive in return. One doesn't always know what they are receiving in return but, the blessings are there plus, you are storing up treasures in heaven where moth nor rust can corrupt.

Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.


Be Blessed.

to be continued.