Word of God

Aug

2010

Under the Shelter of His Wings…

“May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” Ruth 2:12 nasb – (Boaz to Ruth)

Readers,

Before I venture into the subject, ‘The Shelter of His Wings,‘ for those interested, here is a list of my top journal entries that are presently receiving the largest number of readers:

“Speaking in Other Languages” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/12/speaking-in-other-languages/

“Walking Down Memory Lane” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/08/walking-down-memory-lane-gods-faithfulness/

“Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2009/11/mercy-triumphs-over-judgment/

“Passing Through the Valley of Baca” – http://buddymartin.net/blog/2010/01/passing-through-the-valley-of-baca/

And now…

Under The Shelter of His Wings

There was a lady who suffered greatly from a female disorder. Hearing about Jesus, she said to herself, “If I only touch His garment¹, I will get well.” (Mt9:21) We don’t often catch what she was really saying. The part of His garment she wanted to touch was the fringe (tassel) of His cloak. (¹The Luke account has krispedon for garment, which literally means ‘fringe’ or ‘tassel.’)

The ancient Jews had a tradition concerning the fringe of the cloak that had to do with God’s Messiah, and of His healing presence. The background for this came from God’s commandment to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.”(Num15:38)

The cord of blue was said to represent the throne of glory, or the heavenly life. Over time these tassels took on the term ‘wings.’ Keep this in mind and you’ll have a bit more insight into those Scriptures that speak of God’s wings and why the lady wanted to touch the garment (tassels) of Jesus.

Listen:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty … He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge.” (Ps91:1,4)

And,

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” (Mal4:2)

Then we hear Jesus say,

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” (Mt23:37)

The language that Jesus uses here speaks to who He really is. The Lord God in the person of His Messiah, walked the land of Israel. The leadership refused Him. Isaiah speaks of Jesus as God Himself:

“Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news [the gospel], lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, [message of the apostles]; lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God.'” (Isa40:9)

Take time to read this larger prophecy. I’ll break it down by portions for emphasis:

“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; thechastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.

“By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?” (Isa 53:1-8 NASB)

But there were those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

This is why the peoples crowded around Jesus, hoping just to touch the fringes of His garment. Notice how deeply felt this belief was concerning the garment of Messiah.

“Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.” (Mar6:56)

Keep in mind that to the people the blue fringe represented the throne of glory and the heavenly life. The heavenly life was walking among them. They were taught that the Messiah would bring with Him the very life of God.

But a question remains —

Does this idea of the wings of God have any relationship to the sacred Scriptures themselves? Can the heavenly life be found in the Bible? …

Paul said that the Scriptures carry in them the very breath of God. The Bible comes to us from the throne of glory. Therefore it can be said that when we believe the message of God’s Messiah that flows through the Scriptures, that in our believing we actually come under the shelter of His wings.

However, it is important to understand that it isn’t simply the Bible in itself that causes miracles and gives us the answers that we need. It is the heavenly voice that speaks to us from the Scriptures. Make this distinction and you have the true essence of why we love the book of heaven so deeply, and why we can say that the Bible is imbued with the life of Jesus.

Once again let’s hear the prophet…

Is it any wonder why the book of Isaiah is spoken of as the fifth gospel. When Jesus opens the scroll of Isaiah, He begins to read,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Cf. Luke 4:16-22)

What happens next? The people are astonished at what they are hearing. They were wondering at the gracious words that were flowing from His lips. What made the difference in this case? It was Jesus speaking from the Scriptures. The people were hearing a living voice speaking from the book of heaven. It is the voice of heaven that makes the Bible the book of heaven.

Once again listen to the prophet:

“On that day the [spiritually] deaf will hear words of a book [gospel], and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18-19 NASB)

The apostolic writer said that the entire Bible wraps around Jesus as a scroll.

Jesus said to the Jewish leaders,

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” (Jn5:39)

And again,

“Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offerings You have not desired and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure’ … Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the scroll [or volume] of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.’” (Heb10:5-7)

The term for ’scroll’ is a reference to the total volume of the book and to the spindle around which the scroll wraps itself. The picture being presented is Jesus as the spindle around which the entire Bible wraps itself.

The blue thread of heaven…

Now back to the lady with the issue of blood. She had been taught that the blue thread in the fringe (tassel) represented the throne of glory and the heavenly life. She saw Jesus as that heavenly life that comes from the throne of God. It was her faith in Jesus as the heavenly life that brought her healing.

It takes awhile for the child of God to understand the principle of how God speaks to us. This is why it is so important for the believer to be in the congregation of God’s holy people. As the man of God speaks from the Scriptures, we began to hear the Lord speaking to our own hearts. It isn’t the man of God who is speaking to us. It is the Lord speaking from the book of heaven. This is what Jesus is speaking of when He said,

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Mt18:20 – He is present in His Word.)

Is the Bible a living book to you or do you just use it to argue doctrine? Everything rests upon how you view the Scriptures.

These are the hard questions — But there is an issue involved. Do you really know the Lord, or do you simply know some form of religion? What think ye? Is the Bible the book of heaven?

Think about it.

Here is your song by Carmen. (Tell Me the Story of Jesus, I Surrender All, What A Friend We Have in Jesus.)

I love you with the love of Jesus,.

Buddy

Aug

2010

Walking down memory lane – God’s faithfulness…

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” (Psa 37:3-5 NASB)

Journal,

The single most important factor that will affect a believer’s walk with the Lord has to do with coming to realize the very character and nature of God.

I have loved the Lord deeply the greater part of my life. In fact I answered my call to the ministry at age 24. This month I will turn 70.

Even though I loved Jesus fervently from my heart, I didn’t always understand that much about God’s character. Most of the preaching I had heard was filled with passion but short on teaching on the ways of the Lord, or on discovering the very heart of God. My ministry was molded around what I had heard.

In 1971, I left the full-time ministry. The drain was just too much. So, for the next three years I devoted myself to serious spiritual adjustments. Sure, I preached out and continued my ministry of winning souls to the kingdom, but I also went into business. In my mind being in full-time ministry was a thing of the past.

Those three years became a mile stone in my walk with the Lord. It was during that time that I began to experience the Lord on a level that I never knew existed. What had been a mixed struggle and a strain in my walk of faith, was now becoming a joyful walk filled with stability and grace. The Lord was teaching me His heart. A whole new world was opening up.

It is hard to find a single beginning point for this great turn around in my life. There was so much the Lord was showing me, so much about His nature that I was coming to understand.

But let me draw attention to an incident that sort of set the state. It had to do with what I will call…

God’s Psalm of Life

Here is how it went…

Psalm 37 is what can be called ‘a fullness Psalm.’ It has to do with God’s wisdom for life. Psalm 37 is designed to help shape our faith walk. The essence of this Psalm is that we need to learn to trust the Lord in every circumstance of life. I point to Psalm 37 because it had a major place in reshaping my faith walk those thirty-six years ago.

Here is the story:

It Happened in My Morning Devotion

With my first cup of coffee in place I’m into my morning devotion. That day my devotion brought me to Psalm 37. When I come to verse 4, I read, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

I had to pause. It was like a divine moment was in place. As I sat there looking at that verse, I said a prayer in my heart, ‘Lord, did you mean that?’ That was when I heard in my heart, ‘Try Me and see.’ It was like God had given me an invitation to ask of Him anything that I wanted.

I quietly responded in my heart, ‘Lord, I thank you for my sons. I would like to have a daughter.’ Almost in the twinkling of an eye, I heard once again in my heart, ‘She’s yours.’ That was it. Business had been conducted with the throne of God.

At the time Betty was expecting our fourth child. We had no idea what our next child was to be. The Lord had already blessed us with three sons.

I shared with Betty what the Lord said. Then when I shared this with some of the church members, they gave me this kindly smile, sort of like, ‘Yeah. We’ll see.’ Someone even challenged me on what I shared. It made no difference. I had heard from the Lord.

Well, see we did. The nurse walked down the corridor towards the window where I was standing behind the glass pane. She mouthed to me, ‘It’s a girl.’ The tears of happiness rolled down my face. My heart overflowed with joy. Once again the Lord had shown Himself faithful.

But my happiness was not limited to the fact that we now had a daughter. My happiness wrapped itself around a promise that the Lord had given me. The Lord had given me His Word.

For some reason this learning experience was different this time. The Lord had often shown me things. I’ve had dreams and visions. I’ve had the Lord put in my heart things that were going to happen. And they did. So what made this event so different? This time there was a direct connection with a promise written in God’s sacred Word. The Lord said that if I would delight in Him, that He would give me the desires of my heart.

What was the great lesson I was learning? Iwas learning that you cannot separate God from His Word, and that a life of faith must have an anchor. The anchor for our faith journey is to be based entirely upon the promises of God.

I was learning that everything I would ever need in life, to live by and to carry out God’s work had already been provided. God even put His provision in written form, the Bible. My entire faith journey was to be a outworking of God’s promises. The Bible is a book of living words.

Jesus Himself said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Did the Lord stop dealing with me by dreams and visions and other directives in my heart? Not at all. What I had now was a deeper appreciation for God’s holy book. I found that the Bible is given to us as a guidebook that God uses to instill His promises into the deep of a believer’s heart.

Oh yes, the Bible is much more than a book of facts where we can collect information and argue doctrine. When the Holy Spirit moves on God’s Word and begins ministering to our heart, it then becomes a living book.

And this, my friend is the essence of the new covenant. Listen carefully to how God’s prophet describes the covenant of Christ:

“’Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

“… not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.

“‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will put My law [Torah means ‘instructions’] within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares the LORD,

“‘…for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’” (Jer 31:31-34 NASB)

I broke the afore Scriptures into paragraph portions because I wanted you to read each segment on its own. God writes His instructions upon our heart.

And so not long afterwards, the Lord open the gate to miracle land for me and my family.

We walked through the Gate right into of Miracle Land

Do you remember what the Lord said about the gate and the narrow? Listen:

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mat 7:13-14 NASB)

I’m not sure the Lord was simply referring to salvation itself. Salvation is not that hard a matter. It reduces itself down to a matter of repentance and calling upon the name of the Lord. No, it seems to me that the Lord is speaking of how we can learn to live in the life that He has for us.

In our case one more step was needed. At the end of my three years of spiritual adjustment, I made a contract with God. My heart was filled with the things of heaven. But there was something that I needed to do. I realized this sounds strange but the Lord Himself had drawn me to this place.

I made a contract with God

This was my contract – I told the Lord that I would go anywhere He wanted me to go, and I would do anything He wanted me to do, that my life was no longer mine to direct. But there were two things that I wanted from Him. 1st, I ask the Lord to tell me personally what He wanted me to do and not send someone else to tell me. And, 2nd, I must have my wife.

In such a short time the Lord opened to us the gate to miracle land. He had accepted my contract. Betty and I, along with our sons and our new daughter were back into full-time gospel ministry. That was 1975.

Oh yes, there were many more lessons to learn, but into miracle land we ventured. Now we had the answer to every need, to every trial, to every circumstance that would come our way. We were experiencing God’s character, God’s heart, and God’s faithfulness.

I wish I had time and space to share more on our journey into miracle land. But alas, the story is still being written.

Now let’s hear from Peter:

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (everything has already been provided for.)

“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2Pe 1:2-4 NASB)

Did you catch it? Living by faith is nothing less than living on His precious and magnificent promises. The land of faith is also called the land of promise. You don’t earn the promises. You are an heir of the promises.

Listen to how Paul adds to this:

“For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us–by me and Silvanus and Timothy–was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.” (2Co 1:19-20 NASB)

The Lord God has laid out before us great and mighty promises. We are the heirs of those promises.

Here’s the problem. How can you live by the promises of God if you don’t know what they are? Living by faith is not living by our feelings, or emotions, or ‘I hope so’, or, some esoteric experience, and so on and on. Living by faith has to have an anchor. It has to have a divine connection with the Lord Jesus Himself.

The anchor of the faith walk will always center on the Word of God. We are to believe in, and live from the promises of God. We are the very heirs of God and of all the Christ promises.

What more can I say. I shared just a bit of my walk down memory lane. I’ve had so many people ask me to write a book about the things I learned. But how can I do that. The book has already been written.

Have you made your full surrender? Here is a song. Let it speak to your heart.

Think about it.

Always your servant in Christ,

Buddy

Jul

2010

Faith in God’s Word…

“…it is impossible for God to lie … This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil…” (Heb 6:18-19 NASB)

Journal,

One of the greatest changes in my walk with the Lord can be traced to a decision I made in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1971. Without going into detail as to why I made this decision, it is enough to say that a decision needed to be made.

I decided that if the Scriptures were absolutely true then no person or institution had the right to make them mean something that they don’t mean. From that moment on I would take God’s Word fully as my guide. I made a covenant with my heart to find out for myself what God’s Word had to say about whatever, and that I would do my best with God’s help to order my life accordingly. It was that decision that put me on the high ground of a faith journey far beyond anything I had ever known. That was almost forty years ago. And yes, I can truly say with David,

“For it is You who blesses the Righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12)

It is amazing how a quality decision concerning God’s Word can absolutely revolutionize a person’s life. From the moment of that decision I found myself entering into a new spiritual domain of adventures and vistas. I also discovered what it meant to have an Abraham-type walk with the Lord. (One-on-one; wholly separated and consecrated to the Lord.)

Yes, I had found the key to life. Jesus said that many will not find it. But it really isn’t that hard to discover. The issue is in application. The key involves the full Lordship of Jesus and in learning to live from the mouth of God.

This was the great lesson behind Israel’s wilderness wanderings. All their trials had a single focus. It is this same focus that God has been trying to teach His people in ages gone by.

Listen carefully and see if you can pick up on the key of life:

“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” (Deu 8:3 NASB)

Are you ready to understand? That is what I want to talk about in this journal entry.

So let’s began with...

Instructions from God

The one thing Satan must do to disrupt a Christian’s life is to cast doubt on God’s Word. This is ‘bottom-line’ spiritual warfare. You will find it in play in the garden of Eden. Notice the issue that Satan challenged Eve on —

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden”‘?” (Gen 3:1 NASB)

Did you catch it? Has God said?

Satan begins by putting a twist on God’s Word. His goal is to undermine the truth of God. He does this by twisting and turning, by adding to and by taking away, by distorting and by making crooked the straight ways of the Lord.

This is Satan’s primary footing for deception. Satan is called in the Scriptures both a liar and a deceiver. Eve was deceived!

Satan is the source behind sorcery. Sorcery is spiritual rebellion against God by the use of occultic forces. Sorcerers are spiritualists or mediums who work under the false anointing of demons. This very much includes the false prophet. Little do some realize that sorcery includes astrology and other forms of fortune telling, or anything else that seeks to govern our lives aside from faithfully trusting in Jesus Christ.

Sorcery is about control. It is strongly linked to prideful flesh. Paul brings this out when Elymas the magician tries to turn a governing official away from the message of the gospel.

Notice:

“But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, ‘You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?'” (Act 13:9-10 NASB)

When Jesus was confronted by Satan in the wilderness what was the battle about?

“Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down…

“…for it is written, “He will command His angels concerning You; and “on their hands they will bear You up, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.”‘” (Mat 4:5-6 NASB)

Satan sets about with manipulation of God’s Word. He is doing much the same as he did with Eve; take things into your own hands rather than listen to the heavenly Father. How often have we fallen for this trick.

However, there is a distinct difference. With Eve there was no written Words. Just the direct instructions from the Lord. Over time the Lord gave us His written Word as an added protection in our walk of faith. It is also in the written Word that we become better acquainted with the Shepherd’s voice. Christian maturity has much to do with learning to hear from God for yourself.

The point is that God has given us words to live by. Join the book to Jesus and you have the keys to living a victorious Christian life. We find this in Paul’s instructions to Timothy:

“…and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2Ti 3:15-17 NASB)

And this brings us to a closer look at…

Distinctions on the Bible

The Bible is a book of redemption but it is also a living book. Genesis actually answers all the fundamental questions concerning God and man. It opens with, “In the beginning [absolute beginning of created things] God created the heavens and the earth.”

The Hebrew word for create is bara. It is never used in any way other than with divine activity. Genesis tells us about God, about the origin of universe, about the creation of man, and the origin of soul. It introduces the issue of sin, and gives us the promise of salvation.

It sets forth the out-calling of Israel and tells of the Messiah who will be the Savior of all mankind. Genesis is the source book from which all the Scriptures flow.

What about Revelations? This book completes God’s holy writ. If you take away Genesis you lose all explanation of heaven, the first earth, the first Adam and the fall. Take away Revelations you lose the completed truth, which is the new heaven, the new earth, man redeemed, and the last Adam.

This is why the book of Revelations concludes with,

“And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

The Bible is a living book. It is the only book on this planet that can prove it is from God. It is the only book that records history before it happens. It is the only book that sets forth thousands of prophecies and allows man to see those prophecies fulfilled. It names nations that will rise and fall. It proves its origin in the millions of lives that are radically changed.

Note the following:

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'” (Isa 46:9-10 NASB)

Also,

“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Eph 1:9-11 NASB)

The most wonderful thing about the Bible is that it tells it just like it is. It doesn’t brag on human flesh. It tells of a great fall. It tells of a great love. It tells of a great Savior.

But the Bible is especially a living book. You will literally find God speaking to you from the pages of the Bible.

Consider this prophecy that concerns Jesus and those being called out of darkness:

“On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18-19 NASB)

So, what do we have left? It all has to do with…

The Believing

The most important thing a person can do in life is to take the message of the Bible to heart. There are many voices clamoring for our faith. The voice we must listen to is the same voice that dictated what was to be placed in the written Word. Paul tells us to learn to never exceed what is written.

If we believe wrong, we will receive for the wrong of our beliefs. Destruction always begins where the Word of God is rejected. The prophet said,

“For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” [Isa26:9]

What we are to believe has been clearly defined in God’s written Word. Interestingly enough, the written Word can be likened to a path that leads to God’s living Word, which is Jesus Christ Himself.

Just some things to think about. Here is a song that will speak to the deep of your heart. Take time to listen to ‘Glorious Impossible.’

In love with Jesus,

Buddy

Jul

2010

The Fellowship of the Unashamed…

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mar 8:38 NASB)

Journal,

One pastor asked if any of us had read the book, ‘The Christian Atheist.’ I thought, ‘Why would I want to read a book that contradicts what being a Christian is about?” (Something along those lines.)

Then when the brother shared the rest of the title, it did aroused my curiosity. The full title of the book is, ‘The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but living as if He doesn’t Exist’, by Craig Groeschel.

The title made more sense when you consider those who ascribe to the name Christian, yet their lives seem to reflect the world. I’ve often wondered what kind of believer these people really are. Then I have to remember what Jesus said about not judging according to appearance but to judge with righteous judgment.

Fact of the matter is that we know so little about other believers. Who knows where they are in their walk with the Lord, or what God is doing in their lives.

How about you? Are you the kind of believer who reflects the values of the world? Or are you that believer who longs to take as your creed of life what the unknown author wrote, titled, ‘The Fellowship of the Unashamed.’

Take time to read what the following anonymous believer wrote. In doing so perhaps you could supplement it with this prayer,

‘Dear Lord, with your help and by your grace it is my deepest desire to make this statement the creed of my life. Help me to hold fast to all that represents You and Your kingdom. In Jesus name. Amen’

Here is what I might call, ‘the creed of the disciple’.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made—I am a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees,

Colorless dreams, tame visions, worldly-talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops,

Recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer and I labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable,

My mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, hired away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus, I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. And when He comes

To claim His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My banner will be clear!

–Author Unknown

Four challenges to consider…

1. The axis of TRUTH – Don’t become doctrinally rigid in anything that pertains to the walk of truth. Leave room for spiritual growth. Absolute truth is often found in the tension of two truths that even seem pull against one another. Always ask the Lord for a better understanding of all that He would have you to understand.

“For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.“ (Pro 2:3-6 NASB)

2. The matter of LOVE – Jesus said that a disciple’s walk has to have a dual love focus. The focus is lateral, love God, and, horizontal, love others. John said that it is impossible to love God without loving others.

“’Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mat 22:36-40 NASB)

3. Singleness of PURPOSE – God wants us to serve Him with an undivided heart. Whatever things compete with God in our lives are things that attempt to divide our heart. Having singleness of heart and vision speak of a complete loyalty to Jesus Christ in all things.

“Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.” (Psa 86:11-12 NASB)

4. The issue of TREASURES – Our heart is always connected to our treasures. What we make time for, what we spend our money on, and what we see as priorities in life will always reflect the status of our heart far more than our words ever will do. (Mat 6:19-21)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mat 6:19-21 NASB)

Let this song minister to your heart. The Lord wants to share some secret things with you.

In love with Jesus,

Buddy

Jul

2010

Learn to Live From Heaven’s Wisdom…

“Does not wisdom call … ‘To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O naive ones, understand prudence; and, O fools, understand wisdom. Listen, for I will speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

“For my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverted in them. They are all straightforward to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.

“Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold.

For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her.” (Pro 8:1-11 NASB)

Readers,

This is an entry where you would do well to follow all the Scriptures given. There is nothing more important to believers than to learn to draw on their heavenly life. This heavenly life is set forth in the Scriptures as ‘wisdom from above.’

There are five books in the Old Testament that are called ‘Wisdom books.’ These books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

To God’s ancient people ‘wisdom’ was a mystery. Wisdom not only meant skillful living, but it meant directives from God. Very early on the sages saw a close connection between God’s wisdom and Light, God’s power and His Word, and with a special view to the coming Messiah.

We see this in David’s prophetic writings.

“For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” (Psa 36:9 NASB)

In this Scripture we see the hidden Christ as the fountain of life. We also see a reflection on this, when Jesus said,

“I am the Light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

David knew that the true wisdom for life could only be found in the heart of God. This is why it is said that David was a man after God’s heart. Actually there were certain things hidden in God that could only be revealed after the cross. David also knew this. And Wisdom was one of the things that was hidden in God.

A Closer Look at Wisdom in the Old Testament

God’s ancient people always connected wisdom with rightness of life. Righteousness to them was defined as ‘right-wise-ness’. Yet wisdom still remained such a mystery.

Follow this reading from Job:

“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx, or sapphire.

“Gold or glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; and the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

‘Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the sky. Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’ God understands its way, and He knows its place.” (Job 28:12-23 NASB)

Did you catch it? The wisdom of God is not an earthly wisdom. It is a wisdom that is hidden in God Himself. It is a heavenly wisdom.

Keep the term ‘hidden wisdom’ in view. This heavenly hidden wisdom is going to reappear in the new covenant writings.

The wisdom of God was also connected with creation.

“The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens.” (Pro 3:19 NASB)

To the ancients this wisdom from God also spoke of salvation and the coming Redeemer:

“The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” (Isa 33:5-6 NASB)

Now see where Job speaks of the coming Redeemer:

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:25-27 NASB)

It is important to keep in mind that Wisdom in the Bible always connects with the very life of God.

Which brings us to the issue of…

Jesus the ‘hidden wisdom’ of God

When Adam sinned against the Lord, he forfeited his life & his wisdom connection with God. Mankind would enter a world dominated by darkness & death.

In the Targums, the sages taught that the original light of creation was to provide wisdom for mankind to live by. When Adam rejected God’s command, the light of wisdom was hidden. It would only come back with the Messiah.

This is where the New Testament writings open up. Most Hebrew people would have understood what John was writing, when he said:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.“ (Joh 1:1-5 NASB)

To a Jewish reader all these statements about the ‘Word’, spoke to them of the Messiah.

New covenant believers are Children of Light.

The terms ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ are expressions that distinguish between those born of heaven and those who are yet in sinful darkness of this present world.

It would do you well to take note of the following Scriptures:

“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise [worldly wise] and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.’” (Mat 11:25 NASB)

“… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:12-14 NASB)

“…rescuing you [Paul’s commission from the Lord] from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” (Act 26:17-18 NASB)

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” (Eph 5:6-8 NASB)

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.” (Eph 3:8-10 NASB)

“Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1Co 2:6-8 NASB)

God’s people are to learn to

Draw on our heavenly wisdom

James describes our heavenly wisdom this way:

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (Jas 3:17-18 NASB)

Paul explains that maturity in Christ actually involves learning to live from the wisdom that comes from above. The moment a person is born again they become a citizen of heaven. This means that all our resources in life, all our directives in life, and all our wisdom and skill in life are to come from a heavenly source.

Take note of these Scriptures:

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:1-3 NASB)

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mat 6:33 NASB)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Php 3:20 NASB)

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph 5:15-17 NASB)

Don’t live beneath your privileges.

Many of God’s children are so caught up in a religious world that they let others do all their thinking for them. They are living far below what a walk with the Lord is all about. .

You will often hear me say this but it is worth repeating…

– Jesus did not come to give us a better religion. He did not come to give us a religion at all. Jesus came to give us a direct relationship with the heavenly Father. Jesus came to teach us how to live from our heavenly life. –

How do I learn to live in my heavenly life? You do this by taking the yoke of Christ upon yourself. Do it as an act of faith. Make a quality decision where you can say without condition, ‘Father, not my will but Yours be done.’

Learn to walk step-in-step with the Lord. This is how we actually draw on His strength and on His wisdom for life.

Here is a song for your meditations – ‘You are the Light of the World.’

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-hgd-9r56k[/youtube]

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jun

2010

For love of the Lamb…

“Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.” (Gen 22:7-8 NASB)

Readers,

In Bible hermeneutics (Bible interpretation) there is a rule that is called ‘the law of first mention.’ This rule has to do with doctrinal studies or Bible teachings. The emphasis of this rule is that when a doctrine or Bible teaching first appears in the Bible, the fundamental meaning in that occurrence will carry through to its greatest fulfillment in Christ Jesus.

A good example for the law of first mention is where we find the term righteousness first used in the Old Testament. The first time the word righteousness appears has to do with the Lord appearing to Abraham. Here are snippets of that meet as found in Genesis 15:

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great … And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look towards the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’

“Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Notice that Abraham’s right standing with God depended on one thing alone, that he truly believed in the Lord. How then does this find its fulfilling in the new covenant? Listen to Paul:

“Therefore [Abraham’s believing in the Lord] was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Rom4:23,24)

And so the fact of how a a believer attains righteousness before God never changes. Righteousness has always been a matter of faith. It is now perfectly fulfilled in a person’s faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul again draws attention to this faith cause by calling it ‘the law of faith’.

“Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified [declared righteous before God] by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Rom 3:27-28 NASB)

This doctrine of the Lamb

There are many other new covenant doctrines that can be found in embryo form in the Old Testament. The one I want to draw special attention to has to do with the term ‘Lamb.’

The very first time the word Lamb is used in the Scriptures also has to do with Abraham. It is where Abraham says to Isaac,

“‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

The doctrine of the Lamb is at the very heart of the Christian experience. What makes a Christian a Christian has to do with an intrinsic love factor. This love factor encompasses itself around Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

The doctrine of the Lamb is the underlying truth of what redemption entails. This doctrine speaks to the faith of the Old Testament saints, to the spiritual freedom of the new covenant children of God, and to a redemption love that becomes the outflow in a believer’s heart.

The Lamb becomes the whole of our life. Love for the Lamb fills out the heart of that one who has come to personally know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The apostle said,

“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1Cor 6:17).

The Lamb is called the Father’s glory.

Not only is the doctrine of the Lamb a doctrine of progressive revelation, but the doctrine of the Lamb is also about the people of the Lamb. The doctrine of the Lamb is about ‘beholding.’

The apostle John wrote,

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Joh 6:40 NASB) — Beholding Jesus is an activity of the heart. We behold Him with our heart.

From out of the ‘beholding ‘ the Lamb will come forth a people. The Lamb and the people of the Lamb will be eternally linked. This why we hear Paul say,

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:10).

To discover life is to discover the Lamb.

To discover the Lamb means that you belong to the Lamb. To discover the Lamb is to fall deeply in love with Him. But it isn’t a love that is common to man. It is actually the Father’s love filling out our hearts.

The discovery element is a key issue in the Christian walk. This is why Paul said that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

In another place he says that as we gaze upon the glory of Christ through the Scriptures, our inward man experiences spiritual transformations. It is the glory of Christ that fills our hearts. While this may sound mystical, it is a spiritual reality to those who are partakers of the new covenant.

The testimony of the blood.

The clearest picture of the redemption Lamb in Genesis is when God directs Abraham to the mountains of Moriah. The ‘testing’ of Abraham was to show God’s real purpose in the test. The test was about the Lamb. On the Mountains of Moriah we are given our first composite picture of God’s redeeming program.

When it came time for Israel to be formed as a nation there were two particular sacrifices to be offered. The Lord’s instruction to Moses was,

“The one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.” (Exo 29:39)

The lamb offerings were to be perpetuated throughout their generations. Their minds were to think on the lamb offering every morning and every evening.

In the minds of the Old Testament saints the picture of God’s Lamb was being painted, or, as our metaphor goes, they were seeing the sculpture as it was being sculptured.

The Exodus out of Egypt was based upon the lamb sacrifice and its blood placed upon the homes. Moses wrote his song, which is referred to in Revelation as, “The song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”

A voice crying in the wilderness.

Then we hear a voice crying in the wilderness,

“Make way the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”

The cry gets louder, and the people come by thousands to be baptized by John. Then one day, they hear him shout,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Cf. Rev 15:3; John 1:29)

Listen! Do you hear the voice still crying in the wilderness. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is with us.

The apostle Peter said it this way,

“For He [the Lamb] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God.” (1 Pet 1:20,21)

The Lamb upon the throne.

But just who is this Lamb of God? No less that twenty-nine times the phrase ‘the Lamb’ is used in the book of Revelation. In all these references the Lamb is directly associated with God. As Revelation begins its closure we are looking at a picture of God fully manifest as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It says,

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life (Holy Spirit), clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God (the Father) and of the Lamb (Son of God).”

John is using archetypal images found through the Old Testament to describe God in His awesomeness. Notice carefully that there is only one throne.

The Father’s throne has become the Son’s throne.

John’s gospel draws attention to the vision of Isaiah, where the prophet writes,

“In the year of King Ussiah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with His robe filling the temple.”

John tells us that Isaiah actually saw King Messiah, that is, the Lord Jesus Himself. (Cf. Isa 6:1; John 12:41)

For love of the Lamb

And so to love the Father unseen, is to love Jesus the only begotten Son. He is called the image of the invisible God. In fact Jesus was very plain in saying to one group,

“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (John 8:42)

But how can we possibly love someone we have never seen? When we embraced the cross, that is, when we truly believed in Jesus Christ, it was then that the Father pours His own love into our hearts. Jesus simply said,

“The Father loves the Son.”

Here it gets quite mystical. We love the Son with the Father’s love. Jesus said,

“So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

The mystery doesn’t stop here. Out of this we can actually call God our very own Father because the Spirit of His Son cries in us, ‘Abba! Father!’ Thus all believers carry in themselves a Father consciousness. Jesus said,

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:1)

It is the Lamb of God who gives us our freedom.

Every person born from above is made alive in the Lamb. And because our lives have been perfectly joined to God’s Christ, this allows our hearts to overflow with themes of life. (By the way, this is what the Spirit filled life is really all about.)

The Spirit-filled life is about the power to show ourselves as a testimony to Christ. We witness to Him by our love. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they would become His witnesses. He wasn’t simply speaking of them giving verbal testimony. He was speaking of what they would become. They would become the people of the Lamb, out of whose hearts would flow a love that was not common to man. It would be God’s love.

This love for the Lamb is so powerfully felt in believers that Christians through the ages have literally given their lives for Him. The Scriptures take note of this, in saying,

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Rev 12:11)

How about you – Do you love the Lamb? Would you really like to behold the Lamb? You can, you know. Just open your Bible. The Holy Scriptures wrap themselves around the Lamb of God.

Take time to listen to ‘Ancient Words’ by Michael W. Smith.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmTkXNpwzs[/youtube]

Much love coming your way in Jesus,

Buddy

Jun

2010

Is it One, Two, or Three…

Readers,

This study takes us back to the early Jewish Christians. How could the early Jewish Christians hold claim to absolute monotheism while worship could be directed to Jesus Christ as well as to God the Father?

A large part of our problem with the study of Christ comes from having set aside the early Jewish believers theology of Christ. Everything for the Jewish church centered on divine identity.

We’ve managed to take terms like, ‘And the Word was with God,‘ or, ‘He existed in the form of God‘, away from their Hebrew thought form. These expressions are deeply embedded in ancient Judaism. They are Hebrew reflections on a great mystery to be found in God Himself.

Identity was the hallmark of Jewish Christianity

The earliest believers saw Jesus Christ as intrinsic to who God really is. Jewish believers were schooled in the Scriptures and in the ancient sages. God is one! That’s all they needed to know. At the same time they believed that in the one true God was this mystery they called the ‘Word,’ or, the ‘Form‘, or the ‘Image‘, or the ‘Glory‘, or the ‘Shekinah.’

So, were the early Jewish Christians Oneness believers, Twoness believers, or Threeness believers.

The truth is that none of these beliefs would accord entirely with the theology of the early Jewish church. While the earliest Christians were absolute monotheist, they also believed that Jesus Christ originated in and came forth from the Father, that is, without becoming separate from Him in His spiritual being. And this was part of the mystery.

It should also be noted that the early Jewish believers generally saw the Holy Spirit in connection with either the Father or the Son. In Judaism itself the Holy Spirit was often reckoned as the spirit of the Messiah and/or as the emanating power and presence of God.

However, the Jewish rabbis did begin to accuse the Christian Jews of believing in two powers in heaven. (Not three.) They had become familiar with the book of Hebrews as well as with the gospels. The rabbis used the book Hebrews as a backdrop in their accusations against the Christian Jews, and especially where it says,

“In these last days [the Father] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (He1:2)

— This statement pretty much qualifies the earliest theology of the Jewish church. It says that in the last days God has spoken to us (or speaks to us) in His Son, and that it was through His Son that the Father made the world. Such a mystery, this. –—

Looking again at Godhead theology

A great many scholars today are beginning to set aside the notion that the trinitarian doctrine is intrinsic to Christianity and that to be a Christian you must accept this form of theology. They are reaching back to the pre-Constantianian beliefs of the early church, that is, to a more Hebraic form of theology. The result is a less complicated theology held by the early church, yet not without its own mysteries concerning the Father and the Son.

The problem is that neither the trinitarian nor the oneness doctrines can be accredited as the final stages of true theology. They are both departees from an already fully divine Christology of Biblical Christianity. The early believers fully accepted Jesus Christ as Yahweh of the former testament, and yet they believed in a Father-Son view of God.

Paul Himself brings this forth in reaffirming the sh’ma of Israel. He said,

“Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” (1Co8:6)

Where Paul says ‘Lord’ he is using the ancient ‘She’ma’ creed of Israel.

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” (Deu 6:4 NASB)

Jesus said that He and the Father were one. Thus Paul is expressing a very ancient belief in Israel. Jesus was looked at as the ‘eikon‘ (divine image) of the invisible God. Judaism believed that you had the invisible God who could not be seen, and God who makes Himself visible across history and across time. Or, as one early Christian writer said, “God brought forth from Himself a beginning.”

The point is that for the early Jewish believers, Jesus did not become for them a second god or another deity. Paul explained Christ as the hidden mystery of God. The apostle wrote,

“To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things.” (Eph3:8,9)

Note. My readers may wish to review additional Hebraic studies. Go to:

http://www.christianchallenge.org/hebraic-foundations/index.html

Check these studies:

Regardless of how difficult this may seem to us, the groundwork had already been laid for this mystery to be revealed.

For instance how is it than an orthodox one-God, Jewish man could fall down before Jesus, and say, “My Lord and my God?” And how is it that everything Jesus did in His earthly walk reveals that He was intrinsic to the very identity of God’s person? Jesus did God things.

The most Jewish of non-Jewish religions

And so we must agree with the Jewish author who said that Christianity is the most Jewish of all the non-Jewish faiths. I would go further to say that Biblical Christianity fills out the Jewish faith in that the God of the Hebrews came into the earth as a man to fulfill His own program of redemption.

Did the early Jewish believers worship the Father and Son as one God? Absolutely. They did this with a true monotheistic faith.

John said it well enough;

“Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2Jn1:9)

Do we still have a mystery? Sure we do. It is a mystery that is wondrous indeed. What we know is that the origins of Jesus lies within God Himself. And when we worship Jesus we are not worshipping a second deity. We are worshipping the Father in the Son.

And so I return to the premise of this study — A large part of our problem with the study of Christ is our failure to understand that the early Jewish Church already had the perfect godhead theology.

So the study does have a point. Where you see that God is one, believe that God is one. Where you see the Father and the Son, believe in the Father and the Son. And where you see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Just be a Biblical believer.

The terms oneness, twoness, or threeness don’t really matter. We know there can only be be one true God. While we may view Him through different glasses, the story remains unchanged. God sent His Son into the world to be the Savior and Redeemer of humanity. Does this mean that God had a Son before time began? (Wow – Now that is a question. Think about it.)

What think ye?

Blessings,

Buddy

Apr

2010

As you have believed…

“And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.’ Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, “Go!” and he goes, and to another, “Come!” and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this!” and he does it.’

“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“And Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed that very moment.” (Mat 8:5-13 NASB)

Journal,

Only two times in the Scriptures does it say that Jesus marveled. One had to do with unbelief in His own hometown. It says,

“And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered [marveled] at their unbelief…” (Mar 6:5-6 NASB)

The other time was with the Roman soldier. Here it says,

“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled, and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”

This is also where Jesus gives the first prophecy concerning the Gentile nations. He says,

“Many will come from the east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness.”

The outer darkness speaks of loss of covenant relationship. He later tells some of the leadership, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you & given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” (Matt21:43)

There are many truths to be found in this setting. In this case I want to share on the distinction to be seen between great faith and little faith, or having no faith at all. Let’s see what it is that actually makes our faith great.

The place to begin is with…

The Word of the Lord

The term ‘Word of the Lord’ refers to anything God has said. It has a special emphasis on the Scriptures simply because they came from God’s mouth. The Scriptures are a living Word to God’s people. Cf. Deut. 8:2,3; Jer. 1:12.

In the New Testament the gospel itself is also called ‘the Word (living message) of God.’ Cf. Luke 8:21; 11:28; Acts 4:31. Acts 11:1.

Then there is a related meaning for the term ‘the Word of the Lord.’ This meaning is simply God speaking to His creatures. This can be seen when Jesus bid Peter to come to Him on the water. Cf. Matt 14:25-29.

Put these inter-related meanings together and you get a feel for the meaning of ‘God’s Word.’ The Word of God is God acting directly upon our lives, whether it is our hearing the gospel, or in our reading the Scriptures, or simply having the Lord speak directly into our hearts by whatever means He chooses. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

A Scripture that explains this is Hebrews 4:12,13, which says,

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight.”

And so, why did Jesus marvel at the Roman Centurion? Jesus marveled at the Centurion because he recognized who Jesus really was, and this on a level far beyond anything that even the apostles had caught at that time. This is why Jesus marveled! And this is the foundation for learning to live a true walk of faith.

It all centers on hearing from Jesus for yourself, and in…

Acknowledging His Lordship.

Listen carefully to the language of the Centurion; “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Listen to it again. See if you catch it: “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

What was the centurion saying about Jesus? He recognized the Lordship of Jesus. He actually called Jesus, ‘Lord.’

Is there any Scriptural support for what the soldier said? Note Psalm 103:19-22.

Who is the One who commanded all things into existence? Now note Psalm 33:6; Col 1:16.

The Working Principle of Faith

Always understand that the written Word and the spoken Word of God must always agree. God did this on purpose, simply because many spirits will try to speak into our lives. Therefore God gives us two safe guards for our walk with Him. Every child of God is given the Holy Spirit as a testifier to truth. Every child of God is given the Scriptures by which the Holy Spirit teaches us God’s ways. Cf. John 16:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:16,17.

The working principle of faith always begins with learning to rightly divide the written Word of God. Cf. 2 Co. 3:3-6,18. Ignore this beginning place and you subject yourself to all kinds of interferences in your faith walk, including your own emotions, and desires.

Those who get in trouble spiritually are almost always those who place esoteric experiences above God’s Word. While dreams, visions, and prophecies, can play a part in our walk with the Lord, nothing is ever to take the place of learning truth from the sacred Word of God. It is a love of truth that will put the believer into a true faith walk. Cf. Jeremiah 23:20,22,28,29; John 14:15,23,24.

And so we come to the crucial element of the walk of faith. Our walk with the Lord will always center on the statement that Jesus made to the Centurion.

As You Have Believed

The walk of faith is a heart walk. Here is the heart issue of our walk with the Lord.

Our faith walk will always be in proportion to the place that Jesus occupies in our life. What we receive from the Lord will always be determined by what we are willing to believe. This was the message that Jesus spoke to the Centurion. But what was it the Centurion said that caused Jesus to define his faith as great? Look at it again. The answer is there. Now ask yourself if you can measure up to the Centurion’s faith.

The short side of things is that a true walk of faith requires that we have a real passion for truth. This is what the word godly means. (Godliness literally means God-towardness.) As long as there is an attempt to manipulate God’s Word to meet our life style, or to fit into what we want to believe, we are not walking as godly people. Cf. Psalm50:16-23; 15:1-5.

Godly people always recognize Jesus for who He is. Godly people seek to please the Lord in all things. Godly people hold fast to the Word of the Lord.

And now for the finishing touch.

There is one more facet that needs to be understood about walking in faith. In the New Covenant it is the Holy Spirit who puts us into direct contact with Jesus. Learn to live by the Spirit and the walk of faith will take care of itself. There is no faith walk aside from Jesus Christ guiding your life. Think about it.

Which brings me to a song that you need to take note of, It is titled, ‘Reaping in The Spirit, by the Isaacs (Acapella)

May the blessings of the good Lord, overflow your life. May your walk of faith be filled with all the sweetness of heaven.

Always in Christ,

Buddy

Jan

2010

Which Bible translation is the best…

“For wisdom moves more easily than motion itself … Like a fine mist she rises from the power of God, a pure effluence from the glory of the Almighty … She is the brightness that streams from everlasting light, the flawless mirror of the active power of God and the image of his goodness.” ^{(Wisdom of Solomon 4:24-27 NEB)}

Journal,

There is no question that some translations are more right to the original text than are others. My favored translation is the New American Standard Bible. We’ve used it at Christian Challenge as our primary Bible for a great many years. In fact all our courses draw from the NASB.

That being said there is an issue about God’s Word that needs to be understood. When the Scriptures speak of the Word of God, they aren’t referring to a translation. Word of God has a number of meaning. While it can speak of the Scriptures, we know that ‘Word of God’ is a primary designation for Jesus Christ Himself. The term Word of God has another primary meaning that takes note of a message from heaven, that is, the gospel, as well as the very speaking of God into our hearts and lives.

This understanding is crucial to the study of which translation is the best. But before we go to that issue let me share a couple of stories about my venture with the book we all love so well, the Bible. I’ll begin with…

The Saga of the Yellow Stripe.

It happened forty years ago. The story begins July 19, 1971. We were on our way to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to raise up a mission work for our denomination. I was 29 and full of vim and vigor. (Better known as idealism with a strong mixture of ignorance. Look closely at the yellow stripe in the picture and you’ll get the story together. I’m 72+ now and a bit wiser.)

I’ve always loved books. On our way to Los Alamos we happened upon a Christian book store. (They were a rarity in those days.) Simply out of curiosity I purchased a New English Bible. I was well acquainted with the knowledge that all other translations were faulty and inferior to the King James Bible. But being the studious person that I am, my curiosity got the best of me. (Tongue-in-cheek humor.)

One day I’m reading this new Bible and my thoughts began to stir. ‘This is so interesting. Why haven’t I seen this before?’ The more I read the more intrigued I became. Then it happened. I looked at the top of the page were I was reading and saw the word ‘Ecclesiasticus’. It hit me! ‘Oh no! There is no Ecclesiasticus in the King James Bible! I’m reading the Apocrypha.’

I shut the Bible, secured me a yellow marker, and ran a broad stripe around the Apocrypha part of my New English Bible. I wanted to make sure that I never made that mistake again. And that’s the story of a young man who had so much to learn about the Word of God.

Please be assured that I would never place the Apocryphal writings on par with the accepted Old Testament Scriptures that both Jews and Christians have treasured from forever. Nor would I urge the reading of just any kind of religious literature. All believers should be cautious in their source of reading. My point is simple. Why limit how God can speak to us.

God is well able to speak into our hearts and lives in many ways. He can even use a donkey. He can use a book. He can use the voice of a child. He may even rebuke us through the voice of a sinner. Nature itself carries a message from God.

David said,

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”^{(Psalm 19:1,2 nasb)}

Now for the second story. Let’s call it…

Expect the Unexpected.

This time it happen August 6, 2007. I had been in cancer treatment for a while. The findings were not good. Lymphoma had spread throughout my chest area and into my bone marrow. Our local hospital was sending me to M. D. Anderson in Houston. Everything pointed to a marrow transplant. (Pretty invasive procedure.)

Well, everything was alright between me and the Lord. That particular morning I’m having my devotion on a hill behind our church. And as I am reading from the Scriptures, the Lord speaks to my heart and says, ‘Expect the unexpected.’ I looked up and there was a dove on the high line over my head.

Guess where I was reading my devotion from that morning. I was reading from the New Living Translation. Here is the part where the Lord spoke to me:

“Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in Your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, Your coming would make the nations tremble. Then Your enemies would learn the reason for Your fame! When You came down long ago, YOU DID AWESOME DEEDS BEYOND OUR HIGHEST EXPECTATIONS. And oh, how the mountains quaked!”^{(Isa 64:1-3 NLT)}

I shared with the church what the Lord had spoken to me. However, I really didn’t know what the ‘unexpected’ would mean. I thought perhaps I would receive the less of the two invasive stem cell transplant procedures. That was not to be.

At M. D. Anderson I was put through a battery of tests. Betty and Nathan were with me. When me met with my primary physician, what he shared set our hearts on fire. He reviewed test after test and with each one, ‘No cancer.’ At some point between Pineville, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, the Lord had granted me a miracle healing. This August will be three years ago that the Lord told me to expect the unexpected.

Now the question, – Which translation really is the best.

Here is a short study:

The Best Bible Translation

A lesson in life that most believers eventually acquire is the lesson about truth. Truth itself cannot be limited merely to a doctrinal position, or to a denomination, or to which Bible translation should we use. Truth is about life. It is in this sense that truth is a person. Thus we hear Jesus say, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31,32)

This brings us to Bible translations. The following information will avoid the technical jargon about Bible translations. Only a brief review will be made on the various types of translations. The primary emphasis of the study will be on the issue of Truth itself.

First let’s talk about Bible translations in general. Are there some Bible translations that are more accurate to the original Scriptures than other translations? Absolutely. This is where it helps to understand the various forms of translation.

There are essentially three categories of Bible translations: literal translations, paraphrases, and what is called dynamic equivalency. let’s take a brief look at what these terms refer to.

A paraphrase is a translation that seeks to give the original Hebrew or Greek into the common language of the reader. Good News for Modern Man is an example of a paraphrase. Many paraphrases begin as the work of one man. While they are made for easy reading, paraphrases are not intended for the serious student of the Scriptures. They are more designed for the person who has little to no knowledge of the Bible.

The most popular paraphrase in use today is called the ‘New Living Translation’ (NLT). It is much more right to the Scriptures than most translations of this sort. The original work upon which this translation is based, that is, the Living Bible, was the work of one man, Kenneth Taylor. But as paraphrases go, it could not be depended upon for accuracy.

Here is a good example where a paraphrase can be misleading. In the Living Bible, Acts 13:48 reads, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and rejoiced in Paul’s message; and as many as wanted eternal life, believed.” Most folk would not catch the problem area here. The problem with this is that it sets aside the sovereignty of God.

The NASB is a more correct rendering. It reads, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” There is a vast difference between ‘wanting’ eternal life, and being ‘appointed’ to eternal life.

Because of this sort of misinterpretation, the Living Bible was called into question. It underwent a through revision into what is now called ‘The New Living Translation’ (NLT). The New Living Translation (NLT) is a vast improvement over the Living Bible. The verse in the NLT now reads, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for His message; and all who were appointed to eternal life became believers.”

A dynamic equivalency translation is also called a ‘thought-for-thought’ translation. The dynamic equivalency translations have become the most popular translations today. The premier case in view is the New International Version. (NIV)

This form of translation seeks to translate ‘ideas’ rather than ‘words.’ But there is a problem that cannot be avoided. In attempting to translate ‘meanings’ into the language of today’s reader, what happens is that many ‘exact’ meanings cannot be translated beyond the intent of the original Bible language. It is often impossible to translate exact meanings without translating ‘exact’ words.

What often happens with dynamic equivalency translations is that the Scriptures can become simplified beyond what is meant in the original text. Thus the Scriptures can be diluted from their intended meaning. Once again we are dealing with an issue of accuracy to the original text.

Now we come to the ‘literal’ translations. In a literal translation there is a genuine attempt being made to be as accurate to the original wording of the Scriptures as possible. For this reason literal translations will generally have less translational bias. This is why a literal translation should always be part of the serious Bible student’s library.

Is there a disadvantage to a literal translation. This is a yes and no answer. A literal translation will not always flow as easily as a paraphrase or a dynamic equivalency. Some folk like to use the term ‘wooden.’ But is this really a disadvantage? Not necessarily. The plus side is that in doing personal research on the Biblical terms, the reader often discovers treasures that are not obvious in a less literal translation.

This is why Paul instructed Timothy to ‘take pains’ in that which concerns the Scriptures so that his progress would be made obvious to all. (Cf. 1Tim4:13-16) So where the easier translations or paraphrases seem to take a lot of work out of the study of the Scriptures, this may sometimes be a disservice to the serious student of the Scriptures. (Think about it.)

Some of the ‘literal’ translations include the KJV, NJKV, NASB, and the NRSB. (My personal preference is the New American Standard Bible.)

And so, which Bible should the believer use? The quaint saying is that the Bible you should use is the one you will read. But on a personal side I would recommend that the believer have both a literal translation and one or more of the easier reading translations. You will find that they work well together.

Now let’s come to the lesson behind the lesson. Have you ever noticed that when the new Testament writers quote from the Old Testament, the quote they use does not always seem to be the same as the reading in the Old Testament? This is because the most popular Bible used by the early Church was the ancient Hebrew text translated into Greek, or the Septuagint. (Usually referenced as LXX.)

Why does it differ? It differs because the Old Testament that we now use is based on the Hebrew text, whereas the favored Bible of the earliest Christians was mainly the LXX, which was a Greek translation. There was a reason for this. The LXX made the clearest of references to God’s Christ. Because of this the LXX was eventually discarded by the Jews. (It remains the Bible of the Orthodox Greek Church today.)

There is much more to be said about translations but lets simply talk about the issue of truth itself. It should go without saying that truth is not an issue of which translation a person prefers. Truth is the reality of Jesus Christ in a person’s life. And this is where many folk tend to stumble over which translation is best.

The apostle Paul gives us insight into this issue. As a former Pharisee, Paul was from the strictest sect in Judaism. It was this sect that prided themselves on letter accuracy of the Scriptures. They became the guardians of the sacred text. The problem was that the Pharisees had a tendency to ‘deify’ the Scriptures themselves.

Jesus addresses this in saying, “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; but it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” (Cf. John 5:38-40)

The apostle Paul also addresses this when he writes, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who made us adequate as servants of the new covenant, NOT OF THE LETTER but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (Cf. 2Co3:5,6)

Paul came from a religion of the letter. That is to say, at one time he thought that the Scriptures by themselves, that is, with no regard to the One of whom the Scriptures wrap themselves around, contained the very essence of life. But the One of whom the Scriptures wrapped themselves around is Jesus Christ. (I’ve seen this same problem with KJV only believers.)

The point at hand is that if we are reading the Scriptures and cannot see Jesus, then all we have is dead letter. This is exactly what Paul is addressing when he says, “Beholding in a mirror the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” The mirror that Paul is speaking of is the Scriptures themselves.

The Bible is designed to show forth the glory of Jesus Christ. Without Him the book is simply dead letter and should be placed on the library shelf among other great history books.

Now listen to the apostolic writer as he sets this forth in the book of Hebrews. Quoting from Psalm 40, he begins, “When He [Jesus] comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You [Father] have not desired, but a body [in the womb of Mary] You have prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure, “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come, (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.”‘” (Heb10:5-7)

Here is where words are so important. Where Jesus said, “In the scroll of the book it is written of Me,” both the Hebrew and the Greek term for scroll speaks of the knob or the head that was at the top of the spindle around which the entire scroll was wrapped. This is why the term is sometimes translated as ‘volume.’ This means that the volume of all the Scriptures wrap themselves around Jesus Christ.

Again the point in view is that Jesus alone is the One who gives life to the book. And this is what happened when He came into our world and performed the work of the cross. Out of the cross comes life. This life that Jesus gives is spoken of throughout the book.

Here is another example of the book coming alive with Jesus. Listen carefully to this prophecy in Isaiah: “The entire vision will be like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, ‘Please read this,’ he will say, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.'” (Isaiah 29:11)

Then it says, “This people draw near with their words and honor Me with lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of traditions learned by rote.” (Verse 13)

Finally, “On that day [The Lord’s revealing] the [spiritually] deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the [spiritually] blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One [Jesus] of Israel.” (Verses 18,19)

Where do we find a place to stop? Perhaps the best place is simply for me to end where I began, which is…….

I hope this study will help you.

Much love is found in Jesus.

Your servant and brother in Christ,

Buddy

Dec

2009

Is prosperity knocking at your door…

Journal,

Here we go again – Another new year. Seems like we just went through this. My, what ever happened to time. Am I imagining things? Has time moved over onto a fast track. Also seems like things are pretty much going cattywampus (awry, askew, out-of-sorts).

Every time I think about how fast time seems to be moving, a certain Scripture pops in my mind.

“Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.” (Mar 13:20)

Maybe all this about time being shortened is a good thing, at least for the people of God. Anyway, let’s have a bit of fun to end out 2009. How about a song by Ray Stevens, entitled, ‘We the People.’ == Jest funning ==

OK, that was all in fun. Now let’s move on past the funny part and talk about the forthcoming year.

Is it time for prosperity to come knocking at your door?

Think about it. Is there a way for the good blessings of the Lord to come to your house? I believe there is. Let me begin by sharing a personal story.

It is called ‘Miracle Land’

In 1974 we were the typical American family living on ‘Barely Squeezing By’ street. This is when something happened that forever changed the way we lived. The Lord opened my ears to begin hearing some solid Bible teachings on God’s platform for the prosperity of His people. I listened intently. The more I listened, the more I studied to see if these teachings measured up to God’s Word.

Measure up they did. One of the first things I came to realize is that making debts always serves as a incumbrance to a walk of Biblical blessings. It would not matter how much money a person made, living with debts would be like trying to fill a bucket with water when the bucked had holes in the bottom.

What many of God’s people do not realize is that Biblical prosperity is not about how much money you have. Every thing centers on the blessing of the Lord. A person can have hundreds of thousands of dollars coming in and not be living in Biblical prosperity. And a person can have a very limited amount of money coming in, and it tallies up to Biblical prosperity.

Yes, this does sound very strange, but it is true nevertheless. The prophet said that God’s ways are not our ways. The sage said, “It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, and He will add no sorrow to it.” (Pro10:22)

I discovered that the debtor is always servant to the lender, which means that part of the debtor’s life is owned by someone else. This is why God said to His Old Testament people, “You shall lend but you shall not borrow.” The one who owes debts is not a free man. He is in the debtor’s prison

After searching this thoroughly, I came to the conviction that my financial straits were of my own doing. Thus I asked the Lord’s forgiveness for the debts that I had made. I also asked Him to show me how to clear up this area of my life.

The Lord began showing me how to live with a view to righteousness, which most certainly included how we were to give in accordance with kingdom business. I studied this through throughly. My wife and I came to a decision. We began to sow with a view to righteousness. (According to what the Lord put into our hearts.)

This issue of sowing with a view to righteousness is not some deep secret. Jesus included it in His sermon on the mountain, when He said,

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mat 6:31-33)

Here is what happened. Because our hearts had turned to God’s way of living, and because of our repentance, and because we began sowing with a view to righteousness, and because we desired to live under the rule of Christ, the Lord spoke into my heart. This is what He said, “Because you have believed Me, in six months you will be completely out of debt.” (God speaks through impressions of the heart.)

Did it happen? Absolutely! It was like the Lord had opened the door to miracle land. So many things happened that I can’t take the space to share then. We were beginning to draw on God’s good treasure from heaven. Did not the apostle say that we had been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ?

Yes, in six months we were completely out of debt, we were back into the full time ministry, and we were living on a level of life that I never dreamed was possible. We had passed through the gate of miracle land. (I also like to call this the land of sanctified faith.)

From that time to this time we have made living with a view to righteousness our primary view of life. We learned the great lesson of ‘sowing with a view to righteousness.’

Does any of this have meaning for you?

Who can say. This is not something that I could teach another person. There is no formula to apply. Perhaps some of what I shared will serve to stir your heart. What I do know is that learning to live with a view to righteous living is deeply personal. It is a thing that can only be taught us by the Lord Himself. Much will depend on how serious you really are about walking in the ways of the Lord.

Always remember what I said about Biblical prosperity. It is not about money. It is about the blessing of the Lord. God spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, Listen with your heart:

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land.“ (Isa 1:18-19)

Did you see it? Repentance and obedience belong together. With that in mind…

Is prosperity knocking at your door?

Take to yourself one more portion:

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Psa 1:1-3)

Why not determine in your heart to enter 2010 with a resolve to seek out God’s ways and to learn to live with a view to righteousness. Do this and you will find prosperity knocking at your door.

The Lord may not say to you, “In six months you will be out of debt.” He will say something that applies to your situation. What He shares with you will be different but it will be wonderful. He will show you how to live in true Biblical prosperity.

Think about it.

In Christ,

Buddy

Word of God

Under the Shelter of His Wings…

Walking down memory lane – God’s faithfulness…

We walked through the Gate right into of Miracle Land

Now let’s hear from Peter:

Faith in God’s Word…

The Fellowship of the Unashamed…

Learn to Live From Heaven’s Wisdom…

For love of the Lamb…

Is it One, Two, or Three…

Identity was the hallmark of Jewish Christianity

Looking again at Godhead theology

The most Jewish of non-Jewish religions

As you have believed…

Which Bible translation is the best…

The Best Bible Translation

Is prosperity knocking at your door…

It is called ‘Miracle Land’

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