Jesus, weak and worn, sprawled in the shade
Of a huge rock, after forty long days
With the Spirit, plans for ministry made,
When He heard, "A heap of stone nearby lays;
If you're Son of God, nothing you can't do!
Use your power to turn them into bread!"
He almot did. "Satan is tempting you!"
Warned the Spirit. Appearing, Satan said,
"You need not hunger. Make bread from a stone!"
Jesus glared at him and sharply replied,
"God said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone!'"
For He would sin if on His pow'r relied!
As a man, He was bound by human might,
Else His sacrifice would not set things right!
Not much is known about the life of Jesus between ages 12 and 30. He lived in Nazareth, about 60 miles north of Jerusalem and Behlehem where He was born. Joseph, His stepfather, was a carpenter, and we assume Jesus was, too. He had several younger brothers and sisters. In 29 A. D., at age 30, He presented Himself for baptism to His cousin John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Immediately afterward, He went alone into the desert for forty days for prayer with the Father and sessions with the Holy Spirit, planning His upcoming 3-year ministry. He had little or no food and water, and at the end He was very weak. He was facing an awesome challenge--- to announce the beginning of the Kingdom of God, identify Himself to the Jews as their promised Messiah, to explain the good news of the gospel, to establish His church as the vehicle for telling the world how to be saved, and to suffer crucifiction for the sins of all the world. He had to walk a tight line with the Jews---to win followers to carry on His work, but to teach in a way that would bring rejection from Israel's leaders. That is why He used parables for much of His teaching. Satan picked an ideal time to confront Jesus.
Satan had not been very active since his success in the Garden with Adam and Eve. He didn't have to be, for the world was almost totally evil. Once God destroyed every human being except Noah and his family of 8. After that, He had to confound their languages to scatter them and keep them from building a tower to heaven to check Him out. Even when His Chosen People, Israel were a nation, most of them were very disobedient and very few followed His plan for them. He broke His covenant with them, because they thought He was their God only, not interested in the subhuman Gentiles. Satan had very little to do before the arrival of Jesus in the world. Now, he realized that he had a fight on his hands. At first he really wasn't sure that Jesus was God. This was going to be his toughest fight since Adam. He knew that if he could induce Jesus to sin, it would defeat His mission of providing man with a way to escape condemnation for Adam's sin. Jesus had to live a sinless life as a man to succeed, so Satan attacked Him at the end of the 40-day stay in the desert. He had three increasingly attractive temptations.
The first temptation is described in the poem above. As a human, Jesus had weakened Himself almost to the point of death. Satan, thinking Jesus was like all men---full of pride---used the same trick that had worked on Eve. He asked Jesus (paraphrased), "Are you the Son of God? Then prove it by changing these stones into bread!" Jesus could do it easily enough, and He was hungry enough to do it; most men would have done it just to prove they could. But not Jesus; He subdued His pride (which all Christians need to do) and quoted scripture back to Satan, telling him in effect that food is not as important to God as following all His directions. (See Luke 4)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Triune God: The Son II
Twin brother Esau's name in honor high,
Would be better known in world discourse,
Had he not sold when Jacob tricked to buy
The birthright to sire Judah, Jesus' source!
Who but Jacob would wrestle God all night,
And not let Him go at the break of day?
God made him Prince of Heaven; gave him right
To be named Israel, to get away!
The nation named for him began anew,
In modern times, in nineteen forty- eight;
They cheered Jacob, who gave a bowl of stew,
For the right their race to initiate!
The world sees his name in news ev'ry day;
It could gave been Esau, known in that way!
Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, grandsons of Abraham. The oldest was Esau; he was born first, with Jacob close behind, holding Esau's heel. The firstborn son had the birthright to inherit all his father's possessions in those days; it was a really big deal. He would have been the holder of God's covenant with Abraham, to become the sire to give birth to the whole nation of Jews; or Israel, as it is known today. His mother Rebekah was partial to Jacob, and she helped cook up a scheme to have blind Isaac give Jacob the blessing instead of Esau (See Genesis 27). As a result, Jacob fathered the twelve sons, each of whom originated a tribe of the Israelites.
Jacob had to flee to excape revenge from Esau. On his return trip home, after he had two wives and much wealth, he spent the last night by himself by a brook by the ame of Jabok. A stranger came up and began wrestling with him. They struggled all night. As dawn was breaking, Jacob's adversary asked Jacob to let him go. He would not, demanding to know who he was. It was God Himself; he touched Jacob in the thigh, and it crippled him for life. He changed his name to Israel, and the descendants of Jacob are known as Israelites. The nation was named Israel. In 1948 the United Nations gave Israel a small piece of the land they had once owned, and a second nation named Israel was instituted. That honor could have been Esau's, had he not been tricked out of it by his brother.
The blessing that God put in Abraham's covenant was that his descendant would be Jesus, the Son of God. That was the major honor that Esau lost to Jacob. God chose Jacob's descendant race as His Chosen People. The whole Bible is the story of how God created the universe and man; man promptly disobeyed God, and He condemned them all to hell. But He had known in the beginning this would happen, and He planned to enter the race of men as a man, live a sinless life, and to take upon Himself the guilt of all sin. In that way, God provided a way for any man or woman to escape condemnation and be saved to enter heaven rather than hell. He gave man free will to choose which way he wanted to live---for God, or ignoring God---and it was Jacob's race He chose to give birth to Jesus. In too brief a nutshell, this is why I urge you to choose to follow God; look into the Bible; ask questions; do not ignore this wonderful opportunity. When you die, it will be too late.
Would be better known in world discourse,
Had he not sold when Jacob tricked to buy
The birthright to sire Judah, Jesus' source!
Who but Jacob would wrestle God all night,
And not let Him go at the break of day?
God made him Prince of Heaven; gave him right
To be named Israel, to get away!
The nation named for him began anew,
In modern times, in nineteen forty- eight;
They cheered Jacob, who gave a bowl of stew,
For the right their race to initiate!
The world sees his name in news ev'ry day;
It could gave been Esau, known in that way!
Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, grandsons of Abraham. The oldest was Esau; he was born first, with Jacob close behind, holding Esau's heel. The firstborn son had the birthright to inherit all his father's possessions in those days; it was a really big deal. He would have been the holder of God's covenant with Abraham, to become the sire to give birth to the whole nation of Jews; or Israel, as it is known today. His mother Rebekah was partial to Jacob, and she helped cook up a scheme to have blind Isaac give Jacob the blessing instead of Esau (See Genesis 27). As a result, Jacob fathered the twelve sons, each of whom originated a tribe of the Israelites.
Jacob had to flee to excape revenge from Esau. On his return trip home, after he had two wives and much wealth, he spent the last night by himself by a brook by the ame of Jabok. A stranger came up and began wrestling with him. They struggled all night. As dawn was breaking, Jacob's adversary asked Jacob to let him go. He would not, demanding to know who he was. It was God Himself; he touched Jacob in the thigh, and it crippled him for life. He changed his name to Israel, and the descendants of Jacob are known as Israelites. The nation was named Israel. In 1948 the United Nations gave Israel a small piece of the land they had once owned, and a second nation named Israel was instituted. That honor could have been Esau's, had he not been tricked out of it by his brother.
The blessing that God put in Abraham's covenant was that his descendant would be Jesus, the Son of God. That was the major honor that Esau lost to Jacob. God chose Jacob's descendant race as His Chosen People. The whole Bible is the story of how God created the universe and man; man promptly disobeyed God, and He condemned them all to hell. But He had known in the beginning this would happen, and He planned to enter the race of men as a man, live a sinless life, and to take upon Himself the guilt of all sin. In that way, God provided a way for any man or woman to escape condemnation and be saved to enter heaven rather than hell. He gave man free will to choose which way he wanted to live---for God, or ignoring God---and it was Jacob's race He chose to give birth to Jesus. In too brief a nutshell, this is why I urge you to choose to follow God; look into the Bible; ask questions; do not ignore this wonderful opportunity. When you die, it will be too late.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Triune God: The Son I
"I had God when Adam sinned, and all men
Condemned to hell! What a blunder! To make
All men with blood; by its stain, all did sin!
Guilt from parent to child, father to son;
Each from Adam to next, and each one dead
To God; so that in heaven, there'd be none!
Creation's in shambles! Hell reigns instead!"
But God's master plan of the ages---
The Son born in the flesh, but not of flesh---
His blood ubtainted by sin's dread wages:
One man sinless on His own to stand afresh!
Satan's success with Adam was undone,
When Jesus died for all, and Adam's, one!
"For Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
When God created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, they were made to live forever physically. But He commanded them not to eat the fruit of just one tree in the Garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God did this, because he wanted man to have freedom of will, for which keeping one simole command would not be too onerous a chore. Satan tempted Eve, in Adam's presence, to eat the fruit by telling her a lie, that she would not surely die. She did eat, and Adam did, also. Just as He had promised, God did decree that men and women would physically die, along with other punishment. The worst sanction was that they, along with the rest of mankind, were condemned to spend eternity being tormented in hell with the fallen angels.
For many years Satan thought he had thwarted God by denying Him the pleasure of having His creature, man, for fellowship with Him in heaven. But God knew the future, and He knew in advance that man would be unable to keep His command. Hence, from before time began, God knew He was going to come to earth as a small baby, His own Son, and live with men. By doing so without sin, whereas every man who lived sinned, He would be eligible to die in man's place, volunteering to accept all their sins upon His own innocent self. By doing so, He was able to remain just and yet to forgive the special men who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is a wonderful plan that allows any one of us to escape condemnation for our sins and to live in heaven with God for eternity.
Of course, this plan of salvation thwarted Satan's joy. He does not know the future. Therefore, he continues to wage rebellion against God. If you read the Bible all the way through, you will find how he is going to spend enternity. Unfortunately, though, most men and women are going to remain condemned and are doomed to be tormented along with Satan.
Condemned to hell! What a blunder! To make
All men with blood; by its stain, all did sin!
Guilt from parent to child, father to son;
Each from Adam to next, and each one dead
To God; so that in heaven, there'd be none!
Creation's in shambles! Hell reigns instead!"
But God's master plan of the ages---
The Son born in the flesh, but not of flesh---
His blood ubtainted by sin's dread wages:
One man sinless on His own to stand afresh!
Satan's success with Adam was undone,
When Jesus died for all, and Adam's, one!
"For Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
When God created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, they were made to live forever physically. But He commanded them not to eat the fruit of just one tree in the Garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God did this, because he wanted man to have freedom of will, for which keeping one simole command would not be too onerous a chore. Satan tempted Eve, in Adam's presence, to eat the fruit by telling her a lie, that she would not surely die. She did eat, and Adam did, also. Just as He had promised, God did decree that men and women would physically die, along with other punishment. The worst sanction was that they, along with the rest of mankind, were condemned to spend eternity being tormented in hell with the fallen angels.
For many years Satan thought he had thwarted God by denying Him the pleasure of having His creature, man, for fellowship with Him in heaven. But God knew the future, and He knew in advance that man would be unable to keep His command. Hence, from before time began, God knew He was going to come to earth as a small baby, His own Son, and live with men. By doing so without sin, whereas every man who lived sinned, He would be eligible to die in man's place, volunteering to accept all their sins upon His own innocent self. By doing so, He was able to remain just and yet to forgive the special men who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is a wonderful plan that allows any one of us to escape condemnation for our sins and to live in heaven with God for eternity.
Of course, this plan of salvation thwarted Satan's joy. He does not know the future. Therefore, he continues to wage rebellion against God. If you read the Bible all the way through, you will find how he is going to spend enternity. Unfortunately, though, most men and women are going to remain condemned and are doomed to be tormented along with Satan.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Triune God: The Holy Spirit III
Jesus could not teach all knowledge to man.
In the three brief years they communed with Him;
He promised the Holy Spirit, who can
Reveal all knowledge and future to them!
He knows and teaches the deep thoughts of God;
Residing in the command seat of each
Who believes, He clears ev'ry scripture of fog,
And puts new truths in mature Christians' reach!
How could apostle Paul have learned so much,
Not being with Jesus or the others,
Without the Spirit's inner private touch?
And in the years since, millions of others?
No eye has seen, or ear heard truth enough
That Christians have heard about heaven's stuff!
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 16:12-14) (To get a more complete description of the tasks of the Holy Spirit, please read John 16:5-16 and John 14:15-18)
The Triune God: The Holy Spiit II
Jesus had many aerious things to teach His apostles on Thursday night before He was crucified on Friday. In fact, He realized that His apostles, who were commissioned to carry on His work of establishing Christianity, had been taught only a small fraction of the things they needed to learn from Him. Hence, He instituted the role of the Holy Spirit as a guide and counselor; He is God, as is Jesus, the Son, and the Father. He is to have capability to enter the body and every human being---for each believer, He indwells for life and counsels him in changing his old life of sin into a new life from the model taught by Jesus; for non-believers, His task is to convict them by warning of their guilt and condemnation sporadically; also, He is to impart new truths (things believers need to know that are not contained in the Bible). If not for the Holy Spirit, Paul would not have known even as much as the other apostles, because he did not know Jesus in His earthly life; yet he knew far more than the others knew about the doctrines of the new religion. He was taught individually by the Spirit, as have Christians since. In addition, it was the Holy Spirit whose task it was to envelop the virgin Mary and impregnate her with the "seed" that became Jesus, the Son. Mary had been approached by the angel Gabrief, who informed her that God wanted her to accept this responsibility; to which she agreed graciously. Being Jesus' mother was an incredible burden, not only for the likelihood of being stigmatized in her society of the time, but for the pain of seeing her Son crucified. She was betrothed to Joseph when Gabriel approached her; this means she had had to prove her virginity to Joseph, the rabbi, and his parents, but that when she became pregnant, he could have divorced her and probably had her stoned to death. He did not do that, which says a great deal about his faith in God. (Note: Please read 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, for Paul's description of how the Holy Spirit aids the Christian in understanding the Bible and learning new truths not in the Bible.)
In the three brief years they communed with Him;
He promised the Holy Spirit, who can
Reveal all knowledge and future to them!
He knows and teaches the deep thoughts of God;
Residing in the command seat of each
Who believes, He clears ev'ry scripture of fog,
And puts new truths in mature Christians' reach!
How could apostle Paul have learned so much,
Not being with Jesus or the others,
Without the Spirit's inner private touch?
And in the years since, millions of others?
No eye has seen, or ear heard truth enough
That Christians have heard about heaven's stuff!
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 16:12-14) (To get a more complete description of the tasks of the Holy Spirit, please read John 16:5-16 and John 14:15-18)
The Triune God: The Holy Spiit II
Jesus had many aerious things to teach His apostles on Thursday night before He was crucified on Friday. In fact, He realized that His apostles, who were commissioned to carry on His work of establishing Christianity, had been taught only a small fraction of the things they needed to learn from Him. Hence, He instituted the role of the Holy Spirit as a guide and counselor; He is God, as is Jesus, the Son, and the Father. He is to have capability to enter the body and every human being---for each believer, He indwells for life and counsels him in changing his old life of sin into a new life from the model taught by Jesus; for non-believers, His task is to convict them by warning of their guilt and condemnation sporadically; also, He is to impart new truths (things believers need to know that are not contained in the Bible). If not for the Holy Spirit, Paul would not have known even as much as the other apostles, because he did not know Jesus in His earthly life; yet he knew far more than the others knew about the doctrines of the new religion. He was taught individually by the Spirit, as have Christians since. In addition, it was the Holy Spirit whose task it was to envelop the virgin Mary and impregnate her with the "seed" that became Jesus, the Son. Mary had been approached by the angel Gabrief, who informed her that God wanted her to accept this responsibility; to which she agreed graciously. Being Jesus' mother was an incredible burden, not only for the likelihood of being stigmatized in her society of the time, but for the pain of seeing her Son crucified. She was betrothed to Joseph when Gabriel approached her; this means she had had to prove her virginity to Joseph, the rabbi, and his parents, but that when she became pregnant, he could have divorced her and probably had her stoned to death. He did not do that, which says a great deal about his faith in God. (Note: Please read 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, for Paul's description of how the Holy Spirit aids the Christian in understanding the Bible and learning new truths not in the Bible.)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Triune God: The Holy Spiit II
Ev'ry believer is God's third temple;
The Spirit indwells his body for life.
His task there is very far from simple;
He changes habits; rids the sin and strife!
Eros* love is only 'tween spouse and spouse,
All others are to be loved agape**;
With peace and patience he should ever browse;
Gentleness and goodness always display!
The Christian exudes joy on ev'ry hand;
He exhibits kindness the world around;
Trustworthy and faithful to God and man,
And self-control does forever abound!
The Spirit counsels all the day and night,
Unless ignored; then He becomes quiet!
*Eros love = physical or mental sexual intimacy
**agape love = platonic divine love for the well-being of another; pronounced ah-ga-pay
"So I say live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ... The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. ... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:16-24)
When a new believer has come to realize that he has ignored God and been committing sin unknowingly, his first duty is to ask God for forgiveness, which is freely done, including past and future sins. This alone is enough for salvation. However, he also has a desire to learn to live a life with less sin; it is called a "new life in Christ" or being "born again". Every one of us is born with a sinful nature, as described in the scripture passage quoted above. You cannot rid yourself of those sinful traits alone; God sends the Holy Spirit to indwell your body for the rest of your life. He acts as an advisor, guiding you to avoid the sinful things of nature and to adopt the "fruit of the Spirit" listed above. It is likely impossible to rid yourself of all sin; but the more you love Jesus, the harder you will work at it. When you die, your soul is escorted immediately to heaven, where God will finish the job, ridding you of all sinful tendencies. In eternal life in heaven, there will be no one who commits sin.
Since the Spirit lives within every Christian, the believer's body is called by God the "temple" of the Holy Spirit, or the temple of God, since the Spirit is one of the three beings that are the manifestations of God. The word "temple" means "palace". King David's son, Solomon, when he became king, built the first temple for God in Jerusalem. Because the Jews were so sinful and disobedient, God allowed the Babylonians under Nebuchednezzar to destroy Jerusalem and the first temple in 586 B. C. About 50,000 Jews returned to the area of Jerusalem 70 years later and built a second temple; it was standing when Jesus was crucified in 32 A. D. The Romans, in 70 A. D., destroyed the second temple. No other building/temple has ever been built; none ever will; therefore each Christian may be referred to as the "third" temple.
You may be thinking there are millions of Holy Spirits in the world, since there are more than 2 billion Christians. No; there is only one Holy Spirit. He has the abiliy to divide Himself into as many different Spirits as required. Maybe we will have an ability like that in our new bodies in heaven,
The Spirit indwells his body for life.
His task there is very far from simple;
He changes habits; rids the sin and strife!
Eros* love is only 'tween spouse and spouse,
All others are to be loved agape**;
With peace and patience he should ever browse;
Gentleness and goodness always display!
The Christian exudes joy on ev'ry hand;
He exhibits kindness the world around;
Trustworthy and faithful to God and man,
And self-control does forever abound!
The Spirit counsels all the day and night,
Unless ignored; then He becomes quiet!
*Eros love = physical or mental sexual intimacy
**agape love = platonic divine love for the well-being of another; pronounced ah-ga-pay
"So I say live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ... The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. ... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:16-24)
When a new believer has come to realize that he has ignored God and been committing sin unknowingly, his first duty is to ask God for forgiveness, which is freely done, including past and future sins. This alone is enough for salvation. However, he also has a desire to learn to live a life with less sin; it is called a "new life in Christ" or being "born again". Every one of us is born with a sinful nature, as described in the scripture passage quoted above. You cannot rid yourself of those sinful traits alone; God sends the Holy Spirit to indwell your body for the rest of your life. He acts as an advisor, guiding you to avoid the sinful things of nature and to adopt the "fruit of the Spirit" listed above. It is likely impossible to rid yourself of all sin; but the more you love Jesus, the harder you will work at it. When you die, your soul is escorted immediately to heaven, where God will finish the job, ridding you of all sinful tendencies. In eternal life in heaven, there will be no one who commits sin.
Since the Spirit lives within every Christian, the believer's body is called by God the "temple" of the Holy Spirit, or the temple of God, since the Spirit is one of the three beings that are the manifestations of God. The word "temple" means "palace". King David's son, Solomon, when he became king, built the first temple for God in Jerusalem. Because the Jews were so sinful and disobedient, God allowed the Babylonians under Nebuchednezzar to destroy Jerusalem and the first temple in 586 B. C. About 50,000 Jews returned to the area of Jerusalem 70 years later and built a second temple; it was standing when Jesus was crucified in 32 A. D. The Romans, in 70 A. D., destroyed the second temple. No other building/temple has ever been built; none ever will; therefore each Christian may be referred to as the "third" temple.
You may be thinking there are millions of Holy Spirits in the world, since there are more than 2 billion Christians. No; there is only one Holy Spirit. He has the abiliy to divide Himself into as many different Spirits as required. Maybe we will have an ability like that in our new bodies in heaven,
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Triune God: The Holy Spirit L
The first thing a lost person objects to
Is that by nature he's inclined to sin;
All people are not born the same things to do,
But most of these are common to most men---
Daydreams of sex with the unwed, for sure;
Or the real act; or unnatural forms;
Or same-gender sex partners is impure;
Lust is in our nature in all its norms!
How about hatred? Or tantrums of rage?
Jealousy? Incest? Or sowing discord?
Selfish ambition; in drug trade engage;
Drunkenness; envy; ignoring the Lord!
No human being can live without sin,
Unless God, the Holy Spirit's within!
When a man, woman, or child becomes a follower of Jesus and enters the Kingdom of Heaven, it is always because the Holy Spirit has been at work inside the person's mind.
"For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you, not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction." (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)
"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor [Holy Spirit] will not come to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment; in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me." (John 16:8-9) [Brackets added]
Jesus told His apostles on Thursday night, before His crucifiction on Friday. that He would be crucified, resurrected on the third day, and after that would go away from them, but that He wou;d send the Holy Spirit as a counselor; the Spirit's first task would be to "convict the world" (meaning unsaved men and women) of their guilt in sinning. The Spirit, unseen, enters into the command center of a lost person and, using a soft, gentle voice, tells him that he is a sinner, inviting him to accept Jesus as his Lord and to receive salvation from being condemned to hell when he dies. The Spirit does not stay within the person; He goes to one after another, preparing the way for the disciple of Jesus to speak to him about his soul. Most people go through life unaware that they are out of fellowship with God and in terrible danger of spending eternity in torment. The Spirit prepares the unsaved for receiving the witnessing of a believer.
The first scripture quoted above is written by apostle Paul to the Christians at Thessalnika. In his salutation Paul testifies that it was the work of the Holy Spirit that prepared their hearts for receiving the gospel and becoming deeply committed to the Lord.
Can you imagine the repulsion felt by the Spirit upon entering the filthy mind of some very sinful person? Remember, He is God; the Bible says that God hates sin. To enter the mind of a sex pervert and see the evil sexual daydreams that are there must make Him nauseated. But God loves all people; He hates their sins, but He loves the people. The Spirit does that because of God's love and desire for them to be saved. Please re-read the terrible adjectives in the poem. They describe the natures we humans possess at birth. I know it is difficult to look at a one- or two-year-old child and imagine that his inner inherited nature is like the poem, but it is. That sinful inherent nature must be changed for a person to go to heaven, because up there, there is no sin, and no minds that conceive such things. When a person comes to Jesus, he must change his nature by suppressing those evil traits; as Paul says, we must "crucify" those habits.
Is that by nature he's inclined to sin;
All people are not born the same things to do,
But most of these are common to most men---
Daydreams of sex with the unwed, for sure;
Or the real act; or unnatural forms;
Or same-gender sex partners is impure;
Lust is in our nature in all its norms!
How about hatred? Or tantrums of rage?
Jealousy? Incest? Or sowing discord?
Selfish ambition; in drug trade engage;
Drunkenness; envy; ignoring the Lord!
No human being can live without sin,
Unless God, the Holy Spirit's within!
When a man, woman, or child becomes a follower of Jesus and enters the Kingdom of Heaven, it is always because the Holy Spirit has been at work inside the person's mind.
"For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you, not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction." (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)
"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor [Holy Spirit] will not come to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment; in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me." (John 16:8-9) [Brackets added]
Jesus told His apostles on Thursday night, before His crucifiction on Friday. that He would be crucified, resurrected on the third day, and after that would go away from them, but that He wou;d send the Holy Spirit as a counselor; the Spirit's first task would be to "convict the world" (meaning unsaved men and women) of their guilt in sinning. The Spirit, unseen, enters into the command center of a lost person and, using a soft, gentle voice, tells him that he is a sinner, inviting him to accept Jesus as his Lord and to receive salvation from being condemned to hell when he dies. The Spirit does not stay within the person; He goes to one after another, preparing the way for the disciple of Jesus to speak to him about his soul. Most people go through life unaware that they are out of fellowship with God and in terrible danger of spending eternity in torment. The Spirit prepares the unsaved for receiving the witnessing of a believer.
The first scripture quoted above is written by apostle Paul to the Christians at Thessalnika. In his salutation Paul testifies that it was the work of the Holy Spirit that prepared their hearts for receiving the gospel and becoming deeply committed to the Lord.
Can you imagine the repulsion felt by the Spirit upon entering the filthy mind of some very sinful person? Remember, He is God; the Bible says that God hates sin. To enter the mind of a sex pervert and see the evil sexual daydreams that are there must make Him nauseated. But God loves all people; He hates their sins, but He loves the people. The Spirit does that because of God's love and desire for them to be saved. Please re-read the terrible adjectives in the poem. They describe the natures we humans possess at birth. I know it is difficult to look at a one- or two-year-old child and imagine that his inner inherited nature is like the poem, but it is. That sinful inherent nature must be changed for a person to go to heaven, because up there, there is no sin, and no minds that conceive such things. When a person comes to Jesus, he must change his nature by suppressing those evil traits; as Paul says, we must "crucify" those habits.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Shepherd Boy And The Giant
To fill the armor, David stretched in vain,
Fearing the king would deny him the chance
To fight the giant to the death on the plain;
He was so small, the Hebrews looked askance!
He was no soldier, in just his twelfth year,
Come to bring his brothers their home-sent ration,
Shocked to find God's army faltered in fear,
None would fight Goliath to save the nation!
Filled with faith in God, David volunteered,
And for some strange reason, they sent him out;
The stone he slung struck true, and Hebrews cheered;
As the stricken giant fell, with a stifled shout!
David's fame like wildfire swept through the land,
And flames of King Saul's jealousy were fanned!
God did not want His Chosen People to establish a kingdom in Canaan. What He wanted was a theocracy under His rule through the priestly system (this is what is now established under Jesus Christ as King and High Priest combined in the Kingdom of God that Jesus established). Moses was both ruler and prophet under God for Israel's escape from Egypt and 40-year trek through the desert. Moses turned his authority over to Joshua; Canaan was conquered and the 12 tribes of Israel settled. For a coup;e of centuries the tribes operated together loosely under "prophets" and judges, but they had continual wars with Philistines and other surrounding nations, and the people demanded a king. God didn't like it, but He let them have a king named Saul, which means in Hebrew, "You asked for it." After Davic (who God wanted to be Israel's king) burst on the scene by killing Goliath in about 1000 B. C., Saul brought him into his palace; he was extremely jealous of David, because the people showered the shepherd boy with more praise than they had for Saul.
David was a musician; his harp-playing soothed Saul's headaches; he also became a great soldier and lifelong friend of Jonathan, Saul's son. In returning from battle, the crowds of people would chant, "Saul kills his thousands, and David kills his ten thousands". Saul became so jealous that he hurled a spear at him once in the palace, so David fled to save his life. King Saul chased him with thousands of soldiers, but David was helped by many. Twice he had opportunities to kill Saul, but did not; he cut a piece of his robe off and sent it to Saul with a note, saying this was proof that he did not want to kill God's appoited king. Eventually Saul was killed in battle, and Jonathan gave David the king's purple robe that was given to him. David became the greatest king in Israel's history, and under his rule Israel became great. When God began promising Israel about the coming of a Messiah, He was to be descended from David and to be a future king on David's throne.
David wanted to build a temple for God to dwell in with His people, but God refused to let him, because of his killing so many enemy soldiers in battle and his great sin with Bathsheba. She was the wife of Uriah; they lived next door to David's palace in Jerusalem. While Uriah was off fighting with David's army, the king saw Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. He committed adultery with her. When she became pregnant, David wrote a note to his general in command, telling him to pull his soldiers back from Uriah in battle so that he would be killed. Psalm 51, written by David, is an account of his grieving repentance for these terrible sins. David wrote many of the Psalms in the Bible. They are Jewish hymns. The child of David and Bathsheba was Solomon, who followed David as king, and he was allowed by God to build the temple. David was born in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in a manger.
Fearing the king would deny him the chance
To fight the giant to the death on the plain;
He was so small, the Hebrews looked askance!
He was no soldier, in just his twelfth year,
Come to bring his brothers their home-sent ration,
Shocked to find God's army faltered in fear,
None would fight Goliath to save the nation!
Filled with faith in God, David volunteered,
And for some strange reason, they sent him out;
The stone he slung struck true, and Hebrews cheered;
As the stricken giant fell, with a stifled shout!
David's fame like wildfire swept through the land,
And flames of King Saul's jealousy were fanned!
God did not want His Chosen People to establish a kingdom in Canaan. What He wanted was a theocracy under His rule through the priestly system (this is what is now established under Jesus Christ as King and High Priest combined in the Kingdom of God that Jesus established). Moses was both ruler and prophet under God for Israel's escape from Egypt and 40-year trek through the desert. Moses turned his authority over to Joshua; Canaan was conquered and the 12 tribes of Israel settled. For a coup;e of centuries the tribes operated together loosely under "prophets" and judges, but they had continual wars with Philistines and other surrounding nations, and the people demanded a king. God didn't like it, but He let them have a king named Saul, which means in Hebrew, "You asked for it." After Davic (who God wanted to be Israel's king) burst on the scene by killing Goliath in about 1000 B. C., Saul brought him into his palace; he was extremely jealous of David, because the people showered the shepherd boy with more praise than they had for Saul.
David was a musician; his harp-playing soothed Saul's headaches; he also became a great soldier and lifelong friend of Jonathan, Saul's son. In returning from battle, the crowds of people would chant, "Saul kills his thousands, and David kills his ten thousands". Saul became so jealous that he hurled a spear at him once in the palace, so David fled to save his life. King Saul chased him with thousands of soldiers, but David was helped by many. Twice he had opportunities to kill Saul, but did not; he cut a piece of his robe off and sent it to Saul with a note, saying this was proof that he did not want to kill God's appoited king. Eventually Saul was killed in battle, and Jonathan gave David the king's purple robe that was given to him. David became the greatest king in Israel's history, and under his rule Israel became great. When God began promising Israel about the coming of a Messiah, He was to be descended from David and to be a future king on David's throne.
David wanted to build a temple for God to dwell in with His people, but God refused to let him, because of his killing so many enemy soldiers in battle and his great sin with Bathsheba. She was the wife of Uriah; they lived next door to David's palace in Jerusalem. While Uriah was off fighting with David's army, the king saw Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. He committed adultery with her. When she became pregnant, David wrote a note to his general in command, telling him to pull his soldiers back from Uriah in battle so that he would be killed. Psalm 51, written by David, is an account of his grieving repentance for these terrible sins. David wrote many of the Psalms in the Bible. They are Jewish hymns. The child of David and Bathsheba was Solomon, who followed David as king, and he was allowed by God to build the temple. David was born in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born in a manger.
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