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Wednesday 010825

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Acts 2:37-41; John 5:24; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Matthew 10:8-15.

So, over the past couple of days, I’ve been writing down notes of the chronology since Jesus was crucified back in the 1^st century.

The time is just short of 2000 years, but the history that has occurred in that timespan, is really, unimaginable.

Paul wrote that when we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried and that He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, our sins will be forgiven.

1 Corinthians 15

vs1 ‘…Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand…’

vs2 ‘…by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain…’

vs3 ‘…or I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…’

vs4 ‘…and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

This is the starting point; we MUST believe in these verses written by Paul so that our lives will be saved.

In the Bible, being saved means that a person’s sins have been forgiven and they are assured of living in heaven forever. It also means that they are justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ and are declared righteous in God’s court of law. 

Salvation is the gift that comes from God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Being saved, spiritually speaking, means your sins no longer count against you toward an eternal death sentence. Instead, they are forgiven by the grace of God, and you are given the gift of eternal life. Being saved does not spare you from earthly troubles, but it does spare you from eternal judgment.

Acts 2

vs37 ‘…Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what are we to do…’

vs38 ‘…Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…’

vs39 ‘…For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself…’

vs40 ‘…And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, be saved from this perverse generation…’

vs41 ‘…So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

John 5:24 ‘…Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Romans 3

vs21 ‘…but now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets…’

vs22 ‘…but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction…’

vs23 ‘…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…’

vs24 ‘…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…’

vs25 ‘…whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished…’

vs26 ‘…for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

There are so many today that do not believe it and the majority of that came from mankind’s churches continuously holding their hands out asking for money.

Lying to their congregation week after week, year after year. Preaching lies, false sermons about how the Bible tells us we are supposed to ‘tithe’ instead of telling them what is written in the Bible, about ‘giving.’

2 Corinthians 9

vs6 ‘…Now I say this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously…’

vs7 ‘…Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver…’

vs8 ‘…And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed…’

vs9 ‘…as it is written: He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever…’

vs10 ‘…Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness…’

vs11 ‘…you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God…’

vs12 ‘…For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God…’

vs13 ‘…Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all…’

vs14 ‘…while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you…’

vs15 ‘…Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Once again, man in his greed thinks God has made a mistake and he could make a better plan.

The apostle Judas that tuned Jesus in for silver, his greed overwhelmed him. He stole from the ministry finances, and he constantly struggled to see why they were not doing financially better.

Jesus never asked for money, the entire time He walked this earth He never asked for anything.

When Jesus sent the twelve out to heal the sick he told them to not take anything extra with them and don’t ask for any money.

Matthew 10

vs8 ‘… Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give…’

vs9 ‘…Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts…’

vs10 ‘…or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is deserving of his support…’

vs11 ‘…And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city…’

vs12 ‘…As you enter the house, give it your greeting…’

vs13 ‘…If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace…’

vs14 ‘…And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet…’

vs15 ‘…Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Mankind’s churches, from day one, can only survive with money. They preach to their congregation, put your faith and trust in Jesus and He will make a way for you; however, these churches, they don’t believe themselves because of the amount of garbage they spew out of their mouths onto those that want to hear of the wonders of God.

These pastors, these evil doers, they will find out just how short this time on this earth really will be and they will experience Everlasting Torment the most for themselves.

Their evil is beyond ordinary evil, these men are destroying the future of those that want to hear of the promises, but they instead become frustrated, and they will leave.

But to those of us in the 21^st century, who have been given so much, we will not be able to say we were taught the wrong things because we have more than what this entire world has ever even thought of having.

There are those today that are going to suffer because they never even tried to open the Bible and find out for themselves what is out there and available to them.

There are so many lessons that we as a church could learn from looking back at earlier generations that had so little.

Back in earlier times, people had to go somewhere to hear the Word of God but today, ask yourself, how many Bibles do you have in your house? How many apps could you install on your phones, computers or tablets?

Our generation has been given so many opportunities it is going to be sad when that one individual, when standing in front of the Great White Throne of Judgement and they try and claim they never had the opportunity. Don’t ever forget how much Jesus loves each one of us.

Keep your Bibles open and continuously study His Word throughout your day.

Don’t look at your Bibles as a job that has to be completed, but rather look at them as a gift that we each have had the opportunity to open the covers and discover what is waiting out there for our future.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Tuesday 010725

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

We have two ground rules in this study:

1 – we are ONLY going to read and follow what is found (that pertains to us), in the Holy Bible.

2 – we are ONLY going to learn from a study, what effort we put into that study.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

John 11:38-44, 12:3-8; Jonah 1:3; 2 Chronicles 2:16; Acts 9:36-42, 10:8-10; Ephesians 6:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Zechariah 9:9; John 12:16; Deuteronomy 29:21; Romans 8:10-11.

Before this study began, I voiced of the importance I found in the television series ‘the CHOSEN.’

Last night before I turned the set off and went to sleep, I watched the 8^th episode of season 4 when Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem.

In the episode, Lazarus was raised from his tomb.

John 11

vs38 ‘…Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance…’

vs39 ‘…Take away the stone, he said. But, Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days…’

vs40 ‘…Then Jesus said, Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God…’

vs41 ‘…So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me…’

vs42 ‘…I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me…’

vs43 ‘…When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out…’

vs44 ‘…The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, take off the grave clothes and let him go…’ NIV (New International Version)

Lazarus’ sister, Mary, poured the oil on Jesus’ feet as she sobbed and wiped his feet with her hair.

John 12

vs3 ‘…Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume…’

vs4 ‘…But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said…’

vs5 ‘…Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor…’

vs6 ‘…He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it…’

vs7 ‘…Jesus said, leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial…’

vs8 ‘…For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me…’ ESV (English Standard Version)

The writings in the Bible are being played out and opening right in front of my very own eyes.

Last night was the end of season 4 and now I must wait an entire year before season 5 will come out and my mind begins racing through the stories I’ve known since my childhood years.

By being familiar with the Bible, I recognize Palm Sunday and what will happen in just a few days and then …

… the next following Sunday is Easter Sunday … Easter morning, the 1^st Easter given to us human beings on this earth and how many will miss it? How many will choose not to care? How many will turn and walk away as Jonah ran from God trying to get away.

Jonah 1:3 ‘…But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

How many will choose to travel to Joppa and run away from God?

This world that we live in today is so small. It seems sometimes this world is no larger than a spinning coin flipped on its side.

Jonah not only fled to Joppa, but the timber used for Solomon’s temple floated through Joppa.

2 Chronicles 2:16 ‘…In the mountains of Lebanon we will cut down all the cedars you need, tie them together in rafts, and float them by sea as far as Joppa. From there you can take them to Jerusalem …’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Peter Raises Tabitha (Dorcas) From the Dead in Joppa.

Acts 9

vs36 ‘…Now in Joppa, there was a certain disciple, Tabitha by name (which being interpreted means ‘Dorcas’). This one was full of good works and acts-of-alms giving which she was doing…’

vs37 ‘…And it came about in those days that having become sick, she died. And having washed her, they laid her in an upper room…’

vs38 ‘…Now Lydda being near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was in it, sent out two men to him urging, do not delay coming to us…’

vs39 ‘…And having arisen, Peter went with them— whom, having arrived, they brought up into the upper room. And all the widows stood near him, weeping and showing him tunics and garments— all-that Dorcas was making while being with them…’

vs40 ‘…And Peter— having put everyone outside and having put down his knees— prayed. And having turned to the body, he said, Tabitha, rise-up. And the one opened her eyes! And having seen Peter, she sat up…’

vs41 ‘…And having given her his hand, he raised her up. And having called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive…’

vs42 ‘…And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many put faith upon the Lord…’ DLNT (Disciples’ Literal New Testament)

Peter also had his dream on the rooftop of the city of Joppa.

Acts 10

vs8 ‘…And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa…’

vs9 ‘…On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour…’

vs10 ‘…And he became very hungry, and would have eaten but while they made ready, he fell into a trance…’ KJV (King James Version)

The more we know of the Word, the better chance we will be able to fend off the devil on that day when he attacks us.

Ephesians 6:11 ‘…Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks…’ CEV (Contemporary English Version)

2 Timothy 3

vs16 ‘…All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living…’

vs17 ‘…so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

ALL Scripture is inspired by God and ALL Scripture teaches us the truth but, NOT ALL Scripture is meant for us to follow.

The more familiar we are with the contents inside the Word, the better prepared we will be for our future in Him.

The Bible tells us mankind’s past as well as it portrays our future, as much of it as we want to know.

Study the Word and attain as much as you possibly can. Keep Him by your side for that occasion when you will need Him the most.

I love y’all. Always remember that Jesus loves us more than we will ever comprehend what love really means.

As He got on the back of that donkey, knowing what was about to happen in His very near future, Jesus sat up straight and without embarrassment as He entered that city which was in front of Him.

Zechariah 9:9 ‘…Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

You should be asking yourselves, today, how many KNOW which way we are to go?

Jesus seen His future that was awaiting His arrival just as we can see our future written for us today. We have been given the opportunity to see our own future handed out in front of us, free from the errors of mankind and our own devious ways.

John 12:16 ‘… Jesus’ disciples did not understand all this at that time. They understood only after Jesus had returned to God in heaven. Then they remembered that someone had written these things about him in the Bible. And they remembered that these things had now really happened to him…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

A book that reveals the mysteries of God, has awaited time which is right around the corner in front of us. It’s too late to try and run away, for safety is held in His hands of Grace. Your churches are not going to save you, denominations fail the fools that won’t accept the truth.

Deuteronomy 29:21 ‘…The Lord will make an example of him before all the tribes of Israel and will bring disaster on him in accordance with all the curses listed in the covenant that is written in this book of the Lord’s teachings…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

It is time for our FAITH to stand up inside and give us the strength as we walk into that city, the city in front of us, awaiting time to come to an end.

Romans 8

vs10 ‘…But, if Christ lives in you, you have a new life because of his Spirit. Your body will die one day because of the power of sin. But your spirit lives because Christ has made you right with God…’

vs11 ‘…God raised Jesus, to make him alive again after his death. Now God’s Spirit lives in you. So, God, who raised Christ from death, will also cause your human bodies to live again. He will do that by his Spirit who lives in you…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Monday 010625

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Revelation 5:11, 22:20; Colossians 4:5-6; Ecclesiastes 3:1-22; Matthew 24:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Matthew 24:42-44.

I’m on the computer this morning, checking out some articles written on Google and I’m just doing a little studying.

Let me share some of the opinions expressed online.

Time is a measurement of distance. Time is often used to measure distance, as implied by phrases like my home is ten minutes from work by car or the business district is a five-minute walk.

In these examples, the speed of walking or driving converts distance to time.

So, as I’ve stated in earlier studies, I’ve been watching the television series called ‘the Chosen.’

On one of the episodes, Jesus makes a comment on the word ‘SOON.’

Soon is a measurement of time but the word ‘soon’ could be in 30 seconds, or it could also be in 2000 plus years.

The lesson taught on the television series is that the word soon is the most imprecise word known and used by mankind.

So next I asked Google a question:

Does the bible make any reference to the words ‘soon’ or ‘time’ and Google responded with this for an answer.

Yes, the Bible mentions the word ‘soon’ and ‘time’ in many places, including verses that discuss God’s relationship to time, time management, and specific events.

I found only certain versions use the word ‘soon.’

Revelation 5:11 ‘…I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown…’ ESV (English Standard Version)

Revelation 22:20 ‘…He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus…’ ESV (English Standard Version)

There are verses that speak about ‘time.’

Colossians 4

vs5 ‘…Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time…’

vs6 ‘…Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

vs1 ‘…There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven…’

vs2 ‘…A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted…’

vs3 ‘…A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up…’

vs4 ‘…A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance…’

vs5 ‘…A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing…’

vs6 ‘…A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away…’

vs7 ‘…A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak…’

vs8 ‘…A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace…’

vs9 ‘…What benefit is there for the worker from that in which he labors…’

vs10 ‘…I have seen the task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to occupy themselves…’

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Mankind

vs11 ‘…He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, without the possibility that mankind will find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end…’

vs12 ‘…I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime…’

vs13 ‘…moreover, that every person who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—this is the gift of God…’

vs14 ‘…I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. And God has so worked, that people will fear Him…’

vs15 ‘…That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God seeks what has passed by…’

vs16 ‘…Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness…’

vs17 ‘…I said to myself, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for a time for every matter and for every deed is there…’

vs18 ‘…I said to myself regarding the sons of mankind, God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as animals, they to themselves…’

vs19 ‘…For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility…’

vs20 ‘…All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust…’

vs21 ‘…Who knows that the spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward, and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth…’

vs22 ‘…I have seen that nothing is better than when a person is happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

The Bible also uses different words in Greek and Hebrew to refer to time:

Chronos: The Greek word for human time, which is used in the Bible 53 times, including in Matthew 2:7, ‘Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.’

Kairos: The Greek word for time in God’s time.

Et: The Hebrew word, which can mean linear time but is often associated with specific events.

The measurement of time is found in almost every book of the Word.

Time has been a valuable lesson for us human beings that we’ve been shown by God, and yet us human beings have not really grabbed ahold of the real meaning that God has tried to teach us.

I remember in my earlier years, those years I went to grade, middle, high school and in my college years, time seemed like it took forever for a 24-hour day to get done.

After college, I got my first job and just that 8-hour day seemed like on some days, it lasted for ever.

Over the years, those 24-hour periods have gotten a lot faster.

Now I’m in my late 60’s and there have been some of those days that just flew by. It seems like that minute hand on the clocks was just spinning faster and faster.

I’ve noticed though that when I’m in His Word studying, there are times when it seems as if time stops. What I thought might take hours to read may only take a few minutes to really comprehend what has been said.

I’m able to study for an hour and totally fulfill what my body seemed to be lacking. There have been times, when I’ve shut the computer down, closed the covers of the Bible only to find myself turning everything back on because of the hunger I’ve found that I have in a particular subject.

ONLY God knows when the end is going to happen.

Matthew 24:36 ‘…But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

The end will come like a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 ‘…For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

We’re told in the Bible to remain always READY.

Matthew 24

vs42 ‘…Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming…’

vs43 ‘…But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into…’

vs44 ‘…For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Be like a Boy Scout, our motto was to always, be prepared. Be ready for anything.

I love y’all. Keep yourself in the Word and learn of all the wonderful Mysteries God has waiting for us.

Read His Word and listen to the words He uses to teach us.

Listen to what God is trying to tell you, and forget about what someone else is saying.

Open His Word and HEAR Him speaking to you, you don’t need me, or a pastor, or a church or its denomination.

Listen to what God is telling you.

OPEN YOUR BIBLE AND READ HIS WORD.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Sunday 010525

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Our vision for this study is going to focus on what we have been told in the Bible and ONLY listen to what pertains to us, instead of us following an idea that rewrites the Word to fit our lifestyle.

The more we learn, we’re going to realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into a study that will allow us to take something useful away with us.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Galatians 5:13; Genesis 1:26; Acts 16:31; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 10:25; Luke 6:37; Philippians 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Galatians 5:13; Romans 12:1-21.

So, tonight’s lesson is on BELIEVING.

We should ask ourselves the question, are we free to believe in what we want to believe?

We are given free will that we can choose for ourselves what we want to do, but we haven’t been told that we are free to believe in whatever we want to believe in.

Galatians 5:13 ‘…My Christian friends, God has chosen you to serve him as free people. But you are still weak and human. So, you are not free to do anything that you might want to do. Instead, you must serve one another, because you love each other…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

God has given us some freedom, so we are able to be free to move around but, we are warned that we are weak and human.

It is in this warning where we should become aware.

Our minds alone are so easily tempted and because of our weak minds, we can be lured away from what is ‘good’ and we can be turned towards that which is bad. It is our human nature.

From Genesis 1:26 we are told how we were made in the image of God, but we were only made in His ‘likeness.’

Genesis 1:26a ‘…Then God said, Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

On dictionary.com, likeness is defined as:

A representation, picture, or image, especially a portrait.

Beliefs are a choice that can be influenced by many things.

And now for a moment, I want you to think for yourself a little, how much of what has happened in your lifetime has influenced the way you trust and believe in something?

Just think.

How much of what has happened to the environment, has affected what you throw away in the trash every day?

How much of your past experiences affect the way you move throughout your daily lives?

Think of all the events that have happened in your lifetime that now make you live your life according to those events.

How much have individuals and society changed the way you think?

How much has your government changed your thoughts and actions. 

The strength of our beliefs is often determined by our emotions, and by other people that we might see every day.

Preformed beliefs can also be created by years of social, family, and media influences, which can create mental templates that cause people to favor information that confirms their beliefs and disregard facts that contradict them.

Just in a normal 24-hour day, we change our daily lives to fit around this belief system that we have acquired throughout our lifetime.

So, is it then understood that when we open our Bibles, or we simply go to a church service we have already formed a conclusion in what we believe in, based on our past experiences?

Here are some things we can find in the Bible:

1-Believe in Jesus.

Acts 16:31 ‘…They said, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

2-Put living for Jesus first in your life.

2 Corinthians 4

vs16 ‘…Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is  being renewed day by day…’

vs17 ‘…For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…’

vs18 ‘…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

3-Read the Bible.

2 Timothy 3

vs16 ‘…All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness…’

vs17 ‘…so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

4-Become involved in a local Bible-believing church and seek friendships with Christ-followers.

Hebrews 10:25 ‘…not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

5-Forgive others.

Luke 6:37 ‘…Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

6-Live your life with thankfulness, not complaining.

Philippians 2:14 ‘…Do all things without complaining or arguments…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

7-Pray all the time.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ‘…pray without ceasing…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

8-Love others.

1 Corinthians 13

vs4 ‘…Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant…’

vs5 ‘…It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered…’

vs6 ‘…it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth…’

vs7 ‘…it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…’

vs8 ‘…Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

All these examples can and will strengthen our lives and our minds in the way that God wants us to live our lives.

These examples can also be portrayed as how God wants us to believe.

As we were shown in the first Bible verse in this lesson:

Galatians 5:13 ‘…My Christian friends, God has chosen you to serve him as free people. But you are still weak and human. So, you are not free to do anything that you might want to do. Instead, you must serve one another, because you love each other…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

… we are told God wants us to serve one another.

It is much easier for us to serve one another if we put ourselves in a person’s place and we try and please them as we would want to be pleased.

Maybe a good way for us to believe what God wants us to believe is to put another person’s feelings before our own.

The entire chapter Paul wrote in Romans 12 is a very good example for us to follow.

Romans 12

vs1 ‘…Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship…’

vs2 ‘…And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect…’

vs3 ‘…For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith…’

vs4 ‘…For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function…’

vs5 ‘…so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another…’

vs6 ‘…However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith…’

vs7 ‘…if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching…’

vs8 ‘…or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness…’

vs9 ‘…Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good…’

vs10 ‘…Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…’

vs11 ‘…not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord…’

vs12 ‘…rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer…’

vs13 ‘…contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality…’

vs14 ‘…Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…’

vs15 ‘…Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep…’

vs16 ‘…Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation…’

vs17 ‘…Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people…’

vs18 ‘…If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people…’

vs19 ‘…Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord…’

vs20 ‘…But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head…’

vs21 ‘…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

I love y’all. Jesus loves us even more.

Love those next to you. Put yourself in their place and treat them with the same respect as to how you would want to be treated.

Keep studying your Bibles. Open them daily and read the amazing stories we have been promised.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Saturday 010425

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

We have two ground rules in this study:

1 – we are ONLY going to read and follow what is found (that pertains to us), in the Holy Bible.

2 – we are ONLY going to learn from a study, what effort we put into that study.

Continuing and ending our study tonight, we must observe mankind’s history. History can be difficult to accept but we’re given the opportunity not to make any mistakes.

So, let’s begin tonight’s lesson.

Jesus as we continue our study tonight, we need Your leadership and guidance to help us hear the message that You want us to hear. Open our ears tonight Jesus and allow us to hear what you have for us. We love You Jesus. Amen.

So tonight, here are the verses we are going to study:

1 Corinthians 1:11-13; Revelation 3:18, 19-22; Jeremiah 17:9-10.

So, I am right now posting my study on ten (10) different sites on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings:

Facebook    – whosoeverinhim Bible study

WordPress – lrabbe.wordpress.com

Weebly        – whosoeverinhim.weebly.com

Wix              – lrabbe2024.wixsite.com/my-site-2

Wix              – lrabbe2024.wixsite.com/whosoeverinhim

Blogger        – whosoeverinhim.blogspot.com

cw.center     – whosoeverinhim.cw.center

Tumblr         – www.tumblr.com/whosoeversblog

Webador       – inhim.webador.com

Webador       – free-4140862.webador.com

In my attempt to spread the MESSAGE of Jesus to the people in the 21^st century, instead of releasing ten (10) different papers a week, I’m going to try to release one (1) paper on ten (10) different sites.

As we continue with the countless distractions all around us, that are just waiting for us to trip and fall.

There is the Distraction of Political Opinion.

No matter where we stand politically, it is IMPORTANT for us to remember that being American and being a Christian are two very different things.

No matter where you align yourself politically, don’t let politics become a distraction to you or your church.

And as I stated earlier, a church is more than a building with four walls, a floor, a roof and a steeple with a bell. A church is a religious body, a body that is united as a group of believers, believers of ALL ages.

That’s us. We are a religious body, a group of believers. We are a church.

As soon as our political convictions become more important than the humanity of the person that we’re speaking with, we are no longer able to interact in a way that reflects Christ, and Christ should take precedence over any topic that comes out of our mouths.

There is the distraction of personalities.

We are given an example found in the Word.

1 Corinthians 1

vs11 ‘…For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you…’

vs12 ‘…Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am with Paul, or I am with Apollos, or I am with Cephas, or I am with Christ…’

vs13 ‘…Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

It is our obligation that no one will love us more than the love they have for their Savior. A person should not identify with us any more than they do with Jesus.

This is a major distraction for us. I must admit, this is a blessing by communicating, by means of social media. 

And then finally, there is the distraction of tradition.

The past is not our enemy, but it can be if we let it.

It’s important to recognize and build on the past, but we cannot live in it.

As time goes by, we will always be confronted with doing things the way we used to in the past.

Tradition can be a beautiful aspect of church life, but a church distracted by the past can keep a ‘new’ church from being formed and connecting with others in a much better and greater way.

So, in this way we should always be on the lookout for a new and better focus.

Our focus should always be to build a better and a stronger relationship with Jesus. We need to always keep in our memory the church in Laodicea, it had grown lukewarm and distracted from its once clear and burning desire to serve God.

Jesus invited them to renew their focus.

Revelation 3:18 ‘…I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus offered the church, ‘eye salve’ so that they may see, in essence, He is offering us that eye salve so that WE may see. Buy from me ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

Laodicea was famous for ‘Phrygian powder’, an ingredient used in a healing eye ointment. Jesus again makes a personalized reference to drive his point home. Only he could give them true vision. Only in Christ can we as Christians find our true purpose in life. The church in Laodicea had grown lukewarm and useless. Their selfish focus on wealth and culture kept them from living on purpose in this life. But Jesus offered them a second chance. He wanted a relationship with them again, and that relationship would put the church back on mission.

Today Jesus is voicing to us how we have lost our way. We have become blind. If we continue to ask Him to open our eyes so that we will be able to see, maybe we will still have the time to find our way home.

Revelation 3

vs19 ‘…Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent…’

vs20 ‘…Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me…’

vs21 ‘…The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne…’

vs22 ‘…The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

What about you? Can you relate to these distractions in your own life? It’s not too late to let Jesus in again. He wanted to spit the lukewarm Laodicean Christians out of his mouth. But for those flowing with purpose, he promises to use them.

Open our ears Jesus so that we will be able to hear the Words You have for us to hear.

In my attempt to prepare for this study, I came upon a list of 10 lies that us parents teach our children today and we don’t even give it a second of thought on how much we are damaging, one of the more precious gifts we’ve been given in this life. Allow me to share with you what I found.

10 lies we tell our children:

Now there are items on this list that the words never come out of my mouth. But then, look at the ones that come from your mouth.

1-Santa Claus exists.

This is so simple how can it even be on a list. But just think about the impact that we have on our child’s life.

2-Follow your heart.

Jeremiah 17

vs9 ‘…The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick, who can understand it…’

vs10 ‘…I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, to give to each person according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

3-If it feels good, it is good.

How many times has something felt good and you knew it was bad for you?

4-Live it up now.

Are we teaching them how to enjoy themselves or are we teaching them about enjoyment?

5-Habits don’t stick.

Maybe this is why the younger generation is so aptly wanting to destroy all of mankind’s history, maybe this way they won’t be able to acknowledge a habit.

6-Nobody loves me.

7-Life is pointless.

8-If you love me, you’ll agree with me.

9-There is no God.

Who would even think of such a thing to say to a younger person.

10-I can follow God tomorrow.

We are trying too hard to be our children’s friends rather than being their parents.

Here’s a question for you: do you think we are hurting them or are we hurting ourselves more?

The message that Jesus had for the church in Laodicea is as relevant today to the church in the 21^st century, as it was 2000 years ago.

The city of Laodicea was a well-defended city on a hill, famous for banking, finance, fashion, and pharmaceuticals. There was one major issue, and that was the lack of water, but being a wealthy city, aqueducts had been constructed to alleviate the situation.

To us here in America today, we have been given so much. We are so ‘wealthy’ that we are in reality, very poor. Jesus is going to return one day and we’re going to be asleep at the wheel if we don’t wake ourselves up and begin paying attention to what He has already given us.

This church in Laodicea had grown ‘lukewarm’ in their faith and zeal towards Jesus. This definition is us today in the 21^st century, we have lost our zeal towards Jesus.

What was wrong with Laodicea?

What is wrong with us in the 21^st century?

Keep your focus on the Word and keep yourself in it every day. Install Bible apps on your cell phones and computers and read His Word throughout your day.

I love every one of you and I hope you all realize that Jesus loves each one of us even more than our human minds can comprehend what the word LOVE really means.

As we close this morning ending this study, Jesus please keep us safe and open our mouths so we can repeat the knowledge You’ve allowed for us to see. Let others Jesus, have the opportunity to find out about You and give them the chance to see what it is You have given us.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Friday 010325

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

We have two ground rules in this study:

1 – we are ONLY going to read and follow what is found (that pertains to us), in the Holy Bible.

2 – we are ONLY going to learn from a study, what effort we put into that study.

Continuing our study tonight, is still going to involve a lot of information looking back into history.

For some today, history can be difficult to accept. Many times, there are advantages in knowing our history, probably the major advantage is, we’re given the opportunity in not making the same mistake over again.

So, let’s begin tonight. Let’s go to Jesus in prayer:

Jesus we are continuing our study, we’re going to need Your leadership and Your guidance to help us hear the message that You want us to hear. Open our eyes and our ears tonight Jesus and allow us to see and hear that which is found in front of us. We love You Jesus. Amen.

So tonight, here are the verses we are going to study:

Revelation 3:15-17; Matthew 6:24, 19:23, 23:23; Luke 11:42, 18:11-12; Revelation 3:18; 2 Timothy 2:23.

In my attempt to spread the Word, to the people in the 21^st century, I am posting a new lesson every morning.

I am posting my lessons on eleven (11) different sites.

On Facebook, I am:

Whosoever Inhim

Whosoever inhim Bible Study

Or, in a search engine, simply type:

lrabbe.wordpress.com

whosoeverinhim.weebly.com

lrabbe2024.wixsite.com/my-site-2

lrabbe2024.wixsite.com/whosoeverinhim

whosoeverinhim.blogspot.com

www.tumblr.com/whosoeversblog

whosoeverinhim.cw.center

inhim.webador.com

free-4140862.webador.com

Again, this morning, I want to voice that there are those that do not believe the book of Revelation has been written for us Gentiles.

I agree except for chapters 2 and 3.

I think these seven letters are meant for this church age today.

The Christian life is a call to action, but followers of Jesus are susceptible to distractions. Jesus points out two of those distractions to the church in Laodicea, and they are shockingly relevant to the Christian church today.

Distraction #1: Wealth

Laodicea is one of the first-century churches that Jesus addressed in the book of Revelation. It is also the only church of the group which receives no praise from our Lord, only rebuke. Although the church existed in the first century, Jesus’ message is as much for us today as it was for them back in the 1^st century.

Revelation 3

vs15 ‘…I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot…’

vs16 ‘…So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth…’

vs17 ‘…Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything, and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Laodicea was a city famous for its own wealth. History tells us that when an earthquake destroyed the city in 60 A.D., Laodicea turned down offers of help from Rome. Laodicea felt invincible.

What was true 2000 years ago is still true today: wealth can lure us away from our greater purpose as Christians. No one starts out with the goal of turning money into an idol. But acquiring possessions has an intoxicating effect. Jesus himself said that you cannot serve both money and God at the same time; one or the other will dominate you

Matthew 6:24 ‘…No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Matthew 19:23 ‘…And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Money is a gift from God, but when it moves to the center of our lives, it becomes a distraction from the main purpose of every disciple of Jesus: helping people pursue God.

Money distracted the Laodicean church 2000 years ago, and it may be even more distracting for American Christians today. Consider this statistic: on average, people give a smaller percentage of their incomes today than they did during the Great Depression. That’s incredible! Even as America (and its Christians) get wealthier, we are drifting away from a heart of generosity. We are increasingly focused on our own lives rather than keeping the story of God, alive and well. Like Laodicea, we are distracted by our wealth.

Allow me to take a moment away from these earlier statements and let me voice a few things in greater detail.

There are churches today that will spend an entire Sunday service on how the members are told in the Bible they should be giving tithes every week.

This is right flat out, a lie. This is a sermon based on misinformation and it’s being told to entire congregations around the globe.

Not once are we told in the New Testament that we should be making weekly tithes. There is nowhere in the New Testament where a percentage amount is given, telling anyone how much we should be tithing from our income.

This is nothing other than a made up, man-made lie all about greed.

The word ‘tithe’ is found in three verses in the New Testament.

Matthew 23:23 ‘…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Luke 11:42 ‘…But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Luke 18

vs11 ‘…The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector…’

vs12 ‘…I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Isn’t it amazing that ALL three verses are speaking of Pharisees and scribes, the Jewish world. Nothing is noted about a Christian.

I wonder how many of these churches, raising their voices telling their congregation how the Bible teaches us to tithe, repeat these verses found in the New Testament?

Maybe the number 1 distraction to our churches is and has been our problem with WEALTH.

Churches from the 1^st as well as the 21^st centuries.

Distraction #2 is our culture.

Popular culture preys on the insecurities of the masses, and apparently this is not a new phenomenon. Laodicea was famous for producing rich, black wool for cloaks – and for them it was apparently a source of local pride. But Jesus turned it into a warning: Also buy white garments from me so you will not be ashamed by your nakedness.

Revelation 3:18 ‘…I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Here’s the irony: every generation has its own sense of ‘cool’, but it almost always looks silly to the next generation. Fast forward to the end of generations and you’ll see it from God’s perspective. The Laodiceans had it wrong. They were proud of their famed black wool, but Jesus saw past their outward appearance to their souls. In his eyes, it wasn’t a matter of swapping black for white garments. He declared that they were naked!

How much more do we get distracted and deceived by our popular culture? What we perceive to be valuable in this life can so easily draw us away from what really matters in eternity. Followers of Jesus have their true worth in the ‘robes of righteousness’ purchased by Christ himself at the cross. When we come to him and put those ‘white garments’ on, the stuff of this world loses its appeal. This doesn’t mean we are disconnected from popular culture; instead, we see beyond it to the stuff that truly defines us.

There are other distractions in today’s world.

There is the distraction of Preference.

We all like things done in a certain way. It’s part of our human nature.

We like our service to be in a particular order. We like the music to be in a particular style and a certain volume. We like our schedules to look like they’re supposed to look, and we like our community to feel in a certain way.

It’s okay for us to have preferences, but when we ask HOW we’re going to do ministry and it becomes more important than WHY we do ministry, we’re in big trouble.

Methods should never guide our ministry or our interactions with others. Mission should.

There is the distraction of being right.

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:23 ‘…But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

How much should we have to do with controversies?

We should have nothing to do with controversy. We should walk away and leave before a disagreement can begin.

There is the distraction of Doctrine.

Doctrine is the basis of Christianity. If it were not for the Word, if it were not for God, would any of us still be here today?

We each should read the Word for ourselves so that we can be prepared for when we’re going to need it. If we only read what verses others suggest or pray about certain matters, are we not selling short what we have been given that day on the cross.

We each should have a basis for our FAITH. There should not be any possibility that a denomination, a church, a pastor or any theological group could take precedence over our FAITH.

If our FAITH can be so easily changed by someone or something, how much of a value can you really place on your FAITH.

Keep yourself in His Word and study the wonderous mysteries that He has placed at our feet. I love all of you. Remember that Jesus loves each one of us even more than we can comprehend the word itself.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Thursday 010225

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

We have two ground rules in this study:

1 – we are ONLY going to read and follow what is found (that pertains to us), in the Holy Bible.

2 – we are ONLY going to learn from a study, what effort we put into that study.

Tonight’s study involves a lot of information from looking back into some of mankind’s history.

History can be difficult for many to accept. We’re looking back in time at what happened to someone before us.

Sometimes there are advantages when looking at mankind’s history, one advantage, and probably the major advantage for us is, we are given the opportunity that prevents us from making the same mistake twice.

I’ve tried to teach that the Old Testament is that way for me, my most used example is found in:

Jonah 1

vs1 ‘…The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying…’

vs2 ‘…Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it, because their wickedness has come up before Me…’

vs3 ‘…But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord …’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

God is NOT telling us to run and flee and hide ourselves from Him. We are being shown what happens to that person that runs and flees from the presence of God.

If we were continue reading Jonah, we’d find him in the belly of a large fish just because he ran from God.

So, let’s begin tonight. Let’s go to Jesus in prayer:

Jesus we are beginning a study tonight that we know we are going to need Your leadership and Your guidance to help us keep our human infections outside of this study and that we will only be able to hear the message that You want us to hear if You are there with us. Open our eyes and our ears tonight Jesus and allow us to see and hear that which is found in front of us. We love You Jesus. Amen.

So tonight, here are the verses we are going to study:

Jonah 1:1-3; Revelation 3:14-22; Genesis 2:2; Revelation 1:11; Matthew 16:23; Galatians 1:10; Luke 16:15, 6:26; James 4:4; John 5:44.

For awhile now, I have wanted to be involved in a study and assist Jesus in defining where we, individually are positioned in our lives today; what we need to do to get back on track with God’s commands; and how big of a hurry do we need to be in making our way back to Him and His teachings before the end is upon us.

This morning as I sat at my computer and with what I found; I think I’m ready to begin our presentation.

Let’s begin by opening our Bible to Revelation 3.

Now there are some that consider the book of Revelation to be a book that was written to the Jew … I believe it is too except these seven letters.

Please follow along with me,

Revelation 3

vs14 ‘…to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this…’

vs15 ‘…I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot…’

vs16 ‘…So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth…’

vs17 ‘…Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything, and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked…’

vs18 ‘…I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see…’

vs19 ‘…Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent…’

vs20 ‘…Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me…’

vs21 ‘…The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne…’

vs22 ‘…The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus thank You for giving us what has been written in the Bible. Be with me and advise me to voice only what You want us to hear. Jesus, I love You. Amen.

This reading is the 7^th and final letter, found in the book of Revelation.

The number seven in Scripture has a special meaning.

In the Bible the number seven often symbolizes completion or perfection. Genesis tells us that God created the heavens and the Earth in six days, and, upon completion, God rested on the seventh day.

Genesis 2:2 ‘…By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Here in this one verse are the words ‘completed’ and ‘rested’ are used and I would like to suggest to you, a third word … and that is the word: ‘ALL.’

If we return to the book of Revelation and begin reading in chapter 1:11 ‘…saying, write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea…’  NASB (New American Standard Bible)

In vs11, I’d like to insert the word ALL in the place of the word SEVEN.

It should make sense that there had to be more than seven churches at the time when this book was written.

Replacing the word ‘seven’ with the word ‘completed’ or ‘rested’ in this case doesn’t make any sense. But, if the word ‘seven’ was replaced by ‘ALL,’ God would be telling John to send this scroll to ‘ALL’ of the churches and to us, mankind, to ALL the churches in ALL time.

That involves us today in the 21^st century. We today are a church.

A church must be more than a building … a building with four walls, a floor, a roof with a steeple and a bell.

A church is a religious body. A body that is united as a group of believers. Of ALL ages.

That is us. We are a religious body, a group of believers and I’m certain we are of all ages.

Several years ago, I participated in an online Bible study of the book of Revelation by Verse-By-Verse-Ministry (VBVMI) taught by pastor Stephen Armstrong which died from the corona virus back in January of 2021.

To this day, that Bible study has affected my life more than any other study I’ve been involved in.

Today, in the 21^st century, that 7^th letter has been directed to us, the church at Laodicea. We are that church God told John to write to.

Laodicea means, ‘judged’ or ‘judging by the people.’ The implication is that in this church, men’s opinions are exalted above God’s, resulting in a people lukewarm to Him.

Is this not a statement that defines most of mankind’s churches throughout this land in the 21^st century. Rather than us reading the Word that God has given us we find churches today that are printing their own books to follow. Rather than following who God chose for us, some of these churches follow the entire Bible, picking and choosing what they want to pass on to their congregations.

Where are we told we can do that in the Bible?

There is nothing more offensive in any relationship than indifference. This church is so offensive to the Lord that they make Him sick, and He will vomit them out of His mouth. Yet the greatest promises given to any church age are given to the overcomers in this age.

We have plenty in the biblical prophecies to warn us that this is no time to be lukewarm about God. If we are awake, the pursuit of God will be the daily drive of our life. When men’s opinions are exalted above the Lord’s, we take on an unsanctified sympathy for the ways of men and begin to fear their opinions more than God’s opinions. In our time, this is called ‘political correctness.’ Such a mindset will lead to a terrible fall, as the Lord warned Peter in Matthew 16:23.

Matthew 16:23

‘…But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

This verse exemplifies the number of stumbling blocks we can find today in our religious pursuit.

We will become a stumbling block to the purposes of God if we become too sympathetic with the interests of men. This is why Paul wrote:

Galatians 1:10 ‘…For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bondservant of Christ…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Nothing can cause us to compromise our service to the Lord as much as the fear of man, or the tendency to please men.   

Jesus warned the Pharisees about this in:

Luke 16:15 ‘…And He said to them, you are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

If we do what is pleasing to men, we will do what is detestable in God’s sight. The reverse is also true. If we do what is pleasing in God’s sight, we will often do what is detestable to men. We have a choice: either God or men will detest what we are doing. So, who do we want it to be?

Jesus again warned in:

Luke 6:26 ‘…Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

This is the category we will fall into if we are driven by the fear of men, seeking their approval over God’s and speaking what is contrary to the actual message of God, making us false prophets.

The challenge is taken to a new level in:

James 4:4 ‘…You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

We are called to love the world, not be friends with it. Friends have common interests and pursuits. Our very lives are called to be a prophetic challenge to the world’s ways. If we take on the ways of the world, we become enemies of God.

Jesus gave another important rebuke to those who would live in the fear of men.

John 5:44 ‘…How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

The Greek word translated ‘GLORY’ here could have been translated ‘recognition.’ So, seeking glory, or recognition, from men will destroy our faith. This is likely the main reason why there is so little faith and power in the church today.

This is the church age when most will fall to this deplorable condition. Yet there is hope and a promise given to those who overcome the spirit of this age that is greater than the promises given to any other church.

Continue in the Word and seek what promises He has for us in our future. I love y’all, but remember Jesus loves us even more than we each can comprehend what that word love even means.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Wednesday 010125

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

So, as we work through our study, we MUST remember the two ground rules:

1^st we’re only going to read and follow the words that we can find in the Holy Bible that are meant for us today.

2^nd we’re only going to take away from this study, what we put into it. We need to open our Bible and read it every day. We need to teach ourselves what is the truth and arm ourselves against all the lies that we are confronted with every day.

Here are the verses we will be using in tonight’s study:

Matthew 10:5-8, 15:24; John 20:19; Matthew 28:19-20, 24:30, 24:36; Acts 9:1-6, 9:15; Romans 11:11; Acts 26:17-18; Galatians 2:9; Matthew 15:24; Ephesians 3:2-12; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 3:5, 3:1-6.

So, let’s begin …

Before we get too far into tonight’s lesson, HAPPY NEW YEAR y’all. I pray that everyone has a great year, this New Year.

Jesus’ Ministry

Jesus chose 12 disciples to be His followers.

When Jesus sent His 12 disciples out to spread His message, they were told to go out, only to the Jews.

Matthew 10

vs5 ‘…Jesus sent out these 12 disciples. Before they left, he said to them, Do not go to any place where the people are Gentiles. And do not go to towns where only Samaritans live…

vs6 ‘… Instead, you must go to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep with nobody to take care of them…’

vs7 ‘…While you travel, you must tell people about the kingdom of heaven. You must tell them that it has now become near…’

vs8 ‘…Make sick people well again. Cause dead people to become alive again. If people have a bad disease of the skin, make them well again. Send bad spirits out of people to leave them. God has been very kind to you, so you should be kind to other people. When you help people, do not ask them for money…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

When Jesus came to this earth, He came just FOR the house of Israel, not the Gentiles.

Matthew 15:24 ‘…But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel…’ KJV (King James Version)

In a newer version, maybe easier to understand.

vs24 ‘…He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel…’ NIV (New International Version)

It wasn’t until after Jesus had been crucified and rose from the tomb that He told His disciples to go out into the entire world and teach everyone. Up until this time, Jesus only wanted His disciples to teach the Jews.

After His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead …

John 20:19 ‘…On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting together. They had locked the doors of the room because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Then Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, Peace be with you…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

The disciples were hidden away and locked in the room for several reasons. First and foremost, they were afraid of being hunted down and killed the same way that Jesus had just been crucified.

Jesus calmed the apostles down by speaking with them. Thomas was not in the upper room when Jesus appeared. When Thomas returned, the disciples told Thomas the good news that they seen the Master, but he did not believe them.

Matthew 28

vs19 ‘…So you must go to people in every country of the world. Teach them how to become my disciples. Baptize them by the authority of God the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit…’

vs20 ‘…Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will be with you until the end of time…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

The disciples had plans already in their minds that were clearly different from this NEW plan that Jesus had for them.

After Jesus told His disciples to go out into the entire world to spread His message, the disciples were hiding from the Jewish leaders. They were hiding from the Roman soldiers. The disciples were afraid.

The disciples also knew from the teaching by Jesus that He would one day return to start His Kingdom here on this earth.

Matthew 24:30 ‘…Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

All through Jesus’ ministry, He taught there was coming the day when the ‘Son of Man’ would return to this earth.

These disciples, just as every other human being had no idea when this was going to take place,

Matthew 24:36 ‘…No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come-neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

The disciples had no intention on missing the returning of Jesus. They’d teach the Jew, but it would be from Jerusalem.

What do you think Jesus must have thought?

What do you think He would do because the disciples didn’t seem to be interested in leaving Jerusalem?

What about them only teaching the Jew?

After the stoning death of Stephen (Acts 7) by the Orthodox Jews, God put the Jewish nation on the back burner … Jesus decided it was a time for a change.

Saul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, on his way to kill and capture those believers of Jesus.

Acts 9

vs1 ‘…In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest…’

vs2 ‘…and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem…’

vs3 ‘…As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him…’

vs4 ‘…He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me…’

vs5 ‘…Who are you, Lord? he asked. I am Jesus, whom you persecute, the voice said…’

vs6 ‘…But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

The disciples, they knew Jesus was going to return and they intended on being present ‘in Jerusalem’ for that return.

Our advantage today, in the 21^st century, we know the return wasn’t going to happen in the disciple’s lifetime, however in the disciple’s defense and to a bunch of the other believers in Jesus, they didn’t know there was going to be 2000+ years, of the church age, before He would return again to this earth.

Saul / Paul was chosen by Jesus to spread the Good News to the Gentile people.

Acts 9:15 ‘…But the Lord said unto him, go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)

God chose to offer Salvation to the Gentiles, just to make the Jews jealous.

Romans 11:11 ‘…I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)

Paul explained to king Agrippa what Jesus had told him would be his ‘chosen’ assignment.

Acts 26

vs17 ‘…And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles…’

vs18 ‘…to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me…’ NLT (New Living Translation)

From the meeting in Jerusalem, between the original remaining apostles and Paul, a decision was made between these men, themselves.

It was decided that the original disciples would stay and teach the Jews, while Paul would travel and spread the Good News given by Jesus, to the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:9 ‘… James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, recognized that God had given me this special task; so, they shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners. We agreed that Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

My observation, along with several other teachers of the Bible today, not one (1) time during Jesus’ ministry before He was crucified, did He speak of GRACE. Not one (1) time is the word GRACE used in the Old Testament.

Jesus did not come to this earth to define God’s GRACE. He came to collect the lost sheep from the house of Israel.

Matthew 15:24 ‘…Jesus replied to his disciples, God has sent me to help only the people of Israel. They are like sheep that have lost their way…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

There are many that claim Jesus was sent to be the voice for God and His new gift of GRACE.

This is impossible since GRACE was not given to anyone until after Jesus had been raised back to life after His crucifixion.

This, to me, explains why the disciples were waiting in Jerusalem for Jesus’ return … they had no idea about anything called GRACE other than the prayer they said before they ate their meals.

In Ephesians 3, this is the apostle Paul speaking …

vs2 ‘…You must have heard that God has chosen me to do that. He has been very kind to give me this work to help you…’

vs3 ‘…God has clearly shown to me his true purpose. That was a secret before, but God has helped me to know it. I have written a few words about this already…’

vs4 ‘… When you read those words, you will be able to understand. I have come to know God’s true message about Christ…’

vs5 ‘…God did not tell this secret message to the people who lived before us. But now the Holy Spirit has shown it to God’s apostles and prophets…’

vs6 ‘…This is the message of God’s good news: Gentiles, as well as Jews, may receive the good things that God has prepared for his children. We may all belong to the same group of God’s people, like we are his body. Everyone who is united with Christ Jesus receives the good things that God has promised…’

vs7 ‘…I tell that good news to other people, because God chose me to serve him in that way. That was God’s gift to me, because he is so kind. God uses his great power to help me in that work…’

vs8 ‘…I am the least important of all God’s people. But God has given this special work to me because he is so kind. He has sent me to tell his good news to the Gentiles. Then they know about the many valuable things that Christ has prepared for us…’

vs9 ‘…I help everyone to know how God makes his purpose happen. God himself created all things, and he has hidden this secret during past times…’

vs10 ‘…But now God wants the people of his church to show everyone how wise he is in every way. He wants the spiritual rulers and everything that has authority in the heavens to know this…’

vs11 ‘…This had always been God’s purpose, from the beginning of all things. And it was our Lord Christ Jesus who made it happen…’

vs12 ‘…Because we are united with Christ, we can come near to God. We are not afraid to do that. We can be sure that God will accept us, because we trust in Christ…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

This next part, please understand, I’m not trying to be morbid, but I am simply trying to speak the truth that is written in the Bible.

It is after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection that made Everlasting Life possible for us Gentile’s.

The Gospel that we were given by the apostle Paul was all about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15

vs1 ‘…Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand…’

vs2 ‘…By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain…’

vs3 ‘…For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ DIED for our sins according to the scriptures…’

vs4 ‘…And that he was BURIED, and that he ROSE AGAIN the third day according to the scriptures…’ KJV (King James Version)

It was in Ephesians 3:5 that informs us why this small detail was not known earlier during Jesus Ministry.

Here are several different translations.

Ephesians 3

vs5 ‘…No one knew about this mystery until God’s Spirit told it to his holy apostles and prophets…’ CEV (Contemporary English Version)

vs5 ‘…In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

And then finally, the same entire passage in a different translation.

Ephesians 3

vs1 ‘…For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah Jesus for the sake of you gentiles…’

vs2 ‘…Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God’s grace that was given to me on your behalf…’

vs3 ‘…and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past…’

vs4 ‘…By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah…’

vs5 ‘…which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret…’

vs6 ‘…The gentiles are heirs-in-common, members-in-common of the body, and common participants in what was promised by the Messiah Jesus through the gospel…’ ISV (International Standard Version)

Most of the time, all the many different religions/denominations found in this world today, all celebrate, theoretically, the same God, but for some reason, there is only a small, minor difference that stands between each one of these different religion/denominations.

Sometimes these denominations differ on how members are to dress, how long their hair can be, the definition of a marriage, do they need to go to a church building, the days they must go to church.

Hence, religions today are re-shaping our beliefs around how we must live in that particular religion instead of teaching us what God wants from us.

But none of these churches, more interested in dress and the length of our hair never teach us Acts 9:15 where Jesus made a change and Jesus CHOSE the Gentile that BELIEVES His Message.

This is a deep, heavy study and we ran very long this morning. Keep studying His Word for yourself, so that you will know the truth behind what God is trying to tell us.

Read what is written in the Word, God’s Word.

Not the commentary in your Bible but instead read the  words God had written for you to hear.

We have been offered LIFE, but only if we BELIEVE the Message that God tells us … not the message a pastor, a church or a denomination want us to hear.

Read God’s Word for yourselves.

I love every one of y’all.

I am InHIM.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen.

InHIM. ><)))o>

Tuesday 123124

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s GIFT, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Genesis 22:2, :7, 17:4-6, 32:28; Deuteronomy 18:15-18; 2 Kings 16:6; Acts 11:26; 1 Chronicles 2:1-2; Genesis 42:1-2.

So, we ended our lesson yesterday, in Genesis 22 where God told Abraham to use his son, his ONLY son, the son that he had waited so long for, as a sacrifice and offer him up to God.

Genesis 22:2 ‘…God said, take your son and go to the land of Moriah. Take your only son Isaac, whom you love. You must offer him to me there as a burnt offering. I will show you the mountain where you must do this…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

What must’ve gone through the mind of Abraham?

Just think of something that is the most valuable thing in your life and then one day, how would you feel if you were asked to put it up for sacrifice … or in todays situation, give it away. How difficult would that be for you?

Abraham had to have a difficult time.

Genesis 22:7 ‘…Isaac spoke to his father, Abraham. He said, Father? Abraham replied Yes, my son, what is it? Isaac replied, I see that the fire and the wood are here. But where is the lamb so that we can make the burnt offering…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Once again, can you just imagine?

What would have been going through the mind of Abraham?

We should all know the conclusion of the story between Abraham and Issac … if you do not, please take the time to finish chapter 22.

In Genesis 23, Abraham’s wife, Sarah dies. Once again, another low point in Abraham’s life. It is just one more opportunity for Abraham to need and want God.

This is the lesson that we should be seeing in this study of Father Abraham. We should see all of the opportunities to seek God for comfort, for His answers in our struggles.

This has all been derived by the FAITH that Abraham had in God. This is the lesson that we are to walk away with.

In Genesis 24, Issac, Abraham’s son is married to Rebekah. And then in Genesis 25, we are told that Abraham dies.

In chapter 11 Abraham is born and in chapter 25, he dies, that’s fifteen chapters in Genesis. More than half of the book that we have already studied.

These fifteen chapters MUST be important to us. I think we will finish these remaining twenty-five chapters, and we probably will end up back here searching for this FAITH that is so important to us today in the 21^st century.

So, last night while I was in bed, ‘sleeping,’ I had this thought that I’m going to look at right now for the first time with y’all …

…Abraham was the father of three different religious lines, but the thing is, he didn’t practice any one of those religions. Let’s look.

Abraham was the father of the Jewish religion, the Christian religion and the Muslim religion.

Genesis 17

vs4 ‘…As for me, this is my covenant that I have made with you. You will become the ancestor of many nations of people…’

vs5 ‘…Your name will not be Abram anymore. Instead, your name will be Abraham, because I will cause you to become the ancestor of many nations…’

vs6 ‘…I will give you many descendants. These will make many nations of people. Some of your descendants will become kings …’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Jacob was renamed to ‘Israel,’ by God in Genesis 32:28 ‘…Then the man said, your name will not be Jacob any longer. Your name will now be Israel. That is because you have fought with God, and you have fought with men. And you have won…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

The term ‘Muslim’ does not show up until Deuteronomy 18:15-18.

vs15 ‘…One day, the Lord your God will send to you a prophet like me. He will come from among your own people. You must listen to him…’

vs16 ‘…Remember what happened when you all met together at Sinai Mountain. You said to the Lord your God, please do not let us hear your voice again. Do not let us see this great fire again. If we do, we will die…’

vs17 ‘…Then the Lord said to me, the people have said the right thing…’

vs18 ‘…I will send them a prophet who will be like you. He will be an Israelite. I will tell him what to say. Then he will tell the people everything that I command him to say…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Jews were not mentioned in the Bible until 2 Kings 16:6 ‘…At the same time, King Rezin got Elath town back for Syria. He chased out the people of Judah who were living there. People from Edom then moved into Elath, and they are still living there…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

The term ‘Christian; does not show up until Acts 11:26 ‘…When Barnabas found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For one whole year, Barnabas and Saul met together with the group of believers there. They taught very many of them about Jesus. Antioch was the first place where the believers were called Christians…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

Abraham believed God; he believed what he was told.

This is our largest hurdle that all of us in the 21^st century need to be able to leap over for us to attain life. We MUST believe what God is telling us.

Attacking us has always been Satan, since the garden keeping us away from God.

God is right there in front of us, at the moment that we ask for His help, and we look away from Satans’ evil trap, God will pick us up and out of harms way, we ONLY have to believe.

Eve could have had that same assistance in the garden if she would have asked for God’s help, but she didn’t, and we all should know the future of Eve.

Getting back into Genesis, Abraham had just died, and we learn of his descendants. Issac and his twin sons, Jacob and Esau.

In chapter 29 we read of Jacob’s encounter with Laban, Leah’s and Rachael’s father when he lied and tricked Jacob into marrying both of his daughters.

In 1 Chronicles 2, we can see the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob).

vs1 ‘…These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun…’

vs2 ‘…Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

We read of the story between Jacob’s sons. Joseph, the 2^nd youngest son of Jacob, was hated by his older brothers.

To me, this is the only definitive definition of the word ‘Omnipotence.’ I have always found this one story of our Omnipotent God, to be the most inspirational.

God knew the future before it happened. He knew that Jacob’s family was going to need a connection with Egypt in the very near future because of the famine that was about to occur throughout the land.

It turned out that Joseph’s older brothers (ten of them), were jealous of him. One day, the brother captured and sold Joseph as a slave to a traveling caravan, heading towards Egypt.

Joseph, imprisoned at the time, trusted in God and told the king a revelation to a dream that was given to Joseph by God (Genesis 41).

The revelation turned out to be a ‘heads up’ of a famine that was about to hit the nearby farmers of the land.

The king was so impressed, Joseph was made the number two man in Egypt for the king.

Genesis 42

vs1 ‘…Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So, he said to his sons, there is no food here, so why are you just sitting there…’

vs2 ‘…I have heard that there is food in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us. Then we may continue to live and not die…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

The brothers traveled to Egypt to get food for their family, and they had to deal through Joseph to get any food.

The story is one of the more amazing and truly unbelievable stories found in the Bible.

Jacob and all of his son’s, all of their possessions moved to Egypt to live on land that was given to them by the king.

This entire story is how God’s people got into Egypt and one day, would have been freed by Moses while escaping through the Red Sea by the great Exodus.

This entire 1^st book, found in the Bible, is on nothing other than FAITH in God and it also show what occurs from the UNBELIEF in what God can do.

This is what we in the 21^st century should study every day. This is what our churches should be teaching about this lost world that we live in. Instead, our man-made churches are lying to the people telling them they need to tithe 10 percent of their income to the church they are attending. But our churches would rather lie than tell the simple truth to their congregations.

And even more scary is there are so many of these members that never even touch a Bible for themselves to find out the truth that is right in front of their eyes. All they have to do is open the covers of the book and read it for themselves.

It has been a priority of mine to get people into the Word for themselves so they can find out the truth. It’s difficult because most people won’t believe something unless their pastor or their denomination that they attend make the announcement.

Keep your Bibles open and read the Words God has given to us to allow us to learn and hear the real truth.

Once you yourself have found the truth, open your mouth and shout to those you love and share what you’ve been taught so that others can find out before it is too late.

I love every one of y’all. Please open your Bibles up for yourselves and for those you love.

One day, Jesus Himself is going to teach each one of us all that the word ‘LOVE’ really means.

I pray and hope that all of us will one day hear and understand the message that we’re being told.

Keep studying His Word. Allow yourself to learn more than you ever thought possible.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>

Monday 123024

Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘…For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s GIFT, so that no one can boast about it…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.

Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.

The verses we are going to study tonight:

Genesis 11:8-9, 31-32, 12:1a, 2, 17:1, 5, 21:2-5, 22:2; Matthew 17:20.

The tower has just been destroyed.

Gen 11

vs8 ‘…So the Lord separated the people from one another. They went to live in different lands all over the earth. They stopped building the city for themselves…’

vs9 ‘…That is why people called the city Babel. It was because the Lord confused all the people of the world, and he gave them different languages to speak. From that time, the Lord separated the people from each other so that they lived in different places all over the earth…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

In vs8, the last sentence, in fact, the very last two words from the EASY version explain the reason God destroyed the tower and separated the people ‘…for themselves…’

‘…for themselves…’ this was the problem that God had … man at that time, in that place, they were doing what they wanted instead of doing what God wanted them to do.

So, today in our man-made churches, what do you think God would think? Man today in these churches have their own Sunday service, they have the service printed out on their paper, and most times God’s Word is not even mentioned in that service except maybe a few verses. These churches are celebrating Sunday worship, the way they want to celebrate their service. This church, as well as all the people that attend that church have all forgotten about what God wants for and from us.

We no longer use the writings of Paul, even though Paul is the apostle that Jesus chose to teach the Gentiles.

I’m a Gentile, in fact the majority of those man-made churches today, and all their congregations of people, all of them, are Gentiles.

In essence, these people on Sunday morning are having service for themselves, they basically have the same problem as those men building the tower, they were building it for themselves.

Genesis 11 ends with the family line of Noah’s son, Shem and the chapter ends with the introduction of Abram.

Genesis 11

vs31 ‘…Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram’s wife, and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there…’

vs32 ‘…Terah died there at the age of 205…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

We begin Genesis 12:1a ‘…The Lord said to Abram…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

Other than Noah, Genesis 12 shows us what FAITH in God the Father, really is.

Abram is our greatest example of FAITH, and we are shown what can result from FAITH if we keep it in God our Father.

Many places today speak how money is the evil for all men but back in the time of Abram, wealth didn’t seem to affect how much God promised him.

Genesis 12:2 ‘…Abram was a very rich man, with sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as silver and gold…’ GNT (Good News Translation)

His nephew Lot was also very wealthy. But back in Genesis 12, the wealth from that time period didn’t seem to affect men the way it does today in the 21^st century.

Matthew 19:24 ‘…And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

We can be wealthy and still get into heaven, but the problem comes when we put the value of our wealth, another words, ‘HOW RICH ARE WE,’ in front of asking how we’re going to get into heaven. Too often today, people are putting a higher value on our earthly wealth instead of worrying about what we need to get into heaven.

Abraham was the first Hebrew patriarch and is revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the Bible, he was called by God to journey to a new land, where he founded a new nation.

Historians debate over the reality of the man, Abram. Many unbelievers question the time periods, and it raises the question of facts, and this is the point I have tried making these last few years.

There is so much UNBELIEF from so many today in the 21^st century, that maybe these people that are questioning our past need to start having people from today questioning their questions to see if these questions are even feasible.

There are certain people that will argue between black and white, and their answers will all come out grey just so they won’t admit one way or the other. They raise a question using another question. They can ask questions; they can come up with proposed ideas from the questions they raise but they never seem to come up with an answer.

In Genesis 15, Abram is promised a son, an err to carry on his line.

Genesis 17:1 ‘…Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

Genesis 17:5 ‘…No longer shall you be named Abram, but your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

So, Abram had his name changed to Abraham and he finally had been promised a son by God.

The thing is, Abraham had to believe that God could give him a son at the age of 99. This is our problem today, that ‘believing’ isn’t taught. We find our world teaching money, how we need money to live, how we need money to go one step further.

Genesis 21

vs2 ‘…So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him…’

vs3 ‘…Abraham named his son who was born to him, the son whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac…’

vs4 ‘…Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him…’

vs5 ‘…Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

It should be recognized that Abraham MUST be an important figure in this book of Genesis. We first heard of Abram, back in chapter 11 and here we are in chapter 21 and his 1^st son is just born and Abraham is 100 years old.

Genesis 22:2 ‘…Then He said, take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)

It seems at every turn in Father Abraham’s life, he was tested, once again by God, to see if Abraham still believed Him. He commanded Abraham to offer his ‘ONLY’ son up to God in a sacrifice.

Can you imagine what would go through your mind if something like that happened to you today? Ask for something, every day of your life and then when it does finally come, ask yourself, what would you do?

In the Bible, there is nothing that has been done that God didn’t previously already know about. He already knew the outcome.

There is nothing that ended up differently than the way that God had originally intended. There has to be some unseen message right here regarding Abraham that has been overlooked for centuries.

We have to ask, how is it even possible for one person to have so much FAITH in God. Maybe God is allowing Abraham to have so much faith just to teach us all we need is a little, like a mustard seed.

Matthew 17:20 ‘…Jesus replied, you could not do it because you do not trust God very much. I tell you this: You may believe in God only a little bit, like a very small seed. Even then, you could say to this mountain, go away from this place and move to that other place. Then it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you to do…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)

There is so much in these other books that were written for the Jew that a Gentile can read and use in their life.

When Matthew writes what Jesus said in one of His speeches, when it is dealing with FAITH, all of us can take something away from these writings.

Jesus came for the Jewish man, the House of Israel. But Jesus also came to teach ALL mankind about faith and how we were going to need that FAITH one day in our life.

It all depends on what are we going to put our faith in? Is it going to be in a worldly possession? Is it going to be in a world leader? Is it going to be in a man-made church or a human denomination?

Are we going to place our faith and trust in solar energy power storage banks or in underground bomb shelters for the belief of future wars.

Have you ever noticed a scientist speak on how a rock formation was formed over 100 million years ago and then, take a step back and look at the picture real close, in 100 million years, not one rock fell from this supposed rock formation? In 100 million years not one event happened that made any change.

We cannot go one – twenty-four-hour period without something happening today whether it’s a rainstorm, a flood, a fire, a hurricane, a tornado, an earthquake or anything else that happens naturally in this world that we live in.

Okay we need to close tonight; Abraham was just told by God to take his son and offer him as a sacrifice.

The amount of FAITH that must have been present is unfathomable for us today.

Jesus came to this earth for the Jew, but it was through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that has been our promise of Everlasting Life after we die.

Throughout today, just imagine what you have just attained, you would freely give up if you were asked to give it up.

Can you just imagine.

We’ll see you tomorrow morning. Keep your Bibles open and continue to study the Word that God has given us. It is through your study of His Word that is going to prepare you for what is going to happen in your life.

I love y’all. Remember, the day is coming when Jesus is going to return and teach us the true meaning of what is involved in this word LOVE.

Be safe.

Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen

InHIM. ><)))o>