Ephesians 2:1-10(KJV)
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Method of Salvation
I was dead in sin. When one is dead they can't do anything. Dead men can't chose God, when you are dead your dead and you can NOT chose anything. God breathed life into me"quickened" me made me alive saving me from my sin and eternity in hell.
Salvation is all of God by His grace.. Nothing I can do will add to it or take away from it.
I can do nothing to earn salvation. I can't even choice God because I was dead. God has chosen me by HIS Grace It is not of works..
In the words of Matthew Henry.
Our faith, our way of life and our eternal salvation are not of works least any man should boast. These things are not brought to pass by any thing done by us. Therefore all boasting is hut out. Allis the free gift of God and the effect of being quickened(made alive) by HIS power.. It was His purpose to which He prepared us, by blessing us with the knowledge of His will and his Holy Spirit producing such a change in us that we should glorify God by our good conversation(way of life)
VS.4&5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)
Grace: Summary: Grace is "the kindness and love of God our saviour towards mean, not by works of righteousness which we have done. It is therefore constantly set in contrast to the law under which God demands righteousness from man as under grace he gives righteousness to man. Law demands that blessings be earned grace is a free gift.
Great Love:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I John 4:9&10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost
The righteousness of God isn't an attribute of God nor the changed character of the believer But Christ Himself who fully meet in our stead and took every demand of the law and who is by the act of God called imputation "made unto us ...righteousness" The believer in Christ is now by grace shrouded under so complete and blessed a righteousness that the law from Mt. Sinai can find no fault or diminution therein. This is what is called the righteousness of God by faith.
The Word Saved in Titius cross ref. over to Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The footnote to this reads
The heb. & Gk word for salvation imply the idea of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing and soundness. Salvation is the great inclusive word of the gospel gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes as justification, redemption, grace propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification and glorification.
Salvation is in 3 tenses.
1) I have been saved from guilt and penalty of sin
2) I am being saved from the habit and dominion of sin
3) I will be saved in the sense of entire conformity to Christ.
Salvation is by Grace through Faith is a free Gift and wholly with out works the Divine order is salvation 1st then works.
Dead in Sins: Spiritual death is the state of the natural or unregenerate man as still in his sin. alienated from the life of God and desuetude of spirit. Prolonged beyond th death of the body spiritual death is a state of eternal separation from God in Conscious suffering .
Quickened us together with Christ.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses
John 5:24-26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself
This has to be the greatest thing ever to think how unworthy I am , Yet God Choices me.. Before the foundation of the world. Before I was born , before I was even a twinkling in my parents eyes.. GOD CHOICES ME..
to be His child to Love me to give me life and save me.
i was dead I could not know God nothing I could have done could bring me to God I was dead, dead man don't do anything.. BUT GOD...
There folks is the key.. BUT GOD... He quickened me, breathed life into me opened my eyes and brought me into HIS saving knowledge..
The day that happened for me was March 21, 1976
I was laying in my parents bed my dad was telling us a bedtime story I don't remember what about But that night I prayed and asked God to be my savior..
I John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Nehemiah 2:11-20
Nehemiah 2:11-20 (KJV)
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
The 1st thing I see here is Nehemiah scopes things out. Then he tells the people we should rebuild and to encourage them he tells them what God has done so far. The people gets excited and starts to build. This ticks off Sanballat and Tobiah who makes fun of them and then ask if they were rebelling against the King. Sanballat was Governor over the Persian Providence of Samaria at the time and my guess is this upset him because he wanted this land, but I don't' know just a guess.. In any case it doesn't matter whenever Gods people are doing Gods will they will meet with opposition from the enemy Satan.
Nehemiah answered this by having confidences in God letting it be known God will give them success with the rebuild and then putting Sanballat sort of in his place letting him know he has no claim at all to Jerusalem.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
The 1st thing I see here is Nehemiah scopes things out. Then he tells the people we should rebuild and to encourage them he tells them what God has done so far. The people gets excited and starts to build. This ticks off Sanballat and Tobiah who makes fun of them and then ask if they were rebelling against the King. Sanballat was Governor over the Persian Providence of Samaria at the time and my guess is this upset him because he wanted this land, but I don't' know just a guess.. In any case it doesn't matter whenever Gods people are doing Gods will they will meet with opposition from the enemy Satan.
Nehemiah answered this by having confidences in God letting it be known God will give them success with the rebuild and then putting Sanballat sort of in his place letting him know he has no claim at all to Jerusalem.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Nehemiah 2:1-10
Nehemiah 2:1-10
1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
What 1st jumps out at me is how God answered Nehemiahs prayer from Chapter 1
Nehemiah didn't come before the king to ask anything of him. But How Gods hand moved the kind to ask Nehemiah What was bugging him.. Once Nehemiah told the king God stepped in again to work through the king by moving him to ask how he could help.
What I love here is how Nehemiah just didn't start blurting out stuff. He took it before God and prayed then asked in a respectful way.
Then God had His hand on the king again to grant Nehemiah what he asked.
1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
What 1st jumps out at me is how God answered Nehemiahs prayer from Chapter 1
Nehemiah didn't come before the king to ask anything of him. But How Gods hand moved the kind to ask Nehemiah What was bugging him.. Once Nehemiah told the king God stepped in again to work through the king by moving him to ask how he could help.
What I love here is how Nehemiah just didn't start blurting out stuff. He took it before God and prayed then asked in a respectful way.
Then God had His hand on the king again to grant Nehemiah what he asked.
Nehemiah 1:1-11
I skipped a few things but we are now into week 4 and week 4 was teaching us about history and looking into what was going on at the time and so forth..
I'm jumping in here at the blog with Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah 1:1-11
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
Nehemiah is at Sausa when Hanani comes from Juda. Nehemiah ask about the jews and and Jerusalem.. They tell him things are not good and about the wall. This hurts Nehemiah deeply he prays and fast and ask God to help.
VS 5-11 Nehemiah's prayer
1:5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Vs 5 cross ref over to Neh 4:4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
Gen 15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
The footnote to this reads
"Lord" ( heb Ado, Adonai)
1) the primary meaning of Ado, Adonai is Master and it is applied in the OT Scriptures both to Deity and to man. in my Bible when talking about Deity it is capitalized Lord and with men it is not lord.
2) two principles inhere in the relation of master and servant a) The Master right to implicit obedience b) the servants right to direction is service(God direction while serving Him)
"Lord God"(Heb. Adonai Jehovah)
When used distinctively this compound name while gathering into one the special meaning of each.
1:8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
This vs cross ref. over to Deut 28:63-67 and Deut 30:1-5
Deut 28 - Continued disobedience to be punished by a world wide dispersion.
Deut 30 - is where God is telling them IF they return to God with there whole hearts He will have compassion and gather them together again.
1:10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
cross ref to Ex14:30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
This was right after God parted the waters and Egyptians were dead
the phase "The Lord saved Israel" Has a foot note that reads
Redemption
Exodus is the book of Redemption and teaches
1)Redemption is wholly of God
2) redemption is through a person(Jesus)
3) redemption is by blood
4) redemption is by power
The blood of Christ redeems the believer from guilt and penalty of sin as the power of the Spirit delivers from the dominion of sin.
1:11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
CR. Ps.19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
"The Fear of the Lord" A phrase of the OT. meaning reverential trust with hatred of evil.
What we can see in Nehemiahs prayer is:
1) He comes before God as a servant to his master and praises him for the God He is.
2)He confesses his sins the sins of his people to God ,and knows he is unworthy.
3) He claims a promise God made to his people.
God can not lie so we know Gods promises are true.
4) Then he makes his request known unto God.
I'm jumping in here at the blog with Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah 1:1-11
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
Nehemiah is at Sausa when Hanani comes from Juda. Nehemiah ask about the jews and and Jerusalem.. They tell him things are not good and about the wall. This hurts Nehemiah deeply he prays and fast and ask God to help.
VS 5-11 Nehemiah's prayer
1:5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Vs 5 cross ref over to Neh 4:4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
Gen 15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
The footnote to this reads
"Lord" ( heb Ado, Adonai)
1) the primary meaning of Ado, Adonai is Master and it is applied in the OT Scriptures both to Deity and to man. in my Bible when talking about Deity it is capitalized Lord and with men it is not lord.
2) two principles inhere in the relation of master and servant a) The Master right to implicit obedience b) the servants right to direction is service(God direction while serving Him)
"Lord God"(Heb. Adonai Jehovah)
When used distinctively this compound name while gathering into one the special meaning of each.
1:8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
This vs cross ref. over to Deut 28:63-67 and Deut 30:1-5
Deut 28 - Continued disobedience to be punished by a world wide dispersion.
Deut 30 - is where God is telling them IF they return to God with there whole hearts He will have compassion and gather them together again.
1:10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
cross ref to Ex14:30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
This was right after God parted the waters and Egyptians were dead
the phase "The Lord saved Israel" Has a foot note that reads
Redemption
Exodus is the book of Redemption and teaches
1)Redemption is wholly of God
2) redemption is through a person(Jesus)
3) redemption is by blood
4) redemption is by power
The blood of Christ redeems the believer from guilt and penalty of sin as the power of the Spirit delivers from the dominion of sin.
1:11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
CR. Ps.19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
"The Fear of the Lord" A phrase of the OT. meaning reverential trust with hatred of evil.
What we can see in Nehemiahs prayer is:
1) He comes before God as a servant to his master and praises him for the God He is.
2)He confesses his sins the sins of his people to God ,and knows he is unworthy.
3) He claims a promise God made to his people.
God can not lie so we know Gods promises are true.
4) Then he makes his request known unto God.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Romans 12:9-21(part 2)
VS. 14 Bless them which persecute you bless and curse not.
Cross reference in the KJV Scofield Bible takes us to Matt 5:44, Luke 6:28 and Vs 20 here in Romans 12.
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
Luke 6:28
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
This has a cross Ref. over to Prov 25:21-22
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Since we are on the topic of our enemies and how we should treat them.
VS 19 here talks about this also.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
What is God showing me here??
As we can see there are so many different places in Gods Word that tells us to Pray for our enemies , Care for them, don't curse them, talk bad of them, set out to hurt them as they have us. This goes against every being of our human nature.. The 1st thing we as humans want to do is get even, run to our friends and say did you hear what they did to me, talk bad about them, treat them just as poorly as they treat us..
Here in All these verses God is saying STOP!!!!
You are my children as Christians that is Not how I want you to live when someone hurts you, does you wrong treat you badly.. I want you to got out of your way to love them, care for them Pray for them.
Problem is it isn't in us to do that In us we want to yell "I will not let them get away with treating me that way"
In us we get mad and angry and think Oh I'll show them, two can play that way.
I'm sure you have heard it said God doesn't give us more then we can handle.. Or God doesn't ask of us more than we can do..
BUT IN FACT HE DOES!!!!
He does to show us our inabilities and Bring us face to face with what we can not do.. this way He can show us WHAT HE CAN DO!!!!
So while we don't have this kind of love for the people who hate us.. God Does..
As we follow and obey God in this matter He gives us what He wants us to have.
Its really hard to Hate a person you are praying for.. As we pray for them God changes us..God takes our old nature of wanting to pay them back and replaces it with His nature. And we are left with peace We are not lying awake at night thinking of what they did to us, we are not full of hurt and hate but we are full of Gods love for us and a peace the world will never understand.
Cross reference in the KJV Scofield Bible takes us to Matt 5:44, Luke 6:28 and Vs 20 here in Romans 12.
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
Luke 6:28
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
This has a cross Ref. over to Prov 25:21-22
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Since we are on the topic of our enemies and how we should treat them.
VS 19 here talks about this also.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
What is God showing me here??
As we can see there are so many different places in Gods Word that tells us to Pray for our enemies , Care for them, don't curse them, talk bad of them, set out to hurt them as they have us. This goes against every being of our human nature.. The 1st thing we as humans want to do is get even, run to our friends and say did you hear what they did to me, talk bad about them, treat them just as poorly as they treat us..
Here in All these verses God is saying STOP!!!!
You are my children as Christians that is Not how I want you to live when someone hurts you, does you wrong treat you badly.. I want you to got out of your way to love them, care for them Pray for them.
Problem is it isn't in us to do that In us we want to yell "I will not let them get away with treating me that way"
In us we get mad and angry and think Oh I'll show them, two can play that way.
I'm sure you have heard it said God doesn't give us more then we can handle.. Or God doesn't ask of us more than we can do..
BUT IN FACT HE DOES!!!!
He does to show us our inabilities and Bring us face to face with what we can not do.. this way He can show us WHAT HE CAN DO!!!!
So while we don't have this kind of love for the people who hate us.. God Does..
As we follow and obey God in this matter He gives us what He wants us to have.
Its really hard to Hate a person you are praying for.. As we pray for them God changes us..God takes our old nature of wanting to pay them back and replaces it with His nature. And we are left with peace We are not lying awake at night thinking of what they did to us, we are not full of hurt and hate but we are full of Gods love for us and a peace the world will never understand.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Romans 12:9-21(part 1)
Romans 12:9-21
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
The Christian Life
vs9 Let love be without dissimulation Abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good.
The KJV Scofield Study Bible(which is the Bible I have and use) list in a footnote the word dissimulation in vs9 to hypocisy..
This goes along with what we studied in 1Corth 13 about love (this is just my extra thought for the day LOL)
vs11 is the verse I wanted to look at today.. I did today's study using an online bible which is the KJV Defender Study Bible. (they call there footnotes defender notes)
VS 11 "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;"
there are 2 defender notes for this.
1) talks about not slothful in business. " This team refers not just to making a living but to all aspects of life"
2) talks about serving the Lord part.." The service here is that required of slaves. Before conversion(spiritual change from sinfulness to righteousness) we were bond servants to sin, but Jesus has purchased us with his blood so we are now His bond servants"
Something I wanted to look at more was the idea of fervent in spirit
According to Dictionary.com Fervent means
1)having or showing great warmth of intensity of spirit , feeling enthusiasm
2) hot, burning, glowing.
What I walked away with
Here God is telling us as Christians we shouldn't be slothful, lazy inattentive, or slackers not only in making a living but in every aspect of our life. In sering Him In studying his work, In how we raise our families, in How we love our husbands, In how we treat others.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 says Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might
We should Have and should Be showing great warmth being enthusiastic being Hot and on fire for God, while we are serving the Lord as his bond servant since He bought us with His blood.
Oh to be on fire like that . What an amazing thing it would be if I could serve My Lord in every part of my life with enthusiasm with His warmth flowing though me and out of me.
Thank You Lord for bonding me to you freeing me from sin choosing me to be yours Paying my price with your blood.
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
The Christian Life
vs9 Let love be without dissimulation Abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good.
The KJV Scofield Study Bible(which is the Bible I have and use) list in a footnote the word dissimulation in vs9 to hypocisy..
This goes along with what we studied in 1Corth 13 about love (this is just my extra thought for the day LOL)
vs11 is the verse I wanted to look at today.. I did today's study using an online bible which is the KJV Defender Study Bible. (they call there footnotes defender notes)
VS 11 "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;"
there are 2 defender notes for this.
1) talks about not slothful in business. " This team refers not just to making a living but to all aspects of life"
2) talks about serving the Lord part.." The service here is that required of slaves. Before conversion(spiritual change from sinfulness to righteousness) we were bond servants to sin, but Jesus has purchased us with his blood so we are now His bond servants"
Something I wanted to look at more was the idea of fervent in spirit
According to Dictionary.com Fervent means
1)having or showing great warmth of intensity of spirit , feeling enthusiasm
2) hot, burning, glowing.
What I walked away with
Here God is telling us as Christians we shouldn't be slothful, lazy inattentive, or slackers not only in making a living but in every aspect of our life. In sering Him In studying his work, In how we raise our families, in How we love our husbands, In how we treat others.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 says Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might
We should Have and should Be showing great warmth being enthusiastic being Hot and on fire for God, while we are serving the Lord as his bond servant since He bought us with His blood.
Oh to be on fire like that . What an amazing thing it would be if I could serve My Lord in every part of my life with enthusiasm with His warmth flowing though me and out of me.
Thank You Lord for bonding me to you freeing me from sin choosing me to be yours Paying my price with your blood.
Week 3..
This week we will be looking at using study tools to help us in our Bible study..
one day we will be learning how to use foot notes in study Bibles. another we will be looking at cross references, the next we will be seeing how alternative versions can help us and lastly will be using dictionaries and thesauruses..
one day we will be learning how to use foot notes in study Bibles. another we will be looking at cross references, the next we will be seeing how alternative versions can help us and lastly will be using dictionaries and thesauruses..
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