The Word Is A Two edged Sword

Hebrews 4:12 KJV; The word as a two-edged sword can bring both death and healing that we might live.

Turn To The Lord And Live

Ezekiel 18:25-32 KJV; 18th Sunday after Pentecost; The Lord forgives all who turn to Him for their salvation through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Have Patience; He Hears Our Prayers

Hebrews 10:35-36 KJV; Have patience; trust the Lord; He hears your prayers and answers according to His time.

Faith Keeps Us Moving Forward

Hebrews 11:6-8 KJV; Fear would stop us in our tracks. But, faith will overcome all fears and keep us moving in the way the Lord would have us go.

Two Edged Sword

Hebrews 4:12 KJV The two-edged sword both destroy and heal.

Sin Liveth In Me!

Hebrews 10:14-18; Romans 7:14-25; I do not do what I want to do for sin lives in me. Yet, it is by Christ's sacrifice on the cross that I am forgiven my sin.

By Faith Alone!

Reading and brief meditation on Hebrews 11:1-16 KJV; Through faith alone we receive the promises of God. By faith alone we are heirs of the Kingdom of God.

Forgiven And Forgotten

The One Sacrifice Of Love

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

                                                                  (Heb 10:5-10 KJV)

Yes, of course, we strive to do God's will. We strive not because it will save us but because we love him who was willing to sacrifice his only begotten Son to save us from the consequences of our sins. That is the only sacrifice that is needed for the cleansing of our sins.

In Christ we have been made whole. In Christ we have been forgiven.  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Two-edged Sword

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb 4:12 KJV)

The word of God is like a two-edged sword. It can pierce your spirit and soul. It can bring quickly great sorrow to your heart and mind. The good news is that it can also bring great joy in the knowing that even in our sins God loves us. He loves us enough to send his only begotten Son to die for our sins that we might be reconciled to Him now and forever.

That two-edged sword is a mighty sword bringing both death and life to our souls and spirits.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Listen To Him!

 

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds... (Heb 1:1-2 KJV)

There were many prophets. There still are. Some are prophets of God. Others are false prophets. It can be difficult to tell which is which. But, there is only one begotten Son of God. Listen to him!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Not A Victim

"Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3 KJV)

Jonah was given a calling by God. God sent him to Ninevah to warn the people that they needed to change or he would destroy them. But, Jonah did not want to go. He ran so that he wouldn't have to go and face this challenge that God had called him to. Poor Jonah, God was picking on him.

Poor Jonah! The ship that Jonah used to try to run away from his calling; his responsibilities was about to sink in a storm. In order to save his shipmates' lives he confessed that he was the cause of the storm because he was trying to run away from God. He had them throw him into the sea to save themselves where he was swallowed by a very large fish. Poor Jonah!

Jonah repented of not listening to God and God had the fish spit him out onto the land. Jonah went to Nineveh reluctantly and warned the people that they must repent or be destroyed. Unbelievably, they repented and they were spared! But, Jonah was not happy. All that he had to go through and those horrible people actually repented. Why did God put him through all of this? Jonah felt sorry for himself. He felt like a victim.

Not everyone who thinks they are a victim actually is a victim of others. They may however be a victim of their own stinking thinking as Jonah was. There are many legitimate victims in this world. They suffer horrendously at the hands of others. Many are tortured and killed. But, just because we don't like our circumstances at any given moment, that does not make us a victim. It may make us unhappy; but, not necessarily a victim. Sometimes, maybe often, those things that make us uncomfortable are challenges that we need to face so that we and even the people around us might grow. Those challenges may not be attacks on you personally; but, God calling you to do his will. It just may be that you are being called to follow Jesus and that may mean that your ego must die. But, do not worry. If or when he calls you, he will be there working in and through you for the good of all people.

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Heb 13:20-21)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Vengeance is God's

For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

                                         (Hebrews 10:30-31 KJV)

Those who do not know Christ often call it karma. In other words what goes around comes around. We most often get to suffer consequences for our own bad behavior. In Paul's letter he wrote that God is in charge of vengeance. Vengeance is one of those negative things that will come back around and bite you if you for some reason you imagine that you have the authority to avenge anything or anyone. God is in charge of vengeance. Yes, we are to call out injustice for what it is. We do have recourse for injustices done to us or others. There are legal and civil means both in the world and in the church for justice to be served. We do not have to be perpetual victims.

I have found, over the years, that those who take vengeance out on others usually  prefer not to use authorized legal means because they themselves do not desire to have their own crimes found out.

Vengeance is God's. It is not ours. 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

                                                                          (Matt 22:37-39)

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.  (Luke 6:35)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Receiving A Kingdom

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

                                                                              Hebrews 12:28 KJV

If it weren't for the hope of the kingdom, I would find this world much more difficult to endure. By acknowledging that the kingdom of God is my inheritance by the grace of God, I can stand and keep on keeping on. It's not always easy as my sinful nature likes to creep in and tell me otherwise.

But, in the end, it is the love that I know that God has for me that wins out. I can rejoice in that knowledge.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

                                                                                     Romans 8:16-18

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Word; A Two-Edged Sword

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb 4:12 KJV)

For the past twenty plus years I have preached the Sermon on the Mount at least annually. I do not edit it. I do not preach anything other than the exact words according to St. Matthew (usually the NIV). The first year that I did this was at a youth correctional facility. The congregation was made up of teen-age felons mainly from Wayne County, MI. The next day I was called into the head office. It had been reported that I had said that one of the youths' mothers was going to hell. I had said no such thing. 

The Sermon on the Mount for the most part; at least the Beatitudes, has always seemed to me to be comforting. However, there are parts of Jesus' sermon that will strike at a guilty conscience quite severely. It is not as though Jesus pointed a finger at any specific person. He merely points at what is right and at what is wrong. 

The word of God is like a two edged sword. The two edged sword is swift to destroy with both sharp sides. But, the sword can be used for two purposes on the battlefield. The first, most obviously, is to destroy. The second, with today's modern warfare, is not so obvious. When heated, the metal  blade of the sword was used to cicatrize wounds; to seal open blood vessels as well as other wounds. 

On the one-hand the word of God can bring us quickly to our knees as our spirits discern the judgment we have brought upon ourselves by daring to stand against the word of God. But, the word of God has a much more gracious purpose. Once wounded by the word, we are healed by the same word of God who desires nothing less than the good for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Quantum Theory: Two Kingdoms?

The Word Does Not Evolve
It Stands Forever

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.   (Heb 11:1-3 KJV) 

I have always been very intrigued by the various quantum theories. I find the possibility of two worlds existing in the same space quite riveting. However, most of what the mainstream population understands as scientific fact is merely speculation; a theory. It is only by faith in science or the scientist that we can believe many of the theories. These theories are constantly evolving. One cannot know for certain when theory becomes fact.  But, the Word of God does not change. It does not evolve as some would think. It is also by faith that we believe the Word. What word then shall we trust our lives with? The words that evolves or the One that stands forever?

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isa 40:8) 

The word of our God does not evolve as mankinds' way of thinking and living might evolve. It does not evolve as science evolves. I am not saying that science is a bad thing. Knowledge is a gift from God and the knowledge that comes through science has helped us to grow in many ways. In fact, the reason that quantum theories intrigues me so much is because my faith leads me to believe that two worlds do indeed exist in the same space. There is this world which I can see with my eyes; that I can touch. But, there is also the Kingdom of heaven that has broken into this world at the death of our Lord Jesus. I cannot see it; although, I can get a glimpse of it in the loving acts of people around me. I know, by faith alone, that the Kingdom of God has come near. I live in the world; yet, I am a citizen of another. I am an heir and  a citizen of the Kingdom of God. By faith, this is my reality. 

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21 KJV) 

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21 NASB)

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Luke 17:20-21 NRSV) 

Martin Luther taught and wrote in the Small Catechism regarding the second petition of the Lord's Prayer:

Thy kingdom come.

What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. 

How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

I know that many atheists insist that we believe in a God far above the clouds; however, they are wrong. We believe in a God that is present here among us even today. His Kingdom has come and it will come in its fullness when Christ comes again in full glory.

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt 24:30-31 KJV)

The Word tells us that the elect will be collected from one end of heaven to the other. It does not say from one end of earth to the other. Those who are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God) will be collected. Are you a citizen of that Kingdom?

There are two kingdoms (two worlds?). Those who believe that Jesus died so that we might live in our Father's house, reconciled to Him are citizens of that kingdom. We live in this world; but, we are not of this world. By faith alone we have inherited a kingdom of peace in Christ Jesus.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Faithful Promise

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

                                                                                 (Heb 10:22-23 KJV)

We have been given a beautiful world to live in; friends; family. We have received many gifts in this world. Sometimes; though, things can get a bit dreary. Sometimes, things can get really rough. There can be a lot of challenges and a lot of trials in this world. Sin, sometimes, takes a stronger hold of our lives than we'd like.

But, we are not without hope. All is not lost. In Christ we have received forgiveness of sin. In Christ, we have had our hearts sprinkled from evil consciences. In Christ, we have been redeemed. We have been reconciled to God our Father and have been made whole. We have received the fruit of God's promise though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Reverence And Godly Fear

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29 KJV)

With reverence and godly fear; what a concept! God is who He is and He is much more than is often apparent when observing the life of the church. We forget that He gives life and He can take it away. (Job 1:21) He gave us the kingdom through the further gift of His Son. But, do we really want it? Or, is it the world that we desire? So often, the way things are done are done merely for expediency or to please individuals we think might benefit us or even the church. 

No one can benefit us as God has done! God gives us all things. Some of those things we may not appreciate as much as others; at least, not until He takes them away. Then they are missed. We ought not consider any gift from God as a trifling thing. The greatest gift that God has given us is the life of His Son through whom we have received God's grace; through whom we have received the kingdom. There is nothing more important in our lives than that. Will we respect and honor the gifts of God? Or, will we continue to strive after things of this world disrespecting the one true God who has given us so much? 

Saying, I believe, and not worshiping God with reverence and godly fear is no more than the devils do. (James 2:19) We should so fear and love God. What does this mean? It means we should honor him in all that we say and think and do. And, just because no man is capable of doing that perfectly; that does not mean that we should not live our lives striving to honor Him and glorify His name. 

God has given us so much. He can also take it away. He is God. Set aside the false gods. Let your ego die that Christ might live in and through you that our Father in heaven is served with reverence, love, and godly fear.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Listen To The Word

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. Heb 1:1-2 NRSV
There were prophets. But, there were also false prophets. I am always amazed by the number of people who rely on astrology or fortunetellers for a positive look at their personal futures. Sometimes, they are pleased with the reading and sometimes they are not as they hear from these false prophets their futures are not going to be very bright. Fortunately,  the Christian does not depend on reading the stars or listening to people who speak to the dead as these are forbidden by God. The Christian trusts in the word of God. He or she reads the word as found in the Holy Scriptures. The Christian listens to the Word who is Jesus the Christ.

In these latter days, God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus the Christ. We know that in him and only in him do we have a future of hope.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Tested Beyond Our Strength?

No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13 NRSV)

Life can be pretty rough at times. There are times when we really think that we are so near the edge of what we can endure that we are likely to go over the cliff. But, Paul is convinced that God will be with us and supporting us as we are tested. He reminds us that God will not test us beyond what we are capable of handling. 

Life is rough. There will be much pain. There will be much grief. But, our hope is not in this world. Our hope is in the promises of God through Christ Jesus.

May God help "...us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful."  (Heb 10:23) Do not fear the trials or temptations that assail you for God is with you and for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J