Showing posts with label Christ Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ Jesus. Show all posts

September 1, 2016

God made you holy

Our God made us holy. This is the difference between Christianity and other religions. God made us holy by means of Jesus Christ. Jesus made us holy by becoming a holy sacrifice. The words of God (the Bible, the Truth) make us holy. The Holy Spirit makes us (all people who call on the name Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.)holy. God united us with Christ Jesus, joined to Him, one Spirit with Him. (1 Corinthians 6:17) God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy. God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ.
In summary: we were chosen by God. Obeyed His words. Cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Made holy by the Holy Spirit in us.
John 17:19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
Romans 15:16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
1 Corinthians 1:30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
1 Corinthians 6:11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Ephesians 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Hebrews 10:10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
Hebrews 10:14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
1 Peter 1:2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.
Hebrews 10:29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

December 25, 2013

The Poet's 24 reasons to cry "Joy" to the world!


  1. Psalm 5:11
    But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
    Psalm 5:10-12 (in Context) Psalm 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  2. Psalm 16:11
    You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
    Psalm 16:10-11 (in Context) Psalm 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  3. Psalm 21:1
    [ Joy in the Salvation of the Lord ] [ To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. ] The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
    Psalm 21:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  4. Psalm 27:6
    And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
    Psalm 27:5-7 (in Context) Psalm 27 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  5. Psalm 30:5
    For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
    Psalm 30:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 30 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  6. Psalm 32:1
    [ The Joy of Forgiveness ] [ A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. ] Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.
    Psalm 32:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 32 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  7. Psalm 32:11
    Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
    Psalm 32:10-11 (in Context) Psalm 32 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  8. Psalm 33:3
    Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
    Psalm 33:2-4 (in Context) Psalm 33 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  9. Psalm 35:27
    Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
    Psalm 35:26-28 (in Context) Psalm 35 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  10. Psalm 42:4
    When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
    Psalm 42:3-5 (in Context) Psalm 42 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  11. Psalm 43:4
    Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.
    Psalm 43:3-5 (in Context) Psalm 43 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  12. Psalm 48:2
    Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.
    Psalm 48:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 48 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  13. Psalm 51:8
    Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
    Psalm 51:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 51 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  14. Psalm 51:12
    Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
    Psalm 51:11-13 (in Context) Psalm 51 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  15. Psalm 63:1
    [ Joy in the Fellowship of God ] [ A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. ] O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
    Psalm 63:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 63 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  16. Psalm 65:13
    The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.
    Psalm 65:12-13 (in Context) Psalm 65 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  17. Psalm 67:4
    Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah
    Psalm 67:3-5 (in Context) Psalm 67 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  18. Psalm 105:43
    He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness.
    Psalm 105:42-44 (in Context) Psalm 105 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  19. Psalm 106:1
    [ Joy in Forgiveness of Israel’s Sins ] Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
    Psalm 106:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 106 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  20. Psalm 122:1
    [ The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord ] [ A Song of Ascents. Of David. ] I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
    Psalm 122:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 122 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  21. Psalm 126:5
    Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
    Psalm 126:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 126 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  22. Psalm 132:9
    Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy.
    Psalm 132:8-10 (in Context) Psalm 132 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  23. Psalm 132:16
    I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
    Psalm 132:15-17 (in Context) Psalm 132 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  24. Psalm 137:6
    If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.
    Psalm 137:5-7 (in Context) Psalm 137 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

June 12, 2013

Living by the Spirit: reality check list


Living by the SpiritToday we do a check list. Do we fit into the following God’s words? Do your own checking. All these words were spoken by Jesus, who Himself was the Word who became flesh and came and fulfill God’s words.

  1. born of water and the Spirit. John 3:5
  2. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24
  3. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
  4. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38 (by this He spoke concerning the Spirit. 7:39)
  5. I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him (the Father in heaven); I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things; and He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him. John 8:26-29 The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. John 14:10
  6. If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32
  7. be My disciples: deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23-25
  8. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. Luke 8:18 My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. Luke 8:21
  9. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7
  10. …how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Luke 11:13b
  11. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19
  12. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-the Spirit of truth. He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you. He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. John 14:12-26; 16:12-15
Here are some of the testimonies of the Apostles themselves:
John’s witness:
  1. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:17
  2. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 1 John 2:20 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you…and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 2:27 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 4:13 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 3:8b
Paul’s witness:
  1. No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. We have received the Spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. We have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16
  2. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 8:14 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 8:16 Now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know all things work together for good to those who love God , to those who are the called according to His purpose. 8:27-28
James’ witness:
  1. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth…therefore..receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:17-18, 21-22
  2. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray…Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders…and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:13-15
Peter’s witness:
  1. You have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit…having been born again, not of corruptible seed bu incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. 1 Peter 1:22-23
  2. To those who have received like precious faith with us…grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:1-4
Jude’s witness:
  1.  Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3
  2. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Jude 20
Jesus’ witness: Revelation 22:7
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

May 31, 2013

Journey to See God: God loves you and wants you free from fear





Knowing and believing God is
love and He loves you to the point of what He proclaimed and actually did in the history of mankind, is today’s most powerful message. Know and believe today.

In a recent vision, an intercessor saw cages in which individuals sat and huddled together. Dark creatures (spirits of death and fear etc.) stood outside the cages. But the cages were not locked. The humans could walk out anytime but they were crippled by fear and remained captives!
Somebody needs this message today. Receive. Be saved. Be healed. Be set free from oppressions and depressions. Be set free by love. The love of God.
(Above reading from Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; 1John 4:15-19)

Here is the message about the power of God’s love for you.
Romans 8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.
For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].
For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.
Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].
[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.
So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].
10 But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].
11 And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh [we are not obligated to our carnal nature], to live [a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates] of the flesh.
13 For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!
16 The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.
17 And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.
18 [But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!
19 For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].
20 For the creation (nature) was subjected to frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration), not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it—[yet] with the hope
21 That nature (creation) itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption [and gain an entrance] into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
22 We know that the whole creation [of irrational creatures] has been moaning together in the pains of labor until now.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves too, who have and enjoy the firstfruits of the [Holy] Spirit [a foretaste of the blissful things to come] groan inwardly as we wait for the redemption of our bodies [from sensuality and the grave, which will reveal] our adoption (our manifestation as God’s sons).
24 For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure.
26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
27 And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.
28 We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.
30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].
31 What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]
32 He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]
34 Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?
35 Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
36 Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers,
39 Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8 New Living Translation (NLT) 
Life in the Spirit
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. 
The Future Glory
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 
Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May 28, 2013

Journey to see God: a message for the mature

Paul's diary to the PhilippiansLately the 5am Bible reading group of brethren in Christ have been praying for spiritual breakthrough. They asked the Lord to further open the eyes of their spirit, to know God and Jesus in the Spirit. Having been led through the key chapters on the Holy Spirit in the gospels, Acts, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 2 and 2 Corinthians 3, having prayed and read in depth and in meditation of Ephesians 1-3, they were led to read Philippians.


The Epistle to the Philippians is a very different kind of letter from the rest. Paul wrote with tenderness, warmth, and affection. He presented an informal and intimate diary of his own spiritual experience, revealing that Christ is his sum and substance of life. To know Christ was his highest aspiration and goal. He revealed that he was still working at attaining the utmost goal of gaining Christ, the power of God!
Why are we urged now to read this book? The revelations from key verses received by the group are excerpted as follows. Do join us, brethren in Christ round the globe!
__________________the key word is Christ. Be in Christ. Christ is the power of God. The upward race for us is on all the time and completes only when Christ Jesus returns just as He has promised.
A bit of background observation:
  1. Paul was a mature Christian leader (an Apostle) when he wrote this letter. He had personally encountered Jesus the risen Christ. He received and was filled with the Holy Spirit when Ananias laid hand on him at conversion. After his conversion to Christ the had been raised to heaven and knew that heaven is real! He spent three years in the desert alone with Christ and received all his revelations first hand from the Lord.
  2. When he wrote this epistle he was in prison. However, his letters were circulated among churches as instructed and preserved till today. He has remained credible and accepted as inspired by the Lord (Holy Spirit) in all his epistles which are included as the Bible.
  3. His letters were read by many Christians then who knew of his plight. They would not have accepted and preserved these documents if they had not also witnessed the power he had walked in and the reality of God in his life. Observations and revelations from the verses: Philippians 3, and other epistles of Paul.
Paul declared that he was still pressing on to attain Christ, to know Him and His power. The power of His resurrection.
The same power is prayed for in Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians Christians. Take note that he used the word ‘Christ’ prominently (as compared to the word ‘Jesus’). Christ is the resurrected and risen Jesus. The Son of God who had defeated the power of death and sin and now sits at the right hand of God in heaven.
Paul continued to press on to attain this ‘Christ the power of God’. Why? He had already experienced Christ’s power (in the Holy Spirit). He had described many types of trials and challenges he went through successfully. He remained undaunted and alive! Even the physical environments and oppressions had not deterred him from completing his assignments from God. He walked so close with the Lord in the Holy Spirit that he knew when he would be released from prison. Even the other apostles and disciples knew and acknowledged his credibility as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Reading all his letters we could see how much he had known about and indeed already experienced in the Lord. All the other Christians who were living at that time knew too.
But Paul pressed on, because he knew he was not already perfected. He knew because he was joined to the Lord and was one spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17).
Philippians 3:10-13 
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 3:16, 19-20 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Paul spoke of this same power in the resurrected Christ in many other verses:
Romans 1:4  and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
1 Corinthians 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 5:24-25 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Colossians 1:11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Colossians 1:29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

March 20, 2013

Journey to see God: He is Purposeful


Today we see all about God being a purposeful God. Nothing He does is without purpose. Know for what purpose you are called. Take heed His purpose for you! 


Romans 9

English Standard Version (ESV)

God's Sovereign Choice

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,[a] my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,[b] but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,
Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel[c] be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
    we would have been like Sodom
    and become like Gomorrah.”

Israel's Unbelief

30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness[d]did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

Footnotes:

  1. Romans 9:3 Or brothers and sisters
  2. Romans 9:16 Greek not of him who wills or runs
  3. Romans 9:27 Or children of Israel
  4. Romans 9:31 Greek a law of righteousness
___________More verses on God's Purposefulness
  1. Romans 4:11
    He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purposewas to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
    Romans 4:10-12 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  2. Romans 8:28
    And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
    Romans 8:27-29 (in Context) Romans 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  3. Ephesians 1:5
    he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
    Ephesians 1:4-6 (in Context) Ephesians 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  4. Ephesians 1:9
    making known to us the mystery of his will, according to hispurpose, which he set forth in Christ
    Ephesians 1:8-10 (in Context) Ephesians 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  5. Ephesians 1:11
    In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
    Ephesians 1:10-12 (in Context) Ephesians 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
  6. Ephesians 3:11
    This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
    Ephesians 3:10-12 (in Context) Ephesians 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

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