Forgive, Lest Satan Should Get an Advantage
To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also…… Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.(2Cor 2:10-11)
Forgiveness not only ensures that the Father forgive us (Matt 6:14), but it protects us from the accuser of the brethren. The worst thing that anyone can experience is to be taken advantage of. This is a feeling of being stripped naked, laid bare and void of any protection. It is an intrusion into the deepest part of our being and leaves us with an emotional state of being violated and ashamed.
……how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ….(Mat 18:21)
The ultimate demonstration of forgiveness is to love our enemies, bless them, do good to them, and pray for their best (Matt 5:44). The cross is the truest demonstration of forgiveness (Luke 23:34). We should not reckon why we cannot forgive, but give deepest consideration why we should. We can pen a whole shopping list of reasons not to forgive. But why should the devil take advantage of us? Never underestimate the damage he can do and he is constantly looking for victims (1 Pet 5:8). What a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare we can garner, forgive!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Where God's Judgment Begins
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1Pet 4:17)
In the midst of the Middle East turmoil an earthquake hit Christchurch today (22 Feb 2011) at 12:51pm local time. Yeshua predicted that earthquakes will occur in diverse places (Matt 24:7) and geologist are reporting more than doubling of these geophysical events:
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1Pet 4:17)
In the midst of the Middle East turmoil an earthquake hit Christchurch today (22 Feb 2011) at 12:51pm local time. Yeshua predicted that earthquakes will occur in diverse places (Matt 24:7) and geologist are reporting more than doubling of these geophysical events:
DATES FROM TO PERIOD NO. EARTHQUAKES (Mag.> 6.99) 1863 to 1900 incl 38 yrs 12
1901 to 1938 incl 38 yrs 53 Reference list 1901 to 1938
1939 to 1976 incl 38 yrs 71 Reference list 1939 to 1976
1977 to 2014 incl * 38 yrs 156 (to Sept. 2010) predict >190 in total.Reference list 1977 to date(Data from http://www.earth.webecs.co.uk/)
Since this is the first major earthquake for 2011 and I wonder if there is any significance? Especially that 'Christchurch' was affected. Something for us to ponder, but not to remain in the state of awe but be watchful and in prayer always that we may be accounted worthy to escape 'these things' that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36). The context is with regard to the 'fig tree' (Matt 24:32), Israel, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Even Bible scholars of yonder years like Matthew Henry and Clarke make mention to watch for the coming attack on Israel and Jerusalem before the great and terrible day of the LORD.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zec 12:10)
Since this is the first major earthquake for 2011 and I wonder if there is any significance? Especially that 'Christchurch' was affected. Something for us to ponder, but not to remain in the state of awe but be watchful and in prayer always that we may be accounted worthy to escape 'these things' that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36). The context is with regard to the 'fig tree' (Matt 24:32), Israel, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Even Bible scholars of yonder years like Matthew Henry and Clarke make mention to watch for the coming attack on Israel and Jerusalem before the great and terrible day of the LORD.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zec 12:10)
'In that day' is a repeated statement by YHWH in Zechariah 12 that He will perform His Covenant and promises made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David and all Israel will be saved (Rom 11:26). And we the gentile church who have been grafted (Rom 11:17) into the vine of God's covenant will be finally one with Israel.
God has to judge the His household first, lest He be accused of being unjust. My brothers and sisters, are we ready for that Day of the Lord? Are we in the continual stature of praying and watching, our spiritual eyes toward Heaven and physical eyes looking at the events taking place in and around Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem till YHWH makes that city a praise in all the earth (Isa 62:7). Pray and make disciples for the fullness of the gentiles is at hand (Rom 11:25) and the door will close, but be opened for the salvation of the Jewish nation. We have a glorious destiny, are we ready and willing to lay down even our lives for that which is eternal and glorious.
Friday, February 18, 2011
‘Methuselah’, the Patience of God
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. (Gen 5:27)
The length of days of Methuselah reminds us of the patience of God in a situation of going grossly out of God’s created order of things in which one of the saddest statement was recorded in Scripture; ‘And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart’ (Gen 6:6). It is as though parents regretted having their children. Methuselah means ‘when he dies, it shall be sent’ which is the mark of the coming of the flood in Noah’s days. God had to grieved for as long as until He found a remnant that is just and upright (Gen 6:9).
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2Pet 3:9)
Can Jesus find in this generation those who have the same spirit and heart as Noah for He will be returning soon to judge the quick and the dead (1 Pet 4:5)? Do we share the same grief that He has for the world? Just as important, do we share His desire that none should perish? Knowing His desire, how do we pattern our lives? Our ‘willingness’ in life tells of the condition of our heart if we live for ourselves and self-interest or for His. One of the greatest conflicts in human history is not with the devil, it is on the grounds of ‘will’. The message for us is do we fall under God's condition of being patient with us or are among those who have found ‘grace in the eyes of the LORD’ (Gen 6:8).
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. (Gen 5:27)
The length of days of Methuselah reminds us of the patience of God in a situation of going grossly out of God’s created order of things in which one of the saddest statement was recorded in Scripture; ‘And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart’ (Gen 6:6). It is as though parents regretted having their children. Methuselah means ‘when he dies, it shall be sent’ which is the mark of the coming of the flood in Noah’s days. God had to grieved for as long as until He found a remnant that is just and upright (Gen 6:9).
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2Pet 3:9)
Can Jesus find in this generation those who have the same spirit and heart as Noah for He will be returning soon to judge the quick and the dead (1 Pet 4:5)? Do we share the same grief that He has for the world? Just as important, do we share His desire that none should perish? Knowing His desire, how do we pattern our lives? Our ‘willingness’ in life tells of the condition of our heart if we live for ourselves and self-interest or for His. One of the greatest conflicts in human history is not with the devil, it is on the grounds of ‘will’. The message for us is do we fall under God's condition of being patient with us or are among those who have found ‘grace in the eyes of the LORD’ (Gen 6:8).
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Conscience Void of Offence
by Rebekah
“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” (Acts 24:16 KJV).
There are three types of consciences:
1) A good conscience - when we know when we have sinned and humbly make confession
2) A guilty conscience - when we know when we have sinned and hide it. This leads to a dead conscience.
3) A dead conscience - when we don’t even know when we have sinned. We have deadened, or dulled our conscience, putting it to sleep. Paul speaks of those with seared (cauterized) consciences.
It is ever so important in our relationship with God that we maintain a clear and pure conscience before Him. What is the most important thing in life? Our eternity. The life that goes beyond this world. What we need is the eternal life of God. What is that eternal life of God? As Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3 KJV).
Read I Peter 1:18-19 and Romans 3:24-25.
When we realize how indebted we are to God, it should motivate us to clear up our offences!
Read I Peter 3:16-17, Titus 1:15, and 2 Corinthians 1:12. What do these verses tell you about why you should maintain a clear conscience?
Read I Timothy 4:2 and I Timothy 1:19 and review Titus 1:15 and I Peter 3:16-17. What can happen if you don’t maintain a clear conscience?
When we harbor sin, we not only open the door for the enemy to come in, but we also put a blockage between ourselves and God. Read Revelation 12:10. The devil is the accuser and wishes to accuse us and make us doubt the blood of Christ, and one way he does it is by reminding us of past sins. If he can convince us that he still has victory over us, then we have lost. When we stand firm in Christ’s victory then we are standing by faith in God, who is on our side!
David was a man who always sought to maintain fellowship with God and to restore the relationship, clearing out any sin and blockage. After David sinned with Bathsheba, he wrote Psalm 51, a prayer of repentance and brokenness. David never took his relationship with God for granted but sought God with all his heart.
....Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book, Life Together, “God can only meet us on the condition of truth. He Himself is truth, and He will not meet us on the basis of phoniness or pretense. His grace is available, copiously and freely, but on the condition of truth alone. That is why so many Christian lives remain fixed at an unhappy level. They do not meet Him on the level of truth because they do not meet the saints on the level of truth. We can measure the truth of our relationship with God by our relationship with men. If it is deceitful, phony and secretive there, and withholding and unloving, then we are not to presume to think that our relationship with God is somehow better or separate. The two are inextricably joined together. It is our relationship to men that unmasks us, and it is our relationship with men that is the true requirement and reveals our condition before God.”
Read the rest at http://www.lightedlampmagazine.yolasite.com/resources/February2011.pdf
by Rebekah
“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” (Acts 24:16 KJV).
There are three types of consciences:
1) A good conscience - when we know when we have sinned and humbly make confession
2) A guilty conscience - when we know when we have sinned and hide it. This leads to a dead conscience.
3) A dead conscience - when we don’t even know when we have sinned. We have deadened, or dulled our conscience, putting it to sleep. Paul speaks of those with seared (cauterized) consciences.
It is ever so important in our relationship with God that we maintain a clear and pure conscience before Him. What is the most important thing in life? Our eternity. The life that goes beyond this world. What we need is the eternal life of God. What is that eternal life of God? As Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3 KJV).
Read I Peter 1:18-19 and Romans 3:24-25.
When we realize how indebted we are to God, it should motivate us to clear up our offences!
Read I Peter 3:16-17, Titus 1:15, and 2 Corinthians 1:12. What do these verses tell you about why you should maintain a clear conscience?
Read I Timothy 4:2 and I Timothy 1:19 and review Titus 1:15 and I Peter 3:16-17. What can happen if you don’t maintain a clear conscience?
When we harbor sin, we not only open the door for the enemy to come in, but we also put a blockage between ourselves and God. Read Revelation 12:10. The devil is the accuser and wishes to accuse us and make us doubt the blood of Christ, and one way he does it is by reminding us of past sins. If he can convince us that he still has victory over us, then we have lost. When we stand firm in Christ’s victory then we are standing by faith in God, who is on our side!
David was a man who always sought to maintain fellowship with God and to restore the relationship, clearing out any sin and blockage. After David sinned with Bathsheba, he wrote Psalm 51, a prayer of repentance and brokenness. David never took his relationship with God for granted but sought God with all his heart.
....Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book, Life Together, “God can only meet us on the condition of truth. He Himself is truth, and He will not meet us on the basis of phoniness or pretense. His grace is available, copiously and freely, but on the condition of truth alone. That is why so many Christian lives remain fixed at an unhappy level. They do not meet Him on the level of truth because they do not meet the saints on the level of truth. We can measure the truth of our relationship with God by our relationship with men. If it is deceitful, phony and secretive there, and withholding and unloving, then we are not to presume to think that our relationship with God is somehow better or separate. The two are inextricably joined together. It is our relationship to men that unmasks us, and it is our relationship with men that is the true requirement and reveals our condition before God.”
Read the rest at http://www.lightedlampmagazine.yolasite.com/resources/February2011.pdf
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Exposing the Heart
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. (Pro 1:23)
The act of reproof or rebuke is something which is gravely missing today in society, churches and families. It is a two edged sword if done in the wrong spirit will bring condemnation when the person rebuking does it from the judgmental stand point. The Godly intent of reproof is to turn a person around to the God’s best. The reproofs of God results in the pouring out of His Spirit which David having received the rebuke of the prophet in the correct light and knew immediately that he lost the right or steadfastness of spirit (Psa 51:10). A judgmental rebuke results in making the person being rebuked unable to rise above the sin or character flaw that can drive them further away from the path of righteousness and God’s truth. There is only on Righteous Judge (2 Tim 4:8), don’t usurp His position. Therefore the person who rebukes must be one that has learned the humility of Christ (Matt 11:29).
Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. (1Tim 5:20)
God will chastise those whom He loves (Heb 12:8) and will send people to reproof us; hence we should not allow pride to stand in the way of the greater work of God to build a strong spirit within us. Poor character is the fruit of having a weak spirit that easily yield to pressures, people with an excellent spirit will not be shaken (Dan 5:12), dwelling in the place of safety without the fear of evil (Prov 1:33). A person reclaimed from transgression will exchanged the fear of everything else for the fear of God.
Create in me a clean heart…… (Psa 51:10)
Godly reproofs expose the heart condition; self will which have taken the place of God’s will. Love for self rather than to love Him with all our heart. Allow godly reproofs, He will take away the stony heart and replace it with a tender heart (Eze 36:26), He will put His spirit within us (Eze 36:27), He will put His Law in our mind and write it on our hearts (Jer 31:33). Thence we will be under the New Covenant of Grace and not of requirements that we will never fulfill….. it is living in the place where ‘He will’.
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. (Pro 1:23)
The act of reproof or rebuke is something which is gravely missing today in society, churches and families. It is a two edged sword if done in the wrong spirit will bring condemnation when the person rebuking does it from the judgmental stand point. The Godly intent of reproof is to turn a person around to the God’s best. The reproofs of God results in the pouring out of His Spirit which David having received the rebuke of the prophet in the correct light and knew immediately that he lost the right or steadfastness of spirit (Psa 51:10). A judgmental rebuke results in making the person being rebuked unable to rise above the sin or character flaw that can drive them further away from the path of righteousness and God’s truth. There is only on Righteous Judge (2 Tim 4:8), don’t usurp His position. Therefore the person who rebukes must be one that has learned the humility of Christ (Matt 11:29).
Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. (1Tim 5:20)
God will chastise those whom He loves (Heb 12:8) and will send people to reproof us; hence we should not allow pride to stand in the way of the greater work of God to build a strong spirit within us. Poor character is the fruit of having a weak spirit that easily yield to pressures, people with an excellent spirit will not be shaken (Dan 5:12), dwelling in the place of safety without the fear of evil (Prov 1:33). A person reclaimed from transgression will exchanged the fear of everything else for the fear of God.
Create in me a clean heart…… (Psa 51:10)
Godly reproofs expose the heart condition; self will which have taken the place of God’s will. Love for self rather than to love Him with all our heart. Allow godly reproofs, He will take away the stony heart and replace it with a tender heart (Eze 36:26), He will put His spirit within us (Eze 36:27), He will put His Law in our mind and write it on our hearts (Jer 31:33). Thence we will be under the New Covenant of Grace and not of requirements that we will never fulfill….. it is living in the place where ‘He will’.
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