The Window of Superiority...

So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.  

Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!"

So David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will playmusic before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor." Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.--2nd Samuel 6

To My Daughters

These are some of the saddest verses in Scripture and should serve as a warning to each of us to keep our hearts with all diligence.  Michal's heart was filled with vanity and superiority...and her spirit was critical.  It was empty of God and filled with Michal. What was important to Michal was Michal.  Truly, as the Scripture says, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.   David's worship before the Lord,  also expressed the abundance of his heart..which was love, loyalty and gratitude toward His God...he held nothing back. He danced before the Lord with all his might.   He was humble before his God and understood that he was who he was only by his God's grace and mercy.  He understood that it was God who had lifted him up and made him king...these people were not David's but God's.  What an example the psalmist was for the people of God.   What an example he is for us today.   

Michal was clearly not of one accord with her husband...she was not rejoicing when he was rejoicing but was instead looking down on him from what Spurgeon calls the "window of superiority."  She tried to censure God's chosen...why?....because she thought it made her husband look base and common..which reflected poorly on her.  She did not see the beauty of his humility nor the transparency of his heartfelt devotion to God.  Her pride and vanity blocked her view of what was truly precious and praiseworthy about her husband.  Clearly, Michal had spent much time in the "balloon of self". Her view of her husband and her God were obstructed by her own pride which, sadly, was her biggest obstacle between a beautiful and fulfilled relationship with both her husband and God. 

How many of us treat the people God has placed in our lives as Michal treated David here?   When we do, we are truly our own worst enemies and very effectively tear down our own houses.  How hateful and ugly does Michal appear to us as she greets her husband who had come home with the express purpose of blessing his household.  Her first words to him were filled with bitter sarcasm as was her heart. Her desire was not to encourage her husband in his love for the Lord but to rain on his parade. He had embarrassed her and she was going to get her pound of flesh.  I loved David's response...He did not allow her bitter spirit to dampen his day or his spirit.   His response to her was open and honest and in my opinion gentle...filled with love and loyalty to His God...which was the abundance of his heart.  

Listen to his words..

So David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will playmusic before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor."

I did it for God, not you, Michal.  It was for the delight of my Lord (not the maidens) that I danced and worshipped...It was He who appointed me to be ruler over His people.    David understood that it was God who was the true chosen King of Israel.  He goes on to promise her that in the future he would be even more undignified and would be humble in his own sight.  What ever Michal's thoughts about David were...David thought even less of himself.  Spurgeon speaks to this well:

"Brother, if any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be."

David bore the reproach of his wife and was despised in her eyes because of His love for His God.  Jesus was not accepted by the members of his own household and was despised and rejected by his own people.  David was in very good company. Psalm 69:7-9 says this:

Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.  For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

Appropriately, either by divine judgment or due to the fact that David did not have relations with her again, Michal was barren to the day of her death.  She was thus prevented from bearing a child to be heir to David's throne from the family of Saul by her own pride and critical spirit.  Michal neglected the hidden person of her heart allowing it to be come filled with pride and self.  Michal was concerned with the outward and did not look to the inward person that had become ugly... 1 Peter 3:4 says this:

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God"

Predestinated According to His Purpose...

"being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. " --Ephesians 1:11b-12

To My Beloved Daughters in Him

There is much that makes my brain hurt in that first verse.  I have been predestinated according to His purposes before I was born....before any man was even created...before the foundation of the world.  I am who I am because God chose to make me this way that I should be to the praise of His glory.   Hendriksen puts it this way:

"Neither fate nor human merit determines our destiny. The benevolent purpose—that we should be holy and faultless (verse 4), sons of God (verse 5), destined to glorify him forever (verse 6, cf. verses 12 and 14)—is fixed, being part of a larger, universe-embracing plan. Not only did God make this plan that includes absolutely all things that ever take place in heaven, on earth, and in hell; past, present, and even the future, pertaining to both believers and unbelievers, to angels and devils, to physical as well as spiritual energies and units of existence both large and small; he also wholly carries it out. His providence in time is as comprehensive as is his decree from eternity."

God, who spoke this world into existence and also began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  He is faithful even when I am faithless.  All of my life...each and every moment,  has been planned before the foundation of the world.  My life is not about me...it is about Him and His plan...it is also not about me striving for anything in my own strength.  It is about me abiding and allowing Him to not only perform all things for me but also to perfect all that concerns me.  He holds my right hand and walks me through...He orchestrates it all...my job is to stay close and abide.  God will work out what He planned.  

And here is the thing..."my" accomplishments..."my" life...they are not for my glory...they are for HIS. I am His clay...His pot! I am vessel for His use.  I am the work of His hand...any power or glory in this earthen vessel is of Him not me.  My God is the preeminent One!  He created me...He is the potter...He does as He wills with me, the clay.  I bear His image and am to proclaim and display His glory in my words, actions and life.  This is why He redeemed me...that I should be to the praise of His glory.  

To be honest this glory thing has at times stopped me short.  Is God an egotist?   No...He is holy and true.   He desires the glory because He alone is worthy of the glory.  To be worshipped and receive glory is the desire of all humans...but the worship and glory we desire for ourselves is undeserved and fraught with wrong and selfish motives.  The glory that our God desires, however, is pure and just and right...AND He is worthy to receive it all.  

The longer we walk with the Lord, the more we understand this.  Why?  Because as we draw close to Him we see the stark reality of who we are in the light of His greatness, His glory and His grace.  More and more we see our own sinfulness, depravity and selfish motives in even the "good" we do and how totally and utterly underserving we are of any glory let alone of His grace and mercy. When we truly "see" the Lord like Job, we despise and abhor ourselves, fall on our face before Him and repent in dust and ashes.  Truly He alone is worthy to be praised. I will end with Revelation 5:11-13:

"Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”"

for the next study in Ephesians go here

Christophobia: Two Questions

Christophobia: Two Questions: If there is a God who IS love and is good, why all the pain and horror? And... Why are Christians so hateful? The second question is easy...

JOINT HEIRS IN HIM!!!

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, --Ephesians 1:11a

To My Beautiful Daughters in Him,

The basis for our inheritance is in Him...in Jesus, God's Son.   Apart from Jesus Christ the only eternal thing that I can receive is condemnation and eternal punishment.  There is no other name under heaven, Paul tells us in the Book of Acts, by which men can be saved.   In Him, however, I am a co-heir!  All the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies are mine. I am a joint heir with Christ...adopted by God as His daughter.  All things belong to me and I belong to Christ...and Christ belongs to God.  Romans 8:17 says:

and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,

I am guaranteed possession of everything He possesses.  There is no way I can even begin to wrap my tiny brain around that...  Peter tells me that His divine power has granted to me everything pertaining to life and godliness.  Everything...nothing missing and has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises....all the promises of God, in Him, are yes! 

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.--2nd Corinthians 1:20

We are promised it all in Him.  We are identified with Christ and as such our lives should look like lives lived through Him and for Him.  Romans 6:3-11 says this:  John MacArthur calls it the believers spiritual biography...I love that!


Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I do not pretend to understand these verses...how this occurs...but at salvation I was nailed to the cross at Calvary spiritually with my Jesus and have been buried and raised with Him.  Jesus did not just do this for me...He did it with me.  When He appears I will be like Him...finally conformed to image of His Son.  For me now, like Paul, to live is Christ.  I am one spirit with Him.  I am joined with Him....identified with Him. The way I live should be then identified with how He lived.  I am to love as He loved, give as He gave, care as He cared...are you getting the picture.  I am to look out for the interests of others...Like my Jesus I am to lose my life for others.  My labor in Him is never in vain...His mercy is mine.  I do not lose heart even though my outward man is perishing my inward man is being renewed daily and will one day be glorified with my God in heaven.  

Praying that you, my beloved daughters...and me, also, would see these spiritual truths plainly in a very daily and practical way in order that we would not grow weary in doing good...knowing the He does not forget our labor of love...knowing that in due season we will reap. We are blessed in His Son!

Love
Mom

For next study in Ephesians go here

Legacies and Philemon...

For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.--Philemon 1:7

To My Daughters...


I sooooo want to be like Philemon. my mind off me and my problems and my focus on walking rightly with my God and being a blessing to those He has placed in front of me. 

What a statement Paul makes here about who Philemon was. He is a refresher of the saints. He is one who has encouraged the hearts of others by his love. He has given them not just joy and consolation but much joy and consolation. People who are suffering, afflicted, in trouble, and struggling have found him (Philemon) to be a blessing!! Philemon brought hurting people rest...His care and service for them refreshed their hearts and brought them solace.

Philemon was a man of kindness..the kind of man that was a blessing to those who were around him. The kind of many whom others wanted to be around. If I am going to leave any kind of mark on this world or legacy for my God that is the one I would want.

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."--Colossians 3:12-17

All Things in Christ...

Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:--Ephesians 1:8-10

To My Beautiful Daughters in Him

Our God not only makes His grace manifested in all wisdom and prudence but as a result of our redemption he lavishes us, His children, with His wisdom and prudence.  We are given, in essence, the bible says, the mind of Christ!   All wisdom in regard to spiritual understanding and prudence in regard to every day living is ours in Him.  The fear of the Lord, the bible tells us, is the beginning of wisdom.  We have all we need at salvation to understand our God and walk through this world daily in a way that honors and pleases Him.  Our eyes are opened to His word and our hearts are no longer dark and hard...we now are no longer slaves of sin but have been given the means by which we can obey our God.  

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hiddenwisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ..--1Corinthians 2:6-16

We have been given the Spirit of God upon salvation.  It is the Spirit of God that reveals to us the things of God.  Our God has hidden them from the wise of this world, but reveals them to us, His children.   It is the Spirit of God who teaches us and testifies with our spirit that we are His children.  It is the Spirit that makes intercession for us.  We are told in James that if we lack wisdom we can ask and He will give it to us generously and without reproach.  The natural man does not have this wisdom.  Until salvation all men are afflicted with spiritual blindness.  When His Spirit enters our hearts our eyes of understanding are opened and He enables us to see all in the light of our God and eternity.  I like how John MacArthur puts it...."In Jesus Christ, God takes us into His confidence."  

Our God not only redeems us and takes away our sin but He also lavishes us with wisdom and prudence, reveals to us the hidden and secret things AND He does not leave us on our own to figure it all out.  

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.--John 14:26

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.--John15:26

Why has our God done all this...why has He blessed us with every spiritual blessing and given us His Spirit?  God did this in order that He might gather all things unto Himself.  At the end of history...after Christ 1000 year reign  on earth...the new heavens and the new earth will be established and eternity will begin. Every trace of evil will have been obliterated.  Satan and his demons will have been cast into the lake of fire for ever and ever.  Then there will be a summing of all things that remain in Christ.  The goal of history is Jesus...The resolution to this fallen world is Jesus.  All will be restored in Him...all will be unified under His feet.   At that time every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the God the Father.  

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.--Ephesians 2:11-16

By the death of Christ both  Jew and Gentile can become one body and unified in Him

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,  and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.  And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled  in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—Colossians 1:19-22

The blood of the cross enables our God to reconcile all things to Himself and present us holy, and blameless and above reproach in His sight.  

God's plan from before the foundation of the world will be sovereignly worked out according to His divine will...His good pleasure.  In the fullness of time...for His glory and His honor...in His time..it will be completed and perfected.

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”--Revelation 5:13

Love

Mom

for next study in Ephesians go here

The Characteristics of One Who Forgives by John MacArthur

Part 1: Four Things a Failure to Forgive Does...


For our study this morning I draw your attention back to the wonderful little book of Philemon. Turn in your Bible, if you will, to Philemon. It is sandwiched neatly in between Titus and Hebrews, the book of Philemon. This morning our text from Philemon is taken from verses 4 through 7. We are in a four-part series entitled "A lesson in forgiveness." And this morning is part two. Let me read you verses 4 through 7 as the setting for our message.

"I thank my God always making mention of you in my prayers because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake; for I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother."

We live obviously in a society that knows little about forgiveness. We live in a society that cares little about forgiveness. In fact I would think that one of the major contributors if not THE major contributor to the destruction of relationships in our culture is the absence of forgiveness. Our culture pushes us to be unforgiving. It celebrates and exalts people who are not willing to forgive. We make heroes out of the Dirty Harrys and the Rambos who murder people out of vengeance.

As a result of the sinfulness, the wickedness and the lack of any kind of Christian social restraint in our culture, we have a society filled with bitterness, filled with vengeance, filled with anger, filled with hate, filled with hostility toward others. This can be seen in the retaliatory kind of crimes that become so commonplace in our day. It can be seen in the suits, law suits against everyone for everything conceivable and inconceivable. In fact, it is frightening to think about the fact there are more people in law schools today than in all other professional graduate schools combined. We are going to proliferate an almost endless number of attorneys to take care of an endless number of law suits as people retaliate back and forth for every minuscule and major issue of life that has been foisted upon them.

Even counselors today are telling us it's not healthy to forgive. That's a new one. There is a new popular book written by Susan Forward and it is titled Toxic Parents. The thesis of the book is really the prevailing attitude of our present day culture and that is it has a negative attitude toward forgiveness. There's one chapter in the book entitled "You don't have to forgive." In other words, you are a victim of some toxic parents who poisoned you and until you put them blame on them where it belongs, you're not going to be a healthy person. We live in a retaliating vengeful hostile angry culture that wants to make everybody else the perpetrator of a crime against us and us frankly responsible for nothing except vengeance. Certainly ours is the most hostile, the most angry, the most unforgiving, the most vengeful culture that I have ever experienced in my brief life time.

Now for a Christian, a failure to forgive is unthinkable. I don't care what the issue is, I don't care what the offense is, a failure to forgive is a blatant open act of disobedience. We have been told as explicitly as we could possibly be told that if anybody offends us we are to forgive them. How many times? Seventy times seven, or that is an endless number of times. And that the reason we are to forgive is because our Father in heaven has forgiven us and will continue to forgive us as we are faithful to forgive others.

To look at this issue from the negative side for a moment. If we buy into this culture, a culture that says you don't have to forgive, you have a right to your pound of flesh, you can sue anybody and everybody for anything and everything, you ought to blame somebody else for your responsibility and make sure they pay painfully for what they've done to you, if we buy into that mentality here's what it will produce. I'll give you just four things that will happen in a life of a Christian. Number one, it will imprison you in your past. A failure to forgive will imprison you in your past. As long as you fail to forgive an offender, an offense committed against you, you are shackled to the past. Unforgiveness keeps that pain alive. Unforgiveness keeps that sore open. Unforgiveness never lets that wound heal. And you go through life reminding yourself of what was done to you and so you feed that open wound, you feed that open sore, you stir up that pain and you accumatively build up the larger and larger degree of anger. You go through life accumulating bad feelings.

Now think about it. What's the point of that? What virtue does that give or render? Unforgiveness just imprisons you in the past and for all the time that you go back to the past and regurgitate that unforgiving attitude you will accumulate in your life the tragedy of anger and hostility escalated, built on, accumulated, piled up which will rob you of the joy of living. You will go through life feeling just as bad as you do now or worse with no relief in sight. On the other hand, forgiveness opens the door and lets the prisoner out.Forgiveness sets you free from your past. As soon as you forgive it, it's gone, you're free. If you insist on remembering the offense and never forgiving it, then you allow the person to go on offending you the rest of your life and it's your fault, not theirs.

Secondly, unforgiveness not only makes you a prisoner to your own past but unforgiveness produces bitterness. It produces bitterness. The cumulative effect of remembering without forgiveness some offense done against you no matter how brief the time or long the time is that you become a bitter person. The longer you remember the offense the more data you accumulate on it, the more recited memory you have for it the more it occupies your thinking. And the more it occupies your thinking the more it basically shapes your person. Bitterness is not just a sin, it is an infection. And it will infect your whole life. And bitterness can be directly traced to the failure to forgive. It makes you become caustic, it makes you become sarcastic. It makes you condemning. It gives you a nasty disposition, harassed by the memories of what you can't forgive, your thoughts become malignant toward others, you get a distorted view of life and you have literally diseased your whole existence. Anger begins to rage in you and it can easily get out of control. Your emotions begin to run wild. Your mind becomes the victim of that. You entertain continuing thoughts of revenge. And what happens? Even casual conversation becomes a forum for slander, a forum for gossip, a forum for innuendo against the offender and your flesh, that horrible remnant of your old self, has gained control.

I suppose this happens most notably and most frequently in marriages. Two Christians married to one another should never be divorced. They should never be separated and they should enjoy a happy relationship. That's by God's design. Now when I got married I married a sinner. What is even more unthinkable is so did my wife. And the fact of the matter is that it is an utter impossibility for us not to offend each other. It doesn't just happen now and then through the year, it happens quite regularly. But where forgiveness operates an offense is one moment in time come and gone. Where there is no forgiveness for that there is the accumulated bitterness that begins to turn you against your own partner, that makes you caustic and sarcastic. You shut off your affection, you shut off your kindness. You look for ways to get back and the bitterness results in the devastation of the relationship. Forgiveness, on the other hand, dispels bitterness and replaces it with love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. Why would anybody want to live in the prison of their past? Why would anybody want to live with accumulated bitterness that makes them violate every relationship?

There's a third thing that unforgiveness does. Unforgiveness gives Satan an open door. Unforgiveness throws the welcome mat out and invites the demons in. Where you have unresolved anger, where you have unresolved bitterness, where you have an unforgiving spirit, you have given place to the devil. Ephesians 4:26 and 27 says, "In your anger do not sin, do not let the sun go down while you're still angry and do not give the devil a foothold." The point is if you go to bed at night and you haven't fully forgiven so that your anger is gone, you will give Satan a foothold. In 2 Corinthians chapter 2 there is a very direct statement made by the Apostle Paul. In chapter 2 verse 10 he says, "I forgive, I forgive...in verse 11...in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan for we are not ignorant of his schemes." The devil moves in to an unforgiving heart, to an unforgiving life. It is no exaggeration to say, listen carefully, it is no exaggeration to say that most...most of the ground that Satan gains in our lives is due to unforgiveness. We're not ignorant of his scheme to move in on an unforgiving attitude and destroy relationships. And frankly, you can evict all the demonic trespassers by an act of forgiveness. Why would anybody want to be in prison to their past? Why would anybody want to have the disease of bitterness to skew and discolor their life? And why would anybody want to throw the door and put out the welcome mat for demons?

Fourthly, unforgiveness hinders your fellowship with God. Unforgiveness hinders your fellowship with God. Jesus said if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. In the ongoing relationship with God if we don't forgive others He doesn't forgive us. So if I'm not right with you then I'm not right with Him. Why would I sentence myself to being anything less than in the place of maximum blessing from God? Right? What kind of foolishness is that? How idiotic can I be? Do I find some value in having God angry with me? Is there some virtue in cutting off the purity and the joy of my fellowship with God?

You see the idiocy, don't you, of an unforgiving attitude? It makes you a prisoner of your past. It gives you the all pervasive disease of bitterness. It opens the door for demons and it alienates you from the full rich fellowship that God desires to have with you. There is plenty of good reason then to be a forgiving person. If you refuse to forgive others, you forfeit fellowship with God. You open yourself to Satanic involvement. You pollute your life and steal its joy and you make yourself a victim of your own past.

This matter of forgiveness because of its significance and importance then is dealt with at great length in Scripture. There are, in fact, at least seventy-five different word pictures in the Bible about forgiveness. There are at least 75 word pictures about forgiveness in the Bible. And they're all there to help us grasp the importance or the character, the nature, the effect, something about forgiveness. Let me just give you a few of the biblical word pictures about forgiveness.

To forgive is to turn the key, open the cell door and let the prisoner out. To forgive is to write in large letters across a debt "nothing owed." To forgive is to pound the gavel in a courtroom and say "not guilty." To forgive is to shoot an arrow so high and so far that it can never be found again. To forgive is to bundle up all the garbage and all the trash and dispose of it, leaving the house clean and fresh. To forgive is to loose the moorings of a ship and release it to the open sea. To forgive is to grant a full pardon to a condemned criminal. To forgive is to relax a strangle hold on a wrestling opponent and give him his life. To forgive is to sandblast a wall of graffiti, leaving it looking like new. To forgive is to smash a clay pot into a thousand pieces so that it can never be put together again. This matter of forgiveness is very important and it's right at the very crux of your spiritual health and mine.

Begraced of God...

In studying Ephesians I have not been able to get beyond my God's grace, mercy, and unfathomable kindness in these words: "by which He made us accepted in the beloved." I AM ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED OF GOD...His Son. I love what John MacArthur says:

"From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry the Father declared Him to be “My beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17). And because we have believed in Him, “He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). Because we are now in the Beloved, we, too, are “beloved of God” (Rom. 1:7). Only Jesus Christ has the inherent right to all the goodness of God. But because we are identified with Him by faith, that goodness is now also our goodness. Because our Savior and Lord is the Beloved of the Father and possesses all the goodness of the Father, we are also the beloved of the Father and possess all His goodness. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father” (John 14:21)."

The Father now loves us as He loves Christ and wants us to have everything that Christ has. That is why Paul could say He “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Every Christian is God’s beloved child because the Lord Jesus Christ has become our Redeemer. The Old Testament concept of a kinsman-redeemer set forth three qualifications: he had to be related to the one needing redemption, able to pay the price, and willing to do so. The Lord Jesus perfectly met these requirements. A poet has expressed the magnificent reality of redemption in the words, Near, so very near to God, Nearer I could not be; For in the person of His Son, I’m just as near as He. Dear, so very dear to God, Dearer I could not be; For in the person of His Son, I’m just as dear as He.

I am as a believer, the begraced of God!

Given Over by Bill

God gives grace and mercy. He makes His sun rise on both the evil and the good. He loves the sinner (thank God), but hates sin. He gave His only begotten Son to propitiate His righteous anger over man's inveterate iniquity and unrighteousness. He is the giver of all good gifts, and His patience and long-suffering are integral to His being.

But God (the two most amazing and terrifying words in existence) will not strive with mankind forever. When His patience is ended, His giving is rescinded, supplanted by Hisgiving over to man what man apart from God desires the most - the illusion of God being out of man's frame of reality entirely.

This takes two major forms, each with many subcategories. The one is the denial of God's existence. The other is the remaking of God in man's own image.

Either path leads over a horrendous cliff, with a slow and excruciating descent downward.

God gives over individuals and nations. It is never pretty.

There are a significant predictions in Scripture about what will happen on the earth when God takes away His restraining influence.

That is not pretty either. In fact, it makes all the human degradation, depravity and destruction that has taken place throughout history pale in comparison.

There is hope for those not yet given over. This hope lies not in what they can become or in any action they can take, but in what He will do in them once they surrender their long war against Him. For there can be no truce as the battle field broadens and becomes increasingly deadly - only surrender or defeat.

Surrender, if done in time, will result in escape when He takes His protective hand away from the earth and allows the entire planet to be given over. 

For us, His children by faith, the signs of the times are prevalent. Keep your eyes peeled on the Middle East, and especially Israel.

And like beloved children on a long journey, sometimes we can't help but ask Him that proverbial and ancient question: "Are we there, yet?"

I'm pretty sure we're getting close.

Redeemed and Forgiven

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;--Ephesians 1:7-8

Paul begins this chapter praising His God for the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ.  Throughout the first 14 verses he lists some of these riches.  In verses 4-6 (and in previous studies) we saw that we, who are in Christ, are:

1. Chosen by God

2.  Predestined by God to be His adopted sons and daughters

3.  Accepted by God in His Son, Jesus.

Looking at the next two verses (7-8) we see that we have redemption through his blood and forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace which is made manifest in all wisdom and prudence.  That is quite a mouthful... so let's look an them separately.

Our God has redeemed us!  In Him, the bible says, is plenteous redemption. The Greek word for redemption is apolutrosis.  It means "a releasing effected by payment of ransom."  "To let one go free on receiving the price."  "Deliverance as a result of the payment of a ransom." This redemption implies freedom from the guilt, the punishment and the power of sin.  My Jesus gave His life as a ransom for me! Paraphrasing Zechariah 9:11:  By the blood of His covenant he has brought me out of the pit where there was no water

John 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Romans 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

Galatians 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

It is in Christ that we find our true liberty.

John 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Our redemption is through His blood.  The book of First Peter tells me that I was not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb slain.  The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was the purchase price paid to redeem us from our helpless estate.  By His death Jesus paid the price to deliver us from the bondage of sin into the glorious liberty of children of God.


Revelation 5:9,12  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;....Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Only through His Son can sinners like you and me be a people who are holy and without blame before Him in love.  Only through His Son can we be adopted as sons unto Him.  Truly we are not worthy, but He is!

We also have forgiveness in Christ.  My God has forgiven me ALL my past, present and future sins. I am justified before Him when I believe.  This is an amazing statement.  Let's look at the meaning of the word forgiveness in the Greek.  The Greek word is aphesis and it means to release from bondage or imprisonment, forgiveness or pardon of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed),
THAT is a pretty good deal!

What is sin? Again, here is the meaning in the Greek (paraptoma):  to fall beside or near something; a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness,  a sin, misdeed, or trespass...unintentional (error) or willful (transgression)  

All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God...there is no one good, the Bible says, not one.  It is only through Jesus that we can obtain pardon for our sins.  Blessed are we whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit is no guile!  My God is good, ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy to all that call on Him in truth!

Verse 7-8 tells us that the basis for both redemption and forgiveness is according to the riches of our God's grace which He made abound to toward us.  It is the riches of His goodness, forbearance and long-suffering that lead us to repentance.  It is by God's mercy and grace that we are justified.  This wonderful grace is made manifest in all wisdom and prudence.  God knows all things...He knows how to apply his knowledge to the best advantage and attain the highest goals.  His wisdom is unsearchable and His ways past finding out!  My God is prudent...He ponders, He considers carefully all that He does so...with much thought...He chose to show His grace toward us.  


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;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.--Ephesians 2:4-7

For next study in Ephesians go here

Saved in Childbearing...1 Timothy 2:14-15

For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.  Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.--1 Timothy 2:14-15


This verse came up at a Bible study I attend at my church today. I have always loved and been encouraged by John MacArthur's explanation for 1 Timothy 2:15.  Of all the explanations I have read...this one makes the most sense in context.  


By John MacArthur...


That Paul does not have Eve in mind here is clear because the verb translated “will be saved” is future, and he also uses the plural pronoun they. He is talking about women after Eve. will be saved. This is better translated in this context, “will be preserved.” The Greek word can also mean “to rescue,”“to preserve safe and unharmed,” “to heal,” or “to deliver from.” It appears several times in the NT without reference to spiritual salvation (cf. Matt. 8:25; 9:21, 22; 24:22; 27:40, 42, 49; 2 Tim. 4:18).


Paul is not advocating that women are eternally saved from sin through childbearing or that they maintain their salvation by having babies, both of which would be clear contradictions of the NT teaching of salvation by grace alone through faith alone (Rom. 3:19, 20) sustained forever (Rom. 8:31–39). Paul is teaching that, even though a woman bears the stigma of being the initial instrument who led the race into sin, it is women through childbearing who may be preserved or freed from that stigma by raising a generation of godly children (cf. 5:10). in childbearing. 


Because mothers have a unique bond and intimacy with their children, and spend far more time with them than fathers do, they have far greater influence in their lives and thus a unique responsibility and opportunity for rearing godly children. While a woman may have led the human race into sin, women have the privilege of leading many out of sin to godliness. Paul is speaking in general terms; God does not want all women to be married (1 Cor. 7:25–40), let alone bear children. 


If they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. The godly appearance, demeanor, and behavior commanded of believing women in the church (vv. 9–12) is motivated by the promise of deliverance from any inferior status and the joy of raising godly children.

E. M. Bounds on Prayer....

"Blessed are the poor in spirit." The word poor means a pauper, one who lives by begging. The real Christian lives on the bounties of another, whose bounties he gets by asking. Prayer then becomes the basis of Christian character, the Christian's business, his life and his living....From praying Christ eliminates all self-sufficiency, all pride, and all spiritual values. The poor in spirit are the praying ones. Beggars are God's princes. They are God's heirs....


Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill: and whosoever shall kill shall he in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall he in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall he in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother has aught against thee: Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first, he reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 

He who essays to pray to God with an angry spirit, with loose and irreverent lips, with an irreconciled heart, and with unsettled neighborly scores, spends his labor for that which is worse than naught, violates the law of prayer, and adds to his sin. How rigidly exacting is Christ's law of prayer! It goes to the heart, and demands that love he enthroned there, love to the brotherhood. The sacrifice of prayer must he seasoned and perfumed with love, by love in the inward parts. The law of prayer, its creator and inspirer, is love...

Accepted in the Beloved

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.--Ephesians 1:6

I AM ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED!!!  What does that mean...who is the beloved? The beloved is Jesus, the Son of God.  The One whom the Father said this about in Matthew 3:17:


And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

I am accepted by God in Christ!! In myself, I am helpless and hopeless....BUT GOD...


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;)  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.--Ephesians 2:4-7

The grace of our God is abundant in His Son, Jesus.  We are His chosen, His elect...we are to show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  We who are saved are accepted in the beloved, and are to show forth His praise for the unmatchless, unmerited favor and kindness that God showed us in His Son. This is our portion with God...it cannot change.  He who has the Son has life.  He who does not have the Son does not have life.

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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved--John 3:16-17

We who are accepted are objects of divine delight and divine love!!!  We, who can bring nothing but empty hands to our God...we who have nothing good in ourselves....are in fact the joy that was set before Jesus at the cross.  To save us was His good pleasure!  There is nothing acceptable in me...but I am in Christ and there is everything acceptable in Him.  Here on this earth I battle daily with my flesh but I fight from a position of victory because my life is hidden in Christ who has already overcome the powers of evil.

Praying that I will be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by His Son, Jesus unto the glory and praise of my God and that my life will magnify His!

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.--John 16:33

for next study in Ephesians go here

Sorrow of Heart by Rebecca..

“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,

But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” ~ Proverbs 15:13, NKJV

It's true that “attitude determines outlook” (Warren Wiersbe) and that believers are to “rejoice always,” knowing what the Lord has done for us, but this proverb is not one of those impotent platitudes that insist you “cheer up” but do not give you any means of doing so. Rather, Solomon is expressing a truth regarding the human state, and implicitly pointing to the goodness and power of God. Out of the heart spring all the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23), so if one's heart is merry, so is one's countenance and the rest of one's self. Likewise, if one's heart is sorrowful, that sorrow will inevitably affect the whole of your being. It may even go so far as to break your spirit, crushing your soul and sapping the very life from your body. In such a state you cannot “cheer up” - not alone. Just as the power of God can revive a desperately wicked heart that is dead in trespasses and sins, so the power and grace of God can heal a broken spirit and restore life to a dying soul. Believers do sorrow - Jesus Himself, knowing He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, still wept over His friend's death - but they do not sorrow as those who have no hope. Our spirits are sustained by God's own Spirit, a powerful, unfailing current of certain hope and everlasting joy that runs beneath the sorrow and pain of our hearts. We do indeed “rejoice always,” because all reason for despair has been taken away from us forever. And a day is coming when my God shall wipe every tear from my eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. The curse will be gone and the former things will have passed away. All things will be made new. Whatever my sorrows may be in this life, I know this - they will only last the night. Joy is coming in the morning!

Behold What Manner of Love!!!

Having predestined us unto adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.--Ephesians 1:5

We have been predestined according  according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will.  God has predestined us to be His Sons and daughters and takes pleasure in our willing, faithful obedience as his adopted sons and daughters...just as He is well pleased with His Son, Jesus.  Our God takes delight in us, His sons and daughters in Christ, as we walk in humble obedience before Him.  Romans 8:29-30 says this:


For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.


The term predestinate, as used in God's word, refers to the purpose He has for those who are His children.  Nowhere does the Bible teach that God predestines anyone to hell.  God's predestined plan for our lives as His elect or chosen, is that we should be adopted as His children by Jesus Christ to Himself.  He has a plan for each one of us and works all things together for good in our lives according to His purposes and for His good pleasure. The book of Romans tells us that He conforms His sons and daughters to the image of His Son.  Our God, Ephesians says,  has prepared works ahead of time for us that we should walk in them.  As adopted children we have all the rights and privileges of sonship as well as the responsibilities therein.


But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.--John 1:12-13


For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.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.--Romans 8:14-17


But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.--Galatians 4:4-7


I am chosen in Him before the foundation of the world...before I could do anything...when I was yet His enemy...I was chosen.  I cried out to Him by the grace that God gave me and was saved and became a child...a daughter of God!!!  I am called after His name!!!   He gives me a new nature..a nature like His and sends His Spirit to dwell in my heart.  He is with me always guiding me and directing me into all truth.  Such grace is truly unfathomable and incomprehensible to my human mind.  Me, who was once by nature a child of wrath...He has adopted as His child...

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.--1 John 3:1-2

It was the good pleasure or delight of my God to choose me, to save me and to make me His child!!  Think about what it means to be someone's child.  This should not be too hard for any of us because all of us have earthly parents and many of us know what it is like to be a parent.

My children are my heirs...when I die everything I have will be theirs and what I have now I share with them.  My children know that I love them and trust me to do what is right by them even when they do not understand what might be happening in the moment.  They know my heart is one of love for them and that I desire only their good. I have compassion on my children and pity them when they are ill or are going through a difficult time.  I hear and am compassionate to all their sighs and groans.  My desire is to intercede for them and come to their aid. Even when I rebuke them it is because I love them and desire to keep them safe from all kinds of ills that befall us in this life.  My children are under my roof..they are under my protection and care.  As a mom I do what I can to keep them shielded, protected and safe from harm...even to the point of laying down my own life for them.  When they are in trouble or in need, they come to me knowing that what I have for them will be good, right and pure...as much as that is possible from a human perspective.  As a Mom I teach my children and guide them in the truth of God and His word.  I lead them down His right paths.  I encourage them as they grow, shower them with good gifts and by example, I teach them about loyalty, love, faithfulness, courage...etc.... Beloved, how much more does our Father in heaven do these things for us, His beloved children in His Son, Jesus?

To know the love of Christ is to be filled with all the fullness of God!  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?  Christ died for us when we were yet sinners...still his enemies...dead in trespasses and sins.  How wonderful it is that we, as His children, can put our trust under the shadow of His wings. His loving arms encircle me and His mercies surround me!  He hears all my sighs and my groanings and counts and bottles every tear that I shed.  How wonderful as His child to trust Him knowing that His purposes and plans for us are good and that they come from His heart of love.  My God is for me!!!  Who can stand against me???  What security and hope we have in Him...our sins forgiven in eternity past, the ability to come boldly before His throne of grace to find mercy and obtain grace to help in our time of need in the present and our future assured in heaven with Him.

 The Lord, my God and my Father is in my midst.  The mighty One has saved me!!! I am His chosen one...His adopted daughter. My Daddy is God!  I am blessed with all the riches of the heavenly places in his Son. My God loves me with an everlasting love.  He fights for me.   He shelters me under the shadow of His wings and places over me His banner of love.

My desire is to live for Him in grateful obedience to His word...to walk in His Spirit here on earth and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  My God has shown me through His Son what is good and what He requires...I am do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with Him.  My heart is to be wholly united toward Him.  My life is to reflect the beauty of my God and I am to shine His light  not only to bring those who are still in darkness to Him, but also to encourage other believers.  When I end my journey here on earth and go home to be with Him forever, the Lord my God will rejoice over me with joy and singing and will quiet me with His love.  In Him will I rest...

for next study in Ephesians go here