Damm the Pandemic!

If I may ask; what dreaded Virus can take overcome our God given human spirit? He who has ears, let them hear this; how many of the world’s elders remember the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? I was only four years old, so many books, and movies have it’s story to be told.

In the Pacific the Japanese devoured the Islands like bowls of rice, their Emperor thought it was nice. The whole world did quake as it’s freedom was at stake. The United States had been at rest after World War 1, it’s people content with a self-imposed isolation, they had sent many volunteers affectionately called “The Doughboys”. In the States they were the young rowdy guys, some skirt chasers, bar flies, others were like plain apple pie, and shy. Their British cousins embraced them, looking for the might of America to ease their plight.

The War was won, but at great cost, many brave Doughboys were lost, the Citizens rose up great Parades with many banners and chants voicing women’s Rights, the Giant now went to sleep, to it’s inhabitants, a promise it would keep.

Alas another monster had been hatched by Satan, hanging wallpaper became boring to Adolf, he had enough, in a number of years, he became the Furher, by his side was the fat Hermann Goring.

Under his Majesty’s Service, Winston Churchill, a retired Army Officer became Prime Minister, Whinny had no doubt that only America’s manufacturing power could stop the Germans and the combining of both countries Air forces would defeat their invincible Military might.

Now you can see the power of the human spirit, led by the one who takes up the righteous sword against the one yielding the evil un-righteous sword, Satan, and his lying hoards!

It’s time to pray, and have the whole world pull together to defeat this curse, let’s go to work where possible, if ill, stay home, keep those safe areas safe, other isolated so no lifes’ will be at stake!

We are in danger of a worldwide Depression, America is a powerhouse, it’s time to re-awaken our sleeping Giant, who after conquering Japan, turned it into a Industrial power, a joyful Trading Partner, lets help all the people of the world the same way, again to be a happy family, with the children filled with much glee!

The Old Testament Law was conditional upon total obedience to God saying; “If you will” (Totally obey my Law) then I will give you all my promises and blessings!

The Law could not be * perfectly obeyed by any person because of the fallen nature we all inherited from Adam, did God know this, absolutely! We must go to the New Testament in order to understand this paradox between “If You” and “I Will”. The Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit revealed that we all need a Savior, a Deliverer, someone who could actually obey God’s Law perfectly and make the New Covenant with us which would bring all God’s “I Will” to those “In Christ” through faith. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the Law of Moses. … ACTS 13:39 NLT. This Covenant is instituted through Faith in Jesus and NOT OF WORKS! When we believe as Paul wrote in the Book of Ephesians we are ** SEALED IN CHRIST by the Holy Spirit FOREVER which is the earnest of our inheritance! In the Book of Romans Paul the Apostle explains clearly about the Old and New Covenants by saying that God gave us first the Law which was IMPOSSIBLE to keep (Acts 13:39) and He did that in order to show His Holiness and our sinfulness! The Law like a mirror shows a dirty face but can’t wash it! But God with his great love, mercy and grace sent the only one who was able to pay the price for our sin which God hates, he sent his only Son, Jesus who created the Universe and human beings created in God’s own image and likeness. ***Jesus the Son willingly laid aside His equality and power with the Father, submitted himself to the Father’s Will and planned work of Salvation. Born a Jewish King who’s Kingdom was to come, as a young boy he astounded the great minds in the Temple, he not only kept the Law perfectly but magnified it by teaching the “Spirit of the Law” which convicted the evil Scribes and Pharisees who rationalized that if they just thought about a certain sin they did not break the Law but Jesus said; If you thought it you did it! Paul confirms that God did not intend to use the Law to save us; he said the Law was the “Schoolmaster” God used to bring us to Christ; we are humbled when we realize it is hopeless to try to keep the whole Law without breaking one! Jesus did it for us, paid the debt we owed in full, the just dying for the unjust, as in the Old Testament the Prophet said; He shall save HIS people from their sins, both Jew and Gentile. He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” ISAIAH 49:6 NLT Isaiah one of the Major Prophets spoke of Jesus and His sacrifice. In Isaiah 53 he said that the Jewish Messiah Jesus would be a “Light” unto the Gentiles and in His name (Jesus) would they hope, that is the only name that all Christians hope in today! God the “I Will” has sent an invitation to the whole world through His Word – John 3:16 addressed to the “Whosoever will believe in Jesus Christ and they will not perish but receive Eternal Life a Free Gift!

When God chose Abraham the first Jew, He made special unconditional promises to him through his “Seed” the true believers not the ones born of the flesh alone but true worshippers through the power of the Holy Spirit. This Covenant with Abraham is still in effect today; all the Nations will be blessed through it. The Lord put Abraham to sleep and then swore by himself and made it an everlasting unconditional Covenant. He put Abraham to sleep in order that he had no part in it for it was God’s will and work alone! All of God’s Saints, Old and New Testament are the children of Abraham, chosen through the Promise, not of the flesh.  That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. ROMANS 9:8 NASB.

 

*Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. ROMANS 3:19-20 NASB.

 

**In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, EPHESIANS 1:13 NASB.

*** Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as

a human being. PHILIPPIANS 2:6 &7 NLT.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone whoever

Believes in him will not perish but have Eternal Life. JOHN 3:16 NLT.

Author Ken

February 2015

Who is the enemy of the cross?

When I awoke this morning the scripture about the enemy of the cross came into my mind and I desired to know what people Paul the Apostle was speaking of. This is the scripture I was thinking of; for many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, Philippians 3: 18 NASB

The Lord revealed to me through my meditation the true meaning of this scripture and it is backed up by Jesus himself and confirmed by Paul in the Book of Galatians, concerning those whose actions and works caused Paul to weep. The enemy of the cross is the Religion of man. It is the work of Satan’s deception through man.They take the truth of God’s word and use it to promote a Religion that looks like the real thing but is false!  The method they use is the twisting of scripture and the Law given through the commandments of men. Their works produce a self-righteousness of the followers that results in their judgments and condemnation of others. Was it not the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees who were always plotting against Jesus waiting to find a way to trip him up by setting up their traps, one being the woman caught in the very act of adultery? Who did our Lord condemn as blind leaders of the blind and children of their father the Devil? Who was Paul so infuriated at when he wrote to the Galatian Church, was it not the “Judaizes” who were Christians (Jews) who embraced both Jesus and the Law of Moses. So even to this day the real enemy of the cross is the false Religion of man but how many today even among believers recognize the true from the false? Because Satan transforms himself into an Angle of light using great deception so it can be difficult indeed. When Jesus began his ministry do you think the people looked at the Scribes and Pharisees the same way he did, no, they could not see the evil and darkness in them that our Lord clearly saw. So, even today many Christians do not see what has crept into many Churches which is the Law, legalism the commandments of men. The end results are the same as those that happened in the Galatian Church, believers were deceived, falling from grace into law and bondage. It has been perpetrated to greater results through the TV ministries today. They produce only feel good experiences and have no room for repentance towards God. They keep their captive audiences mesmerized through great swelling words, promises of health, wealth and happiness. It is not strange that they seem not to suffer much adversity but are like celebrities treated to interviews with the TV Anchors, could it be that Satan doesn’t have a problem with them? The Judaizes were sent by Satan to destroy the liberty the Galatians had in Christ and their only adversaries were Paul and the other believers who knew the truth. Paul wept because of these imposters and what they were doing to the believers by turning them from the grace of God to the bondage of Satan. Jesus said to follow him was to deny one’s self desires, take up the cross which means to bear his sufferings through persecutions, to put others before yourselfs. The enemies of the cross will have none of this; they feed their own lusts through the endless supply of money they extract from their followers, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of sin. They hate grace, love the tithe, they think they are right with God through their own self-righteousness and* works as did the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked for that saying that the Prostitutes would be in Heaven and they would not be. When you hear those windbags on TV promising all kinds of good things that seem great, remember that old saying; if it seems too good to be true, it usually isn’t!

*Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ Matthew 7:22 NASB.

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who practice evil!'” Matthew 7:23 ISV.

Those scriptures should be a wakeup call to many as Jesus warned that MANY would come in his name and deceive many! If you notice that those deceivers say that they did all these works in his name but clearly they are false because the Lord rejects them and declares he NEVER knew them! It is opposite to what he says about those who belong to him; “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—John 10:14 NIV.

Keep your eyes on Jesus and the cross where our freedom was purchased and do not be entangled again through a self-righteousness which comes through the Law.

 

Author Ken

April 2014

What are the “Dead Works” the Bible speaks of?

The answer from God’s word may surprise some for there are those who think they are helping God out, the big question is; does God need our help?

I know some Bible scholars will jump on me for what I have said and use one of many scriptures to refute it such as; for we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1-Corinthians 3: 9 NASB.

Guess what, I will agree with them all!  As an obedient Christian moves towards maturity they will discover as I had also discovered the paradoxes in the word of God. A question; why did Jesus speak to the people in Parables? He did so in order that only his people the believing followers would understand and the others would not. The Lord said some controversial words to the Jewish people which included the ever present evil Scribes and Pharisees looking to catch him breaking the Law. When he spoke of the eating of his flesh and drinking of his blood it set off a firestorm among the Jews especially those who were the experts of the Law. What the Lord had said was a violation of the Law. (Cannibalism and the drinking of blood) This indeed is a paradox for we know that our Lord always* kept the Law perfectly and would never break it. Even his disciples came to him being deeply troubled but our Lord quickly put their fears to rest by saying; the words I speak are Spiritual, not literal, for the Spirit gives life and the flesh profits nothing. (Paraphrased) John 6:63 NASB. When we take communion we are not actually eating and drinking his blood but are being spiritually tuned into what he suffered at the cross for us. The Lord re-affirmed this at the Last Supper by using the bread and wine as the symbols we use today in as he said a “Remembrance” of HIS sacrifice alone, not ours, for what could we offer that would be greater than his sacrifice on the cross?

The answer is nothing, as our own works even sacrifices cannot save us, it is only by faith in Jesus plus nothing else, the thief on the cross believed and was saved without works or sacrifice on his part. The Lord explained to his disciples why he spoke to the multitudes in Parables, he said; Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. Matthew 13: 11 NASB.

This brings me back to my topic about dead works, this is a paradox as we are told to love God with all our heart and soul and might and our neighbor as ourselves, it is only possible by God giving us the ability to do it! This is why he gave us his Holy Spirit who is also the only one who can through us perform his good works that he had previously ordained we walk in, so any of our works done by us and not the Holy Spirit are “Dead Works”. We can love God and our neighbor with all our heart and soul by the power of the Holy Spirit, so God does it all through us

and then we are truly his fellow workers, obedient mature Sons performing just as Jesus did by doing only God’s work and not his own, follow him only, not the commandments of man.

What sets Christianity apart from the world’s religions today is their works done in one form or another in order to obtain a right standing in the eyes of the one who is the head of that belief. Christianity is based upon the word of God and the Bible proclaims that salvation is totally of God through the perfect sacrifice of his only begotten Son Jesus and this is apart from works, based solely upon faith in him alone. So in concluding, we must understand that it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can rightly divide God’s word in order to obtain it’s true meaning especially of those paradoxical scriptures that some take and make a whole false doctrine out of like those who promote “Works and faith” in order to be saved, these are according to God’s word the dead works that will always be rejected by God. They flaunt these dead works to the Lord himself who replies; many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ Matthew 7: 22 NASB.

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7: 23 KJV.

*Not only did Jesus keep the Law of Moses perfectly, he magnified it by saying that if you even think about something against the Law you will have broken it without actually doing the act! But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28 NASB.

And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, Mark 9:47 NLT. Jesus was proving that the Law was impossible to keep by anyone besides himself, the God man, the second Adam that could not fail.

Ken

Feb. 2014

Some thoughts about what people believe today.

Have you ever seen or heard interviews with people on the street where they are asked questions about things pertaining to our country like; “Who is the Vice President“?  Over the years I have listened to people’s responses when asked about God, some say they don’t believe he exists, a few say he is dead and a good number say that they belong to a certain religious persuasion and believe in God. If asked the question if God loves everyone, many religious people will say yes, even those who say they believe in God but don’t practice or attend any particular congregation. I would ask the same question to those reading this blog, how would you answer?

I remember many years ago when I was a new believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I listened to many preachers on the radio, and I really liked a certain Evangelist who was on the radio on Saturday’s. He had a way of teaching God’s word mixed with humor, for instance; he spoke about a man in Israel who defended his field of lentils.

Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled,   but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory. 2-Samuel 23: 11 & 12 NLT. The Evangelist made me laugh by saying this man fought over “A hill of beans”

One Saturday morning he asked if God loved everyone, I was flabbergasted, because I had never heard any preacher ask that question and in the denomination that I was brought up in I always heard that Christ loved the world and died for their sins. He never answered his own question but it bugged me because I knew that by even asking the question he did not believe that God loved everyone, so I was determined to find out if he was correct. It has been over 30 years since I first heard that question and I can say that he was right and that’s not my own opinion but is proved by God’s word! Consider these questions; does God love Satan, does he love those he judges and sends to eternal punishment for their sins? Did he love those who Jesus said would come to him on that day (The religious, those without saving faith devoid of the Spirit, wells without water, the Tares. Jude 1: 19) saying; “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do all these things in your name?” He not only tells them to depart saying that they are accursed by God (Not loved) but that he NEVER knew them. They are the wicked whom God hates, which is the complete opposite of love.

God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 7: 11 KJV.

For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 1-Peter 4: 17 NLT.

This judgment of Jesus is not a condemnation of ”His” people who are the Church, every “Born Again” believer who are his Spiritual body on the earth. His judgment of the believer’s unconfessed sin brings his correction upon them which is a sign of his love, as the word says that any loving father would do. Even though these believers may be disobedient and carnal they are never disowned or forsaken by the Lord, Romans 8:1 and Romans 8: 35 because it is what Jesus did for the m on the cross and not by their own works.  He paid it all, past present and future sins. It is through disobedience, deception and immaturity that the believer may be doing “Dead Works” but the mature Son will be led by the Holy Spirit, doing the true works of God. The thief on the cross believed and was saved without works!

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8: 14 KJV.

You may ask; what about the Lord telling us to love our neighbor? That is true but all love is not the same, when we look at the Greek words for love we find the word Jesus used for loving our neighbor is a social, friendly love, not the love that only believers have for Jesus and for one another through the Holy Spirit. That love is the pure Agape’ love which God himself is!  Jesus the man loved Judas with a *friendly social love.

* Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. Psalm 41: 9 NASB.

Even though Jesus was fully God he was also fully man and had to suffer in every way as a human being in order to represent us completely when he gave his life as a ransom on the cross. How many of us have suffered by having a close friend turn against you or betray you? Jesus understands this and is the only true friend that sticks closer than a brother.

We read in today’s newspapers of the things Jude spoke about, those who have crept into some Churches bringing things that God’s word has warned about, worldly things and God says that those who “Practice” those things will not inherit the Kingdom of God and are NOT loved by him.

nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 1-Corinthians 6: 10 NASB. Note: Believers can and do fall into sin doing the most awful things but because they belong to God (His own purchased possession) they cannot stay in that state as willful unconfessed sin brings God’s correction upon them. This can be grievous and in some cases, even death. This death of a believer does not mean they would be separated from God; on the contrary, they go to Heaven early.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 1-Corinthians 6: 19 NLT.

How many realize that there are words in scripture that don’t mean what you think they say? For example, Caesar issued a decree that “All” the world be taxed, but it was not for the entire world but for the world under the Roman’s rule. So all does not always mean all in the scriptures. The truth is that we find in God’s word that he does not love everyone in the world; he is a righteous and just God showing compassion, mercy, grace and love along with judgment and punishment of the wicked.

Author Ken

Feb. 2014