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Relationship, Spiritual

Do Unto the Lord

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Introduction

The statement, do unto the Lord, often encourages believers who cannot see the purpose in certain activities found in their life circumstances. This verse is taken from Col3:23-24.

“And whatsoever ye do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

These verses define the scope (whatsoever) and the quality (heartily) of the actions. When these conditions are observed, the Lord Yahusha (Jesus) offers the incentive of reward, which is the inheritance. Note that the inheritance, usually associated with the firstborn’s inheritance, is a reward based and NOT a gift.

If one reads Col3:25, it speaks of punishment for those who do wrong shall receive wrong, which is the “stick” approach vs. the “carrot” approach of the previous two verses.

Despite knowing all the above, there is still a gap between practice and how these truths of future-eternal reward-inheritance matter to me here on earth. This gap is a missing link that deprives the needed focus and ability to gauge one’s performance in this goal to do unto the Lord.

 

This post seeks to fill this gap by drawing from the tabernacle of Moses, Jhn4:16’s description of the Lord Yahusha as the way, truth, and life, and the three-fold salvation of man in their spirit, soul, and body. The post will focus on the soul as the key ingredient to fill this gap.

 

 

Tabernacle of Moses and Jhn4:16

The Lord Yahusha said He is the way, the truth, and the life in Jhn4:16. This author has an excellent article to support the connection between this verse to the Tabernacle of Moses. See this link for the article – https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/02/08/the-way-the-truth-and-the-life-tabernacle-series-part-4/.

 

This article explains that the Yahusha is the way that leads to the outer court, that Yahusha is the truth that leads to the Holy Place, and Yahusha is the life that leads to the holy of holies. The threefold salvation of man, which corresponds to spirit, soul, and body, also connects to the tabernacle of Moses/Jhn4:16.  Where the spirit corresponds to the holy of holies, the soul corresponds to the holy place. The body corresponds to the outer court.

 

 Do Unto the Lord 

The Soul Surrounded by Enemies All Round

Typically, the saved spirit is often too remote (the soul is not sensitive) from the soul’s sensing and awareness to make a reliable difference. This challenge is no fault of the Holy Spirit or the born-again spirit. The carnal flesh and spiritual forces are at work.

Conversely, the carnal flesh has a strong hold on the soul, constantly bombarding the soul with temptations of the world. These soul attacks come from the outer court thru the pathway of attacking the truths of obedience and the atoning work of the Lord Yahusha. The body also is attacked thru the path of detracting from following Lord Yahusha, for He is the way. Instead, the body is lured to follow after the carnal flesh.

There are also spiritual attacks from the dark realm that works in concert with the carnal flesh. They may operate thru rejection, abandonment, lust, and the like.

The above frames the challenges of the soul and body that are doing unto the Lord.

Also, read the section, Man’s salvation, for more context on soul salvation.

Based on the above, one can imagine the soul as the holy place as partly holy and partly unholy. For this reason, the soul needs saving. Remember, the soul is under siege from the outer court or body thru the doorway of the Way. The ungodly part of the soul erects and preserves barriers along the doorway of Life that leads to the holy of holies where the Holy Spirit and born-again spirit dwell. These barriers impede direct communication between the born-again spirit with the circumcised soul.

The soul is besieged by external enemies of the flesh-world, internal enemies of the unsaved soul, and spiritual forces that cohabit with the saved soul. The soul is in a desperate and precarious situation. How can the soul do unto the Lord and win the spiritual war of Eph6?

 

Home Ground Advantage – Where does the saved soul come from?

The saved soul is the part of the heart that is circumcised mentioned in Rom2:29. The soul, according to Blue Letter Bible (BLB), comprises the will, the mind, the seat of emotions (the heart), and the conscience. See the link for the BLB description for the human soul – https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5590/kjv/tr/0-1/.

The heart or soul circumcision occurs in the same event as the born-again experience. While the Word does not clarify, soul circumcision likely takes place after the dead spirit is born again by the Holy Spirit.

Circumcision is God marking a tiny sliver of the soul as belonging to Yah. I can imagine that the seal of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Eph1:13 is placed on the born-again spirit and the circumcised soul. The Holy Spirit sealed and circumcised soul is the home ground advantage of the believer in Yahusha.

 

 Do Unto the Lord – Closing the Gap

The circumcised heart of the soul communicates to the unsaved mind, will, the rest of the heart, and conscience via the language of the pure heart and pure conscience. Because it is the circumcised heart communicating, the language comes across as sensing light emotions (tugging), leading impressions, or flashing images.

Mat 5:8 says that the pure in heart shall see God. 2 Tim 2:22 says a pure heart will pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. By these pursuit measures, one can gauge the purity of one’s soul and ability to listen to the circumcised heart accurately. Knowing and applying this helps one gauge their performance, stay on course, and correct the course when necessary.

But this realization alone does answer the question, how does doing unto the Lord help offer a focus to obey Him and continue to obey Him?

The possible answer has two parts. Firstly, there is a focus on doing the action itself. This action has the implied meaning of employing the members of the body for Yah’s service.

Rom12:1 says this –

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

When the body is used for God’s service, as led by the Holy Spirit that speaks to the unsaved soul thru the circumcised heart of the soul, the body becomes an instrument of righteousness (Rom6:13). And the body and its members are consecrated, made holy to God.

 

The second focus has a builder metaphor. The 1st focus of the external doing initiates an internal building of the soul. The sons of Yah are made in His image. They emulate their Abba Yahuah. According to 1Co3:10, the triune God is a wise master builder. Therefore His sons’ building their unsaved souls is emulating Him.

The saving of the soul is the partnership between the believer and the Holy Spirit to rebuild the ruined or unsaved soul. Man’s part in this rebuilding effort is obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Thus when one is doing unto the Lord, e.g., cooking for an unappreciative spouse or loving the unlovable, the unsaved soul is being reconstructed. The Lord Yahusha offered the imagery of the soul as a house ready for occupation in Luke 11. It is not unreasonable to imagine that this house of the soul has many rooms or areas with different functions. Even the 4 components of the soul allude to the existence of these rooms-areas.

The saving-reconstruction of the soul is a slow and gradual process rebuilding these rooms-areas. For this reason, soul-saving is a slow and gradual process; patience for things outside control and perseverance for things within control is essential. These themes of patience and perseverance are repeated in the New Testament.

 

The above realizations support one to shift their focus from their external issues, knowing that every time one does according to the leading of the Holy Spirit as unto the Lord outwardly, their soul is being saved by this reconstruction process.

Given that this process is also described as warfare in Eph6, it is reasonable to describe this reconstruction process as evicting the squatters (evil spirit, carnal elements) out of that part of the unsaved soul, removing some of the siege barriers between the soul-body and the soul-spirit, reclaiming that part of that once unsaved soul as belonging to the Holy Spirit and then purify it by the truths of 1Jhn1:9 and Heb10:22-23. It should become more apparent at this juncture, why patience and perseverance is essential. 

For how these truths of 1Jhn1:9 and Heb10:22-23 work, see the posts about spiritual warfare.

 

 

Conclusion

One can find the motivation to endure life challenges by adopting the attitude that they are suffering by doing unto the Lord. The practice of this approach needs the focus on knowing that the unsaved soul is being rebuilt by simply doing what the Holy Spirit has led one to do. Also, one can gauge their spiritual performance by the measures of righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

 

 

Man’s Salvation

This section is for readers unfamiliar with the salvation of the three parts of man’s spirit, soul, and body.

The threefold salvation of man is a deep and broad topic. This section offers a brief narrative.

 

  1. Born again spirit saves the spirit. Jhn3 offers the basis for this statement. Man’s dead spirit is born again when the person repents to the salvation terms of Rom10:9-10. Thus every believer, child of Yah, has (past tense) a born-again spirit.

 

The born-again spirit birthed by the Holy Spirit (Jhn3:6) resides in the Holy of Holies, accessed by the doorway of the life of the Spirit. This doorway is the life of Yahusha (Jesus) mentioned in Jhn4:16.

 

 

  1. The saving of the soul via the sanctification process that is described as chastisement in Heb 12. Unlike the salvation of the born-again spirit, which is completed, the soul’s sanctification is ongoing (present tense) for the entire earthly life.

 

1Pet1:2, 1Pet1:9, 1Pet2:11, 1Jam1:21-22, Heb10:2, Mat16:26-27  and 2The2:13 have this to say about sanctification.

 

1Pet1:2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

 

1Pet1:9 – “Receiving the end (goal) of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

 

1Pet 2:11 – “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”

 

Jam1:21-22 – “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

 

Heb10:29-“But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

 

Mat16:26-27 – “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

 

2The2:13 – “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

 

One can draw from the above verses to synthesize the following to support soul sanctification. Soul salvation is by the work of the Spirit and belief in the truth. The soul salvation process, which is ongoing for the entire earthy life of the believer, is the goal of the Christian faith.

The soul is saved in a warfare process with the carnal flesh and from the love of the world. Instead of submitting to these, the saved soul submits to the Spirit of Yah. The evidence of a soul that is being saved is submission to the will of God the Father (Yahuah), to His word and works of faith.

The notion that the soul needs saving also means one can risk losing their soul by submitting to their carnal flesh and love for the world and rejecting the Holy Spirit’s leading.

The saved soul resides in the holy place and is accessed by the doorway of truth. This doorway of truth is the truth of Yahusha mentioned in Jhn4:16. The focus of truth resonates with the belief of the truth that sanctifies the soul mentioned in 2The2:13.

One may also connect this belief of the truth to 1Pet1:2 to ascertain what this truth is, for the Christian’s soul is sanctified when they believe. 1Pet 1:2 reveals them as obedience to Yahuah’s will and forgiveness of the atoning blood of Yahusha.

The will of Yah represents God’s justice and righteousness. Abba-Yah desires His children to be holy, even as He is holy (1Pet1:17).

The atoning blood of His Son, Yahusha, represents Yahuah’s love for man (Jhn3:16). Justice-righteousness and love are the primary twin nature and priorities of the whole counsel of God.

 

  1. The salvation of the immortal and glorified body is a future event on the Day of the Lord (Christ’s return to earth). Rev20 describes it as the 1st resurrection, which apostle Paul in Phil3:10-11 pursued this resurrection as a reward by sharing Christ’s suffering and conforming to His death. There is also the 2nd resurrection, presumably (not clearly stated in Rev20) at the great white throne. This 2nd resurrection is not a reward.

 

For a more precise explanation of the difference between the two resurrections, one can go to Youtube for Brenda Weltner’s resources. This link from Brenda talks about the ungodly believer – https://youtu.be/wlxuyLuzTjo.

Life's Journey, Relationship, Spiritual

Will of God – Confirming God’s Will (Part 3 of 4)

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Introduction

Before confirming God’s will, which is the focus of this post, it is helpful to recall that post 1 of 4 covers the nature of God’s will. From post 1, God associates suffering as the measure of doing His will.

The nature of God’s will spans between perfect on one end and acceptable on the other end, with the good will of God in between them. Christ’s suffering and death on the cross are God’s measure of His perfect will. The acceptable will of God would have the least suffering.

 

While most will not need, God willing, to answer the call of Abba Yahuah’s perfect will of martyrdom, the experience of suffering is unavoidable. But why is suffering inevitable in this relationship with God?

Heb12 offers clues to this question.

Heb12:6 – “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

Abba Yahuah shows His paternal love by chastening and scourging. Blue Letter Bible Greek Lexicon describes chastening and scouring as a form of child training with afflictions thru life circumstances. This theme of life circumstances will be elaborated on later in this post.

Abba Yahuah does not chasten for His gratification. Heb12:10-11 reveals the reason for the chastening  –

“For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He (Yahuah) for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

 

Yahuah knows chastening is painful and brings sorrow to life. He deems this temporal suffering on earth as payment for doing His will, so He is just to embrace His children being one with His holiness and nature.

Abba Yahuah wants His children to be like Him by emulating His Son by suffering as they do His will on earth, even as His Son, the Lord Yahusha, has suffered. Imitating Christ is a strong theme that the apostles, Peter, Paul, and John, impressed upon their brethren in 1Peter2:21,4:1, Phil2:3-8, 1Co11:1, and 1Jhn2:6.

 

Concerning emulating the Lord Yahusa, the Lord Himself has this to say in Jhn13:34 –

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

This 3rd post explores the process of confirming God’s will and builds on the foundations of the previous 2 posts. 

God is perfect, but man and their life circumstances are imperfect. How would man know whether or not their choices abide by God’s will? This post seeks to answer this question.

This post assumes the person seeking to do God’s will is sincere and a mature son of God is paying attention to how God communicates His will.

 

Confirming God’s Will?

The Holy Spirit is indispensable to communicating God’s will but is invisible. Naturally, there are issues of clarity and doubt in this communication.

Rom12:2 offers these instructions.

-“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Rom12:2 is a verse rich with many truths. This post draws attention to the words “may prove.” These words mean to examine closely with scrutiny when testing to confirm the genuine will of God as revealed in His Word, in the life circumstances, and in the Spirit-led choices made.

 

The scrutiny will involve the following.

  1. Carefully observing the life circumstances. 

Look for patterns and evidence of carnally motivated behavior in oneself and others. Seek forgiveness of 1Jhn1:9 and the restoration of Heb10:22 to increase the mind’s and heart’s clarity.

 

  1. Seek God in prayer and wise counsel. 

After prayer, read the Word. Sometimes certain scriptures come to mind, or a particular understanding pops up. By reading them, God has the opportunity to speak to life circumstances.

Sometimes, wise counsel (solicited or unsolicited) will appear. Filter this counsel thru prayer and scriptures.

 

  1. Patience and Perseverance.

These two mindsets are crucial to producing favorable outcomes of the “may prove” experience to confirm God’s will.

 

They are patient and perseverant. For a detailed exposition of these two subjects, Derek Prince has a 5 part podcast. See link – https://youtu.be/EGFuq_G3_eA.

In a nutshell, perseverance is the active part of “may prove.” It is doing good works according to God’s will to serve Him.

Patience is the passive part of “may prove,” for matters outside control and the scope of doing. This waiting is waiting with the faith-hope of Lord Yahusha’s return and our resurrection.

With patience and perseverance, one pursues to prove, by trial and error, the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

The sense of the decision being right, which the Word confirms, a sense of peace that comes from deep within the soul despite the outward circumstances, and a sense of joy unspeakable of the soul. All of these will emerge in varying intensities and clarity to confirm how close one is to doing the will of God.  These elements of righteousness, peace, and joy confirm that one is walking in the will of God’s kingdom. Rom14:17 says this –

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

 

Conclusion

Confirming God’s will is an iterative process. It will likely be a bumpy ride. This post presented one perspective of this process. Other views may also produce a similar outcome. Nevertheless, focusing on prayer, His Word, and awareness of one’s life circumstances would likely be critical elements.

The proper mindset and familiarity with the process are necessary to confirm God’s will by trial and error.

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Spiritual

Will of God – Nature of God’s Will (Part 1 of 4)

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Introduction

What is the nature of God’s will?
The capacity (innate) and ability (permitted by circumstances) to express one’s will is sacrosanct. God the Creator first revealed His will by the act of creation recorded in Genesis.
When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them the freedom to choose and exercise their free will. God embodied the great significance of their free will in the only rule in Eden, which is not to partake from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
As the story goes, Adam and Eve chose poorly, deceived by the snake and their pride.
For those that have the heart to be part of God’s family (Mat12:50) and have set their minds set heavenward (Heb11, 1Pet2) seek to do the will of Abba Yahuah (God the Father).
This post seeks to explore from the scriptures concerning the following –

  1. the nature of God’s will.
  1. The manifestation of God’s will.
  1. How does one confirm if it is God’s will?
  1. What is the underlying reason that determines how one confirms they are doing God’s will?

This post will explore the nature of God’s will. There will be another 3 posts to cover the rest.

Nature of God’s Will

God’s will exists within a continuum. Rom12:2 tells us there are 3 categories of God’s will.

  1. The Perfect will of God.

Lord Yahusha has perfectly fulfilled God’s will in suffering, and death, especially His crucifixion.

Heb2:10 says it this way –

“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Paul realizing the truth of God’s perfect will, pursued this goal. He states this goal in Phil3:10-11.

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

This goal’s reward (not a gift) is the 1st resurrection of Rev20:6, described as the “resurrection of the dead” in Phil3:11.

  1. The Good will of God.
  1. The Acceptable will of God.

It stands to reason that the good and acceptable category has reduced suffering according to God’s will compared with the perfect will of God. Note, the suffering reduces, not eliminated, with the perfect will of God involving martyrdom and the acceptable will of God with the least suffering.
These 3 categories may correspond with the 3 levels of rewards of 100-60-30 fold (Mark10:30, Mat13:23, Mat19:29) and gold-silver-precious stones mentioned in 1Co3.

Conclusion

God offers man the choice to choose within the continuum of His will.
There is also the choice to disobey Him by falling outside God’s will. The following post will explore how God communicates His will to man. It will also explore falling outside God’s will.

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

A Pure Heart – Sincere Love and Sincere Faith

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Introduction (Pure Heart Towards Man)

This post about the pure heart shares a video by Zac Poen on the same topic and is closely related to the previous posts, “The Life not in Want and The Life not in Want – King David’s Life.” A life not in want would necessarily have a pure heart at its core.

 
The link for The life of not in Want – King David’ Life : https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/08/30/the-life-of-not-in-want-king-davids-life/
 
This video by Zac Pooen has the theme of a pure heart – of love and a good conscience in sincere faith.
 
This reflection will describe this love from a pure heart as sincere love. It is also helpful to look at the good conscience of sincere faith concerning matters of justice, fairness, and righteousness.
 
This sincere love and the sincere faith themes are from 1Tim1:5 –
 
“Now the end (GOAL) of the commandment is charity (love)  out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere without hypocrisy)”
 
1Tim1:5 carries great significance as it presents the goal of God’s commandments for the believer. These goals are found in the pure heart that manifests two traits 
 
1. sincere love.
 
2. good conscience of sincere faith
 
Zac draws from Mat6 forgiveness as a prerequisite for a good conscience (sincere faith). This forgiveness is sought from others and to forgive others. This forgiveness concerns a good conscience among man.
 
Zac then draws attention to the fact that a person with a pure heart will see God (Mat5:8) in all situations who works all for good (Rom8:28).
 
Zac’s conviction is that a pure heart will spring forth sincere love and the good conscience of sincere faith.
 
 

Pure Heart Towards God

This post complements Zac’s video by offering how scriptures guide the believer’s purity of heart toward God in sincere love and sincere faith.
 
These scriptures are-  1Jhn:9, Heb10:22, and 1Pet3:21.
 
1Jhn1:9 is about humbling before God, in fear and trembling of 1Pet1:17, confession of sins seeking forgiveness from God is the believer’s ongoing (daily) initiative of sincere love and sincere faith to reconcile with God. It is a replay of Rom10:9; confession Jesus is Lord.
 
Heb10:22 is a rich verse – 
 
 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
 
The true heart of Heb10:22, according to Blue Letter Bible (BLB) Greek Lexicon, means a sincere heart.
 
The “full assurance of faith” in Heb10:22 is God saying, He welcomes the believer to experience the truths of Heb10:22.
 
The evil conscience of Heb10:22 is the opposite of the good conscience of 1Tim1:5. 
 
Heb10:22 is God’s solution to possess a good conscience towards Him by sprinkling the polluted heart with pure water so the soul and body may be washed clean to meet God’s standard of purity and holiness.
 
This pure water can be synonymous with the Word of God. 1Pet3:21 offers clues that clarify God’s specific word that leads to a good conscience towards God. 
 
The Word is the belief-hope of Christ’s resurrection and, by extension, the hope of the believers’ resurrection mentioned in 1Pet1:3-5. 
 
This resurrection focus is a replay of Rom10:9’s belief of Jesus’ resurrection on the 3rd day.
 
1Pet3:21 –
 
“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”
 
It is noteworthy that Heb10:22 evil conscience, according to BLB, can mean wicked conscience of the carnal love of the world of 1Jhn2:16. But it also can mean the resentment the believer bears towards God and man for the perceived injustices experienced according to God’s will. 
 
Therefore, the focus of the resurrection of Christ will cleanse the soul and body from the stains of both moral wickedness and resentful thoughts and emotions.
 
 

Conclusion

To live a life of pure heart, one needs to –
 
1. Submit to God to confess their sins daily to seek forgiveness. A forgiven person is free to love and receive love.
 
2. Draw near to God daily, in full assurance of the faith in the resurrection to clean their conscience and body of moral wickedness of resentment towards God and man. This daily cleansing restores the believers’ souls as mature sons of God (Rom8:14).
 
Such a person will praise and give thanks to God in all circumstances, enduring in sincere love and sincere faith, for they see God in all things.
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The Quest for Real Faith?

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Introduction

This post is closely related to the post, Truth about Faith. One can consider the post Truth about Faith as the foundation to appreciate this post that explores the application of authentic faith.

The post Truth about Faith can be accessed via the following link – https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/08/17/truth-about-faith/

A friend made this insightful statement -“Faith is real when it is tested.”

Scripture attests to this insight –

1Pet1:7 – “That the trial of your faith (this faith is clarified as belief in the living hope of the resurrection in 1Pet1:3-5 and faith in the unseen Christ in 1Pet1:8, and His Return), being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”

Rev3:18 -“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, (this gold is the faith tested in 1Pet1:7) that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

Jam1:3-4 – “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

Enemies of Faith

The enemy of authentic faith under the trials of fire is doubt that leads to loss of conviction of the hope of the resurrection and hope of His return. 

James in Jam1:6 says it in this way – “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

The “ask in faith” has two components that most do not distinguish but mix to their self-harm.

The first component is “ask.” 

The second is ” in faith.”

The Secrets of Asking

Generally, this “ask” is about earthly needs and wants. Attached to this “ask” is a hope God will supply them to meet expectations.

Phil4:19 comes to mind to reinforce the “right” to these expectations – 

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

The reading of Phil4:19 has overly focused on the “supply all,” leaving out the understanding of “need” and “glory.”

The Lord Jesus, defined these needs in Mat6:25-34 in the discourse about the birds of the air and lilies of the field. They are the basic needs of food, drink (I would render this as water), and clothing. 

Also, the focus of Mat6:25-34 is the relationship with God as Father (Mat6:32).

However, it does not mean God is not a God that does not fulfill wants. Else David would not have said this in Psa23:1 – “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Again the focus on Psa23:1 may be too much in the “shall not want” but insufficient on the Lord being one’s Shepherd. Again God emphasizes the relationship focus. Moreover Jam1:4 of “wanting nothing”, seems to suggests that the “shall not want” of Psa23:1 is a state of contentment in God as Shepherd. Where material wants lose their hold on the soul.

The apex of the glory of Christ is the events of Him crucified (His suffering and death) and resurrection. 

For the Lord called these events as Him being glorified in Jhn12:23.

This glory is predicated on Him submitting to God’s will, saying this in Mat26:39 –

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

In summary, the “ask” of prayers-petition to God may not be sufficiently mindful to abide by the scope of needs of Mat6 that has a Father-son relationship focus. Also prayer requests may not be conscious to submit to God’s will according to His word and life circumstances.

What does it mean to be In Faith?

For the second component, “in faith,” the believer often mixes the faith in the hope of fulfilled earthly needs-wants with the FAITH in the HOPE of the promises of God of the resurrection and the Lord’s return.

The former of earthly needs-wants is complex and has many conditions for them to be answered.

They depend on whether we ask with evil intentions, where Jam4:3 cites as a reason for UNANSWERED prayers. Whether we have a Shepherd relationship with the Lord Jesus of Psa23. And whether the person making the request is led by Spirit vs. being carnal of Rom8.

But most importantly for answered prayers is whether this former earthly  “faith” and “hope” is subject (in submission) to the eternal-divine “FAITH” and “HOPE” of the latter.

What does it mean “is subject”?

This ‘is subject’ is about whether one can give up everything, forgo all the earthly needs-wants hoped for in faith, and experience joy unspeakable of 1Pet1:8. While suffering tribulations, BECAUSE of the FAITH and HOPE in the resurrection and His return.

Conclusion

There are different qualities of faith, else the metaphor of gold would not be used to emphasize the value of the faith that is tested. Such tested faith has eternal value that ought to motivate the believer to endure the earthly trials. The bounty of eternity, being partakers of Christ’s divine nature, will compensate over and above for any temporal earthly suffering and injustices.

Therefore, brethren, Keep the FAITH!

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

God’s Faith, Hope, and Love

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Faith is about beliefs that have a strong element of assumptions. Man’s knowledge and resources are limited. Much about life is accepted-assumed as true, unchallenged as a given on this basis of faith-belief or assumptions. 

Faith is operative primarily in and for the moment or the present. The Bible says faith brings the intangible hope of something in the future into the present (Heb11:1). 

This process, between faith and hope, makes an intangible hope into something more tangible (still intangible) to satisfy the present.

Hope is about a future goal. It represents man’s purpose, something, someone, or an outcome valued and worth pursuing. It presents man’s values.

There are many ways to express what love is all about. I am by no means competent in this department of love.

To support love’s connection to faith and hope, this post frames love being a decision drawing its strength from the resolve of the faith in the relationship and affection (emotional attachment) with the hope of a desired future arising from that relationship. 

The above describes faith, hope, and love in general terms. 

What is God’s focus or definition concerning these 3 pillars of the Christian faith (1Co13:13)?

Below is an attempt to support clarity in answering this question-

1. FAITH is about belief in the promise of the resurrection (1Pet1:3), the promise of His return (Heb10:37, 1Pet1:7), and the promise of the eternal rewards (Mat16:27, 1Co3:14, Heb10:35).

2. HOPE is about the hope in the resurrection (1Per1:3) realized by FAITH that does not put the believer to shame (Rom5:5).

3. LOVE is about loving the unseen Christ (1Pet1:8) realized by FAITH with joy unspeakable while enduring tribulations (1Pet1:6-7).

End Times, Spiritual

Witchcraft in the Church

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The video talks about witchcraft in the church drawing from Gal3.

Gal3:1 – “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?”

One aspect raised concerns the tension of obedience led by the Spirit after the Law of the  Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and the obedience after self-works and legalism after the Law of sin and death.

It offers a flavor of what this tension is all about and not how to navigate it.

At the heart of this tension is the central focus, or lack thereof, of Christ, crucified, His death, His resurrection, and His dominion in His return.

It is based on this central focus that the Christian fulfills the Law of Christ of bearing each other’s burdens (moral faults) mentioned in Gal6:2, and not by focusing on the rules themselves.

To do the latter is falling into the Law of Sin and Death, which would make one a victim of witchcraft.

End Times, Life's Journey, Spiritual

Spiritual Warfare

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Eph6:12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The unseen realm is where the war over our soul-mind (Rom12:2, 2Co10:3-5, Phil4:7) takes place. 

God wants the believer to be strong in the power of His might to fight this spiritual war, according to Eph6:10. 

What is this might of Eph6:10? It is found in the armor but are there practical truths about Eph6’s armour of God and the Word of God as a sword in Eph6:17 to support, clarify, access, or empower this might? 

Eph6:13-17 presents the whole armor of God. The actions of “stand” and “take” of the armor of God are employed to fight this spiritual battle.

Apart from Eph6’s strategy, one can flee (2Tim2:22) and watch and pray to be aware of the weakness of the flesh although the spirit is willing (Mat26:41).

This post is my noob reflections, taking baby steps in spiritual warfare, where  the focus is on the battle and leaving the outcome to God.

When I say focus on the battle, I do not mean that we are directly waging the battle in the unseen realm, not directly anyway. 

This focus invites and empowers the divine beings to come to our aid. They are the one’s doing the battle while we offer them the weapons of our faith in the Word.

This post explores what about the Word this faith needs to focus on for the spiritual battle.

The Focus

The Bible is overflowing with the consistent theme of God’s love (grace, mercies, and forgiveness) and God’s justice (righteousness, dominion, power, restoration) in His word and life circumstances

Rom10:9-10 Is the core salvation verse. To confess Jesus is Lord is about remission of sins thru His blood, Christ crucified. It is about God’s love.

And to believe in the heart, He was raised on the 3rd day, is about God’s justice, for He was raised for man’s justification (Rom4:15-Rom5:1). 

God’s love is manifested in Christ crucified and His shed blood for the remission of sins and foundation for justification (Rom5:9). 

God’s justice is manifested by the power that raised Jesus from the dead and the promise of His return, the coming of His dominion (His Kingdom come and His Will is done).

The above are the tools or weapons for the spiritual warfare that speaks of the double-edged sword of the Spirit of His Word in Eph6:17.

Drawing from Eph3:20 -” Now unto him, that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

The “think” is to perceive; visualize, and imagine. I imagine the love of God (faith in the love of Christ crucified and faith in His sanctifying blood) represents the shield (of faith) and is the defensive spiritual weapon for the divine beings (angles and NOT me) to reclaim and make holy the battleground.

This defensive shield, a spiritual weapon, creates a safe space, a clam in the storm offering respite for the weary and troubled soul from the spiritual attacks.

I imagine the justice of God (faith in the power that raised Jesus and faith-hope in His coming dominion) is the offensive spiritual weapon for the divine beings to overcome the forces of darkness (naming the spirits takes place).

Closing Statements

I am a lay Christian. The above are personal thoughts with some scriptural basis.

I embarked on the above after listening to Pt1 and Pt2 of Derek Prince’s video on this subject of spiritual warfare. There are 4 parts to this series.

Part 1 – https://youtu.be/r3q3GgIIONs

Part 2 – https://youtu.be/o348jdFeFOI

Life's Journey, Relationship, Spiritual

Paidon, Teknon and Huois

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It takes confidence in God and the relationship one has with Him to uphold His justice and live in His gift of loving forgiveness.

The latter is a comfort zone of “Teknon,” child (not mature) of God, and the former is for matured sons, Huios.

Teknon of Rom8:16 is how the believer relate to God in His gifts, love, and mercies. Come to Him as little children (Mat18:3, the word little children is Paidon in Greek, means infant, little children, which is one stage of life before Teknon) to experience His loving kindness.

In the life of Teknon or Paidon of the Christian, there is abundant God’s love, forgiveness, and restoration.

However, the mature sons of God, Huois, are led by the Spirit (righteous living, heavenward focus) and not after the flesh (carnal living, earthbound) after Rom8:14 and Rom8:9. In the life of Huois, there is discipline, stewardship, calling and rewards.

The complete Christian is a composite of both Teknon-Paidon and Huois. They are manifestations of God’s love and God’s justice. As sons, we emulate and take after our Abba in heaven, the embodiment of love and justice.

There are NO winners, except the evil realm, to marginalize either His love or His justice. Embrace both and live out both.

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Spiritual

Truth about Faith

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Faith is not limited to religious persuasions but is universally embraced by man. However, faith’s purpose, meaning, and significance are not universal. This post explores the purpose, meaning, and significance of the Christian faith; The truth about faith.

Imagine the following two private conversations-

“Have faith,” my best friend offers me these consoling words, with a lump forming in her throat while gently brushing my hand at my husband’s funeral.

“Have faith,” the father smiles with encouragement while his eyes convey worry, comforting the family as his wife undergoes a major operation.

These scenes are repeated worldwide, albeit in different ways but centralized on the issue of faith. Regardless of which religion, this kind of faith is directed at something or someone that transcends the earthly realm.

The Bible, especially the New Testament (NT), reveals many nuances concerning the Christian faith. This post will explore the truth about faith to determine if this truth supports the above two imaginary conversations.

Hope, faith, and love are the pillars of Christianity (1Co13:13). Love has greater clarity and a defined focus. 1Co13 is a whole chapter dedicated to what love means to God.

Moreover, the NT’s only Law is to fulfill the commandment of love (Rom13:10), also known as the Law of Christ in Gal6:2.

The Christian faith and hope in the two conversations have an earthly focus. Does the NT truth about faith and hope support an earthly focus?

Spoiler alert – As this post examines the scriptures for the truth about faith, the truth about hope will also be revealed.

Let’s start with two relatively well-known scriptures concerning faith and two lesser-known ones.

  1. 2Co5:7 – “We walk by faith and not by sight.”
  1. Heb11:6 –“But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
  1. Rom14:23 – “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
  1. 1Pet1:7 –“ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”

Without going into the context (the context will be explored later), the 4 verses above describe faith as a walk (conduct, living the Christian life) that is absolutely essential to please God. Else it amounts to sin. Furthermore, when this faith is tested, its eternal values increase for the Day of the Lord.

To avoid this post becoming an overwhelming Bible study experience, these 4 verses, contextually (meaning when one read the whole chapter), all share one contextual thing in common. They all share the context that this faith is about the belief in the resurrection of Christ and the believer’s resurrection.

The central focus of the resurrection common to all 4 verses is returning to the roots of Christian salvation, which is found in Rom10:9-10 –

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The belief or faith that saves is meant to have the singular focus on the resurrection of Christ. These 4 verses reinforce the paramount importance of this faith of the resurrection in the Christian walk on the earth that has eternal significance.

As if God is concerned that the importance of the resurrection escapes the Christian awareness, Paul said this in 2Co13:5, where he urged the believer to self-examine whether one is in faith, living by the power of God as displayed in the resurrection of Christ (2Co13:4). Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit then says this in 2Co13:8 –

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”

What truth is Paul alluding to? This truth is the truth of the resurrection mentioned a few verses earlier. In other words, paraphrasing 2Co13:8 – to live by the faith in the power of the resurrection is God’s truth concerning the Christian faith.

For those interested in a deeper dive to support the above claim, below explores the supporting context.

  1. 2Co5:1-6 shows the context of the walk of faith in 2Co5:7 is an eternal heavenward’s focus of the resurrection vs. the temporary earthly body (2Co5:1-6).
  1. Heb11:16 shows the context of faith that pleased God in Heb11:6 is the faith in the hope of a better heavenly country (Heb11:16) vs. being a stranger and pilgrim on the earth (Heb11:13). Moreover, the reward mentioned in Heb11:6 would likely be referring to the eternal rewards of the out-resurrection of Phil3:10-11 and 1Co3, derived from the good works of gold, silver, and precious stones.
  1. Rom14:8-9 talks about whether the believers live or die, it is done unto Christ who died and rose again. As the believers are not eyewitnesses to the Lord’s death and resurrection, the believers require faith in this regard for the Lord’s death and resurrection to be real for them.

Therefore, Rom14:23’s “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” has contextual support. This faith is the faith in the death and resurrection of Christ that He loved us. Thus when the lesser faith about eating certain foods is disputed, know that FAITH of the Lord’s death and resurrection compels one to respond in love.

  1. 1Pet1:3-5 talks about the faith in the living hope of the resurrection. 1Pet1:6 discusses how suffering can be experienced in unspeakable joy because of this hope. Therefore, it stands to reason that the context of the faith tested in 1Pet1:7 is the testing of the faith in the living hope of the resurrection on the Day of the Lord.

It should be more apparent now that Christian hope is the hope of the resurrection and not an earthly hope.

Conclusion

The above narrative offers compelling evidence that the Christian faith in God is not about hoping to be healed, to get a better job, or for a soul mate, any earthly needs-wants.

While these are legitimate earthly need-want, this faith that pleases God of the Christian walk focuses on the heavenward goals, especially the resurrection, and not on earthly need-want.