John 1:9 – The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
The “True Light” is not a light by name and resemblance, but is the very nature of what light is and beyond that, is Light itself. The properties of light such as comes from the sun are not the source of original light, but is a lesser example of it. The original and only true light is the Light that came into the world from the Father above.
Traditionally the Olympic flame, dating back to the ancient Olympic days in Greece, is lit not by a match but by a Skaphia (crucible) that was their version of a parabolic mirror. It harnesses sun rays to focus at an exact point that can reach an extreme heat and cause an item such as paper or flammable material to burst into flames. Therefore the Olympic flame did not come from the belly of a cooking stove but was ignited by the purity of the light of the sun. So it appears their thoughts were that the source of the fire was the sun and so they figured this was the purest fire, and thought from their gods. It was as “pure” a flame as they could obtain.
Jesus was more than something obtained from the source (such as the sun). He was in fact The True Light that came from Heaven. He did not receive light from heaven and carry it down for the benefit of mankind but was actual light from heaven. He was not harnessed light from Heaven. He was not second generation light, but the original Light. The Light was knowledge and wisdom that came from God to mankind to illuminate the darkened earth. Only people who received the light and then looked out upon the earth could see it in its fallen state. If a person does not receive the Light of God that came from Heaven then they cannot see true reality upon earth. Jesus was the pure Light that dwelt in Heaven and came down by the unified will of God to illuminate the dark minds of mankind.
John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Set this verse aside John 1:9 and we see that God sent Jesus to bring eternal life to us. But unless men knew the ugliness of the condition of their own souls, they would not be saved. So God brought light (truth, knowledge and wisdom) to the world that they may see what darkened souls could not see. Only Jesus, He Himself being true light, could bring alive the eyes of mankind to see the way to God. Only He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) and so by Him bringing us light to see could we could see the Way, that leads to the Truth of our condition, and that now illuminated truth will lead us to eternal Life. We know from John 3:18 all men live in darkness until the Light of God lives within them and rescues them from the darkness. People live in darkness and stay in darkness unless they receive the light. God does not plunge those who reject Jesus into darkness, but rather, because of their rebellion, they stay in darkness as they close the door to the Light.
Jesus the Light of the Word showed us truth that brings us to, and eternally keeps us with God. Praise the Light of the world! Praise Jesus!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withColossians 4:2 – Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
We are called to be devoted in prayer. Prayer to what, a broomstick? No, prayer to God. Like faith, the object of our prayer determines the usefulness of it. Let me fearlessly proclaim the truth that believing for salvation through any other person or way than through Jesus Christ of the Gospel, is useless. Mohammed cannot save, Buddha cannot save, Confucius cannot save, government cannot save, philosophy cannot save, science (pseudo or actual) cannot save. Only Jesus Christ can save a soul now and forever.
At work a co-worker once said that he had a tough year. He then added that it will be okay because he has hope and faith. I then asked him what he meant by that. He said that he had hope and faith that everything will be okay. He then added that everybody needs hope and faith. Continuing he said we all need to believe that things will get better. I agreed but specified that it is quite empty to have hope and faith in hope and faith. Hope and faith need to be attached to something. It is quite useless to ask a man with no food and no means of getting food for food. I wish that I then had more time to continue the conversation.
The something that we have hope and faith in should be something, or someone that has the power, the ability and the desire to fulfill and reward our hope and faith. We must put our hope and faith in one that is equal to the task. Likewise, prayer in and of itself means nothing if the receiver of our prayer is not God. Only He is able to receive and perfectly answer our requests, hopes and dreams. He alone can absolutely answer every prayer. He does so as He wills and what He wills is what is best for us. When praying, and in all our life, our will should be that His will be done because we know His will is what is best. If we don’t know that, we need to stop, go to the refrigerator, and eat a big piece of humble pie. It is best to let God guide us gently to humility rather than Him having to put a horse bridle on us. (Psalm 32:9)
Focused on God we devote ourselves to prayer. Pray until it becomes more natural than talking to anyone else. It is a way of life, a habit. But it is more than a habit or a way of life. We have many habits in life. Without any deep thought we brush our teeth. We must be in the “habit” of prayer, but not a mindless habit. We are to be purposeful and thoughtful in prayer. We should mature to a point where we have a perpetual awareness of the presence and love of God. Having that awareness, we don’t have to gear ourselves up to pray. Like talking to someone and then changing the subject. You don’t have to go through greetings again because the subject is changed. Likewise, every time we pray it should be an awareness of His presence, and a natural and continual flow of walking and talking with Him.
Most of us have been on long car rides with someone. When the trip is started, the conversation usually is flowing. After a bit of time perhaps we must navigate past a potentially dangerous section of the road. While we do this we don’t forget that the person in the car is next to us. We are aware of their presence though not talking to them at that moment. We can resume talking to the passenger of the car at any time and about anything. They are with us and we are aware of their presence. The passenger is on the same journey with us. God is the driver and we are the passenger and we can talk to the driver at any time. It is what we do. So, it is natural for us to just talk to God at any time about anything because it is a continual conversation with someone who is with us on this journey of life.
During our prayer, we should be watchful. We should be aware that the enemy is always about seeking to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8). We should bring a danger to us, and to others, to the Lord. We should bring the threats and the trials to the Lord. He is the one who loves and protects us.
We should also be watchfully looking forward to the answer to our prayers. We come to God with hopeful and sure expectancy. (Psalm 91:15) Knowing who He is, we should say to the Lord “help me” with the knowledge that He wants to help and is able to help. Not merely a mental assent but a deep down conviction that confidently expects an answer. We know that we are not praying into empty air, but to a loving God who wants to answer. We must be watchful and listening for His sure response. We may not “hear” the answer right away, and surely He may answer different than we expect, but we can be sure He is answering. (Matthew 21:22, Matthew 7:11)
We must be thankful. Firstly, being thankful is proper concerning the Lord. It is right to be thankful to God and out of that thankfulness, to praise Him. (Ephesians 5:20) Thankfulness means we have given God His due credit. Having given Him due credit, we are thankful for what He does for us. Being thankful builds faith. (Colossians 2:6-7, Colossians 3:17) It reminds us that He hears and answers our prayers. As we are thankful to God, our faith is built, then we are more apt to pray because we know it is not useless but useful. We have confidence in God and come in sure faith to a sure God. Our thankfulness belongs to God, we are giving to Him what is rightfully His. Thankfulness brings the growth of our faith. That brings us to God which is the goal, and the reward is eternal.
Epaphras was always wrestling in prayer for them. (Colossians 4:12) The word used here that is translated as “wrestling” is agonizomai. It is a term that was used referring to a contest, or a struggle. Even a struggle that could be dangerous. Epaphras contended spiritually for the people in Colosse, Laodecia and Hierapolis. He did not casually and quickly offer up a prayer for those He loved, he got into a spiritual tussle and rolled in the dirt fighting and contending for those he loved. Do we do that? Isn’t it so easy to be not fully committed to contending for each other in prayer? How easy it is to casually, even callously, say a simple prayer like “Lord bless them” and then move on. Now, remembering and saying a quick prayer may be all that one is able to do at certain times. Nothing wrong about that and, depending on the circumstances, it may be absolutely what should be done. However, there should be times when we labor in prayer for each other. Labor as in child birth labor. When we are willing to go through the hard work until the blessing is delivered. It won’t be easy, it’s going to hurt, but oh how sweet the blessing!
Our earnest desire must be the full will of God for our lives. It is easier for all of us to stand firm in His will if His will is our will in all things. To one hospitality comes easy, but sharing the Word is difficult. To the one who shares the Word hospitality at home may not be easy. How do we find the will of God? We find it in His Word and through a daily walk with the Holy Spirit. Our dependence on the Holy Spirit to reveal the Word and take us deep is absolutely essential. (John 14:26) The answers aren’t dropped into us, they are picked up along a walk with God. We need to yield all that we are to His full will. Brothers and sisters, doing this may seem scary, but as we do it, and as we receive the award of it, it becomes less scary and becomes more what we look forward to doing. Seek the full will of God and receive the blessing of walking in it.
Being thankful, walking and talking with God continuously will bring us to an increasingly mature complete knowledge of God. As that is true we know God more fully. As we know God more fully, we seek to fully and obediently walk with Him. It is a self-perpetuating cycle. The more complete knowledge of Him we have, the more mature in Christ we become, the more mature we become the more we desire to repeat the cycle.
Maturity in Jesus brings trust and faith in Him. If we absolutely know the Lord, then we know His goodness and love and are assured of Him. We are assured of the salvation He has given to us. We are assured that we are now in full possession of eternal life through Jesus and we are fully assured that He will never take it back from us. Also, growing in the knowledge of God assures us, through the joys and woes of life that He is in control. We are confident that He is good and that He loves us and, because of that, our souls may rest. We know the full victory for us is just ahead. A few steps more. A step more, or maybe we will receive the full victory before our next step falls. Praise God!
So pray, be watchful and thankful unto growth in the secure knowledge of His goodness and His love for us. Talk to God and in doing so, praise Him! Remember His goodness, dwell in His love and know Him evermore. Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withLuke 12:49-56 – I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
Matthew 24:4-14 – Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Jesus warned us. Let us see our times and not be surprised by circumstances. Brothers and Sisters, do you think that these things will not also come against us. Be ready. When these things happen don’t run from God, and don’t be in the place where you have to run back to Him. Stay close to Him. May we remain so close to Him that not air or light can be between us and Him. Be ready. Do not be surprised. Pray and keep our relationship with Him as our most beloved and treasured. Be ready. Let nothing shake us. Be ready. Be awake. Can you say Jesus won’t come today? Jesus said these things and so they will. Always, yes always praise God. Praise God!
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withMatthew 24:24 “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
Once upon a time a man became convinced that darkness is stronger than light. He starting telling people what he believed. Almost everyone chased him away and said he was speaking insanely and should seek help.
The man did not give up his belief but only became more determined to change people’s minds. He stood on corners and preached his belief. He bought newspaper ads and radio and television ads. The man was extremely rich so he bought newspaper companies and news stations so that he could suppress contrary opinion and preach his message of the supremacy of darkness.
He got the attention of people, who mostly just laughed and shook their heads. His friends told him to get mental help. They told him to just one time prove that darkness stayed where light was. He never could but that did not dissuade him. He was convinced and no amount of evidence could change his mind.
Surprising people, something began to change. Because of his vociferous persistence people became curious why he persisted against obvious facts. So they listened more. Then people began to admire his efforts. Some, then increasingly more people, began to be persuaded by his persistence. They told their friends that they listened and were increasingly following him because he insisted and persisted so greatly. For him to do so he must know something that others don’t know. They began to believe what they thought they never would. They afterward began telling people that they would abandon all their previously held beliefs because this man was so persuasive. They became convinced that he must be right. More and more believed so faithfully in him that they said they would believe him if he told them that they had never really known their own real name. He told them that their own parents had misnamed them and that He knew what their real name and so he gave them a second name and they believed him and changed their names.
The man made a display of what he still held was truth. He created an exhibit in a large warehouse. He named it The Victory of Darkness. He put a very bright light at one end of the inside of the building. All windows were blocked off. Unless the light was on, the inside of the building was pitch black. Then he built a sliding wall that could be controlled to slide down and it would completely block the light from getting beyond the wall. The exhibit became very popular. He would bring in a group of people and the light would be on. Then a recorded speech was played to the people about his thoughts of darkness being greater than light. He would then move all the people to the other side of the wall. Once all were on the other side, he pushed the button to make the wall slide down and block the light from getting past the wall. Then in the pitch black the unnerved people were frightened by, the loudspeaker telling them “Behold! Darkness wins every time.” The spooked people left, some very concerned and others began believing the message of the supremacy of darkness.
The exhibit was wildly popular and stirred people’s thoughts of reality. One day a man came to visit the exhibit. He was telling all who waited to get into the exhibit that what was being preached was baloney. Some people scoffed at him. Some people wondered. Then, at the end of the display the announcement of “Behold! Darkness wins every time” played and as always, the people were confused and moved. Suddenly the doubting man shouted “Poppycock!” and he turned on the bright flashlight that he had secreted inside. There was no longer any darkness in the room. The man said to all “Now darkness where is your victory? See light appears in the stronghold of darkness and again darkness must succumb!” He then said that blocking light is not darkness defeating light. Denying light is not defeating light. This time all the visitors left while marveling at the silliness of the exhibit’s claim. They wondered how people could believe the obvious lie about darkness being stronger than light.
The owner of the exhibit became very angry. His error was exposed. Yet, being the stubborn man he is, he did not change his status. Instead he banned the man from coming back. He threatened every business, or newspaper or news station to not let anyone know what had happened. He threatened to put any business out of business that told what happened. He kidnapped the man with the flashlight to make sure that no-one ever heard his story again. The man with the flashlight was killed and his body hidden. The man who proclaimed darkness thought he had his victory. But truth, like light, rises to be seen. The man who had been killed had recorded what he had done in the exhibit. Seventy five million copies were made. The copies spread throughout the nation and the world. Truth overcame falsehood. Beyond the wall light broke free.
The man who preached darkness became a very small footnote in history and he was last remembered as a very silly man.
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withProverbs 3:3-6 – Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
How do we never let love and faithfulness for God leave us? When the things that cause worry and fear seem to wash over us in waves how do we remain steadfastly in faith? What helps is to remember what we know and cling tightly to it.
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” Listen to the Lord. Praying every day is wonderful and necessary, but are we just talking and not listening? When we pray do we listen to Him? After all who is the Almighty Wise God, Him or us? Listen to God. Practice listening, it is the most important part of prayer. As we listen and watch for His response, we will begin to recognize when He responds.
If we want to become angry at God then all we have to do is trust ourselves more than Him. We tell God what it is we are concerned about. Then we are prone to tell our All-Knowing God the best way to answer the prayer. The exact way. Then if the prayer is not answered the right way, the way we have told God how to answer the prayer, then we get mad at Him. Folks, God is God and we are not. Either we know who He is or we don’t. Will we honor ourselves rather than God? Do we know what is best more than God does? Do we really think we know better than He? To keep a proper perspective memorize Vs 5-6. The Lord God is alone God and so we should trust on Him and not on ourselves. After all, if we trust ourselves most, why pray? We pray because God is God and we are not. From eternity past He has known everything that will happen, why it will happen, and what is best to happen. So shouldn’t we lean on Him who knows everything instead of ourselves who have very limited knowledge?
Psalm 34:8 – Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Do we personally know God? Who do we say He is? How do we know that He is what we say He is? First and foremost because the Holy Spirit, because God reveals Himself to us. (John 16:13-15, 1 Corinthians 2:10, Matthew 16:17, John 15:26) We need the Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts and minds to receive and to instruct us and guide us. The Holy Spirit leads us to the Word and opens it up that we might know God. He brings us to intimacy with God and we increasingly know Him as we continue to seek Him. Only by the Holy Spirit of God and the Word of God can we know God. As we yield to the Holy Spirit God we read the Word and pray for understanding, as we yield to the Word of God, as we seek intimacy with God, we will come to increasingly personally know Him. (Jeremiah 29:13)
Daily cry out to God to know Him and His Word, as we yield to Him, we will, more and more, know God better and better. There are two truths known by all who love and seek Him. The two are that He is good and that He loves us. We must not know these merely as a doctrine or concept that we have been taught and can recite, we must know this as a fact that we know beyond all earthly facts. We must know these things more than we know our name, or where we live. Above all we must know that He is good and that He loves us. When a storm tears down our house, we may not understand why it happened, but the why will not matter. It will not matter because our trust is in our God whom we know, beyond all else that we know, that He is good and that He loves us. Since He is good He will allow only what is eternally good to us, whether we understand it or not. Since we know beyond all doubt that He is good and that He loves us, there is nothing that can happen in our lives that would cause us to doubt Him. For anything to be contrary to these two facts would be God contradicting Himself, it would be Him betraying Himself, and we know that He cannot do that. (2 Timothy 2:13)
Finally let’s test our love and trust of Him. Since we know who and what He is, since we know that He is good and that He loves us, then do we, as loving, trusting, and faithful servants of His say “Lord God, in all my life, in every way, may your will be done.” All of His will? What if it means that you will die? What if that means a loved one will die? Even harder, what if that means you and a loved one will faithfully live for Him and suffer for Him if that need be?
Since we know that God is always good and that He always loves us we know that we can trust Him. So the real question is can God trust us to be fully faithful and always yielded to Him? If these things are true of Him and of us, than why do we worry? Why do we doubt? Worry and doubt are not compatible with knowing these things about God and for those who love, trust and are yielded to Him. Let us not say we are only human. We who love Christ are human with God Almighty inside. We are not only human, we have divinity living within. So let’s ring in our hearts what Joshua said to the Children of Israel “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Then we do not need to know why and we don’t need to understand. If we truly know and trust God then we always do. Oh, we are not perfect, but the more we yield to God and let Him make us into something new (2 Corinthians 5:17), the more perfect we become. Just as our God Almighty is.
Remember what we know about God and cling tightly to it. Praise God! Trust and praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 1:6-8 – There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The man being spoken of is John the Baptist. John was a man whom God brought forth at the exact right time. God foreknew this man whom He had created with unique gifts for a special purpose to fulfill the plan of God for our salvation. God brought him into being and sent him out to do His will. Sure we know who his parents were (Zechariah and Elisabeth – Luke 1:5-25) but God is his Creator and is the giver of life. (Job 33:4) Having created John and knowing how John would react to everything in his life, God created John the Baptist for this exact time. The Lord God created Him, and even while John was in his mother’s womb God called Him to his mission in life, and while in Elisabeth’s womb the Lord filled him with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:15) John was an answer to the prayers of his parents. (Luke 1:13) We notice that the Lord did not immediately answer the prayers of Zechariah and Elisabeth, but that He answered them in His timing, in the exact time.
John was the last Old Testament prophet who was brought forth four hundred years after the life of the prophet Malachi (who wrote the last book of the Old Testament ). Malachi had prophesied that John would be a prophet like Elijah. (Malachi 4:5-6, Luke 1:17) So we see that God had told of a prophet like Elijah coming and four hundred years later John was born to fulfill that promise and in answer to the prayers of his parents. The answer to our prayers always come in His perfect timing.
John was born to be a witness of the coming Messiah. God had foretold in Malachi that John would have a ministry of leading the people to repentance and thereby prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Family, there are no coincidences in the Bible. God speaks and His words always come true. John’s mission was to prepare the way of the people to receive the coming Messiah. John told the people about the coming of Jesus before His public ministry and pointed Him out once He had appeared.
All of John’s ministry was to prepare the way for Jesus. He accepted no glory but pointed the way to the coming Messiah. The Lord God brought people to John and they could discern that John was a man from God and asked him if he was the Messiah that they were waiting for. John always said that He was not the Messiah and revealed to them that the Messiah would come and would be infinitely greater and beyond who John was. John would tell the people that He was not the Light of the world, He was only the one who would tell of and point to the Light. Jesus was and is the Light of the world. (John 8:12)
Just as John was known by God before his creation, so are we. Just as John was born with a plan for his life, so were we. The general mission for all who love and serve the Lord is to be His witness. (Matthew 28:19-20) The command to us all is to tell the world about Jesus and then to teach them to obey Him. As John was born not to be praised and followed by man but to point people to Jesus, so are we. When people attempt to praise us as someone great because of the Word of God that we share, we like John, must make it clear that we are nothing but witness who points to Jesus. Family, we must never read our own press. It is only how God judges us that matters. We seek His approval and praise and none other. (Galatians 1:10) After we have done what we were called to do, we know that we deserve no praise. (Psalm 115:1) Having been obedient to the call of God we must know that we have only done what our Master has called us to do. We are satisfied to be called servants of God. (Luke 17:7-10) Assessment of us belongs to God, not others, and not even ourselves. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5) We share what we have been given. As servants of Jesus we share the Lord who lives within us. It is our great honor. To witness about He whom loves us and of about whom we love, is not burdensome, that is delight. We, like John tell others what God has called us to tell. That is our honor. That is our delight. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJoshua 5:13-15 “13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”
She hurt me so if you love me you will not like her. He is against me and did this this to me and so we are against each other. If you love me, than you will be against him and have nothing to do with him. For my sake you will be mad at those who oppose me. (James 2:1)
Some people pressure us to take sides against another person because of their own grievances. They pressure us that if we truly want to be close with them then we must have nothing to do with the other person, and certainly not love the other person, otherwise we will lose their own love and friendship. Pressure can be applied to choose sides. They will not allow for us to continue to be friends with both sides. (1 Timothy 5:21)
If you vote for someone I don’t agree with, then we cannot be friends. Some say that we must think like them or I cannot possibly be friends, or family, with them. So sad to be in an evil alliance (Obadiah)
While on the way to Jericho to do battle Joshua saw a man with a drawn sword standing in front of Him. It would seem logical to ask the man if he was for them or against them, to ask whose side he was on. The man answered “neither.” An answer that it would seem that Joshua did not expect.
Many believe that this commander of the Lord’s army is none other than Jesus. Here are a couple reasons why I do. Angels do not receive worship because they know that we are only to worship the Lord God. (Revelation 22:8-9, Colossians 2:18) In V14 We see that this “commander” did not object to Joshua falling on his face and glorifying him. No Godly person, or angel, accepts worship but points worship toward God. This seems to be another occurrence of a Christophany, an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. Additionally, who is the commander of the army of a nation but the head of that nation? The President of the U.S.A. is the Commander In Chief of the armed forces. Thus this would seem to be, by the title given to Himself, and by the fact that He allowed Himself to be worshipped, the Lord Jesus.
Family and friends the messenger’s answer of “neither” should be the same that we give to those who would want to drag us into their fight. The Lord does not show partiality. (Deuteronomy 10:17, 1 Timothy 5;21) He loves us all the same. Some will decide against God and by doing so will receive the penalty for rejecting God. But until they die, God lovingly allows them the opportunity to repent and be forgiven. So the love of God remains with them. If someone purposely and without repentance harms another, then we side with justice. But that is not to side with one person over another, but to side with righteousness and justice. To side with God. We continue to, as God does, love the harmed and the one who harmed. As God still loves the sinner, we love the sinner and we pray for their salvation just as God holds out salvation for them to freely receive. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Let’s not let others force us to hate or discriminate against another, rather obey God. When asked who we are for, let our response be either “neither” or “both.” We are for God and obey Him as Savior and Lord. We hope for the best for both. But sinners will be brought to justice by God. So love everyone and we will be as the Lord is. Let no person persuade us to abandon the way of love. Should that person who would force us become angry and abandons us, they will not change our love even for they themselves. We will still love and pray for them. That is what we are to do as we are first, foremost and always obedient to God out of love for Him.
Let us fulfill the law of love and so we fulfill the will of God. (Mark 12:31) After all, He died for us though we were at that time enemies of His. (Romans 5:10) Love God first and foremost with all that we are and then we must love others without prejudiced and without prejudice. (Mark 12:30-31) After all, all of us are very unlovable sometimes, but God loves us still. Let us be like the Lord God. If we live out the will of God who we love is no longer a problem. Oh how wonderful and great is our God. Lord God, may we be like you, every moment of every day of our lives. Glory to God! Praise God! Thank you Lord Jesus Christ! Love the unlovable as sometimes we all have been. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withDeuteronomy 12:7 – There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
Nehemiah 8:10 – Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Matthew 7:7:7-8 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Philippians 4:7 – And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
My daughter in the Lord, Major, shared this with me and I was blessed. Now I share it with you in hope that you likewise will be blessed.
Fall before the throne of God and receive the blessings of His Spirit through Jesus our Lord. He has done, and is doing great things. No man, and no virus, can slow the flow of God’s love and presence to us! God is good and He loves us! Amen!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJoshua 6:1-27 – Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” 6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.” 8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there. 12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.” 20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. 22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day. 26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” 27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
Joshua 2:8-21 “Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” 14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.” 15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.” 17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.” 21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
Rahab showed that a treaty with the Israelites was possible, but the people of Jericho did not try to negotiate a treaty with the Israelites. Instead they trusted in their own means, their own plans and so they perished thinking they could trust in their own plans and resist God. Isn’t that still the problem with non-believers even to our day?
Rahab lived in a terrified city. She, like the rest of the residents of Jericho, were terrified at what was coming. They had heard of the miraculous showing of God’s power in the parting of the Red Sea and the defeat of the two previous cities that had fallen to Israel. In her words “When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” (V11)
The residents of Jericho may have tried to convince themselves that they could resist God but it was a sham. After all they were not terrified because they didn’t know the truth. Yes they knew it. Even though they didn’t follow the Lord God they knew of Him and that He could not be resisted. They had heard of His power. The people of Jericho did not fear for no reason as the Word reveals. In their hearts they were terrified, whether they would admit it or not. The peace in one’s heart, or the lack of it, is manifest for all to see. False peace calms no heart.
Rahab submitted to the inevitable and so she was saved. She made a peace agreement with the spies and so was saved. She had acknowledged God and that there was none above Him. She submitted herself to God and only asked that she and her family would be saved and as a result, she and they were. It is the same for every person today. Submit to God and be saved. Resist God, fight against Him, and perish. Salvation is through Jesus as planned by God, there is no other way. (Acts 4:12) Rahab submitted and she and her family were saved. Today many people choose to resist God and their loved ones follow them. These people will perish and they drag their loved ones with them.
God appoints people ahead of time. And those He appoints He has prepared. God foreknew Rahab ahead of time. He placed her in His will. He prepared her to be a part of His eternal plan. (Hosea 2:23) She had not lived a Godly life. She had lived among an ungodly people. Yet God who foreknew her preordained her to receive His eternal grace. (Romans 8:29) She submitted to God, she helped the Israelites, she trusted God to be merciful and she obtained His mercy. (Romans 10:13)
She not only received mercy from God but in her trusting God her sins were forgiven. She was not only forgiven by God but He made His people to accept this former prostitute and she lived among them. She not only lived among them but she married one of them. And she not only married one of them but she became a part of the lineage of their Savior Jesus who saves all who come to Him in humble submission. So the prostitute who lived amongst the enemies of God’s people and was saved from them to the grace from God that she was preordained to receive from Him, she was accepted by His people and she became an ancestor of Jesus. (Matthew 1:5)
The people that Rahab lived with did not submit to God, but against the overwhelming majority, Rahab did. Like the majority of people that now live and reject God, we submit to Him. She yielded to God and trusted Him to save her, and He did. Just as today all those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. In being saved, we who love Jesus will also become part of His family. And so we understand that those who resist the plan of God are perishing, if they persist. Yield to God and be accepted, saved, eternally become part of His family and live in peace with Him forever. And, on a day ahead, He will acknowledge all who stand for Him and love Him, just as He did Rahab. May we all be as Rahab was, forgiven sinners who are saved by His grace. May we all receive the peace treaty from God, the Savior Jesus Christ. Give up our plans for ourselves and choose His plans for us. It turns out better that way. Praise God who loves us so greatly. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob with