What is your sacrifice?

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!  Jesu Jevu!

   We all sacrifice, or at least we think we do.  For one it may be giving up one thing to simply have another.  But do we really sacrifice?

   For one person money is tight, he/she drinks beer and switches from an expensive beer to a cheap beer.  For another it may mean getting a car that does not have all the bells and whistles (backup camera, side sensors, etc) For another it may mean no eating out so the kids can go to camp.  Then it may mean an extra part-time job so the family can go on a vacation or visit a family amusement park.

   What do we sacrifice-----REALLY???? There is a Christian song that ran a bell with me this weekend - "Here I Am To Worship"---- look at the words:

Light (Jesus) of the world, You step down into (the world) darkness.
Open my eyes let me see. (take the blinders off, the world vision off)
Beauty that made this heart adore you (the hope and love that is given freely to me)
Hope of a life spent with you.

Now, think about the following words:Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me, my love. (Can you say this words with earnest? You are here to worship, bow down, and stand boldly saying "you are my God"!  Do you really believe Jesus is lovely, worthy, and wonderful or are these just empty words of a song?)

So what is being sacrificed here? Jesus, Son of God, left a mighty and wonderful place to come to the earth (darkness) to save.........yes.......a wretch like me (& you).  What was sacrificed?   God sacrificed His son.  Jesus laid down His life for me & you.  What greater sacrifice is there than this?

    What would you sacrifice for God?  Would you give up lunch to share Christ with someone?  Would you take time away from TV to visit about God / salvation with your family?  Would you give up more than an hour on Sunday to spread the good news of Jesus to your community?  Hmmmm!  What would you sacrifice?  What would I sacrifice?  Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Job 13 - think about this a moment - verse 15 & 16

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

   Who is Job and what happened?  I suppose you could say this was a wager or bet between God and satan. Hmmm, maybe wagering is okay- LOL.

   Well, you know satan said the only reason Job was where he was, prospering, was because God had a safety net or hedge around him. God may have provoked satan a little in verse 2 "What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you."  I bet this did not set well in satans craw - what do you think?

   God knew Job was a faithful servant of the Big 3 (God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit). Could we say God to the 3rd power?  Anyway, let us jump on down to verse 15 - Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

 (taken from study guide Blue Letter Bible) This is the attitude that will see Job through his past and present crises. He did not understand any of his situation and felt that God was against him, not for him (as in Job 9:28 and 10:16-17). At the same time, he could still exclaim: yet I will trust Him.

    YET I WILL TRUST HIM - wow, this is tough to say and remain in this frame of mind.  When you have a tough time do you think God is punishing you?  Why was this happening?  But look at the start of verse 16 "HE ALSO SHALL BE MY SALVATION......."

    In tough times can you truly say He is my salvation?  Job was definitely a man of strong faith of whom even satan could not deter.  Even his friends AND wife said to curse God and die.  Job remained faithful - may we all be as faithful in our lives.  Remember what Job said: "yet I will trust Him" and "He also shall be my salvation" as we go forth daily.  Hope this makes sense to you all. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

How strong is your faith? And, do you listen to God?

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

  Well, sorry for the absence and I trust God has been good to you.  As Christians we tend to discuss and disagree over such small things.  I call it the "religion battle".  Saying this I mean denominations argue over different reasons why we should or should not do something.  You know the examples: is Saturday the true sabbath or Sunday?  Can you dance or not dance?  Can you partake of alcohol or not?  Can you play cards? Do you have to speak in tongues to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? There is speaking in tongues or it died at Pentecost. And we could go on and on with differences.  Do you see legalism here?

   The bottom line is:  Do you believe in Jesus Christ?  That He died for your sins?  Bottom line!

   Now, once we leave the trivial scene let's talk about your faith.  How strong is your faith.  Cassie Bernall, a student at Columbine when asked if she believed in Jesus said yes and was shot.  In the eyes of adversity and death could your answer be the same as hers?

   Do you listen to God?  How does He speak to you?  Abraham listened to God - whether audible, a burning bush or in his head - he did listen to God.  Then he took up his camp, wife Sarah, nephew Lot , families, servants and property and began a 1500 mile trek from Ur to Canaan.

   Now he did not know the lay of the land, how dangerous it would be, or how long it would take him - BUT - he did what the LORD told him to do.

   For some of us today we would say oh, I could make that journey in 2 days, maybe 3 days. Yes, traveling 60, 70 or faster.  Back in these days a good days travel would be 30 miles (and that would be pushing hard). And if they were able to do this (which they did not) then it would have been about a 2 month journey minimum.

   Now, would you take up your family, all belongings, and move if God called you to?  Would you leave behind all you have acquired over your 30, 40, 50, 60 years or more of acquisition?

  Abraham did in obedience to God.  Our call may be smaller. Your call may be to just read the Bible and study His word for 10 minutes, 30 minutes or so a day.  But do you?

   Your call may be to speak words of encouragement to someone on the street - but do you?  It may be to offer a helping hand, give a meal, - but do you?

   Oh, but we could all be as strong in faith as Cassie Bernall. What an example for young people, middle aged and old people. God, just grant me the discipline to be obedient to your calling and bring glory to you and your name. Amen!  Love you all.

In Christ's Love

Johnny

Life through the Holy Spirit

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

  Again, studying the Holy Spirit.  John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

   There are two persons before us - the Life giver JESUS; and the life taker satan. The devil comes to steal blessings, kill us physically and destroy us eternally.  JESUS came to give life and have it to the full!  We have the Holy Spirit to administer life, but only in the proportions we allow Him to do His work.

    When we resist or refuse the work of the Holy Spirit, we won't experience the fullness of divine life that Jesus came to bring us.  Remember, the Holy Spirit raised the dead body of Jesus from the tomb.  Romans 1: ⁴ And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

  The spirit of holiness is a greek translation of the Hebrew phrase for Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:¹⁰ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

  An old life ends and a new life begins.  We are not different kinds of persons in ourselves, but we have a different kind of power in us.  Things that would crush other men won't crush us because we have a power in us that makes us resilient - the Holy Spirit.  2 Corinthians 4:7-12.

  2 Corinthians 4: ¹⁶ For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

  The outward man decays, but there is a life in the inner man that is renewed day by day.  Love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria
Johnny

Genesis 3 - Are our eyes really opened?

Good morning. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!  Jesu Jevu!

   Let's go back a moment, well, centuries, uhhhh, millenniums and see what happened.  Just for fun.  Look at Genesis 3

 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  Subtil (today subtle) means crafty, mentally keen, delicately skillful. So, he twisted the words of God in his favor.

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  Oh, she knew, she listened, but wait - here comes the "fake news" from the serpent.
⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  Oh, greed and self were present here - the serpent said her eyes would be opened - TRUE - and she and Adam would be as gods - FALSE ; knowing good and evil - TRUE.
⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  Okay, what really happened here?  Yes, the serpent was involved; however, the bigger story is DISOBEDIENCE!   Huh, yes, Adam and Eve rebelled against God and rejected His commandments (eat not of the tree).
  Do we do this in our daily lives?  Certainly we do, however, because of Jesus we are forgiven.  Adam and Eve were created to last forever and be companions with God in a beautiful place.  SIN came in and is still involved today and has taken what was good and turned the earth into what we have today.   As sin continues to evolve, society continues to erode, but because of the second Adam -JESUS- we have a second chance.  Reject not the living God and obey HIS commandments.
  Love you all.
Soli Deo Gloria
Johnny

Revelation of God's word

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

   The Holy Spirit is the reveal-er and interpreter of God's Word - John 14:25-26.  2 things the Holy Spirit will do (v. 26) remind and teach.  The Holy Spirit will help disciples recall, correctly, all things they need to remember and will teach or lead them as needed while moving forward the future.

  If we let the Holy Spirit lead we will be as prophets of old - guided and directed by the Holy Spirit and sharing accurately the Word of God.

  All scripture, Old and New Testament has been accurate because of the true author - the Holy Spirit.  Paul states this in 2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

   God-breathed indicates the activity of the Holy Spirit, the author of scripture AND our (my & your) personal teacher of scripture.  If we listen to the Holy Spirit our interpretation of God's word will be accurate.

   The Holy Spirit fell on the people the day of pentecost. People said they are drunk.  Peter said (Acts 2:15-16) These men are not drunk as you suppose.  It's only 9 in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel." (to know more about Joel click here)

  Now, at this time, Peter understood the prophecy of Joel, but prior to this he had no knowledge of Joel.  the Holy Spirit, the author, gave the interpretation or understanding.

   The same with Saul, later Paul, who persecuted the church, then filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17) after his meeting on the road to Damascus.  Then Paul switched from persecutor of Christians  to profession Jesus as Son of God.

   The Bible is the Word of God AND Jesus is called the Word of God.  John 1:1 - three times Jesus is called "the Word".  Then John 1:14 - 'the word became flesh'. 

   John 16:12-15 - Jesus did not tell it all because he knew the Holy Spirit was coming.  then he explained what the Holy Spirit would do once he came.  The Holy Sprit reveals and glorifies Jesus and administers the total wealth of the Father and the Son because all the Father has, is given to the Son, all the Son has, the Holy Spirit Administers.

    I do pray you are able to understand this which I have penned.  God bless. Love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria

Johnny

Holy Spirit our "Paraclete"

Hello all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED.

  I am in a study of the Holy Spirit and will share with you what is quite interesting to me.  Hopefully for you as well.  Only 10 chapters and I do 1 a day; this is chapter 4.  LOL Enjoy!

Paraclete can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Advocate - Latin AD = "to" or "in".  Vocata = "called".

   Someone who speak in our defence. 1 John 2:1 (Jesus is our Advocate). We have 2 advocates - the Holy Spirit with us who pleads our cause.  Then Jesus Christ, our advocate with the Father, who sits at the right hand of God and pleads our cause also. 

   John 14:16-18 Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit FOREVER.  He (Holy Spirit) will be in you. This means the residence of the Holy Spiriit is IN YOU--IN ME!!  Jesus left us so the Holy Spirit could come - but we are not orphans - the Spirit is with us.........ALL OF US!

  When Christ was on earth he walked as a man and could only be in 1 place at a time.  Whereas the Holy Spirit can be everywhere, all over the earth.  The Holy Spirit is free of and not limited by time and space as are we.

  John 16:5-7 - In King James version Jesus says "It is expedient for you that I go away:" (this is so the Holy Spirit may come).

    It seems hard to realize that we are better off with Jesus at the right hand of God and the Holy Spirit with us now.  Jesus is saying that we have more than those who actually walked with Him.

   The disciples followed Jesus, when He was crucified, the disciples hid in fear of the Jews.  When Jesus appeared to them, left them the Holy Spirit the disciples understanding became clear.

   First, they understood the plan of God and ministry of Jesus.

   Second, they now went forth boldly and with confidence.

  Thirdly, miracles began to take place just as if Jesus was back with them.

Also, as a side note, 3 for the Jews was completeness.  Jesus said in John 14: ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.   ¹⁸ I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
   Jesus is with us through the comforter, advocate, Holy Spirit. Love you all.
Soli Deo Gloria
Johnny

Did the Holy Spirit come in 2 phases? Where does the Holy Spirit reside?

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

  Did the Holy Spirit just "appear" on the scene?  Jesus promised to send a comforter, paraclete (one who comes alongside) in John 7:37-39.  In John 14:15-18 Jesus asks the Father to give the disciples another comforter so they (we) would not be orphans!  Jesus said when I go another person, the Holy Spirit will come in my place.

   In John 16:7 Jesus says the Holy Spirit will remain forever, however, Jesus had to go away so the comforter, counselor, advocate (Holy Spirit) could come. In John 16:12-15 you will find that the Holy Spirit is the personal resident representative of the Godhead on earth.

  But now understand that the Holy Spirit came in 2 phases.  One, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room after His crucifixion. Read John 20:19-22.  Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples just as God breathed life into Adam.  This was phase 1 of the Holy Spirit.

   So when was phase 2?   In Luke 24:49 Jesus tells the disciples to remain in the city until they are clothed with power from on high - a promise of the Father to them.

  Then, at Pentecost (50th day after Jesus' resurrection) the fulfillment of the promise and phase 2 of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 2:1-4.

    It seems that only 1 of the Godhead can be resident on earth at any one given time.  So, where does the Holy Spirit reside now?  1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that your yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

   1 Corinthians 6 19 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?"

   May you be blessed with the word of God. Love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria

Johnny

Holy Spirit in Jesus' life -------what about yours?

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

  When John the Baptist came to prepare the way he said, "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."  (Matthew 3:11)

  The Holy Spirit was the source of power for Jesus' ministry.  Jesus did not preach or perform a miracle until the Holy Spirit came upon him when John baptized him in the Jordan River.  Acts 10: ³⁸ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

    Notice in this verse, GOD the Father, anointed JESUS the Son with the HOLY SPIRIT.  Then the result was the last part of this verse: "who went arout doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.

   And how did he do this?  FOR GOD WAS WITH HIM.

  In Acts 1:1-2 Luke speaks of the ministry of Jesus during the forty days between His resurrection and ascension.  Acts 1:2 ".......after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen."

   Jesus gave instructions to His apostles through the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is our example of how we must rely on the Holy Spirit.  Jesus did nothing apart from the Holy Spirit and this should be the example for us as well. To let the Holy Spirit lead us in our walk, our talk, our actions, in such a way as to be pleasing to God.

   Wow!  Obviously you can tell I am studying about the Holy Spirit and it is powerful.  Love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria

Johnny

Grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT - Ephesians 4:30

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!  Jesu Jevu!

    I do dream nightly and usually remember nothing, or possibly a little bit of what I had been dreaming.  However, when something occurs and then re-occurs numerous times I can usually count on this being the Spirit speaking to me.

    Last night (or early this morning) I kept hearing in my head "grieve not the Holy Spirit" over and over and over.  Yes, when you hear this many things come to mind; what have I done; what am I going to do; which way do I turn?

   First let's look at the Holy Spirit.  So often we thing of the Spirit as we have learned from movies, church teachings, ideas of what "Spirit" is.  So often we think of the Spirit as a supernatural 'thing', a ghost, or possibly an angel.  Let me give you a different perspective.

   The Holy Spirit is not the wind blowing; the clouds moving; the water flowing; the Holy Spirit is a live being, just as God is.  We who are saved have the Holy Spirit walking with us.  Can the Spirit be the above mentioned; certainly, but we must realize the Holy Spirit walks with us daily in our lives and will guide us, only if we listen.  Ohhhh!

   There is a key, if we listen.  Grieve means to bring sorrow, grief or distress - this is how we may "grieve the Holy Spirit".  However,  when we listen to that still small voice - whether audible or in our mind - we are being led.

   Now that leads me to another issue - when people say the Spirit led them and it is something contrary to God's teaching - (divorce, lying, murder,etc) they are grieving the Holy Spirit.  What I am saying here is too often people use the excuse of the Holy Spirit to "do what they WANT to do" rather than following the Spirit's leading.

   Some of you who have been around the area may remember a young woman 25 or so years ago who killed her children because 'God told her to'. This type of action does grieve the Spirit.  God does not endorse evil deeds.

   Ephesians 4: ³⁰ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

   Actually read Ephesians 4: 17-32 (click here)  to get the full understanding and meaning of what we are being told.

    My prayer today is that I do not grieve the Spirit and ask your prayers as well, as I pray for you also.

   Think of the Spirit in this way:  You watch your child grow.  He/she does things that you do approve of and that you don't approve of.  The ones you don't approve of do, indeed, cause you to feel bad or grieve.

   In these cases you may offer guidance which will or will not be accepted.  If it is accepted your grief lessens; if not accepted you grief remains.  We are God's children; God - the Trinity - Three in One; therefore we are a child of God, Jesus, and the Spirit, which are all alive and with us.  So, which way will you travel now, today, tomorrow, the next week, month and year?  With the Spirit leading or you having the Spirit in tow and grieving the Spirit?  Food for thought. Love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria

Johnny