Baggage

One night at church, Phil was telling me about how the Lord had been dealing with him. It seemed to him that God was telling him there were still things in his life, things he had been carrying around in his heart; you know, his inner most being … the part reserved for God, where God wants to live.

The Lord reminded him of people in an airport terminal; you've seen them yourself, the ones pushing the luggage with little wheels. Some people pull them behind them; others carry heavy suitcases or have them strapped on their back.

Many of these same people seem to struggle carrying their baggage. It slows them down. It wears them out. Some of the baggage is overweight. You can still get it all on the airplane … but the extra weight will cost you more. It's going to take something from you.

After the Lord spoke to him and showed him this example of the extra baggage that we choose to carry around with us; Phil did exactly what we should all do when God speaks to us … he talked to Him about it.

So he asked the Lord how to know which one or how much of the baggage he should put down.

The Lord said not to pick and choose, but to put it all down … and then He would tell him which ones to pick back up.

So … let us use this simple but profound example; to rid ourselves of things from our past … sin, hurts, failures, etc. that have become baggage that we carry around inside of us, in the place that really has only enough room for God to dwell in … our hearts.

God doesn't want just the leftover room in your heart … He wants all of your heart. God likes to fill the temple given to Him. I know the heart must be empty of all other things, because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone without emptying it of all other things, so neither can He act there and do in it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.

Let's not only put down the baggage we carry with us; let's throw out all the stuff we also have stored that we don't have need of anymore.

Lord, thank you for Phil's willingness to share his heart with me.

I need it.

Is Jesus Enough

I want to put an end to this question that keeps being raised time and again when each new teacher of the Word climbs upon his soap box pulpit thinking he has some new instructions from God … do this or add that … to make your salvation sure. It's already as sure as it's ever going be because God Himself became the Lamb that was slain.

Can we do anything that will make us more saved than what Jesus did on the cross when He bled and died as the only perfect blood sacrifice that God required for man's sin?

Jesus states in John 17:4 … "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

What is finished? What He came to do; and that is … to be the full payment for sin; payment that would satisfy God the Father.

John records that just before Jesus died on the cross he said … "It is finished."

The reason Jesus could say as He died on the cross … "It is finished" was because the work was complete. God in the form of a man died, what was required had been met; nothing else could or needed to be added to it … it was finished.

He had just executed the great will, purpose and design of God … without help from anyone, Jesus by Himself satisfied the demands of God's justice. Man was now reconciled back to God by His death on the cross.

1st Corinthians 6:20 … "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

I like the way this verse in the Vulgate version says to "bear" or "carry God in your body" instead of the King James word glorify.

That's an interesting thought … because we are bought with a price … we should carry God around within us. If we "bear" Him, maybe we would be more aware of His presence.

1st Peter 1:18-20 … "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot … Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world …"

A Saviour was provided … before sin was committed … and the method of man's redemption was settled even before his creation, without any regard to any works or merits of men. Man's redemption is wholly owing to the sovereign will and grace of God.

God alone has saved us. God all by Himself took on the responsibility of man's salvation. It has already been said, "Man had a debt he could not pay … Jesus paid the debt He did not owe."

Galatians 5:4 … "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

If you try to add to your salvation by works or good deeds of any kind, you are "fallen from grace." We can't do anything to add to what Jesus has done; if we think we can, we are only deceiving ourselves.

Justification is given by God's mercy and grace alone. It is not that we are innocent, or are declared to be innocent. We are not innocent; we never have been and we never shall be. It will always be true that the justified sinner has no claim to the mercy and grace of God. It is a free gift.

Justification is not a declaration on the part of God that we deserve salvation, or that we have any claim for what the Lord Jesus has done. Again … it is a free gift.

It is not that the righteousness of the Lord Jesus is transferred to His people. Moral character cannot be transferred. It adheres to the moral agent as much as color does to the rays of light which cause it.

It is not true that we died for sin, and it cannot be so reckoned or imputed. It is not true that we have any merit or any claim to His righteousness, and it cannot be so reckoned or imputed. All the imputations of God are according to truth; and He will always reckon us to be personally undeserving and sinful.

But if justification is none of these things, it may be asked … "What is it?" It is the declared purpose of God to regard and treat sinners who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as if they had not sinned, on the ground of the merits of the Saviour.

It is not mere pardon. Pardon is a free forgiveness of past offences. The offences are still on your record … just pardoned.

Justification needs pardon first but also respects the sinner in regard to his past conduct and to God’s future dealings with him … as though he had never sinned. God now looks at the believer through the filter of Jesus.

Galatians 2:21 … "If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

For if righteousness come by the law; if a justifying righteousness is to be attained by the works of the law, or men can be justified by their obedience to it, or their own works and good deeds …

"Then Christ is dead in vain" … there was no necessity for His dying; He died without any reason or just cause; He died to bring righteousness which might have been brought in without His death, and if so … His blood and life should have been spared, His sufferings and death being entirely unnecessary.

But it was not so … therefore it may be concluded, that there is no righteousness by the law of works or good deeds, nor can it be attained that way, otherwise Christ should have never died. Justification is solely attained by … His righteousness alone.

Peter left no misunderstanding concerning the completed work of Jesus when he spoke in Acts 4:12 … "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Jesus is enough.



Comments welcome.

Spiritual Warfare

What is it? Who do you fight? How do you fight? Why do you fight? Are we told to fight? These are just some of the questions that very quickly come to mind.

The Apostle Paul, who knew a lot more than I ever will, wrote these words about "Spiritual Warfare" in Ephesians 6:10-17 …

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

The only way we can be strong in the Lord is through His might, not ours. May I give an example? It's just like any goodness found in us … it's really not ours … its Jesus in us; there is nothing in and of ourselves that is good in any of us. Sorry.

Paul continues with … "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

The wiles … what are they, what does this mean? The word properly means … "methods, schemes and strategies."

The idea here is that Satan does not carry on an open warfare. He does not meet us face to face. He doesn't use mere force; rather he practices war only covertly in darkness; our enemy is usually invisible to us. Almost the entire Christian struggle or warfare is against "schemes and strategies."

Paul writes that we are to put on not one or two pieces of God's protection; but the whole armor made available to protect us from the various methods that Satan employs against us; thereby allowing us to still be standing after each attack. By this warning, I assume if one does not put on the whole armor of God, there is a good chance one will not be able to stand against some of Satan's attacks.

"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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

We are told by Paul to dress in God's battle armor that He has made available to each one of us. Some have said this armor is what God wears when He goes to battle. I don't think so. He doesn't need it … but we do.

Without a doubt, our battleground is not flesh; (unless it is our own flesh). We are in a "spiritual warfare" against Satan; therefore we need non-fleshly weapons. We're not looking for men to do battle against, even though we see in men and the world the results of evil being done on the earth.

I wonder if maybe the only way to withstand the evil in each day is to take the whole armor that God has for you. What does the word, withstand mean? The Greek rendering is … "to stand against, oppose and resist," meaning Satan and his power, to oppose his schemes and resist his attacks.

The word … withstand … gives the impression that Satan brings the battle to us; he attacks us, not the other way around. Look close and you will see that the armor is all defensive except for the one offensive weapon we have … "the word of God."

"Withstand in the evil day" … This war is perpetual; the battle may consist of one day or many days … one day at a time. That is why we must never take off our God given armor; keep it on and stand your guard. Satan never gives up. If one weapon won't bring you down, he will come back with another.

"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

This is just a thought … but could our armor be "the Blood of Jesus" and our "Robe of Righteousness" that covers and protects us?

Jesus is "truth" itself; He gave us His "righteousness" that covers our heart; He is "peace" and His "salvation" has renewed our minds. The whole thing to me sounds just like … Jesus, who is the "Word of God."

Remember … this armor is only symbolic in nature; it's not material armor you can actually put on and wear. It's only spiritual. You put it on spiritually. Just like you put on Jesus … spiritually. Putting Him on makes you a new man.

Ephesians 4:24 … "put on the new man …"

Adam was the 1st man; Jesus being called the 2nd Adam, meaning man … could we not say then that Jesus is the new man that we should put on?

Romans 13:12 … "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

Romans 13:14 … "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."

Galatians 3:27 … "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

To put on … to be clothed with a person is a Greek phrase, signifying to assume the person and character of that one; to enter into his views, to imitate him and act his part. To put on Christ, which seems to be the true sense of the phrase, is not only to exercise faith, but to imitate him in the exercise of our duty; to walk as he walked.

Considering all these things, is it too far of a stretch to believe that Jesus Himself could be the armor we need when we go to battle on a daily basis? Besides, if we really tell the truth, not one of us ever win the battle ourselves … it's always Jesus, and Him only; He wins the battle for us, it has nothing to do with us. The only battle we ever enter into is in … prayer … and then God takes over.

The devil stands back and throws darts at us. What do we use to knock them down before they can do any damage to us? The shield we use is … our faith.

What if I drop my shield? What if I lose my shield of faith? If Jesus is my armor, then I'm still protected.

The only offensive weapon we have is … "the sword of the Spirit" … which is "the word of God." This is where I have a small problem with the Word. I guess not with the Word, but how it's used. Many times we only wield our sword against our brothers and sisters in the Lord, forgetting we don't fight against flesh and blood.

I really don't know how to use the Word effectively against our enemy Satan. Yes I know Jesus resisted the devil by quoting the Word; but honestly … that doesn't seem to work for me. There … I said it. Honestly, openly, with questions that so far, even after 46 years of walking with Jesus haven't been fully answered by the counsel of man or the Word of God. And it probably never will in this lifetime.

So, there you have my opinion and thoughts about … "Spiritual Warfare." Except for Paul's words where he says … "having done all, stand."

In reality, the only thing I know about having "done all" concerning fighting the enemy of my soul, doing Spiritual Warfare is to …

"Pray, Trust God and Go On."

I don't know anything else to do, since I trust in His Providential Care, knowing that … all … His created subjects are under the control of His Sovereignty, and that includes Satan.


Comments welcome.

He Was Born Blind

John 9:1-3 … "And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

It was an opinion among the Jews that birth defects of all kinds were the effects of sin. The common Jewish view was that the sins of the parents would result in birth defects in their children. The disciples must have accepted that view in this case, knowing the man was blind from his birth; so it was a question the disciples asked to determine,

1.) Whether it was his fault, believing that an infant could sin before he was born; consequently this blindness came upon the child as a result of that sin; or ...
2.) His blindness was from his parent's sin. Notice they only gave Jesus these two choices and He rejected them both.

Many of the Jews, as it appears from their writings, believed in the doctrine of transmigration of souls; that the soul of a man, because of sin, might be compelled by God at their death, to pass into a new body and be punished in this next life with birth defects.

So they ask whether the man himself had sinned before he was born, in his mothers womb; believing that it was possible for an infant to sin in the womb, and to be punished with some bodily infirmity as a consequence. Or could it have been from sin in a pre-existent state while in a previous body; and now the punishment for that sin was to be put into a blind body in this life.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:29 …"You do err not knowing the Scriptures." This is a case in point, as there is nothing in scripture about a pre-existent state or sinning before birth. This is the danger of following someone's opinion.

It is true, many of our physical problems are brought on us by either our own sins in this present life, or problems can be inherited from our parents and caused by their sins; drugs, alcohol, etc.

The second question they ask comes from misunderstanding Exodus 20:5 … "I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me …"

I have heard this verse used trying to prove that some children's problems are from sins being passed down in their blood line … a generational curse … which I will speak towards later.

The idea, view or opinion is that … God transfers … this sin nature from father to son. This generational curse can not be true if 0ne looks at this verse from Exodus, the second of the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:1-17 … "And God spoke all these words, saying …

1.) Thou shalt have no other gods before me …
2.) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image … Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me …
3.) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain …
4.) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5.) Honor thy father and thy mother …
6.) Thou shalt not kill.
7.) Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8.) Thou shalt not steal.
9.) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10.) Thou shalt not covet …"

I believe this view of passing on sin, comes from a misunderstanding which comes from not looking at the reason behind this statement by God. The only reason "the iniquity of the fathers" is passed on or "visited upon" their children is this. Generally, children learn and follow in the footsteps of their parents; especially when it comes to their faith, or "religion." These fathers in teaching their children the "sin of idolatry" are raising them to continue in it, thereby "visiting" each generation that follows.

Just as we can be a third or forth generation "Christian" … "Idolaters" likewise can be of the third and forth generation and beyond as well.

This scripture speaks only to the children who walk in the steps of their father's "sin of idolatry." God said … "of them that hate me … " The children themselves will suffer only the consequences of their own sin.

No man can or will be condemned by God's Divine justice for a sin which he was never guilty of committing.

Therefore, how can our children today be held in bondage because of some sin committed by us, of which they had nothing to do with? If this is possible, then this doctrine (if I may use that term) would be a type of generational curse and would give credibility to the doctrine that certain types or classifications of sin run in families.

Unless there are material reasons; physical genes, DNA, the chemical genetic makeup of our bodies that are given from parent to child … I don't believe in generational curses. Sorry.

Concerning generational curses of a spiritual type, Paul wrote these words in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 …"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Paul didn't say some things are passed away… but rather "old things" are passed away; behold (look and see) "all things" are new. Therefore I believe any former traits or tendencies passed on from parent to child; like a curse … when you are born again, when you receive God's new nature; the "old things" are done away with just like our sin. If there was a curse, "the Blood of Jesus" breaks the curse. I'm not speaking of our sin nature; we never lose that as long as we are in these bodies, but "the curse of sin" has been done away with.

Let me leave no doubt as to where I stand concerning generational curses. They can be physical; cancer, heart trouble, etc. run in families. That's a matter of medical history.

They can also be spiritual. The main curse is on all mankind; we have received the fallen nature of Adam. There may be other spiritual curses beyond the one covered in Exodus 20:5 that we spoke about; curses that follow your children if you do not raise them … "in the way they should go, in the fear of God."

I'm not going to accept any curses; especially those from the devil.

It is possible for me to be wrong … I have been once or twice.

Brenda

I really don't remember how long it has been since my wife and I met this girl working a check-out lane at a store we were shopping in. I really didn't pay that much attention to her at the time. But I do remember that she was pretty and had a nice smile.

A couple of weeks later we ended up in her lane again, but this time I remembered just what it was that made me take notice of her before. It wasn't just how she looked. There was something about her spirit, the look in her eyes that made me want to say … "can I help?"

She had a beautiful natural smile; I could tell it was genuine, but I was drawn to whatever I saw in her eyes at the time. In my spirit I again thought … "is there a need I can help you with?" So, I started asking her about the Lord knowing He was the one person who would provide all the "peace and joy" I thought maybe she needed. But I was wrong; not about the Lord, but about her.

As I found out, she was and still is "a believer in Jesus," a sister I didn't know I had; well really more like another daughter, for I would guess she must be twenty years younger than I am. That look in her eyes, as it turns out was nothing more I believe than, "a disposition of humility, mixed in with a little shyness."

Why am I writing about all this? Today, this "beautiful representative of Jesus;" and that is an accurate description of her; asked us to pray for a need that concerns someone she loves. I now know why "my spirit" was drawn to her spirit. God was in the process of bringing us together for a reason. There are no accidents with God. My wife and I are supposed to be part of a prayer circle of believers that are praying for this request that is on Brenda's heart. It's that important. God started the process before the need was known.

If you would like to be part of this move of God; I am asking all those who read this posting to also join us in "prayer" for this need. I don't know why God works through "prayer" … but He does.

"Help us pray" for a young ten or eleven year old girl who has just been diagnosed with "leukemia." I believe she is a niece of Brenda's, our new found Christian friend and sister or "daughter" in the Lord.

I don't know about you, but if either one of my little girls had anything like this wrong with them, then or now as adults, I would be asking every believer I know to be praying for her. I wouldn't give up, and I'm not going to give up now!

The Bible records in Genesis and Hosea, that Jacob …"wrestled with the Angel of the Lord (who was the manifestation of Jesus) and prevailed … Jacob wept and sought God's favor."

What I want to tell you today is this; when we struggle or wrestle in prayer for anything, even a young girl with "leukemia;" hold on to God with the same tenacity, the persistent determination and strength, that Hosea said caused Jacob "to prevail over God," and receive a blessing from Him.

This little girl's name is "Faith" … which is what I am asking you to use when you pray. Use the measure of faith you received when you were born again; put it to use now by asking God to restore "Faith" back to total health.

Like you, I have never seen her; I may never see her in this life, but God sees and knows her and is waiting on our faith in Him to ascend to His throne, carried there by our pleading hearts in prayer for this little girl. Let's hold on to God as Jacob did until "Faith" prevails over this cancer.

If I may, let me encourage you in the healing power of God that we still have yet today in and through ... "the name of Jesus."

It's been about a year and a half ago that a brother in our church found out that the lump growing on the side of his chest was cancer. It grew to about the size of a grapefruit. Doctors gave him no hope. But his wife started praying, asking God to take control. She asked the church to join with her in prayer and over the next few weeks that cancer just disappeared from his side without surgery of any kind. It's been almost two years and it's still gone. Praise the Lord! Praise God!

God did it. God alone. God all by Himself, without any help from the doctors. He doesn't need it. God sometimes just comes on the scene and takes control. We don't need to tell Him what needs to be done. He knows, He cares, He can and He will do what needs to be done. That's what I'm asking Him for here.

I believe I now know why the Lord brought Brenda into our lives. So we would be able to stand with her in time of trouble; and trouble is now here. So I'm asking you to go before the Lord with us, and ask for God's mercy and grace and His healing power for this young girl with the perfect name … "Faith."

May God's blessings be upon those of you that stand with … "Faith."