Who Can Approach God

Who Can Approach God?

Psalm 24:3,4
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Psalms 24:3-4 (KJV)
    As we start this new year let us note that our life is to be a constant worship to God and as we are constantly approaching God’s throne we must always do so with a pure heart that does not drive our hands and feet to do evil as well as having a proud attitude or are full of lies.
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. 9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:6-26 (KJV)
    We all fall into this category of having been vile, full of anger, full of bitterness, devoid of truth, and without God.  This being said, we all know that God has offered Himself as a way to get back to Him.  When we trust God for His saving power to keep us from falling (Jude 24,25) our old human nature will have no effect on us because we have been implanted with the Spirit of God.  This does not mean that we won’t be tempted to bring the old human nature back from the dead, but that truly trusting God’s saving power will give us the strength we need to remain a child of God. (John 10:28,29)
    Jesus Christ; who came to earth as a baby, then died, rose again, then ascended to His Father in Heaven,  will return to earth one day to claim His Church that is purely washed from their sins.  I want this to be an encouragement to you to not let down your guard because the devil’s attacks are real and if we allow the fiery darts to penetrate our souls we will become numb to the things of God.  Be alert, watch for the enemy of your souls the devil.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

Isaiah 40:29-31 (KJV)

The Devil Unleashed

 
 -2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
    The spirit of the devils is alive and well.  Evil and darkness prevails over much of the land.  The devil is all about deceiving the world, and he has been successful to a large degree.
    Christianity is no longer sacred.  The devil has made inroads into the church and has defiled it.  Wickedness seems to prevail throughout the church.  Even though Satan has seemingly taken control of the church, the power of God is still able to withstand him, if we just lay hold of it.  Many people appear to be religious by setting up a law to pace their actions, but their hearts are far from God.  Their laws have become their god, and the law can never save them.
    The church holds up men, ideas, and things as high or higher than the gospel.  We canonize them (in effect, worship them and their ideas); and as we read the Word of God we already have our minds made up as to what it is saying to us, so we are not truly reading to learn.
    Men and women following the desires of their heart will always result in tragedy.  People are always looking for something new and exciting, whether from God or from Satan.  If exciting things drive you,  trouble lies at the door.  You will not be able to keep up with it.  Consider the fashions, health kicks, new ideas in the church And men claiming their ideas are good.  Everything must be from the inspired and finished Word of God.
    Deceived and uprooted from faith in God, the urgency to stand up like a man and fight is more than ever.  Satan’s attacks will be only warded off by counter-attacking with the sword of the Spirit.  People would rather believe a lie than the truth, because truth hurts… our pride.  We must be driven by the Holy Spirit.  God has caused His law to be written on our hearts.
We find his ‘credentials’ in Isaiah 14:12-14.
Pride is a vice that describes Satan’s character.  Satan rears up his ugly head in each one of us.  Our sinful nature manifest is Satan’s character coming through.  Satan’s initial sin was pride and it is still coming through loud and clear.  Pride destroyed him, and it will destroy you.

Attack Stage 1

       -Luke 10:18/Revelation 12:8,9

Satan is very clearly God’s enemy and could not abide in Heaven with God.  Holiness alone is worthy of the presence of God.  Satan having tasted the glories of Heaven, revolted against the Almighty King; and was cast out, banished forever.

Attack Stage 2

The devil has been cast out of Heaven, with no hope of returning, but now he prepares for attack stage two.  The battle in Heaven has been fought, and he lost, but now he will focus on me and on you.  The idea of Satan is to sabotage God, the Almighty King and His wonderful work of creation.

       -Romans 8:22

The world was a perfect environment when it was created by God, but now that Adam, who was the forerunner of all mankind, sinned; the world has since been handed over to the power of Satan.  We now have nothing but pain.  Catastrophes abound, and though God sometimes gets the blame for these;  he is not the cause.

       -James 1:13/Galatians 1:4

Satan would utterly destroy any sign of God’s greatness, if he could, but God allows him a little destruction at a time.

This fight is between God and Satan… we are no match for Satan.  We are pawns in this fight, but we have the power to say who moves us.  Our battleground is like a chessboard that the devil keeps trying to control you side.  He will advance his imps toward you while turning the board about to catch you in the open.  -Jeremiah 17:17- Our only hope is Jesus Christ, He alone can trump the moves of the devil.

Attack Stage 3

The devil has now moved into the third stage of his attack.  This attack includes stage two and adds eroding the foundations of the world.  Through evolution, he has destroyed the knowledge that the world was created.  He has also destroyed the morals of our society by the belief that we are intelligent animals, therefore our actions become animalistic as we seek to be top monkey.  The idea of denying a creator cancels any responsibility towards Him for our actions, thus resulting in chaos for the world.

       

The Curse of Mankind

    Satan doomed the entire human race with a single blow, and now attempts to drive them into deeper sin and destruction.

    Till the time of Christ, mankind, when trying to please God, focused on works; which included a six-hundred page documentary of applications to God’s Laws and yearly sacrifices because no one was able to maintain the highest level of obedience to these laws.

    Jesus Christ has now come, and we now enjoy being vindicated with Him in spite of our past sins.  His death on the cross has paid for our ransom from the hand of the devil and we are now freed from the bondage of sin.

 We are at war, a holy war that does not involve human enemies.

    -Genesis 3:15-

    Adam and Eve faced this enemy and came up short.  Our early father and mother conceded defeat and paid dearly for their defeat as all men after them have.  They have paved the way for all men to be deceived by their arch-enemy, Satan. 

     Instead of man’s heart being inherently good like many try to teach us today, Adam and Eve’s defeat points out that even in a good environment their hearts had a potential for wickedness and destruction built into them and us, and because of their defeat we are all doomed to inadequacy in our  potential to sin has not changed and this is the cause of the latest sweep of attacks on us as Christians.  The change that we have seen in our lives is that we have access to the power of God to keep us from yielding to sin.  Christ has now opened the way for all people to come to Him through faith.

     The value of a person who has been a Christian but has turned back to Satan is in that Satan has delivered yet another blow to God’s majestic realms.  God will never be destroyed by Satan, but will reign on in spite of the blows dealt by Satan.  This battle we face is not between us and Satan, but rather between Satan and God.  We as humans are avenues for Satan to get revenge.

    God can and will give us the roadblock so Satan can not use us against Him; if we allow Him to help us!  This is available to us through Jesus’ blood which paid for our ransom.  The march of Truth will go on forever.

     2 Timothy 4:7,8- “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.”

    Keep fighting for the Lord!  The minute you give up, you have lost.  When the devil sifts you like wheat, stand firm and you will come out like gold.

     Be vigilant for God, stand up to the devil in the power of God.  Satan can only destroy you if you let him, so let your light shine from the sword of truth and blast the darkness away.

   As I ponder these thoughts from 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 I am cautioned as to how easy it is to lose our way.

The Christmas Tree

A babe in a manger that was the Son of God, came for one purpose alone.  Jesus Christ's sole purpose for coming to earth was to sacrifice Himself as the perfect Lamb upon the altar of the cross.  Those few years later namely 33 found Himself stretched upon that cruel tree.  As the Light of the world ebbed away darkness spread over the entire world.  The first Christmas tree stood bearing that true Light bringing to mankind salvation and re-instating man's chance for fellowship with God.

God Bless Us Every One!
Merry Christmas

What's in a name?

• Isaiah 7:14  "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

       A careful search from heaven finds a young maiden that God should choose to indwell in this special way.  This choice was not necessarily for her looks but rather for her integrity and her desire to do what is right. 

      What is in a name?  This prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 was given approximately 700 years before that great event of the birth of Jesus Christ, yet names the child Immanuel which by definition is "God with us".  Not only did this refer to God being on earth with us in the form of Jesus Christ during His life and ministry; but also refers to His tabernacling in our hearts.  This tabernacle experience truly allows for His shekinah glory (Exodus 34:5) to shine through our lives.  The words "shekinah glory" means the presence of the glory of God.
      The journey we are on requires a presence that is greater than our own to make it through.  We need Immanuel or "God with us" in our lives.  The things we face can be depressing, overwhelming, unnerving or whatever other words fit in there for you; but if we have Jesus Christ, God our Savior, in our hearts we do not have to let our circumstances overshadow our faith in God.

Merry Christmas

Wandering In The Wilderness

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fgp8LUogxD7rbPn8ztb5ZM30pazqXUMih9DxeF3FtEI/edit
This is a link to a presentation of this message. Be encouraged!

Remarriage After Divorce

    Marriage is for life.  When a man and a woman get married, they have covenanted or promised themselves to each other.  This includes loving each other for life.
    The response to having divorce enter into the culture and corrupt God's perfect design has brought about a change in people's views of the permanence of marriage.
    Divorce has opened the idea that if you can't love your spouse, you just drop him/her and find another one.  God says something entirely different though.

• Deuteronomy 24:1-4
• Mark 10:2-12
• Matthew 19:2-9
• Luke 16:18
• Matthew 5:31
• 1 Corinthians 7:1-16

    There is no place under the New Covenant for the remarriage unless there has been a death of a spouse.  To remarry while your spouse is still alive is to disregard God's Laws and your commitment to your spouse.  God calls it adultery.

Marriage and Divorce

Divorce is a mockery to what God has established to be a pure relationship between a husband and wife.  Rather than choosing to work out the failing relationship many would rather just separate and go their own ways.  Where is the love that drove them together in the first place?
    The hurts that many people feel through this is evidence that it never was in God’s plan for marriage.  This was just something the devil slipped in to demean what could be something beautiful.
 Malachi 2:16 God hates divorce and calls those who do it “unfaithful”.
    This has no place in a relationship that is supposed to represent “Christ and the Church”.
    Divorce does absolutely nothing for marriage but separate two who should be lovers.  Separation can not be called of God, for before sin came into the world there was no separation.  Separation is brought on by Satan who wants to destroy relationships -all relationships- and make man an island to himself so he(she) will not function in the bounds for which he (she) was created.
31  It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Matt 5:31-32 (KJV)
1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Mark 10:1-12 (KJV)
    The reason the Jews (or God’s people) were told they could divorce was because their sin had gone unchecked for so long.  Their hearts were hardened by their sin and they were blinded to what God’s principles for marriage really are.            Divorce was not ordained by God for His people but since they chose that route God put some guidelines down on it.
1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Deut 24:1-4 (KJV)
    A constantly revolving marriage-like relationship will only bring more trouble to you than if you try to work things out among yourselves.
    Marriage is for life and when a married man and woman ( who are made one flesh by being married) divorce, a part of themselves gets torn apart and destroyed.
23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
Prov 30:23 (KJV)
    A woman feels rejected when a man divorces her.  She feels vulnerable because he is choosing not to protect her.  Most of the marriage problems are a result of the selfishness of the man who is designated by God to be the leader in making the marriage work.  The very things the man is supposed to do for his wife are left go in a divorce, making him unfaithful.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Gen 2:24 (KJV)
7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
1 Peter 3:7 (KJV)
When we defraud our spouse by divorce we are disregarding the principles of God for our marriage and creating an environment that begs for God’s judgment.  Our relationship with God will be hindered for going against His plan.

Did Jesus Have Wife?

An "archaeological" fragment suggests that Jesus had a wife.  If Jesus would have had a wife, I am sure there would be more documents saying so.  Jesus did not come to the earth to marry when He was here the first time, but He came to DIE to save men and women from their sins.  When he comes back to earth the second time, He will be coming for His bride.
    We know that He has a bride also known as the Church who will be a pure, unspotted virgin; unmarred by this sin cursed earth.  Since no one can attain to this level of purity of themselves we must rely completely on the righteousness of Jesus Christ to be implanted upon our hearts through accepting His sacrifice on our behalf.   Those who are too busy, even though they are religious will be cast out, kicked out, or unfriended as they considered themselves and their agenda self important.  Don't let this be you.

Man's Responsibility In Marriage

•     Genesis 1:26-28
•     Genesis 2:7, 18-25

    God institutes marriage, and whenever it is outside this perimeter, its full potential will not be seen.  God created man first signifying his role in leadership in the marriage relationship.  When problems rise in the home, it is the man's responsibility to resolve them.  God gave him a partner- a woman.  God never intended that two men or two women live together in this same manner, as it would only breed trouble.

    Marriage is to be a picture of the relationship between Christ (the husband) and the Church (the wife).  If we as partners in this relationship of marriage would keep it in this outline as given to us by God, the problems we face in our marriage would be non-existent.

    The name husband has to do with economics, being thrifty, and farming.  He is to be the bread winner for the family and doing everything in his power to make sure things are taken care of financially and around the house.  He too must care for the physical, emotional, as well as spiritual needs of his wife and family or he will be counted as an unbeliever. ( 1 Timothy 5:8)

• To love unconditionally
• To lead as a service
• To nourish
• To protect as a service physically, spiritually, and emotionally

    Man's first responsibility to his wife is to love her unconditionally.  We are all human and humans make mistakes but that is nor reason for the husbands not to fulfill his foremost responsibility.
    If he just lets his family go to the “dogs”, he has shirked his responsibility and must repent before God and his family.
    The responsibility of the welfare of the family falls solely on the husband/father, however, the wife/mother helps carry out his vision for the family.
    He must have a vision for his God-given responsibility.  Without a vision the family will die.  18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Prov 29:18 (KJV)
    Life does not just happen, but must be arranged by the man under the direction of God for a purpose.
    The love of the husband for his wife must be clear to her.  A woman who is unloved yet married is a difficult thing.  It seemingly falls into the same category as a servant who reigns over the king.  Not a nice picture at all.
23 For an odious woman when she is married;
Prov 30:23 (KJV)
    This is not meant to be an insult to unmarried women or women that are caught in a relationship that does not show love, but rather is meant to encourage the man to fill his responsibility seriously.
    Christ loved the church so much He was willing to die so it could live.  Marriage is analoge of the relationship between Christ and the Church, therefore, what Christ has done for the Church is what husbands and fathers need to do for their families.
    We may never physically lay our lives down for the sake of our families, but that shouldn’t be ruled out as a possibility.  The idea behind this is sacrificing the things we enjoy for the sake  of leading the family on fin truth.
   God has instilled in all men the need to be a leader and a desire for women to be led.
 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:16 (KJV)
This is not to say that the husband should get an over-rated opinion of himself and say that she had better follow him, but rather he should lead in a manner that is worthy of being followed.
    The love that a man has for his wife will cause him to submit to her in that he sacrifices himself for her betterment.  In submission, he is not making her his lord, but rather is offering himself as a servant as a result of his love.
    Christ came to be our servant while on earth and while not making us His lord sacrificed Himself for the reconciliation of our souls.  If we are not submitted in humility to our wife’s needs the hope of having a relationship with her like the relationship between Christ and the Church is extinguished.  We must give her our all to redeem the relationship.
1 Corinthians 11
    Through the sacrifice of the husband, he is offering love, protection, and nourishment which will only be seen through her submission to him.
    The husband must see to it that his wife’s needs are met.  God has given him the responsibility of nourishing her physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  In a time when the family unit often chooses to go their separate ways it is unmistakable that many wives needs are going unnourished.  When this happens she then has a void that she fills with something else.
    Nourishing your wife means feeding her in all three of the areas mentioned before.
    Protection of your wife is also a responsibility of the husband.  Christ offered Himself as a protection for His bride and as physical marriage is a symbol of that, then man is to offer himself as a protection for his wife.  Only when we get a grip on this concept will our wife feel secure in our love and Christ.

That your prayers are
not hindered

1 Peter 3:7
    Love your wife in an understanding way, be thoughtful of her and treat her as royalty.  God has created her for the finer things in life.  Even though she is physically weaker than most men, she is strong in her own way.  Whenever we go against this plan that God has set up, our prayers will be hindered and God will not hear us.  We will have built a wall between us and God.
    Take care of her heart and look for ways to help her.  Pray for her.