28 December 2014

Lesson for the week: Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7

Galatians 3:23-25N (NKJV)

23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Galatians 4:4-7

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

May you, the reader, be blessed by these words :)

Terry

Comments Welcomed

21 December 2014

Lesson for the week: Romans 16:25-27

Romans 16:25-27  (NKJV)

Benediction

25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

May you, the reader, be blessed by these words :)

Terry

Comments Welcomed

14 December 2014

Lesson for the week: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NKJV)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NKJV)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

Blessing and Admonition

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

May you, the reader, be blessed by these words :)

Terry

Comments Welcomed

12 December 2014

Another writing by Bill Dennington

This was written by a friend of mine, Bill Dennigton from Georgia. this is Excellent!

I taught a series not that long ago on the Love of God. The focus of the study was not on how we are to love God, or how we are to love one another; but, how immeasurable God’s love actually is for us. In meditating on the verses that speak of God’s love for us I came to a deeper understanding of just how futile it is to attempt to love God when you have no real revelation of how much God loves you.
One example I saw from the book of Exodus was how Israel responded to God’s great love for them. They just could not comprehend the depth to which God actually did love His Chosen Nation. Egypt had so instilled a slave mentality into that generation that came out of bondage that they saw everything through the eyes of fear. They were programmed with fear in their subconscious mind that no matter how good God was to them they could not see the love and grace He was bestowing upon them.
Everything God did was because He loved Israel and honored the covenant He entered in to with Abraham. That covenant was possible due to Abraham’s love of God. That was what was being displayed when Abraham tithed the spoils of his victory over the armies that took Lot and his family captive. Abraham was not commanded to do that, he did it out of love and devotion for God, even before the covenant had been cut. That love became the catalyst for the covenant. You can see God taking Abraham deeper into the relationship after that event. This was a relationship based purely on love, faith, and grace, on both sides. (Most outstanding when you consider Abraham was spiritually dead at the time!)
Israel, on the on the other hand, was several generations removed from all of that. 400 years of life in Egypt had affected them greatly. That long season of living in a completely heathen society and becoming the object of suspicion and hatred on the part of the Egyptians had brought them to the place where they were now thinking only as a subjugated slave class of beings. They, as a result, had lost all concept of covenant love. Anyone and everyone who came in to order them around was looked upon with suspicion and hatred. Just another oppressor who was interested in only taking from them, not giving them anything.
This mentality was so deeply ingrained into their thinking that God eventually had to let that generation die off in the wilderness. They just could not accept or receive God’s love on any level, and, they were incapable of loving God as He had commanded them to do for they saw Him as an oppressor, not a deliverer.
There is so much more to share along this line, but let me close with this… when you are only loving God because you are commanded or expected to do so, you are still approaching God with a performance based mentality. Any effort on your part to express a love extracted by commandment will fall woefully short of what God really desires. It is love that is pulled out instead of love that is poured out.
Right along with that is that the love that is performance based actually had a fear-based motivation that keeps you from being able to make any kind of real heart-level commitment to God. “Can’t do that, you never know when God might do something to hurt me!” That is the thinking that is going on under the surface.
The Apostle John demonstrates something very powerful that every believer needs to grab hold to and develop in their lives. He recognized and saw just how much God loved him. He saw this to the degree that he titled himself in his gospel as “the one Jesus loved.” He became developed in this, even before the new birth took place, to the degree that he was completely unafraid to stand at the foot of the cross while Jesus hung and died there. Jesus saw that fearless love and turned over the watch care of His mother to John.
We find no mention of John ever expressing his love of Jesus in any of the gospels. However, we do find multiple occasions where Peter boldly expressed his love of the Lord. He even declared that he would die with Jesus. But, Jesus saw that Peter’s love was performance based. He told Peter that he would end up betraying Him three times and that is exactly what happened. Peter was nowhere to be found on the day Jesus hung on the cross for fear had driven him into hiding.
John, in his first letter, reveals that perfect love casts out fear. That love of which he speaks is not our love of God, but God’s love of us. The greater the revelation of how much God loves us we develop in our lives is the degree that we will find all the different degrees of fear that have been planted in our hearts being flushed out. This in turn enables us to begin to express our love of God, not from any performance based motivation, but from a pure heart of true love pouring out of deep appreciation with no strings attached.
Move from just keeping commandments to living a life of freedom from fear and performance. Open your eyes to the awesomeness of God’s great love for us that was shown and demonstrated through Jesus Christ. Love because you want to, not because you have to, and watch how God responds to a fear-free love. It will amaze you and free you!

May you, the reader, be blessed by these words :)

Terry

Comments Welcomed

08 December 2014

Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is not fun at all, BUT when I consider the Nonsense  I'm going through because of it now, I know it will be worth it. I just pray I'm not too late to stop or slow down the damage from smoking. All of you young [and old] people out there, take note, it WILL catch up to you specially with these so called fire safe cigs. What ever they're using to make the self exstinguishing is making them even more fatal!

Terry

07 December 2014

Lesson for the week: 2 Peter 3:8-15 (NKJV)

2 Peter 3:8-15b  (NKJV)

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The Day of the Lord

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Be Steadfast

14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation

May you, the reader, be blessed by these words :)

Terry

Comments Welcomed