OFFENCES
We have all been offended at one time or another on our spiritual journey by people, and how they have treated us. There is a very interesting verse in the OT about offences. (Ps 119:165). In the KJV it reads "Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them." Other translations use different words, such as the NLT "Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble". But the message is the same, offences are a cause of "stumbling", and knowledge of, and love for God's Word, is the means of preventing offences! This would seem to be an easy answer to preventing this problem of being offended. Then why don't we just read and heed God's eternal Word, that is "Forever settled in heaven" (Ps 119:89)? That is probably one of those questions that are difficult to answer!
In the NT we read of people being offended by some statements of Jesus. For example in (Matt 13:53-57) when Jesus taught in His home town of Nazareth, verse 57 states "And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in Him" NLT. Jesus often made statements that offended people, and His Word still offends certain people today. Especially when it clearly states something that they don't want to hear! Our society has become so "ego-centric", or focused on self, that we only want to hear things that make us feel good. Our Creator God knows what we need to hear, to help us grow in our faith, and to become more like His Son. So when He sees us getting off in our pursuit of other things, and following the ways of the world, He will use His Word to bring correction to us. But because of our carnal nature that wants its own way, we can become "offended" by the truth of the Word.
There is a very scary scripture recorded in (2 Thess 2:9-11), in the NLT we read about the effect of believing the lies of the coming Antichrist "He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth". Paul is very clear in this chapter that Jesus cannot come back until after the Antichrist appears on the scene. This truth offends certain people who have believed in a "any moment" rapture. We need to "love and accept the truth" in order to prevent being deceived! This is a critical truth for followers of Jesus to understand!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
ELECTION
ELECTION
The residents of New Brunswick have just come through an election that has seen the ruling Liberal Party defeated after only one term in office. So for the last month or so, we have been bombarded with election talk. However I have a different type of election in mind, one that is mentioned in the Bible in various places. One of these places is in (Eph 1:3-14), where Paul uses the term "in Christ" several times. This is a very important NT phrase, and implies that the moment we repent from our sinful ways (Rom 3:23), and receive Jesus as our Savior, we are "born again" into the Family of God, and are then "in Christ" for eternity. (see John 1:10-13). Then in (2 Cor 5:17) we read about anyone who is "in Christ" is a "new creation", this refers to our new birth (John 3:3-5), or our now being part of the "New Covenant".
This is the position we find ourselves in as followers of Jesus, we didn't deserve it, as members of the fallen race of human descendants of Adam, but because of God's grace, He accepted us as part of "His Forever Family"! This is the heart of the gospel, that our Creator God would make provision for us to become part of His family. This is all part of what the Bible refers to as "election", or "predestination" (Rom 8:29-30). In other words, as I understand it, even before He created our universe, He knew by His "foreknowledge", those humans who would accept His offer of grace, and receive the gift of salvation, and those who would not. He created us all with a free will to make choices, and He always respects our freedom to choose. Some people believe that predestination means that God has predestined some to be saved, and some to be lost. But this is a false teaching, based on a lack of understanding of God's foreknowledge. Because He knows everything in advance, he knows the choices we will make, before we make them! That should put the "fear of God" into the heart of all of us, and make us a lot more thankful for His grace!
A brief study of scriptures that mention election, like (Rom 11:28) and
(2 Peter 1:10-11), along with (Rom 8:29-30), should help us to understand a little more how great and marvelous God's provision for us is in His Son!
The next time you read Paul's letters, like Ephesians or Colossians, count the number of times he uses the phrase "in Christ". And then thank God for the words of Peter to "make your call and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10)!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
The residents of New Brunswick have just come through an election that has seen the ruling Liberal Party defeated after only one term in office. So for the last month or so, we have been bombarded with election talk. However I have a different type of election in mind, one that is mentioned in the Bible in various places. One of these places is in (Eph 1:3-14), where Paul uses the term "in Christ" several times. This is a very important NT phrase, and implies that the moment we repent from our sinful ways (Rom 3:23), and receive Jesus as our Savior, we are "born again" into the Family of God, and are then "in Christ" for eternity. (see John 1:10-13). Then in (2 Cor 5:17) we read about anyone who is "in Christ" is a "new creation", this refers to our new birth (John 3:3-5), or our now being part of the "New Covenant".
This is the position we find ourselves in as followers of Jesus, we didn't deserve it, as members of the fallen race of human descendants of Adam, but because of God's grace, He accepted us as part of "His Forever Family"! This is the heart of the gospel, that our Creator God would make provision for us to become part of His family. This is all part of what the Bible refers to as "election", or "predestination" (Rom 8:29-30). In other words, as I understand it, even before He created our universe, He knew by His "foreknowledge", those humans who would accept His offer of grace, and receive the gift of salvation, and those who would not. He created us all with a free will to make choices, and He always respects our freedom to choose. Some people believe that predestination means that God has predestined some to be saved, and some to be lost. But this is a false teaching, based on a lack of understanding of God's foreknowledge. Because He knows everything in advance, he knows the choices we will make, before we make them! That should put the "fear of God" into the heart of all of us, and make us a lot more thankful for His grace!
A brief study of scriptures that mention election, like (Rom 11:28) and
(2 Peter 1:10-11), along with (Rom 8:29-30), should help us to understand a little more how great and marvelous God's provision for us is in His Son!
The next time you read Paul's letters, like Ephesians or Colossians, count the number of times he uses the phrase "in Christ". And then thank God for the words of Peter to "make your call and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10)!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
VIRUSES
VIRUSES
I recently read an article on viruses like the H1N1 pandemic last fall. The statement was made that viruses are living organisms that need a "host" in order to survive and wreak their havoc. In some cases a virus can be present for years before the host is even aware of it. Also a virus can mutate into a different form in order to avoid detection, as if it had a mind of its own! When I read this I thought about evil spirits, or demons, as the scriptures describe them. As you are aware Jesus spent a lot of His ministry time casting them out of people. Actually often when He cast them out, the person received their healing. So demons and sickness or disease are closely connected. People who live with an "Eastern World View" understand the invisible realm of the spirit much better than those of us who live in the West, with a "Western World View". We tend to see things through a lens based on a humanistic, rationalistic, mindset, which has no understanding of anything that can't be proven scientifically. This leaves us at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the supernatural invisible realm, which according to Paul is more real than what we can detect with our five senses.
(2 Cor 4:18)
However, because Father God has given to followers of His Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit, to replace Jesus when He went back to be with the Father; we now have the ability to understand the invisible spiritual realm. In Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, he gave instructions on receiving, and properly making use of the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit. We find this information in chapters 12, 13, and 14, which should be studied carefully, to know how to mature in the use of these gifts. In (1 Cor 12:10) we read "He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or another spirit" (NLT). The "other spirit" would of course be a demon, and Satan's purpose would be to lead people into deception. He is known as the "deceiver of the brethren", and there have been many cases in church history where this exact thing happened. We need to heed the warning of Jesus and the apostles to beware of false teachers or prophets who will come into our midst in these last days. See (Matt 24:23-25), and (2 Cor 11:12-15) for clear warnings from both Jesus and Paul! In light of these warnings, we should be praying for this gift of discerning of spirits mentioned above.
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
I recently read an article on viruses like the H1N1 pandemic last fall. The statement was made that viruses are living organisms that need a "host" in order to survive and wreak their havoc. In some cases a virus can be present for years before the host is even aware of it. Also a virus can mutate into a different form in order to avoid detection, as if it had a mind of its own! When I read this I thought about evil spirits, or demons, as the scriptures describe them. As you are aware Jesus spent a lot of His ministry time casting them out of people. Actually often when He cast them out, the person received their healing. So demons and sickness or disease are closely connected. People who live with an "Eastern World View" understand the invisible realm of the spirit much better than those of us who live in the West, with a "Western World View". We tend to see things through a lens based on a humanistic, rationalistic, mindset, which has no understanding of anything that can't be proven scientifically. This leaves us at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the supernatural invisible realm, which according to Paul is more real than what we can detect with our five senses.
(2 Cor 4:18)
However, because Father God has given to followers of His Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit, to replace Jesus when He went back to be with the Father; we now have the ability to understand the invisible spiritual realm. In Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, he gave instructions on receiving, and properly making use of the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit. We find this information in chapters 12, 13, and 14, which should be studied carefully, to know how to mature in the use of these gifts. In (1 Cor 12:10) we read "He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or another spirit" (NLT). The "other spirit" would of course be a demon, and Satan's purpose would be to lead people into deception. He is known as the "deceiver of the brethren", and there have been many cases in church history where this exact thing happened. We need to heed the warning of Jesus and the apostles to beware of false teachers or prophets who will come into our midst in these last days. See (Matt 24:23-25), and (2 Cor 11:12-15) for clear warnings from both Jesus and Paul! In light of these warnings, we should be praying for this gift of discerning of spirits mentioned above.
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
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