Holding On

HOLDING ON

 

In a recent reading of (1 Tim 6) from the NLT version, my attention was drawn to part of verse 12 "---Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you----". This tells me what it is that we should be holding on to! We read in (1 John 5:11) that "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son", therefore it is really Jesus, the only begotten Son of God that we should be holding on to! Right? The first part of (1 Tim 6:12) tells us "Fight the good fight for the true faith", and then goes on to speak of holding on to eternal life. This tells me that holding on to eternal life these days will involve a fight! The Word of God tells us clearly that He will never leave us or forsake us, but it doesn't tell us we won't have to fight sometimes for our very life! We are called to live in a very wicked world, that is becoming more "Anti-Christian" all the time. Paul wrote to the church at Philippi that they should live as bright lights in a world "full of crooked and perverse people". (Phil 2:15) If that were true back in Paul's day, how much more so today, some twenty centuries later!

 

How important it is, even very critical, as followers of Jesus today, to stay real close to Him! You might be thinking how can I do that when He is heaven with the Father, and I'm here on this sin cursed earth? Remember the instructions He left with His disciples before His ascension, as recorded in the gospel of John in chapters 14, 15, and 16. He assured them it was going to be better for them for Him to go away because then He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell them. The promises He gave them are still valid for us, as His followers today. So if we are to be victorious in our faith battles, it is absolutely essential that we get to know the person of the Holy Spirit, and learn to hear His voice! Some people treat Him as some sort of power that they can receive and use, but this is very wrong, and often leads to "fanaticism"! The Holy Spirit is a person, and He must be honored as such. Not only is He a person like you or me, but He is part of the Trinity, and therefore a Divine Personality! Remember this world is not our home; we are just passing through on our way to our eternal home with Jesus our Redeemer! Let's hold on fast to eternal life, and heed the warning of (Heb 2:1-4) about the danger of "drifting away"!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                               Revised 18/07/14                                                                                                            

In Christ or In The Lord

 IN CHRIST or IN THE LORD?

The term "in Christ" is used 68 times in the NT and it is an "affirmational" truth according to Bob Mumford. While "in the Lord" is used 42 times in the NT, and is what he calls "aspirational" which requires some effort on our part, or in other words it is "behavioral" in nature. "In Christ" is a "gift" from God and is completely "by grace through faith", and not by any works of ours (Eph 2:8-10), so be well aware of this fact! While "in the Lord" can be understood from (Matt 7:21-23), where we see many people who call Jesus "Lord! Lord!" but Jesus will reply to them "I never knew you, get away from me you who break God's heart". (NLT) So I think these two scripture passages show clearly the difference between the separate meanings of these phrases. I have read the scriptures for many years, and have heard many sermons preached, but have never understood the difference between these two expressions until I saw Bob teaching this truth on You Tube yesterday. This only made me more aware of the fact that we can often think we understand what certain scripture passages mean, but miss the true meaning by a mile, so to speak. So we all need to read scripture more carefully, and listen to certain people who are proven "teachers" who have been "called" by God to that position in the "Body of Christ" like Bob Mumford has been.

 

One thing I have learned in my some 50 years of being involved in various denominational churches is how easily I can think I know the true meaning of a certain Bible truth, but have the wrong basic concept, based on incomplete teaching. I have no trouble believing that the complete Bible is God's Word from cover to cover, but I have often been led astray by believing certain church "doctrines" that I was taught as being based on Bible truth, only to find out they were based on some man's understanding of some scripture passage. This could very well have been only a theory based on his interpretation of a certain scripture passage taken out of context. This is often what happened with certain doctrines that perhaps sounded good to certain church leaders, and before long they were accepted by whole denominations. I have found this to be true in several cases, which has caused me to use extra caution about any so-called "new teaching". Several NT authors have warned us to beware of "many" false teachers that will show up in our "churches" in these later days. So I take it from that fact that we all need to be careful and know who we are listening to and following. It certainly pays to be extremely cautious!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                       27/04/13                                                                                                      

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

THE FELLOWSHIP of the UNASHAMED

 

I recently read a book by that name, published by the SKY family in PEI. I obtained it from their website <theskys.org>, and was so impressed by it, that I would encourage everyone to buy a copy for some friend, and read it for yourself before you give it away! That's how much I think of it, and believe everyone can benefit from it. It is not an ordinary type of book but is more an outline for a Bible study, 213 pages divided into 27 chapters, or a little less than 8 pages per chapter. It is more or less based on the 10 commandments of God that were expanded to 613 rules or regulations by the religious Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus. Religion has a way of doing that, to make it difficult for the average person to follow. Jesus came to earth to destroy "religion", and replace it with a "relationship" with our heavenly Father. This relationship is not difficult to establish, or maintain. It only requires a little faith, and obedience to what God has declared in His Word! Any child, who reaches the age of understanding simple truth that is explained to them, can start this relationship with Father God, through accepting His Son Jesus and what He did for us on the cross! It is not complicated, like some religious leaders have made it out to be.

 

One important truth I learned, after being part of the "church" for nearly 50 years, was the difference between the "moral law" (the 10 commandments), which Jesus came to fulfill, and the 613 "ceremonial laws" that He came to destroy! No one ever explained that to me through all these many years in church meetings. That is only one of many things that I received new illumination on. We are never too old to learn new things, providing we are open, and realize that we don't know everything! Sometimes a knowledge of "religion", and a feeling of wanting to "look good", and "be right", can prevent us from receiving more of God's truth. By the way these are 2 of the "7 giants" that Bob Mumford describes in his book called the "Agape Road".

That is another book that I have learned a lot from, and am still trying to apply these truths to my own life. Both of these books are good tools to have on hand, both to gain from yourself and to share with others. I find that books that are solidly based on scripture, can often help you understand scripture better, and help you grow in your spiritual walk!!

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                             Revised 17/09/13                                                                                                                                                                              

The Rest of The Lord

THE REST OF THE LORD

 

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, we find a discussion about this subject and in verse 9 we read in the NLT version "So there is a special rest still waiting for the children of God". Then in the devotional booklet called ODB today the topic was "Tree of Rest", which caught my attention. Apparently the author lived near a farmer's field with one lone tree out in the center of the field, which had once been a pasture for his cattle. It seems that was a common practice when they cut down the trees to clear the land, they would often leave one large tree as a "shade tree" that would be a place of rest for the animals from the sun on a hot summer day. I can personally relate to that having been brought up on a farm, I can well remember seeing a group of cattle resting in the shade of an old tree of some kind.

 

The OT speaks of a remnant of Israelites whom God spared when the nation was sent into exile. This remnant preserved God's law and later rebuilt the temple (Ezra 9:9). The Apostle Paul referred to himself as part of the remnant of God (Rom 11:1-14). NLT He spared them to become God's messengers to the Gentiles (non-Jews). Praise God for His faithfulness to His original "chosen people", who will one day come to saving faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah! At this present time their minds are veiled from the truth until the fullness of the Gentiles has come into the Body of Christ, and then as we read in (Rom 11:25-36) NLT that at the proper time God will redeem the remnant of Israel. This has always been part of His ultimate plan since before He created our time and space world.

 

How important it is that as followers of Jesus, we become familiar with the often difficult plan of our Great Creator, that He had recorded for us in the Bible so that it can be understood by true seekers after truth. Since we know that when "doubting Thomas" said he didn't know the way that Jesus said He was going, He replied "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me". (John 14:6) NLT Part of our responsibility as a follower of Jesus is to be a "Tree of Rest" to others who are also followers of Jesus.  How can we do that you might ask? I believe that God would expect us to speak "encouraging words" to those who might be discouraged with life for any one of many possible reasons. Often all that is needed is a listening ear so they can feel that you are really interested in them as a person, who is a real brother or sister to them in the Lord!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                 02/05/14