Always and Never

ALWAYS AND NEVER

 

I have often said that as followers of Jesus we should eliminate these   2 words from our vocabulary. I have often heard "you always say that", or perhaps "you never do what I tell you to do". I'm sure I am not the only person who is used to hearing these words spoken in this negative sort of way. But I recently read a devotional thought in ODB on Aug 6, 2012, which put a very positive spin on the words "always" and "never". We only have to think of the promises given to us by Jesus in (Matt 28:20) where He declared "I will be with you always". And then in (Heb 13:5-6) where He declares "I will never leave you nor forsake you! So we can boldly say: the Lord is my helper, I will not fear". These are only 2 of many similar passages that we can depend on because they are direct promises made by Jesus who is TRUTH. (John 14:6). So as long as we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and have been "born again" by the Spirit of God and adopted by Father into His Forever Family, we are assured of eternal life with Him when we die.

 

Many people are trusting in other things to get them to heaven when they die because there are many false religions that have been spreading through church circles in the past several decades. Some of these originated in the Far East many years ago and have come to NA as part of what has been called "New Age Philosophy". This basically promotes the idea that there are many roads that can lead us to heaven when we die. They are all lies started by Satan, the enemy of God, who started out as Lucifer who was one of the three arch angels in heaven. You can read about him in the OT books of (Is 14:12-21) and (Ezek 28:12-19). Lucifer was one of the highest created beings to share the leadership of God's Kingdom until his beauty and wisdom caused pride and rebellion to enter his heart and he introduced "sin" into the perfect environment of God's heaven. The result of this rebellion was God casting him out of heaven, and he chose earth as his abode because it was the only planet in our universe that was created to sustain life. The rest is history, as they say, and is accurately recorded in the Bible. Thank God He has provided His "Written Word" to guide us on our journey through life. And of course we have His Son Jesus Christ who is called the "Living Word" of God, who paid the price of our redemption from sin and then returned to heaven to be seated at Father's throne. (Ps 110:1). They then sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of followers of Jesus today!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

A Wedding Garment

A WEDDING GARMENT

 

This term is mentioned in (Matt 22:11-12), and was part of a parable that Jesus told about a certain king who had prepared celebrations for the marriage of his son. If we read from verse 1-14 for the whole parable, we see that it was told partly for the benefit of the Pharisees, who represented the religious crowd of the day. They were meant to be the man without the proper "wedding garment" in the story, and the last 2 verses explain his end result of being in hell. Bob Mumford gives a good illustration in his teaching series called the Agape Road. He uses this term "wedding garment" to explain the truth brought out by Paul in his second letter to the church in Corinth. In the fifth chapter (2 Cor 5:17-21) he tells about how God brought us lost sinners back to Himself, by allowing His Son Jesus, who was "sinless", to become sin for us and die on the cross to redeem us by paying the price for our sins, for the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), and only a perfectly "sinless" man could pay the price of this sin, and satisfy the demands of a Holy God. Jesus was the only man who qualified to be our one and only Savior!!

 

Bob uses a pure white piece of cloth to represent God's righteousness, which he refers to as the "wedding garment". He lays it over his left hand that is made into a fist, and calls that God "imputing" His righteousness to us as a "gift", and he takes his finger and forces this cloth down into the space between the fingers made into the fist, and calls that Jesus "imparting" this righteousness to us. In other words it is definitely a "gift" that we do not earn by good works, given to us at salvation when He "adopts" us into His Forever Family, and seals this transaction by leaving His Holy Spirit, as a "down payment", so to speak, until we collect our final purchase at our resurrection! (Eph 1:3-14). When we read scriptures like these ones written by Paul, the "Apostle to the Gentiles", to whom God revealed the "mystery" of the Church that Jesus said He would build (Matt 16:18), we know that we can depend on this truth. This is an easy way to pass on this truth to others, who may not yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and are depending on their religious activities to gain acceptance with God. This is part of the lie that the devil, who Jesus said is the father of lies, has spread in many churches!!

We need to be alert to this lie that many sincere "Christians" have been taught as if it was true.

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

A Life of Holiness

A LIFE THAT SHINES

 

I read an article in Our Daily Bread (ODB) yesterday, Sept 15, 2013 about a basketball coach John Wooden at UCLA. His team won a lot of National Championship titles under his direction, and he was well loved by the players. The article quoted him as saying "I always tried to make it clear that basketball was not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere". Coach John Wooden honored God in all he did and challenges us to do the same. Jesus said in (Matt 5:16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven". The article ended with "Let your light shine—whether you are a candle in a corner or a lighthouse on a hill".

 

This sounds like the Apostle Paul in (Phil 2:12-18), where he is encouraging his hearers to Shine Brightly for Christ. Just read these verses in a modern translation like NLT which has a heading before verse 12 "Shine Brightly for Christ"? Here are a few verses from Paul "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him". "Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ's return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out as a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes you should rejoice, and I will share your joy". I believe that these few verses express the heart of a true servant of God that the Apostle Paul certainly proved to be. And this is the type of life that our Savior is looking for from all of His committed followers. And Father has given each of us His Holy Spirit to abide with us for ever the moment He adopts us into His family, when we receive His Son as our Lord and Savior. This is undoubtedly the most important choice that any person must make in their lifetime here on earth. Have you made that choice? If not yet, please don't put off that decision until it's too late; time is running out for all of us!!

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer                                                                           

A Life o f Holiness

A LIFE OF HOLINESS

 

There has been much teaching and preaching about "holiness" in the church over the years. Some of this teaching has been confusing because it is based on a false understanding of scriptural holiness. When God chose the Nation of Israel to be His chosen people, to show the rest of the Gentile Nations how they should live, He gave them certain instructions and laws to govern their lives. In (Lev 20:26) we read "And you shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine". This standard of holiness is repeated over and over, both in the OT and in the new. The Hebrew word for holy is [qadosh], Strong's # 6918, which means among other things—set apart, dedicated to sacred purposes, clean, morally or ceremonially pure.

 

Several "distorted appearances" of holiness have developed in Christian circles. The first, and probably the most blatant, would be what Jack Hayford calls "dehumanized holiness". By this he means a mechanical, artificial, or abstract practice of holiness. Those who practice this type of distorted holiness, see themselves as superior to others in their knowledge, and think they have nothing more to learn. The implication is that holiness comes from "what" you know, not "who" you know. This type of distorted holiness is imposed from the outside rather than coming from a changed heart. It had its beginning in early "Gnosticism" teaching, which the Pharisees of Jesus' day practiced. There are still Pharisees in the church today in some circles! Next we have what we could call "legalized holiness", or the belief that how well we keep the letter of the law, determines how holy we are. This type of holiness teaching rules out completely any guidance by the Holy Spirit, and opens the door for control by unclean "religious spirits" A third type of distorted holiness teaching is sometimes referred to as "Antinomian holiness", or "false grace". This is the false belief that grace releases us from the obligations of moral law and the development of right character. We often see this today in some charismatic circles, where there has been very little emphasis on the word of God, and more on subjective things like feelings, visions, or prophesy. This is only a very brief look at this problem of distorted views of this important subject. It should be developed more fully at a later date, but in the meantime this might give you something to think about as you consider this word "holiness" in your scripture reading. Peter quotes ( Lev 11:44) in his first letter (1 Pet 1:16) "be holy, for I am holy". Good advice!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                 

 

As Whitw As Snow

AS WHITE AS SNOW

 

Those of us who live in Eastern Canada have seen lots of snow this past winter, it came in early December and stayed until late April. So yes, we know it is white, but it reminds me of a verse of scripture by the OT prophet Isaiah, (Is 1:18) in the NLT version it reads "Come now, let's settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow". That is a wonderful promise from God through one of His greatest OT prophets. And we know from reading the NT scriptures that this promise was fulfilled by the crucifixion of His only begotten Son Jesus some 2000 years ago. John the Baptist identified Him as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), and his earthly parents were told by an angel to call Him Jesus for He will save His people from their sins. You can see the details in (Matt 1:18-25) as well as other places.

 

Because Jesus was "virgin born" so as to escape the inherited sin from Adam therefore He was "sinless", and the only one who qualified to cancel out the sin debt charged against all of humanity because of Adam's initial sin. The Apostle Paul made it clear in his letter to the church in Rome that all have sinned (Rom 3:9-31), and then in (Rom 6:23) he declares that "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". This whole matter of how this problem of sin in our world is explained in scripture is called "the gospel (good news) of the Kingdom". And I like the way Paul explains it in (Eph 2:1-10), in these 10 verses he does a remarkable job of explaining God's plan of salvation.

 

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, I would suggest that you read this passage carefully from one of the newer versions of the Bible like the NLT that I have been using lately. This gives as clear a description as possible of the condition we all find ourselves in at the present time in our world, in the first 3 verses. Then in verse 4 he states "But God is so rich in mercy, and He loves us so much", that is an absolutely true statement that no one can deny. You can make a decision today to became a follower of Jesus by simply making a "choice" to believe by faith, that what Jesus did for us on the cross was for you. And even if you were the only person alive today, He would have done it just for you, because He loves you that much! Then you can know for sure that your soul in now "as white as snow". We can know this because God declares it in "His Word" the Bible, and God cannot lie!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

Real Riches

REAL RICHES

 

Jesus had a lot to say about "riches" while here on our planet for some 33 years. Most people think of "money" when they talk about riches, and the more they can accumulate, the richer they think they are. Actually true riches consist of much more than having an abundance of money. We often hear people misquote (1 Tim 6:10), and say that money is the root of all evil. This is not quoting scripture accurately; this verse actually says "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows". NLT. In (Matt 6:24) from the NKJV we read "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Here we hear Jesus speaking, and He uses the word "mammon", which was a common Aramaic word for riches. Since Jesus used it this way, as a word to point out a complete opposite attitude towards God than we should have in regards to riches, we should pay special attention!

 

We have seen many examples of people having an unhealthy love of money in the late financial crisis. Certain CEO's of large corporations have taken huge bonuses from their firms, and then declared bankruptcy for the company, with shareholders losing millions of dollars! This is nothing but pure "greed", which is based on a love of money or mammon, which according to Jesus is not real riches. Real riches are being reserved in heaven for us, and Peter refers to them our "priceless inheritance" (1 Peter 1:4). I believe this to be our part in the "Kingdom of God" that Jesus spoke so much about. We are "born again" when we put our trust in Jesus as Savior, and are adopted by the Father into God's family, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit. (Eph 4:30). Then according to (Col 1:13) we are "transferred" into the Kingdom, which is not the same as being "born" into His family. Our new birth is clearly a gift, and can never be taken from us. It is pure grace, we didn't earn it, and we can't lose it. But our inheritance, on the other hand, is being kept for us in heaven, and our receiving it is dependent on our behavior! (1 Cor 6:9). A clear understanding of this will end the controversy about whether we can, or cannot lose our eternal salvation! No, I don't think we can lose our place in God's family, but we might lose part, or all of our position in His Kingdom depending on how obedient we are to His Word!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                       

New Life Replaces Old

NEW LIFE REPLACES OLD

 

We have a small beech tree near our driveway that makes it seen in winter, because it keeps a fair number of its leaves from last summer, throughout the winter months. They just refuse to drop off, in spite of the snow and winter winds. I believe this beech tree has something to teach us.

Most all deciduous trees drop their leaves in early fall, usually after the first real frosty night. This is due partly to the fact that they have served their useful role of providing energy to the tree from the sun all summer, and partly because the action of the frost breaking the bond between the leaf and the twig it has been attached to. The question is, why doesn't this happen to every leaf on this beech tree? Why do some leaves hang on until spring?

 

I really don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know what causes them to drop off eventually. When the days lengthen and the rays of the sun get warmer, the sap starts to flow up from the roots of that tree, and a miracle happens. New life starts to show as buds develop on these little twigs and the new life forces these stubborn old leaves to drop off to make room for the new ones! A very similar thing happens in our lives as followers of Jesus. Sometimes stubborn old habits just refuse to fall off, like those leaves on that beech tree. Paul speaks to this in (Gal 5:16-26), where he makes it clear that if we "walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh". In other words, the flow of new life in the Spirit, will force these old habits to drop off! Just like the flow of sap up from the roots of that beech tree causes those leaves from last year to finally fall off!!

 

I trust this little illustration will help some of you get rid of some stubborn old habits from your former life that you picked up before you came to know Jesus. I expect to see that little beech tree in a short time, lose those stubborn old leaves, and be covered with new growth! And I expect to see the same thing happen in your lives, as you determine to follow Jesus closely and start obeying all of His commands recorded in scripture. As we nourish this new life "in Christ", by feeding on His word, and applying the truth to our lives, I guarantee you will gradually see these old habits formed in your old life drop off, just like the last years old leaves on our little beech tree!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  23/09/11

 

 

 

Identifcational Repentance

IDENTIFCATIONAL REPENTANCE

This term was made popular a few years ago by Peter Wagner, and simply means that we can "identify" with the sins of others, especially those of our ancestors, and repent of that sin. This act will not change their standing with God, but can affect the circumstances that have been a result of their sin! Probably the best examples in scripture of this type of prayers of repentance for the sins of their for-fathers would be (Dan 9:3-19), and (Neh 9:1-38). In both of these passages we see where they identified with the past sins that had been committed by their ancestors. This act on their part apparently satisfied God that they were serious about these sins, and He moved to change their immediate circumstances. We may not be aware that the sins of others can affect our walk with the Lord, but it is a fact!

 

Satan is identified as the first sinner, when he tried to introduce a "second will" in heaven as recorded in (Isaiah 14:12-14). Up until that time there was never a thought of anything but God's perfect will in heaven. We read that Satan made 5 declarations of his will, which included "I will be like the Most High". God could not allow this rebellion, nor have a "second will", that opposed His will to exist in His Kingdom, so we know the result was the expulsion of Lucifer and the angels under his control from the presence of Almighty God! Satan apparently set up his own kingdom in opposition to the "Kingdom of God", and started a "cosmic war" that continues to this day. These two kingdoms exist side by side in our present world, so that we can have a choice as to which kingdom we want to be part of. Paul explains the effect of the existence of these two kingdoms in his letters. For example (Eph 2:1-10), and (Col 1:9-18), and makes it clear that we can be saved from Satan's kingdom, and transferred into the Kingdom of God! The choice is always up to us. God never forces us to do things against our human will. If He did we would be nothing more than a robot that He could program to only do His will. That fact that He created us with a free will allows us to make choices. Sometimes we make "right choices", and other times we make "wrong choices"! God knew we would not always make right choices so He made provision for us to be forgiven for our wrong choices. Read (1 John 1:5-10) for God's formula for dealing with sin in our lives. God is Holy, and cannot look on sin except through "the blood" of His Son. This blood must be applied to our lives to be effective, and this can only be done by confessing our sin and turning away from it "completely"!!If you haven't done that yet, I would encourage you to do it today!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

A Thousand Years as a Day

A THOUSAND YEARS AS A DAY

 

We find this expression in (Ps 90:4) "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past. And like a watch in the night". Then in (2 Peter 3:8) we read "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". We can only assume that Peter was probably referring to Psalm 90 verse 4 when he made this statement. A few years ago one day I was trying to understand the difference between time and eternity. I took a new piece of white paper and drew a circle in the middle of it, and called that circle our "Time and Space World" and the rest of the sheet of paper I called Eternity. As I understand scripture our "Creator God", who has always existed as Father, Son, Holy Spirit, or in other words a "Triune" being we refer to as "The Trinity". From His position in eternity whenever He views our world He sees things that took place thousands of years ago, as well as those things that only happened today. For that matter because of His "Foreknowledge", He knows what will happen in the future! This little diagram helped me to understand certain scriptural passages, like (Rev 20:1-10) where John tells of a vision he saw in which the Devil was bound for 1000 years, and afterward released for a little season. As soon as he is released he goes out to deceive the nations to cause a mighty army to come together to attack God's people and the holy city of Jerusalem. But God sent "fire from heaven" and consumed them all, after which the Devil who deceived them, plus the Beast and the False Prophet were thrown into the "fiery lake of burning sulfur" (hell) for ever and ever. This event is often confused with the thousand year reign of the Lord called the Millennium which happens after the end of the 7 year period that is known as Daniel's seventieth week". This period in (Rev 20:1-10) leads up to the "Battle of Armageddon" which comes near the end of the 7 year period prophesied by Daniel in (Dan 9:24-27).

 

That is why Revelation cannot be read like Acts, where every chapter fits together one after the other, and this is why we need the help of the Holy Spirit to make sense of this wonderful book that God uses to close out His Divine Book we call the Bible. But is the "summary" so to speak, of everything out Creator wanted us to know. So when we read the Bible we should always ask the Holy Spirit to tell what He told the authors, and why He chose the words He told them to use. (2 Tim 3:16)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                          

A Spring Tune-up

A SPRING TUNE-UP

 

Spring is on the way, although you may not know it by looking outside at the huge banks of snow, on this mid-February day. People often think of getting their car tuned up at this time of year, to be sure of trouble free miles of travel throughout the summer months. But do we ever realize that we might need a "spiritual tune-up", after the cold winter months of waiting to see if spring will actually come? I suggest a careful study of (Matt 5, 6, 7) where we read about the first fully recorded sermon of Jesus. It is often referred to as "The Sermon on the Mount", and starts with the "Beatitudes". As the term implies, Jesus was dealing with "attitudes", and how they can affect our lives. Jesus lists 9 attitudes in (Matt 5:3-11) that can affect out lives, and that will all please our Father God!

 

Notice that 2 of the 9 things listed will result in a different relationship to the Kingdom of God, than the other 7! Verses 3 and 10 use the present tense of the verb referring to their relationship with the Kingdom, "is theirs" as opposed to "will be theirs", this could be quite significant in understanding the Kingdom of God. In other words, some people referred to believe that the Kingdom exists now on earth, while others understand it to be yet future. This is the actual case in the church circles today. Because of a teaching that declares the church age must end, before the Kingdom age can begin, this situation has arisen.

 

Scripture is clear that Jesus Christ in the King of the Kingdom of God, so when He came to earth as the babe in the manger, the Kingdom came with Him, so to speak. When He began preaching about the Kingdom after He was baptized by John, when He was 30 years old, He often used expressions like "the Kingdom is at hand", or "the Kingdom is within you". We can understand this as meaning at the present time it is invisible, and can dwell in the hearts of believers who follow Jesus, but will be fully manifested on earth for all to see, when Jesus makes His second appearance in the clouds of glory! This is part of the mystery of Godliness that we cannot understand with our finite minds, but when we see Him we shall be like Him, and then understand all things. (1 John 3:1-3). As followers of Jesus, we should all be looking forward with great expectation to His second coming. But we know from certain scriptures like (Ps 110: 1), (Acts 3:16-22), (Matt 24:14), that He can't come at any moment, as some believe!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                     

New Life Replaces Old

NEW LIFE REPLACES OLD

 

We have a small beech tree near our driveway that makes it seen in winter, because it keeps a fair number of its leaves from last summer, throughout the winter months. They just refuse to drop off, in spite of the snow and winter winds. I believe this beech tree has something to teach us. Most all deciduous trees drop their leaves in early fall, usually after the first real frosty night. This is due partly to the fact that they have served their useful role of providing energy to the tree from the sun all summer, and partly because the action of the frost breaking the bond between the leaf and the twig it has been attached to. The question is, why doesn't this happen to every leaf on this beech tree? Why do some leaves hang on until spring?

 

I really don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know what causes them to drop off eventually. When the days lengthen and the rays of the sun get warmer, the sap starts to flow up from the roots of that tree, and a miracle happens. New life starts to show as buds develop on these little twigs and the new life forces these stubborn old leaves to drop off to make room for the new ones! A very similar thing happens in our lives as followers of Jesus. Sometimes stubborn old habits just refuse to fall off, like those leaves on that beech tree. Paul speaks to this in (Gal 5:16-26), where he makes it clear that if we "walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh". In other words, the flow of new life in the Spirit, will force these old habits to drop off! Just like the flow of sap up from the roots of that beech tree causes those leaves from last year to finally fall off!!

 

I trust this little illustration will help some of you get rid of some stubborn old habits from your former life that you picked up before you came to know Jesus. I expect to see that little beech tree in a short time, lose those stubborn old leaves, and be covered with new growth! And I expect to see the same thing happen in your lives, as you determine to follow Jesus closely and start obeying all of His commands recorded in scripture. As we nourish this new life "in Christ", by feeding on His word, and applying the truth to our lives, I guarantee you will gradually see these old habits formed in your old life drop off, just like the last years old leaves on our little beech tree!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                              

 

 

 

Understanding Christianity

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY

 

Christianity is often included together with the other "World Religions", but in reality it is not a "religion" in the strict sense. A religion is a certain way of acknowledging and worshipping the "Higher Power" that people believe in. Their goal is usually to prove to this "god" that they love him/her or it. Some religions have many so-called gods, or goddesses, while others have only one "god". The followers of Mohamed, for example call their religion "Islam", and their "Holy Book" is called the "Koran", and their god is called Allah. And most other religions have their own Holy Books, and are founded by some person that is the center of their worship. On the other hand the followers of Jesus understand our "Religion" to be a "Relationship" with the one true Creator God, through His Son Jesus Christ. The name Christian comes from His name, and means a "Christ-In", or in other words someone who has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus is the only religious founder who was dead, but rose again from the dead, and lives now forever with His Father God in heaven.

 

We have a "Holy Book" called the "Bible", that explains all about our universe, and what God expects of us as inhabitants of this Planet Earth. He knew we would need a manual to instruct us in spiritual things, so He chose certain men and women, and inspired them by His Holy Spirit to write 66 books over a period of time, which make up our Bible. It gives the answer to all of our questions, about creation, where evil came from, what is sin, and how can we be free from it, is there life after death etc? These are questions that we all need to have reliable answers for, and God's Word, the Holy Bible, has answers to every one!

 

We all need a Savior from sin, and Jesus came from heaven over 2000 years ago, He was the Son of God, but by the miracle of the "Virgin Birth", He became a human being, lived a completely "sinless" life, and died on the Cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for our sins. All we have to do is repent of our sins ask God to forgive us for our sins, and receive Jesus as our own personal Lord and Savior. We are then "born again", and are "adopted" by Father God into "His Forever Family". So belief in what Jesus did for us on the cross is our doorway into a "Relationship with God"! That's much better than any form of "Religion", I believe.

Sincerely submitted!

Dave Jamer.                                                                                                                                 20/04/12

Nature abhhors a vacuum

NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM

 

Apparently this statement is credited to the ancient philosopher Aristotle, who stated that based on his observation that "nature requires every space be filled with something, even if it is colorless, odorless air". As far as I know the study of science over the years has agreed with this conclusion. I think the same truth can be applied to the spiritual world, as well as the natural.

This is based on my understanding of scripture that I have gained from studying God's Word since becoming a follower of Jesus nearly 50 years ago. The Bible teaches clearly that we are born into this world with a sinful nature inherited from the first Adam, our first human ancestor. (Rom 5:12). All humans since him are hopeless sinners (Rom 3:10-23), and doomed for death (Rom 6:23).

 

Because of the foreknowledge of our Creator God, who knew this would happen, He already had a plan to correct this human dilemma. This plan included His only begotten Son Jesus to be incarnated into human flesh by way of the womb of a virgin Jewish maiden. As a perfect human without a trace of Adam's sinful nature, He would then die to pay the price to redeem mankind. After 3 days the Father would resurrect Him in a glorified body, and call Him back to heaven to sit at Father's side. (Ps 110:1). Then they would send the Holy Spirit to earth to take the place of Jesus, until the time appointed for Him to return to earth to receive the Church that He said He would build. (Matt 16:18) The Holy Spirit convicts humans of their sinful condition, and the truth that Jesus came to be their Savior. Then when they repent and accept Jesus as Savior they are "born again". At that moment the Holy Spirit moves into their human spirit, and they become a "new creation". (2 Cor 5:17). Or we might say they are then part of a completely "New Species" of beings, as members of "God's Forever Family"!

 

The Holy Spirit is meant to fill the space in mankind that was originally filled by our sinful nature, however if we don't continue to remain filled as Paul admonishes in (Eph 5:18), then the fleshly nature will creep back into occupy the space that we don't let the Holy Spirit occupy. We are then classed as "carnal Christians", (1 Cor 3:1-4), and not spiritual, because we are not completely filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit of God!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

 

 

BSOL

BSOL REVIVED

 

Back on Jan 1 2005, I suggested to our 6 grandchildren that we could start a "Bible Study on Line" (BSOL) if they were interested, since we all had access to email. They agreed, and for several years we continued; starting with a certain book of the Bible, I would start with a simple outline of each chapter and send it to each of them on Mon AM and suggest that they reply with questions or comments. Then we could discuss that chapter throughout the week by using the "reply to all" button, and we had the equivalent of a living room Bible study, but from different locations, as they were in different stages of their education at the time. This seemed to work quite well at the time, but as their lives got busier with their studies etc. we finally dropped it after a few years. Recently I have had the desire to start this up again, and make it available to anyone who is interested in knowing more about God's Word. I certainly don't consider myself any expert teacher of the Word, but I have been a committed member of various churches of different denominational backgrounds for over 50 years, and since suffering my first of several strokes on Dec 8, 1999, the same year I turned 65 in July, my life style changed quite drastically and I could no longer do the things I had previously enjoyed doing. So I made a choice to spend more time studying the Bible, and reading books about early church history, and how we worship God today, compared to the way they did in the book of Acts. Needless to say I have learned a lot about how church traditions and various doctrines have entered the "churches" since Jesus said in (Matt 16:18) "I will build My Church".

 

What we call "churches" today have little or no resemblance to the original gatherings to worship Jesus in the first couple centuries after Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose back to life 3 days later. Early church history explains how things changed drastically in the fourth century when Emperor Constantine joined the "Church" of the day to the mighty Roman Empire. The "Church of Rome" became the dominant leader in religious matters through the period known as the "dark ages", from 500 to 1500 AD. Any accurate historical account of these years tell the tragic story of this period of church history, and is available for anyone to see, but few people have ever bothered to read early church history. I had the time to do that after the forced change in my lifestyle after the first stroke, and it was quite amazing the things I learned, that I never heard in any of the churches I had attended.

 

What Jesus meant to be a "living organism", suddenly became a lifeless "organization" patterned after the Roman Empire, and similar to large corporations like GM or IBM, with their CEO's and regional managers etc. Jesus never came to earth to start another "Religion", but to open the door to a "Relationship" with our Creator God through His sacrificial death as the cross as the "Lamb of God". (John 14:6)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                          11/01/14

The Army of God

THE ARMY OF GOD

A popular chorus back in the "charismatic renewal" days of the 60's and 70's, before some of you were born, came to mind last week and with it the following thoughts. First let me give you the words of this chorus.

"God's got an army marching through the land

Deliverance is their song, with healing in their hands Everlasting joy and gladness in their heart

And in this army I've got a part."

 

I'm not so sure that God has ever had an army, in the true sense of the word. We could sing the songs and pretend that we were, but when it came to going into battle against the enemy forces, many people went "AWOL"

(Absent Without Leave) in case you've never heard the term! Two of my brothers were involved in WW2, one in the RCAF, the other in the Merchant Marines. I was too young of course, but I heard lots of stories after the war ended with the celebrations of VE Day in 1945. I'm sure that God wants an "army" to do battle against His enemy Satan and his kingdom of darkness, but does such an army really exist? Consider what an army, or "armed forces", the more politically correct term used today, actually consist of. The methods of fighting a war have changed drastically since WW2, but the requirements for the armed forces involved has not changed much. Basic "boot camp" is still the starting point for new recruits, where they learn the difference between their old life as a civilian and their new life as a soldier. This includes, but is not limited to, learning to obey orders even if they don't make sense. Some day their life may depend on it! How many believers do you know that have learned to obey a command given by their leaders to do something that they don't understand the reason for? We live in a society that is very "independent", and accustomed to making our own decisions based on what is best for us, with no thought to how it might affect anyone else! This is definitely not allowed in an army setting. We must know our "superior officers", and obey their commands. One of the problems in the church today (who we consider to be God's army) is that they are not submitted to leadership who has been appointed by God to lead His people. We have more "self appointed" leaders today, or ones elected by a group of people, and not set in place by God. How can we consider this thing we call a church the "army of God"? How do you suppose God calls it? I expect He would use some other word, and perhaps we should too!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                    11/10/11

 

He Leads Me

HE LEADS ME

 

This was the title of the devotional from ODB today Dec 30, 2014 based on (Ps 23) that prompted this article. The author Dave Egner told the story of an incident that happened in Istanbul Turkey in 2005, where 1 sheep jumped off a cliff to its death, followed by nearly 1500 others. Not knowing which way to go, these other sheep just mindlessly followed the other members of the flock. We humans are often referred to as sheep, for example read (Is53:6) "All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him (Jesus) the sins of us all". This fact just proves our need for a trustworthy Leader, and thank God He has given just such a Leader in Jesus Christ, once we by faith trust Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus calls us to follow Him as our "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), as the original 12 men He called to follow Him as His disciples.

 

When King David wrote the twenty-third Psalm, and started it with "The Lord in my shepherd", and he certainly knew the life of a shepherd having been one for several years when he was young. So we can safely claim Jesus as our own personal shepherd just as David did, providing we have made the choice of accepting Him as Lord and Savior. He calls all of us, but always leaves the choice up to us to accept or reject Him. We can certainly not claim Him as our Shepherd, if we have not received Him as Lord and Savior. I know people who think that because they faithfully attend Sunday school and church, and give money to support missions etc. that therefore they qualify to claim Jesus as their Shepherd. But according to scriptures like (John 3:1-8), or (2 Cor 5:17-21), unless they are "born again" spiritually, and are truly "in Christ", then Jesus is not their Shepherd. Our author closes his article with a poem by Sanders "Like sheep that sometimes wander from the flock in tangled paths of life to lose their way, I need my Shepherd's hand and watchful eye to keep me always, lest I go astray". I think this is good advice for most of us who claim to be followers of Jesus and part of "the Body of Christ" on earth today. How easy it seems to be to get off the path, and get tangled up in some wrong teaching, or questionable church doctrine. We all need the guidance of our Shepherd for sure; then our author closed with these words, "The Lamb who died to save us is the Shepherd who lives to guide us". Well spoken I believe, and I leave you with this truth!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                

 

Our Human Gender

OUR HUMAN GENDER

 

All of us who are members of the human race were created by our Divine Creator, as either "male" or "female". (Gen 1:27) Our gender was clearly Chosen by our Creator before we were ever conceived in our mother's womb. And our Creator is perfect in every way, and never makes any mistakes. So I fail to understand the big "issue" that has been created lately by this so-called LGBT movement! Apparently the leaders of this movement don't read their Bibles, or there never would be an issue. From my perspective as a follower of Jesus, this whole issue must be caused by our enemy Satan, who was formerly known as Lucifer in heaven. He was created by God as part of His three highest created beings, called Arch-angles named Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer. The history of how sin was found in him and God had to "cast him out of heaven" for his sin of "pride and rebellion" are all detailed, and can be found in (Is 14:12-23), and (Ezek 28:11-19), as both of these OT prophets give the story of why God had to "cast him, out of heaven". He chose to come to earth, the only planet designed to sustain life, where he is referred to as Satan or the Devil, or the Beast of (Rev 13:1-10). He is the avowed enemy of God and His children!!  

Satan cannot create anything, but only destroy what God has created, so as I see it, this whole "issue": is his doing without a doubt. My wife Dora and I have had several great grandchildren added to our family lately, both girls and boys. And it is not hard to tell the difference between the two, the little girls are so petite and beautiful, and the boys are so rugged, and just "all boys", if you know what I mean. The difference between their male and female gender is impossible to miss! So how anyone could become involved in this LGBT issue is beyond my powers of comprehension!

 

God created us as male and female, with a sexual attraction to the opposite gender in order that we might marry the mate he has chosen for us, and raise a family of children in the Lord!! That should not be difficult to figure out! But because we all live in a "fallen world", since our original parents Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan in the form of a "talking serpent" in the Garden of Eden, and disobeyed their Creator, which brought "sin" into our perfect world. See (Rom 5:12-21) for the details of how this sin spread to all of creation. And that accounts for our present "Gender Issue" in my opinion!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                            

 

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On Nature or Two

ONE NATURE or TWO

 

I've heard certain controversy over can a person have two natures? I think the real question is whether a human "soul" and their "nature" are one and the same thing. I'm sure that our Bible has the answer to this as well as other difficult questions we might have, since it is the "Written Word of God". Let us start with Genesis, the first of the five books written by Moses, the man that God chose to begin to record His "Written Word". Genesis begins with "In the beginning God created the heavens (plural) and the earth (singular)", then in (Gen 1:26) we read "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us". We understand that our Creator God is a "Triune" (three in one) being consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who always existed in "perfect unity" in what we refer to as being "eternity past". We read in (Gen 2:7) "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and man became a living person" NLT. Some translations use "soul" instead of person.

 

We read in the NT letter of Paul the apostle to the Gentiles (non Jews) in (1Thess 5:23) "Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again". I understand this to be the proper way to refer to our human body as spirit soul and body. Now when Adam and Eve listened to the lies of our enemy Satan in the Garden of Eden about eating the "forbidden fruit" from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden, they disobeyed the command of God given to Adam that the day they should eat of this "forbidden fruit" the would die. Their "souls" didn't die that day but their spirit relationship with the Father did die, or was cut off from the intimate relationship they once had with God in the cool of the evening in the Garden. This one act of disobeying the command of God brought "sin and death" into God's perfect creation that day. And this sin was spread to the whole of creation that day. See (Rom 5:12-21) for the results, Adam's body and soul lived for nearly 900 years, but his soul was "corrupted" that day and was part of what he passed on to all of his decendents, so we are "sinners" as a result, with "corrupted" souls, but not "sinful natures" as far as I can understand scripture!!

 

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jame                                                                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One Nature or TWO

ONE NATURE or TWO

 

I've heard certain controversy over can a person have two natures? I think the real question is whether a human "soul" and their "nature" are one and the same thing. I'm sure that our Bible has the answer to this as well as other difficult questions we might have, since it is the "Written Word of God". Let us start with Genesis, the first of the five books written by Moses, the man that God chose to begin to record His "Written Word". Genesis begins with "In the beginning God created the heavens (plural) and the earth (singular)", then in (Gen 1:26) we read "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us". We understand that our Creator God is a "Triune" (three in one) being consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who always existed in "perfect unity" in what we refer to as being "eternity past". We read in

(Gen 2:7) "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and man became a living person" NLT. Some translations use "soul" instead of person.

 

We read in the NT letter of Paul the apostle to the Gentiles (non Jews) in (1Thess 5:23) "Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again". I understand this to be the proper way to refer to our human body as spirit soul and body. Now when Adam and Eve listened to the lies of our enemy Satan in the Garden of Eden about eating the "forbidden fruit" from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden, they disobeyed the command of God given to Adam that the day they should eat of this "forbidden fruit" the would die. Their "souls" didn't die that day but their spirit relationship with the Father did die, or was cut off from the intimate relationship they once had with God in the cool of the evening in the Garden. This one act of disobeying the command of God brought "sin and death" into God's perfect creation that day. And this sin was spread to the whole of creation that day. See (Rom 5:12-21) for the results, Adam's body and soul lived for nearly 900 years, but his soul was "corrupted" that day and was part of what he passed on to all of his descendents, so we are "sinners" as a result, with "corrupted" souls, but not "sinful natures" as far as I can understand scripture!!

 

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer                                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Koinania

KOINONIA

 

In the New Testament the Greek word that is usually translated as fellowship is [koinonia], which is the Spirit's gift to the church. Today whenever we think of "fellowship", we associate it with coffee and sweets after a church service! This is definitely not the New Testament understanding of the word. We see this type of real fellowship in the Spirit displayed in (Acts 2:42), and referred to by Paul in several places such as (2 Cor 13:14), or (Phil 2:1). The church today is suffering a "koinonia crisis"!!  Part of this crisis is due to the typical church structure, which is designed to facilitate "pulpit to pew" one way communication. There can be little or no real fellowship in this type of structure. Someone has remarked, "the only fellowship we have is with the back of the head of the person sitting in the pew in front of us". In the NT church they didn't have this problem because they met in homes, in a very informal setting. Church buildings, as such, were unheard of until Constantine married the church to the Roman Empire in the fourth century. The other factor in this crisis is the fact that until people experience real koinonia, they don't know what they are missing. Some churches have "cell groups" or some type of small group that meet in homes to facilitate this koinonia, while some people are finding it in a new move of God known as "The House Church Movement".

 

There are two dimensions involved in true koinonia, a vertical dimension of the believer's fellowship with God, and the horizontal dimension of his kononia with other believers in the Spirit. A believer can have fellowship with God by themselves alone, but not koinonia! This is only possible in the company of fellow believers who are gathered in unity. In (Matt 18:20) Jesus said "where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them". This is certainly the basis of koinonia! We could list a few things that describe real koinonia. 1/ that fellowship among believers which the Holy Spirit gives. 2/ the fellowship Christ had with His disciples. 3/ the fellowship of the early church. 4/ the earthly counterpart and foretaste of the eternal fellowship we can look forward to. 5/ it is analogous to the unity, fellowship, and communion between Christ and the Father. A quote from George Webber sums it up "No relationship of love can develop unless there are structures in which it can grow". The koinonia we have been discussing can only grow when there are structures to nourish it! Let's seek to promote those structures that will facilitate this type of fellowship!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer 

Jesus Will Never Let You Down

JESUS WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN

 

Our Daily Bread (ODB) for today April 24, 2014 was written by Joe Stowell and was called "Never Let Down", from which I got the idea for a title to this article. When Jeremiah wrote the book called Lamentations, in chapter 3:22-24 we read "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him!" NLT I'm not sure if Jeremiah had God the Father or Jesus the Son in mind when he penned these words, but it really doesn't matter because both are referred to as Lord! And we know that when we come to understand what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, and accept Him as Lord and Savior, Father adopts us as his child and gives the Holy Spirit as His gift to us. So, it is safe to say we can apply these verses to ourselves!

 

Having just come through the Resurrection Season including Good Friday, and 3 days later Resurrection Sunday, the truth about Jesus becoming the "Lamb of God" who died for the sins of the human race is fresh in our minds. In (Exodus 34:5-7) you can read God's own description of Himself given to Moses to record in scripture. Here we have 7 character qualities of God that Bob Mumford calls the "7 fold DNA of God", which are 1/ compassion, 2/ graciousness, 3/ slow to anger, 4/ mercy, 5/ truth,6/ faithful, and 7/ forgiving. Since Jesus is the "Living Word of God", and He told His disciples "If you have seen me you have seen the Father", so they are really one and the same Divine Person. See (John 17:20-21) for the unique relationship Jesus has with His Father, and we through Him have the same relationship of complete "perfect unity".

 

There are many other scripture passages we could refer to that make similar claims about the fact that Jesus will never let you down. He is a faithful "Brother", who is the True "Elder Brother" to all truly born again children of God. We get a good look at Him as our "Good Shepherd" in (John 10:1-21), and also in Psalm 23 written many years before Jesus was born by King David. Just try "Meditating" on scripture passages like these, and see what it does for you! I will guarantee that you will be forever changed into a different person as you dwell on His character, and realize that in Father's eyes you and Jesus are one and the same to Him! There is a little chorus we often sing. "When He sees me, He sees the blood of the Lamb. He sees me as worthy, and not as I am. He sees me in garments as white as the snow, for the Lamb of God is worthy, and He loves me this I know". It is important that the Father sees us through the blood of Jesus that was shed for all sinners like us on the "Old Rugged Cross". Hallalujah!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                             

Eros or Adape

EROS or AGAPE

 

These are both Greek words that are translated as "love" in our English language, although their meaning is nearly opposite to each other. Eros is only found in Greek philosophical writings and is never used by authors of scripture. It basically pertains to "sensual" things. In our culture it has come to be used to express not only sensual things but also "sexual" things, and thus the word became "erotic" and is used almost entirely to describe things pertaining to lust or sex. In fact when used as love in our day it should be called "lust" and not really love at all. It can be contrasted with the Greek word Agape which is translated as God in (1 John 4:8) "God is love" [Agape], and also in (John 3:16) where we are told "God [Agape] so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life". This gives us the true meaning of Agape which is often referred to as "God's kind of love". In Bob Mumford's teaching series called the Agape Road he explains clearly the difference between these two words. Basically Agape is a love that "gives" with no expectation of it being returned, While Eros is a love that "takes" with a very selfish motive, expecting something in return.

 

Bob studied this subject for many years before arriving at the truth he explains in this teaching. It has tremendous implications when we consider the whole matter of establishing a relationship with our Creator God. Because God is Agape He loves His whole creation including us rebellious human beings who since the original sin of Adam brought this "death line" into our world (Rom 5:12-21), we are all separated from God who is Holy. This was no surprise to God who knew this would happen because He created us with a free will with which to make choices, some good but some bad choices. Definitely Adam's choice to disobey the only restriction God had placed on him to not eat of the fruit of that one tree in the Garden was a wrong choice that has affected us all. God already had a plan to remedy this problem by sending Jesus to earth to become the perfect God/Man who was qualified to "reverse the curse" brought on creation by the first Adam. As we know His death on the cross "paid in full" the debt we all owed because we were all sinners (Rom 3:23), and the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). So the offer to receive the free gift of salvation is now available to all who desire it. Just read (Eph 2:1-10) and follow the simple instructions there given by the apostle Paul. God is faithful to keep His Word!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                      

Christian Unity

CHRISTIAN UNITY

 

Recently I read something written by an early Father in the faith, to the Roman Emperor in the second-century. He was describing the believers of that day. He wrote, "They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the man who has nothing; if they see a stranger they take him home, and are happy, as though he were a real brother. They don't consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers instead through the Spirit, in God." In (Eph 4:6) where Paul is finishing up one of his "long sentences" about keeping the "unity of the Spirit", which he began in verse 4. He states "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all". This is the key to Christian unity, to realize that we all are children of the same Father. That makes us all brothers in the Spirit, as that early church father stated in the above quotation. Even though we may be divided by all sorts of barriers and differences, deep down we are really all members of the one human family.

 

Paul exhorts us in verse 3 to "keep or (preserve) the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace". We can only keep, or "preserve", something that we already have in our possession. For example we preserve fruit and vegetables from our gardens in the fall, for use later in the winter months. It would seem that the "unity of the Spirit" must be something that becomes ours at salvation, while the "unity of the faith" mentioned in verse 13, is something we come into later. The first must be a gift, while the second is like fruit that comes only with maturity. This corresponds with the "gifts of the Spirit", and the "fruit of the Spirit", which we spoke about in previous articles. We often confuse these two types of unity, although they are clearly not the same. The unity of the faith, in verse 13, is linked with "the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ". This speaks of maturity, which only comes from submission to God appointed, and anointed, servants as mentioned in verses 11-12. The 2 key words here are "equipping" and "edifying", which both have to do with our following faithfully the teaching of these men Jesus gives to the body. Unity among Christians comes from our union with Christ. Unity in spite of our diversity is the most effective witness in this sin-fractured world! Let's start living like those believers in the early church!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

Revelation, Insperation, Illumination

REVELATION, INSPIRATION, and ILLUMINATION.

 

We have often heard any one of these words used to discuss portions of the Bible, which is the written Word of God. But a closer look at the actual meaning of these three words will show you that they cannot be used interchangeably because they all have a different meaning. I recently read in a book by Chuck Swindoll entitled "The Church Awakening" a proper definition of these three words. So I would like to pass on the information to those who might read this article. We will take each word separately, and list his different meaning of each word which is often used to describe scripture. 1/ Revelation---This word should be used only to describe the Bible, which is the one and only "revelation" our Creator ever gave to mankind to follow in order to obey Him, and walk in His ways. I have heard some people tell about some "new revelation" they have received from God, but as I understand the truth there is no such thing as a new revelation from God. He revealed everything He wants us to know in the Bible, the Written Word of God. 2/ Inspiration--- This word is used in (2 Tim 3:16-17) Where we read about how God used certain chosen people to write the scriptures for Him by the Holy Spirit inspiring them. "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work". The third word is 3/ Illumination---Since Revelation and Inspiration have both been completed by our Creator, the only one of these three words to consider is "Illumination". This can only come from the Holy Spirit that was given to us by the Father the moment we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior and Father "adopts" us into His family, and gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit as a seal to that transaction. Since the Holy Spirit we receive is the same Spirit that inspired the authors of scripture; all we need to do is to ask Him to show us what any portion of scripture really means. This is how we receive the correct understanding of any passage of scripture. My experience since I started asking the Holy Spirit for Illumination on certain passages of Scripture has been that my understanding of what I had previously been taught, had changed quite drastically from what I used to believe!!

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                          

Motivation

MOTIVATION

 

Most everyone knows the meaning of this word and live their life by being motivated by someone or something. And because we are all unique individuals, with our own DNA, we can all be motivated from different sources. I recently read a quote from Albert Einstein, about his famous "Theory of Relativity", "The supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible with out having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience". Bob Mumford says that Agape is that "irreducible" basic element in the life of a believer in God, and it is used some 320 times in the NT, and every time it is used it is referring to a "believer's behavior"! That is a very interesting Observation, But most of us have been taught that our behavior depends on us keeping certain rules and regulations that have been established by the particular church denomination our church has been connected with! Has that not been your experience in any church you have been part of? You see, as I now understand it if we Agape God as Jesus commands us in (Mark 12:29-31) where every use of the word love is Agape, then our behavior will be "pleasing to the Father". And this Agape will determine our behavior, and not the keeping of rules. This is basically the difference between "Religion", which relies on rules, and "Relationship" which is what Jesus taught.

 

So if our "motivation" in life is based on Agape can you see what a difference it would make in our behavior? Because we are sinners and affected by the "fall" of Adam we are by nature "rebellious" and want our own way, our behavior is naturally affected by this. When Jesus told a very religious man named Nicodemus in (John 3:1-8) that he must be born again in order to see and enter into His Kingdom, we know that command applies to all those who have a desire to follow Jesus. Many people fail to understand this fact and try by following certain religious traditions of their church to bypass this necessary commandment of Jesus. If these people would only expose themselves to Bob's teaching on the Agape Road, and follow it up with reading his two books "The Mysterious Seed", and "Nourishing the Seed" I'm sure they would understand the truth about the salvation of their souls. There is only "one way" to come to God and that way is through Jesus (John 14:6). Various Religious systems teach there are other ways to reach God, but His Word makes it very clear they are wrong!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                    20/03/13

 

Nature Abours a Vaacum

NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM

 

Apparently this statement is credited to the ancient philosopher Aristotle, who stated that based on his observation that "nature requires every space be filled with something, even if it is colorless, odorless air". As far as I know the study of science over the years has agreed with this conclusion. I think the same truth can be applied to the spiritual world, as well as the natural. This is based on my understanding of scripture that I have gained from studying God's Word since becoming a follower of Jesus nearly 50 years ago. The Bible teaches clearly that we are born into this world with a sinful nature inherited from Adam, our first human ancestor. (Rom5:12)  All humans since him are hopeless sinners (Rom 3:10-23), and doomed for death (Rom6:23)

Because of the foreknowledge of our Creator God, who knew this would happen, He already had a plan to correct this human dilemma. This plan included His only begotten Son Jesus to be incarnated into human flesh by way of the womb of a virgin Jewish maiden. As a perfect human without a trace of Adam's sinful nature, He would then die to pay the price to redeem mankind. After 3 days the Father would resurrect Him in a glorified body, and call Him back to heaven to sit at Father's side. (Ps 110:1). Then they would send the Holy Spirit to earth to take the place of Jesus, until the time appointed for Him to return to earth to receive the Church that He said He would build. (Matt 16:18) The Holy Spirit convicts humans of their sinful condition, and the truth that Jesus came to be their Savior. Then when they repent and accept Jesus as Savior they are "born again". At that moment the Holy Spirit moves into their human spirit, and they become a "new creation". (2 Cor 5:17) Or we might say they are then part of a completely "New Species" of beings, as members of "God's Forever Family"! The Holy Spirit is meant to fill the space in mankind that was originally filled by our sinful nature, however if we don't continue to remain filled as Paul admonishes in (Eph 5:18) then the fleshly nature will creep back into occupy the space that we don't let the Holy Spirit occupy. We are then classed as "carnal Christians", (1 Cor 3:1-4), and not spiritual, because we are not completely filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit of God!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer