Gramp's Treasures

THE MAIN POINT

2012-02-13T05:36:00.001-04:00

THE MAIN POINT

I like the way Paul begins the eighth chapter of his letter to the Hebrew church in Jerusalem. We know from reading (Rom 10:1-3) that he had such a burden for his Jewish brethren, that although Peter was definitely the "apostle to the Jews", it would seem that they made a deal that if Peter would let him write a letter to the Jews then he in turn would allow Peter to write to the Jews in the churches Paul had established in Galatia, which he did. So, he starts with "Here is the main point", and proceeds to explain to these Jewish believers who had recently left the "Law of Moses" to follow Jesus their Messiah. Paul spent this whole chapter explaining how Jesus was the real "High Priest", who had come to replace the "Old Covenant" that Moses had established, with the "New Covenant" promised by Jeremiah in (Jer 31:31-34). He says in verses 7-9 "If the first covenant had been faultless there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people He said the day is coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them says the Lord". This a very serious scripture, whether you are a Jewish person or a Gentile follower of Jesus! Paul said that "in Christ" we are all one, and that this scripture applies equally to both Jew and Gentile.

The fact that God has replaced the OT "Law of Moses" with a completely "New Covenant" is vital for us all to understand. Even as followers of Christ, most of us have established "traditions" based on the teachings of the denomination we belong to. They may vary on certain points, depending on the church you attend, but they are still traditions. In (Mark 7:8, 13) we read about Jesus rebuking the Jewish leaders about allowing their traditions to over rule the Word of God. And I believe there is a danger in our churches of allowing this very same thing happening! Many church traditions are based completely or partly, on man made doctrines, and not really on the scriptures taken in context. They are often based on a single verse taken out of its proper context, and hence becomes error. Let us search the scriptures carefully like the Bereans did in (Acts 17:11)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer.

THREE SIMPLE STEPS

2012-02-08T04:32:00.001-04:00

THREE SIMPLE STEPS FROM SINNER TO SAINT

We have all read much along the lines of how to become a follower of Jesus, but this simple 3 step formula came to me the other day.

1/ Admit to God and to yourself that you are a sinner.---According to God's word we all were born into this "fallen world" as sinners, so why try to ignore this fact? (Rom 3:10-12) It seems many people hate to admit that they are sinners, they have a concept that to be classed as a sinner, you have to be some wicked person who has done some horrible things like robbing a bank or killing someone. The truth is we were born a sinner, and because we are sinners we just naturally commit sins. It may be something as simple as telling a little Lie, or being proud, or envying a friend. Why try to hide it, or pretend it didn't happen? Just admit it!

2/ Confess your sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness.--- He is compassionate and full of mercy, and is quick to offer forgiveness for any confessed sin. (1 John 1:9). The DNA of God as based on His declaration of Himself as recorded by Moses in (Ex 34:5-7) includes 1/ compassion, 2/ grace, 3/ slow to anger, 4/ mercy, 5/ truth, 6/ faithful, 7/ forgiving. Who in their right mind would refuse to want to have a relationship with a God like that?

3/ Accept His offer---Although we are sinners and enemies of God, He loves us so much that He made a way for us to come to Him. It involved Him allowing His very own Son Jesus Christ to become one of us humans by the miracle of the "incarnation", where his Holy Spirit came upon a Jewish virgin maiden named Mary, and she bore Jesus, who was completely "sinless", and paid the price of our sins by His death on the cross. The wages of sin is death, (Rom 6:23), so someone had to die to satisfy the requirements of a just and Holy God. This required the death of a human being without sin, and Jesus was the only one who qualified. Whenever anyone confesses their sin and receives Jesus Christ by faith as their Savior, they are "born again" and Father God "adopts" them into His Forever Family. Then they become a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) and are referred to as a "saint"! Paul often wrote his letters to "the saints at" whatever city church he was writing to. It is just that simple according to the "good news" of the "Gospel of the Kingdom"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer 24/01/12

A CORNERSTONE

2012-02-01T21:46:00.001-04:00

A CORNERSTONE

A common practice in past centuries when constructing a public building like a city hall or library was to have a special stone carved from a permanent type of stone like marble or granite, to build in at the most prominent corner of the building. It was meant to be seen by all who visited that building. There was always a special celebration for the "cornerstone laying ceremony", involving city and political officials. There was always a special metal box containing items of interest of the day that they wanted preserved as a memorial that was built in the wall behind the cornerstone. In Paul's second letter to Timothy in (2 Tim 2:19) we read in the NLT "But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription 'the Lord knows those who are His', and 'All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil'". As you know a cornerstone has two sides exposed so it can be seen from both directions as long as the building stands! I consider that this simple statement by Paul should be given close attention by all followers of Jesus in our 21^st century. We know that "God's Truth" is a person, His only begotten Son Jesus, made clear by the apostle John in

(John 14:6), a scripture that we should all be aware of.

The critical question for us as followers of Jesus is simply 'how well are we showing forth to the world these two qualities that Paul mentions here? This is probably more important for men to consider, because they are often more exposed to the world in their daily activities than their wives. But these two things mentioned by Paul are equally critical for all to consider. So we must search our hearts continually, to make sure that every little closet or drawer that we all seem to have, where we place little odds and ends that we keep because we might find a use for them in the future, is not concealing articles that are not "pleasing to the Father"! I trust I am not the only guy who has these places, that he doesn't want his wife to clean up, because then he can never find things when he needs them! Right? Well it just might be that some things stored there that you are guarding from your wife's tendency to want to keep everything "in order", just might be items the Father is not pleased with either! We were all given the gift of the Holy Spirit when we received Jesus as Savior, He will help us in these areas if we ask Him to!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer 23/01/12

THE ORIGINAL DISCIPLE MAKER

2012-01-23T10:58:00.001-04:00

THE ORIGINAL DISCIPLE MAKER

Every thing has to have an original, from which copies can be made. The prime example of this might be an automobile manufacturer like Ford or GM when they decide to start making some new model. They will often spend several years and millions of dollars perfecting what they call a "prototype", before they start to produce them on the "assembly line". Jesus Christ would have to be referred to as the "Original Disciple Maker". He was the one and only "God Man", since He was both 100% God, yet at the same time was 100% man! While occupying His earthly body for 33+ years, he gathered around Him 12 ordinary men, and trained them to be the original "disciples", which took Him approximately 3 years. Next to His work of becoming our "Redeemer" by dying on the cross to pay the price of the sins of all mankind, this was possibly His second most important task His Father gave Him to do. God needed men to spread the good news of salvation through the blood of Christ, shed on the cross to provide this deliverance from our sinful nature passed down from the first Adam. He became the second or "Last Adam" as Paul referred to Him as in (1 Cor 15:45). The only One capable of "reversing the curse", so to speak, placed on creation by the first Adam because of not obeying the one restriction placed on him!

God's plan was to use ordinary men to start His "Church", which was to be His Body on earth to replace Jesus. This new earthly body is composed of "born again" former sinners that the Holy Spirit, who replaced Jesus when He was called back to heaven to be with the Father, until it is time to send Him back to earth to receive this Body back, which is the Church. This plan is all part of the great "mystery" that was revealed to Paul in his letter to the church in Ephesus, which he records in chapters 2 and 3. Next to Jesus, the apostle Paul was probably the most effective disciple maker who ever lived. Timothy was one of his key disciples that he wrote 2 letters to while he was in prison in Rome. In his second letter he was reminding Timothy of the gift of God he had received when the elders laid hands on him and commissioned him into ministry. In (2 Tim 2:2) we read how Timothy was to pass on this gift of making disciples to other men. I believe this same method should still be practiced today by this "True Church". Father God has never changed his original plan and replaced it with any other as near as I can see from my study of scripture. If anyone can find scripture to the contrary I would certainly appreciate having them pointed out to me.

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer 23/08/11

PROPER PERSPECTIVE

2012-01-17T11:48:00.001-04:00

PROPER PERSPECTIVE
We see an "improper" perspective of a church when we read about the church in Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22). When Jesus told John what to write in his letter to them, He said to tell them in verse 17, "Because you say 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked". Talk about a wrong perspective, right? Because of this faulty understanding of what they were really like, Jesus said they were like "lukewarm" water and "I will vomit you out of My mouth"! I expect this would probably be His opinion of many whole denominations of churches in our 21st century culture! We have been so affected by the spread of the so-called "Prosperity Gospel", that some people are not aware of how much like the church in Laodicea we really are.

The common understanding of riches and wealth seems to be that the more "things" you can acquire in a lifetime, the more successful you are in the eyes of the world. And the happier and contented you should be living this sort of self centered life, but according to the testimonies of many people who reach this place of wealth and fame, they are most miserable! Why is this the case? I believe a careful look at the above mentioned scripture will supply the answer. This attitude that being rich and in need of nothing should be our goal, is certainly not the opinion of Jesus for His followers! True wealth is not measured by what you have, but by who you are in Christ! In a recent devotional thought from ODB, I read a little poem that said this very well. "In Christ we're rich beyond belief, with wealth the world cannot see; we have new strength and character, new righteousness and purity". The article that was written by Joe Stowell finished with the following one liner "The poorest person is he whose only wealth is money"! In (1 Peter 1:4) we read "And we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay". (NLT). It would seem to me that this "priceless inheritance" that Peter refers to here has to be our place in the Eternal Kingdom of God. We are "adopted" into God's family as a result of our "new birth", but we are "transferred" into the Kingdom, (Col 1:13). And according to (1 Cor 6:9-11) our behavior as a believer can prevent us from receiving this inheritance! Salvation is a gift, but not our place in the Kingdom of God, that depends on our obedience to His commandments!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

WE HARVEST WHAT WE SOW

2012-01-06T11:00:00.001-04:00

WE HARVEST WHAT WE PLANT

The scripture has a lot to say about sowing and reaping a harvest. In his letter to the the churches in Galatia, Paul makes some powerful statements in (Gal 6:7-10). He starts off by declaring "you always harvest what you plant", in other words there is more than one kind of seed, but the harvest will always be of the same type as the seed sown. Remember there is always a time factor of several months in the natural, between sowing the seed and reaping the harvest. The same principle applies to the spiritual realm, which is what we want to consider.

Some folks seem to grow old gracefully, while others become grouchy and ill-tempered. This doesn't happen suddenly, but gradually over a period of time. If we were able to go back in time to see what sort of things these people sowed into their lives and relationships with others, we would probably see the reason for the difference!

C S Lewis is credited with saying "Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before". If this is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, then we need to be very careful what type of choices we make. We can choose to submit our wills to line up with God's, or we can choose to follow our own desires, or those of certain friends. The result will not always be seen immediately, but will show up in your life eventually.

So why not heed the advise of Paul "Don't be misled--you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." The question we have to ask ourselves then is, which way am I sowing? Am I sowing to the Spirit or to the flesh? It seems clear from this scripture passage, as well as others, that the seeds we sow today will determine the kind of fruit we'll reap tomorrow. Let it be the fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul in (Gal 5:22-23)!!!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

PROPER PERSPECTIVE`

2012-01-06T05:51:00.001-04:00

PROPER PERSPECTIVE

2011-12-16T05:45:00.001-04:00

SPIRITUAL FOOD

2011-12-09T17:01:00.001-04:00

SPIRITUAL FOOD

Just as our physical bodies need good nourishing food to sustain a healthy condition, so we also need a nourishing source of food for our spiritual lives. Our creator of course knew this, and had the written Word made available to us. We know it as the Bible, and it is now available in various languages, and many different versions, so most of us have many choices, and no excuse for not reading a version of our choice! One portion that comes to mind is (Psalm 19:1-14), which has many verses that speak about food. It "makes wise the simple" (Verse 7), and is "more desirable than gold" and "Sweeter than honey" (verse 10). This covers both our spiritual condition as well as our physical, and God provides ample food for both. The story of Elijah in (1 Kings 19:1-10) is a good example of an exhausted man who was physically and spiritually spent after his encounter with the wicked queen Jezebel. In this case God used one of His angel messengers to provide for His servant Elijah, in our case it will probably be a fellow follower of Jesus that we are in fellowship with!

A question that might naturally come to our minds is; why are so many people we meet in much the same condition as Elijah was in? Of course we are all living in a wicked world, which is under the control of Satan, "the prince of the power of the air". (Eph 2:1-3). But when we read verses 4-10 of this passage we find the answer to our dilemma! It is clearly, accepting the truth about the provision our Father God has made for us. That is receiving the salvation by faith plus nothing, that Jesus has provided for us by His "finished work" on the cross of Calvary, where He gave His life freely to redeem us. And of course this salvation is a free gift of God's grace, and can't be obtained by any amount of religious activity!

These facts from God's Word are for everyone, but sad to say many people are ignorant of this vital information simply because they do not read the Bible. Others read it from a background of certain religious traditions, which give their own interpretation to key scriptures like the one mentioned above from (Eph 2:1-10), and somehow miss the fact that salvation is a "gift", and must be received by "faith alone" and not by religious works! Those of us who are followers of Jesus must be diligent to share these truths from God's Word to all of our friends who might be caught in some "religious trap!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A COMMUNITY CHURCH

2011-12-03T05:29:00.001-04:00

A COMMUNITY CHURCH

Most local churches are named after some saint, or have their denomination as part of their name. Why not just their community name such as Loch Lomand Community Church (LLCC) for example. Why do we think that we have to let people know what denomination we are part of?

I have never been much for denominations anyway, although I have always been part of one. I started out in a Baptist Church, then an independent Pentecostal Church, then a Christian & Missionary Alliance Church, and now a PAOC (Pentecostal Assemblies Of Canada) Church. But I don't feel really attached to any denomination, although I have been part of them all when I attended services there. I just consider myself a follower of Jesus, and perhaps "Trans Denominational" might fit, if indeed there ever was one by that name.

But I like the idea of just naming the building we meet in a community place where we gather. I dislike calling it a "church", because we who meet in the building are the "Church", and not the building. But since church is the normal name for our gathering place, I can't think of another to replace it. I'm not really a rebel at heart, although I have been considered that by some, because I have always questioned certain traditions that are part of our normal services and doctrines. Since I started to search the truth through the scriptures more diligently, after my first stroke, I realized for the first time how much of what I had been taught, believed, and in turn taught to others, was not really based on scripture. This caused me to question many more of our traditions that make up the way we "do church".

That's when I found out that many others had been questioning some of these same things, and were actually declaring that God was doing things "outside the box" of the typical church structure. It would seem that God is using a different paradigm for His Church to follow, rather than the old one we have followed for the past century.

These are just some random thought to consider, and discuss.
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY

2011-11-25T10:14:00.001-04:00

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 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 Savior. We are then "born again", and are taken by 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.

NO CONDEMNATION

2011-11-15T11:38:00.001-04:00

NO CONDEMNATION

These words, taken from (Rom 8:1) should resound in our ears like the words "you are pardoned" must sound to a prisoner on "death row" in prison who has just received the word that at the last minute the Governor has granted him a full pardon! Paul begins this chapter with the words "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus". Every one of these words is important, and we need to look at each one carefully, if we are to really understand the full meaning that Paul had in mind. Whenever we see the word "therefore", we need to look back a few verses to find out why this word is used. In this case the reference is to the last two verses of the previous chapter. Here we see that Paul asked a question, and then answered it. This set the stage for this profound and awesome statement, "there is therefore now no condemnation". Notice the little word "now", this means right now, in our present situation, as long as we are "in Christ Jesus". Paul uses this same phrase in (2 Cor 5:17) "Therefore if any man (woman, boy or girl) be in Christ he is a new creation----". In this case he is referring back to verse 14 "if one died for all, then all died". This is certainly the theme that Paul has been dwelling on in chapters 6 and 7, and wants to reinforce here in chapter 8. This brings us to the words "no condemnation" which we will explore now in a little more detail.

Who among us has never felt "condemned" at one time or another? Usually it is our guilty conscience that will condemn us for some wrong thought, or action! Even after we have been forgiven by God, when we repent of our many sins and receive Jesus as our personal Savior, we often still feel condemned. This is because we have an enemy called Satan, sometimes referred to as the "accuser of the brethren". Not only is he the one who tempts us to do wrong, but then makes us feel condemned when we yield to his temptation. We have learned from our study of Rom 6 and 7 that our old sinful nature that we were born with, died with Christ on the cross. However we all have what Paul refers to as our "flesh", that part of us that wants to protect "self", and fights against the Spirit who now dwells in all believers. The Holy Spirit will "convict", but never "condemn" us when we do something wrong! Condemnation always comes from our enemy. We need to learn to distinguish between his condemning voice, and the affirming still small voice of the Spirit of God! This is part of the process of "sanctification" that comes with maturity in our walk with the Lord daily! There is no shortcut, or easy way that I know of!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer 24/09/11

BUT GOD

2011-11-09T06:56:00.001-04:00

BUT GOD

This expression appears in several of Paul's letters. For example in (2 Cor 7:5-7), we see Paul in a very discouraged state. Actually this great apostle states in verse 5 "When we arrived in Macedonia there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside". Just imagine, this is Paul the apostle confessing to having fear! But notice how he starts the next verse "But God, who encourages those who are discouraged,-----". (NLT) Yes even great men like Paul can become discouraged by times, "but God" always comes to the rescue! In this case it was by the arrival of Titus with good news about the church in Corinth. Another example of Paul using this expression is in (Eph 2:4), after stating the sad condition of every one of us in verses 1-3, that we were all born in sin, he begins verse 4 "But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Jesus from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)" (NLT). In my opinion, this second chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesian church, gives us a very clear picture of both the universal need of salvation, as well as how to receive it!

Just in these two uses of this expression "But God" by Paul, we can see clearly that they apply to us all, at some time or other. Certainly we were all born as sinners, and I expect that we have all been discouraged a few times. We should be greatly encouraged to know from God's Word that He is concerned about every one of us humans. This supernatural [Agape] love of God is so far above and beyond any sort of natural love that we can muster up, that we find it hard to understand. In (John 3:16) where we read that God loved us "so much that He gave His one and only Son", John used this Greek word [Agape] to describe this supernatural love. Whether we can really understand it or not, we can all take advantage of God's offer of His supernatural [Agape] love. First we need to receive it, and then we need to extend it to all those we come in contact with!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

SECOND SAMUEL SEVEN

2011-10-31T05:03:00.001-03:00

SECOND SAMUEL SEVEN
In this chapter we read about King David's desire to build a permanent house for God to dwell in. Since the time of Moses, God was content to dwell in the "Holy of Holies" inside the tabernacle that Moses had constructed according to the plan shown him by God. The prophet Nathan brought the word of the Lord to David that his "Seed" (Jesus, not Solomon) would build a house "for My name". We know from reading the NT, that Jesus came to earth for this very reason, to build a house for God. While Jesus lived in His earthly body He was that house. Paul stated that "in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9), in other words as long as Jesus lived in His earthly body, He contained all of God there was to have! That's why He said to His disciples in (John 16:7) "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you".

We know that Jesus came to earth primarily to redeem fallen mankind back to God, by taking upon Himself on the cross the sin of every person since Adam. But He revealed the other purpose in His first coming by stating in (Matt 16:18) "I will build My church". This church which we see being established in the book of Acts was birthed in the upper room on the evening of the very day that He arose from the tomb. (John 20:22) "He breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit". This was the birth of this church, when these first disciples received the promised Holy Spirit. Then in (Acts 2:4) we see Him being poured out on the larger group of believers to give them power to be witnesses of the resurrection! (Acts 1:8). This church of "called out ones" became a "community of the King", which is really an extension of God's family in heaven. consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We cannot understand this mystery completely with our finite minds. Once we are "born again" into God's family, the Holy Spirit moves into our lives to bring us the assurance that we are indeed children of God, and part of the "household of God" that Paul speaks of in (Eph 2:19). God has always wanted to dwell with man on earth, and now He can do that through His church. According to (Rev 21) He will spend eternity here on planet earth with His church, the "bride" that comes down from heaven as the "New Jerusalem" which will be located just above natural Jerusalem, often referred to as the "city of David". What an "awesome" way to spend eternity!! This truth has been completely obscured by certain church doctrines that have come into the church since the fourth century!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer 20/09/11

GOD STILLS MOVES

2011-10-26T16:02:00.001-03:00

GOD STILL MOVES

This phrase is part of a song on a tape by Back to The Bible radio ministry that I heard recently. There is much more to the song, but these words have been constantly in my mind for days! The line these words are taken from states "In the hearts of people God still moves". I believe that is a powerful statement, and explains a very basic scriptural principal that it is the heart, or spirit of a human, that God moves in! Heart and spirit are often used interchangeably in scripture. As you probably know, we humans are created in the image and likeness of our Creator God. (Gen 1:26-27) Since God has revealed Himself as a "Trinity", so we are a three part being. Someone has described us as a "spirit", who has a "soul", who lives in a "body". I believe that to be a proper description of a human being, spirit, soul and body. Paul states that in

(1 Thess 5:23), where he clearly uses these three words to describe us followers of Jesus.

Church history records many moves of the Holy Spirit throughout the years since the first Pentecost of (Acts 2:4). Some of them have lasted for weeks, months, or sometimes years, but many were infiltrated by unholy spirits from the enemy's kingdom of darkness, and caused confusion and division! It would appear that every time there is a genuine move of God, Satan is quick to start a counter move, in an attempt to offset the real thing with a counterfeit move. It is often very difficult to tell the difference between a true and a false or counterfeit move of the Spirit. Paul lists the gifts of the Spirit in (1 Cor 12:7-11), in verse 10 he tells about one called "the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God, or from another spirit." (NLT)

It seems to me that this might be the most important gift of the Spirit that the followers of Jesus require to stand against the deception that Jesus said to beware of in these last days! (Matt 24: 4, 5, 11, 24, 25). Paul also warns us in (2 Cor 11:13-15) to expect false prophets, and workers of iniquity sent forth by Satan to deceive believers, and hinder the extension of the Kingdom of God. So as followers of Jesus in these present times, let us pray for moves of God's Holy Spirit, both within the church, and outside the organized church structures. But let us also pray for the gift of discerning of spirits, so we can be able to discern between the true move of God, and the counterfeit moves of Satan. Yes, God still moves by His Spirit in the hearts of His people, but remember Satan still tries to hinder with his unholy spirits!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

2011-10-19T07:29:00.000-03:00

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

I recently heard a definition for "ambassadors" that gives new meaning to
(2 Cor 5:20) from which the title for this article is taken. The dictionary tells us an ambassador is "a diplomatic agent of highest rank" or a representative of one country to another in the world. The new definition I heard was that an ambassador is really "the embodiment" of the country they represent! Try to wrap your mind around that thought for a few minutes!! As you probably know an ambassador's living expenses are totally taken care of by the government of the country they represent. Their housing, travel, meals, children's education, etc. Read (Matt 6:25-34) again with this thought in mind! Remember you are reading the words of the King of the Kingdom that you and I represent right? We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus Christ our Savior is the King!!

This concept of a kingdom has been replaced in our world by other forms of government. For most of us that would be some form of democracy, or a republic. Even most church forms of government have taken on the idea of a democracy, or a government of the people for the people. This was never God's plan; in fact it is the complete opposite of a kingdom concept. His plan called for a King or supreme ruler with delegated authority given to certain people, through whom He could govern His kingdom. Every world kingdom or empire before the Roman Empire came into power used the same technique when they conquered an enemy nation. They subdued the nation, dispersed the people from their homeland and often took prisoners back to their capital city. Daniel and his three friends are an example of this concept under the Babylonian Empire of their day. However Rome set up their empire under a kingdom concept, they left the people in their homeland and appointed governors in every conquered nation, to govern the people. Pilot in the time of Christ would be an example of this kingdom concept of delegated authority, answerable to the Roman Caesar as king. Because of this Roman influence God chose that time for Jesus to come to earth and introduce the Kingdom of God. (Gal 4:4) As ambassadors of Christ we have been chosen by Almighty God to be His delegated representatives on Planet earth, the "embodiment" of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. That is a truth to meditate on!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A SOUND MIND

2011-10-14T04:14:00.001-03:00

A SOUND MIND
These words are found in Paul's second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:7) "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind". In the Greek this word that is translated as "sound mind" is a combination of two words, one means "safe", and the other "mind", hence "safe thinking". According to Strong's Concordance it denotes good judgment, disciplined thought patterns, and the ability to understand and make right decisions. It also includes the qualities of "self-control" and "self-discipline". As Christians we should give close attention to this verse!
The first thing we see is that fear is a "spirit", and it is not given by God! Therefore we know that fear must come from the enemy, and we should resist it in Jesus' name whenever it tries to enter our life. How many Christians do you know that are plagued with all kinds of fears, except the "fear of God", which is the only positive kind of fear? God has given us (past tense) "power", "love" and a "sound mind". These are all part of the package we receive when we repent of our sin and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit comes into our life to give us the assurance of salvation. We need to remind ourselves of this fact quite often,

"Self control" and "self discipline" are two things that should be evident in every believer's life. Self control is listed as one of the "fruit of the Spirit" in (Gal 5:22-23), and Peter mentions it as one of the signs of spiritual growth in (2 Peter 1:5-8). In verse 8 he states "for if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ". Paul goes on in 2 Timothy to talk about not being ashamed of the gospel. In verse 8 he states the power of God "has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" This is a powerful statement about the "gospel of the Kingdom" that Paul preached, as well as Jesus, John the Baptist, and the other disciples. The "so-called gospel" that is generally preached today is something quite different. It is "man centered", and might be called a "gospel of convenience". It lacks the power to change lives, and give people the assurance Paul talked about in verse 12 "For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that day". This should be our testimony if we really know Jesus and are filled with His Spirit.
Sincerely submitted
Dave Jamer 20/09/11

A NEW NAME FOR CHURCH

2011-10-02T16:43:00.001-03:00

A NEW NAME FOR "CHURCH"

I recently read an editorial in the magazine called Mission Frontiers, by Ralph Winter, in which he quotes a man named Bob Goldmann. Mr Goldmann makes the point that we should no longer use the term "church planting", but instead we should adopt the term "movements to Christ", or in other words fellowships built on families, not groups made up of loose individuals. His point is well taken because of the misunderstanding of what "church" really means to the average person in our Western society in this 21st century. In recent articles about the church we pointed out the scriptural meaning of the term church, and how it has come to mean something completely different in our day. To quote Mr Winter "We Americans live in a country where families are almost expected to drift apart, creating artificially 'individualized' people. Thus as a result we produce artificial "church" fellowships which collect loose individuals or family fragments into a surrogate family--which we then call a "church".

In much of the world this fragmentation of the family unit hasn't happened. There we still see families that are truly "multi-generational", which is much like those from NT times. In the scriptures we often read about whole families becoming "worshipping households" when one person from that home accepts Jesus as Savior. This is more the pattern of a local "church" as we see them in the NT. They didn't have buildings called "churches", so they met in each other's homes. This all changed of course in the 4th century when the church became part of the Roman Empire, and large cathedrals were constructed and called churches.

Today in our Western world we are seeing a definite move toward so called "house churches", where people can experience "koinonia" which is more like that mentioned in the NT. Perhaps these groups should even drop the term church from their name, and simply be known as "home fellowships". At least until we understand that the scriptural term "church" does not mean a building, a denomination of churches, or anything other than a group of followers of Jesus meeting for fellowship with their Lord. Jesus did say that wherever "two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among you" (Matt 18:20). It seems to me that is a proper description of "church" as it should be held, according to Jesus. And He should know because He said "I will build My Church" (Matt 16:18).
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer 2/10/11

A WORD ON GUIDANCE

2011-09-27T07:42:00.001-03:00

A WORD ON GUIDANCE

We talk a lot about "guidance" and our need of guidance from God in our daily walk of faith. You might be surprised if you look for this word in Strong's Concordance. You will find guide, guides, guiding, and guided, but no mention of guidance! This made me aware of how often we miss-quote the Bible in our daily expressions that we are sure is based on scripture.
It is very true that we need guidance, but this guidance comes from having a faithful guide, who will lead us in the right pathway. In the Gospels we see Jesus portrayed as the "Good Shepherd" who cares for His sheep (John 10 1-18) When these scriptures were written, shepherds were commonly seen leading their flock of sheep to and from their feeding ground, to the safety of a fold at nighttime. They never "drove" the sheep, but gently "guided" them From this we can see that although we need "guidance" in our lives, it only comes as we carefully follow the "Guide" provided by our loving Heavenly Father. This guide of course is none other than Jesus Christ!

Someone has pointed out that a "guide dog" that has been trained to lead a blind person on busy city sidewalks, is much preferable to someone shouting instructions to them from the other side of the street! They could tell the blind person to watch out for certain obstacles, but the guide dog would gently lead them around the obstacles. This is how Jesus guides us if we allow Him to. He knows all the obstacles that lie in our pathway, and how to avoid them! In other words, we need a Guide—not guidance, just as we need a Healer---not healing. We often seek after the experience that Jesus can provide, instead of seeking Him who is the source of that which we need! The Bible tells us that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in heaven right now, but before He left this planet some 2000 years ago, to return to His Father's side, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to take His place. You can read all about this in the (John 14, 15, and 16) The first chapter of Acts continues His instructions to the disciples, and the second chapter covers the event of the promised Holy Spirit coming. So if you desire "guidance" in your life, I recommend you seek it from the only reliable "Guide" Jesus Christ. First ask Him to become your Lord and Savior, then your Baptizer in the Holy Spirit! This is certainly our Creator God's method of giving us the guidance we both desire and need as followers of Jesus today!!
Sincerely submitted
Dave Jamer 20/09/11

WORSHIPING IDOLS

2011-09-24T09:06:00.001-03:00

WORSHIPING IDOLS

There is a very interesting passage in Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth from chapter 10 we read in (1 Cor 10:14) "So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols." I can hear you thinking, well that doesn't apply to us followers of Jesus living in Canada! Maybe it might apply to pagans over in Africa, or East Asia somewhere, but surely not here in our civilized Western culture. I suggest you read this chapter over again slowly and really hear Paul's heart, he covers a lot of important issues. First he reminds us about what we should learn from Israel's experiences recorded in the OT. Then he talks about eating meat offered to idols, that was offered at a discounted price in the markets. He also includes a discussion about how they celebrated the "Lord's Supper", and how behind every idol is a demon, and he warned them about the danger of worshiping demons.

I recently read somewhere "An idol is anything that takes the place of God". Think about that statement for a few minutes, and consider carefully if we haven't been guilty of doing that. That word "anything" could include some "stuff", like material possessions you have accumulated, or perhaps people like parents, children or best friends, special food you like, or an endless number of other things. You probably haven't considered the possibility of there being a demon behind some of these! If Paul is correct in this statement, we should give this matter our prayerful consideration. We know from scripture that Satan hates God because he got cast out of the third heaven where God dwells, when he rebelled against God's divine will. (Isa 14:12-17). Since he is powerless to do anything directly against God, he takes out his wrath against God's children. His kingdom of darkness includes millions of demons and fallen angels, which he employs against the members of God's family. The demons are earth bound creatures, while the fallen angels still have access to the heavenlies, or the second heaven, but not to the third heaven where God dwells. Paul gives us direction in (2 Cor 10:3-6), and also in (Eph 6:10-18) how to do battle against these forces of darkness. Let us take encouragement from God's Word!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A WORD ON GUIDANCE

2011-09-20T07:00:00.001-03:00

WORSHIPING IDOLS

2011-09-17T05:08:00.001-03:00

CORE VALUES

By core values we mean Biblical values that form our belief system.

1/ God's written word, the Holy Bible, is infallible as written in the original languages used by the many authors involved. All our core values are based on scripture and must line up with the proper interpretation of this "Word".

2/ Jesus is the "Living Word" sent by the Father to show us Himself, and demonstrate how to interpret the Words that He spoke. Jesus came to call out from the world a group of people He referred to as the "Church". This word comes from the Greek [ecklesia] meaning "called out ones". This Church was to be His body on earth to carry out His will and instructions given from His present location in heaven at His Father's side.

3/ A proper understanding of the Kingdom of God is absolutely essential for this Church that Jesus is in the process of building from regenerated humans. This Church must have a proper understanding of the "church in a locality", and also of the "Church Universal" which is the world wide expression of the Kingdom of God. The church in a locality concept helps to foster unity in the body of Christ, and prevents competition between local churches.

4/ Every local expression of this Church must be based on the following list of Biblical qualifications 1/ salvation by grace alone. 2/ believer's baptism by immersion. 3/ the baptism with the Holy Spirit. 4/ the priesthood of all believers where everyone has access to Christ as head of His Church. 5/ servant leadership who have been set in place by the Lord as per (Eph 4:11-16, and 2 Cor 1:24). 6/ freedom of worship based on definite scriptural activities, such as singing in the Spirit, dancing in the Spirit, allowing the gifts of the Spirit to operate etc. 7/ have a definite form of discipleship training to raise up future leaders. 8/ have small home groups available to all believers to help develop proper relationships and encourage the use of the gifts of the Spirit. 9/ a priority should be given to oureach and missions, both local and worldwide. This should include teaching on returning the thithe to the Lord, and giving generous offerings as directed by Him.

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

(this is only a rough draft copy, subject to changes and additions)

A COMMUNITY CHURCH

2011-09-07T11:28:00.000-03:00

WORSHIPING IDOLS

There is a very interesting passage in Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth from chapter 10 we read in (1 Cor 10:14) "So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols." I can hear you thinking, well that doesn't apply to us followers of Jesus living in Canada! Maybe it might apply to pagans over in Africa, or East Asia somewhere, but surely not here in our civilized Western culture. I suggest you read this chapter over again slowly and really hear Paul's heart, he covers a lot of important issues. First he reminds us about what we should learn from Israel's experiences recorded in the OT. Then he talks about eating meat offered to idols, that was offered at a discounted price in the markets. He also includes a discussion about how they celebrated the "Lord's Supper", and how behind every idol is a demon, and he warned them about the danger of worshiping demons.

I recently read somewhere "An idol is anything that takes the place of God". Think about that statement for a few minutes, and consider carefully if we haven't been guilty of doing that. That word "anything" could include some "stuff", like material possessions you have accumulated, or perhaps people like parents, children or best friends, special food you like, or an endless number of other things. You probably haven't considered the possibility of there being a demon behind some of these! If Paul is correct in this statement, we should give this matter our prayerful consideration. We know from scripture that Satan hates God because he got cast out of the third heaven where God dwells, when he rebelled against God's divine will. (Isa 14:12-17). Since he is powerless to do anything directly against God, he takes out his wrath against God's children. His kingdom of darkness includes millions of demons and fallen angels, which he employs against the members of God's family. The demons are earth bound creatures, while the fallen angels still have access to the heavenlies, or the second heaven, but not to the third heaven where God dwells. Paul gives us direction in (2 Cor 10:3-6), and also in (Eph 6:10-18) how to do battle against these forces of darkness. Let us take encouragement from God's Word!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

A WORLD OF OPPOSITES

2011-08-29T07:13:00.001-03:00

A WORLD OF OPPOSITES

In (Gen 1:3) we find that from the very beginning of creation God separated the darkness by sending the light. "Then God said 'let there be light' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness night". NLT. So we see that from the very start of creation we have had complete opposites, and God is able to separate between them. (Heb 4:12) This is an important principle to remember, when we consider things like we are presently seeing in the "church" today in this 21st century. One of the most important things, in my opinion, is the tremendous increase of "deception", in church circles. Those who have been around for quite a few years are perhaps more apt to detect this, because although deception has been part of the church since the fourth century, it has never been as bad as we have seen since the start of this century. Of course the reason for that was foretold by Jesus in the twenty fourth chapter of Matthew's account of the gospel.

The closer we come to the return of Christ, the more "false prophets" will appear with new exciting teachings, accompanied with false signs and wonders that will deceive many! (not just a few). In (2 Cor 11:3-4, 12-15) we see clearly from Paul, who was trusted by God with many special revelations about the church, how our enemy Satan will come with his false prophets to teach things that are opposite to what Paul had taught them. So this should not surprise us, if we read and heed what God tells us in His Word. After all that is why He had it recorded, by choosing men to record what He wanted us to know, for such times as this. (2 Tim 3:16-17). If you check the records, you can trace this increase in "false" prophets back to the appearance of certain "prophets" in the early '90's. From their influence there was created a "prophetic movement" that has spread its influence around the world by way of modern technology! Its not hard to realize that it has been centered around Kansas City, and certain of the men who have become well known have started their ministry from there. It is not my intention to point out certain individuals as false prophets or apostles, but I know from experience that whenever there is a "real genuine" anything there is certain to be "counterfeits" of it raised up. Counterfeit $100.00 bills is an example, as well as "knock offs" of expensive watches, or other popular objects. Why should we be surprised that Satan would try to bring forth counterfeits of something that God has established, like His Kingdom!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

KOINONIA

2011-08-23T06:02:00.001-03:00

KOINONIA

True Christian fellowship,what the Greek New Testament calls "koinonia"--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 groups 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/ the 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! So let us strive to promote those structures!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

FITTING TOGETHER PERFECTLY

2011-08-15T22:21:00.001-03:00

FITTING TOGETHER PERFECTLY

In Paul's letter to the church he had planted in the city of Ephesus, in chapter 2 we see the secret to the proper structure of a local church. I have been looking for a local church for years, in which I felt I "fit". I was even part of a small "church" for 10 years in which I didn't fit, even though I was supposed to be the quote "pastor" at the time! But because, at that time I didn't have a proper concept of God's plan for church structure, it was not a good experience either. Thank God for His patience with us followers of Jesus, in showing us that becoming a spiritually mature person is a "process" and not an "event". Because I have been a "slow learner", it has taken me over 20 years to even start to understand the process. Now I'm too old, and because of the physical effects of this process, can only pass on to younger generations what I have learned in this process. And because we all were created with a free will, with which to make choices, what I write will only be understood by those who will read and heed what I offer.

As I now see this problem of not fitting into a local church structure, is not only the fact that the structure is not scripturally correct, but that we haven't been taught what we should have been. This falls back to the spiritual leaders we were under when we were "saved", who should have "disciplined" us as Paul did his converts! We naturally understand discipline as something we receive when we disobey some certain command given us by our parents, or anyone in a place of authority over us. But what about a situation where those people who are placed in this place of authority over us fail to carry out their God given task?, and when you add to that the fact that in some cases those who should be giving the instructions don't know what their task consists of? Then we have a "real problem", and I suggest that this is the basis of our problem with local churches!

The answer to this problem is a simple one really, we all need to get "back" to the Bible. And this goes for our spiritual leaders, as well as their church members, who should both be followers of Jesus! His directions for living a life here on earth, that not only is meant to prepare us for Eternal Life in heaven, but also a life that will please Father God now! After all is said and done, is that not what this life on earth is all about?
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer'

JESUS and :MY CHURCH"

2011-08-02T08:18:00.001-03:00

JESUS and "MY CHURCH"

In the gospel account by Matthew, in verse 18 of chapter 16, we read these words "You are Peter, and upon this rock will I build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it". NKJV. If we read the entire passage from verse 13-20 to put verse 18 in context, we clearly see that Jesus is talking about building "His Church" on the declaration Peter had given, in answering the question Jesus had asked in verse 15. So that is what He said He would build His Church on, and not Peter as a person. To Peter He said "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven", meaning he would be permitted to preach the "gospel of the kingdom", which he and the other disciples did after they were filled with the Spirit in (Acts 1:8). We all know that keys are meant to open locked doors, and that task was given to all followers of Jesus. But the "church" that developed out of the joining together of the "True Church" we see developing in the book of Acts, with the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, spawned what has become the "false church", in my opinion. And the two should never be confused by considering them all together as being the "church". That would be like mixing together several "counterfeit" 100 dollar bills together with real ones, and think you were quite wealthy. This would not be wise, and when we consider what we call the "church", as a building people go to on Sunday morning, we are not wise either.

Martin Luther, who is looked to as the "Father of the Reformation", who was a Roman Catholic priest who was given illumination by the Holy Spirit regarding the truth that Paul explained in (2 Cor 5:17-21), and this shoke up the church of the day. He certainly brought forth the truth of "righteousness by faith without works", but he stopped short of changing the "structure" of what the church had developed into, back into what Jesus had in mind when He made His original declaration in (Matt 16:18). Each of the Reformers who followed Luther, and started various "Protestant Denominations", all kept pretty much the same church structure. Derek Prince, in his book entitled "Rediscovering God's Church" which was published in 2006, a few years after his death, by the ministry he had established, deals with this whole matter in a clear easy to understand way. I definitely would recommend it to anyone who is interested in knowing how far off the original pattern for the church, that we have strayed in our day!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

THE NEW AGE

2011-07-25T07:21:00.001-03:00

THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT
This term we have chosen to represent what has been happening in our "religious" world of today, is really a "misnomer" because it is certainly not new. Actually it started back in the "Garden of Eden" with our original parents Adam and Eve. To truly understand it we need to go back much farther than that to a scene described by the OT prophet named Isaiah, that God chose as one of the men He used to record the scriptures. In (Isa 14:12-23) we read about this account of the archangel Lucifer rebelling against God, and being cast out of heaven. This was the beginning of "sin" coming to our planet and affecting the complete human race. (Rom 5:12). Lucifer, who became Satan, has ever since then been the "enemy of God", and since he cannot touch God he takes out his wrath on us humans.

One of the ways he does this is by trying to bring the whole human race under bondage to him by polluting man's "religions"! Since our Creator God put a desire to worship someone in the hearts of all mankind, what better way to destroy God's plan than to invent lots of "False Religions" for people to follow? So ever since the Garden of Eden, when he deceived Adam and Eve, by causing them to doubt what God had told them. he has been busy creating new ways to deceive God's people today. That is why we read so many warnings in scripture about the danger of being deceived by false prophets and teachers! (Matt 24:4, 5. 11, 24) and (2 Cor 11:12-15) and
(2 Thess 2:1-12) are a few examples of these many warnings.

So check out all false religions, or any of the many cults, and so-called "new revelations" we hear about, very carefully with the Word of God to see if they contain truth or error. (Acts 17:11). And remember that any truth taken out of context and pushed beyond its true meaning, becomes error. A couple of good scriptures to study are (John 8:31-59) and (1 John 4:1-6). Then remember that God can give us discernment, both natural (Heb 5:11-14), and supernatural (1 Cor 12:10). Both of these are necessary for all of us to prevent us from getting mixed up in any so-called "New Age" teaching that is flooding churches today in these "Last of the Last Days!! These are the days that we have been called by God to live in, so He has made available to us all that we need to stay close to Him, but He expects us to make use of them! So beware of all teachings that don't line up with scripture!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

MY BIG PROBLEM

2011-07-18T11:09:00.001-03:00

MY BIG PROBLEM

I confess to having a problem that seems to be getting bigger every day, since I started to spend more time studying the Bible several years ago. It has to do with certain well known Bible teachers teaching doctrines that according to my new understanding of scripture are not true. I used to believe and teach these same doctrines for years, but since changing the way I have been approaching scripture lately, God has been showing me a different way of understanding certain passages. I had been taught they meant certain things by my leaders, but once I started using a "Face Value" method of understanding scripture, and laying aside what I had been told, the scriptures suddenly came alive to me! I have been given more "illumination" on certain well known scriptures by the Holy Spirit, that changes the meaning all together. And my problem centers around the area of "why do these experienced teachers" still keep spreading the same old lies to their hearers? This is the basis of my problem!

All I did was to realize that the same Holy Spirit who inspired the authors of scripture, (2 Tim 3:16-17), is the same Holy Spirit that indwells me as a simple follower of Jesus, and I could just ask Him to show me what He had in mind when He told them what words to use. It is a very simple process, and the results have been surprising, giving me a completely different understanding of passages that I thought I knew what they meant. Then I have to be bold enough to make public this new understanding, which often comes against the doctrines of "long standing" in our churches! This can result in you being considered a "rebel" or perhaps a "heretic", or worse. Everyone desires to be well thought of by their peers, and I am no exception, so it is still hard to dispute the doctrines that have been accepted, and taught, in our church circles for years, without being challenged. This is also part of my problem, and I will have to settle it with the Holy Spirit as to what to do with the new things He is showing me. So I would ask you to remember me in prayer, that I might have humility and wisdom as I try to introduce some of the results of this new "illumination" that God has been bringing to me that are quite a bit different from what we have been taught. I certainly do not consider myself any sort of an expert on Bible interpretation, but simply a follower of Jesus, who has been trying to please the Father. I believe this should be the goal of all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jame

why me

2011-07-16T20:14:00.001-03:00

WHY ME

I recently read a little poem that prompted me to ask this question. The poem was part of a devotional in Our Daily Bread, and goes like this,
"On such love, my soul, still ponder
Love so great, so rich, so free;
Say, while lost in holy wonder,
Why, O lord, such love to me?"

Have you ever pondered this truth? Why would God ever care that much for anyone of us sinners that He would allow His Son Jesus to leave heaven and come to earth to die on that cruel cross for you and me? There is an old song that George Beverly Shea used to sing that contain the words "Oh the wonder of it all, the wonder of it all, just to think that God loves me". This is the sense of wonder that we should never lose; no matter how long we have been a follower of Jesus. Then there is another old song called "Who Am I". Some of the words are "Who am I that a King would bleed and die for, who am I that He would say, not my will but Thine Lord, the answer I may never know, why He ever loved me so, that to an old rugged cross He'd go, for who am I?" This is certainly a valid question to ask, but every person who has received Jesus as their Savior should be able to give a right answer. I've heard the old saying "I'm just a beggar telling another beggar where he found bread", which I guess is OK, but I think I have a better one. Since hearing Bob Mumford's teaching on the Agape Road, I think the better answer to the question of "who am I", would be "I was a lost sinner who has been found by Jesus, and am starting a journey up the Agape Road with Him to find intimacy with the Father". You may have to see the DVD's of Bob's teaching to really understand the full meaning of this statement. I have learned so much from Bob over the years that we have followed his teaching on audio cassettes. But this is definitely his best yet, and is the result of many years of pursuing the word "Agape" (God's love), as opposed to "Eros", which a self centered kind of "taking" instead of "giving" love. This is at the very core of the gospel message, which in the NT scriptures is often referred to as the "gospel of the Kingdom", to set it apart from the many other "gospels" that have come forth at various times in church circles! Let's just use the expression "Believer Beware"!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

WHY ME

2011-07-04T14:09:00.001-03:00

TWO RULES TO LIVE BY

2011-06-29T11:58:00.001-03:00

TWO RULES TO LIVE BY
God gave 10 commandments to Moses on the mountain (Exod 20:1-17), which were multiplied to 613 rules that religious Jews were expected to keep. These were enforced by the Pharisees during the time that Jesus lived on the earth. These were reduced to only 2 by Jesus, which He repeated several times in His teaching, as recorded in the 4 gospel accounts. They were simply, 1/ "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength", and 2/ "Love your neighbor as yourself". These are simple rules, but there is a lot more involved in keeping them than most people realize! I am slowly coming to understand what is involved since watching the "Agape Road" teaching by Bob Mumford on his DVD's. I first read his book by that title, and then listened to the audio CD's series given at a large seminar about 10 years ago, and am now enjoying the teaching much more by seeing Bob deliver the teaching in the original setting. I enjoy reading about the way Jesus replied to the Pharisees, who were the most religious crowd of Jews who were always trying to point out how Jesus didn't keep some of their religious traditions. One example of this is recorded by Matthew in his gospel (Matt 22:34-40), and then in the next chapter he records what Jesus thought of these "religious" leaders. He uses some very uncomplimentary names for these guys, like "hypocrites", "blind fools", and "whitewashed tombs"! Not the type of descriptive words you would expect to hear from the "gentle Jesus", that some people consider Him to be

I often wonder how He would describe the "religious leaders" of the church today that most people believe to be the Church that Jesus said He would build. When you compare the church we see in the book of Acts with what we call the "church" today, you are hard pressed to see any resemblance. This has caused me to use the terms "True Church" and "false church" to describe the two very different organizations! Actually the True Church that Jesus has been building for the past 2000 years is an "organism" because it is a living thing. An organization is not a living thing, but simply a group of people who are joined together to accomplish certain worthy goals, similar to the Kiwanis Club, or some other service club. We must always remember that the True Church is composed only of people who have been "born again" by the Holy Spirit, and are "New Creatures in Christ" as described by Paul in (2 Cor 5:17)!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

SOME THOUGHTS ON TIME

2011-06-23T09:38:00.001-03:00

SOME THOUGHTS ON TIME
The little word "time" is a very interesting word, that the Concise Oxford English Dictionary recently stated is the most often used noun in the English language. And the Bible has a lot of scriptures that speak about time. With our finite minds, it is very difficult for us to properly understand time. Most people complain about never having enough time, but the fact of the matter is that we all have the same amount of time. Every day has 24 hours, and every week has 7 days, that gives us all a total of 168 hours a week, or 10,080 minutes! The best description of time I ever saw presented was a large circle drawn on a sheet of paper to represent time and space inside the circle, surrounded by eternity. God exists outside of time in eternity, and is not confined to operate in our circle. From His perspective it is always "now", and in (Ps 90:4) Moses stated when referring to God "For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours" NLT. And Peter was probably referring to this OT passage when he wrote "----a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day"
(2 Peter 3:8) There are lots of scripture passages that warn us that the day is coming when time will be no more, and that God is giving us time to get things right with Him. But I believe He has an appointed time to roll up time as a scroll, so to speak, and our universe will become part of His eternity again. One of the most challenging scripture passages to me is the third chapter of 2 Peter, from which we quoted part of verse 8 above! If you read the whole chapter carefully you will see several references to "The Day of The Lord". This is probably the most important day mentioned in all of scripture, and is certainly worthy of some careful study. For the redeemed children of God it will be a glorious day, but for the wicked children of Satan, it will be a horrible day when God starts to pour out His wrath. (Rev 15:5-8) Listen to the last two verses from the NLT, "I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your secure footing. Rather you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, both now and forever! Amen." That is a word for all to read and heed!!
Sincerely submitted. Dave Jamer

A BAD CHOICE

2011-06-14T11:51:00.001-03:00

A BAD CHOICE

I was recently reminded of a really "bad choice" that many people make. God has created us all with the power to make choices, because He gave us a free will of our very own, which is part of our soul. He expects us to make right choices, but we often fail, and sometimes make some really bad ones! One of the most important choices that we all must make is the choice of where we will spend eternity. Here again we have 2 choices, according to God's Word, either "heaven" or "hell", there is no other! Jesus actually spoke more about Hell than about heaven while he lived here on earth over 2000 years ago. Because some people don't read the Bible, they may not be aware of what it contains, that's why those of us who are followers of Jesus should be ready always to tell them. Some people don't even believe there is such a place as hell. They can't believe that a loving God would ever send people to such a place even if it did exist! That's how deceived people can be without some knowledge of the Bible.

Let me assure you on the authority of the scriptures, in both the OT and the NT that "hell" is a real place, and definitely a "bad choice" as a place to spend eternity! I have heard people jokingly say "well if it is a real place I will enjoy being there with my friends". That statement shows just how deceived people can be. As I understand it, hell is such a place of total darkness, so dark that one soul could be within a few feet of another without knowing it. That is the result of "total separation", not only from God who is the source of "light", but from all other creatures! Certainly no place for a "party", that some sinners might expect it to be!!

That is why people should be aware of what God's Word really says, and not just their own concepts, often based on man's opinions or theories, that contain Satan's lies! Jesus declared "for he is a liar and the father of it". (John 8:44). In other words he couldn't tell the truth about anything because there is no truth in him. Paul makes an important statement for us who are living in these last of the "last days". It is found in (2 Cor 11:13-15), where it serves as a warning of false prophets and teachers who will show up in the "church" in these days. So let us who know the truth, encourage others to read the Bible to find out about various things like heaven and hell. Then they will not be so likely to make "a bad choice"!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A COVENANT KEEPER

2011-06-08T10:57:00.001-03:00

A COVENANT KEEPER
King David is an excellent example of a covenant keeper, in (1 Sam 20:42) we read about a covenant he had made with Jonathan, who was the son of King Saul. We know Saul lost his position because of disobedience, and became the enemy of David, who was chosen by God to replace him. Many years later he inquired "Is there yet anyone left in the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathon's sake?" (2 Sam 9:1) NLT. He was told that there was a son of Jonathan named Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet because of a fall when he was an infant. David remembered the covenant, and the story of how he restored to this crippled son of his covenant partner is told in the rest of (2 Sam 9:2-13). This passage shows us the true character of David in the way he cared for this crippled man that he had never known existed! We can place ourselves in the position of Mephibosheth in this story, and of course David was a picture of Jesus, who is often referred to as the "Son of David". When He found us as a helpless lost sinner, "crippled" in many ways, He took us into His "Forever Family" as a redeemed "saint", the greatest miracle we could ever receive!

It's no wonder that when Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) he became a completely changed man who God used to write much of the NT. Paul never forgot this encounter with Jesus, and witnessed of it everywhere, and started many churches among the "Gentiles" (non Jews) by boldly declaring the good news abut Jesus (Rom 1:16). And even though some Jews who refused to accept Jesus as their promised Messiah, tried to cause Paul trouble in every city he planted a church in, he kept on spreading the gospel message of the Kingdom of God everywhere he went. This gospel was all about the "New Covenant" that God had promised to make with his chosen people (Jer 31:31). The old covenant was made with Abraham (Gen 15:18-20), and renewed with his son Isaac and again with his grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. And of course God raised up a nation from Israel's 12 sons, that became known as Israel who God referred to as His "chosen people". This old covenant we call the OT was between God and man, but because God knew man was not capable of keeping his end of the covenant, He made this "New Covenant" between Himself and His Son Jesus the Son of David (His human lineage), but also the Son of God! The only One capable of keeping His end of this covenant for us!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

UNATTACHED

2011-05-30T12:41:00.001-03:00

UNATTACHED
Recently I read a devotional article in ODB based on (2 Tim 2:1-7), where Paul warns us about becoming attached to worldly things or activities. This is certainly more of a danger now in the 21st century than it was in the time Paul wrote this letter to his young associate Timothy. There are so many attractive things in our world now that we can become entangled with. Things that are not necessarily sinful, but simply take up a lot of our time and attention that might be better spent pursuing spiritual progress on the "Agape Road". This is the title of a book by Bob Mumford, and a DVD series of teaching by Bob based on this book. It is an excellent teaching that lays a sound Biblical foundation for a life that pleases Father, I highly recommend it. Every new believer in Jesus should be exposed to solid scriptural teaching like this, before they are indoctrinated with some church doctrines that are not based on God's Word, but instead on some man's theories. These can become a distraction from the truth that Jesus taught, and be very difficult to break free from, once they are firmly set in our mind.

Paul talks a lot about this danger in his second letter to Timothy mentioned above. In verse 4 he states "Soldiers don't get tied up in the affairs of civilized life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them". (NLT) Jesus enlists us as followers of Him, the moment we are "born again", and become "new creatures in Christ". (2 Cor 5:17) We are then part of His "army", and no longer part of this world system. John also has something to say about this same thing in his first letter (1 John 2:15-17). This is a very important thing for a believer to understand, that we can not serve 2 masters!
We cannot possibly still be in the world, and be involved in activities that non believers are involved in, if we expect to please our heavenly Father. The choice is always left up to us; we can make a right choice or a wrong one. In the OT in a chapter written by Moses (Deut 30:19), we read "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings or curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants would live". (NLT). This is a very important choice that we all must make, that will affect where we spend eternity! So my advice to all who happen to read this article, if you are a follower of Jesus, be sure to become "unattached" to the world before it's too late!! And if are not yet a follower of Jesus, why not become one today?
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

THE KINGDOM NOW

2011-05-23T17:01:00.001-03:00

THE KINGDOM NOW

This expression of "Kingdom now" was first heard by me more than 30 years ago, and was meant to describe a group of people who believed that the Kingdom of God is presently active on the earth today. It was considered by some denominational leaders that this was a "heretical" teaching. These leaders had been influenced by the teaching that came into the church in the early 1900's by Dr C, I. Scofield. He produced a Bible called The Scofield Reference Bible, which became quite popular. He introduced the theory that all of human history could be divided into seven periods of time that he called "dispensations". Hence this teaching became know as "dispensational" teaching. One part of this teaching declared that every dispensation had to end before the next one could start. This has caused a lot of confusion in the body of Christ, because it is clearly in error. God divided history into only two parts , called the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant, with the ministry of John the Baptist as the dividing point between the two. (Matt 11:11). And these words were spoken by Jesus, so we know they are true! The Kingdom came to earth with the King, Jesus at his incarnation. He often referred to the Kingdom as being "near", or "in your midst" when He was here in person. Because at the present it is invisible and exists only in the hearts of true believers, but when He comes back in the clouds of glory to receive His "Church/Bride" His Kingdom will then be fully manifested!

So those believers who are locked into this dispensational teaching, which places the Kingdom age as being yet future, naturally believe that it can't come as long as the church is still here on earth. Unfortunately this teaching has spawned many false teachings that have become popular in the church. One of these teachings, that has become a firmly established doctrine is the Pretribulation Rapture theory, that teaches that the church must be removed before the end time scenario can begin. This of course includes the church going through the period known as the "great tribulation", first prophesied by Daniel, and confirmed by Jesus in the 24^th chapter of Matthew, Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians, and by John in Revelation. How a false doctrine like this can exist in the face of so many scriptures that teach the exact opposite, is a mystery. But I believed it, and taught it for many years. This is an example of the power of deception, which I know first hand, having believed it for over 30 years!

Thank God I heard about a different teaching known as the Prewrath Rapture, which is clearly based on scripture. We followers of Jesus will certainly not be here when God pours out His "Wrath", that Jesus bore for us on the cross, but we will go through the "wrath of the antichrist", known as the "great tribulation". As I now understand it, God will use this period of persecution to purify His Church so she will be ready for the rapture, which will be followed by God's Wrath. (Rev 15:5-8, 16:1-21)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

Kingdom View of the world

2011-05-16T05:59:00.001-03:00

KINGDOM VIEW OF THE WORLD.

As followers of Jesus, God expects us to develop a "world view" regarding His Kingdom principles, and how we can help them to be established in the world. We understand from (Isa 9:6-7), where we read the promise of the future coming of the One who will one day rule the world forever. We know this to be Jesus Christ, and the NT gives us the history of His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. So we know that Jesus was "born to reign"! And from (Rom 5:17) we learn that we have been "Born again" to "reign with Him".This is both a tremendous privilege, but also a tremendous responsibility! Many followers of Jesus do not realize that this applies to us now in this

present age, because they have been taught that the Kingdom age is yet future, and won't begin until after the church age ends. But the truth is that the Kingdom came from heaven to earth with the King at His first coming as the Babe in the manger. So we are now living in the time of "the Kingdom now", although it is invisible at the present time, and will be fully manifested when Jesus comes for His second appearance in the clouds of glory, as stated clearly in various scriptures.

So what this should mean to us is that all spheres of our society should be under the control and influence of the Kingdom! This would include individuals, families, churches, governments, judicial systems, education, business and commerce, media and arts, entertainment, etc. We know that at this present time in our 21^st century. this is certainly not the case. Why is this so? And what can we do about it? The "Church" that Jesus has been in the process of building, from "born again" believers over the past 2000 years, is His chief instrument that He desires to use! We are meant to infiltrate all segments of society, and be the "salt and light" that will keep the society from becoming completely corrupt! We may think it couldn't become any worse than it already is, but I'm sure that from God's perspective He sees things differently!

As representatives of the Kingdom of God on earth, or "ambassadors" (2 Cor 5:20), we have our work cut out for us! We have the responsibility and calling to reproduce the Kingdom of God in every area of society. Jesus expects more from His followers than just being a faithful attender of some "church", He expects us to do our part to act as the conscience of society, to act as a restraint against the misuse of governing authority, we should hold the government morally accountable to live up to its delegated authority from God. Here is a quote from George Ladd "The Kingdom of God is a dynamic concept which refers to the kingly reign or rule of God which broke into history decisively in the incarnation and will come to its fulness at our Lord's return.". The Kingdom of God is transcendent and immanent-- past, present, and future! As followers of Jesus, it is essential that we understand this fact!!!

Sincerely submitted,

Dave Jamer

A CHALLENGE

2011-05-13T17:27:00.001-03:00

A CHALLENGE

I would like to issue a challenge to those believers in Jesus who have been taught that the return of Jesus to earth to receive His Church/Bride could happen at "any moment". This is a very popular belief that is known as the Pretribulation Rapture, which had its roots back in 1832, when what has been often referred to as the "secret rapture" teaching, began in a break away group from the Presbyterian Church lad by a man named Edward Irving, who called his group the Apostolic Catholic Church. Around this time John Darby started the Plymouth Brethren movement who endorsed this teaching and made it part of his doctrine. Darby was a popular Bible teacher, and later when Dr C.I.Scofield brought out his popular reference Bible in the early 1900's which declared that all of history could be divided into seven dispensations, then when the secret rapture teaching was combined with Dr Scofield's dispensational teaching, apparently the Pretribulation Rapture doctrine was born. So with that brief background, which can be checked out in church history records, here is my challenge. I hereby challenge you to check out three scripture passages, and study them carefully without depending on your preconceived ideas about when the timing of the rapture might be.

1/ (Matt 24:1-36) These were words spoken by Jesus to His disciples, in which He answered two questions they had put to Him. Pay special attention to "time words" like "then", "Immediately after" etc. which helps to follow the sequence. Remember these are the reported words of Jesus, which are definitely true!

2/ (2 Thess 2:1-17) These are words written by the apostle Paul to this church he had planted several years earlier. And like all scripture it is inspired by the Holy Spirit

(2 Tim 3:16). Notice how clearly he declares that Jesus can't return until after the "man of lawlessness" (the antichrist) makes his appearance!

3/ (Rev 13:1-10) These words are part of the description of the "antichrist" who will arise at some future date, given by John when trying to explain what he saw in this vision, like all the other visions he recorded, were given to him by Jesus. Notice some of the expressions he uses about this man being given "authority" to do the things he will do to God's "holy people", often referred to as "saints". Who gives him this authority? We know from Jesus' statement recorded in (Matt 28:18) "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth". So I assume that He must have given this authority to this servant of Satan for a purpose. Could it be to purify His Church, to make her ready to be raptured? This is the conclusion I have come to after many years of studying these and many other scriptures. What conclusion have you come to?

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

CREATION (part 2)

2011-05-04T06:34:00.001-03:00

CREATION (part 2)

In part 1 we suggested there could be two possible scenarios on creation 1/ It was created all at once in 6 days of 24 hours each, or 2/ It was created over a long period of time as a process of refining it from a formless mass of matter into a "universe" containing a globe called "earth" that was capable of sustaining human life. Of these two choices, I definitely hold to the second scenario, based on scientific facts. Like the fossil found nearly 100 years ago in Joggins NS, and has recently been in the news, estimated to be some 300 millions years old. Either way it may have happened, certainly there is no question about our Creator God being the One who made it happen! I believe there could be a "gap" of many years between verses 1 and 2 of Moses' account of creation as recorded , starting in chapter 1 of Genesis. I believe our God is perfect, and could not possibly create a universe in the condition described in verse 2, unless Moses was only referring to the first stage of many involved in preparing it for sustaining life! We may never know the answer to this question, in (Deut 29:29) we read that "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one." But because of man's interest in knowing all about our past, and especially about our future, we often fall prey to "false prophets" who pretend to know the future. Perhaps we should be content to allow God to keep some of His secrets to Himself!

According to Paul the apostle, as recorded in (Eph 3:1-7), He kept the mystery of "His Church" a secret from even His OT prophets, and only revealed it to Paul and the other apostles in the NT. This is a very important truth to keep in mind, apparently God has certain secrets he doesn't want us to know, unless and until it is His perfect time. An example of this would be

(Gal 4:4-7), where Paul explains that only at the right time God sent Jesus into our world, born to a Jewish virgin maiden named Mary. This event was foretold by many of God's prophets for years before it happened "When the fullness of the time had come." NKJV The coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost recorded in (Acts 2:1-4), would be another case in point. This was a yearly feast that God's people had celebrated for many years on this date, but He chose this particular year to send His Holy Spirit to take the place of Jesus on planet earth!

From these examples we can see that God has always had a particular time and place for things to happen, as in the case of creation of our universe. And how He did it, and when it happened, or how long it took to complete is known only to Him! Likewise, when Jesus will return to earth to receive His Church/Bride is known only by the Father! No matter how many theories man has come up with as to the time and details of this great future event, no one but Father God knows for sure. But He does give us lots of warnings in scripture to be waiting expectantly for His Return!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

True Unity

2011-04-22T03:47:00.001-03:00

TRUE UNITY

Recently while reading Paul Billheimer's book "Destined for the Throne" (one I highly recommend) this thought crossed my mind. He was talking about the Bride of Christ, which as you know is one of the scriptural names for the Church that Jesus is in the process of building. He used the term "multiple" bride, which I had never seen in print before, that I can remember. The very thought of a bride being other than a beautiful young lady in the prime of life being joined in holy matrimony with her groom at the alter of a church, is not something we can easily grasp! Yet that is what the Bible says the Church is. No wonder Paul speaks of this as being a "great mystery" which God had revealed to him about the Church. (Eph 5:32).

We understand an earthly marriage to consist of a bride (female) joined to her husband, and the two becoming one, in spirit, soul, and body. The very idea of a multiple bride somehow doesn't fit in our thinking. But not only Paul refers to the Church as the bride of Christ, John in (Rev 21:2, 9-10) calls the Church "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb". We know from this chapter that John has seen in a vision the "Completed Church" composed of every born again member of the true Church that ever lived, from every Nation. This will truly be "a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb". (Rev 7:9). We must grasp this concept of the Church before we can ever expect to see true unity in the Body. Truly a "multiple Bride", as brother Billheimer calls the church.

We will close this short article with a quote from page 55 of his book "We consider the human body as a single entity because it is united in a single consciousness. Yet Paul emphasizes it is not one, but many members. Just so, the Holy City of John's vision, which constitutes the heavenly Bride, is inhabited not by one but by an immense multitude. Yet because it will be united by a single consciousness it will compose a single, harmonious whole comparable to the human body. This is the unity toward which the Church is moving in time and which will be realized in absolute perfection by the bridehood inhabitants of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, which John saw descending out of heaven from God. That city will be inhabited by an innumerable throng so perfectly fused into one consciousness by holy passion for her heavenly Bridegroom, that it will constitute a single organism. Can this be why God prizes unity among His people so highly and why Satan fights it so desperately?" I believe that what wse have referred to as the "church" in this 21st century, is something far different from God's concept of the "Church", the "Body of Christ", that Jesus stated just after Peter had made the declaration in (Matt 16:16) "You are the Messiah, the Son on the Living God". This statement prompted Jesus to declare "On this rock I will build My Church" (Matt 16:18) NLT. Jesus clearly meant on Peter's declaration of faith, and not on Peter himself, as some people have believed!

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer

PAUL'S FINAL WORDS

2011-04-11T07:29:00.001-03:00

PAUL'S FINAL WORDS

Recently I took the time to read the "final words" with which Paul always ended his various letters to the young churches he had started. It was an interesting exercise that I would suggest everyone should do. It was sort of a trade mark of his, and was often accompanied with his personal signature. His letters were all actually written by one of his faithful helpers, who sometimes identified themselves, but not always. Because some false apostles were circulating letters that they said were from Paul, he liked to identify his own with his personal trade mark. At the end of Romans, which was his longest, and most detailed of all his letters, you need to read the last 10 verses of chapter 16. He started verse 17 with "And now I make one more appeal to dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions, and upset people's faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them." This has been going on in the church for centuries, ever since the church became joined to the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century!

Shortly after that date, various theologians started teaching their separate doctrines. Each one believed his particular doctrine was correct, and therefore all others must be wrong! This has been the source of confusion and numerous church splits down through the centuries. Finally God was able to get enough church leaders to agree on a common list of manuscripts to compile what came to be known as our "Holy Bible", composed of 66 books. There have been many translations from these original manuscripts, and now translated into many different languages. But God has guided the writing and protection of His Word down through the years. God directed Paul to write in his second letter to his young associate Timothy, in (2 Tim 3:16-17) some very confirming words about the scriptures! Because the Bible is the Eternal Word of God, we can depend on it to check out the accuracy of any "doctrines" and all so-called "prophetic words" given by any man down through history even until today. Paul preached to the people of Berea, and it is recorded in (Acts 17:11) "And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those of Thessalonica, and they searched the scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching them the truth." This is the same way we should check out any word that is supposed to be from God, because many "false prophets" are still putting out their dangerous doctrines today. Jesus warned us of this in (Matt 24:5, 11, 24) so we "must" beware!!
Sincerely submitted
Dave Jamer

PAUL'S THORN

2011-04-05T10:45:00.001-03:00

PAUL'S THORN

In Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth he mentions receiving a "thorn in my flesh" (2 Cor 12:7). I have heard many suggestions as to what this thorn could have been, that God had apparently given him and refused to remove, even though he had asked 3 times for its removal. What could this be that a great man of God like Paul the apostle who wrote much of the NT be given by his Lord and Master to endure? Just recently I read a book by Gene Edwards called "Climb the Highest Mountain", in which he suggests what it might have been, and after a close reading of the book of Acts again, I'm inclined to agree with him.

As we know, when Paul and Barnabas were prayed for and sent out from the elders in the church at Antioch of Syria, (Acts 13:1-3), they became the first team of "apostles" (sent ones) on their first missionary journey. They went first to cities in what was called Galatia; the first was Antioch of Pisidia, then to Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. In each of these cities they preached the gospel, the (good news about Jesus), starting with the Jews in the local Synagogue, and then to the gentiles who were interested.These 4 churches were comprised mostly of former gentiles (non Jews), plus a few Jewish converts. Apparently one or more of these religious Jews, possibly a priest or high ranking Pharisee from Jerusalem, may have been the "spies" that Paul refers to in (Gal 2:4). It would seem that this man, or group of men, followed Paul around from church to church, and spread a different message to these young believers in Jesus. They were "false apostles" or counterfeits, and tried to destroy the work of Paul. This was his main purpose in writing this letter to the churches (plural) in Galatia, rather than to an individual church, as in the case of most of his other letters. Also in his second letter to the church in Corinth, (2 Cor 11:3-4, and 12-15), he mentions these false apostles, but does not name them. Notice here he says clearly they come with a "different spirit", preaching a "different gospel" that presented a "different Jesus" than what Paul had brought to them!

If we look around the church scene today, we can easily see that this same thing is happening in many church circles. Certain "religious" people are spreading many so-called gospels that are not the gospel that Paul taught. Jesus warned that this would happen in these last days that we are called to live in. (Matt 24:4,5,11,24). So by all means, beware!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

SPIRITUAL FOOD

2011-03-29T17:04:00.001-03:00

SPIRITUAL FOOD

Just as our physical bodies need good nourishing food to sustain a healthy condition, so we also need a nourishing source of food for our spiritual lives.
Our creator of course knew this, and had the written Word made available to us. We know it as the Bible, and it is now available in various languages, and many different versions, so most of us have many choices, and no excuse for not reading a version of our choice! One portion that comes to mind is (Psalm 19:1-14), which has many verses that speak about food. It "makes wise the simple" (Verse 7), and is "more desirable than gold" and "Sweeter than honey" (verse 10). This covers both our spiritual condition as well as our physical, and God provides ample food for both. The story of Elijah in (1 Kings 19:1-10) is a good example of an exhausted man who was physically and spiritually spent after his encounter with the wicked queen Jezebel. In this case God used one of His angel messengers to provide for His servant Elijah, in our case it will probably be a fellow follower of Jesus that we are in fellowship with!

A question that might naturally come to our minds is; why are so many people we meet in much the same condition as Elijah was in? Of course we are all living in a wicked world, which is under the control of Satan, "the prince of the power of the air". (Eph 2:1-3). But when we read verses 4-10 of this passage we find the answer to our dilemma! It is clearly, accepting the truth about the provision our Father God has made for us. That is receiving the salvation by faith plus nothing, that Jesus has provided for us by His "finished work" on the cross of Calvary, where He gave His life freely to redeem us. And of course this salvation is a free gift of God's grace, and can't be obtained by any amount of religious activity!

These facts from God's Word are for everyone, but sad to say many people are ignorant of this vital information simply because they do not read the Bible. Others read it from a background of certain religious traditions, which give their own interpretation to key scriptures like the one mentioned above from (Eph 2:1-10), and somehow miss the fact that salvation is a "gift", and must be received by "faith alone" and not by religious works! Those of us who are followers of Jesus must be diligent to share these truths from God's Word to all of our friends who might be caught in some "religious trap!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A SAFE PLACE

2011-03-21T07:49:00.001-03:00

A SAFE PLACE

Everyone needs some place they consider safe, where they can be themselves, and not be threatened by circumstances, or the actions of other people! In (Ps 91:1) we read "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty". Here the writer of this psalm clearly states that such a "safe place" is available to all who will take advantage of the offer. Our Creator God makes this place available for us who have come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus stated this truth very clearly in (John 14:6) "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me".
God has always wanted to dwell with man on planet earth. He created earth specifically so it could sustain life, and then created Adam in His image, and after His likeness. (Gen 1:26-28) He placed Adam, and his mate Eve, that He formed from Adam's side, into a garden with only one condition. That condition had to do with a command from God not to eat the fruit of one particular tree located in the center of the garden. There were two trees there in the garden, but only one that Adam was forbidden to eat the fruit of. This was called the tree of the "knowledge of good and evil". In other words, God wanted Adam to look only to Him for his knowledge of what was good, or what was evil. For a time Adam and Eve lived at peace in this garden, and God would visit them in the cool of the evening, and they would have sweet fellowship together. Then one day God's enemy, Satan, entered the garden and convinced Eve that they would be better off if they ate of this forbidden fruit, and become like God. By choosing to listen to Satan, and disobey God, they lost their innocence, and complete dependence on their Creator. This choice on their part introduced sin into the human race, which caused a separation from God and the result was expulsion from the garden.(Rom 5:12)
After many attempts on God's part to dwell with His created beings on earth, He finally sent His only begotten Son Jesus to our planet as the "Second Adam", to redeem mankind, so He could once again dwell with man in peace on earth, so man could have a "safe place" to dwell in. We know from reading our NT that this "secret place of the Most High" is none other than the "body of Christ", the Church that Jesus is in the process of building from His present throne next to the Father in heaven. One day soon, when His church is complete, He will come again to put an end to all traces of evil, and set up His Kingdom here for eternity! What a day that will be!! I trust you have found your "safe place" in Him!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

CHURCH MEETINGS

2011-03-14T07:35:00.001-03:00

CHURCH MEETINGS

During my 45 years of being a follower of Jesus, I have faithfully attended churches of various denominations in various locations. Certainly the number of meetings I attended would be in the hundreds, and perhaps in the thousands, and I have noticed that most all "church meetings" can be classified as being one of two types. The first type could be called "Pulpit-to-Pew" meetings, of which there are many, and the second type we will call "Round Table" meetings. I'm sure you have all attended both of these, although perhaps not referred to by these terms. The normal meeting in churches located in our Western culture would certainly fall into the first class mentioned. Our church buildings are constructed in such a way as to facilitate "one way" communication from pulpit to pew. The other type of meeting often consists of a circle of chairs, or benches, located in a home or some other suitable room. The main difference in this setting over the first is that everyone can see each other, and communicate face to face.

This second type of meeting mentioned can go under several different names, such as small groups, cell groups, home groups, house church etc. The name is not as important as the function they serve, that of allowing people the freedom of asking questions and receiving answers from others in the room. We know that the best way to receive understanding on any topic is to be able to ask questions, and receive answers about things you don't understand! This freedom to communicate with each other when a new topic is being presented, can make all the difference between being edified by the teaching or not. Of course this cannot be done in a pulpit to pew setting, because of the confusion it would cause. Both types of meetings are necessary for people to be properly instructed in the things of the Lord, so it's not a case of saying one type is better than the other. I have certainly benefited from both in my years of walking with the Lord, and highly recommend people to take advantage of both types of meetings, in order to get a balanced understanding of the Christian life. Unfortunately some churches only offer the first type mentioned, and have never seen the need for the other. Many scripture passages like (Acts 2:42-47), or (Heb 10:19-25) show us clearly how the early church met, and they helped cause the good news of the gospel to spread throughout the known world of their day. Surely we in the 21st century can learn much from our brothers and sisters who lived in the first century, when the Church Jesus said He would build was just beginning!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

PERFECT AND PERFECTED

2011-03-07T17:23:00.001-04:00

PERFECT and PERFECTED
In (Phil 1:6) we read "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus". The Greek word here translated as "perfect" [telios], means to come to the end of that for which it was created, or in other words to become completely mature. In this case when Jesus starts a work in our life, when we receive Him as our Savior, He will complete this work. This doesn't mean perfect in the since of being without blemish, like we might use the term to describe a perfect diamond. The word is spelled the same way but the meaning is quite different. As a follower of Jesus we will never be "perfect", or "flawless" until we stand before the throne of God in our resurrected spiritual body! Our spiritual growth from conversion to full maturity is a process that may take years, and involve several stages. We start out as an "infant" when we are "born again" (John 3:3-5), where we need constant care like a natural baby. But just as a natural child goes through several stages of growth, and they gradually become able to care for themselves, so it should be with spiritual children. But just as natural children require good parenting to develop into healthy, well adjusted adults; so do followers of Jesus need good pastoral care.

The growth of an acorn into a fully grown oak tree is a good model to use as a comparison. An acorn has all the DNA to become a mature oak tree that is capable of producing thousands of acorns, which in turn can produce more oak trees. But of course this takes many years, and many stages of growth. So it is with a new born believer in Christ, we are all born with the complete DNA of our Creator God in "seed form". An acorn must lose itself, so to speak, by being buried in the earth, where it dies, and produces a sapling that develops into a tree. This process doesn't happen over night, but takes many years. When we become born again by receiving Christ, we also must die to our natural sinful way of life, inherited from Adam. Instead of being buried in the earth when we are saved, we are buried by being immersed in water, in what we refer to as "believer's baptism" (Acts 2:37-38). This was Peter's reply to their question of what they must do in response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Repentance followed be baptism is the scriptural method of beginning our spiritual journey, it follows that a person must be old enough to understand what they need to repent from. A baby cannot do this, and therefore an infant's christening service should never be considered as their "baptism" according to scripture.
Sincerely submitted
Dave Jamer

NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM

2011-02-28T07:36:00.001-04:00

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

SPRING TUNE UP

2011-02-22T06:44:00.001-04:00

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 our 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

THE WEDDING GARMENY

2011-02-14T07:05:00.001-04:00

THE WEDDING GARMENT

Jesus told a parable as recorded in (Matt 22:1-14), which involved a king who arranged a wedding for his son, and sent out invitations to various people to come to the wedding. But verse five states that "they made light of it", and refused to come. After several attempts failed, he sent his servants out "into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests" (Matt 22:10) NKJV
When the king went in to inspect the guests, he found one man who didn't have on a "wedding garment", who was cast out into "outer darkness". The parable ends in verse 14 with "For many are called, but few are chosen".

Like all of the parables that Jesus told, this one is definitely meant to teach us a lesson. This one would seem to be telling us that there needs to be a proper garment that must be worn to qualify us to attend the wedding of the King's Son, which we can safely assume, is referring to is the marriage of Jesus to His true Church. In other words not everyone who is invited to be at this special event will accept the invitation. And even not everyone who accepts will be qualified, unless they are wearing the proper garment. These people would be like those listed in (Matt 7:21-23), who thought their spiritual attainments would qualify them for entrance into the Kingdom! So what is this special wedding garment that is essential for entrance into the eternal Kingdom of God?

One scripture passage that helps to give the possible answer I believe is found in (2 Cor 5:17-21). Here we read about all those who are "in Christ", become new creations, and that "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" NKJV. As I understand this scripture, the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are "born again" of the Spirit, and then become "in Christ", and receive our own personal "wedding garment"! This is our true ticket, so to speak, for admission into the wedding ceremonies in heaven. This is when Jesus and the true Church, that He has been in the process of creating for the last 2000 years (Matt 16:18), finally come together! So we can see that obtaining this wedding garment is the most important thing that you can receive. And remember it is a gift from God, and we can never do anything to earn it, it is definitely grace plus nothing (Eph 2:4-10). Religious activities will never take the place of this, no matter how much we may strive for it!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A DONE DEAL

2011-02-07T07:08:00.001-04:00

A DONE DEAL

I was impressed by the devotional reading for today, Oct 22/06 in Our Daily Bread, based on the words of Jesus uttered from the cross, and recorded by John in his gospel (John 19:30) "when Jesus had tasted it (the sour wine), He said 'it is finished!' Then He bowed His head and released His spirit". Vernon Grounds, the writer of this devotional, states that these last words of Jesus in the original language was only one word which took three words in English to give it's meaning. The word was "completed" or "ended", in other words it was a "done deal"! We often use this expression to denote something that is finished and can't be changed.

Those of us, who have heard and understand the message of the gospel, know what Jesus meant. He had completed the work the Father had sent Him to earth to perform! That was to pay the price for our redemption from the sinful life style inherited from Adam, by His sacrificial death on the cross. As believers, we often take this fact for granted without truly realizing what a tremendous event this was. We were all born into this world with a sinful nature (Eph 2:1-10), and there was nothing we could do to remedy this condition. Since in God's economy the penalty for sin is death, someone had to die to atone for our sin. Our Creator God knew this, and because of His great love for us, his creation, He allowed Jesus, His only begotten Son, to take on human flesh (the incarnation) and die on the cross in our place!

To quote Vernon Grounds "We can do nothing to add to His sacrifice. Christ's self-giving death was all-sufficient. We stretch out the empty hand of faith, and God in grace puts into it the gift of eternal life". I thought that statement was a well worded explanation of what happens when we, a guilty sinner, come to acknowledge our sin and repent of it, and receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. He includes a poem by Hess

"It is finished" Jesus cried,
Then on Calvary's cross He died;
Christ the Lord atonement made,
And sin's debt was fully paid.

His "punch line" was "Christ's sacrifice was what God desired and what our sin required". This I consider to be the perfect "done deal"!!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

RIGHT SIDE UP

2011-02-03T16:40:00.001-04:00

RIGHT-SIDE- UP
We often hear the expression that everything seems to be "upside down", when our piece of bread, spread with peanut butter falls on the floor, and lands with the buttered side down! Or if things don't work out like we think they should in our life situations. This is also the attitude we might take when we read scriptures like chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew, where the words of Jesus are recorded. This is commonly called His "Sermon on The Mount", which starts with the "Beatitudes" (Matt 5:3-11). This would apparently be the first recorded full message of Jesus, in which He was attempting to lay out God's expectation for how His Kingdom on earth should be lived. To the natural mind that has not been "born again", much of what Jesus said seems to be upside down too, and impossible for humans to do. And in the natural they are impossible, that's why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to replace Him on earth when He went back to heaven to be with the Father until the time of His second coming. In the gospel of John chapters 14, 15, and 16, Jesus explains to His followers what the Holy Spirit would do when He came. He would not only be "with them" as Jesus had been, but because He would be Spirit, He could also be "in them"! As the indwelling Spirit He can give us followers of Jesus the inside revelation, or understanding, of the scriptures He had inspired writers like Matthew or John to record.

So with the help of the indwelling Spirit, we can understand scriptures like the Sermon on the Mount, and see exactly what Jesus meant. He can make statements that seem to our natural mind as being upside down, to be turned "right side up"! This sermon by Jesus was His attempt to describe to us, who attempt to follow Him, guidelines to follow. We might consider them the bylaws, or regulations to govern our behavior, just like traffic laws govern the speed at which we can legally drive our vehicle. Because our Creator God is a God of perfection and absolute order, His Kingdom must have rules and regulations to govern it. And Jesus said we are to pray for this Kingdom which governs heaven, would come to earth. (Matt 6:10). If we are to see this happen, it stands to reason this must involve changes from the way we normally live our lives in this "fallen world". No human being enjoys change, because we are creatures of habit and resist change, even though we know we need it! That is why Jesus never told us it would be easy to be His followers, even though some other teachers today might!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

2011-01-19T06:44:00.001-04:00

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT
What is darkness?--It is simply the absence of light. And scripture tells us that Satan is referred to as the prince of darkness, but Jesus is the source of light! (John 1:1-5). Jesus is the light of the world, and Satan's darkness can never extinguish the light! Hell is presented in scripture as the extreme place of darkness (Matt 8:12), and in (Jude 13) he uses the term to describe the eternal abode of sinners as "---the blackness of darkness forever"! Sin is always connected with spiritual darkness in scripture, while salvation from sin by being "born again" by the Spirit of God, is always referred to as walking in the light. The old expression people often use when they come to a relationship with Jesus is "I saw the light"! This is a very truthful saying, and simply explains what happens when we experience the truth of (2 Cor 5:17).
We might say that Satan is "total darkness" and is referred in scripture as the prince of darkness or "the god of this world who blinds the minds of those who believe not lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Cor 4:4) "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts", (2 Cor 4:6). Paul writes in (Col 1:13) "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love". In (1 Peter 2:9) we are told we are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light". As believers then we should walk in the light of God, and not be a mixture of light and darkness! We should now hate the things we once loved, and love the things we once hated! That is the proof of our salvation. However many believers are still a mixture, or a blend of light and darkness, and as such do not properly represent Jesus to the world. Satan is a deceiver, and comes as "an angel of light", and has many false messengers "who transform themselves into ministers of righteousness" in order to deceive us (2 Cor 11: 13-15). Jesus warned us that in these last days in which we are living, many false prophets (not just a few) would come in His name, and would deceive many (not just a few). (Matt 24: 4-5). Paul refers to God as "unapproachable light" in (1 Tim 6:16), but Jesus came to earth to put a face on God, so to speak, and make Him approachable through His incarnation! Jesus truly is the light of the world!! We need to let His light shine through us as we "walk in the light" (1 John 1:7)!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

A CHRISTOCENTRIC LIFE

2011-01-17T07:20:00.001-04:00

A CHRISTOCENTRIC LIFE

This expression simply means a life that is centered on Jesus Christ! It is quite easily seen from even a casual reading of the Bible, that since the entrance of sin into the world by the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden, this has created a major problem! This problem can be defined by the use of the word "egocentric", as pertaining to humans, in other words people have made themselves the center of their world! "Ego" is a word often used to refer to that quality of man that focuses on "self", as opposed to a concern for others. It is quite common in our 21st century society that caters to an emphasis on what is best for "me", rather than a concern for others. We can see this in many different areas of life, where the main emphasis seems to be on what makes me "look good", "feel good", and "be right".

As opposed to this lifestyle, God's Word clearly presents the possibility of a life that can be centered on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth some 2000 years ago to be our Savior. The Old Testament portion of the Bible predicts His coming, and the New Testament declares the details of his birth, life, death, and resurrection. Our Creator God, who caused everything that exists in our universe to be made, including us humans, certainly had a carefully crafted plan for how to live our lives. He has revealed this plan through His written Word, the Bible. He choose certain people who He inspired by His Holy Spirit, to write exactly the words He wanted us to hear. He chose Hebrew as the language for the Old Testament, and Greek for the New. Our problem is that we are usually limited to translations from the original languages to our own, which leaves a slight possibility for some chance of the translators not making the best choice of words. But regardless of what language we speak, or what version of translation we use, we can be reasonably sure we are reading the direct Words of God in the Bible.

And even a casual reading of the Bible should convince any person that God wants us to live a "Christocentric" life, rather than an "Egocentric" one. This naturally starts with an understanding of how we make Jesus Christ part of our life by accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, and following this with making Him the center of our lives. This is not an easy road to travel to become spiritually mature, but like our natural life it begins by being "born again" by the Spirit of God. Then we have to start out as a spiritual baby, and progress toward maturity, but it is well worth the effort required to become mature, and with God's help you can do it!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

DISTURBED

2011-01-11T07:50:00.001-04:00

DISTURBED

The Greek word translated as "disturbed" in our English NT is (throeo), and is only used twice. Once by Jesus in His Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:5-6) "For many will come in my name, saying 'I am the Christ', and they will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not "alarmed" (throeo), for this must happen, but the end is still to come". Some translations use troubled, or panic instead of alarmed or disturbed, but all these words imply the same meaning. The other time this Greek word is used is in (2 Thess 2:2) "[we ask you brothers and sisters] not to be easily shaken from your composure or "disturbed" (throeo) by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here". Apparently the Thessalonians had been told by someone that the rapture has already taken place, and that the day of the Lord had begun. The significance of these parallel statements by Jesus and Paul is that 1/ both Jesus and Paul warn their listeners not to be deceived as to think that the Lord has already come when certain events transpire.
2/ They both reference false Christ(s) who will claim authority.3/ They state that these events must occur "before" His return!

Many in church circles today have been influenced by a doctrine that teaches that Jesus could return at any moment, and catch away His believers, and take them to heaven. This doctrine is called the "Pre-tribulation Rapture", and teaches that the church will be taken before the appearance of the Antichrist, or "man of lawlessness" (2 Thess 2:3). Jesus cannot return until certain things happen in the world, and in the church. This doctrine depends on believing in a "secret rapture", which cannot be proven by scripture. In fact any passage that refers to the second appearance of Jesus is anything but secret! For example read (1 Thess 4:15-18), notice the shout of the Lord, the voice of an archangel, and a blast from the trumpet of God! This will definitely not be a quiet, secret affair!

Both of the scripture passages mentioned above by Jesus and Paul, declare that certain things must happen first before Jesus can return. Note the 3 things we mentioned, and be on the lookout for them on the world scene, especially the appearance of Antichrist. He will be the cause of the "great tribulation", which God will use to purify His Church, as near as I can see!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

AGAPE VS EROS

2011-01-05T06:55:00.000-04:00

AGAPE vs EROS
These are two Greek words that are both translated in our English Bibles as "love", although they have completely different meanings in the Greek. This is not uncommon because English is a very poor language by comparison. Thank God He had the scriptures recorded in Hebrew and Greek! Can you imagine the confusion if it had been recorded in English? There are many places in scripture where the translators used different English words for the same Greek word. For example check out (John 14:2 and 23), the KJV translators used "mansions" in verse 2, and "abode" in verse 23 for the exact same Greek word. The proper word should be abode or dwelling place. (Eph 2:19-22). In the matter of "Agape" and "Eros" the real meaning in Greek is nearly opposite from one to the other. Agape can best be described as the God kind of love, while Eros is a sensual or sexual kind of love. Eros could better be defined as lust and not love. Agape is a love that "gives", while Eros is a love that "takes". "God so loved (Agaped) the World that He gave---" (John 3:16). We use the word love very loosely today, for example we love our special foods, our cat, our car, our job etc. As Christians we should be careful how we use this word, realizing that it has different meanings. There are even more meanings in the Greek for love than these two but we are not considering them now. I wish to draw your attention to the fact that Agape is a "giving" type of love, while Eros is a "taking" type. This is an important distinction when considering spiritual things. God gives, and we receive, or at least that is how it should be. But often when we stop receiving for some reason, and start taking from God, we are exercising Eros love. Often we can be guilty of this when we are trying to make a scripture say what we want it to say to prove some theory or doctrine we might hold. This could be called "raping" the scripture, and I'm sure we have all done it at some time. It often happens on the back side of a move of God, when things cool off and we try to make things happen like they did at the height of the revival. This trying to make things happen can take many different forms, but the result is often an open door for "fanaticism" of some sort. Our Creator God seldom repeats a move of His Spirit exactly like the last one. Why would He, because He is still a Creator? We humans are such creatures of habit, and we like things we are used to and familiar with, and don't like to change. So God, who is always moving forward, has to find a new group of people who will move on with Him. A careful look at church history is all we need to prove this to be true, so let's seek to be a close follower of Jesus, a receiver of God's love, and not a taker!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

How To Understand Scripture

2010-12-26T17:20:00.001-04:00

HOW TO UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURE

Our Creator God knew we humans would need a standard by which to govern our lives, so He chose certain men to record His Word in print. This written Word of God we call "The Holy Bible", and it is now available in many languages and various translations. The original word was given to these men over a period of many years, and recorded in basically two languages Hebrew and Greek. Because we are mostly dependent on our English translations, we need certain guidelines to follow, to make sure we are getting the exact meaning of what these original writers intended us to know. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16), the same Holy Spirit who indwells us followers of Jesus today, so we should be sure to seek His guidance for the correct understanding of what we read from His Word.

A fairly simple way of understanding scripture came to me from a little booklet called "Understanding Scripture at Face Value". The authors Robert Van Kampen, and Charles Cooper explain face value as "the normal, natural, customary sense of the text intended by the Author/author at the time it was written. This booklet has helped me to understand how the church has been led to believe certain doctrines that are not really based on God's Word. The 5 principles given in this booklet are as follows.

1/ Seek to discover the Author/author's intended meaning. Each and every passage of scripture has only one meaning, although it may have more than one possible application. This meaning was determined by the author at the time of writing, never by the reader!
2/ Recognize the importance of context. Only when we know and understand the context in which a text is written, will we know how the writer intended the passage to be understood.
3/ When ever possible, let scripture interpret scripture. Always interpret difficult passages in the light of clear passages.
4/ Determine the literal reference of figures of speech. A figure of speech is "any deviation either in thought or expression, from the ordinary and simple way of speaking.
5/ Look for near/far implications and applications in prophetic passages. In other words the same scripture may apply to more than one certain time. For example in
(2 Sam 7:5-16) the prophet Nathan's message to King David applied to his son Solomon, as well as to Jesus, who is referred to as the heir of David's throne forever!

If these 5 principles are followed faithfully when studying scripture, be prepared for finding out that many doctrines you have been taught as truth, are really not! In other words, some people have presented their own theories as if they were truth based on God's Word, when if fact they were trying to make the scriptures confirm their theory by putting their own meaning on them. We must never be guilty of doing that! Someone has referred to this as "Experiential Theology", or in other words taking some experience and attempting to find scriptures to support their experience, instead of checking to make sure their experience lines up with scripture! God's Word properly interpreted and understood is "Absolute Truth"!!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

THE WEDDING GARMENT

2010-12-21T10:56:00.001-04:00

THE WEDDING GARMENT

Jesus told a parable as recorded in (Matt 22:1-14), which involved a king who arranged a wedding for his son, and sent out invitations to various people to come to the wedding. But verse five states that "they made light of it", and refused to come. After several attempts failed, he sent his servants out "into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests" (Matt 22:10) NKJV. When the king went in to inspect the guests, he found one man who didn't have on a "wedding garment", who was cast out into "outer darkness". The parable ends in verse 14 with "For many are called, but few are chosen".

Like all of the parables that Jesus told, this one is definitely meant to teach us a lesson. This one would seem to be telling us that there needs to be a proper garment that must be worn to qualify us to attend the wedding of the King's Son, which we can safely assume, is referring to is the marriage of Jesus to His true Church. In other words not everyone who is invited to be at this special event will accept the invitation. And even not everyone who accepts will be qualified, unless they are wearing the proper garment. These people would be like those listed in (Matt 7:21-23), who thought their spiritual attainments would qualify them for entrance into the Kingdom! So what is this special wedding garment that is essential for entrance into the eternal Kingdom of God?

One scripture passage that helps to give the possible answer I believe is found in (2 Cor 5:17-21). Here we read about all those who are "in Christ", become new creations, and that "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" NKJV. As I understand this scripture, the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are "born again" of the Spirit, and then become "in Christ", and receive our own personal "wedding garment"! This is our true ticket, so to speak, for admission into the wedding ceremonies in heaven. This is when Jesus and the true Church, that He has been in the process of creating for the last 2000 years, finally come together! (Matt 16:18). So we can see that obtaining this wedding garment is the most important thing that you can receive. And remember it is a gift from God, and we can never do anything to earn it, it is definitely grace plus nothing. Religious activities will never take the place of this, no matter how much we may strive for it!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

Tough And Tender Truth

2010-12-14T07:42:00.001-04:00

A HUGE QUESTION

The Holy Scriptures gives us many examples of the contrast between people who are considered the "righteous", and those that are considered "wicked". Proverbs chapter 37 would be a case in point, there are at least 8 times the little word "but" is used to distinguish between the two. We can see there is a tremendous difference between the two, especially regarding their eternal destinies! And yet we read that "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). And we know from (John 3:16) that God so loves the whole world that He sent Jesus to redeem us from the penalty of sin. This leaves us with a huge question, what then constitutes the difference between the righteous and the wicked in God's eyes, that His Word would make a clear distinction between the two?

I'm sure there are deep theological issues here that my simple mind can not comprehend, but just consider these points of truth. First off, Jesus declared that "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), so we can be sure that He knows the answer to this question. Before He left this earth after He had finished His task of providing redemption for mankind, He sent the Holy Spirit to take His place here on earth. (John 14:26). Since, as followers of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, all we need do is ask Him the answer to questions like this. I have done this, and what came to my mind was the fact that God created each of us with a free will, that allows us to make choices. We sometimes make right choices, but sometimes make wrong choices, like Paul explains to us in chapter 7 of his letter to the church in Rome. Our carnal fleshly nature always wants us to make the wrong choices, while the Holy Spirit tries to guide us to make the right choices. Paul explains this struggle in (Gal 5:16-17), and we can all relate to this fact!

Because of the foreknowledge of God, He knew the choices we will make, before we make them. (Rom 8:29), but we must allow His Holy Spirit to help us make the right choice every time! This requires a complete yielding of our will to His, but even when we fail, we have the provision He has made for us as recorded in (1 John 1:9), so we are covered, providing we obey His Word. Thank God He loves us enough to provide everything we need, but we must provide the obedience, which He cannot do for us! So the answer to our problem as I see it is to follow the advice of the apostle Paul in his letter to the churches in Galatia that we mentioned above!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

WWJD orWDJD

2010-12-07T11:25:00.001-04:00

WWJD or WDJD?

Most of us have heard and probably were involved in the recent fad of repeating WWJD (what would Jesus do), in any given situation. That is a good question for anyone to think of before making any major decision in their life. But recently I heard a take off on this expression, expressed by the letters WDJD (what did Jesus do). In my mind this expresses a much more important question that we should carefully consider. This takes in the complete matter of salvation, or our redemption from our sinful condition inherited from the first Adam. (Rom 5:12) If we read more in the letter of Romans, the apostle Paul gives a clear presentation of what the Bible often refers to as the "Gospel of the Kingdom". He starts with chapter 1:16 where we read "For I am not ashamed of the good news about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile" NLT. Then he goes on in chapters 1 and 2 to define the sins that God hates. In (Rom 3:10-18, and 23) he makes it clear that all of us have sinned, and absolutely no one is righteous before a holy God, and in (Rom 6:23) he clearly states that the wages (what we earn for our labor) is death!

Here is where the good news, which is the gospel of the Kingdom, comes into play. Only God Himself could provide the cure for the human dilemma that we all found ourselves in. Only the death of a perfectly sinless human being could satisfy the wrath of our holy God against the sin of mankind! This is what we celebrate on December 25th, the birth of Jesus Christ, the only "virgin born man" who ever lived on earth! He became "Immanuel" (God with us) see (Matt 1:18-23) for the message given to Joseph by the angel Gabriel. In spite of all the pagan practices that have been introduced into church traditions over the years, this day is meant to be a sacred day to give thanks to Almighty God for this incredible gift of a Savior!

Our New Testament portion of the Bible, which is God's written word, gives us the complete history of the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As well as the history of the early years of the Church that He is in the process of building for over 2000 years now. (Matt 16:18). As well as the record of His coming return to earth to receive the true Church, when the Father gives Him permission. This can only happen when this true Church makes herself ready, and God's time is right! So in the meantime this is a brief history of WDJD!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer

TWO GREAT APOSTLES

2010-12-01T12:35:00.001-04:00

TWO GREAT APOSTLES

In the first century after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, two men rose up as apostles in the early church. At that time the whole known world was divided between "Jews" and "Gentiles" (non-Jews). The Jews were descendants of Abraham, and were known throughout scripture as God's "chosen people", that He had set apart from the other nations to show them how God, their Creator expected them to live. Paul is known as the apostle to the Gentiles, while Peter is known as the apostle to the Jews. It seems to me that they must have made some agreement between themselves, that If Paul would allow Peter to write a two part letter to the Gentile churches that he had established, he in turn would allow Paul to write a letter to the Hebrew church centered in Jerusalem. This is only speculation on my part, but the evidence seems quite clear to me, that they were clearly addressing the churches in each others area of responsibility. I know the theologians can't agree on who wrote Hebrews, because no author is named, but the writing style points to Paul in my opinion!

Paul was given clear revelation about the true church consisting of both Jews and Gentiles when he wrote his letter to the church in Ephesus. This is part of the great mystery that God revealed to Paul as recorded in (Eph 2:14-22). And then in (1 Peter 1:1-2) he clearly identifies who he is writing to, and later in (1 Peter 2:9-10) you would think he was writing to Jews. He refers to them as "God's chosen people" and a "holy nation"! These people were born as Gentiles (non Jews), but are now "new creatures in Christ" (2 Cor 5:17), as were the Jews in Jerusalem after they believed in Jesus, and accepted Him as their Savior! God is no respecter of persons, but loves the whole world with His Agape love. (John 3:16), and expects us as followers of Jesus, to do the same!

We may not be apostles like Paul and Peter, but we are considered as "Christ's ambassadors", with a ministry of reconciling people to God. We often think that this is reserved for pastors or missionaries to far countries, but now God is bringing a great mixture of these nations, with various religious backgrounds, right here to our own city! What an opportunity to practice our ministry of reconciliation, without leaving our home city. God is bringing the nations to us, to learn about His amazing love and acceptance!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer