The Rest of The Lord

THE REST OF THE LORD

 

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

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                       02/05/14

A Wedding Ring

A WEDDING RING

 

This is a universal symbol of a married couple's "One Flesh covenant" made before God by a man and woman who wish to join their lives together before their family and friends. This ring is usually made of gold, which is a precious metal that speaks of something of "value" and "permanence"! The fact that it is in the form of a "circle", represents the personal circle that their one flesh covenant has brought them into. No one else can be part of this circle, not their parents whose circles they have both left, and not their close friends, but only any future children they might have from their union plus their possible spouses! This is their exclusive "family circle", with no possible exceptions! This is a sure prevention against any possibility of a separation by a divorce which God hates. Read from the OT prophet Malachi from (Mal 2:13-16) to see God's reason for the marriage between one man and one woman for life! His intentions are made clear there, "He seeks godly offspring", so this makes the so-called "gay marriages" a misnomer at best, and an abomination to God at worst! This only shows us how far our 21^st century has got away from God's Word, that we would ever consider such a thing! We as a society need to repent corporately, and ask God to forgive us for allowing such a thing to happen. I'm sure this opinion is held by many people. But as Edmund Burke once said "All it takes for evil to rule, is for good men to do nothing".

 

So it's high time for followers of Jesus to support the Biblical understanding of marriage, and why God "hates divorce". The reason He created Adam and Eve as different gender persons was so that they could reproduce children after the image of God. This is why He placed them in a pure environment, to raise a godly family. We know from reading scripture that His enemy Satan interrupted this perfect plan, and he has been trying to destroy godly families ever since. Just look around at the number of broken homes and emotionally damaged children, and guess who is causing these things. Our job as followers of Jesus in these days as I see it is to support families who have been affected, by having compassion on those single parents, and doing anything we can to promote reconciliation and healing to those involved. And to spread the truth about God's plan for godly marriages and the homes and families these produce. This is why we should keep in mind what a "wedding ring" really stands for, a "personal circle" consisting of a wife and husband who have become a "one flesh covenant" before God!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                               Revised 06/03/16                                                                                                            

Bull's Eye

BULL'S EYE

 

We are all familiar with this expression, which represents the center of a target we might use for target shooting with a gun or a bow and arrow. The goal is always to hit the bull's eye, but we seldom do. (Rom 3:23) tells that "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". In other words we have not hit our goal which is always the bull's eye. For us as followers of Jesus, this would be the perfect will of God, or as scripture defines it as "holiness". In (Heb 12:14) we read "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord". NKJV. I heard of a man who bragged about hitting the bull's eye painted on the side of his barn with an arrow, which he left in place to show his friends. The truth was however that he had first shot the arrow, and then painted the bull's eye around it! In (Prov 14:12) we read "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death". In other words our ways or ideas are not always in line with God's ways!

 

We might say that God has painted a bull's eye around certain truths, so to speak, and these should be targets for us to aim for as we live our lives as followers of Jesus. God's overall goal is for us to become more like Christ in our behavior day by day. And for this reason He has written His Word as our guide. (2 Tim 3:16-17). We need to read the scriptures daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what He gave to the authors who wrote the words they used in the original documents. Remember, whichever English translation we use is some translator's choice of words, and not necessarily always the best choice. That's why we need to check out important passages in other translations, to get the best understanding of the real meaning. Like the believers in Berea did, as recorded in (Acts 17:11). We need to pray "Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in your truth" (Ps 86:11)

 

We all need to aim at the right target, which God has been faithful to direct the original authors of His Word, to use plain easy to understand words and phrases. Some theologians have complicated God's Word with their theories, which have been accepted by the church as being inspired by God. Some of these theories line up with scripture, but some do not, and have brought a lot of confusion to believers. To borrow a phrase from a recent ODB devotional "When we aim our lives at God's Word, we'll discover that His ways are right on target—every time"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                            Revised 15/07/14   

Timely Words

 TIMELY WORDS

 

I was impressed by the devotional by this name in Our Daily Bread (ODB) on 13/10/14. We have probably all heard the old adage "Timing is everything", and I certainly believe it is true when it comes to knowing whether to speak or remain silent in certain situations. In (Prov 25:11-12) in the NLT version we read "Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket. To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other jewelry". Some times it is wiser to remain silent than it is to speak what you had in mind to say to someone. In (Eccles 3:1-8) it tells us there is "a time for everything", and in verse 7 we read "A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak". (NLT) Knowing the right time to speak is beneficial for both the speaker as well as the hearer.

 

There is some good advice for us in (James 1:19-20) on this topic, "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires". (NLT) This is good advice, and requires that we be under the control of the Holy Spirit at all times. Every born again child of God has been given the Holy Spirit as a free gift from the Father when He "adopts" us into His Family. This happens the moment we as lost sinners, place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! Father knew we wouldn't be able to live a life that would please Him without the help of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will always help us to use the right word at the right time, or perhaps keep silent if that is the best thing to do.

 

We should always have the other person's best interest at heart at all times. Read carefully (Col 3:1-17), which in the NLT version is headed up with "Living the New Life". Here Paul gives some very practical advice for us to follow as committed followers of Jesus. I especially like verses 12-15 "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all clothe yourselves with love, which binds all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And be thankful". That pretty well sums up what God expects of us as His children!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                        17/10/14                                                                                   

Conversion in Three Stages

CONVERSION IN THREE STAGES    

 

When we read carefully through the first few chapters of Acts, we see clearly that there is more to conversion to Christ than what some people have been led to believe. Someone has stated this truth "A committed Christian undergoes three conversions; first to Christ, then to the church, and then back to the world."

 

In Acts chapter 2 we read of 3000 people being converted to Christ, and then confirming this by being baptized immediately in water. Then they demonstrated their conversion to the church by devoting themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, and fellowshipping with other believers. Then in (Acts 8:4) we read that "they went everywhere preaching the word". This was their conversion back to the world. There is no place for "Lone Ranger Christians", who may have been converted to Christ, but never got involved with other believers for fellowship for various reasons. My experience is that they either slip back into their old ways, or else fall into deception or fanaticism. We all need fellow believers to help us in our walk with the Lord. (Heb 10:24-25) give us a strong exhortation about assembling ourselves together. There are many types of church structures available to us today, from basic groups that meet in homes, to large or small local churches that meet in church buildings. We have no excuse not to meet for fellowship.

 

Although fellowshipping with fellow believers is critical to a healthy Christian life, there is a danger of remaining inside our Christian circles and forget about our responsibility to share our new found faith with the world. Often in the past believers were warned not to fellowship with the world for fear of being led back into ungodly habits. This has resulted in the church not having a proper influence in society. We have nothing to fear if we are filled with, and being led by, the Holy Spirit. In Acts we see how the Spirit forced the believers to scatter throughout the Roman Empire of the day, "gossiping the gospel". He achieved this by allowing persecution to come upon them. Maybe God will have to once again allow persecution to come our way in order to get us to move out as we should! So the three stages to true conversion are 1/ to Christ 2/ to the church, or a body of believers, and 3/ to the world who are waiting to hear the gospel. If we expect to see the return of the Lord in our generation, we must faithfully get the good news of the gospel out into the world. (Matt 24:14).

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                           Revised 12/02/16

A Thousand Years As a Day

A THOUSAND YEARS AS A DAY

 

We find this expression in (Ps 90:4) "For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past. And like a watch in the night". Then in (2 Peter 3:8) we read "But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day". We can only assume that Peter was probably referring to Psalm 90 verse 4 when he made this statement. A few years ago one day I was trying to understand the difference between time and eternity. I took a new piece of white paper and drew a circle in the middle of it, and called that circle our "Time and Space World" and the rest of the sheet of paper I called Eternity. As I understand scripture our "Creator God", who has always existed as Father, Son, Holy Spirit, or in other words a "Triune" being we refer to as "The Trinity". From His position in eternity whenever He views our world He sees things that took place thousands of years ago, as well as those things that only happened today. For that matter because of His "Foreknowledge", He knows what will happen in the future! This little diagram helped me to understand certain scriptural passages, like (Rev 20:1-10) where John tells of a vision he saw in which the Devil was bound for 1000 years, and afterward released for a little season. As soon as he is released he goes out to deceive the nations to cause a mighty army to come together to attack God's people and the holy city of Jerusalem. But God sent "fire from heaven" and consumed them all, after which the Devil who deceived them, plus the Beast and the False Prophet were thrown into the "fiery lake of burning sulfur" (hell) for ever and ever. This event is often confused with the thousand year reign of the Lord called the Millennium which happens after the end of the 7 year period that is known as Daniel's seventieth week". This period in (Rev 20:1-10) leads up to the "Battle of Armageddon" which comes near the end of the 7 year period prophesied by Daniel in (Dan 9:24-27).

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                    27/08/14                                                                                                          

Revelation, Inspiration, and Illumnation

REVELATION, INSPIRATION, and ILLUMINATION.

 

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

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                    05/02/16