heavenly protocol

HEAVENLY PROTOCOL

 

For those of us who never lived in a culture that contains masters and slaves, we have a hard time understanding the idea of "protocol". It means there is a proper way to address people, and an improper way. As I understand it, you must never speak to, or give orders to a slave! You always speak to the master, and he in turn gives the orders to the slave to carry out your request. This sounds logical when it comes to earthly situations, but how can we understand it when we consider events in heaven?  Here we face the mystery of the Godhead, which we call the "Holy Trinity", or "Three in one". God is certainly only One, who has chosen to reveal Himself in three ways for us to better understand Him. With our finite minds it is near impossible to understand the "Infinite"! As I have come to see it, they are all equal in essence, but different in function. The Father as the source of all things is Spirit, and is invisible. (John 4:24). The Son is the visible image of the invisible God! (Col 1:16, 2:9). The Holy Spirit is of course invisible too, but His role seems to that of a servant or "Slave", to the Father/Son who we can consider the "Master". This may not be a proper analogy, but when I read scriptures like (John 16:13-15), that is the picture I come up with.

 

With that in mind, and the limited knowledge I have about the relationship of a slave to his master, it seems to me that a heavenly protocol would demand that we never speak directly to either the Holy Spirit, or angels! Yet I'm aware of many Charismatic believers who do both! You read testimonies of people being transported to heaven and talking to angels, and even giving them commands. I have often heard well meaning believers commanding the Holy Spirit to do things, like "come" or to pour out "more" of the Spirit on certain people. This sort of thing opens the door to spirits of darkness, in my opinion. Read (2 Cor 11:12-15) carefully and consider the warning given by Paul. Derek Prince declares that any spirit you can give orders to is not the Holy Spirit, but must be a counterfeit spirit, or demon operating under orders from Satan! We are warned many times in scripture to be aware that many false prophets will be sent by our enemy in these last days to deceive many! For example hear what Jesus said in (Matt 24:4, 5, 11, and 24), and we should believe Jesus because "He is the Truth"! Right? So let us beware of the danger of deception, and heed scriptures like (1 John 4:1) or (1 Thess 5:21-22)!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

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A Covenant Keeper

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 that 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  

The Exchanged Liffe

THE EXCHANGED LIFE.

 

This term was the title of a recent article I read by Jim Watt about the life of Hudson Taylor. I was especially interested in the letter Mr. Taylor had written to his sister shortly after receiving this further revelation about his life in Christ. He lived during the later half of the 1800's and died in 1905.

It was during this time that the so-called "Holiness Movement" became popular among Evangelical Christian leaders, and produced such men as Hudson Taylor and A B Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, (C&MA) denomination. Many other men like John Wesley and General William Booth had their roots in this movement as well. It seems that since the beginning of the 1900's the emphasis has changed from Sanctification leading to Holiness, to other things. In the last decades of the 20^th century since I have been part of the "Church", I have witnessed a continual decline in preaching and teaching on the subject of holiness. I'm nor sure of the reason for this, but it could tie in with the way our NA culture has changed. All the electronic gadgets that have come out in the last few years have caught the attention of many people and they have less time for God and His Word. He gets crowded out of our daily schedules, and is replaced with i pads, smart phones, emails, face book etc. Instead of having more time to spend with Him we have much less!

 

What can we do about this problem? I expect the answer to this question will involve a return to the subject of an "Exchanged Life" as Hudson Taylor refers to here. The Apostle Paul probably writes more about this topic than any other NT writer. When as Saul of Tarsus he met Jesus on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-9), he was completely changed from a religious Pharisee, to a "new creature in Christ" (2 Cor 5:17). Later after spending several years in the deserts of Arabia alone with the Lord, he became Paul the apostle and the writer of much of the NT scriptures. In (Eph 3:1-10) he was given by God the revelation of the "Church" which had remained a mystery until Paul came on the scene. When he wrote the letters Ephesians and Colossians, he explained more about who Jesus was and still is, and what it means to us when we trust Him completely. In (Gal 2:20-21) Paul explains the place of Christ in his life, that he "had been crucified with Christ" (past tense), but he now lived by"faith in the Son of God. This is a model we can follow if we want to live an "Exchanged Life"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

 

The Radical Relocation Of GOD

THE RADICAL  RELOCATION OF GOD

 

The basis for this article came from notes I had made at a visit to Saint John by Jerry Cook many years ago. He was contrasting the way God is presented to us in the Old Testament, as opposed to the New Testament. Basically in the OT, God existed outside of human society, and so a religious system consisting of an official Priesthood was necessary, to handle the Tabernacle or Temple where sacrifices were offered to this "distant" God. This OT God was not considered to be someone you could come to know personally, in fact He was considered to be so awesome and holy that they would not even mention Him by name. Some people think that the OT is now obsolete and not to be considered as being important to us today, but that is not correct! It was not wrong, but only incomplete, so God introduced the NT!

 

God has always wanted to have an intimate relationship with us humans. Just think of how He came down in the cool of the evening and visited with Adam and Eve in the garden. (Gen 3:8) But Adam's disobedience brought sin into the picture, and changed everything! (Rom 5:12) God's plan of redemption was then put into motion, so that this relationship could be restored. This involved Jesus the Son of God leaving His place with the Father, to become the baby in Mary's womb. This miracle of the "incarnation", allowed Jesus to take on human flesh, and become the perfect man, "the Lamb of God", whose death on the cross would pay the debt of sin for whoever would receive Him as Savior! In the words of Jerry Cook, our God in "His unlimited dimensional Reality, stepped out of this dimension and into our 3 dimensional realm"! Since Jesus came to earth the first time, we now have a perfect picture of what God is really like. "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body." (Col 2:9) NLT If that is not a "radical relocation", then I don't know what the term means! Then just before Jesus returned to His rightful place at Father's side, He gave some very important instructions to His followers. For example, in (John 14:15-17), He tells them about what the "holy Spirit" will do when He comes to take His place  on earth. In the last of verse 17 He is quoted as saying "He lives with you now and later will be in you." NLT. This is a tremendous truth, the very Presence of God was dwelling with them in the person of Jesus at the time, but shortly after that on the Day of Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit came to indwell the 120 believers in the upper room. (Acts 2:1-4)!!

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer.

The Restrainer

THE RESTRAINER

 

One of the key points in the teaching that Jesus will rapture His Church before the last 7 year period, known as "Daniel's 70th week" (Dan 9:24-27), is that the Holy Spirit, who resides in believers, is the "Restrainer" mentioned by Paul in (2 Thess 2:7). This has been taken as a "proof text" to fit in with their theory of a "secret rapture". The Holy Spirit is defined by Jesus, as fulfilling different roles in the life of believers when He comes, but restrainer is not one of them! Check it out for yourself in chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Gospel of John, where the words of Jesus are recorded. Depending on which translation you use, you will find words such as, Advocate, Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Strengthener,----but not Restrainer. This role for Him has been added to scripture by those who are trying to prove that the Church will not go through the time of "great tribulation" at the hands of the Antichrist, during the last half of this 7 year period. Various scriptures clearly teach this, including the words of Jesus, Paul, and John, and yet these people invent a theory that attempts to prove their false teaching!

 

There is only one person mentioned in scripture, that I am aware of, who could fill this role of restraining evil until the time set by God to let the Antichrist start his persecution of Israel and the Church. That person is the archangel "Michael", who has been given the specific task of protecting God's people, as mentioned many times in scripture. The most important reference, relating to the subject at hand, would have to be (Dan 12:1), where he is confirmed as the one who protects the nation of Israel. At the middle of this 7 year period, we are told he will "arise", and then the Antichrist will begin his reign of terror against the people of God (Rev 13:5-10). The word here translated arise, or stand up, in most English translations could be translated as "stand still", since it is the same root word that is used to describe the miracle of the sun and the moon stopping, or standing still, so that Joshua and his warriors could complete the battle against their enemy. (Josh 10:13) By letting scripture explain scripture, we can often prevent being led into error by those who are trying to prove some theory. Let's keep in mind that God must allow His Church to be purified, and changed from their present condition, before they are ready to be raptured! This purification can only come about through a time of persecution, such as much of the Church are already experiencing in other parts of the world! Why should God exempt the church in our Western world, and keep us from this time of persecution, that He has planned to make us ready to be raptured? That doesn't make any sense to me!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                

Jesus Lifted Us

JESUS LIFTED US

 

As we know from the book of Genesis, after God had created the perfect universe, then He created human beings after His image and likeness. He gave them dominion over all of creation, and created them male and female so that that they could reproduce after their kind. Then He created a perfect Garden of Eden for them to live in, and told them they could eat of the fruit of any tree in the garden "except" the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they should eat the fruit of this tree they would certainly die. And we know from reading (Gen 3:1-24) for how they lost their intimate relationship with their Creator God, and were banished from the garden. From that moment on our world became a "Fallen World". God was not surprised by this because of His "Foreknowledge" and had a plan to rectify this situation! This plan included allowing His only begotten Son Jesus to become a human being by way of the "virgin birth" of Jesus through the womb of Mary of Nazareth. Thus Jesus became the one and only perfectly "Sinless Man" ever born without the "Sin" inherited from our original parents! Jesus was truly 100% God and 100% Man at the same time!!

 

Sometime last year in 2016 I discovered an old hymn by the name of "He Lifted Me" written by Charles Huchinson Gabriel. I have adopted this as my favorite words t o repeat in my mind every night before going to sleep  and every morning when I open my eyes. Here is the first verse and chorus.

"In loving kindness Jesus came, my soul in mercy to reclaim. And from the depths of sin and shame, through grace He lifted me. (chorus) From sinking sand He lifted me, with tender hands He lifted me. From shades of night to planes of light, O praise His Name, He lifted me"    

 

Of course the death Adam and Eve received the moment they disobeyed the command God had given them, was the death of their intimate relationship they had enjoyed with their Creator in the Garden, this was the "spiritual death" of their spirits, and their "souls" were damaged and needed to be restored. So this is what we inherited from them, and what only Jesus could restore for us who receive Him by faith as our Lord and Savior!!

 

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer                                                                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Believers Manual On Perfection

 

 THE BELIEVERS MANUAL ON PERFECTION

 

Here is another one of those words that can spark great debates, or cause much confusion in church circles. It is used in both the Old and New Testaments and basically has the meaning of someone or something being complete, or finished. Mature might be a word that could be used in reference to a person. Some of the confusion results from such statements as Jesus made, like "Be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect". This is in the form of a command, and surely Jesus wouldn't command us to do something that He knew we couldn't do. So therefore it must be possible to become perfect in God's sight. During the Holiness Movement in the 1800s a teaching came forth that was called "sinless perfection" that caused a lot of controversy. Those who held to this teaching believed that a person could become so holy, or sanctified, by keeping all the law or commandments given in the Bible, as they understood them, that they would become "sinless" or without any trace of sin. You don't hear much of this term lately, although in some circles there is a teaching that goes by different names that sort of says the same thing. It may be referred to as "The Select of the Elect", "The Man Child Company", "The Manifest Sons of God", etc. All of these groups have a common root of becoming "Over-comers". The Bible does speak of striving to overcome sin, the flesh, and the devil, and it would seem that is not the position of all believers, or else some would not be singled out from the rest. Most of these groups that this writer has heard of developed a spirit of pride that rendered them useless in the Kingdom of God. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

 

A better term might be "Christian Perfection" instead of sinless perfection. In an earlier paper called "Blameless or Faultless" this writer explained the difference in these two words, and showed how we can be blameless in this life but not faultless. This same truth applies to the discussion of Perfection. It is possible to be blameless, if we are living to the best of our ability in obedience to God's word, but being found faultless, or sinless will only happen when we stand before Him in our resurrected bodies. If you are interested in seeing the scriptural explanation of the meaning of these words you might like to read the referred to document.

 

Sincerely

Dave Jamer  Revised on 18/01/17

 

 

 

The Restrainer

THE RESTRAINER

 

One of the key points in the teaching that Jesus will rapture His Church before the last 7 year period, known as "Daniel's 70th week" (Dan 9:24-27), is that the Holy Spirit, who resides in believers, is the "Restrainer" mentioned by Paul in (2 Thess 2:7). This has been taken as a "proof text" to fit in with their theory of a "secret rapture". The Holy Spirit is defined by Jesus, as fulfilling different roles in the life of believers when He comes, but restrainer is not one of them! Check it out for yourself in chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Gospel of John, where the words of Jesus are recorded. Depending on which translation you use, you will find words such as, Advocate, Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Strengthener,----but not Restrainer. This role for Him has been added to scripture by those who are trying to prove that the Church will not go through the time of "great tribulation" at the hands of the Antichrist, during the last half of this 7 year period. Various scriptures clearly teach this, including the words of Jesus, Paul, and John, and yet these people invent a theory that attempts to prove their false teaching!

 

There is only one person mentioned in scripture, that I am aware of, who could fill this role of restraining evil until the time set by God to let the Antichrist start his persecution of Israel and the Church. That person is the archangel "Michael", who has been given the specific task of protecting God's people, as mentioned many times in scripture. The most important reference, relating to the subject at hand, would have to be (Dan 12:1), where he is confirmed as the one who protects the nation of Israel. At the middle of this 7 year period, we are told he will "arise", and then the Antichrist will begin his reign of terror against the people of God (Rev 13:5-10). The word here translated arise, or stand up, in most English translations could be translated as "stand still", since it is the same root word that is used to describe the miracle of the sun and the moon stopping, or standing still, so that Joshua and his warriors could complete the battle against their enemy. (Josh 10:13) By letting scripture explain scripture, we can often prevent being led into error by those who are trying to prove some theory. Let's keep in mind that God must allow His Church to be purified, and changed from their present condition, before they are ready to be raptured! This purification can only come about through a time of persecution, such as much of the Church are already experiencing in other parts of the world! Why should God exempt the church in our Western world, and keep us from this time of persecution, that He has planned to make us ready to be raptured? That doesn't make any sense to me!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                

 

Always and Never

ALWAYS AND NEVER

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

A Wedding Garment

A WEDDING GARMENT

 

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

 

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

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

A Life of Holiness

A LIFE THAT SHINES

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer                                                                           

A Life o f Holiness

A LIFE OF HOLINESS

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                 

 

As Whitw As Snow

AS WHITE AS SNOW

 

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

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  

Real Riches

REAL RICHES

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                       

New Life Replaces Old

NEW LIFE REPLACES OLD

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  23/09/11

 

 

 

Identifcational Repentance

IDENTIFCATIONAL REPENTANCE

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

A Thousand Years as a Day

A THOUSAND YEARS AS A DAY

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                          

A Spring Tune-up

A SPRING TUNE-UP

 

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

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                     

New Life Replaces Old

NEW LIFE REPLACES OLD

 

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

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                              

 

 

 

Understanding Christianity

UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY

 

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

 

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted!

Dave Jamer.                                                                                                                                 20/04/12