BEHOLD THE MAN
This expression comes from (John 19:5), and was uttered by Pilate after he had Jesus severely beaten by the Roman soldiers, he then showed Him to the angry crowd, thinking they might now have pity on Him, and Pilate would be off the hook. As we know this did not work for him, and the rest is history (His-story)! Pilate had no idea who Jesus really was, as many church going people today. Jesus was, and still is, "The Man" that Father God brought into our world to show what God is really like. Jesus put a face on God, so to speak, see (Col 1:15-18).
Jesus came to earth not only to reveal God, but also to reverse the curse brought onto the entire creation by the disobedience of the first man Adam. I believe Adam was created in the image of God, and was meant to be the father of a "family of God", that would inhabit planet earth, and make it a "colony of heaven" on earth, so to speak. We know from reading God's Word that this original plan was subverted by Satan, who became the avowed enemy of God after rebelling because he was not content to be one of the Archangels in heaven, and desired to take over God' place as Supreme.
See (Is 14:12-15) and (Ezek 28:12-17) for the details of why and how Lucifer was cast out of heaven to become the devil, or Satan. Many people living on earth today never realize that this was the beginning of evil, and wickedness that we see increasing in our world around us. We are often quick to blame other causes for this wickedness, and fail to realize it is "sin" in the hearts of mankind, that can be traced back to Adam's disobedience, that is the real problem! (Rom 3:23)
God, who has perfect "foreknowledge", of course knew this would happen, and already had a plan formulated before anything was created. This plan involved Jesus coming to earth at the appointed time, to be incarnated into the human family, in order to pay the price required to redeem mankind from their sinful condition inherited from Adam. So when Pilate made the statement "behold the man", even though he was not aware of whom Jesus was he was never the less declaring the truth! Jesus Christ is definitely "The Man", the second Adam, the only way to the Father! (John 14:6). The angel Gabriel told Joseph to "call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matt 1:21). This is the "good news" of the gospel!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
Monday, September 20, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
GAD OR GOD
GAD or God
In a recent devotional from Our Daily Bread I saw this mentioned. GAD stands for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, found in people who are often referred to as "worry warts", or we might call them "fret machines", I'm sure you have met a few. It's certainly true that there are lots of situations we face in this wicked world we are called to live in, that could cause anxiety. But when we are tempted in this way, that is when we can look to God, and receive encouragement from His Word. Scriptures like (Ps 37:1-6) tell us "don't worry", "trust in the Lord", "commit everything to Him" etc. So we always have a choice to make whenever we face problems in our lives, we can either trust God, or go the way of GAD, the choice is ours!
Peter gives some good advice along these lines in his first letter, (see 1 Peter 5:6-9). The first thing to do is "humble ourselves", and then he encourages us to "give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for you". Next he warns us about our "great enemy the devil", who is always looking for "someone to devour". But Peter goes on to say "Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are." In other words, realize that you are not alone in your suffering, which is what Satan often tells us, to keep us from sharing with others. This is just one of his many lies he uses to keep us in bondage, and separated from other members of the Body of Christ.
Actually I'm starting to see that "spiritual warfare" is all about Satan trying to corrupt you as the carrier of the "incorruptible seed", (1 Peter 1:23) that was deposited in your heart the moment you repented of your sin, and received Jesus as your Savior. He can't get at this seed to try and corrupt it, but if he can tempt you with corruption to behave in some sinful way, it will prevent you from progressing in your spiritual journey toward maturity. We must realize that God's intention in redeeming us was to have a company of mature sons and daughters to represent His Kingdom here on earth. (see Matt 6:10), and (Rom 8:18-25). Here we see clearly God's intention expressed by Paul, that He wants to set the whole of creation free from bondage by His True Church, composed of mature "followers of Jesus"!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
Monday, September 13, 2010
THE BMW MODE
THE "BMW" MODE
BMW, as you know, is the name of a car that is in the luxury class that not everyone can afford to drive. But in a recent article by Robert Watkins I heard a different meaning for this expression. His article was about people who are always complaining about nearly everything. His phrase to define these people was "BMW", an acronym for "Belly-aching, Moaning, and Whining". Do you know anyone who could be included in that class? Perhaps we might all fit in that class by times! There sure are lots of things to find fault with, like the government, or other organizations like the church structure we have been part of, that is far removed from the Church Jesus said He would build. (Matt 16:18). Plus many other things or people that we feel justified in finding fault with! A few quotes from Brother Watkins, "Complaining is draining", and "I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. But there is hope".
He goes on to quote a professor from Harvard's Graduate School of Education, who suggests that we can turn the "language of complaint" into the "language of Commitment". This will require considerable effort on our part, but he claims it is doable if we are serious about desiring a change. It starts with a change in attitude from a complaining one, to a true "attitude of gratitude", by which we give thanks to God in every situation. (1 Thess 5:18) It is important to notice it does not say be thankful "for" everything, but to be thankful "in" every situation you find yourself in! We know that some situations are the result of a direct work of Satan, as in the case of Job, and we are not to give thanks for his work, but realize that God can bring something good out of what Satan meant for evil. See the story of how God used Joseph to preserve the life of his father's family. (Gen 45:5-8).
Brother Watkins stated "Here's what I learned: If something can be changed, work to change it, if it cannot, why worry, be upset, and complain". He then offers a challenge to all his readers "So for the next seven days, let's change our language of complaining into a language of commitment. Get out of your BMW mode by monitoring your words". This sounds like a good idea that should not only change our attitude about life, but also change the attitude of people around us!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
BMW, as you know, is the name of a car that is in the luxury class that not everyone can afford to drive. But in a recent article by Robert Watkins I heard a different meaning for this expression. His article was about people who are always complaining about nearly everything. His phrase to define these people was "BMW", an acronym for "Belly-aching, Moaning, and Whining". Do you know anyone who could be included in that class? Perhaps we might all fit in that class by times! There sure are lots of things to find fault with, like the government, or other organizations like the church structure we have been part of, that is far removed from the Church Jesus said He would build. (Matt 16:18). Plus many other things or people that we feel justified in finding fault with! A few quotes from Brother Watkins, "Complaining is draining", and "I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. But there is hope".
He goes on to quote a professor from Harvard's Graduate School of Education, who suggests that we can turn the "language of complaint" into the "language of Commitment". This will require considerable effort on our part, but he claims it is doable if we are serious about desiring a change. It starts with a change in attitude from a complaining one, to a true "attitude of gratitude", by which we give thanks to God in every situation. (1 Thess 5:18) It is important to notice it does not say be thankful "for" everything, but to be thankful "in" every situation you find yourself in! We know that some situations are the result of a direct work of Satan, as in the case of Job, and we are not to give thanks for his work, but realize that God can bring something good out of what Satan meant for evil. See the story of how God used Joseph to preserve the life of his father's family. (Gen 45:5-8).
Brother Watkins stated "Here's what I learned: If something can be changed, work to change it, if it cannot, why worry, be upset, and complain". He then offers a challenge to all his readers "So for the next seven days, let's change our language of complaining into a language of commitment. Get out of your BMW mode by monitoring your words". This sounds like a good idea that should not only change our attitude about life, but also change the attitude of people around us!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
Monday, September 6, 2010
OUT OF ORBIT
OUT OF ORBIT
I was impressed by a devotional in Our Daily Bread Aug 4, 2010, by Joe Stowell, from which I borrowed his title and a few quotes. He based his thoughts on Psalm 63, which is a Psalm written by King David while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Joe said "David understood that true joy and purpose came not in admiring God from a safe distance, but from chasing hard after Him". This is the theme of his article, and he starts by comparing our journey of following Jesus, with a space probe to Mars. He imagines the waste of time and effort if that probe should get drawn off course by the gravitational pull of some other less significant object!
This is a distinct possibility for any of us in our journey of following Jesus. There are many things that can draw us away from our original determination to be a follower of Jesus, who paid the price of our redemption from our life of sin! Perhaps it is our immediate family, or close friends, who think we, have become a fanatic, or have joined a cult. Perhaps it is the draw of worldly entertainments, or some habit you established before you came to know Jesus. Whatever it might be, you can be sure your enemy Satan will use it to try and draw you back to serve his kingdom of darkness, and not God's Kingdom of light! The important thing to remember is that our loving Father has made ample provision for everything we need to live a life pleasing to Him. But the decision to accept these provisions is always left to us.
A careful reading of (Psalm 63) will show us what King David did while hiding out in the wilderness of Judah, fleeing from the wrath of Saul. In the NLT, verse 1 reads "O God, you are my God. I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you, my whole body longs for you, in this parched and weary land where there is no water". When we seek for God, as David did, He will be found by us. He is not hiding from us, but the fact is that He is holy, and unless we become holy as He is holy we can not have intimate fellowship. (1 Peter 1:16). We, as part of the Body of Christ on earth, must follow Paul's advice in (2 Cor 7:1) "Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God" NLT. So we can see that God has made provision for our holiness, but it is our responsibility to keep "in orbit", so to speak, and stay close to Him!
Sincerely submitted
Dave Jamer
I was impressed by a devotional in Our Daily Bread Aug 4, 2010, by Joe Stowell, from which I borrowed his title and a few quotes. He based his thoughts on Psalm 63, which is a Psalm written by King David while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Joe said "David understood that true joy and purpose came not in admiring God from a safe distance, but from chasing hard after Him". This is the theme of his article, and he starts by comparing our journey of following Jesus, with a space probe to Mars. He imagines the waste of time and effort if that probe should get drawn off course by the gravitational pull of some other less significant object!
This is a distinct possibility for any of us in our journey of following Jesus. There are many things that can draw us away from our original determination to be a follower of Jesus, who paid the price of our redemption from our life of sin! Perhaps it is our immediate family, or close friends, who think we, have become a fanatic, or have joined a cult. Perhaps it is the draw of worldly entertainments, or some habit you established before you came to know Jesus. Whatever it might be, you can be sure your enemy Satan will use it to try and draw you back to serve his kingdom of darkness, and not God's Kingdom of light! The important thing to remember is that our loving Father has made ample provision for everything we need to live a life pleasing to Him. But the decision to accept these provisions is always left to us.
A careful reading of (Psalm 63) will show us what King David did while hiding out in the wilderness of Judah, fleeing from the wrath of Saul. In the NLT, verse 1 reads "O God, you are my God. I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you, my whole body longs for you, in this parched and weary land where there is no water". When we seek for God, as David did, He will be found by us. He is not hiding from us, but the fact is that He is holy, and unless we become holy as He is holy we can not have intimate fellowship. (1 Peter 1:16). We, as part of the Body of Christ on earth, must follow Paul's advice in (2 Cor 7:1) "Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God" NLT. So we can see that God has made provision for our holiness, but it is our responsibility to keep "in orbit", so to speak, and stay close to Him!
Sincerely submitted
Dave Jamer
Monday, August 30, 2010
RECONCILIATION
RECONCILIATION
We read in (2 Cor 5:19) NLT "For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation". Our man-made theology has completely destroyed the truth of this passage of God's Word! Read it again carefully from any translation and the truth will be clear and plain! God the Father was there on the cross with Jesus when He died to pay the price for our redemption.. We have been told that God abandoned His Son at that moment, because He could not look on our sin that Jesus took upon Himself. We have been told that (Matt 27:45) proves this, but scripture never contradicts scripture, so both of these scriptures can't be true. I believe the passage from Matthew must refer to His feelings as a human being, because He was completely human, although completely Divine at the same time. He had already submitted His will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. So this was only a human reaction, and He and the Father were still one at that time, as Paul clearly states!
This false concept that God cannot allow Himself to be associated with evil, appears in many of our church doctrines. One in particular that comes to mind has to do with a person being "demonized". This means a person who is a carrier of one or more demon spirits. The KJV translation uses the term "demon possession" in various places when it should use demonized. The meaning is that we can posses a demon, but the demon doesn't posses us. This has caused a lot of confusion in church circles over the years. Jesus spent a lot of His ministry time, as recorded in the gospels, casting demons out of people. And He gave His disciples authority and the assignment to do the same. (Matt 10:5-8). Certain church denominations have a doctrine that declares a born again believer cannot possibly posses a demon, because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, and an evil spirit and the Holy Spirit couldn't both inhabit a human body at the same time. If we believed this, then a sinner could never be saved, because they often have more than one demon that has been controlling their sinful behavior. When the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin, and the need to receive Jesus as Savior, we know that He becomes part of their life. (John 3:5-7), and (2 Cor 5:17). Jesus said that when we receive the Spirit, He will never leave us, but abide with us forever. This doctrine cannot possibly be true, and has robbed people of deliverance by the power of the Name of Jesus! This is only one of many church doctrines that are not based on God's Word, but merely on the words of man, in my opinion.
Sincerely submitted,
Dave Jamer
We read in (2 Cor 5:19) NLT "For God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation". Our man-made theology has completely destroyed the truth of this passage of God's Word! Read it again carefully from any translation and the truth will be clear and plain! God the Father was there on the cross with Jesus when He died to pay the price for our redemption.. We have been told that God abandoned His Son at that moment, because He could not look on our sin that Jesus took upon Himself. We have been told that (Matt 27:45) proves this, but scripture never contradicts scripture, so both of these scriptures can't be true. I believe the passage from Matthew must refer to His feelings as a human being, because He was completely human, although completely Divine at the same time. He had already submitted His will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. So this was only a human reaction, and He and the Father were still one at that time, as Paul clearly states!
This false concept that God cannot allow Himself to be associated with evil, appears in many of our church doctrines. One in particular that comes to mind has to do with a person being "demonized". This means a person who is a carrier of one or more demon spirits. The KJV translation uses the term "demon possession" in various places when it should use demonized. The meaning is that we can posses a demon, but the demon doesn't posses us. This has caused a lot of confusion in church circles over the years. Jesus spent a lot of His ministry time, as recorded in the gospels, casting demons out of people. And He gave His disciples authority and the assignment to do the same. (Matt 10:5-8). Certain church denominations have a doctrine that declares a born again believer cannot possibly posses a demon, because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, and an evil spirit and the Holy Spirit couldn't both inhabit a human body at the same time. If we believed this, then a sinner could never be saved, because they often have more than one demon that has been controlling their sinful behavior. When the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin, and the need to receive Jesus as Savior, we know that He becomes part of their life. (John 3:5-7), and (2 Cor 5:17). Jesus said that when we receive the Spirit, He will never leave us, but abide with us forever. This doctrine cannot possibly be true, and has robbed people of deliverance by the power of the Name of Jesus! This is only one of many church doctrines that are not based on God's Word, but merely on the words of man, in my opinion.
Sincerely submitted,
Dave Jamer
Monday, August 16, 2010
God's Two Families
GOD'S TWO FAMILIES
In the beginning God----God has always existed as a family or community---Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Gen 1:1) "Elohim" is a plural form in Hebrew. He desired to enlarge His family---first Adam, then Eve, so they could reproduce and replenish the earth. (Gen 1:26-28) Through Abraham and Sarah God promised their descendants through Isaac, the son of promise, would be as the sands of the seashore (earthly), and as the stars of the heaven (heavenly) (Gen 22:17) Through the prophet Nathan. God spoke to David and promised his "seed" (Christ) would build Him a "house" that will last "forever" (2 Sam 7:4-16). This promise is one of those that has a "duel meaning", or a "near / far" fulfillment. In other words it has one application to "the present" (Solomon), and another application in the distant "future". (Christ). Read (Luke 1:31-33) for the message given to Mary by the angel Gabriel.
Jesus came to earth not only to become our "Redeemer", but also to establish a "community of the King" on planet earth! We know this to be His church, composed of "born again" believers from all ages and every nation. This church was birthed in the upper room on the evening of the day Jesus rose from the tomb (John 20:19-23). All the people present were Jewish, or part of the "earthly descendants" of Abraham. They became the first members of the "church" which is made up of the "heavenly descendants" of Abraham. The church expanded to include "Gentiles", a term for anyone who was not Jewish. Paul was given a revelation of the true church, and was used by God to pass on this revelation to us through his many NT letters. (Rom 9, 10 and 11, Gal 5:16-29, Eph 2:11-22)
It would appear that God's intention is that throughout eternity He will continue to have His "two families". His earthly family will be living on planet earth and His heavenly family living in the "new Jerusalem" which will be positioned just above the earthly city of Jerusalem. (Rev 21). Some people believe God takes us to a place called heaven where we will spend eternity, but the Bible teaches us that He will bring heaven down to earth! The most complete description of heaven is found in (Rev 21) which describes the "holy city, the new Jerusalem" which God will bring down to earth as His Dwelling place for eternity! Read your Bible to check this out! (Acts 17:11)
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
The first requirement of a candidate is that they are a "born again" child of God who has a desire for more of the Holy Spirit, since He came into their life the moment they received Jesus as their Savior. The second requirement is that they have a real hunger for more of God, as Jesus explains in (John 7:37-39) There are three words that will aid in the receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are relax, receive, and respond. We will briefly look at each one.
1/ Relax---Many people become tense when they think about anything to do with the Holy Spirit, but this only hinders the work of the Spirit. So just relax physically first, sit back in a comfortable chair, and you are more apt to relax spiritually and emotionally. You are safely in the hands of Jesus, who is the baptizer, (Acts 1:4-5) and you can trust Him!
2/ Receive---Note the words of Jesus as recorded by Luke in (Luke 11:13) "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." So simply ask in faith for Jesus to baptize you in His Holy Spirit, and expect Him to answer your prayer. "What things so ever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." (Mark 11:24). This is not an emotional experience, but a spiritual experience, which may or may not have an emotional component connected to it.
3/ Respond---The sense of the Spirit should be very real as He begins to fill you with His presence. As you breathe in air, imagine you are taking in more of the spirit with each breath, and as you exhale each breath, let it be words of praise and thanksgiving to God. When you run out of words in English, yield your tongue to the Spirit to give you new words that might sound strange to you. On the day of Pentecost they were given a new language "They began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4) Notice "they" began to speak, and the miracle was that He gave them the words. You may only have one or two words at first, but your vocabulary will increase as you use this new language daily. Remember Paul says "He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself." (1 Cor 14:4), this means being built up in your faith, and who doesn't need this?
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer
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