Two Gardens

TWO GARDENS

 

The Scriptures mentions two gardens, Eden, and Gethsemane. We are told that the "Garden of Eden" was a special place prepared by God as a home for our first human and his wife, Adam and Eve. Read Genesis chapter two for the details. It seems that God's plan for His first family on earth was to have them multiply and populate the earth with humans created in the "Image of God", (Gen 1:27-28). But we know that God has had an enemy ever since the Arch Angel Lucifer had to be cast out of heaven because "the sin of pride" was found in him and he rebelled against his Creator. See (Isa 14:12-17) and (Ezek 28:11-17) for details. Lucifer chose to make his new home on our planet Earth, which is the only one created to sustain life. He goes by different names here as Satan, Devil, Destroyer, Deceiver, and Beast etc. Because he was cast out of heaven, he has been the avowed enemy of God ever since, and naturally the enemy of God's children. When he entered Eden as a "talking snake", which should have tipped off Adam and Eve, that something was wrong because normal snakes don't talk. Then he lied to them about God's instruction to not eat the fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" or else they would die. They believed his lie and disobeyed the command of God, and brought the curse of "sin and death" on all of creation. See chapter 3 of Genesis for the details of this original sin, and (Rom 5:12-21) for Paul's list of the consequences of this one sin.

 

As we know, God's plan to remedy this situation was for His only begotten Son Jesus to become a human by way of the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus through the womb of The Virgin Mary of Nazareth. She was a Jewish maiden who was especially chosen to be the natural mother of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. After his life on earth was nearly finished, we see Him praying in the "Garden of Gethsemane" (Mark 14:32-42), the night He was betrayed. Jesus was the one and only "God/Man", 100% God and 100% Man, and of course He knew what faced Him on the cross. So His humanity was crying to His Father "if it is possible take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done and not mine". Our eternal salvation all depended on that decision made that day be our Savior Jesus Christ. He suffered the unimaginable horrors of Calvary for us sinners, what are we willing to suffer for Him as His followers today?

 

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                                 12/09/15

The Army of God

THE ARMY OF GOD

A popular chorus back in the "charismatic renewal" days of the 60's and 70's, before some of you were born, came to mind last week and with it the following thoughts. First let me give you the words of this chorus. "God's got an army marching through the land Deliverance is their song, with healing in their hands Everlasting joy and gladness in their heart And in this army I've got a part."

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                              11/10/11

 

A Biblical Church

A BIBLICAL CHURCH

 

I recently put together an article that I called "THE NEAR PERFECT CHURCH", in contrast to what I have seen as a "false church" that we see around us today. I refer to it as being false because it in no way represents what Jesus had in mind when He used the word [ecclesia] in (Matt 16:18) to describe the Church He would build. Derek Prince has written a book that was published in 2006 called "Rediscovering God's Church", in which he explains in detail just what this Greek word really means. I would suggest you obtain a copy and read it if you are interested in knowing what I am now referring to by this word "Biblical Church". I suppose a more accurate definition of what I have been referring as a false church, would be to use "unbiblical church" instead. I never thought of this term until it was pointed out to me by a brother in the Lord. Because some people, who have been involved in what I have been calling the false church, may think I am "anti-church", which is far from the truth! I love the "Biblical Church" that Jesus has been in the process of building, but have no use for a so-called "church" that ordains  homosexuals, endorses so-called "same-sex marriages", and allows or promotes any type of behavior that the scripture forbids! So in the future I will change the words I use to define what type of "church" I am referring to. I will no longer use true and false, but will try to always use either "Biblical Church" or "unbiblical church" so anyone who reads an article I  put together will have no question about what I am referring to!

 

I confess to promoting some rather radical ideas as to how we should "do church", as we say, because I believe there is only "one way", and that is the way we see clearly from the scriptures. Since I started to understand scripture at "face value" a few years ago, as opposed to believing doctrines I have been taught by the various churches I have attended, scripture has taken on a completely different "value" to me. I now understand that much church doctrine has been established by well meaning men, who promoted certain teachings that were not really based wholly on scripture, but partly on their own theories, but were accepted as truth and gradually became "doctrines". I may be wrong, but that is the only way that makes sense to me! If anyone cares to discuss this with me I am open for correction or suggestions.

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                                   17/11/11

 

 

 

Right Side Up

RIGHT-SIDE- UP

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

 

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

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                              Revised 10/07/15

Summum Bonum

SUMMUM BONUM

 

This is a Latin phrase meaning "The highest good above which there is no other good". Or in other words, this is the ultimate word for "perfection". Bob Mumford uses it on page 30 in his book entitled "Nourishing the Seed" to identify the true meaning for the Greek word [Agape]. He has spent many years studying two Greek words [Agape] and [Eros], which resulted in his book called Agape Road, and the series of his teaching on this topic in 2000 which is available on CD's or DVD's. The interesting thing is that although these two words are nearly opposite in meaning, they are both translated into English as "love". This has caused considerable confusion in certain versions of the Bible, where some other Greek is used for love besides Agape. There are several other Greek words that also mean love, but thankfully Eros is not one of them, it is never used in the NT because of its meaning is really "Sensual" or "sexual" and from it came the word "Erotic" which is often used to describe many sinful activities. But Bob does an excellent job of explaining the difference between these words, both in the CD's and the DVD's, and later in his books "The Mysterious Seed" (2011) and "Nourishing the Seed" (2012). They are both excellent reads, and are laid out as a series of short daily readings, with 3 questions after each one.

 

So Bob says that Agape is definitely the highest possible thing that we can ever imagine, because "for God is Love [Agape]" (1 John 4:8). We know from many scripture passages in both the OT and the NT which define God as the Supreme Ruler of His Mighty Kingdom, often as a description of Himself by Himself. But because most of us have never lived in a nation that is ruled be a King, we really can't appreciate what that might be like. Most of us live in a Democracy or a Republic form of government where we have certain freedoms guaranteed by some charter or laws. But to be ruled by a supreme ruler who has complete authority over you, especially if he is a human "fallen" individual like ourselves would be a scary thing I would think. Thankfully our King is our Creator God, Father, Son, and Spirit, who has always existed as a loving family in complete unity! And He has adopted us into His family when we choose to receive him, and come to Him by "faith". See (John 3:16), and other scriptures like (John 14:6) plus many others in the Bible that reassure us that He loves with an "everlasting love" because after all, "He is Agape"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                 19/03/13

 

The Careful Walk

THE CAREFUL WALK

 

This was the title of the devotional in ODB today, June 2, 2014 by Dave Branon. He based it on (Eph 5:15-21) which in the NLT version starts with the heading "Living by the Spirit's power". This passage from verse 15-21 gives us some wonderful advice from the Apostle Paul about how we should live our lives. Verse 15 starts with "So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise". And 16 carries on with "Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days". I don't think anybody would disagree with that statement that we are living in evil days in this 21^st century. We see the results of it every day on the evening news broadcasts. But Paul doesn't leave us there, but goes on in verse 17 to say "Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do". This is probably where many people are today in their walk with the Lord!

 

Paul goes on in verse 18 to state one of the most important verses in all of scripture "Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit". The tense of the verb he uses for being filled in Greek is one that implies a "continuous action", in other words be continuously filled with the Spirit at all times. We hear a lot today about the need to receive the "Baptism with the Holy Spirit", once you are born again. And we know from (Acts 2:4) that the initial sign of being filled with the Spirit is to speak with tongues as He gives the ability. These tongues can be either "of men or of angels" (1 Cor 13:1), or in other words on the day of the original outpouring of the Spirit they were definitely "known tongues" of the 14 different nations listed in verses 7-11 of Acts chapter 2. Then in (1 Cor 14:2) we understand Paul explaining speaking in a "heavenly" tongue of angels, to communicate directly to our Father. So apparently there are 2 different types of tongues, one for communicating with people of a different nation, and the other a "prayer language" for use in communicating directly with God. Not everyone I have met in Pentecostal or Charismatic circles seem to understand this, and certain confusion has been the result. The fruit of this being constantly filled is given in verses 19-21. Notice that speaking in tongues is not mentioned, but things like "Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God". NKJV We certainly need the Holy Spirit infilling to do these last few things mentioned, especially "submission to others"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                     03/06/14                                                                                 

Stop & Listen & Obey

STOP! & LISTEN & OBEY!

Back on July 6, 2012 Joe Stowell wrote the devotional thought for ODB based on (Ps 131:2) which reads "surely I have calmed and quieted my soul". I wonder how many followers of Jesus could truthfully say that today about their very busy and stressful lifestyle. I know it seems like there is no way to escape the pressure of the "information overload" that our high technological world of emails and smart phones etc. places on the average person, but stop and consider how Jesus handled the pressure He must have felt by times. He was often followed around from town to town by throngs of people looking to be healed by Him, and remember He was Divine but He was also human, the only God/Man who ever lived, and scripture tells us that He was "tempted in all points such as we", so He would know personally what His followers would face. Check out (Mark 6:31) to see how He handled the situation, where it is recorded that He said to His disciples "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile". If we claim to be His followers today don't you think the same advice would apply to us?

I think the same words that the Psalmist used in Psalm 131 that we quoted at the start of this article would certainly apply to us today, because it is part of His eternal Word. So how can the average follower of Jesus in this very busy world we live in, in this 21^st century cope? I would think that common sense should tell us, "The same way they did in the first century". It should be a "no brainer", all we have to do is stop and listen for the still small voice of His Holy Spirit, and then obey immediately what He says to us. That is one of the functions that Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would do when He came to earth to replace Jesus when He ascended to the Father after He had completed His task He was sent here to accomplish. (John 14:16-17). So it would appear to me that the first thing we should do when we feel overwhelmed by the pressures of our stressed out life is to simply follow the pattern laid down by our Lord. But of course that presupposes that you already know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and if you haven't yet done that, of course that is your first step. Just read (Eph 2:1-10) and follow the clear instructions given to us by Paul the apostle. Of course there is a maturing process to become a fully mature child of God, but the Holy Spirit will help you understand the Word of God as you faithfully read it!!

Sincerely submitted

Dave Jamer                              11/07/12                                                                                           11/07/12