As Christians, we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ – Yeshua(Hebrew name of Jesus) because we know that He, a Jewish, sinless man, the Son of God; fully God and fully human in every way, feeling pain and sorrow as we do…died on the cross for us, but the Good News is that on the 3rd day He rose from the dead.
You need to keep in mind that the death of Jesus the Messiah – Yeshua Ha Mashiach wasn’t the tragedy that some people make it out to be…it was a “TRIUMPH”. His death and resurrection was the convergence of a plan that Jesus and Our Father in Heaven had worked out before the foundations of the world. That being said, what He suffered physically and mentally in our behalf in order to pay the price for our sins is beyond anything we can imagine. It’s absolutely impossible for us to feel the magnitude of His pain and sorrow as it was caused by an entire world of sin both then and now. Because of the sin that covered Jesus, Heavenly Father couldn’t even look upon Him…why…because sin is abominable to our Holy God. However, if we genuinely feel pain, regret and sorrow when we recognize our own sin and confess and repent from sinning we can ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
When we become believers we have so much to be thankful for…Jesus was put on the cross by His own hand and died for us because He loves us that much, and now He intercedes for us with the Father. He covered our sins with HIS BLOOD and He bore the “wrath of God” that should have been ours and would have been ours to bare if it hadn’t been for His “LOVE” for us.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
After 3 days in the grave, Yeshua Ha Mashiach means “Jesus the Messiah” rose from the dead and gave the whole world his grace and peace. This is a gift that too many of us take lightly…it’s not only for us who are Christians…it’s for ALL…to be shared generously!
Believing is only the beginning…what happens after that is up to you…believing that on the cross Jesus endured the wrath of God to save us from our sins should be your wake-up call and the beginning of you taking steps towards a life that shows the world who you belong to and to share the gift of our Salvation.
There are many steps, but here are 3 to start your journey:
1. Truly repent, accept Jesus – Yeshua is the son of God and your Savior and give your life over to our Redeemer Jesus Christ…then share your belief in your Salvation by the Grace of God with everyone you meet. Display your faithfulness in words, actions and deeds.
2. Get to know your Heavenly Father through His “WORD”, spend time with Him every day asking that His will be done in your life so that you can serve Him.
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our LORD Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.
3. Be still and listen desiring the Holy Spirit to make changes in your heart so that you can walk nearer to God in every aspect of your life and obey Him.
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD
Mark 16:15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Time is short…we don’t know when Jesus will return, but we do know that He will. In the meantime, He asked us to share the Gospel with everyone we come in contact with as well as reaching out to those we don’t know. When we choose Jesus as our Savior he expects us to intercede on His behalf with those who are “lost” and don’t realize that the wonderful gift of Salvation can be theirs.
Matthew 29:19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
Mark 14:21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
Most of the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel used the term “WOE” frequently; the Blue Letter Bible website tells us that “woe” OR “woes“occurs 107 times in 98 verses in the KJV. Jesus used the term “WOE” 8 times in Matthew 23
Link to the Blue Letter Bible Website…very useful when studying Scripture.
WOE is generally the precursor to God’s Divine Judgement! Especially in the Old Testament, God says WOE to the inhabitants of Jerusalem when they worshiped Idols, the Philistines recognized WOE unto them when they had stolen the Ark of the Covenant, Job also stated that sin leads to WOE and in Revelation…WOE, WOE, WOE is a familiar phrase when the Angels declare the wrath of God.
The following are some definitions and uses of WOE:
The Dictionary of Bible Themes categorizes the uses of the word woe in the Bible: “Woe as an exclamation of judgment on others,” Woe means “grief, anguish, affliction, wretchedness, calamity, or trouble.” “Woe as an exclamation of misfortune on oneself,” “Woe as an exclamation of sadness over others,” “Woe may give way to forgiveness, comfort, and deliverance” Zondervan, 1999).Matthew 26:23–25 “The Son of Man goes, even as it is written of him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
Anyway you look at it, it was a desperate time for the man Judas or as Jesus referred to him as “a devil”.
John 6: 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
Matthew 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver back to the chief priests when he heard that Jesus was condemned; he realized that he’d betrayed innocent blood.
Romans 3: 10-18 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Mark 14:21 is a clear reference to Judas and what was to follow when Judas betrayed Jesus. A man who’s destiny was to be intertwined with and is integral to “the story of salvation of us ALL when Yeshua shed His blood for our atonement and died on the cross for our sins”.
It’s not my place to say whether or not Judas is in Heaven or Hell and to be sure I’m not advocating for Judas, just like YOU and ME, he has only one advocate – Jesus – Yeshua. However, like all of us, he had the freedom to choose good or evil. Obviously Judas chose evil!
The purpose of this blog is to wake us up to the fact that consciously or unconsciously we are all guilty of judging our fellowman. If we go to the Scriptures, we find Jesus’s words and also in a letter to the Romans written by the Apostle Paul speaking to this matter:
Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged.2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 6:37-38 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Romans 14:10-12 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
We all need to think twice before we take it upon ourselves to judge someone when ultimately we have NO RIGHT to make a judgement. We have only “ONE JUDGE” and he knows the content of our hearts. He alone only knows whether or not there is “true repentance” and He alone can judge fairly.
Judas had been able to hide his deceit from the other Apostles, but Jesus knew his heart and when Mary, the sister of Martha anointed him with fragrant expensive oil, Jesus knew why Judas was making a fuss about it:
John 12:5-6 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
During the “Last Supper” before Jesus was crucified as the Passover Lamb, He stated clearly that there was one who was eating with them that would betray Him.
When Judas left Jesus – Yeshua and the disciples at the last Supper, he went to the Chief Priests to seek payment or reward for the betrayal of Jesus.
Matthew 26:11-14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
Matthew 26:21-25And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? 23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
Admittedly, there is NO ONE more guilty of shedding innocent blood as Judas was, it’s beyond us to think that we know whether or not, Jesus – Yeshua will intercede for him.
I’ve heard it said by some that Judas was a “pawn” in the scheme of the plan of God, but I prefer to believe that God does not use us as pawns, but as with His faithful servant Job, God will allow Satan to work his wiles on us, but only to a point and ultimately, we have been given the freedom to choose whom we will follow.
John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
Time is running out!
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall beopened.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them thatdiligently seek him.
Throughout the Scriptures in the both the Old Testament and the New Testament, Heavenly Father is letting us know that He’s there for us, but we need to SEEK HIM! What does that mean? How do you SEEK HIM? First of all…it’s a heart thing – a soul thing and finally it’s a mind thing to search Him out. He’s not hiding from us, this isn’t a game! We must know Him in order to find Him!
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
2 Chronicles 15:2b The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; andif ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
The first and best thing that you can do is to get to know him by reading your Bible. He’s provided for us in His WORD everything that we need to know about Him. He expresses to us exactly what He hates and what He loves. He leads us in the path of righteousness and guides us every step of the way…all we have to do is follow Him and listen for His voice. If we SEEK HIM FIRST and CHOOSE to PLEASE HIM we make better life choices, we will have a different attitude about everyone around us and people will say: what happened to him or her?. When you Seek and Allow God to have His Presence in your life, you’ll become forever changed and people around you will notice the change. The Holy Spirit will come to reside in you and with every breath you take, you’ll become more like Jesus – Yeshua.
Psalm 14:2 the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
Don’t you see that every morning when you wake up that this world is becoming a darker place and day by day mankind falls deeper and deeper into sin? Can’t you see that sin has become such a “normal” part of the human existence that we no longer recognize just how horrible it is and how much our Holy God – Heavenly Father hates sin? He’s held back the tide of His punishment for thousands of years! You ask WHY? The answer is simple and right to the point…because He LOVES us! Because He doesn’t want to feel the pain and anguish that He suffered when He destroyed the world and everything in it with a flood!
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Did you read that? Heavenly Father doesn’t want anyone to perish! We see how the world is doing its best to drown out the light, so we as followers of Him must PUT HIM FIRST in our LIVES! Everything we do and think must be for HIS Glory…not for ours! There are many of us who are crying out to the LORD to come and put an end to the suffering of those who Love Him and Follow Him. But can’t you see that we need to humble ourselves? That we need to fall to our knees, turn away from our wicked ways so that He will forgive OUR SINS! We need to recognize that we too are the problem!
2 Chronicles 7:14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The previous Scripture was spoken to the Israelites, but we are now the children of God too! So if we want to clean up the United States of America or any other place in this world, we can’t expect politicians to do it, we can’t expect the New World Order to make things better, we can’t expect the local authorities to clean it up! We can’t expect the church to do it because most people think of the church as a place you go on Sunday for 90 minutes or so a week.
Acts 15:17That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
As Christians we have taken HIS NAME…the name of our Savior Jesus Christ! As the followers of Jesus – Yeshua we must recognize that God made us for His Glory and listen to and follow the instructions given to us in His Word. We must separate ourselves from what is going on in this world and ask God what He desires of us…how He would like us to serve Him. How we can Glorify Him? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God wants us to pursue our dreams, he told us to be fruitful and fill the earth. It says that when we face judgement, we will be rewarded according to our “fruits”. ALL throughout the Bible it tells us the story of how HE pursues us, forgives us when we repent from our sins and ultimately He came to this earth to serve mankind and then died to save us from our sins.
We say we are covered in the Blood of Jesus – Yeshua, but we don’t often give the impression that this is the truth. If your neighbors were subpoenaed to testify against you in a court of law would there be enough evidence to convict you as a Christian? If not…WHY NOT? If you’re not walking in the WILL of GOD, then who’s will are your walking in? The Worlds Will? Satan is in charge of the World! Heavenly Father is Sovereign over all, but he warns us many times in His WORD that Satan is the ruler of this world: Satan is the force behind the darkness and the evil that envelopes the majority. Satan is the force behind divorce, lust, abortion, addiction and everything that goes against the WORD of GOD. Satan is out to devour and destroy us and many of us are giving him the opportunity to do so!
Jesus warns us in the Gospels as well as Revelation that the end will come, Satan and his followers are defeated and the battle will be beyond anything that we can imagine. Blood up to the horses bridles for 1600 furlongs –
Matthew 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
The Scriptures tells us that NO ONE is without SIN…the preachers and followers of Jesus Messiah – Yeshua Ha Mashiach are walking in sin too! So if we’re not LOVING GOD and our NEIGHBOR with all of our hearts, and if we are not obedient to Heavenly Father and if we’re not sharing the Gospel of Jesus – Yeshua, we are like the white washed sepulchers that Jesus – Yeshua described:
Matthew 23:27-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Those of us who spend our time pointing out that this is a sin or that is a sin…or that this person or that person is on the wrong path needs to wake up! We have to straighten our own path and clean up our own personal swamp! We need to REPENT! REPENT! REPENT! We need to PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! We need to ask forgiveness for our sins and we need to forgive those who sin against us! Then we have to give it all up to Heavenly Father.
1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
We need to SHARE the GOSPEL with everyone we can while there’s still time!
Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Luke 18:7-8 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
Revelation 2:16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
Revelation 10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,that there should be time no longer:
Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Revelation 22:12I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Luke 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
Yes! Time is Running Out! Choose your side! Choose LIGHT or choose darkness! Choose Heaven or Hell! Decide now who you are going to seek guidance and approval from. No matter where you’re at in this life, if your truly seek the LORD in Faith, Trust and with a genuine willingness of heart and mind, YOU WILL FIND HIM!
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
Have you considered that even though, the pandemic is still roaring it’s way around the world, as Christians…at least for the time being…we live a sheltered life in America!
It’s true, we definitely have our share of let downs and disappointments, but in most places in America we can sleep peaceful at night and when it comes right down to it, we wake-up in the morning to a day that isn’t a whole lot different than yesterday and 10 years ago…except for now, we’re wearing masks and social distancing again because of a new strain of the Covid Virus. Our nation’s working class has faced ups and downs in unemployment and the economics of this country has been on a roller coaster ride since it’s foundation. We’ve always had a population of poor and rich and some in between…we just need to keep the faith and trust that God our Father in Heaven has a plan!
I’m not saying that we should stop paying attention to what’s going on around us or lay down and play dead to the woe’s that do exist in the “Good Ole USA”. I’m not saying that we should just live in LA-LA land and sing that old Doris Day song – Que Sera Sera (Whatever will be will be). However, we need to remember that Whatever is God’s Will …will be…
What I am saying is: let’s go to bed each night being thankful to Heavenly Father for the protection he’s afforded us today and when we are blessed to wake up each morning we need to ask him…”How would you like me to serve you and my fellowman today?” There are millions of Christians around this world who don’t know the meaning of a peaceful night of sleep or the joy of waking up to another day. 1 out of every 8 Christians in this world live in countries where persecution is the norm.
All of that being said: Let’s not forget that as sons and daughters of the first Adam, we don’t deserve any of the blessings that Heavenly Father bestows upon us. However! He LOVES us that much! He actively works to “seek and save” us!
Scriptures from KJV ~ King James Version of the Bible.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Take into consideration that we have an enemy who is dangerous and his goal is to “seek and kill” he’s the power that perpetuates the virus, he’s the power behind our earthly governments, he’s the power who pursues us “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to destroy”.
1Peter 5:8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
WE must remain vigilant and aware of the fact that our adversary Satan will not stop pursuing us and as Christians, we need to expect and be prepared for persecution! We need to put on the full armor of God and stand against the enemy, the thief who’s out to steal our salvation, kill our faith and destroy our trust. We need to wake up one another to these facts, we need to wake up our children, our grandchildren, they need to know that there are extremist here in America that would do us harm.
Every pulpit in America needs to be preaching the fact that we’re in a mighty battle and without the armor of God, we have no chance of winning the battle. I’m not trying to put you in a down mood and if you remember your Scriptures you also remember that Jesus the Messiah – Yeshua Ha Mashiach warned us that we can’t be followers of Him without experiencing persecution, but he also tells us to be joyful and keep our eyes on Heaven.
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
You might say…that’s a peculiar Scripture to use when talking about persecution, as it’s reminding us that God our Heavenly Father is to be feared…that is, if we give ourselves over to the enemy.
The minute, we equate such things as churches being closed because of the misplaced guidance of authorities over the virus as persecution, we’re taking away from the potency and reality of what is true persecution. I’m talking about the physical pain of wounds, hunger, sleeping in excrement and violence beyond anything anyone of us in America can imagine – even Hollywood with all of their writers wouldn’t get it right because they don’t have a clue. Then there’s the countries where there’s the death penalty just for owning a Bible or any other Christian related items. For those of us living in America and a few other places in this world, Satan is working out his plan in a more subtle manner using material things such as the movies, the internet and other means to separate us from God, WE MUST RESIST!
Persecution of the Church has been a part of Christian existence since Jesus – Yeshua walked this earth. Even Paul (Saul of Tarsus)one of the foremost Disciples of Christ, before his conversion was guilty of persecuting the church. So my question is: Who do we think we are as Christians that we are exempt from this possibility of persecution? There’s no way that I can see that America is a favored nation in the sight of God.
John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
So no matter what happens tomorrow: Read the WORD of GOD, keep your faith and trust and let’s be there for one another for when real persecution comes and we must know…it will come! Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but it’s inevitable.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
“PLEASE Allow me to paraphrase: ‘Don’t let the world force you into its mold.
As I write this blog today, I recognize that people who maintain to be “believers” are dressing themselves and their children in costumes of one sort or another. Many of these costumes are satanic and evil: witches, sorcerers, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, vampires, devils… Even the costumes that seem innocent such as Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Peter Pan, a bum, a pirate, etc are not good for you or your children. You are laying wide open a portal that will allow demonic forces to move into your and your children’s lives.
Halloween, like many other of “man” made celebrations consists of acts of evil: drunkenness, debauchery of all kinds of pagan rituals. The roots of Halloween can be traced back to over 2000 years ago to a Celtic celebration named Samhain on October 31st.
The Encyclopedia of Religion says, “Halloween, or Allhallows Eve, is a festival celebrated on 31 October, the evening prior to the Christian Feast of All Saints (All Saints’ Day). Halloween is the name for the eve of Samhain [pronounced sow-wn], a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles. The time of Samhain consisted of the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November)” (1987, p. 176, “Halloween”). “On this occasion, it was believed that a gathering of supernatural forces occurred as during no other period of the year. The eve and day of Samhain were characterized as a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken. Otherworldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures. “Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers who controlled the fertility of the land … Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during the period” (pp. 176-177). “Huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits … The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favourable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 862, “Halloween”).
As you can see from the previous descriptions, this is not a celebration that a Christian should take part in… It was changed from Samhein (pronounced Sow wn) to “All Hallow’s Eve” by the Catholics to appease the pagan converts who still wanted to celebrate it and eventually it took on the name “Halloween”.
I want you to observe that he root word of this celebration is “Hallow” which means “HOLY” and only our Heavenly Father – God is HOLY!
The Bible tells us in both the Old and New Testaments of the existence of evil spirits, led by Satan the devil, whom God holds responsible for great suffering, anguish and sorrow inflicted on the human race.
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Isaiah 5:20 How horrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn what is bitter into something sweet and what is sweet into something bitter.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
“Satan has access to the domain of darkness, but he can only occupy those areas where mankind, through sin, has allowed him.” Francis Frangipane (an author of life changing books based on Scripture).
Our Heavenly Father wants us to run the other direction from things that harm us spiritually. The backdrop of Halloween is an abomination to God! He warns us to beware of the occult: Satan is the master deceiver and he’s the author of all wickedness! People who dabble with anything that has to do with Satan, whether they believe it’s just a so called “innocent” in a costume or just an evening of “fun”…they are literally playing with fire…they’re giving themselves over to idolatry and serious spiritual dabbling.
Don’t be fooled by our modern Halloween celebrations that appear on the outside to be harmless. When we participate in practices that honored false gods and stir up the occult such as voodoo, clairvoyance, black magic, etc, we unleash satanic forces and these practices are strictly forbidden in Scripture.
Matthew10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
This World is Temporary! We must ALL “REPENT” of our sins today, for tomorrow isn’t promised!
John3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Are you ready to be born again? Are you ready to give up your old life and live a life for Christ? Are you willing to allow the Spirit to slay the flesh? If so, are you ready to repent of your sins so that your body becomes a desirable temple for the Spirit to dwell in? The fact is that there’s no room for flesh and Spirit to dwell within you. Are you a genuine follower of Jesus Messiah – Yeshua Ha Mashiach?
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Everyday when you wake up, do you say Thank YOU Heavenly Father for another chance to do Your Will on this earth? Do you say thank YOU Father for Your Holy Spirit which guides me in my thoughts and actions throughout my day? Do you say thank YOU for your SON who’s death on the cross was to glorify YOU and to save me and all the other sinners in this world from everlasting death?
Are you a good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23)? Do you trust the Spirit to guide you? Do you resist temptation when Satan thrusts it in your path and do you run the other direction? Do you allow the Spirit to lead you to the path of righteousness instead the path to destruction? Have you lived your life of sin so openly that the “prowling lion” which is out to destroy doesn’t even have to try because you’re an easy mark?
If you’ve pretended to be born again to the point of even fooling yourself, keep in mind that Christ who is our advocate with Heavenly Father cannot be fooled! He knows our hearts and our minds whether they think good thoughts or whether we’re thinking evil…whether we’re doing good things for our fellow man or whether we’re ignoring the plight of those around us. If you’re feeling convicted now…it’s the Holy Spirit working in your heart and mind and this is the first step in changing your behavior.
Do you even know what the difference is to live a fleshly life instead of a spiritual life? Do you handle your money, your time, and your gifts with care? Is your conversations becoming more godly? This is a tough one: Are you more willing to forgive, to love your enemy? Are you changing how you relate to your spouse, your children and your parents? Are you changing how you relate to the world as a whole?
1 John 3:9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
1 John 5:4For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Once you’ve truly made a home for the Holy Spirit, you will not only feel more peace than you ever dreamed possible, but you’ll also feel alive and know that you have VICTORY in Christ.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
When the Holy Spirit lives in you, then the pleasures and unfortunately many of the people in this world can’t be a part of your life! There’s no room for God and this world in your body ~ the temple.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
I wrote this blog last year and although Covid isn’t quite what it was then, it’s still on the rampage. I pray that the Peace of Christ is with you and that you’ve had the time to grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus – Yeshua!
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 The same was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Scriptures from the KJV – King James Version of the Bible.
The first verses in the first chapter of the Gospel of John makes it perfectly clear the identity of Christ – Jesus Messiah – Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Hebrew). If you had any question in your mind before now…these Scriptures answer the question.
Do you believe in millions and billions of years and have you convinced yourself that it’s okay as long as you believe that Jesus – Yeshua is the Son of God? I’ve been told that it’s not a matter of SALVATION…make up your own mind.
The belief in millions and billions of years spawned the belief of evolution! When you believe that the dinosaurs died millions of years ago, what does that do to the reason why mankind and all of creation face death as a consequence of Adam’s sin against God? What does that do to the Scripture in Genesis that says “in the beginning God created man in HIS IMAGE? When Adam and Eve believed the serpent over the WORD of GOD they broke HIS trust and disobeyed HIM! Now I ask you to read John 1:1 again and if you haven’t thought about it before now, maybe now is the time to rethink your position on millions and billions of years as well as evolution.
John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I ask you – WHO do you actually believe in if you don’t believe HIS WORD? The belief in millions and billions of years and evolution are the Secular PAGAN Religion of the era that we live in. Can’t you see that the conception of this belief which began in the early 1700’s and continues to grow momentum day by day in the 21st century is destroying the foundation laid down for us in Genesis?
Psalm 11:3 3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Can’t you see that this is Satan’s last ditch effort to pull us away from Jesus who summed it up in one verse, John 14:6 “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.” Isn’t Satan saying again…God didn’t really mean what He says? This secular – science motivated pagan religion is being indoctrinated into our children’s minds from the time they’re 2 or 3 years old and it’s only becoming worse as they get older and have access to the technological and mainstream medias or what is referred to as SCREEN-TIME. When we believe in Secular Science rather than the infallible WORD of GOD aren’t we calling God and Jesus Liars? I ask you – WHO do you actually believe in if you don’t believe HIS WORD entirely? Do you think the Bible is a buffet where you can pick and choose whatever you like and then make it fit into your idea of God and Jesus? He’s been specific right from the beginning! He doesn’t leave one jot or tittle for us to figure out, he speaks to us plainly and we don’t need an interpreter, we only need the HOLY SPIRIT to guide us and help us understand HIS WORD.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Did you hear that…GOD’S WORD will be turned into FABLES? That is what I call the indoctrination of Secular Paganism Religion (so called science) into the church. When we don’t believe HIS WORD, are we truly loving Him as Jesus instructed?
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
If you spend anytime at all reading the Old Testament – Tanakh (Hebrew), you will see that every time, the Israelites chose to follow and invite the pagan religions into God’s WORD, they didn’t fair well at all! They stirred His wrath to the point of death!
Today’s world scoff’s at the idea of a 6,000 year old earth being created in 6 days by THE WORD. Our children have been indoctrinated by the merging of this Pagan Religion into the secular schools as well as the Christian Schools. From the first day of kindergarten until they graduate from secular college and even in our Christian schools and seminaries our children have been told that the history of the Bible is wrong and that the secular historical science is correct. According to Lifeway Research, around 1/3 of Pastors have incorporated into their Bible teaching the doctrine of millions and billions of years proclaimed by the secular scientists.
2 Peter 3-7 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
“YOM” is a DAY in the Beginning
I’m now going to address the subject of a “young earth”…from my investigation and study of YOM used in the Hebrew Bible means a literal day! I recognize that there are some out there who in their zeal to promote millions and billions of years as well as evolution within the Biblical timeline will argue otherwise. However, MY ZEAL lies in the WORD of GOD and I don’t find anyplace where there’s room in the Biblical text for an “old earth”.
GENESIS
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
***it’s obvious from the text that Genesis 1:5 is talking about a 24 hour day…He calls it day and night, He calls it evening and morning and He numbers it “1”.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
***In Genesis 1:8 God numbers it day “2” and qualifies it with evening and morning (the Hebrew day started at sunset and still does today).
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
***in Genesis 1:13, God once again numbers the day “3” and references evening and morning.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
***One of the arguments I hear is that there had to be light from the sun at the very beginning and I’m here to say that the WORD is light and He has no need of a sun. The sun is for our benefit…not HIS! Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
***In Genesis 1:19, God uses the exact same pattern as days 2 & 3. I believe this is because, he’s already explained to us in Genesis 5 exactly what he means by day.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
***Genesis 1:23 is the number of day “5” in the exact pattern as days 2,3,4.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
***SAME PATTERN
Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
As you can see with Genesis 1:31 God is consistent and doesn’t change His pattern. Another argument is from the misinterpretation of 2 Peter 3:8 which says a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. Peter is saying that GOD is outside of time and if you think about it, the two statements cancel themselves. But for arguments sake, lets say a day is a 1000 years…this would still make the earth at most only 13,000 years old which is a far cry from millions and billions. It also says God rested on the 7th day, do you really believe that GOD made a day of rest to last a 1000 years? First of all, HE doesn’t need rest, He made the day of rest HOLY as a model for man to follow…another sign of our obedience to HIM that because he made a day HOLY and gave it to us as a gift so that we could rest from our work is just one more example of how loving and patient our GOD is!
If you read on into Genesis 2 and when you come to verse 4, the WORD tells us “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,”
The only place in the Bible where people have an issue with the meaning of the word DAY (YOM) is in the 1st Chapter of the book of Genesis. Yôm is used over 2,300 times in the Old Testament (making it the most common noun in the Old Testament) (apologeticspress.org), more than 100 of these times, the words evening and morning go along with the usage. Anyplace else in Scripture, when yôm is joined with a number, it references an actual 24 hour day! Nobody questions the meaning of yôm (Hebrew for day) in similarly structured passages in the rest of the Bible. Everywhere else in the Old Testament, when the Hebrew word for “day” (יוםֹ, yom) appears with “evening” or “morning” or is modified by a number (e.g., “sixth day” or “five days”), it always means a 24-hour day. (answersingenesis.com)
Now if you’re asking “How important is this?” I can only tell you how important it is to me! When I asked you at the beginning of this blog “WHO DO YOU BELIEVE?” Recall how Adam and Eve fell for the lies of the serpent. Satan, our enemy, who is alive and well and doing his best to destroy mankind.
Genesis 3:1-4 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Here’s the question: Did GOD really say that in 6 days he created the Heavens and the Earth and on the 7th day he rested?
When man adds millions and billions of years from the secular world to the Bible, he’s rewriting the WORD of GOD! We have been warned not to take away from or add to His WORD. Who and what you believe makes a difference in whether or not you’re following GOD’S book written by The WORD or Man’s Book written by Satan!
Joshua 24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
Mind Your Emotions:
Every emotion that you are feeling whether it’s sorrow, joy, fear, etc should be brought to Heavenly Father in prayer.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
It’s been determined that there’s an almost unknown number of distinct human emotions, but in this blog, I’m only going to talk about the most common emotions that we experience almost on a daily basis: sadness, joy, anticipation, trust, disgust, surprise, anger & fear.
Scriptures from the KJV – King James Version of the Bible.
SADNESS: Equated with unhappiness, loneliness, depression and melancholy…etc.
From time to time, we all experience moments or even long periods of sadness, sometimes these times will evoke a gauntlet of feelings…the ones mentioned in the heading are only a few. Because we are human and we live in this sinful world, these feelings are normal and they can and will occur at one time or another during our lives. Some people might tell you that you need to see a counselor or get psychiatric help. But I’m here to tell you that God – Our Heavenly Father can handle it if we’re willing to humble ourselves and give it to him!
1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
God keeps His promises! When we keep our eyes on Jesus and our faith and trust in Our Heavenly Father, we have a future that is beyond anything that we are able to comprehend!
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Sadness has been equated to feelings of darkness, but keep this Scripture in your heart:
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
JOY: Equated with happiness, contentment, pleasure and elation….etc
Once again, the feelings mentioned in the heading are only a small list. Joy is the emotion that we all look forward to! And Joy is the emotion that we are constantly seeking! Of course we want to feel this emotion, it’s the polar opposite of sadness! However, there are many ways to feed this emotion in the world that aren’t truly satisfactory and leave us seeking more ways to experience this feeling of elation.
It’s also true that “Joy” is one of the fruits of the spirit! So when we experience this feeling, we must pay attention to what has actually triggered it. If it’s from the Spirit of God our joy will last forever. If it’s because of something worldly, for example, there’s a new car in the driveway making you happy, it will be fleeting…you will soon need something else to replace and renew this feeling…which of course will lead you to the polar opposite when you feel like you need to feed your joy with something else from the world. Please don’t get me wrong…it’s okay to be happy with a new car or a new house, just don’t count it as your true joy in this life…cars get dented and houses need repairs. The JOY we receive from a relationship with Heavenly Father will last eternally!
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:24 amongst many other verses are often used by prosperity preachers to convince us that things and stuff and money will bring us joy. I do believe that it’s true that God wants us to grow and do well in this life, but He also tells us in a parable:
Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Jesus – Yeshua has a lot to say about riches…
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Mammon, biblical term for riches, often used to describe the debasing influence of material wealth. The term was used by Jesus in his famous Sermon on the Mount and also appears in The Gospel According to Luke. Medieval writers commonly interpreted it as an evil demon or god.
So when we think of growing, we need to think about growing in the faith, not necessarily growing our bank accounts. When it comes to doing well, I personally believe that it means that we will have a roof over our heads, warmth, food and clothing to cover our bodies and prayerfully enough left over to help provide these essentials for others. The fact is that the majority of those of us who live in the USA, have very few needs, but VERY MANY WANTS.
ANTICIPATION: Looking forward to, Hope, Confidence and Promise…etc.
When I think of anticipation, I immediately think of the hope that we have in Jesus Messiah – Yeshua Ha Mashiach and the promises of God!
God’s promises are to ALL of us! Jesus – Yeshua died on the cross for ALL sinners! But mankind must accept Jesus as their Savior and the Son of God as well as repent from their sins to reap these promises. God’s promises are laid down on a foundation of unshakable HOPE!!! Without hope we have nothing because Jesus is our only HOPE.
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
Titus 2:13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
We must never lose HOPE! When we do, we are losing our faith in Jesus as well as our trust in Heavenly Father! However, keep in your mind, that not everything you hope for is the will of God and that sometimes our anticipation takes us away from our one and only true HOPE which is found in Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Our faith and trust in Jesus gives us eternal life and that is where our HOPE lies…not in the things of this world. God keeps his promises and through Jesus – Yeshua he’s keeping his promise of HOPE!
TRUST: Faith, Belief, Protection and to Rely Upon…etc.
It’s not easy for humans to truly put their trust in anyone…generally speaking man has a tendency to only trust himself. My question: how does that usually work out?
Romans 12:22 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Sometimes we have to be knocked down to our knees over and over again before we recognize that we can only trust in God and the plans He has for us!
Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Heavenly Father watches out for us all the time! To put it simply, if we allow HIM , HE has our backs! He will never forsake those who LOVE HIM, BELIEVE IN HIM and TRUST HIM!
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Proverbs 3:5Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Psalm 56:3-4 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
The take away from these Scriptures is that TRUST is demanded of us as followers of Jesus and believers in God.
TO BE CONTINUED: Important Guidelines for Life Pt 5b
God means what He says and says what He means! My hermeneutics are “literal”, however, that being said…study the scriptures yourself and make up your own mind! Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit…
Mind Your Behavior: To put it simply…behavior is how we conduct ourselves around others as well as when were alone and believe no one is watching!
However…God our Heavenly Father sees all and knows our motives – whether good or bad! When we have asked Jesus Messiah- Yeshua Ha Mashiach into our lives, through our faith and trust we can change our behavior to please God. Mark 9:23Then Jesus said to him, “‘If You can’? Everything is possible to the one who believes.”
The Bible…the Word is full of instruction as to how we are supposed to behave toward one another and toward God and how we will behave when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. The Bible often speaks of our lives producing fruit. Sometimes, we make it more difficult than it needs to be…some think that fruit and works are the same, but from my study, I believe that works are the natural outcome of the fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT that propels our lives after we have repented, believed and asked Jesus into our lives.
Galations5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Love:God loves us relentlessly or He wouldn’t have allowed His SON to sacrifice His life to cover our sins. God loves us so much that He’s given us the gift of mercy which none of us deserve! He’s given us the gift of Eternal life when we believe and trust in His Son Jesus!
John 15:12-13 This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.
Joy: When the Holy Spirit enters into you, you will experience everlasting Joy! We will rejoice in Scripture, we will rejoice that we are alive! We will rejoice in the Love that the Father has shown us.
Sometimes, we foolishly connect our joy to the things of this world such as new car, new house, new, new, new… When we do this, we’re treading upon the true gift of Joy which is to be found in Jesus, our Savior!
Psalm 16:11 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant JOY; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Peace: I’m not referring to peace such as a treaty to avoid war. When we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and that’s when for the first time, we become “WHOLE” or “COMPLETE”; this state naturally brings PEACE into our being.
Jesus told the disciples in advance of the gift of the Holy Spirit that they would receive after He would go to the Father:
John14:27“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.
Patience: God has been patient with man since Noah disembarked from the Ark. Another of His gifts that we truly don’t deserve. To think that His patience humbled Himself to actually serve and die for us! Yet as humans, we have very little patience for our fellowman; we become easily angered and intolerant of one another.
Patience is maybe one of the most difficult for us to allow the Holy Spirit’s work in us…because we are human, we allow the flesh to dictate to us when we should be listening to the Spirit.
1 Timothy 1:16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
So the next time that you’re feeling impatient with someone, stop, take a deep breath and think about your life and how Jesus has saved you by His extraordinary patience!
Kindness: We don’t have to look any farther than Jesus – Yeshua to see the embodiment of kindness! He was selfless because He came to serve mankind. He was compassionate and when Lazarus died, he cried tears for the pain the family and friends were experiencing. He was merciful when they were about to stone the prostitute when he told them that he without sin should cast the first stone.
Ephesians 4:31-32 All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Goodness: Goodness is Godliness and as Jesus told us only God is Good!
Luke 18:19“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One—God.
Jesus wouldn’t allow himself to be called good!
Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
So when something good occurs in your life or of someone close to you…remember the following Scripture:
Faith: The Biblical definition is belief, firm persuasion, assurance, firm conviction, faithfulness. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the Lord is working, even though we cannot see it. Faith knows that no matter what the situation, in our lives or someone else’s that the Lord is working in it.
We have all had times in our lives when our faith wavered…the loss of a job, the discordance of family, the death of a loved one…these amongst many others are can be faith shaking. Unfortunately, there are some who never recover their faith. No matter what happens in our lives, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus! Don’t lose our focus because when we do, Satan, the roaring lion is poised for attack. So no matter what happens…hang on to your faith and you will be rewarded.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses.
Gentleness: The easiest way to describe gentleness is to tell you “what it isn’t”. Gentleness is NOT obstinate, hateful, harsh, unfriendly, unpleasant, thoughtless or insensitive!
Matthew 5:5The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.
Matthew 11:29-30All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Self Control: The first step to self control is your full surrender to God, our Heavenly Father! The secular world looks at self control as something that we can accomplish by physical and mental self-mastery. However, unless we have God, we are flesh driven and of the world: perpetuated by money/greed, lust, food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, sports…on and on it goes. Sadly, these are all “heart” issues. Until you give your heart fully and unconditionally to God, you will suffer from these worldly ailments. But if you have faith and trust in Jesus and study the Scriptures the temptation to follow your flesh and live in the world will fade.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
When God brought judgement upon the world during the time of Noah, He was sorry that He’d made man… Then about 2000 years ago, He sent His Son to Save us from our wickedness which is sin and death with is the wages of sin!
John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus ~ Amazing Grace! 
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