A dwelling place for God

Ephesians 2

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Once we accept Christ in our lives, the burden of sin, it's grip, and the consequences thereof are destroyed. The blood of the Lamb washes us. We are officially a new person through, in, and because of Him. We should go and sin no more,  just like the adulteress. In doing so, we shall treat our bodies and souls, as well as our lives, as temples where God may dwell. YahWeh does not dwell in sin rich place, like Sodom and Gomorrah. Work hard to become a welcomed dwelling place for God. Leave sin behind, and Jehovah reign in your life for all eternity! Make the Alpha and Omega the most important thing in your life! Bigger than all your problems, your doubts and fears!

Walk in The Light of God

John 3:16-2116 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

The world is made of darkness and suppressive methods.  God is the Light! Leave the dark behind and dwell in Him where we will be free and find rest!  Let the Light into your life! All of us have dirty and unscrupulous deeds in our lives. God has seen them and still yearns to love you and awaits your return home.  We do things that are wrong and try to hide them. Who or what are we hiding them from? God sees all things, knows all things. Yet, despite all that, He sacrificed His Son on a tree to break the curse of sin and death, that we may have the example of Christ to live by and ultimately reunite with Author of Life in Heaven. Christ told the adulteress,  to paraphrase: those that sought to condemn you have left. I also do not condemn you.....go and sin no more. He forgave her and told her to change her lifestyle, sin no more. Love.....that is where God's grace and mercy, and and so forgiveness derive from. If we step into the Light, then these gifts become ours! Amen. 

Forgiveness comes from Grace and Mercy

Psalm 32New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 32
Of David. A maskil.[a]

1 Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.(A)
2 Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them(B)
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.(C)
3 When I kept silent,(D)
    my bones wasted away(E)
    through my groaning(F) all day long.
4 For day and night
    your hand was heavy(G) on me;
my strength was sapped(H)
    as in the heat of summer.[b]
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.(I)
I said, “I will confess(J)
    my transgressions(K) to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

The gift of Grace and Mercy derive straight from the heart of God...His love for us.  These gifts are not "get out of jail free cards". They should never be taken for granted like we earned them or are ours to dole out as we see fit. Jesus's words to the adulteress express His expectation of us when we claim Him as our Savior:  10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”(A) Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”(B)

Go and leave your life of sin. Let that life of sin die! Allow yourself to be reborn/made new on the blood and love of Christ! Sin is the method of control used by the devil to drive a wedge between us and God. Sticking with that life is certain destruction.  Seek the light of Jehovah Jirah, His name is Jesus Christ!  Bathe and soak in His Light. Wash the filth of the darkness off and be brighter than 10,000 suns. Accepting Christ eliminates a multitude of sin and darkness. 

Allow the light in to your heart, mind, soul, your lifestyle! His yoke is easy, and His burden is light! In other words, loving Him and living out His statutes is easier than that of darkness. Seek God and allow yourself to be healed and made new today.

Praising God

Praising the Lord!

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.(Y) 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks(Z) on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,(AA) the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b](AB)
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”(AC)
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”(AD)
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”(AE)
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it(AF) 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.(AG) 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.(AH) They will not leave one stone on another,(AI) because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming(AJ) to you.”

2 Samuel 22:47
“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!Psalm 150New International Version (NIV)


Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord.[a](A)
Praise God in his sanctuary;(B)
    praise him in his mighty heavens.(C)
2 Praise him for his acts of power;(D)
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.(E)
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,(F)
    praise him with the harp and lyre,(G)
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,(H)
    praise him with the strings(I) and pipe,(J)
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,(K)
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything(L) that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.   

Praising the Lord is a requirement of our decree that Christ is the Son of God.  Praise glorifies the Holy Trinity. Most of us praise God when things are going well in life. We give thanks for the blessings, and we mean it wholeheartedly. But, how many of us pray when life is thrown into a chaotic tornado that flings you into the midst of a hurricane? What I am getting at is this: when the good times or day light, seemingly end, and night, chaos, ensues, do we Praise God the same?  When a loved one, financial security, amongst other things are taken from us, can we still praise God and give thanks for what we have? When we are denied an opportunity for advancement at work, cannot find a job, just cannot get a break, can we still praise God and trust Him to deliver us? Paul asked that a thorn be removed from his side. God said, “in your weakness My strength is made perfect!” In situations like these, and plenty others not mentioned, it is super easy to fall victim to the tunnel vision syndrome that will only allow us to tend to the issue at hand. That often means for many of us that we loose sight of God,  and thus cannot praise Him as we should.  In the Luke Scripture, the people and Christ’s disciples openly praised Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, much to the Pharisees’ dismay. The Pharisees demanded that He rebuke them. He replies, “40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”” The stones will cry out. That is powerful! If we fail to praise God, the rocks will cry out in our place.  The point is to praise God more and more everyday, despite the circumstances in your path. They must have no bearing on how and why, or even where we Praise God! Amen

Life or Death

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5:12 NIV

If you renounce Christ as the Author of Life, then Heaven you will never see.  Jesus used the analogy of a camel passing through the eyes of a needle. Without Him in your life, you are that futile camel trying to get through the needle, or the gates of Heaven. Revelation 3:20 Says "I stand at the door and knock." If you let Him in, He will fellowship with you. He will not leave you alone at that table!  All it takes to earn a ticket for salvation is a "YES" to His request to enter your heart.  Saying yes means leaving worldly life behind, dying to sin, destruction, and death.  It in turn means your heart, motives, and life become refined. The Holy Spirit works to change your life from within, to allow you to live a life that is pleasing to God. Accept that invitation to join Christ and the Heavenly host in eternal fellowship. Live life through and for Christ.  Amen

Favoritism Forbidden

James 2New International Version (NIV)

Favoritism Forbidden
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious(A) Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.(B) 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges(C) with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters:(D) Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world(E) to be rich in faith(F) and to inherit the kingdom(G) he promised those who love him?(H) 6 But you have dishonored the poor.(I) Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?(J) 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a](K) you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism,(L) you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.(M) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles(N) at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.(O) 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b](P) also said, “You shall not murder.”[c](Q) If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged(R) by the law that gives freedom,(S) 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.(T) Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Why do we as people discriminate against our fellow man? Does someone’s economic status dictate who they are? Does there wealth give you the full view of their heart? Does any of this indicate where they will spend eternity? You would be foolish to think so! Wealthy an d status perish with you. Both are hubs of corruption that society use to justify the intentional divide of people and nations. Jesus’s command to love everyone has no inclusion of discrimination, so why do we do it? If we strive to live on YahWeh’s wisdom and knowledge, the discrimination  that occurs in this world, will cease to exist.  Think about that…….