Grace II

Servant Grace

Genesis 47:24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. 25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.

Genesis 47 was the culmination of Joseph’s journey to becoming a servant leader.  In Mark 9:35 Jesus says we must become these servant leaders if we wish to walk in God’s most powerful grace.  In Genesis 37 we see Joseph as an immature tattler who took every opportunity to reveal his brother’s flaws.  His poor attitude resulted in his eventual slavery.  Through the experience of slavery and prison he managed to keep a positive example of the servant of God until he became that suffering servant.  Joseph is one of two people in the Old Testament that no bad thing is spoken of, immaturity not being a serious sin.

The Joseph we see in the scripture above has learned his lesson.  He has received grace and offers grace in return.  The road was difficult as is often the case for those who are highly called.  The brilliant and accomplished are often arrogant and rude because they have never had to turn to someone higher than themselves for help.  The church needs these people in ministry and as examples but quite often God will tear them down completely as in Joseph’s case before allowing their natural gifts to merge with their spiritual gifts.  Joseph was a brilliant businessman and gifted seer but once God was done with his education he never forgot to care for others.

The wisdom God filled him with and the way he was brought up saved Egypt from starvation and ruin.  He was second to Pharaoh only in the throne and even Pharaoh recognized his connection to the God of heaven.  Had Egypt respected that legacy and not feared the people of God their future might have been much different.  We ought to remember that God will often bless and increase our enemies so they can be a help to us in time of need.  There is frequently a short sighted blindness in bitter angry men that will cause them to destroy the very bridge of help that God provided for their salvation.

By this portion of scripture the Egyptians had lost their cattle, lands and homes to the terrible famine that had spread across the land.  The suffering servant had become as king and the rulers had become the servants.  I have heard men say they would rather be a ruler in hell than a servant in heaven.  That is a foolish and ignorant statement.  No man can live for God unless he is a servant and surrenders to his Lord and Savior.  God’s love for us is so great that all who surrender are blessed and showered with great power and authority.  It may seem backwards but that is how God works.  Arrogant Christian leaders rarely prosper beyond their own closed little world.  In this case Egypt lived and the world around them died. 

I am reminded of a man who came to our church years ago.  He was an elderly black man who worked in a clothing store during the depression.  His message was a simple one.  The owner of the store, a white man, would ask employees to run errands for him from time to time, picking his clothes up from the cleaners, driving his wife to the store and the like.  Most of the men who worked for him considered those jobs to be beneath them and refused.  As the depression got worse and jobs scarce these men used to mock the gentleman who came and spoke to us calling him an Uncle Tom and the like. 

He said it hurt to hear those things but his Bible had called him to serve.  When the owner could no longer afford a large sales staff he began to let those other men go.  At the end of the depression there were only two men working side by side at that store, the white owner and his single black employee, now a good friend.  It says in Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”  It’s not the arrogant and cocky business man with the fancy car and corner office who will inherit the earth.  It is the man or woman who have learned to humble themselves and serve in the Name of God who will walk into those positions when pride has caused the other to fall…as it always does.

Honoring Grace

Genesis 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. 29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

Jacob had lived in Egypt for seventeen long years.  He was grateful for God’s provision and support but he longed for his own place.  He was buried in Machpelah which means ‘double portion’ near Shechem.  God’s place of provision may not be the place of your heart.  We should never become so comfortable with the provisions of God that we forget the work and promises of God.  Those promises are always greater than where you find yourself right now.

Many church leaders have become comfortable in their circumstances and refused to move when the time came.  They never attained the level of ministry God planned because they were satisfied where they were.  This happened to Israel when God carried them away to Babylon.  When King Cyrus freed them to return to Jerusalem only a token number were willing to leave their business and comfortable homes to rebuild the homeland.  Israel never attained her greatness again because her comfort was too important. 

Do you have the grace to honor God by obedience even when it is not comfortable or easy?  I can think of several preachers over the years who failed in that grace; some walked completely away from ministry and some simply stayed in the same rut they have dug in the floor.  To be sure, some of them are still doing the work of God but the fire of excellence and miraculous growth has died out in their lives.  I appreciate Philippians 3:14 which says, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Notice it doesn’t say to press toward the mark of the average or ordinary calling.  The word high is translated ‘up to the brim,’ and denotes a cup running over with anointing and power.  That is the grace I want to walk in.

Most Christians today know who TD Jakes is, but did you know he came from a little church where nobody would buy his books and bake sales paid for most of their choir robes or special needs?  While we ought not despise the place of small beginnings we should remember that the place of your greatest struggles is rarely where God intends to leave you.  TD Jakes would have remained a little known preacher in a small Southern town had he not answered God’s gracious offer to move on and move up. 

The truth is, that first step  into the unknown of pure faith can be terrifying and make you doubt you ever heard God but no great work ever came without personal growth and sacrifice.  If you find yourself trying to become a tree planted in a little pot, if your frustration level has exceeded your level of graciousness then perhaps it is time for you to find a bigger pot.  Lot chose the best and greenest plot of land he could find when Abraham offered it to him.  God gave Abraham the rest of the world.  Which will you choose?

Grace Before Kings

Genesis 50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. 6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

Royalty have an astonishing ability to be unreasonable and ill mannered.  They are raised from infancy to know their station and that they are somehow better than those around them.  This is not limited to noble houses in Israel or Europe but can be found in the houses of Congress and Parliaments around the world as well.  There is a feeling of entitlement even in the higher offices of corporations and great families.  Scripture is very specific about kings and royalty.  You can write an entire book on what is owed to them and what they owe to their people as voiced in the Bible. 

In the United States we like to say we have no king but in reality we have thousands of kings and dukes and duchesses, counts and viscounts.  We simply call them by other names like Congressman, Senator and President (national and corporate).  These men and women like to think they run this world by their wits and skills, but in reality they rule by the will of God and can be removed just as quickly when it suits his plan.

The knowledge that our authority in the heavenlies may be higher than theirs should not keep you from understanding that their place is set by God and if you disrespect or denigrate what God has established then you disrespect and denigrate God.  We must learn to always be humble servants of the powers that be and trust God to answer our heartfelt prayers on their behalf to keep them reasonable and gracious.  Joseph served the Pharaoh with a pure will and in return the Pharaoh made him the most powerful and connected man in the kingdom.   The next time you feel like disrespecting or speaking against those in leadership and forget God’s admonition to pray for those that have rule over you, remember that you are in effect speaking against God’s plan.

In the scripture above we see that Joseph’s honor was so great before Pharaoh that the entire court of Pharaoh followed him to Canaan to bury his father.  The people of the nations could not fathom what had drawn all those Egyptians to come to this small place in Canaan and bewail the death of a simple shepherd.  They named the place Abelmizraim or the Meadow of Egypt.  If you continue to honor those God has sent you to, God will continue to honor you.

Healing Grace

Exodus 33:12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

Have you ever been responsible for watching a wayward child or handling a difficult situation and it seems that you are being ignored and disobeyed at every turn?  This is how Moses felt after his short sojourn onto the mountain of God took longer than he had thought and the Children of Israel decided to build a golden calf to worship (Exodus Chapter 32).  That fact was bad enough but his own brother and high priest was the architect of this gilded god.  Unsurprisingly we discover that God is furious and once again Moses must step into position between the living and the dead.  Three thousand people died that day when Moses cleaned camp but it wasn’t enough to soothe God’s anger.

Until now, whenever Israel moved, God went with them in the cloud or pillar of fire.  God’s anger and holy need to cleanse the camp was so great that He proposed to replace His own miraculous presence with an Angel from Heaven rather than be in a position where He might see their sin and strike them dead.  You might say that this was one time where grace failed Israel.  God would no longer look directly upon them or personally lead them.  All Moses knew was that he did not have what it took to lead God’s great people without God’s great grace.

From Genesis 32:1-5 we see our God seething in anger over this stiffnecked people.  Moses wisely set up the tabernacle OUTSIDE of the camp so God would not have to witness the sin hovering over those who had worshipped false gods of silver and gold.  God made them strip off their ornaments and walk softly before Him.  During that time any man who wanted to seek the Lord had to leave the camp and walk to the tabernacle.  God’s presence no longer filled their tents with His life giving power.

If God can be wounded then you could say that this was His time of healing.  Every morning Moses would walk to the Tabernacle and the men would stand at the door of their tents and worship God.  While he was before God the cloud descended to the tabernacle and God would talk to Moses face to face as a friend.  In the evening he would return to his tent in the camp but his servant Joshua would remain before God in the Tabernacle.  One can only wonder at the grace that poured into that young man night after night while he communed with God.  He knew how to press toward the mark.

Eventually even our Lord was healed of his anger and frustration and was willing to graciously submit to Moses’ arguments on Israel’s behalf.  This is the God we serve.  He is not the God of blind rage and utter destruction.  He is the God of second and often times third and fourth chances.  His grace is as precious as water to a man dying of thirst and a mere man, Moses, restored that grace to Israel by those many hours and days of love and worship.  Jesus said we were to forgive seventy times seven.  That is a small token of the grace of God.

Is it any wonder that we look upon Christians who bomb abortion clinics or curse the families of homosexual soldiers as anathema to God?  We are in the dispensation of grace and not judgment.  Soon enough the judgment will come and grace will be no more.  We are required to be vessels of grace and that grace is to be a living growing thing within us.  Christ came to bring us grace and truth and as we will see in future scriptures that grace was made to be built upon and grow.  How dare we denigrate it by denying it to those for whom Christ died…sinners just like us.

Grace

For the next months I will be exploring grace, specifically God's grace but also the grace we offer one another in Christ.  I hope you enjoy this journey and take it with me.

 

Grace = Favor.

God’s Grace = Unmerited, Unearned & Undeserved Favor

Some people confuse mercy and grace.  There is a difference between them.  Mercy is NOT getting the punishment you so richly deserve.  Grace is RECEIVING the blessings you DO NOT deserve.  God’s grace is receiving the blessings of God according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus.  It brings you help in times of trouble and will make a way where none exists.  God’s grace is to be desired above all other gifts with the exception of salvation.  His grace requires faith as stated in Ephesians 2 which says, “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; 8 AMP By grace through faith are ye saved and not by your own actions or strengths, it is the gift of God.” 

The Jews wanted to put a yoke of circumcision and bondage to rules upon Christians when Peter, moved by the Holy Ghost said in Acts 15:7-11, “7 …Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

His statement, “…even as they,” was a backhanded remark to the law bound Jews that if they could only grasp that God was offering them for free what they had worked so hard for in past centuries it was theirs.  Christians had no better sense or preconceived notions than to accept a free gift at face value.  The Jews were hampered by centuries of pressing in through the law.  That any were able to accept it so freely was surprising.  Even today some Christian churches teach the doctrine of suffering and works for remission of sins which goes completely against the word of God’s grace in Christ.  You cannot work or punish yourself enough to be worthy of this gift of God.  It is freely given because it must be.  We cannot attain it any other way.

You cannot earn salvation because it is far beyond your ability to receive.  You will notice as we travel through this group of lessons that the Old Testament saints lived in hopes of finding or obtaining grace.  It was sought after and desired.  We in Christ do not concern ourselves with obtaining grace since it is a free gift received by faith from God Himself.  God’s grace is received by obeying the unction of the Holy Spirit and opening the door of our hearts when Christ Jesus knocks on them.  As John 1:17 Amplified says, “For while the Law was given through Moses, grace ( unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  In Christ we would rather learn to build our grace and have it grow.

Worthy of Grace

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. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man (tzaddik) and perfect (tamim) in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Noah was tzaddik (righteous) and tamim (upright, unflawed and untainted).  The first word reflected his actions, how he lived his life.  The second was deeper and reflected the actions and more importantly the genetic history of his family line.  Far be it from me to open a can of worms but here goes.  There is much speculation whether or not angels are able to mate with human beings.  I am well aware of the verse in Matthew 22:30 which says that after the resurrection we will not marry or be given in marriage but will be like the angels.  That verse does not say  that angels are incapable of making a human woman pregnant.  We know that God certainly could and did in the case of Mary but we also know that Satan always seeks to imitate what God does. 

We would be wrong to ignore the previous verses of this chapter which speaks of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men and creating mighty men.  I leave it to you to either consider or reject but I do not believe we can say with any certainty that angels cannot breed with humans.  Another view is that the offspring of Cain are the daughters of men and the offspring of Seth are the sons of God.  My problem is why would such a mating of unsaved and saved if you will, produce monsters of great size, giants, or mighty men.  I have heard highly knowledgeable Bible scholars teach both sides. 

One group says angels are spirit beings and while they can appear as men (and never women I might add), they cannot breed.  This may be true but it may not.  We simply do not know their full capabilities.  The other believe the Seth / Cain theory and believe that God has cursed mankind for intermarrying with unbelievers.  This is easier to believe from a purely natural standpoint but harder to accept knowing how much God loves mankind.  God protected Cain even after he killed Abel.  He watched over him.  I believe anyone who seeks God’s favor can find it if he is honest and humbles himself before God, even Cain or his seed.  There is nothing in scripture that I have read that says Cain’s offspring were beyond redemption.

Whichever is correct, that Angels breed or Cain’s offspring were cursed utterly, the word tamim reflects the fact that none of those flaws were found in Noah’s generations.  They were pure and righteous in all from Adam to Noah and God accepted them as so.  He may have been the only man on the Earth to have an unflawed genealogy.  God’s unwillingness to allow Satan’s poison to run rampant on the Earth forced Him to make an absolutely deadly decision on mankind’s behalf.  With the exception of Noah and his immediate family the entire world had to be cleansed.  This extreme need for holiness and righteousness in His presence must always be kept in our minds.

Not only was Noah righteous in his lifestyle but pure in his generations.  He had nothing to do with his bloodline but he did live righteously and scripture says he ‘walked with God.’  Even in the Old Testament we see that Noah could not have earned God’s grace.  There was no way for him to affect his genes and all of our righteousness are as a dirty rag (Isaiah 64:6).  God chose him and that is the only reason he found grace.  No matter how noble we might want to make Noah appear, he was no more nor less worthy of God's grace than you or I.

Covering Grace

Genesis 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. 21 And he (the angel) said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

I could say a great deal about Lot, Abraham’s nephew.  Suffice it to say that Lot was never someone who held Abraham’s code of honor and uprightness.  His only hope was the fact that Abraham did indeed love his nephew and God loved Abraham.  Because of this he received God’s grace which was passed down through the angels who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  Let us not forget that these two cities were filled with homosexual perversions and the people even tried to force themselves upon the angels who were in the form of men.  Lot tried to protect them but the men wanted them.  Perverted lifestyles are often predatory and led to their eventual downfall. 

Lot liked his comforts and didn’t want to flee. Abraham talked God into sparing the cities if God could find ten righteous living in them.  What a sad state of affairs that God could only find one sort of righteous man.  That the creator of the universe gave enough leeway for Lot to flee to the tiny city Zoar (means Insignificant) rather than to a mountain says a lot for the grace of God.  Grace motivates God to do far more for us than we have any right to expect.  It always amazes me that we push Him while demanding greater and greater gifts while offering less and less obedience and holiness.

Ezekiel 22 says, “29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”  If you look at what the angel told Lot above in verse 22 it would appear Lot had an opportunity there had he only realized it.  Abraham saw it earlier and stood in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot did not.  Had he been more like his uncle he might have taken heed of the angel’s warning and realized that his presence was staying the hand of their judgment.  He might have even prayed to God for Sodom and Gomorrah but that was not to be. How many opportunities to offer someone else Gods grace to we miss out of fear or anger?

One other thing should be observed here.  We choose our mates for many different reasons.  Lot was not a particularly courageous or upright man.  Throughout the Bible we see women like Esther, Ruth and Rahab; women who took a stand for righteousness and pressed forward into the future God wishes to bless them with, accepting His grace with joy and determination.  In some cases those wives are much more righteous than their husbands.  Lot chose his wife poorly like he made all his decisions and she could not stand to leave her home for all its flaws.  When God is offering grace, do not think there is another plan for you if you refuse it.  You might just wind up as a pillar of salt.

Hoping for Grace

Genesis 32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

I am at a place in my life where God is requiring me to take care how I speak to others or treat them.  For someone who has battled ‘impulse control’ for most of his adult life it has been a difficult and life long struggle.  I’m sure many in my past would say I don’t try hard enough but they would be surprised how much effort I do expend in this noble endeavor.  Just this week I have worked to repair bridges in my life that might seem insignificant to my future but when one works for God there are no insignificant connections.  One may plant and another water but God gives the increase.  If you choose to burn the bridge God needed to carry you to the next level of your life and ministry you will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to get where you need to be.

Jacob burned his bridges with Esau by not allowing God to do things His way.  His mother sold her eldest son down the river and helped her youngest to steal his birthright.  There is no doubt in my mind that God would have done things differently had Jacob simply sought Him for guidance.  We know from Malachi that God hated Esau.  Simply knowing this does not give us the right to do God’s chastening work - vengeance is Mine, I will repay saith the Lord – (Romans 12:19).  We are supposed to live righteously and in a spirit of love.  God said He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and yet the Catholic church murdered and tortured millions during the inquisition in their misguided attempt to fix God’s kingdom by force and supported the Nazis in their murder of six million Jews.  Even today the Muslims and others believe they have the god given right to promote their message or ‘God’s will’ by force.

We live in the dispensation of GRACE.  Grace is UNMERITED favor.  We don’t deserve it.  We want it and if we want it we ought to be willing to give it to others.  Getting back to Jacob’s problem though; he had stolen his brother’s blessing (a huge thing given the blessing of a patriarch) and then ran away.  His brother was always a warrior and hunter.  How much easier would Jacob’s homecoming have been had he just been forthright and allowed God to be God?  There is never a justification to steal someone’s blessings; God is well able to bless all His children.  God cursed Israel for David’s sin with Bathsheeba.  He was the king.  He could have any number of wives or concubines and yet he stole one lonely soldier’s beloved wife instead.  For this he endured great suffering, saw tens of thousands of his people killed in a plague and eventually was humbled by his own son.

There is nothing wrong with hoping for grace, but we ought to recognize that God is not required to give it when we have broken His laws and flaunted His rules.  Jacob was blessed in that he had changed his life and become more mature over the years.  He had also experienced being cheated by his father-in-law and knew firsthand what Esau had gone through.  Jacob’s salvation was that God told him to go back home and he obeyed.  Obedience will often open the doors of grace that have been closed to us for so long.

Family Grace

Genesis 33:8 And he (Esau) said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. 9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. 10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. 11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

I suppose some of us would have thought, “Great!  I’ll keep my stuff and we’re okay,” when Esau refused the offering. In this case you would have been dead wrong.  The custom in this land was that the trespass offering (which this was) must be received or the trespass was not forgiven.  Jacob had to ask at least three times for it to be accepted.  In Ruth, Naomi was required to release her daughters-in-law three times, no matter how much she loved them or might have missed them; but after the third time Ruth’s decision to stay became a vow on her part.  She had bound herself to Naomi. 

In this case, Jacob wanted a vow of peace from Esau.  Had Esau refused him three times it may well have meant war between Jacob and his brother.  As it was, God required that peace from Esau as if he had promised it to Himself. When the children of Israel left Egypt and passed through Edom (the people of Esau) it was required the Edomites offer them hospitality as brethren.  That one act might have completely changed God's attitude toward Edom.  Because they refused (Numbers 20:14-21) the covenant of family was broken between Israel and Edom and between Edom and God.  In Joel 3:18 we see that God cursed Edom for a desolation because they offered violence to their brethren instead of grace.  There is a grace required in families that God Himself watches over and requires no matter how much provocation someone might have caused.  You might not always open your home to someone who is reckless or unrighteous but you still must open your heart.

Foolish Grace?

Genesis 33:15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. 16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth 18 And Jacob came to Shalom, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

In this case Jacob did not want to travel to Seir with his brother.  He should have gone where God had told him to go, to Bethel, but he chose to stop in Shechem, a pagan town about a day’s travel from where God said to go.  We will see in the next passage that this decision would have terrible consequences.  When God tells us to do something specific we ought to try and do it fully and completely.  His commandments are for our good no matter if they make sense at the time or not.  In this case his decision left an opening for the rape of his daughter, the murder of an entire city and a curse upon two of his sons.

Stopping in Shechem was an easy choice.  He got along with the people (at first) and the caravan routes that passed through were good for business.  Sadly, by stopping there he was not in a safe place for the fledgling nation and it left opportunities for injuries in every area.  If you choose to travel in the name of the Lord, make sure you are following His roadmap.  It is not wise to anger God or at a minimum step out from under His grace. 

Deceitful Grace

Genesis 34:8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. 9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. 11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. 12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. 13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: 14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: 15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; 16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

Jacob’s daughter Dinah, raised in her father’s camp in safety, forgot that safety is a relative term.  It was safe because she only came in contact with her family.  She knew her own customs but not those of the people who lived in the city.  Her decision to visit the women of the village became her downfall when the prince of that village saw her and coveted her.  By the time the madness had died down Dinah was closeted in her brother’s home, never to marry; her brother’s had offered a false grace to the villagers and then after they were circumcised and could not move or fight, came in and killed every man in the village.  This time Jacob was forced to flee for their lives to Bethel where he should have stopped in the first place. 

There are times when you will be asked to offer grace to someone who has made a mistake and wounded you in some manner.  Perhaps it was intentional or perhaps it was caused by misunderstanding of customs and propriety.  I have moved from Southern California to Southern Virginia and my wife is always telling me, “You can’t do that here,” or, “You can’t say that here!”  It’s not that I intend to hurt people’s feelings or insult anyone but the customs here are much different than where I lived for 30 years.  It requires me to learn an entirely new set of responses to day to day interactions. 

This isn’t to say that one way is better than another but you must remember that not everyone thinks or believes like you do.  I believe Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 9.  “19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 

We live for Christ and Christ lived for the truth.  We want all men to understand these truths.  It doesn’t matter if you live in the same type of home or have the same family dynamics as they do, Christ died for them.  As Paul said in Romans 12, “17 Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Blessings beloved,

Bishop J

A Word from the Lord

With few exceptions our Lord has invested His Spirit; His future and His Anointing upon mom and pop churches and individual men and women of God who wrestle with Him personally for His favor and support.  It is not the mega church that will build the enduring body of Christ but the churches of tens and at most a few hundreds. 

God’s Spirit will reside where two or three are gathered in His Name but it will not work Its greatest works where human pride and man’s wisdom has gathered the greatest numbers.

I have been to many churches since leaving for Virginia and without exception I have found God’s Spirit alive and well in storefront churches and modest buildings of less than 500.  I have experienced great moves of grace and love where 50 and less gather in His name; but I have also experienced great buildings with ICHABOD written over the doors. 

God does not write Holy Unto The Lord where dusty denominations have done away with individual men and women of God approaching Him on bended knees and individual prayers for individual congregations filled with needy individuals.  I have been to churches where the Apostle’s creed which does not even mention Christ Jesus has taken the place of Ephesians 4:

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

This is His Word to you today.  Walk worthy…with all lowliness and meekness…with longsuffering…putting others before you in love…strive against all nature to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is only one body (which is Christ), one Holy Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one baptism.  There is only ONE God and He is not confused and unsure of who, what or where He is. 

You have received YOUR grace.  Worry not about someone else’s. 

Beloved, if God has given you the grace for 500 members then rejoice and remember it is His anointing that has drawn them.  If you have by natural means drawn 5000 then beware the motivations of your heart.

Most importantly; if you have found twelve or twenty who will follow you into battle against the god of this world then rejoice and be exceeding glad that the Almighty has seen fit to make you a leader of men. 

Never fear the numbers.  Never be ashamed of your financial status.  The only church that Jesus honored without any negative comments was the poorest and smallest of the lot.  They had a heart to serve.  They had a heart to obey.  They just plain had heart.

Beloved,  I write this by unction.  Let every soul who honors you by following be as precious as your own life.  Never dishonor your God by preaching a diluted gospel, no matter how many members Satan has promised you.

2 Timothy 4:1 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 longsuffering 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 INTO FABLES. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

We are in the season of the great turning away.  Beware beloved that you are not one of these casualties.  In many cases they are not being turned away from religion, just from TRUE CHRISTIANITY.

Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to and different from that which we preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment)!

9 As we said before, so I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from or contrary to that which you received [from us], let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment.

This word has been in my heart for weeks.  The greatest denominations will fail in time but the body of our Lord has always been strongest in obedient small groups working together in faith for the common good.  This church began in home Bible studies and it will end there when persecutions begin.  Do not expect to avoid those persecutions.  This is not the great tribulation.  This is simply our life as we pass through a fallen world.  Try to bring as many along with you as you can. 

Beloved, in the name of Jesus I speak life over you.  In the name of Jesus I speak great passion for souls over you.  In the name of Jesus I speak the heart of a lion of Judah over you.  In His glorious name I pronounce a victory over fear, doubt and weariness.  In the name of JESUS I pronounce VICTORY IN HIM AND HIM ALONE.  May the God we serve and trust fulfill His every plan for your lives and may He greet you with open arms and a hearty, “Well Done.”  Lord, lift up the hung down heads and strengthen the feeble knees.  I speak LIFE over these your people who receive this Word and abide in it!  In Jesus name let your every Word be established!

AMEN!

Keeping It REAL

I’m curious and thought I’d ask a question or two.  If you consider yourselves to be Christian, what exactly do you believe? 

Do you believe that the Word of God is indeed His Word and that it is infallible and will always accomplish what it promises?

Do you believe that in the beginning was the Word (of God), before all time, and that the holy and perfect Word became a flesh?

Do you believe that Jesus and Almighty God are one?

Do you believe that Christ died for your sins and that because of His perfect and sinless nature He was able to pay your price on the cross so you might live eternally with God?

Do you believe that your life should be holy and sanctified, held to a higher standard, because of your knowledge of God?

Do you believe that you should share your faith with others and be an active force as the body of Jesus Christ so His authority might work through you?

Do you believe that you are a part of something larger than yourself and that you should be about your Father in Heaven’s business?

I could keep asking questions but the truth is that if you honor God with your lips but your heart and your actions fail to live up to your words, you are just a loud braying horn and clanging cymbal.  I just read an article where a young formerly Christian woman has become a Muslim and was hurt because the college she attended required a letter from her mosque stating she had indeed made the conversion.  Apparently there had been some less than honest souls using religious excuses to expand their rights on campus and the campus had chosen to at least try to identify those who were being honest.

Some of you are no doubt infuriated that the college would dare to require a ‘faith note’ but that wasn’t what jumped into my mind.  What grieved me is that a young woman brought up in a Christian home and attended a Christian church had not learned enough about her God and King to know that what she had was the real article.  What bothered me is that we have watered down our faith and requirements in the church until there is nothing there but smoke and mirrors for young people to believe. 

Christianity is the only true religion in the world.  Yes I know that some of you are screaming at me now but that’s okay too.  I came to Christ as a doubter and questioner of all things spiritual.  God had to prove Himself to me and that never would have happened had I not had good teachers who opened up the doors of Spirit life.  I didn’t stop learning just because someone said I had the basics.  Knowing that Jesus died for your sins is not nearly as important as knowing why through four thousand years of Jewish scriptures and the interconnected Christian writings. 

I didn’t want to stop knowing what the rules were in the Christian faith but I needed to know that the faith itself was real.  I needed to know that Jesus is indeed the Messiah and He is indeed God incarnate.  It’s important to me to have God speak a message to me on Saturday night and then have the Pastor preach that same message on Sunday morning.  It’s important to me to hear a Word from God and have total strangers walk up to me and say, “Thus saith the Lord,” and the word they give is the same I received the night before. 

If I am part of the body of Christ then I ought to get some instructions from the head, the Lord of all.  I don’t want to call myself a Christian just because mom and dad went to church.  My daughter was not filled with the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues because I kept dragging her to church.  She was filled because I laid a groundwork of faith in God that prompted her to find out for herself if it is true or not.  She and others like her pray every day and together weekly because they have been touched by God, not because I might have been touched in the head.

The reality of our faith can NEVER be experienced by education alone, it must come by prayer and fasting, seeking the Lord in deeper ways until we too begin to experience the spirit / head / body connection of our place in the body of Christ.  This takes discipline and an abiding belief that God’s Word is absolutely true and will accomplish everything it says it will.

For years we have heard know-it-alls tell us that the Bible is untrue and nobody can ever know if it is God breathed and inspired.  That is a gross lie and started on its journey by the father of lies…Satan.  The Word can absolutely be proved to be true in the number of prophecies and promises that have come true on the schedule God set.  It can also be watched for future prophecies to mark them as they come to pass.

We’re not going to win a new generation if we don’t show them the God some of us know so well, nor are we going to show them if we are spending all our time in front of the television soaking up the latest filth and abominations from Hollywood.  Your spiritual minds are not clear while stuffing your flesh with passions of food and passions of lust.  You cannot serve God perfectly unless you learn to embrace the love of God for yourself and understand the full truth and history of all the world’s faiths. 

Does your faith say that only a trained minister can tell you what it means or stands between you and God?  Every cult in the world says that.  God has created His Word so a novice can understand the truth of salvation and has made it so deep that only a Spirit filled scholar or born again computer programmer can study the original text and dig out the moderately deep knowledge.  I say moderately deep because the Jews say that when the Messiah comes He will teach them how even the spaces between the words carry a message.  I personally believe that somewhere between Genesis and Deuteronomy God has written all our names from the beginning of time.  They are hidden but they are there. 

God’s Word is miraculous and wondrous but Satan does not want you to study and he does want you to focus on lies and false faiths.  This spiritual pressure is a constant weight we Christians must battle against and those others do not.  There is no free day or day off for the saints of God.  There are no do overs for those who abandon the faith.  I for one want to continue this fight and win it.  I do not want to be written down in God’s Word as the one who backed out just when I was needed most.

I hope you all answered in the affirmative at the beginning of this.  It will be lonely not to find you there when I step over to the other side.  I love you and pray God will inspire you to do greater and greater works.  A time of testing is here and will get much worse.  Those who only believe on Sunday and weddings will not be able to stand during this shaking.  Get in your Word.  If you don’t study well alone, join a Bible Study.  If you have doubts, write me or speak to someone who you know has a fervent faith in Christ and ask for answers.  Most of all ask your Lord and God to help you stand fast in the truth and to silence all the attacks against you.

Be strong and of good courage beloved.  The work of God is great and He is greatly to be praised.

Bishop J

Be Not Deceived

I’ve been studying the religions of the world and some basic facts have come forward that bring the truth of God into focus.  Jesus said in John 14:3, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through me.”  God is Holy and you  can not stand in His presence if you are unholy.  Verse 15 says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”  I have heard so much lately from ‘supposedly’ Christian churches that God loves man so much that He does not require any special effort on their part to be saved.  SUPPOSEDLY he will accept any type of lifestyle on our part and still forgive our sin and receive us into heaven while we are yet living that fallen lifestyle. 

More and more lately there have been statements that make fundamental Christians look like backward barbarians and the devil look like he is the most reasonable person in the world.  The homosexual community has practically taken over Hollywood and the film industry and regales us with gay and lesbian based themes that promote their agenda and lifestyle.  Ostensibly Christian performers surround themselves with gay and lesbian friends which is engineered to make them look non-judgmental and loving.  Sadly, God sees these same people as heretics to the faith, cowards who will not take a scriptural stand. 

This does not mean that I am promoting attacks against homosexuals or other faiths.  Jesus came to save souls.  Living for the Lord is not easy as evidenced in Matthew 7:13 ASV, “13 Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. 14 For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it.”  That said, I do not agree with certain denominations who have viciously attacked gays and others with hatred and rage.  We are in a season of grace and as long as we are, we must respond to others with love and grace. 

Being gracious is not the same as supporting their wicked lifestyles but it might mean the difference between their salvation and eternal damnation.  As the old saying goes, “it’s easier to catch a fly with honey than with vinegar.”  You want them saved and sanctified?  Remind them with bands of love why the ways of Christ are superior to the ways of the world.

As for salvation, the Catholic church has sold indulgences for centuries to fund her building projects.  The basic tenets of Catholic faith are that you come to the Lord THROUGH the CATHOLIC CHURCH rather than become part of the church of God THROUGH CHRIST.  This gives the lie that the Pope can forgive sins and for a fee buy your loved ones out of purgatory (a place where the imperfect saint has been sent to be tortured until they have paid for their unforgiven sins, presumably due to the weakness of the act of Christ).  The purpose of an indulgence is that you might indulge in your favorite sins if you pay a fee to the church who will approach God on your behalf to make Him wink at your flaws.  This absolutely negates John 14:3 above.

1 Timothy 2:5 is pretty clear on the subject when it says, “There is ONE intercessor between God and man; the man Christ Jesus.”  That doesn’t leave any question about whether you need to see a priest to be forgiven.  When a Catholic comes to confession the first words they speak are, “Forgive me Father for I have sinned…”  They are approaching a man to ask forgiveness of their sins.  On the one hand he cannot forgive their sins and on the other, scripture says to call God alone Father (Matthew 23:9).  We are given certain titles for ministry workers; Deacon (servant), Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher & Bishop.  There are other helps as well but these are the major ones.  You will not see Father, Pope, Cardinal or Arch Bishop included in the scripture.  These are made up titles with more earthly authority than heavenly. 

For the moment ask yourself this question, “How often of late have I heard someone call Christians backward, reactionary or not keeping up with the times?”  Have those incidences increased?  Have you noticed how even men and women of God have begun to sin more lately and have become the butt of jokes and distrust?  We have forsaken the purity and power of scripture and have sought to make our faith socially acceptable.  Those who refuse to bow to current opinion are branded lunatics and fools.  Many of those who fire at us come from mainline churches who no longer accept scripture as God breathed and infallible.

Luke 21:7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? 8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

The biggest problem of late is the church’s failure to acknowledge that we are in a dispensation of grace and that His grace is offered to draw all men unto God in Christ.  If we would but walk in this grace and cease from our foolish non-scriptural opinions we would find ourselves much more at peace and able to surrender ourselves from the sins of the flesh.  Rather than try and justify our sins, why don’t we trust God and scripture and acknowledge that we can walk as God requires no matter what our flesh tries to tell us.

1 Corinthians 6:9 AMP- Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,

10 Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

11 And such some of you were [once]. But you were washed clean (purified by a complete atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin), and you were consecrated (set apart, hallowed), and you were justified [pronounced righteous, by trusting] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God

We would love to believe that God will accept anyone who has sincerely asked for His forgiveness, no matter what kind of life we live or what we believe but this is not scriptural and everything God does is scriptural.  Jesus and the Father are one.  Scripture and Jesus are one.  A house divided against itself cannot stand so God will not accept anyone not cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  The eternal life of mankind is IN that blood.  He will also not accept those who fail to walk the walk He has ordained for them.  It’s not that Christ’s blood is flawed or weak in the cleansing of sin, it is just that we must press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ.

It’s pretty clear above and in other places that God is as eternally serious about our lifestyles as He is about our path to salvation through Christ alone.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Every word that comes from the mouth of Satan is an evil communication.  Some things he says are out and out lies.  Other times he simply leaves out the pertinent part and denies the truth by telling half a truth.  Either way, we MUST be as wise as that old serpent and yet as harmless as a dove (Matthew 10:16).  Does that scripture say that Christ sends us out as murderous warriors?  No; on the contrary, he sends us out as sheep and tells us to be wise in our dealings with the world.  An angry, argumentative pastor is not a sheep; he or she is a GOAT.  Goats are always butting in where they are not supposed to be while sheep follow the shepherd from pasture to pasture.

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Again scripture says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked:”  You cannot buy yourself into God’s good graces or make it in on your own effort.  Only the blood of Christ is sufficient and even that requires a spirit of obedience and sacrifice on our part.  It’s not enough to believe that Christ died for you.  You must also believe that His grace is sufficient and that you can indeed live that holy life as Christ has said.  Living a life contrary to your natural passions may not be fun or easy but it is absolutely possible and required by God for His children.  He has made allowances for most of them, but there are certain ones He has denied us just as firmly as he denied Adam and Eve the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. 

Once we are forgiven and return to that trough of vomit there is no more repentance for forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 6:2-6).  Repentance means to turn away from the sin and sin no more.  This implies an active turn of obedience for us.

2 Timothy 2:11  The saying is sure and worthy of confidence: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.

12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny and disown and reject Him, He will also deny and disown and reject us.

13 If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.

14 Remind [the people] of these facts and [solemnly] charge them in the presence of the Lord to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good but upsets and undermines the faith of the hearers.

15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

16 But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

17 And their teaching [will devour; it] will eat its way like cancer or spread like gangrene.

19 But the firm foundation of (laid by) God stands, sure and unshaken, bearing this seal (inscription): The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names [himself by] the name of the Lord give up all iniquity and stand aloof from it.

If you are complaining in your heart over these requirements then it is certain you are not yet DEAD in Christ (v9).  Keeping our bodies under subjection is a requirement in Christ.  As it says in (v15) we must study to show ourselves approved for the work of God.  This means we have endured the testing and have passed each test of our faith.  There is no other way and no other savior.  Christ alone is the only one, for the Jew first and everyone else next. 

God’s Word is miraculous and as perfect and unchallengeable as He is.  It will not fail to come true and it will never fall short.  If you live for Jesus and submit yourself to Him then your name is written in that very scripture, hidden in Christ Jesus as the scripture says. 

Stand fast beloved.  Do not fear and do not waver.  Never doubt that His Word will come true in your life.  I look forward to hearing great things of your faith in Christ Jesus.

Bishop J.

Will You Let the Devil Steal Your Lover

Do you ever consider that Jesus is a man in search of a wife?  Of course He’s more than a man and His bride is more than a wife but the basic premise is the same.  Jesus loves mankind but He’s not looking for loose women or promiscuous lovers.  Our Savior wants a faithful and loving bride.

His original problem with Israel was their constant running off after lovers of wood and stone.  We Christians…who have touched the heart of our Husband in faith…and have been touched in return…know that we are in a relationship with a real person who loves and cherishes us.  Our greatest failure would be to allow ANY other relationships to attain the same level of love and romance we have with Christ. 

There may be little physical connection with our Lord and Lover but there should never be a lack of communication, the whispering of romantic words or passionate communications.  Like any great love, if you ignore your Lord and Lover Jesus Christ you may well incur his wrath and fury.  God has made allowances for our physical and emotional love of a human mate but He will not allow his spiritual and yes…emotional love, to be suborned by something unworthy. 

There are extremely good reasons for being circumspect and honest in our love of God.  The first from our point of view is probably salvation.  We do not want to go to Hell and are more willing to do what it takes to avoid that unhappy occurrence.  Another would be the loss of an incomparable love to be had with Jesus.  As human beings we sometimes forget just how much God loves us and what lengths He will go to express that love for us. 

If you have ever gone out in the pouring rain or the heat of the day to provide some gift or meal for your natural lover, what are you willing to do, how much are you willing to endure, for your God?  There are certain relationships He has forbidden.  He loves you but if you refuse to change those relationships…is He really your Lord and God?  I understand that there are things you want in this human life and things you feel you need; but are you willing to surrender these things to receive a passionate and miraculous response from your God?

In almost every case that the Bible seems to be unreasonable we can identify our frustration as sin.  Eve sinned because Satan’s argument was extremely persuasive.  He wasn’t right, just persuasive.  We must always realize that there are hundreds of persuasive arguments to be used in any circumstance.  In the midst of all those valid seeming arguments stands one immutable thing…the Word of God.  It stands complete and unchanged throughout the generations. 

I have heard masters of persuasion speak from the Catholic Pope to Joel Osteen to Spirit Filled Pastors.  None of these messages matter unless they stand side by side with our Scripture.  If they change the Word of God by even one period or crossed T then they have failed in the entire message.

God’s Word is perfect and whole.  God Himself has made it so and any computer programmer or scholar or even an ordinary saint can discover the miracle truths with just a bit of diligence.  He will not allow His Word to fail.  Are you willing to stand even when it is uncomfortable?  I hope so. 

During this season of our planetary history we are being told that God’s grace is sufficient to the point that He does not expect obedience or even that we try to obey His Word.  This lie is often told to those who have accepted God’s written Word and strive to obey it well.  We’re told that God’s grace forgives deliberate disobedience and willful sin.  Really?  As a husband, am I willing to stay with a mate who flaunts her unwillingness to live by godly rules?  Will I remain when she has become a drunken prostitute who will give herself to the best gifts? 

Jesus obeyed God the Father to the cross.  He never mumbled about having to die for our sin.  We do not have the right to change one period or crossed T to make the Gospel more comfortable to us.  If you have vowed a wedding vow to Jesus it came with a promise to obey His Holy Word.  Our Walk with God is not a golden parachute that lets us live like the devil and be reborn after death to life with the angels. 

We have no right to teach otherwise.  It is cowardly and foolhardy.  More importantly, it cheapens the selfless act performed by our Savior and Husband and it makes us unworthy of all the wonderful promises God has made to us.  Perhaps the most important reason is that when you teach others what God has done for you, the watered down version will lead an entire generation to Hell and the fault will be yours.  These are potential brides of Christ and I pray that whosoever changes one jot or tittle of God’s Word will be forever cursed.  Moreover I pray that this chastening from God will begin immediately for all to see. 

It is one thing to be wrong and when God has chastened your life you live correctly before Him.  It is something totally different to teach what YOU want to believe because the truth is too hard for you.  A faithful prophet of God spoke last week and said, “It might be hard to do and teach what is right but it is not impossible.”  Why?  Because in Christ we can do all things.

Beloved, take care what you teach and what you choose to believe and obey.  The Devil has always been a liar and the father of them.  He sounds perfectly reasonable and can make honest God fearing Christians seem like raging lunatics.  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.  John said, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  God’s Word became our Savior.  That Word NEVER changes no matter how much the world does.  His promises NEVER fail.  His prophecies ALWAYS come true.  His is the only faith in which that is true. 

Continue to stand and Christ will deliver beloved.  There is much more room at the altar for brides of the Most High.  Let’s make sure they all know what to wear.

Bishop J