A trustworthy statement

"You cannot live the Christian life.
Jesus did not live the Christian life.
NONE of us can live the Christian life.
And if Jesus did not live the Christian life, what makes you think you can?
God the Father lives the Christian life. How does God the Father live the Christian life? He doesn't. He IS the Christian life. He IS the highest life. He IS the wellspring, the Source, the first motion, and the fountainhead of the Christian life.
The Father indwelt His Son here on earth for 33 years. He lived the Christian life inside Jesus. It was the Father's life, and His life alone, which lived the Christian life...which lived the Christian life - and His life alone - inside your Lord. It is the Father's life, and His life alone, that ever lives the Christan life. It is the Father's life, and His alone, which lives the Christian life in you..."
Surely such a truth is a freeing one, oh, Abba. Peace comes. No more struggle, no more trying. You, Abba Father, are living out in me, in each of us, such a life. So simple, so "organic", for you to do. Free from "do's" and "don't' s".
FREE TO LIVE!

Transformation (metamorphosis)

The wonder of it - we are being transformed (metamorphosed) into the same likeness as Christ!
These translations of 2 Cor. 3:18 are glorious reminders of what is going on...right now!
And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued [believe present tense is more accurate here] to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.
II Corinthians 3:18 (Amplified)
...and I really like the Arthur Way translation of this: "All of us, with face unveiled, gazing on the mirrored glory of our Lord, are hourly being transformed into the same likeness from a mere reflected glory into an inherent glory, as may well be, since it proceeds from the Lord, the Spirit." II Cor. 3:18
One more, from Conybeare: "...and we all, while with face unveiled we behold in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are ourselves transformed continually [the tense is present!] into the same likeness; and the glory which shines upon us is [now being] reflected by us, even as it proceeds from the Lord, the Spirit."
Do we really believe what we are being told here? If so, then surely it will make a difference in how we view our life in Christ, and HIS work in us (yes, it is HIS work, not our efforts. A God business, PTL). No more striving, but, rather resting in His work IN us, AS us.

The meaning of words

It occurred to me that since Jesus did not speak English, what was He saying, what word was He using, when He is said to say, "Hell", an English word.
Well, one of those was Gehenna, which was a burning garbage dump, in Jerusalem, where refuse of all kinds was burned, including the bodies of criminals (which, of course, no self-respecting Jew would want for his end). It didn't burn "forever", for today, Gehenna is a lovely park...you can even have a picnic there, or go for a stroll.
The other word He used was Hades, which means, simply, "unseen", the place where all who die, go. No burning, eternal torture - simply, unseen. (In the OT, the word is Sheol - again, the unseen, the grave.)
The final word, spoken by Peter, was Tartarus, which he gleaned from mythology...where angels were "reserved for judgment."
Interestingly enough, Paul, who had his teaching from the ascended Christ, never once uses any of those words.
Food for thought for those who prefer to think of "sinners" (whom Jesus called "the lost") being tormented for eternity (another word it would be wise to check out as to its meaning in scripture).
How thankful I am tht Jesus Christ is the Saviour of ALL - that He truly IS a Saviour, and not just a Saviour who wanted to save, or hoped He would be able to save...who had to confess to His Father that He had failed...
In Is. 53:11, we read, "He shall see the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied..." How could such a think be? Because, praise God, He knew that He would draw ALL to Himself: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth [and He was, on the cross]. will draw ALL unto Me..." John 12:32, 33.
I rejoice in that day when ALL shall know this, and the "glory of the LORD shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." Amen.

What we shall be

The other day, was pondering who we are, and what we shall become...and it occurred to me that when Jesus said to the servants who had fulfilled their jobs well, "Well done, thou good and perfect servants," He was talking to servants.
It is NOT so with us! To us, who are His sons (gender is not issue), God says, "You are My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."
Ah yes, a son, and not a servant.
To those who would point out that we are slaves of Christ, I would clarify and say, We are sons of God, and His slaves to men.
Amen!

From the past - but still for today

Sharing thoughts
Today, I came across a piece of free verse that has blessed me more than once over the years. It is called:
Redemption and Creation...
Is man sorry first,
and then forgiven,
or forgiven first
and then sorry?

If he is sorry first,
then God forgives His friends,
but if he is forgiven first,
then God forgives His enemies.
We don't need a God
who forgives His friends.

Did Christ die before
or after Adam fell?
In time, after Adam fell,
but in eternity, before Adam fell.
In the mind of God
Adam was forgiven first
and then created.

This is what the"good news"of man's redemption is all about.
He was redeemed first
and then created!...
I am not forgiven becauseI repent.
I repent because I am all all ready forgiven!
2 Cor. 5:19 Amen
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 (as with the following, an entry from a former blog).

Sharing thoughts: March 2006
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau
Familiar, of course, but a reminder that the crowd is often wrong. Jesus never listened to the majority, and so...besides, a crowd can so easily turn into a mob!
This speaks to me, for I do seem to "hear a different drummer" - for example, when it comes to what is important to me, especially in matters of faith (have been called a heretic because I believe that Jesus Christ is indeed the Savoiour of ALL men). There are other areas as well, but that (for me) is the primary focus.
I believe abortion is wrong - that people are more important than animals.
Also, forgiveness - for the believer, it is not an option, it is a must. It does not depend on feelings; it does not mean the one forgiven is right. It is, simply, something that I am constrained to do by the love of Christ in me. He forgave me, He forgave ALL. We are to do the same. I realize that for one who is not a believer, a Christian, forgiveness is probably not possible - it is He in us that enables us to do so.
Amen.

A few questions

Here are a few questions (from 250 in all) that will help to clarify God's plan of salvation as set forth in the Holy Bible, so that when questions are asked, correct answers can be given. To those holding a limited view of God's plan of salvation, they are truly Questions Without Answers, but, to those who rely on God's Word, the answers become apparent as His truth is revealed to them. The questions were written by A. C. Thomas and appeared in a book by E. H. Lake, entitled "The Key to Truth".

Now the Questions:

1. As we are required to love our enemies, may we not safely infer that God loves His enemies? (Matt. 5:44)
2. If God loves His enemies, will He punish them more than will be for their good?
3. Would endless punishment be for the good of any being?
4. As God loves His friends, if He loves His enemies also, are not all mankind the objects of His love?
5. If God loves those only who love Him, what better is He than the sinner? (Luke 6:32-33)
6. As "love thinketh no evil," can God design the ultimate evil of a single soul? (1 Cor. 13:5)
7. As "love worketh no ill," can God inflict, or cause, or allow to be inflicted, an endless ill? (Rom. 13:10)
8. As we are forbidden to be overcome by evil, can we safely suppose that God will be overcome by evil? (Rom. 12:21)
9. Would not the infliction of endless punishment prove that God HAD been overcome by evil?
10. If man does wrong in returning evil for evil, would not God do wrong if He was to do the same?
11. Would not endless punishment be the return of evil for evil?
12. As we are commanded "to overcome evil with good," may we not safely infer that God will do the same? (Rom. 12:21)
13. Would the infliction of endless punishment be overcoming evil with good?
14. If God hates the sinner, does the sinner do wrong in hating Him?
15. Is God a changeable being? (James 1:17)
16. If God loves His enemies now, will he not always love them?
17. Is it just for God to be "kind to the evil and unthankful," in their present life? (Luke 6:35)
18. Would it be unjust for God to be kind to all men in a future state?
19. If all men justly deserve endless punishment, will not those who are saved, be saved unjustly?
20. If God "will by no means clear the guilty," by what means can just punishment be evaded? (Ex. 34:7)

These are truly provocative questions...and the author of the above is exactly right; when we do not see God's "ultimate intention," then they are unanswerable.

But when we do see Him who is Lord of all, Lover of all, Saviour of all, Blesser of all, then the answer to each question is...obvious. PTL that the day is coming, in HIS time, when all shall see Him as what He has declared Himself to be - Saviour of the world, and All in all. Amen.

A new year

A new year, as man counts time - not sure it makes much difference to God, especially all the fuss that is made, plus the plethora of "New Year's resolutions." It would seem that the important thing is our commitment, our walk in Christ - the rest is, to me, for the world.
Yesterday is past - gone forever, buried (so to speak) in God. Tomorrow is not yet here - and in one sense, it never really comes, since as soon as it does arrive, it is today. And today is the only day, time, that truly matters - it is all we have, it is where we live. How I thank Father for today, and for the knowledge of His unconditional love for ALL His creation, and for the blessed awareness of His presence...always, no matter where I am.
Not "happy new year," but, "happy new day in Him."