This does indeed SAY IT ALL:
"For FROM Him and THROUGH Him and to Him are ALL things. (For ALL [things] originate with Him and come from Him; ALL [things] live through Him, and ALL [things] center in and [tend to] consummate and to end in Him.) To Him be glory for the ages of the ages! Amen. Romans 11:36
Thank you, Lord, that You ARE Lord over ALL, and you shall gather ALL [in]to Christ, in the fullness of time. Eph. 1:10 ("In regard to an Administration of the fullness of the appointed times, to re-unite (!) ALL things under the Anointed One - the things in the heavens and the things in the earth - under Him." Lit. Greek version).
Hallelujah!!!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
God is love!!!
Yes, He IS love, and cannot be anything but love. There are other attributes, of course, but His essential essence is love.
However, the God whom so many preach and teach comes across as some kind of
sadist.
We are horrified when we hear of what man does to man - torture, abuse of the worst sort, murder - the list goes on. "How can anyone DO such things to another human being? To children? To the defenseless?"
And yet...and yet, listen to what these pious sorts have to say about this "God of love..." I quote:
Some even believe unbaptized babies and children would be among the hordes of evil human devils burning in hellfire forever. For instance, a quote from a 19th Century English Roman Catholic priest whose primary ministry was to children:
"Little child, if you go to hell there will be a devil at your side to strike you. He will go on striking you every minute for ever and ever without stopping.... How, then, will your body be after the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred million of years without stopping? Perhaps at this moment, seven o'clock in he evening, a child is just going into hell. Tomorrow evening, at seven o'clock, go and knock at the gates of hell and ask what the child is doing.....Go in a week and ask what the child is doing; you will get the same answer, it is burning; Go in a year and asks the same answer comes it is burning. Go in a million of years and ask the same question, the answer is just the same--it is burning. So, if you go for ever and ever, you will always get the same answer--it is burning in the fire.... The little child is in the red hot oven...how it screams to come out..." I cannot go on, for my soul is overwhelmed with horror that there were those who would so torture a child, "in the name of truth."
But there is more - this from the "saintly" Jonathon Edwards (who continues to be much quoted and revered), in his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God":
"The road to hell is paved with the skulls of unbaptized babies." And, "It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it throughout all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For ‘who knows the power of God's anger?’"
He also said in his sermon, The Eternity of Hell Torments (April 1739): "The view of the misery of the damned will double the ardour of the love and gratitude of the saints of heaven.
"The sight of hell torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever. . .Can the believing father in Heaven be happy with his unbelieving children in Hell. . . I tell you, yea! Such will be his sense of justice that it will increase rather than diminish his bliss."
Just one more demented view of God’s love and everlasting burnings:
"If my own mother were being carried to the mouth of hell, I would stand and applaud." This was said by a professor in a mainline denominational seminary, and he explained, "...hell will be ‘understandable,’ and the saved will rejoice in the misery of the unsaved, once the saved see the glory of Christ and the justice of God." From the book Four Views on Hell Zondervan, 1996, p. 48.
Surely, these men, and countless others before and after them, created a god after their own image and likeness. It was certainly not in any manner the image and likeness of which the scriptures speak, especially when they are translated properly.
(From Elwin Roach, The Pathfinder).
Surely these samples are enough to fill us with great sorrow. and horror, that there are those who would tell us this "monster" is a God of love!
My own thought is - deep down, most do not truly believe such. If they did, then...why are they not out roaming the streets, begging people to turn to Christ?! And if they are not doing so, and they still profess this kind of God, then - are they not hypocrites, or worse?
Having said all this, I also know that they cannot see the truth because God has not opened their hearts and ears to hear and see. And if He has continued to blind them, then - there is a Godly, and LOVING purpose in His so doing...until HIS time for each to see who He really is.
Ah, dear Father, open the eyes of all that they might see and know you, Love Himself!
Amen.
However, the God whom so many preach and teach comes across as some kind of
sadist.
We are horrified when we hear of what man does to man - torture, abuse of the worst sort, murder - the list goes on. "How can anyone DO such things to another human being? To children? To the defenseless?"
And yet...and yet, listen to what these pious sorts have to say about this "God of love..." I quote:
Some even believe unbaptized babies and children would be among the hordes of evil human devils burning in hellfire forever. For instance, a quote from a 19th Century English Roman Catholic priest whose primary ministry was to children:
"Little child, if you go to hell there will be a devil at your side to strike you. He will go on striking you every minute for ever and ever without stopping.... How, then, will your body be after the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred million of years without stopping? Perhaps at this moment, seven o'clock in he evening, a child is just going into hell. Tomorrow evening, at seven o'clock, go and knock at the gates of hell and ask what the child is doing.....Go in a week and ask what the child is doing; you will get the same answer, it is burning; Go in a year and asks the same answer comes it is burning. Go in a million of years and ask the same question, the answer is just the same--it is burning. So, if you go for ever and ever, you will always get the same answer--it is burning in the fire.... The little child is in the red hot oven...how it screams to come out..." I cannot go on, for my soul is overwhelmed with horror that there were those who would so torture a child, "in the name of truth."
But there is more - this from the "saintly" Jonathon Edwards (who continues to be much quoted and revered), in his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God":
"The road to hell is paved with the skulls of unbaptized babies." And, "It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it throughout all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For ‘who knows the power of God's anger?’"
He also said in his sermon, The Eternity of Hell Torments (April 1739): "The view of the misery of the damned will double the ardour of the love and gratitude of the saints of heaven.
"The sight of hell torments will exalt the happiness of the saints forever. . .Can the believing father in Heaven be happy with his unbelieving children in Hell. . . I tell you, yea! Such will be his sense of justice that it will increase rather than diminish his bliss."
Just one more demented view of God’s love and everlasting burnings:
"If my own mother were being carried to the mouth of hell, I would stand and applaud." This was said by a professor in a mainline denominational seminary, and he explained, "...hell will be ‘understandable,’ and the saved will rejoice in the misery of the unsaved, once the saved see the glory of Christ and the justice of God." From the book Four Views on Hell Zondervan, 1996, p. 48.
Surely, these men, and countless others before and after them, created a god after their own image and likeness. It was certainly not in any manner the image and likeness of which the scriptures speak, especially when they are translated properly.
(From Elwin Roach, The Pathfinder).
Surely these samples are enough to fill us with great sorrow. and horror, that there are those who would tell us this "monster" is a God of love!
My own thought is - deep down, most do not truly believe such. If they did, then...why are they not out roaming the streets, begging people to turn to Christ?! And if they are not doing so, and they still profess this kind of God, then - are they not hypocrites, or worse?
Having said all this, I also know that they cannot see the truth because God has not opened their hearts and ears to hear and see. And if He has continued to blind them, then - there is a Godly, and LOVING purpose in His so doing...until HIS time for each to see who He really is.
Ah, dear Father, open the eyes of all that they might see and know you, Love Himself!
Amen.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Christ is victorious!
Christ has been given power over "ALL flesh..." (John 17:2) This is the surety of the success of Christ's ultimate work.
Note John 6:39, which says, "Now this is the WILL of Him Who sent Me, that ALL which He has given Me, of it I should be losing nothing." CV
The questions are: "How much did God give to Christ?", and, "how much of what God had given Him will He lose?"
The answer to question 1 - "ALL flesh."
The answer to question 2 - "Nothing."
Amen!
Note John 6:39, which says, "Now this is the WILL of Him Who sent Me, that ALL which He has given Me, of it I should be losing nothing." CV
The questions are: "How much did God give to Christ?", and, "how much of what God had given Him will He lose?"
The answer to question 1 - "ALL flesh."
The answer to question 2 - "Nothing."
Amen!
Friday, February 26, 2010
ALL - what a glorious word!
"ALL THINGS IN CHRIST..."
Question - how many things does "all things" include? EVERYTHING!!
"All" is a very large word, an all-encompassing word. There is nothing outside of "all". "All things" is without qualification.
"All" is "all" - and "all things" is EVERYTHING. NOTHING is left out; NOTHING is excluded. All" is all inclusive.
We cannot come up with a single thing that is not included in ALL!
In Romans 11:36, Paul sums up the preeminence of Christ (the aim of Father is to have Jesus Christ have that kind of position in ALL things) in three expressions:
"OF Him"
"THROUGH Him"
"TO Him"
"OF HIM" EVERYthing that exists - in the heavens, on earth, everything that has ever been created, past, present, future, is created BY and BECAUSE of Christ.
"THROUGH HIM" EVERYthing that lives, moves, breathes, operates, or exists, or functions in the universe, whether animate or inanimate, whether biological, chemical, spiritual, natural, or cosmological, ALL does so THROUGH CHRIST, who sovereignly upholds ALL things, determines their place, and keeps them in order.
"TO HIM" EVERYthing, no matter how far from God's thought it may be, no matter how chaotic things appear, is being directed, summoned up and gathered together INTO CHRIST.
As the Alpha, ALL things flow FROM Him.
As the Omega, ALL things flow TO Him.
Therefore, we speak of Jesus Christ having the preeminence in ALL things. Jesus is Lord over us individually, over the church corporately, and over all creation collectively.
Yes, CHRIST IS PREEMINENT - He is exalted above EVERY principality and power, rule and dominion, things visible and invisible, things past, present, future, things in the heavenlies (spirit), things on earth, things under the earth.
"ALL things are OF Him; ALL things are THROUGH Him, and ALL things are
TO Him..." Rom. 11:36
What more can we say...
(My thanks to several saints for much of this.)
Question - how many things does "all things" include? EVERYTHING!!
"All" is a very large word, an all-encompassing word. There is nothing outside of "all". "All things" is without qualification.
"All" is "all" - and "all things" is EVERYTHING. NOTHING is left out; NOTHING is excluded. All" is all inclusive.
We cannot come up with a single thing that is not included in ALL!
In Romans 11:36, Paul sums up the preeminence of Christ (the aim of Father is to have Jesus Christ have that kind of position in ALL things) in three expressions:
"OF Him"
"THROUGH Him"
"TO Him"
"OF HIM" EVERYthing that exists - in the heavens, on earth, everything that has ever been created, past, present, future, is created BY and BECAUSE of Christ.
"THROUGH HIM" EVERYthing that lives, moves, breathes, operates, or exists, or functions in the universe, whether animate or inanimate, whether biological, chemical, spiritual, natural, or cosmological, ALL does so THROUGH CHRIST, who sovereignly upholds ALL things, determines their place, and keeps them in order.
"TO HIM" EVERYthing, no matter how far from God's thought it may be, no matter how chaotic things appear, is being directed, summoned up and gathered together INTO CHRIST.
As the Alpha, ALL things flow FROM Him.
As the Omega, ALL things flow TO Him.
Therefore, we speak of Jesus Christ having the preeminence in ALL things. Jesus is Lord over us individually, over the church corporately, and over all creation collectively.
Yes, CHRIST IS PREEMINENT - He is exalted above EVERY principality and power, rule and dominion, things visible and invisible, things past, present, future, things in the heavenlies (spirit), things on earth, things under the earth.
"ALL things are OF Him; ALL things are THROUGH Him, and ALL things are
TO Him..." Rom. 11:36
What more can we say...
(My thanks to several saints for much of this.)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Christ is victorious!
Let EVERYTHING that has breath praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6
What could be clearer?! This last verse of the last psalm points to the reconciliation and restoration of ALL!
Gregory of Nyasa wrote, "Such is the meaning of this final psalm, in which, after the complete abolition of sin, praise shall be rising to God, which praise shall contain (implied) our being incapable of turning to sin, when every created being shall be harmonized into one choir; and when, like a cymbal, the reasonable creation, and that which is now severed by sin, shall pour forth a pleasing strain, due to mutual harmony. Then comes the praise of every spirit forever abounding with increase into eternity."
And...
Scripture says, ALL condemned/ALL saved (1 Cor. 15:22). Religion says, ALL condemned/FEW saved. This doctrine supersedes God's words. Thus religion makes Adam more powerful than Christ. NOT SO!! Christ is the Saviour of the world! He is the Lamb who took away the sin of the world! It is CHRIST who is victorious, not sin, the devil, or man. God's ultimate purpose of "the reconciliation of mankind" will be accomplished. Amen!
ALL is of God...
It is GOD who saves...
It is God who calls...
It is God who designates...
It is God who purposes...
It is God who graces...
For those who say that God "desires" men to be saved, but each one must choose for himself, there is this to say: For Deity, "desire" is NOT a wish. God has always worked from the basis of "intent to achieve" that which He purposed. All the infinite resources of the Sovereign of the universe are employed to achieve that which lies at the epicentre of all that will be accomplished, every knee bowing and every tongue declaring (NOT confessing, as if to finally admit to it, just before being damned) to the glory of God the Father!
Amen!
What could be clearer?! This last verse of the last psalm points to the reconciliation and restoration of ALL!
Gregory of Nyasa wrote, "Such is the meaning of this final psalm, in which, after the complete abolition of sin, praise shall be rising to God, which praise shall contain (implied) our being incapable of turning to sin, when every created being shall be harmonized into one choir; and when, like a cymbal, the reasonable creation, and that which is now severed by sin, shall pour forth a pleasing strain, due to mutual harmony. Then comes the praise of every spirit forever abounding with increase into eternity."
And...
Scripture says, ALL condemned/ALL saved (1 Cor. 15:22). Religion says, ALL condemned/FEW saved. This doctrine supersedes God's words. Thus religion makes Adam more powerful than Christ. NOT SO!! Christ is the Saviour of the world! He is the Lamb who took away the sin of the world! It is CHRIST who is victorious, not sin, the devil, or man. God's ultimate purpose of "the reconciliation of mankind" will be accomplished. Amen!
ALL is of God...
It is GOD who saves...
It is God who calls...
It is God who designates...
It is God who purposes...
It is God who graces...
For those who say that God "desires" men to be saved, but each one must choose for himself, there is this to say: For Deity, "desire" is NOT a wish. God has always worked from the basis of "intent to achieve" that which He purposed. All the infinite resources of the Sovereign of the universe are employed to achieve that which lies at the epicentre of all that will be accomplished, every knee bowing and every tongue declaring (NOT confessing, as if to finally admit to it, just before being damned) to the glory of God the Father!
Amen!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Words - the wonder of words...
Some while back, I wrote in my journal about words. When I came across the entry recently, thought it something I would like to share:
Words. Yes, Abba Father, I do enjoy words: what they mean, how to use them in speaking and writing. As I was pondering about that just now, it occurred to me that the reason I like words and feel they are important is because - YOU used words; YOU spoke them forth, and all was created...and Jesus is called the Word of God.
Yes, words ARE important, and words are meaningful...and words are special. I know that they can be used to deceive, to destroy, but...they are significant, and powerful for good, as well, for they relate to You.
Also, "...in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The Greek word for treasure is "thesaurus" - and a thesaurus is a book of synonyms - words. Jesus is THE Word, and we are all variations (synonyms) of that Word.
Wow, what a thought.
A couple of words that have meanings that are interesting:
...The Greek for "religion" is - dread-speak. Surely it is!
...Amen. The root of "amen", "It is done, finished," is "trust". So when we say the word, Amen, we are saying, "It is done; trust Me."
Words. Yes, Abba Father, I do enjoy words: what they mean, how to use them in speaking and writing. As I was pondering about that just now, it occurred to me that the reason I like words and feel they are important is because - YOU used words; YOU spoke them forth, and all was created...and Jesus is called the Word of God.
Yes, words ARE important, and words are meaningful...and words are special. I know that they can be used to deceive, to destroy, but...they are significant, and powerful for good, as well, for they relate to You.
Also, "...in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The Greek word for treasure is "thesaurus" - and a thesaurus is a book of synonyms - words. Jesus is THE Word, and we are all variations (synonyms) of that Word.
Wow, what a thought.
A couple of words that have meanings that are interesting:
...The Greek for "religion" is - dread-speak. Surely it is!
...Amen. The root of "amen", "It is done, finished," is "trust". So when we say the word, Amen, we are saying, "It is done; trust Me."
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Facts
The other day, as was reading a writing about the subject of facts, and that God has placed thousands of facts in His scriptures, realized that such a definition of His words IS true. Not all things called "facts" are such, i.e, there was the time when it wss believed as a fact, that the earth was flat. In time, that "fact" was disproved. But when there is a fact in scripture, it IS a fact. No doubt about it. And what a joy to know that:
FACT - I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh (this body)I live by the faith OF Christ, who is loving me, and gave Himself for me. Oh my - what a fact! Gal. 2:20
FACT - I am a saint! Eph. 1:1, where that fact is declared.
FACT - I am justified! Rom. 5:1.
FACT - Christ IS my peace! Eph. 2:14
FACT - I have died to sin! Rom. 6:2
FACT - The love of God has been poured out (one translation says, "torrented out") within our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. Rom.5:5
FACT - In everything (!) I am enriched in Him. 1 Cor. 1:5
FACT - In Christ Jesus, I have become the wisdom of God, and the righteousness of God, and I have been sanctified and redeemed in/through Christ. 1 Cor. 1:30
Surely such facts are almost too glorious for us to fully comprehend - but, PTL, they are TRUE!! And these are just the beginning...
Oh, the unfathomed love of God...and not just for me, but for ALL His creation!
FACT - I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh (this body)I live by the faith OF Christ, who is loving me, and gave Himself for me. Oh my - what a fact! Gal. 2:20
FACT - I am a saint! Eph. 1:1, where that fact is declared.
FACT - I am justified! Rom. 5:1.
FACT - Christ IS my peace! Eph. 2:14
FACT - I have died to sin! Rom. 6:2
FACT - The love of God has been poured out (one translation says, "torrented out") within our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. Rom.5:5
FACT - In everything (!) I am enriched in Him. 1 Cor. 1:5
FACT - In Christ Jesus, I have become the wisdom of God, and the righteousness of God, and I have been sanctified and redeemed in/through Christ. 1 Cor. 1:30
Surely such facts are almost too glorious for us to fully comprehend - but, PTL, they are TRUE!! And these are just the beginning...
Oh, the unfathomed love of God...and not just for me, but for ALL His creation!
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