Our Father

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, FATHER. Gal. 4:6

God's not a "Parent" nor "Mother", but a "Father".  The word "father" is the Greek word "pater" which means:

"Generator or male ancestor; The originator and transmitter of anything; God, the Father."

The concept of fatherhood or patriarchy confirms that ALL comes from or originates in Him.  Pater is the root of such words as "patriarch" and "family" (patria). When we turn in faith to God, we are receiving the heart of a Patriarch.

God is Not a White Man

But Whom Say YE That I Am?

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 6:13-18

It is critically important who we believe Jesus to be and how we represent Him to the world.  The world may not have a clue who Jesus really is, but part of the salvation experience is an inner revelation by God the Father about the identity of Jesus Christ.  In fact, Jesus says that it is on "this rock" - the revealed truth of Jesus as the Anointed Messiah, the Son of the Living God - that Jesus will build His church.

Yet, as many of you are aware, there is an effort underway to deny who Jesus really is and to even redefine who God is.  This ecumenical message is being drummed into society in many ways via churches, schools, and the media. One example is a song by Michael Gungor entitled "God is not a white man".

The Great Commandment in the Law

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:36-40

"And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with allthy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31

"He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou?  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thyheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." Luke 10:26-27

People often speak of how love is the fulfillment of the law.  But what does that really mean? What are these texts really telling us?

The Ministration of Death

The Letter KILLETH

We have previously done a series on the law and its place in the life of a believer. Some, however, assert that references to "the law" in the New Testament is only about the 613 ceremonial and sacrificial laws, not the Ten Commandments.  However, what does Scripture say?

To examine this, we will examine what God calls the "ministration of death".

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart." II Corinthians 3:7-15

In the above text, God references an event in the Old Testament when Moses' face was so glorious and shone with such brightness, that the people could not even look upon him (Exodus 34:29-33).  This occurred when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the "two tables of testimony", otherwise called the Ten Commandments.

Yet, in II Corinthians Chapter 3, God calls these tables "written and engraven in stone" the "ministration of death" and goes on to contrast them with the "ministration of the spirit". 

License, Legalism, or Liberty? Part 2

We previously looked at the topic of license, legalism, and liberty in the Christian walk.  The following video from Minister David Pawson provides some quick distinguishing characteristics between the three.

Legalism says you are not free to sin.
License says we are free to sin.
Liberty says we are free not to sin.

Legalism says we are saved by works.
License says we are saved without works.
But Liberty says we are saved for works.

Why Did Christ Die?

There are many answers people might give for this.  To pay the debt for our sin.  To reconcile us to God.  To save man from God's wrath.  In the Scriptures, we find an answer to this:

"And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."  II Corinthians 5:15

He died so that we may NEVER AGAIN live for ourselves, but that we from now on would live only for Him. Can we all say this is true for us?

Come, Let Me Love Away Your Sin

If there is one thing that would be filed in the "Turns My Stomach" section, it would be the emphasis the churchworld puts on "showing love" as the answer for sin.  By love, they mean toning down or changing the truths of God.  How is it that we find ourselves at the end of time and people think God has all of a sudden had a change of heart?

Perhaps, after thousands of years of interacting with His creation and calling man to repentance, God has realized that He made a mistake.  Having finally come to understand that sin really isn't all that bad, God is doing a "new" work.  Therefore many doctrines and outreach efforts now focus on a gospel of accommodating the sinner while IN his sin...and they call this "love".  The Scriptures have one word for it: apostasy.

Apostasy: A falling away, a defection or divorce; a total desertion of or departure from revealed truth.

Situations

Holding God Hostage

Sometimes, we go through things in life that may be hard for us to equate to the Scriptural ideals we have about not only who God is, but who we are in Him. 

Is God a Provider?  Yes, but that doesn't mean we will never have financial hardships.
Is God a Deliverer?  Yes, but that doesn't mean you will never suffer.
Is God a Healer?  Yes, but that doesn't mean we will never endure sickness.
Is God a Buckler?  Yes, but that doesn't mean we will never undergo attack.

How is it that we say God is all of these things, yet our experiences don't always seem to reflect that reality in our lives?  We look in His word and see one thing, but look at our lives and see another.  Why is this?