Love God Above ALL! A good way to begin the new year.

What is a New Year Resolution? What is a "life value?"
Is it a moral value or principle? Is it a law? Is it a belief? A Plan?
What are the principles that "drive" your life; your lifestyle; your culture?
Most of us would agree that the Ten Commandments are good life values. But do we understand what Jesus said about those commandments? "I come not to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matt. 5) Then He said: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matt. 5:18).

What? Didn't Jesus give us a "new commandment" and a "new covenant?"

What about when He said, "Whoever breaks one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, except your righteousness shall exceed (surpass) the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5: 19-20)

So, what about the 6th Commandment: Thou shalt not kill (murder). (Deut. 5:17)?
Isn't it true that Christians are no longer "under the Law?" Well, we may not be "under THE LAW" (my emphasis), but that does not mean that we are free from any law(s). Jesus implied that to reject God's Law(s) was to reject Him. Jesus told us and showed us that He has authority apart from and in addition to (in fulfillment of) the Law. He came to bring the Law to fruition. He taught us that not only should we not murder, we should be even "more righteousness" and not harbor anger in our hearts toward another.  Because anger is the root of, and murder is the fruit of the breaking of this commandment. The "laws" that Jesus gave us show us that we need to be even more righteousness than the Pharisees. Paul taught us in Phil.3 that "But indeed, I count all things loss...that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." So, it is our faith, that imputes the righteousness of Jesus to us; a gift from God. Our righteousness exceeds the scribes and Pharisees in kind and degree, because it is the righteousness of Jesus living in us.

Once again we see that it is not about us (not about how "good" we can be), it is about God, and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for each of us. Our gratitude should overflow in obedience to God's plan for our lives; in obedience to the teachings of Jesus. Love God above all, and love your neighbor as yourself, on these two principles we can build our lifestyle, our culture, ourselves, our families, our New Year Resolutions, etc.

The righteousness of the Pharisees was impressive by human standards, but without the righteousness of Jesus, theirs could not (ours cannot) stand before God. Be thankful that Jesus gives us His righteousness, and resolve to live according to His teachings.

New Year Blessings!

Faithfulness

What is "faithfulness"?
One of the "best" comments I've heard is that it is "consistent commitment."
That means for us Christians, that we are consistently committed to obedience--daily we are to practice those virtues Paul writes about in Colossians: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, accepting, forgiving.
It means DAILY: living for the Lord (Col 3:23); living wisely (4:5-6); living with concern for others (4:12).
Being faithful (a faithful Christian) is NOT a part-time job. It is consistent commitment to the wishes of our Lord and Savior. Constantly striving to please Him, not ourselves. Are you faithful, every hour of every day? What a goal to strive for! What a life to live! (That our joy may be complete.)
Blessings,
JC

Can a Nation sin?

Does the Bible teach us about the consequences of individual sin or collective sin, or both?
A study of 2 Kings seems to say....both?
What principles do we Christians take from these chapeters? Are we only responsible for our individual sins, or are we also responsible for what we "allow" our leaders to do? Can God do to the USA what He did to Israel? Can he take our land away from us? Would He? Will He?
"If My people, who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways..."
Blessings,
JC

The Right NOT to Remain Silent

2 Kings 6-7-8. When is it appropriate to remain silent, and when MUST followers of Christ speak out?
Is the "when" more important than the "why" we speak out?
My wife reminds me that I am sometimes at my best when my mouth is closed.
Aren't we all?

Eph 3

Paul is in prison in Rome, but calls himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ. No matter the circumstances, Paul stayed "on task" for his Master. Paul wrote 4 of his letters while in prison (Eph; Phil; Col; Philemon).

If you were asked, "What do you need?" How would you answer? More money? Better health?
Paul gave us the answer in his prayer (Eph 3:14-21). We need to be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit; we need Christ to dwell in  our hearts and be firmly established in love; we need to be able to comprehend God's love, and to really KNOW that love; to be filled with all the fullness of God.
We can and should pray for this; we need to ask Him, who is able to do beyond all that we can ask or can think.

This week pray for His Power; His Love, and give Him all the glory, to all generations, forever and ever...

Blessings...

How powerful is God?

Eph 2
Let's ask some questions...
How powerful is God?
Is the Holy Spirit God?
Does the Holy Spirit indwell Christians?
Do Christians have the power of the Holy Spirit (God)?
Why do Christians sometimes seem (act) weak?
Just wondering...

Something has to be the first...

I'm not sure that this venue will work; but we'll see what happens.
This initial post will christen the site, and let folks know that it will be a Bible Study blog for those who like to study scripture; for those who are home-bound; for those who want to get "deeper" into God's Word; for, well for anyone or everyone?
Blessings,
JC