Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

 "...pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with all who are calling upon the Lord from a clean heart." (2 Timothy 2:22-23) Righteousness: Pursue things that are right for yourself and those around you. Faith: Expect things God has promised to come to pass even if you cannot see how they could happen. Love: Do for others what they cannot do for themselves, and do it without requiring anything in return. Peace: Attempt to get along with others, and get away from those you cannot.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) At the center of an ideal family relationship is love, agape love. By family I mean a father, mother, and their children.  In this kind of relationship with each other there is security, peace, faith, hope and joy….and freedom. My perception of God is that He meets mankind on this basis…as His family. Not on a scientific, forensic basis of pure justice under Law…like is required in the government of men. We are not dealt with out of His overbearing demand for obedience to His just Law, but under the Grace of a loving parent who gives us an ideal standard to live by, then allows us to test this standard within our own unique set of circumsta...

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “ From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. ” (Genesis 2:16-17) Don't eat from it, the poison from the fruit of disobedience will kill you. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, " Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden ?" (Genesis 3:1) Go ahead, you won't die. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6) Eve sinned and Adam could have refused the forbidden fruit. WHY didn't he? Adam would rather die with Eve than to live forever without her.  That is what LOVE does...whatever it takes. ...

"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me …” (II Timothy 4:16). Paul was on trial for sharing the message given him by Jesus which was unpopular with the establishment.  At his trial he had no one to stand with him before the Roman court. Even though alone, he didn't complain because... "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me …" (II Timothy 4:17). The Lord is all he needed. Earlier in this letter to Timothy he had lamented... "… All they who are in Asia are turned away from me…only Luke is with me …" (II Timothy 1:15). Paul was willing to walk alone for the sake of the truth. He did not walk away from the message that Jesus had commissioned him to share with mankind, even when it meant losing his religious status with lifelong friends... "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8) And what was the message that had...

”He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.” (Isaiah 33:6) I found the phrase “fear of the Lord” 22 times in the New International Version of the Bible. It seems in each context that mankind is encouraged to fear the Lord as a conscious CHOICE. That choice to fear the Lord is the key to the treasure of finding a "sure foundation" in our Lord and Savior. God does not GIVE us a "spirit of fear" . “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7). Nevertheless, our choice to fear the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom. It starts us on our journey to find that God need not be feared, for His only begotten Son has atoned for our sin on the cross - a demonstration of God's love and faithfulness. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...there is no fear in love, but perfect love dri...

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him." (John 18:37-38) That mankind cannot be trusted to deal with this truth is quite obvious. Pilate found no fault with Jesus but had him crucified anyway.  What truth did Jesus come into the world to testify to? “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins…Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord….” (Ma...

“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked declares the Sovereign LORD? Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23) God takes no pleasure in enforcing the wages for sin – death. And the death of the sinner settles all wrongs. But in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus God demonstrated his love as only a loving omnipotent Father can do. He reveals the rest of the story, the resurrection of the sinful child to make him brand new! “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body….just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man…for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensib...

"God ... endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction...And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy... even us, whom He also called." (Romans 9:19-24) We humans are rarely merciful to our enemies. However, God is both gracious and merciful to both His enemies and friends. Christians often say “love the sinner, but hate the sin." It is a nice little catch phrase that justifies judging those we think are worse sinners than us, and sounding all righteous in doing so. I know it is hard, but we need to try to spread a little mercy around from time to time like our heavenly Father. "For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all...give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: His mercy endures forever..." (Romans 11:32; Psalm 136) Sinful people are like a coin in God's hand, with Grace on one side and Mercy on the other.   The coin gets spent for both good and evil over...

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:-12-13) The Greek word for love in the above passage is "agape". There are two other Greek words in the New Testament translated love which are "phileo" and "storge". Just to be clear, in this post I am talking about "agape" (unconditional gratuitous love - like God loves). It is indeed rare, if ever, that a human being loves that way…I have never met one yet, although some come closer than others. We see glimpses of it from time to time, but eventually, given enough time, all who appear or give the impression that they possess this  unconditional “agape” prove it is merely an illusion. You hardly ever see the Greek word "agape" used in Greek literature outside of the Bible. The highes...

“…the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." (Hebrews 7:18-19) The "better hope" that we have for becoming perfect is the Gospel of God. The Gospel is the good news that in Christ Jesus all will be “made alive” , all will be “changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye”  and all will become a “new creation in Christ Jesus” where God is “All in all” . “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet…that God may be All in all…a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come…” (1 Corinthians 15:22, 51-52, 28; 2 Corinthians 5:17) Perfection is a promise from God which occurs for us when in His GRACE our salvation is complete. And that salvation does not occur as a result of any works or good decisions we make, but is the result of a decision God has made to save si...

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40) Let me make an observation. You, I nor anyone else who has ever lived, with the exception of Jesus Christ, love like this. Ergo, you, I and everyone else, with the exception of Jesus Christ, have broken the “Law and the Prophets” which makes us all SINNERS. “…there is none righteous, no not one…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. ” (Romans 3:10, 23) Furthermore, you, I nor anyone else who has ever lived, will ever love as set forth above in this life, even after we become believers of the “gospel of God” (the gospel which few seem to comprehend), even though some come much closer than others. But w...

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-4) “I changed when my image of God changed” is a quote from an email I received this morning. It started me thinking some random thoughts. Many of us Christians are in dire need of a change in our image of God created by the institutions we have attended over the past 1700 years or so. For many their image of God is one of a vengeful, wrathful, mad God who is going to get even with all sinners who do not measure up to His standards of righteousness. The email also said “we may not realize that we become like the God we adore”. Look around and observe Christian...

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no Law.” (Galatians 3:24-25; 5:22-23) Law is not needed for those who walk in the Spirit. The following is a good expression of this idea by Vladimir Gelesnoff… “Nine virtues are clustered together in the description of the spirit’s fruit. These virtues are not separate flowers of a bouquet; they are the petals of one gorgeous flower exhibiting varying shades of form and color. The spirit is exempt from the law by virtue of its nature, which is in complete accord with the aim of law. The law required the very fruit which the spirit yields. The whole law is fulfilled in one expression – ye shall love. The fruit of the spirit is love. Hence “against such there is no law.” But while love was t...

"The word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth." (Colossians 1:5-6) The "word of the truth of the gospel" is rarely heard it in our churches…I presume because few pastors know what it is. Works are the emphasis at many churches...tithing, attending, joining and performing. But only those who know “the GRACE of God in truth”  bring forth the "fruit of the Spirit" . “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Don’t Worry, Be Happy! People love you IF you bla bla bla….but God loves you unconditionally! “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians...

“Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. Nathan replied, The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” (2 Samuel 12:13) My wife is the love of my life. In my eyes she is the perfect wife and without her I would only be half a man…she completes me and has done so for 40 years. I love her without reservation. She is also a great cook. But even the very best cooks learn by experience…and husbands learn to keep their mouth shut…by experience. Early in our marriage she prepared meat loaf for supper. At the time we had a pet Saint Bernard who lived with us in our apartment in Norman. “How is it she asked” so I placed my plate on the floor in front of Puppy Casey. He sniffed it and licked it and then went over and sat in the corner. I laughed and said to Casey “I know what you mean”. Sue Ann didn’t think it was funny. She did not kill me but she did start me on an involuntary diet for about a week. Life is where husbands learn they should keep...

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:2-7) The last two days I have been thinking about God’s plan for mankind, and I concluded in studying the word saint in the Scripture that all people are saints in God’s eye. Paul says above that it is God’s intention and choice to bless us, not curse us. In fact God decided and PREDESTINED this before He created any of us…and He knew that ALL would sin and fall short of the glory of God in this present evil age which must have been why he created evil… “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and c...

“For if the dead are not raised…your faith is worthless…Then those also who have fallen asleep…have perished…. If we have hope in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:16-19) People are born and live with various problems…ALL have problems. You’re particular problem does not dictate you are more to be pitied than someone else. Many Christians deal with their mental and physical state by seeking and hoping for some miracle from God to cure them….and some get temporary relief and attribute it to prayer …but we all will eventually check out of this present evil age! Some can’t deal with their problems…so they check out early. Don’t feel sorry for them, and don’t condemn them. They just play the hand that was dealt to them. I have found that there is only one thing that gives HOPE…the biblical promise of life after death, where there is no more tears, pain, sorrow... or pity. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the fir...

“And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life…And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” (1 John 2:25; 5:11) The problem I see with most Christians is the tendency to believe traditional teaching of the denominational church they are attending rather than the simple statements of the Scripture found in the Bible. For instance the Bible reads as follows: “...we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things.” (1 Timothy 4:9-11) This clear statement should resolve all doubt about our instruction to teach the eventual salvation of ALL. However, most Christians deny the above clear statement and instead change it to say something like this: God is “offering” to save all men but only saves those who “accept” Christ by their own “free will” (and add various other works that must be done depending on which church they attend). They teach this in s...

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world...So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us…so that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment…There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:14-18) Let that sink in for a moment. John was most likely toward the end of his life when he wrote this. By that time he was familiar with the revelation of the salvation of all which Paul had received from the risen Jesus. And John was now certain that Jesus was the “Savior of the world” ...not just Israel. And not just a possibility of being saved if certain choices were made…Jesus IS the Savior…of the whole WORLD. And John says it is because God is LOVE. And there is no fear in the judgment that is to come when one actually understands and believes that God loves the world. When we come to realize and believ...

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs...Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:1-8) Have you ever been in love?  Think about that person.  Okay, now let's assume that that person just did something that really hurt you - left you, ignored you, cursed you, whatever. Do you still love them? If not, well, did you really love them in the way the Bible portrays love? The Greek word for love is agape in 1 Corinthians 13. The King James Version translates the word, charity . Think about charity.  What is it?   I can tell you what it is not. It is NOT giving to someone expecting something in return. You may hope you get a thank you or a response of some sort, but that is not why you gave. You were charitable toward them because you cared about them.  They had a need that you wanted to fill, and you ...