Forgiveness 101- Chapter 1

I was doing a You Version Bible Study Plan again. First in 2013 and here in 2017, I find myself studying it again, for the Holy Spirit told me to do so in the wee hours of the morning.  Here’s the link to the plan: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/75-forgiveness    Day 1 verses are: Proverbs 18:19; Micah 7:18-19; Matthew 5:23-24

The first verse given me by the Holy Spirit was Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”.  The verse was not listed in the plan of verses to memorize, but God. Praise to His Spirit for leading me there first. Therefore, I have concluded that His first message to Shelia is to “lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset”.  “Ya heard me?”  Here are 7 synonyms of beset to make us think deeper about the spiritual healing of forgiveness: 

• Affected(unnatural)
• Plagued( snowed under)
• Tormented(tortured)
• Overwhelmed(dazed)
• Harassed(stressed)
• Surrounded( walled)
• Full of (crammed with)

 

Proverbs 18:19 (KJV) – A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

This plan started off with a powerful Proverb. It is fact.  We are a people controlled by our feelings which in turn cause us to react heartlessly to what we see as a violation to us. We react heartlessly because our heart has been hurt. Admit it.

We don’t forget being hurt my people close to us, our sisters and brothers, our children, our friends from school, work, and church or from wherever the friendship began.  We are even offended by people we don’t have a relationship with. What is our first reaction? You guessed it.  We put up a guard against the person(s).

Think about relationships in your life. Is not this proverb true to its words? The sad thing about this is that this happens in the Body of Christ.

What did I learn from studying this verse? Let me tell you and I’ll make it short.

Admit and say it out loud “I am offended”. The Holy Spirit guided me this morning to admittance being the first step on my path to forgiveness. Now whether you say it to self or to the person that offended you, that’s something your heart will have to declare.  I was offended by my son’s dog barking as I was studying the bible this morning on the back porch. I wanted to slap the dog and bar up his mouth.  😛

Yes, the Lord’s children get offended. We Christians will put bars up plus walls. Some will remove self from the situation/person and/or plot to repay for the offense.  No one likes to be hurt over and over again by the same situation -different scenario and/or person, especially those with intent to hurt and those controlled by evil spirits.  We do not look to the operation of evil spirits, but to the person we SEE in person as the culprit of the offense. This is our first natural reaction.

Questions to think about. (TYHS)

• Does the bible show God as being offended? If so, how did he react?
• What sin doth so easily beset you?
• So how do we remedy an impasse (standoff, gridlock) when offended?
  

Share your wisdom. Thanks for stopping in. You are appreciated in Jesus name.

• Additional reading I came across after writing blog: Christianity Today

 

My Journey through Romans 12:1-8

Guidance for Building One Another Up – An Exercise in Training the Physical Body to Become A Spiritual Body

Additional Reading : 1 Timothy 4

Inside of each and every one of us is the ability to build something. It begins in our childhood with us piling stuff on top of other stuff, taking sticks and leaves to build a campfire or birds nest and building a step to reach snacks sat upon a high shelf by parents. Most of us have built mud cakes and little mud huts when playing with mud and sand castles out of sand. To my knowledge, toy building blocks and upgraded sticks have become very popular the last 30 plus years. I also enjoy building with the grands. Lo, if only we were builders like the ants, birds, and bees. And, throughout our lives we build relationships with others. 

In this chapter Paul focuses on not just building something but on us building one another up in the church. I am glad you asked. How is that possible when we have issues with one another?  How is it possible when people ignore you?  How is it possible when people refuse to work with and communicate with you to get something done?  It is obvious that some of us cannot be friends forever with others and some are just passing through our lives as a lesson.

Paul gave us several ways to build upon when dealing with such people, especially those within the body of Christ.  Let us remember who the letter was written to: the called of Jesus Christ, to all in Rome who were beloved of God called to be saints, and those he considered “brethren”.  The present day people would be all of those who call themselves Believers, Christians, Children of God, those who are in the body of Christ and those who have received God’s mercy and grace. Clear?

Let us begin.

• The first and the biggest building up is that we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is our reasonable (makes the most sense) service. In reading the Holy Bible, you will find that God dealt with us as individuals first while teaching us accountability. (vs10) (1 Cor. 3:16-17 ; Ephesians 4:23; Pray Psalm 141)
• We must not be conformed (dressed to please) to this world. We are to make a spiritual change to be in line with the Spirit of God. (vs. 2)(Exodus 23:2; Leviticus 20:23; 1 Peter 1:14; Pray Psalm 19:12-14)
• Transform (change) ourselves by the renewing of our mind. (vs 2) (Ezekiel 18:31; Pray Psalm 51)
• Do not walk around thinking you are higher than God. Remember the Tower of Babel. Think soberly (vs 3) (1Peter 5:8, Titus 2:12;Pray Psalm 131)
• Remember that we are many members in one body having not the same office( this is diversity of gifts) Think of it this way, you work in an office building shared by many, your tasks are different ,you have an office to self, but all are working together as a whole for the company. It is important for us all to be on one accord according to these verses. Some preachers don’t like this message coming from the pews. I wonder why? (vs. 4-5) (1Corinthians 12:12-14 & 12:28; Ephesians 5:30; Proverbs 27:17; Pray Psalm 133)
• Realize that there is a diversity of gifts imparted to those who art in the body of Christ according to God’s grace. God created more than one planet in the universe and they all revolve around each other. When God created Adam, he said what?  “I will make a help meet for him.” Each apostle Jesus chose had different gifts. Amen. (vs.6-7) (1 Cor. 12:5; 12:11; Pray Psalm 20)
• We are to use our gifts accordingly. Those who have the gift of encouraging should encourage those struggling in the body of Christ. Don’t reiterate a fact that “Everybody is going through something.” God never did that. Those who have the gift of giving of time and resources should do so with simplicity to meet the needs of others. It is true, we’re not all cut out for this. If it causes you problems it’s obviously not your gift to use at the time. Those who are in a position to shepherd over others, lead others, and/or instruct others should do so with diligence (carefulness and attentiveness) and be mindful that this gift is not only imparted to them. Those of a compassionate character should show mercy to others with cheerfulness. (vs. 8) (Hebrews 3:13; 2 Corinthians 8:12; James 1:17; James 3:1-3; Luke 6:36; Isaiah 30:18; Pray Psalm 23)

Each of these verses clearly display that we as the body of Christ are to be on one accord with the Lord.  Isaiah 30 also gives us a lesson on what happens when we are not on one accord with the Lord.  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+30%3A1-33&version=KJV 

Your church may be struggling with the ability to save souls by sharing the Gospel, to build bigger, to keep lifelong members, and struggling with ongoing stress among and between members, hence a sign of discord instead of being on one accord. The church has got to stop covering this up and acknowledge it. Let us stop having so many “ministries” that we lose focus on both the people in the body of Christ and the Spirit of God.  Anything that interferes with worshiping God is discord and shows rebellion toward God.  We need to be very attentive to Isaiah 30:1: Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: I confess I have had my moments of rebellion. It’s good to regard that old aphorism “once you know better, you do better.” Therefore, I encourage both you and I to exercise this physical body until it become a spiritual body by setting our affection on things above and not the things on this earth. (Col. 3:2)

Thank you for taking time out to visit this blog.

My Journey through Romans 10

Just Zeal Ain’t Gonna Get It. Wake Up All Ye Believers. It’s Time to Know God.

Grab your hot cup of cocoa and warm gingerbread for this read.It’s kinda long.  This message is precisely for those who art in the Body of Christ. Though many may not find this as an encouraging blog, I assure you that if you look honestly within self and your churches, this blog is meant to encourage you and set you on fire for the Lord. As you know, I’m not a “tone it down” writer. Did God “tone it down” to the church in Laodicea? (Rev. 3:14-21) (TYHS) Let me start with Paul’s reality of many, even TODAY that say they “know God”:

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:1-2)

Paul was a unflinching writer of what he had done, what he had seen and what he had heard. It is for these reasons that he could say: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”(Romans 10:3-4)  Paul came to know God.  He did not just go from city to city preaching and writing to Believers for entertainment like a Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus show. Lord knows if we are honest with ourselves, we know in our hearts and minds that we have become a congregation that does not know God in the way He wants us to know Him. We can’t even share our confessions with one another in church (James 5:16) without being whispered about. Some rely on being entertained in the church by too many circus acts. These  are just a few things showing that we are not submitting to the righteousness of God. That’s a no-no. And now we move on to the real stuff. 😛

A Real Moment

There are many a time I’ve fallen short of knowing God when under attack by family members, church members, and illnesses. Let’s call the shortness self-sufficiency- the natural stress response when we all tend to forget that God is in the midst. Get the hence, Satan. In this world, there are too many (Believers included) who are the protégé of evil, and way too many shepherds misusing (double-tonguing) the word of God as though they were a professional at using every wind instrument in an orchestra. It is exhausting and sickening to know, to see and to hear of these non-Christ like behaviors that continue to go on in the church. If we knew God, our behaviors would be different. Amen. Daniel fell sick for a reason knowing the outcome of disobedience for the Lord’s people. (Read Daniel 8)

I came to the conclusion that there are many members sitting in many churches crying out to know God. There is a suppressing of the knowledge of God going on. How do we stop suppressing the knowledge of God? By faith first. Paul said, But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (vs. 8-9) And  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (vs. 17) Begin with faith when you preach, teach, and learn the truth of and about God. (TYHS) EVERY BODY in the church needs to wake up and start believing in this truth 100% that Paul shares with us. We have the zeal, yet we are not feeling the burn of the knowledge of God. Not only do we show that we have not faith in God, but we also show that we have not faith in each other in the church.Stop playing church.

I wish shepherds knew what is really on the mind and hearts of their members. I wish members knew what is really on the mind and hearts of their shepherds. This would eliminate gossip, the uncommitted and hardened hearts within the body of Christ. All are afraid to speak the truth in love to one another. Until truth is communicated within the body of Christ, we present-day Laodicean’s (most churches if not all) will continue to be naked without the covering of God. Personally, I’d rather have hurt feelings instead of walking around both blind and naked all the time in church. It would do us good to heed this message for “These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.  I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  (Rev. 3:14-17)

Because we are lukewarm, we are sickening to God and he has become very nauseated with the church.  It is natural for us to spit out anything bad tasting from our mouth, is it not? God prefers us to be either for Him or against Him, does He not? When you have a close friend, is it your wish for them to be for you or against you?  Jesus is the Believer’s husband, we are the bride, should we not agree to “ride or die” (to be down with your husband/wife no matter what, through it all the good and the bad.) with Him? Yes there are members (individually I might add) who are committed to “ride or die” with God; the problem is that we, the church as a WHOLE have become spiritually uncommitted and we lack the knowledge of God.

Stop the “Self-Sufficiency” teachings that teach us to rely on self first. Stop the “Leadership Training” that limits the gifts of others within the church. Stop avoiding and frowning upon the testimony of Christ that others have to share. Without testimonies, over half of the bible would be missing.

Stop having church favorites. The church is NOT a catering business in which one caters to a select few because of so-called church positions. The church is not a business entity period. We need to use the heart of God. He is no respecter of persons.(Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11)  He gives visions to many in the church. Did he give visions to only one person in the bible? We all have to share these God-given visions with one another. If shepherds open the doors of truthful communication in love with all church members, gossip would not rear its ugly head from the pulpit and the pews. The church is not a venue where the ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ mentality  should be taking place. Favoritism shows a lack of knowledge present within the body of Christ. We all have to work together using the knowledge of God. In many churches, even the zeal is gone. BB King would say “the thrill is gone.” Change the setting of your hearts to show favoritism towards the mind of God.

The church is not a theater. In many churches, people who ACT as though they know God can come across as friendly to visitors, but have a problem being friendly with their own members. Stop it with the wearing of a Christian name tag in the church for visitors to see. Let us stop with the man-made teachings and the micromanagement in the body of Christ. Stop these things because they are not in line with His word. (Read Isaiah 29:13 ; 1 Timothy 6:20-21; Titus 1:16) May we begin to obey the word of God. His question found in Luke 4:46 pertains to us today : ^“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

We are just like Israel, up and down, all day, every day. ‘But to Israel he saith, “All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.” (vs. 21) We need to get back to the bible to have God’s kingdom mentality. The Lord said “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:19-20)  Just zeal ain’t gonna get it. Wake up all ye believers, it’s time to know God. There is going on in the world a widespread planting of in-home churches as in the days of old with many that know God and those that truly want to know Him.

I came across this message while looking for something else: It is written by Steven H. Atherto. I’m not sure why it popped up in my search. 🙂

http://www.thefishermenministry.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/How-should-the-Church-Operate.pdf

Prayer Moment– Lord, we repent of our sins committed within your churches.  Help us Lord, we who are offended by this message to come to know you spiritually and to become obedient to your word. Come into our church doors Lord. Set us on fire with the knowledge of you. Cover our nakedness in Jesus name. Amen.

My Journey Through The Book of Romans

As I studied this book kind of thoroughly, (just being honest) I discovered it is a great book with great examples and teaching on sin and death and sin and grace. It is one book that I plan to read over and over again and obtain wisdom on how to live daily in Christ. It is a convicting book. It is a law book. It is an instructional book. So, I wanted to share my thoughts/notes made when I studied this book. Learning about the history of places has always given me a clearer understanding of events in The Holy Bible. Allow me to share with you some information retrieved from bible.about.com:

• Rome was a relatively wealthy city and included several economic classes — including slaves, free individuals, official Roman citizens, and nobles of different kinds (political and military). First-century Rome was known to be filled with all kinds of decadence and immorality, from the brutal practices of the arena to sexual immorality of all kinds.

• During the first century, Rome was heavily influenced by Greek Mythology and the practice of Emperor worship (also known as the Imperial Cult). Thus, most inhabitants of Rome were polytheistic — they worshiped several different gods and demigods depending on their own situations and preferences. For this reason, Rome contained many temples, shrines, and places of worship without a centralized ritual or practice. Most forms of worship were tolerated. Rome was also a home to “outsiders” of many different cultures, including Christians and Jews.

• Nobody is certain of who founded the Christian movement in Rome and developed the earliest churches within the city. Many scholars believe the earliest Roman Christians were Jewish inhabitants of Rome who were exposed to Christianity while visiting Jerusalem — perhaps even during the Day of Pentecost when the church was first established (see Acts 2:1-12). Christianity had become a major presence in the city of Rome by the late 40s A.D. Like most Christians in the ancient world, the Roman Christians were not collected into a single congregation. Instead, small groups of Christ-followers gathered regularly in house churches to worship, fellowship, and study the Scriptures together. The people of Rome were tolerant of most religious expressions. However, that tolerance was largely limited to religions that were polytheistic — meaning, the Roman authorities didn’t care who you worshiped as long as you included the emperor and didn’t create problems with other religious systems. That was a problem for both Christians and Jews during the middle of the first century. That’s because both Christians and Jews were fiercely monotheistic; they proclaimed the unpopular doctrine that there is only one God — and by extension, they refused to worship the emperor or acknowledge him as any kind of deity. For these reasons, Christians and Jews began to experience intense persecution. For example, the Roman Emperor Claudius banished all Jews from the city of Rome in 49 A.D. This decree lasted until Claudius’s death 5 years later.

• Christians began to experience greater persecution under the rule of Emperor Nero — a brutal and perverted man who harbored an intense dislike for Christians. Indeed, it’s known that near the end of his rule Nero enjoyed capturing Christians and setting them on fire to provide light for his gardens at night. The apostle Paul wrote the Book of Romans during the early reign of Nero, when Christian persecution was just beginning. Amazingly, the persecution only became worse near the end of the first century under Emperor Domitian.

Conflict
There were clashes between Christians of Jewish origin and Christians who were Gentiles. The earliest Christian converts in Rome were likely of Jewish origin. The early Roman churches were dominated and led by Jewish disciples of Jesus. When Claudius expelled all Jews from the city of Rome, however, only the Gentile Christians remained. Therefore, the church grew and expanded as a largely Gentile community from 49 – 54 A.D. When Claudius perished and Jews were allowed back in Rome, the returning Jewish Christians came home to find a church that was much different from the one they had left. This resulted in disagreements about how to incorporate the Old Testament law into following Christ, including rituals such as circumcision.

For these reasons, much of Paul’s letter to the Romans includes instructions for Jewish and Gentile Christians on how to live in harmony and properly worship God as a new culture — a new church.

And with that being said, today even- in the robotic and government controlled 21st century we still experience conflict in the church. The question I always wrestle with is: Why do we as Christians / Believers still have this unending conflict when we are all reading and studying the same Holy Bible? We’ve read with our own eyes, or have listened to an audio version of the bible with our own ears, yet we don’t appear to totally comprehend what God’s word is teaching us and warning us of. The things that Paul discusses with the church in Rome continue in its full blown entirety today around the world. No country is exempt. How sad! What it amounts to is that we as Christians/Believers think that we are

whilst the majority of us are behaving like OT Israelite’s being led by way too many false Moses, mountain climbing with wolves as our guides, skydiving while hanging on to the feet of a bluebird and even setting sail to the Holy Land vacationing on false doctrine. You get the gist of what I’m saying, I hope.

At the beginning and end of every day, some of us are out there trying our best to get over our human fears to do this or to do that. Fear of God has to become our dominate heart and mindset trait to get to where God wants us to be.

Job said it best in Job 28:23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.(Therefore being obedient to Him daily gives us the opportunity to know Him as one church) and in Job 28:28 , And unto man he(God) said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
Speaking of ‘knockin’ on heaven’s door, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23- Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I hope you enjoy the journey that will teach us how to knock on heaven’s door and enter into eternity with Christ.

I Love You

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins