Tag: Christ

  • Esau I Hated

    Esau I Hated

    Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.

    But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord.

    “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated.

    We pray to God: ‘Give me a blessing.’ ‘I cannot do this alone?’ ‘Please help me, Lord.’ We acknowledge God as our Father and as our Lord. The Lord, our Father in heaven then blesses us. He provides a loving mate. He provide godly guidance for our misguided children. He heals a dreaded disease. He provides job after job and puts food on our table. He places us in the congregation of Christians who care for our needs and for our soul. Again, and again, the Lord brings us blessing and not curse when we are not in the low place and do not even pray for blessing.

    And what is our thanks? What is our offering to the Lord? Do we cleave to our beloved husband (or wife)? Do we stand as example of Jesus in our instruction of our children? Do we give thanks to the Lord for healing our body? Do we witness at work of the Lord’s unfailing love? Do we thank Him for the food on our table as if without Him we could not be fed? Do we thank Him that someone does not have to feed us for our inability of health to hold even a spoon? Do we joyfully worship with our loving brothers and sisters in Christ on the Lord’s day? Do we gently guide our children to the house of the Lord?

    We fall back into our sins. We slide back toward the pit. We revel in the ways of the world and witness against Christ as our Lord. We witness against God our Father. We offer the sacrifice of our tithes and offerings to the gods of chance, the gods of addiction and the gods of our evil desires. We bow down and worship the gods of sin!

    But you say, “How have you loved us?”

    Do you understand as you trespass the blessing of the Cross that you sell forever His blessing and grace and love?

    Don’t you know that we are ALL lawbreakers? Don’t you remember what you were before you were adopted into the family of faith, the Household of God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord?

    God is NOT your Father and Christ Jesus is NOT your Lord (for no one will lord it over you) IF you witness against the love and sacrifice and blood of the Cross.

    You reject the Lord. Why, at the Day of your judgment, should the Lord not reject YOU?

    Some of us reject a God that could hate Esau… a God who would hate us. (I spoke to this earlier.) We think of Esau as just a man who lived long ago. We think of Israel as only a land and not a people chosen once by God who rejected God continually and rejected Christ Jesus forever.

    Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles, was once a man of Jacob, chosen by God over Esau.  He hated Christ Jesus, the Messiah of Promise and Blessing of the gentiles. God so loved the world; yet Saul of Tarsus hated the church.

    What if Saul of Tarsus had not finally bowed down to Christ Jesus as Lord? Would he not also be judged with Esau?

    Abram was changed to Abraham. Jacob was changed to Israel. Saul of Tarsus was changed to Paul the Apostle.

    Has God changed you for all eternity by the Cross of Christ Jesus?

    Or do you ask for God’s blessing, then quickly turn from the Lord?

    The books of the Bible, which we so carelessly neglect along with the armor of our salvation, point us so diligently toward salvation (being saved from our great curse of sin and death). Over and over the books of the Bible instruct us in that which we ought to have instructed our children and heeded in our own lives.

    GOD IS a Person. God our Father may hate, but most certainly God our Father does love those who truly love Him.

    Genesis 4: And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

    10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

    Does the Blood of the Cross not cry out against you when you offer to your sin that which is the Lord’s?

    13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden…

    Deuteronomy 11: 26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.

     Joshua 8:30-35 

    Joshua Renews the Covenant

    30 At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord…

    34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

    The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

    7 And I heard the altar saying,

    “Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
    true and just are your judgments!”

    15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

    James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

    3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

    Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you…

    Pray also for me, that the blessings of God our Father, the Son Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will continue through His work in me, and that His own Blessings to my life may be renewed in His Spirit, obedience, faithfulness and love.

     

     

  • Shin

    Shin

    Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

    Sin and Shin [Schin]

    161 Princes persecute me without cause,
    but my heart stands in awe of your words.

    Consider for a moment, authority; both legitimate and illegitimate. Government: leaders and those with power over other people. Explanation of “Princes,” used here holds complexity that could include many men and women of the world of many positions even in this day.

    שַׂר – sar – 

    prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain

    from the root: From שָׂרַר (H8323)

    1. chieftain, leader
    2. vassal, noble, official (under king)
    3. captain, general, commander (military)
    4. chief, head, overseer (of other official classes)
    5. heads, princes (of religious office)
    6. elders (of representative leaders of people)
    7. merchant-princes (of rank and dignity)
    8. patron-angel
    9. Ruler of rulers (of God)
    10. warden

    Consider how many rule (lord it over) other men. What is the basis of their authority?

    Is it God, our Creator and LORD of all? Or have they no legitimate cause to lord it over anyone, least of all a righteous man?

    Further, consider the humility by which for your sin a righteous man would give the Princes and powers the authority to hang above His crucified body a sign proclaiming Him:

    Jesus, King of the Jews

    162 I rejoice at your word
    like one who finds great spoil.
    163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
    but I love your law.

    Surly the Princes are liars! Leaders who lie in wait to snare the righteous that they might reap the spoil of their meager wages.

    The Lord God will avenge the faithful, those who love His law.

    164 Seven times a day I praise you
    for your righteous rules.
    165 Great peace have those who love your law;
    nothing can make them stumble.

    Ezekiel 3:20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die.

    The Hand of God shall place before the evil ones the stumbling block of their fall and the snare of their demise.

    166 I hope for your salvation, O Lord,
    and I do your commandments.

    Yĕhovah sabar  yĕshuw`ah

    KJV – LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation

    167 My soul keeps your testimonies;
    I love them exceedingly.
    168 I keep your precepts and testimonies,
    for all my ways are before you.

  • Tsadhe

    Tsadhe

    God’s Righteousness Upheld – No One Is Righteous

    10 as it is written:

    “None is righteous, no, not one;
    11     no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
    12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”

    23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness…

    Righteousness: As it is written in this section of Psalm 119

    Tsadhe [TZADDI]

    137 Righteous are you, O Lord,
    and right are your rules.
    138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
    and in all faithfulness.
    139 My zeal consumes me,
    because my foes forget your words.
    140 Your promise is well tried,
    and your servant loves it.
    141 I am small and despised,
    yet I do not forget your precepts.
    142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
    and your law is true.
    143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
    but your commandments are my delight.
    144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
    give me understanding that I may live.

    Righteousness is important to God.

    From Treasury of Scripture Knowledge – excerpts:[Rom 3:10 KJV] 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
    [Rom 3:10 ESV] 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

     

    [Rom 3:4 ESV] 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”

    [Isa 8:20 ESV] 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
    [1Pe 1:16 ESV] 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

    There –
    [Psa 14:1-3 ESV] 1 To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
    [Psa 53:1-3 ESV] 1 To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

    none
    [Rom 3:23 ESV] 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
    [Job 14:4 ESV] 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.
    [Job 15:14, 16 ESV] 14 What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? … 16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!
    [Job 25:4 ESV] 4 How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?
    [Jer 17:9 ESV] 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
    [Mat 15:19 ESV] 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
    [Mar 7:21-22 ESV] 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
    [Mar 10:18 ESV] 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
    [1Cr 6:9-10 ESV] 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
    [Gal 5:19-21 ESV] 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
    [Eph 2:1-3 ESV] 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience– 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
    [Eph 5:3-6 ESV] 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
    [Col 3:5-9 ESV] 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
    [1Ti 1:9-10 ESV] 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
    [2Ti 3:2-5 ESV] 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
    [Tts 3:3 ESV] 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
    [1Jo 1:8-10 ESV] 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
    [Rev 21:8 ESV] 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
    [Rev 22:15 ESV] 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

     None is righteous. You are not. I am not.

    Romans 5:19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.