Tag: Christ

  • Blessed fear

    Blessed fear

    What is blessing?  What causes curse?

    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…

     Can fear be a blessing?  Whom or what do you fear?

    Proverbs 28:14

    Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always,
    but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

    Acts 9:31  So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

    Psalms 111:10 

    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever!

    2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

    Whom Shall I Fear

    You are my sword and shield though troubles linger still

    Whom shall I fear?

    Be blessed by the Christian music of Chris Tomlin

    What is your Christian Social Witness?

    Do you fear to SHARE Jesus Christ?

    Please comment and share. Be blessed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

  • Put Your Armor On

    Put Your Armor On

    15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear… [more from 1 Peter]

    Are you ready for Christ Jesus?

    O church, arise and put your armor on.

    What is your Christian Social Witness?

    DO YOU TALK OF JESUS ONLINE?

    Most Christians who spend any time online (facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and other Social networking sites) RARELY mention Jesus.

    Oh sure, some of us pin a poster with a nice verse.  (Maybe a “Friend” might just happen to see it an get converted.) Do you really think this qualifies as talk of Jesus?

    Jesus IS and will return on the clouds… perhaps any day now.

    Certainly in terms of 2000 years since our Lord’s promise to return AFTER the Gospel is spread throughout the world, this 21st century must qualify as last days.

    “Is there any oil in your lamp of social witness?

    Put our your armor, church, my dear brothers & sisters in our Lord.

    When everyone in our ‘SOCIAL’ networks is talking about every thing else, WHY are Christians so unwilling to talk of Jesus?

    While we spend hour after hour in our ‘SOCIAL’ circles with hardly a mention of Jesus Christ, the Ephesians 6 armor of Christians has become rusty as Dorothy’s Tin Man. (Link provided, in case you forgot where you left your armor.)

    Jesus is NOT going to take up everyone when He returns.  Don’t you want your Christian Social Witness to help SAVE your ‘FRIENDS from hell?’

    A definition may help 21st c. Christians get our ideas of armor out of the middle ages.

    any tool or implement for preparing a thing
    arms used in warfare, weapons

    Another reference to this armor (from the same Greek word) provides additional encouragement for our witness.

     2 Corinthians 6:  We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:

    “In an acceptable time I have heard you,
    And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

    Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

    But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God… By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left…

    Please SHARE your talk of Jesus with all of us and with your friends.  ADD a Comment.

    Our Christian Social Witness matters; but above all… before the battle…

    O church, arise and put your armor on. *

    * “O Church, Arise”
    Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
    Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

  • Closed on Sunday

    Closed on Sunday

    “Rest for the wicked; Hope for the weary.

    Where did that thought come from, I wondered.  Could it have anything to do with all of those early mornings and late nights on the internet? (So I looked it up on the internet… didn’t find it… looked for the quote from the Bible… didn’t find it.)

    My thought was actually concerning rest on the Sabbath, a Commandment. (Forgive us our trespasses.) Did our Father in heaven want us to rest for our own good and also worship the God of any of our goodness through Christ Jesus?  What do you think?

    Deuteronomy 5:11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

    12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

    13b On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

    “Observe the Sabbath… Did I remember that wrong? … (I’ll look it up on the internet.)

    I found it. I did remember it. (I think I saw it on someone’s coffee cup somewhere.)

    Exodus 20:8 KJV – Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

    What I had failed to ‘remember’ about the sabbath is the depth of meaning ‘to keep it holy.

    qadash – to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate

    Pharisees had complained about Jesus not keeping the sabbath; but His explanation does not justify any failure of ours to observe the holiness and separation God our Father intended for us to rest… consecrate Sunday and separate ourselves from the world to worship the Lord our God.

    “Most Christians and most 21st c. christian families are guilty of NOT consecrating Sunday to be separate from the worldly and coming together before the Lord our God in holiness.

    (Just an hour of so of obligation to ‘go to church’ hardly counts as “observe” or “consecrate” Sunday, to keep it HOLY.)

    Have you and your 21st c. christian family also been as guilty of remembering to come together as a family of God and worship?

    Forgive us, Lord.  We repent and seek the holiness of Jesus Christ.

    In fact, God willing, I will take another day (after I have rested on Sunday) to talk about: “Rest for the wicked; Hope for the weary.

    Remember to SHARE Christ Jesus and worship the Lord on Sunday as part of our family of the Lord.

    Roger, your brother in Christ -+- Christian Social Witness