Fall on, or crushed by the Rock?

Psalms51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a
willing spirit. 17 My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken
spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly
penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

I have heard it said, you can fall on the Rock and be broken or the Rock

will fall on you and you will be crushed. There are many events that happen

in our lives everyday that have the ability to break us. Some of these

events are designed by the enemy to break us down and destroy us, while

these same events are from God to break us down to surrender to His will,

plan and purpose for our lives. Many people are going through difficult

times, some due to the loss of someone they love whether by death or

divorce, sickness, financial problems, mental anguish, etc. etc. The human

response is to carry these burdens on our own or offer sacrifices and try

to bribe God to help. The sacrifice that God wants is a broken and contrite

heart. It is difficult at times to understand what is going on around us.

The believer understands that God is working, the unbeliever thinks things

just happen, and to those who have walked away from God angry, He still

loves you. May all people have a willing spirit and a broken and contrite

heart before God.

Douglas

In God We Trust John 8:21-30

John 8
The Unbelieving People Warned 
21 Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for Me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.” 22 The peopled asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?” 23 Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” 25 “Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. 26 I  have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the One who sent Me, and He is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that He was talking about His Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM He. I do nothing on My own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent Me is with Me—He has not deserted Me. For I always do what pleases Him.” 30 Then many who heard Him say these things believed in Him. 

Jesus was trying to explain to the people He was not of this world. We all live in this world but we aren't all of this world. The difference is where you place your trust. Do you trust in your income? Your spouse? Your home? Are these the things that give your life value? Make you feel safe? 

Jesus did not trust in any earthly thing. He only trusted in the Father. 

It says it on our money, our country was formed under God but do we really "In God We Trust"? For so many of us, not any more. If we are trusting in the things of this world to make us feel valued and secure, we will never truly be happy. True happiness and security can only be found when we surrender our trust to Jesus. 

Trust Him to provide your needs to get through each day, one day at a time. Trust Him to fill the empty, lonely parts of your heart. Trust Him to give you the happiness and security you crave. 

Trust Him.

Blessings, Cecilia

What does it mean to glorify God?

What does it mean to glorify God? According to Got Questions?.org, "glorifying God means to acknowledge His greatness and give Him honor by praising and worshiping Him, primarily because He,  He alone, deserves to be praised, honored and worshiped. God's glory is the essence of His nature, and we give glory to Him by recognizing that essence". Throughout my life before Christ, I worshiped the woman I was married to, my children, my job, drugs, alcohol, and so many other things, As a Christian, it has taken some time to understand that all those things have let me down and lead to disappointment and emptiness. Jesus is the one who saved me from death, physical and more than that eternal. Worship is more than singing songs, it is a lifestyle that glorifies God in ALL that we do. Brethren, may we "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness", in Jesus name, amen.
1Chron16:28 Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength. 29 Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

Douglas

Romans 7:14-25 Law of God or law of sin?

The Conflict of Two Natures

      14For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

      21I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Paul is a great writer! How can I add to his words to provide a greater understanding?

I selected his principals and separated them below, hopefully they will sink in as you read them.

Law is spiritual,

but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 

for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, (AND emphasis added) the one who wants to do good.

 I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

As we can see, only Jesus can set us free! We carry the sinful nature in us (AND) the loving grace from Jesus Christ. They are both at war inside us. Which one will prevail in the end?

When your members are at war, stop and ask, WWJD?

Remember,

Your soul has been forever marked by Him. Your name has been written in the Lambs Book of Life. Rejoice!

Blessings, David 

Scripture blog; http://stanfordsancutaryscripturestudies.blogspot.com

John 8:12-20 Turn On The Light!

John 8 
Jesus, the Light of the World 
12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” 13 The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about Yourself! Such testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about Myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about Me. 15 You judge Me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. 16 And if I did, My judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent Me is with Me. 17 Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. 18 I am one witness, and my Father who sent Me is the other.” 19 “Where is Your father?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who My Father is. If you knew Me, you would also know My Father.” 20 Jesus made these statements while He was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But He was not arrested, because His time had not yet come.

I googled the definition of the word "Light". I was amazed at all the uses of the word. We take "light" for granted. The sun rises and the day gets brighter. We walk into a dark room, flip a switch, a light comes on and we can see. We even have a little flashlight on our personal phones. We never have to be in darkness if we don't want to be.

Light can also refer to weight. Something can be heavy or light. What is heavy to one person may seem light to another. We could have a heavy heart or be lighthearted. We may have "a light go on" and get understanding. We can light a fire or our face can light up with joy. 

Light can also refer to shades of color or hue. We can paint something a light blue or a dark blue. Light black could be grey and a dark white could look yellow. 

All of these definitions could be applied to Jesus. He chases away the darkness, can remove the heaviness in our heart, bring joy to our life and give us understanding. He can color our world from black to white and take the weight of the world off our shoulders and make our steps light. 

All we have to do is turn on the Light and see Him. 

Blessings, Cecilia

Romans 7:1-13 Do you bear fruit for God?

Believers United to Christ

     1Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 2For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 3So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.
     4Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

     7What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” 8But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

     13Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.


https://www.gci.org/bible/rom7

"Paul clarifies the relationship between law and sin in chapter 7. He begins by giving us an analogy from marriage, and he speaks to the Jewish believers, because they are the ones who are most concerned about the law."

"In chapter 6 Paul says that we died to sin, but we still have to fight it. In chapter 7 he says that we died to the law, but we are to serve Christ in the way of the Spirit. He does not want to make it sound effortless or automatic. The struggle that began before we came to faith continues even after we come to faith — at least that’s the experience of most Christians."

This bears repeating; "brethren, "you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."

Are you one of those Christians that have tendencies to be legalistic?
You know what I mean, don't you? Putting legalism as a stumbling block to grace. Examples would be;
You have to go to church on the sabbath.
You have to be baptized to be saved.

What Paul is articulating here is Jesus Christ saved us by grace because the law only showed us our sin. You are no longer married to the law but to Jesus. You died to the Law when you accepted Jesus.
Stop putting laws over the grace of God. 
Laws will only make you stumble and fall.

Do you bear fruit for God?

Blessings David 

John 8:1-11 Confession

John 8:1-11
A Woman Caught in Adultery 
1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning He was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and He sat down and taught them. 3 As He was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do You say?” 6 They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so He stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then He stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” 

I was raised Catholic. As a Catholic we were taught before you can receive communion you had to go to confession. Saturday's my mom would take us to church and we would wait our turn to go into a little booth with a screen between us and the priest who was in the next booth. We would tell the priest our sins for the week and he would give us "penance" to do to be forgiven. 

The problem with this theology is nowhere in the Bible does it tell us we must go to the priest to confess our sins and do penance to be forgiven. How is this any different then what the Pharisees did? They placed unnecessary burdens on the people in the name of "The Law".  The fact is, the Bible teaches us the exact opposite. 

Christ came to earth to do away with the barrier between us and God. By Christ's death on the cross, the vail of the temple was torn in two to open the way for us to approach God directly. Jesus is the High Priest we go to for confession. The Bible clearly state's we are saved by God's grace and not works. We don't need to do penance. When we confess our sins to Jesus He forgives us. We just need a contrite heart. The only sin God cannot forgive is the one you will not confess. 

1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Blessings, Cecilia