Are you hitting the Mark?

Romans3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of
God. 1John 1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our
sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and
will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness
[our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].

I have heard it said there are 613 commandments in the Bible. 2, 10, 601.

The 2 big ones, the 10 that everyone has heard about and 601 others. Plus

there are many do's and don'ts through out the scriptures as well. Everyone

sins, a sin can be defined by missing the mark, an archery term. Not

hitting the bullseye. Jesus is "The Mark", that we are aiming for. To be

like Him. That is what being a Christian is all about, to be Christlike. I

am not sure about anyone else, but I sin, and continually fall short of the

glory of God. To confess - a confession is a statement by a suspect in

crime which is adverse to that person. When we confess, God continually

forgives and cleanses us. Note: This does not give us freedom to sin. There

are many times that I feel wretched before God. Thank God for His grace,

His undeserved favor. I thank Jesus for the cross. I am not worthy.

Heavenly Father, please forgive us, your children and help us in be more

like your Son by the power of Holy Spirit, in Jesus precious name I pray,

amen.

Douglas 

Ephesians 5 Commands of love and respect!

31As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”c 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

As the Scriptures say,
Genesis 2:24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

32. Rather, "This mystery is a great one." This profound truth, beyond man's power of discovering, but now revealed, namely, of the spiritual union of Christ and the Church, represented by the marriage union, is a great one, of deep import.
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/5-32.htm

The conclusion both of the husband's duty toward his wife, (love you wife) and of the wife's toward her husband. (Respect your husband)
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/5-33.htm

If both of you master these commands you will have a long and fruitful marriage.
For those of you that are single, may or Lord Jesus Christ give you the comfort that only He can provide!

May our Lord continue to Bless you in 2017

David

God gave it to me and I choked on it!

Exodus 16:3 "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of
Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were
full...4 Then
the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for
you...

Advice for the younger people, learn from the mistakes of others, because

you cannot make them all yourselves. There was a time in my life and I have

heard also in the lives of others, that God had released a person from a

situation. May have been a relationship, drugs, alcohol, whatever it was,

and these people were marching to the promised land and thought about the

"good times" with what they had. The fond memories, and those memories were

clouded, they reentered a way of life that was destructive and bondage. The

people of Israel were out of Egypt, out of bondage by the hand of God. They

complained crying out for the pots of meat and eating the bread till they

were full, forgetting about the other parts of their situation. God had

something better for them, bread from heaven, and today, has something

better each of His children. I cried out for something that God did not

want for me, the pots of meat from Egypt, and God gave it to me and I

choked on it. Brethren, keep your eyes on Jesus and keep marching toward

the promised land.

Douglas 

Reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:17-21NKJV

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

Heaven is a perfect, holy, pure, clean, sinless place. We, as imperfect, unholy, impure, unclean, sinful people could never be worthy to reside there. Yet, God, in His infinite love for us wanted us to be able to reside there. Did God lower His standards to allow us in?

Can you place something dirty on something clean and make it clean? No for the thing you place the dirty object on then becomes dirty. In the same way God cannot just accept us into heaven and and let heaven purify us. Heaven would become defiled by us. So what did He do? God used His Son as a vehicle for reconciling us to Him. 

I've often focused on the physical pain Jesus endured on the cross in order to reconcile us to God. Today, it finally hit me, the spiritual suffering Jesus endured for our sake, was much worse than the physical suffering. Jesus was perfect, holy, pure, clean and sinless yet He took upon Himself all the sin, all the wrath, all the punishment we deserved in order for us to be reconciled to God so we could go to heaven. 

Does that mean everyone will automatically go to heaven? No. We have to accept the gift God has given us. We have to accept the work Jesus did on the cross for  us. We have to accept Jesus. 

Blessings, Cecilia

Ephesians 5 Happy wife happy life!

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,30because we are members of His body.

Love! Why are husbands reminded to "love" their wives as Christ loved the church and gave His life for her? For the same reason wives are reminded to "respect" their husbands. Men aren't wired to show love and women aren't wired to show respect.

Here Paul gives the example of loving your wife as your own body, as your own flesh because you nourish and cherish your body. Men, are you selfish and domineering over your own body?

Christ gave ALL for the church and He gave ALL for us.
Men if you give all out of love for your wife you will do well.
Happy wife, happy life.

Likewise women if you give all out of love and respect your husband you will do well.
Happy husband, happy life.

May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you in this new year!

David

Behave In Love 1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13 (NKJV)

The Greatest Gift

 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Now I'm not some great philosopher on love but I have learned if we allow resentments to take root in our heart, bitterness builds and we cannot love to the full potential God intends us to. 

The only way to love to our full potential is to accept God's love into our heart and than reflect God's love out to others. Love is more then a feeling, it's how we behave toward others. 

Today, behave in love and see how it affects you and those around you.

Blessings, Cecilia

Ephesians 5 Respect

22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

These are some of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. Feminist's say no way! But what is God actually saying here?

Wives respect your husband.
Why would God tell a wife to respect their husband? Because it's against their nature and it doesn't come easy.

Has God set the husband as the authority figure over the household? Yes, but it comes with a price. He is going to be held accountable when he doesn't run the household the way God wants it to be run.
He also gives an example on how man is the head of the household, "as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body."
Christ gave His life for us and the church, our Savior.
Will the husband give his life for protection of his family?

Now we come to another verse which may be troubling to some: "24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything."
Does God really mean what He says here? Yes but to truly understand this verse we need to study what God says how the husband is to treat his wife. Stay tuned for tomorrow!

Also "The submission of the wife to the husband in Ephesians 5 does not allow the husband to be selfish or domineering."
Read more here:
https://www.gotquestions.org/wives-submit.html

In the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned God said this:
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Now we know why husband and wife have disagreements!

Blessings, David