Thursday, December 12, 2019

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD - UNIQUE NATIVITY SETS


Nativity Scenes did NOT originate from the Bible, where the original Christmas story resides. It was the humble Francis of Assisi who, while living in Greccio Italy at the time (1223 AD), decided to bring the most beautiful account in Creation to the average person.

In those days, the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was only celebrated by Mass in Latin, which only the church hierarchy could understand. An obviously inspired Francis went around Greccio borrowing animals and obtaining free donations of hay. He then created a manger scene, out of the Bible passages of Mary giving birth to Lord Jesus in Bethlehem, in a stable, since there was no room in any Inn, in that small town of about 500 in Bethlehem.

After he set up the first Nativity Scene with LIVE animals and wax-figured Mary, Joseph and Jesus, Francis began telling the story of the Great Birth from the Bible and preached sermons on it. It was the first time the people understood how the Savior was born and why He came. From historical accounts, many came to Faith that night. Hymns were song and Psalms read out loud as Francis of Assisi wept openly in rejoicing.

Many in Italy heard about this first Nativity Scene of all time, and it spread like wildfire. The first Nativities were almost all live, with live animals, since farming and agrarian economies still existed in the Middle Ages.  Today, around the world, each culture has its own unique rich take on the Birth of the Christ child in the manger. Nativity sets abound around the world, in so many uniquely exquisite forms, it makes the heart smile with gladness.

Each year, the local Franciscan order puts on a "Nativity Scene Festival"  and invites the entire populace to orderly submit their own favorite Nativity Scene, regardless of where in the world it was obtained! Protestants and Catholics and Christ followers of all ages and backgrounds contribute well-crafted and simply marvelous pieces from just about every corner of the world!! Many from all over, bring in their sets, acquired either through their own personal travels or even estate auctions, and share with thousands over a three day period at the Franciscan center, from all walks of life. It is one of the most beautiful events of the local Springfield, Illinois Christmas season.
(Here is the site of this annual event: www.chiaracenter.org)

These are just a small sample of those 131 Nativity sets from around God's Creation.


FIRST IN NATION, IL.  STATE CAPITOL SET (2008)
M
ARBLE-GLAZED SET WAS MADE IN ITALY
From Puerto Rico

Add caption

Nativity Scene made from olive wood, directly from Bethlehem in the Holy Land







Chinese Nativity Scene


Italian Renaissance piece

Authentic Native American Nativity Scene

Created from a South African Gourd
FROM GRECCIO, ITALY
HOME OF THE FIRST NATIVITY SET

And of course - a Charlie Brown Christmas (USA)


FROM THE PERUVIAN AMAZON RAIN FOREST

The Szopka (Nativity) From Krakow, Poland



Sunday, December 8, 2019

BLESSEDNESS: BEATITUDE 2 - COMFORTED BY GOD

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
(Matthew 5:4)
Jesus taught these Beatitudes across the region of Judea as countless numbers heard something new, fresh and divine, which if they had taken it to heart, could have immediate yet eternal impact on their lives.

I have heard it said that Jesus' Beatitudes are meant to reorient our thinking into "having the attitude of.....(fill in the blank)...or "be of this attitude".... That is certainly a great interpretation, or way of looking at the Lord's teachings, as we will discover while digging into the riches of His Word.

In the second Beatitude, we see the Savior proclaim the following "Blessed are those who mourn. for they shall be comforted".

What positive, warm and healing truth from the Creator of the World! BUT, hold on, there is more...as there always is, with King Jesus! If we examine the original language closer, we find another gold mine (with more to follow in the other Beatitudes).


Here we have mourning and comforting. We are all acquainted with the mourning, grieving and sadness that comes with losing a loved one. The older we get, we face the stark and sad fact that our grandparents, parents and other loved ones pass on from this earth, into eternity. Even if our loved ones are solid, born-again Christians, we still grieve and mourn their passing. The loss is actually our loss, as our believing loved ones have just happened to have gone ahead to their eternal reward with Christ. This is the "mourning" with which we are most familiar.

However, the word "mourn" in the Bible, (pentheĆ³ in the original Greek) means more than just grieve at the death of a loved one! It means to lament and feel a measure of guilt, over a sin, shortcoming or transgression against the Lord that is so strong, sadness and guilt takes possession of our spirit.

How a person processes this guilt over loss of a relationship, person, or something important to them, is indicative of the maturity or strength of their walk with Christ. In 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 we read the following:

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication!"

This is it right there! When we are pressed down, overwhelmed and feel defeated by life, or by something someone has done to us...or most likely, by the thing we have done to ourselves, being sorrowful about it is perfectly legitimate!

In this case, this sorrow should lead us to confess and repent of our sins to God. Then, we apologize and attempt to make it right (if possible, if not -move on, God sees the heart). What an example of "Godly mourning" over shortcomings! 

The Lord does not leave us there, though, after we have exhibited the sort of sorrow of which He speaks in this second Beatitude! Look at the next step towards the healing process which began with  Godly Sorrow". The Good News Translation (GNT) paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 7:11 explains it in a terrific way here "
See what God did with this sadness of yours: how earnest it has made you, how eager to prove your innocence! Such indignation, such alarm, such feelings, such devotion, such readiness to punish wrongdoing! You have shown yourselves to be without fault in the whole matter".

What a mighty, loving compassionate God! He accepts us the way we are, when we do the simplest things, in all sincerity, to show we mourn, in sadness and grief over wrongs. THEN, because we have shown all these things described in 2 Corinthians 7:11, He comforts us.

This is an even greater mystery which shows itself where the word "comforted" in Matthew 5:4 originates! The root word is literally derived from the word "Paraklete" - the Holy Spirit! What the Lord offers "those who mourn" in Beatitude 2, is not just a little soothing "ointment" but He summons us up to the Throne Room, where we find hope, encouragement, exhortation all underline with the power and might of God. It is the kind of comfort which is direct from the Courts of the King and can stand the test of time.

The blessings of being comforted by the Holy Spirit, Who communicates directly to the Father, should be enough for us to live a simple, repentant and honest lifestyle. This is the teaching of the 2nd Beatitude. Take it to heart, because those whom the Spirit of the Lord blesses and comforts, stay constantly before Him, if we remain daily in His Will. Amen.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

BLESSEDNESS: BEATITUDE 1 - HUMBLE SPIRIT, RICH HERITAGE

When the Son of God - JESUS - walked the earth, He thundered radical thought and Truth wherever He went. His ministry may have lasted only three (3) years, but He has impacted not only the last 2000 years since, but the Eternal Destination (heaven or hell) of both believers and unbelievers.

The Beatitudes are some of the most popular of Words, which He repeated across Judea, Samaria and wherever He taught. The Book of John reports this "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.(John 21:25).

The Gospels and thus, the entire Bible, contains only a portion of 

The Beatitudes
1. When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

At first glance, "POOR IN SPIRIT" does NOT sound like very exciting or what you and I would expect a Christian to be. After all, Jesus promised us "life abundantly". The Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB) " For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope". (Some other translations say "plans to prosper you"). 

The statement "poor in spirit" is a head-scratcher until we find out what Jesus really means! To sum it up in two words, "poor in spirit" equals a very real "spiritual poverty".

This spiritual poverty is one which EVERY true follower of Jesus Christ should recognize in the inner person. One who is truly converted and knows where he or she came from, then was bought into the Eternal Realm by the Spirit of Jesus, experiences riches untold which eye cannot see, nor ear cannot hear. When our spiritual eyes are open at Salvation, we recognize the same which spurred the former slave trader John Newton to write Amazing Grace.

It is our spiritual poverty which causes us to realize who truly worthless we were, and may still be.
It is our spiritual poverty which causes us to sing about the Savior Who “saved a wretch like me”.
It is our spiritual poverty which does or SHOULD drive us to our knees, daily or as much as possible in gratitude.
It is our spiritual poverty which says like John the Baptist (John 3:30) – I must decrease that He might increase.

This is the “poor” of which the Lord speaketh. The temporal conditions on earth, in this life, mean nothing. A financially poor man will go to the same eternal separation from God as a rich or middle class person, who rejects Jesus Christ.

But the rich, middle-class or poor individual who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord of all in his/her life and internally humbles daily, is destined for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is obviously visible when we pass from this Life. But in essence, when we are saved, we are immediately transferred into the Eternal Kingdom immediately, even while struggling with life, here on earth!

The Kingdom of Heaven for the Christian who is alive today is the sudden knowledge of the  Holy in our lives. We instinctively know Who saved us, while absolutely becoming aware of the change in our lives. Our Salvation is positional and we, immediately, become seated in the Heavenlies with God our Father, from Eternity Past to Eternity Future.

Jesus Himself, gave a tiny glimpse of what the Kingdom looks like, in essence, in this passage. Let us then meditate on it, and pray for more and more revelation as we continue to grow in Godly wisdom:
Matthew 13:31-52 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three  pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:  “I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Tares Explained
36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 

40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”


READ AND MEDITATE ON THESE WORDS IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

BOOK REVIEW: CITY OF PRAYER (2019)

There is only one major American city, of which it can be said, that it is completely blanketed in daily Prayer. On the surface,  Austin, Texas, whose motto is “Keep Austin Weird” may seem like the unlikeliest place for the most concentrated, sustained and focused city-wide movement of prayer in this great country.

Just as in the Third Great Awakening began with one man’s vision for prayer  (Jeremiah Lanphier), Austin’s decade old “Unceasing Prayer Movement” began when one man and his wife. Pastor Trey Kent of Northwest fellowship Church in Austin Texas, and his wife, Mary Anne,  were prayer-walking their neighborhood one night in February 2008. There, under a street lamp, the Holy Spirit gave Pastor Kent a clear vision for a 24/7 prayer movement, powered by many churches from the capitol city of Texas – Austin.

Thus began execution of this divine directive, which quickly evolved into what is now 100 churches of all races and denominations, praying for their city, their churches and the lost. They pray, literally, 24/7/365.  CITY OF PRAYER is the first document of its type to not just record the success of a growing grassroots movement, but the book provides a roadmap which can be, and has already been reproduced in the USA, with interest from other countries!

Written by Pastor Kent and Dr. Kie Bowman of Austin's Hyde Park Baptist Church, CITY OF PRAYER gives not just the history of what is now "The Unceasing Prayer Movement" and "Austin Prays", but also a brief primer on the great revivals and moves of God in the last 150 or so years. These Revivals/Awakenings began with and were fueled only by prayer. Some of the prayer movements of Scripture are also looked at, as a foundational to this book.

Chapters include such themes as: A Culture of Prayer; A People of Prayer; The People of Prayer; Launching 24/7 Prayer in Your City and the Results of Prayer. Without "spoiling the end", as "they" say, this group of churches fervently praying in Austin brought a direct answer from Heaven, which ended a terrible drought in Central Texas! 
The Chapter on "Launching Your Own 24/7 Prayer Movement in Your City" is of particular interest to me. I have been part of now five year old and on-going, intentional, twice per month noon prayer meeting of some local pastors and just anyone who loves to prayer. We had met for years on end from 2005 at the local HOP or House of Prayer run by a good brother of mine- Scott Beauchamp. However since relaunching in recent years, more and more prayer leaders are coming by on our lunch hours on the First and Third Tuesdays of each month to press in for transformation (personal and city wide), the church and everything else that comes up. We have pastors who are Bible churches; Baptist, Assembly of God, Nazarene, Apostolic, Non-denominational and others I have no idea where they go to church. All I know is they love Jesus and love to pray.

When I assumed leadership of the Annual National Day of Prayer event at the Illinois State Capitol, little did I know I was walking, as a prime target, into a blazing hot war. The Lord led me directly to this core group which were already in the infancy of our little city prayer group.  There is a living testimony as to the power of prayer to deliver, empower and embolden which I personally found in this group of praying men back in February 2006. I have never forgotten it as we move into Year 16 of facilitating the annual National Day of Prayer, and stay close to the flame of praying men and women of God, who are all about Jesus and the Holy Ghost. We may be growing very slowly, but there is something to persevering and pressing ahead, regardless, since our Audience is an Audience of One.
  
Almost every movement of God began with one man praying. The Third Great Awakening, the last great nationwide move of God in America, began in New York City in 1857 when one man with a vision for prayer – Jeremiah Lanphier. The first week Lanphier called a prayer meeting, no one showed up. But then on week, one other man showed up….and then more and more. The economic and socio-political conditions in the USA were not unlike those we have today.  Yet Revival spread like wildfire across the nation, leading to many millions saved and the gospel spreading like wildfire to the new American frontier! It laid the spiritual foundation which guided the nation through the devastating Civil War which followed very soon after the Awakening.

We are almost similar Civil War times, not with the Fort Sumters or Gettysburgs, but a civil war of Culture, Community and Church dysfunction. The only answer is the Praying Church. Get this book and let the Lord lead us to what He would have us do.
LINKS:

Saturday, November 16, 2019

THE JOYFUL LIFE - THE BLESSINGS OF FORGIVENESS, PART 3

The Holy Spirit is our direct, or “wireless” if you will, connection to Almighty God our Father, and Jesus Christ- our Lord and Savior. Only the redeemed/saved/born-again of the Lord can testify to this Truth. So when sin and guilt reside in one end of this pipeline – the living, breathing Christian, there is a “clog” or glitch in the communication.

This glitch can only be resolved if the steps described in Parts 1 and 2 of this series on Psalm 32, are mirrored into the soul of the believer. Repentance comes before Restoration.

The Lord walked us through this process in His Word (Psalm 32) and now in verses 8 and 9, the Almighty Himself response to His servant David, and anyone who is serious about repentance and restoring the most important relationship we will ever have – the one with Jesus Himself.

Here is what the Lord Himself says:
Psalm 32

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9   Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.

Here is what He literally means in His own original Hebrew language:
“I will instruct you” – The Lord is saying here “I will make you prudent and wise and give the ability to have the proper insight (you and I will need). The original word here isSakal
“I will teach you” -  After God says He will provide insight and the proper view of things, He says here that He will guide and direct. The original word is “Yara”.
“I will counsel you” – Then, our great and Gracious God goes one step further in promising to give advice and provide the right counsel to His people. The original word is Yaats.

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WE READ THOSE THREE STATEMENTS FROM THE LORD OVER AGAIN! Let this sink in for a moment. When we are given the ability to have the proper view (insight) and then God Himself takes a whole of the direction of our lives and we seek His counsel in many things, we could never go wrong!

What we should always hold near, daily, minute by minute even, is this truth – God loves us and only wants the best for us. When we mess up, He wants to give and forgive and then give again. He is the Lord Who welcomes us with open arms. He is more loving than our earthly parents and more forgiving than anyone every born, except the Lord Jesus Himself.

This is why He exhorts in Psalm 32:10 and says “he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness (grace and mercy on steroids) will surround him (her)

This is why we rejoice, as in Verse 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"


This is the true Joy than can only be found in Forgiveness.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

THE JOYFUL LIFE - THE BLESSINGS OF FORGIVENESS, PART 2

Personal baggage is a terrible thing to carry around. The sad thing is too many carry theirs around for a lifetime, never seeking remedy, relief or restoration. Guilt - real or imagined or created out of thin air - is a heavy burden. It not only destroys your joy, but is the devil's ploy to keep God's Children down.

We, who are followers and disciples of the Lord Jesus, are on a journey and like any good traveler, we must check our baggage in before we get on that flight. No good airline will allow a passenger to bring a huge fifty pound suitcase unto an aircraft...of any size. There is simply, first, no place to store that big bag and secondly it would not fair to the other passengers.

So what are we do do, when the believer actually has a past which has never been confessed or dealt with, and the guilt of the sinful act(s) are just eating away inside. Well, the next portion of Psalm 32, clearly shows us what happened when the man of God - David - covered up his sin for two years....that is, until God sent His prophet Nathan, to bust him.


We read, from Psalm 32:
3  When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.
4  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5  I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Verses 3 and 4 tells us exactly what happens when a person lives with sin and shame, covered over with a blanket, on the inside. 
 -  It affects the person physically. Things may appear nice and healthy on the outside, but like the whitewashed tombs which Jesus spoke about, on the inside, things ain't right.

 -  The psalmist David said there was "groaning all day long". So even if all is well in every day life, and the job is getting down. The person seems to be accomplishing things at her job or in his particular role, but there is not peace inside. Apart from the physical internal decline, now the emotions are in play.

 -  When verse 4 proclaims that the "Hand of the Lord was heavy", this denotes the conscience.  The Lord has written His Law on EVERY single spiritual heart of every single human who was ever been or will be born. This is our conscience. We instinctively know when we have done wrong - either to God or to another person. If a person is saved, the Holy Spirit immediately convicts us of our sin, which as we saw earlier, is missing the mark.

Everyone can confirm these three symptoms of guilt and baggage in each of our lives in the past, until we made it right. Guilt and baggage affects the person physically, emotionally and spiritually. We learn of this from Psalm 32:3-4 and from personal experience.

The remedy is verse 5! Here is how the sinner got his joy back and how anyone who has fallen short before God, or before a loved one, or even more intense - offended a person whom you do not even like,  can be made completely whole. This is the ONLY way to live the Joyful Christian Life. Look at verse 5: 

  -  He not only acknowledge the general umbrella of sin, which his actions fell under, but he acknowledged getting busted, did not say "the devil made me do it" or some such "playing the victim". He own his actions. But he went even further and laid his soul and entire person before the Lord.

  -  He got detailed about his sin. Getting specific about what the actions committed against God and another person are, are KEY to full restoration. Iniquity is worse than just saying a bad word, shouting at someone, or posting something mean on social media. Iniquity violates God's High Moral Standards. We Christians know better than to do that, and if we ever "go there", it would serve us well to uncover it before God and if it is against another person - then, seek immediate forgiveness.

-  Certain sins break ALL God's Commandments. As the Book of James tells us, when we break one commandment, we break them all, since the Law of God is like a chain. Outright rebellion against God is knowing that having that affair is dead wrong, but doing it anyway, because it's more about you than God. It is knowing that getting into that automobile drunk is stupid or cheating on your taxes etc. Even disobeying a command of God.  Rebellion against God is NOT wise and can cause a temporary break between a person and her/his family and definitely, against God.

The good news is the Love, Grace, Mercy and Compassion of our Great God in Heaven can, has and will forgive all of this and lead us to full restoration.  

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

THE JOYFUL LIFE - THE BLESSINGS OF FORGIVENESS, PART 1

At a recent series of Revival Services, where I led worship music on the opening night (October 9, 2019) two major things happened which affected the lives and even the eternity, of members of two distinctive churches. Both entities were personally revived and both experienced the Joy and Freedom of Forgiveness.

The final service was on the regular Sunday morning service with the title "Embracing Forgiveness". In it, my good friend, the Texas pastor/author Dr. David King, who has a background in both Christian radio and church leadership, used the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Joseph as the example of HOW to live a life of forgiveness which reflects both God and the willingness to complete our mission here on earth, with the richness and inner peace which only comes from the Father. We know this story very well. The favorite son of the patriarch Jacob was sold into slavery by this brothers, who schemed and told their father that Jacob was dead....simply because they hated him. Fast forward two decades later and Joseph is the prime minister of Egypt, whom the Lord used to save the entire world from famine. He rescued those same brothers and their families, forgiving them in an act of Mercy which only came from God. He never told a soul about it. (READ MORE ABOUT THAT HERE).

There is HUGE BURDEN lifted when we forgive others. HOWEVER, we can never really know what that means until we are forgiven ourselves! To that end, we begin a new series in Psalm 32, in part, to personally know this powerful pardon from the Lord. In Psalm 32, King David has repented fully before the Lord, for his murderous adultery with Bathsheba. We read his prayers of repentance and sorrow in Psalm 51, which is the example for us to go to God with, when we have blown it so bad, that we think the Lord cannot forgive us.

Now in Psalm 32, the Holy Spirit-inspired author of the Psalms (most of them) - King David, has his eyes opened as what God has really done for him, by forgiving him of his crimes against both God and man. It was too late for David to apologize to Uriah the Hititte, whom he had killed so he (David) could cover up the affair with Uriah's wife, but David did the right thing by responding to God exposing his sin. Now, he shares for all the ages, how this really feels.

Psalm 32, verses 1 and 2 (NKJV):
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

There are three varying degrees of sin listed here, which we have ALL committed and some, maybe still do. Each one is worse than the other one:

Transgression: (pesha, or the rebellion of humans against God which will send the majority of the world away from Him. This can be forgiven if the sinner is truly repent and is the highest degree of sin).
Iniquity: (awon or willfully and blatantly knowing God's standard but breaking it anyway)
Sin: (chattah or missing the mark or the threshold of the Lord).

Here, David is committed all three when he disrespected God, broke all His Commandments and basically not just crossed the line, but willingly blew across it.

The key is Repentance.

The original bible word for "BLESSED" is "Esher" which basically means perfect happiness which cannot be bought by things or conditions, but only comes from the love, grace and peace of Almighty God! Basically, it means - joy.

The other key word to note here is "impute", where God does not consider or hold this against us anymore. We will still have to face the CONSEQUENCES of those sins in our time here on earth, unless we attempt to make it right and others forgive us. To achieve that and to fully receive the blessings of this imputation from the Lord, we must fully embrace forgiveness - and truly forgive others, while not holding anything against them.

This is a hard calling. Are we up to it? Yes, we are.

Sunday, October 6, 2019

RELEVANT NEW BOOK ON DISCIPLESHIP




This fast-moving and timely book on the missing piece of today's modern church is now available to for purchase on all platforms across America.



Hear what some of America's leading ministry leaders have to say about "REAL-LIFE DISCIPLESHIP" by two men I know very well, and work alongside each year for going on two decades, as we put on the annual Iron Sharpens Iron Men's Conference. These men are Tom Cheshire and Tom Gensler of Relevant Practical Ministry for Men (click here).


What a gift! I believe that this book is the answer to the question and the longing on the hearts of so many Christian men- ‘what is a godly man and how do I become one?’ Tom Cheshire and Tom Gensler not only tells us what it means to be a godly man but also compellingly shows us how to become one. This book is a valuable resource! Dr. Crawford W. Loritts, Jr. – Author, Speaker – Sr. Pastor Fellowship Bible Church – Roswell, Georgia

Most of us would agree that a disciple is ‘one who follows Jesus’. Where we might disagree is how to make a disciple – how to make ‘one who follows Jesus’. Tom Cheshire and Tom Gensler embrace the ministry philosophy of the Apostle Paul who did more than teach and encourage first century believers to follow Jesus, he instructed them to ‘Follow me, as I follow Christ’. This model of I Corinthians 11:1 is the basis for ‘Real Life Discipleship’. Grab this book and see what men following men who follow Jesus looks like in the twenty first century. Brian Doyle, Founder and President – Iron Sharpens Iron
REAL LIFE DISCIPLESHIP CAN BE PURCHASED HERE:
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