Cheating People? A Terrible Sin in God's Eyes.

Who is God?

"This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”  

"Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing."   Zechariah 7:9-11

Jesus said, "Yet they (religious rulers) shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished."
Mark 12:40

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."   James 1:27

Who am I?

My grandmother, who was poor, was cheated out of the bulk of her father's estate by the banker. God saw what that rich man did and I wouldn't want to be him in the judgement.

My mother was cheated by her sister out of an estate. She could have fought it in court, but decided to let it go and trust God. God has taken care of my mother very well.

The man who ran the food bank in my town stole all the money that was donated. He robbed from the poor.

I love the laws, or rules, of God. The result of obeying them brings happiness to everyone. Sometimes people who believe the laws of the 10 commandments still apply are called, "legalistic." That can be true if a person relies on obeying them to be saved. We are not saved by anthing good we do.

But, looking at the law, you can see the love of God clearly. He doesn't want us to hurt anyone and he doesn't want us to love the world. The only way to do that is by obeying the first commandments, which tell us to worship and believe in God. He will keep us from hurting people and loving the world.

Jesus said, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you."  1John 2:15

Look and Live.

Who is God?

Jesus said:
"As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."John 3:14-18

After snakes had entered the camp of Israel, Moses lifted up a pole that had a sculpture of a snake on it. God told the people if they would look at the snake they would live. Some looked and were cured of snake bites, those who did not look died. Why did God do something so strange?  What was the lesson?

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
The people in the wilderness bitten by the fiery serpents, the poison-virus spreading through their veins, and causing burning pain, torpor, and death—this was symbolic of the world lying in the misery, restlessness, and spiritual death, which came from the Serpent’s victory in Paradise. 

The serpent of brass lifted up by Moses, in which the sufferer saw the means of recovery determined by God, and was healed by faith in Him—this was symbolic of the means of salvation determined by God for the world.

MacLaren's Expositions
So here we have Christ accepting, as well as discerning, the Cross. And we have more than that. We have Christ looking at the Cross as being, not humiliation, but exaltation. ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up.’ And what does that mean? It means the same thing that He said when, near the end, He declared, ‘The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.’ We are accustomed to speak-and we speak rightly-of His death as being the lowest point of the humiliation which was inherent in the very fact of His humanity. He condescended to be born; He stooped yet more to die. But whilst that is true, the other side is also true-that in the Cross Christ is lifted up, and that it is His Throne. For what see we there? The highest exhibition, the tenderest revelation, of His perfect love. And what see we there besides? The supreme manifestation of the highest power.


Paul writes, "God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."  2 Cor. 5:21

There is so much to learn about God in these verses.

1. He loves us so much he gave his Son to us. Forever. He is called the Son of God, but also the Son of Man.

2. All we have to do as a Christian is keep our eyes on Jesus. We are not saved by anything we do. We look at Jesus through the Bible and talk with him thru prayer. This is how faith starts and ends. We are saved by faith in the Son of God.

3. God went through hell for us. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Hell is the second death. Jesus went through that on the cross. That is why he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." He went through the second death in his mind. He felt hell, which is being separated from God for eternity. It is not endless suffering, as some people teach about hell. If it was, then Jesus could have never left the cross.

4. God does not want to condemn the world. He loves the world. He wants to draw all to him so they can be saved. It is true he will one day judge the world; he must decide who is safe to take to heaven. Those who hurt people will not be allowed in. They would continue to do evil in heaven as they do it here. They would also hate heaven, because nothing inside them would be attracted to what is done there. They would not want to praise God and live in love and peace.

Okay, this is a looong post. But hey, it explains the plan of salvation! You can't do that in a few sentences, although I guess that is just what Jesus did.

Who Am I?

I am someone who thought I had to be a good girl (perfect, actually) to be saved. Of course I lived in fear of God because of that. It took many years for me to understand Jesus did it all and does it all. I have no need to worry about being perfect. If God wants me to be perfect, it is up to him to do it to me. I am happy in his love and acceptance of me. All I have to do is look and live.

How Does God Speak to People who Disobey Him?

Who is God?

I was reading Genesis and it struck me how God deals with people who have disobeyed him. He always gives them a chance to talk with him about it. He doesn't come rushing in angry and yelling; he gives them a chance to confess and explain and ask for his help and forgiveness. Here are a few examples of how he treated people.

Genesis 3

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  (of course God knew where they were)
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 4

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

The Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 

1 Kings 19:9

Elijah ran away from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. He was frightened for his life. Elijah usually only went where God told him to go. Not this time. 

"There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"  
Elijah was a Godly man and he talked with God about what he had done.

Matthew 26:

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." 

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. Jesus replied, "Do what you came for, friend." 

 Jesus calls Judas his "friend."  He told Judas at the last supper he knew he was going to betray him; yet even now he now calls him a friend. He is still hoping Judas will confess and ask for forgiveness. But apparently, Judas' heart couldn't be persuaded by Jesus' love.

God gave all these people a chance to explain themselves. I think how God talks with people shows who he is. He isn't some scary guy looking for us to make a mistake and toss us aside. He is continually looking for ways to talk with us. He loves us so much he will keep trying to reach people until their hearts are too hard to even hear him anymore. That's who God is.

Who am I?

I'm like Elijah. I'm afraid of a lot of things. I've tried running, but God always finds me. He is always good to me and infinitely patient. 

God Cares About the Poor.

Palace in Jerusalem

Участник:Russianname. Original uploader was Водник at ru.wikipedia

Who is God?

God is speaking through Jeremiah to Jehoiakim, king of Judah.

“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,

his upper rooms by injustice,

making his own people work for nothing,

not paying them for their labor.

He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace

with spacious upper rooms.’

So he makes large windows in it,

panels it with cedar

and decorates it in red.

“Does it make you a king

to have more and more cedar?

Did not your father have food and drink?

He did what was right and just,

so all went well with him.

He defended the cause of the poor and needy,

and so all went well.

Is that not what it means to know me?”

declares the Lord.

“But your eyes and your heart

are set only on dishonest gain,

on shedding innocent blood

and on oppression and extortion.”

Jeremiah 22:13-17

I love verses like this about God. The Bible is full of them from beginning to end. He hates it when people oppress the poor. I think the only thing that makes him angrier is when the people burned their children alive to idols. If you want to know why God told Israel to annihilate some nations, that was only one of the reasons.

Who am I?

I'm one of those pesky poor and needy people. I know what it is like to be on welfare when my first husband and I split up. I know what it is like when your bread winner loses his/her job. I know what it is like not to be able to pay bills. I know what it is like to be evicted because you can't pay the rent. I know what it is like to live in a car. I know how good a dumpster can look when you have no food.

So, I love the fact that all through the Bible God calls on people to help the poor. 

That is the God who made the universe.

That is the God who loves us.

Falling in Love with God."

The first time I read Song of Solomon I thought, "Why is this crazy poem in the Bible? What does it have to do with God?"  I couldn't figure it out so I asked God what it meant.  A thought came into my mind, "This is how I want you to love me."

Whoa, that hadn't crossed my mind. As far as I could see, Solomon was in love with this girl and wooed her by saying stuff like,

"Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from the hills of Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin; not one of them is alone." 

( I guess she didn't have any missing teeth, which was a bonus in those days.)

I thought about myself falling in love and what it is like. I remember thinking about my boyfriend for hours during the day. I was constantly wondering what he was doing; I couldn't wait to see him after work and then have the whole weekend together. I was full of happiness when I was with him. That's what I saw in Song of Solomon. But how was I going to feel like that about God?

I  have always prayed, "Help me to love you with all my heart, soul and strength and my neighbor as myself." Love has been my goal for many years. But I had to be honest, I didn't have a "feeling" of love for God very often. 

A few weeks ago, I listened to some talks by Ty Gibson. He talks about how God loves us like no one else I have ever heard. After listening for some days, I finally got it. I finally believed God loved me. He really loved me.

I'd known that in my mind, but never in my heart. I believed the Bible when it told me God is love and God loves you; but I always had a sneaking suspicion that he was only putting up with me because he had to. I thought I was a big disappointment to him.

But here comes the great surprise. The greatest surprise of all. When I believed God did love me, I finally had that amazing feeling of falling in love with Him. I just love talking with him, thinking about him and spending a whole day alone with him. 

I know why that happened. If you don't believe someone likes you, then you hold back. You keep your distance. You don't trust. How could I love someone I didn't trust? 

So, now I'm in love with God.  Amazing.

Here are a few of my favorite verses from Song of Solomon.

The girl Solomon loves is speaking here: 

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest

is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

Let him lead me to the banquet hall,

and let his banner over me be love.

Strengthen me with raisins,

refresh me with apples,

for I am faint with love.

His left arm is under my head,

and his right arm embraces me.

Listen! My beloved!

Look! Here he comes,

leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

Look! There he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

peering through the lattice.

My beloved spoke and said to me,

“Arise, my darling,

my beautiful one, come with me.

See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.”

I now see Jesus, running through the forest to my house; he's looking through my window, knocking on my door, asking me to come away with him to heaven. 

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"  Revelation 22:20

Here is where you can find some of Ty Gibson's talks. "An Endless Falling in Love," is one of the best.

http://www.pilgrimskeyradionetwork.com/sermons/sermons.php?speak=40

God Wants to Get Married.

I was thinking I'd better get going on the theme of this blog.

Who is God?

"For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the LORD has called you, Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even like a wife of one's youth when she is rejected, says your God."  
Isaiah 54:5,6

He is our husband or wife. Being married can be the most intimate relationship we have on this earth. God wants that kind of relationship with us. God says we become one with Him; he said that about husbands and wives too.  All through the Bible our relationship with him is compared to marriage.

Who am I? 

 I am someone who grew up believing a man's love would rescue me from the self-hatred I lived in. I thought love would fill me up and I'd finally be happy. My head was in the clouds about love and marriage. I grew up on Snow White and Cary Grant romance movies. I didn't know what real life and real relationships were all about.  I get it now, but I'm 65!  Well, maybe I'd finally learned by 55.

Like God was saying, I was rejected by my first husband. That is terribly painful. I don't blame him though; I became a Christian a year after we married. Poor guy, he didn't sign up to marry a saint! I quit going to parties and joined a church! We are still friendly and he has seen our two daughters all their lives.

I remember my aunt saying to me at my second marriage, "I hope your new husband and daughters get along."  What!  It had never occurred to me they wouldn't; but she had a daughter who had married three times and she knew more than me. They didn't get along. They love each other now though. In fact, they always did love one another there was just a lot of anger mixed in there. Kids don't like a step-parent telling them what to do.  I was 27, what did I know?  Apparently nothing.

God would be the perfect husband. He would be kind, considerate, helpful, loving, fun, interesting... Well there aren't enough words. Who wouldn't want to be married to someone like Jesus? I've changed a little towards God since I heard about this marriage thing with God. I try to talk with him about what I'm doing and reading and just simple things I talk with my husband about. I'm not so formal with him. I feel more at ease. 

Yep, I like being married to God. 

How to Become A Good Person.

This morning, I was reading 1 Corinthians 3:5.  "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God."

A lot of self-help people and people in general would not agree with Paul on this. Most people like to think of themselves as self-sufficient. However, God's words do not lie. He is saying we are not sufficient.

Paul here is talking about living a good life; a life of obeying God in all things. Aha! Do you feel sufficient now? No, we cannot keep the law of God or even be spiritual-minded without God. Only he is sufficient for all these things.

Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing." He means nothing good. We can do plenty of bad.

When I was a new Christian, at 19 years old, I had a picture of God looking down at me and seeing all my faults and sins. He wasn't a happy camper. I felt guilty all the time. This was the picture I got from my parents and church. Being good was talked about all the time, and woe betide you if you weren't. Sin being awful was talked about all the time. Jesus was nice, but you could only push him so far.

I'm 65 now and I have a whole different picture of God. He looks down at me and smiles. He is happy I am his child. He knows when I fail, but he is patient and forgiving. I am covered by the death and blood of his dear Son. Jesus is happy I am his child. He is thrilled when someone gives their life to him. I'm happy I make him happy; thinking of Him makes me happy and full of hope. That is my life now.

I thank you, Lord. I praise you, Lord. I can't wait to see you and live with you forever and ever.

"They will say of Me, 'Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength." Isaiah 45:24