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kjv@Psalms:49 @ @ RandyP comments: Can you redeem your brother? The question is important. You might think that you can save yourself by your own good works. That may be all that you wish to think about. Well what about that brother? What about that man on the street? What about that sister that has made a series of bad choices? Are your good works going to save them? Redeem them from the grave? Or is your religion just about you?
kjv@Acts:27:26-44 @ @ RandyP comments: Through a series of successful prophecies Paul has earned the trust of these foreign men. A counter intuitive decision is made as to the course because of this that saves the entire crew and passenger hold. We must note by it's absence that Paul did not pray to God that the ship would be saved or that shipwreck would be averted as many would, he was open to and receiving divine directions which he passed on to those in charge. Maybe that should be our prayer.
kjv@Psalms:56 @ @ RandyP comments: As much as we want our troubles and prayers to sound like David's, very few if any of us have lived the life and done the things towards justice that he speaks of hear. There is a reason he is pursued by his enemies daily and heavily. He can say that his cause is just and that theirs is unjust, that they are wicked or filled with iniquity because they are. Though we picture ourselves in the David role with our own circumstances, chances are more mathematically probable that we are in the enemies role; if not by direct pursuit then by tolerance and detachment.
kjv@Acts:28:16-31 @ @ RandyP comments: Paul must of had some respect from these Roman Jews to have gathered such a meeting at his invite. What began as an opportunity to clear the air concerning what they may or may not have heard about him became a opportunity to evangelize. Th meeting lasted several hours.
kjv@Romans:2 @ @ RandyP comments: No one is above judgement. Our only salvation in judgment is in Jesus Christ. In the previous chapter we've read of the ways of the reprobate. It would be natural for us to be judgmental of others given this impressive list. The problem with that is in the many things for which we ourselves will be judged, things perhaps more hidden than for example overt homosexuality. Persons on both sides of the line draw their own conclusions and judgements. A wall builds up between us with sinners on both sides. God's long suffering and forbearance has been shown to us all. It is time for us on both sides to think in terms of the spirit verses the letter of the law. Let us set aside any sin that would so easily beset us.
kjv@Romans:6 @ @ RandyP comments: Baptized into His death. How many of us realize that? That we may be free of sin... Let not sin therefore reign. There was a time when we had no choice, we were servants of the flesh. Being crucified with Christ now there is a second choice; and it does not appear that it is automatic that we will make the right choice in this new freedom. There are only two choices presented however. The other choice is to be servants of righteousness. We may think that that there is a third choice to do whatever we determine ourselves but that is the same as serving the flesh. This is the test of our faith, whether is strong enough to serve righteousness single mindedly and whether it is real enough to know that it is not automatic.
kjv@Psalms:84 @ @ RandyP comments: It is often calculated that a compassionate God is not a God of judgement. Here we see a soul longing/fainting for the courts of the Lord. What is it that makes His courts desirable? Judgement is what is most needed in order for true compassion to stand out and take hold. It is because judgement is missing that our position is as it is. We have delegated judgment to ourselves but fail to pursue it. We do what is right in our own eyes and the world becomes a hateful desperate place because of it. Better is a day in His courts than a thousand with the wicked indeed!
kjv@Psalms:85 @ @ RandyP comments: I wonder how much of the anger of God read about here is His anger and how much is either our sense of shame or rebelliousness. We often transfer the blame or misinterpret the real situation; which may make Him all the more angry. We have to be careful not to present ourselves as being ready for being turned if only God were not still so mad. If God is angry there will be good cause. If He is still distant then perhaps we are not fully ready to be turned and revived. With God, mercy and truth are always met together, it is never a point that we wish He would return to.
kjv@Romans:15:1-20 @ @ RandyP comments: "And not to please ourselves". It is so easy even in the course of ministry to do the things we do for the sake of the ministry and not so much for the sake of the person whose infirmities we intend to bear. The person becomes another notch in our belt, a mark to our tally. Perhaps one of the greatest successes of Paul's ministry, his outreach to the Gentiles, was due to his attention to the individual person. This is why we hear of so many people coming to his aid and joining beside his ministry later. Paul encourages us that we are more than capable of doing the same.
kjv@Psalms:109 @ @ RandyP comments: This world is filled with the truly poor and needy. There are countries we can think of that are in a constant oppressive state, countries where it's own refugees are congregated in camps just across it's borders, some for years and decades. We pray for them of course but, what to pray? There are people in the name of the Lord that are standing up for these people but they are lied against, falsely detained, immobilized. We pray for them but, what? There are those that are at the root of this. What shall we pray for them? David must have been square in the middle of some of these skirmishes. Is it wrong for him to pray this? Wrong to sing about this in the congregation? Will the wicked man ever change his ways once he has tasted blood in the waters?
kjv@1Corinthians:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Paul continues to address the divisions in Corinth. He could have just said to stop it, but, instead used the opportunity to teach important doctrines. The carnal mind has not been escaped to this point as there are envying and strife. Thinking oneself to be wise, glorying in certain men over others when all are doing their work for the Lord are caused by spiritual immaturity. We are taught to look at a much larger picture of what God is doing and how other men and ourselves fit into that.
kjv@1Corinthians:7:1-24 @ @ RandyP comments: These are general rules for marriage but, the principals involved are far reaching. Principal one: you are not your own, you are the others'. Principal two: don't hold back yourselves from one another except by mutual consent for spiritual matters. Principal three: stay engaged/invested in the marriage even if your spouse is a unbeliever if they are consenting.
kjv@Psalms:135 @ @ RandyP comments: He did (and does) what most pleases Himself. He did (and does) big big things. Certain things must bring Him great joy. Our drawing toward other false gods and idols does not please Him so He does against that which doesn't please Him as well. It is very much an insult that we would leave Him for a lifeless speechless deaf figment of our vain imagination just to serve ourselves.
kjv@Psalms:141 @ @ RandyP comments: This constant talk about the wicked and of his own travail concerns me. Surely this not just any typical man nor situation nor prayer. The psalmist is being oppressed and surrounded for reasons not common to most of us in our personal daily lives. My concern is that we look at our common worldly difficulties in the light he looks at here, which is an intense spiritual warfare set against him as anointed king of anointed Israel being in the direct and announced blood line of the coming Savior. There may be a similarity to the persecution of the apostles and saints and martyrs, but to having ourselves a bad hair day?
kjv@Proverbs:13:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Instruction often comes in the form of rebuke/reproof. Being willing to listen to it is the key to being wise. The rebuke/reproof has to wise of course otherwise it is mean cruel for it's own sake. Parents for instance need to be as wise or wiser than their own fatherly instruction, which many times means being wise enough to listen to our Father's rebuke as well.
kjv@Proverbs:14:4 @ @ RandyP comments: Perhaps we should examine ourselves and ask what is my strong oxen and how do I take better care of it. Is it my education? Is it my field knowledge? Is it my professional acquaintances and associations? Is it my car? My tools? My skill? My courage?
kjv@Proverbs:15:14 @ @ RandyP comments: What does it mean to have understanding? It means to know to seek after knowledge. If we purse an issue thinking that we know everything about it from the start, this is not understanding. If we pursue thinking that simply by the strength of our own determination exerting force we will bend the issue to our favor, this is not understanding. Seeking knowledge means first seeking the fear of the Lord, humbling ourselves and our cause to His presence, listening for direction and knowing that it may well include correction and faithful obedience, this is understanding.
kjv@2Corinthians:5 @ @ RandyP comments: There is a constant debate over works and faith. If because of faith you no longer live to yourself what do you now do? Some would say nothing for Christ did it all, grace not works. Others would counter you do what He would do, you work His work having given us the ministry of reconciliation, not for the salvation which is by grace but for the reward as His ambassadors.
kjv@Ecclesiastes:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Just days ago we had read kjv@1Corinthians:15 that the righteousness of God in putting us through this corruption was to break us down, have us die to ourselves that we might germinate to a spiritual plant/being (be born again). Here it says similarly the travail God has given the sons of men to be exercised with. From the observation from heaven it is a unnecessary and righteous thing and from our sense it is a grievous and sorrowful thing. This is because of the weight with which we invest ourselves into making something carnal out of this present corruption. We do not see the things under heaven as they were before nor the things as they will be. All is vanity, but, God submitted us to this vanity because of a much greater righteous hope kjv@Romans:8:20-23.
kjv@Ecclesiastes:5 @ @ RandyP comments: If not for God in the heaven, why would you not oppress the poor? Why would you not lie and cheat and steal for your larger portion? No it wouldn't be as satisfying as you had imagined but, hey it is better than being one of the oppressed. Really, what is there to stop a man from thinking this way? Love of country and nation? Love of doing right? Fear of what others might think of you? Surely the fear of the LORD is the beginning of Wisdom; wisdom for ourselves and for our nation.
kjv@Ecclesiastes:9 @ @ RandyP comments: One event happens to us all and after that there is no more work and no more remberance of us in this realm. All that we have done for ourselves is occupy our time. Left at that it would appear to be vanity. Christ however did not come here in vain nor did He die in vain nor is this the end He intends. Live joyfully with thy wife, do all these good and wise things but, most of all live for Him.
kjv@Ecclesiastes:12 @ @ RandyP comments: Upon our deaths nothing more can be said or done. That in which we put ourselves to on this earth will cease and no longer be remembered. We have the option of spending this remaining time doing for ourselves or we can follow after our Lord and Shepherd to His final pastier. Fear God, and keep His commandments: for that is the whole duty of man. The end of all things is vanity if not for God.
kjv@Isaiah:1 @ @ RandyP comments: BookOfIsaiah gives us a good background to Isaiah. We find ourselves in great rebellion, the LORD seeking to correct but, no correction being taken. If not for a remnant the nation would have already been destroyed.
kjv@Isaiah:6 @ @ RandyP comments: The prophet did not have to be told that he was dirty, he knew by looking into glory, seeing the Lord on His throne, His long train filling the temple, angels and seraphim singing all around. The guilt/shame was sensed in His lips. The words going out, the appetite going in, the gestures of affection are all in the lips. It would be wise for us to consider his physical awareness of sin as we consider ours in light of the Lords full glory.
kjv@Galatians:5 @ @ RandyP comments: For Paul to say be not entangled in the yoke of bondage means that it is quiet possible to if not likely. It is something that we must guard ourselves from. In this case it centers around our perception of what justifies us in the end, the Law or Grace. In other ways it seems to be in resembling too closely the ways of this world or reverting back into our fleshly appetites and habits. The works of the flesh are manifest as are the fruits of the Spirit.
kjv@Ephesians:2 @ @ RandyP comments: I sense that Paul is describing the larger body of believers; us, all, ye, we, both, together, strangers, foreigners, household, temple. The Holy Spirit inhabits a body of believers. He may work on/in us individually but, always for the benefit of the body. We often reverse this foundational truth, blaming/accusing the body, separating ourselves from it, criticizing/judging what is the work and dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
kjv@Ephesians:4 @ @ RandyP comments: We see the importance of the body of believers to our own personal growth process; it can not be escaped. Much of our development is in the striving for the unity of the Spirit, a most difficult but yet essential task. The bonds of peace, the unity of faith, the whole body fitly joined together, these are the works of the Holy Spirit and the directions given our pastors teachers and evangelists. When we give ourselves over to Christ this is what we give ourselves over to. Anything other is of our old corrupt selves.
kjv@Ephesians:5 @ @ RandyP comments: There are those who follow after the darkness of this world in it's many components. There is us who have been called out of darkness into the light, to be light, light that manifests. Ways listed to do this include separating ourselves from that darkness, not partaking in their darkness, walking circumspectly, speaking joyfully to one another in psalms and songs etc, giving proper structure and definition to marriages. Walk in love as did Christ.
kjv@Philippians:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Christ is being preached, by Paul's life and by his death, by others responding to Paul's absence some in contention some in love, by the churches outreach and operation even under extreme persecution. Some would think that they have the upper hand but, who has the upper hand over God? Is this not how He said it would be? Is this not a necessary part of our sanctification to share in His sufferings? Is He not sovereign and in complete control? Has any one or anything snuck up on Him that he had mistakenly underestimated or poorly considered? Of course not, for Christ is preached!
kjv@Isaiah:62 @ @ RandyP comments: It may seem odd that there is such a focus on singular objects, Jerusalem and Zion in the age to come. Surely the focus will be on the Lord, but, the tangible proof of that focus will be these symbolic things. That the Lord has done this, that it is now viewed by others as He had said it would is the proof of His commitment. That we would come to do this in this manner is then proof of ours.
kjv@Jeremiah:5 @ @ RandyP comments: The emphasis is on the fact that both Israel and Judah believe themselves to be all of this, that the Lord supposedly is with them and yet there is not a man to be found that executes His judgments; no one fighting for His cause. They have become rich and that is their own proof. The Lord had stricken them and they have not grieved, consumed them and still they have not received correction. Certainly we as a nation must be concerned of this too, but, therein we see the difficulty; individuals may believe, even majorities of individuals, the course of nations however are not necessarily stirred by well intentioned individuals.
kjv@Jeremiah:6 @ @ RandyP comments: The Word of the Lord to them is a reproach and their ears will hear nothing of it. How then should this be dealt with by Yahweh? Does the people's 'god of unconditional compassion' have to just sit back and take it? Many today continue this notion of God's unconditional compassion not knowing what compassion even is nor knowing what an extremely compromised position a righteous God is placed under by such faulty/selfish definition. Rather, God's unconditional compassion is in that no matter what one has done/no matter how badly one may have sinned and acted, Jesus Christ died and raised for the purchase providing means for your return. Should you choose to return/repent/compromise yourself and thus receive this unconditional grace He will unconditionally pardon and accept you into His everlasting kingdom. God's great compromise is in the giving of His Son. If you are unwilling to accept that alone for your salvation, what more can/would He do?
kjv@1Timothy:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Matters of the Law today as in their day have stirred divisions and confusion in the Church. The Law is of course good when understood in it's rightful/lawful context. The Law brings us to the knowledge of Christ. It is a hired nanny who brings us by the hand from distances where we were to the very doorsteps of the master. It is not the master, the Lord is the master and His grace is the primary curriculum. Paul himself testifies to this fact. The Law is a yoke, a bond, a sentence, the sting of death. We would not have know sin except for the Law. It shows us how we are, how futile our situation is against our sin, the need for the Christ and His complete redemption. (see kjv@Romans:5-6)
kjv@Jeremiah:9:24 @ @ RandyP comments: The thought should not be that when the Lord acts in loving kindness He acts one way and when He acts in judgment it is another. The Lord always acts in loving-kindness just as He acts in judgment. There is no separation. Those that think that a loving God would not judge are caught in a loop of self justification, nothing that they could do deserves His judgment, or so they think. Instead, judgment and mercy go together, there cannot be one without the other especially when you are talking the hearts and lives of billions of people. Ask yourself, what is loving about sovereign Deity that simply over looks all of the ills men inflict upon themselves and others? What is loving about a God that created us to be happy and fulfilled as one thing but allows us to be everything other than that in this sad sad state?
kjv@Jeremiah:38 @ @ RandyP comments: We can sense how others perceived Jeremiah. He was a traitor bent on the surrender of Jerusalem to the Chaldeans. He was causing division within the ranks and was using religious sounding speech to dishearten the masses. Left at liberty, he would use highly visual grandstanding techniques such as wooden yokes and ancient vessels to invoke dissent. The word was out on him. Imprisoned, Jeremiah would of course not be stopped, but, at least perhaps contained; his where-abouts known.
kjv@Hebrews:3 @ @ RandyP comments: The unbelief of Israel in the wilderness is given as a example to us of the deceitfulness of sin. They saw many great wonders on their course, but, even seeing was not enough as they were still deceived by their hearts into many things that angered God. We too must examine ourselves daily as we think that we are doing right toward God. So much though is done in unbelief, by our own fear, limited by our perception of the size and scope and purposes of the Lord. We may not be in the promise land yet and we may not be in the bondage from which we were delivered out of, but, we certainly are in the middle of a considerable and lengthy process.
kjv@Ezekiel:3 @ @ RandyP comments: Though we are not the prophet specifically being addressed we should assume that there is a responsibility in the same sense of ours to our stiff-necked generation as well. A man may well die in his sin regardless, but, that is not for our interpretation. Our concern is that he is presented with the Gospel and has the opportunity whether he accepts it or not to choose not to die in his sin otherwise his blood in some measure is on us.
kjv@Hebrews:11:1-19 @ @ RandyP comments: Faith is most commonly defined as something we believe or hope for. Here it is better defined as something that totally moves us and shapes the course of things to come, a leaving of ourselves to commit/pursue the greater promises laid before us. Faith is a both a destination and the road/process of getting there. It is it's own country.
kjv@Ezekiel:13 @ @ RandyP comments: There is the common thought that the Lord is always for peace; if you speak toward or prophecy of peace you may be speaking for the Lord. There are seasons to each and everything and this time in particular was not a time for peace. They were falsely speaking from their own spirit giving the people hope and desires therefore confirmed this hope; all of it false. The few righteous were cast down for speaking truth, the wicked up lifted in the void. The measures of security (gaps/hedges/wall) were cheated and poorly repaired. Questionable methods were adopted by prophets and prophetesses to support their work being not supported by God. All of this was to be exposed to the people in the judgment. We too will see the prophets of our day in correct light upon ours.
kjv@Ezekiel:14 @ @ RandyP comments: Three righteous men of the ages are given as repeated examples. The righteousness of these men can only save themselves; not even their immediate sons and daughters can be saved unless by their own individual righteousness. So too, only you yourself is saved if so be, your family and friends will have to be saved themselves by their own righteousness. Any righteousness any of us would have is found solely in the righteousness of Christ Jesus and on the personal confession of that alone will any individual be delivered.
kjv@James:2 @ @ RandyP comments: There is an eternal salvation and justification accomplished on our behalf strictly by the work of Jesus Christ our savior at the cross of Calvary. No other work can replace that. What James means by works leading to justification here is similar to what the author of Hebrews meant by 'the evidence of things unseen/substance of things hoped for' ( kjv@Hebrews:11 ), the effect faith has in producing corresponding action. It is difficult for one man to justify that another man has faith if their is no tangible evidence outwardly of said faith. It should be just as difficult for us ourselves to justify our reasoning for believing in Christ if we yet disallow His natural effect upon us causing us to act forward in a new and living way. If our faith leads us to no more than what faith in any other god would lead us to do or not do, what justification would we have for such faith? The question then must be asked 'how much does Christ's redemptive work on the cross mean to us personally'? 'To what extent does it/will it effect us'? Jesus called it 'abiding in' and Peter called it 'being neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ'.
kjv@Ezekiel:27 @ @ RandyP comments: In the normal course of history many merchant hubs have risen and faded. A new and better port is built, an in defensible harbor is replaced by a defensible one, trade routes eventually move to more direct routes and highways, their cities slowly bypassed. That is just it, there is identifiable economic/strategic process and time. This was not the case with Tyrus. There is definite reason that the kings and merchants of the world are awe shocked and terrored. If the mighty hub of Tyrus can be so easily be destroyed in one sudden swoop, being thus prophesied and as a result re-fortified by them united, then they themselves stand no chance.
kjv@Ezekiel:28 @ @ RandyP comments: The warning to Ziddon seems to get lost here with the curiosity of the earlier passage. Its importance should not be overlooked. My sense is that like with the other nations the Lord has been working long and hard with them but, Israel itself is far too despised. It is right for the Lord to judge because they know Israel is His but they can not get over their vile hatred. We should look at this as a warning to ourselves and our nation as well. The second sense is that after being judged that many of these nations are wiped completely even out of the history books. For a long time the existence of these nations and cities mentioned were disputed. Of late however, archaeological evidences are mounting to re-confirm their one time existence and stature. Surely, God was not kidding when He said they'd be remembered no more.
kjv@James:5 @ @ RandyP comments: The prayer and anointing of the sick is matched with the confession of faults one to another. It is one thing to believe in the power of healing, another thing to allow ourselves collectively to be honest and open to one another. It does not say directly that the illness is caused by fault, it says that the healing is assisted by its confession. And then the strength of faith has broader reach. Initiating and sustaining such a group openness is the difficulty.
kjv@Ezekiel:39 @ @ RandyP comments: Seven years of burning nothing but weapons for fuel. A gathering of many birds and creeping things to eat on the carcasses. Seven months of flagging and burying the dead. A national effort by every citizen to cleanse the land. This would be an effective way of making yourself known again to your people. It would certainly lift the veil from their eyes. Imagine being in Israel at this time. Given the odds of the battle this sight would only be by the hand of God.
kjv@1Peter:5 @ @ RandyP comments: Though addressing church elders initially, the message here applies to each of us. Humbling ourselves, casting our cares, subjecting ourselves to one another, being sober and diligent to resist the Devil, suffering willingly to the ends of perfection. Peter, I feel, is driving the point home that these worthy things are brought about by the constant feeding the flock and taking oversight.
kjv@Daniel:4 @ @ RandyP comments: A thought about free choice... Nebuchadnezzar had twelve months to consider the interpretation of his dream. For some the dream alone would be enough to alter/soften their hearts, or so we would hope, but, is that actually true? Daniel as much as said some sort of lessening would be possible. It was not ever said though that this chastisement would ever be avoidable, that the choice was totally his. It could be that over the course of twelve months Nebuchadnezzar did everything that he thought would hold this off only to realize that he was still under it's shadow. He may have hardened in the end. Therefore it is evidenced that as much as Nebuchadnezzar may have thought that he had changed, he had not actually changed; the pride was still deep within him. Our circumstances may be similar, God may be trying to remove a destructive trait or element from our heart. We may try (and be given time) to extract that ill on our own, but, until it is given into God's hands it is never really removed; it simply lays hidden producing further atrophy/paralysis. Where then is free choice? It is in accepting the way things must be. It is all things given into His hands.
kjv@1John:4 @ @ RandyP comments: If I were to ask nearly any non-believer 'what is God?' the near unanimous reply would be "God is love". If I were to ask then 'what is love?' I would receive a multitude of varying replies mostly having something to do with tolerance for their sins. The question then to ask is 'doesn't that mean that love is whatever one wants/needs it to be?' or better 'that God is whomever we want/need Him to be?'. What kind of god can we ourselves make up? Is your wife whomever you wish her to be? Is your son? Is there any other working relationship that you know of that is determined by what you wish it to be? Are we not individual? Do we not have structure and backbone, interests and opinions and needs of our own that you yourself have to accept navigate and familiarize your self with? Isn't that the beauty of relationships? Why should it be any different with God? We love God because he first loved us. It was not our minute and varying personal perceptions of God with which He loved us, it was His gigantic eternal design for present and future, a love that would redeem us from our sins and set us aright into eternity. It was not our selfish 'I need you to be this' love or 'do this now for me or else' love or 'if you even exist' love for His love came before our love. What then is love? God is love? What is God? Creator and perfecter and possessor of our souls in whom no darkness dwells and in that He is absolute love.
kjv@1John:5 @ @ RandyP comments: I find the rhythm in the end odd. Such a metered and descriptive examination of godly love throughout the passage, to end in such an abrupt change of cadence 'keep yourself from idols' (out!). Is the transition from love to idols as so abrupt however? Are they not essentially the same thing? All that he has spoken of love and heavenly wittiness and sinlessness and divine providence, can they not be wrapped up in the few words of keeping yourself from idols? Where then do our idols exists?
kjv@1John:5 @ @ RandyP comments: The idols spoken of here can be as simple as a Jesus other than the one testified of by the Father. A Jesus that isn't God made flesh. A Jesus who is not His only begotten Son. A Jesus who is not His beloved. A Jesus who is one of many ways acceptable to the Father. Any other Jesus makes this Jesus a liar. Try this translation: "keep yourselves from the Jesus that makes this Jesus a liar".
kjv@Hosea:7:7 @ @ RandyP comments: Where are the men that can see aright, that can discern the times and legislate the course? They have been devoured. Did not even David in his Psalms sense that the wicked were out for as much? Well they've done it. Is this not true in our day and time as well?
kjv@Revelation:4:1 @ @ RandyP comments: Must be. So many consider this book as what could be if we don't straighten ourselves up, that the power to hold this off is in our hands. All of scripture suggests different. As bad and as wrong as all that follows seems to be, it is right and part of the course God has mandated. His faithfulness is contrasted by man's deprived nature given every opportunity to repent and by the spiritual war of Satanic powers and principalities that have been hidden all about us till this time. It is the time that His chosen people come awake, their eyes opened to His Messiah, His covenant to their fathers Abraham Issac and Jacob towards them finally realized.
kjv@Revelation:9:4 @ @ RandyP comments: We know from earlier that the foreheads of 144k have been sealed. Now we see that those 144k are spared from this terrible plague. What about the Gentile Church? It is for this reason and more that many believe that the Church has left the storyline completely having been raptured (they have not specifically been mentioned since chapter 3), they are a part of the numerous host surrounding the throne. There may be new tribulation believers haven seen these occurrences first hand of course.
kjv@Habakkuk:2 @ @ RandyP comments: So this is where Paul twice and the author of Hebrews once get "the just shall live by faith". Now we have the original context. Given our tendency to box God into the corners of what we think He should and should not be doing, given our blindness to everything except what is immediately before us, given our own personal track record and what we ourselves are being chastised over, we if seeking through this to become just should live by faith. kjv@Romans:1:17 kjv@Galatians:3:11 kjv@Hebrews:10:38
kjv@Zephaniah:3 @ @ RandyP comments: The Lord's determination is to gather the nations. He has done it before, He will do it again. Some would think that this would be a good thing, the nations assembled together. However it is not for their own good they are drawn, it is to pour out His indignation. He is jealous for all the peoples of all the kingdoms. He pours it out with the hope that they will turn and see.
kjv@Zechariah:7 @ @ RandyP comments: The command seemed simple enough, to execute true judgment, show mercy, oppress not. To do these things as an individual is one thing; as a nation quite another. When the Lord cried out they would not hear. Now that they are crying out the Lord seems to not hear. What was so hard about the command? The answer may be within. Now they fast in the fifth month these many years, but, is it to the Lord they fast or to themselves? They send men to inquire of the prophet, but, is it for the truth or to bend God's ear? Why should He listen if they do not listen? Why should He do for them when they intend to do plenty for themselves only as well? Worship is not about doing better for yourself. It is not about bending His will around yours. It is not Him plucking you out of the pit that you've dug yourself so that you can run along to dig yet another. Worship is about Him, it is about what you most value, what you are most willing to serve. One cannot perform the command without the deepest reverence and worship towards Him who wants you first to listen. And to best do that one must do this worship as a nation. That is what is so hard.
kjv@Zechariah:13 @ @ RandyP comments: The question may come to mind that if the Lord can cut off the names of idols and lying prophets in that coming day why doesn't He just do it now? The answer may lay in the object of a process we are being brought through to be able to identify and desire this ourselves as well. It is one thing for Him to cut off when no one knows what He is doing and why He is doing it and many possibly be angry or taken back by it, it is another to have everyone on board and aware and even participants along with Him in cutting it off. We are told here of parents willingly striking their wicked prophet son through. We are told here of a refining fire. In effect, what good does it do for the Lord to cut something off if it grows right back again? If it means cutting off more people than already need be cut off? If it can serve a better purpose temporarily being allowed?
kjv@Revelation:21:8 @ @ RandyP comments: Is Hell really that hard to understand? If your family was moving from it's remote frontier outpost to a new thriving city and you refused to go, what would you have left? If your ship was abandoned and left to sink and you refused to go, what would you have left. If your leprosy was cured by a shot and a new healthy location and you refused...you get the idea! We tend to think of God when we think of Hell in terms of "how could He" instead of "why did we not". If it is the course of creation to proceed from A (a temporal/carnal existence) to B (a transitional/spiritual existence being set apart and prepared) to C (a new and spiritual living eternal existence far removed from the corruption of sin/death) and we stick to our guns and stay at A, what happens to us when A and B are no more? Are no longer supported? Are removed from available options? What happens to the seed that refuses to sprout?
kjv@Matthew:1:1-17 @ @ RandyP comments: The bloodline of Jesus is of course important to scholars in confirming the qualifications of Jesus determined by existing prophecy. In the gospels we have two bloodlines written in case we were to misinterpret or loose the one. Both are valid to authenticate Jesus, Mary's perhaps slightly more as it is actual blood Jesus would have.
kjv@Genesis:9 @ @ RandyP comments: The faith of a righteous man can help to deliver his children, but, those same children still have to make the decision to receive salvation each one themselves. We see too often the case where the righteous are followed by rebellious even evil sons, some for a spell, just as many continue to their own ruin. It is not the fault typically of the righteous (though there are always things that could have been parented better) it is rather a frequent tendency of one's self image to take a completely opposite course than the parent. We see it with the rich and successful, the powerful, the popular, the learned, the influential, the benevolent, why not then the righteous?
kjv@Genesis:16 @ @ RandyP comments: I think it is a part of all of us when considering God's promises to rationalize how God would be able to do that unless I do this (fill in the blank). Though we may start out strong in the trust, after delay, we begin to think that God is waiting for me to do this, or that He has left it up to me, or that He must have meant something other; well you can see how the purer form of trust dissolves. Like Sarah, we can create a lot of turmoil and anguish for ourselves. I don't see this as a peculiar fault of Sarah, it is more of a trait in all of us. This is not to say that there may not be something that we do need to do, it means we should continuously seek the Lord's direction and wait upon His answer before proceeding.
kjv@Genesis:18 @ @ RandyP comments: Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Of course not. Is there anything that He will not do? Yes, sin. Did Abraham or Sarah ask this blessing of Him? Did they ask Him to spare a city for sake of the righteous? No and yes. There are times we can ask Him to do something for us that as long as it doesn't ask Him to sin and is in agreement with His further plan that He'll gladly do. There are things that we ask that are intended to bend His will, demote Him as servant to our whim and pleasure, things based out of fear or pride or foolishness or ignorance that He certainly will/can not be part of. There are times where His grace alone must be sufficient. There are times when He intends to do for us great things that we don't even need to ask.
kjv@Genesis:27 @ @ RandyP comments: It amazes me how far some people have to go to pull off a deception. Wouldn't there have been a better way? Had Rebekah all along told Isaac the Lord's desire, had Rebekah this time confronted him soon as she heard, had Jacob petitioned his father to seek the Lord in this all important matter. Really, ask yourself, was the Lord's will ever in danger of being crossed up by the verbal blessings of Isaac? Why not then just trust, pray, fast if you have to, be honest and open and vocal, prove yourself worthy of a father's blessing.
kjv@Genesis:28 @ @ RandyP comments: It may seem that the Lord is talking and revealing things directly to these patriarchs every day. You think about it though in terms of a 100 to 120 year lifetime there are just a few notable occasions, and those moments set the course for the remainder of years. The Lord's direction seems to occur almost despite the decisions and reactions of the involved parties. These are good people no dout, don't get me wrong, but, they end up doing some odd even at times deceptive things. No wonder the outsiders are fearful. Is there someone you know that you are somewhat fearful of because they are a loose cannon, but, somehow they seem doubly blessed?
kjv@Matthew:5:13-16 @ @ rpritts comments: Believers in Jesus 'are' this by no work of their own therefore they should continue to 'be' this. Should we abide in this (His completed work and grace) we will by nature produce worshipful works to His glory and praise, good works preordained that we should walk in. Should we step outside of that by again striving for selfish favor or personal salvation, though we 'are' salt our salt loses it's savor, though still light our light becomes hid. This is not a permanent situation if we repent and get back on course, it is a permanent situation only if we insist on trying to produce our own works towards salvation/favor.
kjv@Exodus:14:15 @ @ RandyP comments: I am sure that the Lord is always encouraging of prayer and communication. Crying out may not always be appropriate however. David for instance often cries out in his Psalms but, his desperation often leads him to the conclusion that God is truly great and a mighty deliverer in times of need. How often do we cry out however with desperation alone, seeking for answers that we are not prepared to follow, directions we are not observant to go, pleading for self strength without having established ourselves within His. We can not be too hard on these Israelites for they are experiencing God many of them for the first time. We should be harder on ourselves for having had their experience plus our own plus that of others and still yet crying out for the sake of crying out. Is there not reason to be communicating with God on a totally different level?
kjv@Exodus:14:18 @ @ RandyP comments: Honor at another man's expense is typically not a good thing. Honor if by the hardness of ones own heart after being given every opportunity to do otherwise and after having given one's oath not to pursue this any further... that is honor above and beyond, especially when it is the course of two nations and not just single men. The men that will die along with him have made their choices long ago to blindly and courageously serve regardless of Pharaoh's right and wrong. They by their personal honor/allegiance will die by their Pharaoh's utter dishonor. Make your choices wisely my friends!
kjv@Exodus:14:31 @ @ RandyP comments: The emphasis of the word fear is not only on the sheer terror of this event but also on the reverence toward the controller of of such uncontrollable elements. That this happened in the manner that it happened for the people who were in this moment could only have been the hand of God. For us who now read of this event there is intellectual wiggle room and physical detachment from these occurrences that these many witnesses were not privy to. It is interesting to see how in the coming hours/days how this fear/reverence too wore down; a testament to the tendencies of the self justifying human reprobate will.
kjv@Exodus:16:9 @ @ RandyP comments: How many of our prayers are not prayers at all but, murmurings? A couple? A few? Some? A lot? A whole lot? God hears hears our words. He knows what we need before we ask it. Often, He has to sift through all the complaints about what He hasn't done or needs to be doing. Often He has to see past the complaints about others we are making in prayer form. So do we not pray to Him at all? No. We pray to Him in a manner worthy of His Holiness. Prayers where we focus on who He is and what He is doing big picture and where we fit in His big picture and where He fits in ours. He will answer either way, the difference is that the exchange has benefited our appreciation and attitude all the more.
kjv@Exodus:16:35 @ @ RandyP comments: Not to get ahead of ourselves, but, it was forty years of Manna only because of their disobedience and lack of trust. Since the chapter began with God wanting to prove whether they would obey or no, we should know that almost immediately from outset onward the answer was no. For the manna obedience was somewhat locked in, it would spoil overnight and not grow on Sabbath. For the many other things God was doing the obedience was more voluntary. You have to remember also that these people were in a desert isolated from foreign influences and still had these disobedient tendencies. Is our nature any different? Where do we stand in our proving yet today?
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