The Devotional – 1405 – Wisdom! Is that the Truth?

The Devotional – 1405 – Wisdom! Is that the Truth?

Proverbs 8:12-14 – I, wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.

 

 Comments and challenges

Do we give much thought to the day ahead before we bolt through the door and head off for the morning rush? Be it work traffic, or waiting in line as your contemporaries wait for their turn to go through the drive thru and get their morning jolt of coffee or some other hot beverage claiming to be “coffee”. Yes, the traffic, weather, people, the blaring noise of the radio and a host of other “interferences” flood the mind and remove from you from the peace of the pillow 20 minutes ago; any and every distraction under the sun overcasts the remainder of the day.

Of course if the pillow was not peaceful, then you might be as cranky as the rest of the noise makers around you, huh? Well this I conclude, if you are a noise maker by choice than you are not reading this devotional; in fact the noise makers of the world around us have no clue of the peace that surpasses all understanding. You and I look for the LORD to intercede for us through the wisdom and understanding of His Word. Philippians 4:6-7. We search eagerly for the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. This is being spiritually minded, virtuous and praiseworthy and God has shown us in His Word how to meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8-9.

A friend and late pastor used to say “would to God that we would come to grips with “Truth” I agree with him; TRUTH is WISDOM and as ONE; these speak in clear language that God is True, therefore all men that do not have the truth are LIARS. And according to the Apostle Paul and King David in Romans 3:1-4 and Psalm 116:8-11, even those who do have the wisdom and knowledge of God have trouble with speaking truth.

Psalm 117 is only two verses long a quick little song or hymn that we should be mindful of and sing it every morning. It goes like this: “O Praise the LORD all you people groups, praise Him all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the TRUTH of the LORD endures FOREVER”.

Now a warning, “we like the world around us can turn up the volume of those words and sound like; “Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” 1 Corinthians 13:1; AS ALL TOO OFTEN WE DO! Or we can as God intended, meditate in our heart on these things first, before we step on the accelerator of the DAY, before we mindlessly belch and burp our displeasure of the morning rush.

Here is another view of cheerfulness to ponder: But this I say; “he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work”, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.

I believe that God through the Holy Spirit has given all believers in Jesus Christ the gift of “Giving” as the apostle Paul begins this exhortation to the Corinthians in Chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians; he discusses the poverty stricken churches in Macedonia who were beyond poor in material things. Paul bears witness of this poverty but says that these churches gave all the more… first of themselves and then of their substance. We need to give of ourselves FIRST!

The churches of today in these United States for the most part are not poverty stricken, we are not afraid to toss money at projects and people; but we are afraid when it comes to speaking TRUTH. The reason is that we are mighty in the things of the WORLD, but poor in the wisdom of the WORD. Our meditation of Truth is not as good as our meditation on the rush of the day simply because our priority of living life is off track. I pray that we will take the “L” (living) out of the WORLD around us and return to what God has given to each of His saints… HIS WORD!

Thus if we are to be joyful givers of Life in Christ, we must go to the word of God. Areas of scripture like Proverbs 8:1-36 or Psalm 19: 1-14 are good starting points; then God will direct your steps to a joyful day, rejoicing in Him.

 

The Devotional – 1403 – Coming to the Truth

The Devotional – 1403 – Coming to the Truth

Proverbs 6:30-31 – People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; he may have to give up all the substance of his house.

 

Comments and challenges

John 3:1-21 – There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

 

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"

 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

The above is a conversation between the GOD/man Jesus Christ who IS the LIGHT of the world and a man of RELIGION who represents the DARKNESS of the world… guess who was glorified in the conversation? Nicodemus understood that his religion was foolish and received the LIGHT, note the following at the crucifixion of Jesus.  

 

John 19:38-42 – After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

The Devotional – 1402 – Security in Wisdom?

The Devotional – 1402 – Security in Wisdom?

Proverbs 3:1-4 – My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

 

 Comments and challenges

There would be few to argue or labor over questioning that there is security in wisdom, but as always I stand at the ready to rub in the direction that chafes, rather than to pet and comfort the ears that often like to be tickled. If the wisdom you and I seek does not line up with the Living Word of God; how then shall it be of any value to the one who has it? For example: someone has said about others, “My friend knows how to hold their liquor!” “What?” This does not man the person a better drunk than me (if I were a drunk) it simply makes the person’s nose and facial features glow in greater detail with intoxication.

5. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

The verses above are so wonderful and if you have ever leaned on your own understanding of “anything” you already know the trouble that can cause. I have often said when doing so… “Well this is another fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into Jesse” or if you have been within hear shot you here, “Jesse, Jesse, Jesse”! Yet if I take that same event to the LORD first and filter it through His wisdom my heart will sing within with words like “Ah LORD God, You are so wonderful to me” and audibly you will hear; “Thank You LORD”!

In one moment of time we utterly fail with a false sense of wisdom, or we allow God to be glorified by using His Wisdom and understanding. When we shun evil wisdom the result is always health and nourishment to our physical being.

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

This wisdom is one of the “BIG” failures of our lives and there seems to be no way “praise God” to express this except by saying to all of us that, this is where faith in God or faith in wealth meet “head on”. How wonderful it is to know that I am not where I should be in giving; it is wonderful because I know that it is the same with you. In other words, “I am not alone in this wisdom of giving to God the “first fruits” of ALL my crops. There are some folks who live in poverty because they give too much and there are others who have abundance, but give too little, therefore both barns of these families do not overflow, nor do their vats spill over with refreshment. We could spend much time on this subject.

11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

 No one likes to be disciplined by God, yet in every case of discipline the love of God is very clear. I do not suggest that we seek discipline as one seeks blessing for that is to live in opposition to the wisdom and understanding of God, yet discipline does a work in us that blessing does not, chastening however grievous will always lead the saint to the peaceful fruit of “righteousness”, God does not train us in blessing, He trains us in discipline to equip us to live righteously and receive His gift of blessing and peace.

13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

There are a lot of “wisdoms” in the world around us, but there is only ONE wisdom that can produce ETERNAL results worth living for. Unbelieving people search the world over for the purpose of wisdom and understanding. God has prepared the heavens and the earth for us to see with our eyes, hear with our ears and feel with our hands the marvelous work of the Wisdom of God in Creation (you and I are a part of creation). Creation is like a very large neon sign saying over and over again. This Creation of mine I give to you because I love you.

Use it to glorify Me and be blessed beyond your ability to contain it.

19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; 20 by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. 21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; 22 they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. 23 Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; 24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, 26 for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Use it to glorify yourself and be cursed beyond your ability to have it.

27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you. 29 Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. 30 Do not accuse a man for no reason-- when he has done you no harm. 31 Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways, 32 for the LORD detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence. 33 The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. 34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. 35 The wise inherit honor, but fools he holds up to shame.

The choice is yours!

HAPPY SNOW DAY! NEW ENGLAND

The Devotional – 1401 – "But"

The Devotional – 1401 – "But"

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

 

 Comments and challenges

The word “but” is not found in the original Hebrew text; this is true with many prepositions in the Holy Bible. Those who translate added these words to give flow to reading and yet in some cases the added preposition causes the declaration of God’s intended command or challenge to lose some of the effect. In this case I believe the effect is lost so let me see if we can search out the Living Word and find God’s wonderful challenge to all the fools who read the Holy Bible.

Let me remove the “but”! The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I see in the verse “choice” when the preposition is remove and when you add it, this seems to imply that there are two kinds of individuals who read the word, the one who fears God and has knowledge and the one who does read and is a fool. Yet I am mindful of my own experience in that as an unbeliever I did not read the Holy Bible and was barely aware that it existed. Was I a fool? Yes we can classify all unbelievers as a fool, yet how would the unbelieving know that he or she is a fool, it they do not read the Holy Bible? Would this individual remain a fool if he or she became a believer? The answer is yes and no, since the believing person by choice can and does live in the Spirit and in the flesh.

Reading in James 1:21-27 we can see that hearing and doing is necessary to every believer in order to remain pure and undefiled. Let your guard down and we quickly forget who we are in Christ; the mirror of our relationship in Christ becomes blurry, does it not? On the one hand we can spiritually abide in the Faith of who we are in Christ and on the other hand there are moments in time when we despise wisdom and instruction and we foolishly abide in works.

In the New Year if there is a “resolution” to make and as I have said before… I do not like making resolutions since these are easily broken; I would resolve to study the Living Word of God (The Holy Bible). Then I would resolve to eliminate the “prepositions” that often leave the door open to walk through to the other side. Like: “but I have no time” or “but I have to work” you know the drill. There is nothing more offensive to “self” and the nearby “saint” than the fool who has access to the Word of God, but fails to study it.

Proverbs 26 has a lot to say about the fool, in this chapter I do not see anything that says that Solomon under the direction of God the Holy Spirit is talking about “unbelieving people” and in verse 10 and 11 the challenge is this. “The great God who formed all things gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages. As a dog returns to his own vomit, so the fool repeats his folly.

If there will be any hope for the Citizens of the United States of America, it will be the return of the many of its foolish Citizens to the living Word of God. If we fail at this challenge, we fail our future freedom and any hope of restoring the Constitution.

The Devotional – 031 – In the presence of God

The Devotional – 031 – In the presence of God

Proverbs 30:29-31 – There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk: A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any; A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king whose troops are with him. 

 

 Comments and challenges

We have all seen lions and kings, either by the media or in pictures or for the lion at the zoo. Maybe also we have had the opportunity to be in a foreign country where a king reigns, but the most common way for us to experience majesty in action is to own a Greyhound, and go ahead now and think in your mind… “a dog has majesty?” But if you do not own a Greyhound this is the obvious observation. Before we owned a greyhound I was heard to say. “I will never have one of these dogs they look like a large rat.”

Usually when it comes to matters like this I am always “wrong” we now have a greyhound, we have owned her about five years and to say that the dog is majestic would be no lie. She looks and acts like royalty, well I might exaggerate a little here, since she does at night when I am trying to sleep… bite her toe nails! Other than that she prances, dances runs and stands majestically. She even stares at you as though she were looking down her royal nose at you. Now don’t get it wrong, she is a typical “hound dog” who loves food and sleep, what is atypical is that she loves to run, most hounds are lazy.

Now we have a Welsh Corgi too, these dogs are of royalty too, but they seem to be more like the “butler” in the kings palace, the Corgi is a male so you would think he would be aggressive while the hound, a female would be calm and peaceful, but it is just the opposite. One of the ways to know if your dog is willing to worship you is to see if it “fawns” or is willing to lick your hand. The Corgi seeks to lick my hands every time I try to pet him, while the greyhound has never licked my hand.

Now the greyhound does demonstrate affection but it is not genuine, in fact I think she is mostly phony about affection in that she is seeking to gain something from you or just pushing her weight around to show the Corgi who is boss. To understand this totally would be impossible because the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 expresses this truth about the various creations of God all of which are different in flesh and intellect and that these lines of creation cannot be crossed over for full understanding.

In other words I like what Lewis Sperry Chafer says about this in his book “He that is spiritual” on page 4 and I quote; “He (mankind) cannot extend his sphere. He cannot know experimentally the things of the animal world below him, and certainly he cannot enter a higher sphere and know experimentally the things of God.” This statement of Dr. Chafer is very good to say the least, but there is more and in his following words “even though man, of himself, cannot know the things of God, the Spirit knows them, and a man may be so related to the Spirit that he too may know them.

This then is the one spiritual connection that we have of and with God to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. In fact; if you do not have the Spirit of God, you may look to others as “majestic in worship” or like the greyhound. While the Corgi who loves to be affectionate by licking the hand is truly responding as one who is willing to worship you. To see this in scripture is to see John 3:16 as John explains in this verse that God’s love seeks those who respond to Him through believing in His Son and in John 4:23-24 we see that to “worship” God we must do so in the Spirit and in the Truth.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (And) John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Now if you look at the word worship in Vine’s Concordance you will see that we ought to respond to God according to His provision or like the Corgi who is genuine by fawning (in fact the concordance uses fawning as an example of true worship) while the greyhound is phony with only the majestic appearance to gain something in her own strength or way (selfishness).

 

The Devotional – 030 – Is it by work, or By Faith

The Devotional – 030 – Is it by work, or By Faith

Proverbs 27:22 – Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

 

 Comments and challenges

There some passages in the Holy Bible that can scare, depress and anger us. Now don’t be shy about this since it is very easy to say it isn’t so. We say things like “well this isn’t talking about me, but my neighbor is like that” to be honest our neighbor is no doubt saying the same thing about us. You don’t believe me do you? Okay let’s look at the passage in Romans 2:1 which says this: Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Are you plagued by some sin that seems to hang on to every fiber of your humanity? There are several passages of scripture that list those sins and the ONE or TWO that identify the FOOL in us seems always to stare back at us, like looking in the mirror. James has this to say about these sins.

James 1:21-25 – Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Go ahead now agree with God that you have these areas of weakness, no one else is interested in your foolishness, I have mine to deal with; just as you. Also it is not something that is odd to just who you are and it is not something we’ve not heard before usually removed from the “first person” of conversation to maybe the “third”! You know that person; the one you met on the bus ten years ago that nobody knows. Now we are foolish about this too, we would not bring that person up… think about it. Do we not remember it like it happened, just yesterday? Hmm! A bit too close for comfort, don’t you think?

1 Corinthians 10: 12-13 – Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Proverbs 27:22 – Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

 

Foolishness will not go away, the verse of scripture above has angered, depressed and scared me over the years, if I could scratch it out of the Holy Bible I would, but God in His Mercy has etched it into my soul and the work to remove the words and clean up those areas have failed. Foolishness (SIN) is who I am, but praise God… Jesus Christ is the GREAT I AM! There are also many passages that identify HIM as the one who takes away the foolishness (SIN) of man. In a WORK related way I have utilized every verse of scripture I could find to be a solution and rid myself of foolishness. Actually it is why I say “Bah humbug!” my effort does not work and neither does yours if you are seeking to clean up your foolishness, guess what? Jesus has already cleaned you and you know it.

 

However – and I would not be writing this if there were not a “however”. Notice what the apostle Paul has to say about a similar problem (whether it be physical or spiritual health it does not matter, yet he is talking of spiritual matters) it is what we do with what he says that matters.

 

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me; and He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

Verse 9 and 10 are for me the key to what I am seeking to get across to us this morning. The work of you and me is not to clean up our life, this for me has been an effort of failure and I am not guessing when I say this could be true of you as well; if you are seeking to make a better person out of who you really are then you are shoveling it against the tide… and you know it.

Knowing this is half the battle; I mean “your half way there!” in fact, most crazy people are crazy and they do not know it. The ones who do have a chance for recovery are the ones who know they are crazy, so if you know that you are a sinner saved by grace, this is all the work that God requires of you, this rest is up to God and His gift of daily grace.

Jesus explained to the apostle that His grace was sufficient for Paul, it was all he needed and it is all we need to overcome “weakness” (there is much scripture to prove that we cannot control those deep routed areas of sin) I could spend much time in searching these out (I have) but let’s continue. Why is God’s grace sufficient? Because we can rely on the strength of the work of Jesus Christ that has already overcome and has already obtained the VICTORY over our foolishness.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. This does not mean that I can continue being the foolish person, but it does mean that I can understand who I am in Christ. Also that He has considered my humble estate, if I am proud of my weakness there will be no acknowledgement of grace in my life, but if I acknowledge my weaknesses to Him I have all the grace I need because HIS strength is made perfect in my weakness resulting in the power of Christ resting on me.

The Devotional – 029 – Christmas, of course it IS!

The Devotional – 029 – Christmas, of course it IS!

Proverbs 25:6-7 – Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; for it is better that he say to you “Come up here,” than that you should you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.

 

 Comments and challenges

Psalm 12:1-8 – Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, "We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips – so – who is our master?" "Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the LORD. "I will protect them from those who malign them." And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men. (NIV)

If you read the Holy Bible… and I pray that you do, than you no doubt understand what it is that I am seeking to say this morning of Christmas!

If Jesus were not the Messiah foretold, we could honestly say that He sought to exalt Himself in the presence of God. If Jesus were not the Son of God, then we could say that He sought to stand in the presence of the great men of God. If Jesus were not the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world, His Father would not have called Him home and seated Him at His Throne in Heaven.

You see there would have been no testimony of the virgin birth, no testimony of a sinless life, no testimony of God the Father speaking these words: “This is my Beloved Son of Whom I am well please; HEAR HIM” Matthew 3:17 and that of the apostle Peter who records this event in 2 Peter 1:17.

Also, there would be no record of Jesus other than the TOMB where His rotted bones would still be; but now Praise is to God alone who did not allow His Son; the LAMB to see this corrupted state of human flesh.

Matthew 28:1-8 -- Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-10; John 20:1-8

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Yes if Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God were not who HE IS, then He would have been placed lower than the devil, the prince of this world whom the world has seen. So here is the RUB.

If you read your Holy Bible… and I pray that you do, whether you are reading Proverbs, the Gospels, the Epistles or some Prophet of old. All the Words of the Holy Bible speak of the Living Word.

John 11:23-27 – Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." (I hope you have answered “Yes” just like Martha.

MERRY CHRISTMAS