Tuesday, July 31, 2012

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SPEAKING EXPLICITLY!!!

BUT THE (Holy) Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach
2 Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized),
3 Who forbid people to marry and [teach them] to abstain from [certain kinds of] foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and have (an increasingly clear) knowledge of the truth.
4 For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be thrown away or refused if it is received with thanksgiving.
5 For it is hallowed and consecrated by the Word of God and by prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1-5).


False Asceticism (4:1-5)


1 Paul now gives instructions to Timothy on a variety of subjects, beginning with the matter of ascetic teachings (vv.1-5).
   The Holy Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some people will "abandon" the faith, i.e., become apostate. Instead of being led by the Holy Spirit, these apostates give their attention to deceiving spirits and the teaching of "demons" (i.e., evil spirits who are led by the devil). The expression "in latter times" is not as strong as the phrase "in the last days" (2 Tim 3:1); the conditions that Paul is discussing here evidently took place during his lifetime.


2 The apostle uses strong language in describing the teachers of the false doctrines he is about to mention. He declares that they are "hypocritical liars"; this implies that they know better, but they have deliberately forsaken the faith and teach falsehood. They are people whose consciences :have been seared as with a hot iron," so that they have become unfeeling about their willful wrongdoings.


3 Paul now mentions two of their false teachings: forbidding marriage and ordering people :to abstain from certain foods." This ascetic emphasis crept into the church in the first century and was widely felt in the second century under the influences of Gnosticism. The Gnostics taught that all matter is evil and that only spirit is good; thus all physical pleasure is sin.
    What these false teachers forgot is that marriage is an institution that God established as the normal thing in human society (see Genesis 2:24). The idea of abstaining from certain foods goes back, of course, to the Mosaic law. But Christ has freed us from the Law (Galatians 5:1-6), so that we are no longer under its restrictions regarding certain kinds of food, "which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." Only those whose faith is weak avoid eating meat and restrict themselves to a vegetable diet (Romans 14:1-2). In spite of this, some still advocate and practice vegetarianism in the name of Christianity. Paul deals much more severely with this heresy in 1 Timothy than he did in Romans. Evidently the false teaching of asceticism was spreading in the church and the apostle struck out forcefully against it as a negation of our freedom in Christ.


4-5 The simple fact is that "everything God created is good" (echoing a statement made six times in Genesis 1 [Gen 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31]). It is true that vegetarianism may have prevailed before the Flood (cf. Gen 2:9, 16), but God clearly told Noah that animals could also be eaten as food (Gen 9:3).
      Paul then declares that "nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving." This underscores the importance of "offering thanks" always before we eat, and this is reinforced by v.5: "because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." Food thus becomes "holy" to the eaters-not that they are inherently unclean, but some people's scruples or unthankfulness might make them unclean to them. "The word of God" suggests the use of Scripture phrases when saying a prayer at the table.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].


[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].


JESUS IS LORD.


Monday, July 30, 2012

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN (NO EXCEPTIONS)!!!

NOW THERE was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler-a leader, an authority-among the Jews;
2 Who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know and certain that You are come from God [as] a Teacher; for no one can do those these signs-these wonderworks, these miracles, and produce the proofs-that You do, unless God is with him.
3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see-know, be acquainted with [and experience]-the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb again, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, except a man is born of water and (even) the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.
6 What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh-of the physical is physical; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not-do not be surprised, astonished-at My telling you, You must be born anew (from above).
8 The wind blows (breathes) where it will; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it goes. So it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible?
10 Jesus replied, Are you the teacher of Israel ad yet you do not know nor understand these things? [Are they strange to you?]
11 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, We speak only what we know-we know absolutely what we are talking about; we have actually seen what we are testifying to-were eyewitnesses of it. And still you do not receive our testimony-you reject, refuse our evidence [that of Myself and all of those who are born of the Spirit].
12 If I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth, and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe-trust Me, adhere to Me, rely on Me-if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And yet no one has ever gone up to heaven; but there is One Who has come down from heaven, the Son of man [Himself], Who is-dwells, Whose home is-in heaven.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must-so it is necessary that-the Son of man be [lifted] up [on the cross];
15 In order that every one who believes in Him-who cleaves to Him, trusts Him and relies on Him-may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever! (John 3:1-15).

KEY VERSES:

3 Jesus' reply to Nicodemus's opening statement was cryptic and abrupt. He informed Nicodemus that one one could even see the kingdom of God without a spiritual rebirth.Birth is our mode of entrance into the world. To be "born again" (or "born from above," the preferable translation) means the transformation of a person so that he or she is able to enter another world and adapt to its conditions. To belong to the heavenly kingdom, one must be born into it.

4 Nicodemus's reply may be interpreted in two ways. At first sight he appears to be quite materialistic in his attitude, thinking that Jesus was advocating what was impossible-a second physical birth. On the other hand, perhaps he meant, "How can a man whose habits and ways of thinking have been fixed by age expect to change radically?" Physical rebirth is impossible, but is spiritual change any more feasible?

5 In response, Jesus repeated his solemn assertion and expanded on it with reference to water and Spirit. What did Jesus mean by "water" and "Spirit"? Furthermore, since his ministry came shortly after that of John the Baptist, Jesus was probably referring to John's preaching, which dealt with the baptism of water (signifying repentance) and with the coming messenger of God who would endow humans with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-33). The new birth is conditioned on the repentance and confession of the individual in response to the appeal of God and by the transformation of life by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

6-8 Jesus asserted that the entrance into the kingdom of God that Nicodemus desired could not be achieved by legalism or outward conformity. It requires an inner change and is given only by the direct act of God. Just as the origin and destination of the wind are unknown to the one who feels it, similarly the new life of one born of the Spirit is unexplainable by ordinary reasoning; and its outcome is unpredictable, though its actuality is undeniable.

9 Nicodemus's question "How can this be?" should not be interpreted as an exclamation expressing incredulity. Rather, it is a plea for direction. He wanted to know how this experience could become his. Nothing in the Judaism he knew offered anything like this. The answer of Jesus accords with the words of Ezekiel in Ezk 36:25-28.
   Proselytes to Judaism were washed completely, issued new clothing, and then received into the commonwealth of the people of God; but Israelites were regarded as sons of Abraham and children of God by covenant from birth. In effect, Jesus was telling Nicodemus that his descent from Abraham was not adequate ground for salvation. He would have to repent and begin a new life in the Spirit if he expected to enter the kingdom of God (cf. John 8:37-44).
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].



[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].

JESUS IS LORD.


Saturday, July 28, 2012

COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!


14 Don't not be unequally yoked up with unbelievers-do not make mis-mated alliances with them, or come under a different yoke with them [inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light fellowship with darkness?

15 What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial [the devil]? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

16 What agreement [can there be between] a temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 So, come out from among (unbelievers), and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor,

18 And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

7:1 THEREFORE, SINCE these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the (reverential) fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).



[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com]. 

JESUS IS LORD.

Friday, July 27, 2012

DON'T EVER GIVE UP OR STOP PRAYING!



Also [JESUS] told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn cowardice-faint, lose heart and give up.

2 He said, in a certain city there was a judge who neither reverenced and feared God nor respected or considered man.

3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Protect and defend and give me justice against my adversary.

4 And for a while he would not; but later he said to himself, Though I have neither reverence or fear for God nor respect or consideration for man,

5 Yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will defend and protect and avenge her; lest she give me intolerable annoyance and wear me out by her continual coming, or at the last she come and rail on me, or assault me, or strangle me.

6 Then the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says!

7 And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones) who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf?

8 I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes will He find (persistence in) the faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8).





[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].


JESUS IS LORD.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

PRIORITY # 1: PRAY FOR AND GIVE THANKS FOR EVERYBODY, ESPECIALLY FOR LEADERS!

     FIRST OF all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be offered on behalf of all men,

2 For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way.

3 For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior,

4 Who wishes all men to be saved and increasingly to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth: (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

1 Paul now begins giving instructions for public worship. He was concerned that divine worship should be carried on in Ephesus most effectively and helpfully. So he says, "I urge (also translated "exhort"); it indicates the urgency of Paul's admonition. "First of all" emphasizes primacy in importance rather than time. In others words, the most essential part of public worship is prayer.
   The NT has seven different Greek nouns for prayer, four of which occur in this verse. (1) "Requests" : This word basically carries the idea of desire or need. All true prayer begins in a sense of need and involves a deep desire, although it should never stop there. God wants us to bring our "requests" to him, and he always has a listening ear. (2) "Prayers" : This word always signifies praying to God. It it used for both private and public prayers (here public). (3) "Intercession" : This word was used in the sense of "conversation" and then of "petition." Perhaps it suggests the idea that prayer should be a conversation with God, but it also implied boldness of access to God's presence. We must come to God with full confidence and enter into close communion with him in a conversational atmosphere if we want to experience depth and richness in our prayer life. And only those who really commune with God in private can edify others in their public prayers. (4) "Thanksgiving" : This word suggests that giving thanks should always be a part of our praying. Thanking God for what he has done for us in the past strengthens our faith to believe that he will meet our needs in the future.

2 Prayers of these varied types are to be made "for everyone" (v.1), but especially "for kings and for all those in authority." The term "king" applies both to the emperor at Rome and to lesser rulers. When one remembers that the Roman emperor when Paul wrote this letter was the cruel monster Nero-who later put Paul and Peter to death-one realizes that we should pray for our present rulers, no matter how unreasonable they may seem to be. Prayer for "all those in authority" in various levels of government should have a regular place in all public worship.
   The purpose of this is logical and significant: ;that we may live peaceable and quiet lives in all godliness and honesty." The fact that we are permitted to assemble peaceably for public worship is dependent on our rights under law-law as upheld and enforced by our legislators, administrators, and judicial leaders. We ought to pray for them, and also thank God for them.
   :Peaceful" has the basic idea of restfulness not marred by outward disturbance; "quiet" suggests inner stillness that accompanies restfulness. The word for "godliness" basically means "piety" or "reverence"; anyone who is irreverent is living an ungodly life. "Holiness" suggests reverence, seriousness, and respectfulness (cf. also 1 Timothy 3:4; Titus 2:7).

3-4 Such a life is "good"; also meaning "beautiful" or "excellent" and "pleases God our Savior" (1 Timothy 1:1). He "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." This statement accords well with John 3:16 and with the declaration in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 that Christ died for all. Salvation has been provided for all, but only those who accept it are saved. "Knowledge" means precise and accurate knowledge. Such knowledge of God's truth is both the root and fruit of salvation. Paul here sounds a frequent note of the Pastorals-true knowledge saves one from error.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].

[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].





JESUS IS LORD.    

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A SINNER'S PRAYER AND ITS RESULTS


37 Now when they heard this they were stung (cut) to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles (special messengers), Brethren, what shall we do?


38 And Peter answered them, Repent-change your views, and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it-and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


39 For the promise (of the Holy Spirit) is to and for you and  your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to as many as the Lord our God invites and bids come to Himself.


40 And [Peter] solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished (exhorted) with much continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation.


41 Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.


42 And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's Supper] and prayers.


43 And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles-special messengers.


44 And all who believed-that is, who adhered to and turned to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ-were united, and together they had everything in common;


45 And they sold their possessions [both their land property and their movable goods] and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.


46 And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,


47 Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people, and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved (from spiritual death). (Acts 2:37-47).


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JESUS IS LORD.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

GO BOLDLY TO GOD IN PRAYER

5 And He said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and will say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread],

6 For a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come, and I have nothing to put before him;

7And he from within will answer, Do not disturb me; the door is now closed, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and supply you [with anything]?

8 I tell you, although he will not get up and supply him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence and insistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.(Luke 11:5-8).

5-6 Jesus' teaching on prayer continues (vv.5-13) with a parable unique to Luke. The scene is that of a Palestinian home in which the family are all asleep in one room-perhaps the only room in the house-and probably all on one mat. The father could not get over to the door and slide back the heavy bolt that bars it without waking up his family. In such a situation no one would be happy to respond, especially in the middle of the night. Nevertheless the man does respond to his friend at the door. A host in first-century society would be expected to provide a welcome to a guest regardless of when he arrived.

7-8 The point of the parable depends partly on the context and partly on the meaning of the word "persistence" or "boldness" or "importunity". If it means the former, the parable would seem to teach that if we persist long enough, God will finally answer our prayers. But since the Bible refers frequently to God's eagerness to grant our requests, "boldness" is a more likely translation. This parable then presents a contrast to the way God answers prayer. If in human circumstances one will respond to a request, even though reluctantly, if pressed hard enough, surely God will answer and do so far more graciously (cf. Lk 18:1-8).
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].

11:8 Persistence here refers to shameless boldness more than tenacity. Jesus' point is that in prayer the disciple is to be bold. The example in the parable (vv. 5-7) is a man who goes boldly to his neighbor to seek what he requires. Likewise, the disciple is to go boldly to God for that which is needed. [THE NKJV STUDY BIBLE] Second Edition].

[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].

JESUS IS LORD.

Monday, July 23, 2012

ASK, SEEK, KNOCK: PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

7 Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and the door will be opened to you.


8 For every one who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking it will be opened.


9 Or what man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will he hand him a stone?


10 Or id he asks for a fish, will he hand him a serpent?


11 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him! (Matthew 7:7-11).


7-8 Thus far the Sermon on the Mount lays down the righteousness, sincerity, humility, purity, and love expected of Jesus' followers; now it assure them such gifts are theirs if sought through prayer. In three imperatives ("ask," "seek," "knock") symmetrically repeated (v.8) and in the present tense to stress the persistence and sincerity required, Jesus assures his followers that, far from demanding the impossible, he is providing the means for the otherwise impossible. Far too often Christians do not have the marks of richly textured discipleship because they do not ask, or they ask with selfish motives (James 4:2-3). Like a human father, the heavenly Father seeks to teach his children courtesy, persistence, and diligence.


9-11 Using an argument similar in style to that in (Matt. 6:25), Jesus stresses that no parent would deceive a child asking for bread or fish by giving him a similar looking but inedible stone or a poisonous snake. His point is not merely the parents' willingness to give bu their willingness to give good gifts-even though they themselves are evil. Jesus presupposes the sinfulness of human nature but implicitly acknowledges that that does not mean all human beings are as bad as they could be. How much more, then, will the heavenly Father, who is pure goodness without alloy, give good gifts to those who ask!
        The blessings promised here as a result of prayer are not the blessings of common grace (see Matt. 5:45) but of the kingdom. And though we must ask for them, it is not because God must be informed (Matt. 6:8) but because this is the Father's way of training his family.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].  


[http://twitter.com/sowersoftheword].


JESUS IS LORD.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE IN THE LAST DAYS

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men (mankind) will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
(Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-9).

A. Love of Money and Pleasure (3:1-5).

1 The expression "in the last days" comes from the OT (e.g., Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1). In Peter's quotation of Joel 2:28 on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17), it clearly refers to the whole messianic age, for he declared that prophecy was being fulfilled that very day. Some insist that "in the last days" has the meaning here, but it seems more natural to take it as applying especially to the last days of this age, just before the Second Coming (as in 2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18). This does not at all deny that these conditions have been and will be present throughout the church age. It is simply to say that the characteristics enumerated here will be more intensive and extensive as the end approaches. Paul declared that the last days will see troublesome and dangerous times.

2-4  In these three verses we find a list of no fewer than eighteen vices that will characterize people in the last days. These conditions have always existed in some measure but they have become more marked in recent decades. People will be selfish and greedy (cf. 1 Timothy 6:10), and they will be "boasters" or braggarts. The will also be "proud" (lit., "showing oneself above others"). Originally used in a good sense in Greek literature for truly superior persons, this word soon took on the bad connotation that it always has in the NT; a person with this characteristic treats others with contempt.
       "Abusive means slanderous. And it may well be questioned whether children and young people were ever more "disobedient to their parents" than they are today.
       "Ungrateful" (cf. Luke 6:35) is the opposite of being thankful. "Unholy" (cf. 1 Timothy 1:9) describes the person who has no fellowship with God and so is living a merely "secular" life. "Without love" (cf. Romans 1:31) means "without family affection." "Unforgiving" originally indicated one who was irreconcilable.
       "Slanderous" is diaboloi. This usually occurs in the NT as a word meaning "the devil." But the adjective connotes "prone to slander" or "accusing falsely."
       "Without self-control" hasa  wide sense, but it is especially applicable to no control regarding bodily lusts. It describes the weak person who is easily led into sin. "Brutal" means one who is savage and fierce. "Not lovers of the good" is a word that is found nowhere else in the ancient Greek literature.
       "Treacherous" is a noun meaning "traitor" or "betrayer"; it is used for Judas Iscariot (Luke 6:16). "Rash" describes one who is reckless. On "conceited" (see 1 Timothy 3:6; 6:4). "Lovers of pleasure rathan than lovers of God" is a play on two similar Greek words. They describe those who put self in the place of God as the center of their affections.

5 Yet they are religious-"having a form of godliness but denying its power." Timothy is told to turn away from such hypocrites.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].

[http://twitter.com/sowersoftheword].

JESUS IS LORD.






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Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence : Thank you for Signing!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

FORGET WHAT YOU HEARD: LOVE WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION!

43 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 
45 To show that you are children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? 
47 And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that? 
48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect [that is, grow into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity].
(Matthew 5:43-48). [Amplified Bible].


43 The command "Love your neighbor" is found in Lev 19:18; no OT Scripture adds "and hate your enemies," though this seems to be the result of popular reasoning. Such reasoning seems to have said that if God commands love for "neighbor," then hatred for "enemies" is implicitly conceded and perhaps even authorized.


44-47 Jesus allowed no casuistry. The real direction indicated by the law is love, rich and costly, and extended even to enemies. Many take the verb and the noun "love" as always signifying self-giving regardless of emotion, but such an interpretation is unwarranted. The content of Christian love is not based on a presupposed definition but on Jesus' teaching and example. To love one's enemies, though it must result in activities such as doing them good (Lk 6:32-33) and praying for them (Matt 5:44), cannot justly be restricted to activities devoid of any concern, sentiment, or emotion. There is no reason to think the verb here in Matthew does not include emotion as well as action.
   The specific "enemy" referred to here is one's persecutors. Jesus himself repeatedly warns his disciples of impending persecution (e.g.; vv. 10-12; 10:16-23; 24:9-13). If Matthew's first readers were being persecuted for their faith, that was doubtless one application they made.
Jesus' disciples have as their example God himself, who loves so indiscriminately that he sends sun and rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. Yet we must not thereby conclude that God's love toward people is in all respects without distinction, and that therefore all will be saved (see Matt 25:31-46). Theologians call this love of God his "common grace" (i.e., the gracious favor God bestows "commonly," without distinction, on everyone).
   God's example provides the incentive for Jesus' disciples to be "sons of [their] Father" (v.45). Ultimately this clause points to the necessity pf pursuing a certain kind of sonship patterned after the Father's own character. Jesus' disciples must live and love in a way superior to the patterns around them. Jesus goes on to point out that even the despised tax collectors love those who love them; Christian love must go beyond what naturally takes place.


48 It is best to understand v.48 as the conclusion to all the antitheses. The OT background to this verse is Lev 19:2, with "holy" displaced by "perfect". Here for the first time perfection is predicated of God.
   In light of the preceding verses (vv.17-47), Jesus is saying that the true direction in which the law has always pointed is not toward mere judicial restraints, concessions arising out of the hardness of human hearts, still less casuistical perversions, nor even the "law of love."  No, it pointed rather to all the perfection of God. exemplified by the authoritative interpretation of the law bound up in the preceding antithesis. This perfection Jesus' disciples must emulate if they are truly followers of him who fulfills the Law and the Prophets (v.17).
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New testament].


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JESUS IS LORD.

Monday, July 16, 2012

GOD'S GRACE MAKE THOSE WHO ARE LAST FIRST

(READ: MATTHEW 20:1-16).


KEY VERSE: V.16. So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.


From this parable, we learn how "the last" person can become "first" (19:30)-by free grace. The parable begins with a typical scene and introduces atypical elements to surprise the reader and make a powerful point about the kingdom of heaven.


1-2 The normal working day was ten hours or so, not counting breaks. The landowner in the parable finds his first set of workers about 6 A.M. and agrees to pay each one a denarius-the normal wage for a foot soldier or day laborer.


3-7 There were twelve "hours" from dawn to sundown. The third hour (v.3) would be about 9:00 A.M, the sixth about 12:00 noon, and the eleventh about 5: P.M. The marketplace would be the central square, where all kinds of business was done and casual labor hired. The third-hour workers are promised "whatever is right"; and, trusting the landowner's integrity, they work on that basis. The last group were standing around because no one had hired them.


8-12 Laborers were customarily paid at the end of each day (cf. Lev. 19:13). The foreman is told to pay each worker the standard day laborer's wage. Who gets paid first is crucial: it is only because the last hired receive a full day's wage that those first hired expect to get more than they bargained for. They "grumbled against" the owner because he has been generous to others and merely just to them. They have borne "the heat of the day" (v.12, either direct sunlight or hot wind), which could drive workers from the field; and, though fairly paid, they feel unfairly treated because others who worked much less received what they did.


13-15 The landowner insists, in a mild rebuke, that he is not cheating anyone. He has paid the agreed wage. Should he want to pay others more, that is his business. Provided he has been just in all his dealings, does he not have the right to do what he wants with his money? These rhetorical questions (vv.13b-15) show that God's great gifts, simply because they are God's, are distributed, not because they are earned, but because he is gracious. In the kingdom of God, the driving force is not merit and ability (as in the world) but grace.


16 Jesus makes a final statement that God's grace makes some who are last first.


[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].






[http://twitter.com/sowersoftheword].


JESUS IS LORD.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

I'M STILL HERE!!!


But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra-what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-15). 


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JESUS IS LORD.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

THE VALUE OF DILIGENCE IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE AND PRESENT

   Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. (ECCLESIASTES 11:1-6).
[THE NKJV STUDY BIBLE Second Edition].

   The Teacher is approaching the climax of his book. We must fulfill God's purposes by accepting our daily lot in life as from Him and by pleasing Him make each day a good day. This section gives further wise advice in the light of an uncertain future.

1-2 A common interpretation of this passage is that of charity. The Eastern flat bread is light enough to float, and what you give in charitable gifts will be washed back to you as a reward. But this idea of investment in charity does not belong to the Teacher's thought elsewhere. An alternative view links the meaning with vv.4, 6. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," as a proverb says. Be like the merchant who uses his capital for trade, including trade across the seas. But be sensible, and do not gamble everything on one venture.

3-4 We are bound to recognize the God given laws of nature, but we cannot always forecast how they will operate. We often have to act before we can foresee all we would like to know about the future. The farmer who waits until he is completely certain of perfect weather conditions will never reap anything.

5 Life begins in mystery with the baby's conception and prenatal growth and continues with the mystery of the working of God's total plan. Few parents understand precisely how a baby is formed, but most follow the rules of common sense for the welfare of the mother and the unborn child. This is exactly whole theme of the book. We cannot understand all the ways God works to fulfill His plan, but we can follow God's rules for daily living and thus help bring God's purpose to birth.

6 Because the future is unknown, we must accept calculated risks and believe that though some of our ventures may fail, a sufficient number of them will succeed. The Teacher has been drawing his illustrations from trade and agriculture. They are intended to be practical. One thinks of making an unwise investment in a single project that promises large profits or of the restlessness that risks the family's welfare by moving to some distant field that looks greener.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 1: Old Testament].

[http://twitter.com/sowersoftheword].

JESUS IS LORD.


Monday, July 9, 2012

I'VE FOUND A HIDING PLACE

   He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample under foot.
14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." (Psalm 91). 
[THE NKJV STUDY BIBLE Second Edition].


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JESUS IS LORD.


Monday, July 2, 2012

LOVE ISN'T LOVE, UNTIL YOU'VE GIVEN IT AWAY UNCONDITIONALLY

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
(John 3:16). 


[http://twitter.com/sowersoftheword].


JESUS IS LORD.