Friday, October 25, 2013

God and idols

Jeremiah 10:12-16 
1 Hear what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel. 2 This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5 Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good." 6 No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. 7Who should not revere you, O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you. 8 They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols. 9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made is then dressed in blue and purple-- all made by skilled workers. 10 But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. 11 "Tell them this: 'These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.' " 12 But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance-- the LORD Almighty is his name.
Jer. 10:2…"Do not learn the ways of the nations... Exodus 23:24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Leviticus 20:23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. Jeremiah 10:3…3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless....
Customs - A practice followed by people of a particular group or region.
This is the synonym of another word, religion.
Religion - A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
I have witnessed, with my own eyes, preachers and church folk, focused on what is being brought in by the offering. Some preachers even set of lines during offering time for people to give a certain dollar amount. I have also witnessed churches put their organization above other church groups. In today’s society we can see a lot of things being idolized, but what do we need to do to improve ourselves. What are some of the things we need to do not to follow the ways of the world?
Verse two of Jeremiah continues…or be terrified by signs in the sky…. Genesis 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,
We, as humans, believe the things we can see. This could be an insight upon why we lose faith in God because we can’t see Him. But lets take two things into factor, God is the Creator of all things and we are created in his image. We have to understand that God made all things to keep us moving in a positive manner. For farming, the seasons tell us when to plant, nurture, and harvest.
Verse 3…they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel… Isaiah 40: 19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. Deuteronomy 9:21Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain. 1 King 8:36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. Jeremiah 44:8 Why provoke me to anger with what your hands have made, burning incense to other gods in Egypt, where you have come to live? You will destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations on earth. Ezekial 7:20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their detestable idols and vile images. Therefore I will turn these into an unclean thing for them.
This idol worship has become a huge dilemma today. People are still dying in the diamond minds to get the diamonds, still killing themselves to acquire gold. People will work themselves to the bone for that thing called money. But what will we do for the simple Love of God?
Idols:
Exodus 34:17 "Do not make cast idols
Leviticus 17:7 They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.'
Leviticus 19:4 " 'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God
Leviticus 26:1 " 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God
Leviticus 26:30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you
Most people believe this will happen at the end of time, but has anyone ever loved something so much that when it gets taken away from us, we are devastated?
Numbers 33:52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
Deuteronomy 7:5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire
Deuteronomy 12:3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places

Ashera(h) = "groves (for idol worship)" a Babylonian (Astarte)-Canaanite goddess (of fortune and happiness), the supposed consort of Baal, her images the goddess, goddesses her images sacred trees or poles set up near an altar
This is a task that all believers are to perform to win the world over to Christ.
Deuteronomy 29:17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. 32:16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. 32:21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.
i·dol - an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.
Amos 5:5 But seek not Bethel Do not go to Bethel, the place where one of Jeroboam's calves was set
Deuteronomy 32: 16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. 17 They sacrificed to demons, which are not God-- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. 18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 "I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. 21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. 22 For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. 23 "I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them. 24 I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. 25 In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. Young men and young women will perish, infants and gray-haired men. 26 I said I would scatter them and blot out their memory from mankind,
If we look at the particular passage of scripture, we see the outcome of idol worship. When we idolized anything besides God, it corrupts our minds. We begin to do things that are pleasing to the idol and forget about what is pleasing to God. Idol worship, although is a sin against God, does not coexist with our physical existence. For example, if I idolize my car, this means that everything I do is to care for this vehicle. If anyone come near it, I will harm them. This now places me in violation of one commandment, love thy neighbor as thy self. Another thing comes to mind here, if we are created in the image of God, then what should are reflection be?
Verse 16 of Jeremiah 10….He who is the Portion of Jacob….
Por·tion: a part of a whole; an amount, section, or piece of something.
Jacob: That supplants, undermines, the heel. He grasps the heel. Supplanter.
            Supplant: to take the place of (someone or something that is old or no longer used or accepted)
Jacob, being a selfish individual, needed to have a part of him that is what God is a part of. Jacob, at birth, gripped the heel of is brother and maintained that grasp until he met God. He idolized the birth rights of his brother Esau and literally stole them from him. Again the question is asked, Am I my brother’s keeper”? In order to properly walk the heel” is the first portion of our body to touch the ground. Once this occurs we can cover more distance as we walk. This also allows the body to cushion itself as we walk across a solid foundation. As difficult as this may sound, our lives are faith based, we should look to God and wait on His blessing to unfold in our lives. I currently have a problem with finances were it is difficult to pay my debt but you see if I abide in True Faith, blessings will come at the right time. I get anxious, because the bill is due and start stressing because its due. But see first of all I didn’t follow what God told me in the first place, make proper planning. I didn’t walk properly on the solid foundation God prepared for me, Now that I am in this predicament, God becomes my refuge. See God should be our counselor at all times that way strategic steps can be made. Today we cut down trees and make the idol people are killing themselves over and killing other people for, it’s called money.
John 1:10 says, Christ came into this world and the world did not know him. People today call the name of Jesus, sing worship songs, and still don’t know who He really is. Hebrews 1:22....but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. I found 15 reasons why Christ came:
  1. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
  2. Jesus Christ came into the world to call sinners to repentance. Mark 2:17, "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
  3. Jesus Christ came into the world to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
  4. Jesus came into the world to demonstrate the true purpose of life and give Himself a ransom. Matthew 20:28, "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
  5. Jesus Christ came into the world to be a King and bear witness to the truth. John 18:37, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."
  6. Jesus Christ came into the world to do the Will of His Father. John 6:38, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
  7. Jesus Christ came into the world to be a Light in the world. John 12:46, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."
  8. Jesus Christ came into the world that men might have the Abundant Life. John 10:10, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
  9. Jesus Christ came into the world to Judge the world. John 9:39, "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind."
  10. Jesus Christ came into the world to Proclaim and preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Mark 1:38, "And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth."
  11. Jesus Christ came into the world to die on the cross. John 12:27, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour."
  12. Jesus Christ came into the world to fulfil the law. Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
  13. Jesus Christ came into the world to be a Divider of men. Matthew 10:34, 35, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."
(Christ makes it necessary to choose between relatives and the truth. This choice often causes division.)
  1. Jesus Christ came into the world as a demonstration of God's Love. 1 John 4:10, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
  2. Jesus Christ came into the world because the Father sent Him. John 20:21, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."
a. The Father SENT Jesus to be the Propitiation (atonement) for our sins.
1 John 4:10, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
b. The Father SENT Jesus and gave Jesus as the Savior of the world.
John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
c. The Father SENT Jesus to bless us by turning us from our iniquities.
Acts 3:26, "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."
d. The Father SENT His Son to redeem us from the curse of the law.
Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."
e. God SENT His Son to make possible a new power in the hearts of men, a power to enable him to fulfil the righteousness of the law.
Romans 8:3,4, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
In all of these scriptures there is no where it says to worship Jesus Christ. We have come into a society that put the fleshy man upon a pedestal and worships him. In churches today the pastors, bishops, and elders are worship because of who they claim to be.
Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'8 "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant.

If we worship Jesus Christ, yes we are worship God, but it is in the fleshy form. God is Christ but in the flesh. This now loses the complete existence of God. God made us and in this state are we to live according to Gods purpose. No flesh is to be worshipped, no object is to be worship. In order to worship God it is done in “sprit and truth”. The only object of worship is God Thee Creator of all that exist. Now is there anything wrong with the worship of Jesus Christ? I believe not, because the worship is still of God, just in the human form. So in a sense, it may not be the complete because we may lose focus of the Spirit that leads us. Study the Word of God thoroughly and this will prove the message God sends you. In simple words, idolize nothing and live a life of truth. We want to idolize God but in order for that to happen we have to know who God is. Once we find out this factor, there will be no more idol worship, just peaceful living among mankind.

Monday, October 14, 2013

My Time Has Come

My Time Has Come

Isaiah 59:20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD.
Zi·on - A place or religious community regarded as sacredly devoted to God. An idealized, harmonious community; utopia.
A utopia is a community or society possessing highly desirable or perfect qualities.
Jacob - "persevere with God"
Persevere - continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success. To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.
So as we look at this verse the description of in Jacob is having a persistent mannerism. To remain constant to a purpose, a task irregardless of the obstacles or discouragement.
What is this task? The repentance of sin or is it more than that?
2 Chronicles 6:24"When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers.
Here King Solomon prayed that God would forgive the children of Israel of their sins once they had turned back. He says in verse 24 that they needed toconfess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple
What is God’s name? When Moses asked him he said, “I Am that I Am”. Let’s look at the definition of this. Names of God, or Holy Names, describe a form of addressing God present in a monotheist notion of a singular God in liturgy or prayer.[1] Prayer involving the name of God has become a part of both Western and Eastern monotheist spiritual practices. A number of traditions have lists of many names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being.
Just as we have the knowledge of something, we cannot become wise unless we understand what we know. Now here in 2 Chronicles, Solomon uses the word, “confess” when speaking of God’s name.
A confession is a statement made by a person or a group of person acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would not prefer to keep hidden. 
So when we confess God’s name, we acknowledge Him, or in other words acknowledge what is hidden in our hearts. When we acknowledge God, we have to realize who we are as well. In 2 Chronicles, Solomon refers to Gods people as Israel.
Israel - God has striven, God has saved
Most people today believe that Israel is Gods chosen people. Well in a since they are once the name is defined, we get a better understanding of who these people are. Solomon used two terms here Israel” and “temple”.
Temple - Something regarded as having within it a divine presence. The flat region on either side of the forehead.
Supplicate - To ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying.
….praying and making supplication before you in this temple... This temple has two meanings, a place regarded as having a divine presence within it and the flat spot on our head. This flat spot on our heads is on both sides which is plural because we have two of them. This can be better expressed, in this passage of scripture by saying,...praying and making supplication, asking for humbly and earnestly before you between these two temples... Now what am I saying here? In between these two temples is an area to which we process things, it’s an area we call the brain.
Now let’s do some more studying to get a clear picture of this.  
At this particular time Israel is the chosen people of God because of Jacob and his father Isaac and Abraham.
Abraham - originally Abram, is the first of the three Patriarchs of Israel whose story is told in chapters 1125 of the Book of Genesis.
Isaac - was offered as a sacrifice to God. The sacrifice was prevented at the last moment by divine intervention.
Jacob - Jacob wrestled with God and forced God to bless him, so God gave Jacob the new name of Israel (meaning `one who has striven with God')
            Striven: make great efforts to achieve or obtain something
The Patriarchs of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites. These three figures are referred to collectively as the patriarchs of Judaism, and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal age. They play significant roles in Hebrew scripture during and following their lifetimes. They are used as a significant marker by God in revelations and promises, and continue to play important roles in the Abrahamic faiths. More widely, the term Patriarchs can be used to refer to the twenty ancestor-figures between Abraham and Adam. The first ten of these are called the Antediluvian patriarchs, because they came before the Flood. Judaism and Islam hold that the patriarchs and their primary wives Sarah (wife of Abraham), Rebekah (wife of Isaac), and Leah and Rachel (the wives of Jacob) (known as the Matriarchs), are entombed at Machpelah, a site held holy by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
Let’s get a little focus here, the three patriarchs are the foundation of today’s church organization. They give the basis of how God wants his people to conduct ourselves.
Patriarch: a man who controls a family, group, or government.
Abraham, the first patriarch’s, faith in God made him the prototype of all believers, circumcised and uncircumcised. Abraham plays a role in three world religions: in Judaism, as the founder of the special covenant relationship between the Jewish people and God; for Christians, his faith made him the prototype of all believers; and for Mohammad, the prophet of Islam, Abrahams belief separated "Islam", submission to God, from the Jewish Torah.   I mention these three religious groups because in todays society these family members are still fighting amongst each other.
In Romans 4, Abraham's merit is less his obedience to the divine will than his faith in God's ultimate grace; this faith provides him the merit for God's having chosen him for the covenant, and the covenant becomes one of faith, not obedience.
Now let’s look at Isaac,   The early Christian church continued and developed the New Testament theme of Isaac as a type of Christ and the Church being both "the son of the promise" and the "father of the faithful". Tertullian draws a parallel between Isaac's bearing the wood for the sacrificial fire with Christ's carrying his cross and there was a general agreement that, while all the sacrifices of the Old Law were anticipations of that on Calvary, the sacrifice of Isaac was so "in a pre-eminent way"
 Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD), was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy. Tertullian has been called "the father of Latin Christianity"] and "the founder of Western theology." Though conservative, he did originate and advance new theology to the early Church. He is perhaps most famous for being the oldest extant Latin writer to use the term Trinity (Latin, trinitas), and giving the oldest extant formal exposition of a Trinitarian theology.
Jacob is somebody we all come to grips with, sort to speak, when we know that God is right there with us in our time of need or fear, we hold on to Him. Now Jacob, who’s name became Israel, had twelve boys who later became the names of the twelve tribes.  The children named in Genesis were ReubenSimeonLeviJudahDanNaphtaliGadAsherIssacharZebulun, daughter DinahJoseph, and Benjamin.[
These twelve tribes had a blessed covenant over them which God had promised through Abraham. They lived their lives just like some of us do today, I’m blessed and because of that I’m better than you. We call the people who are not of our belief, sinners. But just as Israel forgot that the people they called sinners, were just like them, human beings, which are descendant of Adam. We forget that we are saved by grace, in which we are still sinners.
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 9:30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."
We also forget that the things we did when we were, quote on quote, “sinners”; we should stop doing. Our lives are supposed to change and be in accordance with God’s purpose. 2 Chronicles 6:24"When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple. We are defeated by the enemy due to our submission to sin. What is supposed to happen is we reject the sin that comes upon us, in other words, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil bears fruit that we are to understand not consume. Example, someone does something that makes you upset, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil bears the fruit of anger, our job is to analyze the situation so we can get a better understanding of why this person offended us. Another example, a young maiden comes in front of me as a man and is interested in me sexually. She gives me all the signs of me achieving the goal of laying her down. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil bears the fruit of lust, me being married, has to understand what is this young maidens true intentions. Believe it or not, from my experiences, these young ladies are just in search of agape. These young maidens are so used to love being shown to then in a sexual manner that they don’t understand what love truly is. It is my job to utilize, what I call “Satan’s way” and communicate with the woman. This always gets her a better understanding of who she’s dealing with and helps her get a better understanding of who she is.
Job 22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent
Isaiah 59:20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, a sacred community devoted to God, to those in Jacob , to those persistent to the purpose of God, who repent of their sins," declares the LORD.
We all have an individual task to live for, but we all wonder what our task is. It starts with a foundation, Living for God’s Purpose. When we look at this, I see one factor, we all, as believers, need to get right with God and follow the example of Jesus Christ. This means every church that calls themselves a church. It begins with the individual person. It’s not the church facility that is making the problem in society today, it’s the individual person. We all individually have talents that God can use to benefit our Saviors purpose. I have to do things that will allow others to see the God within me, I have to be a reflection of The Almighty.
Jesus is regarded in today’s time to worship, but Christ said he came to be a servant. If we fill our hearts with just a simple worship, we lose focus of Christ. The word Christ means Anointed One. Christ our Savior is Anointed to be the One who demonstrates a way of life. His example was servitude. Although many of us hate the word servant, it is what we are to be. To be a Christian is to reflect servitude. God provides a service for us daily, the circle of life. Four seasons, the revolving earth, the pattern of the solar system, the creation of mankind, all play an important role in life. We are to reflect Gods image by being kind to the next man or woman, not allowing the fruits we see to hinder our reactions towards life. We have to rely on the fruits of the spirit to advance us in our Christian walk.
Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." What some of us do today and considering worship is not. Churches have these morning services and call it worship service but what’s really going on. Well if we look at each individual person that comes to the service, that person has to be “in worship” in order for the service to be fulfilling. If I come to church, with a spirit of hate, deceit, anger, or strife, I can destroy the service. It takes each individual temple to maintain a daily worship, so when we assemble ourselves in a service, we can deflect any evil spirits that enter our service. Now when I, we have a daily worship with God, the truth is in us and the fruits we bear are fruits of the spirit.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
God’s purpose for us is the reflection of Christ. We hear every day the argument about Christ; was he really God, his name is something else, what color was he, all this junk takes us out of the actual context; how he lived. Christ gave us the example of how to live our lives in accordance to God’s purpose. We need to prepare ourselves daily with the words of truth so when principalities come up against us we are equipped with the weapons to defeat these negative aspects. We don’t have to argue with people about the truth, but just make since of what is true.
We are today’s Israel, because Christ has made a great effort to achieve God’s presence in all of us. It’s up to us individually to accept this precious gift of Life and live it daily in accordance to truth. Our daily livelihood should reflect the presence of God in us, we call his name “The Holy Spirit”. Once we do this we now have the Trinity in us to make us whole, as in the beginning.