Time, Times and Half the Time?

Posted: March 14, 2014 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

God is responsible for the natural, as well as the supernatural. When things cannot be corrected or cured naturally using normal methods, we will see God work supernaturally to accomplish His purpose.

.
If the salvation of His Creation could have been accomplished naturally, then the supernatural birth and resurrection of Jesus was unnecessary. Nature could have naturally redeemed and restored herself, given enough time.
This was not the case, she was helplessly and hopelessly lost. Had God not intervened, she would never begin to recover on her own and eternal destruction would have continued.. well, forever!

.
“Grace came and stopped the process”

——————————————————————-

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. –Matthew 24:22, New International Version (NIV)

A True Christian??

Posted: December 31, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Belief, Christ, Christianity, God, Jesus, New Testament, New Year, religion-and-spirituality | Leave a comment

–

Just reflecting.. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

–

When I began following Jesus FOR REAL, some 18 years ago, there were a lot of changes I had to make. I had to review much of what I was taught as a child and put it behind me. It was not bad, it was just childish beliefs that were no longer necessary in a maturing relationship. There were also many ideas and ideals that I thought were cut in stone for believers, that I discovered were not, and I had to turn loose of these things as well. Some of the beliefs I held, I believed were foundation stones holding up the Christian faith. I also had to lay these aside as Jesus became more and more real to me!

–

None of these things were wrong, in and of themselves, they were just stepping stones to allow me to get to where my Lord was leading me today. They were never intended to be burdens I had to carry with me on my journey. Today my burdens are easy and my way is light, not because I am smart or spiritual, but because I was willing to let go of some of the things I thought were so necessary to being a Christian. I have found the One Who is important for being a Christian, actually He found me buried under all the burdens of belief and performance commonly associated with being a true believer.

–

No one can convince me any longer of what is important or required for being a true follower of Christ. I know Him now and He is the only reason for being a Christian!

–

Have a Happy New Year!

–

Love in Him!

A Child is Given?

Posted: December 20, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Please take time to read this newsletter. It is full of new revelation and truth for the days ahead! You may not agree with all Gary says, because it is not the popular teachings in western Christianity. However, more and more believers are changing their beliefs as a Great Paradigm shift is taking effect.

I have not published anything recently due to shifting views of my own… I hope if you also are struggling with yourself, maybe this World Challenge newsletter may offer you some confirmation as well.

If I do not post again before Christmas, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and remember Him!

Love in Him!

New Covenant Christmas

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/newsletter/2013/new-covenant-christmas

Change in Concept

Posted: October 23, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Faith, Uncategorized | Tags: Bible, Bible Study, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Reading, Satan | Leave a comment

I have decided to stop posting visuals with my post and to start limiting them to just a few words..

The pictures continue to disappear and I really do not have the time or energy to find out why, so I will just stop using them. I suppose it has something to do with copyrights or some foolishness such as that… It seems that everything is owned today by someone and you have to get their permission to use it or pay for it or pay a penalty if you don’t pay for it and I am just tired of it all.

God gives us everything.. He does not charge us for the air we breath, nor the rain that falls. He freely gives us the sun that shines and the wind that blows. He gives us fall colors in the trees and beautiful seashores, sunrises and sunsets… He gives us life and sustains it for us and we can’t let someone use a picture we took without charging them or giving them our permission. I could go on and on about all the freedoms we have in God through Jesus, but I will let you come up with some of your own.

Please if I say anything on this blog that you like and want to repeat, just feel free to do so.. You don’t need to ask or be concerned that I may get you for plagiarism or anything of the sort. I figure if I have said something you think someone else needs to hear, then it most likely came from God anyway and He tells me; “freely you have received, freely give.” So I do just that.

Now enough of the rant…

What I want to say today is brief.. I think the Bible is the greatest book in the world and many, many people have been strengthened in their walk through Bible reading and Bible study. That being said, I am here to tell you that Jesus never commissioned us to be Bible readers and Bible studiers, He did ask us to become His followers and He promised that He had all the power and all the authority not only to call us to follow but also to empower us to follow Him in His work in this world… Bible reading and study is great and I am glad if you are involved in either, but when it finally comes down to following, and it will sooner or later, your faith will not be sufficient from reading, studying or attending Church alone…to follow Him!

Faith to follow Jesus Christ does not come from study, it comes from experience. You can sit and read and study a book on building a house but when you actually start to build the house you will find that it does not always, if ever go according to the book. Books are Great for gathering information, information however does not empower faith, only experience does. Many are those who read the do it yourself manuals and start a project only to become frustrated and either give up or go ahead and call a professional.

Please do not be fooled, Satan could care less about how much you read and study your Bible as long as you never lay it down and start following Jesus. Following is what stirs up hell against a Christian, not reading… What you have read and what you have studied will become useful to you along the way, but by themselves will never produce the faith to follow.

That is all I have to say today and like I said it is free… so take it and use it as you choose!

Love in Him!

Missing the Signs and Wonders?

Posted: September 22, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Faith, Religion, Uncategorized | Tags: Bread, Bread of Life Discourse, Christianity, God, Jesus, John, Miracle, Rabbi | Leave a comment

–– John 6:25-26

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”…Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, `not because you saw the signs I performed` but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

~ Have we had our fill? Have we missed the SIGNS?… Have we become so accustomed to having the Bread broken and handed out to us… that we are missing the Miraculous signs and Wonders which follow those who believe? ..After eating bits and pieces of bread and fish and becoming full.. the crowd left.. but they left behind 12 basketfuls of miraculous supply and they missed the POINT, altogether. [ Jesus the Bread of Life ]

Love in Him!

Vaugue and Ambiguous ON Purpose

Posted: September 20, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Bible, Preaching, Religion, Uncategorized | Tags: Ephesians 4:4-6, One Baptism, One Faith, One God | Leave a comment

Some topics, themes and teachings in the Bible seem to stand out so bold and obvious that they cannot be missed even with casual reading. Often, these topics which WE believers become so bold and confident of are the very topics, themes and teachings in the Scriptures that cause the problems we see in the Body of Christ today… Disagreements, disputes, divisions, denominations and so forth.

You would think we could agree that a Vase is a vase, or a Face is a face, or that Black is black and White is white… don’t you agree.??? … sorry, I couldn’t help but ask. LOL!

But it seems that we can’t…. It is the stuff which there should be no questions about.. that become the questions that cause all the problems… SEE?

I have fun writing ambiguously and vaguely at times… can’t you tell? Most folks do not like this style of writing because more often than not, we come away from it with more questions than we do answers.. and that’s the point??

Now, I will be BLUNT which will be obvious… Most of US just don’t like to THINK for ourselves!!! We have been raised in slavery and we are not accustomed to thinking freely and unobstructed. Sorry I had to be so blunt… BUT sometimes vagueness just doesn’t work… does it?

May I offer my view on what I mean by Slavery? …I will try not to take too much of your time and I promise to leave you with more questions than answers… Ok? …. You and I have been born into a world controlled by forces of darkness… this verse is evidence of what I mean…For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. —Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) …Now, I will not give you my definition of this verse because I want you to decide yourself what the words covey to you. ..I refuse to try to convince you of the identity of these forces or how they operate in this world! …Why? …Because I would be taking your thoughts and ideas captive (into slavery) to my point of view… However, I do hope you see.. that there are Ungodly forces in this world attempting to control you and I for their own ungodly purposes.. Is that clear?

No, it’s not clear… I know it’s not clear and that is my point exactly… Life is not clear and neither is Our Book on Life so clear at times either.. The Bible is not intended to be as clearly defined as we would like for it to be… Because?? We are all individuals with different ways of seeing things and understanding Truth.. Can we agree on that? …Let me say it this way: We do not need to keep on agreeing to disagree.. (which has never made any sense to me anyway since we are agreeing to just keep on disagreeing???) WE need to start AGREEING that we all see and learn things differently and IT IS OK that, that’s the way it is…

I am not saying that Truth changes to agree with the way we perceive and conceive it… or Him? No; Truth changes US, ..our perceptions and conceptions of Life until we come into agreement with the Way, the Truth, and the Life… Jesus. …..He changes us… while He is unchanging and unaltered by our differences and disagreements with Him.. or His ways which we often misunderstand..

When and if we can ever ALL agree that God brings us all back to Him in different ways, at different times, on differing trails and through different trials and experiences in Life.. THEN, we can begin to see The Same ONE GOD and Father of us all, leading us all through Life in this ungodly world… exactly the same way… while at the same time much differently… Do you agree?? and ..It’s OK, if you don’t..

Love in Him!

—————————————————————————————————

Ephesians 4:4-6

New International Version (NIV)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

AMEN

Are We Becoming AntiChrist???

Posted: September 19, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Bible, Preaching, Religion, Uncategorized | Tags: Antichrist, Bible, Christ, deception, disciples, followers, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers | Leave a comment

I posted this on Facebook this morning with these words.

Has Christianity been reduced to only believing what the Bible says about God?

Is believing IN Jesus all that is really required to live the Overcoming Life and make a difference in the World we live in?

I affixed the comment to Today’s post from “My Utmost For His Highest” a daily devotional by Oswald Chambers… I have included it below for your enjoyment and I will be using it for further reference.

——————————————————————–

Are You Going on With Jesus?

September 19, 2013

You are those who have continued with Me in My trials —Luke 22:28

It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).

The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?

We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?

Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19)

~My Utmost for His Highest~ Oswald Chambers (www.ustmost.org)

————————————————————

I do not know what you believe about the Anti-Christ but I do know what I believe about him and I will share that with you.. I am not trying to change what you believe. I am just explaining where I am coming from on the post…

Ever notice how many sets of twins are mentioned in the Bible? ….and even though they are not identical in most cases, it is still important to remember that they are twins… It is even thought today by many students of the Word that Cain and Abel were twins.. In the beginning. …Please explore the Bible for yourself and see all the twins listed in its pages..

There is a reason for this you know? Parallels, parables, the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) …all are intended to set our mind into a certain way of thinking and recognizing things. Para itself is a prefix in Greek words which means: alongside, side by side, similar, alike.. etc.. ..Follow the link for more info. if you wish. The point is, the Word of God is trying to covey something to us to aid in our understanding of truth in His word.. God is establishing a “Mindset” so to speak!

Ok, enough of that already… You see, in the western mindset, we mainly see “Anti” as opposite and different… Do you agree? Well, that was not the mindset of the eastern world where the Bible was written.. I apologize for the link… it is not very informative and kind of scattered, but I hope you will dig into this “prefix anti” on your own and develop a personal mindset… which belongs to you!!! Please..

…To me, personally, I now view (anti) as [alike but opposed]… [similar but different]… [close but not the same]… [sounds alike, but is not]… You see what I am trying to say? It’s kind of difficult to convey without taking much time and many words!

Let me say it this way.. I believe Anti-Christ, whether a person, system, form of government, form of religion and worship… or whatever Anti-Christ turns out to be (and 1 John says many have already gone out into the world)… will NOT be so easy to recognize or maybe identify is a better word? ..He/It will look very familiar to someone/something we are all accustomed to, and comfortable with… and the differences will be so subtle, they will be almost indistinguishable… get my drift?

Ok, I am done with the comparisons, if I haven’t made myself clear by now, I don’t know what else to do.. I’m starting to sound like a teacher.. and that is not my intentions..

My point is this… Jesus did not call believers, Jesus called disciples who came to believe and trust Him as they followed Him! ..His disciples not only heard his words, they also observed Him in action… They experienced His compassion, His zeal, His love.. They saw Him interact with people, they heard what He said in private, away from the crowds. They ministered with Him, assisted in the miracles He performed.. They ate with Him, slept with Him… And they KNEW Him… They did not just “Believe in Jesus”, as I am afraid it has come to today with so many of us….. and that’s the TRAP!

I know multiple sets of twins, identical and fraternal, male and female.. all are very similar, all act a lot alike. Even the fraternal twins who are of different gender are very, very similar and could be difficult to distinguish if I were only hearing about them without seeing them… Am I making any sense? The identical twins would be almost impossible to tell apart from one another without KNOWING them personally. ..I have no problem any longer telling which is which after I really get to know them! …..I know now not to be confused by their a-likeness, but to look for their differences, however minuscule, subtle and un-apparent they might be… Got to wrap this up now. Aren’t you glad?

The Bible says Satan likes to disguise himself as an “angel of light”… which means He masquerades as Jesus, “THE ANGEL of LIGHT” in order to confuse and deceive us into believing we are worshipping and following Jesus… The ole Devil tries his best.. to look like Jesus, act like Jesus, talk, walk, smell, even perform counterfeit (fake) miracles like Jesus… are you seeing now? ..If we do not get familiar enough with the REAL Jesus, we will be fooled by the Look Alike Jesus..!! The Bible has much to say on this theme i.e. Lion of Judah, Roaring lion… Lambs and Kids, (baby sheep and baby goats are almost impossible to tell apart)… Weeds and Wheat growing up together… and so on and so forth! …In the Garden of Eden, Eve was even fooled by a voice instructing her on how to be More Like God… and we know who that was now… you see?

Done… with my part. Now it is up to you… There is really no need to worry, as the “TRUTH” will always overcome the “Lie”… the LIGHT will always displace Darkness… and LOVE will always conquer Evil.. BUT wouldn’t it be nice and helpful not to be confused and deceived in the mean time??

I pray this has sparked you interest enough to at least think about the Mystery of Twin-ship laid out in the Word of God… and maybe enough to dive in to it and discovery for yourself the secrets and keys given to us in His Word… They are there for our enjoyment as well as for our awareness..!!!

Love in Him!

————————————————————————-

1 John 2:18

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

1 John 2:22

Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:3

But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

2 John 1:7

I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

One of THOSE days!?

Posted: September 18, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Bible, Preaching, Religion, Uncategorized | Tags: Christianity, Denominations, God, Jesus, Plan, religion-and-spirituality | Leave a comment

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

_________________________________________________________________

———————————————-

——————–

….Many of us today have our own plans and ideas of Life and the way we believe things are supposed to go…

We believe we are doing our duty as believer’s by rising early in the morning and asking God to bless us and protect us as we go about our day. We believe God exist as our savior, protector and friend to help us accomplish our purpose and destiny in Life…

Oh, how wrong we are..??

–

Today is an example of One of THOSE days… when I learn how wrong I am about Life at times… I left the picture above a little small and a bit fuzzy for a reason… Why did I do that? …Glad you asked… because I believe we see God’s promises and plans for us as a small, blurred picture at times… We can still tell what is going on… but everything seems to be somewhat out of focus.. Know what I mean?

–

Let me give you a for instance…

–

This morning I got up early as usual, got coffee and settled down to think, ponder and meditate on God’s word.. so I could receive some inspiration on what to post today… After all, posting about “Good God things” is good right?? I think He wants me to do this blog or I wouldn’t be doing it.. I have kind of a routine I follow and I don’t think anything is wrong with routines in general.. but sometimes I get frustrated, aggravated and agitated when other stuff begins to ruin my routine…. Does that ever happen to you? ……

Today as I was routinely going about my good God things that I know He had planned for me to do today because I am doing what I know He wants me to do…. things started happening.. The phone rang and I answered it. …It was my daughter and she asked what I was doing…

–

Me: …Same thing I am doing every morning… writing. What’s up?

Her: Oh not much, just, and, but… (15mins.) and now this …and that, (30mins.) not really sure what to do… maybe I should… or maybe if we.., (45mins.) …What do you think daddy?

–

Ok. There you have it… routine shot, time I like to post by past, subject of the post forgotten!!! All the inspiration gone, ….Frustration, anxiety, agitation rising and now….. “What do you think daddy?”

–

God had changed MY PLANS… God had interrupted MY ROUTINE… God had messed up all MY TIME I was planning to spend doing GOD’s WILL for Him today…

And that is where I mess up all the time… How about you??

Now, please don’t misunderstand me… I love my daughter, she is a mature, beautiful mother of three of the Grandest kids…and step-mother (don’t tell her I called her a stepmother) to two more of the Grandest kid’s… She is a strong and courageous follower of Jesus and deeply spiritual.. For her to ask my opinion on something is a compliment and a position I cherish… understand?

–

MY BLOG is not is not even working right today.. not double spacing for paragraphs and such… Acting crazy …. SO, I am going to stop and see what GOD’s PLANS are for me today!

–

Before I go, can I just say… Things are always going according to GOD’s plans for my Life and for your Life, but things don’t always go as we believe God has planned for our lives to go. …I know that is hard to understand.. especially when we are in the middle of a change in direction that has caught us off-guard…because we were/are doing good things for God… and God does not mind us doing good things for Him until He has GOD things to do for US… Get it?

–

Let me say it another way…. I tell people all the time: Even if you are going the wrong way and doing the wrong things… God planned for it to happen that way. God allows us to do things OUR way, God even allows us to do things the wrong way ..and He has planned for all of that to happen to us as part of His plans for us. ..We are always in God’s plans or His will so to speak. …He has planned for it all… Life with all of its certainties and uncertainties IS GOD’s plan for us…

–

God planned for MY DAY not to go MY WAY today… HE had plans for me to do something different, He had planned for me to see something new and in a different way.. He planned for MY BLOG to be on another subject than I planned… and I GUESS He even planned for it to look different… from the way I LIKE IT TO LOOK.!!! …I had to stop today, and see it GOD’s way… and with that I WILL END… but God will not..! He has other plans for me today…that I know nothing of yet? …And of that, I am CERTAIN…

–

SO, the Next time things are not working out for you… God may be showing you something different too….

Love in Him!

———————————————————————–

———————————

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the

Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.

————————————————————————-

I do not even know where the “tags” for this post came from… or why?

DO YOU???

What the HECK is Worship???

Posted: September 17, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Bible, Preaching, Religion, Uncategorized | Tags: Anointed, Day of worship, God, God the Father, Jerusalem, Jesus, John, Place of worship, Worship | Leave a comment

John 4:19-26

Woman: ¹⁹Sir, it is obvious to me that You are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped here on this mountain, but Your people say that Jerusalem is the only place for all to worship. Which is it?

Jesus: ^21-24Woman, I tell you that neither is so. Believe this: a new day is coming—in fact, it’s already here—when the importance will not be placed on the time and place of worship but on the truthful hearts of worshipers. You worship what you don’t know while we worship what we do know, for God’s salvation is coming through the Jews. The Father is spirit, and He is seeking followers whose worship is sourced in truth and deeply spiritual as well. Regardless of whether you are in Jerusalem or on this mountain, if you do not seek the Father, then you do not worship.

Woman: ²⁵These mysteries will be made clear by He who is promised, the Anointed One.

Jesus: ²⁶The Anointed is speaking to you. I am the One you have been looking for.

(The Voice)

—————————————————————————————-

What is worship? Do you know? I did know at one time but I don’t think I know anymore. From the verses above it seems this same condition existed in the days of Jesus … Jesus is talking to the “woman at the well” and they are having a discussion on worship, at least that is what appears to be happening on the surface, however there is something much deeper taking place in this story… as there usually is in His teachings…

As we see from the text, Jesus tells this lady “Believe this: a new day is coming—in fact, it’s already here—when the importance will not be placed on the time and place of worship but on the truthful hearts of worshipers.” …. Do you see that?

Well, you know I must ask… when is that day? …Jesus said it is ALREADY HERE?? …A day when the importance will not be on the place or the time, the music or the color of the carpet. A day when the importance will not be on the preacher or the message or the doctrines and creeds…

Ok, Jesus didn’t say all those things… but maybe He was thinking it…

Jesus did say the importance of worship would be on the truthful hearts of worshipers. Wonder what He means by that.?? He is also saying: ….If you are not seeking the Father, you are not worshipping!!! …Wow those are strong statements are they not?? …How does that affect what you consider worship today? I know it changed my mind quite some time ago…

Now, I am not saying I have all the answers because I do not… I am very much still Just Thinking about this subject… but I am thinking about it and asking about it and seeking Our Father about it, so, I know eventually I will get the answer…

One thing does come to mind and I would like to share it with you. If there was One Person on earth who ever had Worship correct it would be Jesus… don’t you think? …As I ponder, these words keep coming up… “I do nothing, I do not see my Father do and I say nothing, I do not hear my Father say” Does that sound like someone who is seeking the Father? His Father, our Father?

There is so much more that I could say but I think the truth is we, you and I must begin to seek our Father to find true worship… I also know this will not happen until and unless we really turn our hearts to God and begin seeking Him with all we are and all we have…

You see, I am coming to believe that Worship is not something that we do, as much as, it is someone we are..?. and everything we do, wherever we are is worship if we are seeking after and searching for God our Father in it… I often find Him more within what I am doing than I do without, and that is when true worship takes place in the heart of the worshiper… when I suddenly see Him doing what I am doing… and hear Him saying what I am saying and know He has been there all along…

The lady at the well was looking for someone else to come and reveal the mysteries of worship to her. What she did not recognize was the One to Worship was the same One telling her How to Worship… The One she has waiting for was there… waiting on her to realize that Worship was happening then, right there where the two of them were… I don’t think she got it then, but I do believe she realized it later..

I believe someday, maybe Today, Now… we will get it too!!!

Love in Him!

—————————————————————————–

John 16:12-15

¹²“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Jesus-the Way-the Truth-the Life??

Posted: September 16, 2013 | Author: Marcus McCord | Filed under: Bible, Faith, Preaching, Religion, Uncategorized | Tags: God, God the Father, Jesus, Lord, the life, the truth, the way, Trinity, Word | 2 Comments

John 14:6-9

New Life Version (NLV)

⁶Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one can go to the Father except by Me. ⁷If you had known Me, you would know My Father also. From now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

Jesus and His Father Are One

⁸Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we ask.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time and you do not know Me yet? Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

——————————————————————————————————-

picture from yahoo images

Some things are just hard to grasp… like water, air, light or spirit. Oh, we say we understand them, or we have a handle on it, but do we really? ..We are living in an information age and in a society which believes we must have all the answers to all the questions… But is that the truth??? …Can we really have all the answers?? ..I don’t think so… do you?

I am not going into a teaching on the Trinity, although I would like to, ..it would take much too much time! and I believe the picture and the verses above give enough information for you to know my position on that mystery… not that my position is important. ..Yours is much more important to you..

No, I have no problem with things that are difficult to grasp.. I have no problem with mysteries or parables, metaphors and analogies. I think they are in the scriptures for a purpose and God intends them to be there for our pleasure as well as for His purpose…

I have a problem when we use religion, theology, doctrine and dogma to try to answer these secrets and solve these mysteries, metaphors and parables for everyone on a denominational and even global level at times, instead of encouraging folks to dive into these mysterious difficulties and ambiguous teachings and discover for themselves the meanings… if there are meanings?

You see, I do not believe God intended for, or will allow His Word to be defined doctrinally, dogmatically or theologically… and this is where, we today have made our mistake.

God’s Word is intended to speak to humanity on every level, in every generation, in any and all circumstances… and stories and parables, metaphors and such are marvelous means of delivering “truth” and instruction in any ..and every situation or circumstance and on any level, individual, local, national and yes, even Global…

Example: I could use many words…definitions, formulas or theories to describe what I am trying to communicate to you… and whoever you are, wherever you live, the way you view life …and whatever problems or concerns you are facing at the time you read those words, would determine how and what you understand on a personal level from my many words and how you could apply them?… OR, I could tell a story about someone who faced similar challenges long ago and how they looked to God for the answers.. and how God was already working to help them solve their dilemma, whatever it was ….and you could relate or identify with the Person… and see how God worked on their behalf and you could trust Him to do the same for you in your personal ~~saturation~~ situation..

…Which would be more useful to you…?

In the first example, I am giving you information and formulas for you to attempt to use to come up with the answer to your own individual problem… In the second example, I am giving you the answer to your problem… no matter the circumstances you might find yourself in… Do you agree?

So let me stop, before I start doing the former… My point is: ..Don’t look for your answers in God’s Word… Look for God in His Word and you will have the Answer… Am I making sense to anyone? ….. Jesus is the answer, He is the way you need to go, He is the truth you need to know, His is the life of faith, trust, obedience and confidence, that is the answer to your problems, to my problems and to the world’s problems.

I know this sounds too simple to be true… but it is true …Stuff don’t have to be complicated to be useful..!! Mysteries do not have to be explained to provide answers… all the answers are in the mysteries… God’s Word will never be solved… but God’s Word will solve all the questions you have in Life… Jesus is God’s Word come to Life… and He defies definition… However He does NOT defy understanding!!!

He is to be understood by faith, trusting in Him…following His example, not by application of bible facts and figures, principles and methods… but by trusting Jesus and hearing Him in all of Life’s experiences and circumstances.. Jesus is SO MUCH more than our Savior… He is our answer to everything.!!

Now I will close… and I hope I have not upset you too bad… by not offering sound theological advice and proven, methodical ways of biblical application techniques for deducing answers to your particular problem today… All I can tell you is to trust God and ask Jesus, He already has your answers ready… before you ever know the questions to ask…

Love in Him!

——————————————————————————–

————————————————————————————————-

²⁵“I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. ²⁶Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, ²⁷for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.^[b] ²⁸Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”

²⁹Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. ³⁰Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”

³¹Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe?

John 16:25-31 (New Living Translation)