<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Sun, 08 Sep 2024 13:12:38 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>God</category><category>Exalting</category><category>Jesus Christ</category><category>Omniscient</category><category>Sin</category><category>Worship</category><category>power of the word of God</category><title>Thinking Godward</title><description></description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>9</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-2435029349044285679</guid><pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-13T22:54:01.597-08:00</atom:updated><title>Grace Grace God&#39;s Glorious Grace</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;2 Peter 3:18...but grow in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory
both now and forever. Amen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Ah the beauty and the sweetness of
God&#39;s grace. How rich, how sweet, how glorious. Little time is needed
when reflecting upon ones own condition to realize how undeserving we
are of His glorious grace. We often fall in danger of making far to
little of how great God&#39;s grace truly is.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;It is my experience when I examine
myself of how guilty I am of making far to little of God&#39;s amazing
grace. As one who has the undeserved privilege of weekly making known
the riches of God&#39;s grace to his beloved church it becomes painful to
realize how oft I have made so little of the greatness of His grace.
It finally dawned upon me that to make little of God&#39;s grace is in
actuality to make little of Jesus Christ. To make much of Jesus
Christ is to make much of His grace.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;This took me back to Richard Baxter&#39;s
book &quot;The Reformed Pastor&quot; in which Baxter writing to
pastors. I believe he hit the nail on the head when he wrote
...&quot;Content not yourselves with being in the state of grace, but
be also careful that your graces are kept in vigorous and lively
exercise&quot;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;This quote from Richard Baxter hit home
with me when I turned my thoughts towards the verse mentioned in 2
Peter 3:18. My eyes were opened to the realization that grace that is
not &quot;vigorously and lively exercised&quot;, is grace not grown
at all. If we desire to make much of the grace of God, it must be
exercised. Grace exercised is to make much of grace. Grace exercised
opens the door to grace increased. As we grow in our understanding of
grace and the Lord Jesus Christ we must come to the place where we
see that grace of God - from God, was not extended to us merely to be
enjoyed as unmerited favour, but also as the power of God towards us
and through us that we might exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in all His
fullness. Let us therefore in the words of Richard Baxter; ...&quot;be
also careful that your graces are kept in vigorous and lively
exercise&quot;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2012/01/grace-grace-gods-glorious-grace.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-6268684563314483930</guid><pubDate>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-05T12:51:36.251-08:00</atom:updated><title>Christians Are Seekers Of Righteousness</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Isaiah 51:1...Listen to Me, you who
follow after righteousness;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock
from which you were hewn.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;And to the hole of the pit from which
you were dug.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt; Although this verse was written to Israel who time
and time again find themselves being rebuked by the&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Lord as they sin against Him, there is
a most incredible truth that we as Christians should see.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;There seems to be in our&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;day a strange phenomenon within
the Christianity and yet it is nothing new as we see that&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;it existed in the very days of the
apostles. This phenomenon that I speak of is the use of the&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;term &quot;Real Christian&quot;. What an interesting phrase. The fact is either you are a Christian or you are not. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt; This term forever casts the Christian
in a negative light and causes one to question whether the person next to them in church is a &quot;real Christian&quot;. It compels us into a constant wondering and&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;evaluation of all those around if they
are &quot;real Christians&quot;. With this constant ongoing battle&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;within one&#39;s own mind in regards to
others genuineness, it can cause a person to become quite&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;cynical at times if we are not careful.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;O but the Word of God leaves us these
beautiful truths if we will only see them. We have this comfort from the Word of God, To seek the Lord&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;is to seek righteousness. One cannot
seek after God apart from seeking righteousness. And greater&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;yet those that are His, bought by the
precious blood of the lamb not only continue to seek after righteousness,&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;but walk in righteousness. One is not
proved to be a Christian because he calls himself one, but it is&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;his righteous walk before God and man and when alone in the confines of quiet place that gives evidence
that He is a real Christian. Let it be known, that a Christian&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;will demonstrate acts of righteousness
for he is a slave to it. Let us put aside all self - justifications&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;of unrighteousness and let our actions
speak the truth of who&#39;s children we are.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;(This is a post that I had posted previously on my other blog which sadly was hacked and I no longer have access to. I have made some slight changes within it. I will be&amp;nbsp;re-posting&amp;nbsp;the remainder of my posts from my previous blog on this site.)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2012/01/christians-are-seekers-of-righteousness.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-5650042705751933528</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-22T05:05:08.446-08:00</atom:updated><title>What Should Your Pastor Be Doing?</title><description>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;2 Timothy 2:15..&lt;span style=&quot;color: #001320;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;.Study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: #f9fdff; color: #001320; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: #f9fdff; color: #001320; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #001320;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;I have come to learn in minis&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;try that there are many strains of thought as to what a pastor ought to be doing. The society of churches have a thought as to what a pastor ought to be busy doing, individual congregations have thoughts on what a pastor ought to be doing, church boards have their thoughts on the matter, the pastor has his own thoughts and then there is what God says he ought to be doing. These thoughts can differ from group to group but there is one thing that I think every group agrees upon. That as a man of God He ought to study and know the counsels of Go&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;d that he might lead those in his charge in such a way that God would be glorified in them. A dear brother, friend and fellow pastor whom many know from&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://georgerkrahn.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #e69138;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Proclamation Social Gospel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #001320;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.gospelfellowshipchapel.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #e69138;&quot;&gt;Gospel Fellowship Chapel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;gave me this past weekend what I believe to be one of the best&amp;nbsp;explanations&amp;nbsp;of the primary work of any one bearing the calling of a pastor. I would like to share it with you in it&#39;s entirety as he gave it to me.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;This is a plan suggested by an&amp;nbsp;anonymous&amp;nbsp;parishioner and cited in Rediscovering Expository Preaching ( John MacArthur and the Master&#39;s Seminary Faculty, 1992, Word Publishing, pp. 348-349).&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Fling him into his office. Tear the &quot;Office&quot; sign from the door, and nail on the sign, &quot;Study.&quot; Take him off the mailing list. Lock him up with his books and his&amp;nbsp;typewriter&amp;nbsp;and his Bible. Slam him down on his knees before texts and broken hearts and the flock of lives of a superficial flock and a holy God.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Force him to be the one man in our surfeited communities who know&amp;nbsp;about&amp;nbsp;God. Throw him into the ring to box with God until he learns how short his arms are. Engage him to wrestle with God all night through. And let him come out only when &amp;nbsp;he&#39;s bruised and beaten into being a blessing.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Shut his mouth forever spouting remarks, and stop his tongue forever tripping lightly over every&amp;nbsp;nonessential. Require him to have&amp;nbsp;something&amp;nbsp;to say&amp;nbsp;before&amp;nbsp;he dares break&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;silence. Bend his knees in the lonesome valley.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Burn his eyes with weary study. Wreck his emotional poise with worry for God. And make him change his pious stance for a humble walk with God and man. Make him spend and be spent for the glory of God. Rip out his telephone. Burn up his ecclesiastical success sheets.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Put water in his gas tank. Give him a Bible and tie him to the pulpit. And make him preach the Word of the living God.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Test him. Quiz him. Examine him. Humiliate him for his ignorance of things divine. Shame him for his good comprehension of finances, batting averages, and political in-fighting. Launch &amp;nbsp;at his frustrated effort to play psychiatrist. Form a choir and raise a chant and haunt him with it night and day, &quot;Sir, we would see Jesus.&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;When at long last he dares assay the pulpit, ask him if he has a word from God. If he does not, then dismiss him. Tell him you can read the morning paper and digest the television commentaries, and think through the day&#39;s superficial problems, and manage the community&#39;s &amp;nbsp;weary drives, and bless the sordid baked potatoes and green beans, ad infinitum, better than he can.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Command him not to come back until he&#39;s read and reread, written and rewritten, until he can stand up and say, &quot;Thus saith the Lord.&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Break him across the board of his ill-gotten popularity. Smack him hard with his own prestige. Corner him with questions about God. Cover him with demands for celestial wisdom. And give him no escape until he&#39;s back against the wall of the Word.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;And sit down before him and listen to the only word he has left - God&#39;s word. Let him be totally ignorant of the down-street gossip, but give him a chapter and order him to walk around it, camp on it, sup with it, and come at last to speak it backward and forward, until all he says about it rings with the truth of eternity.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;And when he&#39;s burnt out with the flaming Word, when he&#39;s consumed at last by the fiery grace blazing through him, and when he&#39;s privileged to translate the truth of God to man, finally transferred from earth to heaven, then bear him away gently and blow a muted trumpet and lay him down softly. Place a two-edged sword in his coffin, and raise the tomb triumphant. For he was a brave soldier of the Word. And ere he died, he had become a man of God.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-should-your-pastor-be-doing.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-3556630543814220203</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-06T12:50:30.562-08:00</atom:updated><title>Why Has God Not Destroyed America?</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; The people of Israel had
been enslaved to Egypt 400 years. The unbearable cruelty they
suffered at the hand of Egypt and the continuing pressure to subdue
the ever increasing Israelites under the mighty hand of Egypt was
coming to a turning point as God was preparing a redeemer sent by God
Himself. The question often is – why did God allow Israel to be
enslaved to Egypt for 400 years? Much could be said about the finer
details of this, but bear with me as I give the simplest answer that
we find in the scriptures.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; As God was establishing
His covenant with Abram, God prophesied to Abram in Genesis
15:13-14&lt;i&gt;...then He said to
Abram; know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a
land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict
them four hundred years (14) and also the nation whom they serve I
will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possession.
(NKJV). &lt;/i&gt;This of course is the
reference of Israels enslavement to the nation of Egypt.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;But why,
would God permit Abrams descendants to be enslaved to Egypt for four
hundred years before bringing them out with great possessions? The
answer is given to us in Gen 15:16..&lt;i&gt;.but in the fourth
generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites
is not yet complete.&lt;/i&gt; The reason
Israel would be enslaved to Egypt four hundred years was due to the
fact that the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete. In other
words, the Amorites&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;(who lived in Canaan)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;were a wicked people
living in a wicked nation, but their sin was not yet so great that
God would pour out his wrath upon them to wipe them from the face of
the earth. 
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;So here now another
question jumps to the forefront of our minds...how bad would things
have to be before God would pour out his wrath upon a nation to wipe
them off the face of the earth? For this let us look at some the
instructions God set before Israel as commands that they were not to
break which the inhabitants of the land of Canaan openly practiced.  
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Lev 18:20-25...thou shalt
not lie carnally with thy neighbors wife. 
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;...you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire of
Molech&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;...nor shall you profane the name of your God&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;...you shall not lie with a man as with a woman, it is
an abomination&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;...nor shall you mate with any animal to defile
yourself with it&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;...nor shall a woman stand before an animal to mate
with it, it is perversion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;as God
gives the commands to Israel he gives to them a window through which
can be seen the sins the Amorites of Canaan were committing. The result of these devastating sins is
laid out for us in the next two verses&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Leviticus
18:24-25...do not defile yourselves with any of these things for by
all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you
(25) for the land is defiled, therefore I visit the punishment of its
iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;This leads me to my next
question, how does this differ from what we are seeing in North
America today?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Adultery seems to almost
be common place today regardless of religion or race. We may not
offer our children to the God of Molech through fire, but we abort
babies at an astounding rate, likely more then the Amorites ever did.
The name of God is being blatantly profaned in our countries,
homosexuality is embraced and endorsed even among many religious
organizations. And we don&#39;t even want to imagine the degradation of
the other sins mentioned. 
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;If God destroyed the
Amorites and all those who lived in Canaan for these sins, why hasn&#39;t
God destroyed North America seeing that the sins of our countries
mirror those or the Amorites?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Let me give a short 4
point answer to this question. 
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;1 – Ultimately God can
do as He chooses...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;en-US&quot;&gt;The reality is
 that because all have sinned and have gone their own way, God would
 by justified if he cast all of humanity under eternal damnation but
 we are told in  Rom 9:15...for He says to Moses, I will have mercy
 on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion upon
 whomever I will have compassion. &lt;/span&gt;
 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;2 – God is&amp;nbsp;long-suffering...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;there are those
 in this land who are not yet saved who will be saved and the Lord is&amp;nbsp;long-suffering&amp;nbsp;waiting to the elect to come to salvation.  2 &lt;i&gt;Peter
 3:9...the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
 slackness, but is long suffering towards us, not willing that any
 should perish but that ll should come to repentance&lt;/i&gt;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;3 – We are living in a
dispensation of grace...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;en-US&quot;&gt;Rom 11:25...for
 I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this
 mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness
 in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles
 has come in. &lt;/span&gt;
 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;4 – there are more than
5 righteous in the land...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span lang=&quot;en-US&quot;&gt;when Abraham
 talked with the Lord about the utter destruction that was about to
 come upon Sodom and Gamorrah Abraham asked the Lord how many
 righteous he would have to find in order for him not to pour out the
 wrath of upon them Gen 18:32...then he said, Let not the Lord be
 angry, and I will speak but once more, suppose ten (righteous
 people) should be found there? And He said, I will not destroy it
 for the sake of ten. &lt;/span&gt;
 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-has-god-not-destroyed-america.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-5164696707685740957</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:21:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-01-04T09:21:55.778-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">power of the word of God</category><title>The Seeding Of Liberalism</title><description>&lt;i&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;1 Thessalonians 2:13...for this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;In my mind I can feel the excitement that Paul and his cohorts felt when the believers in Thessalonica gladly received (&lt;i&gt;accepted as truth&lt;/i&gt;) the word of God that Paul, Timothy, and Silvanius brought to them on Paul&#39;s second missionary journey. I don&#39;t know if there is any greater excitement that can be experienced on earth than when someone hears the word of God and receives it as truth. The result is that you begin to see an immediate impact upon their lives as they are exposed to the truth of the word of God. To receive the word of God is to believe the word of God which&amp;nbsp;ultimately manifests itself through a changed, and&amp;nbsp;continuously&amp;nbsp;changing life. Paul confirms this at the end of the verse when he says ...&lt;i&gt;which effectively works in you w&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;ho believe&lt;/i&gt;... That&#39;s what the word of God does to those who believe it - it works within them and it has an effect upon and within them. &lt;i&gt;Heb 4:12...for the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart&lt;/i&gt;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;But Paul warned the Ephesians of a time that would come in which after he had departed from them that savage wolves would come in and not spare the flock. And how often it is that we are on the look out for those who&amp;nbsp;blatantly deny hell or the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but Paul followed up that warning by saying in&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;Acts 20:30...also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;So then in order to to protect ourselves from that we try and look to see if there might be any perversions of the word of God within our midst. These things we must do, let&#39;s make that clear, but sometimes what happens is that we fail to recognize where some of these things have their beginnings.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;I would inject at this point that quite often the culprit where the perverting of the faith happens is under a term we call &quot;liberalism&quot;. Now depending on what angle you come from you might certainly have a better definition of what we mean when we speak of liberalism with regards to Christianity.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;But for now allow me to ask this, h&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;ow does&amp;nbsp;liberalism&amp;nbsp;find it&#39;s way into the church? It starts in a very small&amp;nbsp;unnoticed&amp;nbsp;way. It starts by rejecting what the Bible says in small ways and escalates from there.&amp;nbsp;Liberalism at it&#39;s roots, rejects the word of God. But how does this happen? It happens when we take the word of God and instead of receiving it, we question it by subjecting it to our own faulty human philosophies developed through our sin tainted experiences, when we exalt our physical experiences over and above the spiritual reality the Bible proclaims. When what is proclaimed in scripture does not agree with my sin tainted experience, I reject it, no matter how small the matter might be or what the Bible might say about it. That is the root of&amp;nbsp;liberalism. Much false teaching starts by rejecting even the small things the Bible says because I esteem my philosophies higher then God&#39;s truth. So we must start by keeping our eyes on ourselves and asking, what truth of scripture do I struggle to accept because it doesn&#39;t fit into my philosophy?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Let us be on guard looking first at ourselves lest the word of God does not effectively work within us and we are left with a &quot;form&quot; of godliness yet denying it&#39;s power, and find within&amp;nbsp;ourselves&amp;nbsp;the seed&amp;nbsp;liberalism.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2011/01/seeding-of-liberalism.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-4312794857595181282</guid><pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-12-21T08:39:07.212-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">God</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Omniscient</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Sin</category><title>Sinners, Saints and The All Knowing God</title><description>&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Heb 4:13...And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Last night for me was another one of those sleepless nights. But I have come to learn one of the greatest comforts I have when things are pressing down upon my mind is to spend time in prayer and in the Word. These two are becoming to me my place of refuge. It is here where I find my comfort and my peace as though I were in the presence of the Lord, a safe haven if you will. Already earlier in the day I had a desire to delve into the book of Hebrews and so instantly I flipped to the beginning of this book and&amp;nbsp;immersed&amp;nbsp;myself into it. It was here as I came to the verse mentioned above that my mind began to drift away from the words on the page in front of me and my thoughts began to formulate.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;This truth the writer of Hebrews was declaring of God was certainly not new. &lt;i&gt;Psalm 139:2-4...You know my sitting down and my rising up, You understand my thought afar off (3) You comprehend my path and my lying down and are&amp;nbsp;acquainted&amp;nbsp;with all my ways (4) for there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it all together&lt;/i&gt;...&lt;i&gt;Eze 11:5...for I know the things that come into your mind, everyone of them&lt;/i&gt;... &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Yet even though this truth has been known from the beginning of time, it intrigues me still, that saint an sinner alike often live as though this has little bearing upon us in the way we live out our belief in God. Cain murdered his brother and thought he could play sly with God ...&lt;i&gt;am I my brothers keeper&lt;/i&gt;?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Sarah laughed in unbelief when hearing that she should bear a child in her old age. Achan stole and hid gold after having been commanded by God to destroy it, and he too thought it could be hid even from the Almighty. King David went to great lengths to cover up his sin of adultery and murder only to have Nathan come and tell him...&lt;i&gt;You are that man!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Not only does this intrigue me from saints and sinners of old, but what intrigues me yet more, is when I think of myself. Knowing this truth of God myself, knowing these historical accounts and seeing how God dealt with them, why is it then that I don&#39;t make more of my sins? No, I have not slain my brother, I have not laughed at God behind doors, stolen gold, nor have I&amp;nbsp;committed&amp;nbsp;adultery and murdered in the process, but my own sins beset me.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;If I know and understand as we are told in &lt;i&gt;Num 32:23...be sure your sins will find you out&lt;/i&gt;... Why then, knowing God knows all things, am I not more grieved over the hidden sins of my heart which are born out of the same root as all those who actually committed the sins mentioned earlier in this post? Is it because there is an element of unbelief within me? Is it possible I do not possess the fear of the Lord as I should? Is it because I actually make less of the sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus Christ then what I might claim? Many questions, many thoughts, but of this I am sure; my spirit indeed is willing, but my flesh is weak, and o how I need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Just some food for thought.&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2010/12/sinners-saints-and-all-knowing-god.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-9185704626481161385</guid><pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-12-17T09:21:04.882-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Exalting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">God</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Worship</category><title>Exalting God</title><description>&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Nehemiah 9:5...Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever! Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Recently as I was reading through the book of Nehemiah I came upon this verse which left a certain impression upon me. Israel has spent a quarter of the day in the Law of the Lord their God, and spent another quarter of the day confessing and&amp;nbsp;worshiping&amp;nbsp;the Lord their God. As i see it, as we begin this chapter we start out with a distant view of what&#39;s going on but each verse zooms in closer so that we can see with greater detail what was going on. But as I came to verse 5 it was as though my mind slammed the breaks and gave a real closeup of the last part of that verse ...&lt;i&gt;Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise&lt;/i&gt;!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;This seemed to stun me for a while as I pondered this for the next several days. I thought about the way we bless the Lord our God in our modern day churches. Money spent in building massive organs, fine tuning guitars,&amp;nbsp;rehearsing vocal harmonies - all in an effort to bless the Lord our God and to exalt his glorious name and to do it with excellence, to do it to do best of our abilities. Now please understand this is not a criticism of how we praise Him in our settings of worship, this is how it is done today, but the truth of the matter which is stated in this verse was what rocked me. His name is exalted above all blessing and praise.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;God deserves all our praise, all our&amp;nbsp;honor, and all our adoration for He alone is worthy. &lt;i&gt;Rev 4:11...You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power...Rev 5:12...Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing...Rev 5:13...Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever&lt;/i&gt;... There is no doubting that God deserves and is worthy of all of these including our worship. Yet, our purest form of worship, our purist form of blessing and exaltation is not sufficient nor does it rise to the standard of God&#39;s holiness. Even if all created things, past present and future, heaven and earth, physical beings or angelic beings, all that is beneath, in, on or above the earth with one mind in one accord all at the same time blessed and praised God as He is worthy of, all this&amp;nbsp;simultaneous&amp;nbsp;praise, honor and glory would not be sufficient to bless Him as He rightly deserves. Why? Because He is above all blessing and honor. Yet even though we cannot sufficiently bless Him, He non the less receives our efforts when done in purity of heart. Now that friends is something to think about. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2010/12/exalting-god.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-6711641663350750455</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:13:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-12-14T21:05:02.120-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">God</category><title>How Well Do We Know God?</title><description>&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Exodus 15:11...Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;in holiness. Fearful in &lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;praises, doing wonders?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;As I sat and read this verse this morning in my meditations the thought came to me; How well do we know God?&amp;nbsp;Granted seemingly we all have an element of knowledge when it comes to the character of God. Whether it is accurate knowledge is another question. But for many people much of the knowledge we possess was gained while growing up through the ranks of Sunday school, or some other sort of&amp;nbsp;catechizing. But I guess for me the question that might need to be answered would be whether or not what we learned growing up is sufficient for the day or should we continue to increase in the depth of our understanding of this God who never changes?&amp;nbsp;So with this thought in mind triggered by Ex 15:11 I thought that I might take some time and journey through the scriptures to gain more wisdom of the character of God.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Who is like You o Lord among the god&lt;/i&gt;s...is a very peculiar way of speaking to God when Paul declared in &lt;i&gt;1 Cor 8:4...that there is no other God but one&lt;/i&gt;. But let us recognize that the question asked in Exodus is actually not a question of who rivals against the God of the Bible as it is an&amp;nbsp;acknowledgement that there simply is no one like him in all of creation or&amp;nbsp;existence, even though man in his depravity would like to create other gods which to worship.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;But this God - the One God - the only true God that exists, has since before the heavens existed, from before the earth and all that was formed in it, even before the&amp;nbsp;existence&amp;nbsp;of created angelic beings was then already - without anything else to compare Himself to, glorious in His holiness. This, beloved is something that I stumble over due to my limited reasoning. You see, God&#39;s character did not evolve as He put in place the heavens and the earth, His character did not become more loving or holier when He created angels or man for that matter. You see even when there was nothing - absolutely nothing at all in&amp;nbsp;existence the glory of God shone forth into the deep cavities of nothingness declaring His perfect holiness. For you see this we can be sure of for we are reminded of the words of this great God in &lt;i&gt;Malachi 3:6...For I am the Lord, I do not change&lt;/i&gt;. So does this give us great comfort or great fear?&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-well-do-we-know-god.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160224156550883786.post-6366837412899555132</guid><pubDate>Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-12-03T12:55:40.053-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Jesus Christ</category><title>The Effectual Relevance Of Christ</title><description>&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;A while ago, before my email and blog were hacked I posted an article entitled &#39;The Power&#39;fulness&#39; of Christ. This article is a continuation of that article and may seem familiar to one that I posted before. But it is not a burden for me to remind us of how relevant Jesus is for today, as well as how truly He has an effect upon us and all that comes our way.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;I have noticed a disturbing trend among the community of believers in that we proclaim Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, yet with an attitude that Christ is only sufficient for eternity, not the hear and now. That he is able to grant to me salvation for eternity, but insufficient to save me from the sin and wickedness that encompass us here and now. &lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div lang=&quot;en-US&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Have we fallen into the trap where we believe that Christ isn&#39;t relevant for the problems Christians face today?  Can this truly be? If this is the case friends, then the Bible is powerless, uninspired, and in error and Jesus is a liar. But on the other hand, if the Word of God is infallible – and it is, if it is good for doctrine, for correction, and training in righteousness – and it is, then that must mean that effectual working of Christ is not merely sufficient for salvation in eternity, but also for life and godliness here in the present. Thus being &#39;effectual&#39;. With this in mind I have compiled a list of the offices the scriptures declare Jesus holds. This is by no means a comprehensive list. So beloved, Jesus is our...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0.18cm; margin-top: 0.18cm;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Advocate (1 John 2:1).&lt;br /&gt;
Arm of the Lord (Isaiah 51:9; 53:1).&lt;br /&gt;
Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).&lt;br /&gt;
Blessed and only Potentate (1 Timothy 6:15).&lt;br /&gt;
Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48).&lt;br /&gt;
Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).&lt;br /&gt;
Captain of Salvation (Hebrews 2:10).&lt;br /&gt;
Captain of the Lord’s hosts (Joshua 5:14,15).&lt;br /&gt;
Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4).&lt;br /&gt;
Commander (Isaiah 55:4).&lt;br /&gt;
Cornerstone (Matthew 21:42; Ephesians 2:20).&lt;br /&gt;
Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Creator (John 1:3).&lt;br /&gt;
Dayspring (Luke 1:78).&lt;br /&gt;
Deliverer (Romans 11:26).&lt;br /&gt;
Desire of all nations (Haggai 2:7).&lt;br /&gt;
Door (John 10:7).&lt;br /&gt;
Eternal life (1 John 1:2; 5:20).&lt;br /&gt;
Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11).&lt;br /&gt;
Faithful witness (Revelation 1:5; 3:14).&lt;br /&gt;
Fountain (Zechariah 13:1).&lt;br /&gt;
God (Isaiah 40:9; John 20:28).&lt;br /&gt;
Good Shepherd (John 10:14).&lt;br /&gt;
Governor (Matthew 2:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).&lt;br /&gt;
Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).&lt;br /&gt;
High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).&lt;br /&gt;
Horn of salvation (Luke 1:69).&lt;br /&gt;
Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23).&lt;br /&gt;
Judge (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:8).&lt;br /&gt;
Just One (Acts 7:52; 22:14).&lt;br /&gt;
King (Zechariah 9:9, with Matthew 21:5).&lt;br /&gt;
King of Glory (Psalms 24:7-10).&lt;br /&gt;
King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14).&lt;br /&gt;
King of peace (Hebrews 7:2).&lt;br /&gt;
King of righteousness (Hebrews 7:2).&lt;br /&gt;
King of Saints (Revelation 15:3).&lt;br /&gt;
Lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22).&lt;br /&gt;
Leader (Isaiah 55:4).&lt;br /&gt;
Life (John 14:6; Colossians 3:4; 1 John 1:2).&lt;br /&gt;
Light of the world (John 1:8; 8:12).&lt;br /&gt;
Living Bread (John 6:51).&lt;br /&gt;
Living Stone (1 Peter 2:4).&lt;br /&gt;
Lord and Savior (2 Peter 1:11; 3:18).&lt;br /&gt;
Lord Christ (Colossians 3:24).&lt;br /&gt;
Lord God Almighty (Revelation 15:3).&lt;br /&gt;
Lord of all (Acts 10:36).&lt;br /&gt;
Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16).&lt;br /&gt;
Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).&lt;br /&gt;
Messenger of the covenant (Malachi 3:1).&lt;br /&gt;
Messiah (Daniel 9:25; John 1:41).&lt;br /&gt;
Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Potentate (1 Timothy 6:15).&lt;br /&gt;
Power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24).&lt;br /&gt;
Prince (Acts 5:31).&lt;br /&gt;
Prince of life (Acts 3:15).&lt;br /&gt;
Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Prince of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5).&lt;br /&gt;
Prophet (Matthew 21:11; Luke 24:19; John 7:40).&lt;br /&gt;
Ransom (1 Timothy 2:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Redeemer (Job 19:25; Isaiah 59:20; Isaiah 60:16).&lt;br /&gt;
Resurrection and life (John 11:25).&lt;br /&gt;
Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4).&lt;br /&gt;
Savior (Luke 2:11; 2 Peter 2:20; 3:18).&lt;br /&gt;
Savior of the Body (Ephesians 5:23).&lt;br /&gt;
Sceptre (Numbers 24:17).&lt;br /&gt;
Shepherd (Mark 14:27).&lt;br /&gt;
Shepherd and Overseer of Souls (1 Peter 2:25).&lt;br /&gt;
Shiloh (Genesis 49:10).&lt;br /&gt;
Sure Foundation (Isaiah 28:16).&lt;br /&gt;
Surety (Hebrews 7:22).&lt;br /&gt;
Teacher (Matthew 23:8; John 3:2).&lt;br /&gt;
True Light (John 1:9).&lt;br /&gt;
True Vine (John 15:1).&lt;br /&gt;
Truth (John 14:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Way (John 14:6).&lt;br /&gt;
Wisdom (Proverbs 8:12).&lt;br /&gt;
Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). &lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;margin-bottom: 0cm;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &#39;Lucida Sans Unicode&#39;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;May the effectual work of Christ be evident in those who name the name of Christ, because Jesus is all these things to us and for us now and forever more.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://thinkinggodward.blogspot.com/2010/12/effectual-relevance-of-christ.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Jake)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>