What is Joy?

Joy: A feeling of great pleasure and happiness

That is what the dictionary says that joy is. But what about the Bible?

Joy is a state of mind that can be experienced by both Christians and non-Christians alike. It’s a feeling of happiness, contentment, and well-being. The Bible also defines joy as a gift from God.

I ran across the following scripture this week:

 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

Think about it, Friends.

Isn't that the real meaning of Joy in the lives of us that have been saved under the power of God?

I believe so.

It is truly a gift of God who sent his Son Jesus, that we can grab on to that power and confess and believe who he is and why he left heaven to die a bloody disgraceful death that we can one day live forever with him.

That is what joy is to me.

I hope it is for you as well.

Thanks for coming by today.

 

Joy

 

Are you the kind of person whose joy permeates your life? Or do you frequently scowl too often? So much so that others see your unhappiness. 

God wants us to be joyful. And I am going to study the reasons for that in the next few days. Because what happens when I am going through a hard time. A time when life is not really all that joyful. I plan to start looking at that starting March 9th, so please come back for that study.

But for today's post, did you know what the word joy can mean for all of us.

Joy

J is for Jesus

O is for others

Y is for yourself

J is for Jesus. Putting Him first in your life

O is for others, including family, friends and others that God has put in your life. Maybe those that you minister to or help.

You is putting you last. However, I think the O and the Y sort of ranks the same because if we don't sometimes put ourselves first, how can we be a good parent, friend, etc. 

God does want us to be joyful. He wants us to be happy. If we go around being grumpy all the time, those people around us that aren't Christians would look at us might feel that if that is what a Christian is, why be a Christian?

 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. Psalms 32:11

Thanks for coming by, Friends. Have a blessed night.

God Knows Even When We Don't

Parts of our family have been going on trials for what seems like forever. One thing after another. It seems like they never end. One thing gets resolved and another one starts. 

Our only hope though is knowing that God knows why he is allowing these things, and when they will be resolved.

To question his absolute faithfulness is unfathomable to me. Although sometimes its hard not to do. But, I see what God said to Job in this passage:

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?

36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat. Job 38:1-41

Where were we indeed when God did all of these things. And who are we to question him for allowing things to enter our lives that we do not want. He knows from beginning to end, how our lives will go. Through the good and the not so good, and in time, we will know too.

Thanks for coming by this evening, Friends. May your night be blessed!

Shifting the Blame

"He did it mom!"  he said. "No, I didn't, you did!" she

 yelled back.

If you are a parent, or grandparent or just lived around children for any length of time, you have heard them blaming each other for something they have done and wanted to shift the blame onto someone else.

But of course, this is not just a problem with our kids.

Have you ever known anyone that blames everyone else for everything bad that has happened to them?

Maybe you have done that. 

Maybe I have. 

The thing is, we have all done it at one time or another. 

And of course, it has its roots in the beginning of the world when Adam and Eve blamed each other in the garden.

Genesis 3:11-13

It did not go well with God for them to blame each other.

Nor does it go well with Him when we do it today. 

When we mess up however, remember that we need to confess our sin to Him. And then we should tell the person we are sorry that we blamed them for something they didn't do. God will forgive us. And hopefully the other person will too.

That's God's way.

Isn't it?

Thanks for coming by today, Friends.

God bless you!

Is God Male or Female?

There have been people that have decided that God is female. It begs to wonder if they have even studied the Bible to be able to know the truth about it. I like what gotquestions.org has to say about it. Please read on:

In examining Scripture, two facts become clear. First, God is a Spirit and does not possess human characteristics or limitations. Second, all the evidence contained in Scripture agrees that God revealed Himself to mankind in a male form. To begin, God’s true nature needs to be understood. God is a Person, obviously, because God exhibits all the characteristics of personhood: God has a mind, a will, an intellect, and emotions. God communicates and He has relationships, and God’s personal actions are evidenced throughout Scripture.

As John 4:24 states, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Since God is a spiritual being, He does not possess physical human characteristics. However, sometimes figurative language used in Scripture assigns human characteristics to God in order to make it possible for man to understand God. This assignment of human characteristics to describe God is called “anthropomorphism.” Anthropomorphism is simply a means for God (a spiritual being) to communicate truth about His nature to humanity, physical beings. Since humanity is physical, we are limited in our understanding of those things beyond the physical realm; therefore, anthropomorphism in Scripture helps us to understand who God is.

Some of the difficulty comes in examining the fact that humanity is created in God’s image. Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Both man and woman are created in the image of God, in that they are greater than all the other creations as they, like God, have a mind, will, intellect, emotions, and moral capacity. Animals do not possess a moral capacity and do not possess an immaterial component like humanity does. The image of God is the spiritual component that humanity alone possesses. God created humanity to have a relationship with Him. Humanity is the only creation designed for that purpose.

That said, man and woman are only patterned after the image of God—they are not tiny “copies” of God. The fact that there are men and women does not require God to have male and female features. Remember, being made in the image of God has nothing to do with physical characteristics.

We know that God is a spiritual being and does not possess physical characteristics. This does not limit, however, how God may choose to reveal Himself to humanity. Scripture contains all the revelation God gave to humanity about Himself, and so it is the only objective source of information about God. In looking at what Scripture tells us, there are several observations of evidence about the form in which God revealed Himself to humanity.

Scripture contains approximately 170 references to God as the “Father.” By necessity, one cannot be a father unless one is male. If God had chosen to be revealed to man in a female form, then the word “mother” would have occurred in these places, not “father.” In the Old and New Testaments, masculine pronouns are used over and over again in reference to God.

Jesus Christ referred to God as the Father several times and in other cases used masculine pronouns in reference to God. In the Gospels alone, Christ uses the term “Father” in direct reference to God nearly 160 times. Of particular interest is Christ’s statement in John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.” Obviously, Jesus Christ came in the form of a human man to die on the cross as payment for the sins of the world. Like God the Father, Jesus was revealed to humanity in a male form. Scripture records numerous other instances where Christ utilized masculine nouns and pronouns in reference to God.

The New Testament Epistles (from Acts to Revelation) also contain nearly 900 verses where the word theos—a masculine noun in the Greek—is used in direct reference to God. In countless references to God in Scripture, there is clearly a consistent pattern of His being referred to with masculine titles, nouns, and pronouns. While God is not a man, He chose a masculine form in order to reveal Himself to humanity. Likewise, Jesus Christ, who is constantly referred to with masculine titles, nouns, and pronouns, took a male form while He walked on the earth. The prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament refer to both God and Jesus Christ with masculine names and titles. God chose to be revealed in this form in order for man to more easily grasp who He is. While God makes allowances in order to help us understand Him, it is important to not try to “force God into a box,” so to speak, by placing limitations on Him that are not appropriate to His nature.

💔💔💔

That explains it very well, I believe. We only need to look to His Word to know the answer to that question. 

But as we know, many people don't believe the Bible and just make up their own ideas. 

They would rather believe a lie for the truth.

And so would the devil.

But I tell you, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what the truth is. 

Thanks for coming by Friends, Have a blessed night.

God: Male or Female

 You may have heard it before: God is a woman.

Have any women actually claimed to be God?

The answer to that is: Yes. 

Amy Carlson Stroud claimed to be Mother God

Emily Thomas Lochten claimed to be an Egyptian God

Nirmala Srivastava was a gruru and self-proclaimed incantation of the Holy Ghost and more.

Just to name a few. 

And of course there are many men that claimed to be God as well.

But the real question for this study is"

Is God male or female?

Some women and yes even some men would claim God is a woman.

Some men believe God to be a man.

So, what is the answer?

It's a compelling question, because the Bible states that God is male. But since he/she is a spirit, a  spirit has neither identity. 

Or is that false?

And on the other hand, the Bible claims that it is the Inspired Word of God. So if he claims to have the characteristic of male, where does that leave a woman as a God?

I plan to answer that question on Feb.25 so I hope you will come back for that post. 

Thanks for coming by!

Be blessed of God!

The Latter Rain

 Revival:  a reawakening of religious fervor, especially by means of a series of evangelistic meeting.

"Have you heard about it?"  

"Heard about what?"

 Revival came to Ashbury University, and it lasted for days as thousands of people flocked there to be a part of what the Holy Spirit was doing in the hearts of those that were touched. 

I don't know about you, but I find it exciting!

Why? Because the Bible talks about the Latter Rain.

But what is the Latter Rain?

The Latter Rain Movement is an influence within Pentecostalism which teaches that the Lord is pouring out His Spirit again, as He did at Pentecost, and using believers to prepare the world for His Second Coming. The Latter Rain Movement is anti-dispensational and amillennial, and many leaders of the movement embrace aberrant teachings.

The term “latter rain” was first used early in the history of Pentecostalism, when David Wesley Myland wrote a book called Latter Rain Songs in 1907. Three years later, Myland wrote The Latter Rain Covenant, a defense of Pentecostalism in general.

The name comes from Joel 2:23, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.” Pentecostals interpreted the “rain” in this verse as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The “latter rain” (the end-times outpouring) would be greater than the “former rain.”

In 1948, a “revival” broke out in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the teachings of the Latter Rain movement were clarified. Those involved in the revival were convinced that they were on the verge of a new era, one in which the Holy Spirit would demonstrate His power in a greater way than the world had ever seen. Not even the age of the apostles, they said, had witnessed such a movement of the Holy Spirit.

Latter Rain teaching is characterized by a highly typological hermeneutic. That is, the Bible is interpreted in a symbolic, extremely stylized manner. An emphasis is placed on extra-biblical revelation, such as personal prophecies, experiences, and directives straight from God. Latter Rain doctrine includes the following beliefs:

- the gifts of the Spirit, including tongues, are received through the laying on of hands

- Christians can be demonized and require deliverance

- God has restored all the offices of ministry to the Church, including apostle and prophet

- divine healing can be administered through the laying on of hands

- praise and worship will usher God into our presence

- women have a full and equal ministry role in the Church

- denominational lines will be destroyed, and the Church will unify in the last days

- the “latter rain” will bring God’s work to completion; the Church will be victorious over the world and usher in Christ’s kingdom

Many “apostles” in the Latter Rain Movement also teach the doctrine of “the manifest sons of God.” This is a heretical doctrine which says that the Church will give rise to a special group of “overcomers” who will receive spiritual bodies, becoming immortal.

It is important to note that the Assemblies of God deemed the Latter Rain Movement to contain heresy from the very beginning. On April 20, 1949, the Assemblies of God officially denounced Latter Rain teaching, nearly splitting the denomination in the process. Other established Pentecostal groups have passed similar resolutions.

Today, the term “latter rain” is rarely used, but the theology of Latter Rain continues to exert an influence. Most branches of the Charismatic Movement adhere to Latter Rain teaching. Modern movements such as the Brownsville/Pensacola Revival, the Toronto Blessing, and the “holy laughter” phenomenon are a direct result of Latter Rain theology.

And so this begs the question, is what has been going on at this University really the latter rain that Joel 2:23 speaks of?

Friends to be honest with you, I don't know. 

However, if we look at how corrupt the world has become just in the last couple of years, let alone past years, we know that we are certainly progressing towards the time of Jesus' return.

But we must be careful that we watch carefully because:

Mark 13:35 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return--whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

And sometimes leaders can convince people that Jesus is going to come back at a certain time and perhaps believe it themselves and it doesn't happen. This has happened numerous times over since the beginning of time.

And when that happens, there are a lot of confusion and people often leave the church because of the lies. 

Just what the devil wants. 

Having said that, look also at what Jesus said.

 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

And so, is what has happened at this University the beginning of the return of Jesus?

Only God knows. But what has happened is spreading and so we should be looking up. Watching for his return. Because it could be.

He is getting his church ready for his return. And he will....

return.

There is no doubt in that fact.

Even if we do not know

when.

Thanks for coming by, Friends. Be blessed! Next post will be Feb.23 by 10 pm est.