"...the form of this world is passing away." 1 Corinthians 7:31.

1 John 2:
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

If anyone loves the world...Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? James 4:4,5.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh...For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:13,14.

...the lust of the eyes...Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. Psalm 119:36,37.

...and the pride of life...The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 8:13.

...but he who does the will of God abides forever...Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. Psalm 125:1.

Grace COMMANDS Crucifixion - our own - Daily! (Lk 9:23; Acts 17:30; Rom 8:13; Col 3:5)

I have heard some that claim the name of Jesus Christ and His Lordship say that because they are not under law but under Grace there are no "DOs and DON'Ts" in the Christian Life. They say DOs and DON'Ts are "legalistic" and that the obeying of rules, regulations and commandments is the stuff of the Old Testament (Old Covenant) which has passed and been superseded by the New Covenant (in Jesus' Blood) which is Grace.

Yes, the New Covenant has superseded the Old but the problem lies in what these people think the New Covenant (in Jesus' precious Blood) achieved and permits. Put simply, they believe and teach that the Grace of God in giving His only begotten son for the sins of the world means guarenteed forgiveness for every sin they commit - that is - license to sin yet remain free from God's wrath.

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude verse 4

I don't want to say much about these lies except that those that teach them are those that Peter says have "forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness" and are a total perversion of what God intended and achieved in the Crucifixion and subsequent Resurrection of His Son. The Grace and Truth of Jesus' Life of self denial and obedience unto death on a Cross opened up a Way for every soul that will to return to God with all their hearts. There are a bunch of names for this Way in the Bible:
The Way of the Lord (Matthew 3:3)
The Way of Righteousness (Matthew 21:32)
The Way of God (Matthew 22:16)
The Way of Peace (Luke 1:79)
The Way of Salvation (Acts 16:17)
The Way of Truth (2 Peter 2:2)

This Way can only be traversed and prosecuted in and by true Repentance - compliance with (obedience) and conformity to Jesus Christ's very own Words - both those Written in our Bibles and those spoken by Him (personally!) in Spirit to us (personally!). These selfsame Spiritual Words are [Resurrection] Life to us - they are part of what coming to Jesus and learning from Him means (in yoked fellowship - see Matt 11:28-30) and in my opinion are the very Laws of the Spirit of Life:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:2

"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Cor 3:17

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."
John 6:63

This means taking up our own Crosses and Following Him Daily (Luke 9:23)


What I originally intended to say in this blog was that there ARE DOs and DON'Ts in the Christian discipline, two of which I wanted to highlight are found in Matthew 6:19-21,

19“DO NOT lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20but [DO] lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And in John 6:27,

"DO NOT labor for the food which perishes, but [DO *LABOR*] for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

Those DOs and DON'Ts seem to be contrary to our survival and prosperity on Earth don't they?! I mean we have to eat and we have to keep aside some money for the future or use it to take care of our own lives - like buying FOOD Lord!!! Hmmm.

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4

Or in other words, 'in and by the Laws of God's Kingdom of Life'.
Matthew 6:25-34 says,

25“Therefore I say to you, do not -->worry about your life<--, what you will EAT or what you will DRINK; nor about your body, -->what you will put on<--. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31“Therefore do not -->worry<--, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But [DO] -->seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness<--, and all these things shall be added to you. 34Therefore do not -->worry about tomorrow<--, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble [KJV says 'evil' here].

Does the sheer audacity of those instructions from your Lord not awake the desire for Faith to Live by them?!

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Luke 11:9,10

These are the kinds things I wanted to say in this blog. I thank God I have the means and resources to share these Biblical Words with you!

Will you continue in obedience? (Acts 6:7, 14:22; Rom 1:5, 16:26; Col 1:23)

First of all let me say that I am not a Theologian, a Greek or Hebrew scholar, nor do I have any 'qualifications' in anything related to those things. I am a Christian who studies the Bible alone (with God) and uses such good resources as 'Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible', 'A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament' and the excellent free downloadable Bible software program e-sword (see the links to the right).

Yesterday I posted several verses from the New Testament showing how the Apostles taught that Salvation is consummated upon the Return or Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

However, just because Jesus will appear again doesn't necessarily mean you will be Saved by Him - there are conditions to be met (I have a list of 47 things the New Testament says we are 'Saved by' courtesy of the writer of the blog, 'Pilgrim's Path Daily'.)

2 Thessalonians 1:7,8 says,

"7and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

So you see, in order to escape the vengeance of God you must be getting to know Him and must be obeying the Gospel. But there is no sense in obeying the Gospel for a while and then stopping, there will be no reward for that, only shame and punishment.

That is why Jesus said,

"And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved."
Matt 10:22

AND,

"By your patience possess your souls."
Luke 21:19

Obeying the Gospel (or, sometimes referred to as 'obeying the Faith') requires endurance/perseverance/patience (different Bible translations use different words).

So the connection between yesterday's blog on waiting long or enduring waiting for Jesus' Return and today's blog on obedience is ENDURANCE. Waiting for Him requires endurance because you must wait while applying yourself to obeying the Gospel - this means denying yourself and taking up your own Cross every day as Jesus says in Luke 9:23,

"Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

Hebrews 10:35-39 says we need endurance(or, patience) to last until His Coming and so be Saved.

35Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

apekdechomai = endure waiting [for Salvation at Christ's Return]

Today I thought of the Promise of Jesus Christ's Coming back to Earth and how unimaginable it really is! I suppose there are many people who profess to be Christians that don't believe Jesus will return. Surely this is as much a crucial part of the Gospel as the Crucifixion and Resurrection and Ascension? I don't think it is safe to discount ANY part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - wether you understand it or not or can imagine it or not. Does the New Testament not teach that the end of our Faith is Jesus Christ's return unto our Salvation?

"8 whom (Jesus) having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls."
1 Peter 1:8,9

"so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait (or wait long, or, endure waiting) for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
Hebrews 9:28

So you see, the end of a genuine Christian's unfeigned Faith is the Salvation of their soul at the second appearance of Jesus Christ. Paul refers to the same event as 'the adoption - the redemption of our body' and says it is in this very Hope that we were saved. I just Hope you, the reader, consider Paul's and the other Apostles' words to be definitive and decisive on what is Gospel Truth and what is not!

"23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting(or, waiting long, or, enduring waiting) for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait(or, wait long, or, endure waiting) for it with perseverance."
Romans 8:23-25


We need to persevere in the Faith. That is, we need to be diligent in the attention we give to God's Word and our Daily focus on it.

Let me finish by quoting some verses of Scripture. I only intended to quote these for this blog, not write anything of my own. Here they are for your reading and attention.

32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
Mark 13:32-36

7 "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment."
James 5:7-12

9"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."
2 Peter 3:9-18

All I did was TALK *to* God - HONEST!

Today I prayed for someone I was working with, God answered part of that prayer and I was pleasantly surprised! To be honest I wasn't really expecting much of an answer I was simply taking a moment to hang out with God and take a brief 'time-out' from the stuff I was doing etc. It was one of those occasions when I just thought I would mention to God something that I had noticed or heard in someone else and decided to bring it to God - not that He didn't already know about it - but I just thought I would bring it to God. Prayer's funny really. I don't know about you but when I think about prayer I tend to make connections to my own worries and fears etc and big important things like Bible Study and being Led by the Holy Spirit etc. Yes, all those things can and should be prayed about, but prayer isn't for those things alone. Infact, I am coming to see that prayer isn't 'made' for anything other than simple, even child-like communication with God - 'chat' if you like. If prayer is simply talking to God then prayer is 'chat' and if we expect to hear back from God then prayer is also listening. I think because we have access to God through Jesus we shouldn't be afraid to use that access to be so bold as to chat to God and talk about mundane, insignificant things. It's not as if there are 'bouncers' or doormen checking us out before we come to God that are going to turn us away because we aren't bringing the right kind of prayer! (just make sure your shoes are smart!)! No, I'm sure that God Loves to hear from us about anything and everything, we just don't seem to realise it. What about these verses,

"For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." Eph 2:18

"in whom(Christ Jesus) we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him." Eph 3:12

"through whom(our Lord Jesus Christ) also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Rom 5:2

So I took the time to take a moment to talk to God in quiet - ended up merely mentioning something that was bothering someone else and making what I thought was a rather meager effort at requesting help for this person, unsure whether God wanted my involvment - it's possible he could have - but I just left it that He didn't, or rather that I didn't feel that I had the confidence to do what I thought He might want me to do.

So I left that prayer time, having mumbled something to God and left it at that. I knew I had spoken to God and I knew He had heard me and I knew I was on my way back to the unquietness of mundane work etc! I wasn't full of expectation in ANY way. In fact I left that brief prayer time feeling as if I had decided to 'bottle out' on God. THAT'S why I was surprised when what I requested HAPPENED.

I dunno, all I did was speak informally to the Creator of the universe! Prayer, along with other things in the life of a Pilgrim is gonna take some gettin used to!

Sufferings and afflictions work for good to those who Love God, who are the called according to His purpose (and are trained by them.)

This morning I read the entry for today's date in Streams in the Desert Volume 1. It used the text of 2 Corinthians 4:17 from the Weymouth trasnlation of the New Testament which says,

"For this our light and transitory burden of suffering is achieving for us a weight of glory".

I got to thinking about that word, "acheiving". It reminded me of such words like "obtain" and "win" and "possess" that are used in the New Testament with regard to our Salvation. Then I wondered what the Greek word was that Mr Weymouth translated as "acheiving".

I discovered that the Greek word was κατεργάζομαι (katergazomai) and means such things as:

From Thayer's-
1) to perform, accomplish, achieve.
2) to work out, i.e. to do that from which something results.
2a) of things: bring about, result in.
3) to fashion, i.e. render one fit for a thing.

From Strong's-
to work fully, that is, accomplish; by implication to finish, fashion.

From Bullinger's-
to work down, effect, acheive.

Before I read either Thayer's or Strong's I was thinking along the lines of, 'working so as to receive something back', 'working to obtain', or even 'working for recompense'.

The KJV translation of 2 Cor 4:17 says,

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;"

The Greek word translated as "affliction" is θλίψις (thlipsis) meaning pressure and is more often translated as "tribulation"It comes from a word that means to crowd.

It seems to me that this verse says affliction/tribulation/pressure is on our side! It works FOR us! It works toward getting/obtaining/acheiving the result of Glory! This Glory is the Hope of every saint, Paul says so in Romans 5:2,

"through whom (Jesus) also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

That is, the Hope of being like Him when we are either Changed or Resurrected at His coming. We cannot reach or obtain that condition then without experiencing affliction or tribulation or suffering. So what is said in Acts 14:22 is true then,

"And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

There is one other verse where both katergazomai and thlipsis appear together: Romans 5:3,

"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation(<--thlipsis) produces(<--katergazomai) perseverance;" (NKJV)

In this verse it is apparent that tribulation/affliction works for us by producing perseverance (KJV=patience) which Jesus says in Luke 21:19 we "possess/win/aquire our souls" with!

Hebrews 10:36 says,

"For you have need of endurance(same as "perseverance" above), so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:"

The Promise being the Salvation of your soul.

Having started looking at a verse that says affliction/tribulation works FOR us, we have moved on to see that it only really works FOR us if it results in patience/endurance/perseverance on our part.

Hebrews 12:11 says,

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

If you don't accept that God uses affliction or tribulation to chasten and discipline His kids then you will utterly disregard the link I am making here between suffering affliction and being trained by God. My thought here is that you are only really trained by it if you bear it patiently (thus producing Peace!).

I would like to finish with one more verse, this time from Philippians 2:12,

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out(<--katergazomai) your own salvation with fear and trembling;"

Here Paul clearly says, "work for the result of your Salvation!" "work at getting Salvation!" "work at acheiving the end of your Faith - the Salvation of your Souls!" (See 1 Peter 1:9)


When we suffer affliction may we share it all with the Lord who is our Rock, Refuge, Strong Tower, Sanctuary, Shade, Comforter and many many more things beside and allow him to nurse us and give us Peace. Amen.

Hearing Jesus without Obeying is NOT 'how' you Hear! (Lk 8:18; James 1:22)

There are too many instructions and warnings in the Bible for us to neglect the reading and diligent study of it.

The words of Jesus and the Apostles are sound words, true words, nourishing words, words of Life. Indeed Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are Life." (See John 6:63). The Apostle Paul said, "To be carnally minded is death but to be Spiritually minded is Life and Peace." (See Rom 8:6). If Jesus' words are Spirit (and Life and Peace when obeyed) and they are recorded in the Gospels, is it not right that to be Spiritually minded we should be studying and doing Jesus' words and the Apostles' doctrine?

Jesus also said, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow Me." (See John 10:27). This does not only mean that his sheep read the Bible and do what it says but that they also HEAR HIS VOICE - the still small voice apart from words on a page - the voice that speaks to our hearts. This is the voice that the Sons of God in Rom 8:14 are led by/hear and obey the voice of the Spirit of God (who is UNSEEN yet Real - Myserious!). This hearing and obeying or being led is the only thing that qualifies them as Sons - their Repentance/Obedience. The rest, those that claim to belong to Jesus but will not obey Him are bastards whose behaviour and end is well documented in the Bible.

Jesus says in John 3:8, "The wind(SPIRIT! Greek=pneuma) blows(or, Breathes/"SPEAKS!") where it(He) wishes, and you hear the sound(VOICE!) of it(Him), but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." That is to say everyone who is Born-again HEARS(and Obeys) the voice of the Holy Spirit yet the Spirit Himself remains a MYSTERY to them, hence the 'cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes'.

These are some of my rather spontaneous and unplanned thoughts for today's blog! Thank you Lord that I can hear your voice when I take time to listen and be quiet enough to hear!

The Hope of Resurrection

Standing at the corner of my street this morning I saw the funeral cortege of one of the world's most famous football (soccer) players go by. My mum, dad, sister and daughter were also there. There was talk of it being a historical occasion that shouldn't be missed. I have no experience of having anyone near or dear to me die. But when I see and hear how people are remembered upon their recent decease and especially on this occasion, when it is referred to as a historical event, I can't help thinking of Jesus Christ. If anyone's death should be honoured as an important historical event surely it should be His - how can anyone elses compare. And His was not merely a Death consigned to history because as His disciples saw and faithfully reported - He rose again from the dead thus giving all who believe in Him the Hope of Resurrection Life.

So today, amid all the tributes and banter surrounding the death of one of this world's celebrities I simply want to remember my Lord, whose Death and subsequent Resurrection I with all my Brethren are bound to celebrate and give thanks for as the single most important Death in our lives (the second being our own in taking up the Cross and following Him daily).

I'd like to end this blog with a few verses of Scripture.

Colossians 1:16 says, "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."

Hebrews 4:13 says, "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."

Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment..."

2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Matthew 12:36,37 says, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

See how God has created everything for Himself and how He sees and expects us to account for everything we say and do?! Therefore we have a responsibility to Honour God and even FEAR God while we live in this mortal life. Thank God that through the Death (and Resurrection) of His own Son we can!

While writing this blog God spoke to me! Concerning the death of friends and near and dear ones - God is a duvet! In my dictionary the only entry for duvet is the synonym "COMFORTER". Thank God for His 'holistic' and comprehensive care of mortal man!