The Law of Love

Regarding the Law of Moses, freedom in Christ should not be set aside for Jewish Law even though the Law was given by God and Christ did not abolish it but rather brought it to its ultimate goal by creating a new way while including the old - like Eve being formed from the rib of Adam. The way to seek now is the new way and it is marked by freedom. How is it if He created a new way while including the old that the new way doesn't require obedience to the old way except in the summation of it - love? He kept the rules of the old way whose summation is love and He died so the rules of the Law of Moses lost power over Him when He rose from the dead but the summation of them - love - remained in Him as it does even after death when we keep our love. So we obey risen Lord Jesus and this means obeying His love and sharing in the same love He has. Love for His followers plus love that even extends to His enemies and bears with them to some extent - whatever we learn is true of His present day love is our duty to share. This is the new way.

The Son of Man will Soon be King

The Son of Man will Soon be King

The Lordship and Anointing for Kingship of the Son of Man is subject of the gospel but it is little understood. Few preach about there being a Son of Man becauee for many preachers this is a name shrouded in mystery. Yet it is clearly used as a name for Himself by Jesus when He was among the people of Judea and Samaria in the flesh having been born of a virgin under the power of the Holy Ghost. He meant His special suitability to be Lord over all humans having been Lord over angels and forces of Nature before He took human form as a baby. This taking of human form would be first of two steps necessary to secure God, His Father's, plan to place Him over all His works including humanity and God's temple anong humans which He would build. The last step to complete it would be for Him to die at human hands under human rule and Mosaic Law and then to rise to unique eternal resurrection life as the firstborn from the dead. Already He had been firstborn over all the Universe we see and all creation we do not see but He had also to become firstborn from the dead - The Resurrection. All this. when it was future in heaven before He came, gave Him a name Son of Man as the One chosen of God to bring all rule together including sinful man and finally hand it to the Father. This is the work for which the Father anointed Him and proclaimed the angels should worship Him. Soon He will be seen by all coming in the clouds - coming to reign. Eternal life is so far only His to have and give because He alone is the eternal Resurrection. It is only those in Him who have this available to them because it is only there in Him not given except in Him. To have it or a part in it in your future it is only there for you in Him so you have to remain in Him to receive any of it and to have it there for you when you die so He resurrects you who are His. That is ONLY if you are His and remain in Him and His words and truth remains in you.

God's Limited Palette

I try and always write my comments with this smartphone. It is like a painting artist using a limited palette - if you don't know, well a limited palette is where you paint a painting using only maybe six or seven colours of paint or even less perhaps - partly as a discipline and partly for the design effect a bit like Japanese minimalism. Using only a smartphone is also a way to bridge a generation gap with people who never got into PCs or mainframes and landline telephones and even typewriters. Why say this? It is by way of explaining my theory or belief that Jesus is God's limited palatte. God used Jesus who would always one day become flesh so was called Son of Man and God involved Him and perhaps made Him to be the One through whom all things were made. He became like us so some may be saved by His human understanding of us. And to rule us by being Lord yet being able to be Lord over nature and angels and now us too using only limited powers we ourselves might use! With faith and righteousness. So God is behind it all pulling the strings of yhe Universe and angels and even Jesus and eventually us. How do we know this? Because He calmed the storm so they said even the winds obeyed Him yet He taught them to do the same as He did by using faith like He had which even they could have too - in the Father, God - and do as He as Lord. He is Lord because He masters faith and teacher because He teaches us to do the same. God's limited palatte.

The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath

The Son of Man is lord over the Sabbath
The words we have in scripture that Jesus spoke after explaining that the Sabbath was made by God for man, not man for the Sabbath. A day in every week for rest. Even the week came from God. It is known all over the world through almost all history as a series of cycled seven day periods with one day marking the cycle and the last day of the cycle is set apart by the God who made the Universe and by the Son of God with whom God made the Universe and this last day of the cycle is a rest day for humans. God gave it to descendants of His human friend Abraham even though that meant intervening for them to enforce their masters to let them have it as a weekly day off. Later He said those living near them who wanted to show honour to thrir God could rest on the seventh dsy too as a mark of their devotion to let them have an outlet of love for The Creator God, this real life God the Jews were saved by out of slavery. So it was for human benefit God gave it both as a rest day and as a means of expressing love in obedience to God whose command it is. Now Jesus the Son of God shows who He is in history when saying that He is lord of this day because He said He is lord over it on the basis of being made for mankind and God had made Jesus the Lord over mankind so hence He is lord over this sabbath given by God for mankind. But most noticably He said "Son of Man" showing clearly He is made exactly like man by birth as a human in order to best benefit those over whom God has made Him Lord - hence showing the reason He is called since ages past "Son of Man" even before coming as a man when He was Lord over angels with God and nature itself - as made known to the earliest human prophets like Enoch in Sumerian times, before God had even appeared to Abraham, before even the pyramids or Stone Henge were built. Now appeared in flesh Jesus makes known to us all who He is and what His purpose is - to receive authority to rule over humans too, especially thise who want to show devotion to the God who with Him had created the Universe and given mankind the week and the weekend command of a rest day to honour Him with and in love to obey His command willingly if we so wish to have such a command to obey.

Divine Love

Like a good father The Holy Spirit is there in labour and birth and childhood through to maturity so you can be children of God by following Him. This is real not theory or mere metaphor - it is a present person making you God's all along the way with visits like fraternal visits of a hard working father who is out and about but still makes time to ensure he stays in your life too among all the other lives he gets involved in. You can put confidence in His doing this to make you holy as He is holy and you need not put confidence in rites like circumcision and feaste which were an old way before this way that trunps those human flesh things. So many depend on human action to keep them from unworthy living - and Gid did give those at one time to hekp before He gave a new way. Even Moses was compelled by God's wrath against him to get circumcised and keep the way of Law and flesh but now that Christ has been crucified and the Spirit is given therenis a eay of Spirit and life in the Spirit. So find it. Let it find you.

The Spirit is given as you truly believe in that cross, God's cross, the cross of the crucifixion of His own dear Son Jesus, as you receive THIS TRUTH: that it includes YOU. That God's grace reaches even you. Yes you. That it is even for you.

I too have to realise that Jesus of Nazareth did actually die and His death's benefit to others actually includes me - he died on that cross for me - but he did so also for you. Yes I have to realise you reading it was also for - that the death that makes the Spirit rightfully given was for you the reader of this. You who read this are one for whom Jesus the Christ of God died. This qualifies you, if you receive this truth of his crucifixion death, for the Spirit to come to you and give you truth and truthfulness and power of truthfulness within you. The way is to let this take over and lead.

Not only is it Spirit being given you that Christ dying for you entitles you to (when you receive the truth of it) but when floods of judgment come from God then mercy in the midst of it by power from Jesus - living Jesus the true Christ and Son of God - here and now in this day and age we live in.


It is for you WHO BELIEVE - for you who have faith in God the Father for whom Jesus taught and in whose authority Jesus leads and does His work.


Just like God honours my faith - your faith you who have real faith in Him - so He honours Jesus' faith and loves Jesus.

This gives me - you too who have real faith in God - real unity with Jesus.

In Jesus' case though this honouring by the Father has been that Jesus is alive from the dead raised by the Father - eternally. So I realise even as I think of these things.

But say it - He is blessed who comes in Jesus' name such as the Spirit who comes in Jesus' name and Jesus is blessed who comes in the Father's name and the Father is blessed who sends the Spirit and sent and sends and will send Jesus and raised Jesus from the dead and can raise those worthy of it too as Jesus does this in the will of the Father who sent Him and sends Him.


Rebirth

Personally I grew up in a pastor's home with everyone assuming I knew all I needed to know because I could quote scripture more than everyone else but I didn't even know what sexual immorality or sin meant having read the Bible for myself with nobody explaing such things because I was so young and by the time I should have understood everyone thought I must already know because I quoted the scriptures so much. Or maybe I annoyed them so much they were happy to keep me in the dark. Plus the scriptures told me not to major on meanings of words so anyway I still don't know what all those things even are. But I read to find out what rebirth means in Jesus' teaching (like a 'Zaccheus') wanting to see for myself. What I do understand a bit is lying and I don't understand much else (and I don't kniw all the meaning of what lying is in some ways either like is it a lie to hide truth or think an untruth or possible untruth in my head?). I find it clear that Jesus made a promise to each person who holds to His teachings and He was addressing mixed mental capability people including unschooled ones. His promise of righteousness seems to be very inclusive by majoring in John 8 on what is most obviously evil like lies and murderous love of people being killed and I can accept it on general terms like I'm sure He meant it - it is of Satan - a very powerful primal spirit influencing everyone in the Earth (or trying to do so) - and against God to lie and hate like that. This little bit I can accept and it seems enough for me and others. It is enough to hold to this clear understandable tenet of His and wait for His promise to be faithfully met by Him  while keeping these clear evils out of my life as others do too. His promise of truth that sets free seems to be fulfilled in two things that followed His John 8 sermon about this - His death for us to make a new truth exist - 'the gospel' of His crucifixion and resurrection - then the coming of a Holy Spirit to reveal and apply truth to the heart of the believer in this gospel.

Defense Against Judaization

The teachings of Christ major on teachings like the Good Samaritan and most non-Jews know this even though they know nothing of the Jewish Law in scripture. Yet when I see a cyclist who has been knocked down in the city street by a motorist, the Lord's (Jesus') testimony is true that there are some who go near to help while others walk on by and there seems to be no obvious correlation between church going and the divide between good Samaritans and those who carry on walking. First aid training might make more difference than church attendance but I do not know. The fact is about 30-50% seem to be willing to help but less than 10% go to church here so many help but do not go to church. I guess the truth is still the way Jesus told it even with there being a church besides a synagogue. Still the place for Law is synagogue and the place for gospel is the church and the synagogue too and even the marketplace and Internet. Only those under Law need Law but everyone needs gospel. If you are seriously worried the Law needs pushing and preserving then keep it where it belongs - synagogue.

A Minimum Read of Scripture for those who are able to Grasp it

Everyone with a bank account ought to check the balance from time to time even if you aren't a fastidious book keeper. You can go overdrawn with your spiritual account too and if you are not a Jew but are in Christ the miminum check is to read Galatians and see if maybe you are in danger if falling from grace. Don't wait till a leader tells you - they might be ignoring their own spiritual bank balance too. I don't preach study of scripture to all because not all are capable but God is still loving towards them. Yet if you can read it a bit and don't know the Law because it doesn't apply to you in Christ, at least have a look at Galatians and see the Law must not be allowed to enslave you with its feasts and especially its circumcision.

Seeing the Kingdom of God when Born Again

As for the born again SEEING the Kingdom of God, maybe the revelation testimony I have throws light some (few) might find acceptable on that. I had a task given me twenty years ago to lead a house group 'Bible study' and I tried to pick a topic I would find satisfying thinking others might also find it satisfying too. I always wanted to know what scripture meant by heaven so I picked the book of Psalms and dilligently combed my way through it looking for any indication of where heaven is and what is meant by it. I was suprised and delighted to find a lot of clarity and consistency about heaven being just  above the clouds. It includes the clouds. It means the God controls the weather by the word of His power and uses the weather to show that rule and power to humans. I even invoked it when I found a Psalm to the effect of asking God to bring an end to an evil among men affecting the invoker in asking God to rend the heavens and come down and scatter the enemies. I invoked it against the local authority for which I worked and it was scattered and ended by it because they were making my employment seven years of hell. I found God accompanied my efforts to rebuke the top boss there in answer to my invokation by sending a terrible storm to rage all the time I was before a board of top managers as I tried to show them their fault. After that it was only weeks before word came from central gov that the large council would be abolished and all the employees sent to surrounding councils to work. Only a few remained with the immediate lesser authority in the city and I was with them. I used the knowledge of this sense of heaven to lead the study. A little later I was asking to see Jesus (and God and the Spirit) - not by seeing His resurrected flesh but by some showing of Himself to me. I had taken my study further finding it was clear in prophesy that floods are how God judges nations. A flood had come to my city (Wikipedia and news stories mentioned it) and the river was in flood. A psalm said to go and see the works of God and destructions He has wrought so I did. Living by a bridge over the river I went in torrential rain with a huge umbrella to see it and think of it as God in His power causing it. On the way back I had the voice of Jesus in my spirit and mind say emphatically and very authoritatively "Put down your umbrella!" I told you the test already but when I did so the torrential rain stopped so quick not a drop seemed to touch me. I knew it was Jesus and later He proved it again. In my mind and spirit now I can picture it with a spiritual focus even while I walk in town and it is like SEEING the power of the rule of God.

The Kingdom of God

Kingdom of God seems to me to go like this. If I do what human government does not want me doing I could in some cases be called a criminal. If I do what goes against what God wants me to do I am in this case not doing His will and His will is higher than the will of human government so I could be worse than criminal in some cases. If I do what He wills then this is better and saves me from a worse situation than if were labelled a criminal in what I do by human government. This is God's government higher than human government. It is what makes it best to be found doing God's will and what makes it dangerous to be doing otherwise. God wills that we believe in His Son - believe in His being who He is with the name He has - and then we give up lies and hated first and foremost because they are of Satan and against His will. Then God's will is that we hold to what He have Jesus to teach all our lives. The truth we learn as a result sets us free from doing what is against God's will so God wills we hold to the truth we receive from the first time we start receiving truth after we learn this will of God - and live according to it all our lives. The transformation of liar to truth teller then truth abider is by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the power of the spirit and truth in Jesus' words and sayings and deeds from God. So Jesus calls it rebirth because it takes the place in God's eyes of human birth which was not enough - this being born again makes us children of God in thr kingdom of God. It seems from Paul's teachings to coincide with starting to be led by the Spirit of God. In Jesus' teaching it coincides with being spoken to by the Spirit and recognising the Spirit like a wind blowing. Receiving living workings of the Spirit and not just the spirit in His teachings.

16 minutes ago

Truth Gets Sacrificed to Exalt its Supposed Teachers

Why do so many want to rob The Father of the rightful worship that He is The God? Jesus had the means and position to claim this accolade for Himself too besides the Father being The God. Had Jesus done so it would have meant His proclaiming the Father to be The God but also the Son as being The God but Jesus DID NOT PROCLAIM THIS and instead He proclaimed the Father alone to be The God - His God -and He proclaimed Himself to be The Lord. For this reason (and for other ways that He pleased The Father) The God proclamied Jesus to be His Son. Why are so many trying so very hard to deny or avoid these truths? Maybe it is in order to promote themselves (the very thing Jesus refused to do Himself) and to promote their teaching - maybe for this reason, this cause, these truths about God are being wickedly suppressed. In my experience and frustration of early in life seeking after righteousness it does seem that truth is made a sacrifice for the promotion and exaltation of the many trinitarians who claim to be its teacher. Repent while you can for the sake of righteousness and the name of God He gives His Son.

How to know all this is true? On one hand The Father told first century (AD) Israel by these ways: Miracles He personally gave Jesus to do (the gospel records record many that He did); teachings He gave Jesus to teach (the gospel records tell what some of them were/are); the voice by which He spoke from heaven (the gospels record it as do epistles). So we have scripture - even if we aren't sure of the translation and meaning in detail. The Father told me in a dream twenty years ago too but maybe you discount that - obviously I don't and cannot. On the other hand Jesus testified of this truth too. Again found in scripture. Those who have witnessed Him since can back it up in what we see He is like but the detail of what He said is still for many of is most clear in scripture but the Spirit brings it to those born of God too and some of it to the world maybe.

Jesus still does the mighty works from God today - and through history we can probably find records of His works; plus there is the Spirit working the works of God the Father and of Lord Jesus in believers down the ages (having started to be recorded in books like Acts) and I expect there are many books to be found recording such works down through history.

1 hour ago

The Spirit

The Spirit, actually the seven spirits from before the throne of the One God, looks throughout the Earth to see who fears God and keeps His commands and He indwells each who He sees truly belongs to Christ and He speaks to them but they know not whence He comes to them and whither He goes. Then out of them comes this river of life that He is. All in the name that was from before the beginning of time in which all nature works and this name belongs to Lord Jesus the anointed One of God, the Son of  God the Father.

Holy Spirit and Son of Man (Kurdish translation)

هەولى سپيەرەت ئيت جيين سەچ ئە وەندە ذات ذە سێيم هەولى سپيەرەت هاز بين ئەراوند ئينسپايەرينگ پييپەل ئۆن ئێث ئاسەتێيند ثاوزەندز ئەڤ ييەز ئە مێسەج ئاى ويتنەست فرەم هيم وۆز سەو كلەوسلى ئايدێنتيكەل ئين سەبستەنس ئاند ئين سەم ئەڤ ذە وێدينگ تو ئە مێسەج فيوو بيلييڤد هيى سپەوك فايڤ ثاوزەند ييەز ئەگەو باى ئينسپايەرينگ وەن ئەڤ ذە فێست ئێڤە پرۆفەتس كەمپلييت ئين ئێينشنت ئيراك ئاند بيكۆز هادلى ئێنيوەن بيلييڤز ئيت وۆز

هيى ذێن ئاز ناو گيڤز ويتنەس كەنسێنينگ ذە هێڤەنلى سەن ئەڤ مان ئاند ذە نێيم ئەڤ ذيس سەن ئەڤ مان ئاند ذە ئەثۆرەتى ئين ذە نێيم ئەڤ ذيس لۆد ويى تەدێى نەو ئاز ئييسە ئۆر جييزەس ذە ڤێرى فابريك ئەڤ نێيچەر ئەدهيەز بريك نێيم ئاند باى ذيس نێيم ذە هەولى سپيەرەت سێز ئييڤەن ذە ترييز ئەڤ كريێيشەن گرەو ئاند پوت ئاوت ذێيە

ذيس تێلز ئەس ذات ذيس سەن ئەڤ مان هاز ئيگزيستەد سينس بيفۆ سەچ نێيچەر ستاتەد بيكۆز هيز نێيم ئاند ئيت ئۆل وێن ئيت وۆز جەست ذە كريێيتە ويذ نۆت يێت ئێنى كريێيشەن ذێيە وۆز ذيس سەن ئەڤ مان ئاند هيز نێيم ئەڤ ئاند سەپرييم ئەثۆرەتى باى ويچ نێيچەر كێيم تو بيى سەو وێن ذێيە وۆز جەست ذە كريێيتە ئاند نۆت يێت ذە كريێيتەد نێيچەر ويى ئا پارت ئەڤ تەدێى ذە سەن


Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

It's such a wonder that the same Holy Spirit has been around inspiring people on Earth so many thousands of years. A message I witnessed from Him was so closely identical in substance and in some of the wording to a message few believed He spoke fuve thousand years ago by inspiring one of the first ever prophets with it in Sumerian ancient Iraq and because hardly anyone believes it was from that time and from the Holy Spirit but I do it helps me be sure it was not a trick that I heard such a similar message given in tongues with interpretation in a UK church twenty years ago. He then as now gives witness concerning the heavenly Son of Man and the name of this Son of Man and the authority in the Name of this Lord we today know as Isa or Jesus. The very fabric of natute adheres to this name and by this name, the Holy Spirit says, even the trees of creation grow snd put out their buds year after year. This tells us that this Son of Msn has existed since before such nature started since His name so underpins and authorises it all. When it was just the creator with not yet any creation, there was this Son of Man and His name of Lordship and supreme authority by which nature came to be. So when there was just the Creator and not yet the created nature we are part of today the Son of Man too was there with Him learning from Him and through this Son of Man and the Lordly power of His name given to Him by the Creator all things came eventually into existence.

If you don't want to be buried alive, don't play dead

If you don't want to be buried alive don't play dead. There are some who believe in spirits like God and the Holy Spirit and angels and spirits or ghosts of those mortals who die but won't admit it and the trouble with playing dead is what is done with dead bodies - and they don't tend to be considered when food is apportioned out.

Angels

I saw an angel once and it looked like an exotic animal with wings (larger than a jungle fruit bat or flying squirrel) and clearly intelligent - not what I expected an angel to look like but similar to a gargoyle but real like any jungle exotic creature. I think it was a vision but real - spiritual like seeing a ghost. I was so scared of it. Like I said one of its wings was covering the eye facing me which I would orherwise have looked into. In terror I started trying to drive it away I think by preaching to it that Christ was crucified for us humans. That worked. I didn't know if it was good or bad but later was ashamed thinking it was sent to encourage and protect me cos I had be scared to preach to take souls from Satan in case he didn't let me get away with it lightly - thinking this before I went to sleep. It was there sat on my chest when I woke up! Anyway that was before I started commenting here. The intention is to turn sons of Satan toward becoming sons of God and later the Holy Spirit pointed out to me about angel protection for me by refering me to Daniel 3 and, via a reference in that chapter, to Psalm 34:7 (just when I was thinking of that verse). He did this as a spirit-like 'voice' clear as crystal in my mind so I went and looked it up. The words were just this "Daniel three".

All this reality is the same as recorded in scripture and how scripture came into existence so question this and you have in honesty to question scripture.

Grace and Truth

The Law of Moses certainly makes you think. It puts the worse things you do in lights before your eyes. But it offers no answers. It has no good news. No hope on offer. It just says "Listen to the one who comes who is a true hope and a prophet like Moses". It is a smack on the hand and even can lead to pain of death or actual death. It shows us where we are getting things wrong but does not say what to do about it except to meter out punishments which are usually more harsh than we can bear. In contrast we have preaching in the gospel like "he who has been stealing must steal no longer but must work doing something useful with his own hands so he has something he can share with those in need " which gives hope of redemption by showing an achievable wat forward and offers a future even to a thief (and who has never stolen). It doesn't even label 'thief'. This is grace. Still to be obeyed or what hope is there left. It shows a sacrifice has been made already - Christ the anointed one who will be king is crucified. But he has been resurrected to life forever and again there is hope.

If the Law had the means on its own, Christ died for nothing: That is what faith says - faith leading to righteousness in Christ because He died but not for nothing. He died so grace and truth can now lead the way to true righteousness.

His resurrection in the love of God His Father makes this way sustainable - forever.

I'm sorry some stumble in this way of grace and fall back to Law or get lulled into it like it has answers. This lack of persistence makes it look like you don't believe in Christ's crucifixion sacrifice and eternal life.


Would you prefer the grace which says change your ways but Christ died for your thieving and you can stop and do better now - or Law which says you just have to die for your thieving?

Or sharia which I think says Christ didn't die so you have to have a limb cut off for your thieving.

Just converted myself, I think. Truth is He must have died for our sins back then and there or how else would there be so much grace. And now alive He gives us more grace - forever.

Years ago I learned to obey the teachings Jesus taught and the commands in the gospel scriptures. The scripture's gospel of John says Jesus promised for those who obey His commands that He would and God would show themselves to them.

Truly, as I begged Him to show me Himself, God spoke to me in a dream and just days later Jesus met me in the street telling me in my spirit during a major rain storm to put down my umbrella and immediately the torrential rain stopped and I knew it was Jesus. He even confirmed it just the way I asked Him to later that night. He could only make this promise, which John records was during the last supper, if He knew God would not just lead Him to die but would also then raise Him from the dead and give Him immortal eternal life so He could help those who obey even now thousands of years later. He had already said this death and resurrection would happen, it is recorded in the gospel, during that last supper before He was crucified. I got to learn it is true for myself because of this gospel testimony and by obedience to this grace and truth by faith.

It is true that He died to give us life abd true that He is alive from the dead with eternal life to share with those He loves and who love Him back.

The Holy Spirit also showed me His power in a way that led me to learn that Jesus was existing and with God even before the Universe began so this explains some of what John recorded Him saying that He is before Abraham, the first ancestor of Hebrews. He was and is and is to come. So is the Father, God, who created all things through Jesus when Jesus was called the Son of Man and Word of God before Jesus was born a mortal human two thousand years before we too were born. He can always intercede with God for us and reveal all about God to us in time.


Spirit

Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God from above the clouds, anointed to some day soon become king over all, taught about His words being spirit and truth. You could take words of Lord Jesus by the letter like you could say obedience to the lesson of the Good Samaritan is to carry oil and wine everywhere and always travel by ass and look out for people who have been mugged and use the oil and wine to tend their wounds then take them on the ass to a public house but never phone an ambulance. Doing it the literal way you could be (falsely, unbeknown to you) confident of being literally righteous by your own measure and claim it is God's measure and claim you do this by faith but at the same time refuse first aid training because it is modern and involves bandages and maybe discourages use of oil and wine and asses but suggests calling for an ambulance. Then you might ignore traffic victims and say they do not count because they were not mugged. You could even be silly enough to only do it all on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and then have a feast to help you do it and make it all a legal religious rite.

Or you take the teaching by its spirit in how it was meant - keep the gist of it and be kind to those really in need with the resources you have but get first aid training as a confidence boost and precaution then get involved with first aid helping in emergency situations when you come across them.

It is the spirit of Jesus' words anyone should keep who wants eternal life from Jesus in Jesus' way. Hence the words are spirit and truth so keeping the truth they teach you is as important and more inportant than keeping the literal words - keeping the gist of the words, so to speak.

He also spoke of a Spirit who would come like a well of living water and well up within those who accept His words. His disciples explained that this Spirit came into the world to do this after Jesus returned above the clouds to God. This is the Holy Spirit. Both senses of spirit are closely related but distinct. This Holy Spirit like an angel can actually speak to people addressing them but many find it difficult to accept He is a person. I would say He certainly is a person I have heard speaking into my inner being: speaking to my spirit perhaps. My spirit or yours is another use of the term again and refers to something within us that is part of us and may be dead but brought alive by the Spirit God sends.

About Lying

Habitual lying seems to be indicative of not being born again. I find the best way (if the Spirit helps) to stop lying is to keep telling the truth. That isn't enough to mean you can no longer lie though so there seems to be more perhaps to rebirth than that alone - knowledge of truth that sets free is required too for rebirth (to become a true child of God and permanent member of His household).

31 minutes ago

The Name

We may have opinions of how the scriptures have come to us over centuries and what they are and were. What is not opinion but truth is that the Name God gave His Son Jesus has come down to us too. This is the name on which we believe and, believing, call to be saved by God, the true living real creator God who created all things through His Son in this Name He gave His Son, the Lord.

Faith in The Name

It is becoming wonderfully clear that God gave Jesus His own name YHWH like a father giving a child his own name - second or first name. We have to believe in this - this relationship Jesus has with God and the truth (given by the testimony of God Himself) that Jesus pleases God very well, to be saved. Then we can believe as we call on this name Jesus now has. I do it by calling Lord Jesus in full faith in that name. Really Jesus as a name means this - its very meaning is an invocation of the saving nature of God Himself.

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Never Read the Scriptures? How Much Does That Matter?

Lots of people are joined to Jesus by faith without knowing scripture. Lots have to go through life thinking they know scripture but knowing a set of false or dubious or uncertain views of what scriptures say and mean so are also forced to unknowingly live without scripture. We don't know if that includes us. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us into both truth and certainty of it or we are still without real righteousness. The way is truth and faith but with or without true comfort of scripture as an extra. Scripture alone is no way to be made righteous. Faith is required in truth even if scripture helps us find such faith and truth but grace is more effective when God gives it. Apollos is an example recorded in the scripture book of Acts. He knew only scripture and presched accurately about Jesus through that knowledge. The friends of Paul taught him better because they had learned not by scripture (or scripture aline perhaps) alone but by grace so they could improve his knowledge and he became known as an apostle like Paul.

The Law of Moses and Jesus Christ

Perhaps we should look at it as Jesus satisfying requirements which were a legacy of the 'Plant of Righteousness' or 'The True Vine' which had its roots in Abraham. Abraham had the beginnings of Law with circumcision. Then Law was added for his descendants including Jesus accirding to Jesus' biological nature. Jesus has died after a perfect life so He is now (resurrected) free from this Law. The rigteousness He has since then is Law-free. Being joined to Him joins anyone, Jew or not, to this new righteousness. It means it is of faith. Jesus is joined to God and is in complete faith to God. Joining oneself to Jesus is in faith too.

Spirit Truth

It is the Spirit who reveals truth that Jesus is from the beginning and, though a flower can grow without Him directly making it grow, all the workings of nature are by the authority of His designation 'Lord'. Likewise stars and planets. He is Lord and has been with God from the beginning and learnt from God the perfect way to please God without any imperfect creation getting in the way so He really does know and therefore IS truth and IS the way. The word. Unpoluted by creation. About to rule that way as God stops hindrances getting in the way of the perfection He can bring which pleases God before He will hand back power to God.

Regarding the Debated Idea of a 'Trinity'

Jesus is Son of God. Even a young person not bound by deceptive thinking can tell you a person cannot be son of themself. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Son of the true God - Son of the One true God. Jesus is anointed by God to rule over us. A spirit denying any of this cannot be from God. There is a Spirit (seven spirits it is revealed in Revelation) from God who does acknowledge all this and those born of this Spirit and led by Him are sons of God. God is truth and no lie comes from the truth - so a spirit from God is the Spirit of the truth who is opposed to lies. No liar is born of God. All this truth was known as truth by believers before lies about it became mainstream and was pushed as truth by churches. Apostacy is not in line with the permanence God requires of His House.

Revelations of Mysteries

Jesus will be king as God has anointed Him. A proverb I remember mentions that the glory of a king is to reveal a matter. People used to ask Jesus in His time on Earth lots of questions about how to have eternal life and please God. The proverb also says it is the glory of God the conceal a matter. God concealed some things even from Jesus like the day and hour exactly when He will give Jesus to become king as He anointed Him to do. There are many things God conceals. But what He gives Jesus we can still ask to be given us if we love and trust Him.

Righteousness By Faith And Not By Law

Because of one work this disciple saw Jesus (risen from the dead) Himself do, this disciple puts his faith in Him. So what is that which is happening to me? I find there is a rigteousness here to be found in the persuit of such faith but not of keeping Law or even keeping the Bible (though I hold to Jesus' teachings as a disciple). What then if people persue keeping Law still and see the Bible or part of it or another canon as a way of extended Law and try and keep it as Law but missing this faith? This won't make them righteous. They might have promises fulfilled in their lives but the best promise is righteousness found by the way of faith in Jesus. The way the truth the life the resurrection who does what He sees the Father doing.

Real Faith

When Jesus spoke it was not only with words but His miracles were also His message and with a special touch - they were miraculous not because of power in Jesus who was weak in a human state but because of power from God who made things happen Jesus could not have done alone and gave Jesus the work itself to do. So the work is a message from not Jesus but God who sent Him. The special touch is what each work meant because each work carried a message and this message must have come from only one person - the person who made the work He Himself designed result in a miraculous outcome - God the Father above the clouds looking on. Now Jesus is above the clouds looking on as disciples do His works still as Henand the Father in Him and with Him works those works in them. But what I find too in seeing His own works by His grace is - He still Himself does works with messages in them from God the Father. The power us still from God the Father in what the Father still gives Him to do from time to time. So it seems to me having seen this happen at least once in my life. He still does it like He used to - showing faith in God and righteously following what His Father does. Jesus the Righteous One of Faith. Lord and now Christ waiting to reign. Hope of all who wait for Him and lean on Him in real faith.

Hope of All the Nations

Jesus Christ was / is anointed and anointings are by nature over the normal nature as a thin layer but in this case not oil, rather spirit, The Spirit from God. His anointing marks Him as chosen by the anointer - in this case God. As such He is the hope of all the nations - of all of us. Soon to reign as king in a reign we all hope for and revere. He has done all of God's will in suffering crucifixion and death so God could raise Him to immortal life from His mortal conceived life: making Jesus Christ the Resurrection. His nature is not just human made immortal, which is awesome in itself, but The Lord by nature too as He came from such glory with God before His birth around 6BC to 1BC. That glory He had with God before they made the Universe together. 

He was seen as Lord and Resurrection and God's Anointed by Apostle Paul (around 25AD to 35AD at a guess). He was at that time seen by the sight of His immense intense glory as light coming from above the clouds that can blind the eyes. Since then others saw Him such as Apostle John who saw 'one like a Son of Man' similar to what Prophet Daniel saw hundreds of years BC. He does have body and apparently still flesh and blood despite being made suitable for 'heaven' to sit by God and rule angels, again like before He came - as was witnessed by Prophet / King Enoch around 3000BC (and recorded on ancient tablets now translated to English and other languages). 

His coming to take His throne will be like lightning from end to end of the Earth's atmosphere and so many know of this and look for it in hope.

Real Jesus

I remember once reaching out at night in darkness pleading that I might be able to touch Him and I did touch someone there behind the head of my bed in darkness who was definitely there in body but I lived alone so I can only believe it was Him. I don't expect it to be believed but it forms part of my faith even though it seems even to my natural mind almost implausible (given Jesus' own teachings in scripture that we should beware anyone saying there He is, etc). Someone recently said similar things in church but I didn't admit to thus experience if mine for decades but kept this Jesus secret. Yet I know it happened and believe it was Jesus and that He has that body I touched.

It Matters What Spirit You Are Of

The right spirit rejects the wrong spirit. The wrong spirit rejects the right spirit. People of one spirit reject people of an opposing spirit. People of dead spirit seem to accept people of wrong spirit but people of right spirit seem to get a tough ride like Jesus does. This even applies in churches but also outside churches. How we think of God and Jesus is influenced by what kind of spirit we have or if we are dead in spirit even. We need to seek first to have the good spirit from God but counting the cost of the rejections it might lead to. 

Evidence of Truth

John the baptist having bones still preserved possibly is a great piece of evidence to help our discernment personally of truth, although a lot seems to me to depend what spirit we have as to how we view things. In case we are not sure whether there is bad spirit influencing how things appear to us we can try to force ourselves into true thinking by focusing on not just canon stuff but true stuff consistent with truth spoken of in canon. We can look at the evidence in John the baptist comparing his historicity with the prophesies in the scripture texts which extantly predate him and especially the one about the Elijah who would level the playing field so to speak - conparing how reports say John the baptist told people to level the playing field by voluntarily narrowing rich poor divide (two coat people sharing with no coat people) and who that was preparing the way for. Mark did this but we don't have the knowledge he had but we do have some evidence now in the texts about John the baptist and the possible bone fragments. Then the DNA sequencibg and how that too relates to Jesus and ultimately to God. And God inspired John to level things like that to prepare so glory could be unobscured by opulence and whose glory is that in history? And God did it evidentially visible to us a little so even we could see it now and we see a glorious Son of God don't we if our spirit is right - a Son showing glory of who ? Think about it - if we see it we see a glimpse of God and His glory - but will we see it? I hope the devil fails to blund us but if he succeeds we have a promise that he will  fail blinding us when we turn to the Lord.

The Clue is in the Name

• I guess you might have to have loved and experienced Him from time to time to realise He truly is anointed to become glorious king over all. It is clear in how He shows Himself - such joy and promise of The One Chosen of God who none can deny His birthright to rule in righteousness and true light over all the nations. Scripture helps (including the Book of Enoch) but it is revealed by Him too as He reveals Himself and dwells among those to whom He promised to do this. I have to admit - although it seems clear this is obvious by His being called by all The Christ when people call Him Jesus Christ but in His showing Himself as He is - risen and alive and author still of life and always Lord and Master - in this it is so clear. I had heard of Him but now I gave seen and heard for myself so I truly believe that He will rule because God chose Him from the beginning and anointed Him to rule.

What are we really saying when we call Jesus the Christ?

Anointed is what Jesus is - the Christ, the anointed one - in the sense David was anointed before He became king. Saul was first king of ancient Israel but God had rejected him due to only partial obedience he had shown to the carrying out of God's instructions so God had David anointed ready to take over when Saul inevitably would eventually die. David suffered greatly under Saul due to the jealousy Saul understandably had for him but God was with David and the Spirit stopped Saul having David killed. With Jesus the hatred and jealousy of others led to His death but God raised Him up and has Him ready to take over as king once Jesus defeats the kings by His coming again to reign. Soon.

Scripture - Permanent Discipleship Described in Scripture

Pondering the book of Hebrews as a book of scripture it struck me how important the Holy Spirit regards permanent discipleship as the way to be part of the spiritual house of God which is permanent. This is why the book says to encourage one another daily. I don't know or keep Jewish Law nor have I ever done so but even as a non-Jew it does strike me that God is looking for a temple to exist forever for His Name and Christ is chief builder of it. So we all do well to become permanently part of it even though we might be non-Jews and not appreciate all that it means. Non-Jews probably get some sympathy that God is doing this when they hear it preached. I knew the Holy Spirit teaches about permanent discipleship and I wondered about it but the book of Hebrews does explain it very well and I love the way it starts - like John's gospel and almost unique to canon Bible books because it says how Jesus and God made all the Universe together and not just planet Earth. This potentially hints at the true age of Jesus like no other Bible scripture (but like the Book of Enoch which I regard as pre-Testament scripture) and the fuller meaning of His eternal life as having begun in the true beginning that even scientist struggle to comprehend - first and last being very first and last therefore meaning endless too. We have the potential in Him to be endless as He is endless and the duty to be that if we are to be part of His Father's House. John 8 records how no temporary servant or slave can be part of God's true household because sons and daughters are permanent so we need the Son to make us permanent if we are to be children of God in His household.

He sees

Jesus who is written of in the gospel scriptures mainly regarding before He died and rose and the events of the crucifixion He endured before His dead body went in that tomb, this Jesus is now alive and wanting people to know of Him and when loving Him to see what He does and become aware of Him so He stands above the stormy sea on His celestial metaphorical spiritual boat and addresses people according to their need and spiritual state - especially those who love Him but need His righteousness because of some lack of it themselves. Find Him by seeking - but love Him and obey His commands and the command to live out His truth and Ge will find you when you call on Him, as will the Father and the Spirit when you seek wholeheartedly.

Turning around

We can turn as we take in truth that Christ died for us and we can turn to become truthful when we know the truth that God supports truthfulness and the truth that the Holy Spirit puts into us the strength we need to testify powerfully when we are honest and truthful in our confession. 

Hating Instruction is Hating Your Soul

He who hates instruction hates his soul. I want truth and ministers in churches can give some of it but often not all of it in their preaching because, I think, they are conflicted. Jesus is so righteous He is not conflicted like they are so looking to Him and seeking Him we find in Him the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and in His love and kindness to give it to us as and when we can take it and the exact same with the Holy Spirit (in Jesus' glorious name). Telling truth too is given us by this Spirit of truth as a gift of righteousness that is in Jesus - as an imparting of some of that righteousness that comes by knowing truth that He is truthful snd no darkness is in Gid nor lie.

He is

Jesus IS the way. He IS the truth. He IS the eternal life. Seeing eternal life it is glorious like the northern lights but even more glorious than such a phenomenon. It dispels the clouds of our temporary words, they crumble under the pervasion of eternal life shining through them. There in this eternal life we see that Jesus is its central focus as He IS that life and it is all in Him. The only way we need into this life is Him. He is the way into the life that is Him. God draws us to Jesus and God draws us into Jesus. All truth and grace is from Him and all grace and truth is in Him. We only need the truth that Jesus is to walk in truth and light. We need His righteousness found to come from Him so that itbis He who can give us to do God's will if we buy from Jesus white robes to cover our shamefulness. He promises righteousness if we follow Him the way. Anyone who has experienced the northern lights can bring them back to mind and ponder their glory but if we experience Jesus by seeking Him relentlessly or merely by His grace perhaps even if we do not seek Him then we can meditate on Him day and night remembering what He is like longing to see Him again.

My own testimony about the one true God and Jesus His Son and the Spirit of Truth

It might seem outrageous that the one and only Jesus Christ would notice a nobody like myself to do anything specifically targeting me and I think so too. I too was often hypocritical in portraying my Christian faith and I was a teenager with a habit of making things up to impress peers and unable to stop doing so. I got baptised but that didn't stop the way I behaved - it might have added to the preaching but not perhaps to practice of faith in sanctification as it is called. I kept to the teachings of Jesus but added spurious things like saying that Thomas in the gospel account of Jesus after the resurrection was calling Jesus his 'God' by exclaiming "My Lord and my God" when I had no idea if it meant that at all - now I know Jesus is Son of the God who is the Father and Thomas knew and believed this, despite my dubious attenpts to impress with my theology at an early age. So then Jesus let me be led to a place where nobody knew my background as a pastor's eldest and there I heard the gospel anew and was able to respond to it honestly and admit it cut me to the heart like I never before heard that Jesus Christ died for me. The Holy Spirit entered and gave life to my spirit and power surged within but it taught me truth. The only way for God and the Spirit from God is truth without lies. I found that out there and then and was able to quit the lies having a reason to tell the truth as it was in my conscience - my truth. The years went by and later I learned to obey the teachings Jesus taught and the commands in the gospel scriptures and then it was God spoke to me in a dream and days later Jesus met me in the street telling me in a storm to put down my umbrella and immediately the torrentisl rain stopped and I knew it was Jesus. I asked for confirmation by asking that at that night while I slept a dressing gown on a nail on the wall would be off the nail by the morning. In the night He woke me up compelling me so strongly in my deepest thoughts to get up - and immediately I took thr dressing gown I never normally used off that nail to wear it. I know it was Jesus. He is alive today. Days or weeks later the Holy Spirit came upon me at a church and there was s message in tongues which I effectively heard by the Spirit in English with accompanying vision - telling me Jesus' name of Lordship makes trees grow. I knew it was the Holy Spirit. I knew God is real and Jesus is real and alive and the Spirit is real and here. But the words in Revelation - scripture - saying "I am He that lives and was dead and behold I am alive for ever and I hold the keys of death and hades" those words cut it even more to say to my innermost being that Jesus Christ lives having died - having been crucified. It is true and I believe it. I have to pinch myself at the thought He showed Himself to me, nobody, but I believe it.

The Truth of Christ versus the Law of Moses

If you have the truth and you have Christ who IS the truth then you have better than The Law - you have the eternal Son of God who was with God in the beginning and who embodies the Law and much more than that because He created Moses and Israel for whom the Law was made and He IS the word of God having heard from before creation began every word God has said as a Son hearing His Father. To see Jesus is to see all of the Law perfectly kept during a perfect lifetime on earth and much more besides. The Law comes with death because it has to be kept perfectly if it is to be kept at all as a way - so for those going that way it speaks only of failure and death sincs we got it wrong the moment we started. Jesus shows those who look to Him a promise of actual righteousness to be ours plus a promise of eternal life because there in Him  we see that He lives having died and we see a happy willingness to give that same eternal life to us who believe in Him along with that righteousness He has. This is real hope. The Law does not give this hope. The obedience we can have this Way  is obedience to what Jesus actually is - truth - not obedience to endless commands (humans have always shown a very poor track record in even keeping a few commands in the form of Law). The obedience to the truth that is Jesus is a different kind of obedience - obedience we are pulled into by this truth that He is as He is made known to us by good preaching and by the power of the Spirit who reveals Him to us.

The Main Teaching of Jesus Christ

The main teaching of Christ, many, many will tell you, so widely accepted around the world is the teaching of Good Samaritan kindness. God said of Christ Jesus - to listen to Him because He is the One God Himself endorsed as His Son. God therefore endorses the Good Samaritan focus we get from Christ. No need to complicate it further. When a person holds to this they find that the truth of Jesus also teaches that in kindness for us and in love for God, Jesus let Himself be crucified and is now alive again with eternal life. This is enough truth to lead to a person who receives it also receiving from God the Holy Spirit and bearing fruit of this Spirit. All this is enough to bring eternal life even to someone who does not know the Law of Moses or the scriptures which contain it. Eternal life from this eternal Jesus who sees those who are His own and is always kind to them and can give them of His eternal life - this is all a person needs to become an eternal saint and a child of God loving other children of God. The Spirit feeds and leads these people into all the truth that belongs to Jesus.

Practising what we preach

I have to give credit to someone very special to me for metaphorically rescuing me from muggers and from a gutter of the street yet having to repratedly point out my own hypocrisy in pushing scripture yet not obeying it myself. I also owe this person credit for pointing out that others do the same as I was doing - and so are hypocritical too. So many discuss scriptures and give expert opinions on scriptures but do not obey the main tenet of Christ which is kindness to the needy nor do they preach this part of scripture the way Christ did. So many are deluded by preaching scripture and studying it but not obeying it in the main way God entended as Christ showed. "Do this and you will live" He said of the Samaritan who helped the victim of crime. We do well to let people focus just on that and not burden people with heavy loads we ourselves cannot bear. The next main thing is truthfulness of speach and the Spirit teaches that as a primary lesson. At least He did so to me because I had a lying habit. How many have a lying habit! Just these two obediences would be revolutionary when people keep them and would give belivers more sanctification than all the Bible reading and Bible bashing in the world would do.

How to advise a new believer in Christ's teachings?

Why do church workers and evangelists say to ask Jesus into our lives? To me this seems a very advanced concept not necessarily available to all. He did say if we hear Him knocking and hear His voice at the 'door' to open the door to Him. John heard Him say this in his vision from Jesus recorded in Revelation. I reckon it is addressed to advanced believers who can recognise this visitation of Jesus to them though. Why do people give it as counsel to absolute beginners in Christ though? Was it just Billy Graham who started this way of advising new believers. He came to the UK in the 50s and maybe people picked it up from his visit as counsel to advise to me in the mid or late sixties when I first responded to someone teaching me about the story from Jesus of the rich man and Lazarus the begger. I was told to ask the Lord Jesus into my heart which I did do but was it the best advice to give me at a young age? Not advice to reform my life for God in keeping with the teaching of Jesus I had believed and keep the faith I had gained (not that I would have understood that). I was worried I might go where the rich man went. I know now to look out for people like that beggar outside my house and be kind to them frequently when I can and as I wish to do freely for God's sake in Jesus' name by faith in Jesus and His teaching. Then Jesus does visit and enter my life and show that He is truth and resurrection life making these available to me and I receive truth of Him dying for me and the Spirit sent by God who brings me truth too and makes me hate lies and lying and favour truthfully testifying to co-operate with Him and allow Him to co-operate with me because of this truthfulness. This is reform in faith in Jesus in the will of God and people should counsel new believers in this Way.

A Promise From God Transcendng Words

Jesus IS the way. He IS the truth. He IS the eternal life. Seeing eternal life it is glorious like the northern lights but even more glorious than such a phenomenon. It dispels the clouds of our temporary words, they crumble under the pervasion of eternal life shining through them. There in this eternal life we see that Jesus is its central focus as He IS that life and it is all in Him. The only way we need into this life is Him. He is the way into the life that is Him. God draws us to Jesus and God draws us into Jesus. All truth and grace is from Him and all grace and truth is in Him. We only need the truth that Jesus is to walk in truth and light. We need His righteousness found to come from Him so that itbis He who can give us to do God's will if we buy from Jesus white robes to cover our shamefulness. He promises righteousness if we follow Him the way. Anyone who has experienced the northern lights can bring them back to mind and ponder their glory but if we experience Jesus by seeking Him relentlessly or merely by His grace perhaps even if we do not seek Him then we can meditate on Him day and night remembering what He is like longing to see Him again.

The Fisherman

When you pass fishermen who have been busy fishing and have their nets full to overflowing with a huge catch. You see all those fish and the smiles on the faces and joyfulness in the voices of the fishermen and you think how effective their work has been today. That is fish and not so nice for those fish but if instead of fish the nets were saving souls and you were such a soul being saved and Jesus is the one whose efforts and pain led to the catch then you would marvel at His joy and wonder at the effectiveness of His work of crucifixion where He worked in the will of God to lay down life and body and blood and look what He has been catching ever since and the joy He has and the confidence in the method that caught the catch. Faith is still and important part of His method set of tools of catching us and the blood a part of an ongoing attitude of kindness to those who love back and even those who don't but especially kindness and power of faith to those He is catching. Eternsl methods for an eternal fisherman and a predestined to be eternal catch.

Truth and Faith replaces Law and Mere Words on a Page

Perhaps faith is just too far out of reach or perhaps reliable, truthful preaching of the truths of God and Jesus and the Spirit are too scarce for many of the wealthy people in wealthy nations so people reach instead for Law in scripture for their only hope - which is no hope really. It is worth hanging on waiting for the preaching of truth that gives faith because then there is real hope. Prayer and alms giving are a good way to make way for such preaching to reach you. (God regards such things with favour.) Then when such preaching of truth comes and you believe it, reach not again for Law but for the Spirit of truth sent from God. Follow the Spirit's life-giving counsel and don't merely stick with words of scripture on a page but let the words lead you always to truth and belief in what the words tell you of it. Hold to the sayings of the Spirit, yes but let them give you faith and not be just words to you.

Truth

The truth. Well this is what it is all about: Truth. Truth is the way to life. Even eternal life. Lies are the way to just the opposite. Falsehood is the way to death. It only needs to be put aside in favour of life though and it can all change. Truth comes from revelation. It comes from accurate historic accounts by truthful people. The paradox was well known to ancient Greek scholars where a poet says "All Cretans are liars" but he being a Cretan himself: So what made this paradox meaningful? He was a prophetic poet and so "All Cretans are liars" really comes from a non-Cretan source - a Spirit of true prophesy. So a true prophetic spirit can break the stranglehold of lies by introducing truth in a spirit way which transcends the lying of the mouthpiece and audience. The Spirit of Truth therefore brings life into a situation of only death. It transcends the hopelessness of the situation by entering the situation without being corrupted by it. The Spirit comes into the heart when faith overcomes falsehood in that heart which can only happen when another individual speaks by that same Spirit - prophetically. The problem is you need a starting point - a reliable first speaker of Spirit-imparted truth who does not need it from someone else and then a reliable perfect person to impart this to the rest of us: Enter God the Father and His eternal Son from the beginning, Jesus the Christ, the Lord sent by the one true God who inspired Him and trained Him from the very beginning then sent Him to Earth filled with Spirit - the Spirit of Truth by whom He preached. Now the way is made open to all who believe this to receive the Spirit-inspired true preaching (like this) and learn the truth by adhering to the preached word. The power enters the heart that listens to the true preaching and that heart though lying by nature learns truth. The real truth is this: CHRIST DIED FOR YOU. You probably already knew about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ but you need to let it into your heart. Perhaps over and over through your future life. There is more to receive fron God who loved the world so much He sent this only begotten Son of His and gives you more that you need to fully save you. He gives Spirit. Graciously. Receive truth by receiving the Spirit of Truth who God can send you in Lord Jesus Christ's name. Put away all useless, foolish falsehood which is so weak and speak truth when you know and trust it exists and has real power for good and not evil. Live the truth you learn from this Spirit which is a command to you from God leading to love. Obedient love for God and your neighbour which comes from persistent adherence to this truth.

Here it is: The Gospel

He who is Lord over all, Jesus Christ, was sent by God, and came into the world in flesh and blood, loved by God as His own dear Son. By believing this, His death on the cross tells me God is for us; for us so much! His resurrection to life (eternal life) shows us God's life-giving power in Christ; so much power! For those hoping in Christ, He is now our access to the Father with whom He is our Great High Priest. The hope we have is of His gift of righteousness - to become truly righteous, cleansed by Him, by His own precious, holy blood shed for us. All this is for the glory of God's name. To partake in Christ we have to keep hold of this hope steadfastly to the end. As a foretaste of the glory to come, He gives His Holy, life-giving Spirit to those who believe and are baptised (baptism binding them to Jesus Christ who died and rose for them).

The Temple

What a mess His temple seems to be in! "Build the temple", I was told. I guess I should understand that to mean "build in the temple" because The Lord God Himself, The Lord Jesus Himself and the Blessed Holy Spirit are the True, Archetypal Builders of the Temple of The True and Living God. What a blessed Truth that is. But I seem to be faced with a scattering of piles of stones which somehow need a lot of bringing and building together to be considered any kind of building, let alone a temple. Here where I live there is one group following one leader, another group just across the road following another organisation of leaders. Then just down the road again more groups, more leaders, more organisations. Perhaps some leaders don't add their own teachings to God's but some undoubtably do ("to draw away disciples unto themselves", as a great New Testament writer and Apostle put it). Some groups look more like they are being "built up into Christ" than others. Some don't even seem to realise that Christ is still to be followed as That Great Shepherd of The Sheep, but they follow human leaders instead. Not that following an earthly leader is wrong, unless that leader leads them away from the True Path of course. How on earth to make any positive contribution to help these scattered stones adhere to the living Christ? To the ancient prophet of Israel, the Spirit of God said "prophesy to these dry bones" so that the dry bones would live. He did, they did, and there was a great army formed. So it remains: "Prophesy!", "What shall I prophesy?", "All flesh is grass and all its glory as the grass of the field. The grass withers ... because the Spirit of God breathes on it." Oh dear, a lot of grass is going to wither, then, and a lot of beauty will be destroyed. But may the dry bones yet live and the temple yet be built to be the Glory of God in His Blessed Holy Son established by Him to the joyful glory of His Holy Name. I want to attend these groups and see what the Spirit gives me to prophesy but two problems: one - I get most certainty in what I say when it is an interpretation of spiritual 'tongues' but hardly any real spiritual tongues which are to be interpreted by spiritual power from the Holy Spirit seem to be 'out there' and two - when I attend I get forced into the very sins such as deceit from which the Lord has been setting me free as people mislead everyone around them to say things they do not really know to be true (and I'm too weak to not get led astray with everyone else). On account of the latter I can only echo the many leaders of God's people in the past who have warned about causing God's people to sin - it ends in severe judgement (because when people sin against the Lord like this there is nobody to intercede with the Lord who is Himself the intercessor against whom they have sinned). I'll just to to keep looking for a flock where believers truly speak in tongues and hope I can still be obedient in using my gift for the benefit of the Church. And besides: Living by the spirit rather than the 'flesh' is the way to avoid the 'sins of the flesh'.

Prophesies

Ages ago - I mean something like 3,000 years ago - an ancient king decided he wanted to build his God a temple. Nothing unusual there, except this king's God was the awesome God of Israel. The king was the incredibly famous King David, second earthly king of Israel. And God took issue with this. No, He hadn't said to King David anything about David building Him a temple, no. He was not OK with it because David had had a reign of bloodshed (though all in obedience to God) and besides, God, the true and living God, didn't make a habit of living in temples, not man-made ones anyway. Something better by far would be coming in the future, God promised it: But yes, it would still be by way of one of King David descendants, as an extreme favour to David. There was a promise made to David that was to affect the whole course of history: There would be one who would come and would reign as a true Son of the living God, never out of favour with God, chastised but never abandoned, and this One would reign forever over all who God made His own. Hence, from then on there was the belief in the Messiah, the Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Even more ages ago - this time something like getting on for 5,000 years ago - a Sumerian tribal leader walked with God and saw visions, dreams and revelations beyond anyone before or since (with perhaps just a few exceptions). This visionary, seventh descendant from the ancient person believed by Sumerians to have been the first ever human on Earth, was taken into the heavens above the Earth and given angelic lessons in all things (perhaps resulting in the first rendition of the earthly calendar) and at this time he saw someone awesome called The Son of Man. The prophesies about the Son of Man were to persist over the following centuries until one Jesus of Nazareth was to pick them up and clearly use them to identify Himself (as seen over and over in Matthew's account, the 'Gospel of Matthew').

At the time Jesus taught in Isreal (then Judea, under Roman occupation), some two thousand years ago, He asked His disciples who people said the Son of Man was (as He did when speaking about Himself). One disciple said "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God", identifying Jesus with both of the above people of prophesy: the promised Messiah who would be treated as a beloved Son by God, and accepting Jesus' identification of Himself with the Son of Man seen in the ancient prophet's great visions and revelations.

Some four thousand years ago there was a righteous man chosen by God to be the root of righteousness for all the nations. God made him a promise that he would father many nations. God renamed him Abraham. Two thousand years ago Jesus, after His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven, called a Jew named Saul to be His Apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews), changing his name to Paul and He revealed to Paul that the promise to Abraham had not just been fulfilled in the descendants of his by blood-line, the Jews, but also was to include all who believed in God as Abraham had done.

And so we have today the temple which is the Messiah and all His body of people who believe in God through Him, both Gentile and Jew. 

How to Find Him

Go to a church meeting where there is speaking in tongues. Pray like mad beforehand that God will give you the Holy Spirit. He only gives the Holy Spirit, as far as I know, to people who believe that Jesus is the Christ so exercise yourself and ensure beforehand you do indeed believe. If you aren't sure, hunt down whatever it is you need to convince you (for me it was partly a matter of understanding thoroughly the New Testament Gospel accounts and comparing them, via some decent TV programs, with the relevant archeology). Go to a meeting at this church. For me it meant going with someone who had been able to assure me that those in the church did have the Holy Spirit, as manifest in the speaking in tongues (this person would have probably recognised it if there had been anything spurious or pretentious about it). If God gives you the Holy Spirit and He comes on you at the meeting you might feel an awesome sense of heaviness weighing on you or awareness of something like that. For me, all this resulted in me being in the congregation as the 'pastor' came to the front and spoke in tongues. Because, I think, the Holy Spirit had already come upon me, I was able to spiritually 'hear' the words spoken as if they were in my own language even though my ears recognised that the words were in an angelic 'tongue' (spiritual language). Ideally, the speaker should ask that God will let him interpret too or that someone else will interpret too so that you have it confirmsed what was said, in comparison to what you 'hear'. (Some have to rely on this interpretation if the Spirit didn't make them able to 'hear' it themselves.) Strictly speaking this is how to find the Spirit of God but indirectly this amounts to finding Jesus, the Christ because it is the way this Spirit proclaims Jesus to you as the Christ, the Lord, the one to hope in and the one to trust and to love that amounts to much of what it means to find Jesus Christ. It is this experience which can impart that trust and hope to you (hopefully love too, but it is resulting actions and obedience which will confirm this).  To find Jesus Christ Himself is a matter of Him revealing Himself to you. To find the God and Father of Jesus Christ is a matter of Him revealing Himself to you. This can be in dreams and visions and open encounters. Rather than you finding Him, He finds you! Take the testimony and proclamation from The Spirit and add that to the revelation of God and Jesus Christ to you and know Him, whom to know is, in Christ words, eternal life. If this all seems strange to you I can only say 'of course'. You really do need to believe for yourself though; for your own sake and for the sake of His Name.

He

We can say to Him 'You are the One. You are God. You are Supreme.' as we pray. But what is that actually saying? Is it enough? I think not. There is still something in reserve. Of the Christ, the Son of God, we can say that He is the Supreme King over all God's creation. We know that there has to be One ruler in the Universe who is the ultimate ruler under whose rule every other ruler must submit; this seems logically inevitable if you believe in some kind of order throughout the Universe by which the laws of physics and other science are maintained (unless, like some scientists you just think the laws of physics and other science maintain themselves or are immutable and pre-existent). In reserve there is another accolade we seldom admit to, the proclamation 'You are He'. 'He' is such a small word with such a huge meaning to us. It is that inner awareness I (and I assume other people besides myself) have of a person not only above all others but such a person on whom we can all put all our hope. To be a ruler and to be powerful more than any other other and to be worthy of the submission of everyone and everything is one thing. To be every person's ultimate hope is quite another. Such a person has more than just power. They have something I cannot describe by my psyche knows is surely there in somebody. This ultimate person my psyche calls 'The HE'. I don't know why. I have an awareness, perhaps from society, perhaps from something greater within me, that others too reserve a word, a concept in their hearts they too would perhaps call 'He'. Reserved for the One person who really deserves their trust and all their hope when all other hopes and trusts fail. Reserved for the One person who lives up to their hopes, even their feeblest hope and pulls them through despite all the setbacks, failings and weaknesses, despite even the worst sins and shameful acts and activities. I had the feeling and when I think of it I recollect that feeling of such a person when I remember it - I had this feeling that I had met that person when I experienced the existence of Jesus Christ some years ago. I related this in a previous blog post, describing a walk through deluging rain to a river near my home and how on my way back, still aware of the power of God to send floods on helpless people in punishment for failing to live up to His standards, suddenly the compulsion came on me almost like an audible voice yet more primal and powerful than that (as it were communicating directly to my spirit almost circumventing my mind, perhaps only those experiencing it would understand this description) 'saying' to put down my umbrella. I had a big golfing umbrella up, in all the extreme downfall of rain, but as I put the umbrella down not a drop of rain, it seems, touched me since the rain stopped so suddenly at that exact moment. I immediately became conscious of the person I could only believe was Jesus, the Lord. I asked for a certain sign as proof later when I got home and (though the sign was a bit embarrassing to relate here) I got that exact proof in the middle of the night such that it had to be Him. I cannot easily say to any 'god' or powerful entity of any kind 'You are Supreme' but I cannot say of anyone except this one person I met that day 'You are HE' (referring to that ultimate person on whom all our hopes are placed). I do have it in my heart that that accolade goes to no other person except this One who made Himself known to me that day. So, yes, very thankfully and with due fear in stating it, Jesus Christ is HE. Ultimately though, I suspect that the reason people have this hope in the ultimate One who will not disappoint their hope is that they have the testimony in their psyche that God Himself has given about the One called the Christ down the ages, even from most ancient times. This testimony is seen in ancient texts purporting to originate from times as early as the times when writing itself first developed and this testimony focuses on the Christ as the Elect One of God, the Son of Man, the Righteous One who was originally at the right hand of God and was foretold to eventually come from God to the Earth so that all could put their hope in Him. So it is certain now after the coming of Jesus that He who so many call Jesus Christ is indeed this One who was to come. As one of His apostles and first teachers worded it "we have the testimony of the prophets made certain". So we can all be thankful - but let's not forget what was done to Him, perhaps by people like ourselves, prone to jealousy and evil influence: Let's not forget He was executed in such grisly fashion by crucifixion under Roman rule and the same system of government as did this is to some extent still part of the system we have today. There is no escaping the truth of our heritage in this world that we have folly to the heart of society and even the Christ, Jesus, took the sharp edge of it and died, all the while submitting to God, His father's will. He is an example to us all of submission unto death to the will of the One God He called 'The Father', our father and His, the same God who raised Him a few days later from the dead and seated Him once again at His right hand until that time He comes again to rule a thousand years and afterwards to judge the living and the dead.

He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. This is He.

What is in a name?

Wrote the 'Bard': "A rose by any other name would doubtless smell as sweet".

What is in a name?

I long mused about the mystery of 'names'. I saw the Narmer tablets of ancient, predynastic Egypt where standard bearers sport 'noms', symbols held aloft on poles as standards. Today in Bristol children parading with their schools in the St Pauls Carnival were carrying numbers on poles. 'Names', 'noms' and 'numbers' all sound like they have common ancestral meanings and visual imagery. The numbers carried by the children, the noms carried by the ancient Egyptian men, each have a purpose. The children are judged in their schools for their carnival parade garb and dancing and the numbers they are given and display allow judges to distinguish schools by something other than their usual name (perhaps so they are not prejudicial in their judging by the opinions of or links to the schools). Always throughout history, I believe, there has been importance given to a symbol held aloft by a person or party. This symbol can carry special power - the power of a 'name' ('nom', 'number').

So we find from most ancient times a special meaning ascribed to important names (names of rulers) and especially to one particular name, the name of the Elect One, the Son of Man, in heaven, ruler under God of all the Universe over all other rulers (whether man or angel/spirit). The Lord of Spirits gives this one Son of Man the most special of all 'names' and the greatest power of all is given to the name of this most chosen one, the Elect One. In fact, this name was so powerful that it was given to angels that they could use it to overcome the evils of the fallen angels. Later in history it was given to humankind to allow them to be saved from their own evils and the evils around them which could cause them to sin against each other, against themselves and against God. Mysteriously this Son of Man took flesh in the first century AD and was given a verbally manifest form of this spiritually supreme name, the name meaning The LORD saves, the name 'Jesus', 'Yeshua', ''Isous'. Believe in this name for salvation and use it to ask God for the saving Holy Spirit. Only having the Holy Spirit from God as He gives to believers only can lead to true immortality beyond death. This is the outcome of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name alone people can be saved.

What is in a name? Everything we really need.