Gen 18:25-26
Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the
righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked
alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do
right?"
The office (mind) of a corrupt world seems glad to offer up their certifiable doctorate in discernment as such that will interpret an individuals thought life as to all that they do see and hear while participating in this world.
With regards to "who" the self proclaimed church is here in the earth today, it's getting increasingly harder making heads or tails out of what one hears or sees without some investment made in God's word.
Heb 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
NIV
Could that be the cause of a limited ability to hear and see things as we should according to the intentions of one sovereign creator that is over all humanity?
1 Thess 2:13
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
NIV
That's not even to mention maintaining some degree of respect for the patriarch's through whom God also chose to preserve those same words so that we today might have them available.
I don't know about you but I have no problem finding something sweet to eat when I get a sweet tooth. Unfortunately my girth provides the evidence of how frequently I've tried to satisfy that same sense of taste.
The problem is not everything that is thought to taste sweet will satisfy that urgent "Sense" of our individual taste once consumed. When the sense of satisfaction does come some might say, "It hit the spot"!
Ps 119
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.
NIV
That is to suggest in the "Light" of truth, what do the righteous and unrighteous here in the earth appear as as seen through Gods eyes?
That is to further acknowledge that "Yes" while we are considered as human "beings" and not just human "doings" there is still much to consider as to how our beings do participate in a shared existence once Christ inhabits and then becomes the "central" portion (Lord) of that same being.
I placed emphasis on the word "do" to hopefully stress that while we do observe others in action what we've also observed are the combined result(s) of a the thought life of their said "being" (spirit, soul & body).
Heb 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
NIV
1 Thess 2:13
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
NIV
The scary consideration is that "Dust shadow" as if undeniable evidence as to where the words of God in most people's lives ultimately finds as a resting place. The place of rest intended for Gods words is in the heart of man, yet how will it get there without the Love and desire for it having also placed it their?
That's not even to mention maintaining some degree of respect for the patriarch's through whom God also chose to preserve those same words so that we today might have them available.
I don't know about you but I have no problem finding something sweet to eat when I get a sweet tooth. Unfortunately my girth provides the evidence of how frequently I've tried to satisfy that same sense of taste.
The problem is not everything that is thought to taste sweet will satisfy that urgent "Sense" of our individual taste once consumed. When the sense of satisfaction does come some might say, "It hit the spot"!
Ps 119
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.
NIV
In case you're asking what does he mean, I'm simply contemplating how someone can differentiate between Christians and unbelievers "By what one Observes" having taken note of others going about their day to day ritualistic lives.
That is to suggest in the "Light" of truth, what do the righteous and unrighteous here in the earth appear as as seen through Gods eyes?
That is to further acknowledge that "Yes" while we are considered as human "beings" and not just human "doings" there is still much to consider as to how our beings do participate in a shared existence once Christ inhabits and then becomes the "central" portion (Lord) of that same being.
I placed emphasis on the word "do" to hopefully stress that while we do observe others in action what we've also observed are the combined result(s) of a the thought life of their said "being" (spirit, soul & body).
Some might suggest that all God can see is Jesus when he looks at man, yet I'm suggesting what if the "Evidence" of the presence of "Christ in you" can not be seen (observed)?
What if you were to reverse that visual. What do you then see as you reflect on your day(s)? Do You see Jesus within you in ever possible scenario in all that you do or in the midst of all that you think?
2 Cor 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
NIV
Better yet, what is the immediate thought or visual of yourself once we do allow truth to revisit? Does that visual then have you alone on your knee's because of "Who" you did not see acting outward towards others?
2 Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?
NIV
Is it that all you do see are others standing round about you (outside of your being) while comparing?
What do you see in every scenario when you look at your ways, means and methods of doing whatever it is that you do from one moment to the next?
Are we only able to see the patterns of what we do as if the need to see (those around us as if the world) once taken to task by someone else? Do we continue to govern ourselves while comparing ourselves to other worldly bound citizens or to the pattern of Christ as given to us by way of the knowledge of God?
What does the "Pattern" of your human nature try to say to you when you look around in order to compare yourself? Do you observe others in order to find comfort or do you rely on the Love of Christ contained within you?
In one context (love) the Apostle Paul advises the church to make a comparison of our own earnestness with that of others as if something of value in our Christian walk. Paul wasn't speaking about observing those which live according to the pattern of this world as he was acknowledging the value of others that have been reborn of Gods spirit (as if one and the same womb).
In the flesh one is not considered your brother unless they too came from the same womb, yet how different having been born of one and the same spirit? Where is the value of the brethren in the form of like minded brethren?
2 Cor 8:8
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
NIV
Rom 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
NIV
Since we do not have the aid of knowing another's (reasoning) thoughts we tend to rely on what they're actions display as if the information needed which fills in the gray area's of all that we've assumed as if the net result of a persons reasoning ability(s).
It's easy to summarize what do we see in terms of a God that doesn't seem to have feelings the way we do as physical beings, yet what is the net result of all that we have assumed in such a way? Could the sum total of what we do once making the good confession of Jesus as Lord be the response to how we each do see Him as God?
Some have even gone as far to try and portray Him as a God that is sitting on a throne eating grapes while His servants polish his endless supply of lightning bolts in preparation for His bi-annual inspection of earthlings.
An earth bound version of that might sound like, "You better be on your best behavior NOW, because your father just pulled into the driveway"!
With respect to what Christianity claims to believe that same belief should include the understanding that "Jesus is God" and as our God one that is "Present, Alive and Aware" of more than we're willing to acknowledge at times.
Otherwise a mans every action would have been governed accordingly in light of that same state of awareness. A tainted version of that might be "Be careful what yo do or say because God is watching" or maybe "God's gonna get you if you..."!
I almost hate suggesting such, but that's just the opposite of a relationship that is true and heart felt. Heart felt to mean as if He's your faithful Husband or Wife to whom we remain loyal (faithful) even out of their immediate sight or range of hearing.
Short of going into a tail spin on this point that very approach towards a heart felt relationship could describe the early signs as to what leads many today into withdrawal, separation or even divorce from their spouse and or family members at some point.
Rom 9:5
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
NIV
Grief is something mankind has become a master at doling out at any given moment, yet where is such grief encountered? Isn't it in the depth all that makes up ones soul?
Jesus expressed in words several times what man today accepts and understands as his emotions and in others times He exhibited what humans clearly interpret through the expression when tears fall.
As is every word that Jesus spoke, there are a multitude of different things to consider, yet in this piece I wish to stay focused on the more obvious in that He as a man actually "Felt" as we do.
Matt 26:37-38
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
NIV
Have you ever wondered whether being able to know what someone else was thinking at any given moment whether that full experience would be realized as a curse or a gift? I suppose that would depend upon the intent of the heart and how "what" you know in advance were then used?
Certain things in this world interpret however they do and for just as many reasons, yet what about someone that "KNOWS" exactly what they're looking at?
Rev 3:16
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
NIV
I think it even more of a precise consideration when weighing the notion of being sifted on a threshing floor where our thoughts and our actions find themselves separated from each other at least to the point to where the opportunity arises where a glimpse of a repentant heart could be recognized.
Some might even recognize such as the evidence of humility or truly humbled heart.
Rom 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners , Christ died for us.
NIV
I might add to that thought the word(s) "Struggle or Struggling". That to mean something that's attempting to be defined as if a "Struggle" without there being some form of resistance which can be discerned.
More often than not I think we can convince (justify) ourselves that God doesn't know or has forgotten what a struggle looks like? Anyone can put on an outward display (act) as if they are struggling with something enough to convince or manipulate someone outside of themselves, yet have they or can they make a fool of the Lord?
Matt 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart
NIV
Isa 59:7
Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways.
NIV
Matt 12:25
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
NIV
What if a mans kingdom (personage) were made up of the combined substance of both his thoughts and his actions? Would he then be perceived as if torn at the seams at any given moment?
Gen 18:20-21
What if you were to reverse that visual. What do you then see as you reflect on your day(s)? Do You see Jesus within you in ever possible scenario in all that you do or in the midst of all that you think?
2 Cor 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
NIV
2 Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?
NIV
Is it that all you do see are others standing round about you (outside of your being) while comparing?
What do you see in every scenario when you look at your ways, means and methods of doing whatever it is that you do from one moment to the next?
Are we only able to see the patterns of what we do as if the need to see (those around us as if the world) once taken to task by someone else? Do we continue to govern ourselves while comparing ourselves to other worldly bound citizens or to the pattern of Christ as given to us by way of the knowledge of God?
What does the "Pattern" of your human nature try to say to you when you look around in order to compare yourself? Do you observe others in order to find comfort or do you rely on the Love of Christ contained within you?
In one context (love) the Apostle Paul advises the church to make a comparison of our own earnestness with that of others as if something of value in our Christian walk. Paul wasn't speaking about observing those which live according to the pattern of this world as he was acknowledging the value of others that have been reborn of Gods spirit (as if one and the same womb).
In the flesh one is not considered your brother unless they too came from the same womb, yet how different having been born of one and the same spirit? Where is the value of the brethren in the form of like minded brethren?
2 Cor 8:8
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
NIV
Rom 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
NIV
It's easy to summarize what do we see in terms of a God that doesn't seem to have feelings the way we do as physical beings, yet what is the net result of all that we have assumed in such a way? Could the sum total of what we do once making the good confession of Jesus as Lord be the response to how we each do see Him as God?
Some have even gone as far to try and portray Him as a God that is sitting on a throne eating grapes while His servants polish his endless supply of lightning bolts in preparation for His bi-annual inspection of earthlings.
An earth bound version of that might sound like, "You better be on your best behavior NOW, because your father just pulled into the driveway"!
With respect to what Christianity claims to believe that same belief should include the understanding that "Jesus is God" and as our God one that is "Present, Alive and Aware" of more than we're willing to acknowledge at times.
Otherwise a mans every action would have been governed accordingly in light of that same state of awareness. A tainted version of that might be "Be careful what yo do or say because God is watching" or maybe "God's gonna get you if you..."!
I almost hate suggesting such, but that's just the opposite of a relationship that is true and heart felt. Heart felt to mean as if He's your faithful Husband or Wife to whom we remain loyal (faithful) even out of their immediate sight or range of hearing.
Short of going into a tail spin on this point that very approach towards a heart felt relationship could describe the early signs as to what leads many today into withdrawal, separation or even divorce from their spouse and or family members at some point.
Rom 9:5
Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
NIV
Jesus expressed in words several times what man today accepts and understands as his emotions and in others times He exhibited what humans clearly interpret through the expression when tears fall.
As is every word that Jesus spoke, there are a multitude of different things to consider, yet in this piece I wish to stay focused on the more obvious in that He as a man actually "Felt" as we do.
Matt 26:37-38
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
NIV
Have you ever wondered whether being able to know what someone else was thinking at any given moment whether that full experience would be realized as a curse or a gift? I suppose that would depend upon the intent of the heart and how "what" you know in advance were then used?
Certain things in this world interpret however they do and for just as many reasons, yet what about someone that "KNOWS" exactly what they're looking at?
Rev 3:16
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
NIV
I think many misread the following passage and in most instances only because they too have only heard it expressed the same way (traditionally). Having done so the weight of a persons thought life gets catalogued as if something God may or may not know at any given moment.
Think carefully for a moment about when someone does want to clearly convey the essence of a thought towards another. Maybe they'll scowl with furrowed brow or as a dog want to dredge fear from within the one that's approaching by the show of teeth as if a universal language spoken.
Think carefully for a moment about when someone does want to clearly convey the essence of a thought towards another. Maybe they'll scowl with furrowed brow or as a dog want to dredge fear from within the one that's approaching by the show of teeth as if a universal language spoken.
I think it even more of a precise consideration when weighing the notion of being sifted on a threshing floor where our thoughts and our actions find themselves separated from each other at least to the point to where the opportunity arises where a glimpse of a repentant heart could be recognized.
Some might even recognize such as the evidence of humility or truly humbled heart.
Rom 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners , Christ died for us.
NIV
I might add to that thought the word(s) "Struggle or Struggling". That to mean something that's attempting to be defined as if a "Struggle" without there being some form of resistance which can be discerned.
More often than not I think we can convince (justify) ourselves that God doesn't know or has forgotten what a struggle looks like? Anyone can put on an outward display (act) as if they are struggling with something enough to convince or manipulate someone outside of themselves, yet have they or can they make a fool of the Lord?
Matt 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart
NIV
I had to think about some event that might have turned out differently enough to where knowing something in advance would have caused me to respond differently. Doing this required that I put that whole consideration on a much smaller scale in terms of knowing someones thoughts before they actually acted in a certain way towards me.
It proved to be much easier rather than trying to fathom knowing something ion's in advance (in terms of eternity).
It proved to be much easier rather than trying to fathom knowing something ion's in advance (in terms of eternity).
Isa 59:7
Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways.
NIV
Matt 12:25
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
NIV
Trying to move ahead let me ask this question, if Christians were producing an "Outcry" to God today what would it sound like?
Gen 18:20-21
Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
NIV
What allows someone to interpret right from wrong when they do observe something taking place or while interpreting the evidence of a said criminal act "After" something has already been done?
Don't we always hear from human prosecuting office, "We're looking for motive/intent"?
This all might sound very elementary, but how "Easy" is it to recognize when a bank is getting robbed, when someone is being beaten or when a rape is taking place?
Is it only because of the alarms that go off or is the obvious easily discerned simply because we see someone being harmed or hurt while "Taking" something by force? Do we only recognize such because we remain sensitive to those particular types of offensive behaviour?
My hope in presenting all this was to take us to some of those NOT so obviously dark corners of our own lives.
Have you ever been asked, "What has lead mutual reasoning to the point where getting caught has become the focus concerning whether or not a crime was "Actually" committed"?
Have you also noticed that evidence that also paints a clear enough picture that eventually "Proves" the guilt or innocence of someone is now being considered more of a science? Have you also noticed that it is getting harder and harder to even find such evidence and have you asked yourself why?
We all know or at least acknowledge what prison life looks like on the inside thanks to reality shows or TV documentaries. It's hard to miss the dense atmosphere while in the midst of such personalities.
I rate that scenery right next to walking the streets of almost any major city after dark where there's prostitutes or dark shadowy figures on every corner as there's just a thick sense of a spooky element in the air.
Such images make the phrase "A den of thieves" somehow come to life in our minds.
One doesn't have to have the spiritual gift of discernment in those type of environments in order to see or discern what they need to because it's abundantly obvious, yet what about the more subtle instances where said corruption lurks?
Science has been trying and continues to probe the minds of such criminals for years, yet their science has yet to prove itself widely accepted beyond physical evidence through DNA testing, ballistics's and other more specific forensic studies.
Let me ask this, "Why haven't the results of those years of study become more widely accepted or concrete to the point where their science rules the day in any courtroom in America"?
Just how corrupt and how deep does this human element run within any of us once put in play as if the seen and unseen dynamics of ones soul at work?
Am I suggesting that a persons salvation (being saved) is based only upon ones behavior?
My short response, "No". But I am suggesting that it was the report of their behavior that caused God to come down and see for himself something the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were doing enough to then determine their (actions) behavior deserved death.
What I would like to keep at the fore front of this thought is that first Abraham was the one that did draw the comparison yet he left it up to the one that did have the power to destroy that would also make the ultimate decision whether or not to go through with it.
In the above passage it's as if Abraham is negotiating with God. It's not only the comparison he (Abraham) draws that made my jaw drop, even more it was the part where he suggest something else in asking God, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right"?
My point is this, "What if today lets say the population of just one major city were being faced with this same comparison as to whether some were considered righteous or unrighteous? To then add to that God came to destroy only those He considered as the unrighteous?
Did those living in Sodom know the Lords servants were on the way there? Did they get an advanced warning that fire was about to fall from the sky on them? Lot's son-in-law's did.
Gen 19:14
So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
NIV
What is considered as being righteous and how does Gods consideration weigh in as to who the righteous versus the unrighteous are in the earth? Was Lot mentioned as being righteous or was it because of Abraham that Lot and his two daughters were spared?
Gen 19:29
So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
NIV
Abraham draws a fairly clear line in the sand in saying "Treating the righteous and the wicked alike" which doesn't leave much wiggle room when considering that God is the one on sight that's (deciding) distinguishing the differences between the two.
Keep in mind as you consider what Abraham does say while pleading with God, that at this time in history there was no "Written" Law on record as there was during the future reigning oversight of Moses.
The only previously recorded widespread judgment that had been handed down by the Lord prior to the episode in Sodom and Gomorrah was the "flood" where God destroyed all but Noah and seven others (his wife, their sons and their wives).
2 Peter 1:3-4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
NIV
The question that should come to mind with respect to how man was governed during the life time of Abraham is, "What was in place instead of the a written code or law"?
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
NIV
The question that should come to mind with respect to how man was governed during the life time of Abraham is, "What was in place instead of the a written code or law"?
Well, if the bible is believed in whole it would prove to be the "Priestly order of Melchizedek".
Does that mean we have to know every detail about this personage of Melchizedek from the time of his birth?
My short answer once again is, "No".
Allow me to ask this, "Before Jesus was introduced to humanity as named "Emanuel", how much beyond or without faith do you know about His previous existence in heaven as the entirety of all that has taken place before and after you?
Is Jesus not named as the Great High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek?
Heb 7:14-17
And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:
"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek ."
NIV
Gen 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door ; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
NIV
There are external laws written on tablets of stone and there are laws that have been written upon ones heart and mind in the light of the only One (Jesus) that will make all things "New".
Find rest in knowing that God does know you as well all that finds it's way into the mind as the thoughts you give life to and those you Choose to put to death.
Also know what Jesus tells us all together with that same consideration.
Mark 7:15
Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'"
NIV
Heb 7:14-17
And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:
"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek ."
NIV
Gen 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door ; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
NIV
There are external laws written on tablets of stone and there are laws that have been written upon ones heart and mind in the light of the only One (Jesus) that will make all things "New".
Find rest in knowing that God does know you as well all that finds it's way into the mind as the thoughts you give life to and those you Choose to put to death.
Mark 7:15
Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'"
NIV
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