Thursday, July 31, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Holy Spirit Study #3

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Holy Spirit Study #3: Acts 9:31 American Standard Version So the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, be...

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Logos the Word

Logos the Word

John 1:1-18 (NKJV) The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

The Eternal Word

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend^[a] it.

John’s Witness: The True Light

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own^[d] did not receive Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

¹⁶And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

My Comments: The original Greek literal translation is “God was The Word” and in many passages in the Old Testament and the New we see God revealing Himself as The Word and The Word was in the beginning and The Word was God and was with God so by these statements we understand Jesus is one with the Father and is God as God the Father is God. Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness that all might believe through Him. John the Prophet bore witness to Him being the light.

Jesus created the world and all that is in it and yet He chose to come to earth and be born and became flesh and grace and truth came through Jesus so we could have the gift of salvation.

The following are verses from the Old and New Testaments which show who God calls Himself the “I AM” and how Jesus is God and from before the beginning of all we know. He is not a created being as the Angels nor is He the brother of Satan. He is God of which there is only One in three persons, The Father, The Son (Jesus), and The Holy Spirit.

Exodus 3:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of

Israel

, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

John 8:54 (NKJV)

⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.

Isaiah 44:6 (NKJV)

⁶“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.

Hebrews 1:1-14 (NKJV)

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ²has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

The Son Exalted Above Angels

⁵For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”? ⁶But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”⁷And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.” ⁸But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. ⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” ¹⁰And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. ¹¹They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; ¹²Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” ¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

John 5:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

John 17:5 (NKJV)

⁵And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)

The Humbled and Exalted Christ

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:15-20 (NKJV)

Reconciled in Christ

¹⁹For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

1 John 5:11-12 (NKJV)

¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

My Comments Continued: I hope you will continue to search the Scripture for the truth contained and for what God says about Himself. He has revealed Himself in His Word, The Word of God. From Genesis to Revelation you will find Him telling you about Himself and His attributes and how we all have been offered the gift of salvation through His Son who came to earth and humbled Himself and did all that the Father asked of Him as we must do even as Christ unto death. In our case we will probably only be asked to die to self which is hard enough.

We want to be our own god, do what we want, go where we want, treat others as we want or feel we should yet this is not what is contained in the Word of God for us to do or be. His Word guides us in the Truth and as we grow in His truth through His Holy Spirit then we grow in faith and understanding. First we must accept that God is One in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and He created the earth, the heavens and all that is within them. He was not created Himself but created everything. We will never understand all there is to know of God or if we could we would be a god and we are not, contrary to some beliefs.

Abba Father, guide our hearts, minds and show us how to follow You, increase our trust in You and Your Word, fill us with Your Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus Your Son as our Savior and Redeemer who alone can make us Righteous. In Jesus name I pray with The Holy Spirit. Amen

Rebishka

Thursday, July 24, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Watch Your Tongue Lest it Destroy.

Watch Your Tongue Lest it Destroy.

Proverbs 12:19 (NKJV) The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

¹⁹The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Proverbs 25:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks a bone.

James 1:26 (NKJV)

²⁶If anyone among you^[a] thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

Psalm 31:20 (NKJV)

²⁰You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Isaiah 28:9-12 (NKJV)

⁹“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? ¹⁰For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” ¹¹For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people, ¹²To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.

Jeremiah 6:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear?
Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it.

Matthew 12:34-37 (NKJV)

³⁴Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart^[a] brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

⁴⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart^[a] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

My Comments: If only we all could think before we speak so the evil that is in us would not come forth to hurt those we love or even those we do not like. God tells us in His word to bridle our tongues and watch our words because they will get us in trouble and show our true selves. I would like to say my mouth has always or is always kind yet that would not be true.

I grew up in a home where sarcastic teasing was the norm from my Dad and gossip was the norm from my Mom though I do remember hearing my Dad and his friends saying things about others as well. My Sister was greatly hurt by our Dad who as a teen, teased her about her weight unmercifully. My heart bleeds to remember her pain. I gave it back to him so he left me alone and often treated me more as a equal because he respected someone who could give it back. Growing up I unfortunately learned to tease and joke though tried not to hurt anyone in the process. I also, learned to gossip though I thought of my Mom as a hypocrite. The apple did not fall far from the tree. I see these traits being carried on in my children and Grandchildren and it saddens my heart.

When my Mom and her friends were together or the “Old Ones” where I grew up were all together (Aunts, Grandmothers, other ladies in town), there was always talk about someone in town or who was not there. Sometimes it was good talk which resulted in women going and helping another women or family. And often it was petty things or things that should not have been repeated or shared as they brought pain to the one they talked about. I would like to say I did not do any of these yet that is not true. Over the years the hardest thing for me to tame has been my tongue and I see this as a problem for most people.

I often wonder more and more as time goes on, why people find it so easy to listen or speak gossip yet do not listen to or speak the word of God. His word is true and to hear His word gladdens the heart, enlightens the mind, instructs, and brings joy, salvation and discipline. Whereas remarks and gossip wound, destroy, damage, bring pain, cause divorces, destroys and separates families and friends. God’s Word tells us to bridle our tongues for a good reason and cautions us that out of the heart comes the evil we speak. If we are truly His we will pray and work to rid ourselves of idle speech, gossip and cruel words. Do our words show we are of God or of Satan? If not we need to confess our sin and ask Jesus to be our Savior. Do we smile and cut others down? If so then this too shows we need a Savior. Do our actions and words mimic Jesus? If not then we need to fall on our knees and seek His forgiveness and turn to Him who can help us change those things unpleasing to His ears.

Abba Father, help us to keep silent when we do not have good to speak of others. Prick our hearts and our consciences when we use the mouth You gave us to say harmful things to or about another. Cleanse our hearts Lord that our mouths will only be filled with praise for You and our lips will speak thanksgiving for all You do for us and others. May we enlighten and lighten others loads with the words we ask You to place on our hearts and in our mouths.

Thank You Jesus for Your example on how we should speak and use the communication skills You have set before us by Your example and Your words. Help us to be like You, turning to the Father before speaking and always seeking His guidance.

Holy Spirit fill our hearts with all that is good and only of the Lord our God. Enlighten our minds and may our words be as sweet as honey yet always true to the Word of the Lord.

In Jesus name, in union with the Holy Spirit I pray. Amen

Rebishka

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Peace in the storm

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Peace in the storm: Psalm 62:1-2 New King James Version (NKJV) To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. Truly my soul silently waits for Go...

Thursday, July 17, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: Go Forth and Proclaim the Gospel

Go Forth and Proclaim the Gospel

Matthew 28:18-20, (NKJV) The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

¹⁸And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 1:15-17 (NKJV)

¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” ¹⁶And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV)

¹⁵And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.¹⁶He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NKJV)

4 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ²Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. ⁵But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Acts 13:47 (NKJV)

⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)

⁹And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

1 Corinthians 11:26 (NKJV)

²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Psalm 40:9 (NKJV)

⁹I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.

Isaiah 52:7 (NKJV)

⁷How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

My Comments: We are the sent out ones the ones who believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Savior and because we are redeemed and made righteous we proclaim the truth of the Son of God.

The truth is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is One God with three distinct personalities and the purpose of the Son was to lead us to the Father and the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to point us to Jesus while teaching, comforting and guiding us. Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the Cross where He willingly died for us that we might live. He died and was buried for three days whereupon He rose from the dead, walked, talked and ate with the Apostles, Disciples and over 500 others. He then ascended into Heaven on the fortieth day where He will come again, one day, to take His faithful home. What do the faithful do in the meantime?

They go forth and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to save as many souls as can be until the Second Coming of the Lord. Jesus can use our weaknesses and make them strengths so we can do what He asks of us to do to proclaim His Word, if we look to Him to do in us what is needed to accomplish His will in our lives to proclaim His Word.

When the Apostles and Disciples were still hiding in Jerusalem after Christ rose, they had already been told to go forth and they did not. They were only to wait for the Holy Spirit to come and when He did they were to go out. They stayed because of fear. So God allowed them to be hounded in order that they would leave and go forth to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. That is why we have the Gospel being taught around the world. We do not want God forcing us to go out and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, do we?

I for one do it willingly because my heart breaks to know some will not believe (as has been the case since Jesus preached), and I remember the words about the fields being ripe for harvest but the harvesters are few. This means many will be lost for want of someone to go out and proclaim the Word of God. When I stand before the Throne of God I want to hear, “Well, done good and faithful servant.” I know my God reigns and is coming back again as He said He would. What about you?

Abba Father, You have given us so much. You give us Your love, Your time, Your peace, Your strength and You shelter us from the storms of life. You gave us life and allow us to use our lives for Your glory and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Your Son and our Redeemer if we choose to accept His free gift.

Jesus Thank You for loving us so much You died for us and have made it possible by Your blood to be called Children of God and to enter Heaven to live with You forever. You have given us a priceless Treasure of Love.

Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and minds with the knowledge and love of God, give us please the understanding and strength to go forth and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to a thirsty and starving world. When trials come, help us to overcome in the name of Jesus and to not be daunted. Open doors for us and put Your Word on our lips that others may hear the Word of God and know Truth and that many will be saved.

In Jesus name in union with the Holy Spirit I pray. Amen

Rebishka

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: The Good fight of faith

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

JoAnn's Spiritual Lessons: The name of the Lord

The name of the Lord

³⁵Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? ³⁶For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

(Referencing Psalms 110:1) ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’ ³⁷Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.

Isaiah 44:6, 45:22, (NKJV)

⁶“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.

^45:22“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Revelation 1:8, 17/18, 5:12, 21:6, 22:13, 16, (NKJV)

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”^[a] says the Lord,^[b] “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

¹⁷And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

^5:12saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

^21:6And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

^22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

Colossians 1:15-20, (NKJV)

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. ¹⁹For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

John 1:1-5, 16, 30 (NKJV)

¹⁶Andof His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

Exodus 3:15, (NKJV)

¹⁵Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

Isaiah 63:16, (NKJV)

¹⁶Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us,
And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.

My Comments: Through out the Word of God the Holy Bible we find many names given to God and we find names God Himself has given Himself. Though all names have meaning to the people who give them, or who receive them no names are more meaningful than the names of God.

He calls Himself the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, The Alpha and the Omega and the I AM. He is the Lamb of God, the Morning Star, and many more and He is Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Lord and God. He is our Creator, our Savior, our Shelter, our Redeemer and Father, He is the Son of God the God of Abraham, Jacob (Israel) and Isaac, and He will come again to take those who believe and follow Him to be with Him for Eternity.

How can He be all and more? He is God. He created us. He was before time, space and was not created like we are created though we as humans are created in His image. If He could create everything how can we doubt Him and what He can and plans to do for us? I can not doubt Him. I trust and have faith in all He has said in His word will come to pass and that calling on His name, confessing my sins and trusting in Him I am saved and will be with Him for Eternity. I encourage you loved ones to delve into His Word and feed of His Word, search His Word for the Truth of His Word and call on the name of Jesus the Lamb of God, confess your sins and trust Him who redeemed you and waits for you to call on Him to be your Savior so you too may live with Him one day. He will change you, He will grow you and He will fill you with His peace that passes understanding. There is no other name under heaven that can save only the name of Jesus the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega.

Abba Father, unto You do I commit all who read Your Word and call on the name of Your Son, Jesus. There are many Father who think they can come to You by other ways yet Your Word is infallible and You have shown in Your Word that non can come to You except through Your Son Jesus the Christ. So knowing this Abba I ask You to open all their hearts to Your Word and Your Love that You sent in the person of Your Son who was fully God and fully Man to be our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Thank You Jesus, You who are the Beginning and the End, for coming to Earth, being born of a women in a stable, suffering and dieing so we may live, taking our sins upon Yourself, dieing for three days and raising from the dead that we might believe You and follow You and be Yours.

Holy Spirit, thank You for descending and coming into us to teach, guide and strengthen us in the Word and knowledge and understanding of our Creator God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In Jesus name I pray in union with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rebishka