My Dilemma

     Our church had a study on spiritual gifts. I have known what mine are for years, and have usually used my gift whether it has been for teaching or lay-preaching. The study may have had the opposite affect on me than most. The intention was for people to recognize their gifts and use them for the Lord. For me, it validated my gift, convinced me that I had always used my gift, but now I am not, although I am certainly willing to. Rather than enthused, I feel dejected. I’ve always volunteered for any type of teaching activity, have a graduate degree in education, and know the Bible quite well, although I am not a seminary graduate.
     What’s wrong, then? I know my gift but can’t use it, for who knows for what reason. The conclusion is that maybe I’m in the wrong place at this time. Perhaps it is a sign that I need to go out into the world and tell others about Christ! I don’t want to do that because there are many where I am who could use some of the insights the Lord has given me over the years. I have obtained much from the Bible that no one in all my life has taught or preached. So many have used common commentary that much teaching is cookie-cutting, in that most preachers in one denomination have been taught the same limited curriculum.
     For instance, I had never had one of the most important chapters in the Bible taught thoroughly; to wit, John 3.  Although salvation is an often-preached sermon, that is not the MUST BE. Salvation is an outcome or affect, not a cause or Way. Scripture does not say, You must be saved, but “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Jesus said in that same passage, “marvel not,” indicating not to be amazed at that. I “marvel” that it is still taught that we must be saved. One preacher explained to me that Jimmy Carter gave born again a bad connotation. That was an admission that he was not teaching or preaching the gospel.
     The notion that we must be saved is so prevalent that it bothers me immensely! It implies that it is us who saves ourselves. How so? Walking to the altar has come to mean salvation.
     Regeneration (born again) is a lifelong process ending in salvation. When? At the end of life. Rebirth is the beginning, and faith is the interval between regeneration and salvation. Salvation is when Christians give up their ghost, as is written, “But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost…” (Job 14:10) just as Jesus did (Mat 27:50.)
     Salvation continues on after death until resurrection. The souls of Christians are sealed, but complete regeneration is not accomplished until the body and soul are reunited. That is glorification, and comes about at the rapture when Jesus comes down to take the living and dead in Christ to Heaven. Not to be confused, but the souls of the dead are already there, but at the rapture, new incorruptible flesh will be provided. The salvation process ends at the General Resurrection of the dead as Jesus set the example.
     That’s my thoughts about teaching on salvation based on scripture. My desire in teaching is to place the emphasis on rebirth as it is the only MUST BE in the Bible. Everything else is to convince that to live forever there is only one Way – to be born again. The rest of scripture is about the reward of that and the punishment if not! Holy Scripture condenses to three “chapters,” then: (1) Born again, (2) the importance of it, and (3) the result. Do not be amazed at that!
     My dilemma is what to do. How and where can I use my gift? I placate my desire to fulfill the Great Commission with my blog this instant. Each day, what I write is available to less people for two reasons: (1) Most elect not to learn about Christ, and (2) Google’s algorithms have limited the number of who can read my blog. For instance, suddenly readership dropped from 700 hits per day down to 70. That could not have been because suddenly 630 people at the same time decided to quit reading my thoughts! That would be irrational to believe that.
     My thought today is about frustration. I merely seek to do God’s will for me, but am hindered. What can I do with my gift if there are no recipients? I have agonized over that for nine years. What am I to do? I still have no answers and joy is diminished, knowing that I am not using my gift to its full potential. Satan’s task is to frustrate Christians. Of course, I am insignificant to him, but not to his demons. Paul had a “thorn in his flesh” which, “the messenger of Satan to buffet me.” Why would that be? “Lest I should be exalted above measure” (2 Cor 12:7). Perhaps I am buffeted (attacked) by Satan’s messenger, whoever it is, so that it keeps me humbled!
     My conclusion is that I must await God’s timing. Perhaps I am too arrogant or desire to use my gift for the wrong reasons as Simon the Sorcerer did. Teachers and writers must always ask themselves the question, Am I doing this to elevate the Lord or for my own elevation? Rebirth is understanding that only the Lord must be elevated, but we are to diminish ourselves. Perhaps since I have not, the Lord is diminishing me!

The Plan Revealed

     When reading the Book Isaiah, one would think that they are reading the New Testament. That is evidence that the Testament is one! There is but one Covenant but it is understood differently by the people of its time. God revealed to Isaiah and the other prophets his plan long in advance of its implementation. They saw what the apostles experienced long before it ever was, and he saw what John the Revelator saw long before apostolic times. Prophecy, and the accuracy of it, should be accepted by skeptical people as evidence that God is real. 

     It took superior intelligence to develop a plan for mankind and implement it to the tee. Jeremiah the prophet related the notion that God had a plan for each individual, as it is written, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end' (Jer 29:11).

     God has a plan for Israel. Jeremiah told us that, when he wrote the Words of God. The plan has some elements:

•  God's thoughts are Him planning.
• His plan is for "you' is for Israel and all mankind.
• The Lord Himself revealed the plan to us through scripture.
• His people (Israel and those who live and serve in their "tent;" Gen 9:27) will have peace. It might be asked, "Where is this place of peace? It was in Paradise in Heaven and forthwith, it will be in "Salem" which means peace. Salem, or the Garden Paradise, then a great city named New Jerusalem will come down to Jerusalem, "the foundation of Peace."
• Those who live not and serve not with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), God will think and evil will come upon them. Where is evil? The kingdom of Satan. Now he is Prince of the Power of the Air, which is the world, but in the end, Lucifer will rule over Hell alone.
• God will give us and expected end. Those who love, honor, and obey the Lord can expect to live in Paradise, and those who reject God's sacrifice of Himself, can expect Hell. As such, our fate is on our own hands as the sacrifice can either be accepted or rejected. All along, God planned that "none should perish" (John 3:16) and that is still His plan. To avoid perishing requires trusting God's plan!

     The New Testament provides more details on God's plan. His plan was sort of hidden in the Old Testament. Most were deluded into thinking that the plan was for Israel alone. Whenever anyone reads of God's plan for Israel, do not be mistaken; that plan is for everyone. That is the mystery of God of which Paul often wrote. The Abrahamic Covenant was for perpetuity, and was for Jews and Gentiles as well. Study it yourself; it does have one contingency - trusting God. The plan in that Covenant has two outcomes which are prosperity or tribulation. 

     Most of the Jews believed that the promised prosperity was the "LAND of milk and honey" which was the Kingdom of David. The patriarchs and the prophets knew that prosperity meant New Jerusalem when "Melchizedek" would return as Priest and King. Paul revealed the identity of Melchizdek; when you read of him, you are reading of Jesus: 

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Heb 7:1-3)

     Remembering that God has a plan for us, and peace is planned for those who trust him,  the reward will be the King of Peace, the Man who always was and always will be. Abraham saw Him as Melchizidek; Christians see Him as Jesus! Abraham fulfilled the Adamic Covenant, with his tithe and honor, was "dressing and keeping" (serving and heeding) the Centerpiece of the Garden that Adam was assigned to do! The Abrahamic Covenant was a clarification of the Adamic Covenant, and both are the Covenant of Grace! Now let's see what Isaiah knew of the "plan:"

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face... (Isa 65:2-3a). 

     God spreading out his hands to ALL the rebellious people is a picture of Jesus on the cross with arms outstretched. This verse is another way of saying, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Like it or not, Jesus died to save everyone, even those who provoke Him openly! That's important because ome think of themselves and others as too far gone for Jesus. That's not the case... those who are forgiven the most tend to love Jesus more!

I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. (Isa 65:9) 

     Israel is important because Jacob is Israel. God's Inheritor (Jesus) came out of the seed of Israel, and Isaiah knew that well in advance, and expected the Savior to come! God's mountain, in that passage, is Golgotha, ironically "the place of Adam's skull" since Adam is surely buried beneath as the Adamic Covenant implied. Those who God makes worthy by their trust in Him, would inherit that "mountain" called Calvary. We know from Jesus himself, that the meek shall inherit the Earth" (Mat 5:5) as David knew and wrote in Psalm 37:11. Isaiah knew that as well because therein he wrote, "my servants," referring to God's, "shall dwell there." How could the meek inherit the Earth if God's plan had not been for Heaven to come down?

I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. (Isa 65:12) 

     Isaiah not only spoke of salvation but judgment. Those who do not belong to God will die. The cross of Jesus (the horizontal bar) represents Jesus's outstretched arms, him electing all, but few will come. Hence, it represents judgment as well, and everyone will chose the path they will take. The vertical member is the narrow way, and the strait gate is the Doctrine of Jesus, represented by Jesus on the cross.

     The two ways are the broad - the way of the unrepentant thief, and the right way is represented by the repentant thief. Isaiah knew that!

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. (Isa 65:17-19)

     Therein, Isaiah saw what John saw in his revelation in Revelation 21:1-3. God's plan for His people was perpetuity on His Holy Mountain in Jerusalem. Moses knew that as well. The Abrahamic Covenant was the same as the Mosaic Covenant! The land of milk and honey was not Israel but the Realm of God with its capitol in New Jerusalem. The Tree of Life stood there in the midst of the Garden of Eden and that place is now called Calvary! The "Tree" was Jesus, who yet stands there, only in the midst of the Paradise of Heaven (Rev 2:7). Isaiah knew that Jesus is that Tree and knew Heaven would come down. That implies that Heaven ascended, just as Jesus did, and will descend, just as Jesus will!

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isa 65:25).

     This passage describes the peace that will be in heavenly paradise which is the same as the peace which existed in the Garden as Adam had dominion over the animals. One might think that animals die and go to Heaven. Without souls, that cannot be. All living animals have or will die without a reward. I believe that the tame animals which were in the Garden of Eden ascended to heaven with the Garden. They did not sin; Adam did. Why would have God punished the innocent animals? They were immortal in the Garden and will thus be eternal in Paradise!

It shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. (Isa 66:18b).

     Isaiah, in that verse, foresaw Jesus's Ghost descending to what had been the Garden. In Acts chapter two, the Holy Ghost came down to the "foundation of peace" to bring peace on Earth! Isaiah saw representatives of all mankind, people of all tongues, seeing the "glory" of God. That "Glory" is the Holy Ghost, and they all understood in their own language, just as Isaiah prophesied!

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. (Isa 66:22)

     Where will Christians be after the old heavens and Earth are cleansed? Back home in the New Heaven on the New Earth, perfected for our habitation. Where will some spend eternity? In the Garden, now a great city called the City of God and known as New Jerusalem. Those of us who are meek enough to diminish ourselves and elevate God will indeed inherit the Earth!

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. (Isa 66:24).

     The cross of Jesus is much like a directional post with two pointers. The Way to Heaven is up... some wait in the Earth for the rapture when the living and the dead ascend to the heavenly Paradise with Jesus to wait on a return home, as others take the wider path downward, and immediately go to their eternal home in Hell. 

     The cross is the path to either Heaven or Hell and its bar allows us to choose our own direction by free will. We will either dress and keep the Tree of the Garden or not!

     Those who choose the Way most traveled will be dead. Isaiah referred to those as "carcases." They are those with forever dying bodies and suffering souls. They will suffer an unquenched fire and isolation since in Hell they will be abhorred by all!

     The choice is yours. Choose wisely, my friends!

We Are the Clay: Think On That!

One of the most known and popular verses, thanks to a song, follows:

But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. (Isa 64:8). 

     That seems to refer to the creation, and that may apply. Since man came from the dust (Gen 3:19), God did mix water with the dust and made clay. That is known because the name "Adam" means,

Comes from the classical Hebrew word for earth, man, soil (Genesis 2 speaks of God forming Adam out of "the dust of the ground".) This word is related to adamah which means "ground" and dam which is the Hebrew word for blood.(englishstackexchange.com). 

     Many interpret that name to mean both "mankind" and "red clay," and perhaps it does have a double meaning, as it seems from the Bible.
     Thus the genesis if mankind was from red clay from which God molded mankind much as a potter would. In fact the prophet Jeremiah was inspired by God to visit the potter, and then spoke to him:

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. (Jer18:1-6). 

     God, when He spoke to Isaiah, was using the same allegory as He did with Jeremiah. In this case, the potter on his wheel, made a vessel with his own hands. The "potter" is symbolic of Jesus in that Jesus made everything (John 3:3).
     Potters use their hands to "shape" vessels.  In Psalm 51, David uses the word "shapen" to signify his original sin. Jesus shaped Adam, or mankind, in perfection. The "hand" of God is Jesus in that Jesus is God in the flesh.
     The genesis of Adam, representing mankind, was that he was shapen perfectly; in the very image of Jesus (Gem 1:26-27). The contest of those two verses is that Adam was molded as one "vessel" but with three characteristics; "image of God" (El), and "our image" (Elohim). Adam's (man's) original molding was "very good." (Gen 1:31). That is extremely like God in that, "There is none good but one, that is, God" (Mat 19:17). Jesus implied that he is God and validated that to the one who called him "good." Adam was made in the image of Jesus since both were molded "very good."
     How "good" is "very good?" Glorified - perfect and non-perishable just as God. Adam, like God, had his own will. The Designer's intention was for Adam to use his will to do His Will. He created Adam providing complete freedom; God, indeed, was permissive in trusting his creature.
     Now back to Jeremiah and the potter: "The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter." Now is the time for critical analysis: Satan did not cause Adam and Eve to sin. Firstly, the sin is assigned to Adam for several reasons, but primarily, Adam is the one molded from clay. Eve was just a copy of the original pattern with some alterations to allow many such "vessels" to be reproduced!
     The story of Job relates that God allows Satan to mess with his vessels, but unlike Jesus, Satan cannot lay a hand on Job. (Job 1:12). Satan, then, must have no hand on either molding nor remolding Adam. Satan never touched Adam; it was his own choice, and free will was from God. Satan is not God and has no power to change the vessel. 
     Ironically, just as Jeremiah was shown, God's hand molded Israel, he touched Israel and the nation was despoiled. However, the prophecy was that God would remold Israel back to the original perfection. (This is why I believe that Israel is the locale of the Garden of Eden; that nation in the apocolpyse will be remolded to the original.)
     That allegory applies nationally, but also individually. David was shapen in iniquity. God remolded him again to what he once was - a man after God's own heart. David sinned because he was prone to sin in that Adam (mankind) was cursed to do so. Satan has no power to create flaws; Adam, back in the Garden, was given dominion over the other animals, but included himself in that dominance. 
    Sin came into the world because of one man, and just as that, sin will be eliminated from the world by one Man. (Rom 5:12).Along with sin came death. Death was caused by God as punishment; that's the way God marred the clay. He used sin to marr the clay and man was no more "very good" or "glorious." 
     The first man was born of perfect clay and molded in a perfect image! God allowed him to despoil himself since Satan could not touch him. Face it, the Devil can't make people imperfect, only we can, and that's because God tests our fidelity. Fidelity is true to the original glorious design! Infidels are the despoiled vessels. The world is full of "vessels" which cannot contain the Holy Spirit.
     The three characteristics of the vessel God made were creative, spiritual, and matter. The matter of mankind is the clay, the creative is like the Father, and the spiritual is the Spirit of God within. Marred clay vessels lack God's Spirit. The vessel "leaks" Holy Spirit but retains the more "visceral" evil spirit. 
    "Born again" is Jesus putting the marred vessel back on his Potter's Wheel and remolding back to the original design intent. God fixes what we have marred. We must take responsibilty for our own despoilation and cease blaming the Devil. He can merely influence the marring of the vessel since he is not a molder, but we're the "cup" which implodes because we expose ouselves to the elements of tne world. 
    Jesus's purpose is taking that brittle clay, mixing a little water and blood with it to make it pliable, and then remolding the marred clay back to the glorious shape which God had in His Mind in the beginning. Salvation is a return to God's intent, not merely back to the iniquitous condition of our birth. Hence, regeneration commences with God remolding and terminates when He is finished with us. 
     Whether or not to go to the Potter's wheel is our choice. The realizaton that we are flawed is the first step, and the second is that God can remold us. Thirdly, is allowing God to remold without resisting, then God has a free hand to make a new vessel to the original design; one that retains His Holy Spirit, is pleasing to Him (not us), and is "good" in His eyes (not our own.)
     God made Israel limp, if you remember. Jacob (Israel) wrestled with Jesus and Jesus marred the pliable vessel:

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. (Gen 32:24-25). 

     With that, the man, Israel, limped thereafter. God marred the clay of the both the man and nation of Israel just as he marred the clay of Adam. As we see from Isaiah, Israel the nation, will be remolded, and so will Adam and all mankind with one-provision - that we get on the Potter's wheel and be receptive to remolding! That is rebirth, and is the start of a process of remolding.
     When God is finished, us creatures will be remolded back to the original design. Regeneration, then, is finished when God is finished with us. The blood and water were provided by the Potter on the cross, and before we are pliable, our vessel must be restored with the water and the blood. (John 19:34; 1 John 5:6-8). The regeneration on God's "wheel" is complete when our life ends: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phi 1:21).
     "To live" is the "wheel" in that passage, Christ is the "Potter", and we are the finished vessel, as to die is gain! That's when the Potter finishes the vessel, and it becomes a glorious new spirit but is still in need of a container. The Potter's entire project is complete at the General Resurrection when the spirit is put in the clay as God breathes life into the clay again.
    Regeneration is the finished "vessel." The finished vessel is unmarred and imperishable; it is remolded to last for eternity! Isaiah saw that process; he saw Israel, representing Adam, Jacob, and us "saved." Salvation is the completion of the vessel, but it's not over until we can no longer marr the vessel again by sinning. Once the vessel is complete, it will be kept safe forever on God's shelf in a room in His many Mansions (John 14:2). I look forward for my remolded "vessel" to become safe in one of those rooms in Heaven!
     We sing songs and read scripture, often without much thought. Life is that wheel, and Jesus is the Potter; always was! Back when He was remolding Israel, God was foreshowing a Plan for our own remolding, and it was Jesus all the time, as can be seen below:

Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. (Isa 64:5).

On Holy Matrimony

     The issue came up about how should the church deal with those in the congregation who cohabitate and have sexual relations. That is a sensitive issue in this time because the institution of marriage is under attack by unseen forces. Should the church just turn a blind eye to the relationship and what others think, or is there more.
     Preachers, I believe, fear preaching on this important subject out of fear of isolating both sinners and Christians. The most important thing for the good of the soul, is the individuals' personal relationships with Jesus, not what others or the preachers want. Christians who cohabitate, as with any other person who proclaims Christ, must want to be Christlike in the eyes of God and others. Holy living is not a choice, but what Christians show the world and how God knows that He is taken seriously.
     The preacher's job is to teach scripture, and that includes reproof and correction (2 Tim 3:16). The messenger should never be shot, as the saying goes, but Christians have a responsibility to confront issues affecting the relationship of others and God. Therefore, excuse my viewpoints as they come from what scripture teaches and not from the world.
     In apostolic times there was another doctrine in two of the churches of Asia - the doctrine of Nicolaism. The deacon Nicolas was the proponent of the false doctrine that God hates so intensely. (Yes, God hates the sin, but not the sinners.) One of the two passages on that evil doctrine comes from this passage:

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (Rev 2:14-16).

    It seems that some were doing what they wanted to do beyond the auspices of the Church. The Council of Jerusalem had ruled against traditional Jewish beliefs with the exception of three things:

Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they (1) abstain from pollutions of idols, and from (2) fornication, and (3) from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. (Acts 15:19-21). (numbering mine.)

     The Nicolaitans were going against the authority of the Church whose conclusions were inspired by God, and accepted by godly men. Thereafter, there was much cohesion in the Church. Everyone could worship as was their custom but for those three things. They were from the Mosaic Law, and it turns out that God hated the doctrine against that ruling.
     It must be understood from those passages (Acts and Revelation) that the Church must and does have rules and regulations!  If anything goes, it may cause a stumblingblock among people in the Church and even keep others away from the Church. (Church capitalized means not the local church congregation but the universal body of believes. However, scripture applied that to two local bodies of believers who accepted that doctrine.)
     No, what goes on in the church does not stay in the church, just like it does not really in Las Vegas. In other words, the church leadership must ensure that the public looks at the church congregation and sees righteous Christians. The two rulings on idols and blood are respecting God surely because He is God and salvation is by the blood (Mat 26:28). That is important because Jesus's blood represents redemption; thus Christians must respect the Doctrine of Christ. It becomes a stumblingblock to those who just will not submit to God's authority. To the general public, the Church would seem to be following their own doctrines, and indeed the Nicolaitans were!
     The third ruling was on fornication. Many ignore fornication. One divorced Christian allowed that his three sexual relationships were okay because it was consensual. Well, fornication is consensual sex outside the contract of Holy Matrimony. Some say, one of the pair would have to be married for that to be fornication, but scripture does not support that. Sexual sins are grievous to God and Christians must understand that because it is what the pagans do. When Paul said, "It is better to marry than to burn" (1 Cor 7:19), he was referring the burning desire of sexual lust. Marriage grants consensual sex. But what is marriage?
     Marriage is Holy Matrimony. Adam and Eve became one flesh. Examine Holy Matrimony:

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. (Mark 10:6-11).

Marriage (Holy Matrimony) consists of the following basics:

•  Male and female... period!
• Must leave the authority of the parents.
•  Must "adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly" to each other (Merriam-Webster Dictionary; "cleave")
• Be in unity - dedication to each other and behave in the interests of not each but the family unit. That implies no adultery nor triangulation with third persons.
•  Marriage is a contract under God, whose Law is Supreme to civil laws. (When the courts ruled that same-sex marriage is acceptable, God did not!). Legal divorce does not break the contract because mankind cannot break what God has joined together.
•  That notion implies that marriage is a lifelong holy institution unless God's contract is broken. The only legitimate reason for divorce is adultery. (Mat 19:9). Any type of relationship beyond that is sinful, but remember, God is gracious; Jesus died for the sin of adultery as well! (The local church sometimes makes the sin of adultery as the unpardonable sin, but that is not the case.) Marriage is forever, and must be approached with that idea in mind.
•  Breaking the marriage bond is sinful, and is called "adultery."

     In apostolic times marriage was fairly well those things. The man and woman left their parents and cohabited with the intention of remaining together forever, bearing children together, and being recognized as husband and wife by family and friends. That seems to fit Mark's definition of marriage, and by that time polygamy was taboo in the minds of both Romans and Jews, agreeing with God's Plan in the beginning.

     Holy matrimony, then, has no written contract except for Mark's, but it is written on the hearts of the two joined together. Marriage has much ado with commitment and intention; the two intend to be one unit in spite of any interference from others for perpetuity. The bond is under God - what He has joined together. Some who are legally "married" have never been so under Holy Matrimony. The civil bond can be easily broken but the holy bond cannot be without ignoring the authority of God.

     In other words, there is a spiritual triangulation in marriage -  man and woman, under God. Indeed, Holy Marriage is akin to the relationship between Jesus and the Church, the "Groom" and the "Bride," respectively. The perpetuity of marriage is much like the steadfast faith in Jesus. If one is easily broken so is the other. Marriage, then, is serious business as God is serious about His Doctrine!

     Mark did not call for official wedding vows. However, the institution of marriage has its vows. They are elaborated upon in the bullets above. The intention of the man and woman must be those things. In the last two and one-half centuries, laws have been made to legalize marriages. They are supplementary to God's will. There are no religious requirements for civil marriage, and it is not unholy but neither is it holy. For that reason, most people have traditionally had religious ceremonies as well to make public their vows. (Those views expressed above.) That prevents them being a stumblingblock to others as their intentions are made known. 

     Most marriages up until the early 1800s were by banns; that is "public announcement especially in church of a proposed marriage" (ibid). Traditionally, the couple would stand up in church, announce their intention, and if no one objected, they were considered by the church as man and wife. That was the marriage ceremony. You see, marriage is based a great deal on the intention of uniting; be it for sex or is it for uniting in a holy bond? 

     The sin of the Nicolaitans laid aside all the holiness of the marriage institution. Some in the churches had sexual relations with no intention of marriage, and even multiple sexual partners. Fornication was one of the errors of Balaam, according to God. Balaam allowed that fornication (consensual sexual intercourse) be allowed in the Church. That, along with eating meat polluted by idols, trivialized God. With that said, those within the Church who have serial sexual partners, are non-committal, and have not that HOLY union, and are like the Nicolaitans. In other words, those Christians in the church who have not legally married, should be spiritually trothed - under God, according to the precepts expressed by Mark.

     Care must be taken to not be a stumblingblock to others. That's why banns was a public declaration of intention - that two will be joined together by God and not allow any other to separate the two. Banns is a lifelong commitment of fidelity to one person under the precepts of God. That makes marriage "holy," not the document at the courthouse.

     How should a minister of God approach those in church who cohabitate but remain unmarried, and why would they even do that? There are civil reasons for not getting married. The government actually discourages marriage by its rules - the probate, taxation, and maintenance laws. Furthermore, marriage complicates inheritances because it brings many other parties into the marriage agreement. In this day of blended families, probate rules are often unfair and not to the will of the main parties. 

     What should those who are cohabiting and who are Christians within the church do? My suggestion, based on God's Word, is to have some type of banns, best in the form of Holy Matrimony whether it is made legal or not. Of course, some preachers may not feel comfortable with that, and even some will not marry those who have been married before (except in the case of adultery). That is their understanding of scripture, and they should not be scorned for their principles. 

     Why go through the rite of Holy Matrimony even if already committed to each other as husband and wife? To include God in the relationship, and to cease being a stumblingblock to others who have no knowledge of the depth of the commitment. Yes, what others think does matter because Christians represent God, the Church, and the local church.

Toughlove Must Offend to be Affective

“Toughlove” is loving someone so immensely that they are not desired to perish. Why would a parent risk their children’s hatred to reprove, judge, and maybe shun them? Because they love them so intensely. Toughlove is an immense and intense love that a person risks isolating their loved one. I have a close relative who I love so much that I don’t want to see him destroyed by marijuana. I have another one whom I love so much that I don’t want her to be destroyed by alcohol. I am a Christian, but I have certain behaviors for which I condemn myself! The only way to change bad behaviors is to know that they are unacceptable! Wise people test their own behavior by some sort of moral code. I test mine by Holy Scripture and often judge myself guilty.

Some test to the standards of the world and pass with flying colors. The law of the world is the Law of God twisted. It seems “good” but in reality, it kills!  Although it is good to love everyone, accepting wrong behaviors leads to eternal death for sinners. Why so, “The wages of sin is death” but the flip-side of that is, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Like it or not, Jesus uses positive reinforcement and “negative” punishment – He rewards righteous behavior and punishes unrighteous behavior.

What standard does God use? The Law of God. Where is that found? Not in the precepts of the world but in the precepts of God. They are precepts, not commandments, because precepts are fair standards for regulating behaviors, and righteous people voluntarily ascribe to those regulations. Since God is just, and just rulers do not dictate, how people live is optional, but there are consequences for wrong choices. The consequences are eternal life for those who willingly do God’s will, and eternal death for those who are unwilling to accept God’s will.

David convicted himself of adultery and murder (2 Sam 12). Nathan the prophet could have rebuked David himself, but he allowed David to reprove (reprimand) himself. He used an allegory in such a way that it was obvious to David that he had sinned. David would have rejected Nathan judging him, but wise Nathan put the onus on David to do the judging. Nathan loved David so much that he did not want David to perish forever. In his own way, he called David out for his grievous sins! That was toughlove on Nathan’s part.

Examine John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “The world” is sinners, “for all have sinned” (Rom 3;23). God loved the world so intensely that he sacrificed his only born son. His desire is that everyone trust Him so much that they not perish, and to live forever. Trusting is willingness to obey God. The implication is that those who are unwilling to live life God’s Way, condemn themselves to eternal Hell. What Way is God’s Way? Without sin, or living lives which are appealing to God.

The Bible has a long list of unappealing – disgusting behaviors. They are called “abominations.” Among the abominations are infanticide, homosexuality, and bestiality, as scripture is written:

And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (Lev 18:21-23). 

Of course, there are many others, but it is in vogue presently to accept and even promote abortion infanticide and homosexual behavior. It is clear that although God loves abortionists, homosexuals, those beast-like, and even those who blaspheme God, He will not tolerate those behaviors by rewarding them with Heaven.  

Telling them of their infractions is fair warning. They must examine the evidence, see the guilt, confess their sins, and change just as anyone else must do. There are no special rules for those the world accepts! The world always demands a level playing field, and God’s rules do not respect certain persons as exempt (Acts 10:34). Even those He loves (whosoever) is subject to his will, reward, or punishment. Why should He exempt our loved ones if He does not exempt His own?

Everyone has loved ones who are sinners. Because a person you love is engaged in sin does not make that sin acceptable. You, in your pride, truly have no authority to set standards! The standards for behavior are set by God. Neither can you define what love is. Love is that toughness that it takes to tell them, you need to change! Nathan had a great method; you devise one akin to his.

I still love those in my family who have their own sins. However, I hate what they are doing to themselves. Drunks and potheads diminish their opportunities, and if they neglect God in the process, they diminish their chances for eternally living. Why not rebuke then if it will save them from perishing? Only the brave has the courage to confront those who affront God. Only the loving has the love to tell people that they are not doing God’s will. It bothers me not that people engage in destructive behaviors; it does, however, bother me that in the end, they will be destroyed!

Tolerance is something God has. However, the theme of scripture is not tolerance, but obedience. Tolerating sin is not the Way for them to go to Heaven, neither is coerced obedience, but refrain by their choice is. Christians must want to please God rather than themselves. Sure, it’s hard; it’s a test! Your eternal future depends on taking the narrow path. Anyone can do the easy things, but the hard things please God.

Christians not only apologize for homosexuality, but promote it. They are propagating and defending sin and sinful lifestyles. No Bible is even needed for that! Scripture has a use: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (1 Tim 3:16). Rather than reprove sin, many approve of it. The meme, “Someone you know is gay. Maybe even someone you love. Think before you speak hate.” is all wrong.

Because someone you know or love is homosexual, is no reason not to offend them for their own spiritual well-being. Correction and reproof are not hate. That meme is deception hatched up by cunning people to justify their abominations. True love is wanting that none should perish; that is worth offending anyone for.

I have had a great friend chance offending me by reproof. He hit the nail’s head dead-on. He told me what I needed to hear, not tickle my ears with what I fancied (2 Tim 4:3).

If you love somewhat with the intensity that they not perish, now is the time to speak even of it offends. Better to be offended here on Earth than in Hell!

Why America's Involvement With Israel?

Why does America and the West support Israel so intensely? Is it because we are busy-bodies or are there less obvious reasons? Today, let’s examine why, and maybe it will even reinforce the belief of skeptics that God has a plan for us in His overall Plan!

    

Israel, in scripture, is the bride and God, the bridegroom: “For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee” (Isa 61:5). Likewise, the Church is also the bride to Jesus, the bridegroom. John the Baptist said, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom” (John 3:29), as he denied that he was the Messiah.

Hence, Israel represents the Christian Church (capitalized because it is the body of believers, not the building). Israel is both the spiritual body of believers and the place of spirituality.  Isaiah chapter sixty-two seems to be about the renewal of Israel, but is more about the resurrection of Israel - as the Bride - is the Church! The prophets were the foundation of the Christian Church, as is written:

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. (Ephes 2:19-21).

As a spiritual entity and place of spirituality, Israel exists in two realms – the heaven and the Earth. God’s “throne” is in New Jerusalem is heaven and His “footstool” is in Jerusalem (Isa 66:1). Isaiah saw the fate of Jerusalem. He understood that the City of God would someday return to its foundation in Jerusalem as revealed to John and written in Revelation chapter twenty-one. 

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isa 62:6-7).

Why is Israel so important to the West? Because, as God promised, angels (watchman) protect Jerusalem’s walls. Jerusalem will someday be the “praise of the Earth.” That’s because Jerusalem is the very place heaven will come down and where God will reign. Then, God’s “throne” will be in New Jerusalem where is “footstool” is as well. Jesus is the manifestation of God. After the Earth is washed by fire to be made pure, the New Heaven and Earth will be on Earth, and Jerusalem will be its epicenter – the Holy of Holies – where Jesus will rule!

The scepter which Jesus holds was spoken of by Isaiah. Whereas, the false goddess Libertas holds a torch on the shore of America, God – Jesus – will stand on the “isle” of Jerusalem on a Holy Mountain and hold the Cross!  Isaiah saw Jesus, “lift up a standard for the people.” Isaiah surely saw Jesus on the Cross, saving Jerusalem as that place God will have His “many mansions” (John 14:2).

The Garden of Eden will become the City of God, and a beautiful City indeed. Referring back to Isaiah 62:7 above, it will be made “a place of praise,” as was written by the psalmist: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3).

Isaiah heard Jesus quoting that scripture long before he even quoted Psalm 22 as he died. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (Psalm 22:1).Those were the very words that Jesus spoke according the apostle Matthew, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mat 22:46).

Isaiah, hence, saw the day when Jesus would quote Psalm 22 on Calvary. Because Calvary was the place of a reason for praise, in New Jerusalem, praise will be there: “Thy will be done, in Earth as it is in Heaven,” as Jesus told us to pray. That is when New Jerusalem finally comes back home to its place in the midst of the Garden!

Isaiah revealed the promise which God gave to Abraham. He saw what John revealed to the world:

Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.  And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken. (Isa 62:11).

Jerusalem will always be a “city not forsaken” meaning it will be for perpetuity. Christians are citizens of that great City, and as Israel is the daughter of “Zion” so are Christians.  Zion is New Jerusalem, not the “harlot” that it is now, but the regenerated city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the “daughter of Zion” in that the bride will be made pure again!

“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. (Isa 52:1)

America whose citizens are of Jepheth’s line, must always protect Israel and Jerusalem. Why does that matter? God promised that America and the West would when he told Noah, “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Gen 9:27). Christians were given an obligation as “watchman” (Isa 62:5) to “dress and keep” the Garden of Jerusalem – Zion (Gen 2:15). Better words for “dressing and keeping” is to “serve and protect” (Strong’s Dictionary).

Hence, the role of the West is to serve and protect Israel. Why is America always there when adversity comes on Jerusalem? Because as Christians from Jepheth’s Gentile line, we were assigned by God to keep Jerusalem safe as we serve theirs and God’s interests. Indeed, that is the place of “Shem’s Tent” in which Christians shall dwell! In other words, America is protecting the future abode of Christians in fulfillment of God’s Word and prophecy.

Trees of Righteousness

     I return to the theme, I see tees as men, standing, as a counter to blind Bartamaeus's, "I see men as trees, walking" (Mark 8:24). Long before I ever read that passage, I proposed that Adam, by dressing and keeping the Garden, was assigned to serve and protect the living souls who would someday be there from multiplication. In other words, I saw trees as men, standing! There were more than the two trees in the Garden. Those two was in the midst, implying that the Garden contained other trees outside the central location.
     The Tree of Life, of course, is allegorical of Jesus and the "Philosophy" or "Wisdom Tree" allegorical of Lucifer. The other trees of the Garden were allegorical, it seems, as representative of future living souls.
     One tree in the midst of the Garden was the Tree of Righteousness, and the other, the Tree of Unrighteousness. Examine the following passage: "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him (1 John 2:21). The Tree of Life, representative of Jesus, is the Tree of Righteousness, and the other "trees" who are born of him are "trees of righteousness." Now take a look at what Isaiah said:

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified... And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.... For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isa 61:3,9,11).

     The trees of the Garden were "planted" by the Lord. Isaiah referred to "trees of righteousness" also planted of the Lord. I believe that Isaiah verified my hunch that the trees of the Garden were the souls of righteous people soon to come. As the Tree of Life was the centerpiece in the Garden, the other trees were there around that Tree to glorify it. Therein lied Adam's problem. Because he was one of the two other trees already bedecked, his place was to glorify the Tree of Life. He did not; rather, he glorified the Serpent's tree to God's chagrin. Imagine how God felt, desiring to be glorified, and rather, he stood there in the Garden all alone with no glorification. It seems that Isaiah knew that!
     The surrounding "forest" in the Garden of Eden would have been full of trees. God wanted them all to be trees of righteousness, as they were of his seed (in His Image). They were planted as trees of righteousness and Adam was to serve them and keep them from harm. Rather than that, Adam set a bad example; he ignored the trees and served the wrong one - the Serpent's tree. He was told not to eat of that tree! Rather than consuming some type of passion fruit, think on that as not partaking of the Manna from Heaven,  which just as the Bread of Life, represents Jesus!
    If the reader thinks only of trees and fruit, much is missed! Think also of Jesus and his righteousness and the Serpent and his false doctrine - the doctrine of deception. The Lord wanted righteous trees and forests - those were righteous people and nations. Adam was given one job assignment, and he was a careless and apathetic worker. He blew the only real job that his Master assigned!
    Then, Adam was cast out of the Garden and really went to work.  No longer was he nourished by God but had to fend for himself. In the world, it was all about him! The other "trees' of the Garden remained neglected. Isaiah's point was that it was time to dress and keep the tree of the Garden (Israel) again, and encourage their growth in righteousness.
     I see trees as men. I see men as trees singing, and now I see righteous trees as righteous men. I understand the importance of serving and nourishing others. That is love. No, we aren't toe be tree- huggers like the pagans, but lovers of people. We are to love them as God first loved us. Dressing and keeping the Garden represents that type of love, and like Adam, most fail miserably.