Good morning. We have here the 86th day; I feel like an old man with 86 candles on my birthday cake. At any rate; let us eat today the sweet word of God. We are in the book of James.
James has a straightforward way of communicating; his tone is share and direct. Fights and wars are started because of lust to be powerful; lust to be ruler; but if people would simply ask God for power in a way that was not lustful they would receive it. Like many people ask God for money; and they pray for a million dollars. I did that once in my youth, I must have been in college and prayed for a million dollars, and I'm sure the Lord just chuckled it off or maybe He got a good laugh at it thinking; "what would this idiot do with a million dollars?"
The prayer probably didn't even make the Lord's desk; the angel that watches over me probably just threw the request out because I was asking for money so I can drive a nice car and have someone jealous of me take the wheels while I'm sleeping at night. We all like to think we'd give money to charity; but at the end of the day the first desire is to look good and impress people. That is what James says about be adulterers and adulteresses, who would rather be friends with the world rather than with God. Friends with the world is an enemy with God; do you think the scripture says that in vain?
7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. The Lord humbled Himself, even to death, in the face of mocking and more; and now He is waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. He has been lifted up. Jesus is our example to be humble and not boastful and proud.
James 5
1Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Now if you are pretty wealthy and you're reading this; do not go dump your riches into the nearest lake or ocean. If you are rich and that is all you care about, you steal from the poor to get rich, you stab people in the back to make a dollar; then weep and howl as James says because miseries will come on you. For instance, if you are a prominent drug dealer; you are like a minister to a degree; you have littered the landscape with junkies, destroyed families and all for your own nice living; do you think this will be over looked? James speaks to you to clean up with riches that are corrupted because the future is not good for men like that.
6Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you
We are not just talking about street pharmacist; we are talking about FDA approved rich drug dealers; the kind that helped people like Michael Jackson overdose on pain medication. I do not know Michael's case; but I know other people who really needed pain relief and came innocently for help; so they didn't resist but were killed by the medication.
Yes or No Is Good Enough
12But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Prayer of the Righteous Works Well
16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit
Elijah was a man just like us; and if he was like me; he liked women, he enjoyed hanging with his buddies, and playing chess or shooting some hoops once in a while. But he prayed earnestly; and God answered his prayer and stopped rain for an entire nation for 3 and a half years. If God would answer Elijah's earnest prayer; He will answer yours; it just depends on why you are asking for something. Do not go pray for the Lord to stop money from coming into your friends house until they apologize to you. Elijah was a good man; I'm not to sure about the quality of man today.
20Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
This is one of my main ways of hiding many of my sins; I share God's word with someone who wants it. I know we all need it; but very few in need want it. And when I can get someone to stop their current lifestyle and turn to God; I have done well. I first try to hide my sins by confessing them and asking for forgiveness and mercy; then I tell people about my God and really cover the edges.
We are going into the books of Peter
1 Peter chapter 1
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Peter wrote these to Israelites, scattered about.
Brief words to keep faith in the Lord, keep our vessels holy for the Lord is Holy, and to put all our trust in the Lord and not man.
24For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Flesh is here one day and gone the next; if I were a greedy man I'd get into the funeral business because it is one business that cares nothing about a recession. As long as Adam sinned, there will be people dying on a daily business and countries like the United States make it big business for tax purposes. In my native country; you bury your dead in your compound, which is equivalent to burying them in your backyard. This can be done because there is no property tax; you don't have to live in fear of your property being taken because your son used the money to buy an entertainment room.
Man's time is short; but the word of the Lord endures forever. What we are reading is what people read in the 1800s, in the 1500s, in the 600s, in 70s (AD that is), Christ read it in His days, and as Paul said, it is what Moses and the children of Israel received in the wilderness. The Lord is in every generation, we are not.
1 Peter 2
2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
We are to consume this word like newborn babies desire sincere milk from their mothers breast; that is how we are to take this in, so we can grow by it.
6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Peter and Paul and other New Testament writers all quoted the scripture because their writing was based on the scripture. Just as these blogs are all based on the New and Old Testaments, it is because this is what is written. Jesus is the corner stone that has become a stumbling block and rock of offense to many, especially those who do not like the word of God and those who are disobedient.
Priest Hood & Royal Nation
9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
The children of Israel, both spiritually and physically are a chosen generation of royal priest. They are a holy nation and a peculiar people that were suppose to show the praises of God who called them out of Egypt's darkness into His marvelous light. If you ask a Jewish person what were they chosen to do; they probably could not tell you; but if you are a child of God, if you are of the children of Israel; then it would behoove you to know why you are chosen and do what you were chosen to do. That is to bring others in darkness (to the scripture) into light (of God's love), which are His commandments.
13Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
There are certain liberties that God has given to the children of Israel; some of which they have badly abused and that the Gentiles view as bad. Do not do things that appear bad although they are not bad. For instance, drinking is not a bad thing; but many people have a problem with children of God drinking alcohol. The easy solution is to avoid drinking in front of those people until they gain understanding that it is not forbidden by God to consume a small drink.
We are to study Christ and thrive to be as He. When I was growing up there were three men I looked up to besides my dad; and I can say I am like those men to this day. Just as I did as a youth to be as them; I thrive to be like the Lord and walk as He did because He was an example to all. If we follow His ways, the most anger we will show is interrupting a dice game going on inside the church on the Sabbath day.
1 Peter 3
1Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
Women are primarily dress themselves between the ears; wear the jewels that keep your mind looking tight; not your pants and top. There is nothing wrong with looking nice; wearing the choicest clothing; but make sure you are dressed up in the mind as well with the word of God. Because the reality is that one day we'll all look like Bob Barker and Mother Theresa. If you don't know; those people do not walk down runways at flashing photography, nor are they in ads unless the feature product is about arthritis. So keep your mind dressed up so you can be renewed like the eagles.
7Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Husbands are to treat their wives good; using knowledge and giving honor, so your prayers are not hindered. As we read in Malachi chapter three, the Lord does not hear the prayer of a man who treats his wife bad, because as Paul said one like that is worse than an infidel. You are to have knowledge when dealing with your wife; that means know how to deal with your wife.
19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
This is referring to the fallen angels that had succeeded in making the earth so wicked the Lord had to drown everyone except for Noah and his family who found grace. The fallen angels, spirits in prison waiting on the day of Judgment; were eager to get on the other side of the Lord's creation beginning with Noah; and the Lord had to deal with them. This is not when He died on the cross and went into hell and preached to the spirits. He spoke against the fallen angels to slow down on jumping men after the flood.
22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. Every thing is subject to Jesus. Praise the Most High God.
1 Peter chapter 4
1Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
2That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
Suffering is not a bad thing; especially if you suffer for the Lord. 7But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. A constant theme from Paul and from Jesus; to be ready, watching and praying.
17For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Judgement begins at the house of God. The first people in line for judgment are church goers. Remember when the Lord sent the angel through Jerusalem with the ink pen the mark the ones who are to be spared; then sent another angel with the sword and told him to kill everyone without the mark; have no mercy on the baby or the old man. He told that same angel to begin his killing spree at the church. So if the righteous are going to barely be saved; what about the ungodly; how is it going to be for them?
1 Peter 5
1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Elders and leaders of the church are to feed the flock. Remember when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, Jesus kept telling Peter to feed His flock. The people will keep the ways of the Lord if you tell them to do it and that it is the Lord's will. Don't just want money for being a pastor; but feed the flock and money will never be an issue for you.
4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. We have all these ministers today that want to get paid; that is fine; but why not get your big pay when the chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, returns and you receive a crown that won't fade away. This is what true faith is; when Jesus told that rich man to sell his goods and follow Him; the man walked away dejected. That is the belief that there is no after life so I better live good now. If you could get into the kingdom and live forever guaranteed, all that was required was to live off of a $25k a year income today, could you do that?
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
I watched a movie about four guys who went to Vegas and couldn't remember a thing that happened there because of being drunk; while they were drunk do you think that the devil had his pleasure with them? Of course! Spiritually if you are drunk and can't distinguish what is sound doctrine do you think you can resist the devil? I don't think so.
2 Peter 1
1Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, Oh no; Peter has joined the band wagon of only greeting the Father and the Son; leaving out the holy spirit. Looks like a trend is starting; I can see Trinity churches going out of business if God the Holy Ghost does not show up.
16For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Peter adamantly let's us know that he and the other Apostles did not follow nice stories and fables made up; but made known the power of the Lord Jesus that they were eyewitnesses of His power and majesty. These were the real authentic Jehovah witnesses because they walked with Jesus who was God (as Jehovah or Yahweh), became man (in the name of Jesus), and has risen from the dead to become all powerful God again. Peter says that he is a witness to this; they heard the voice from heaven when Jesus was transfigured on the mount. Many people died not letting this go; they were thrown in lions dens, beheaded, and tortured all for just trying to serve and keep the name of Jesus in their mouth. I don't know about you; but if someone was about to throw me into a lion den and I was just making something up about God so that I can get people to follow me; that would be the end of my ministry.
All my blog postings would be down and if you saw me in the street; I'd have a New Orleans mardi gras hat on with beads in my hand trying to get flashed (if you know what I mean). But look at what Peter said was even better than his own eye witness to Jesus Christ.
19We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Peter said if you do not believe that I was with Jesus as I was; then I got something that is even more sound than my eyewitness; I have the book of the prophets, the word of prophecy. This is sure! No words of the prophets in the scripture is of any private interpretation. One cannot say this is what it means; and another disagree; we can all read that in Isaiah when the Lord said people who pollute the Sabbath day and eat swine's flesh all while praying to God is like smoke in His nose; have to understand that the scripture is saying God is annoyed by this and hates it and thus will deal with the perpetrators of this. There is no private interpretation with that; it is exactly what it is.
The scripture came to holy men of God who spake and had writers write what they spoke as they received it from the Holy Spirit, which received it from Christ, who received it from the Father!
2 Peter 2
1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
All through the bible we hear of false prophets among people. Jeremiah and Ezekiel pressed so hard on the issue, and Jesus too that it was hard to write on those chapters because every preacher will be looked at with scrutiny or with more suspect by their congregation, which was not my intention. My intention is just to read through the bible in 90 days with understanding. But with so much false prophet talk; it puts pressure on preachers if they are telling the truth or not. This is good because it will keep people on their toes; but I am not sowing discord among brothers; we are reading the bible in 90 days with understanding.
It's like all cemeteries are under fire because of what Burr Oaks did in the south suburbs of Chicago. When a man get's busted for adultery like Ted Haggerty, Jimmy Swaggart, the governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford, and football great Steve McNair, all of the sudden wives are going through their husbands phones at record speed while they are sleep and gathering every woman's name their husband is acquainted with. Nevertheless, false prophets bring false teaching period. They will tell damnable heresies. These are fables or lies that if you take them you will be damned at judgment. These are things that are not found in the bible or when you read the bible they do not add up; like the good Friday and Sunday resurrection. There are not three days and three nights between Friday and Sunday. This started out probably as an honest mistake; but when it has been brought to light and it continues this takes it into the realm of false prophets daubing the wall of lies to keep it going for whatever reason they have in their heart.
And the truth will be evil spoken of. The truth: Jesus is coming to reign on the earth. Evil spoken of: we are all going to heaven to be with the Lord. The truth: the dead are in their graves waiting on the return of the Lord Jesus. Evil spoken of: the righteous dead are in heaven smiling down and have been judged already. These are things we've read already.
God Does Not Change
If He did not spare angels that sinned but cast them to the earth and put them in chains of darkness waiting for judgment, He did not spare the old world except for Noah, He did not spare Sodom and Gomorrah, do we think He will spare us for doing the same things?
This is What False Prophets Are
14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
17These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
They have sinful eyes always and reach out to unstable people that is why they have congregations full of women and sissy soft men; not to say women and soft men are unstable; but if you are going to deceive someone; you have to do it like your father the devil did it; by deceiving the women; and once the women are in your flock; you can get men by the seduction of women. Isn't that what Satan did through Eve? Pimps and crooked pastors have picked this up greatly. Pimps influx the mind of their women who go out and seduce even professional men to pay them up to $5000 a night and the pimp gets the man's money through the woman. The false prophet get's the unstable woman (because he can't get the stable women), and she recruits unstable men who are filled with lust. It is the same principle Satan used to begin with.
These false prophets are wells without water, clouds that carry no rain; they are good for nothing. They promise freedom by telling you the law is no more; but they are servants of corruption and are in bondage to sin and drag their flock into it as well.
21For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
It is better that they nor anyone else come into the knowledge of truth and turn from it because the end of that person is worse than what they were at the beginning.
2 Peter chapter 3
2That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Peter says to be mindful of the words spoken by the holy prophets and their commandment by the apostles of the Lord Jesus. They could not be contradictory messages if he tells to be mindful of them both. In the last days many will come mocking saying, where is the Lord saying things are as they are, time keeps going and things evolve as the ape evolved into man. These men are ignorant of the scriptures and you aren't to pay any attention to them.
8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Six days shall you labor and on the seventh day you shall rest from all your work. One day to God is a thousand years; so on the seventh day He returns and brings peace and rest to the earth. Our weekly six days and seventh or Sabbath is a foreshadowing of the Lord's day of rest, the thousand year millennium period and is to remind us of what He is doing. If you do not keep the Sabbath day; you are openly not acknowledging the thousand years of peace when the Lord returns.
10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Paul Can Be Confusing
15And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Just like men and brothers who have taught me and studied with me on what I know about the scriptures will read this book and others to see that it is a good work unto God. They will correct errors or warn people that it is confusing to understand and it could be since I wake up at 4:30am to do this so I am ready for work by 8:30 (I don't always finish on time). Peter read Paul's letters and let's us know that Paul gave good wisdom in all his letters; but some things were hard to understand that Paul wrote. Either because the language he was writing it in or that Paul was such an educated man his writing was very sophisticated; but to the unlearned in the scripture or the unstable, they can get confused and twisted and that lead to their own destruction.
Hopefully, as I have pointed out through Paul's writing is that he cosigned and taught all that the apostle's taught and all the prophets wrote. He confused a lot of people about the law because if you aren't paying attention you will think that the law is no more or nailed to the cross; and it is; but which law. The law of animal sacrifice. You would think that grace and faith is suffient. Paul assumed that if you have faith in Jesus Christ, faith meaning belief, you will do what Christ wanted you to do since you believe; and that is to keep His commandments. You can notice how James and Peter's writings are very direct and coherent with the Jesus teachings and the prophets. To get from point A to B, the prophets, Jesus, James, and Peter make a straight line. Paul makes an "S". He get's you there but he took a bit of a twisty road to do it. Peter tells us to be ready to see this; in essence it would have been better to read Peter's book then Paul's.
1 John chapter 1
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
John begins by telling the reader about the word of life; which is the word of God.
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Jesus Christ blood is clean enough to cleanse even the worse kind of sin if the confession is made with sincerity and not revisited willingly. If we say we have no sin; we are simply lying to ourselves and there is absolutely no truth in us. Now this book is written by John the son of Zebedee. Peter, James, and John (here) are the three guys Jesus took with Him to do the toughest miracles, and to show the choicest visions. These men know a thing or two about how to get salvation.
1 John 2
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
John writes that we should avoid sin; but if we accidentally do something we have an advocate with the Father who is Jesus Christ. He is the conciliation for our sins and the entire worlds and we know we know Jesus if we keep His commandments. People that say they know Jesus then turn around and say we do not have to keep the commandments know Jesus; but they know the other Jesus Paul warned us about. They do not know the Jesus of this bible, according to John a close disciple of God for over 3 years.
If one says they know Jesus and do not keep His commandments, they are a liar and have no truth in them.
Loving the World
15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Like I said before; I have come to hate this life and this world we live in because it is full of death, oppression, hatred for one another, killing, sadness, jealousy, and pride. Who can love this? You can enjoy your life, be happy God shows you mercy and granted you understanding but how can you love this world?
1 John 3
1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
If the majority of people do not recognize the truth that you or I speak; it is nothing to be amazed about; they did not recognize Jesus either. But we are to hold fast because we are sons of God and it is not like we are physically yet; but we will be like Him when He returns and we see Him as He is.
4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
This is the official definition of sin. Sin is when you break the laws and commandments of God. The law says do not steal; if you steal you transgress or break the law and have sinned. If the law said thou shall not drink alcohol; then many in this world would be sober, very sober. It does not say that; so if you want to know if you're a sinner; go read all the commandments of God and put it together what you have to work on.
8He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Born of God is what Jesus was telling Nicodemus; that you are like the wind that passes and one cannot see where you came from or where you went. When you are born of the God family you cannot sin anymore.
15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
We are to love; love is keeping of the commandments. That was the purpose of the commandments given on Mount Sinai by Moses, to teach the children of Israel how to love God and how to love their fellow brother. It only was mean and nasty with stoning and death because people would not show love and broke God's commandments in which He turned and executed punishments on those who disobeyed. If Adam would have never disobeyed; everyone would be alive and at peace, and if the children of Israel had kept the commandments, everyone would greet each other with a holy kiss and be joyful; rich in the word of God, and living in harmony with other nations because all would be keeping the commandments, which work no ill to their brother or sister.
1 John 4
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
More warnings against false prophets and evil spirits. We are to try to spirits to see if they are from God. And although verse two says if they confess Jesus Christ has come in the world; we know there is more to this because the devils will confess that. We need to hear the doctrine they speak to truly discern.
15Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Those that confess this will be doing what Jesus taught, from Genesis to Revelation.
20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
1 John chapter 5
1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
This is how we know we love God; by keeping His commandments. They truly are not that hard if you are a righteous person. If you are evil then they can be hard as heck. NBA player Chris Paul led the league in steals. In the real world; that is a thief and one that loves to steal it will be hard for Chris Paul to not take his hands to something in your house. But for someone who couldn't steal if they wanted; the commandment is not grievous.
It is not hard to give respect to our parents, avoid stealing and killing, not to lie on someone, to back away from a woman or man that is married, and to not be covetous of our friends and others belongings. If you can't refrain from these then maybe you need to lock yourself in a room and not leave it under any circumstances.
7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Finally we found God the Holy Ghost; so all the trinity people can stick around for a moment. There are three that bear record that are in heaven, and the record they bore is in verse 11; that God has given us access to eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. So three in Heaven bare this record. We see that it is the Father, the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost and they are all in one accord. The Holy Ghost is the Comforter, we'll find out about them tomorrow in Revelation.
There are also three that bear witness of the the record in heaven that are in the earth now; they are the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one accord. We will answer this later.
If you do not have the Son; you do not have life.
20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
2 John 1
6And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Nothing different here. Is it me or does John appear to be writing as if he had a dead line to turn his writing in on? Just seems like he is rushing. Nevertheless, love is to walk after the Lord's commandments. It is the same all over the bible.
9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. He has all the Father and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was intentionally left out like Michael Jackson intentionally left Deborah his ex wife out of the will (I hear).
12Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. Okay; I see, John was tired of writing and would rather speak to the people.
3rd John 1 is a book on greetings and kind encouraging words.
11Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
This concludes our reading today; we will begin in Jude tomorrow and Revelations.
Grace and peace in the name of Jesus Christ
Due
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