New Life in Christ Jesus...Are you ready?

You were like lost sheep. Now you have come back to the shepherd and bishop of your lives. .......1 Peter 2:25 ( GW.)

Genesis 1:14  Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years. Is the end-time is coming? When?

We went  to see Victor Koh at SGH at block 4 room 12 , bed no. 2 yesterday. I saw and admired all thing that world can afford to prolong live in this world as much as we know how. We are not willing to leave this world and our love one. We want o to stay healthy and strong as long as possible. We know that one day sooner or later we will have to leave this world and our love ones and we know this is a certain thing but we live in this world like we will never die and want to be here forever. We are against the truth that all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God's glory and the wage of sin is dead. We all refuse to understand this truth and want to live here and enjoy the "trap" that the world offered and get stuck in this world we grasp and do not want to let it goes until we do not realize that we are trapped and stuck to this world. .....really?.....I come to the question that " Are we ready? Since dead is certain." We thought ourselves out of reality and God's truth because we don't really understand the way of the Almighty. One time in the past 2000 over year ago some of our forefathers had seen God in the flesh and His Name is Jesus Christ walked this world and taught many of His disciples and recorded in the book we called "the New Testament". From the story told we have sight of His glory through His life on earth but we don't understand deep enough what the Lord want to tell us.

22. Christ never committed any sin. He never spoke deceitfully.
23  Christ never verbally abused those who verbally abused him. When he suffered, he didn't make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly.
24  Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so that freed from our sins, we could live a life that has God's approval. His wounds have healed you.
25  You were like lost sheep. Now you have come back to the shepherd and bishop of your lives. ......1 Peter 2:22-25

We read "22. Christ never committed any sin. He never spoke deceitfully. " Some can say that they understand what these word mean but when I meditated on this verse I asked myself that  "Am I,as a sinner, really understand what this verse is really mean?" If I understand this verse then I will understand even more of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Salvation.....

John 14:5  Thomas (one of His closed disciple) said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you're going. So how can we know the way?"

John 14:9-12
9. Jesus replied, "I have been with all of you for a long time. Don't you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 
10  Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I'm telling you doesn't come from me. The Father, who lives in me, does what he wants. 
11  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me because of the things I do. 
12  "I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. 

 Thanks be to God again for the Lord's omniscience, foreknow that we will not understand His Word as it means to be as He gave us and we may interpret wrongly in our ways according to our sinful nature ..... so after we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that is the first step of our commitment to God. Even we are not faithful because of our sinful nature but God is faithful He starts to sanctify us while we walk with Him during we are in this world.

John 14:16-18
16.  I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. 
17  That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn't see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you. 
18  "I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. 

John 14:12-13  "I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. 

13. I will do anything you ask the Father in my name so that the Father will be given glory because of the Son. 

Facts we face when we are in this world...

1. All will die. Only in the Bible told us that few did not face death.

2. All fear dead...the real meaning is to separate from God and the mystery of life after dead.

3. Death is not far from living.....there is no specific time for anyone......no matter young, old, rich, poor etc. If the time to go no one can stop. We don't know our timing.

4. No one knows when they are going to die and what will happen after that.

Christian believes we have spirit and the physical body just as a tent the spirit live in. 

6. We've all become unclean, and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags. All of us shrivel like leaves, and our sins carry us away like the wind. 7  No one calls on your name or tries to hold on to you. You have hidden your face from us. You have let us be ruined by our sins. 8  But now, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. We are the work of your hands. .........Isaiah 64:6,-8

We have only to main choices to choose during we are in this world.

1.Walk the way that God will us to do...or we die but if I don't understand God will for me to do. Seek His will, listen to His Spirit, read His letter (the Bible) and ask (prayer).

2. God creates us but He as well gives us a freedom of choices whether follow Him or want to walk your own way and separate from Him forever.

1 Corinthians 4:5-6 

5. Therefore, don't judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people's motives. Then each person will receive praise from God. 

6. Brothers and sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won't arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other. 

Isaiah 64:8  But now, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. We are the work of your hands. 

Romans 9:21  A potter has the right to do whatever he wants with his clay. He can make something for a special occasion or something for everyday use from the same lump of clay. 

Praise the LORD, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything.....

The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.

John 1:33  I didn't know who he was. But God, who sent me to baptize with water, had told me, 'When you see the Spirit come down and stay on someone, you'll know that person is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 

In the Scripture above mention John the Baptist do not know the God Holy Spirit but he mentioned that God, who sent him to baptize with water told him to see the sign. Who is the Holy Spirit to us are we really know Him. When someone talked about their own lives and talk about live we live in this world and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth... I asked myself what truth we have. A man has studied the Bible for a year and went to serve in the tribal church in Mae Hongson just to gain some experience in serving the Lord. That period of time he fall in love with the church elder's daughter she as well love him but the girl mother who can not speak any of the Thai language unable to converse with the man direct, against the idea of allowing them to spend the life together because she has wrong idea of getting her daughter to marry people outside her tribal as she had seen so many failure in marriage life. But the couple took the matter into their hands and runaway. They have been all the time in trouble but God is faithful in protection them from many harmful incidents. The man took her to many places and try to get his life straight and try to work and earn a living. Their lives like the time  Abram took his wife to Egypt as the words come.

Genesis 12:11  And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Genesis 12:12  and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

He face the same situation when someone trying to help him they look at his wife and try to take her away from him. Their lives during runaway for two years  there was no church, no money no matter how hard they tried to work people will give him not enough to eat and try to take advantage at every turns. Last month at the time going to fish they saw the church  and his wife prompting him to come to church. They came to church and the story come out as the church pastor put his hand to help them put them to help in the cake maker shop. 

He quoted me a good scriptures knowledge of what he did .He said I did according to the scripture said "1 Corinthians 13:13  But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 

I told them what he thought is just to take the scripture to himself. Did you know that the Bible has only one standard and that standard is Christ and Christ alone. If you take that love refer to yourself you have missed the  mark If all people thing the same way as what you think you know and you know in your conscious mind that is not the truth,

many people trying to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to take what they preached. I might be wrong but in John 14:6 I understand otherwise

John 14:26  However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you. 

Is the same meaning when you you speak about your life or about Jack and Jill go up the hill to fetch a pail of water.... the ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that to the audience.the truth in the Bible.

Romans 1:16-25   For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17  For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness;:19  because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. 20  For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: 21  because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.
22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,23  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 24  Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves:25  for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

The many Wonderful Things when I think about The Holy Spirit.....

This is my personal experience different from previous experience about the God, the Holy Spirit and the things come after that recorded just to remember the goodness of God during my 72 years of age.

As I am trying to put up the tee on the crack of the rock to put the ball on it before I can drive the ball to the direction and expected it to land on the tiny fairway below and to set up to play the ball to the green. The course led to the nice hotel like the back of the yacht and just a few holes away that far as I try to reach it. The hotel and the golf course surrounded by sea water of many hue of blue colors contrast with the white sand and tiny green fairways in different levels. Yes I did hit the ball but the wind is too strong carried the ball fly to the right drop in to the water. Missed the tiny fairway I tried to land. The fairway of that course is seem so tiny and difficult to put the ball on it but during this time actually I am just an on and most of the time off golfer I seldom play the game I used to love so much but still enjoy even just a dream so much as after dreaming of meditating on some verses in the Scripture but unfortunately I have forgotten all of them when I woke up. Even the ball dropped in the water I still like the way the Lord put the things even in the dream so enjoyable. Praise God. 

Yesterday 8 February 2015, having preached  about the Holy Spirit from John 20: 21-23 and in all that I believe with my whole heart that He, the Holy Spirit is God, one in the Trinity God  the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and today in the morning as I spent time reading the Scriptures I have received the out-poured of the Spirit like the first day I received the New life in Christ Jesus both tear and tongue. Then these verses came.

Acts 15:15-19  This agrees with what the prophets said. Scripture says,
16  'Afterwards, I will return. I will set up David's fallen tent again. I will restore its ruined places again. I will set it up again 17  so that the survivors and all the people who aren't Jewish over whom my name is spoken, may search for the Lord, declares the Lord. 18  He is the one who will do these things that have always been known!' 19  "So I've decided that we shouldn't trouble non-Jewish people who are turning to God.

Things I have asked God many days before about the different of the Baptism of the Spirit and Baptism of fire when people came to talk about and to me become grey area because many try to use the Bible's word and I believe what I read is not my Lord's words but those words were recorded as "John the Baptizer's message" and I believe Jesus Christ alone is enough for our lives to walk in this world. I may be wrong but I will not offer my belief to argue with anyone who practice and receive the lives transforming results. I have seen people transformed after they born again and baptized by the Holy Spirit. I did not mean that I against the Baptism of fire that many people do believe. I have seen those who baptize by the Holy Spirit and so call baptism of fire have same result that many people later had their lives transformed. I do not deny the practice of both but from many others fear the baptism by the fire because they really see those word is not from the Lord Jesus Himself just from someone who called John the Baptizer ...I believe this thing is not revealed to me yet as the Word said  but when this fully revealed it will proved that what John the Baptizer meant to be as....
Deuteronomy 29:29  Some things are hidden. They belong to the LORD our God. But the things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of these teachings. 

Matthew 3:11  I (John the Baptizer) baptize you (Jewish) with water so that you (Jewish) will change the way you (Jewish) think and act. But the one who comes after me is more powerful than I (John the Baptizer). I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He will baptize you (Jewish) with the Holy Spirit and fire.  (At that time John the Baptizer doing his ministry by the Jordan river) Then John the Baptizer continued......
Matthew 3:12  His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean up his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into a barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out."

I confess that I still in grey to say JUST JESUS IS ENOUGH for life transformation when we faced or encounter Lord Jesus Christ life will change but that the first step but to have life abundantly you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit until the Spirit over flow out so you will have so many Christlike life. He (The Baptizer) will burn the hush in a fire that can never be put out. This process is never satisfied human's criticized mind so we find so many way to satisfy what we believe. Anyway there will be no clear explanation or you might have one. It is all right to me and let we stay together for the glory of God, Christ is the head of His body we should not condemn each others because one day the truth will be revealed.

Matthew 11:1-7   After Jesus finished giving his twelve disciples these instructions, he moved on from there to teach his message in their cities. 2  When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples 3  to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?"
4  Jesus answered John's disciples, "Go back, and tell John what you hear and see: 5  Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News. 
6  Whoever doesn't lose his faith in me is indeed blessed."

Matthew 11:7  As they were leaving, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John. "What did you go into the desert to see? Tall grass swaying in the wind?

Anyway many disciples have experience about the Resurrection Christ and received the Holy Spirit to have God's life in them ....but Lord Jesus said many more to come but even though let us see....

John 20:24,25  Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, who was called Didymus, wasn't with them when Jesus came. 25  The other disciples told him, "We've seen the Lord." Thomas told them, "I refuse to believe this unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my fingers into them, and put my hand into his side."  This is probably why John 20:20 has recorded  these words "When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord." Without marks on His hands and His side, non of disciples will not recognize the RESURRECTED CHRIST.

 

Lord, I am so much worse than Thomas, I have never seen the Lord with my old eyes and do not understand many of God's Word as well as many people do but I believe with all my heart that you give that understandings and will remain on God's grace to believe,  to trust You with my all ability of understanding You gave, what else this lump of clay can do?. I have to totally depend on Your grace and Your grace alone can carry me through. Hallelujah.!!!

Praise be to God our Father, my Lord Jesus Christ. and  God the Holy Spirit......Amen