Think About It – Page 2 – Light from the Word

Consequently, We Regard No One From a Human Point of View

Paul, a devout Pharisee, was indeed a persecutor of those who followed YAHSHUA’S teachings, as he estimated Him from a human point of view. The outsiders of the Christian faith who persecute them, have no sight to see, neither understanding of the spiritual things to act and judge those for what they are in their faith in God, consequently, they persecute and kill them. They eliminate the Christians from the earth in their erroneous and prideful ways of estimating others for their faith. In Acts chapter eight and nine, we read a report concerning Paul’s persecution of the Christians of his days, where we read much hatred for them: And Saul was consenting to [Stephen’s] death. On that day, a great and severe persecution broke out against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (vs. 1). Meanwhile, Saul still drawing his breath hard from the threatening and murderous desire against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and requested of him letters to the synagogue at Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way he might bring them bound to Jerusalem (9:1-2). The way that he regarded the Lord YAHSHUA as human and not as God’s Son was reflected on his treatment of the YAHSHUA’S disciples.

A child of God, he who has experienced the new birth in YAHSHUA, is a new creation, born of the Spirit and not of the flesh. YAHSHUA told Nicodemus, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not at My telling you, You must all be born anew (John 3:5-7). YAHSHUA clearly confirms the process of the new birth. Once we are born into the family of God, we are new creation; the old is gone, all is made new, said Paul. That is of great significance in the lives of those who have believed; theirs are the privileges of children of God; theirs are also the behavior that is required to reflect their position as children of God. And as such, they are to behave as God’s own chosen, who are purified and holy an well-beloved, tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling a lowly opinion of themselves, gentle ways, patience, gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has forgiven them; and above all these [put on] love and enfold themselves with the bond of perfectness (Col. 3). A child of God, united by the bond of love that emanates from YAHSHUA Himself, must not regard each other in terms of natural value standard, or from a purely human point of view, as those of the world do, blinded by it, for lacking spiritual discernment. We are knit together as one in our Lord YAHSHUA, Who is the head of the church- one church. We are one body and one Spirit- just as there is also one hope to the calling you received; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of Who is above all, pervading all and in all (Eph. 4:4-5). Paul says, We who are strong [in our convictions and of robust faith] out to bear with the failings and the frailties and the tender scruples of the weak; and not to please ourselves; let each one of us make it a practice to please his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, the reproaches and abuses of those who reproached and abused you fell on Me (Rom. 15:1-3).

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Set a Guard, O Lord Before My Lips

The mouth is the avenue from which the heart expresses itself with the help of the mind. As the car is for accident, so the mouth is for pain it causes to one who is the victim of it. The seed of hatred or other negative emotions are many times planted deeply into the soul of man through words that proceed from the mouth. Words are so powerful that can destroy one’s life in a short time. Not only mentally, but also physically, for it is a cause for bitterness and unforgiveness to lodge in the heart. The body, being one connected part, shares in all the results of whatever happens in its emotional as well as the physical members. A child, who constant listens to negative words, pressuring him\her down to conform to the attitude of his parents, will grow insecure and not able to perform to his potential abilities. His future is disturbed with emotional woes. The world around him is a globe empty of love, because the tongue guided his present into his failed future. When the psalmist prayed, Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips (Ps.141:3), he knew first-hand about the consequences of one’s tongue. He himself had suffered much at the tongue of his enemies.

James had these to say concerning the tongue: For we all have stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech, he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature. If we set bits in the horses’ mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole bodies about; likewise, look at the ships: though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines; even so, the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! And the tongue is a fire, a world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth being itself ignited by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius. But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison; with it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness! (James 3:2-9). The more that we move the tongue, the more that we sin against God and against one another. However, there is peace in keeping the tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, for His presence within us accomplishes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness (Gal. 5:22). Where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there will be no room for anything contrary to Him, for the presence of God’s Holy Spirit controls us, filling the mind with good things, not allowing the tongue to express bullies against one another. Paul recommended us to think whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things (Phil. 4:8). Even in the midst of anger, we are not to take vengeance with words, but let our speech be gracious, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6a), for we are to represent our heavenly Father’s love. The Patriarch Job said, I purposed in my heart not to sin with my mouth (job 31:30-40).

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Reconciled by Means of The Cross

In the days of Adam and Eve, when sin entered the world, men and nature suffered the separation from God. Men lost their relationship with Him, and found themselves under condemnation, deserving God’s judgment. But God, in His long-suffering, reached out to them by providing a way for their reconciliation with God. After many years, when the wickedness of men reached to the sky, God sent judgments to the world, saving just a few, who had not defiled themselves against God. His promise of long ago to redeem them, came in the fulfillment of time, when God sent His Son to the world to be the sacrificial Lamb to erase their sins through forgiveness. It started while He was being nailed to the cross; He prayed forgiveness for those who were crucifying Him; it continued when the thief acknowledged YAHSHUA, as the Son of God, asking to be remembered when YAHSHUA entered heaven. He promised him saying, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” When He uttered these words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” A cry expressing the extent of His agony, when facing hell in our place. It was then that He released forgiveness to the entire world, reconciling men to God. It was then that He had accomplished that for what He had come to do in fulfillment of Scripture. He said, IT IS FINISHED! Men were now reconciled with God!

Cursed is everyone, who is hung on the tree, (Gal. 3:13). YAHSHUA became a curse for us in the process of reconciliating the world to Himself and to the Father. He broke the chains that held us subjected to the power of sin, in order to reconcile us to God. There is nothing better than to walk in freedom from condemnation; peace that emanates from being forgiven. We owe all to our Lord, and Savior, YAHSHUA our Messiah. Just think, where would we have been without His grace and mercy? Without His love and forgiveness? The book of Lamentations declares: “It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His tender compassion fails not; they are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). Paul writes to the Ephesians saying, “May blessing be to the God and Father of our Lord YAHSHUA Messiah, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm: He chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, blameless in His sight; He adopted us as His own children through YAHSHUA Messiah in accordance with the purpose of His will; In Him we have redemption through His blood in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor; in Him we also were made [God’s] heritage and we obtained an inheritance; in Him we have who have heard the Word of Truth of our salvation and have believed, were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit, guaranteeing of our inheritance” (Eph.1).

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Not Everybody Has Faith and Is Held By It

We can have saving faith, but not the practical faith we need to hold unto it in our troubled times; that faith that casts out worries, anxiety and fear, when the storm is above our heads; when the mountain in front of us seemly hard to climb; when left at the mercy of circumstances with no visible way out. The disciples showed this lack of faith, when faced with a storm of great proportion, even when YAHSHUA was in the boat with them, in spite of all the power He had demonstrated through miracles He performed. He mentioned that faith, as small as a grain of mustard, can do wonders, if we had it. There would not be mental or physical illnesses, because there would not be worries, anxieties and fear in the presence of faith. These three spirits affect the mind and body in ways that we are kept prisoners unto death. Slaves to the power of drugs, we become dependent of them to survive, day by day, year by year and finally unto the grave. When we are held by these spirits, faith is non-existent to perform miracles in our bed of sickness. The reality of God’s promises is voided and doubt takes over the mind, making us even more prone to the power of sickness. “By His strikes we are healed,” are the words frequently used in our prayers for healing. Why they are not doing what they are supposed to do? Because they are not mixed with faith. We have uttered them over and over, but they stay in our head, never coming down to the heart – the soul, where the emotion, the will, and the intellect are working together to bring them into reality. We repeat them as a parrot repeats words without understanding their meanings. Practical faith depends very much on our believing from the heart.

Noah built an ark without seeing rain falling on the earth before. He heeded to God’s command and performed it as he was told to do and behold, his salvation! (Gen. 6) Abraham took his son to be sacrificed at the command of the Lord. Behold, he became the father of all nations; YAHSHUA came from his descendants and through Him the world was blessed. (Gen. 22) Daniel and his friends were saved from the lion’s mouth and from fire, because their faith overwrote worry, anxiety and fear. They cared not for their lives, but to obey God’s commandments. (Daniel 3,6). King Jehosaphat did what the Lord commanded him to do to be saved from his enemies and Jerusalem was saved, without them having to fight them. He believed that the battle belonged to the Lord, and behold, the Lord God performed His promise (II Chron. 20). Moses stood in awe facing the Red Sea; the enemies were approaching him and his people to destroy them; mountains stood on the other side. Moses, however standing firmly in his faith said, Fear not; stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest. The Lord told Moses, Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea (Ex. 14). So, it was that held by faith, Moses obeyed the words of the Lord; they were saved, but their enemies were left buried in the depth of the Red Sea. Not yet knowing Who YAHSHUA was, at His command, Peter and his partners were told to put their net out into the deep water and lower their nets for a haul; Peter, after toiled all night, catching nothing, said, On the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets. Held by his faith, Peter and his friends caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they signaled to their partners in the other boats to come and take hold with them. They came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink (Luke 5).

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Insecurity, An Enemy of the Soul

Insecurity, a spirit that hinders and handicaps humankind, is often accepted as normal and in a sympathetic attitude, the world embraces it by providing ways for it to develop even further. When we utter the words, “I can’t do it” we are declaring weakness of insecurity controlling every move we must make to be successful. It is in some way, fear of failure. It manifests itself in many ways unknown to most of us. Saul, the first king of Israel, is an example of it. Chosen to be king, Saul was “tall, dark and handsome,” as we would describe him today. The Bible describes him as, A choice young man and handsome; among all the Israelites there was not a man more handsome than he. He was a head taller than any of the people (I Sam. 9:2). However, as they say, “Don’t judge the book by its cover,” Saul fits well in this situation. Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin from a well-to-do family. His father was “a mighty man of wealth and valor.” But Saul had a problem following God’s directions. As important as they were, he disregarded them to do what he thought best. He was forty years old when he began to reign. From the beginning, Saul showed his insecurity when he wouldn’t wait for Samuel to do his job of a priest that of offering to the Lord the burnt offering. He took the liberty to do it himself. Samuel then told him, You have done foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God which He commanded you; for the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever; but now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and the Lord has commanded him to be prince and ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you (I Sam. 13). In another situation of war with the Amalekites when the Lord sent him on a mission to utterly destroy the Amalekites and fight against them until they were consumed (I Sam. 15). Saul again went his own way and did not do as the Lord commanded him. Insecurity prevailed in his life to the point of persecution of his servant David, the anointed of the Lord to be the future king of Israel, for his jealousy and envy of him. In his insecurity, he sought the counsel of a witch woman, a thing not permitted in Israel. Tormented by an evil spirit, Saul suffered tremendously to the point of seeking someone to ease his suffering, when someone recommended David, a young lad, who played the harp to calm the evil spirit. Saul’s life was a wasted life because of his insecurity. His kingdom could have lasted forever, according to the words of the Lord to Samuel. But his disobedience and rebellion coupled with insecurity against the commandments of the Lord caused Him to remove Saul from such a position. His heir to the throne was taken away and given to a shepherd boy, who was after God’s own heart.

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The Highway of Holiness

Darkness covers the earth; people walk in confusion, as zombies, they know not what to do; they tremble before the news; worries, fear and anxiety take hold of their hearts with lies blinding their eyes to believe the truth. A storm of great proportion is coming to earth, as our God cleans and purifies the earth with fire of judgement. For its people have forsaken the Creator and there is no respect for Him. Hopelessness, yes, hopelessness is the cloud covering the earth with needle injecting it with poison. People surrendering to the lies and in fear give themselves to their care, while God’s people cry to Him, as they battle the evil in this earth. The spirit of heaviness arises highly and widely in pursuit to overtake them. Weary and almost fainting, we God’s people keep the faith and hope in the promises of a beautiful future. Faith and hope are the sparkplugs of our souls. His voice we hear, “Fear not, for I am with you.” As Peter did, when he took his eyes from the Lord to focus on the storm, we too fear the storm; the beam of the light of faith grows dim and the strength of hope faints. We cry, Maranatha, come Lord YAHSHUA! As were in the days of Noah and Lot, so are our days. Violence, sexual perversion, greed and much more are eating the people as cancer does, silently taking their breath away. The cries of the innocent we hear daily without being able to help them physically. Justice, justice nowhere to be found in the courts of law- high and low. Peter describes Lot’s distress in those days saying, … “And God condemned to ruin and extinction the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing them to ashes, set them forth as an example to those who would be ungodly; and He rescued righteous Lot, greatly worn out and distressed by the wanton ways of the ungodly and lawless, for that just man, living among them tortured his righteous soul every day with what he saw and heard of [their] unlawful and wicked deeds” (II Peter 2:6-8). That’s the world we live in. We cry as David; “I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hasten to escape and to find a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest” (Ps. 55:6-8). The reality of David’s desire is reflected in our desire to be taken away from this wicked world by means of the rapture.

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JESUS, Looking Upon Him, Loved Him

This is a story of a man who deeply touched the heart of our Savior, for his spiritual hunger, but unwillingness to take the right step to satisfy his spiritual need. He was a prisoner of his own riches. Although, enjoying a life style few were able to, yet, he was not satisfied. Follower of the Law, he did not find satisfaction when it came to the hope and assurance of his salvation. He decided to look for an answer somewhere else. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” A direct and honest question which flowed from his heart in hope to learn how. However, the answer was going to cost him the things that he treasured most, and for that, he was not ready to do. YAHSHUA then, “looking upon him loved him.” The love of our Savior, Who had come to give him eternal life, was expressed at that moment of his desire to know how to be saved. However, his rejection of the truth YAHSHUA offered, closed the door he was looking for to be saved. It was the truth that would set him free, as YAHSHUA said in another time: “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Everything he needed to satisfy his hunger was right before Him. He only had to accept the truth. There, was the life giver, God incarnate, offering the solution for his dilemma- YAHSHUA, the Source of eternal life. Only through Him was salvation available, for He is the Way to heaven, He is the Truth that sets us free, and the eternal Life which the rich man was looking for. He had come to the right person, with a compelling question that touched the heart of YAHSHUA. He must have known who YAHSHUA was, to have come to Him and courageously pouring his heart’s desire to be saved, while humbling himself by kneeling before YAHSHUA in the presence of the crowd.

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Listen to the Spirit Call

Soft as a breeze going across the earth, a whisper in the ear is the voice of the Holy Spirit calling you and me, ever so gentle and peacefully His voice echoes in our inmost being- our spirit. Elijah, while running away for his life from Queen Jezabel heard that voice coming in a soft wind. The Lord told him to go out to stand on the mount before Him. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] small voice. When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave… (I Kings 19:11-13a). For Elijah to hear the Lord’s gentle voice, he had to be in the right place, that is, the place the Lord ordered him to be. In the quietness of a cave, Elijah defined the voice of God. The Lord God was not in the strong wind, not in the earthquake, neither in the fire; but He was in a “gentle, stillness and small voice.” The prophet Elijah, after winning a great victory over Jezabel’s false prophets, was running away, afraid of her, who intended to kill him. Hungry and tired from a great conflict over Jezabel’s false prophets, whom were all killed, he desired to die. But God had other plan for him, for Elijah was not to taste death. He was to be taken to heaven alive, as Enoch did.

When the Holy Spirit first came to earth, He came in a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression (Acts 2:2-4). The Holy Spirit expressed His power in that day, when He came down to establish YAHSHUA’S church. That was the manifestation of His presence on earth; confirming to all the arrival of His long promised coming. All experienced His power in that place and the tongues of fire. Fire speaks of cleansing. He came to convict the world of sin. Also to abide in every born-again person, fulfilling the words of YAHSHUA to the disciples, when He said, I will not leave you orphans. I will come back to you (John 15:18). The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth; the world will not receive Him, as it hates truth, as it did not receive YAHSHUA, Who is the Way the Truth and the Life. There is a difference between those who know YAHSHUA, and those who don’t. The evidence is on hearing His voice. YAHSHUA said, My sheep hears My voice. His presence in every believer, shows the difference in our lifestyle. Paul calls us sons of light. As sons and daughters of light, we walk according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit, while those of the world, according the dictates of the flesh.

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He Makes Me to Lie Down

Life is for many of us a go, go without making time to ponder on its spiritual consequences. The physical part of life demands without excuses. People work three jobs to meet the everyday needs. Not making time for enough rest or sleep to restore the body’s energy. Life is without a doubt a run, run 24/7 for some. Like robots disregarding the importance of caring for the body, people live under the influence of having to work for things, in many cases to pay for unnecessary accumulated debts. We Christians follow the way of the world, sinking into the love of things as well. They are the sheep who strayed from the way that led them to a closer relationship with God. The Bible, yes, their Bibles lie collecting dust, while they find time to go to church once a week to appease their conscience. YAHSHUA, our Shepherd, faithfully leads with His staff and His rod, calling all to hear and follow Him. Always providing, always listening to the needs of His sheep.

He even gave His life to save them from eternal destruction, offering forgiveness and restauration of their soul to unite with Him. He says, I am the good shepherd. The good Shepherd risks and lays down His life for the sheep; “I am the good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own knows Me- even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father- and I am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep” (John 10:11,14-15). That’s the love our Shepherd has demonstrated to us.

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The Glory of the Gospel in YAHSHUA’S Face Overwhelmed the Glory of the Law in Moses’ Face

(Exodus34:28-33; II Corinthians 3:10-18)

“Shekinah Glory is a visible manifestation of God on earth, whose presence is portrayed through a natural occurrence. The word shekinah is a Hebrew name meaning “dwelling” or “one who dwells”. Shekinah Glory means “He caused to dwell,” referring to the divine presence of God. It is the majestic presence or manifestation of God in which He descends to dwell among men. Whenever the invisible God becomes visible, and whenever the omnipresence of God is localized, this is the Shekinah Glory.”

Ref: Christianity.com, What is the meaning of shekinah glory Biblestudytools.com, The abiding presence of God.

When our Lord and Savior came to earth as a baby, a bright star shone in that dark night announcing His birth. That was a very special star. The Magi of those days well understood the meaning of that star and took years traveling to meet the King that star was pointing to. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, (the shepherds) and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them and they were terribly frightened; but the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord! (Luke 2:11). The Shekinah Glory of the Gospel is YAHSHUA incarnated, bringing forgiveness to all who will receive Him as Lord and Savior- as the Son of God. John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. For out of His fullness, we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift, for while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through YAHSHUA Messiah. (John 1:15-17).

When God came to mount Sinai, in His holiness, He came to establish the law with all its demands and consequences to covenant with Israel. The Bible says, Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, for the Lord Descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like that of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. (Exodus 19). God showed Israel His holiness, as never they had seen before. He said to Moses, Write these words, for after the purpose and character of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel; Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face shone and sent forth beams by reasons of his speaking with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone and they feared to come near him…Afterword, all Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all the Lord had said to him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. The Israelites saw the face of Moses, how the skin of it shone; and Moses put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with God (Exodus34).

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