Category Archives: Abundant Life In Jesus

Dignity Or Dishonor??? Bible Ballistics: Vol. 11 No. 03

11 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Choices And Consequences, Dignity, Dishonor, I Can Do All Things?, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Salvation, The Only Way, Thy Kingdom Come, Trials, Vision

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Bible Ballistics: Vol. 11 No.03 Dignity Or Dishonor???

 

Dignity: “bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of a situation or occasion…”

Antonyms of Dignity: “dishonor, indecency, bad manners, worthlessness….”

Dishonor: “lack or loss of honor; disgraceful or dishonest character or conduct… a cause of shame or disgrace….”

We hear a lot these days about dignity or the lack of it around us, particularly in the public arena, and while it is often connected with ‘pomp’ or ‘ceremony’, it is also something that we ought to practice in our everyday living. One of the songs that I sing regularly in my private time with God (And yes I think singing is a wonderful way to worship God privately as well as corporately—it’s amazing what singing privately to God will do to create an atmosphere of intimacy with HIM!) has a verse I’d like us to consider today; “Be Thou My Vision”, by Dallon Forgaill.

“Be Thou my battle Shield,

Sword for the fight;


Be Thou my Dignity,

Thou my Delight;


Thou my soul’s Shelter,

Thou my high Tower:


Raise Thou me heavenward,

O Power of my power.”

The first two verses talk about God being our “vision” and our “wisdom” and then it comes to this third verse and talks about God being not only our “vision”—how I see and look at things; and our “wisdom”—the truth of the “Word” put into action in our daily lives; bur also when we come to the third verse we can call on God to “be” our “battle Shield” and our “Sword for the fight”! Like Paul mentions in his call to take up the “armor of God” in Ephesians 6, we are in a spiritual battle whether we realize it or not. There is an enemy of our souls who desires to destroy our usefulness to God—but when we put on the armor of God we have the Spiritual power to live abundant life through Jesus!!!

“Then said Jesus unto them again,

Verily, verily, I say unto you,

I am the door of the sheep.

8 All that ever came before me

are thieves

and robbers:

but the sheep did not hear them.

9 I am the door:

by me if any man enter in,

he shall be saved,

and shall go in and out,

and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not,

but for to steal,

and to kill,

and to destroy:

I am come

that they might have life,

and that they might have it

more abundantly.

11 I am the good shepherd:

the good shepherd giveth his life

for the sheep.” John 10:7-11

Jesus came to give “eternal life” to those who will come to Him in repentance and faith, and He said that He would not only give us “life”, but that we would “have it more abundantly”! Amen! Life that’s all about Jesus—not about me! He is the One who supplies our every need, and without Him we are working in fleshly vanity. Paul helps us understand that we must lean on Jesus, to walk “in the Spirit” not the flesh!

“This I say then,

Walk in the Spirit,

and ye shall not fulfil the lust

of the flesh……..

25 If we live in the Spirit,

let us also walk in the Spirit.”    Galatians 5:16 & 25

Walking in the Spirit is where our victory is, because we are His and He is ours, but we must take up our armor and walk in HIS power, not our own! Jesus clearly calls us to “abide” in HIM!!

“I am the true vine,

and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me

that beareth not fruit

he taketh away:

and every branch

that beareth fruit,

he purgeth it,

that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean

through the word which I have spoken

unto you.

4 Abide in me,

and I in you.

As the branch

cannot bear fruit of itself,

except it abide in the vine;

no more can ye,

except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.”    John 15:1-5

Pretty plain isn’t it? Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing”, and yet there is a reverse side to this equation that Paul boldly proclaimed to the Philippians.

“I know both how to be abased,

and I know how to abound:

every where

and in all things

I am instructed both to be full

and to be hungry,

both to abound

and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things

through Christ

which strengtheneth me.”    Philippians 4:12-13

I can—but only “through Christ”–not on my own! And that is the whole idea behind the third verse of the song that I shared earlier, Jesus will be our “Battle shield”, and when He is my Lord and my defender, He will “Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight”, because HE is my all in all! Apart from Him, I can do nothing, but in, through and by HIM; I can do anything He calls me to do. I thank HIM for His faithful provision when those trials and difficult times come—and they will come, they do come; but our God is always faithful to the task! And when we “walk in the Spirit” we will find victory in HIM!!! Always! Even when it doesn’t look like we think it ought to look—remember it’s about Jesus, not me! “Thy Kingdom come….Thy will be done…”

“And have put on the new man,

which is renewed

in knowledge

after the image of him

that created him:

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew,

circumcision nor uncircumcision,

Barbarian, Scythian,

bond nor free:

but Christ is all, and in all.” Colossians 3:10-11

It is by His life in me that I can live victoriously—and for Him to live, I must die to “self”—each day, every day, just as Paul testified to the Galatians so long ago—true then—still true now!

“I am crucified with Christ:

nevertheless I live;

yet not I,

but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live

in the flesh

I live by the faith

of the Son of God,

who loved me,

and gave himself for me.”     Galatians 2:20

As I learn to walk with The Lord Jesus, yielding to His Spirit, resting in His grace and provision, trusting to His care; then I can truly learn to rely upon Him who “is all, and in all”! In Him I can find the strength and courage to respond to trials with dignity and not dishonor—dishonor to my Lord, or those to whom I am to be a witness and reflection of the glory of Jesus. And as that third verse of our song says, we can truly proclaim to the world that we desire HIM to:

“Be Thou my vision…….

Be Thou my wisdom……

Be Thou my battle Shield,

Sword for the fight;


Be Thou my Dignity,

Thou my Delight;


Thou my soul’s Shelter,

Thou my high Tower:


Raise Thou me heavenward,

O Power of my power.”

The “Power of my power”, the One who gives that victory, is also my:

 battle Shield—

Sword—

Dignity—

Delight—

Shelter—

Tower—

Power!

The choice is yours—will you walk in victory with Jesus, and reflect His power and Dignity to the world? Or will you go your own way and find that you’re wallowing in dishonor and disgrace? Jesus is calling—will you respond to His call? Questions only you can answer. But remember there is a test at the end!

“Behold, I stand at the door,

and knock:

if any man hear my voice,

and open the door,

I will come in to him,

and will sup with him,

and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

Amen and Amen!!!

God Is Still God!!! Bible Ballistics: Vol. 11 No. 02

04 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Salvation, The Only Way, The Word

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Bible Ballistics: Vol. 11 No.02 God Is Still God!!!

 

“I will love thee,

O LORD,

my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock,

and my fortress,

and my deliverer;

my God,

my strength,

in whom I will trust;

my buckler,

and the horn of my salvation,

and my high tower.

3 I will call upon the LORD,

who is worthy to be praised:

so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”   Psalm 18:1-3

We could stop right here with an Amen and Amen! God is still God, and the rules haven’t changed. God is The One who created us, and he delivers those who will come to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ His Son. And Jesus is The One who will Judge every man, woman, boy and girl! Jesus IS “The Word”—and “The Word” will ever stand as the plumb line of God’s truth—for He IS truth!

“There is a way

that seemeth right

unto a man,

but the end thereof

are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25

“Enter ye in at the strait gate:

for wide is the gate,

and broad is the way,

that leadeth to destruction,

and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate,

and narrow is the way,

which leadeth unto life,

and few there be that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets,

which come to you in sheep’s clothing,

but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”    Matthew 7:13-15

Every person is given a free will with which to choose to respond to God’s call, or to reject God, yet while we have the privilege to choose, we do not have the right or the ability to choose the consequences of our choices, for the consequences have been set by God! We can choose to hear God’s call, and respond in repentance and faith to Jesus, or we can follow that “broad is the way” to destruction! There is only One way—One truth—and One giver of ‘life’!

“Jesus saith unto him,

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.” John 14:6

Not only is Jesus “the way…the truth…and the life…” He is the very essence of God, HE IS God.

“In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him;

and without him was not any thing made

that was made.

4 In him was life;

and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness;

and the darkness comprehended it not.”  John 1:1-5

Just as Jesus was rejected by those to whom He came in His physical presence, men and women are still rejecting Him today!!! But every choice has a consequence—either the life that Jesus gives, by His own blood that He shed on the cross—or the destruction that is at the end of that “broad…way”! Have you chosen God’s way or your own? God hasn’t changed, He hasn’t moved, and His Way hasn’t been altered! Only The Son can give you life—eternal life today into forever!

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”   Hebrews 13:8

And He is “the same”—the same Son of God who came to save us and to deliver those who will come to Him by faith!

“He was in the world,

and the world was made by him,

and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own,

and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him,

to them gave he power

to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe

on his name:

13 Which were born,

not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.” John 1:10-13 Amen!

Jesus came that we might be “born again” into life with Him!

“That whosoever believeth in him

should not perish,

but have eternal life.

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.” John 3:15-16

And Jesus can give us life, because HE IS life—HE IS God—then, now, and forever! Will you accept His gift of love for you? This God-Man came that you could have His life within YOU! That we could know Him and walk in confidence of what He is doing in HIS own!

“But ye believe not,

because ye are not of my sheep,

as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice,

and I know them,

and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life;

and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them

out of my hand.

29 My Father,

which gave them me,

is greater than all;

and no man is able to pluck them

out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and my Father are one.”   John 10:26-30

So in closing, I simply have a few questions for you and me: ‘Are we letting God be God? Or have we taken His throne in our own lives?’ Who is your God? You need to be sure—because God is sure!

“Nevertheless the foundation of God

standeth sure,

having this seal,

The Lord knoweth them that are his.

And, Let every one

that nameth the name of Christ

depart from iniquity.”    2 Timothy 2:19

And don’t forget, there is a judgment day coming—and Jesus is the standard—no exceptions!

“For the word of God is quick,

and powerful,

and sharper than any twoedged sword,

piercing even to the dividing asunder

of soul and spirit,

and of the joints and marrow,

and is a discerner

of the thoughts

and intents

of the heart.

13 Neither is there any creature

that is not manifest

in his sight:

but all things are naked

and opened

unto the eyes of him

with whom we have to do.”    Hebrews 4:12-13

Remember God is still God. Always was—ever shall be!!!

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”   Hebrews 13:8   Amen and Amen!!!

What’s Eclipsing You??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #432

31 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Choices And Consequences, Eclipse, Holy Spirit, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Knowing God's Word, Let You Light So Shine, Salvation, The Only Way, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #432    What’s Eclipsing You???

 

Many people watched the “Lunar Eclipse” this morning as a shadow moved across the moon. It was an interesting sight and a rare combination of a “Blue Moon” (A blue moon is the appearance of 2 full moons in the same month!), an eclipse (generally speaking, an obstruction of light), and a blood moon (The phenomenon of an eclipse when there is a reddish hue on the moon due to atmospheric particles reflecting sunlight, causing the red hue during the eclipse.). As I watched the amazing sight this morning before daylight, my mind ran through so many things, the main one being the question, “What are we reflecting?”

As believers and followers of Jesus, we are to reflect HIS glory, not our own. Jesus is our “sun”, so to speak—HE is the light of our lives, and others should see Him in us.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,

I am the light of the world:

he that followeth me

shall not walk in darkness,

but shall have the light of life.”    John 8:12

Much as the ‘sun’ gives light and life to planet earth, Jesus is our “light of life”. Just as God set the ‘sun’ in the sky, HE sets the “Son” in hearts that are born again, imparting the power to live as HIS children, by His Holy Spirit within us—power to reflect HIS light and glory to a lost and dying world. Even as Paul testified of when he stood before King Agrippa, may we truly understand our calling?

“To open their eyes,

and to turn them from darkness

to light,

and from the power of Satan

unto God,

that they may receive forgiveness

of sins,

and inheritance

among them which are sanctified

by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18

Paul took his mission seriously, and shared the Gospel everywhere God sent him that he might “turn them from darkness to light”! The mission hasn’t changed, yet to fulfill our mission, we must stay in a position to reflect the true light—Jesus, The light that saves and transforms lives!

“This then is the message

which we have heard of him,

and declare unto you,

that God is light,

and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him,

and walk in darkness,

we lie,

and do not the truth:

7 But 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.”   1 John 1:5-7

It’s all about Jesus, ‘The Light’—the “light of the world”—whose light should be what others see in us! Just a few thoughts for us this morning, am I walking “in the light, as he is in the light”? Or have I been walking “in darkness”, dimming the reflection of my Lord? Have I ever been born again, and received the light of Jesus? Questions that we each must answer for ourselves, but questions that will make an eternal difference, not only in our own life, but also in the lives of those who are watching and following us!

The Lord gave me this picture many years ago, and I think of it often as I strive to be His faithful child and follower.

“If I am the moon and Jesus is the sun, then I will have an affect on the “earth” — the world around me. When I am in direct relation to the sun (the Son!), then His light will be reflected in all I do to the world around me. If I come between the sun (the Son) and the earth, then all that people see is me, and I block out the true light of my Lord—The Son/sun!

But on the other hand if the world/earth gets between me and Jesus—my sun/The Son—there is no reflection at all. For when I am out of direct relation to my sun/ The Son, I have no light to give! For as Jesus said of Himself, “I am the light of the world”, and my job is to reflect HIS light and glory, not my own. Yet when I stand in His way, there is no true light for others to see, just as when I let others—the world—stand between Jesus, and me I have no light to shine. And my job is to shine, and I can’t do that without my ‘source’.”

John records Jesus’ instructions to us in this regard, and may we all ponder His words today.

“I am the true vine,

and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit

he taketh away:

and every branch that beareth fruit,

he purgeth it,

that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean

through the word

which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me,

and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit

of itself,

except it abide in the vine;

no more can ye,

except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:1-5

May we ever be found reflecting HIS glory—bringing “forth much fruit”! Ever being “doers of the word”—HIS Word!

“But be ye doers of the word,

and not hearers only,

deceiving your own selves.

23 For if any be a hearer of the word,

and not a doer,

he is like unto a man

beholding his natural face

in a glass:

24 For he beholdeth himself,

and goeth his way,

and straightway forgetteth

what manner of man he was.

25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law

of liberty,

and continueth therein,

he being not a forgetful hearer,

but a doer of the work,

this man shall be blessed in his deed.”   James 1:22-25

Be blessed today!!!

Who’s Standard??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #429

19 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Changed Lives, Every Knee Shall Bow, Holy Spirit, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Plumbline?, Salvation, SIN, The Word

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #429    Who’s Standard???

 

I’d like examine a message that Amos spoke to his people—a message that is apropos for us today. Much like the days of the judges, we have become a people who are going their own way! The Word shares this assessment twice in the book of Judges, and it is worthy for us to consider today.

“In those days there was no king in Israel,

but every man did that

which was right

in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6

“In those days there was no king in Israel:

every man did that

which was right

in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

 What I’d like us to question today is “Who’s standard are we following?”, what standard are we ordering our lives by, God’s or the world’s? Is it our own way or God’s way? Until we recognize ourselves as sinners and come to Jesus in repentance and faith, we will never know the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit who will lead us “in the way everlasting”! (See Psalm 139:23-24)

“All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the LORD hath laid on him

the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6

Until we recognize “sin” as “sin”, why would we need to repent? Why would we need a Savior to redeem us through His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice? Only the Holy Spirit of Jesus can open our eyes and lead us to the cross!

“No man can come to me,

except the Father

which hath sent me

draw him….” John 6:44a

No matter what the world may say on every hand, there is only ONE way to be right with God, and that “way” is Jesus; and there is a time coming when every one will stand before God to give an account of what they have done with Jesus!

“And being found in fashion as a man,

he humbled himself,

and became obedient unto death,

even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,

and given him a name

which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow,

of things in heaven,

and things in earth,

and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.”    Philippians 2:8-11

Jesus is the only way, HE is God’s plumb-line, God’s standard, God’s judge, God’s own Son, The One who gave Himself for us, but we must come to HIM His way! We must come to Jesus in repentance and faith! And can be saved, and He will make us a new creation “in Jesus”, and come to dwell within us in the person of The Holy Spirit! That is God’s standard, the only standard that matters; and there is a day coming when God’s grace, mercy and patience will end for those who reject HIM! And I can’t help but believe that day is closer than we may think. God told the prophet Amos to warn his people of this same principle:

“Thus he shewed me:

and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall

made by a plumbline,

with a plumbline in his hand.

8 And the LORD said unto me,

Amos, what seest thou?

And I said,

A plumbline.

Then said the Lord,

Behold, I will set a plumbline

in the midst of my people Israel:

I will not again pass by them any more:”   Amos 7:7-8

God was telling Amos that the days of His patient extension of grace to Israel was coming to an end, and if God’s patience came to an end with Israel’s sin—it will come to and end for those who are rejecting Him today.

So, how will you stand-up against God’s plumb-line? Have you created a standard of your own; are you following the ways of the world? Do you know Jesus? If you don’t, you can, if you’ll but listen for His voice that is speaking to your heart, and repent of your sin, trusting in Jesus’ payment for sin on the cross? I pray that you will come to Him. If you already know Him, may we ever be a reflection of HIS glory!

“Jesus saith unto him,

I am the way,     

the truth,      

and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.” John 14:6     

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:

if any man hear my voice,

and open the door,

I will come in to him,

and will sup with him,

and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 Amen!

Staying Warm In The Cold??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #427

12 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Choose You This Day!, Holy Spirit, I Will Never Leave You, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Knowing God's Word, The Only Way, The Word, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #427 Staying Warm In The Cold???

 

“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:7-8

There is a story told of an old man who had drawn away from the church for his own reasons, and the pastor went to visit him to encourage him to return to the fellowship of believers. The gentleman gave all his reasons to the pastor and made it clear that he could be a Christian without being a part of the ‘church’! As they were sitting in front of a warm roaring fire in the fireplace, the pastor simply walked over to the fireplace and took the poker and slid one of the coals out toward the edge away from the fire and continued his conversation with the man. After a few minutes the man asked the pastor why he did that, and in reply the pastor pointed to the coal and said, “As long as that coal was in proximity of the fire it stayed warm and glowing, but as it was pulled away from the fire it has begun to loose its warmth and glow. It’s the same way with believers; when we draw off by ourselves, and away from the fires of sharing The Word together, worship and fellowship we are likely to grow cold, simply because we aren’t ‘near the fire’!”

I’ve always loved that story for the beauty of the powerful picture it paints, and Jesus painted that same kind of picture for the religious leaders of His day. He told them that their service to God consisted of “lip-service” only for “their heart is far from me”! And that is what I’d like to consider this morning—are we close to the fire and glowing with the ‘fire’ of God or have we grown cold and settled for ‘lip-service’ instead of true fellowship with God and those of like mind and faith?

James reminds us that we are to willfully stay close to the “fire” and not loosing our ardor toward God, His Word and His people.

“Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain,

The spirit that dwelleth in us

lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace.

Wherefore he saith,

God resisteth the proud,

but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God,

and he will draw nigh to you.

Cleanse your hands,

ye sinners;

and purify your hearts,

ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted,

and mourn,

and weep:

let your laughter

be turned to mourning,

and your joy

to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves

in the sight of the Lord,

and he shall lift you up.” James 4:5-10

If I might presume to summarize what James is telling us; we are to not be exalted in our opinion of ourselves—thinking we can make it on our own—but we are to humble ourselves before God, and mourn for our own sin and for the sin of those around us—our close associates, our nation and our world! And as we mourn for the needs of our self, our close circle, and our world, we are to bring everything to our Lord, seeking His face to know what to do to minister HIS truth, grace and love to those whom He brings into our circle of influence.

So on these cold days of winter, we can stay warm in the presence of our Lord and King, who is ever with us in the person of the Holy Spirit. So stay warm, my friends—stay close to the fire of God’s presence, God’s Word and God’s people!! “Think on these things….” (See Phil. 4:8-9)!

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith

without wavering;

(for he is faithful that promised;)

24 And let us consider one another

to provoke unto love

and to good works:

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves

together,

as the manner of some is;

but exhorting one another:

and so much the more,

as ye see the day approaching.”   Hebrews 10:23-25

“Let your conversation

be without covetousness;

and be content

with such things as ye have:

for he hath said,

I will never leave thee,

nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say,

The Lord is my helper,

and I will not fear

what man shall do unto me.”    Hebrews 13:5-6

Amen and Amen!