July 24th 2016
Do You Delight In Following The Law, Or Do You Delight In Breaking It?
Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
If you have accepted the perfect sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf, and then, you became born again, you were changed from a person who delights in breaking God’s laws into a new person who delights in trying to follow God’s laws. Have you been changed? When you go out into this world do you find a delight in trying to follow God’s, and mankind’s laws? In the USA today we find people who are wanting to kill the members of mankind, who are trying to uphold the law of this land. This reprehensible behavior is NOT just limited to a racial component, as those doing the killing are sometimes members of the same race, as those who are being killed! It is important to state here that the Bible does NOT teach that there are different races of people, as we all came from Adam and Eve, so we are all one race, the human race!
Jesus who knew all things came down and walked this earth as a member of mankind, and He warned, actually commanded, that we “love your enemies!” But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Luke 6:27-28 (NLT). Yes, Jesus tells His disciples to do good things for those who do bad things to us. In this country today, we believe and teach that if someone does something bad to you, you have the right to retaliate in like kind. Parents, is this what you have taught your children. Even worse is the teaching that we should instigate the bad behavior by joining a powerful group so you can bully other members of mankind. We see this kind of behavior in our schools, and even in our churches!
In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul wrote about his struggle with controlling his inward sinful nature. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. (Romans 7:22-23). In our modern world people often delight in breaking God’s laws! We are all born with a sinful nature, and the only cure for this is to accept the covering of this nature with the blood of Christ, which was shed for us on that cross over 2000 years ago.
Have you allowed your heart to be changed from one of being hard hearted to being receptive to forgiving others as you were forgiven? Our forgiveness is NOT based on any good deeds we do but only on what Jesus did for us. When we accept this free gift of God’s grace, we will then be known to be twice born. With this salvation offer, we are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. This Spirit guides our minds, if we allow it to do so. This Spirit also guides us when we pray, and when we read the Scriptures. Do you have this Spirit in your heart, if you do then you will desire to fulfill God’s laws, because you love Him! The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." (Hebrews 10:16)
Knowing right from wrong is evidence that you have this Spirit within your heart. Remember, the only way this can happen is for you to accept the perfect sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf. Others members of mankind who have not accepted this sacrifice do NOT have the guidance of this Holy Spirit. Such people actually know right from wrong, but they do not have the power of this Spirit within them, so they will often fail to love other members of mankind. Do you KNOW that you have this power in your life? Of course, we still struggle with doing the right things, because of this inward evil that contends with the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote about his struggle with this inward war between his sinful nature he inherited from Adam, and Holy Spirit he received through faith in Jesus. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7:21). When I want to do good, “evil is right there with me,” can you identify with this struggle?
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Solomon wrote about the difficulty he had with understanding or believing that God’s plan included creation of mankind as immortal beings, but then because of sin that all men must die in this life, and then, continue to live in a different dimension. That certainly is a confusing issue to grapple with in this lifetime. It certainly seems true to me that God did “set eternity in the hearts of men!” Many people are working on ways of extending our lives through modern medicine. However, God tells us that we all must die to this life, before we can again walk with God as Adam and Eve did! It is also true that just as Solomon wrote, mankind falls short in understanding God’s plan, and abiding by His laws. As he wrote we, “cannot fathom what God has done!”
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments God carved them into stone tablets, but unless these laws are believed and honored, then people can actually decide to follow them, or they can choose to ignore them! Many people today choose to ignore these laws or they even do not know about them. Many people choose to ignore then so they do not have to honor God by trying to observe His laws. Paul wrote about this in a positive way about taking to heart God’s laws. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. (2 Corinthians 3:3-4)
Do you have the commandments written on your heart? These commands are not meant to restrict your enjoyment of life but more to insure it. “Be happy in Jesus, just trust an obey!”
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
If you have accepted the perfect sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf, and then, you became born again, you were changed from a person who delights in breaking God’s laws into a new person who delights in trying to follow God’s laws. Have you been changed? When you go out into this world do you find a delight in trying to follow God’s, and mankind’s laws? In the USA today we find people who are wanting to kill the members of mankind, who are trying to uphold the law of this land. This reprehensible behavior is NOT just limited to a racial component, as those doing the killing are sometimes members of the same race, as those who are being killed! It is important to state here that the Bible does NOT teach that there are different races of people, as we all came from Adam and Eve, so we are all one race, the human race!
Jesus who knew all things came down and walked this earth as a member of mankind, and He warned, actually commanded, that we “love your enemies!” But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Luke 6:27-28 (NLT). Yes, Jesus tells His disciples to do good things for those who do bad things to us. In this country today, we believe and teach that if someone does something bad to you, you have the right to retaliate in like kind. Parents, is this what you have taught your children. Even worse is the teaching that we should instigate the bad behavior by joining a powerful group so you can bully other members of mankind. We see this kind of behavior in our schools, and even in our churches!
In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul wrote about his struggle with controlling his inward sinful nature. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. (Romans 7:22-23). In our modern world people often delight in breaking God’s laws! We are all born with a sinful nature, and the only cure for this is to accept the covering of this nature with the blood of Christ, which was shed for us on that cross over 2000 years ago.
Have you allowed your heart to be changed from one of being hard hearted to being receptive to forgiving others as you were forgiven? Our forgiveness is NOT based on any good deeds we do but only on what Jesus did for us. When we accept this free gift of God’s grace, we will then be known to be twice born. With this salvation offer, we are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. This Spirit guides our minds, if we allow it to do so. This Spirit also guides us when we pray, and when we read the Scriptures. Do you have this Spirit in your heart, if you do then you will desire to fulfill God’s laws, because you love Him! The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." (Hebrews 10:16)
Knowing right from wrong is evidence that you have this Spirit within your heart. Remember, the only way this can happen is for you to accept the perfect sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf. Others members of mankind who have not accepted this sacrifice do NOT have the guidance of this Holy Spirit. Such people actually know right from wrong, but they do not have the power of this Spirit within them, so they will often fail to love other members of mankind. Do you KNOW that you have this power in your life? Of course, we still struggle with doing the right things, because of this inward evil that contends with the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote about his struggle with this inward war between his sinful nature he inherited from Adam, and Holy Spirit he received through faith in Jesus. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7:21). When I want to do good, “evil is right there with me,” can you identify with this struggle?
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Solomon wrote about the difficulty he had with understanding or believing that God’s plan included creation of mankind as immortal beings, but then because of sin that all men must die in this life, and then, continue to live in a different dimension. That certainly is a confusing issue to grapple with in this lifetime. It certainly seems true to me that God did “set eternity in the hearts of men!” Many people are working on ways of extending our lives through modern medicine. However, God tells us that we all must die to this life, before we can again walk with God as Adam and Eve did! It is also true that just as Solomon wrote, mankind falls short in understanding God’s plan, and abiding by His laws. As he wrote we, “cannot fathom what God has done!”
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments God carved them into stone tablets, but unless these laws are believed and honored, then people can actually decide to follow them, or they can choose to ignore them! Many people today choose to ignore these laws or they even do not know about them. Many people choose to ignore then so they do not have to honor God by trying to observe His laws. Paul wrote about this in a positive way about taking to heart God’s laws. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. (2 Corinthians 3:3-4)
Do you have the commandments written on your heart? These commands are not meant to restrict your enjoyment of life but more to insure it. “Be happy in Jesus, just trust an obey!”
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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