" He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.." Mark 16:16
Saved from what?
The IRS? The dentist? my Boss? a bad T.V. schedule? Long work hours? sickness? high mortgage payment? Debt?
what about self-importance, abasement, indulgence, sexual sin ( yeah I said the dirty word )
Maybe there's somethings I don't want to be saved from.
Maybe I'm a selfish person, full of greed, materialistic and as sinful as can be and I want the liberty to be and live any way I full well want!
I think that for the most part this is the context most people think and live in.
I call this 'kindergarten mentality' and somehow this has become the shallow existence most of us especially here in the United States find ourselves in. There has been a lowering of character and personal maturity that has set us back to at least a 100 years and that for people living in the United States for in the late 1800's we had not even made that moral decline that has now stunted our growth to that of school children.
Not to say we are not concerned with all these things and that they are not issues in our life but it is quite surprising to find that there is not a greater depth in our citizens and people. We are not concerned with higher and more noble thoughts, dreams and aspirations. What has entered our diet that has produced such a temperance and complacency. In a word I call it 'Blindness '.
Blindness- if a person cannot see then nothing is there.
I have to interject at this moment for another great illness that might raise its head even now at the reading of this is 'the inability to receive any form of correction or criticism ' The school teacher who was merely installed by the school system was able to correct and bring in any form of criticism to her class and the students profit ted from it but far be it if we should say ANYTHING negative about ourselves and our present state of affairs for there will be whiners and complainers stomping out like someone set the school on fire.
Maybe something else effected our diet and that was the lack of chefs who were willing to prepare a well cooked meal who were not afraid to say things the way they were for fear of upsetting the masses.
Whatever happened .. a blindness settled in and a person couldn't even see what it was they needed to be saved from and baptized INTO.
Who will save us from this blindness? Who will heal a blind nation and generation? Who is compassionate enough and loving enough to do so?
Jesus, the Son of the Living God.
" For on that day the deaf shall hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see." Isa. 29:18
Its this gloom and darkness that many find themselves in and they don't even know its gloom. We have a new word for it - "Depression"
A new Depression has set in that is greater than the 'Great Depression' and that is the 'Dark Depression' that has set in across the whole world but we are feeling it here even among many so called churches.
Darkness is just being devoid of that light that illuminates all that is and is not. What I find so surprising is that many profess to be believers but walk in darkness so it only tells me a blindness has set in or I wonder if they had ever seen at all this Jesus who so illuminates all things.
Once having seen Him you know all things and all things are judged and you need no one to teach you. You know what is godly , right and good before His eyes and you walk in the light of His glorious face and by the power of the Holy Spirit. You rejoice to read the teachings of Jesus in the scriptures and fellowship with other believers and you are being changed from glory to glory into the likeness of Jesus. (2 Corinthian's 3:18)
If you are living short of that then a blindness has set in or there needs to be a full seeing of Jesus. The apostle Paul says that if there is not a continued knowing of Him then what is there to living.. " That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death..
.. and I press on that I may know Him and to find a righteousness which is through faith through Him.. ' the letter to the Philippians.
It's not some cloud that we want to descend from heaven to reveal to us Jesus but Jesus did tell Peter when after Peter walked awhile with Jesus responded to a question and answered.." Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." that Jesus responded and said flesh and blood didn't revealed this to you but my father in Heaven.
Saved from what?
The IRS? The dentist? my Boss? a bad T.V. schedule? Long work hours? sickness? high mortgage payment? Debt?
what about self-importance, abasement, indulgence, sexual sin ( yeah I said the dirty word )
Maybe there's somethings I don't want to be saved from.
Maybe I'm a selfish person, full of greed, materialistic and as sinful as can be and I want the liberty to be and live any way I full well want!
I think that for the most part this is the context most people think and live in.
I call this 'kindergarten mentality' and somehow this has become the shallow existence most of us especially here in the United States find ourselves in. There has been a lowering of character and personal maturity that has set us back to at least a 100 years and that for people living in the United States for in the late 1800's we had not even made that moral decline that has now stunted our growth to that of school children.
Not to say we are not concerned with all these things and that they are not issues in our life but it is quite surprising to find that there is not a greater depth in our citizens and people. We are not concerned with higher and more noble thoughts, dreams and aspirations. What has entered our diet that has produced such a temperance and complacency. In a word I call it 'Blindness '.
Blindness- if a person cannot see then nothing is there.
I have to interject at this moment for another great illness that might raise its head even now at the reading of this is 'the inability to receive any form of correction or criticism ' The school teacher who was merely installed by the school system was able to correct and bring in any form of criticism to her class and the students profit ted from it but far be it if we should say ANYTHING negative about ourselves and our present state of affairs for there will be whiners and complainers stomping out like someone set the school on fire.
Maybe something else effected our diet and that was the lack of chefs who were willing to prepare a well cooked meal who were not afraid to say things the way they were for fear of upsetting the masses.
Whatever happened .. a blindness settled in and a person couldn't even see what it was they needed to be saved from and baptized INTO.
Who will save us from this blindness? Who will heal a blind nation and generation? Who is compassionate enough and loving enough to do so?
Jesus, the Son of the Living God.
" For on that day the deaf shall hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see." Isa. 29:18
Its this gloom and darkness that many find themselves in and they don't even know its gloom. We have a new word for it - "Depression"
A new Depression has set in that is greater than the 'Great Depression' and that is the 'Dark Depression' that has set in across the whole world but we are feeling it here even among many so called churches.
Darkness is just being devoid of that light that illuminates all that is and is not. What I find so surprising is that many profess to be believers but walk in darkness so it only tells me a blindness has set in or I wonder if they had ever seen at all this Jesus who so illuminates all things.
Once having seen Him you know all things and all things are judged and you need no one to teach you. You know what is godly , right and good before His eyes and you walk in the light of His glorious face and by the power of the Holy Spirit. You rejoice to read the teachings of Jesus in the scriptures and fellowship with other believers and you are being changed from glory to glory into the likeness of Jesus. (2 Corinthian's 3:18)
If you are living short of that then a blindness has set in or there needs to be a full seeing of Jesus. The apostle Paul says that if there is not a continued knowing of Him then what is there to living.. " That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death..
.. and I press on that I may know Him and to find a righteousness which is through faith through Him.. ' the letter to the Philippians.
It's not some cloud that we want to descend from heaven to reveal to us Jesus but Jesus did tell Peter when after Peter walked awhile with Jesus responded to a question and answered.." Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." that Jesus responded and said flesh and blood didn't revealed this to you but my father in Heaven.
In other words, you didn't get that from just somebody telling you. It wasn't from some T.V. evangelist or something you learned from cathecism, this isn't something your mama or papa told you... you aint just whistling dixie! Something has broken in upon you from heaven! Something revolutionary! Something extraterrestrial .. not of this earth so to speak... something from heaven has broken in and the communication has come to you directly from the Creator of the terra firma your standing on. This is the kind of seeing that opens the eyes of the blind.
The Father of Heaven through the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to any man or woman. How that occurs is by the preaching of the gospels and that is nothing less than the continued teaching of Jesus. We are a privileged nation in that we can read the bible without persecution but that can change if this blindness continues but seeing we have this bible and we have meetings where it is being taught we pray that there are brethren who teach Jesus and not some other doctrine and we pray that He is being revealed or I pray that individuals will take it upon themselves to look for their Lord through the reading of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Isaiah said, " for in that day the deaf will hear the words of a book"... oh that we would hear and our ears would be opened. The Holy Spirit is well able to reveal the Son. In this continued looking on His face a light will break upon us and we will see all things and even those things we need to be saved from but we will have the power to be saved from them as well and that leads to baptism and that will be my next topic Lord willing.
"Father, Glorify yourself in your Son Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit we pray."
3 comments:
Great job! What a joy. I can come here for serenity in a hectic day. Thank you!
Rudy, I am so happy that you have paved the way for me. Well, I know that God is the One who has a plan for me, and His word is a lamplight onto my feet... but it was you who first broike away from the Laws of Man... and since then, when I broke free from that, too... well, it was just more accepting. I KNOW that you and your encouraging words have led a lot of souls to Christ. Congratulations on your obedience to HIs Great Commission. I look forward to visiting your blog... and be inspired! I love you, Your Sister Gloria
Welcome, welcome, welcome!!! Monty and I are so excited to be able to read your thoughts and gain wisdom from the thing the Lord has taught you. Thank you for sharing them with us all!!!
Looking forward to it!!
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