Arise, Shine . .

Isaiah 60:1 
"Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you."

The prophet Isaiah's words remind me very much of something that Jesus said. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;" (Mat. 5:14).

I had often heard Jesus' words being misquoted as follows: "A city on a hill 'which' cannot be hid." However, that subtle addition of the word 'which' completely alters what the Word admonishes. In this difficult world, we aren't 'encouraged' to try arise, we are commanded to "arise and shine". The Lord does not intend that these words of divine purpose be simply considered a 'word of encouragement' sung in a rousing chorus or passively listened to during an inspirational sermon. Jesus did not say that we "should" be like a city, brightly lit on a hilltop; He said, that WE ARE an unhidden city on a hilltop.

I'm reminded that these words were taught by Jesus while he was overlooking Jerusalem; from the vantage point of being on top of the Mount of Olives. The mount of Olives was adjacent to the city, and Jerusalem was in plain view from where He was teaching. Are we, the citizens of the Kingdom of God, in plain view, or are we somewhat obscured from onlookers?

You Make the Call (Pt 1)

Part 1 - Gives Life to the Dead

Romans 4:16,17: (NASB)

"For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law (Jewish ancestry), but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,"

“(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”

Have you ever heard someone say, “Why that christian fella thinks he’s so holy!” “What’s makes him so righteous?” I’ll tell you what makes a person righteous – believing God, that’s what! When we carefully study the life of Abraham, we see that everything miraculous that occurred in his life took place after “years” of living by faith. In today’s lesson, I would like to draw your attention, in particular, to the spiritual law/principle of ‘Calling those things which do not exist, as though they did.” God spoke His Word to Abraham, and Abraham BELIEVED God. Romans 4:3 says that by believing what God said, it was accredited to Abraham as righteousness.

You Make the Call (Pt. 2)

Part 2 - Calling Those Things Into Existence

Click Here to Read Part 1

Now, let’s continue on from where we left off from the previous lesson. We understand that you cannot “see” your spirit, nevertheless it is brought to life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, when you receive Christ. In reference to the human spirit being given life by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said this: “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”(John 3:8).

*Anytime the bible capitalizes a word, such as Spirit, He, Him, etc., it denotes diety. In other words, spirit spelled with a lower case “s” would refer to the human spirit, or possibly a demonic spirit. Spirit spelled with a capital “S” indicates that the reference is the Holy Spirit.

Although our own spirits are invisible to us, and although the Holy Spirit is invisible to us, does that mean that God does not exist? Of course not! If you were to ask most born-again Christians if they absolutely know that the Sprit of God lives within them, they would emphatically affirm that yes, He does. If you were to ask most born-again Christians if they believe that there is a literal Heaven and a literal hell they would say, YES! They would most likely say that they believe it because the bible says so. They believe in God, and they believe what His Word has to say about such things; by faith. The Bible says so, so they BELIEVE.

The Ministry of Reconciliation and Walking in 'The Way'

The Ministry of Reconciliation and Walking in 'The Way'

2nd Corinthians 5:18,19 (NASB)

18. "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,"

19. "namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

I remember an incident that took place where I had been sharply rebuked and falsely accused by, of all people, a Pentecostal pastor. Perhaps the issue sprung up out of miscommunication and simple misunderstanding. Nevertheless, I felt wounded and that I`d been unjustly treated.