BE A BONDSERVANT OF CHRIST!

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ARE YOU A BEREAN? (NOT THE ONE IN KENTUCKY)

Are you a man or woman of the Spirit? Are you a man or woman of the Truth? Are you a follower of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Savior of the World? We are not speaking of the current age run by those who are worldly, with their untested theories and notions? We speak of that which each individual, who is saved and born again with the indwelling Spirit alive inside,  knows as Truth.

The "world" we speak of, the "cosmos" is the entire package. We know that God Himself said in His revealed Word of Truth - the Bible, just WHO He is, WHO we are, WHAT we did and HOW we come back to a right relationship with Him. The Bereans were a different breed of Christian believers. They didn't have powerpoints, never-used smartphone bible apps and dusty multiple bibles on the shelf at home. They probably had one scroll which their two or three teachers could read, rolled up in receptacle as found in any Judean synagogue, and the Rabbi or newly converted Christian leader would read for them.

What distinguished them from everyone else was their Passion for the Truth, the Word of God. Their passion for rightly dividing the Word caused them to double-check every teacher with what God says to see if they were actually telling the Truth. Oh, that we would have such Christians in the West today. Oh that people would be so passionate about accuracy and the Word of God, in context, and would then seek Him out even more through prayer and supplication.

Scripture tells us thus, about these amazing small band of believers. Contrary to some of the Hebrews under persecution (in the Book of Hebrews) who were about to bolt, the Bereans studied and were encouraged. We read here in Acts 17:10-11: The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

As we embark on an expository overview of Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, let us look at the attributes of a Berean, then let us look at ourselves to see if we come close to matching up to these, because these are the characteristics of a bold and knowledgeable child of God. These are the characteristics which the Lord loves to see in His children.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A BEREAN (verse 11, Acts 17):
- The Bereans were Noble-minded. This literally means, in the original language, one who has a spiritual heart and mind which was lovingly taught to think beyond the natural, and look into the higher calling and meaning of something or somebody. A high view of God equals a proper view of His Teachings and His Word. A low view of God, except of mouthing words at politically correct times, makes you and I like the lost world around us.

- The Bereans were receptive. On Judgment Day, most people outside of communist or islamic or other countries, cannot say they never heard the Gospel of Christ. There is no excuse which says "we didn't know". The Gospel has been saturating most of this world for over 300 years now. It is a free gift of Salvation to ALL who believe and receive. The Bereans not only believed, they gladly grasped the lifeline and made it their own. They accepted, with an understanding heart, that which was offered and, as the original word means, warmly welcomed it daily.

- The Bereans were eager (prothumia). In modern terms, they were "on fire for Christ" like you and I.The Bereans were not just high-minded about Yahweh, the God of Heaven and Earth AND receptive to hearing what He said, (while checking it all out for themselves), but they were eager and gung-ho about it. What the original word used in the Bible means is a complete passionate longing for the Truth. 
This spanned the spectrum from first, being prepared in their spirit to learn about God. Secondly, they had the willingness to listen and verify, to promptly acting on the preaching/teaching of the Gospel. Third, they were then ready to proclaim it with eagerness once it was heard - in their own community AND on mission! All of this is what this ONE original word "prothumia" means!

If we were on a Gospel teaching missionary trip anywhere, it would be more advantageous to have a Berean-minded person alongside us in the team. Here is someone who is passionate, knowledgeable, eager, willing and able to share the Truth, from their OWN life experience and would be more effective than just another guy or lady from your Sunday school class, who happens to be the one with the finances to pay for the trip. This is what the Apostle Paul did intentionally when he was called and sent by the Holy Spirit to Macedonia (around Greece). He brought in a Berean to travel with him: (Acts 20: And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians). Sopater continued to assist but Paul and Timothy after this trip, as he did during it.

The Bereans are the premier example of a wonderful Truth-loving Christian and disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. So therefore, let us resolve to be thought of, in the same way, as we journey along the highway of Life together.

(Clip Art Credit Here) 

ROCK SOLID FAITH FOR TROUBLED TIMES - PART 1

THE CONDITION WHICH COMMANDS CONTRITION

The parallels of Scripture with corrupt Modern American cultural Christianity are stunning.  You can find those in the debased Corinthian church; the legalistic Galatian church or the easily swayed Colossian church, just to name a few.  As King Solomon once said “there is nothing new under the sun”. Indeed, the calendar year changes but people remain the same. This is true in 21st century America as it was in Colosse.

In this New Testament Epistle, the Apostle Paul shows the obstacles facing the pure teaching of the Gospel by the various and sundry corruptions of it, then as they are now. Paul, under the Power of the Holy Spirit, gives three warnings in Colossians Chapter 2 which are worth looking into, in light of what we face today in Modern Christianity. There is a serious reason for a very much needed look at these warnings, because the direct fruit of deviation from the Word of God is with us now. We see it in the rise of the “None’s” – most of whom are increasingly people in their teens, 20’s and early 30’s who have not just walked away from our churches but believe in absolutely nothing. The Pew Research Center and Christian Pollster George Barna have both confirmed that over 1/3 of people under the age of 35 believe in nothing, and that means nothing higher than themselves. As for any "religious" affiliation, they have "none". Hence the name.

In a sense, some of them have a point if their only encounter with Christianity are dead or judgmental churches or those who sing and shout on Sunday and then sin every which way to Saturday. Those are called “hypocrites”.  However, while none of this will protect the “None’s” on Judgment Day from the Wrath of God, we must never stop warning them and all our Christian sisters and brothers out there, who can be blinded by this stuff in Colossians chapter 2, because it is so slippery and devious.

What we are attempting here in this short series on “The Indescribable Christ”, from the Book of Colossians is to point out the pitfalls, stumbling blocks and bear traps out there for the unsuspecting Christian who may not pay attention to this stuff.  The smart folk in theological seminary call this “Christology”!  

In the next few posts, we look at the warnings from the Apostle and Emissary from Christ, and take his words seriously. The reason is that Paul was specifically chosen by Jesus to warn all people of all time, through his teaching, to point everyone, even church going people, away from even their own churches and to Christ alone.

Here is what the initial warning is, before we look at the three main ones in Chapter 2. In Chapter 1:21-22 "21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister".

Christ is pleading with us, as He did through Paul in these two verses, to NEVER forget from whence we came and secondly just WHO He - Jesus Christ - really is. Look at the darkness and death from which Christ redeemed us....from Colossians 1:21-22...(see below):
 1. We were alienated (as far from God in body, mind and soul as possible).
 2. We were enemies - in thought and in our wicked works.
 3. But, in spite of that, God (through Christ) reconciled us fully to Himself.
 4. He not only did that, but cleaned us up so on that Day, we will be blameless.
 5. CAVEAT - our sanctification will only be complete if we stay close to Him.
 6. Our maturity in Him depends on standing FIRM on the Gospel in this life.
 7. This same Gospel will be the plumbline against which we will be judged.

AD THE SERIES...THE BIBLE CONTINUES MAKING INROADS (A REVIEW)

    WATCH EPISODES OF AD THE SERIES ON NBC HERE

Two years after their successful run with the BIBLE series on the History Cable Channel, that stunned the secular world, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have done something spectacular which no ministry or Christian leader can ever do. They have managed to get the Pure and Mighty Name of Jesus, the Magnificent Son of God ON PRIME TIME! Not just that, but AD The Series is on the National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC. Whether this is a great marketing move for NBC, (which it is), the main thing is this - Jesus Christ and the Gospel is going around the world, over the air - unfiltered!

To be sure, there are obvious errors in moving the text (the Bible) to modern American TV or Movie production. There will always be poetic licence, liberty and outright alteration of the Word of God whenever man tries to bring such powerful truths to the TV and silver screens of the world. With a mostly successful run on NBC with their series, Burnett and Downey may be hard-pressed to match the success of both "The Bible" and "AD The Series...the Bible Continues".

As a student of the Bible, author and observer of the culture, there are certain pros and cons to this particular body of work, which are worth noting, to anyone who may consider watching the series from a website or Netflix. 

PROS: 
As aforementioned, the message of Jesus Christ as the unmistakeable Son of God, Savior and Lord, Who rose from the dead, is still stunning to me - on prime time, on mainstream network TV. That alone is priceless!

The second positive development is this time, Burnett and Downey stayed closer to Scripture and the facts than some of their creative “paraphrasing” in their “Bible Series” from two years ago. That History Channel Series which launched AD was roundly criticized by conservative and Reformed scholars, of which I am actually one. However because I saw the value of The Bible Series, I was called a heretic and unsaved pagan, almost, by a well-known “discernment blogger” (whose name shall not grace my page here) because I supported the showing of The Bible Series! This man, who is like most critics and discernment bloggers have almost no love for the lost and hurting in this world, was proven wrong the very next day. I told him that even if there were textual errors in all those hours of telling the Bible from Genesis to the Resurrection, we can use that show to create conversation at the work place, school or anywhere and correct the record ourselves. Sure enough, that occurred to me more than once! I was able to discuss the coming of Cyrus in the Book of Daniel with a person was not that familiar with Scripture. After seeing the portrayal of Cyrus in original Bible Series, it triggered occasion for discussion of what really happened and who Cyrus the first was! AD the Series is still causing conversation with the person who is also bringing others along. So to those self-righteous hyper-Calvinists out there, go get right with God and repent!

Jesus appears to Saul on Road to Damascus in AD The Series

Which brings us to the third positive aspect of the showing of AD the Series. It gave a glimpse of how tough the early church really had it. With Christians by the millions being displaced, chased out of the 2000 year old homes; murdered; beheaded and worse, it is confirmation that nothing has really changed for those who will inherit eternal life. The brutality of the Romans and the Jewish religious authorities against the followers of the Way, was phenomenal. The viciousness especially of the Romans continued for over 300 years until Constantine ended in, upon his alleged conversion. 

Apart from the positives of the Gospel of Jesus, Jesus Himself and the Early Church being the topics of high profile portrayals, there is one consequence of AD the Series. It does not matter if It was intended or not, but AD The Series should do away with this anti-semitic notion that it was the Jews alone who killed Jesus. Anyone who have seen historical documentaries or read books about the Roman Empire could testify to extreme nature of their viciousness, which extrapolated itself into a 300 year reign of terror in Rome, against our brothers and sisters in Christ. It was only the supposed conversion of Emperor Constantine which ended that persecution. The Jewish religious authorities did convince the Roman Pontius Pilate to execute the Jewish Messiah Jesus, and then persecuted and killed some of his early Jewish followers. But in reality, it was the Sin of All Mankind, for all time, which led the Son of God to the die on the Cross. So AD went a long way here. It inadvertently did a service in the cause against Antisemitism!

CONS
There are some serious issues with this beautiful production. Just like the first The Bible Series (2013), the producers took severe liberties with the Text. While this may be okay with books written by mere mortal men,  errors of omission and commission of the Inerrant Word of God are serious matters. Some of the errors in the program are historical and seem to explain the producers obsession with the Roman administration in Judea/Jerusalem. More than two thirds in the way into the twelve part series, inaccurate Roman shenanigans still take up almost half of the story which is supposed to be about the early church.

The corrupt and perverted immature Roman Caligula was not even in Jerusalem in real life at this time. It does appear that the conniving and sleazy lifestyle of these pagans make better television, which would be fine if totally accurate. Burnett and Downey are almost similar to Bill O'Reilly, whose "Killing Jesus" spent such an inordinate amount of time on the sick sex lives of Roman leadership that it almost turned me off from reading the rest of the Book. As well meaning as these folks were, it was hard to take the multi-media out of them to focus on what the earliest days of the Christian church were really.

While it is impossible to get everything that happened in the Book of Acts Chapters 1-11, on which this current series were based, there is a frustrating lack of context and in a couple instances - serious flaws. The Disciples who were in-dwelled by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in Acts 2, were not cowards after this life-changing event. Yet, too many times, they appear to be cowering and sad men who were the opposite of the Actual 12 men who changed the world! They were also not troubled souls but bold men who willingly gave their lives for the Master.

The introduction of the Apostle Paul, as the Christian-hating Saul was accurate except for the tall actor they chose to play Saul/Paul. Again, the well-meaning producers sought aggressively to have a diverse cast, but in spite of the selected actors' great job with their lines etc.

One can go on nitpicking at this detail or that, but there is a better road to travel here. The best way for the Christian or those interested in what the Bible is about, is to take this body of work as a whole and view it as such. 
Next, this should be viewed and then taken back to the Word of God to read what the Books of Acts said about the main characters: Peter, Stephen, Philip and Saul/Paul, Barnabas. 
Third, a good commentary, preferably by Warren Wiersbe will help in understanding both the real historical background AND the application of what you and I just read about the Book of Acts. 
Finally - tell somebody else about it. Tell someone who does not know Christ as Lord and Savior or doesn't even know that a person must have a real authentic relationship with the Son of God, in order to get into Heaven!

TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH: OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 2, 2014, Day 2

SO WHY PRAY AT ALL?  - Part 1

This is a valid question from many who are non-believers/professing and/or Cultural Christians. While this demographic is usually the same group of folks, even committed disciples of Jesus Christ have become seemingly helpless enough to inquire and ask "why doesn't God do something? He sees the pain of the persecuted by the religion of "peace" and various other atheists" in the countries of yesterday's World Watch List (from Open Doors). The shrinking numbers of those who care in the west, about these things, may even ask why the Lord has not intervened as this brutality increases? Can we discern the Mind of God and His thinking about this?

We can, to a certain extent. His Arm is not short and He is timing is flawless, whether we like it or not. Just as in the Days of Noah (Genesis 6) when the earth was so corrupt and evil with sin abounding, thus it is the same now before the Second Coming of the Son of Man. God will not act before His time. However, but He HAS done something. He has commanded us to pray. He has commanded us through His word. Here is the proof:

Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart (speaking about Jesus).
Matthew 26:41 "Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (some final instructions from the Commander in Chief).
Colossians 4:2-4 "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. (The Apostle Paul, who spoke for Jesus).

These are the Commands and Exhortations from the verses above:
- Pray and do NOT lose heart.
- Keep watch (be vigilant) and pray, 
- Prayer will keep us from physical and emotional sin so our prayers will be effective.
- Not just pray once, but be DEVOTED to a lifestyle of prayer.
- Pray for those in bondage (like Paul was in Philippi), who opened up prison ministries and even led the Philippians prison guard and his family to the Lord. Pastor Saeed has led over 30 people to Christ in the Iranian prison which the muslims are keeping him in, just to torture him for being a Christian.
- There are more passages which will be explored and prayed over on Day 3/10. The key is -we pray!

SO FATHER, IN THE POWERFUL AND MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS, WE REST ON YOUR WORD AS OUR COMMAND AND DIRECTION TO PRAY. LORD, UNLIKE THE WORLD AND THOSE WITH RELIGIOUS TITLES WHO REJECT THE VERTICAL RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU TO SERVE THEMSELVES AND WALK AROUND IN LABYRINTHS AND OTHER CREATIONS OF THE SINFUL CORRUPT MINDS OF MAN, WE COME DIRECTLY TO YOU, IN HUMILITY, GRATITUDE AND AN ALERT MIND TO THE THINGS YOU HAVE CALLED US TO,

FATHER, YOU TOLD US TO BE ALERT AND VIGILANT MORE THAN ONCE THROUGHOUT YOUR WORDS TO US, BECAUSE THIS IS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM TO WORSHIP YOU. LORD WE ALSO KNOW THAT THE SPIRITS OF THOSE UNDER PERSECUTION ARE WILLING BUT UNDER SUCH STRESS AND DURESS AND BRUTALITY FROM THE SONS OF THE DEVIL, THEIR FLESH FAILS AS OUR BRETHREN AS MORTAL MEN, SUCH AS WE ARE. THEREFORE, YOU HAVE COMMANDED US TO PRAY FOR THEM AS ONES WHO ARE PART OF THIS SAME BODY OF CHRIST - THE CHURCH.

THEREFORE FATHER, WE PRAY FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND THEIR BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN TO NOT LOSE HEART. WE PRAY, RESTING ON THE SCRIPTURES (BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THEM WITH ALL OUR HEART) FOR THEIR COURAGE TODAY. LORD EVEN AS THEIR FLESH FAILS, EVEN IF YOUR ENEMIES STARVE THEM, EVEN IF THE REST OF THE WORLD AND ITS POMPOUS LEADERS IGNORE THEM, WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE NOT. WHILE YOUR SPIRIT WILL NOT CONTEND WITH MAN FOREVER, YOUR HEART IS FULL OF LOVE FOR ALL YOUR ELECT, AS YOU SEE THE BEGINNING FROM THE END, AND YOU SEE THESE PERSECUTED SAINTS WILL BE GREATER IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN THAN THOSE WHO ARE ENJOYING THEIR REWARDS NOW, ON THIS SIDE OF GLORY.

FINALLY FATHER, WE BELIEVE THAT EVEN IN THIS STATE, YOUR PEOPLE CAN TESTIFY TO THE HOPE THAT IS IN THEM, EVEN TO THEIR CAPTORS - LIKE PAUL IN THE PHILIPPIAN JAIL & LIKE SAEED IN IRAN RIGHT NOW. SO WE PRAY THE SCRIPTURES, WE PRAY LIKE PAUL THAT A DOOR WILL BE OPEN FOR THESE UNNAMED SAINTS TO REACH EVEN ONE OR TWO OF THEIR PERSECUTORS TO SPEAK THE GOSPEL OF LOVE AND SALVATION CLEARLY TO THEM, LIKE GRACIA BURNHAM DOES, TO PRAISE AND GLORY OF YOUR NAME, AND ETERNAL SALVATION OF THEIR SOULS, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, AMEN.

LOOKING FOR A CITY .....(OUTSIDE THE CAMP)

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:12-14
(Bible Gateway- NASB)

Any study of the history of Christianity will reveal the sheer brutality which the persecutors of the Lord Jesus visited on those who followed His teachings, His Truth and His Way. The first three centuries were highlighted by the blood of the martyrs, who laid the cornerstone for the Faith we enjoy today. The first to shed His Blood was the Master Himself - the Ancient of Days, the Great I Am - YHWH - Who descended to reconcile man back to God. He was nailed to a Cross, suffered and died by evil men - Romans and Jews. 

Stephen was the first martyr of the modern church, led outside the gates (outside the camp as verse 13 above says) to be stoned by priests. Present was one zealot by the name of Saul. When Christ saved Saul on the Road to Damascus and changed his name to Paul, the latter spent and give his life in hot pursuit of souls to make up for what he had done to followers of the Way in the past. Every disciple of Jesus Christ was martyred except John. He wrote the Books of John, 1/2/3 John and the Revelation of Jesus Christ and died of natural causes at the ripe old age of 95.

The protective valley of Pella, Jordan,  where God sent the first

Christians from Jerusalem to save them from Titus (AD 70)

Photo Credit: www.bibleistrue.com

CHRISTIANS SAVED FROM ROMAN DESTRUCTION IN AD 70
When Jerusalem fell to the Roman General Titus in 70 AD as prophesied by Jesus Himself in detail in Matthew 24, not one Jewish Christian was killed because the Lord had removed His remnant and hidden them in a place called Pella. The Book of Hebrews was written, before this crucial event, to some of these same brethren to encourage them as they were persecuted by the Pharisees. The Lord knew this was coming down and wanted His elect to be fully aware of what they believed. The majority heeded the advice of the Apostle Paul in this Book and while the Romans killed millions at Masada and by starvation etc. in Jerusalem, King Herod Aggripa II welcomed the Elect to Pella. Pella is a city in the Decapolis which is just beyond the Jordan River.

To the Jew of the period, Jerusalem was the sacred and eternal City of God. The Good News is - Jerusalem STILL IS and will always be! But verse 14 above instructs those of us who are now in a spiritual "Pella" that this city is still to come. It is known in Scripture as the "NEW JERUSALEM".  This is a part of our history, as believers, to which scant attention is paid. 

We can look at End Times prophesy, as pre-Wrath/pre-tribulation believers, and

Petra, Jordan, future hiding
place of the Jewish Remnant
Photo: www.gomadnomad.com

are certain as to the taking out (rapture) of the church. Scripture tells of the hiding of the Jewish remnant which will be saved during the Tribulation, in the protected city of Petra. Just as the Lord saved the first Jewish Christians from the rampaging Romans in AD 70 by sending them to Pella, the one third of modern Israel which will be saved (during the Great Tribulation) will be housed in Petra - both being in the area of Jordan...both being "outside the camp"!

OUTSIDE THE CAMP
But what does this "outside the camp" really mean? Well, the answer is actually in the brief passage above! Followers of Jesus Christ know His Word and His Word dwelleth within. Therefore, we instinctively know that Scripture explains Scripture, because the Same Holy Spirit Who inspired the writers of the Bible to physically write down these words, lives inside everyone who is truly born again and rejuvenated, as adopted son or daughter of Abba.

Verse 12 (Hebrews 13) says Jesus suffered outside the gate...that He may continue to mold us into His Image (sanctify). We know He was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem and died for the sins of all mankind, for all time. Therefore we are to "remain outside the gates" of the world as well, so that we remain worthy of being continually cleansed into spiritual growth, by His Precious Cleansing Supernatural Blood.
This means while we live in this world, our entire being - body/mind/soul - are to be set apart OUTSIDE of this corrupt system of the evil one in order to be aligned with His Holiness, His Truth, His Cleansing Power and His Righteousness. Anything else is anathema. Any other doctrine is the doctrine of demons. Any compromise to co-exist outside of the Will of God is idolatry and all three of these will be punished in the Judgment. We must NOT defile the sacrifice He made outside the Gate on Calvary, by running back into the City of Sin and its closed walls of death.

Verse 13 (Hebrews 13) gives us the road map of where we are to land, once we have made the conscious and intellectual decision to allow His Sanctification into His Image and Likeness. There is a work to be done. This work is not for the purpose of salvation but for the principle of submission. Here is where the majority of professing Christians in the western hemisphere (mostly North America and even Australia/the UK) have a problem. The verse says "let us go to Him outside the camp BEARING HIS REPROACH"!
There is a cost to this. We are not going to be loved and tolerated, even by those who like to talk about "love and tolerance". The biggest enemy of the true church is, get this - the apostate church! We already know who the atheists are and their modus operandi. We already see what false religions are doing to God's people in the Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa and Asia. But it is those who claim the Name of Jesus and constantly select out of context phrases from the Sermon on the Mount, while rejecting the Diety of Christ and the Inerrancy of the Word, are stumbling blocks. You and I will lose many of these as friends. Some of them walked with us, ate with us, and even went to church with us....but when the rubber met the road and then it came to the point of going outside the Culture and the demands of the Corrupt modern societal norms, they walked from Jesus just like those "disciples" of John 6:66. Are you ready to bear the reproach...which in today's definition means - the insults, mocking and cursing by the lost because you and I have Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior? Only those to whom Jesus is LORD will persevere to the end.

Verse 14 (Hebrews 13) is the reward as well as the exhortation to not look back on the door that just slammed behind us as we walked away from the perishing of this evil world (in spirit and in truth). He says "we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come". Therefore what He (the Spirit) means is what the old baseball legend, Satchel Paige from the old Negro Leagues of 100 years ago once said "Don't look back, something mighty be gaining on you"!
This word specifically implies that the former abode from which Christ rescues us - IS NOT GOING TO LAST! Thus, He wants us, because we are now being molded and shaped into what Christ wants ....and because we have gone outside the gates, and turned from the fleeting/useless love and praise of mortal men into the growing in grace and maturity of the True Worshipper by taking the heat as a Disciple, we can now keep our eyes up to the skies, from whence cometh our help!

That help is the home which He first promised us in John 14:1 ("in My Father's House there are many rooms"). Those "rooms" reside in the Eternal City of the New Jerusalem! This eternal and everlasting city, where none of the filth, corruption, political correctness, distractions and diabolical plans of this current system exist, is the 100% REAL hope of the Believer. 
This will be the home of Stephen, stoned outside Jerusalem while the future Apostle Paul held the coats of his murderers. 
This will be the home of Paul, beheaded in Rome by Nero. 
This will be the home of Polycarp who refused to bow and burn incense to an evil one like Caesar. 
This will be the home of Athanasius, St. Nicholas, John Hus, Tyndale, Wightman, Jim Elliott, Pastor Saeed and the millions and millions of Christians from 100 AD until now whose names are only known to our Great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This will be the home of those of us, who take up our Crosses daily, live outside their gates, knowing Who bought us with His Life, and is now maturing us into the men and women of God, that He wishes all could be. Amen

A WALK THROUGH ROMANS 15 (VERSE 5)

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus...(Romans 15:5 ESV)


Euodia and Syntyche are two names you won't find in the Boston phonebook....not even the one in Dublin or Belfast! These two women are not runway models from Greece but two Godly saints who constantly fought each other! No matter how much they tried or how much their friends pleaded with them, the conflict there was too much...and these were Christian women!


Look at what their good brother, the Apostle Paul, says about them here "I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life" ...Philippians 4:2-3 (ESV)


We all know that Paul was Jesus' personal emissary to bring the Gospel out of the Middle East into western Civilization, which he said with stunning success. Yet, here is the man of God pleading for his co-laborers in the mission field to "can't we all just get along"?!


These are leading members of the church at Philippi and hence the reason Paul was spending so much time trying to get the intense disagreement squashed before it damaged the work Christ sent him to do! Sometimes, we Christians can be real stumbling blocks to others seeing the True Love of Christ, by the way we conduct ourselves! If he did not stop this dangerous conflict between Euodia and Syntyche, the vision Christ gave Paul for the model church in Philippi would be in danger!  This may sound like just another Bible story. But here is why the Philippian church is important to us today in 21st Century America - it is the same model we use today!!!!!


1. The Philippian church is the first church to be planted in Europe. 
2. The Philippian church  is the only church in the New Testament that is used as a model for other churches to follow. 
3. The Philippian church is THE main model that gives us an entirely different standard for tithing, giving and free-will offerings! This is how the west got to have generous churches who feed and clothed the homeless and finance missionaries!
4 The Philippian church helps us to define the kind of true fellowship, love and unity we have today....among most believers!


There are some other smaller points but we get the point. If Paul had not buried the bone of contention which Euodia had with Syntyche and vice versa, the western church would be in  heap big trouble and not what Christ intended.


This is what Romans 15:5 is telling us - we have to live in Unity, NOT Kumbayah with EVERY FALSE doctrine, but Unity in the True Body of Believers, so that God will give us ALL the ability to persevere and make it through these worsening times! True Bible believing Christians are the only ones who will make it through to the end and the only way to do so is to have each other's back in prayer, supplication, constant care and checking on each other and true fellowship as a worshipping body and neighbors!


They will know we are Christians by our love...and not by a verse in the New Testament, so the entire world for 2000 years know that you and your fellow saint were women who hated each other!
They will know we are Christians by our long lasting, enduring and magnanimous love we show each other and the Lord. 
They will know we are Christians because we live as in this Psalm:
Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

(Psalm 133 ESV)