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light there are times of darkness jesus describes these times of darkness as the working of the world against god there are only two kinds of people those who love god and are citizens of his kingdom and those who hate god and are citizens of the world those who are the light of god in the world give testimony about god to the world in the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven matthew 5 16 esv those who are of the world persecute those who are citizens of god s kingdom blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you matthew 5 11 12 esv while god is preparing those who are his for eternity he is using them as witnesses about him to the world god s witnesses do not simply give lip service to him but are fully devoted to his will in their obedience god knows intimately the heart and deepest motivations of all people he knows those who are his and those who are not his though they declare allegiance to him and i tell you everyone who acknowledges me before men the son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of god but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of god luke 12 8 9 esv every christian will face and endure some kind of persecution because of their relationship with god persecution is not always violent however every christian must be trained to know that violence against them because of their righteous standing before god is an option god tests those who are his not to find out what is in them but to show them what they need to learn and to continue to change them into that which will inhabit eternity with him all suffering can produce righteousness in the christian but all suffering is not suffering for righteousness sake the psalmist tells us the circumstances which produce suffering for righteousness sake though faced with the wrath of the world the faith of the citizen is firm and secure because they have made god first in their lives i have set the lord always before me because he is at my right hand i shall not be shaken psalm 16 8 esv shaken means moved as in off a point or away from a position the psalmist has described those who are never moved in psalm 15 he who does these things shall never be moved psalm 15 5 esv those who show the evidence of righteousness given by god through jesus christ cannot be moved off the position of righteousness upon which they stand and which is their foundation training is good and necessary for life in this world lived obediently for god training is to set the lord always before me and to know that he is at my right hand jesus warns that some will suffer for righteousness sake at the hands of the governing authorities training gives strength of discipline but it is the holy spirit who gives the words and when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say for the holy spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say luke 12 11 12 esv this entry was posted in bible genesis god sermon on the mount theology and tagged david faith holy spirit kingdom of god kingdom of heaven light light and darkness light of the world night obedience persecution suffering for righteousness sake testing on may 13 2022 by gerald f ward teach and counsel me leave a reply i bless the lord who gives me counsel in the night also my heart instructs me psalm 16 7 esv god gives wisdom liberally at the times we most need his wisdom seeking god s wisdom is not a last minute exercise but a life long discipline counsel means to advise devise plan and give purpose instructs means to admonish and discipline jesus does not need to discover either a purpose or be disciplined jesus learned obedience by living in the flesh although he was a son he learned obedience through what he suffered and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him hebrews 5 8 9 esv it is not the discipline and instruction alone are needed but the timing of the application the working out in the world of both discipline and instruction night means both the time of day when the sun is on the opposite side of the earth and a period of testing trials and suffering it is during the times of suffering for righteousness sake that the discipline of god is exercised such discipline is driven by his wisdom god fills his word and the world in which we live with knowledge and instruction he reveals himself in creation and also in ways we could not otherwise know having given people his image god teaches everyone so that all people might fulfill his purpose for them everything in the universe everything created by god points back to him the evidence of his personality and the characteristics of his being the image of god within each person points to god and drives people toward him we intellectually and intimately know him because our entire being is built to know him sin which corrupted the vessel not the image of god contained in the vessel drives us away from him and inhibits our ability to know him intellectually and intimately knowledge is worthless if it is not truthfully applied to life in understanding creation self and god as people grow and mature they are trained in how to view the world and god who created the world everything we see and hear and taste and feel and smell trains us in some way we are trained by those who raise us from babies and children to adults our training is either to know and obey god as the center of creation or to know and place ourselves at the center of our small universe knowing god is fulfilling the mandate of creation placing self before god is idolatry and leads to ignorance those who claim atheism saying there is no god are taught to ignore the empirical evidence of the reality of god they are fools the fool says in his heart there is no god they are corrupt they do abominable deeds there is none who does good psalm 14 1 esv those who say god cannot be known are just as foolish suggesting god is not who he has obviously declared himself they have neither understanding psalm 14 2 or knowledge psalm 14 4 by denying god they ultimately deny themselves being trained to not obey god means when a person relinquishes control of themselves to god they must be retrained there are several elements to retraining first though the person temporarily retains the physical sin nature they are filled with the holy spirit and i will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you john 14 16 17 esv paul laments the continued presence of sin while acknowledging the eternal grace of god toward himself and those who are god s wretched man that i am who will deliver me from this body of death thanks be to god through jesus christ our lord so then i myself serve the law of god with my mind but with my flesh i serve the law of sin romans 7 24 25 esv god gives his holy spirit as a guarantee of eternal life in his presence it is he the holy spirit who counsels and instructs those who are god s in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promised holy spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory ephesians 1 13 14 esv nothing sinful may be in god s presence for you are not a god who delights in wickedness evil may not dwell with you the boastful shall not stand before your eyes you hate all evildoers psalm 5 4 5 esv in order for a sinful person to enter god s presence that person must be recreated god does not fix the person who is corrupted or broken he makes the person new in god s eyes in the temporal world and in eternity god recreates the person therefore if anyone is in christ he is a new creation old has passed away behold the new has come 2 corinthians 5 17 esv the question is not one of retraining the question is does the person who identifies with god because god has redeemed them want to be taught the things of god do we seek him do we obey him do we hear and understand what he is saying to us through his word do we love him and abide in him as we are told in john 15 the evidence of a life lived for god is contrary to the evidence of a life lived for self and the world jesus tells us that the holy spirit is our teacher but the helper the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that i have said to you john 14 26 esv those who are god s can only live for him with the direct intervention of the holy spirit this entry was posted in bible god life of christ psalms theology and tagged creation discipline eternal life general revelation grace holy spirit image of god revelation sin special revelation truth wisdom on may 9 2022 by gerald f ward bless the lord leave a reply i bless the lord who gives me counsel in the night also my heart instructs me psalm 16 7 esv i am intrigued by people who say they bless the lord is it not the lord who blesses people how can we bless god in genesis on the fifth day god blessed the birds of the air and the sea creatures so god created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves with which the waters swarm according to their kinds and every winged bird according to its kind and god saw that it was good and god blessed them saying be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let birds multiply on the earth genesis 1 21 22 esv on the sixth day god blessed our first parents and god blessed them and god said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth genesis 1 28 esv god s blessing includes reproduction to be fruitful and multiply for man god s blessing includes having dominion to bless means to kneel before as a salute an act of honor or to give praise the implication of the word suggests the giving of a gift think of a father kneeling before his child and giving the child a gift who does not understand the importance or value of what is given god adores his creation and especially those created in his image and gives them the greatest most valuable things he can give throughout scripture when we see the word bless it is god giving those who are his that which is his to give however there are a few times when god s people are told to bless god after the nation of israel enters and possesses the promised land moses tells them of all the good things god is giving and you shall eat and be full and you shall bless the lord your god for the good land he has given you deuteronomy 8 10 esv mostly people bless god in worship psalms are filled with songs of worship of those who have given themselves to god deborah after defeating jabin the king of canaan taught the people a song she sings that the people have given themselves to god that the leaders took the lead in israel that the people offered themselves willingly bless the lord judges 5 2 esv and my heart goes out to the commanders of israel who offered themselves willingly among the people bless the lord judges 5 9 esv in the psalms the phrase bless the lord is used 18 times in every instance those who are singing these words are worshipping god what then does it mean to bless the lord as an act of worship jesus speaking through david personally worships god he does this by not only submitting but abandoning himself to god from creation people were designed to serve god given dominion over the earth as god s regents at no time did god relinquish or cede control of his creation to any creature having the image of god gives intimate and personal access to god but does not mean any created thing now belongs to anyone moses tells israel a rebellious people being disciplined by god that he owns everything as soon as i have gone out of the city i will stretch out my hands to the lord the thunder will cease and there will be no more hail so that you may know that the earth is the lord s but as for you and your servants i know that you do not yet fear the lord god exodus 9 29 30 esv those who rebel against god consider the earth their own those who truly worship god know this is not true and that even they belong to him to bless god is to kneel before him in worship and offer self as a gift i appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of god to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to god which is your spiritual worship do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of god what is good and acceptable and perfect romans 12 1 2 esv jesus blessed god through his sacrifice demonstrating that true worship is an act of love shown through obedience he offered himself as a sacrifice to god his sacrifice was a gift to both his god and the people he redeemed those who follow christ offer themselves abandon themselves to him as their greatest gift christians are purchased by jesus for god only after we belong to god and everything ultimately belongs to him can we offer ourselves our thoughts our emotions and our wills to him as living sacrifices this entry was posted in bible genesis god psalms theology and tagged bless blessing creation deborah dominion gift god s blessing image of god moses obedience promised land rebellion righteousness sin worship on may 2 2022 by gerald f ward coincidence or control leave a reply the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places indeed i have a beautiful inheritance psalm 16 6 esv before israel went in to possess the land promised them by god he gave instructions about how to divide the land the lord spoke to moses saying among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names to a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list but the land shall be divided by lot according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller numbers 26 52 56 esv nothing about the dividing of the land was left to chance even though joshua cast lots to decided which tribe would inherit a particular territory the final decision was already determined by god the lot is cast into the lap but its every decision is from the lord proverbs 16 33 esv in the hebrew scripture the people of...