Devotion by Dr. Robert L. Segress

     Approaching the final stage of life, many people feel compelled to review their lives.

     Finding both chaotic and beautiful peaceful memories, Christians often are overwhelmed by the contrast found in their picture book memories. Having experienced unexpected accomplishments and God’s blessings, they can also find poor choices and traumatic experiences.

     Each person needs to choose which represented their life or was it that both painted a correct picture? Smiling times full of resting in Jesus and His goodness are sometimes overwhelmed by more failure and pain than they could have ever imagined would happen. Which was true?

     The answer is both.  

     Realizing the need to be honest both with God and themself, he or she finds that Almighty God understood that failure and success are part of the human experience. Both are part of an honest description of how a person has lived, but only the lasting state of grace pictures the true story of their life.

     Isaiah chapter 43 explains God’s opinion.

“Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth . . . ‘vs. 18-19

“I, even I am, the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.” V.25

     This verse from Isaiah is a concept brother of I John 1:9 “If you repentantly confess your sins, I will forgive and wash you clean.” (paraphrased).

     I John 1:9 explains how a Christian is to live daily, not just when they are born again. As Jesus said: “I came to call sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

Also remembered is: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His own Son to be the propitiation (completely satisfying payment for) for our sins.” (I John 4:10),

     Holding onto these verses we come to understand the true picture of a Christians’ life is a washed clean and white as snow person (Isaiah 1:18). White as snow is the result of walking the I John 1:9 path. This is both the true picture of our life and is all that really matters. Or, as Paul stated by inspiration says: “It is a very small thing with me if you judge me, I judge not myself, for He alone that judges me is God Almighty” (I Corinthians 4:3). The past is forgiven vapor (James.4:14).

     The story of a child of God’s life is seen through a stained-glass window stained by the redeeming blood of Christ. It is shaded by a gratitude attitude because Jesus will never leave or forsaken His flawed children, who were chosen before the creation of the world. (Hebrews 13:5; Ephesians 1:4-7).   

Amen and Amen    

By Dr. Robert (Bob) Segress

     By five essential points Almighty God tells His children how He desires them to live each day.

1. Living in Love

· The two greatest commandments that He gave mankind explain what the Creator desires for the animated dust dolls that have a limited shelf life that He named “Man”. He desires them to live in and share love.

· “Thou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind . . .  And the second is like unto it, thou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

2. Living in the Bible

· The daily spiritual needs of a human are found by living enmeshed in the Bible. 

· “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Mattew 4:4

3. Living in Jesus

· Jesus is the needed daily bread (or mana) (John 6:35). Jesus is also the Incarnate Word of God (John 1:1-14) who is the Vine of God’s children are to daily live in as a clean attached branch (John 15: 1-10).

· “I AM the bread of life” (John 6:32-35). 

· “Abide (or live} in Me and I in you for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

4. Living in the Holy Spirit

· The Holy Spirit is the Source of a righteous daily life.

· “Walk (or live) in the Spirit and you will not practice the lusts of the flesh.” Galatians 5: 16. “Help me to be filled (controlled by) the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)

5.  Living in Faith

· A daily heart felt faith is a life of assurance and confidence.

· “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11)

· “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

Living in Love

     When our Creator commanded (not suggested) that His children love Him with their whole “heart”, He stressed emotions are important to Him. When He stressed the “soul” was to be a part of loving Him, He was stressing strength, or fervency. When He stressed the “mind’, He was insisting on the mind functioning while loving Him.

     When He stressed that the second most important commandment was that His children love others, He was saying; “Love Me completely and love others the same way you love yourself-unselfishly”. 

     As God is love (I John 4:16), and He made man in His image (Genesis 1:27), He desires man to live in love.

Living in the Bible

     Without having a life that is emersed in, directed by, and strengthened by the Bible, a person has no other choice than to live their life directed by secular humanism (or the current opinions that society is propagating). As much of societies opinions are spread by the media, T.V. and secular publications, a person who does not live in the Bible, which is the Creator’s compilation of His opinions and directions for how to live healthily, a secularized person essentially lives by man’s opinions, not their loving Creator’s opinion.

     “Every word of God is tested.” Proverbs 30:5; “Man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Living in Jesus

     Without living in a personal relationship with Jesus, a person does not live in relationship with their Creator as Jesus creates everything. “By Him were all things created . . .visible and invisible.”, Colossians 1:16.; The Son “upholds all things”, Hebrews 1:2-3.

     The prophesied incarnate God (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus Christ is “the radiance of His glory and the express image of His person” (Colossians 1:3).

     If a person does not become a child of God by believing in who and what Jesus is and has done (John 1:12; I John 4:10; Revelation 3:20), they never get to know their Creator or to understand His radiance (Hebrews 1:3), or the reflection of His glory in creation (Psalms 19:1).

     Without living in Jesus (the Creator) a person does not abide in Him, and without Him they can do nothing with the flavor of eternity, or the Kingdom of God. (John 15:5).

Living in the Holy Spirit

     Without living in the Spirit a person cannot partake in the comfort of or the fruit proceeding from the Holy Spirit. 

     Before Jesus was crucified, he told His disciples: “I will request the Father to provide another comforter to you” (John 14:16). 

     Without living in the Spirit a person cannot become a channel of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) or of the power of God. “You shall receive power after the Spirit of God comes upon you” (Acts 1:8).

Living in Faith

     Without living in faith, a person cannot live a life that is divinely assured and confident.

     “Faith is the reality of things hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

     Living in assured faith that objectively rests on the divinely given inspired words of God’s revelation to mankind, the Bible, is a rock-solid faith that death does not extinguish.

     When describing the heroes of the faith it is said: “They were stoned, sawed asunder, slain with the sword . . .” (Hebrews 11:37). Yet, their death included a time of reward.

     Believing that “to leave this world is to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:8) produces a person who is not afraid to die for it is so much better to be with Jesus. 

Live in Love; Live in The Bible; Live in Jesus; Live in the Holy Spirit; Live in Faith.

     Living emersed in these five commanded Divinely desired essentials a child of God lives a life illustrated by the three gifts given to them the day they were born again: “God has not given us a spirit of cowardness; but of Power, Love and A Sound Mind.” (PLS) (II Timothy 1:7)

Amen and Amen    

By Dr. Robert (Bob) Segress

“See You Are Well Again. Stop Sinning or Something Worse May Happen to You.’ 

John 5:1-15 (v.14, emphasis given) 

     Ministering in prisons is a “wait and see” ministry. 

It is often said that the prisons of the world are the most potential fruitful ministry. The reason for this thought is that in a physical prison an inmate can’t escape what they’ve done by using drugs, alcohol or others escape mechanisms. Their sins have confined them, and they often want to be set free from living with them. A person can be confined at the same time in a physical prison and an emotional prison.

     Because of being locked up with others who are users and abusers, a prisoner, whether inside or outside, is forced to face the effects of their behavior, many times at the hands of other inmates. 

     Being inside is always a wait and see experience. Will an inmate find freedom, or will they become more of a prisoner of their own devices? Because of being forced to make a choice, many chose the freedom found in the Lord Jesus. They are made well.  

     One prisoner in a felon-only prison accepted the Gospel of salvation and began to tell others about the freedom found in what Jesus had done and can do for them. He continued to earn a Bible studies degree and once release went into the ministry for those locked away. 

     Another person also made a profession, but once outside, he fell into his old addictions and became more addicted than he had been before prison. He slid down a slippery slope into a toxic sea that took his life. In other words, something worse happened to him.  

     Born-again believers can be prisoners of sin and receive a sentence. “Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so his spirit saved on the day of the Lord” (I Corinthians 5:5). 

     Sometimes the sin prison that believers are confined by is well hidden through secrets and ingenuity, but to no avail. Even as acid eats through hardened surfaces, sins eat through relationships with the Lord, loved ones, and those we serve. 

     Once we have been forgiven and healed, after genuine repentant confession (I John 1:9), we must carefully walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16) so that we won’t reoffend and violate our probation and cause something worse to happen. 

Amen and Amen 

By Dr. Robert (Bob) Segress

     Comparing three concepts produces the grounds for an important insight.

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the English word “Optimism” as

     1. The belief that good evidently prevails over evil.

     2. The tendency to take the most hopeful view of matters.” (p. 448)

     Optimistic people are often described as those who look upon a half-full glass with gratitude that they have a glass that is half-full.

     In contrast, a pessimistic person looks upon the same half-full glass with a negative attitude because it could have more in it, or it used to have more in it.

     Faith is defined by the same Dictionary as Unquestioning belief, Complete trust, or confidence. (p. 230)

     The Bible defines faith as; “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). “God eventually works Sergeik) all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, paraphrased).

     The English word for “synergism” (which comes from the Gk word sunergei-Gk is defined as “An interaction of several things that result in a greater effect than the sum of the things” (p. 642 Webster’s Dictionary).

     Therefore, born-again Christians are to be Optimists as no matter what they experience during life on planet Earth, all things will result in their living eternally with their Lord Jesus in heaven.

     “Neither life or death or anything can separate you from the love of God”. (Romans 8:38-39) Sunergei-Gk.

          Verses That Command a Christian To Be Optimistic

1.“Always rejoice, always pray, always give thanks.” (II Thessalonians 4:16-18)

     Q. How is it practically possible to always rejoice” A. “In Your presence is  fullness of joy.’ (Psalm 16:11).

2. “Count your trials as more valuable than gold.’ (I Peter 1:7)

     Q. Is the outcome what is valuable? A. No, the trial itself is.

3. “Without trials you are a bastard.” (Not a true child of God) (Hebrews 12:8 KJV)

     Q. Are our trials evidence of our being children of God? A. Yes.

4. “Stop thinking about the past and pondering what you’ve done, I’m doing a new thing.” (Isaiah 43:8-19)

     Q. Can our past rob us of our future potential? A. Yes

5. “Be thankful in All things.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) 

     Q. Does God mean what He says in this verse” A. Yes.

          How Can a Pessimist Become an Optimist?

     It is impossible to remain as a pessimist if God’s children choose to say to their Lord God; “You know best in everything that You permit as You are Sovereign. I believe Romans 8:28 says, All things work together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. "Help me to look away from the events of life and put them into Your loving hands and leave them there.”

     “Please give me the heart of Job and Peter. Without Your help I will not have the strength to look at You dear Lord instead of the turbulent waters of this life’s journey. I need to trust You and Your will and believe that You know best no matter what. Help me to be an optimist who consistently remembers that You are God Almighty, the Sovereign Ruler of the universe; therefore, nothing happens other than that which You permit or cause. You have promised to turn things for Your children eventually into good no matter how impossible or painful they seem to be. Help me to look at the big picture, in which You are in charge, not the present temporary picture that is painted with the colors of my concerns and fear.”

     “I believe that Your love, wisdom, and power will work things out for good and that You are the same yesterday, today and forever."

     In Jesus’ name, Amen

  “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, No One Comes to The Father, But Through Me.”  John 14:6

     Many say that they cannot believe that there is only one way to heaven.

     One of the thoughts that causes this opinion is that there are presently more than 4300 religions, according to anthropologist, Stephen Juan, from the University of Sidney. “How can there only be one way to heaven when there are so many different religions or faiths?” some logically ask.

     The following question illustrates that what is logical is not always true. This is illustrated by the logical sequence found in beginning Logic textbooks. 1. My cat is black, 2. All the cats I have seen are black, 3. Therefore, all cats are black. This is a logical statement which is not true.

Q. Why? A. because its conclusion is a generalized universal which is not true. Seeing another cat that is not black would render the logical inquiry void, or impossible.

     The answer to “How can there be only one way?” is found in that There Are Only Two Religions, or faiths. There is one exception to the generalized definition of religion:

     1. Belief in God or gods.

     2. A specific system of belief, worship etc., often involving a code of       ethics.” Webster’s New World Dictionary p.539

     All religions other than Christianity include human behavior and attitudes such as joining a church or movement, a code of ethics etc., as the way to experience an improved state in reincarnation, nirvana etc. In contrast Christianity Rests Upon Only One Principle- Unaided Human Behavior and Attitudes Do Not Contribute to experiencing a beneficial initial relationship with God and the assurance of going to heaven after death.

The Remedy

     The Only solution to God’s holiness separating Him from mankind due to its condition of being sinful, or falling short, is a personal acceptance of and belief in what God Almighty has provided as the remedy. God is holy and sinful conditions cannot abide with Him. A remedy had to be found, which He decided was an adequate propitiation. Propitiation is “an appeasing” (hilasmos, Gk) .

     As “life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11) only Divine blood (which was only possible if God became incarnated as Isaiah 9:6 prophesied) could provide the remedy.

     “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10)

The Creator Would Become the Propitiation

     The Heavenly Father’s love (John 3:16) gave His Son Jesus Christ to become God Incarnate. Jesus would be both God and Man that He might be able to sacrificially pay for mankind’s separation from the holiness of God by His divine blood sacrifice upon the Cross. The blood of Jesus had to be sinless, which it was as declared in Hebrews 4:15. “One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

     Jesus Did Not Begin Existing when He was born in the manger on Christmas day. Isaiah 9:6 prophesized who Jesus was when He would be born according to the Father’s plan to pay for mankind’s sin problem. “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23).

     “For a child will be born to us; a Son will be given to us; And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

     Jesus and the Father “are one” (John 10:30).

     Jesus is the Creator: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, Visible and Invisible, whether thrones or dominion or rulers or authorities –all things have been created by Him” (v.16) (See Colossians 1:13-16).

Christmas

     Following being born in the flesh on Christmas Day, as incarnated God on a rescue mission to rescue mankind by providing the potential to obtain eternal life, Jesus spent thirty years growing and maturing.

His Earthly Ministry

     During His earthly ministry Jesus demonstrated that He was God incarnate both by words and deeds. He healed all types of diseases before many witnesses and even brought back the dead to life (John 11:1-14). He understood that some did not accept Him as the incarnate I Am (John 8:45). He answered this unbelief by saying “If you do not believe my words, believe my miracles which you have observed that I have performed” (John 10:38 paraphrased). He clearly said, “I AM from above . . . I AM not of this world.” (John 8:23). He declared “Before Abraham, I Am.” (John 8:58). To claim to be God or I AM was blasphemy to the Pharisees mind, so they tried to stone Jesus. (John 10:24-39).

     Then, came the day that had been planned before the creation of the world (Ephesians chapter 1 and 2), His death on Calvary’s Cross.

Easter

     On Easter Day the prophecy was fulfilled that creation had been waiting for since the promise given in Genesiss at the beginning of mankind’s journey when our original parents lost their paradise home to poor choices. This promise was the first time the Gospel had been mentioned in the Bible, Genesis 3:15. God promised the evil one “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his head.” Evil would be behind the death of the promised Son and the Son would destroy death and its power by his Death, Burial and Resurrection.

A New Story Began

     Easter celebrates the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ in the words “He Is Risen”. This is the end of one predicted story and the beginning of another predicted story in which God’s rescued by redemption children can begin walking toward heaven’s door one step at a time.   

*    It is a helpful to remember that the Bible is mankind’s only book that based its legitimacy upon predicting the future. E.g. There are over 300 predictions that came true about Jesus that were given in detail many years before His birth. E.g. where He would be born. There are also many predictions about the rise and fall of empires such as Persia found in the Old Testament books such as Daniel that were exactly fulfilled.

*   “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (II Peter 1:21

By Dr. Robert L. Segress

“Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:14 NIV

     As I was taught by coaches in the Central Valley of California, where I grew up, to just take a mouthful of water lest you become waterlogged, I took this philosophy into young adulthood in which I became a carpenter for several year. One summer day on the job, I developed a serious weakness and a severe headache. 

     I barely made it home, and thankfully, my mother knew what to do. Her father and husband were carpenters and had experienced what I later found out was a Sunstroke. Mom made me lie down, remain still, and gave me two quarts of warm, very salty water to drink. This concoction tasted like lemonade, and I drank it right down and then fell into a two-day-long stupor.

      Well, you would think that I would have learned my lesson, but I didn’t.

Years later, after raising our children in Seattle, where I floundered in the rain most of the year, we moved to Surprise, Arizona. My wife always wanted me to hydrate, which was a foreign word after Seattle. I fell into a pattern of drinking water carefully until I felt like I might become water-logged. 

     One afternoon, I was sitting outside in the sun, having a great time. Then, suddenly, I began to shake from a nasty chill that caused my body to shake violently.  To make a long story short, an ambulance took me to our hospital, where I stayed for four days. It's a hard way to learn again to make sure you are hydrated.

     Jesus stressed this point not only in John 4:13-14 but also in John 6:35; “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Also, in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

     God’s children need to be constantly hydrated with Jesus, or they will find themselves in sin’s hospital.

bobsegress@comcast.net

By Dr. Robert L. Segress

“As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have everlasting life.” John 3:14-1 NIV  Complete Context: John 3:14-21 NIV

     A lady’s pastor said the Gospel was first mentioned in Genesis. She was perplexed about how that could be true.

     When she heard that this reference came from Genesis 3:1 about a snake, she was even more doubtful.

     Then, when she read the Son of Man had to be lifted up even as Moses lifted up a serpent in a desert in John 3 verses 14-21, she began to become confused. She had always thought snakes were not supposed to be worshipped. She also felt that the snake that seduced Eve was Satan in snakes clothing and nothing more.

     Her confusion began to fade when she read the remainder of the verses in Genesis 3, Numbers 21, and John 3. She realized that the reason Moses lifted up the snake was on God’s orders so that everyone who had been bitten by the poisonous snakes could be healed.

     She realized that the Israelites weren’t worshipping the snake; the snakes’ vicious deeds were being turned against them by God using their image to heal the people that believed in God’s deliverance. The words in verse fourteen of John chapter three said, “The Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in Him might be saved.” She thought “saved” probably meant “saved from dying without Christ”.

     She felt God was showing the evil one who was boss as He had told the evil one in Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”. The pastor had claimed this was the first time the Gospel was given in the Bible.

     She remembered that the Gospel of Salvation is given in I Corinthains 15:1-4 as the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, which destroyed the evil one’s power over death. She felt confident that she now understood. 

     The devil snake “striking the heel” of Eve’s seeds’ stood for Jesus’ death and “crushing your head” stood for the evil one’s power over death being destroyed by the death, burial, and resurrection of her Lord Jesus Christ, which provided eternal life for those who would believe in God’s deliverance. (John 3:16). This was the same “believe in God’s deliverance” message as was given by Moses in Numbers 21:6: ‘Make a snake and put it on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”. Those ancient people had looked upon the snake on a pole and realized how powerless it was over whether they lived or died. They believed in God because only God had the power over life and death.

     She stopped doubting her pastor. 

By Dr. Robert L. Segress

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

     Being terrified when overwhelmed produces paralysis in us, which steals the potential for a positive outcome.

     God desires a brave spirit in His children. When we are engulfed by fear, we are a living contradiction between what we have been given and how we live. We are not living by faith.

     Living as we have been created through the new birth, we are powerful and loving and have a sound mind, which involves good mental and emotional health. When overwhelmed, we overcome by living a life of trust, faith, and prayer—not by being anxious.

     Feeling overwhelmed usually brings with it a feeling that what is bothering us is impossible to work out. This feeling is overcome when we become convinced that our heavenly Father is watching out for us and has our situation under control. We take comfort in understanding that, with God, all things are possible.

     Another source of feeling overcome is when it seems impossible for us to have enough strength, finances, or wisdom. Our Father tells us His divine power has given us everything we need. Our Shepherd will provide, guide, and protect us if we will follow Him.

     Science has found that how we interpret pain affects the intensity of the experience. Believing the promises of God changes the overwhelming experience from devastating to beneficial.

     We can stop struggling and start trusting our Shepherd. He loves us and has a plan in everything He permits our way. He will work all things for our good. We are not alone. He has promised never to leave or forsake us.

Keep looking up and pressing on in the power of the Spirit and the love of Jesus. 

By Dr. Robert L. Segress

“By Referring to This, When You Read, You Can Understand My Insight into the Mystery of Christ.” Ephesians 3:4 (NASB)

     Down through the ages mankind has attempted to understand the mystery of Christ.

     The Greek word for mystery (musta’rion) in the New Testament stands for “The counsels of God, once hidden, but now revealed” (Abbot-Smith manual Greek Lexicon p. 298)

     The Hebrew word mashiah, (anointed), was rendered in the LXX (Septuagenta) by the Greek word Christos (Christ). “Which undoubtedly foreshadowed the three great offices of Christ as Prophet, Priest, King, there appeared its highest use in which it was employed to designate the One promised of God as the great Deliverer, and who was to be preeminent and altogether unique sense the Anointed, or the Messiah of God.” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p.717). I.E. Christ, the Anointed Messiah from God.

     The Holy Spirit, by inspiration (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter I:20-21), explained the essential Mystery of Christ through Paul in Ephesians chapters one and two, which is then explained and applied in the remainder of Ephesians. The concept of “mystery” is stressed in Ephesians: 1. Mystery of His will (1:9); 2. Mystery of Christ (3:4); 3. Mystery of the Church (5:32) and 4. Mystery of the Gospel (6:19). All these mysteries are centered in Christ.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER ONE

     Because God chose His children before the Creation of the world to be “holy and blameless before Him in love” (v. 4), He devised a plan that fulfilled His purpose (v. 11).

     That plan involved: 1. Making possible His design by giving a future destiny for each of His chosen children. He predestined them through “the kind intentions of His will” (v.9). He would Adopt each one (v. 5). 2. The Father would give adoption’s necessary requirement for Redemption through the blood of Christ (v. 7).

     His ability to provide Forgiveness for each sin that His children would commit would be provided through the blood of the coming Christ by unmerited favor, or grace (v. 7). Through this “lavish” plan (v. 8), He “Made known The Mystery of His Will.” which “He (the Father) purposed in Him (Christ) (v. 9).

     This all happened “With a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ . . .” (v. 10).

     Because of The Father’s purpose, or plan, each predestined child of God would be given “an Inheritance” (v. 11) and would be “Sealed” in Christ (v.13).

EPHESIANS CHAPTER TWO

     After mentioning the “Mystery of His will” (1:9), the Holy Spirit explained in chapter two why God’s plan was necessary:  All future humans would be “Dead in trespasses and sins” (2:1) and would need the Father’s gracious solution explained in chapter one. Those saved from the post- Adamic condition of being “dead in transgressions” and being “by nature the children of wrath” (2:1-3) would have to be “made alive in Christ” (2:5) and “created in Christ for good works” (2.10).

     The mystery of Christ also includes both Jew and Gentile being “Brought near by the blood of Christ” (2:13); which are “being fitted together into a holy temple for the Lord” (2:22).

     The Mystery of Christ is understood by the “insight” that the Holy Spirit gave Paul in Ephesians’ first two chapters.

PAUL’S “INSIGHTS” 

     When Almighty God chose His children before the world was created, He chose their destiny to become “new creatures” (II Corinthians 5:7) who are Forgiven, Redeemed and Adopted children who are given an Inheritance by being Sealed into the eternal Christ, all “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12). 

     All of God the Father’s predestined future for His children was made possible by God’s Son’s propitiation (a satisfactory and complete payment for sin) (I John 2:2). 

     Jesus completed the before creation purpose and plan of God (e.g. Eph. 2:10; Isaiah 9:6-7).

     An essential part of this predestined purpose was the making of both the covenant people, Jews and Gentiles “into one new man”: “reconcile them both in one body to God by the cross” (Ephesians 2:15-16).

This reconciliation is the basis of what a Christian’s life was to be:

     1. SIT - (or rest) in what Jesus accomplished “When we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and Seated us with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus”. (Ephesians 2:5-6). 

     2. WALK- “Walk in love just as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma,” (Ephesians 5:2). 

     3. STAND- “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to Stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6: 11).

     ** The Bodies of God’s chosen before creation children are to be Walking in love while Standing firm in the armor provided by God while their redeemed Spirits are Sitting in the heavenlies with Christ. This is indeed a mystery!! 

     For a more complete reflection on the insights of Paul given in Ephesians about The Mystery of Christ and its fulfillment of God’s purpose in choosing His children before the creation of the world, Watchman Nee’s treasure of a booklet “SIT, WALK, STAND” is a must read.

Conclusion:

     What Is the Mystery of Christ? It is Christ mysteriously completing the Sovereign Father God’s purpose decided upon in His determinate counsel which was decided before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:11; 2:13).  

     This understanding both warms a believer’s heart and expands their seeking mind. These “insights” of Paul are a treasure to be carried and shared with others.

By Dr. Robert L. Segress

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7 NKJV

     This one verse in the New Testament that specifically lists the key elements God considers comprise a healthy mind, or beneficial mental health- II Timothy 1:7.

     1. Mental health includes the strength and ability to choose and pursue what is beneficial for the individual and others. The Holy Spirit’s power is available for each born-again person....“You shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8). POWER is the vital life force, that grows from the spark of life and God’s gifts to believers.

     2. Mental health includes beneficial emotional states- primarily LOVE, the queen of emotions.

     3. Mental health includes an ability to formulate beneficial thoughts- or A SOUND MIND, (so’phoneo’ Gk - “to be in one’s right mind; think sensibly”)- this is the ability to be aware of what is beneficial for the individual and others, or a reality truth-oriented intellect.

     Q. Can you name these three essential elements given by God to His children?

     A. PLS (Power, Love & Sound Mind)

COWARDNESS THE GREAT NEGATOR 

     These three key foundational elements of mental health are negated by “a spirit of fear” (deilias Gk- “cowardice”). Cowardice is a severe form of fear that produces a person “Who is shamefully afraid” (Webster p. 143). A coward lacks enough courage to protect others and themself.

     Understanding the negative effects of cowardice, The Creator Did Not Give It to His Children; rather He gave the potential for living a life of healthy/beneficial mental health to each of His children. He gave Power, Love, and A Sound Mind.

     Even as a three-legged stool must have all three legs in solid condition to maintain a person’s weight, all three legs of good mental health support a person’s life. If one leg breaks, a person falls. If one leg wobbles, a person shakes.

TEACHING TOOLS

     This three-legged stool is an example that God Almighty has teaching tools, and that one of His primary teaching tools is that He teaches in threes: 

1. The Trinity- Matthew 28:19

2. The Human Personality- I Thessalonians 5:23

3. The Elements of Sound Mental Health- II Timothy 1:7

4. The Past, Present, Future- Ephesians 2:1-10

5. The Will of God- I Thessalonians 5:16-18

6. The Gospel of Salvation- I Corinthians 15:1-4

7. Three Types of People- I Corinthians 2:4-3:1

8. The World System- I John 2: 15-17

9. The Great Commandment- Matthew 22:37

     These nine threes comprise the wisdom Almighty God is revealing to mankind. They are pictured as a Seminary education if thoroughly studied, summarized, and embraced. 

     Q. What is the value of each of the Divine threes?

     A. Each Divine Three is a three-point sermon of truth. 

THE SECOND THREE-LEGGED STOOL- I Thessalonians 5:16-18

This second three-legged stool is an attitudinal stool. A person that desires sound attitudes can rest upon the effectiveness of each of the legs supporting this stool as they promote good relationships with both God and people (Proverbs 32:3-4):

     1. Consistently Rejoice. Practically, it is impossible to rejoice every moment due to the realities of living. Only a consistent personal relationship with God’s presence. (Psalm 16:11, “in Your presence is fullness of joy”) can provide God’s rejoicing attitude person. 

     2. Consistently Pray. Praying is communication with God, or having a soul that is always open to His presence (John 15:1-11 “Abide in Me and I in you”). A prayerful attitude deepens a personality.

     3. Consistently Thank Others. A gratitude, or thankful, attitude is foundational to mental and emotional health as it establishes and maintains loving and beneficial relationships with both God and man.

     Q. Can you name the three attitudes that are to characterize each child of God?

     A. Consistently Rejoicing; Consistently Prayerful; Consistently Thankful.

SIAMESE TWINS

     Good Mental Health (the first three-legged stool) and Good Spiritual Attitudes (the second three-legged stool) are Siamese Twins in the sense that they are joined. If either becomes broken or develops a progressive weakness, the other is affected.

     If our relationship with Jesus becomes sickly and we leave the warm intimacy of our first love, we have been seduced by our flesh, the evil one, or the evil one’s minions. If we fail to live with a life of power, love, or a sound mind, or if we don’t rejoice, pray, or give thanks, our mental health needs readjustment as we have caught a communicable disease. 

OUR FUTURE

     Betting our future on the strength of God’s two three-legged stools will produce a long successful life. (Proverbs 3:13-16)

Amen and Amen

By Dr. Robert L. Segress

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. . .so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’  John 3:8 NIV

     Being locked away behind razor wire with inmates every time our ministry team spent the day inside Shelton Prison sharing the good news of the Gospel was a being put in a cage experience.

     We learned from those incarcerated many things. One of the lessons learned was that many thought the worst thing about “being inside’ was the loss of choice. Each inmate was told what to wear, what to eat, where they could go, where they must live. 

     One inmate told me “Mister the worse thing about being inside is I have no choices; they tell me what to wear every day, the same color every day crushes my spirit.” 

     Before a person is born again, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:4-8, each person needs a rebirth. Ephesians 2:1-5 explains this further: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live …” and “gratified the cravings of our sinful nature . . . ‘.

     A spiritually dead person is imprisoned in the perspectives and desires of “the cravings of our sinful nature.” These perspectives seem to be the products of free choices, but they are directed by the old nature and the devil, or “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2).

     A great contrast happens when a person believes in who Jesus is and what He has done and is born again. A new birther is a person who experiences freedom much like a person walking out from being incarcerated in a physical prison. The free and fresh breezes one experiences once they step into “the outside” are such a relief. A person feels light and free as a bird. They want to run away from where they have been, never to return.

     New Birthers are free spirits and can begin making spiritual choices, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who has come to live inside them. (Romans 8:9). These choices are not directed by the evil one and their inherited fallen nature which Adam and Eve passed on to each following generation.

Set Free, a person can blow like a breeze wherever they please. A healthy breeze follows the Creators choices.

     Freedom and Being Born Again are in some ways Siamese Twins. 

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

Amen 

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”  John 1:5 NIV

     Is it true that our balance is related to our ability to see light?

     Finding that my balance was not what it should be, my physician referred me to a physical therapist who put me through a battery of tests which revealed that my balance was related to how much light I focused upon. This is an important understanding as poor balance promotes falling, which is potentially fatal, especially as a person grows older.

     Balance degrades quickly when light cannot be focused upon.

The gospel of John chapter 1:1-18 reveals that in the very beginning the Lord Jesus Christ was God (v.14) and that He became “the light of men.” (v. 4). It is interesting that the word light is used seven times in these verses.

Also, this light is in Jesus Himself, who is “the radiance of His glory” (Hebrews 1:3)

     Q. What is the light of Jesus given as the “light of men’ (v4)?

     A. “His glory” (v.14).

     Mankind has no healthy balance without focusing on the light of Jesus, which radiates from His glory.

     Slipping and falling into the painful results of sinful behavior, a person who is blinded to the only saving light source, the glory of Christ, will walk over an unseen cliff into the toxic sea that further blinds the understanding of the love and light of God’s only begotten Son.

     Sadly, “He was in the world and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him” (John 1:10); therefore, the world is walking in blinded understanding.

     A man blind to the glory of Jesus is a person who walks through life bumping into walls placed by other blind men.

     The spiritually blind walk by a system of Braille that relies upon touch and feel, which becomes their definition of what is real, nothing more has appeal.

     Let us pray for opened minds and hearts that have 20/20 spiritual vison that focuses upon the radiance of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the word of God, the light of the world.

     Focusing upon The Lord Jesus Christ, we will live a life of good balance, a homogenized life mindful of the needs of our body, soul, and spirit, and the needs others have.

     GOD’S SPIRIT AFFECTS THE WHOLE PERSON, NOT JUST A SOUL.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely: and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete . . .”  II Thessalonians 5:23

     HOW TO BE PRESERVED COMPLETELY

God’s children are preserved completely if they have the good balance that results from focusing upon and abiding in the only light source of the glory of God- the Lord Jesus Christ, and the words of His Word.

     “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” Hebrews 1:3.

Amen 

       We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

     Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

     The quote came to mind as I compared the teachings of psychology and professional theology as they relate to controlling our thoughts. Having served professionally in both fields, this comparison interested me. I refreshed my curiosity and found two premises built into modern mental health that, if not modulated by the Word of God, can encourage the violation of moral absolutes, which produces tension in the ego core and often leads to a breakdown.

     The emphases from both fields will help us find freedom from hindering restraints and will bring healing from emotional dysfunction. Adultery is an example. When a person believes that adultery is an essential core moral betrayal, and yet they commit adultery, this violation produces an internalized self-contempt that produces a breakdown that normally takes three to five years to recover from. They have been taken into slavery again after being set free by Christ.

     I learned that behavior grows from our thoughts. I would change Martin Luther’s quote to, “We cannot keep birds from flying through the branches of our mind’s tree, but we can keep them from building a nest in our mind in which their offspring begin to grow and multiply.”

     Thought control is similar to taking a broom and sweeping our mind’s nest clean from the unprofitable chatter and lice that wild birds fly in with as they take residence.

     God can help us take each thought captive as we yield to Him. He is a loving Shepherd.

     Follow Christ’s example by quoting Scripture to the evil one’s minions as they attempt to take residence in your mind and heart.

     Amen and Amen

Reprint with Author's Permission  

     “The waves of death encompassed me.” II Samuel 22:5

     Living in a body that is designed to interact with a material world, as it is constructed from dust, our senses and comprehension provide a reality based upon what is perceived and experienced. 

     This is an all-there-is opinion, because all that is seen and felt every second anchors a person to materialism unless intervention happens. 

     All-there-is produces an expectation that reactions and experiences will continue as gestalts are more than the sum of their parts and produce a feeling that experiencing will continue. I.E. Living, a cognizant person feels living will not cease until the last moments of Life when the spark of life begins to slip away.

THE SPARK OF LIFE LEAVES

     When the spark of life leaves, we are instantaneously inanimate as a log which falls in a forest to rot away to its basic elements.

     Immaterial essence leaving the material is a study in many different types of departure. Some have a gradual weakening of their life force; others abruptly leave this world, which continues as if a truck, in a cloud of dust, passed an unnoticed fallen hitchhiker.

     Some experience a process when they leave this world, others instantaneously have their spark of life leave as if a candle was blown out.

NOT AFRAID OF DYING

     Those who have become God’s children are guaranteed eternal life in Bible verses such as John 3:16. These blessed souls say: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord’ (II Corinthians 5:8). This confidence produces a person who is not afraid of dying, which assurance often confounds both doctors and angry men.

THE LAST MOMENTS BEFORE DYING.

     Perhaps David describes the last moments before dying better than any of The Spirit’s inspiration given in the Bible, other than the words of Christ on the Cross.

     “The waves of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.” II Samuel 22:5-6

PREFERRING DEATH OVER LIFE

     Job expressed what too much pain and suffering too long can produce- desiring to die.

     “My soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pain.’ Job 7:15

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED WALKING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH

     I have had several brought back from death experiences, including stroke and embolisms, in which I could not move, see, hear, smell, think, pray etc., and I had no desire to attempt to do any of these. In short, for several days, I was dead meat much like a hunter had harvested a plump deer.

     I learned while walking through the Valley of Death to say: “All I need is You, Lord Jesus”.

     My attending doctors expressed to me how amazed they are that I am still here by phrases such as: “It’s a miracle you are alive”; “Bob, you have been given a Divine pardon to a death sentence, enjoy it.”

WHAT DID I EXPERIENCE ONCE I STOPPED EXPERIENCING LIFE?

     As one person who came back from death said, “it’s impossible to completely describe what is experienced once life’s spark has been blown out.”; I find my best attempt to describe what it was like once I passed over is the following:

     “I was completely at peace in a satisfying warm safe bright place where nothing else was real and it felt as if responsibility, noise, tension, pain, failure etc. had never existed. Love and acceptance were all that was real except for beauty and purity. I was at peace. I was home.”

     Then, the first thing I faintly heard after several days of blankness and immobility was Jesus saying, “DO NOT BE AFRAID OF DYING, I HAVE CONQUERED DEATH AND I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU.”      Even as Jesus said my sheep hear My voice (John 10:4), I heard His loving voice, and obeyed, vaguely feeling He didn’t want me to finally leave the world yet, but to be honest, I didn’t want to come back.

     I believe one reason He brought me back is to give the assurance to His children that He cares and is involved when we pass over.

I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE LIFE AGAIN

     Then, I gradually could faintly hear what was happening around me, and I gradually began to twitch.

     Finding out that there were up to six-inch needles protruding from my body, which they evidently didn’t need anesthesia to insert, was a mere curiosity to my brain-fogged mind.

WHY DOES GOD ALMIGHTY CHOOSE TO HEAL/ BRING BACK SOME PEOPLE?

     Whenever He chooses to bring back or heal someone, it is because He still has something for them to do. However, He often wills to be glorified by His children dying well.

I WAS GIVEN A PROMPTING.

     He gave me a little prompting to pass on to you, dear brother and sister: “Keep looking up and pressing on in the power of the Spirit and the love of Jesus, your candle of life is burning down.

     Remember:

God has decided the length of our lives. . .we are not given a minute longer.” Job 14:5

Amen  

     Greetings from the Land of Sun (sometimes too much).

     Entering the best eight months of the year in Arizona, we sometimes get tired of Sunny days. Just like God’s O.T. people got tired of manna, I guess.

     One subject that is a problem every day, everywhere, is our thoughts.

God’s children have a task to deal with that is the source of much of our  behavior. Years ago I found that Thoughts and Behavior are much like Siamese twins.

     Today’s reflection attempts to encapsulate God’s opinion about our thoughts and how to capture and control them.

May the Lord bless and keep you and yours,

Dr. Bob

     “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”   II Corinthians 10:5 NIV

     One morning in Shelton Prison, another prison minister suddenly said, “watching our thoughts is the safest source of service”.

     I was somewhat startled by his comment as my mind was upon a message that I was about to deliver to the inmates coming through the door.

     As time has gone by his statement has emerged and strikes a bell of truth that applies to all service for the Lord and the Christian life in general.        Yet, I had another perspective that grew from the degrees in Psychology that I was required to earn after my Seminary degrees.

     Before I retired from twenty-five years as a licensed psychotherapist and became a prison minister, I found that thoughts and behavior are often Siamese twins. I had two perspectives, the Theological and the Psychological, about the importance of bringing thoughts captive. Feeling the Biblical was of prime importance, I needed specific input from the word of God, which I found in Philippines.

     Philippines 4:6-7 is a prescription for anxiety (or “worry”) with four different Greek words for prayer, I discovered when I wrote my thesis on the N.T. words for prayer. Following these words in order produces “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding”. These wonderful verses had been foundational before I entered the field of Psychology, but I had missed that verse eight tells God’s children clearly how He wants them to think.

     The text declares “To loipon”, which means “for the rest”. In other words, after conquering anxiety (v 6-7) a child of God is to think in specific ways: 

     “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is   right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.” (v.8)

     Now I understand the exhortation: “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (II Corinthians 10:5).

     What God’s children watch, read, and think about is to be edited by the delete buttons our mind and heart comes with as gifts from the Creator, The Lord Jesus Christ.

     “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.” (Colossians 1:16).                                                                                                                          

Amen and Amen

“When he prayed to Him, He Was Moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication.”

II Chronicles 33:13 NASB (emphasis added)

     Reading the story about Manasseh misleading Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do excessive evil, I was moved by how he was punished by God allowing him to be captured by the Assyrians and led away with thongs put through his nose (“hooks”, v.11).

     I thought “that’s the end of Manasseh”, but I was wrong. Almighty God was moved by Manasseh’s repentance and prayers.

     “And when he was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He Was Moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” Vs. 12-13.

     Manasseh Represents What the Spirit Reveals in The New Testament: Many of God’s children feel prayer is simply submitting to God’s will, which of course is vital, but prayer can touch the Father’s heart and compassion and bring about change.

     He Is Compassionate and the Source of Comfort

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Compassion and God of All Comfort.” (II Corinthians 1:3)

He Gives Good Gifts When Asked

“If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who Ask Him.” (Matthew 7:11).

He Is and He Is a Rewarder

“Without Faith It Is Impossible to Please Him, for he who comes to God Must Believe that He Is, and that He Is a Rewarder of Those who Seek Him.’ (Hebrews 11:6)

He Deals Differently with Those Abiding and Obedient

“If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, Ask Whatever You Wish, and It Shall Be Done for You.’ (John 15:7)

Some Ask Incorrectly

“You Ask and Do Not Receive, because You Ask with The Wrong Motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)

·  (All quotations have emphasis added)

The answer to the question “Can Prayer Move God” is “Yes, It Can!”.

     However, our petitions must come from an abiding and obedient heart with the right motives that yield to our Lord while believing He knows best.

Being spiritually fit releases the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the secret behind a life of miraculous answers to prayers that results in some recognition as being A Prayer Warrior, as I’m thankful to say my mother was known.

     Let us remember that King Manasseh taught us that greatly humbled prayer and sincere repentance from our failures and sins can move God’s compassion and forgiveness.

     Prayers are always answered positively for a spiritually fit Christian unless our Father knows it is not for the best in the big picture that only He is aware of. He is the only One knowing the big picture and what is best because He Is All-Knowing and Sovereign.

     Our Father is the planner, The Son is the mediator, The Spirit is the enabler.

     “Thank You heavenly Father for being proactive regarding our needs and prayers, In Your Son’s blessed name, Amen.”

I THESSALONIANS 5:16 "Rejoice always"

     It is not uncommon for a verse, or passage, in the Bible to bring some confusion to even the most experienced student of the Bible. An example is, is it realistic for the Bible to say, “Always Rejoice?”

     Attempting to honestly live with our emotions and weaknesses as we live in this exhaustingly fast-paced over materialistic world that is increasingly losing contact with, and understanding of nature is becoming an increasingly difficult task. This separation affects the acceptance of God’s Word and how mankind views creation.

     A highly intelligent young man had been miraculously protected and blessed by the Lord after coming from a broken home in which he had been raised by a prescription drug addicted mother. He understood his dependency upon the Lord for many years during which he became the co-owner of a prosperous company despite little formal education after high school. His personal relationship with Jesus produced a beautifully spirited man. Then, both of his children declared they were homosexual.

He had a choice to make between what the Bible said about homosexuality being a sin; therefore harmful, or the current humanistic acceptance of any form of consensual sexuality.

     He emotionally justified his children’s behavior by saying their choice was not a lifestyle, but who they are, as is currently being stressed by our secular humanistic modern society. He rejected what the Bible and Nature declared, which was God created male and female for every species for companionship and procreation. He then completely moved away from belief in the Bible.

     His parents were extremely sorrowful, but after a period of grief, they remembered that the Word said that nothing in this world, even life or death, can separate God’s children from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Finding comfort in understanding whatever sin a person commits is committed during this lifetime; they realized that he was grown and not their responsibility any longer and that he personally answered to the Lord as they do. 

     Praying that he will come back to always rejoicing in the Source of joy and protection, the Lord our God, they trust in God’s promises.

     Do Not Give Up Rejoicing in Jesus When Your Children Are Seduced by This World.

Amen and Amen

“Taking heed to your word.”  (Psalm 119:9 NASB)

     I recently learned something that I should have known long ago.

Many of the greatest Biblical scholars such as Luther, Spurgeon, and Matthew Henry firmly held to Psalm 119 as being the center of Almighty God’s explanation of His inspiration and desired relationship with mankind.

THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE

     I had understood that Psalm 119 was full of soul expanding revelation that every child of God should be aware of and treasure, but I had never grasped that this Psalm was the center of understanding the entirety of the Bible’s description of what it is and is to be to His people.

Each Hebrew alphabet division of this golden Psalm is constructed in an acrostic of eight verses containing specific Hebrew words for the identity and nature of the Bible.

     Law (Torah) -used 25 times, root “teach or direct; Word (Dabar)- used 24 times, the spoken or revealed word from God; Judgement (Mispatim)- used 23 times, root is “to judge, regulate, discern; Testimonies (Edut/Edot)- used 23 times. Related to word for witness. .; Commandments (Miswah/ Miswot)- used 22 times, straight authority, the right to give orders.; Statues (Huggim)- used 21 times, the authority of the written word of God; Precept (Piggudim)- used 21 times, responsibility to look closely and then act, ;Word (Imrah)- used 19 times, similar to Dabar, denotes anything God has spoken.

     An example of the Spirit of God’s writing style is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph found in verses 1-8, in which He uses: “Law; Testimony; Precept; Statues; Commandments; Judgments; Statues.” Each of these specific words has different meanings in the Hebrew given in the paragraph above, which describe the relationship with God the Father.

Using the meanings of the original terms, an Old Testament child of God would understand God was telling him or her in verses 1-8: “The instruction of the Lord bears witness to His children’s responsibilities. His specific instructions are to be kept. They are commandments which are an expression of His nature and promote justice. The obeying of what God says is to be emphasized.”

     Perhaps now a non-Hebrew speaking child of God can feel some of the riches God’s chosen O.T. people felt when they read the word of God. Putting this overview of the terms for revelation in the conceptual surroundings a person can understand the heart addiction to Psalm 119 that Luther, Spurgeon, and Henry had (who were fluent in Hebrew). They wrote devotions based on each segment of Psalm 119 that have blessed countless millions.

THE RICHES OF PSALM 119

     Matthew Henry understood the life changing potential of this golden Psalm. His father had each of his children day by day read one Hebrew letter until they had read the whole of Psalm 119, twice a year. He understood that there was no passage in the Bible that so promoted an understanding of the Bible and daily walk with Almighty God. Perhaps Matthew’s lifelong love of the word of God and subsequent ministry grew from his father’s insight.

     The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Aleph (vs. 1-8), the last letter is Tau (vs, 169-178). Each of the letter divisions found in Psalm 119 is a unique treasure that reveals an immense view into both the nature of the Bible and God’s relationship with His children.

     Google Blue Letter Bible (which stands for the modern internet), David Guzik’s and Matthew Henry’s study guides for Ps119, for an understanding into the contained devotional treasures in this, the physical center of the Bible.

     There are 1138 pages in the complete Bible (O.T. and N.T.) (NIV) and Psalm 119 is found beginning on pp. 565.

     Fill your mind with the word of God or Satan will fill it with anxiety, pride and temptation.” Charles Spurgeon

     Memorize God’s Word!!! “Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 (NKJV, NIV) 

Amen and Amen.

“Do not call to mind the former things or ponder the things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth, will you not be aware of it?” Isaiah 43:18-19 NASB

     Many feel that if they could relive their life and cancel their failures and sins; their present life would be better, but is that always true?

     A minister committed serious moral sins that disqualified him from serving any longer in the pastorate. He had to find a new way to earn a living for his family, which he did through successfully selling insurance. He desired above all to return to the relationship he had before with the Lord his God and his church. He was a modern-day prodigal son and wanted to relive his life. Despite the pain and shame, he found that his loving heavenly Father led him into other unexpectedly effective services that blessed many and built the Kingdom of God. He served his Father victoriously for the remainder of his days as he ministered to churches and God’s people.

SEVERAL QUESTIONS

     Several questions should be asked as a person attempts to decide whether it would be wise to relive their life if they could be given that chance: 

     What if the things we regret were exactly what was needed to perfect us and develop a better future as in Job’s case? 

     What if our clay was so flawed that the heavenly Potter had to permit complete failure to be able to start over molding His intended design for us that was decided in eternity past? 

     Who can see the big picture from eternities’ perspective of how all human behavior fits together except Almighty God? 

A REGRETFUL AND BITTER FOG

     Are we so blinded by regretful and bitter fogs that we cannot see the miracle of God’s forgiveness cleansing sinners who have repentant confessing hearts that produce refined clay vessels? (I John 1:9).

     The heavenly Father loves His children and is committed to child training, or chastening, each member of His family. (Hebrews 12:6-7).

     He knew, before the creation of the world, that each of His children would sin, sometimes in gross ways. Still, He chose them and decided to enable them to be part of His Son, the blessed Lord Jesus. (Ephesians 1:4-6).

     The love of God is given because of grace, not an unblemished record. (Romans 4:4-5, 8: 38-39; Ephesians 2:3-9).

THE PRESENT IS REALITY

     The heavenly Father loves with an eternal love that will not allow “life” (any sin that can be committed is committed during this life on earth) or “death” (a saint’s condition when they die) to separate them from His love as they have become a part of Him through His Son, (Romans 8:37-39; I John 4:8-10).

     The past is fading memories, the future is anticipation, the only reality that a person has is their present. Our present is the product of past choices (Joshua 24:15). Whatever a past was, it is to be built upon while placing all things in Almighty God’s loving and forgiving hands. (John 10:29).

TEARS ARE SHED

     Tears can be shed by repentant broken hearts for past experiences wished to never have happened. Regret is part of an honest and cleansed repentant heart, (I John 1:9, Psalm 51:17) After this Divine cleansing, “calling to mind” or “pondering” past failures and sins causes a person to walk back into a prison whose doors have been unlocked. 

     God’s children are told: 1. Chose to not “call” (bring to your mind) past things 2. Chose to not “ponder” (habitually considering carefully) past things (Isaiah 43:18). 

FORGIVEN AND LOVED MODELING CLAY

     We must gratefully serve our Lord as forgiven and loved modeling clay and not ponder (“think deeply about”- Webster’s Dictionary) the things of the past, (Isaiah 64:8; Isaiah 43:18).

OUR PRESENT LIVES WOULD DISAPPEAR

     Q. What and who would disappear from your present life if you had never failed? 

     A. Everything and everyone gifted to you by God’s compassionate comforting after your failure. (II Corinthians 1:3-4)

     A mature persons’ reflections on life teach that an adult’s life is not the perfect unblemished beautiful thing they thought it would be with a child’s naiveté: “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind. . . LET US THEREFORE, AS MANY ARE MATURE HAVE THIS ATTITUDE . . . “.

Philippians 3:13-15 (emphasis given in caps) NKJV

OUR LIVES

     Our present life is a product of our past.

     Only the love of God is unchanging first and last.

     Once heaven is entered our life will be fast. 

     rls

     Today’s reflection grows from what God’s Word tells His children in regard to how He wants them to think.

     Do you ever feel as if information and opinions are drowning you?

• Media driven thoughts are like a never-ending flood of confusing waves that cannot be escaped.
• Some flee to mountain tops where there is no reception. Others turn off their TV and won’t talk to their neighbors.
• Desperate for God’s opinion and objectivity, others flee to their Bible and search for God quality thoughts that can judge the computer driven insistent images.
• One passage in the New Testament is especially clear about how God’s children should think . That passage is Philippians 4:4-9.

     The following reflection deals with the: Discussion of this passage; Thought’s about thoughts; Grading the quality of our thoughts; and Growing beautiful fields of thoughts .

     I pray today’s reflection will be a help and blessing to you as it has been to me as God’s Spirit opened my eyes to how to objectively grade the quality of my thinking.

     May the Lord bless and keep you and yours,

“Think on these things.” (Philippians 4:6-8)

     The Holy Spirit reveals a very thorough passage in the Bible about the quality of thinking that God desires for His children.

     First, He gives a specific prescription in Philippians 4:6-7 for the common condition of anxiety in four of the Greek words for prayer. “Stop (an imperative in the original text) being anxious by prayer (worship) with supplication (submission) and thanksgiving (expectation) request (specific desires) what is on your heart and the peace of God that passes understanding will keep your heart and thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

     After addressing anxiety, The Spirit goes on to say in verse eight: “to loipan” (for the rest) (i.e., for the remaining thought patterns). Then, He lists eight specific God quality thought patterns that are to saturate His children’s thoughts in Philippians 4:8.

     “THINK ON THESE THINGS, WHAT IS: 

          TRUE

          HONEST

          JUST

          PURE

          LOVELY

          OF GOOD REPORT

          OF ANY VIRTUE

          OF ANY PRAISE.”

     This passage is a concept brother to II Corinthians 10:5 which says: “Bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

THOUGHTS ABOUT THOUGHTS:

     Our Behavior Comes from Our Thoughts, or “mind” (see Matthew 22:37), and Emotions, or “heart” (see Matthew 15:18-20).

     They Interact to Promote Our Attitudes, Desires, and Behaviors.

          YOUR HEART IS A GARDEN

          YOUR THOUGHTS ARE THE SEEDS

          SOME SEEDS GROW FLOWERS

          SOME SEEDS GROW WEEDS

     “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” Hebrews 12:15

                                        A Daily Weeding

Attitudes Grow in Time,

           A Vaporous Mixture of The Human and The Divine.

Weeding Our Soul’s Garden Is a Faithful Task if We Are to

          Grow Heaven’s Shine.

Daily Weeding the Harmful and Planting the Healthy,

          We Watch Our Garden Refine. rls

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:14

THE GOOD SEED THOUGHTS WORTH PLANTING

“True”                     1. faithful, loyal 2. In accordance with fact, not false

“Honest”                1. truthful, trustworthy 2. sincere or fair

“Just”                      1. right 2. righteous

“Pure”                     1. free from anything that adulterates 2. Simple

“Lovely”                  1. beautiful 2. highly enjoyable

“Of Good Report” 1. giving a beneficial account 2. Carrying and repeating a beneficial account 

“Of Any Virtue”     1. general moral excellence 2. a specific moral quality

“Of Any Praise”     1. approval or admiration 2. Glorifies God 

(Note: Key words defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary)

GRADING THE QUALITY OF OUR THOUGHTS

     Choosing to grade the quality of our thoughts by God quality thoughts, which are listed in Philippians 4:8, we grade our thoughts.

     Grade your thoughts honestly by: Reviewing how often your thoughts have recently sought one or more of the eight God quality thought patterns given by the Holy Spirit. We can grade ourselves by how often and how many times we have recently experienced these thought patterns in our heart, soul, and mind. 

     Our grade moves up the grading scale as we more often think these eight types of thoughts and demonstrate how much we love the Lord our God in all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). 

     Several ideas refer to healthy thinking: Are the thoughts Practical? Are the thoughts Realistic? Are the thoughts Prudent (sound judgement, cautious) “The prudent sees the evil and hides himself; but the naïve go on and are punished for it.” (Proverbs 22:3.)

     A Prudent person lives their life the same way a good driver drives their car; they always look ahead while being aware of what is behind them.

     Would we give ourself even a C (average) at this point? Feeling we deserve less than an A, we realize that we have a long way to grow in our love and obedience to the Lord our God in how our Father desires us to think. Of course, anyone who would grade themselves with an A in thinking as God desires is a self-deceived person who is teetering on destruction (Romans 3:23, Proverbs 16:18).

GROWING BEAUTIFUL BLOOMING FIELDS

           Even as the blooming beautiful Tulip Fields of The Netherlands and

          Mount Vernon, USA, grow in powerful display row by row; the

          growing rows of healthy/beautiful thoughts bless those who are

          exposed to their soothing and healing truths.

         Planting God quality seeds produces rows of pure colors that lift the

         most depressed head which then can begin to see what is ahead and

         cease to be misled. rls

     “Help us heavenly Father to think and reflect in the manner You desire. In Your blessed Son’s name, Amen”.