Amazing Christmasssy song by Sufjan Stevens

Jesus, Christmas and Hanukkah

Seeing as we are in the festive season, and hanukkah has already started with christmas coming up soon. I thought it would be cool if I jotted down some of my thoughts on christmas, Jesus and hanukkah. I’m not big on holidays (the secular ones) and I don’t particularly keep the Feasts listed in Leviticus and Numbers, I learn about them and when they arrive I acknowledge their arrival and muse about them but I don’t particularly keep them. Perhaps in the future I may break bread with brothers and sisters in the Lord and share the Lord’s Supper around the theme of any particular Biblical Holiday for the purpose of focusing on Jesus the Messiah who is the reality of what these feasts point to. When it comes to easter and christmas however I’m a bit more iffy about them. They are not truly Biblical holy days in the sense of the word (holy days decreed by God to be observed etc). They are more of a traditional thing to do and remember the acts of the Messiah in his being born into the human world and also his death and resurrection and so I appreciate the stories these holy days tell as those are based in Biblical reality. The rest however is tradition and I think the decision to celebrate christmas or not is the same  as the decision to wear payos, teffilin and tzit tzit; its up to the person to exercise their biblical liberty within the bounds of biblical orthodoxy and the doctrines of Grace.

So what about passover, tabernacles and the rest of the lot? They each have specific fulfillments or anticipated fulfillments and so I think that in the NT it is up to the believer to chose whether or not to keep the Biblical feasts based soley in Christ however. By that I mean it is not something that we in the New Covenant are specifically commanded to do (especially Gentiles). With the exception of circumcision (and entrance to the temple if it existed in Jerusalem today), I think Christian Gentiles can keep many of the OT commandments so long as they do so with a heart anchored on Grace and the sufficiency of Messiah’s work on the cross and the expectations of how gentiles are to live as determined by the NT commandments. The issue is essentially about legalism and understanding who these holy days point to. For Jewish believers I would say the NT shows significant evidence to show that many NT believers were zealous for the Law as various portions of Acts show. That said we see that Paul talks of how with Gentiles he was as a Gentile and so I think even here under NT there is greater liberty for the Jewish believer also, for the Jewish believer Jesus Christ is to be the reality of whom these holy days point to.

On another note, some time ago I came across an article that describes how the Messiah could have possibly been conceived around the time of hanukkah. Hopefully I’ll write more on this, its quite plausible actually. That said it falls in my “will find out in Heaven” box of things I would like to know. The theory pretty much proposes that based on the time table for priestly duties it “apparently” is possible to determine the approximate time when Zechariah the father of John the Baptist was serving at the temple and so determine an approximate time for when his wife would have conceived. This works out to be around June-July (if I remember correctly that is). 6 months later Jesus would have been conceived around December-January which would be around hanukkah, 9 months later he would have been born around August-September or nearish to the festivals of the 7th month of the hebrew calendar. This is all speculation of course but I think its still pretty interesting and more plausible. In any case, which ever holy day you chose to keep!! Please do enjoy it and focus on he who sustains all creation and existence by His Word.

The following is a portion of the Gospel of John. In this portion we see Jesus keeping the feast and discussing heavenly truth to the multitudes.

John 10:22-38

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple,  in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are  the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but  you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

  The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?  If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Jesus’ words on son’s of God and he being The Son of God are very interesting. What a great hanukkah those folks must have had discussing matters of such weight with the all knowing God in flesh. Most of them however did not heed him and that is a great tragedy. That said, what it means for Jesus to be the Son of God is a  hot topic too. Its been an issue that I have thought on a lot in recent times and its something I pray over a great deal.

The way I understand scripture though, it seems that there are many sons of God inclusive of these are angels and Adam also. And so when Jesus is called the only begotten what does it mean? We know he is God who became flesh and the Hebrew Scriptures are as clear as the New Testament on this. One thing that the OT seems not to call the Messenger of the Presence/ The Angel of YHWH who is called by the Name of YHWH, is the son of God. He is simply always referred to as God himself though he is a messenger of God. And so I’m wary of creeds that state that Jesus was eternally begotten because I simply don’t see that in scripture, there are times when scripture speaks of Jesus’ Divinity and eternality and says that “the Son” created all things by his word. But I think its best to see that as a present tense sentence that looks backwards, by this I mean that the person who we know as the Son was also involved in creation. Rather than use a title that he has been called by in both the OT and NT such as The Word, the writer of hebrews seems to have used a title that is now as valid as The Word of God but also one that is familiar and can be used to look back on the acts of The Messiah just as much as the Word can be used for Him. So in summary, it seems that the term monogenes or “unique” which is translated as “Only” or “only begotten” and is used for Isaac in comparison to Ishmael also is best understood as a term that denotes how Jesus Christ is one of a kind. What the YHWH-Word did in taking on flesh was amazing. The uncreated put on created flesh. His body was actually conceived within one of his own creatures, and so he took on part of our identity as part of creation though through his divinity also separate from it and infinitely above it in every way. He became fully man whilst retaining full Divinity. And so He is the “unique” Son in that he is God and yet in taking on flesh has become like us whom he has made brothers and so fellow sons of God like Him, except unlike us (and angels) he is Eternal, He is the first and the Last, The Alpha and the Omega, All powerful, All knowing, ever present, He is God….He is YHWH, one with the Father: the Father in Him and He in the Father and they both in the Spirit. As part of the Godhead is utterly set apart from all creation and is its creator with the Father.

 I think Son of God speaks of this unique identity as well as His credentials as Savior. Because he was utterly Holy in never sinning  he was a perfect substitute for us and so he died in our place, because He is God he had power to overcome death and so because only YHWH is Savior and shall share his glory with no one, it is clear that in order to save us….God had to become one of us and so became “a son” in order to make us sons in Himself. I wish I could articulate this better. Just incase any one is wondering, I do think each person of the trinity is distinct from the other and that they are three persons who are One God. Three persons but One in Being, Name, Attributes,  Holiness and Glory. So because of who Jesus is, He is rightly called “The Son of God” just as he is called “The Son of Man”. If any thing I think the two titles define each other once we understand that it is God who takes on flesh and thus is called “the Son of Man” and “The Son of God.” That said, I’m still open minded on this issue and as long as your views do not contradict clear trinitarian doctrines regarding the Nature of the Godhead and the fact that The Word did infact become flesh, die and rise up and even now retains His humanity in the heavens, I’m willing to discuss and dialogue over the matter.

the magi

Check out the resurgence  as well as hebrew4christians for more.

Sat in your presence

My heart beats and sinks within itself as it sorrows
A longing for you consumes me down to my bone’s marrow
Without you I am as a empty shell; I am hallow
Your breath fills me with life and joy
Your presence I seek; in the midst of the multitudes no longer shall I play coy
You have set my heart free and so it is you I seek
The path of your commandments is the course of my life
You have freed me and healed my by your bloody stripes
With an outstretched arm you have redeemed me from doom
I wait on you daily for I know your kingdom comes soon
The way of your word is the road to life
I cling to your statutes and reject the way of the wicked which is painful strife
I long to be in your presence all day long for my soul pants for you
My soul clings to the dust and my tongue to the roof of my mouth;
For I thirst for you as the thirsty ground thirsts for rain or morning dew
Who clothed your self in flesh and gave up your breath
With faith in you Lord I join you in your death
In your rising up you have made my soul new
You have defeated death by your all powerful life; an everlasting breath
I delight in your wisdom which knows no limit to its breadth
Your words are my joy and bread

dancing flames

Menorah

Clothed in unapproachable Light

Dwelling in eternity

Searing Glory that is unfathomable to the human eye’s sight

Ever-ruling; The Holiness of the King is the truest of all certainties

Elohim; Three Persons and yet One Being

Ruling His domain and Kingdom above in the places heavenly

Sitting on the throne is One with the wisdom of Eternities unending

Eyes buring like flames dancing;

Voice roaring, and yet silent as stillness

Joy and Peace for ambience

Thinking of you slows my heart and stills my mind

the eyes of my heart are fixed on your beauty

my soul is consumed by flames of love

Living waters overcome my heart

In your presence I know true delight; to be your delight  in Messiah dwelling in your light

Father I seek you in Messiah, exploring the depths of the Love of Mashiach

The springs of living waters I seek, following a river of life

So to The Life I speak, his word I delight in and his wing I seek

YHWH Three and Yet One

You sent The Messenger of your Presence;

The exact representation of your Being put on flesh

God you carried a cross and gave your breath

You express the Everlasting Love of God

Oh’ King of Kings; you are my refuge

Raised up and ever ruling, your Spirit takes me home to you

The flaming torch of your Word leads me…..the utterances of your lips

I seek see and dwell in the presence of your Majesty

candles we keep burning

our prayers like incense rise up

London to New York to Jerusalem
Cities never sleep
In darkness the people are falling
Fire burning
Absence of light all consuming
Depravity reigning as ferocity of heart keeps mind’s insane
Conscienceless mind’s keep maiming
Its righteousness that people choose to keep abstaining
Light shines on this world
Burning searing the light filters through the glass of steel towers gleaning
Earth shaking as Glorious Light reflects into dead hearts
Corpses rising, life renewed as in fiery light the people are raised up
There was Darkness for a time, Eternity in Light now starts
Glorious Holiness burns up the wicked
Righteousness fills the earth, here now starts the Reign of His Majesty
He comes with the clouds; till then we stay like candles burning
Our prayers like sweet incense rise up
To the Shamayim the abode of the Sovereign of our hearts
Source of all light,
Giver of my heart’s sight
My soul’s sweetest delight
Daily I wait on your coming…..candles we keep buring

Devarim

shine like a candle in the dark

 

Dissatisfied by the world around
This youth seeks a world where beauty abounds
A place where the songs of The Majesty’s beauty resounds
Because I’m tired of the world around
So I wait for the day when the archangel will shout;
And that last shofar blast will sound
I’ll be taken to a place above, so till then I won’t let this world press me down
With the King’s holiness for our dinner gown
And His steadfast Love for a precious crown
Till then we suffer with him outside the encampment, village, city or town
For His Love will never let us down
Ever abiding in His Word, his songs are in my mind I always here their sound
Beauty radiant, Your Glorious Light like fire
Its you I long for, you are my soul’s truest desire

Thoughts on marriage

Marriage, aaaahhh. That unique relationship that God has given men and women to share. To high light the romance, the Holiness, the purposes and reasons why God has given us marriage. Ultimately like most things created by God, marriage is more about God than it is about is about us.

First off I will say this, it is easy for us to think like the world does. Every day the world desires for us to be conformed to it, whereas we are meant to shine Light into its darkness so that people may be drawn to the Messiah. So its either we break or it breaks or there is friction because neither one yields to the other. Foremost as believers of Messiah our identity is not found in whether we are single, married, divorced or widowed. Our identity is found in Messiah, when we trust in Him and believe in Him. He comes to dwell is us and The Holy Spirit seals us and fills us as a guarantee of the better things to come in the age to come. And so by the Holy Spirit we come to experience the gifts of the Spirit and on the mind renewal level we experience the fruit of the Spirit as we are made into the image of Christ who dwells in us. This transformation is a lifelong process of sanctification, but the goal is ultimately to please Messiah and do his will. Our own desires and wishes come secondary and His will is first. So our goal is to walk in Christ and to seek Him out with all we are, our identity is this we are children of God, co-heirs of the Kingdom together with Christ. We are sat in heavenly places with Him and shall rule with him when he returns and rules from Jerusalem and onwards into eternity when he creates a new heaven and new earth and New Jerusalem. For now we are persecuted, may be rich or poor but our riches are in Heaven, we may be in positions of power in this world but we have no inheritance with the world for our inheritance is in the world to come with The Messiah. Simply put we are different from those around us. So how we look at marriage is totally different as well. I hope I’m not boring you too much hehe don’t want you to fall asleep reading!

God created the world thousands of years ago, in the creation’s first week on the sixth day he created mankind. Genesis 1 gives a brief account of how God created mankind (man and woman, male and female), Genesis 2 then vividly describes how God went about creating the Man and then the woman. So the first man Adam was made from the dust of the ground, God then commanded Him to name the creatures he had made but Adam out of them could not find a mate. God looked and saw that it was not good that the man was alone. So God created a woman for Adam out of His side and presented her to Adam. This is one of the more romantic parts of the Bible. Adam would have been in a Beautiful paradise and would have just woken up from his deep sleep that God had induced, He would then have woken up to see Eve as she was presented to Him by God. Adam then says “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.” So Adam takes her as His own and she willingly becomes His wife. He describes her as His own flesh and his own bones (which she literally was) yet in a more poetic sense Adam was saying to Eve that she is one with Him and He is one with her, He was making covenant with her. Saying in a very deep and romantic way in a sense that in the very way that one loves his own flesh and bones he loved her, in the same way that one without his legs, arms or some part of his body is incomplete so too was He before He was brought to Him and so now He was complete. So on the human level God created marriage so that two beings could become one body and share communion and companionship and so cleave to each other and also fulfill His commandment to be fruitful and multiply. This is why it is said ” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh.” This is not about leaving them physically. When a child is young, he cleaves to His parents and they care for his emotional and other needs. When he grows up, he pursues a wife and cleaves to her sort of how he cleaved to his parents but in a different way as this relationship is romantic and he also can take care of himself and so on. So on the basic human level, God created marriage for man to enjoy and commune with woman and vice versa. From that we can also tell that God intended for marriage to be monogamous.

The poetic perfect romance of Genesis 1 and 2 does not last long, soon after the man and woman sin. Sin brings into the world various problems, and many of these problems attack God’s design for how a family should be. The first bigamist soon appears and we see Lamech in the early chapters of Genesis marrying more than one wife. There is violence and things like divorce come into play and because death reigns on mankind men and women lose spouses. In other words sin makes life a painful existence. However God does desire some things from his people. Marriage is to be a relationship of Love, mercy, graciousness, compassion, faithfulness to each other and to God above all others. A married couple is expected to raise Godly children. There are many pictures in scripture regarding what God desires marriage to look like, the good married life so to speak.

Before speaking on what the married life should look life, it would be cool if we could for a moment think about two things. How people get married, and God’s ultimate desire in giving us marriage. In the whole volume of scripture, God does not tell us how to go about getting married. He does not say to have a wedding, call a Levite-Priest or an Elder or Pastor. Orthodox Jewish people today like christians usually have a rabbi at their weddings and they have a ceremony and so on, before the wedding there is a betrothal ritual as well. Most Christians will either go to a church and have a pastor marry them or they will go to a civil court to get a certificate. Legally in todays world one must opt for one of these things for purposes of legality in human eyes, but in all of scripture there is no command specifying how to go about getting married. Scripture only identifies when people got married and gives commands regarding their conduct as a married couple as well as conduct during the period of betrothal. For example the punishment for a person who betrays the faith of their spouse-to-be by willingly sleeping around was the same punishment for adultery. This shows the elevated status of betrothal in scripture it was essentially marriage without the core marriage rights. Scripture does not command to have a wedding or the payment of dowries and so on. These are left to the discretion of the families in question, it does talk of how the father of a woman who was shamed by a man (by rape) could demand for dowry and so on because his daughter had been dishonored. So then how do two people get married in God’s eyes? Simple, the man in question accepts the wife to be to be his wife and she either rejects or accepts. If she accepts to goes into his house and makes it her own. Once this is done they are in a covenant relationship as both parties have willingly decided to be the life-long spouse of the other. But before this would happen, the man has to ask the father or family of his desired wife for her hand in marriage. Scripture does not command this per-say its just the respectful way to go about it and scripture shows that to be true. God’s ultimate desire in marriage is to show forth his glory. He does this in many ways. He does this in the provision of marriage, in the love and joy that marriage is meant to give but most gloriously in the ultimate goal of marriage which is the Glory of Christ saving and taking for himself the church as bride. The church is the bride of Christ, and He is her husband.

Two married persons are meant to shine forth the glory of Christ in their marriage. They do this in many ways. Two godly believers understand the covenantal relationship that marriage is, so it in a way mirrors Messiah’s covenant with the Bride. Married children of God also show the attributes of Christ and his church in their marriage. The husband obeys and imitates Christ in leading his wife and loving her as his own flesh. The wife obeys and imitates Christ by submitting to her husband as Christ submits to the Father. The Son is equal to the Father and yet submits to him likewise wives are equal to their husbands and yet submit to them as to the Lord for Messiah’s sake. In submitting to her husband the wife also shows how the Bride submits to the Messiah, in Loving his wife as his own flesh the husband shows how Messiah loved us like his own flesh and gave his flesh and blood for us that we may be saved. The bride is not her own but is the husbands and so also the husband is not his own but he is the wife’s. So in living married lives we show forth the Glory of Messiah, its sort of like living a parable of sorts. Furthermore in marriage in the same way that Messiah has been gracious to us we show that graciousness to each other by Compassionate, Loving and being forgiving and merciful to each other. Most of all this must be done for the sake of Messiah, if done this way even on the hardest of days we can show the love God desires us to show. And this is for his Glory. We must also realize the that marriage is temporal and temporary. It is something for now but not forever. In the world to come there will be no marrying or giving in marriage, we shall be like the angels in that respect. This is why people are free to remarry after the death of a spouse.

” For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30).

This is another way in which marriage is made for God ultimately. Because in the truest sense only he will be married in the world to come. There will be only one Bride and Husband. The Messiah and the Church.

Now for the more poetic and romantic paintings of marriage. Marriage is for two people who are in Love, a man and a woman. Romance is so amazing there are two whole book in the Bible that focus on Love stories. The book of Ruth and the Song of Solomon. Ruth is about a poor widowed young woman (who also happens to be a foreigner) who finds love again and becomes the ancestor of David and consequently Messiah the Great King and Savior. Song of Solomon is one about two lovers who are betrothed and their romancing and yearning for each other. Both books are amazing and show pictures of Love. This love is for the two people to share together and by God’s grace its fruit is meant to be mutual sanctification and spiritual fruitfulness as well as the physical sort. Where marriage is mentioned, parenting is assumed unless God closes the womb of the woman etc. But even parenting has commandments. In marriage God desires the marriage covenant to be kept by both persons as he is Witness over it.

Malachi 2: 13-16

And this second thing you do. w You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 x But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord y was witness between you and the wife of your youth, z to whom t you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 a Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? [6] And what was the one God [7] seeking? [8] b Godly offspring. So guard yourselves [9] in your spirit, and let none of you be t faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For c the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, [10] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers [11] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and t do not be faithless.”

So from that passage we see a few things; God is the ultimate witness over marriage, marriage is a covenant relationship where two become one and God seeks godly offspring out of marriage. He desires to be the God of the offspring of his people. Like how He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A father, son and grand-son. So How does God expect us to do this? Its to be done by obeying Him! How so? It starts on the personal level as two believing people live together as a married couple and flows through their conduct and love for God and Messiah.

John 14:13-17

If you love me, you will c keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another d Helper, [6] to be with you forever, 17 even e the Spirit of truth, f whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and g will be in you.

John 14: 21

Whoever has my commandments and q keeps them, he it is who loves me. And r he who loves me s will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and t manifest myself to him.”

John 14: 23

Jesus answered him, w “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and x we will come to him and y make our home with him.

John 15:1-12

“I am the r true vine, and my Father is s the vinedresser. 2 t Every branch in me that does not bear fruit u he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, v that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already w you are clean x because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 y Abide z in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; a you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that b bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me c he is thrown away like a branch and withers; d and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If e you abide in me, and my words abide in you, f ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 g By this my Father is glorified, that you h bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 i As the Father has loved me, j so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 k If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as l I have kept m my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, n that my joy may be in you, and that o your joy may be full.

12 p “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

From the scriptures above we see that on an individual basis we are to first have faith in Him and so Love Him, this love is to be shown in keeping his good, precious and holy word. We live as He wants us to live and that is the abundant life, a life spent in Him and for Him for all eternity. In the Christian community setting we are all to keep these things, for the new commandment is to Love each other as He has loved us. A christian family is a mini-church all on its own. And in this community, the christian home away from home (Zion) we are to Love each other as Messiah has Loved us. So in the marriage setting it is the responsibility of each believing husband and wife to do these things and to abide in Messiah and His word. However as believers we are to bear each others burdens and this is especially true for those who are married. This means we are to help each other keep the words of Messiah and to Love Him and abide in His Love above all else. Now how do we practically live this out and keep these words in our day to day life?

John 16:12-15

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When t the Spirit of truth comes,u he will v guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but w whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will x glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 y All that the Father has is mine; z therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Romans 8:5-9

For r those who live according to the flesh set their minds on s the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on t the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set u the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is v hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; w indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact x the Spirit of God dwells in you. y Anyone who does not have z the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Romans 8:15

4 For all who are e led by the Spirit of God are f sons [5] of God.

So from the scriptures above we see that as believers we are filled by and led by The Spirit of God. And so we yield to his leading by keeping his word and walking in faith trusting Him. As we pray to Him he shows us how to apply His Word in diverse situations. Including parenthood. We are to Love God with all we are and to Love Him above all others. In surrendering our will to His we desire to keep his words out of a heart of humility and love. There is no place for pride in a marriage, where there is pride there are tears. Rather humble Love for God will give forth humble love for each other and the family. How we speak to each other, how we speak to our children and those people who help us in the home if we have such helpers. We do this because God’s Presence in us means we are ever in His presence. He is with us, God is everywhere yes but with us He makes his home in us and guides us. So we ought to Fear Him who dwells in us and so Love Him and let that flow in our speech and deeds. So how God desires godly children? Yes? How are they to be made? Well by training them in his ways in Love. If we are a luke-warm christians and we show our luke-warm faith to our kids and train them to be christians in a luke-warm way the chances are that habit will hold. We have the be fervent in how we train children to be zealous lovers of God who fear Him. Even children can understand the Gospel and part of the job of the parents it to preach and teach the word of God to our kids. Unfortunately in todays world, we leave our kids to be taught by the t.v. for the most part. This should not be the case.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

“Hear, O Israel: d The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [2] 5 You e shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And f these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 g You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 h You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 i You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

That scripture beautifully describes how God expected the Old Testament believers to train their children up for godliness and it is a pattern for us also. We are to Love Him first and foremost and we keep his Words on our heart (a state of constant meditation on his word is implied). And we teach our kids to Love God the way we Love Him by keeping His words and Loving Him with all our being. We talk about his words when we lie down, when we wake up, when we sit our houses when we walk on the road. The point there is that we constantly talk about his word to each other and muse on His word. His word is a priority at all times, we even write them on the doorposts of our houses and gates the point here is to fill out lives with God’s Word by filling our houses with reminders of His Word we do this by writing them on the doorposts and gates these are reminders to keep His word and speak about it. As children grow up in this environment where the Love of God and the Love for God fills their lives they shall experience His Love and grow in it by growing in understanding and even at an early age even confessing and believing in His Lordship on their own. The home is a school for disciples!

So what of those parents who can not bear children?You can still parent kids by teaching them the ways of God and discipling them. You can lead them in his ways and be there as mentors. You can adopt children and be the mother or father don’t have and so express God’s Love for the fatherless. The point of it all is really to Love God and show forth his glory in the different aspects of our lives.

I think I pretty much said every thing I set out to say about marriage. I hope it helped you all. Before I forget, i missed out one other reason for marriage. Which is the avoidance of sexual immorality. The scriptures say if a man burns with desire/ lust let Him get married. The point is the avoidance of sin by taking the godly option. I tend to think part of discipleship at a young age should include teaching kids about marriage as soon as they have some understanding of their own bodies. This allows them to truly understand it so that by the time they desire marriage they know all about it. Kids should be trained to be as a young Jesus was when at the temple. I believe God was showing us in Jesus what the ideal young believer should look like. And that is a young person of 12 yrs of age who desires to do their Lord’s will and knows His Word deeply.

There are many scriptures that describe how cool marriage is

Some include:

(Proverbs 18:22)

He who finds u a wife finds v a good thing
and w obtains favor x from the Lord.

Psalm 128

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who g walks in his ways!
2 You h shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like i a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like j olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 k The Lord bless you l from Zion!
May you see m the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your n children’s children!
o Peace be upon Israel!

Proverbs 31: 10-12

An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than v jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.

There are many, many more scriptures I could point at that paint beautiful pictures of marriage that God’s people are to pursue for “an abundant” life in Christ for His Glory. God gives us his word for our good which is His Glory for He is Good. I could point at scriptures like “My beloved is mine and I am my beloved’s” from Song of Songs. “As a lily amongst thorns so too is my beloved amongst the maidens” pretty self explanatory huh . God has the ideal human experience covered in His word for our good, it is ours to pursue.

Glorious

Thumps of a heart beating
Shouts and jeers, as time passes yet in this instance it is not fleeting
A man is mocked, its as though time is moving slowly
The cracking of a whip and breaking of skin that is all so Holy
The drops of blood no one can hear
The consequence of each drop has a weight so heavy
The slashes that cause pain, His agony that our eternal security may be sealed
By His Stripes we are healed
The Shepherd giving Himself for those who are like wayward sheep
He carries a cross, hangs on it for hours
They mock Him with gal and wine that tastes sour
He gives Himself for the wicked, defeating invisible powers
The sweat drips down his brow mixed with some blood
His tongue is dry and sticks to the roof of his mouth; He thirsts
He cries out to the Heavens; It is Done
He yields His Spirit, to tender is the love of the Father and the Son
His body, back shredded and bloody
Is taken down from the tree
His disciples and mother cry and must be mystified by what they see
Perhaps they ask themselves how can this be?
Three days later, truly their eyes will see
The Son of Man has risen and Eternally Messiah lives

Thoughts on Love

Break me apart,

Grab my heart

Take me back to the place where I must be

Set me on fire

That you may be my hearts truest desire

Lord will you take me back to the place where I must be

In your presence is where I desire to be

May it be that I walk in your presence always

Take my two eyes and make them see

The Glory of being continuously in your presence where I abide

I have become your abode O’ Great King

My Joy for whom my soul sings

May my whole being with all its essence exult and praise you

With all that I have; I love thee above all else

Though my flesh may be weak

It is you I shall continuously seek

I devote all of me to you and pursuing you

For above all you are worthy, of honour and of all love

I look to you and in you my mind is renewed

For I thirst for your Love; The Love from the Heavens above

 

The Greatest command we have been given is to Love God with all our being (heart, soul, mind and strength). To Love God with all we have, with the essence of our life……mind, heart, strength and soul. Seek to keep this command for every command hinges on this one. Why Love our neighbor, enemy, and others? Well because we Love God who’s steadfast Love endures forever. We Love Him and we will keep His word whether they are rational to us or not. We will believe them for we Love Him. Faith works through love, devotion is the essence of Love. He is every where with us, in us and watching us from above. His Love is always with us and we abide in it, as we have Him and keep his word.

Keep striving, keep pushing.

 

Holiness and Wisdom vs. Folly and sin

Folly says to wisdom you are foolish
Wisdom holds her tongue and by her deeds speaks
Folly forgets herself and so in her pride thinks herself to be wise
Wisdom is meek and humble and with love teaches knowledge to the lowly
Folly exalts herself amongst the fools and they listen
Drawn to grandeur she and her disciples are puffed up
Wisdom is quiet but her still voice roars like the oceans
By Love she draws her disciples whom she protects like a hen does her chicks
Folly is like a snake that forgets her own offspring
Wisdom is like rain on a thirsty land brining forth life
Folly is like bareness of land that lasts continuously bearing only death
Holiness is One with wisdom
Folly is found with sin
Holiness comes from above
Folly and sin drag their disciples to death
Holiness and Wisdom are of God who is a shield to the weak
Folly and sin are corruption from the Evil One
All are born sinners full of folly awaiting death
But in wisdom God saves those he calls and makes them forever his sons