God loves sinners and he gives time for repentence but He detest sin itself so its better to REPENT. the Bible says even the Lord giveth rain both to the good and the wicked.. that is only by Grace and the mercy of GOD.. so if anyone would pray or believe in God for something then its the LORD drawing him.. for no man will say Jesus is Lord if not the Holy Spirit..
Hello God bless you all. I just want to ask is Ecclesiastes 4:14 taking about Jesus; If it is talking about Jesus it is amazing how the bible teases the coming of Jesus. Thank you.
14. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
yes I agree great idea, a couple years ago as I was reading James chapter two this verse stuck out, and since then I've been handing out a bible with a gift certificate enough for a meal or two, to a local restaurant.
James 2:16, "And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
"But God, who is from everlasting, who is holy and righteous all together, cannot and never will change, for He is only truth, and out of truth no change can come.
With God, there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning ( James 1:17)."
"...God is different; He is outnumbered, outclassed , set aside, rejected, and spoken evil of when it is suitable to man's cause, but when He comes to the earth again as a Judge, He will still be different. The masses will be facing One whom they rejected in life as incompatible, unreasonable, and not fair. He will be the only One to speak: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of thy lord" ( Matthew 25:21). "...depart from me, ye that work iniquity ( Matthew 7:23)."
Hi Maree, this website has groupings of Bible verses. At the bottom of this page there's a link for popular Bible verses, and verses by the topic of your choice. I think it's likely you'd find lists of verses already existing that might fit like topics of hope, peace, love, heaven, afterlift, etc. There's also Bible verse pictures that are inspirational. God bless...
Could someone please offer some suggestions for readings that I could use for residents in the end of life stage, please? I work night shift in an aged care facility and I would love to do some readings for those who are soon to go to God.... I was in an induced coma for 16 days in 2014, so I know first hand that your hearing is the last sense to go....and I know that it would be appreciated for those who have had a lifetime of faith
And now I say to you, my children, love righteousness and walk in it; for the paths of righteousness are worthy of acceptance, but the paths of iniquity will quickly be destroyed and vanish.
Woe to those who build their houses with sin, for from their whole foundation they will be thrown down, and by the sword they shall fall, and those who acquire gold and silver will quickly be destroyed in the Judgment.
Thus I say, and make known to you, that He who created you will throw you down, and over your fall there will be no mercy, but your Creator will rejoice at your destruction.
Contemplate Heaven, all you sons of Heaven, and all the works of the Most High, and fear him, and do not do evil in front of Him.
Believe, you righteous, that the sinners will become an object of shame and will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment.
And in those days, blessed are those who accept the words of wisdom, and understand them, and follow the paths of the Most High, and walk in the path of righteousness, and do not act impiously with the impious, for they will be saved.
Be it known to you, sinners, that the Most High remembers your destruction and that the Angels rejoice over your destruction.
And do not think in your spirit nor say in your heart, that you do not know, or do not see, every sin is written down every day in Heaven in front of the Most High.
From now on, you know that all your wrongdoing that you do will be written down every day, until the day of your Judgment.
And the words of your iniquity will be read out before the Great and Holy One, and your faces will blush with shame, and every deed which is founded upon iniquity will be rejected.
Because of this they will have neither knowledge nor wisdom. And through this, they will be destroyed, together with their possessions, and with all their glory and their honour. And in shame, and in slaughter, and in great destitution, their spirits will be thrown into the fiery furnace.
Habakkuk 1:1-17. The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
Whatever your circumstance was that you were praying for when you reached out to the Lord in prayer, did you ask for His will to be done in that circumstance that you were praying for? God answers prayer according to His will. Prayer is when we take our petitions to the Lord and ask for His will to be done, not ours. If you ask according to His will, that prayer will always be answered. Sometimes we don't see anything happen, and sometimes our situation or circumstance might get worse, but God still answers all prayer if we ask according to His will.
Sometimes our problem is not being able to accept the answer. We praise Him when our circumstances get better, but when we see no change or our circumstance gets worse, we tend to think that God did not hear our prayer, and subsequently we do not thank Him.
Prayer is the means by which we express our total submission to God's will in whatever it is we are asking Him for. He answers those prayers. We just need to accept whatever the answer is and that the answer is His will!
As I can only speak of myself and my experiences after the Lord coming to me. Maybe someone else will have a better reply than I can give on this.
First off when we are saved, or receive the Holy Spirit, this does not mean everything is going to be easy. Especially at first. Again from my own experience right after coming to the Lord, satan began to tempt and trick me into thinking it was ok to keep sinning. Not ever hearing voices before I did not know it was satan. Numerous things were said to me that basically broke my heart as I was praying to God.
What truly helped me to learn that what was being said to me was not from God was that I kept reading the Bible and was lead to answers that showed me this. The Holy Bible is truly our food and it is so vast that the Lord can lead you to many answers of questions. It truly is the living Word of God. So if something is in you telling you to read the Bible I would say definitely do it. Satan does not want us in the Bible because this is where we get our food from the Lord which makes us stronger Spiritually and brings us closer to the Lord.
Now of coarse we are not saved by works and by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. Though good works are what makes God happy and shows our faith and that we are saved. A new creature that lives for God being pleased to do good whenever possible. As in James 2:17. Read the whole book of James as it is not that long.
Some people may think this is in contrary to what Paul wrote but it is not. We must read the Bible as a whole and not just cleave to one verse. As good works does not mean you have to go out and evangelize, or be a preacher, etc. Maybe read Galatians 5:22-23. Just being kind to someone, helping them, stay meek etc. What ever God puts in your path retain the Lord in your thinking and what would make Him happy.
I hope that helps you a little. God Bless you on your journey.
How do I know if God wants me to do something or the devil is trying to decieve me. I being told by what I think is my own thoughts that I have to read a book in the bible so that God will want to hear what I ask in prayer and forgive me of my sins. I think that might go against Ephesians 2:8-9 but I'm not really sure.
I think only a minority of Christians believe once saved, always saved, because the Bible doesn't support that idea. Most people would agree that Hitler probably won't be in heaven, despite going to church when young and possibly identifying as a Christian at one point. Judas was a Christian (a literal Christ follower) and betrayed Him in a huge way, and it's my personal belief that he is not saved. There's countless examples of Christians who unfortunately have turned their back on Jesus and started following the ways of the world or the devil himself. Jesus warned His followers to obey and fear God and avoid sin and obey. People today are making claims that you don't have to do anything at all. I believe God is a fair judge.
This doesn't mean we're saved by effort, it's grace. But Jesus clearly said if you love Him then obey. Christianity is an action requiring effort. Those who are genuine Christians following Christ will be saved, those who aren't are in danger of not being saved. I believe Bible backs this up very well. Plus, one can have assurance of salvation, but no one is actually saved until judgment day. So, people that claim they're saved, and can enjoy sin and doing evil 24/7 are mistaken. That idea only comes from satan. They will call out Lord, Lord and Jesus will not know him, just as the Bible says. Jesus said most people won't go to heaven- narrow is the way. Some accuse others of being legalistic, but they'd probably accuse Jesus of that too: John 14:15.
Just a few relevant verses...
Hebrews 10:26
James 2:14-26 "...faith, if it hath not works, is dead..."
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
1 Peter 1:13 "...hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;"
Romans 11
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Matthew 12:31-32.
Romans 14:12
1 Peter 1:5 - "...salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
May the Lord bless you for your loving prayers & concerns for the salvation of your family. We need to look to our own 'Jerusalem' before we can extend to the uttermost parts of the world.
I'm only too aware of people being compelled to read from Scriptures that they find difficult to read from or comprehend. They either get bored with it or eventually lose interest, or in the case of most Muslims I worked amongst in Pakistan, they were forced to read the Quran in Arabic rather than the language they fully understood. So, they received almost nothing from their readings but found divine merit by reading in (what they believed was) the heavenly language.
I would be extremely sad if that were the case for those with God's precious Word, the Bible, in their hands & received very little. I know it is God's Spirit who helps us & interprets the Word to us but we ought to give diligence to reading from a familiar script.
By the way, you can probably get to read from the NKJV online rather than purchase one (for checking for the differences between the versions). Every blessing.
Thanks Chris, that helps a lot, I think I will get a NKJV and compare it with my KJV. I want my family to really know Jesus and don't want to hinder them from reading the NKJV. There is some people that say KJV only, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Thank you again.
Good mornings Sacha, It's Carleton. I am always happy to hear your kind spirit and encouragements. In the 90's I remember as a Christian discussing with my non-Christian friend about this internet. I asked my friend with my Capitalistic mind if maybe the internet could be used make money. He reproved me and said that is not what it is for, it is for good. So...here we are now able to communicate so extremely fast our flesh wants and build on them so very fast. Speaking of which, I think I am going to take no less than a week off here. For you and anyone else the mame at the top along with google mail attached at the end, likely would reach me. It is nice to share the morning with you. I have to return to my work now.
Yes EJL, both versions are essentially the same but the NKJV replaces some of the archaic words with 'newer' words, making it easier to understand. You should check it out: read a chapter you're familiar with, in both Bible versions & see the difference. They should essentially be the same except for the omission of the 'thy, thee, thou', etc.
I've always read from the KJV, indeed using that language in prayer, so am most comfortable with it. But I would always urge someone who finds reading the KJV difficult because of the language style, to read from the NKJV or NASB.
Does the King James Version and the New King James Version have the same meaning? I have always read the King James Version but some in my family say they can understand the New Version better because its more in our language.
Hi Carleton ,the tower of babel all ways reminds me of the internet ,everone working together ,speaking the same language ,Gods reaction is : now nothing will be restrained from them ,thats from my memory so may not be exact , i cant help but feel that the internet is mostly bad for us ,there is an ENORMOUS wealth of pure evil on it and i think out weighs the good on it but thats just my opinion , im sure many others will disagree ,may God bless you Carleton ,you always sound so full of love and joy .
My brother by baptism remembers the Tower of Babel was a time maybe like today. God restrained, Satan gained. What are the limits of the tower men are building again? Have we no fear? If man can be associated with a 6; a number well less than 7; all he can do is build on 6 while the times continue. He can never reach 7 where there is a fullness in God. So man as history moves forward repeats his number in various ways of falseness.
First of all, he says my brethren. So these are believing Jews. Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. So when it says my brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, that's exactly what it says in the Greek text. It is the faith of Jesus Christ. It is His faith. And we have it. We have His faith that He has given to us.
So it says to stop having the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. Now that term "with respect of persons," the Greek word literally means to receive according to the face, or in other words, outward appearance. If the judge recognizes you and wants to let you off the hook, he will. But that's not justice.
So what he is saying here is you actually have, continuously with you the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, but when you discriminate, that does not go together. God does not discriminate. He does not show partiality. And having the faith of Christ and discriminating against people, the writer of Hebrews says later on in Verse 9 of James Chapter 2 that it is a very evil sin.
Hi Joe, I think there are a lot of things that we should not mix or confuse with our faith in the Glory of Christ by our partialities that are so much a part of us as weak vessels. We need to lay these weights aside by the grace of God in our lives.
I do not understand verse 1: "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons."
The part I don't get is "have not the faith" - sounds to me as though James is saying our Lord Jesus Christ has NOT the faith with respect of persons - which is totally opposite to what the rest of the chapter says.
I know from reading the rest of the chapter (and other scripture) that we believers should not have respect of persons based on outward appearance, positions of power, political influence, etc. to the detrement of persons of ordinary stature.
As you stated. If it may be the way we word things we post that may seem we might not see eye to eye. I don't think we are far off from each other. Though really the most important thing is that we are both with the Lord. As some of my other brothers and sisters here may not agree with me fully on everything. That's ok though. Again the most important thing is Jesus Christ. It is good for us to converse and if we do not agree on a certain point that's ok. We are still of the body of Christ and only trying to help one another.
Just for a couple other Scriptures with some things that are "above", of God, and "agathos" is not used:
Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 13:37-38. About letting your light shine before men of your "good" works to glorify our Father. That the "good" seed are the children of the Kingdom sowed by the Son of Man.
John 10:11. Jesus Christ stating He is the "good" Shepherd.
1 Timothy 2:3. Things being "good" and acceptable in the sight of God.
Titus 2:14. That we who are redeemed by the Lord be zealous of "good" works.
Hebrews 6:5. How the Word of God is "good".
James 2:7. The "worthy" name by which we were called.
To end I liked this one. Galatians 5:22. Both "agathos.." and "chrestotes" are fruits of the Spirit.
As I really can't differentiate that only "agathos.." is of the Spirit of God. That being the word Jesus used in Mark 10:18 does not mean to me this is only for Him. As other words like "excellence, righteous, honorable, wonderful, amazing, almighty, glorious, holy, beautiful, perfect, integrity, etc". To me this does not mean we would have to pick only one of these words for God. All of them fit Him perfectly. As I believe in the Greek, and most other languages, they have different words with somewhat of the same meaning.
I'm not sure where you get this idea though: "There is a difference, and God will only reward us for one of these two."
It sounds like you interpret good works to be bad unless you feel a certain spiritual confirmation before or during the good work activity? How exactly did you come to this understanding and what Bible sources can you cite to say this?
I find this unusual, because I find life as a Christian has a spiritual component that is hard to separate. I believe something of the 'flesh' is easier to identify, because it usually involves unpure motives and sin. But it sounds like you're suggesting that obeying Jesus (such as doing good works to help others) has unpure motives and you put a screening layer in place which you have to navigate through in order to feel good about obeying Jesus.
My perspective is different. I feel that obeying Jesus by default is good, and that helping others by default is good, and already is done via spirit and not fleshly. It would be really hard to convince me that doing good is bad, because doing good is all through the Bible. Galatians 6:9, Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 2:10. We're created to do good works and be the light of the World are we not? James 2:14-17, James 4:17, Micah 6:8. I don't think my motives or my mood even matters sometimes, it's not about me, but serving others and being obedient. Selflessness.
So, my question is: does someone have such a strong filter for all other aspects of life or only when it comes to obeying Jesus and help others? Brushing teeth? Eating a meal? Gassing up a car? Going to work? Watching movies? If the strong filter is only on doing good works, but not on neutral activities, or bad works, then I would think such a perspective seems off balance. Because why should we hesitate only when it comes to doing good and have to pass certain criteria, but have no problem doing anything other than good?
Let me know if I have misinterpreted your meaning and where you got the idea about good works requiring certain criteria for God to like it? God bless...
14. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
James 2:16, "And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
"But God, who is from everlasting, who is holy and righteous all together, cannot and never will change, for He is only truth, and out of truth no change can come.
With God, there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning ( James 1:17)."
"...God is different; He is outnumbered, outclassed , set aside, rejected, and spoken evil of when it is suitable to man's cause, but when He comes to the earth again as a Judge, He will still be different. The masses will be facing One whom they rejected in life as incompatible, unreasonable, and not fair. He will be the only One to speak: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of thy lord" ( Matthew 25:21). "...depart from me, ye that work iniquity ( Matthew 7:23)."
written by a brother minister in 1981.
Thank you in advance for your time and patience
Woe to those who build their houses with sin, for from their whole foundation they will be thrown down, and by the sword they shall fall, and those who acquire gold and silver will quickly be destroyed in the Judgment.
Thus I say, and make known to you, that He who created you will throw you down, and over your fall there will be no mercy, but your Creator will rejoice at your destruction.
Contemplate Heaven, all you sons of Heaven, and all the works of the Most High, and fear him, and do not do evil in front of Him.
Believe, you righteous, that the sinners will become an object of shame and will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment.
And in those days, blessed are those who accept the words of wisdom, and understand them, and follow the paths of the Most High, and walk in the path of righteousness, and do not act impiously with the impious, for they will be saved.
Be it known to you, sinners, that the Most High remembers your destruction and that the Angels rejoice over your destruction.
And do not think in your spirit nor say in your heart, that you do not know, or do not see, every sin is written down every day in Heaven in front of the Most High.
From now on, you know that all your wrongdoing that you do will be written down every day, until the day of your Judgment.
And the words of your iniquity will be read out before the Great and Holy One, and your faces will blush with shame, and every deed which is founded upon iniquity will be rejected.
Because of this they will have neither knowledge nor wisdom. And through this, they will be destroyed, together with their possessions, and with all their glory and their honour. And in shame, and in slaughter, and in great destitution, their spirits will be thrown into the fiery furnace.
Here's an example of what Brother Jesse wrote.
Habakkuk 1:1-17. The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
Whatever your circumstance was that you were praying for when you reached out to the Lord in prayer, did you ask for His will to be done in that circumstance that you were praying for? God answers prayer according to His will. Prayer is when we take our petitions to the Lord and ask for His will to be done, not ours. If you ask according to His will, that prayer will always be answered. Sometimes we don't see anything happen, and sometimes our situation or circumstance might get worse, but God still answers all prayer if we ask according to His will.
Sometimes our problem is not being able to accept the answer. We praise Him when our circumstances get better, but when we see no change or our circumstance gets worse, we tend to think that God did not hear our prayer, and subsequently we do not thank Him.
Prayer is the means by which we express our total submission to God's will in whatever it is we are asking Him for. He answers those prayers. We just need to accept whatever the answer is and that the answer is His will!
As I can only speak of myself and my experiences after the Lord coming to me. Maybe someone else will have a better reply than I can give on this.
First off when we are saved, or receive the Holy Spirit, this does not mean everything is going to be easy. Especially at first. Again from my own experience right after coming to the Lord, satan began to tempt and trick me into thinking it was ok to keep sinning. Not ever hearing voices before I did not know it was satan. Numerous things were said to me that basically broke my heart as I was praying to God.
What truly helped me to learn that what was being said to me was not from God was that I kept reading the Bible and was lead to answers that showed me this. The Holy Bible is truly our food and it is so vast that the Lord can lead you to many answers of questions. It truly is the living Word of God. So if something is in you telling you to read the Bible I would say definitely do it. Satan does not want us in the Bible because this is where we get our food from the Lord which makes us stronger Spiritually and brings us closer to the Lord.
Now of coarse we are not saved by works and by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. Though good works are what makes God happy and shows our faith and that we are saved. A new creature that lives for God being pleased to do good whenever possible. As in James 2:17. Read the whole book of James as it is not that long.
Some people may think this is in contrary to what Paul wrote but it is not. We must read the Bible as a whole and not just cleave to one verse. As good works does not mean you have to go out and evangelize, or be a preacher, etc. Maybe read Galatians 5:22-23. Just being kind to someone, helping them, stay meek etc. What ever God puts in your path retain the Lord in your thinking and what would make Him happy.
I hope that helps you a little. God Bless you on your journey.
I think only a minority of Christians believe once saved, always saved, because the Bible doesn't support that idea. Most people would agree that Hitler probably won't be in heaven, despite going to church when young and possibly identifying as a Christian at one point. Judas was a Christian (a literal Christ follower) and betrayed Him in a huge way, and it's my personal belief that he is not saved. There's countless examples of Christians who unfortunately have turned their back on Jesus and started following the ways of the world or the devil himself. Jesus warned His followers to obey and fear God and avoid sin and obey. People today are making claims that you don't have to do anything at all. I believe God is a fair judge.
This doesn't mean we're saved by effort, it's grace. But Jesus clearly said if you love Him then obey. Christianity is an action requiring effort. Those who are genuine Christians following Christ will be saved, those who aren't are in danger of not being saved. I believe Bible backs this up very well. Plus, one can have assurance of salvation, but no one is actually saved until judgment day. So, people that claim they're saved, and can enjoy sin and doing evil 24/7 are mistaken. That idea only comes from satan. They will call out Lord, Lord and Jesus will not know him, just as the Bible says. Jesus said most people won't go to heaven- narrow is the way. Some accuse others of being legalistic, but they'd probably accuse Jesus of that too: John 14:15.
Just a few relevant verses...
Hebrews 10:26
James 2:14-26 "...faith, if it hath not works, is dead..."
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
1 Peter 1:13 "...hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;"
Romans 11
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Matthew 12:31-32.
Romans 14:12
1 Peter 1:5 - "...salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
I'm only too aware of people being compelled to read from Scriptures that they find difficult to read from or comprehend. They either get bored with it or eventually lose interest, or in the case of most Muslims I worked amongst in Pakistan, they were forced to read the Quran in Arabic rather than the language they fully understood. So, they received almost nothing from their readings but found divine merit by reading in (what they believed was) the heavenly language.
I would be extremely sad if that were the case for those with God's precious Word, the Bible, in their hands & received very little. I know it is God's Spirit who helps us & interprets the Word to us but we ought to give diligence to reading from a familiar script.
By the way, you can probably get to read from the NKJV online rather than purchase one (for checking for the differences between the versions). Every blessing.
:)
I've always read from the KJV, indeed using that language in prayer, so am most comfortable with it. But I would always urge someone who finds reading the KJV difficult because of the language style, to read from the NKJV or NASB.
Enough said.
God bless our meditations.
First of all, he says my brethren. So these are believing Jews. Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. So when it says my brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, that's exactly what it says in the Greek text. It is the faith of Jesus Christ. It is His faith. And we have it. We have His faith that He has given to us.
So it says to stop having the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. Now that term "with respect of persons," the Greek word literally means to receive according to the face, or in other words, outward appearance. If the judge recognizes you and wants to let you off the hook, he will. But that's not justice.
So what he is saying here is you actually have, continuously with you the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, but when you discriminate, that does not go together. God does not discriminate. He does not show partiality. And having the faith of Christ and discriminating against people, the writer of Hebrews says later on in Verse 9 of James Chapter 2 that it is a very evil sin.
This verse can't contradict other scripture. Since he addressing the brethren let see if a pronoun helps.
James 2:1 My brethren, have (you) not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Hope this helps. GBU
Carleton
The part I don't get is "have not the faith" - sounds to me as though James is saying our Lord Jesus Christ has NOT the faith with respect of persons - which is totally opposite to what the rest of the chapter says.
I know from reading the rest of the chapter (and other scripture) that we believers should not have respect of persons based on outward appearance, positions of power, political influence, etc. to the detrement of persons of ordinary stature.
Just for a couple other Scriptures with some things that are "above", of God, and "agathos" is not used:
Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 13:37-38. About letting your light shine before men of your "good" works to glorify our Father. That the "good" seed are the children of the Kingdom sowed by the Son of Man.
John 10:11. Jesus Christ stating He is the "good" Shepherd.
1 Timothy 2:3. Things being "good" and acceptable in the sight of God.
Titus 2:14. That we who are redeemed by the Lord be zealous of "good" works.
Hebrews 6:5. How the Word of God is "good".
James 2:7. The "worthy" name by which we were called.
To end I liked this one. Galatians 5:22. Both "agathos.." and "chrestotes" are fruits of the Spirit.
As I really can't differentiate that only "agathos.." is of the Spirit of God. That being the word Jesus used in Mark 10:18 does not mean to me this is only for Him. As other words like "excellence, righteous, honorable, wonderful, amazing, almighty, glorious, holy, beautiful, perfect, integrity, etc". To me this does not mean we would have to pick only one of these words for God. All of them fit Him perfectly. As I believe in the Greek, and most other languages, they have different words with somewhat of the same meaning.
God Bless.
Thank you for your added detail.
I'm not sure where you get this idea though: "There is a difference, and God will only reward us for one of these two."
It sounds like you interpret good works to be bad unless you feel a certain spiritual confirmation before or during the good work activity? How exactly did you come to this understanding and what Bible sources can you cite to say this?
I find this unusual, because I find life as a Christian has a spiritual component that is hard to separate. I believe something of the 'flesh' is easier to identify, because it usually involves unpure motives and sin. But it sounds like you're suggesting that obeying Jesus (such as doing good works to help others) has unpure motives and you put a screening layer in place which you have to navigate through in order to feel good about obeying Jesus.
My perspective is different. I feel that obeying Jesus by default is good, and that helping others by default is good, and already is done via spirit and not fleshly. It would be really hard to convince me that doing good is bad, because doing good is all through the Bible. Galatians 6:9, Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 2:10. We're created to do good works and be the light of the World are we not? James 2:14-17, James 4:17, Micah 6:8. I don't think my motives or my mood even matters sometimes, it's not about me, but serving others and being obedient. Selflessness.
So, my question is: does someone have such a strong filter for all other aspects of life or only when it comes to obeying Jesus and help others? Brushing teeth? Eating a meal? Gassing up a car? Going to work? Watching movies? If the strong filter is only on doing good works, but not on neutral activities, or bad works, then I would think such a perspective seems off balance. Because why should we hesitate only when it comes to doing good and have to pass certain criteria, but have no problem doing anything other than good?
Let me know if I have misinterpreted your meaning and where you got the idea about good works requiring certain criteria for God to like it? God bless...