Wise Men Still Seek Him

Merry Christmas Everyone

As we celebrate Christmas, I have been thinking about the Wise Men, the Magi, in this famous passage of Matthew 2:1-12.

There's so much to mull on in this - let's have a look together:

Matthew 2: 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, 

behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 

2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? 

For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 

These two verses tell us so much about these Wise Men already.  From this short passage, we can see the following:

1. They were obviously very h

ungry for the one real God and were seeking Him earnestly.  

2. They 

knew some things about the scriptures pretty well, and in their knowledge of prophecies, they were not fools, but wise in the will of the Lord (Eph 5:17).

3. They must have known that they were fallen and in need of a Messiah who would be the King of the Jews, and waited in great expectation for His arrival, 

watching very carefully, looking out for signs. This was in spite of the fact that they themselves were probably not even Jews.  They somehow knew this Messiah meant salvation even for them!

4. When they saw the star, they knew it was probably the sign, and they moved by faith, stopping their lives for easily up to a year or more to make this long journey for a short visit to worship.  Herod had ordered the killing of all male children 2 and below, so we can conclude quite safely that it took quite a while for them to reach Jerusalem. 

5. The journey took a long time and was dangerous - stars appear only at night, so much of their travelling must have been at night 

6. They weren't fully clear about their directions - arriving in Jerusalem, they had to ask to see Jesus, who was not actually in Jerusalem, but Bethlehem.

These Wise Men really wanted to know God, worship HIm and witness His plan unfold and be a part of it with their giving.

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

V3 gives me the impression that unlike the common notion that there were 3 wise men (presumably because 3 gifts were mentioned), the entourage that arrived must have been substantial for all Jerusalem to be troubled.  This is not in scriptures, but it's just a thought thrown in for free!

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, 

he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; 

For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” 

V4 to 6 amaze me - we see the religious leaders of that day actually knowing scriptures enough to know where the Christ was to be born, and not only were they seemingly callous, unexcited by it, they actually gave this information to King Herod.  I'm certain they knew Herod's reputation for jealously guarding his power (he executed members of his family including his wife to protect it), but thought nothing of it.  Also, we hear nothing about these supposed leaders of the religious elite actually bothering to come visit Jesus.  This was THE much-awaited Messiah their own prophets had pointed to - such is cold knowledge of scriptures, apart from knowing the Living God behind the Word.  This so strongly contrasts with the Wise Men, who must have hungered deeply for the God of the scriptures.

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, 

determined from them what time the star appeared. 

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child,

and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, 

that I may come and worship Him also.” 

In V7 we see how Herod was keen to know when the star appeared.  This tells us that there was a span of time between the birth of Jesus and the Wise Men's visit.  Even in his deceit, Herod had the sense to suggest that He wanted to go worship Jesus, which is more than the chief priests and scribes did. 

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, 

the star which they had seen in the East went before them, 

till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 

As an interesting note, it is only here where the star moved, guiding them to where Jesus was.  The anticipation of the Wise Men was such that this caused them to "rejoice with exceedingly great joy".

11 And when they had come into the house, they saw

 the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. 

And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: 

gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, 

they departed for their own country another way. (NKJV)

The Wise Men did not show up at the stable - Joseph and family were by now living in a house.  It was not on Christmas that they showed up, but possibly a few months to more than a year.  T

hey weren't there to celebrate Christmas - they were there to celebrate Christ.  

It was not about the day but the encounter with the Person.

When they saw Jesus, it was not a disappointment to them.  As King of the Jews, they might have been expecting a lot more pomp and splendour, but they did not mind - it seems like they understood God ways!

They worshipped a humble baby in an equally humble setting, knowing who He was and what He would do for them.  At great expense to themselves, they paid great homage and blessed the One they looked upon to be their saviour.  

Their hunger for the One True God and His salvation is truly worth our consideration.

Today we have the benefit of hindsight - we know who this Child grew up to be.  We know He died in our place and that He rose again from the dead, purchasing the salvation the Wise Men must have expected and longed to see.  We know that because of His work of love, we experience Him in our lives as the Holy Spirit, working for our good.

How much more reason have we to celebrate then the Wise Men, to seek this God our Christ, not only at Christmas but all our lives?

May this sharing give you cause to rejoice even more at this Christmas period.

One Spirit

Here is an article which will either completely blow you away, or will be one which you say, "Okay, I knew it already."  Just putting this together blew me away, so do read it through and let me know your thoughts.  Go though it ALL thoroughly, I exhort you, use it as your Bible study, and I guarantee it will bless you.

How Many Parts Are We Made Of?

All through my Christian life, I have heard questions like these about the spirit, the soul and the body.  For us Christians, is it our souls that go to Heaven or our spirits?

Some will say it is the soul that gets saved, others will say that it is the spirit.  Others will say both.  Yet others believe there are only two parts, the soul and the body.

Let's start with what Jesus said:

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (NKJV)

He said that it was to our advantage, better for us, that He in the flesh went away, that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, might be sent to us.

Jesus also said that we have to be born again, of the Spirit.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (NKJV)

We all as Christians know that, that when we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us.  There are many verses that speak of this (refer to list at the end).

Let's a look at what we, the natural man, are made of:

All of us are souls born in a body.  The soul is also referred to in scriptures as the heart, the inner man and the inward man.  This is the seat of who you are - your will, emotions, your intellect, ego, persona.  It is this part that sets us apart from animals.  With the fall of Adam, the Spirit part of us had died, separated from God, hell-bound, which is why we needed a Saviour in the first place.  That leaves us with the "hole in heart" syndrome.  We can try everything to gain satisfaction, but will never find it outside of Jesus.

When Jesus went up to Heaven, He promised us the Holy Spirit.  This first happened at Pentecost and ever since then, as each believer receives the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us:

Now here is the big clincher:

The Holy Spirit IS Our Spirit!

When God's Spirit gave us life eternal, the Holy Spirit came, made us alive and His Spirit and ours ARE ONE!  That's why Jesus said it was to our advantage that He went to be with the Father!  Now, instead of Him being in the flesh with us, He is with everyone of us who believe!

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (NKJV)

1 John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (NKJV)

John 14:19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (NKJV)

Sit back for 30 seconds here and let that sink in.  Your spirit, made alive by Christ IS God's Holy Spirit.  The very God of the universe has come to live in you, to be your spirit, not because of your holiness, but because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus.  This same God could have no fellowship directly with Man previously.  Moses was not allowed to see Him and in the temple, there was a huge, thick veil that separated Man from the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God dwelt.  The moment Jesus gave up His spirit, an unseen hand could not wait to tear the veil in half, top to bottom, revealing the Ark to all who would come (Luke 23:45).  No wonder Paul said:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)

Does that mean we don't have our own spirit of any kind?  I can't prove that in scriptures and frankly, it doesn't matter to me.  The only thing I know is that without God's Spirit in me, I am dead, destined for eternal separation from Him.  But that will NEVER happen because...

The Holy Spirit Who Is Our Spirit Will NEVER Leave Us

God has promised us many times that with the death of Jesus as the payment for our sins and with His resurrection, we will never be left alone.  He cannot do that because He is the Spirit in you.  Consider the following verses:

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— (NKJV)

1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. (NKJV)

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (NKJV)

So Here's the Take-away

We all need to know is that we no longer walk the way we used to.  There is something very different in us, someone really, and He is called the Spirit of God.  It is He who empowers us.  Why don't we see the results of it after getting saved, you ask?

Well, scriptures tell us that Spirit and the flesh are in a constant fight:

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (NKJV)

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (NKJV)

With the Spirit and the flesh in a constant war, guess who get's caught in the crossfire?  That's right!  Our souls - our minds.  What we set our minds to will make all the difference.  2 against one, whichever way it goes, is up to us, our wills.

So the key is to sow to the Spirit, for our minds to take sides with the Spirit:

Galatians 6:8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (NKJV)

Galatians 5: 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (NKJV)

Walking in the Spirit is walking by faith:

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. (NKJV)

Yeah, sounds great, but how…?  Let's see what scriptures say about this.

Well, for starters, there can be no faith without the Word of God because…

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJV)

No Word, no hearing, no faith.

We can only walk by faith to the measure that we know God's Word, the Bible.  Anything else is presumption or faith in faith, not faith in God.  So the crux of this is reading the Word, getting it into your system so that it would change you mind, the realm of the soul, in favour of what the Spirit is saying.  After all, Jesus did say, plain as the day:

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (NKJV)

When you see the word "repent" in the Bible, that's what it means - change your mind.  That's when our minds get renewed:

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (NKJV)

As we read the Word and start to meditate on it, our belief system will change.  Faith increases when we start to align our thinking to His Word, saying it as truth compared to what we see.  We help others when we acknowledge all the good things in us in Christ Jesus.

Philemon 1:6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)

The bottom line is simple - Get into the Word, read the Word, meditate on it, talk to God about it.  And remember, as long as you have confessed Jesus as Lord and Saviour:

Your Spirit is His Spirit is the Holy Spirit

God cannot get more intimate with us than that.  We never have to ask that God would be with us, that He would walk with us, that He would not leave us.  He can't wait for us to commune with Him!  His Son paid the cruel, ultimate price that we nevermore would be separated from Him again.

Now for those who want an even stronger dose, go back to all the scriptures where the Holy Spirit is mentioned and read it again in the light of this Holy Spirit being your spirit dwelling in you:

Genesis 41:38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” (NKJV) [referring to Joseph - yes all of us are far better than Joseph!]

Numbers 27:18 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; (NKJV) [Each of us can be a Joshua, too.  The Spirit is in us!]

Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. (NKJV) [This cannot happen to us as New Covenant believers!  Yet David was able to accomplish much in the Lord, how much more us?]

Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (NKJV) [Here it is!]

Matthew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. (NKJV) [Your Spirit, the Holy Spirit in you, will give you words.]

Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (NKJV) [The intimacy of having the Giver of all good things as one with me is better than all the gifts!]

John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (NKJV) 

John 7: 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (NKJV) [Right in you, one with you, the fountain, the rivers of living water.]

John 15: 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. (NKJV) [Helper sent to us from the Father.  This is TOO BIG to ignore for the New Testament saint!]

John 17:26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (NKJV) [Declared again by Jesus, that He would be in us.]

Acts 9:4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (NKJV) [Christ and His Church are synonymous and inseparable - Persecute the Church = Persecute Christ.]

Acts 11:16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ (NKJV)

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (NKJV)

Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (NKJV) [In this is God's love, that Holy God can be poured out to abide in sinful man, because of the finished work of Jesus.  He is One with us!]

Romans 8: 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (NKJV) 

Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (NKJV)

[No more condemnation for us, who are according to the Spirit, our Spirit, made alive in Christ when we accepted Him.  Free from the law of sin and death!]

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (NKJV) [Same Holy Spirit, our Spirit, gives life to our mortal bodies.]

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NKJV) [Yes, by the same spirit that dwells in me that is one with my spirit!]

1 Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (NKJV)  [The Holy Spirit in me, my spirit, can do this!  We can know the things that have been freely given to us by God!]

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (NKJV) [We are the Temple of God.  He CHOSE to put His Spirit in us, that the world would know the He has come to save.]

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (NKJV) [We were sanctified (made holy) and justified by the Spirit that came to dwell and be one with our spirits.]

2 Corinthians 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (NKJV)

[The fact that we are born again means we are one with God.  Guaranteed for eternity.]

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. (NKJV) [Jesus Christ IS in us, unless we are hellbound, i.e. not saved.  Anyone saved has Jesus in him.]

Galatians 3:2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (NKJV) [We can only be made perfect when the dominant influence in our life is our Spirit, God's Spirit!]

Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (NKJV) [Connected to the Vine forever, son of the most High God.]

Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (NKJV) [Same spirit, our spirit, Holy Spirit.]

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (NKJV) [We are SEALED for the day of redemption.  We cannot be UNSEALED.]

Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. (NKJV) [We are MEMBERS of His body, each of us born again!]

Ephesians 5:31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (NKJV) [Christ and His church are one, just as He sees a man and his wife as one.  The example of oneness in marriage is patterned after Christ and the Church, not the other way.]

Colossians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (NKJV) [It is Christ who is in us.  He IS our hope of glory.]

Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (NKJV) [Christ is OUR LIFE.  The intimacy is such.]

Hebrews 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, (NKJV) [Same message - the One who sanctifies and the one being sanctified are ONE.]

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (NKJV) [In the end state, the tabernacle, the temple of God, is with men and He will dwell with us forever!]

Freedom to Do the Work of the Lord!

Amazing - as I read 1 Cor 15, here is how Paul ends his first letter to the Corinthians, the very people he had to chastise for the silly things they were doing.  As we read through his epistles, we realize that his tone was actually a lot harder to those who tried to keep the law, the Galatians, then to those who sinned.  Let's have a look at these verses:

► 1 Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (NKJV)

The sting of death is sin. Sin results in death and where does sin come from? From the law! God gave the law not for us to follow but for us to realise the standard He had set for us and that it is way too high for us!
How many of us have NEVER broken any of the 10 Commandments, much less the whole law given in the Old Testament? If we think that we can maintain our own righteousness before the Lord, then we are fools, for the Word says in Isaiah 64:6 that all our righteousness are like filthy rags.

Jesus went one step further even when He cam to earth - He said He did not come to do away with the law but to FULFILL it! (Matt 5:17).  He was the answer to the law, the Lamb of God, to be sacrificed once and for all.  To underline the sheer futility of trying to keep the law, He said in verse 20 that unless our own (so-called) righteousness exceeds that of the pharisees (who tithed even on mint and cummin - talk about splitting hairs), we would not be saved!
And we all recall the passage He preached after this, how if we are angry, we have committed murder, how if we looked at someone in lust, we have committed adultery, how if we divorce, we have committed sexual immorality etc.
How many times have you heard this preached as a standard for behaviour, how we should try not to sin as Jesus had "prescribed" here?  That wasn't His point!  It was to tell us the sheer futility of trying to keep the law!  If we really took His teaching literally and really wanted to not sin, we should cut off the arm, pluck out the eye that caused us to sin.  Yet, how many Christians do we see going back to the Lord voluntarily maimed for the sake of not sinning? No... thank God for His goodness:

► 1 Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

It is in living in this freedom, where we can say: 

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 

“O Death, where is your sting? 

O Hades, where is your victory?” 

Then Paul goes on to say 

► 1 Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (NKJV) 

We have been set free, forever to be unshakeable, unmovable, without a consciousness of sin, for it says in Hebrews 10: 

► Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. (NKJV) 

and 

► Heb 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (NKJV) 

so that we can do the work of the Lord, knowing that we will have a reward, that our labour is not in vain, that we won't one day find ourselves cast away. Everything we do now is followed with rewards from the Lord.  In this power then is the ability to start walking and living according to what Jesus had said, but without the consciousness of the sin should we fail!

Walk with your head high, knowing He has made you clean!  Free to do the work of the Lord!

For a deeper appreciation of this, read Romans 6,7 and 8 slowly and let the Word speak to you.  Paul is reiterating this point there! 

Be blessed!

Chris

Referenced verses:

► Mt 5: 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. 27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. 33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ (NKJV)

Thanksgiving and Praise

A short "ah-ha" moment below:

Psalm 18:46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; 48 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. (NKJV)

We see here and in many places in Psalms that David is thankful and full of praise to God who delivered him from the hands of his enemies, from the Gentiles etc.
For us, yes we have salvation, but we too must be thankful and mindful how He has set us free from the curses of the world. In the spiritual realm, we have been set free and are victorious, the head not the tail. The victory we have includes victory over all curses, including

- sicknesses and diseases
- poverty
- persecution
- evil of every kind

Does this mean we do not get affected by these? No - in fact the Lord Himself said

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (NKJV)
(boldfaces mine)

The higher truth that we give thanks and are full of praise for is that He has overcome the world on our behalf. For this, we must be mindful of and we give thanks and praise to Him for it.

We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Let's thank and praise Him in all our tribulations in this world, not for them, for He has overcome them! It is in this context that James mentions:

James 1: 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJV)

Note that trials test our faith, not our patience.  In each trial we have the choice of believing which is true, the reality we perceive with our 5 senses ("In the world you will have tribulation") or God's promise ("but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world").    When we put our faith in Jesus and His Word, we develop patience.

I pray this short, simple sharing blesses you!