Head in our hands...

Why do we sit with our heads in our hands when it comes to Satan's attacks?

I don't think we always appreciate the fact that God waged war against Satan and came out triumphant. Think of the celebrations after any battle had been won. No matter how tired a soldier is, there is always enough energy left for victory. Lets read an example of such a victory, because I want you to think about the feeling of empowerment that one feels just as you realise that you are on the winning side.

1 Samuel 17:44-52 (Amp)

⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

⁴⁵ Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied.

⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

⁴⁷ And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.

⁴⁸ When the Philistine came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹ David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine, sinking into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck down the Philistine and slew him. But no sword was in David’s hand.

⁵¹ So he ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their mighty champion was dead, they fled.

⁵² And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. So the wounded Philistines fell along the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.

Why are we hiding in the ditch?

The cowardly Israelites’, in that moment of taking Goliath's head, realised that one man had defeated an entire army, by defeating the "strongman".

I wonder what would happen, if we as the church realised, that we are in fact victorious?

Could you imagine how different the story of David and Goliath would have been if the Israelites stood defeated behind David and said: "well you know, there is still the entire army of Philistines that still have their heads, maybe we should surrender, because if they had Goliath, surly he had some brothers or something."

No! We have to grab the victory and pursue the enemy until the whole of hell and its army is thrown into the lake of fire! We need to realise that it is war! Yes, the war was won when Jesus cut of the devils head, but why are we not running after the defeated enemy to chase them back to where they came from. We are a part of this war. We are in this war that has been won, but we are still running with our swords in the air screaming the Name of the One who won the battle.

The Bible speaks of us NOT fighting against flesh and blood and also speaks about us wearing the armour of God.

Why? The battle has been won, hasn't it?

It is because it is part of our victory to set the enemy to flight, into a powerless frenzy. No demon in hell is stronger than a single man who understands that he has "Goliath's head" in his hands.

It is time we start thinking like warriors doing a victory lap - and stop thinking like Israelites hiding in a ditch!

Fatherhood in the modern church

I once heard a very pompous preacher scream from the pulpit: "if the sons in my house (note - "my") where to be squeezed, nothing would make me prouder than to know that what came out of them, would be me (the preacher...).

I thought it was blasphemous... He used the Paul-Timothy analogy to staff his point.

Surely if we are supposed to be Christ-like, we would hope for "Christ" to come out of our so-called sons when they are "squeezed"? In my opinion, there is a sickness among overly exalted pampered preachers, glistening with the dripping fat of their over-indulgent self-absorbed lives. They treat those who serve under them (as they themselves should be serving- ironically) like ants in their personal pantry called "life". To me, this seems to be nothing other than abuse of their power.

The Timothy excuse

I have reservations about the idea of Paul being a "type and shadow" of the modern day church leader. Paul was a living breathing walking talking epistle (2 Corinthians 3) - to the point of writing two thirds of the divinely inspired New Testament. The point is, that Paul knew exactly how to walk in Christ-likeness, because he had firsthand revelation on scripture. He didn't attend any Bible school or university. God revealed all that he knew to him. For him to claim that others should imitate him as he imitates Jesus was not a long shot by far.

How many Church leaders today are as pure in their doctrine as Paul? How many Church "fathers" love God more than they love their own lives? How can one love an earthly son more than or at least equal to oneself if one cannot even love God onto death? (Death could imply death to selfishness and even physical death).

In my opinion Paul serves as a shadow to the printed Word of the New Testament, more than he is a shadow of a modern human leader of a church...

Thus I believe that we should teach father's to ensure that their sons do not follow in their (sometimes) broken footsteps steps. In other words: "Don't do as I do, do as I say!" I would much rather see fathers train their sons to be "thinkers" rather than "whipped followers". This way one would have thinking followers of Christ rather than man-following, followers trying to follow a God that is by no means a man - if that makes any sense.

If fathers taught sons to respect authority, but to follow Christ instead of themselves personally, then I believe it will have the following effect:

1. Sons will love the fathers without the threat of judgment and abandonment when mistakes are made.

2. Sons will not be prisoners or slaves to any power hungry maniac.

3. The demand for "perfection" in the relationship between the disciple and the disciplee will be removed and replaced by a demand for "excellence" which is far more attainable for us normal, fallible humans...

4. Churches will regain a warm family atmosphere and loose the callus organizational atmosphere resembling that of Donald Trump’s "The Apprentice" show.

Organisations or Churches?

The Pharisees loved their organisation more than their people, their authority and law more than the Messiah they had been dedicating to and awaiting on, their entire careers . They where petrified of loosing power over their subordinates, while Jesus was having meals with the unloved ones and letting His "sons" sleep in His bosom in the open air.

  

We fail - Jesus doesn't

If we inherit Jesus as our role model to imitate, we will eliminate inherited, accumulated heresies. The reason for this is that each generation will not only inherit truth but also have the ability to find more Truth. In the same breath, they will also discard old lies, instead of dragging generational curses from one congregation to the next under the banner of "submitting to the authority of man" versus "wholly submitting themselves to the Word of God and the unfailing support of our Helper the Holy Spirit".

One of my favourite teachers Dr. Chuck Missler likes to challenge his students when he makes any conjecture based on his studies - He tells his students that if they take any of his conjectures as fact without going and finding out for themselves whether in fact they agree, they automatically fail the course.

I believe that teaching our sons to think, will give God the space to give them fresh manna/wisdom and eventually allow them to get even closer to the Glory and truth of God, which should be the desire of all fathers.

Proverbs 17:6

"Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers."

Book of Romans – Chapter One/Part three

Romans 1:6-7 (AMP)

6 And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ (a) and invited [as you are] (b) to belong to Him (c).

7 To [you then] all God’s beloved ones in Rome (d), called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life (e): Grace and spiritual blessing and (f) peace be yours (g) from God our Father (h) and from the Lord Jesus Christ (i).

• Vs.6a This includes you, called of Jesus Christ

Comment:

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“…The calling here spoken of is not to an office, or a mere external one by the ministry of the word, but an internal special call by the grace of God; and which is irresistible, efficacious, and unchangeable, and is an high, holy, and heavenly one; by it persons are called out of darkness into light, out of bondage into liberty, out of the world, from the company of the men of it, and the sinful pleasures thereof, to fellowship with Christ and his saints, and of a dependence on themselves, and their own righteousness, to the grace and righteousness of Christ, and to eternal glory. The persons so called are the elect of God, who are secured in Christ, and redeemed by him, and who has a concern with the Father and Spirit in the calling of them: hence they are styled, "the called of Jesus Christ"; they are called by him, and after his name; he has an interest in them; as they were before his chosen and redeemed ones, they are now his called ones; as Jacob and Israel of old were named of God, "my called", Isaiah 48:12; so these were named Christ's called ones; and who by calling came to be partakers of him and of His grace.”

• Vs.6b invited [as you are]

Comment:

The Amplified is the only version of the Bible that uses the phrasing “as you are” but the Greek translation is “yourself”

KJV Lexicon humeis (hoo-mice): you (as subjective of verb) -- ye (yourselves), you.

So many people still think, (despite the scriptures repeatedly emphasising the contrary) that one has to become sinless first and then only can one accept Christ as your saviour. This must be the greatest irony and tragedy we face as “fishers of men” throughout all the ages. If any person thinks for a second that they should not come “as you are” to Christ, then that person misses the entire point of trusting in Jesus to do a mighty work in His power versus us proving ourselves to be worthy in our own power.

• Vs.6c belong to Him

Comment:

We are secured in Christ, and redeemed by Him. We are of the kind that belongs to a God of love, mercy and grace.

• Vs.7d God’s beloved ones in Rome

Comment:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

“Beloved of God - Whom God loves. This is the privilege of all Christians. And this proves that the persons whom Paul addressed were "not" those merely who had been invited to the external privileges of the gospel.”

• Vs.7e Called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life

Comment:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Called to be saints - So called, or influenced by God who had called them, as to become saints. The word "saints," ἅγιοι hagioi, means those who are holy, or those who are devoted or consecrated to God. The radical idea of the word is what is separated from a common to a sacred use, and answers to the Hebrew word, קדושׁ qadowsh. It is applied to any thing that is set apart to the service of God, to the temple, to the sacrifices, to the utensils about the temple, to the garments, etc. of the priests, and to the priests themselves. It was applied to the Jews as a people separated from other nations, and devoted or consecrated to God, while other nations were devoted to the service of idols. It is also applied to Christians, as being a people devoted or set apart to the service of God. The radical idea then, as applied to Christians, is, that "they are separated from other men, and other objects and pursuits, and consecrated to the service of God." This is the special characteristic of the saints. And this characteristic the Roman Christians had shown.”

• Vs.7f Grace and spiritual blessing...be yours

Comment:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

“Grace - This word properly means "favor." It is very often used in the New Testament, and is employed in the sense of benignity or benevolence; felicity, or a prosperous state of affairs; the Christian religion, as the highest expression of the benevolence or favor of God; the happiness which Christianity confers on its friends in this and the future life; the apostolic office; charity, or alms; thanksgiving; joy, or pleasure; and the benefits produced on the Christian's heart and life by religion - the grace of meekness, patience, charity, etc., "Schleusner." In this place, and in similar places in the beginning of the apostolic epistles, it seems to be a word including all those blessings that are applicable to Christians in common; denoting an ardent wish that all the mercies and favors of God for time and eternity, blended under the general name grace, may be conferred on them. It is to be understood as connected with a word implying invocation. I pray, or I desire, that grace, etc. may be conferred on you. It is the customary form of salutation in nearly all the apostolic epistles”

• Vs.7g Peace be yours

Comment:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

“And peace - Peace is the state of freedom from war. As war conveys the idea of discord and numberless calamities and dangers, so peace is the opposite, and conveys the idea of concord, safety, and prosperity. Thus, to wish one peace was the same as to wish him all safety and prosperity. This form of salutation was common among the Hebrews. Gen 43:23, "peace to you! fear not;" Judges 6:23; Judges 19:20; Luke 24:36. But the word "peace" is also used in contrast with that state of agitation and conflict which a sinner has with his conscience and with God. The sinner is like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, Isaiah 57:20. The Christian is at peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1. By this word, denoting reconciliation with God, the blessings of the Christian religion are often described in the scriptures, Romans 8:6; Romans 14:17; Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:22; Philippians 4:7. A prayer for peace, therefore, in the epistles, is not a mere formal salutation, but has a special reference to those "spiritual" blessings which result from reconciliation with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Vs.7h From God our Father

Comment:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

“From God our Father - The Father of all Christians. He is the Father of all his creatures, as they are his offspring, Acts 17:28-29. He is especially the Father of all Christians, as they have been "begotten by him to a lively hope," have been adopted into his family, and are like him; Matthew 5:45; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 5:1; 1 John 3:1-2. The expression here is equivalent to a prayer that God the Father would bestow grace and peace on the Romans. It implies that these blessings proceed from God, and are to be expected from him.”

• Vs.7i And the Lord Jesus Christ

Comment:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

“And the Lord Jesus Christ - From him. The Lord Jesus Christ is especially regarded in the New Testament as the Source of peace, and the Procurer of it; … From thus connecting the Lord Jesus with the Father in this place, we may see,

(1) That the apostle regarded him as the source of grace and peace as really as he did the Father.

(2) he introduced them in the same connection, and with reference to the bestowment of the same blessings.

(3) if the mention of the Father in this connection implies a prayer to him, or an act of worship, the mention of the Lord Jesus implies the same thing, and was an act of homage to him.

(4) all this shows that his mind was familiarized to the idea that he was divine.

No man would introduce his name (Jesus) in such connections if he did not believe that he was equal with God; compare Philippians 2:2-11. It is from this incidental and unstudied manner of expression, that we have one of the most striking proofs of the manner in which the sacred writers regarded the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:6-7 (AMP)

6 And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited [as you are] to belong to Him.

7 To [you then] all God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

After studying the full meaning of the ‘carefully selected words’ Paul used in the 6^th and 7^th verse of Romans 1, this is my interpretation and understanding of it…

Verse 6: You are called by Jesus, and have taken on His name. You are not called “Christians” because of the mere external ministry of the word, but rather you have an internal special call by the grace of God; and it is an irresistible, efficacious, unchangeable, high, holy, and heavenly one. By it you were called out of darkness into light, out of bondage into liberty, out of the world, into fellowship with Christ and His saints. Yes! You are called to the grace and righteousness of Christ, and to eternal glory. You are the elect of God. We should come “as we are” to Christ and trust in Jesus to do a mighty work in His power versus us proving ourselves to be worthy in our own power. We are secured in Christ, and redeemed by Him. 

Verse 7: We are of the kind that belongs to a God of love, mercy and grace. Don't you see Beloved of God? This is the privilege of all Christians. We were not merely invited to the external privileges of the gospel, but we are His Saints! We are holy, in the same way the Old Testament Jews, and their temple, priests and ornaments where separated for a holy and Godly purpose. So I pray and desire, that you will have the happiness which Christianity confers on its friends (in this and the future life), the apostolic office, charity, thanksgiving, joy and the benefits produced in a Christian's heart and life through faith, and also, may the grace of meekness, patience and charity be with you. May you experience peace, not only in the absence of war and torment experienced by your flesh alone, but even more so, peace be found in your inner man - freedom from inner conflict - a peaceful conscience towards God. From Him the Father of all His creatures as we have been "begotten by Him to a lively hope," we have been adopted into his family. All these blessings proceed from God, and are to be expected from Him and His son Jesus, the Source of peace, and the Procurer of it.

Bibliography:

- Barnes' Notes on the Bible- Bible Suite by Biblos

- Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible- Bible Suite by Biblos

- Amplified Bible

Jesus is sick of lukewarm Christianity...

A Challenge for Our Time

by William P. Welty, Ph.D.

John must have been puzzled. Exiled to the lonely island of Patmos, he has just begun to receive what will become known as the most elevated vision of things to come given to any person in the history of planet earth.

The vision begins with a resurrected, immortal Jesus of Nazareth dictating seven letters for delivery to the pastors of seven churches that existed during the latter half of the first century. With eyes of flames, like fire and feet like bronze that glows in a furnace, the God-man—who once was dead and now is alive forevermore—is ill.

Call the dictated letter eschatological symbolism if you will. Label it literary allegory. Or classify it as apocalyptic literature influenced by Jewish visions of the end of the world from the time between the Old and New Testaments. You can even think of the story as mere literary license.

It really doesn’t matter what name we use to describe the event, because the reality of the letter to the church of Laodicea is that Jesus is sick of lukewarm Christianity. He is about to vomit, writes the Apostle John in Revelation 3:14-17 (ISV v2.0):

To the messenger of the church in Laodicea, write: The Amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the originator of God’s creation, says this: I know your actions, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. Since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth. You say, “I am rich. I have become wealthy. I don’t need anything.” Yet you don’t realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

Bluntly speaking, Jesus of Nazareth is sick of useless Christian lifestyles. But he doesn’t leave the Laodicean pastor with-out a solution to the problem:

Therefore, I advise you to buy from me gold purified in fire so you may be rich, white clothes to wear so your shameful nakedness won’t show, and ointment to put on your eyes so you may see.

I correct and discipline those whom I love, so be serious and repent! Look! I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me.

To the one who conquers [overcomes] I will give a place to sit with me, on my throne, just as I have conquered [overcome] and have sat down with my Father on his throne.

Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:18-22 (ISV v2.0)

The United States of America and the world in which it exists, is entering the most terrifying time in history. The economies of virtually every nation on earth are collapsing.

Unwise American politicians are creating dollars out of thin air, voting into existence more than a trillion dollars merely by agreeing to loan them to businesses that would otherwise have been reorganized through the discipline of the bankruptcy courts and free enterprise business realities.

Meanwhile, the whole Western world that only six months ago was saying, “I am rich. I have become wealthy. I don’t need anything,” is now about to find out from personal experience what it will mean to hear the third horseman of the Apocalypse cry out, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, or three quarts of barley for a denarius” (Revelation 6:6, ISV v2.0).

All of this trouble has been allowed by a God who loves us and who corrects and disciplines those whom He loves. And that’s why Chuck and Nancy Missler’s new book, The Kingdom, Power and Glory, is going to be your road map through the times of trouble that are about to refine God’s children and judge all of God’s enemies. God’s people need to read this book, from cover to cover. And then read it again. And tell all of their friends, family, and acquaintances about what is contained therein, for the time is at hand.

The counsel contained in this remarkable volume, will explain what the life of faith is intended by its Author to lead to, which is divinely ordered preparation for rulership in the coming Kingdom. For those who are in the midst of that certain and inevitable God-ordained discomfort called adversity, The Kingdom, Power and Glory is just what you’ll need to make sense out of a world turned upside down.

With respect to Christ’s call to embrace our God-ordained adversity as a means to be trained on how to rule for eternity, may all of the readers of The Kingdom, Power and Glory learn to be firmly entrenched “overcomers” who have no need of exhortation. May we not be the cowardly ones who bury their talents in the ground, wrongly convinced that the God whom we serve reaps where He doesn’t sow.

Meanwhile, the ancient words of a centuries-old poem haunt me. They’re carved in a gothic, medieval alphabet on a towering, ornate cathedral door right in the heart of a small town in Germany. From the looks of that door, the words carved therein date back to the days of Martin Luther. For all I know, Dr. Luther read them one day, and maybe the message contained in that poem started him on his spiritual journey that eventually led him to reform, first his own life, and then the Church of 16th-century Germany. Translated into modern English, the words take the form of a frightening poem. No. Surely I misspoke. It’s a terrifying poem. Here is what the poem says:

You call me eternal, then do not seek me.

You call me fair, then do not love me.

You call me gracious, then do not trust me.

You call me just, then do not fear me.

You call me life, then do not choose me.

You call me light, then do not see me.

You call me Lord, then do not respect me.

You call me Master, then do not obey me.

You call me merciful, then do not thank me.

You call me mighty, then do not honor me.

You call me noble, then do not serve me.

You call me rich, then do not ask me.

You call me Savior, then do not praise me.

You call me shepherd, then do not follow me.

You call me Way, then do not walk with me.

You call me wise, then do not heed me.

You call me Son of God, then do not worship me.

When I [sentence] you, then do not blame me.

May all of the readers of Chuck and Nancy Missler’s The Kingdom, Power and Glory heed the warnings of this poem, embracing that necessary virtue we call spiritual bankruptcy, which is that certain, mandatory, and abject condition of total poverty of spirit and soul that marks the beginning of true Christian maturity and fitness for service in eternity.

May we all allow God to carry us on to maturity and fitness for ruling as kings and queens in the coming Kingdom as we rightly respond to the circumstances and adversities of this present life.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 (ISV)

[The above Foreword to The Kingdom, Power & Glory book was written by William P. Welty, Ph.D., Executive Director of The ISV Foundation, translators of the Holy Bible: International Standard Version.]

God’s laws vs. Fence laws

10 Commandments

1.   I am your God

2.   You cannot serve any other gods

3.   You cannot use the name of God in vain

4.   Keep the Sabbath holy

5.   Honour you father and mother

6.   Do not murder

7.   Do not commit adultery

8.   Do not steal

9.   Do not bear false witness against people

   10.  Do not covet what others have

These are:

1.   Ten ways to lead a successful and happy long life

2.   Ten things your kids need to know

3.   Ten things that should not be overstepped if possible

        

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai to serve as principles of moral behaviour for the human race. The Ten Commandments of God are the foundation of the moral code and legal system of justice for Western civilization.

* (Please note that breaking the 10 commandments does not lead to you losing your salvation or right to go to heaven. I am also aware that wagering our salvation on how well we adhere to the Law of the Old Testament would mean that we are putting ourselves under a curse. Jesus freed us from the curse of the Law (which is eternal death). That said, Jesus said that if we love each other, we would automatically do these things.

What are fence laws?

Fence laws are human laws that usually seem like “a good idea at the time”, and are created to ensure that we do not break God’s laws. In other words… we make more rules to keep God’s rules. The irony is that in doing so, we are taking over the role of the Holy Spirit who is suppose to be our Helper, and all these “fence laws” do nothing but steal our joy.

A good example from the conservative churches would be dancing. Some churches say that you should not dance because it COULD lead to sex… God never said that we should not dance… ever… In fact, when David danced and was criticised by his wife for it being provocative and idiotic, God made her barren.

2 Samuel 6:5 & 14-16, 20-23  (AMP)

5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, … …14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen ephod [a priest’s upper garment].

15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter [David’s wife], looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.

…20 Then David returned to bless his household. And [his wife] Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who stripped himself of his kingly robes and uncovered himself in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the worthless fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!

21 David said to Michal, It was before the Lord, Who chose me above your father and all his house to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord. Therefore will I make merry [in pure enjoyment] before the Lord.

22 I will be still more lightly esteemed than this, and will humble and lower myself in my own sight [and yours]. But by the maids you mentioned, I will be held in honor.

23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

Another favourite of the Charismatic church movement is that nobody is allowed to drink alcohol, NOT EVEN WHEN CELEBRATING COMMUNION! This is ridiculous!

Psalm 104 (AMP)

14 He causes vegetation to grow for the cattle, and all that the earth produces for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food out of the earth—

15 And wine that gladdens the heart of man, to make his face shine more than oil, and bread to support, refresh, and strengthen man’s heart.

Ecclesiastes 9 (AMP)

7 Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God], for God has already accepted your works.

8 Let your garments be always white [with purity], and let your head not lack [the] oil [of gladness].

9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of futility. For that is your portion in this life and in your work at which you toil under the sun.

Proverbs 20:1 (AMP)

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs or reels because of it is not wise.

Proverbs 23:33 (AMP)

30 Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine.

31 Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly.

32 At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

33 [Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant].

In other words, for those who have the ability to stay righteous when drinking wine, do so until you are happy, NOT until you turn into a reeling brawler or a husband that stops loving his wife…

PS I love the fact that even in the Bible we are warned against mixing our alcohol, LOL. (Prov. 23:30)

What keeps us in the sheepfold?

That which keeps us in the sheepfold is not supposed to be a human made fence. God is our shield, Jesus is our Shepherd and the Holy Spirit is our Helper with Love as our compass – this protective force, covers all our needs.

If Joy is lacking in anything you do…

Check whether you are not perhaps helping God do His work instead of letting God help you do His work.

Joy is a “fruit”, or a natural by-product of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP)

22. But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].

Let’s ask Jesus what He thinks of the commandments…

Mark 12:28-33 (AMP)

28 Then one of the scribes came up and listened to them disputing with one another, and, noticing that Jesus answered them fitly and admirably, he asked Him, Which commandment is first and most important of all [in its nature]?

29 Jesus answered, The first and principal one of all commands is: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord;

30 And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.

31 The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said to Him, Excellently and fitly and admirably answered, Teacher! You have said truly that He is One, and there is no other but Him;

33 And to love Him out of and with all the heart and with all the understanding [with the faculty of quick apprehension and intelligence and keenness of discernment] and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

And as for keeping God’s law…

It is as the theme song of the movie “Love actually” says…”All you need is LOVE… Pap a da da da!”