4-4-2026          Three pearls: Wisdom, Knowledge & Understanding   

                            

Just what does a pearl represent?

The word ‘pearl’ or ‘pearls’ is used nine times in the New Testament and the same words used Each time appears as either:

Margarites G3135 – pearl (as in from an oyster)

Gabiyah H1378 – pearl or ice-like - Job 28:1-18, Job explains the value of wisdom,  appears once in the Old Testament.

Matt.13:44-45            Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, when a man finds it and hides it, it he sells all that he has so he can buy the field.  He becomes like a merchant who seeks only the best pearls.  Wisdom is ls like a pearl and should be sought after as the most precious thing which exists.  Why?  Because it is precious and desirable.

Okay so we understand the ‘value’ of the pearl.

Job tells us that wisdom is more precious than the finest metals or most exquisite gems.  To be desired more than anything.  He tells us that the fear of the Lord is Wisdom and that departing from evil is Understanding (Job 28:1-29).

Pearls know no race, gender nor age and guess what?  Neither does wisdom, nor does knowledge nor does understanding. 

Now let’s take a look at wisdom.

Wisdom

The Hebrew word chokma H2451 – is wisdom, skillful, wisely or wit.  It appears in the Old Testament over 200 times, mostly in the Book of Proverbs (The Book of Wisdom). 

No, this not a study of the Book of Proverbs, but let us look at a few examples of wisdom.   Proverbs starts off with the right phrase: To know wisdom and instruction and to perceive the words of understanding (Prov. 1:1, 1 Chron.22:12).  So the Book of Proverbs, in part, is about how Father teaches us wisdom.  Get wisdom and understanding and never part from what God says (Prov. 4:5).  Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov. 1:7).  Should we lack wisdom, ask God for He will give it liberally and not look down on us for asking (James 1:5).  The world’s wisdom is foolishness with God for He judges the world by their own deceit (James 3:19).  The world gains its wisdom via the prince and power of the air (Eph. 2:2).  Satan is the Prince and power of the air for when God cast him out of heaven, it was down to the earth to deceive the world (Rev. 12:9).  Don’t Fret, Satan’s earthly rule is not eternal for he will be cast out (John 12:31).  So we see that God is the only true source of wisdom and those who don’t seek Father and His wisdom are foolish (Prov. 12:15).  (read the whole book)

Knowledge

God is Spirit and we must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  To get to know God, our hearts and minds must be directed towards Him.

So to find wisdom, we need to have knowledge of God the Father.

Daath H1847 – know, be aware of (Gen. 2:9)

Gnosis G1108 – knowledge (scientific) (Romans 11:33)

Epignosis G1922 – full discernment, knowledge (2 Peter 1:2)

Sunesis Gl4907 – intellect, understanding, knowledge (Eph. 3:4)

 To gain knowledge, we must have resources and there are various means of communication sources available to us.

Going to a church which preaches God’s love is a good beginning.  After all, faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).  However, reading or hearing the bible preached is not the initial source for most people.  Family, friends and neighbors are possible sources.  Even media might publish something that ignites a spark for the Lord in us.  Perhaps a Christian concert or a rally or gathering where Christ is promoted, the ‘light’ comes on.   

However, once we commit our lives to Jesus, we have to learn about Him.  We have to learn what type of relationship does He want and that, my friends, is a life-long experience.  Father shows us that He does desire a relationship with each and every one of us.  He came to visit with Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:8-10).  Is this the only time God came to talk with Adam and Eve.  Scripture doesn’t say, but I personally believe that God communed with Adam and Eve on a regular basis. And I know that He communes with His creation, as often as we let Him.  Think about it.  As a child we had a favorite toy. Did we play with it just once and then forget about it?  No.  We played with it a lot.  Have we met someone with whom we would like be friends with, then never talk with them after that initial meeting?  Of course not.  We pursue the relationship because we enjoy their fellowship.

As we submit ourselves to God and draw near to Him, God will draw near to us (James 7-9).  When we open the door to Jesus, He will come in and ‘sup’ (fellowship) with us (Rev. 3:20).

As believers, God is always with us and His right hand holds us up, He councils us, then receives us into glory.  He is the strength of our heart (Psalm 73:23-26).   After all, didn’t Jesus give His life for us on Calvary, while we were till in our sin (Romans 5:8)?

We need the knowledge knowing that God does cares for us and He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut. 3:16, Heb. 13:5).

Understanding

We’ve gained knowledge through the words we are looking at, but we need understanding of what those words are really saying to us in order to gain wisdom from what are discovering.

In order to grow in our relationship with the Lord, we have to understand so we can truly grow in our relationship with the Creator of all things.

In my reading of the bible, Father has shown me that how we understand a word today may not carry the same intent as it did 2000 or 3500 years ago. 

I’ve used two Hebrew and two Greek words translated as understanding to help us to ‘understand’ what we’re talking about.

Tabuwa H8394 – intelligence, reason, discretion, wisdom, understanding (Exod.31:3)

Biyn H995 – teach, inform, instruct, help to understand (Deut. 1:13)

Parakoloutheo G3877 – attain, fully know, understand (Luke 1:3)

Sunesis G4907 –  intellect, knowledge, understanding( Mark 12:33)

As an example, in Matthew 16:18  Jesus says “…You are Peter ,  and upon this rock I will build my church …”.  Here, Peter’s name means rock, petros (G1074) which means a ‘piece’ of a rock, whereas the rock upon which the church is built is petra (G1073) a mass of rock).  The bible rightfully  translates them both as ‘rock’ but petra would seem to be a bigger than petros, much bigger, which could change our perception of what this passage is saying. 

Another example are the Greek words exousia  and dunamis.  Exousia is the Greek word G1849 used in Matthew 10:1.  It is translated ‘power but carries the connotation more of authority, jurisdiction, as well as power or strength.  In Acts 1:8, dunamis is explosive strength, violent, or mighty (wonderful) work, we might even say ‘absolute’ power.  In Jesus’ name, the apostles had the authority to do mighty works but Jesus was the power. because the Holy Ghost had not yet infilled the Apostles.  In Acts 1:8, the Holy Ghost becomes Jesus’ power in us, a promise to accomplish tasks He did (John 14:12-13).  The Holy Ghost has been made available to us from the upper room until now (Acts 2:1-16).

We also have to look at the context within a passage in which words are used.  We may even have to read the full passage, or perhaps a whole chapter or a whole book to obtain a more complete understanding.  Understanding is not just knowing what the word says, but come to know their application and intention in the passage.

SO

Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding all help us to attain what Father wants us to know and how He expects us to accomplish our tasks

Knowledge works so we can grow in wisdom so we can use the words properly.  But understand that as we grow in wisdom, wisdom increases our knowledge, knowledge increases our understanding.  And as wisdom, knowledge and understanding grow, they feed off of each other, working in a circular fashion to become a perpetual growth within us.  This will help us reach our full potential to which Father has planned for us.

Love, peace and joy become byproducts as our wisdom, knowledge and understanding increase.  Why?  Because we are growing in our relationship with our heavenly Father.  We grow in His love so we can truly come to know who Father, Yahweh, the Great I AM truly is.

So ‘rest, reset and recalibrate’ move into our crossroads which sets us at a turning point so we can have the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to understand our direction as we draw ever closer to our Lord.

And every time we experience growth, we experience a crossroad and a crossroad brings a need to make a decision and decisions bring the need for wisdom knowledge and understanding so we make right decision to continues our Spiritual growth. 

Amen

 

 

3-8-2026    The Lord’s Prayer 

           

Most people have some awareness concerning the Lord’s Prayer.  How many of us can recite the Lord’s Prayer?

 Prayers Jesus actually prayed for Himself were the burden on His heart can be found in Matthew and John.  Jesus prayed for strength to complete His mission on earth (Matt. 26:36-42) and when Jesus asked Father to help us to get through life while we remained in this world (John 17:1-26). Read them.

 What we refer to as the “Lord’s Prayer” is actually a prayer Jesus gives us to sustain us each day.

 Let’s take a look at the elements of this prayer

Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

 9          After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

 We start the day by acknowledging that through ‘big brother’ Jesus, God is our heavenly Father (Matt. 23:8-9).  So to whom are we speaking? God the Father!  He is Father because He created all things (Gen 1:1-31) and there is nothing made that He did not make (John 1:3).  Hallowed is he Greek word hagizo (G37) which means to be holy, sanctify or hallow.  Its root word hagios (G40) brings in pure, holy and consecrated or to venerate which s utmost respect, love or admire His Holy name.  The bible says to ‘fear’ the Lord.  Though there several Hebrew words used in the bible for fear yare and yirah carry the basic meaning which is to fear, hold dread for or have reverence towards.  Again there are words describing specific fear but two Greek words phobeo (G5399) and phobos (G5401) are used in fear as in being deathly afraid, And again, two Greek words eulabeia (G2124,\ and eulobemai G2125) express reverence.  So we realize God is capable of destroying this world and making a new one as He pleases (Isa. 65:16-17, Rev. 21:1-27). We give reverential respect to the Lord but we also fear Him knowing all things are in His hand (Psalm 24:1-2).                                                                                                                                                                          10        Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

We desire that things, here on earth, would be as they are in Heaven. Humbly we endure in love and one Spirit seeking to do God’s will as He has enables us (Eph. 4:1-7).  We can bring the kingdom of God through our living in and through Jesus in today’s world (1 John 4:9-11), and we still have the eternal kingdom (New Jerusalem) to look forward to (Rev. 21:2-3).

 11        Give us this day our daily bread.

 We need food so God will give us sustenance to live.  He fed Israel manna in the wilderness (Exod. 16:14-35) and likewise He will provide for us (Matt. 6:25-31) for He knows what we need and as we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, Father will provide all our needs (Phil. 4:19).

 12         And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 We ask God to forgive us the sins we commit but how often do we consider what we may have done to others knowingly or unknowingly?  It is human nature to sin (Rom. 3:23, 5:12) and as Christians, when we do go against God’s love and commandments we have an advocate with Father and that is, of course, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 John 2:1-2).  Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross that we might be cleansed of our sin nature (Eph. 4:22-24), but how many of us have truly never sinned after salvation?  That is why we need an advocate.  Jesus says that if say we have never sinned, we make God a liar (1 John 1:10). Thank you for the blood (Heb. 9:22).  The thought itself is not guilt but when we have determined to do something in our heart, the sin is committed whether we take action on it or not (James 1:13-15, James 4:17).   Jesus also tell us that if we don’t forgive sins of others, He won’t forgive us our sin (Matt. 6:14-15). Forgiving and being forgiven is necessary for continued Spiritual growth.

 13        And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

 

Again as James said God will not tempt man but when man is drawn away by his own lust, in his

own heart, and he decides to do it, that lust brings forth death (James 1:13-15).  God has an

eternal kingdom (Dan. 2:44) and God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:12), He has all

power and His glory and He is everlasting (1 Chron. 29:11).

 

Now Luke chapter eleven (KJV) and Matthew chapter six (NIV) vary slightly but say the same thing.  Let’s take a look at some of the differences.

Luke 11:2-4 (KJV)

2          And he said unto them, when ye pray, say,

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 

 

Luke asks Father that as it is in heaven, let it be so on earth. a reversal of words, but the same thing.

3          Give us day by day our daily bread. 

4          Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who are indebted to us and lead us not into

temptation but deliver us from evil

 Luke says ‘as those who are indebted to us’.  And Luke does not include ‘for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever’.

 Matthew 6:9-13

NIV

9          “This, then, is how you should pray:

10          Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
 on earth as it is in heaven.

11        Give us today our daily bread.

12        And forgive us our debts,
            as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13        And lead us not into temptation,^[a]

            but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’

 note that the NIV version, also, does not include ‘for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever’.

 

I also have a bible which is supposed to be an accurate reproduction of the 1611 King James Bible.  The bible l have is not a complete reproduction because the 1611 included what we refer as the apocrypha which are seven books from the Old Testament.  Church scholars decided that these seven books of the apocrypha were not inspired by God so as of the 1639 King James Bible, they were no longer included.  Though it does not have the apocrypha but it does include ‘for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever’ at the end of ‘Our Father’ in Matthew chapter 6.  I’ve never seen any ‘original documents so I don’t feel qualified to make any further comments – just food for thought and not argument. Another comment, the copy of the 1611 KJV which I have is written in 16^th century English.  You think our ‘modern KJV is hard to read?  Check this one out.

 

So why should we be concerned about the prayer which Jesus has given us for ‘daily prayer’? This is the foundation of our relationship with our heavenly Father. It is the foundation of our prayer life and if our prayer life should not be in alignment with what Father desires, the rest of our prayer life could be negatively impacted.   As our spiritual growth changes, the shift we are beginning to experience could be operating at a serious handicap. 

 

Reading our bible and our prayer life are a major part of our overall spiritual growth.   As we grow in our Lord, He is changing our ways and habits over to His guidelines.  We will discover that we have been and are continuing to grow in His Spirit, lining up in His will.  The Holy Ghost is He who truly guides us.  Don’t quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19) but allow Him to work in us and through us.  After all it is His strength which enables to do what we do (Acts 1:8).  Ask and receive, He is waiting (Matt. 7:7).  His desire is to help us do greater things than what Jesus did because we have received Jesus in Jesus into our heart (John 14:12).

 

Amen

 

2-21-2026 The Heart of God  

When we think of God’s love, we think of an all-encompassing type of love.  Agape (G26) means love, charity, benevolence, etc.  We may have our own concept of what ‘love’ means, but just what does that ‘love’ involve?

Father gave Israel what we call the “Ten Commandments”.  They are a description of how we should love God and others.  How many Christians ‘really’ understand them?  How many Christians truly abide by them? 

This not only will refresh our memories of what the commandments are, but why we should abide in them.  This is not just a’ to do’ or ‘not to do’ list but to gain an understanding of how we may benefit by keeping them.

For openers, we must believe that God is.   He created the heavens and he earth and everything that is in them, even giving life to all things (Gen. 1:11-21, Isa. 42:5, Isa. 44:24, John 1:1-4).  When we don’t believe God exists, here is no sense reading any farther.  Unless, of course, it helps us to believe that God IS.  Moses asked God, if they ask whom shall I tell Israel who sent me?  Father responded “I AM that I AM, tell them I AM has sent you (Exodus 3:14).

Deuteronomy 6:1- 25

Father gave us commandments (love), statutes and judgements to live by that we should abide in them wherever we live.  By so doing, we are telling God that we fully respect Him and His mighty and awesome power.

As we abide in His love, it will be well with us and our days will be prolonged.  He tells us to put His commandments into our heart, soul and might and also diligently teach our children to do the same.  In whatever we say and do, His love should be a part of it and to even write His commandments all around our house so we might always remember Him.   From our perspective, we should also remember all the things He has done and still does for us.  Focusing on the commandments (love) help us remember Father’s goodness towards us.  Father reminds us not to put anything above Him.  He is God, creator of all things.  He will cast out our enemies which come against us (Exod. 14:14, Rom 12:19).  As we abide in God’s commandments (love), He will preserve us and count it to us for righteousness (Rom. 4:3).

Deuteronomy 5:7-21

So, let’s review the Commandments of God.

1              Have no other God’s before me

That is to not to worship anything other than God.  That includes things made of wood, stone, metal, etc. that means not statues, not people, not animals nor anything fashioned with human hands and this includes anything unseen, concepts or ideas.

2              Do not make any graven images or likeness of anything in heaven above, the earth beneath or the waters beneath the earth.  You shall not bow down to nor serve them for I am a jealous God and visit the iniquity of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

When we give our attention to anything other than God, we show our contempt or perhaps our disbelief in His existence.  How would we feel if, after we have poured all our energies into another person and then they tell us to ‘take a hike’?  When we worship anything else, that’s what we’re telling our heavenly Father to do.

3              You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for those who take His name in vain, the Lord will not hold guiltless.

Vain (H7723 shav [7722 showah] which mean make desolate by destruction, destroy, storm or wasteness).  We are telling God that His name means nothing to us.

4              Keep the Sabbath day and sanctify it.

The Sabbath is a day to rest from our labor as God rested from His labors on the seventh day (Gen. 2:3, Heb. 4:8-11).  We need time to sit down and catch our breath (so to speak) but then we sanctify (H6942 quaddash  appoint, dedicate, proclaim, sanctify) that time (Exod. 3:13-17).  That means to set time aside in which we relax our bodies and give time to the lord and consider all the blessings and goodness He has brought into our lives.  Father tells that this is a time when everybody and everything should rest.  Israel was even told to prepare double portion of food the day before the Sabbath so they wouldn’t even have to cook on the Sabbath (Exod. 16:22-25).

5              Honor our father and mother so that our days might be prolonged and that it might go well with us.

                When children, dad and mom were charged with teaching us the law (Deut. 6:7).  Showing our parents respect also shows our respect for God, for they should reflect God’s love for us (Eph.6:1-4).  Being obedient to dad and mom shows our respect to God, our heavenly Father.  Our parents have authority over us and God has authority them (or should).

6              You shall not Kill.

                Kill  - H7523 ratsach dash to pieces, put to death, murder or kill.  Do we really need to discuss ‘taking a life’?  The life of one who kills, his life is required (Gen. 9:6).

7              Neither shall you commit adultery.

9H5003 naaph commit adultery, break wedlock.  Adultery pretty much means as we see it today – not being faithful to our spouse, eyeballing that ‘babe ’or ‘hunk’ and then acting on that lust which is actually not honoring the love for our spouse.  

8              Neither shall you steal.

H1589 ganab carry away, secretly bring or steal.  Steal is pretty straight forward as well – taking something which does not belong to us.  ”I just ‘borrowed’ it for a little while.”  Taking without permission is stealing

9              Neither shall you bear false witness.

H6030 anah is to cry out, answer.  H7723 shav is to speak evil of, is false, destructive, a lie.  H5707 ed is testimony, witness.  I use three words hear to get the point across, perhaps a little more clearly.  When our testimony about someone or something else is not true, in the courtroom that is called perjury and can result in jail time.

10           Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s wife, house, fields, animals nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.

H2530 chamad love, desire, covet (want really bad).  Chamad is just an excuse to take something that is not ours and clearly belongs to someone else.  It is similar to stealing, but is usually what happens before one actually steals something.

Now is a good time to bring up one last item – desiring to do any of the above.  The do’s ae okay, but the don’ts can get us into a whole lot of trouble. 

Our enemy is always looking for weak spots so he can drag us down, weaken our testimony or perhaps even to even completely destroy us.  Violating the commandments give us a pretty good idea of how our enemy works 

The devil isn’t stupid and he has a mighty army, but God’s is bigger, two to one.  Satan dragged 1/3 of the angels down with him (Rev. 12:4, 7-9), when he was cast out of heaven.  Let’s do a little math here John says that around God’s throne were ten thousand times ten thousand plus thousands and thousands angels.  That is, at least, 100,000,000 (billion) plus thousands and thousands more!  The most recent count says the earth’s population is a little over 8.3 billion. That means there are probably over 40 billion demonic entities (1/3 of 100 billion) and I haven’t counted the thousands and thousands). out there and we still have them outnumbered two to one.  We might say that the devil has at least four devils watching over each one of us without underestimating the count.

Back to the devil and us.  So the devil has a many demons as he wants to keep tabs on us watching for our weaknesses and our strengths (1 Peter 5:8).  He knows with what to entice us how we might fall into his trap.  Should we take the bait and decide to do whatever he’s dangling in front of us, we have sinned (James 1:14-15). 

When we do sin, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous (1 John 2:1-2), so we confess our sin and repent of our sin, then like the prodigal son and changing our ways, we are reinstated into Gods’ family (1 John 1:9, Luke 15:11-32).  Should we not recognize, admit, confess and repent our sin, that sin could potentially compound the situation which could lead to death – separation from Father (James 1:15).

I speak for myself, what I do know, I haven’t learned overnight the things I need to know.  The more I prayerfully read the bible, the more I continue to learn.   It is a growing process.  Some learn more quickly while others need more time.  How diligent we are with prayerfully reading the bible will determine how quickly we grow.  The devil will try to discourage us but find your pace and go with it and should Father increase that pace later – go with the flow. Our flow?  A verse, a chapter, a book, whateve,r start with something!  We have to decide to get the ball rolling (reading the scripture) and then do it!

Father is patient with us. Though I speak with the language of men and angels, prophesy and understand all mysteries and I have great faith, if I don’t love, I have nothing.  Though I help the needy and even give my life for Jesus, I am nothing. Love is longsuffering, kind, is not envious, is not filled with pride, does not behave unseemly nor seek for its own benefit, is not easily provoked and does not consider evil and rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, hopes for all things and endures all things (1 Corinth. 13:1-7).  And take note, giving my life for Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean physically dying, but it definitely means ‘living for Jesus’.  living in God’s love.

I said the purpose of this is to discover how to love God and others.  Jesus says that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and then love others as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31).   Do we think 1 Corinthians might give us a practical clue as how to live?

How good a job are we doing it?

 

 2-2-2026    How Much do we Really Love the Lord?

                      

How deep is our love for Jesus?

In 1054, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches split and the protestant reformation began in 1517.  According to the National Congregational Study Survey, in the U.S. alone, there are more than 200 Christian denominations.  All declaring allegiance to Jesus Christ, our Lord.  These splits all came from ‘theological differences.  Everybody didn’t believe exactly the same.  Many claiming that if one didn’t believe exactly as they declared, that soul was not saved.  We are one body and that body has many parts (1 Corinth. 12:14-27) yet were are still one in Christ Jesus (Rom. 12:4-5).

So!

What did Paul tell the Romans?  When we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe with our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved (Rom. 10:9). Then he clarified that those stronger in the Lord should bear the infirmities of the weak (Rom.15:1).  Our job is not to tear down but edify the church, the body of Christ.  We all may not sit as one of the 5-fold offices, but we all do have a part in the 5-fold ‘ministry’.  Everything that we do stems from the 5-fold ministry – Evangelist, Apostle, Pastor, Teacher and yes, even the Prophet. (Eph. 4:11-12) We are God’s temple (1 Corinth. 3:16 – naos G3485, temple, dwell)!  Bear in mind that these offices are manifested through the many talents contained in the body.  In his own eyes, the devil has done well in dividing the body of Christ and fracturing the love the body represents.

Note, that Romans 10:9 says ‘shall’, not ‘are’.  Paul cautions the Romans that “it is impossible for those who once were enlightened, have tasted heavenly gifts or are partakers of the Holy Ghost (associated with, partnered with, allowed Him into our lives) and tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come. Should God permit them to fall away (return to that sinful nature)?   Then repenting again of their sinful nature, are they crucifying the lord Jesus again putting Him to shame” (Heb. 6:4-6).  What this passage tells is that when we truly love the Lord, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, we will not turn from Him. 

However, there is a flip-side to this coin.  Should we turn away from Jesus, after we have confessed and were baptized, our original confession is in jeopardy because it implies that we may truly have not given our hearts to Jesus.  Note the commitment to depth of faith in this passage, it is secured in ‘as we believe’.  If we profess Jesus, then turn back to the old ways, how sincere was our original commitment?  Did we really believe what our mouth was saying?  However, John tells us that should we sin (we are sinful creatures by nature), we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus (1 John 2:1-2).  Even though that sinful nature fights us to gain control, we have God’s Spirit of love in us as we live in God’s love, we win the battle (Gal. 5:17-25).  Should we fall, confess lth sin and Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

(1) Just knowing about Jesus (being enlightened) is not a guarantee for our salvation.  Satan and his devils believe and know that God exists (James 2:19).  In fact, the first two chapters of “Job”, God issues a challenge to Satan concerning Job’s faithfulness (Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-6).  Satan believes God IS, what about us?  Ananias and his wife Sapphira showed their true hearts when they lied to the Holy Spirit by holding back part of what they promised God (Acts 5:1-11).  Man can believe in and be baptized in Jesus but that is just the beginning.  Jesus tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).  His commandment is to LOVE (Matt. 22:36-38) and as we love Him, we will do so with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30).  That means with everything that we are!  That lack of true commitment was displayed when many of the people decided to no longer follow Jesus because they felt His teachings were too hard (John 6:59-66).

Paul tells the Corinthians that even though only one crosses the finish line first, all run the race expecting to win.  A man strives to master all things he encounters (resist the devil’s attacks) to receive an incorruptible crown.  Know what our goal is, and don’t be like a boxer who shadow boxes, just punching the air, but bring our bodies under subjection (of our heart) so we will not nor have not run the race in vain (1 Corinth. 9:24-27).

Have we confessed Jesus, been baptized in water then we come to a screeching halt in our relationship?  Have we become content with where we are?  Are we still living in salvations shallows?

(2) Even though we have received blessings from Father, that does not guarantee our eternal life.  Later in life, I realized how Father has been watching over me.  Blessing me even when I didn’t acknowledge Him.  My dad worked for the department of Interior and would occasionally go to audit various national parks.  When I was going into the third grade (@ 7 years old), that summer, he brought the family to come be with him in Boulder City, Nevada.  There was a rock formation protruding into Lake Mead called Black Rock which, as a family, we walked up the path.  Dad had gone a little farther ahead and I was with mom and my sister when I decided to go catch up with my dad.  I saw him up ahead, but as I went up the path I found a split in the path so I stretched my seven year old legs across the gap to the other side.  Uh oh!  I spanned the gap but I could neither pull myself forward nor could I back up.  I don’t know how high we were up on Black Rock, I just knew I was higher than I cared for being in my predicament.  Mom yelled for dad and honestly, the last thing I remember is seeing my dad running back to get me.  I know I didn’t fall because I’m here writing about this today.  Thinking back, that was a huge blessing for me – I’m still here (Psalm 121:5-8)!  Father knew me and He was watching over me.  Obviously even though I didn’t know Him.  He loved me.

Father will bless us to get our attention, even when we don’t acknowledge Him (personal life experiences), yet He does tell us that as we obey Him, blessings will come our way (Deut. 28:11-14).  Jesus tells us those who hear the Word of God and do it shall be blessed (Luke 11:28).  As we keep God’s law and keep His commandments Father will bless us with long life and peace (Prov. 3:1-2) and more.

Father keeps bringing Job to mind.  A man who endured much hardship without denying God and though he lost all that he had, in the end, Father blessed Him many times over because of his dedication and obedience (Job 42:10-17).  Job recognized Who God is and showed God his love for Him through his obedience.  Can we show Father our love through our obedience?

But bear in mind, Father does bless us according to His will but those blessings don’t bring us a guarantee salvation nor are they a guaranteed product of professions of faith, but Father uses them as encouragement for our continuing obedience to our Lord Jesus!  Blessings are great but how long will we stay just waist deep in God’s love? abiding in God’s love, but not growing.

(3) Even if we’ve memorized passages from (or even) the whole bible, it is not a guarantee for a blessed life ‘ever after’. 

Isaac was the son of Abraham, and Abraham was considered the ‘founding’ patriarch of Judaism, and Christianity sprang from Judaism.  In the natural, Jesus was born into this world a ‘Jew’ via his mother Mary.  He was obedient to His Father (God).  So, as we confess and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become His brothers, therefore we fall into that Spiritual lineage in our rebirth into the New Covenant (in Jesus).  In his old age, Isaac’s eyesight dimmed which enabled Jacob (his son) to trick him into receiving the blessing of the eldest son (Gen. 27:15-30).  In short, we age and often natural, physical attributes slow us down.  We may assume that it is by Father’s design, for whatever His reason, our life flows as it does. Yet He’s is always in control yet He gives us free choice (Josh. 24:15, Rev. 3:20-22).  How freedom affect our choices?

In our youth (in church) we are encouraged to read and memorize bible verses and this continues into our adulthood, or it should.   This is good!  The more Word we have in our heart and mind, the better for us.  Paul encourages us, in his letter to the Romans, to present our bodies a living sacrifice to the Lord by renewing our minds as an expression of our faithfulness (Rom. 1:1-2).  Father also tells us to receive His Words, know His commandments, desire understanding and seek knowledge with all our heart, so we will come to understand who God is and we will gain His wisdom (Prov. 2:1-5).  Father has given us the written Word for our learning that through our patience in so doing, we find comfort and our hope is reinforced (Rom. 15:4)

A parrot can resound the words which we teach it.  The bird knows the words, but he has no understanding of what they mean, it is just imitating sounds.  We go to school to, among other things, learn words and their meaning so we can appropriately communicate with others. 

Most biblical speakers cite ‘book, chapter and verse’ help us understand what God is saying?  Knowing the words and being able to use them correctly in a sentence is good, but if someone asks us “what do you mean, do we just give them a blank stare?  Or are we able to relate to the deeper understanding of what is being said?  Do we have that deeper meaning of what Father is saying in our own heart?

It is great to have read the whole bible (Genesis to Revelation) once, twice ten times or even more.  What I am asking is ‘what are we retaining’?  What are we absorbing?  For myself, I have learned that reading a verse, a passage, a chapter, a book, etc., I learn.  PTL!  But I have found that each time I’ve read that verse, passage, chapter or book, Father takes me to a deeper understanding of what that portion of the bible actually means.  He shows me something more, something deeper than what I have seen in all the times before.  AND, even though I made no deliberate attempt to memorize many of these passages, I find Father brings many back to my memory when needed!  The Holy Ghost will give us what to say (Mark 13:11).

We’ve grown in knowledge and, at least, a basic understanding but are we still just chest deep in the lake of our understanding?  How much of God’s love have we learned to apply and effectively live in?

(4) Even as we have learned about future heavenly existence, it is not an indication that we are signed, sealed or delivered.  Understand that ‘delivered’ implies that we would then be in the literal presence of Father, face to face, mano e mano.

No one knows when the lord is coming back (Matt.24:44).  For this reason, we should always be ready and watching (Matt. 25:13).  However, Jesus does give us some things that might give us a hint.  False prophets, wars and rumors of wars, nations, kingdoms and even families divided, disease, famines, earthquakes in unusual places, and Jesus says, even with these things, the end is not yet (Matt. 24:4-8).  Look at history, these things have been happening ever since Jesus ascended (Acts 1:9), even since the beginning of the world (2 Peter 3:4).  How many people have tried to predict when the end times or even tribulation period will be (it signals Jesus’ return) - ?  Even today, how many of us look at the world situation and say “the end times are near?  Even before, but certainly since Jesus’s time, there have been false prophets, wars, famines, etc. and here we are, experiencing the same things, and still we are waiting.  When Jerusalem is surrounded by the armies (Luke 21:20-28) the Lord will come with the shout of the archangel and the trump of God (1 Thess. 4:16-18),

In the meantime, are we yet totally immersed in Jesus’ ocean of love?  Totally committed in living for Him?  Totally enveloped in that sea of love?

Getting our feet wet is just the beginning.  Waist deep, we are learning.  Neck deep shows our commitment.  Totally immersed?  Knowing and living in God’s Word and sharing it with those whom we encounter, is this total immersion?  Absolutely and completely but the question is “Are we totally immersed in love” – in God’s eyes? 

Enoch pleased God, so God took him form the earthly realm (Gen. 5:21-24).  Neither did Elijah see an earthly death (2 Kings2:11-12).  The testimony of both men is that they pleased God.  We don’t know if Enoch had a task to complete when God took him but Elijah had to wait until his mission was complete before being taken up.  Have we actually given our complete heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30) over to the Lord?  How much do we really love Him?

When we willfully sin and turn our backs on Jesus, the odds of our repentance becomes less and less a possibility.  The farther we stray, the harder it will be to come back.  For when we turn from Father, we put Jesus to shame because we have called Him a liar.  – has He truly saved us, but do we live like it?  Yet we know that if we should stumble or fall, Jesus will pick us back up.

Jesus says “Abide in Me (John 15:4).  As we grow in Christ Jesus, we venture farther and farther out into the water (God’s love).  Endeavoring to become totally immersed in His love.

Peter walked on the water (Matt. 14:22-33), but Father promised Isaiah to be with him through the waters and fire and that he would not be harmed (Isaiah 43:2-3a).  Promises like these are also ours.  Are we living our lives as we expect good things to happen?

So, just how deep is our water?  Our love?  Do we get our feet damp by walking in shallow waters (love)?  How about waist deep as we grow in the waters of love?  Are we neck deep In the waters of the knowledge and living in God’s will and doing it?  Have we totally immersed ourselves by walking into and being totally overcome by the waters of Father’s love?  Is Father’s love a part of our love – life? 

Father brings to my mind the song “Rush” by the group Voux.  I first heard this song at church and I was so-so with it.  Later, I looked up the lyrics and then I understood.  To be totally overwhelmed with God’s love.

Learning to love Jesus and others will also help us to love ourselves.  We are wonderfully made because God’s works are marvelous (Psalm 139:14) and we are God’s creation (Eph. 2:10).  Men, are we not commanded to love our wives for if we love our spouses we should love ourselves (Eph. 5:28).  If we have no confidence (don’t love) in ourselves, how can we truly love others? 

Amen

I presented this a year ago to the fellowship I attend for the bible study but Father has made some additions for deeper understanding.