Jesus forms the way of discipleship

~Zao~

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Proverbs 24:3-4
Through Wisdom is a house builded; and by Understanding it is established: [But] by Knowledge shall all the chambers be filled.​

Transformed by the renewing of your mind Romans 12:2 by putting off your own stinking thinking in exchange for showing forth Christ's life instead.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

Isaiah 11:1-2:
"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots [this is Jesus, of course]: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, [that is] the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord.” (the Branch of Jehovah )

Many think of the 7-fold spirit of God like a tree trunk and the eyes of God as the branches or like the Manorrah of the Holy Place Lamp. Rooted in and edified by His Word while prayerfully submitting to Understanding.

Matthew 4:4
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jeremiah 15:16
Thy Words were found, and I did eat them.

Psalms 119:27
Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works.​
 
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~Zao~

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Who were the sons of God? Were they all killed in the flood or in the Red Sea when Israel was brought out of Egypt (assuming that's another form of judgement/baptism)? And yet there were giants in the promised land yet to be killed ( I see those as our giants in our own life that need to be defeated before we can come to rest in Him) This all just facinates me.

Genesis 6:4-5
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days —and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Jude 1:6-7
6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home —these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

2 Peter 2:4,5;9,10
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Job 1:6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.​

This I find very curious, I don't know if it speaks only of angels or humans that aren't following God's ways or what.

Jude 1:6
6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home
1 Peter 2:10
The Lord knows how to rescue those who are godly while continueing to punish the unrighteous...this is especially true of those who .... despise authority.​

The way I understand it, we have the first (and last) order of things. Representing and expressing God comes full circle from the old Adam to the new Adam thru blood, water and fire.

Gen 10:1-11:9

Psalms 2
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
3 "Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.


Luke 11:23
23"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.

Genesis 3:22-24
22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [a] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.


contrast

John 11:49-52
49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.​

it seems to show another pattern where God confused the nation Israel by scattering them again. The prophesies would indicate that He's in the process of bringing it all back together.

Acts 17:26
26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.​


Romans 3:29
29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,


The origins of the nations came : "Act 17:26 from one man he made every nation of men; he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."

Their relationship to one another and God: "Romans 3:29 He is the God of Jews and the God of Gentiles"

I like seeing this pattern of the scattering. And i can see how the prophesies are in the process of bringing us all back as brothers and sisters as one in him.That's an interesting detail that I would have easily overlooked. It also shows the punishment involved in acting to glorify self.

John 11:51
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.​


Hebrews 11:8
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.


It's true that we don't know where we're going either and yet Christ calls us to follow Him" to a place where we know not where He went or how to get there" We should follow w/o questioning directions and His commander's position to lead our lives. As Abraham did with God to a land of promise out of a land of idolitry.

Hebrews 11:31
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

Hebrews 12:5
5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,


By welcoming the intruders into her life Rahab was saved. Discipline should be welcomed also, because we know it's from God.

Genesis 13:3-4
3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

Revelation 2:5
5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.


Bethel is where the Lord revealed the stairway to heaven to Jacob. By going to the place of God's abode (at the altar) and calling on the Name of the Lord, Abraham was lifted up out of sin.

The split of Abraham and Lot is also in this section and I think that's signifigant in the choice of who a person follows. Greed or God.

Q> In what two respects did Abram's faith fall short under the tests of famine and fear? And when he acted unworthy how was he rebuked?

A>Abraham lied and didn't protect his wife (like Adam), only himself, so God had to act in his stead to protect her. I don't see him being rebuked at all unless there's a tone of voice I'm not hearing. He was just sent on his way with all his goods returned. Maybe the punishment was from Sarah's ordeal.

Hebrews 12:5
5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,


Matthew 16:25
25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Proverbs 24:33-34:
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.


Lot chose the richer pastures b/c it offered him ease, the easier softer way, but resulted in complete failure. Abram gained a life with God that wasn't easy for him to live in his lifetime but promised rewards of eternal life in a city built with the hands of God. He wasn't afraid of following God no matter how much he messed up but continued in strong faith as each new problem presented itself. It seemed when he was on his own, going his own way that times got difficult for him.

Q>What fresh light do the events of chp. 14 throw on Abram's character?

13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother [d] of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.​


22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with “me—to” Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”


A>He was courageous. And he was just.

The seeds of tything originated in the encounter of Abram and Melchesidec. Why then wouldn't Abram accept anything from him? It reminds me of Jacob objecting to God saying He would help him and be with him. It was what he could do that was important to him and his adding to what God said is quite questionable to me.

But Abram said to the king of Sodom,
"I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem [e] brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.​

Oh right, he accepted blessings but refused earthly reward from the king of Sodom. hmn

The disciples left everything behind, Noah left the world behind and Abram left idolatry behind to follow the call of God.

Leaving the way of the world to seek the heavenly.

Leaving the old behind for new beginnings.

Because that's what God called them to do and coming out of it was the answer.

God called and appeared to them all.

God's calling is on our lives:
Jesus seen,
The Word coming to life,
the revelation of the OT finding fulfilment in the NT,


This seeing Jesus and hearing that "Follow Me" is His calling on our life.

What is the meaning of His calling to you?
 
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Dave-W

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The verses of Revelation 1:4 has an identification to the 7 spirits.
Actually that is to be found in Isaiah:


Isaiah 11:2
The [1]Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The [2]spirit of wisdom and [3]understanding, The [4]spirit of counsel and [5]strength, The [6]spirit of knowledge and the [7]fear of the Lord
 
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~Zao~

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Actually that is to be found in Isaiah:


Isaiah 11:2
The [1]Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The [2]spirit of wisdom and [3]understanding, The [4]spirit of counsel and [5]strength, The [6]spirit of knowledge and the [7]fear of the Lord
Do you see how it links to the menorah ? Seven branches of the solid gold lamp stand ?
 
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~Zao~

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Behold at a glance the wisdom of God in the manner of teaching the gospel under Old Testament times. Behold the future Christ in the types and the shadows. See how justification by faith in Him was taught. Old Testament revelations present Christ in types and prophesies as a future sacrifice. New Testament revelation conveys the historical fact of His life and death. Finished is the typical form. We can see the Risen Lord as the author and finisher of our faith. Now, within the continued revelation of His Person, The Son is the voice that speaks. In this we can see the Spirit of all that God has done and said is One and the Same.
 
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~Zao~

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What is meant by Christ’s command to repent and follow Him?
Matthew 4:17,19
From that time Jesus began to announce, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”
19 “Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”​
Would it be the same as pick up your cross to follow? Is leaving all behind that which the apostles accomplished?
Luke 5:11
As soon as they brought the boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.​
It certainly does seem to entail leaving Father and Mother to cling to Him in that biblical sense of the Word. (Leaving the old man behind) How difficult was it for them to leave all behind? We only know that when Christ was removed from their sight that they ‘went afishin’ again. Only to be meet further down the road with the edifying message to feed His sheep if they truly love Him. Galatians 5:25, Ephesians 5:2, 2 Peter 2:2
 
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~Zao~

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1 Peter 2:12
Keep up good conduct among the pagans, so that when they speak against you as evildoers they will observe your good deeds and praise God on the day of his royal arrival.
John 8:12
‘I am the light of the world,’ he said. ‘People who follow me won’t go around in the dark; they’ll have the light of life!’​
It is our commission to show forth the Father’s light in a darkened world. When we think on good things we know that the Father of Light is the author. In showing gratitude to Him and generosity to others and without the murmurings or darkening of our own minds in unforgiveness. Spending time in His Presence reflections of His Glory are seen and in giving Him the glory the good works are counted as according to His righteousness, not deceiving ourselves that they are one’s own. Talents are handed over before they can be consecrated. Psalms 119:11, Hebrews 4:12

Examining ourselves thru the word before speaking forth our own thoughts: I often find that my second thought is more appropriate and more refined in His teachings. The Word can go straight to the point of what the human heart is thinking, or intends to do, and can adjust thoughts and therefore actions. Even knowing the Golden Rule of loving God and others curtails the tongue much and provides a loving boundary of protection, for myself as well as others.

Love is our authority and must get the credit, while we will gain the reward.
 
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~Zao~

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Ephesians 6:12-13
For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.​

The stewards of His trust in the Word, the battlefront-Christian-Warriors, are invading the world of the end-time-battlefield. The fight is against all the principalities, against powers, the giants of the darkness of this world and is against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Revelation 12:10, Isaiah 14:12-15

An attitude of gratitude and trust for the equipping of the soldier to be effective goes a long way. Recognizing where the hidden manna is, where the strength of the hands comes from. Remembering His dealings of love also allows the experience of weakness in order to bring His own near to Him in the furthering of His work in the world that we are stewards of. His work is our gift in His victory. Matthew 28:18, Mark 16:17-18

Because of Christ's victory the above verse is obtainable and a life of a graceful, carefree walk in His full light is possible. Mark 16:17, 1 Peter 3:22, Luke 10:1-19

Those of old said they received bread from heaven thru Moses, but in front of us now stands He Who is the bread of life, the water in the wilderness, saying "let anyone Who is thirsty let them know where the source is and they can come forth to Him no matter how long dead they have been."
 
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~Zao~

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At the root of the meaning of the word ‘angel = send with a message’ and in biblical Hebrew meant ‘work, occupation or craftsmanship’. The morphological structure of the word mal’akh (מַלְאָךְ) suggests that it is the maqtal form of the root denoting the tool or the means of performing it.

That tool is the Holy Spirit Who is responsible for the new creation that will alone be raised from corruptible to incorruptible and will raise the mortal body should that self-same spirit dwell in any.

Becoming the image of the Father as Jesus was, means to become a messenger sent in His Name, as the book of Hebrews points out. Not messengers like the angels who spoke before that to the law. Now all is spoken in Christ.Hebrews 1:1, John 6:63, John 12:48

“They will be like the angels in heaven” The Spirit of Heaven is the Spirit in power. The angels do God’s will from that source. Just as those who also are made in the image of God. The New Creation has the covering of Christ as a testimony to angels that they are His messengers in the New Economy of God.
 
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~Zao~

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Isaiah 65:10
Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.


Hosea 2:14-16
Therefore, I will now allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
From there I will give her her vineyards,
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer will you call me, “My Baal.”


Emmanuel “God is with us.” the branch of the Lord that is beautiful and glorious, the Shoot of Jehovah that also produced the Fruit of the earth. Hebrews 2:14, John 1:1, Isaiah 4:2, Luke 1:42

Emmanuel, God with us, is the new development of the new testament that refers to the new covenant made for the Father’s increase to spread from His incarnation outwardly, yet drawing the increase inwardly to Him by joining the branch of divinity with the branch of humanity. The ultimate two becoming one, He is the glory and beauty to the chosen people in the time of restoration. 2 Peter 1:4, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 2:9-10, John 12:24

Now is not the time for the Father to reflect our glory because the picture is not yet complete and our vision is but thru a mirror dimly. Then we’ll fully realize that we have the divinely beautiful glory in the human excellence and splendour of Jesus. His divine glory is the covering of our human tabernacle that we share with Him and in being overshadowed by His Grace. Isaiah 4:5, Jonah 4:6-8, Ephesians 4:13-14, John 1:14
 
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~Zao~

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Matthew 4:16
The people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.

1 John 1:5-7
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;
but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin
.​

Being in the light is fellowship of the right kind. “Gloom does not remain in the place where there was anguish. The people who walked in the darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death light has shined." His glory is dispelling the darkness of the shadow of death in people’s lives. Isaiah 9:2, Acts of the Apostles 26:18, 1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 1:13

With fellowship comes duty because God’s claim on the heart brings sweet peace to the obedient or misery to the unfaithful soul because duty neglected speaks terrors to the conscience of judgements to come. Frightening shadows that many shrink from in self-denial. In those dark times of trial, the veil covering the glory of His coming with new blessings kindles the light of new hope unravelled. The night around is day to Him and within Him is no darkness. The night shall never outlive the morning breaking thru. Stay with Him in this fellowship while the mystery of His being and work gives way to the most impressive view of His Majesty where the heart is drawn closer and closer in fellowship with the great I Am.
 
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~Zao~

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Hebrews 5:9
and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,
Hebrews 9:12
he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Isaiah 12:3-4
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.

Revelation 12:6
Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

To drink at the springs of living water has always been demonstrated in giving thanks in making God’s deeds known. God’s character is wrapped up in His deeds. With the advent of the new creation thru the new covenant, the glory that is due God alone is to be represented fully in the life and work of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest. As high priest His focus is on our eternal salvation thru redemption. Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 4:30

Isaiah 12:2-3
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing
From the springs of salvation.
"​

While His life becomes our salvation experienced in renewed strength, faith and so many other personal interactions found in abiding, they become our song of praise to Him. All flowing from the rivers of living water, which is the Spirit of God.

Edit to Add: The last three posts should really be read as one. :234:
 
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~Zao~

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Christ, as the King reigning in the tent of David, is also expressed in the present age of grace as a miniature of the coming age. Christ, our King, reigns not only in our hearts but also in the tent of David. For Him to reign in us in the tent of David means that He reigns in us with a kingdom.

Isaiah 16:5
"Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness,
And upon it One will sit in truth
In the tent of David,
Judging and pursuing justice
And hastening righteousness."

Hebrews 6:5
and have tasted the goodness of the word of God
and the powers of the age to come​

All of us can approach His throne because lovingkindness is there. He is the real David. He judges and pursues justice upon His throne in truth. (in truthfulness and faithfulness.) His justice is for everyone and Christ pursues justice in all of His judgments. He is also the One hastening righteousness.

Isaiah 24:23
Then the moon will be abashed,
and the sun ashamed;
for the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders he will manifest his glory.​

Christ reigns in the tent of David in the age of restoration, but it will be Jehovah of hosts reigning because Christ is Jehovah of hosts. His glory will radiate to all the hosts.

Isaiah 30:20-21
And though the Lord has given you
The bread of adversity and the water of oppression,
Your Teacher will no longer hide Himself in a corner,
But your eyes will see your Teacher.
And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying,
This is the way, walk in it,
When you turn to the right or turn to the left."​

Praise God for His lovingkindness toward all those who will to come to Him.
 
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~Zao~

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Christ the Redeemer, qualified by His blood. How many realize that He carried His own blood into the newly birthed sanctuary, birthed in blood thru the means of the living water, the Holy Spirit? The first-fruit of the new creation to redeem the souls of others at the price of His own? His flesh alone is the entrance.
(I was amazed when I came across this thread I ain't got no mudder...especially on Mothers Day another take on what I had envisioned above.)

But who believes that? Certainly not the OT nation to whom the foretaste was also given. Not even Nicodemus, a teacher of the people. They found the revelation to be unattractive and common, not worthy of any majesty. Hebrews 10:29-31 Just as too many do today. I remember a time when I thought so too. I thought of Jesus as a whoose, incapable of being a warrior. My thoughts on Him have dramatically changed into the epitome of Grace.

He became one of us for the sole purpose of defeating the enemy on our behalf and deal with the sin of the flesh. Hebrews 2:16 For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Romans 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

He asks us to give up our own soul-life and in doing so qualifies to become His disciple. Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

It’s surprising to many how delicate and fragile is our walk with Him. Not in the sense that it’s destructible but that it’s thru means that are not popular to mainstream living. And because it is a direct communication with a Person, also an oddity for our times.
 
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~Zao~

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Jonah 4:5-11

5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

6 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”​

God provided for Jonah the whale, the bush, the worm, the wind and the sun. He provides for us also both the huge and little things in our lives. But Jonah cared more for the plant that sheltered him than he did for saving others. It seems more coarse than we could imagine ourselves doing, but in every day living are we not often just as selfish?

The OC saints were living in the shadows of good things to come, shaded by the law but the wind of change beat hard against those not accepting the move forward with Christ, from exclusiveness to inclusiveness. The book of Hebrews has multiple warnings against falling back to such things.

I find that God's hermeneutics, in the form of shelter, shade and wind, offer the interpretative clue of Mercy and Justice. All are His provisions, mercy and justice, both are from His Hand. It’s God’s righteousness that prevails whether we agree with it or not. The question “do we have a right to be angry when things don’t go our way?” the answer “His ways are high above our own” “come let us reason together” reverberates from Jonah’s ordeal.
 
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~Zao~

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1 Peter 1:23
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:4
and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,​

One must first be born of incorruptable seed or else there is no life to grow, being dead in sin. The elemental death of the believer is what qualifies divine union in which His life has room to expand. From glory to glory, reckoning death to all His revealings of the old natural self. John 3:30, Colossians 2:22-23, Ephesians 5:29

Growth comes from the increase of His life within. For that obedience is needed. Obedience provides for an increase of light, recieving love to further growth and results in development of further grace. The results being perpetual progress where the old nature is brought under the control of the divine.

Unbelief and disobedience impedes growth. God finds us most useful when we allow the light to have it's way in revealing the Lord's judgement, according to His standards, and reveal to us our true selves in order to become true to our true, new nature.
Without growth, even having recieved of Him, there can be no maturity. Maturity = life plus groth. The more growth the more infilling of the Holy Spirit which is the growth in God.
Functionality depends on diligence as seen in the talents and responsibility given because of them. Matthew 25:14-28. Co-operation with God, thru fellowship and prayer, is to receive His enlightenment as to our conduct and it takes diligence.

Growth to maturity demands being filled with the Spirit as the infilling
and diligence with self to use the ability provided to be a mature servant of the Lord as the outpouring of the Spirit for service.
iow, living a life in the Spirit is to reach maturity in Christ by submission of the whole being, allowing the HS into every part, so as to function as a mature person that Christ can use.

What that would look like according to body, soul and spirit of humankind.

Maturity, the good ground:
- obedient behavior (flesh under control and submissive to the Holy Spirit)
- sorting gospel from tradition ( mind under the Holy Spirit)
- seeking above all else to please Him and serve others ( human spirit submissive)

Personal fellowship, holiness of character:
-intellegence- able to understand things of God ( soul needs to overcome greed)
- emotion- love God and all He loves (flesh needs to overcome lust)
- will- choosing things in harmony with His will ( human spirit needs to overcome pride)

Righteous conduct, co-operative activity:
-intellegence- moving in harmony with God (again soul needs to overcome greed)
-emotions- in action (again flesh needs to overcome lust)
-will- choosing things of God (again the human spirit needs to overcome pride)
 
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somuchjoy

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God bless you for that! All Glory to God!
I have been struggling the last week or so. I have made decisions in my past that I almost obsess with. It's amazing how people are placed in your life for a purpose and I believe I was led to this post to remind me to keep my eyes on Him, and he will work it all out.
 
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