SHARING BIBLE VERSES

[Joe Sperling]

"But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by His Grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal Life".
(Titus 3: 4-7).

[Joe Sperling]

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made." (John 1:1-3).

I was thinking about these verses last night and the phrase "In the beginning" stood out to me. It doesn't say "at the beginning" but "IN the beginning".  When we speak of a baseball game often we say "In the first inning.." such and such happened. If we say "At the beginning of the game..." we would refer to the first pitch--but "in the first inning" is referring to a block of time in which many things happened.  When it says "In the beginning was the Word" it is not referring to a starting point, but someone who was there ALREADY when the beginning happened.

The Jehovah's Witnesses came by recently, and I think that is why I thought about these verses. They say that Jesus was a "created" being. But John 1:3 says "ALL THINGS were made by him (or "through" him in some translations). For Jesus to be a "created" being and then be responsible for "creating" an infinite universe with billions of stars and galaxies is laughable. It would be like asking an ant to rebuild the World Trade Center buildings. A "created" being would only have the capability of finite love. Is that the kind of love Jesus has for us? He not only created us, but then came down to earth and died for each of us--it is an infinite love beyond all understanding. And truly these verses cry out that Jesus is God, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

[marden]

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy.

James3:17

[marden]

My Bretheren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations: knowing this that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect workthat you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing

James 1:2-4


Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried. he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

James 1:12

[Joe Sperling]

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed,  in whom is no guile!  Nathanael saith unto him, whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him 'Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee'.
Nathanael answered and said to him 'Rabbi! Thou art the Son Of God! Thou art the King of Israel!"
(John 1: 47-49).

"But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God".  (Rom 2:29)

[marden]

Jesus,  in whom is no guile , the Son of God, the King of Isreal.


These words(this truth) jumped out at me while reading this verse. Thanks Joe for this post

j

[Joe Sperling]

Thanks Jay. I've been reading The Gospel of John and have been reading chapter 1 over and over again. Those group of verses stood out to me because Jesus says of Nathanael "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" He doesn't say this because Nathanael is not a sinner, but because of sincerity he sees in Nathanael and his faith. When Nathanael asks how Jesus knows him he says "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw thee".
Only God could have seen and known what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree--when Jesus says "I saw thee" it is speaking of omnipresence--the ability to see ALL things at one time.

We don't know what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree, but the fig tree is a type of the nation of Israel. Was Nathanael pouring out his heart to God for the nation of Israel and praying for the coming of it's Messiah?
And it is this very Messiah who is the one who says "I saw you under the fig tree". Could it be because Nathanael knew exactly what he was praying for under that firg tree that he exclaims "Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel" ?

Of course, this is just speculation---but it does fill you with joy when you think that the Messiah Nathanael might have been praying for actually makes him one of  his disciples and apostles.

[Joe Sperling]

"If it is possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."(Romans 12:18).

Since I do take all scripture literally, I have taken this one to heart also. I really do try to live peaceably with all men. But since the verse mentions nothing about women,  I take it that it
must be impossible to live peaceably with them, so I won't even try.


    Just kidding of course!!!

--Joe

[marden]

"If it is possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."(Romans 12:18).

Since I do take all scripture literally, I have taken this one to heart also. I really do try to live peaceably with all men. But since the verse mentions nothing about women,  I take it that it
must be impossible to live peaceably with them, so I won't even try.


     Just kidding of course!!!

--Joe



Hah Joe,

being as I am the only man in the house amongst 1 women and 2 daughters. It is possible. Most times my wife tries to live peaceably with me.

[marden]

Ephesians 5:16

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

[Joe Sperling]

I was re-reading a book called "The Invisible War" and the author pointed out something that is pretty intriguing. After Jesus Christ was tempted(Matt 4) he shortly thereafter gave us the "Lord's Prayer"(Matt 6)--there is a correlation between the temptation and that prayer:

"And the Devil took him up into a high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the Devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine". (Luke 4:5-7). After this he tempted him to turn stones into bread, and to tempt God himself by throwing himself off of a pinnacle so the angels could catch him.(Ps. 91)

"Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one). For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen. (Matt. 6:9-13).

The devil had tempted him with bread, kingdoms, and tempting God himself by throwing himself off a pinnacle, and with kingdom, power and glory---Christ ascribes all of the kingdom, power and glory to the Father as a prayer forever that directly affronts the ways in which Satan had tempted him.

--Joe

[Joe Sperling]

I wanted to share something personal, and it regards something so simple--- but I often forget the lesson, and need to be reminded.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him, because He cares for You". (1 Peter 5: 6,7 New International Version).

I've had a really high pressure week at work---this combined with several other personal problems left me pretty close to being an emotional wreck of sorts. And I realized last night "Man, I'm doing it again--I'm holding onto all of this stuff, and dwelling on it, and even losing sleep because of it". And the above verse came to heart once again. I have this tendency(as I'm sure most of us do) to hold onto everything, and try to do everything, without ever sharing it with the Lord.  Once I knelt down and began sharing all of the emotional garbage, anxiety, and difficulties,  with the Lord, I realized once again how stupid I was being. I started sharing even the smallest details with him, the smallest of my anxieties and worries, and soon I was thanking and praising him. God listens!! God WANTS to hear from us--he WANTS us to share our difficulties and problems with him. He even ASKS US TO in this very verse. And why?  Because He loves us SO MUCH!! It's so simple--but I'm so stubborn!!(and that's why the "Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God" has to be done first. We need to kneel in our hearts and submit ourselves to him).

I just wanted to share this because I hope someone in a similar way will "remember" to stop trying to carry that load yourself(Matt. 11:28), and give it to the Great Shepherd of the Sheep who dearly loves you.
 
--Joe

[Joe Sperling]

"For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch
in the night."  (Ps. 90:4)

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (Ps. 90:12)

Today we are all one day closer to meeting Jesus. If I could just keep remembering that every day!!

[Joe Sperling]

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
      and know everything about me.
 2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
      You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
 3 You see me when I travel
      and when I rest at home.
      You know everything I do.
 4 You know what I am going to say
      even before I say it, Lord.
 5 You go before me and follow me.
      You place your hand of blessing on my head.
 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
      too great for me to understand!
 7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
      I can never get away from your presence!
 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
      if I go down to the grave,  you are there.
 9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
      if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
 10 even there your hand will guide me,
      and your strength will support me.
 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
      and the light around me to become night—
    12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
   To you the night shines as bright as day.
      Darkness and light are the same to you.

 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
      Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
      as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
 16 You saw me before I was born.
      Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
   Every moment was laid out
      before a single day had passed.

 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
      They cannot be numbered!
 18 I can’t even count them;
      they outnumber the grains of sand!
   And when I wake up,
      you are still with me!

 (Psalm 139: 1-18 Living Translation)  God's thinking about each of us right now, and He loves us so much!!

[Joe Sperling]

"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)

When thinking of this verse I remember how often I would repeat "I am crucified with Christ, I am crucified with Christ, I am crucified with Christ", like some magic mantra, trying to implant this "fact" into my life. I wanted to be an "overcomer" so badly, that I would concentrate wholly on what I could do to be more "spiritual". I was tormented by my weaknesses and failures, and concentrated on ways to "overcome" these things.

Imagine if I had repeated "who loved me, and gave himself for me, who loved me and gave himself for me, who loved me and gave himself for me" instead? I am crucified with Christ---but for whom did he die? A sinning, malignant, failing, weak, and rebellious soul. And he knowingly died for someone like that!! To know that he loves and accepts me just as I am and was willing to die for me, is an absolutely incredible and wondrous thought!   "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Jer. 31:3).

And these wonderful things are true for ALL of his children, to ALL who have accepted Him!