Jew Number One - Chapter 47: The Word

Chapter 47:

The Very Essence of Truth   A Permanent Promise

It seems impossible to please God if one will not heed His word nor obey His law. Do you heed His word? Today, most men listen far more to men than to God. In fact, reading these comments and excerpts is a very poor substitute for being fed directly from the Word of God. There is a wonderful verse that sums up the times in which we live.

2 Timothy 4:1-4

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (NKJ)

Here you have what should be regarded as an emergency announcement. "The time will come when... they will turn their ears away from the truth." And to whom will they listen? Men, teachers who will tell them what is pleasing to their ears. I have quoted Hebrews 4:12 before. Go back and read it again. If you completely understand the full meaning of that verse, you will never value the musings of man over or equal to the Word of God. Get into the Word, every day.

Please do not get angry at what I am about to say, but ask yourself if it is not true. Most Jews do not study the Word of God, diligently. Many spend more time reading the words of man than of God. Since I am venturing out on to thin ice, I might as well speak plainly about religious ritual.

The concept of "appeasing God" by ritual strikes a very strong chord with me. The Gentile churches and synagogues must make the acquisition, by grace, of God’s Holy Spirit their primary mission. Getting people to pattern their life in acceptable ritual, in a completely honorable pattern, by all external appearances, can lead to a "comfort level" in which "works or good deeds" become a seductive entrapment.

It permits people in churches and synagogues to feel "O.K.," to do the right thing and to "fit in." Those feelings may or may not spring from the perspective of "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." Crucifying the "flesh" and living "in the Spirit" are foundational elements, which enable ritual and works to be "dynamic," in that one’s entire life is "handed over" to the control of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of John 3:8 hits home.

John 3:8

8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (NKJ)

To yield control, to become a tool in the Hand of God, to sense his constant direction, is to forfeit everything of the flesh, those things most of us spend a lifetime accumulating such as identity, assets, status, physical strength and prowess, political and social power, a "reputation," individuality, intelligence and self reliance.

No wonder the step is so large that few will take it. To die to self is an act of contrition and humility that seems available only to the most "broken" who have exhausted their own personal reserves of strength and integrity, whose lives are almost over, either figuratively or physically.

Thank God this is not true. Instead, God teaches us that His love, His constant Spiritual Presence, His power, His mercy and grace, were all made possible by the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus, who atoned for the sins of every person, who when He died and rose again, exemplified my resurrection, my renewal, made possible by Him, my Judge and my Redeemer.

Jesus promised me He would send the Counselor, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to renew me, teach me and fill me, constantly, with His Presence. He promised to be my Advocate before the Father. I say these things as personally as possible, because religion is not about ritual, but it is about a relationship. A personal relationship between you and the Father, made possible by Jesus, enhanced and made manifest by the Holy Spirit in you.

Again, listen to His Holy Word.

Psalms 119:8-16

8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!

12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes!

13 With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.

16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. (NKJ)

Listen again, because you must grasp this, to a prophecy that will make you very sorry that you did not take full advantage of the opportunity at hand. It is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled, but when it does occur, you will greatly lament the fact that you did not read the Word when it was abundantly in your midst.

Amos 8:11-13

11 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it.

13 "In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst. (NKJ)

We will literally not be able to hear the Words of the Lord when the great tribulation begins. The Antichrist, the one who introduces 3½ years of peace and safety, who cooperates in the restoration of the Temple and the reinstitution of sacrifice, will, during the last 3½ years of the tribulation, ban the Word, destroy it and cause all who read it to either die or to deny their Lord. It is time, now, to store the Word in your heart that you might not sin against the Lord.

People tell me they do not have time to read and study God's Word. Let's look at a solution to that problem. Do you know who wants to talk to you at 4 a.m. in the morning? In most cases, No one! At that time of day, no one wants to talk to you, but God does. Try praying this prayer. God, awaken me at 4 a.m. if you want me to read your Word. When He does awaken you, get up, step out into the early morning air, look to the heavens, lift your hands to Him in prayer, then find a good place to read and read with the passion of one who knows that the Word you hold in your hand will forcibly be taken from you. Also pray that 5-6 hours sleep will count as 8 hours and that God will strengthen you in more ways than spiritually.

Listen to what His Word says about sleep.

Proverbs 6:4-11

4 Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.

5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

7 Which, having no captain, overseer or ruler,

8 Provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep--

11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man. (NKJ)

Proverbs 20:13

11 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread. (NKJ)

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6

5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. (NKJ)

Yes, we need sleep, but not so much that there is no time left for God's Word in our daily lives. One of the greatest assurances of God's Word being critical to your well being is presented by King David.

2 Samuel 22:29-34

29 "For You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD shall enlighten my darkness.

30 For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall.

31 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in Him.

32 "For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

33 God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places. (NKJ)

The psalmist teaches it most simply and perfectly.

Psalms 119:103-105

103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (NKJ)

Why, assuming you believe in God, would you not eagerly assimilate the Holy Scriptures, as one who is starving to know Him, one who seeks to be blessed by Him, as one who earnestly prays that you shall spend eternity with Him? I recommend that you go to www.solascriptura.com and read the topic, "The Word." It is a rich collection of wonderful scriptures about the Word which I assembled.
 
At some point, every knee will bow and every tongue "should" confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That includes saints and sinners. Whether you hope to worship Jesus Christ, the Messiah, in the Kingdom or now, you should consider the possibility that denying Jesus is a risk not worth taking. Listen to what the scriptures say.

Matthew 10:27-39

27 "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.

28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.

30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 "Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

33 "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

35 "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law';

36 "and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'

37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

39 "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (NKJ)

Such language needs no comment. That is why you must go directly to the Word of God. In these next verses, Jesus cried it out, telling the Jews that believing upon Him was a matter of extreme urgency, then and now.

John 12:44-50

44 Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.

45 "And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

46 "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

47 "And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

49 "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.

50 "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak." (NKJ)

If the "Word" is going to judge you, wouldn't it be a good idea to know what the Word says. I capitalized the "W" because of the following quote.

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NKJ)

The word of God will bring you to the place it brought King David when he said:

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

8 Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!

9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works!

10 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!

11 Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face evermore!

12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, his wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

13 O seed of Israel His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,

16 The covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac,

17 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance,"

19 When you were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it.

20 When they went from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people,

21 He permitted no man to do them wrong; yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,

22 Saying, "Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm."

23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

24 Declare His glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples.

25 For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; he is also to be feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

27 Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place.

28 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength.

29 Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!

30 Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved.

31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

32 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth.

34 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

35 And say, "Save us, O God of our salvation; gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise."

36 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting And all the people said, "Amen!" and praised the LORD. (NKJ)

I realize that I am one of those "Gentiles" from whom David said you should be saved. The definition of a Gentile is any one who is not a Jew. Even the preservation of that fact and the breadth of its application distinguish Israel from all others.

In David's time, the Gentiles were, for the most part, not worshippers of God. In fact, most Gentiles today probably do not think of themselves worshippers of the God of the Jews. Many mistakenly feel that they are "nothing like the Jews." That is sad but perhaps no more so than Jews who feel they are nothing like the Christians. Christians need to be reminded that Israel is at the very center of God’s plan for the nations and people of this earth and Jews should see the Christian’s as brothers, either now or later.

If you study the scriptures diligently you will come to the understanding that God's chosen people, the Jews, are still God's chosen people. I, as a Gentile, have been "grafted" in, included as a branch but never as the "root. Listen to these two Old Testament quotations.

Isaiah 11:10

10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious." (NKJ)

Isaiah 49:6

6 Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' " (NKJ)

God chose Israel. This book to Jews everywhere is intended to provoke you to perform "due diligence," to cause you to investigate what may be new possibilities.

I write to you, somewhat in ignorance of your culture and traditions, thus if I have unintentionally offended, forgive me. I think you must know by now that I am for you and not against you. In honesty, no one who truly loves God can be against God's people, any of them.

This next quotation starts with a very difficult set of verses for a Jew "on hold." It makes it clear that you must deal with the question of "Who is the Messiah" if you want the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your life, right now. It is His Spirit that witnesses to your spirit and teaches you all things. One thing it will teach you is that love, a type of love that only God can place in your heart, will be a distinguishing feature of your "new life."

1 John 4:1-21

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

19 We love Him because He first loved us.

20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (NKJ)

Israel as a nation has been "on hold." Job tells you what happens when a stump smells water. The Messiah is the fountain of life. He is the Living Water.

Job 14:7-9

7 "For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease.

8 Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground,

9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant. (NKJ)

2 Kings 19:27-31

27 'But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me.

28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.

29 'This shall be a sign to you: you shall eat this year such as grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from the same; also in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.

30 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.' (NKJ)

Listen to this exhortation, placed in the Holy Scriptures, for you, by God.

Acts 2:16-41

16 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.

18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.

19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--

23 "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

24 "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

25 "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.

27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of joy in Your presence.'

29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30 "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

31 "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.

32 "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,

35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." '

36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."

41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. (NKJ)

Romans 13:9-14

9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (NKJ)

Finally, listen to this plea, written expressly to the Jews, by a Jew. Read it as though it was addressed to you personally, for in truth, it is!

Hebrews 12:1-29

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

15 looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,

19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: "And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow."

21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.")

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."

27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

29 For our God is a consuming fire. (NKJ)

Hebrews 13:14-16

14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (NKJ)

Mark 16:15

15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (NKJ)

Time may be very short. Use whatever resources God has given you, whether they are physical, mental, or spiritual, to serve Him. Not out of fear, which would be a logical thing for the unsaved to do, but out of love and appreciation for His love to you. In humility and contrition, submit your will to His will, your spirit to His Spirit that His joy, peace and eternal salvation might be a "gift" realized, an engagement consummated.

2 Corinthians 5:17

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

Psalms 51:1-19

1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight-- that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; you do not delight in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart-- these, O God, You will not despise.

18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. (NKJ)

I pray that God will use this letter to bring glory to Himself. You are God’s Glory when you seek Him and serve Him. Our worship of Him fulfills His purpose. God delights in our obedience and enables us, by His Grace, to have faith. The kind of faith that moves mountains, something He is about to do.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.