His Anger Has Not Turned Away, And His Hand Is Stretched Out Still

The Eternal has made plain His warning that those who reject His existence, His Power, His Glory, are without hope. He brings His arguments to those He loves, the world He created, the world He died for.

He proclaims with a saddened heart:

In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."
(Psa 10:4 ESV)

 Although many reject Him, or even His existence, He is waiting:

• He is waiting to make right all the wrongs in the world...
• He is waiting to stop the suffering and tears...
• He is waiting to purge the enemies of His Elect and His Bride from His Creation...
• He is waiting for all those who would; to come to believe and have faith in Him
• He is waiting for the lost, those without hope, to come to Him
  

 He stands with His nail pierced hand outstretched, "Come, and follow Me..."

All the cosmos in its splendor and mystery; the earth, and all upon it; as well as the vast expanse of the unreachable realms of the universe; all scream the awesome power of The Almighty Creator

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
(Psa 19:1-6 ESV)

For what can be known of God is made plain to us, in His Creation, all around us...

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
(Rom 1:17-20 ESV)

Hear the word of The LORD, The Almighty, Creator of All Things, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!" Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.        (Isa 5:18-25 ESV)

Go and Sin No More?

Can we truly obey Jesus when He commands us, as He did the harlot after her accusers dropped their stones, "go and sin no more"?

We can earnestly try, and make heartfelt, valiant attempts because we want to please Our Redeemer, but can we be completely successful?


It is not possible for the corrupt flesh of man to "sin no more"

The flesh is to be stifled while we pursue righteousness, and conform more to being Christ like, until the one day we will see Him as He is, because we will be like Him.

The book of John also says that if one says he has no sin, or does not sin, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. If we had the capability within us to "stop" sinning, then Christ's sacrifice would not have been required. The Eternal God would not have had to leave His Throne in Heaven and become flesh as Jesus Christ, to save man from the sin and corruption that came upon him as a result of the Fall while in the Garden of Eden.

God's Plan for the salvation of man would be nothing but a lesson in futility if man could "stop sinning" whenever he wanted.

The Ten Commandments were given to mankind as God's Standard. If I may be permitted to paraphrase God: "You want to be Holy like me? Do these..".

He knew man was incapable of keeping them and thus, would sin, because man is not perfect, and he cannot keep himself from breaking at least one of the commandments. Thus, as the wages of sin is death, man was condemned.

The problem was, and still is... that man believes he has the power to do as he pleases, there is no sin, no moral code, no eternity, no accountability and thus, does not need God.

All God asks is that we believe in Him and in Christ. Believing in Him that sent Him. To believe that Christ died to pay the penalty for the wages of sin, and that He conquered death by raising Himself from the grave.

"No man has power to take my life, I give it willingly and I have power to take it back again" - Jesus' words.

God does not change  but He also doesn't bind us to the law, or to any other commandments.
The law is dead... because it served its purpose of showing man he is worthy of death, and that he needs a Savior. Paul states this plainly in Roman's... We are dead to the law.

Christ: "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments"  

Yes He said this, but He stated it teaching His disciples Perfect Love, the Love which only He could give, and that which would become abundantly clear to the Apostles after His Death and Resurrection, as He relayed to them all that was written concerning Himself in Moses and the Prophets.

The scriptural revelations He was making to them revealed how God was working through out time to restore mankind back to the fellowship they had experienced with Him in the beginning, all the foreshadowing and prophesying of events which would lead to His Death on the Cross, and His subsequent Resurrection at His First Coming, and the future of His Return to complete His repossession of His creation from the current sovereignty of Lucifer. The Scroll with 7 Seals, the title dead to earth and creation to be served, and then consummated with the Word of His Power. The Ultimate Holy Expression of God's Love, the complete Redemption of man and all of creation. An Eternity of Fellowship with Him if we believe in Him and the One that sent Him.

And if, all of a sudden, you really do believe in the existence of God, and His Son, The Son's Death and Resurrection.... don't you think you would want to please Him? Knowing that He first loved us, before we loved Him? You would live to OBEY His commandments which He had given in the beginning, knowing that they reflect His Divine Nature, and that you are walking in the Spirit, LEARNING to be more like Him, everyday growing, conforming to His Nature? thus... "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments" takes on a little different appearance then that of a direct warning... "Do this or you will be condemned to eternal separation from Me"

Don't be legalistic, or try to make people conform to something which Christ had not commanded.

Love and Honor the Lord your God, and Love thy neighbor as thyself, all the other commandments are summarized in these two, as taught and relayed to us by the Eternal Creator, Alpha and Omega...

I think I will believe Jesus and not another set of man's false doctrines.

Maybe we all need to listen to God more, and grasp what He relayed to us in scripture when He said through Paul, "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him as Righteousness. God said to Abraham: (paraphrased) "now I know that you love me because you did not spare your son, your only begotten son from Me"

"Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ"  - Romans 5:1

Perfect Love, Peace With God. His Grace is sufficient for me... thank you....

Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. With His death and resurrection paying the penalty for all of mankind's sin, and His resurrection, destroying the binds which death had upon us as sinners, His New Covenant was established with those who believe in Him and His Work. For those who do not, they are judged by the Law given to Moses by the Eternal, by Jesus, if you will, and He, as the Judge of the World, will judge all the non-believers by the Law, and all will be condemned, because none can stand up as fulfilling ALL of God's PERFECT Nature, as displayed by His Eternal Law.

Believers will NEVER be judged by this Perfect Law, as the PERFECT Sacrifice, God HIMSELF, Gave Himself as a RANSOM to pay the penalty outlined for breaking His Own Perfect Law. He redeemed those who believe in Him, and He places all of the their transgressions of the law, as far as the East is from the West, to be remembered, no more.

Hallelujah, What a Savior. Thank you Lord Jesus!

A Treasure in Earthen Vessels

Bob Hoekstra daily devotional. May 22 :  "An Attitude Carried About by Earthen Vessels"

Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  (2 Cor 4:10)

As earthen vessels, we are to live by trusting in the treasure (the Lord Jesus) who dwells within us: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels." (2 Cor 4:7) Also, we are to give Him all honor and glory as He sustains us day by day through the trials of life: "that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." In addition, to help us magnify the treasure who lives in us, there is to be an attitude (an outlook) carried about (embraced) by the earthen vessels. - Bob Hoekstra

A scripture to keep me reminded that my life is no longer my own. That my life was bought in blood, by the Creator of all things. The Eternal sacrificed Himself so that I would not have to spend an eternity separated from Him. A reminder that I need to continually die to myself and my worldly aspirations, and follow Jesus in newness of life and purpose. My old self is dead, but I am now alive in Christ. As He died and was resurrected, so too am I dead to my former self, but now live resurrected with Christ to a new life.

Living In Him, He In Me

The scripture invokes Christ's words, "...take up his cross daily, and follow Me". Continually dying to myself, stifling my desires, lusts, and worldly aspirations, guided to do the will of The Eternal by HIS Holy Spirit indwelling me. He who left His throne to manifest Himself as a man to live in the world as I do, with all its temptations and corruptions.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb 4:14-15)

He came to earth to live as a man; showing mankind how to live.... Perfectly..... and at the appropriate time; then, taking that Perfect Life... gave it to those who would destroy it. 

The Eternal giving Himself over to death as the payment for all the crimes and corruptions of His creation. 

The Almighty gave His life willingly, depositing in escrow once the payment for the debt due for the sins of mankind for all time, redeeming all who would believe and accept Him and His Sacrifice.

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Heb 5:9) 

The Law set down by God, and given through Moses to the Jewish people, could not make them clean, but could only condemn, and foreshadow the coming Perfect Blood Sacrifice:

But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

(Heb 9:7-10)

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

(Heb 9:11-12)

He gave The Law to the Hebrews as the standard of what it is to be Holy... A Royal Commandment to live by... He knew they would not measure up:

 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 

(Rom 3:19-20) 

The Almighty, Eternal, Perfect God cannot allow perverse, corrupted, selfish people into His Holy Eternal presence, so he had to remove that tainted nature from mankind.

From the fall of man, sin entered into the world by man exercising the free will God had given him. That free will allowed man to chose to disobey God; having been in a perfect state, in perfect fellowship with God, the actions of selfish man became his demise and the corruption of the world and all in it.  

Sin and death had entered into the world through one man. And Life was given by the selfless act of one man, the Son of Man, the Son of God.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.  (Rom 5:12-19)

Christ's sacrifice provided the payment which was due God for the sin of all mankind. 

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Mat 26:28)