And the LORD said to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Then Job answered the LORD and said: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”

Book of Job 40:1-5

This might be the last post for a while.

Something from a forum.

Paul’s letters are full of teaching about the reception of the Holy Spirit and how we must allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives and actions if we wish to walk with God. Also with as much emphasis Paul teaches about the ‘flesh’ and how it is opposed to the Holy Spirit. Also Peter teaches this great conflict for the Christian in their daily life and walk with God.

Some scriptures…

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The spirit here is in my opinion, mans will to love God and yet finding this conflict within himself, the flesh being weak, or apt to fail.

Joh 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Again Jesus telling us that the flesh is a total waste of time and not to be trusted at all.

Rom 7:5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

Oh precious Gift of God…

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.

Helpless state of affairs…

Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Ditto…

Rom 8:3 > 4 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 for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

It’s a reality…for every true Christian…

Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Priceless Christian teaching…

Rom 8:6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the Christian to set the mind on his flesh is to thrust the controls of a plane downward…

Rom 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

Incompatability…

Rom 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

A fact!

Rom 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Let us examine ourselves…

Rom 8:12 > 14 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Oh Paul, so much teaching about the Spirit…

Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

An order from an officer…yes sir!

1Co 3:3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

Oh Church, listen if you have ears…

1Co 5:5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

And Jesus said, ‘but whoever hears My words and…’

Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

O foolish Galatian…

Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

An answer for our struggle…

Gal 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Blessed Spirit of God…

Gal 5:18 > 26 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Glorious Christian teaching…

Eph 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Another fact!

Phi 3:3 For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh–

Pesky Judaizers…

1Pe 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Thank you Peter, another command from one of our officers…

This theme of Spirit and flesh is very much in my thoughts, the concept has been tainted by people who go over the top and others who reject it completely or restrict it by their actions even if they will not admit to it.

‘Father may they be one’…’so that the world may believe’

It is going to be very hard for me to find a fellowship where I can be happy I think, so much division, so much diversity. I guess understandable, considering mankind. But O how I wish it was not so.

Boinc is opensource software that makes use of your pc for scientific purposes. You can join various projects and allow your computer to be used when your actually not using it.

The SETI project looks interesting although I am joined to the Rosetta one myself, as a Christian I do not believe in aliens as the world does but I do believe in angels and living creatures etc and I guess that is extra terrestrial or should I say celestial 

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/

This one goes to the owner of a hyper calvinism site who in response to my statement that you must be born again said that ‘being born again is a false gospel’ to which I replied that I could not see how it could be a false gospel seeing that they are the very words from the mouth of God. The expressed remonstrance ended after that.

Another classic example of extreme theology messing with Bible truth.  Stay away from hyper calvinism. They also state on that site that the letter of James is trash.  I will not mention the url of the site as I don’t like to do that.  Not hard to find if you have a mind to.

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Acts of the Apostles 2:40  ESV

Notice, it is by preaching and the hearing of that preaching that results follow, and that by the grace of God.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Gospel of Matthew 11:27-30 ESV

It’s very important you understand the above before you sing it.

From Handel’s Messiah

Praise Your Glorious Name Jesus.

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me.God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts– the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

Book of Psalms 57:2-9 ESV

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Gospel of Matthew 16:26  ESV

“We all have to go that way”, someone once said to me shortly after I became a Christian, I forget the exact subject matter, but never a truer word spoken.

( Unless your lucky enough to be changed from being mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye as the Apostle Paul mentions ).

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s first letter to the Corithians 15:51-57  ESV

I used to be quite a fan of the above music group before I became a Christian ( I was basically ‘off my head’ habitually ) and yesterday one of them died.  Quite a life he must have lived, but now it is over.

Sometimes I think of Bill Gates when I think of the title Scripture, the richest man in the world who can have basically anything he wants that money could buy.

And yet, if your not born again then there is nothing after death but a second everlasting death, no exception to the rule, the Bible is quite clear about this.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Letter to the Hebrews 9:27  ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Paul’s letter to the Romans 3:23 ESV

Being good and a philanthropist will not get you any brownie points with God, neither will fame and distinction or any amazing gifts that you posses, the only way to be a partaker of the life of God after death is through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet the world continues to reject this Way; to it’s own destruction.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Gospel of John 14:6  ESV

My hope is that famous and non famous people alike will find grace before they die, because without it people are lost for ever.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Gospel of John 1:1-14  ESV