Posts tagged ‘christ our fellowship’
Eschatology in Romans Related to Israel and the Church, Part 2
Unfortunately, in today’s religious climate, many even within Christendom see Israel as a problem rather than the source of blessing from God’s perspective. They point to the nation’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah and God’s judgment upon that nation in AD 70 by Rome. This, they believe, is when God not only judged the nation, but chose at that time to cut all ties with Israel forever. While God certainly judged, He most certainly did not cut all ties with Israel. Only through incorrect exegesis and allegorical maneuvering can God’s Word be said to teach that. The whole of the Bible does not support such an untenable position.
Ecclesiastes and Vanity of Life, Part 8
The purchases and his collections initially gave Solomon joy. However, in the end, it was all vanity, chasing the wind! In short, there was nothing of eternal value in all the things he had amassed for himself. He’s not talking about building the Temple here or doing other things for God. He is talking about the things he pursued for himself, in order to make his own life easier.
Can Authentic Christians Deny Jesus? Part 3
But the very important question that we must answer is how do we abide in Christ? How do we live our lives in such a way that causes us to continue abiding in Christ? First, we need to understand that when we read the term abide in Christ, it is almost always referring to being and remaining in fellowship with God. What keeps us from fellowship with God? Only one thing: sinful behavior. Sure, we can break that down into many areas and lots of examples, but in the end, it is all sin. Any and every sin will break off our fellowship with God. When we sin deliberately, we cease to fellowship with God.
All the World’s a Stage and So Much of It is Absolute Vanity
Because of the misplaced value of too many in society, things that have no real eternal value are lifted up and adored, while the things that have eternal value are denigrated or ignored. This is sadly true even among Christians. It’s all about what we “accomplish” for God whether it’s His will or not. It’s all based on how things look on the outside, things we can brag about or put our faith in.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 20
Look, if Satan can’t keep a person from gaining salvation (he can’t), he will do whatever he can to keep us from fellowship with God (he can). In essence, this is what he accomplished in the Garden of Eden through his temptation to eat of the forbidden fruit. He knew that succumbing to that temptation would cause the fellowship that Adam and Eve enjoyed would be broken. The final result was death, spiritually and physically. Satan knows that he cannot keep people from gaining salvation so his next best thing is to keep them from fellowship.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 19
There has been tremendous confusion among believers (myself included), over this whole issue of eternal security. I believe, along with Kelley and many others, that salvation is absolutely something that we can never lose once we actually have it. Fellowship with God, on the other hand, is something that can be broken and even destroyed because it is conditioned, as Kelley notes, upon our behavior. Though God will never cast us out of His Kingdom, He will not continue to fellowship with us when we involve ourselves in sin. It’s that simple. Though all of our sin – past, present, and future – is forgiven by God, we still need to confess it as we are made aware of it because it is that sin that dampens and breaks our fellowship with God. Once we realize that we have sinned, confessing it restores that fellowship with God.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 18
The antidote to avoid living selfishly (which hides the light of our salvation), is to seek out God in fellowship. This can only happen after we have gained salvation, but too many people stop there. We must press on – as Paul says in Philippians 3:12 – and Paul also prods us onto continue to work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). He’s not talking about earning our salvation, but entering into and maintaining our fellowship with God. This is done through the many things we’ve outlined in this series.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 17
When Moses met with God on the mountain, there was certainly a “to do” list of sorts and part of that included giving the Ten Commandments. Other parts included providing all the parameters for the building of the tabernacle, which eventually became the Temple under Solomon. Still other areas included all aspects of the Law, including the ceremonial aspects of the Law that dealt with daily living in Israel. But Moses also simply enjoyed God’s presence and who wouldn’t? It was through this “face-to-face” that Moses began to learn about and got to know the Pre-incarnate Jesus. It was based on these experiences with Jesus that Moses grew in knowledge of the Lord, how He wanted things done, and how He expected Moses to live before Him.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 16
We were made to fellowship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9). That is our primary purpose. God wants us to come to Him, to talk with Him, to rely on Him, to understand that apart from Him, we can do nothing. He knows our frame. Sometimes, the best way to ensure that we come to Him on a daily basis is to give us less than quality health so that we are forced to trust and rely on Him. Too many do not do this. Too many simply complain about their “lot” in life, but continue to eat the foods and practice the things that contributed to their ill-health in the first place. In at least some cases, poor health is totally caused by what we ingest and how we live. God wants better for us and that can often be a process.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 10
Being in the moment requires us to resist the temptation to do our own thing, to do what gratifies self, and to accept as the only viable option, God’s will for our lives. It is there we find fellowship and once we successfully set aside our own desires (when they are at odds with God’s), we find fellowship, just as Jesus found fellowship. Again, this can feel different with each scenario, but the goal is always the same – to agree to God’s will for our lives in that moment. Certainly, not every decision we are faced with will be difficult and certainly, the level of difficulty will be different from situation to situation. The example of Jesus in Gethsemane is out of the norm, but nonetheless, showcases how difficult it can be at times to commit ourselves to the Father’s will. Overall, the truth of the matter appears to be that setting our own wants aside (when they conflict with God’s) in order to fulfill His will for our life is where we enter into fellowship with God.
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