Bible Mirrors.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

"St. Paul says that no human eye can see God at all except as an image seen as it were behind the mirror. Darkly; rather, in a riddle. God is said to have spoken to Moses "by means of riddles"..."

We cannot know everything about God now. We see God by faith and not by sight. When we go to heaven we will see and know him as he really is.

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was." James 1:22-24

"He forgets either his spots, blemishes, and imperfections; or his comeliness and beauty; the features of his face, be they comely or not: so a bare hearer of the word, who is not concerned to practice what he hears, while he is hearing, he observes some things amiss in himself, and some excellencies in Christ; but, when the discourse is over, he goes his way, and thinks no more of either."

 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord..." 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Pulpit Commentary says these words "are, in fact, a description of "the beatific vision." like the one Moses saw on Mount Sinai when he received the ten commandments from God.  Now, we see Jesus, and what we see changes us.

 are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18 cont...

"The present tense implies a gradual transfiguration, a mystical and spiritual change which is produced in us while we contemplate Christ. From glory to glory."


quotations from:
http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/james/1.htm
 http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/2_corinthians/3.htm

"Hey, Dummy!"

"Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God."  1 Corinthians 1:27-29

I thought of this verse today, because I am weak, stupid and poor. Thank God he loves people like me.

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 2 Corinthians 3:5,6

Abundant Suffering.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer."  2 Corinthians 1: 3-6

"We share abundantly in Christ's sufferings..." I've been through suffering this past week. When I read these verses this morning I felt comforted, partly because I do feel God comforting but also because Paul says it is natural to share sufferings with Christ. 

The Bible speaks about suffering a lot. Yet, when I was growing up going to church and later in my adult life, preachers didn't dwell on suffering. It was all about how with Christ in your life all will be well. So, this is what I grew up with and honestly, this is no help when you are going through hard times.

Everyone goes through hard times, Christian and non-Christian but the difference for the Christian is we go to God for help and comfort. I am so happy to be a Christian - so very happy to talk with God about everything. I pray that those of you who don't know God yet will give him a chance.

The Narrow Path.

Photo by Dcrjsr  

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mountain_window_path_DuckPass.jpg

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it."

"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Matthew 7:13,14

Have you ever walked on a narrow path through the forest or up a mountain.?  You cannot walk side by side with anyone else. Everyone must walk in a line. Each person follows the one ahead.

Jesus says, "Follow me."  We walk a narrow path with Jesus ahead of us. As long as we keep our eyes on him, we won't get lost in the forest or wander off the path.


 Enter ye in at the strait gate—as if hardly wide enough to admit one at all. This expresses the difficulty of the first right step in religion, involving, as it does, a triumph over all our natural inclinations. Hence the still stronger expression in Luke13:24, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

for wide is the gate—easily entered.

and broad is the way—easily trodden.
that leads to destruction, and—thus lured "many there be which go in thereat."  

The gate is wide and the path is broad that leads to death. It is easy because we are naturally sinners who want to do their own thing. We want no interference from God or anyone else. We want to captain our own ship. We think we know what is best for us. 

The path is broad because we don't have to follow anyone - there is room for everyone to go their own way. What grows along the broad path? Selfishness, anger, bitterness and hate. There are good times with laughter and fun, but there is also suffering and death. There is no danger of going off the path of sin. If you want to leave the broad path, you have to deliberately make a detour onto the narrow path.

I will tell you what grows along the narrow path: love, joy, peace, forgiveness, patience and everlasting life. There are also pains, sorrow, troubles and trials, but we don't have to look around at other people for solutions. There is Jesus, just ahead of us leading the way. There he is to talk with and learn from and gain strength from. The narrowness of the path is the best thing about it.

Don't Ask for Help from Satan's People.

Ahaziah, a king of Israel, fell out of a window and was injured. He wanted to know if he was going to live or die. He sent messengers to the worshipers of Baal to learn the future. Baal worship was evil; the people burned their children to him.

"And Elijah said to the king, "This is what the LORD says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die." 2 Kings 1:16

The king did die. The Bible teaches us never to go to a seer, a witch, or a medium to find out the future.

And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?  Isaiah 8:19

The future is in God's hands. It isn't good for us to wonder about the future; just live one day at a time as you follow Jesus.

Jesus said, "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.  Matthew 6:34

Who do You Trust?

I was reading an article in which the writer asked, "Who do you lean on to fulfill and sustain you?"

I immediately thought of God first, my husband second and then my mother. Who do I go to first when there is bad or good news? Who do I go to first when I am puzzled and don't know what to do? Before I was a Christian I went to my friends and family. But I have learned that no matter how much your friends or family may love you, they are not always right in their advice. 

Not only are people wrong in their advice, they can say exactly the wrong thing; they can say something that cuts your heart or discourages you. They may not mean to but it happens. It happens because they don't know your heart inside-out like God does. God knows just how to help you.

I think it is good to go to those we love and trust for advice, but go to God first. After you have talked with him you may not need to talk with anyone else.

"Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left."  Isaiah 30:21

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."  John 16:13

I Am With You Always.

When his friends were frightened, Jesus said, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  Matthew 14:27

If we remember Jesus is with us every moment, that thought can give us courage. When we know the God of the universe is loving us, helping us and working for us, then we can take heart and his presence gives us strength.

Just before Jesus was to be crucified, he told his friends he would be leaving them. They felt full of sadness and discouragement. They had been with Jesus day and night for three years; they thought he would become the King of Israel. Now he said he was leaving.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart."  John 16:4-6

Jesus was a strong and steady leader to his followers. He always knew the right thing to do and say. I can imagine they felt they would be without a compass and anchor if he went away. But they were wrong; Jesus would be just as close to them after he left.

"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."  John 16:7

Jesus did leave the world physically, but through the Holy Spirit he is with each one of us every moment. 

As he left for heaven, Jesus said,  "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matt. 28:20  In that promise we can all take courage.

Jeff Miller I Corinthians Why We Should Count Our Blessings.

I just want to let everyone know that Jeff Miller is beginning his new series on 1 Corinthians. You can find his sermons on youtube or at:  http://trinitybiblechurch.com/resources/sermon-videos

Grace and Truth.

John 1:17,18  -  Why Jesus Came.

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."  John 1:17

God gave us the law through Moses. All humans need laws or there would be anarchy. We cannot keep all the law ourselves. We can do our best, but we all fall short of perfection. If our salvation depended on us keeping the Ten Commandments perfectly, we could never be saved.

Knowing this, God sent his Son to keep the law in our place. He is our substitute in every way. He lived our life and died our death. All we have to do is accept what he did for us.

"No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known."  John 1:18

Jesus came to be our substitute, but he also came to show us what God the Father is like. As Jesus said to Philip, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father."  John 14:9  

Grace - "In Western Christian theology, grace has been defined, not as a created substance of any kind, but as "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it."  "A share in the divine life of God."  Wikipedia

 On the other side of us striving to obey the Ten Commandments  is the Grace of God. This is an offer from God to become one with Him. He will then re-create us to be more like him each day.

Truth - "That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality."  The definition of truth makes me think of the movie called, "The Matrix,"  where reality was not what you thought it was. I would bet most of the world doesn't know the reality of life - what it really means to be born here, why we are here. Jesus came to tell us this truth. We are here to become one with God and let his love shine through us to others.

"I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."  John 17:23