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Archives for May 2020

Diligence

May 16, 2020 by Justin Leave a Comment

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23

God expects an energetic effort from each of us towards the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our life! If we aren’t going to be passionate about this glorious gospel, then what will we ever be passionate about? This is something to be excited about and to exercise ourselves towards with all of our heart. Lord, let us have a diligent heart in the things you have commanded us to do!

Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.

2 Corinthians 8:7

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8

Diligence is one of many virtues listed in these verses. It is vital, it is essential. Without diligence we will not succeed in our calling in Christ Jesus. Yet, we must be on the right path before diligence will prosper us. Paul was diligent back when he was called Saul. He persecuted the church with all diligence, yet he was on the wrong path that leads to destruction. Once he met Jesus and became Paul the apostle, his diligence became profitable to God and to mankind. Diligence in the way of righteousness profits much. When you don’t know what to do, diligence becomes impossible. But after God reveals His perfect plan for your life, run the way of His commandments! Do it with diligence, do it with all your heart! We must be diligent in Bible study, in prayer, in Bible memorizing, in love, in fasting, in holiness, in giving and in every other good thing that is named in Jesus Christ. We only get one life to live on this earth. Give all diligence so that you won’t be ashamed before Christ at His 2nd coming! Christ hates slothful servants.

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

2 Peter 1:10

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

2 Peter 3:13-14

Without diligence, our salvation is most definitely in question! Make your calling and election in Christ sure. Steadfast. Unmoveable and unshakable. Prioritize your relationship with Christ over the things of this world. Eat and drink the Word of God, sitting at the feet of Jesus like Mary did. Seeing how this present earth is soon to pass away in a great flame of fire, shouldn’t we give all diligence in the things God has commanded us to do? Diligence in Christ needs to become habitual, in that we do it all of the time. When we are just getting started in Christ, our diligence may not always be there. Don’t fear, you are a work in progress and Christ will see to it that you become a mature man or woman of God in ALL THINGS. He makes all things new, including your diligence. Remember, we are only following the example of Jesus Christ, who went about doing good all of the time, serving His Father with all diligence.

God expects YOU to rule your spirit well. He will exhort and He will chastise, but it is up to YOU to give all diligence. Remember, faith IS diligence. It is active, it is moving. God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him in faith. Don’t miss out on the glorious rewards God has prepared for you. Seek Him with a pure heart, diligently, all the time, with all zeal and joy. God be with you as you give Him everything you are. Amen.

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The Root of the Righteous

May 15, 2020 by Justin 1 Comment

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Matthew 3:10

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Matthew 12:33

There are only two kind of trees in the spiritual realm, righteous and wicked. Before a wicked tree can be righteous, it needs a new root system. God takes the axe of His Word to the root of the wicked tree and rips it out of the ground. God has no use for wicked trees. Their end is to be burned in everlasting fire. When a wicked person repents and is born again, God plants the seed of His Word into their heart and they slowly start growing up and developing a new root system founded in love.

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

Isaiah 37:31

The righteous remnant of Judah is today called the church of Jesus Christ. Notice the order of things: first one must take root downward and THEN they can bear fruit upward. A tree needs a well developed root system before it is mature enough to bear fruit.

A spiritual tree needs to be well watered by the Word of God and receive light or illumination from the Son of God, Jesus. Slowly the tree grows and the root becomes more and more developed. New Christians must be lovingly cared for and brought to maturity over time. It’s easy to rip a sapling out of the ground, because it’s roots are weak. It’s very difficult to rip a full grown tree out of the ground, because it’s roots are well developed. That’s what we need to be in Christ: mature and unmoveable. Even if the enemy uses dynamite to try to blow up the roots of the tree, it is not going to be shaken.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

This is the beginning of building a strong tree. First, we must read the Word of God and meditate in it day and night. A good tree grows day and night. It is continually growing in the Lord, although the progress might not be evident from day to day. We need to be planted by the rivers of water, which again is God’s Word. A tree is planted at it’s food source. It doesn’t wander away. As we continue the habit of reading God’s Word, the roots become developed enough that the tree can grow and bear fruit.

The roots are below ground. The roots are love which works by faith. These are spiritual things that take root in our hearts. They are not always seen, but the tree and the fruit are clearly seen by the world and the church. What else do the roots represent? It represents the hidden man of the heart. What do we spend our time doing when we are all alone? We should read the Word of God in private. We should pray in our prayer closet. We should memorize the word of God. All these things will build up our roots so that we are able to bear fruit for the world and the church to partake of. A tree is known by its fruit and we want to be a righteous tree, bearing the fruits of the Spirit.

A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

Proverbs 12:3

The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.

Proverbs 12:12

For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Romans 11:16

Jesus said the tree is either entirely righteous or entirely wicked. The seed determines what kind of tree we will get and as a result, what kind of fruit we will yield. If the root is holy, so is the tree and so is the fruit. If we are sowing the devil’s seed (his words and lies), then we will have a corrupt tree and BAD fruit.

A good tree with a righteous root SHALL NOT BE MOVED. Satan may blow at us with every wind of false doctrine, but our roots are so well developed in love and freedom from Christ that we will stand fast in the good doctrine we’ve been taught.

Every man or woman that wants to be used in the Lord’s ministry must first spend the time in private with the Lord. Over weeks, months and years your fruit will become mature and you’ll be a good tree that the Lord can use to feed many. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Sow to the Spirit and you will reap life everlasting, for both you and those that listen to your words. Amen.

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The Spiritual Meaning of Sex

May 13, 2020 by Justin Leave a Comment

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

Proverbs 30:18-19

Another possible meaning in the Hebrew of “too wonderful” is “difficult to understand”. The way of a man with a maid is mysterious. Especially since “man” in the Hebrew means a strong man or a warrior. God designed love to be expressed between a strong man and a woman. We are going to examine the spiritual mysteries of a relationship between God fearing men and their God fearing wives.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Psalm 2:12

To kiss Christ is to receive the Word coming from His mouth. Christ is a Spirit and the only way to kiss a spirit is to receive His spirit and His words. Before a husband kisses his wife, he should be building her up with words of love and kindness. For the two sets of lips to come together as one, there must be unity. The husband is indicating “here are my words of love” and wife is responding “I receive your words of love”. To kiss when there is not a love relationship is a fraud. Satan desires people to kiss out of lust, for the physical pleasure of it. This strips the act of kissing of its deeper, Christlike meaning. Kissing and sex do bring pleasure, but LOVE must come first. Love must be the reason WHY the physical relationship exists. The two spirits must be in unity before the bodies can come together in unity.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Genesis 2:18, 21-24

It’s not good for man to be alone. He has a greater purpose and a calling to serve a wife on the foundation of LOVE. Man is incomplete without a wife to love and serve. So is God missing something, until He has His bride, the church. God has so much love in His heart that He was just aching inside to find an object of His love. He desires to love us and give Himself away for us. That’s the whole point of Christ coming to die as a willing sacrifice for our sins. For God so loved the world, HE GAVE. Love produces giving. It is selfish to hold love inside without a manifestation of that love. Christ is the example to husbands of how to love their wives, by dying to self and serving them with a whole heart of love.

Woman was taken out of man. God designed a help meet just for Adam. He designed the woman in such a way as to be a perfect fit for the strengths and abilities of her husband. Woman was made from a rib, taken from beside Adam’s heart. A man’s wife must always be close to his heart, spiritually speaking. A husband must love his wife, cherish his wife, be willing to die for his wife, serving her with a complete heart of love and giving. Man was made to cleave to, that is, stick like glue to his wife. Just as a man is one with his own body, so shall he be with his wife. But, there must be love, for love is the bond of perfection. Love is the glue that holds a marriage relationship together. Selfishness shall have no part in a Christ centered marriage.

When God says the two shall be one flesh, it is implied that before they become one flesh, they must be one in spirit. Both husband and wife should be baptized with the Holy Spirit and be walking in that Spirit. Then they are equipped to love and respect each other. God once asked me, “what’s the best thing a wife can do?”. Before I had time to think about it, He told me the answer. The best thing a wife can do is to receive her husband’s love. Then He told me to receive His love. The woman was made for the man. The church, the bride, was made for the bridegroom, Christ. The husband is the initiator. He loves the wife and the wife’s job is to receive that love. To reject the husband’s love would cause unspeakable grief to the heart of the husband. Rejecting God’s love grieves His heart more than we can imagine.

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

Ephesians 5:28-29

The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

1 Corinthians 7:4

Husbands and wives were made by God to belong to each other. So much so that their own bodies are in the power of their mates. This speaks wonderful things to us in the Spirit. Christ does not have power over Himself. He’s given Himself away to the church, His bride. We have full access to all the love and healing that is in Christ. Likewise, we the church don’t belong to ourselves. Our bodies and our spirits belong to Christ. He can use us in love any way that the Lord sees fit by His Spirit. We await the call and instruction of the Master’s voice. We must be obedient servants to the bridegroom, Christ.

Husbands and wives were made by God to come together as one flesh. This is a holy relationship founded on self sacrificial love, as it was created and ordained by God for His good pleasure. This physical relationship was designed by God to bring the husband and the wife closer together spiritually. The physical intercourse is just a figure of the spiritual intercourse they should be having with God and with each other. The spirits should come together long before the bodies do.

Man was made in the image of God. This is represented spiritually by having a mind, will, reasoning power, imagination, heart, etc. This is also represented physically. A man’s reproductive area on his body has 3 parts. One member that sticks out further than the rest, and two balls. They are 3 parts, but they work together in unity. This is a picture of the Trinity, who are 3 persons but work together in unity in love. The man’s body is made to be stronger than the woman’s body. This represents the spiritual strength of Christ, how He has more power than the woman but is still a servant to the woman/the church. The reproductive parts of man’s body is in the center of his physical body. Likewise, spiritually the center of man’s body is his heart. When man has physical intercourse with the woman, it involves her reproductive parts, which are similarly in the center of her body, which represents the heart of the woman, spiritually. True intercourse between Christ and the church is done heart to heart, spirit to spirit.

Physically speaking, there is one hole or opening in the woman that was designed by God for the husband to enter during sex. Spiritually, there is one hole or opening for Christ to enter the church, that is her heart. Christ stands at the door and knocks. He won’t enter into a relationship with just anyone. We must be willing. We must receive the bridegroom’s love and His Words. When we read the Bible, we are spiritually having intercourse with Christ, the living Word. Just as a man gets physically and emotionally excited to enter the woman, Christ gets excited spiritually to enter into our hearts by faith in His Word.

When a man climaxes physically, he shoots forth sperm and semen into the woman. When Christ climaxes spiritually, he shoots forth His Word and His Spirit. The hour comes and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. Jesus said the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are Life. The physical sperm represents the Word of God. Jesus said the seed is the Word. Likewise sperm cannot impregnate the woman without a helper. The helper is the Holy Spirit, represented physically by the semen. If you’ve ever seen a video of sperm swimming around under a microscope, you will understand what I’m talking about. The sperm swims around in the semen. Likewise, the Word flows and moves by the Holy Spirit. Anywhere the Word is being spoken, the Spirit is there to convince the hearers that it is the Truth. Spirit and Truth are inseparable, just like sperm and semen. They are always together.

There is LIFE in the sperm, there is LIFE in the Word. Physically speaking, the sperm impregnates the egg that the woman provides. Spiritually, this is represented by the Word of God being planted into the field of our heart. The seed, the Word goes down deep into our hearts and produces spiritual children, just like the physical seed produces physical children when combined with the egg the woman provides. Physically it takes 9 months for the fertilized egg to reach maturity in the birth of a child. Spiritually it can happen much faster or slower, depending on the heart of the person that is to be saved. Still, the number 9 represents something spiritually. It is 3×3 or God multiplying Himself by Himself. That’s why there are 9 spiritual gifts and 9 fruits of the Spirit.

There is no birth control spiritually. God loves children! He has called the entire world to be His children, but only a select few are responding to the call. Physical birth control can be acceptable in God’s eyes. He doesn’t want you to have more children than you are willing to love and cherish. For some it’s only 2. For some it is 10. Physical children and physical sex are just types and examples of the true intercourse which is spiritual and with Christ.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

Besides birthing new children spiritually, intercourse with Christ produces other fruit. Children are called the fruit of the womb. The fruit of the Spirit produces 9 fruits in our lives. Likewise, physical intercourse can produce other fruit in the lives of the husband and wife. Closer love and intimacy and kindness are the result of sex offered upon the altar of love. The time spent in spiritual and physical intercourse should produce an intimacy that is seen by all people who see the bridegroom or the bride together! The physical marriage union is meant to represent the spiritual union of Christ and the church!

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Ephesians 5:30-32

Just as the man and the wife come together physically and are in unity as one flesh, so shall it happen when Christ returns for His bride, the church. Christ will change our physical bodies to be like His glorious, immortal, spiritual body. This is the great mystery, when physical bodies put on immortality and eternal life. All will be revealed when Christ returns. Make sure you belong to Christ today and every day up until His 2nd coming!

Besides physical sex, there are things a husband and wife can do together to promote love and unity. Any time the two are spending time together, it is promoting the bonds of love and respect. Husbands, write love poetry to your wives! Keep pursuing her heart, daily! The Bible is Christ’s love poetry to the church. Let Christ woo your heart, daily, by spending time in the Word and in prayer. If you really want to romance your wife, take a physical shower together. The water represents the Word of God. You can take a wash cloth or a sponge and wash your wife with the body wash of her choosing. Do it slowly and lovingly. Quote the Word of God over your wife as you wash her physically and you’ll be washing her spiritually, the way Christ washes the church. I guarantee the Spirit of the Lord will be there as you do this in love. Read the Word of God together. Pray together. Cook meals together. Go swimming together. The bridegroom and the bride are always seen together! There is no substitute for time spent together in love. Be creative! Use the imagination God has given you to win over your wife’s heart through LOVE.

The man’s member represents Christ. Just as Christ emptied Himself of all wisdom and knowledge and power when He came to earth, so is the member empty until it flows forth with spirit and truth, provided by the Father and The Spirit. It is Christ that spiritually enters the woman, the church. We receive Christ when we are born again. The Spirit and the Father come along for the ride. The 3 are one in unity, so to receive one is to receive all three.

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

1 Peter 2:2

The woman, the church, has two breasts with which to feed the newborn children. The number two represents witness. The two witnesses are the church and the Holy Spirit. The same milk or truth or word that comes out of one breast is the same milk that comes out of the other breast. The Holy Spirit and the church should be speaking the same things, the Word of God.

The woman has a soft, humble body. It is a perfect fit for the strength and hardness of a man’s body. The two bodies complement each other perfectly. So are our spirits with Christ’s spirit. The two were made to be together in unity and intimacy. Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Please consider the truth that has been spoken and let it influence you through grace. May it illuminate your spirits more with the mysterious meaning of Christ and the church. Husbands, love your wives! Wives, submit in respect to your husbands, as unto Christ.

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