“And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,”
King James Version (KJV)
GiGi's comment on 2023-11-21 17:25:42:
verse 25
"And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He hath commanded us."
Well, we know how that went. The Israelites found out that they could not, would not, and failed miserably to gain righteousness on their own because they were unable to keep from breaking God's commands. The Law shows us our sinfulness and our need for a Savior. The Israelites as a whole, must have thought that they could fall back on the sacrificial system to remove their sins when they failed God. But they could not truly say they gained their own righteousness because they could not keep the Law.
Only Jesus is righteous, completely sinless, and worthy of God's acceptance as a truly human person. His divine nature always remained divine, but His human nature needed to choose obedience to God always, and He did. His righteousness is imputed to us because He was the perfectly acceptable sacrifice for our sins. He did what we could never do, never sin, and be of such worth that His sacrifice took away all of our sins.
The Israelites grew accustomed to sinning against God, going after idols, and forgetting Him who delivered them from bondage. May we not fall into such a state. Thank God for giving us the Holy Spirit, without Whom we would not be able to continue in faith and obedience to God every day. God provides us with all we need for life and godliness through the work of Jesus for us and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us to sanctify us and empower us to desire to obey our God and Savior. He is the only One who can save us. Let always be turned toward Him, seeking Him wholeheartedly, hiding His word in our hearts, and sharing the hope we possess in Jesus, our Lord.
GiGi's comment on 2023-11-21 17:15:19:
God tells them to write them on their doorposts where they come in and go out. They are to be able to be read from the inside or outside of the entry to their home. Even to write them on the gates of one's property. To me this sounds like such a good thing to do, to have God's Words visible around one's house.
God then promises to be true to His promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to bring these descendants into the land promised. They will be blessed with the work of the people whom they drive out of the lands they will possess. God plans to give them good cities and homes to dwell in, fields, and vineyards, olive groves, and wells, none of which they planted, dug, or tended so as to be made full of the what the land will already have waiting for them. They will not have to begin from scratch as Noah and his family had to do after the flood. The land will already be ready for them.
But then, God warns them not to forget Him, nor to forget Egypt and the bondage they were brought out of. Rather, they are to fear Him, serve him, and swear by His name and not that of any other idol god. They are to stay clear of idols and the idolaters around them. They should not inquire about them or the way the pagans serve their idols. God says He is jealous for their worship and service and they are to not divide their religious faith and allegiance with idols that cannot help them nor save them.
The Israelites were to be careful about how they lived, worshipped, and taught their children. They are to be ready to explain to their children what God had done for them and why they are to worship Him alone by adhering to His commands, statues, and the good testimony of Him to Israel. We are to be knowledgeable of what we are to explain to our kids about the Lord and His truths. We are not to neglect this important aspect of parenting. I wish I had been even more diligent in doing this with my sons.
The chapter ends with these words:
GiGi's comment on 2023-11-21 17:00:43:
After instructing the people to fear Him, listen to Him, and obey His commands, God speaks the great words of the Shema:
Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD.
There is not a multiplicity of God that are true and worthy of worship. There is only One: YHWH
This statement will be of utmost importance when He sends His Son and the Holy Spirit, each of Whom is God, but not three Gods, but One unified Divine Being that is three distinct Persons in a relationship of love and unity. There is but One true God, no other, and ever will there be but one God to worship. In the fullness of time, God's elect will learn of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each who is to be worshipped and glorified, but we are to remember that God is One in substance, love, will, and workings.
The Shema goes on to say: Love the LORD your God with all of one's heart, soul, and strength. We are to love Him with all that we are: our minds, bodies, soul, powers, will, actions, words, thoughts, relationships, and emotions. There is nothing about us that we are to withhold from Him. All of us belongs to Him, We have been bought with a price, our life is not our own to live our own way, but to live to God.
God then tells them to put His words in one's heart. To know His commands thoroughly and to teach them to our children often. We are to be a holy example to our children, our spouse, our neighbor, those who are in authority over us, and those who we have authority over. We are to submit to God in all affairs, living according to God's ways, not our own sense of right and wrong. to do what is right in God's eyes, not what seems right in our own eyes.
We are to recall God's Word when we lay down to sleep and when we rise up, when we work and when we rest. The Israelites are to bind God's Law upon their wrists, put them as frontlets between one's eyes. God's ways were to be ever before them, keeping them from being double-minded or forgetful of what God requires of His people.d
GiGi's comment on 2023-11-21 16:45:12:
In this chapter Moses is setting the stage for the delivering of the Law to the people of Israel who were too young when the nation was gathered at Sinai to fully understand what God was asking of them in regards to worshipping and serving Him individually and as a nation.
First, God calls the Israelites to fear Him. This means to revere Him and understand that He is able to make alive or destroy, raise up or bring down, bless or curse. Recognizing His worthiness for obedience, worship, and service is emphasized in the term: fear. Remembering his mighty, miraculous, and awesome deeds done in the flight out of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the water coming forth in the wilderness, the descent of God upon Sinai, the pillar of cloud and fire, quail and manna each morning, the deliverance from enemies, reminds that He is not a God who is weak and unable to do as He pleases or so congenial that one can take sin lightly and He will not require judgment, and that He is a God who cannot be stood up to and prevail. He puts down the proud and haughty, disciplines those He has chosen, and brings calamity upon the persistently disobedient. He takes offense at idolatry and His anger and wrath is fearsome. The Israelites needed to know all of these things in order to take Him seriously and, knowing that there is no other God to serve, they are obligated to obey, love and worship Him alone.
Then God says that His commands and statutes are ongoing. They pass on to the lives of one's children and grandchildren and future descendants. They are sure and consistent. God will not change nor amend them as time passes. They are for the good of the individual and the nation. (vs. 3)
God tells the people to hear Him, listen attentively and soberly with the intent to obey God's commands. In doing so, life will go well for the obedient. There will be increase of blessing in the life of the obedient, and prosperity in the land they will be entering, as promised to the forefathers.
David's comment on 2021-05-25 12:57:27:
The Holy Spirit of God comes to reside in a person for all eternity when that person is saved.
Eph 1:13; 4:30; Acts 2:38; 1 Cor 6:19
Claire's comment on 2020-10-17 07:56:21:
Page 3 to my last comment.
Thank you for your encouragement, support & your prayers. I already see God's Hand at work in my life just by chatting to people on here & having things validated by people. I'm sure that I will start to notice more positive things in people around me too now I'm feeling more positive about my of situation.
God bless you & your family.
Kind Regards
Claire
Claire's comment on 2020-10-17 07:43:22:
Page 2 to my last comment.
I believe that God is already dealing with situation & that He will continue His work in me & heal me. I know I can't erase the past, but God is helping me to deal with it through Christ's love & life in me.
I feel like the Holy Spirit is working on me to have a healthy mind & healthy relationships. My relationship with my daughter & my mum is a lot better lately & I don't feel like I'm preaching to them as much, because this is what caused the problems. My circumstances haven't changed, in fact, my finances have got worse lately, but I trust the Holy Spirit is in the process of dealing with it because I have peace about it. I also believe my negative thoughts are being removed & being replaced with positive ones too. I am beginning to see more good in others rather than focussing on the bad. I know that God is in control & I believe that He works all things for good. I believe that we can do all things through Christ & that God's grace is sufficient for us & He is making all my imperfections perfect one by one that I couldn't do on my own. I wouldn't say that I'm at the point where I welcome problems, but I am definitely more content about them nowadays. Praise God !!!
Claire's comment on 2020-10-17 04:27:39:
Hi Chris,
Page 1 to my last comment.
I believe that God is already working on the things from my early years because it doesn't feel painful anymore & as you said, if it wasn't for the Lord's intervention, we would be miserable, which I'm not anymore. Praise God !!! It was my depression & anxiety that brought me to God, but I feel like He has worked on other areas of my life also as they're all connected to one another. I believe that declaring my sadness & hopelessness & asking God for peace was the grounds for the Spirit to reveal Jesus to me & draw me to the Cross.
I feel even though it is still in the back of our mind, it doesn't seem to bother me anymore. I believe that God is healing or has healed all those points of mental & emotional pain. I know I can't change how people feel or perceive things about me, & I'm just trying to focus on the One Who can help & change me. I feel like I have forgiven them because I feel a lot happier & content about the situation.
Claire's comment on 2020-10-17 02:57:15:
Hi Richard in Christ,
Thank you for your reply. I know satan tempts us to doing things that aren't ok with God. I find that the less time I spend around non Christians, the less I fall into sin like gossiping, but I still struggle with negative thoughts about people. When this happens I either pray or sing a Christian song in my head or listen to Christian songs on my Spotify & this helps the negative thoughts to pass.
I have never been baptised, so this is why it's so important to me. I'm unsure if The Holy Spirit is in me, but from some of the comments about my experiences I may already have it & just not know. If not then I believe that Jesus will baptise me with the Holy Spirit when it's time. I believe God's timing is always perfect.
Thank you for sharing your experience about what the Holy Spirit wanted me know. I find this very encouraging & it gives me peace. Praise God !!! I know it's always going to be hard while we're still on earth & that we have to keep fighting satan & sin, praying from the heart, & do are best to follow in the foot steps of Jesus Christ.
I've already asked God to forgive me & them for our sins & just for my own peace of mind. I feel like God is helping me with this because I don't think about them as much & if they come up in conversation it doesn't really trigger me as much these days & eventually, with God's help I don't think they will bother me at all. I know I couldn't have done this on my own, so I believe that God is in it & working all things for good.
God bless you & your family.
Kind Regards
Claire
wayne's comment on 2020-10-16 09:05:50:
But he does address it specifically Exodus Chapter 21, verse 20:
Chris's comment on 2020-10-15 18:03:55:
Page 3 to your last comment.
As you see more of God's Hand at work in your life & in people around you, I pray that it will be for the increasing of your faith & love - not only towards the Lord but to others as well. It is difficult to love others when they despise you, but we can still love them for the Lord's sake & do good to them (Matthew 5:44). Your life will be enriched & blessed. Hope you have a blessed day, Claire.
Chris's comment on 2020-10-15 18:03:16:
Page 2 to your last comment.
You say that you want to forgive them & you have done so. Now just let God handle them & continue His work in you & heal you. You can't erase the past but you can cover it with your forgiving spirit & Christ's love & life in you. Read Philippians chapter 4 carefully when you have time. The Apostle Paul was writing to the Church at Philippi & gave them some important advice. Two ladies, Euodias & Syntyche (v2) were at odds with each other & Paul wanted them to 'forgive & forget'. He goes on to give the qualities that Christians should be pursuing for healthy minds & relationships: rejoice in all circumstances (v4); don't be anxious but cast your concerns onto the Lord & leave them with Him - His Peace will then come to you (vv 6,7); remove the sad & ugly thoughts you have & replace them with thoughts that engender purity & loveliness in others - try to see the good in others rather than focussing on the bad (v8); be content with who you are & what you have - God is in control (v11); Paul testified that he could all things & be all things that God wanted him to be only because of Jesus, Who gave him the 'strength' = the will, desire & enabling to override his circumstances, which often were quite terrible. Was Paul perfect in his life? No. Even he confessed that he was weak & could only find his strength in Christ's Grace & Power in his life: 2 Corinthians 12:9, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." He actually welcomed 'problems', so that he could prove the power & enabling of the risen Christ in his life!
Chris's comment on 2020-10-15 18:01:14:
Page 1 to your last comment.
Hi Claire. Thanks for sharing that personal & hurtful part of your early years. Sadly, we hear of such experiences much too often & so many young people are scarred for life, sometimes even replicating their pain to others. So I am, & no doubt others reading what you've shared, are saddened by this & really, if it wasn't for the Lord's intervention, we would lead totally miserable & disjointed lives. It may be that because of these events in your life, that the Lord has worked in your heart to point you to him for comfort & direction. If this is so (or something on those lines), then that could be included in the first part of your testimony (without the specifics of course) declaring your sadness & hopelessness which might have been the grounds for the Spirit to reveal Jesus to you & draw you to the Cross.
I can understand the difficulty you're in with emotionally dealing with your father & his girlfriend. What has happened in the past, sadly will always remain in the back of our minds, but when we are 'in Christ', then His healing touches all those points of mental & emotional pain. You can't change how people feel or perceive things about you, but you can focus on the One Who can help & change YOU. Forgiveness is the first key element in one's healing because an unforgiving heart not only brings a disconnection with the Lord but continues to eat away in the person bringing on both spiritual & physical problems.
Chris's comment on 2020-10-15 14:41:48:
Page 2.
b. How do you know if you're saved? If you've come to God through Jesus for forgiveness of your sins, then He saves you & never rejects any who He draws to Himself. The gift of the Holy Spirit is proof of the changed life, also new joy in being redeemed rather than the gloom you had while living without God, a hunger for the things of God as you're showing here, to be like your Saviour & share Him with others. You will see God doing new & wonderful things in your life, even getting you a cheaper carpet, answering prayer, strength to face difficult times with a sure hope - all things to show you His Love & evidence of being His child. The thing that God always looks for is our faith to trust Him for the impossible or when things get bad. Spending time in His Word & just talking to Him & praising Him for Who He is, helps us to love & trust Him more.
c. What your pastor is seeking. When he's wanting your salvation testimony, he wants to know whether you have come to Jesus in the way I mentioned above. He wants to make sure that your testimony towards water baptism is real & enduring. What should happen is the person who leads you to the Lord should be the one to baptize you or testify of your change of heart. But this doesn't usually happen, as people get baptized months or years after they were saved. So the pastor really needs to know what experience you have had & you're not coming for baptism for some wrong reason or motive. So your Testimonies 1 & 2 really show how God has helped you to find peace & sense conviction after salvation. These are good testimonies, but you need to share with your pastor what took place in your life to bring you to salvation & the sense of joy & peace you received after you repented & laid your sins at the Cross. But, these are my words - I don't know your story - yet I can see your love for the Lord. Hope some of this helps. Sara J. has also share some good things, so she may want to help you with this also.
Chris's comment on 2020-10-15 05:43:50:
My response to Claire from the other thread. Page 1.
Hi Claire. We're glad to help with some advice as we know you're in a difficult situation & struggling with Church, etc. To your points:
a. When a person is saved (born again), it means that God does a special work in that person's life after she comes to the point of realizing that her life of sin or rejection of God is weighing heavily on her heart & there is nothing she can do to clean herself up & so is cast upon God for His mercies. Without that conviction of sin, there can be no salvation, otherwise we end up being like some in Churches: going regularly to feel good or try to make God feel good about them. This is not re-birth. So after acknowledging our sin & realizing that only Jesus Christ, God's Son can pay the price of your sin which you couldn't, then you run to the Cross & cling onto Jesus asking for forgiveness (not a physical cross but from your heart).
If you have truly come for the sake of the burden of your sinful life & not for any other motive, then God receives your repentance, forgives you your past sins, gives you His Spirit to be in you to give you a new life in Christ. The old sinful nature still remains, to which Satan appeals & causes us to stumble, but God's Nature (Spirit) will always work against the Old nature, which is when you immediately know when you stumble into sin (e.g. when the carpet salesman asked you about giving you an earlier quote & you lied - you immediately knew you had done wrong as the Spirit convicted you).
Jesus referred to His Spirit as the Comforter (John 16:7). The Spirit's Work in the believer is to comfort, teach, convict of sin, encourage, help in praying, becoming more Christ-like, help to gain victory over sin (2 Corinthians 10:2-6), loving God & others with godly love ("agape"), etc. So you always have God in you as He has sealed you as belonging to Him for all eternity (Ephesians 1:13, 14).
Eddy Powell's comment on 2020-10-15 04:39:16:
The elder lady bragging that she is been saved for over 40 years but she's a busybody queen. All her victims are her best friends and put tears on her eye to make it more believable. Many believes her and have a big smile. I'm just wondering how the bragger Christian tells so much lies against all her victims and not feeling bad at all. Actually she take pride when she hurts people over and over. She never sorry to all her wrong doings. How can you FORGIVE somebody like this 70 years old lady and claimed a Christian for over 40 years?
Chris's comment on 2020-10-14 23:08:31:
Irene, can you clarify that word "showing"? It doesn't appear in the Bible.
Irene Reilly's comment on 2020-10-14 19:16:42:
I am also confused with the word showing???
Richard in Christ's comment on 2020-10-14 18:27:40:
1 Peter 2:20-25. Sorry.
Richard in Christ's comment on 2020-10-14 18:17:41:
To Claire,
Hopefully I will not receive much rebuke for this but this is only for your help. As it is the truth. I was baptized with water when a baby but of coarse then lived a pretty aberrant lifestyle. It was just last year when I was lead to Jesus Christ. Passionately giving myself to Jesus Christ and inviting Him into my heart along with praising Him and confessing how sorry I was for not believing in Him for so long. Just always believing in other people instead of reading the Bible for myself.
It was only after about a week of praising Him and telling Him how sorry I was from the heart that something astounding happened to me. Surround Jesus Christ. Since then many marvelous things have occurred to me. Even having to battle satan as he tempted me to keep doing things that were not ok with God. Not even knowing it at the time.
The main thing I wanted to state is that I have never been baptized with water again since I was a baby. The Holy Spirit is in me and the relationship I have with our Father in Heaven is glorious. Jesus Christ will baptize you with the Holy Spirit when He knows it is time. You may already have the Holy Spirit in you and just not know it yet.
Please no one take this the wrong way and think I have anything against getting a water baptism. I am only saying this because of truth, experience, and the Holy Spirit wanted me to post this for you. It is always going to be hard while we are still here in earth and no one should think it is going to get easier. Keep fighting satan and sin, keep praying from the heart, and do your best to follow in the foot steps of Jesus Christ.
With the one problem you have about unforgiveness. I know it's hard. We all have problems. Just ask yourself "do I want God to forgive all my sins?" I'm sure you do so just forgive no matter what. This doesn't mean things people do to you, or others, are ok or right. Just let God be the Judge. As Jesus Christ did. 1 Peter 20-25.
You are in my prayers sister.