Divine Revelations

 ~ 5 Critical Things Revealed ~

God’s Righteousness Revealed (in the Gospel)  ~  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17).

Christ Revealed (to the Soul)  ~  “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus” (Galatians 1:15-17).   

A Mystery Revealed (of union with Christ)  ~  “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power” (Ephesians 3:1-7).    

His Glory Will Be Revealed (at His coming)  ~  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.  For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.  Not only that, but we also who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.  For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:18-25).

The Man Of Sin Revealed (as a Christ rejecter)  ~  “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.  The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

Comment  ~  If you appreciated this post you may also be interested in a series of seven posts entitled “Revelation of God” posted by Abundant Life Now between December 11-26, 2018. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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God Our Rock, 19

 ~ Rock Of My Strength ~

Introduction  ~  In Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:47-49 Jesus relates the importance of building your house upon rock rather than sand.  This principle is even more critical when it comes to our spiritual life.  Each post in this series looks at a different Biblical passage which refers to our God as a Rock (not a complete list). 

Scripture  ~  “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.  He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.  How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.  They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.  Selah.

“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.  He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.  In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:1-8).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Spiritual Gifts, 24

 ~ The Spiritual Gift of Teaching – Words of Wisdom ~

Opening Comment  ~  “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18). 

Category  ~  Sub-categories of the gift of Teaching are the gifts of Words of Wisdom and the gift of Words of Knowledge.

Definition  ~  Wisdom means insight into the truth and its application to daily life.  Loren Fischer defines this gift as “the God-given ability to locate formally unknown principles as well as to combine known principles of God’s Word and to communicate them to fresh situations.                “ 

Scripture  ~  “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4-8).

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

Traits  ~  1) Translates ideas into words easily, analyzing, and explaining situations well.  2) Has the ability to make decisions consistent with Biblical principles before finalizing decisions.  3) Picks up details in such a way as to see the full picture and to summarize it in a meaningful way for others.  4) Chooses friends who hold high standards of conduct, and lovingly exhort those whose lives do not match Biblical standards.  5) A tendency to appear more confident at times than is the case (and they have a tendency to argue at times when evidence is weak).  6) Seeks to find ways to put what is heard into practice.  7) Interprets Scripture with keen insight by seeing practical applications from the text.  8) Suggests practical alternatives to people who are faced with a difficult situation.  9) Strives to be consistent and to determine God’s will in daily activities.

Closing Comments  ~  “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.  Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.  Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Question – Jesus, 96

 ~ Regarding Priorities, 2of2 ~

Introduction  ~  This series is about questions involving Jesus.  Some were asked by individuals involved with Jesus Christ while He walked on earth.  Others are questions that Jesus Christ asked others.  We will look at questions on about 130 topics (some may split into two or more posts).  Even so, it is far from an exhaustive list. 

Scripture  ~  “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels’” (Mark 8:34-38).

Comment  ~  Martyred missionary Jim Elliot is often quoted.  The most frequent quote from Jim Elliot is “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Two books which are full of Jim’s actual writings are “The Journals of Jim Elliot” and “JIM ELLIOT: Recorded Messages” (https://books2read.com/JimElliot).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Daddy Forgot

 ~ Dads, Think About This ~

Daddy Forgot

He shot out the door “I’m late” he said,

He left breakfast untouched, newspaper unread.

His car revved up and off he went,

He drove away to that important event.

As his car pulled away the small girl ran down,

“Wait, Daddy wait,” I hear dressing gown.

Her mouth crumpled up and she started to cry,

            “Daddy’s gone, and he didn’t kiss me goodbye.”

She rang her Daddy and accusingly said,

            “You left without a kiss I was still in bed.”

“I am sorry Sweetheart” – “It’s okay” she replied,

But both were hurting deep inside.

Our little angel gulped down her food,

            Put on her shoes and was ready for school.

She walked out of the door her shoulders slumped,

            In her throat she could feel a sorrowful lump.

Just then the car glided up to the door,

            “It’s Daddy, it’s Daddy” the little girl roared.

They ran to each other and hugged and kissed,

            All was made better for what had been missed.

Twenty years later no one would remember,

            He was late for a meeting one snowy December.

But a little girl would never forget that time,

            When her Dad drove home to say “Goodbye.” 

~ Angella Horner, 5 July 2020 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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