God Is My… , 38

~ God Is My Source of Peace, 2 ~

 

Introduction  ~  Previously (July 16, 2017 – January 6, 2019) ALN posted a series of 82 posts of “Jesus is…,” and then we looked exclusively at who “God is…” from the Book of Psalms (February 9, 2020 – December 5, 2021).  We are now considering “God is…” statements from non-Psalms passages. 

 

Passage  ~  “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way.  The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

 

Other Scripture  ~  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:3-4).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Called by God, 23

 ~ The Call of Andrew ~

 

Introduction ~ Posts 1 – 21 (beginning on April 16, 2022) of this series looked at aspects of the Christian calling.  Specifically, we viewed the calling of God from three aspects.  First there is the Universal Call to all mankind for salvation.  Second there is the call that all Christians receive—the Obedience Call.  Finally, there is a call which all Christians receive, but sadly few accept, the Career Call. 

 

Beginning in post 22 we started looking at Biblical examples of God calling an individual. 

 

Scripture ~ “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’  They immediately left their nets and followed Him” (Matthew 4:18-20). 

 

Comment ~ God’s call can be very different for different individuals and circumstances. 

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Conscience, 23

  ~ Guilt Degrades Your Conscience ~

 

Series Note ~ The conscience plays a crucial role in human behavior.  The Scripture has much to say about our conscience.  In posts 1—20 of this series, we looked at various descriptions of conscience.  Beginning in post 21 we look at emotional factors that have a very negative impact on our consciences. 

 

Scripture ~ King David did horrible things during certain times in his life (as we all have).  In the following Psalm we hear him communicating with his God. 

 

“Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.  For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart — these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:14-17).

 

Comment ~ In the passage above King David shows us the way to deal with guilt. 

 

Solution ~ Confession, repentance, and sincere effort to please God in the future. 

 

Question ~ Is your conscience damaged by guilt?  If so, what are you going to do about it?

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Binary, 32

 ~ Binary: Religion or Relationship ~

 

Series Comment  ~  When it comes to spiritual paths it is strictly a binary choice. 

(1)   It is a choice between the True or False.  “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).  [See Post #1 in this series.]

(2)   It is a choice between Do or Done.  Jesus said, “It [the work of salvation] is finished!” (John 19:30).  Your Doing can add nothing to what Christ has Done for you.  [See Post #2 in this series.]

(3)   It is your choice between Religion or Relationship.  Religions are geared toward self-effort whereas Christianity is an intimacy with the only One who can save.  Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).  [See Post #3 in this series, and this post.]

 

Important Note  ~  We are currently in a binary sub-series of quoting short sections from books that draw parallels between physical light (the sun) and spiritual light (the Son) by Robert Lloyd Russell.

 

Quote  ~  In the realm of spiritual light we find the binary reaction of belief or unbelief. The issue is not really one of belief but whether an individual chooses to believe the true or false. It is a question of religion or relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the understanding that the Cross of Calvary paid the price of sin and it is the difference between do or done. The Christian faith understands we cannot do anything for merit, but rather it has been done by Christ. It is the choice of believing the great gurus and their ideology or believing the Son of God. There is really only one way to gain eternal life. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is different from all others—consider, for example, any social event. It is quite proper to quote from Ghandi, Mohammed, Confucius, or Buddha, but it is not politically correct to bring up Jesus Christ—except to use His name in vain. None of those other names is used routinely in cursing. How can we account for these facts? The only explanation is that “Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19-20).

 

Reference  ~  We are now in the process of quoting short sections from the ebook: “GOD’S NATURE: Sonlight Sunlight” (https://books2read.com/GodsNature).

 

Also from the print book: “GOD LIGHT: Sunlight Sonlight” (https://booksrlr.com/printbooks/god-light-sunlight-sonlight/).  ­­­­­­­­­­

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW 

 

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