God Attribute, 123

~ Incarnate ~

 

This series of posts looks at some of the many attributes of God.  Generally, we move in alphabetical order.

 

Introduction  ~  The incarnation of Christ is a central Christian doctrine that assures us that God became flesh — God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ was truly God and truly man.

 

Scripture  ~  “The Word [Jesus Christ] became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). 

 

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11).

 

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Bible Question, 120

~ Test Your Bible Knowledge ~

 

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~~~~ bible question ~~~~ 

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question:  What was the height and thickness of walls surrounding Babylon?

 

Please provide your answer in the comments below!

 

The answer will be provided in a future blog.

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Apostles Martyrdom, 6of6

~ Early Christians Martyred: 6th Step ~

 

Introduction ~ In the early chapters of the Book of Acts we see a typical pattern leading to martyrdom of an Apostle: 1-Jailed, 2-Commanded, 3-Threatened, 4-Imprisioned, 5-Beatings, and finally 6-Death – promoted to paradise!

 

Jailed (Step 1) ~ First they were seized followed by jailing.

 

Commanded (Step 2) ~ Secondly, they were commanded to stop telling people about Jesus.

 

Threatened (Step 3) ~ They were threatened, but let go.

 

Imprisoned (Step 4) ~ They were manhandled and put in prison.

 

Beatings (Step 5) ~ Next, they experienced physical beatings.

 

Death (Step 6) ~ The final step was being murdered for their beliefs – no freedom of speech: martyred for Christ.

 

“When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’

 

“Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:54-60).

 

Comments ~ (1) Christians are to become increasingly Christ-like as they live their lives on earth. Compare Stephen’s last words on earth with Christ’s last words on the Cross.

(a)    Stephen: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ~ Jesus Christ: “Father, 'Into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:44).

 

(b)   Stephen: “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” ~ Jesus Christ: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

 

(2) “Indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.” Ultimately truth cannot be denied. That is why atheists and agnostics exist—they fight against Truth. Are their groups fighting against the tooth fairy? Of course not, you don’t fight against something which is not real!

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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In Jesus We Have… , 67

~ In Jesus We Have Holiness, 2 ~

 

Introduction ~ In this series we look at a few of the verses which state what we have when we are “in Christ.”  Consider our series theme verse: 

 

“God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:4-10).

 

If you are a Christian, God views you as covered with the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ. Our responsibility is become increasingly like our Savior in our daily life – living an increasingly holy life!

 

Scripture ~ “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-28).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Promise of God, 21

~ God Will Give You a New Heart ~

 

This Series ~ God has made many promises to His people. This series of posts looks at some (100) of the many attributes of God.  It is not an exhaustive list.

 

Key Factor ~ God not only makes promises to His people but He also keeps all of His promises.

 

Scripture ~ “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:24-27).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Fool Characteristics, 60

~ Fools Don’t Accept Correction ~

 

Series Note  ~  In the first 47 posts in this series we looked at some passages in the Book of Proverbs – wise sayings that are generally true – that describe a “fool” (singular) from God’s perspective.  Now we continue by looking at verses Proverbs which talk about ”fools” (plural).  Some may surprise you. 

 

Scripture  ~  “The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning.  Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.  But the correction of fools is folly” (Proverbs 16:21-22).

 

Important Truth  ~  “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Psalm 53:1a).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Disciplined Life, 2

~ The Importance of Discipline ~

 

Series Note ~ A constant reality is that it takes effort to develop and maintain good habits. Unfortunately; we effortlessly develop bad habits.

 

To combat this fact of mankind’s fallen nature requires consistent effort. This is why personal discipline is vitally important. Simply stated the bottom-line is that to fulfill our responsibility to become increasingly Christ-like we must exercise continual discipline.

 

Why is discipline important?

 

Scripture ~ “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8-9).

 

Comments ~ Discipline teaches us to operate by principle rather than desire.

 

Saying no to our impulses (even the ones that are not inherently sinful) puts us in control of our appetites rather than vice versa.

 

Quotes ~ It [discipline] deposes our lust and permits truth, virtue, and integrity to rule our minds instead. —John MacArthur

 

“Decision making is easy when your principles are clear.” —Roy Disney [Walt’s brother]

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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God Attribute, 122

God Attribute, 122

 

~ Immutable ~

 

This Series  ~  This series of posts looks at some of the many attributes of God.  Generally, we move in alphabetical order.

 

Introduction  ~  The word immutable is a theological word which simply means unchanging.

 

Scripture  ~  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

 

“Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end. The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You” (Psalm 102:25-28).

 

Quote  ~  “I have given God countless reasons not to love me.  None of them has been strong enough to change Him.”  Paul Washer 

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Why Trust God? 91

~ God Provides Guidance ~

 

Introduction  ~  “Abundant Life Now” previously provided a list of Biblical of examples of fearing / reverencing God (217 posts).  In this current series we look at Biblical accounts that demonstrate that we can fully trust God.  Initially we posted seven general reasons for trusting God.  We are currently looking at passages from all 66 books of Scripture which demonstrate a reason for trusting our Creator. 

 

Scripture  ~  “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:1-2). The Holy Spirit of God descended to dwell within believers. Jesus had promised this event.

 

Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:12-15).

 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8).

 

“The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:11).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Memorial Day 2024

~ Have You Forgotten Anything ~

 

Scripture ~ Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).

 

Application:

Thank you, Joe Heller for this reminder!

 

And, thank you service men and women that have paid the ultimate price for us and followed His example.

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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