Hi Brian!

I am doing something different again this week! I read this from the devotional "My Utmost For HIs Highest" and I want to share it with you! This is by Oswald Chambers who was a minister in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This one is very good! 

Justification By Faith

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. —Roman 5:10

I am not saved by believing; I realise I am saved by believing. It is not repentance that saves me; repentance is the sign that I realise what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause — “It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration.” Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God, and by the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.

The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement: The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realisation of what Jesus Christ has already done — “It is finished.”

I REALLY love this great message! No one is saved when they pray the Salvation prayer! We were saved when JESUS died and rose again! But we could not possess this great Salvation UNTIL we prayed, believing! The WORK was already done and now the Saviour is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, waiting until He gets the order from the Father to come and get His BRIDE! That's the point we are at in the great history of this world!  {As a side note, we like to use the word 'redemption' rather than 'atonement' because the sacrifice of animals under the Old Covenant was called 'atonement', where sin was NOT done away with, but only covered over.  I did find, after further study, that in the New Testament this word is found only one time.} It is the Greek word "katallage" and was used by Paul in Romans 5:11:

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. KJV

This Greek word "katallage" is defined in  Strong's Concordance as: exchange, i.e. restoration to the divine favor. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: exchange, reconciliation, restoration to favor. That IS what New Testament redemption does! JESUS took upon Himself our sin and gave to us HIS Righteousness in its place! We are restored to an even better place in the Kingdom of God because we now have the Spirit of God living IN us, where Adam and Eve only WALKED with God! However we look at this TRUTH, WE are far better off now than God's people ever were throughout the history of mankind! We ARE the Body of Christ, the Church of JESUS CHRIST and the Bride of CHRIST! We are, of ALL PEOPLE, MOST BLESSED! Here is Hillsong Worship with "King of Kings" again!

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

What a great game again! The word for this week is "ignorance". We find it in the New Testament in these portions of Scripture:

Acts 3:17 And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance [not aware of what you were doing], as did your rulers also.  AMP

Acts 17:30 Such [former] ages of ignorance God, it is true, ignored and allowed to pass unnoticed; but now He charges all people everywhere to repent (to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins),  AMP

Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. KJV

1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: KJV

1 Peter 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: KJV

The first 4 examples are all the Greek word "agnoia". Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: want of knowledge, ignorance, especially of divine things. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: want of knowledge or perception, including the idea of willful blindness. The Theological Dictionary says: while used of specific ignorance, could also denote ignorance in general as the opposite of wisdom as well as knnowledge. In the last example we see the Greek word "agnosia". Vine's Expository Dictionary says: denotes "ignorance" as directly opposed to gnosis, which signifies "knowledge" as a result of observation and experience. In 1 Peter 2:15 reprehensible ignorance is suggested. From the beginning there have always been those who had a great desire to really know God and His Word, and those who did not. Regardless of our choice here, we will all be held responsible for the knowledge of His Word because He has made His Word available to us and given us the Holy Spirit as our Teacher. That is the reason for the statement above regarding 'reprehensible ignorance', with the dictionary definition of reprehensible being: deserving of censure or condemnation. With all of the available resources, we are all without excuse for NOT knowing God's Word, which is His will! I have also found that the greatest blessing of pursuing knowledge of God's Word is that with each new bit of knowledge comes a better understanding of God Himself, and of who we are as His children. One of the things that I have learned recently is that there is SO MUCH MORE to know! There is no end to what we CAN learn, as long as we keep desiring more. These two verses are very exciting to me, because I believe that we are in those times!

Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. KJV

Habakkuk 2:14 But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

I truly believe that THIS is the most exciting time to be alive! Here is Hillsong Worship with "Your Word":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

It was so good to see you and your beautiful family! What a great game! The word for this week is "obtain". We see it in these two verses:

2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. KJV

Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: KJV

Both of these are the Greek word "tugchano". Strong's Concordance says "to hit or light upon (as a mark to be reached), to attain or secure an object or end, to happen. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: to hit the mark, to reach, attain, obtain, get, become master of. The Theological Dictionary says:  The fact that man, even though very high demands are made on him, cannot "achieve" salvation on the basis of his own attainments, is unobtrusively brought out. The best message of the new birth is that there is NO possiblity that any one of us could ever 'obtain' eternal salvation on our own! This is not something that can be earned or it would not be God's FREE Gift of Salvation!  His plan was for us to receive His Good News, believe it in our hearts and then speak it over our lives. With all of the freedom that we have as New Testament believers, there are still those who keep trying to BE good enough. Our acting right will NEVER be 'good enough' for us to become righteous by our own works. It takes the miracle of the New Birth for us to have access to the throne of our Father! But once we DO obtain this glorious salvation through FAITH in JESUS and all that He has done for us, we must keep increasing our faith to believe so that we can continue to walk in the TRUTH and see people set free! Here is Hillsong with "Search My Heart":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "earnest". We'll be looking at these verses: 

2 Corinthians 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. KJV

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. KJV

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. KJV

These are all the Greek word "arrhabon". Strong's Concordance says: a pledge, part of the purchase-money- or property given in advance as security for the rest. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: money which in purchases is given as a pledge that the full amount will subsequently be paid. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: in the New Testament it is used only of that which is assured by God to believers, it is said of the Holy Spirit as the divine "pledge" of all their future blessedness, particularly of their eternal inheritance. "But the word translated earnest also means "engagement ring." In Greece today you would find this word being used that way. But, after all, isn't an engagement ring an assurance - a guarantee - that the promises made will be kept? Our relationship to God through Christ is not simply a commercial one, but also a personal experience of love. He is the Bridegroom and His church is the bride. We know that He will come and claim His bride because He has given us His promise and His Spirit as the "engagement ring." What greater assurance could we want?" The Bible Exposition Commentary.

We know that when JESUS catches the Church up to meet Him in the air, we will then find ourselves at our Marriage Supper, as the Bride of Christ! So at the New Birth, when we received JESUS as Lord and personal Saviour, and were made new creatures in Christ, we were given our "engagement rings"! We each received the Holy Spirit of God to live IN us! He has prommised to NEVER leave us or forsake us! He IS our "earnest" or down payment, on our inheritance, AND our engagement ring to show that we are to be married to the KING of kings! I really like that TRUTH! Here is Hillsong with "Saviour King":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!