* Galatians 4 *
Verses 7-9
*
Therefore you are no longer a slave,
but a son,
and if a son, then a heir of
God
through Jesus Christ.
(7)
However at that time, when you did not know God,
you were slaves to those (things) which by nature
are no gods.
(8)
But now that you have come to know God,
or
rather to be known by God, how (why) is it that you
would turn back to the weak & worthless elements,
to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
(9)
(King James Version)
(Soul Winner's New American Standard New Testament)
(Amended Text)
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Grace be unto you, from me my beloved Christian brothers & sisters. Giving Him thanks for allowing the fellowship of His word through this group once more.
Take out some time in your daily schedule to give God praise & glory for all He has done for you. For God has been good to me & if you can read this letter, God is being good to you, so let Him know through your praise worship today, that you thank Him for giving us His precious son, Jesus Christ.
It is because of His daily mercy & compassion that
You & I
are not consumed.
(Lamentations 3:22-23)
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To my beloved always Christian brothers & sisters, as God closes another annul of time, setting the book of His vast & great power, consisting of all who lived & died in it's entirety, upon the mantle of eternity past. Our heavenly Father, sends forth a new year, bursting with new opportunities, expectations, & most importantly, a chance to serve Him, obey & expedite His will for our lives. In this new year we should seek the freshness & splendor of His mercy & grace. To me, there is nothing more serene & tranquil, than seeing a place lined with dew laden blades of grass in the early morning, each blade with it's own bead of God's moisture. God wishes to bless each of us, just as he gives a blade of grass it's own droplet, no other shall reap your blessin
(s), God is concerned for you, my dear friends. Well, let me try to finish this lesson unto you, the wrapping paper has been torn, ripped, & put aside, scores of travelers scurry to return back to their home's, department stores & supermarket chains take down their Christmas specials, & now looking forward to another new year, bringing with it excitement & new commitments. Through all of the hustle & bustle, maybe giving in to lusts, desires, & things you know God is not pleased, I know some of you went home to visit relatives, or even had family members come to visit you, in any event, it is always a blessing to gather together in rejoicing with family as we know, we are only here for a short while. Minding all of that, bare with me as I try to focus your attention on another home we sometime do not always stop by at this time of year, for we are creatures of habit & out of this,
we forget or even more serious,
chose not to go home to God.
For this brings me to my topic this week:
(Did You Go Home For Christmas)
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We see in
(Hebrews 2:9-18),
a true essence of God's love for His people.
Dear friends, some us forget going home to God in this season, forgetting that it is not about the things of this world, but of who God sent into this world to reconcile us back to Him.
Among the Parables Of Jesus Christ, that of the "lost son,"
or as it has been called, the "prodigal son"
(prodigal means profligate or wasteful),
(Luke 15:11-32)
is one of the best known.
It involves a righteous and obedient firstborn son, a sinful younger brother who learns his lessons the hard way, and a father who forgives and takes back the sinner after he repents. It's a situation that has played itself out countless times in many families over the ages.
"He Was Lost, And Now Is Found"
** Am I Right About It **
As many of us know, the primary focus of this parable is God the Father and the general rebellion of His children. It's a beautiful story of God's patient grace and His willingness to welcome each of us home into His loving and forgiving arms.
O my beloved, we could not come home if we wanted to under the law. For our unholiness is so displeasing to the Father, they bear the mark of shame. The porch light has been turned off, the front door is locked, and God is not taking in those who have gone astray. There is no entitlement in the Law,
not even for the descendants of Abraham.
(1)
LIVING UNDER THE LAW
On the Outside
Living under the law, the law alone, never fulfills.
Law-living at its very best (e.g., Simeon and Anna) leaves even such saintly sinners with unfulfilled waiting and expectations.
(2)
On the Inside
When the genuine Law-Fulfiller comes,
" the inner thoughts of many will be revealed"
and that revelation will not be good news.
Folks with such hearts will be opposed to the sign He is.
"Those people do not want to come home."
(3)
On the God-side
Falling, no shalom, no salvation, no light and glory.
No "redemption of Jerusalem" where this sign is opposed. Remember that "redemption" is a commercial/ownership metaphor. Alien owners stay in control in life, lived only under law. Only One Owner offers life.
All others finally give only the opposite.
~Pray Daily~
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REDEEMED FROM LIVING UNDER THE LAW,
LIVING UNDER THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST.
(1)
(Good news for, the God-side)
Jesus is
"born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law"
and those dying under that law. And the purpose of Jesus' going into this venture is
"to redeem those under the law so that we receive adoption as God's own kids.
" Adoption and redemption are both "ownership" images. Becoming God's "own" kids."
Am I Right About It
*
(2)
(Good news for the Inside, the Heart)
Seeing is believing, the old testament saints had believed in the promise of the true one to come,
but never seeing Him.
Simeon & Anna, came face to face with the child Jesus,
this changing them forever.
When we see our salvation face to face, we move from the
Old Testament faithful into the community of New testament believers.
(3)
(Good news for the Outside, life in the World)
All those whose own "eyes have seen God's salvation" from any one of these three designated groups:
"all peoples, Gentiles, people Israel."
Such witnesses will not be exempt from bearing
"the blessed holy cross."
Simeon word's to Mary are for anyone who becomes a
Christ-bearer to others.
Yet it is upon such witnesses that
"the Holy Spirit rests,"
and lives
guided by that Spirit do reach fulfillment in peace.
O Lord
Thank You For My Salvation
So my dear Christian brothers & sisters, we all shall have some persecutions, trials, disappointments, losses & Job once lamented,
"human beings are born to trouble just as sparks fly upward"
(Job 5:7).
It harkens back to the words spoken by the Creator to the fallen Adam, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return"
(Genesis 3:19).
For God the Father does send a "pioneer" for an altogether new beginning for the strays, sending his own Son, Jesus the Christ to share their "flesh and blood," sharing also their testing, suffering, and death. More than that, He exchanges it, as
"the faithful and merciful high priest in the service of God,
to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people."
"It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory…."
Pioneering is something that Jesus does well, and we get to model not only his style, but his Message.
Now there is a way home, through this pioneering Brother.
Can you say Amen?
O, how wonderful our God is to care about the rich as of the poor, the sick & the strong, the proud & the lowly.
Jesus comes to proclaim God's name in our midst, trusting in God, and inviting us to do the same, because we are called back into the family. In fact, Jesus shares so much in solidarity with us as to bragging us up big time to the Father:
"Here and I and the children you have given to me,"
(Hebrews 2:13),
showing up at the Father's doorstep with such beleaguered beings as ourselves, yet beings embraced as brothers and sisters in Christ. For Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters, and so we are glad to be associated with him.
Glorying
His sacrifice, in fact, makes us acceptable, holy, and pleasing to God the Father.
"Welcome Home!"
"The first sure symptoms of a mind in health
Are rest of heart and pleasure found at home."
(REV. C. H. Spurgeon)
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Such As I Have,
I Have Because Of Thee.
Copyright ©2003 Donald J. Roy
To those of you who did not go home to the Father's house for Christmas, receiving all of His great benefits, opening the gift of eternal life, granted unto any one, who will call on the precious blood bought name of Jesus Christ, I beseech you to cry out:
"Father here I am, a sinner from birth, separated from your presence, but I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, His death, burial & resurrection, giving my life to you to use as you see deem it to be, coming back home to my eternal place with you forever." For our Father sits on the rooftop of eternity, looking for us day & night to come back up the road of His grace & mercy, confessing we have traveled a road leading to a garbage pile, asking for forgiveness, being forgiven & rejoicing that God does love us so much.
Dear friends, I pray that you have enjoyed this final lesson for the year 2003, never to see again, but looking forward to the blessings of God in the new year ahead. I thank God for all of you that have been a part of this ministry. It is helped to grow in faith & God, seeing the verses & sentiments of how God can use any life to make a difference. The fellowship of this group is source of my strength as I go forth sharing the "Good News" of our Lord Jesus Christ. I have stated before that not much is being taught on mercy & salvation, but such as I have been called to speak on, for I am concerned for your eternal salvation. Let us remember to pray for one another in the uplifting of spirit & healing. If any of you have enjoyed not only this lesson, but lessons past, please send a note of that reflection & if you wish to be opted from this group, also do likewise, in that, I shall delete your name, for by now you should now that I am serious about this ministry & the work I am called to do, & I wish not to offend any one of you.
May God always walk with you & you with God.
Peace
Don
Hell To Shun,
Heaven To Gain,
Sin To Leave,
Jesus, I Cling.
Copyright ©2003 Donald J. Roy
** Dare To Be A Disciple For Christ **
