TREES AND MEN, VINES AND SIN

In the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to work a little in my yard, to get it ready for spring. I moved some old broken cinder blocks that had once been at the edge of the wood line but were now in the woods because, for the last several years, I haven’t been mowing there and the woods were taking over more of my yard.

I picked up some dead limbs that had fallen off the old oak tree behind the house. I raked some of the leaves out of the yard and threw them in a low spot in the woods which needs to be filled. Maybe they will eventually rot and become dirt.

I finished taking out a stump from a small tree I had cut down a few summers ago. I cleared away some shrubs and brush from a spot at the edge of the woods where I want to plant some wild apricots, and I worked on clearing a spot for a garden. Last week, I dug up a small spot there and planted some potatoes. I’m not much of a gardener but this year I want to plant a few things and maybe get some practice.

I like having a nice, clean, well-kept yard, but I haven’t really been able to work like I need to in order to keep it like I want it. I’ve just been doing the bare minimum for the last few years, so it’s a mess. The bushes around the edge of the yard are out of control. They look terrible and they’re making my yard smaller every year. This week, I thought I would spend a few minutes pruning them. The next thing I knew it had been over an hour and I still wasn’t finished. It will take a while to get everything in good shape just doing a little at a time but maybe I’ll get there eventually.

As I was trimming the bushes, I noticed something interesting. There were vines growing on several of them. I remembered how beautiful they had been the last few summers running all over a cluster of bushes and hanging down. The leaves were a different color and a different size from the bushes and the blooms and full flowers were amazing. It made a beautiful arrangement with all the different colors.

Looking at them this week, though, a memory is all there was. The naked vines covering the naked bushes just looked like a mangled mess. The bushes that were covered with vines looked much different from the ones without them. They just looked sick. They were twisted and bowed over from being pulled and weighed down. The vines have been slowly choking the life out of them. Several of the bigger bushes were already dead.

As I cut the vines off, some of them sprang back up immediately like they were happy to be set free. Some of them took a little longer, while some of the others just stayed down. I guess they were damaged more than the other ones. Maybe they’ll liven up in the spring.

On several occasions in the Bible, you’ll find trees being used to represent humans in parables and prophecy. So often, we can draw parallels from nature that can teach us valuable lessons.

Many times, we are like those small trees and sin is like those vines. It is often beautiful on the outside, especially in the beginning. We don’t realize the negative effect it’s having on us, usually, until it’s too late.

Sin infects our lives and destroys our minds and bodies. It drags us down and holds us there. We become sick and it slowly chokes the life out of us and eventually, it kills us. I’ve seen it many times, especially with substance abuse but any sin is equally as devastating. Even if others around us don’t know what specifically is going on, they can see the effects that sin has on us.

Our only hope is in Jesus (1 Tim. 1:1). He is the only way for us to be set free from the chokehold that sin has on us (John 14:6, John 8:36, Gal. 5:1, Rom. 6:22). 

When he sets us free we’re just like those bushes that were once held down by the vines. The weight of sin is removed and we come alive. We’re so happy and grateful to be free. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world.

Are you being dragged down by the weight of sin? Are you having the life slowly choked out of you? If that’s the condition you’re in, you need to know there’s hope. Call on Jesus and he will break the hold that sin has on you and set you free. Then you can stand up straight and move forward. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Do it today.

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WORSHIPING GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

Another subject of controversy is the ability of humans, as individuals or organizations, to worship God any way we want. It seems every denomination has a different idea of how to worship God. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Does it really matter? Does God have any guidelines, or can we worship him however we choose?

In Matthew 15:9 Jesus said, But they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrines.

So, if we can worship God in vain, it DOES matter how we worship him.

In John 4:24, Jesus says, God is a spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

We’ll come back to worshiping in spirit, but first, let’s focus on the second part of the verse; Truth. What is truth? Pilot asked Jesus that question, but apparently, he didn’t wait for Jesus to answer him. In John 17:17, Jesus, talking to God, said, sanctify them through Your truth: Your Word is Truth.

We must follow the instructions in God’s word, the Bible, in order to worship God In truth.

Revelation 20:12 says, The books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

What books do you think will be opened? Well, there is a Book Of Remembrance mentioned in the book of Malachi. The Bible doesn’t explain much about it but, I’m sure it’s one of the books opened for the judgment, along with the Book Of Life. What other book could we possibly be judged from?

In Psalm 40:7 the Lord said, Lo, I come: In the volume of a book it is written of me.

In John 17:17 Jesus said, Sanctify them through your word…

In John 12:48 Jesus said, Those who reject me and do not receive my words, have one that judges them: the word that I have spoken will judge them in the last day.

Another book we’ll be judged by is the Bible; The Word of God. So we need to follow the instructions in God’s book.

Revelation 22:7 says, Blessed is he who keeps the sayings of this prophecy of this book.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul said, You have received from us how you should walk and to please God.

Revelation 22:14 says, Blessed are they who do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

The instructions provided and preserved for us by God in the Bible are very important since we will be judged by them. There is a certain way to worship God, and according to Jesus himself, if we don’t worship according to these guidelines, our worship is in vain.; Useless, and worthless.

Remember what Jesus said, in Matthew 15:9. He said, But they worship me in vain, teaching the commandments of men as doctrines.

Notice that these were people who were worshiping God, but, they were following the commandments of men for doctrines. They were worshiping him in vain. The same thing is happening today. People are teaching doctrines, they cannot show scripture for.

In Matthew 15:6, Jesus said, to the Scribes and Pharisees, You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your traditions.

Traditions must be laid aside when there is no support for them in the Bible. We can’t worship God a certain way simply because we were raised in that manner if the Bible says otherwise.

In Genesis 2:15-17, God told Adam he was not to eat from the Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil. Satan entered the picture with lies and deception, and the couple disobeyed God. What did God do then?

Genesis 3:24 says He drove them out of Eden, and put angels there to keep them out forever. We can learn an important lesson from this account. If we don’t obey God and do according to his word, he can not let us into heaven, and just as all the wicked people on earth were destroyed by water in the time of Noah, the disobedient will be destroyed in the lake of fire at the end of this world. We must live our lives according to God’s Word, not the traditions of mankind.

Exodus 20:17, as well as chapters 25 and 28, show how particular God is. When he told Noah to build the ark in Genesis chapter 6, he didn’t just say build a boat. He didn’t say, build it however you want. No, God told Noah exactly how to build it, what kind of wood to use, where to put the door and the window, and he even told him the exact measurements to make everything. If Noah had decided to change anything and build it differently, the ark would not have saved them. Genesis 7:5 says, Noah did according to ALL that the Lord commanded him. So he and his family were saved. God tells us how we are to worship him, in his word, which he declares to be the Truth.

Now to the spiritual part. In our original scripture, John 4:24, Jesus said, God is a spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

He was talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He told her that the time was coming when people would no longer have to go to a certain place to worship God. What did he mean? Look at what he told Nicodemus in John 3:3-6.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, Truly, I tell you, Unless a man is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.

John 3:4 Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I tell you, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

When we are born again the Holy Spirit comes to live in our minds to guide us in the path of righteousness. This is being born of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes to live in us we become the temple of God, and our worship becomes spiritual instead of physical.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you?

We don’t have to go to a temple to worship God today. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to atone for our sins. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us. He died once, for us all (1 Peter 3:18).

To be born of water is to be baptized in water (Romans 6:4). Jesus, as our example, received the Holy Spirit when he was baptized (Mark 1:10, Acts 2:38). To receive the Holy Spirit, we must obey God.

Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

1 John 3:24 Those who obey his commandments live in him, and he in them, and this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Obedience is essential to receiving and keeping the Spirit of God (Psalm 51:11). Sacrifice is still part of worship today, though it is not animals we sacrifice.

Romans 12:1  So I urge you, brothers, through God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; which is your reasonable service.

So offering our bodies in service to God is part of worship. Praise is another.

Hebrews 13:15 So, through Jesus, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God; the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Psalm 29:2 Give to the LORD the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcised, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Jesus Christ, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Obedience, praise, and sacrifice are key parts of worshiping God in spirit and in truth, as a church, as a family, and in our everyday worship as individuals. There are other aspects as well; such as thanksgiving, prayer, giving, singing, etc. Bible reading and Bible study are also very important parts of worship (Luke 4:16). God’s word has all the answers. It’s where we always need to look for the truth. We need to READ and STUDY the Bible to see what God really wants from us. By searching through his instructions, we can see how he wants us to act, and what he wants us to do, and in this, we will learn to worship him in spirit and in truth.

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https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

IS THE BIBLE REALLY GOD'S WORD?

Can we trust the Bible? Is the Bible really God’s word? Those are just a couple of questions that more and more people are asking in today’s ever-changing world.

There are numerous denominations out there teaching many different doctrines based on the same scriptures. They can’t all be right, so that means most of them are wrong. Then you have all these different modern “translations” presenting different messages that contradict each other. Can you imagine what the worship service would sound like if there were several different translations of the hymnal at your church? It would be chaos. That’s what has happened because there are so many newer translations.

I wouldn’t be opposed to a modern English Bible translated from the original text where the translators were not worried about having to make it different from other English Bibles for copyright purposes. Many of these newer versions are actually not much more “modern” than the King James Version, because the translators have to make sure their version doesn’t actually have the same exact words as another version, or they may get sued. This makes some of the newer versions even more difficult to understand in some places. No wonder there’s so much confusion. No wonder so many people don’t trust the Bible.

On the other hand, there are people who have no idea what the Bible even says because they've never even bothered to read it for themselves. Some are too busy to be bothered with it. Some don’t think they can understand it, while others don’t believe it has anything to offer them. Does it? Is the Bible really the road map to heaven? Is it really God’s word? Can we put our trust in such a controversial book? Was it really inspired by God? There are people all over the world who would answer “Yes” to all these questions, but the number of those who don’t believe is rapidly growing, and it’s not that difficult to understand some of the reasons why.

The Bible is a great book to read for so many reasons. It’s the number one best-selling book of all time and has been for many years. It was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, by over forty authors, across three continents, over a period of fifteen to sixteen hundred years. It contains all the elements of the popular books of our day. There are stories about war, murder, adultery, prostitution, lust, rape, heartache, heartbreak, lies, betrayal, revenge, sea monsters, gods, the supernatural, demons and demon possession, witches and witchcraft, sorcery, curses, devil worship, both animal and human sacrifices, and just about every other bad thing you can imagine.

On the other hand, there are stories involving every good thing you can think of as well. It talks about things like love, hope, trust, kindness, honesty, faithfulness, truthfulness, victory, personal sacrifice, lifetime friendships, marriages that lasted until death, and all the beauty and happiness that the human race lives for, and longs for.

By October 2016, the complete Bible had been translated into 636 languages, according to the Wycliffe Global Alliance. They also report that the New Testament has been translated into 1,442 languages. There are also 1,145 languages where only portions of the Bible have been translated. So there are over 3,000 languages in which some, or all of God’s word can be read.

The Bible has proven to be a great, and accurate history book, as well as a roadmap to a brighter future. It contains the basic building blocks for our governmental system here in the United States, and the origin of many of our laws can be traced back to the Holy Bible.

Sadly, many of God’s people have a hard time agreeing on everything it teaches. That’s why it’s so important to study the Bible without denominational blinders on. We need to take the book for what it says, and if it disagrees with our preconceived ideas, or even what our church teaches, we need to drop those beliefs and hold on to the truth of God’s word. Let’s take a few minutes and examine a few things in the Bible, to see if we can trust this book, or not. 

In 2 Timothy 3:16, and 2 Peter 1:21, the Bible claims to be inspired by God.

2 Timothy 3:16
16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2 Peter 1:21
21) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit inspired or impressed, holy men of God with what to write, and they wrote it down in their own words. The Holy Spirit also inspired Paul to write the next verse we’re going to look at from 1 Timothy 4:1.

1 Timothy 4:1
1) Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Today, “Bible Scholars” are saying the Bible is not the inspired word of God. Even some seminaries are teaching their students that “the Bible is not to be taken literally. It is, at best, just a history book, not the inspired word of God.” These students then go out and become ministers and pastors who don’t even believe that the word of God is true. Then they pass that disbelief on to hundreds, maybe thousands of others, and it is having a tremendously negative effect on our world today.

In many Bibles, there are introductions at the beginning of each book, placed there by the publishers. I’ve read several of these introductions over the years that say something to the effect that the writer either had to have been there to witness what he was writing about, or he got his information from someone who was there, or he copied from another writer, and on, and on, and on. I’ve heard preachers saying these same things in their sermons.

Saying things like that casts doubt on the power of God, and denies that the Bible is inspired by his Holy Spirit. These accusations are subtle, but they are slowly eroding people’s faith in God’s word. These are some of the doctrines of devils that Paul wrote about in his first letter to Timothy. Don’t be fooled by them. Take God’s word for what it says, and hold on to those precious truths that it holds. The Bible is definitely the word of God, and here are just a few examples to prove it.

There are hundreds of prophecies of the Messiah in scripture that Jesus fulfilled. I haven’t counted them but it has been reported that there are more than three hundred. Most of them were written hundreds of years before he was even born in the little town of Bethlehem. Also, King Cyrus was foretold, by name, to overthrow Babylon about a hundred and fifty years before his birth (Isaiah 45-46).

In Daniel chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a statue. God told Daniel what the dream meant. It spelled out, in great detail, the four world empires that would directly affect God’s people, from Daniel’s time, all the way down to the end of the world. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Babylon was ruling when God gave Daniel the interpretation of the king’s dream. The other three nations arose to power just as God had predicted many years before it actually happened.

In Daniel chapter 9 we have another prophecy of four hundred and ninety years. This time period stretched from the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, all the way down to the time of the Messiah. It foretold that he would die for others, and he did. This prophecy tells the exact year of the death of the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in every detail over five hundred years after it was written down. By using this prophecy, and the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, along with the dates of the Jewish feast days, we can pinpoint the exact year, month, day, and hour that Jesus died. He died around 3:00 pm on Friday, April 3rd, AD 33.

The Bible has also been proven to change the lives of those who read it. There is Power in the pages of this Holy Book. Simply put, a supernatural force accompanies the Bible. We know that it’s the Holy Spirit of God. He brings the Bible to life and invites the reader to have a close personal relationship with Jesus. When you read about Jesus, and get to know him, by spending time with him every day, you grow to love him. The proof is in the millions of people around the world who testify that their lives have been dramatically changed, for the better, by reading the word of God.

So, without a doubt, the Bible can be trusted. It has been proven time and time again, not only by fulfilled prophecies, and by its power to change people’s lives, but by Archaeology as well. Plenty of proof for the accuracy of the Bible has been unearthed over the years. Every year more and more proof is unearthed to show the accuracy of the Bible, yet so many still refuse to believe. I don’t know who originally said it, but this is a profound statement:

“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is enough.”

Now, that doesn’t mean we have blind faith. There had to be something to make us believe in the first place. Much of our faith in God and his word comes from our experiences with him, but what we read about him in the bible is part of what draws us to him in the first place. It’s sad that so many have chosen to disregard God’s word. Naturally, you can better understand the Bible if you have the Author to help you. So many don’t, and that’s one of the reasons they refuse to believe, no matter what proof is unearthed. There will always be those who scoff and put us down for following God, but look at what Jesus said in Matthew 24:13.

Matthew 24:13
13) But he that endures to the end, the same will be saved.

So, can we trust the Bible? Is the Bible really God’s word? The answer to both questions is, YES. It is the word of the living God. Read it daily, study it religiously, and be changed by it, eternally.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com 

https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2014 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

Wycliffe Global Alliance
https://www.wycliffe.net/en/